In January of 2000 I had accidentally wiped out my mp3 collection and was needing something to listen to at the dorms. I found this web site called IUMA that had a ton of free (and legal) downloads. I scoured the web page and listened to one artist after another. The artists and recordings ranged from very amateur to near professional. Unfortunately, there was only one or two downloadables for each artist, but it was a place to start.

A couple months later we were celebrating Brian's birthday. Brian's sister had heard this great band called Crash Worship that happened to be playing at the Fitzgerald's. We suffered through a horrible opening act and by the time Crash Worship took the stage, we were already pretty tired. Their music was less than impressive to most of us and we opted instead to go downstairs where this funk band was playing. I'm not much of a funk person, but it was a great time and we got pictures of Brian that will forever provide blackmail material.

On our way out, Jay pointed to a poster and commented, "Hey, it's that Phil Pritchett guy."

Phil Pritchett was one of the many artists that I downloaded from IUMA. The one track he had available, Colorado on Trial, was good enough to make the handful of songs that I sent his way. When I thought about it, it made a lot of sense that he'd be playing in Texas because the song mentioned, in passing, that Texas was his home state. We took note of the day and Brian, Jay and I decided that we'd check out the show. With any luck, we'd have as good a time as we had with that funk band. I wasn't a live music junkie at the time, but little did I know that I was about to become one.

We picked up some more songs from mp3.com and felt that we had ourselves a winner for a night out. The first show was good if not great. Unfortunately, other than the handful of CDs that I'd bought I was pretty unfamiliar with his music. I took the plunge and bought his then-latest CD, Suburban Legends. I listened to it over and over and over again. It was more than just a good CD, it was the first unique CD I'd heard in ages. It was completely unlike anything on the radio. Not to say that it was uber-alternative (it wasn't) and didn't have its poppy moments (it did), but it was just a CD full of well-written music that hadn't been glossed over or distorted or crystallized or whatever it is that makes a typical Top 40 CD sound like it does.

Poor Adam - my roommate at the time - had to endure that CD playing 24/7. Brian, Jay, and myself went to see him again a couple months later when he played. I bought his two other CDs and the new release he'd just released (Heritage Way). The three of us would go to Phil show after Phil show whenever he played at Fitzgerald's. Eventually we started meeting in other towns and catching shows there. Jay had been my best friend since the sixth grade and a really good friend since the first grade. Brian was a more recent friend largely of circumstance (he was a member of No-Lyfe and lived right by Anna). Brian and Jay had become friends while competing for a girl. But through the Phil shows, our individual friendships became a collective friendship.

Several months after that, we attended a show in Austin. It was a different show in a number of respects. It went on for about two-and-a-half hours and at the end of it, he announced that it would be his last show in Austin. He was moving to Tennessee to try to write some sense into Nashville. His last show in Texas was in Houston on the downstairs stage of Fitzgerald's.

It was a sad day in a number of respects. Jay, Brian, and I would continue to hang out doing No-Lyfe related stuff along with Adam and just hanging out in general. Instant messaging kept us close even after Brian moved from Pasadena to Austin and later San Marcos. Any time Phil made it back to Texas (which was every few months) we'd make a point to see his solo accoustic shows. He eventually came back for good and formed a new band, dedicating himself to rock. His new booking agent oddly has Phil mostly singing at country venues such as the Firehouse and Cheatham Street Warehouse.

A week or so back, I got a call from Jay that said that Phil was doing a show at Fitz. Since it was around the holidays we could all go. In a way it was like nothing has changed except that the three of us are closer now than we were then. Phil now has a three-person band instead of a four with a rock sound (though he still does a mean "Whiskey River").

After the show we went to the Jaliscience. They've taken down the Selena and James Dean posters that made the place unique, but the burritos are still huge and still $4.50. In a couple months, I'm moving to Idaho. In about six months, Brian is moving to Japan. Jay's plans are more in the air right now, but he will end up in Florida or California soon enough. Times like these are running out.

Phil is a great musician and I would have gone and had a great time along. With everyone there, it goes beyond enjoyment to a series of moments, and a night, I will not forget for a long, long time.