John,

As you know, I'm not too far away in NC. If you get any gigs anywhere near Winston Salem and you don't want to drive home late at night after the gig, you are welcome to stay here anytime. For that matter, you are welcome to LIVE here if you don't mind my daughter bossing us both around.

Dog-wise, my situation is the opposite of yours. My wife had a sheltie that I won't be able to care for properly, because I work 12 hour days, and it isn't fair to keep him penned up all day. I've been looking at sheltie adoption services. If you're even remotely interested, he's yours.

He's very smart. Get him a hammer with a velcro handle that sticks to his paw, and I bet he'd build his own kennel. He's about 3 years old.

I can send you a list of local places that pay for live music if you're interested (may need some updating... places like that tend to come and go)