0187 - Wait a minute. Here's the real conflict on Wednesday night!!  Joe Firstman will be at the Neighborhood Theatre on Wednesday evening, August 23. Charlotte's Firstman Thrives Courtney Devores The Charlotte Observer Published: Wednesday, August 16, 2006 With the recent onslaught of male, solo piano-pop artists such as Jamie Cullum, James Blunt and Daniel Powter taking over the charts, it's surprising Charlotte native Joe Firstman isn't among them. Two years ago this week, Atlantic Records (home to Blunt) released Firstman's debut album, "The War of Women." He showed a solid Counting Crows /Black Crowes style, toured with Jewel, Willie Nelson and Sheryl Crow, and got heavy play on Charlotte-based Muzak stations. But he and Atlantic parted ways. He finalized the split while performing last summer at the Neighborhood Theatre. He returns to the venue Wednesday. "What I was hearing from (Atlantic) was, 'You're our guy. You're the future,'" Firstman told the Observer during a phone call from his Manhattan Beach, Calif., home. "But I'd play for 6,000 people (opening) for Sheryl Crow and then the CD wouldn't be at Best Buy in the towns. There was a disconnect." Now 25, Firstman chalks his Atlantic days up to experience. He's releasing live EPs independently and plans to record another Wednesday. He's also a fixture on late-night television as bandleader for "Last Call with Carson Daly," the NBC talk show hosted by the former MTV veejay. Until now, the series gave bands weeklong residencies. But the versatile Firstman recently became the show's Max Weinberg. "Carson and I are casually friendly. We did his show on the first record's cycle. We'd always say hello and have a shot of tequila," said Firstman, who also co-hosts a hip Hollywood jazz/R&B night with "That '70s Show's" Danny Masterson in Beverly Hills. "We did the house band for one week and they asked us back. I have such an array of musicians who I work with - all the jazz stuff, the clubs, the parties. It gives me the ability to play different styles of music and learn them really fast." Firstman calls the gig, which he'll return to in September when his tour ends, "a dream job." He added, "They let us play whatever we want and the guys I'm hiring are so much better than me." The South Meck grad enjoys visits home now more than he did when he first started touring. "It wasn't even fun for me. I felt like the hired band at the high school reunion," he said of early gigs at Amos' SouthEnd with former classmates in attendance. His girlfriend, Amera Lewchalermwong, a Charlotte native who graduated from East Carolina University in May, has brought him home more often this past year. "We met at the House of Blues (in Los Angeles)," he explained. "This year I've been back more than I've ever been." He's also reconnecting with his family. "My brothers and I are trying to learn to get along again," he added. "It's the age of easy." Things won't be too easy for Firstman who starts work on his second full-length album. "I got another record deal, this time with Reincarnate Records. They're tied in with the Dave Matthews camp," he said. "When I get back we'll find a way to make another record." *********************************************** I just may have to defer. LF