“Our connection with Bruce Hornsby was immediate. For us, it was the Bride of the Noisemakers album. We fell in love with that album. If we had it on vinyl, we would have worn out all the grooves. We had CDs in our cars and no matter where we went, Bruce Hornsby was in the CD player. For years and years, we dove headfirst into his music. There’s something about his approach and spirit that just spoke to us. This is the kind of thing we want to do. Bruce is one of the greatest musicians alive today for sure. It’s amazing the way he’s able to combine musicianship with beautiful, soulful, songwriting. That’s the way we want to pursue music for ourselves. We have a kindred spirit with Bruce. Any time an interviewer or anyone has asked us who our favorite artist is, it’s always been Bruce Hornsby. You can look at any interview by any of us over the last several years, and I guarantee you his name comes up.” – Mike Goodman
Imagine you’re a rising golfer, and Tiger Woods asks you to play a couple of rounds with him. Imagine you’re a burgeoning writer, and William Shakespeare invites you over to write a couple of chapters of prose. The musical equivalent of this happened to jam band stalwarts Eggy after their five show club run with their mentor and music legend Bruce Hornsby.
The quartet of Jake Brownstein, Dani Battat, Mike Goodman, and Alex Bailey have happily professed their deep love and admiration for Hornsby since their beginning over a decade ago. Incredibly, after a long game of connect the dots, things lined up where Hornsby would reach out to his proteges and offer them the gigs of a lifetime. A chance to literally share the stage with their hero. A tremendous payoff for years of doing things the right way. The Eggy way. Hard work, respect, preparedness, and loads of talent.
The tour started in Charlottesville followed by two nights at Bearsville Theater before wrapping up in Washington D.C. and Burlington. Not only was Hornsby gracious enough to invite Eggy along for the ride; he sat in with the band multiple times. A rock and roll legend sitting in with his young opening act. When does this happen? If that wasn’t enough, Hornsby invited Eggy to join him and his band the Noisemakers throughout the run, allowing them to cross a major item off their bucket list.
“While Battat gets settled and adjusts to the last second substitution, we quickly bond over our mutual deep, deep love of Bruce Hornsby. Another major influence of the entire band. Battat’s eyes come to life as he quickly puts a Hornsby sit in towards the top of his Eggy bucket list.” – Slide&Banjo ‘23
Slide&Banjo’s Marty Halpern traveled to Bearsville to catch up with Eggy for some of their biggest shows to date. A level completed, permanent bookmark in what is certain to be a career full of accomplishments and accolades. Halpern and Eggy bassist Mike Goodman take you behind the scenes as one of the band’s biggest dreams became a reality.
Goodman begins with the serendipitous tale of how a chance meeting in the crowd of a Hornsby concert planted the seeds for the Eggy/Hornsby collaboration to come to life.
“We met one of Bruce Hornsby’s managers through a mutual friend at a Hornsby show in Brooklyn. Our friend told him these guys are huge fans of Bruce. His manager hung out with us during the show and quickly realized we weren’t blowing smoke. We’re actually really huge fans. Almost a year later, Bruce expressed an interest in doing some club shows. He wanted to play some rock venues instead of the theaters he’d been doing. He wanted to take a band out that has been playing in those kinds of rooms. His manager said, “Why don’t you check out those Eggy guys?” Knowing we’re big fans and would appreciate it. Bruce listened to our music and he said yes.”
Goodman says the career altering request from Hornsby was met with immediate enthusiasm. “When we got the first hint this may happen, I remember getting a call from Jake. He said, “We got this offer. Are you ready to hear it?” Usually when we get offers, it’s not that big of a deal. This time, Jake said it’s Bruce Hornsby. I instantly said whatever it is, I’m in.”
And just like that, the waiting, excitement, and millions of possibilities began to fill the brains of the Connecticut four. Would Bruce invite them to sit in? What songs would they cover if he did? Could Bruce Hornsby, the source of so much inspiration actually sit in on an Eggy tune?
For Goodman and his bandmates, after the initial euphoria wore off, it was time to focus, prepare and make sure they lived up to the opportunity of a lifetime. “With anything of this significance, you try to manage your expectations. You want the reality to live up to the things in your head. We did our best to… keep it in our pants. Be prepared as we could be to showcase what we do to Bruce and his fans. We strive to do this for every tour. This time we were like let’s make sure we’re really doing our thing to the best of our ability.”
As the shows got closer, the band had their first interactions with Hornsby, who shined a light on what may be in their future. “We hoped for and anticipated some sort of collaboration between us and Bruce and the Noisemakers.” Goodman reflects. “We picked a bunch of Bruce’s songs we were comfortable with and knew better than others. We sent them to Bruce. We said these are some songs we’d like to collaborate on. A list of around 25 songs. When we met, Bruce was joking with us saying you sent me this huge list of songs. We only play about half of these.”
After months of preparation and constant daydreams about what could be, it was time for opening night at the Jefferson Theater in Charlottesville, Virginia. The band had a loose connection with Hornsby bassist J.V. Collier and violinist John Mailander, which eased some of the butterflies. Still, Eggy must have felt like freshman walking into a new high school on the first day of classes as they entered the theater.
According to Goodman, it didn’t take long to break the ice and kick off an unforgettable week. “Whenever you’re opening for a band, there’s a testing of the waters. You get there early. Make sure you get everything set up. Try to be as accommodating as possible. With Bruce and his whole team everything came easy and very naturally. We’ve talked with John before as internet buddies. He was the first person I talked to in person. He’s a big fan of what we do. We’re obviously big fans of him, so there was an immediate rapport. I’ve been in contact over the years with J.V. That was an easy way to walk into the green room and say hey guys, it’s great to be here.”
With regards to the early interactions with Hornsby, Goodman happily recounts, “Honestly, it was super easy talking to Bruce. I think he was excited to be doing something different and excited to be with guys who appreciated being there. From the first moment it all felt really easy. We fell into a good rapport talking about music. Not just his music. Other music, artists, and producers we love and share in common with each other. It became a great relationship right away.”
While Goodman and his wide eyed bandmates get settled into the Jefferson Theater, a big request is about to come his way. Hornsby wants him and Bailey to add vocals on his song My Resolve. Goodman shares how he received the life changing news. “That came right from Bruce’s mouth. He had seen the video Alex and I did where we were harmonizing to him singing solo. He was like I really loved that video. Are you guys ready to do that tonight? We said absolutely. No questions asked. We are in!”
After he and Bailey crushed their first Hornsby sit in, Goodman stopped to take pause of the momentous occasion. “It was incredible. I had the biggest smile on my face the entire time. On stage, looking over and seeing it through my own eyes was quite a trip. I was doing my best to keep my cool knowing I had to sing a difficult harmony part. It was, take a couple of deep breaths and then execute this. You can geek out later when you get off the stage.”
With the next day off, and a chance to digest performing onstage with one of your idols, Goodman and Eggy are in Bearsville where they’re greeted by their family and loved ones on a fabulous fall day. Clearly visible for the next two nights are loads of Eggy fans equally anxious to celebrate the milestone with the band they’ve been following since its infancy.
Prior to the run, Eggy also sent Hornsby a smaller list of their songs they’d love for him to play with the band. While standing outside Bearsville loading his gear, a car pulls up and Goodman and Eggy’s plans for the evening are about to significantly change for the better.
Goodman tells the tale of the mystery man behind the tinted window. “This car pulls up the back road and stops right in front of me. I see someone inside the car giving me a wave. The windows are tinted on the car, so I can’t really see who it is. I’m wondering who is waving at me and out comes Bruce. He’s like Mike, how are ya? He’s so excited to see me. He says, “So we’re gonna play Trixieville tonight?” To hear Bruce call out one of our songs was incredible. I said yeah man whatever you want. Trixieville was on the list of the few songs we sent him, but not originally on the set list that night. He was like how about we do that. So, we added it to the setlist.”
As if having your mentor sit in on one of your songs wasn’t enough to leave a permanent smile on your face for weeks, Hornsby’s giving and graciousness was far from over that night. Between sets, his crew adds a couple of extra chairs to the stage, and it quickly becomes clear a collaboration is about to go down. With smiles somehow wider than their face, Goodman, Battat, Brownstein, and Bailey will all make noise on stage with Hornsby by the end of the night.
Just as they must have day dreamed about a thousand times, the members of Eggy would literally share the stage with their hero. Different configurations would come out for Country Doctor, Preacher in the Ring, and Candy Mountain Run. The energy and happiness from everyone in the room was bouncing off the walls. Even the Hornsby fans that knew nothing of Eggy before the show can tell something above the norm is in progress.
Two nights in and Goodman has sat in with Hornsby’s band twice. He’s also literally stood next to Hornsby when he joined Eggy for Trixieville. So, what is better, sitting in with Hornsby or having Hornsby sit in with you? Goodman tries to tackle what is now a reality. “I think there’s equal parts to both. It’s such an amazing feeling to have one of your heroes play one of your songs. It’s almost an indescribable feeling of pride and humility at the same time. He thought enough of Trixieville he wanted to play it, and he brought it up on his own. Sitting in with Bruce on some of the songs we’ve loved and cherished for so long is also an indescribable feeling of gratitude, grace, and joy that can only come from playing music.”
Floating on air after the first two shows, Hornsby’s continued generosity will send Goodman soaring even higher. Just as Eggy added Trixieville on Hornsby’s behalf the night before, he’s returned the favor by adding the song Line in the Dust to the night’s rundown. A song Hornsby knew had a special place in Goodman’s heart. “One of the first things that sold me on Bruce Hornsby is a You Tube video of Line in the Dust and Carry the Water. There’s an interview in between where he talks about the Grateful Dead and stuff. That was one of the first live videos I saw of Bruce. I thought this was the best thing I’ve ever heard. I knew if I had a chance to ask him to play a song, it was going to be that one. The one that got me going.”
With the camaraderie and rapport between the musicians flowing with ease, the fans were greeted to a stellar performance the final night at Bearsville. Hornsby joined Eggy for Woah There before giving way to two of his Noisemakers John Mailander (violin) and Gibb Droll (guitar) who added to arguably the best Waiting Game the band has performed. A showcase of the heights Eggy can reach in a moment’s notice.
Along with Line in the Dust, Eggy joined Hornsby for Resting Place, Stander on the Mountain, and My Resolve for his set. By the end of the night, the Eggy and Hornsby fans had become one. Gleefully singing and dancing the night away. As the crowd full of friends and family poured out of Bearsville, Goodman was able to step back and fully appreciate a moment he will never forget. “Over the years, if you know us at all. Which our family and our loved ones do. They know how important Bruce Hornsby has been in our journey as musicians and as a band. When this tour was announced, the overwhelming support and pride from our family and loved ones was unbelievable. To be able to share some of the highest highlights of my musical career with my girlfriend and my mom. All the Eggy parents. Jake’s parents. Dani’s parents. Alex’s parents. My parents were all at Woodstock. It was a very emotional, joyous time for us and I hope for our loved ones as well. I hope they felt the same amount of joy. Having them with us increased the amount of… the only way I can describe it is pure emotion. It heightened everything. To have everybody that’s important in our lives, including Bruce Hornsby under the same roof, was almost like a religious experience. Very spiritual.”
The final two nights in Washington D.C. and Burlington were more of the same for both bands as they continued to welcome each other with open arms on and off stage. A few days removed from a mind-blowing journey with his musical hero; Goodman took time to put things into perspective. “We’ve worked really hard over the years. Trying to better ourselves for ourselves. It’s amazing when things like this happen and you feel like all the hard work and effort is paying off in something bigger than the four of us. We know we’re getting better. We’re rehearsing and practicing all the time. Pushing our boundaries every day. It’s great when something like this happens to the four of us. Something that includes not just our heroes but other outstanding musicians who have come to respect us in our own right. It gives us validation that we’re on the right path. This is a long road. Especially looking at a guy like Bruce who has had such an amazing career. He’s always been pushing himself to make new music and push new boundaries. We’re on the right path. We’ve got to keep doing what we’ve been doing, and things will pay off in their own due time.”
Also taking time to reflect on a unique run of shows, Hornsby offered this assessment of his first and hopefully not last collaboration with Eggy. “Thanks to everyone who joined us on the run of club dates with Eggy. I think it was clear to everyone involved, audience, bands, and crews, that there was an instant camaraderie between the two groups, instant kindred spirits. We love the Eggy guys and their music.”
