A "SUMMER VACATION" IDEA...

Got to play with the Friday Night Group Friday night (even though it was the 4th of July, they still got together to play—and an audience still came to hear, and dance). They were trying for mostly patriotic songs, but the closest I could come was “Twenty Saddles for My Chicken,” since it does mention Independence Day (red, white and blue chicken saddles, of course).

Neither of the jobs in the Gorge are going to happen. Accordingly, as soon as the Squirrel House is fixed back up, it’ll get rented, and I’ll be moving back to Garibaldi—probably to be a college student come fall. Once unemployment runs out, I’ll get a “You want fries with that?” job to keep the tuition and mortgage paid, and the van full of gas (which now costs almost FIVE BUCKS a gallon). I’ve the summer to arrange financing for college—and do something with music.

Pursuing music on the Oregon Coast isn’t a whole lot different from doing it anywhere else. The list of resources is a little different; some things are better, and others worse. There is no writers’ or musicians’ organization of any kind that I know of; on the other hand, I know a fair number of the local musicians, and there is the Friday Night Group to play with for sure. Not many venues have live music—but I know a couple that do.

There is a potential project I can pursue when I get back. It won’t generate a dime (for me), but it could get a lot of attention. (Sometimes, the best thing you can do for yourself is to do something for somebody else.) I’d tossed the idea around the last time I was in town for an extended period of time—but then I got a job out of town and the idea went on the back burner.

The idea? Record an album of the Friday Night Group. “In concert”—with that many musicians, it’d have to be done live—but I think I know a sound engineer in the area who can do it. The group collectively has the money to do it; Pat (our “keeper”) had recommended that be how the group spend the money it’s going to make this year, since the sound system is pretty much complete. And then sell CDs as a benefit to the Neah-Kah-Nie High School music program. (I know how poor they are, because my daughter was in the school band. They couldn’t even afford new sheet music.) The Friday Night Group is popular, and the Cause would be, too. And probably $7 out of every $10 CD would be “profit” that could be donated to the school.

And release the album, if possible, Labor Day Weekend. “Moograss”—a seven-year tradition—was a huge fund-raiser for the Tillamook High School music program, in which everybody donated everyting, including the musicians, who all played for free. But there won’t be any “Moograss” Bluegrass Festival this Labor Day weekend, and that’s an opportunity for US to jump in and ask people to donate to another music program instead. Instead of a CD release party, have a concert (on that Friday night, of course) at which the CDs would first be available, before showing up in local stores (most local stores would carry them, I’m sure).

First step is to ask the group if they’re interested. Second, I’d want them to pick out 11-16 songs—one that each person who sings can sing, and that the rest of the group knows and can play along with. Third, we bring the sound engineer in for a Friday evening, and have him listen to us play the songs, and him decide how he wants to set things up. Fourth, he records, mixes, masters, and we get copies pressed.

Where do I fit in? I put my music publisher’s hat on and dig up the copyright information on each of the songs; a lot of the musicians are going to want to do covers, and we’ll simply pay copyright fees as necessary. My consulting firm, Outside Services Ltd., will register with the Harry Fox Agency and arrange for payment of the mechanical licenses. And I’ll do the artwork for the album cover and liner notes—and the posters and advertising—all of which’ll be tons of fun.

How I Spent My Summer Vacation…

Joe