Jeremy Porter Road Blog

Road Blog: Wednesday April 02, 2025 - Fort Wayne, IN

Road Blog
April 2, 2025
Fort Wayne and Muncie, Indiana

I left home at 7:45am in a torrential downpour. Knowing that western Ann Arbor would be a nightmare to get through I opted to zig-zag down surface streets and county roads through Washtenaw County to Ypsilanti, where I caught US23 South towards Toledo. The rain went from zero-visibility intense to a mere strong downpour on and off as I passed into Ohio, past a multi-vehicle accident in Toledo, and towards Indiana. I hit Fort Wayne around 10:20am and parked at the Sweetwater compound just after 10:30. The rain was letting up a little as two fur-soaked rabbits scurried out from the shrubbery to greet me as I walked into the employee entrance with my gear.

Most musicians know Sweetwater as the Amazon of musical gear. If it makes music, or is music-adjacent, you can get it at Sweetwater for a competitive price. It has its detractors too, in the mega-corporation vs small business argument, but I’ll touch on that a little later. I have a good relationship with my rep James and have had only positive and personal experiences with them. Anyhow, the facility is basically a mega-store with a massive showroom of guitars, drums and gear, but also a music school, theatres and learning rooms, a recording studio, a massive cafeteria, and much more. I met the sound tech Randy and got dialed in pretty quickly.

I played from noon to 1pm, not particularly well, but ok enough I suppose. A special needs child had a meltdown like I haven’t heard across the cafeteria during my most quiet number, so that was difficult (more so for her than me), and I felt bad for her, but I forged ahead as her family got her relaxed. One kid asked me between songs if I knew John Cougar Mellencamp, to which I replied, “not personally” as he started drilling me about deep cuts before his mom told him “Honey, let the man work.” I smiled and continued the set without further interruption, with the reinforced notion that I was in Indiana. I wish I knew the song he wanted to hear – or even remember its name.

After the set I had a good chat with my rep James about gear recently purchased and on my wishlist, then heard someone say my name – it was Kenny Taylor, a pal who teaches guitar at Sweetwater and who I’d played Fort Wayne with The Tucos back in March of 2018 when we opened for the Raelyn Nelson Band. We got caught up, traded some war stories, and he showed me his workshop. I got some lunch and strummed a couple guitars before loading out and heading into Fort Wayne proper. Gig-1 of the spring tour was a wrap.

First stop was the Fort Wayne Guitar Exchange where I said hey to my pal Mitch Fraizer. We talked guitars and amps and Craig Brown and Detroit. It was great to see him – he’s a character with a big smile and infectious energy, and incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to gear. They had a sweet red Ibanez Iceman that wasn’t for sale yet and an amazing 67 Gibson 330. Sounds like business is going well for them, which is great to hear from a locally-owned brick and mortar that lies in the shadow of a mega-juggernaut like Sweetwater. I’m glad they can both exist.

After that I stopped over at Wooden Nickel Music where I fingered through a few bins before leaving empty handed. Thought about getting the new Jason Isbell LP, which I don’t have a physical copy of yet, but the copy they had was used, so I passed on that. Still can’t find affordable pressings of KISS Creatures of the Night or Unmasked, but those are on my short list.

I hit I69 South towards Muncie, hauling ass in hopes of making it to JohnTom's Barbecue Sauce company to check it out and get a couple bottles for the upcoming grilling season. I got to the Main Street artists’ collective around 10-to-5 and by the time I even found the store on the map it was after 5, their closing time, and I never was actually able to find it in person. That was a lot of effort on a failed mission. Oh well, next time JohnTom’s.

From there I went downtown and dropped in on Celeste at Locked Groove Records – a cool little store in a converted house in the heart of things. She was super nice, and we had a good chat. My album Dynamite Alley (GTG Records) is now available for purchase there, and Record Store Day is just a week away so grab a copy!

I had a couple hours to kill so milled around the city for a bit, called TrooperGirl22 back home, who was dealing quite a storm there as well. I fired up the laptop and did some work for a while then headed over to Be Here Now. By this time there was a massive wall of thunderstorms working its way east over Indiana and people were taking shelter, not hitting the town. I met the bartender (sorry, totally spaced on her name), and Jerry the host of the Open Mic Night, that I’d be playing as a “featured performer.” I generally don’t do many open-mic nights, but with the preferred slot and extended set allowance, it beats a night off, and BHN is a venue I’ve been wanting to play for a long, long time, so why not.

There was a small, diverse group of mostly-but not all-musicians there, and we were all out on the front porch watching the rain start to intensify while the radar on our phones showed reds and purples, when Jerry came out and said “So ya ready…” and in typical Jeremy Porter fashion, the city tornado sirens kicked in at full volume. If you’ve been following along for the last 35 years, you know that if there’s severe weather hitting a city, I most likely have a gig there.

I played a few songs, knowing it was a light night and other people were itching to play. They got me on first because I had to drive in that shit, to my motel in Indianapolis, after my set. I hung out with Jerry, this dude Isaaiah (?), and Morgan and Jason from the band, aptly named, Tornado Warning. I caught a couple of Jerry’s songs before I bailed and he sounded great. I hated leaving before all my new pals played, and generally I wouldn’t ever do that, but it had been a very long day, the weather was terrible, and I had a long drive in front of me. I think they understood. Sorry dudes & gals - we'll hang more next time!

The drive to Indianapolis was difficult but not impossible. The rain was strong and steady, but I was able to maintain a good clip. I got the motel around midnight and their wifi was down, so it took nearly 40 minutes to get my soaking ass and gear into the room. It’s not all fun and games out here kids. So it was a hell of a day – thanks to Sweetwater and Be Here Now and everyone at the venues and record stores that I met! Tonight it’s off to Springfield, IL where I’ll play The Wakery from 7-9. Let’s hope for some more stable weather (not looking good) and a healthy turnout in a new city for me. Xx