Josh Kingsley

“Man, I LOVE the NFL offseason”

-Said Absolutely No One

We are in week… let’s go with four of no significant movement. The roster is the roster less some speculation. Our guys got their rings. Patrick Mahomes playfully answered all of Ja’Marr Chase’s questions. Chris Jones caused a stir missing the ring ceremony and practices. To be clear: missing practice was not the stir. He’s a vet wanting a new contract. Those folks don’t practice. The stir was the ring ceremony. Jones absence grabbed the Stephen King area of CHIEFS Kingdom’s imagination. Rumors of trades and holdouts practically fabricated themselves. Then Jones let everyone know he was sick. As we all were, for now.

The Jones extension is a real thing and it needs to happen. I believe Veach views him in the core and it will happen. Will a trade in August blow me back clutching my pearls? Not any more than the Hill trade last offseason. The Jones and Hill situations feel different. Hill was max, max, max. Jones publicly pushed fair over max. A Jones extension opens $16M in cap space, and Veach needs it. That space allows other potential signings, like Deandre Hopkins. DHop in red and gold remains a dream. I view that dream a sailed ship. However, every day that passes makes me believe that ship can turn back to our shore. He had his money grab visits with the Titans and Patriots. The Browns and Texans take him tomorrow above market value. Pat Mahomes (Sr.) says calls with Patrck happened. It’s possible we are witnessing patience.

New Bottles to Cork

Dick Vermeil has a winery. Since 1999 apparently. I doubt I’m breaking news, but I learned reading this by Adam Teicher. In a recent column of mine I mentioned my love for wine, so I find this awesome. What I really like is the lead in with petite sirah, a favorite varietal. I love Syrah/Shiraz (same grape, grown in different places) and petite sirah (read this article at foodandwine.com). Petite sirah is GMO germination at its finest. This is a great example of someone intelligently commercializing a passion. Dick grew up around wine, but also knows his value and limits. The second part, limits, is the important one. Vermeil as a name carries significant weight in recognition especially in football circles. However, Dick Vermeil carries little notoriety with regard to actually making wine.

The Teicher piece highlights the football approach well. Dick views himself the head coach of his farm and label, and clearly loves the farming aspect of it. He leaves the rest to the pros. Dick doesn’t have to make wine, he found top notch winemakers. He “drafted” a solid harvest crew. Wine is part of Dick’s life, and he brings others. Todd Collins and Trent Green are minority owners of Vermeil Wines.

I have some bottles to track down.

Concert Adventures

I saw a couple concerts, both at new venues for me. The first was in a new Chicago venue, The Salt Shed. That name carries a strong why until realization of location. It’s a new outdoor and indoor entertainment area next to the Morton’s Salt Company.

Anyone who’s driven in Chicago knows exactly the spot I’m referencing. I knew nothing of the area, venue, etc. I picked that show because the Milwaukee date didn’t work. What show produced this level of motivation? A band called Nickel Creek. Here’s one of their songs called: “Destination”… (4:14).

Nickel Creek consists of Chris Thile on mandolin, Sarah Watkins on fiddle, and Sean Watkins (Sarah’s brother) on guitar. They also have a bass player live. All three band members sing and write music. One member stands out, and it’s Chris Thile. Thile is nothing short of a god of his craft. He received the MacArthur Fellow award winner for his mandolin and composition skills.

MacArthur Foundation link

Watching Thile play is like being in a combination of church, school and a party. I cannot recommend this band enough. Now, I just need to see a collaboration album between Nickel Creek, Ricky Skaggs and Brad Paisley.

Smoothie Song

My starting spot for this band:

Smoothie Song
The Lighthouse’s Tale
Somebody More Like You

.

______________________

Link to Evolocity — We Buy Houses

If you mention ArrowheadOne, we get a commission.

_______________________

A Show Years in the Making

Cross Canadian Ragweed is an all-time favorite band. They also no longer exist. CCR (not confused with Creedence) came from Oklahoma and played red dirt country. That’s a fancy term for edgy rock-a-billy type music. I always describe Ragweed the same way: a rock band that wrote country-ish lyrics. That band got me through college. They don’t exist, but their heart remains. That heart is Cody Canada, their lead singer. Cody is royalty in the red dirt space. After Ragweed he formed a group called Cody Canada and the Departed. This show was acoustic.

I saw Cody Canada and the Departed roughly eight years ago. He has not been back to Milwaukee since, so I jumped at this chance. Cody brought Micky and Gary Braun, brothers who front a band called Micky and the Motorcars, along for the evening. I love the singer song writer acoustic show. Artists often muse about the inspiration for their music. I loved hearing Cody tell me the story behind my favorite CCR songs. The venue for this one was The Back Room @Collectivo. I estimate the capacity at 150 max. The place is an intimate, coffee shop gem. It was a perfect night.