Recently while on tour I had the opportunity to visit my little brother in Austin, TX. Someone very close to us recommended we go to The Texas Chili Parlor for Mad Dog Margaritas. They make their margaritas with fresh limejuice and don’t bog them down with commercially packaged sweet & sour mix. Mad Dog Margaritas are made using an extraordinarily harsh mezcal tequila…the kind with the worm in the bottle. It’s a tough cup-o-drank.

The recommendation came from a person that learned of the drink from a song they listened to while dealing with divorce. We’ve talked about how much of a tool music can be in processing here before. I think it comes up a lot actually. Sometimes someone has said it all before. You need to live through their voice. It helps us find solace. We’re not alone.

Sitting there in The Texas Chili Parlor in a city that is not my own, turning tequila into hair on my chest, my girlfriend and little brother at the table, I felt very connected. I was connected to the people around me, the floorboards, the jukebox, the person who recommended the bar, the humid rainy air, and the laughter that can wash so much of the past away.

I search for words to describe the feeling here…though someone has said it first and, of course, said it best…

Here are the lyrics…
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Our friends over at R U Pissed? gave us this hangover remedy recommendation…Peanut Butter, Honey and Banana Sandwiches.

“Bananas – Sugar in the form of fructose, and potassium…is one of the things you lose lots of when you drink. Bananas are also a natural antacid to help with nausea, and are high in magnesium which can help relax those pounding blood vessels causing that hangover headache. For a variety of reasons try a peanut butter, honey and banana sandwich on white bread.”

Our other friends over at Egoeccentric have provided us with this free hangover mixtape entitled “Peanut Butter, Honey and Banana Sandwich” from the egoeccentric hangover mixtape series. Download it here…

A few posts back we discussed the important role music plays during and after break-ups. I received some really amazing suggestions and stories through e-mail and the comments here for songs that help us mourn, cope, turn red, grit teeth, feel, deal, and stand back up again.

I’ve put together a 19 track compilation comprised of songs you suggested. Even if you haven’t recently gone through some hurt maybe it’ll be a reminder of how happy you are living single or being with the person whose hand you hold. It’s a free download and a good listen. Click the picture below to download it. (Photo Courtesy of Clayton Hauck).

Download.

There was such an overwhelming response of suggestions from everyone that I’ll be putting together a “Part 2″ pretty soon. If you have suggestions feel free to comment and maybe they’ll make it on the next one!

the full track listing… (more…)