In the course of searching for wedding-song material, I ran across a Website of “The World’s Most Inappropriate Wedding Songs.” I only recognized one on the list—The Beach Boys’ “Sloop John B” (which is a waltz). I probably have a bunch of those myself that are even worse: “The Dead Sweethearts Polka” (about a serial killer), “Angel in Chains” (about a suicide), “When I Jump Off the Cliff I’ll Think of You” (ditto, but aspirational), “Crosses by the Roadside” (car accident), “Rotten Candy” (guy—or girl—leaves and takes everything), “Prehistoric Roadkill” (ditto, with dinosaur bones), even April Johns’ “Family Portrait” (about a cheating husband). I’m sure there’s more. (And I didn’t mention any of the dead-animal songs.) Nope, not playing any of that stuff at the wedding.
For the wedding, we want to play (or they want to hear) mostly danceable rock ‘n’ roll love songs. I think we can do that. About an hour and a half’s worth? Sure. For starters, we’ve already got some Old Standards that’d fit the bill:
Test Tube Baby—Elvis-style rock ‘n’ roll
Our Own Little Stimulus Plan (Betty Holt)—Buddy Holly-style rockabilly
The Dog’s Song—rock ‘n’ roll
Glad That You’re Here (Stan Bolton)—slow blues
Tillamook Railroad Blues—deliberate blues
Dance a Little Longer (Woody Guthrie)—country rock
Hey, Little Chicken—slow & sleazy quasi-blues
Duct Tape—mod. speed country
We did “The Dog’s Song” at the Christmas Show, and Stan Bolton’s “Glad That You’re Here” at the first Failed Economy Show, both last year. The others are regular inclusions in the setlists. “Duct Tape” is on the list even though it’s country, because it was requested. Some that I know, that the band have never done and would need to practice:
Distraction (Diane Ewing)—very sleazy quasi-blues
I Want a Man for Christmas—rock ‘n’ roll
So Far (Marge McKinnis)—slow blues
Simple Questions (O.N. Vindstad)--rockabilly
About Love (Marge McKinnis)—bluegrass, Buddy Holly-style
Twenty-Four Seven—fast waltz
Would the last two be a little too country for the wedding couple’s tastes? Maybe not the way the band plays them—they tend to “rock up” almost everything I do, and I expect they’d emphasize the Buddy Holly aspect of Marge’s song (for instance) and give it a real danceable beat. And some I don’t know, but would like to learn:
Lilly’s Song (Screamin’ Gulch)—mod. slow blues
We Were Waltzing the Night Away and Then a Mosquito Came and Ate Up My Sweetheart (John Fahey)—waltz (and I’m not sure what speed)
If You Could (Polly Hager)—provided I can sing it
For the Pumpkinfest (Oct. 24), since it’ll be a huge crowd of kids and their parents, I want to do kid-friendly songs. “When They Die, I Put Them in the Cookies,” “Hey, Little Chicken,” and “Twenty Saddles for my Chicken” come immediately to mind. Wonder what else I’ve got? Ooo, “Vampire Roumanian Babies.” It’ll be almost Hallowe’en.
Joe
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
SOME THINGS I'VE LEARNED...
Over time, I’ve learned a few tricks with respect to music, and thought they might be worth repeating. Some are money-savers, and some are time-savers. Not in order:
CDS OF SETLISTS TO THE BAND has been a big time-saver—necessary for Deathgrass because we’re all very busy people. The setlists include the arrangements, and the CDs have recordings of the songs in the order and with the intros, endings, and lead breaks the way we’re going to play them on stage. Minimizes the need for practice. And everything’s timed, and the Rap scripted out, because I refuse to leave anything to chance.
“PATSY CLINE” STYLE STUDIO RECORDINGS. Big money-saver. Patsy and her band would walk into the studio, play the song live, and it’d be note-perfect in one take. All it takes is being thoroughly practiced beforehand—and the sound engineer being able to set levels right. The “Santa’s Fallen” album was recorded that way, and so were the Pineyfest “demo derby” cuts done with professional Nashville session musicians.
POSTERS. Something I did for the Dodson Drifters, 30 years ago: we had a stock recognizable-design poster we used for every concert—just had to fill in the when and where. These days, one does it with computers, and I can send out the posters both as Acrobat (*.pdf) files and as photos (*.jpg). The stock design is a time-saver—and it’s “cultural shorthand” that helps reach that large population with limited attention spans.
“VIDEO IS THE NEW CD.” So saith Canadian DJ Len Amsterdam, and I think he’s right. No, the band haven’t done any music videos, but we should. This may be one reason people go to concerts instead of buying records—they want the “multimedia experience.” The Southern Pigfish album—all music videos, issued on flash drive—will be an experiment to see if this is right. As usual, it’ll be done for very little money—one reason it’s taken so long.
TECHNIQUES FOR CHEAP MUSIC VIDEOS. The video of Porter Wagoner’s last song, “Committed to Parkview,” is a case in point; deliberately understated, with a lot left to the imagination. I’ve seen—and used—the technique of mixing fast-moving slide show with music and text overlays to make a video out of still photos. I’ve seen one done with simple line drawings, too.
BECOME IDENTIFIED WITH A CAUSE. In Deathgrass’ case, it’s the Food Pantry. Publicity for our benefit concerts for them is publicity for the band, and folks who attend to support the cause end up becoming fans of the band. We become “Oh, you’re the guys who…” It’s an application of the Refrigerator Rule: If you put something in, you get to take it out later.
REPUTATION BEFORE RECORDING. I think that’s what Deathgrass is doing; the Dodson Drifters did it, too—we were regionally famous before we ever recorded anything in the studio. (Actually, we’d built the studio first.) I talk about wanting the album, but we haven’t done much (too busy); we just keep performing, and getting better (and better known). By the time the album comes out, it’ll be a sellout.
UPDATE: Music at least two days next weekend, at City Hall Friday night and the Bay City Arts Center open mike Saturday night. Sunday will be the first Sunday of the month, normally the bluegrass jam at the Forestry Center—provided they haven’t shut down for the year. Winter is coming early this year…
Joe
CDS OF SETLISTS TO THE BAND has been a big time-saver—necessary for Deathgrass because we’re all very busy people. The setlists include the arrangements, and the CDs have recordings of the songs in the order and with the intros, endings, and lead breaks the way we’re going to play them on stage. Minimizes the need for practice. And everything’s timed, and the Rap scripted out, because I refuse to leave anything to chance.
“PATSY CLINE” STYLE STUDIO RECORDINGS. Big money-saver. Patsy and her band would walk into the studio, play the song live, and it’d be note-perfect in one take. All it takes is being thoroughly practiced beforehand—and the sound engineer being able to set levels right. The “Santa’s Fallen” album was recorded that way, and so were the Pineyfest “demo derby” cuts done with professional Nashville session musicians.
POSTERS. Something I did for the Dodson Drifters, 30 years ago: we had a stock recognizable-design poster we used for every concert—just had to fill in the when and where. These days, one does it with computers, and I can send out the posters both as Acrobat (*.pdf) files and as photos (*.jpg). The stock design is a time-saver—and it’s “cultural shorthand” that helps reach that large population with limited attention spans.
“VIDEO IS THE NEW CD.” So saith Canadian DJ Len Amsterdam, and I think he’s right. No, the band haven’t done any music videos, but we should. This may be one reason people go to concerts instead of buying records—they want the “multimedia experience.” The Southern Pigfish album—all music videos, issued on flash drive—will be an experiment to see if this is right. As usual, it’ll be done for very little money—one reason it’s taken so long.
TECHNIQUES FOR CHEAP MUSIC VIDEOS. The video of Porter Wagoner’s last song, “Committed to Parkview,” is a case in point; deliberately understated, with a lot left to the imagination. I’ve seen—and used—the technique of mixing fast-moving slide show with music and text overlays to make a video out of still photos. I’ve seen one done with simple line drawings, too.
BECOME IDENTIFIED WITH A CAUSE. In Deathgrass’ case, it’s the Food Pantry. Publicity for our benefit concerts for them is publicity for the band, and folks who attend to support the cause end up becoming fans of the band. We become “Oh, you’re the guys who…” It’s an application of the Refrigerator Rule: If you put something in, you get to take it out later.
REPUTATION BEFORE RECORDING. I think that’s what Deathgrass is doing; the Dodson Drifters did it, too—we were regionally famous before we ever recorded anything in the studio. (Actually, we’d built the studio first.) I talk about wanting the album, but we haven’t done much (too busy); we just keep performing, and getting better (and better known). By the time the album comes out, it’ll be a sellout.
UPDATE: Music at least two days next weekend, at City Hall Friday night and the Bay City Arts Center open mike Saturday night. Sunday will be the first Sunday of the month, normally the bluegrass jam at the Forestry Center—provided they haven’t shut down for the year. Winter is coming early this year…
Joe
SEPT. 25 POST-MORTEM (AND A NEW CAT)...
The Deathgrass Sept. 25 concert was good. Small—very small—but appreciative crowd (we were competing for attention with three other events in the area at the same time—a contra dance, a square dance, and the final night of a very good play). Told the audience to applaud real loud, because we (and they) were being recorded by Jim Nelson, who was running sound; I told them, too, the audience was small enough so if we got album-quality cuts out of the recording, we could list them by name in the credits.
Our only chance to practice was just before the performance, while we were doing sound checks—and the songs we practiced came out, for the most part, better than the ones we didn’t. Best, though, were our standard opening and closing songs, “Dead Things in the Shower” and Stan Good’s “Un-Easy Street.” A close third: “She Ain’t Starvin’ Herself,” the classic (and fast) blues about anorexia.
Because it was a 2-hour show, we did a bunch of stuff we hadn’t played in a long time—Coleman & Lazzerini’s “So 20th Century,” my “50 Ways to Cure the Depression,” “Crosses by the Roadside” and “I May Write You from Jupiter.” “Jupiter” was a little rough, but everything else came off quite good—especially considering we hadn’t been able to practice at all. Comments afterward included that the band were very good (true) and very tight (true), Charlie was a very good lead guitarist (true), and that we ought to do another show and drag in more people (I agreed—and told ‘em to tell their friends and neighbors what a great performance they missed).
Charlie is willing and available to play the wedding reception Oct. 31; that’d give us five pieces—him (lead guitar), Doc (blues harp), Chris (drums), John (bass), and me. I do think that’s the ideal mix; I think it helps to have both a “whiny” lead (blues harp) and a “non-whiny” lead (electric guitar). Question now is whether they want us to do it. I’m told they want classic rock—good, danceable stuff—and we can do that, sort of. It’s “sort of” because while it’ll sound like classic rock (with 3/5 of the band being rock musicians, that’s easy), it won’t be classic, though, because the material will be either original or by people as equally unknown as I am. It’s what we do. (Besides, as I remind folks regularly, I can’t sing most other people’s stuff anyway—I don’t have the voice range.)
Next steps? I’ve been seeing newspaper articles from other towns saying their local food banks are in trouble (way more demand than supply); I assume there’s a similar problem here (though I know the folks running the outfit don’t like to talk about it). It is probably time to do another Failed Economy Show benefit for the Food Pantry—and like last year, the ideal time to do it would be just before Christmas. With a long lead time, might be possible to do some effective publicity (and practice). And I think everybody in the band really likes to play.
No music, I think, until next weekend, though the job will keep me thoroughly busy. I did get the material for the next column for the paper, started soliciting musicians for a performance at the Second Annual Pumpkinfest in Lafayette Oct. 24, and am ready for the next Southern Oregon Songwriters newsletter, which I believe I can typeset on StuartLittle. And we have a new cat at home (coyotes got our two, I’m told). “Ghost” is a “flame-point” Siamese—an abundance of albino genes, with a little tabby thrown in—a teenage boy cat, intelligent and very affectionate. He is learning slowly that walking on keyboards to get attention is not a good idea.
Joe
Our only chance to practice was just before the performance, while we were doing sound checks—and the songs we practiced came out, for the most part, better than the ones we didn’t. Best, though, were our standard opening and closing songs, “Dead Things in the Shower” and Stan Good’s “Un-Easy Street.” A close third: “She Ain’t Starvin’ Herself,” the classic (and fast) blues about anorexia.
Because it was a 2-hour show, we did a bunch of stuff we hadn’t played in a long time—Coleman & Lazzerini’s “So 20th Century,” my “50 Ways to Cure the Depression,” “Crosses by the Roadside” and “I May Write You from Jupiter.” “Jupiter” was a little rough, but everything else came off quite good—especially considering we hadn’t been able to practice at all. Comments afterward included that the band were very good (true) and very tight (true), Charlie was a very good lead guitarist (true), and that we ought to do another show and drag in more people (I agreed—and told ‘em to tell their friends and neighbors what a great performance they missed).
Charlie is willing and available to play the wedding reception Oct. 31; that’d give us five pieces—him (lead guitar), Doc (blues harp), Chris (drums), John (bass), and me. I do think that’s the ideal mix; I think it helps to have both a “whiny” lead (blues harp) and a “non-whiny” lead (electric guitar). Question now is whether they want us to do it. I’m told they want classic rock—good, danceable stuff—and we can do that, sort of. It’s “sort of” because while it’ll sound like classic rock (with 3/5 of the band being rock musicians, that’s easy), it won’t be classic, though, because the material will be either original or by people as equally unknown as I am. It’s what we do. (Besides, as I remind folks regularly, I can’t sing most other people’s stuff anyway—I don’t have the voice range.)
Next steps? I’ve been seeing newspaper articles from other towns saying their local food banks are in trouble (way more demand than supply); I assume there’s a similar problem here (though I know the folks running the outfit don’t like to talk about it). It is probably time to do another Failed Economy Show benefit for the Food Pantry—and like last year, the ideal time to do it would be just before Christmas. With a long lead time, might be possible to do some effective publicity (and practice). And I think everybody in the band really likes to play.
No music, I think, until next weekend, though the job will keep me thoroughly busy. I did get the material for the next column for the paper, started soliciting musicians for a performance at the Second Annual Pumpkinfest in Lafayette Oct. 24, and am ready for the next Southern Oregon Songwriters newsletter, which I believe I can typeset on StuartLittle. And we have a new cat at home (coyotes got our two, I’m told). “Ghost” is a “flame-point” Siamese—an abundance of albino genes, with a little tabby thrown in—a teenage boy cat, intelligent and very affectionate. He is learning slowly that walking on keyboards to get attention is not a good idea.
Joe
Sunday, September 19, 2010
ROCKTOBERFEST POST-MORTEM (&C.)...
I think we done good at the Rocktoberfest. The audience was small but appreciative; they listened, laughed in all the right places, danced to Woody Guthrie’s “Dance a Little Longer,” and their feet were tapping to Southern Pigfish’s “For Their Own Ends.” (It still amazes me how many people like that song.) Best rendition yet of Betty Holt’s “Our Own Little Stimulus Plan”—of all the songs we did, really. (We got paid, too. I like getting paid.)
Best song? By far, “Tillamook Railroad Blues.” The setlist calls it a “deliberate blues,” but it’s got a lot of musical choreography in it—and at this point, we’ve got every note (and pause) perfect. And Mike’s harmonies are beautiful (they were beautiful on Stan Good’s “Un-Easy Street,” too).
Nice comments from those who heard us. I think (maybe I just hope) we’re carving ourselves out an important niche here: we’re the equal, I think, of any talent in the area, and we have a following—and we play exclusively original material. And audiences seem to like the songs. Now, if they’d start asking other bands to play some of our material, we might really be onto something.
We’re going to be sans both Mike and Doc for the Sept. 25 concert at the Bay City Arts Center. I asked Charlie Wooldridge (BCAC’s vice-president) to substitute on lead guitar (we played together in the “board/staff band” open mike at the Arts Center in July), and he’s willing; I left him a setlist and CDs, and maybe we’ll have a chance to play a little Friday night if I can get back from Lafayette early enough (if I work really hard at it, I can make the trip in just under 2 hours). John will be coming back from a conference, and may not get there till just before showtime. Sound engineer Jim Nelson and I will set up everything early Saturday (and try to rig it so we can record the performance, too).
At this point, September 25 is our last performance of Concert Season; I haven’t pressed for a gig from the Garibaldi Museum (and they haven’t pressed for one from me, either)—it would be nice to do, but it has been really hard juggling gigs with a full-time job out of town, and work on the house. There’s the wedding October 31: I’ve got commitments from Chris, and John, and Doc, but Mike won’t be available. (Doc can carry the lead work on his own—we’ve practiced that way, and it works. Lot of new material to learn, though.)
It was suggested we do “The Frog Next Door” as part of the Wedding Setlist—it is a love song, and it has live animals in it (and it’s a blues, too). It’d be a good substitute for “One: I Love You,” which is a cute love song, but about a stalker nonetheless, and we’re not supposed to “do” stalkers in the Wedding Set. Another possibility is a rockabilly number I musicated for a kid (he’s 37) in Norway, O.N. Vindstad, hight “Simple Questions.” An interesting take on the “boy meets girl” song—in Vindstad’s, the boy never does meet the girl. And it’s got some great lines. (Most of the songs I’ve musicated for other folks do, I think. I am attracted to good writing.)
And I have arranged (I think) to get a hyperactive young kitten filmed to star in the music video of “The Dog’s Song.” Need some still shots for the Rap; I think I have some old photos of Baby Amy, our gigantic Doberman, back when she was young (and only the size of a small horse), and I’d like to get a mug shot or two of the kitten, too. Amy was kind of my role model for the old dog in the song; she had the Old Dog Routine down (and had to contend with little kittens in the house, too).
No meetings this week, and no music till this weekend; the truck will get its alternator fixed, and get a long-overdue tune-up and oil change—things one can afford when one has a job—and I’ve got RAM chips to add to StuartLittle so I won’t keep getting “low on memory” error messages, and the graphic-design software to install, too. Goal is to be able to do the music video of “The Dog’s Song" on StuartLittle. Three jobs to apply for, too; the Lafayette gig may be a big time-consumer, but it’s not going to last forever.
Joe
Best song? By far, “Tillamook Railroad Blues.” The setlist calls it a “deliberate blues,” but it’s got a lot of musical choreography in it—and at this point, we’ve got every note (and pause) perfect. And Mike’s harmonies are beautiful (they were beautiful on Stan Good’s “Un-Easy Street,” too).
Nice comments from those who heard us. I think (maybe I just hope) we’re carving ourselves out an important niche here: we’re the equal, I think, of any talent in the area, and we have a following—and we play exclusively original material. And audiences seem to like the songs. Now, if they’d start asking other bands to play some of our material, we might really be onto something.
We’re going to be sans both Mike and Doc for the Sept. 25 concert at the Bay City Arts Center. I asked Charlie Wooldridge (BCAC’s vice-president) to substitute on lead guitar (we played together in the “board/staff band” open mike at the Arts Center in July), and he’s willing; I left him a setlist and CDs, and maybe we’ll have a chance to play a little Friday night if I can get back from Lafayette early enough (if I work really hard at it, I can make the trip in just under 2 hours). John will be coming back from a conference, and may not get there till just before showtime. Sound engineer Jim Nelson and I will set up everything early Saturday (and try to rig it so we can record the performance, too).
At this point, September 25 is our last performance of Concert Season; I haven’t pressed for a gig from the Garibaldi Museum (and they haven’t pressed for one from me, either)—it would be nice to do, but it has been really hard juggling gigs with a full-time job out of town, and work on the house. There’s the wedding October 31: I’ve got commitments from Chris, and John, and Doc, but Mike won’t be available. (Doc can carry the lead work on his own—we’ve practiced that way, and it works. Lot of new material to learn, though.)
It was suggested we do “The Frog Next Door” as part of the Wedding Setlist—it is a love song, and it has live animals in it (and it’s a blues, too). It’d be a good substitute for “One: I Love You,” which is a cute love song, but about a stalker nonetheless, and we’re not supposed to “do” stalkers in the Wedding Set. Another possibility is a rockabilly number I musicated for a kid (he’s 37) in Norway, O.N. Vindstad, hight “Simple Questions.” An interesting take on the “boy meets girl” song—in Vindstad’s, the boy never does meet the girl. And it’s got some great lines. (Most of the songs I’ve musicated for other folks do, I think. I am attracted to good writing.)
And I have arranged (I think) to get a hyperactive young kitten filmed to star in the music video of “The Dog’s Song.” Need some still shots for the Rap; I think I have some old photos of Baby Amy, our gigantic Doberman, back when she was young (and only the size of a small horse), and I’d like to get a mug shot or two of the kitten, too. Amy was kind of my role model for the old dog in the song; she had the Old Dog Routine down (and had to contend with little kittens in the house, too).
No meetings this week, and no music till this weekend; the truck will get its alternator fixed, and get a long-overdue tune-up and oil change—things one can afford when one has a job—and I’ve got RAM chips to add to StuartLittle so I won’t keep getting “low on memory” error messages, and the graphic-design software to install, too. Goal is to be able to do the music video of “The Dog’s Song" on StuartLittle. Three jobs to apply for, too; the Lafayette gig may be a big time-consumer, but it’s not going to last forever.
Joe
Thursday, September 16, 2010
BEING BACK...
Yes, gots Internet again. New 10-year-old computer; cute li’l thing (I have hardbound books that are bigger), running Windows XP (so I can install all my graphic-design software and get some stuff done in off hours—when I have any, that is). Took a cable-TV techie to make it do wireless Internet over here, though.
My only non-meeting night this week got spent playing music, at the Cornerstone Coffee Roasters open mike in McMinnville. This time, they got “Dead Things in the Shower,” “Take Me Back to the ‘Sixties” (the new one), “Crosses by the Roadside” (I try to include one serious song), and “Meet Me at the Stairs” (to remind them I have CDs for sale). No religious songs this time—I don’t think this crowd is ready for “The Abomination Two-Step” or “Born Again Barbie.”
The audience there seem partial to the fast, humorous bluegrass songs, so that’s what I try to give them, as much as possible. I’ll run out after a while—but not right away. I keep hoping somebody’s going to invite me to be one of the weekend entertainers, but it hasn’t happened yet. I probably need to give it more time; the only “marketing” I’ve done of myself here is showing up consistently at this one open mike. (And there were some of their Friday night performers there this time. Excellent singers, and beautiful harmonies. I am probably not in their league.)
I entertain fantasies occasionally about putting together some kind of musical get-together here, along the lines of the Friday Night Group in Garibaldi; I could devote an evening to it, maybe every couple of weeks, and we could maybe do it at the town’s community center, an aged double-wide in one of the city parks. I would need to know at least a few other musicians, though, and thus far I haven’t made any effort to find them. The dream? Before I leave town for good, I’d like to put ‘em on a show.
Band practice Sunday afternoon was good. We went through “Angel in Chains,” the country death metal song we’ve never done before, “Rotten Candy,” which we hadn’t done in a long time, “Our Own Little Stimulus Plan” (one I hadn’t been entirely comfortable with), Southern Pigfish’s “For Their Own Ends” (to try it out with two lead breaks for Doc on the blues harp), and a couple of others. Everyone’s comfortable with most of the material, though—and they are really good. The Rocktoberfest should be a good show. We kick off Sunday’s 7 hours of performances, at noon. (We’re on for an hour.)
Posters for the Rocktoberfest concert are done, and some even distributed. Still need to do the notice to the “joelist.” Posters (and notice) for the September 25 concert have to wait until I get back home this weekend—I don’t have all my graphic-design software with me, to install on this computer. (Computer has a name now—“StuartLittle.”)
Can the band play at daughter’s wedding? I don’t know yet. John, Chris and I can, definitely; Doc is checking his schedule, and I haven’t heard back from Mike. I do hope we can do it. Not only would it be fun, it’d be a chance to develop (and show off) versatility. Imagine: a whole hour and a half’s worth of original love songs, with no dead animals (or rotten candy, cliff jumpers, dead sweethearts, or stalkers). Who’d ha’ thunk?
Joe
My only non-meeting night this week got spent playing music, at the Cornerstone Coffee Roasters open mike in McMinnville. This time, they got “Dead Things in the Shower,” “Take Me Back to the ‘Sixties” (the new one), “Crosses by the Roadside” (I try to include one serious song), and “Meet Me at the Stairs” (to remind them I have CDs for sale). No religious songs this time—I don’t think this crowd is ready for “The Abomination Two-Step” or “Born Again Barbie.”
The audience there seem partial to the fast, humorous bluegrass songs, so that’s what I try to give them, as much as possible. I’ll run out after a while—but not right away. I keep hoping somebody’s going to invite me to be one of the weekend entertainers, but it hasn’t happened yet. I probably need to give it more time; the only “marketing” I’ve done of myself here is showing up consistently at this one open mike. (And there were some of their Friday night performers there this time. Excellent singers, and beautiful harmonies. I am probably not in their league.)
I entertain fantasies occasionally about putting together some kind of musical get-together here, along the lines of the Friday Night Group in Garibaldi; I could devote an evening to it, maybe every couple of weeks, and we could maybe do it at the town’s community center, an aged double-wide in one of the city parks. I would need to know at least a few other musicians, though, and thus far I haven’t made any effort to find them. The dream? Before I leave town for good, I’d like to put ‘em on a show.
Band practice Sunday afternoon was good. We went through “Angel in Chains,” the country death metal song we’ve never done before, “Rotten Candy,” which we hadn’t done in a long time, “Our Own Little Stimulus Plan” (one I hadn’t been entirely comfortable with), Southern Pigfish’s “For Their Own Ends” (to try it out with two lead breaks for Doc on the blues harp), and a couple of others. Everyone’s comfortable with most of the material, though—and they are really good. The Rocktoberfest should be a good show. We kick off Sunday’s 7 hours of performances, at noon. (We’re on for an hour.)
Posters for the Rocktoberfest concert are done, and some even distributed. Still need to do the notice to the “joelist.” Posters (and notice) for the September 25 concert have to wait until I get back home this weekend—I don’t have all my graphic-design software with me, to install on this computer. (Computer has a name now—“StuartLittle.”)
Can the band play at daughter’s wedding? I don’t know yet. John, Chris and I can, definitely; Doc is checking his schedule, and I haven’t heard back from Mike. I do hope we can do it. Not only would it be fun, it’d be a chance to develop (and show off) versatility. Imagine: a whole hour and a half’s worth of original love songs, with no dead animals (or rotten candy, cliff jumpers, dead sweethearts, or stalkers). Who’d ha’ thunk?
Joe
Sunday, September 12, 2010
CAN THE BAND PLAY DAUGHTER'S WEDDING?
Quickly, because weekends are busy… Band practice Sunday afternoon (the Rocktoberfest gig is next Sunday, and we need to be ready); have to record “Take Me Back to the ‘Sixties,” and re-record “Crosses by the Roadside” and “50 Ways to Cure the Depression” (because I want to remove a verse from each one, and that’s the easiest way with the equipment I’ve got); and there’s the column to do for the paper. Finish work to finish on the door, and another door to put in (the garage, this time—carpenter ants ate the door frame). I still don’t know if I’m getting to take a computer with me when I go back to Lafayette—I sure hope so.
Daughter Kym gets married Sunday, Oct. 31, and wants Deathgrass to play at the wedding reception (yay!). However, she doesn’t want any dead animal songs. I do have some love songs—one should play love songs at a wedding, methinks—that don’t have dead animals, and we could do those. Ones the band have played before are:
Naked Space Hamsters in Love—fast bluegrass
Test Tube Baby—Elvis-style rock ‘n’ roll
Our Own Little Stimulus Plan (Betty Holt)—Buddy Holly-style rockabilly
The Dog’s Song—rock ‘n’ roll
Glad That You’re Here (Stan Bolton)—slow blues
John and Chris have played “Hamsters” and “Glad,” but Mike and Doc haven’t. Ones we haven’t played, but could learn, are:
Distraction (Diane Ewing)—very sleazy quasi-blues
Always Pet the Dogs—mod. fast two-step
I Want a Man for Christmas—rock ‘n’ roll
About Love (Marge McKinnis)—bluegrass, Buddy Holly-style
So Far (Marge McKinnis)—slow blues
Twenty-Four Seven—fast waltz
One: I Love You—mod. speed country
The above is an hour’s worth. We should have an hour and a half, ideally. We could add:
Duct Tape—mod. speed country
Tillamook Railroad Blues—deliberate blues
Dance a Little Longer (Woody Guthrie)—country rock
Hey, Little Chicken—slow & sleazy quasi-blues
Ought to have at least once danceable waltz at a wedding, and “Twenty-Four Seven” doesn’t really qualify—it’s too fast. Maybe we should do one of the traditional (and hence public domain) “state” waltzes. Perhaps the North (I think) Dakota state waltz—“The Mosquito Waltz.” I’ve never heard it, but the name is attractive. (Another one that would be fun to do is “Lilly’s Song,” written by the 7-year-old daughter of Screamin’ Gulch’s drummer. It’s a very sweet love song, which we did as a blues. I may have it on CD somewhere.)
No lost-love songs (I’ll include “Duct Tape” because she specifically requested it). No rotten candy, no jumping off cliffs, no dumping the dead sweethearts in the river, and no stalking. No serious subjects or social issues, either. Weddings are occasions on which to convey happy and hopeful sentiments. That’s a little outside the band’s regular routine, but I bet we can do it just fine. I suppose I have to give the bride away, too, huh?
And I haven’t asked the band yet—I’ll do that tomorrow, at practice. Hopefully, they’ll say yes. It’ll be fun.
Joe
Daughter Kym gets married Sunday, Oct. 31, and wants Deathgrass to play at the wedding reception (yay!). However, she doesn’t want any dead animal songs. I do have some love songs—one should play love songs at a wedding, methinks—that don’t have dead animals, and we could do those. Ones the band have played before are:
Naked Space Hamsters in Love—fast bluegrass
Test Tube Baby—Elvis-style rock ‘n’ roll
Our Own Little Stimulus Plan (Betty Holt)—Buddy Holly-style rockabilly
The Dog’s Song—rock ‘n’ roll
Glad That You’re Here (Stan Bolton)—slow blues
John and Chris have played “Hamsters” and “Glad,” but Mike and Doc haven’t. Ones we haven’t played, but could learn, are:
Distraction (Diane Ewing)—very sleazy quasi-blues
Always Pet the Dogs—mod. fast two-step
I Want a Man for Christmas—rock ‘n’ roll
About Love (Marge McKinnis)—bluegrass, Buddy Holly-style
So Far (Marge McKinnis)—slow blues
Twenty-Four Seven—fast waltz
One: I Love You—mod. speed country
The above is an hour’s worth. We should have an hour and a half, ideally. We could add:
Duct Tape—mod. speed country
Tillamook Railroad Blues—deliberate blues
Dance a Little Longer (Woody Guthrie)—country rock
Hey, Little Chicken—slow & sleazy quasi-blues
Ought to have at least once danceable waltz at a wedding, and “Twenty-Four Seven” doesn’t really qualify—it’s too fast. Maybe we should do one of the traditional (and hence public domain) “state” waltzes. Perhaps the North (I think) Dakota state waltz—“The Mosquito Waltz.” I’ve never heard it, but the name is attractive. (Another one that would be fun to do is “Lilly’s Song,” written by the 7-year-old daughter of Screamin’ Gulch’s drummer. It’s a very sweet love song, which we did as a blues. I may have it on CD somewhere.)
No lost-love songs (I’ll include “Duct Tape” because she specifically requested it). No rotten candy, no jumping off cliffs, no dumping the dead sweethearts in the river, and no stalking. No serious subjects or social issues, either. Weddings are occasions on which to convey happy and hopeful sentiments. That’s a little outside the band’s regular routine, but I bet we can do it just fine. I suppose I have to give the bride away, too, huh?
And I haven’t asked the band yet—I’ll do that tomorrow, at practice. Hopefully, they’ll say yes. It’ll be fun.
Joe
Sunday, September 5, 2010
BAY CITY POST-MORTEM (AND SEPT. 25 SETLIST)...
A draft Sept. 25 setlist:
SET #1:
Dead Things in the Shower—fast two-step
Armadillo on the Interstate—slow & sleazy
Tillamook Railroad Blues—deliberate blues
Eatin’ Cornflakes from a Hubcap Blues—slow & sleazy quasi-blues
Take Me Back to the ‘Sixties [NEW]—mod. fast two-step
For Their Own Ends (Southern Pigfish)—folk-rock
Duct Tape—mod. speed country
Steamboat Bill (Shields & Leighton)—rock ‘n’ roll
Things Are Getting Better Now that Things Are Getting Worse (Gene Burnett)—fast two-step
Bungee Jumpin’ Jesus—mod. speed Gospel
The Strange Saga of Quoth, the Parrot—talking blues (actually, a talking two-step)
Test Tube Baby—fast rock ‘n’ roll
SET #2:
When I Jump Off the Cliff I’ll Think of You—fast bluegrass
50 Ways to Cure the Depression—mod. fast two-step
Hey, Little Chicken—slow & sleazy quasi-blues
Free-Range Person—fast bluegrass
Crosses by the Roadside—slow two-step
I May Write You from Jupiter—fast bluegrass
She Ain’t Starvin’ Herself—fast blues
Ain’t Got No Home in This World Any More (Woody Guthrie)—mod. fast two-step
So 20th Century (Coleman & Lazzerini)—ragtime
Un-Easy Street (Stan Good)—mod. two-step
Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad (Woody Guthrie)—fast bluegrass
Two one-hour sets, with a short potty-and-refreshments break in between. To make CDs for the band, I’ll need to record the “’Sixties” song, and re-record “Crosses” and “50 Ways” (I want to eliminate a verse from each one of those—I think it’ll make them better). Mike and Doc haven’t heard “50 Ways” or “Jupiter”—we did those in the first Failed Economy Show, and haven’t done them since—and nobody’s heard “Quoth.” (Actually, only John’s done “Crosses” before. Haven’t played that since our first concert in February 2009. I didn’t play it for a long time after it was rejected by a Nashville publisher, but I think I’m over that now. I don’t care what Nashville thinks. If I like the song, I’ll play it.)
I had written another version of this blog that talked at length about the Bay City Centennial concert, and I’ll do a brief post-mortem here. It was good. Some musicians who presumably know what they’re talking about said it sounded real good, and they were impressed. Best song? This time, “Test Tube Baby”; a bunch of teenagers had asked for a fast song, just as that one was coming up on the setlist, and we did have ‘em dancing in the sawdust. Second? Stan Good’s “Un-Easy Street. It makes people listen. “Steamboat Bill,” the Big Hit from 1910, came off good, too. It probably ought to be a permanent addition to the setlist.
One weekend’s break from concerts—next weekend, and we really should practice. Two concerts coming up fast after that—the Rocktoberfest on Sunday, Sept. 19, and the Bay City Arts Center concert the next Saturday, Sept. 25. I still need to arrange a date for a Garibaldi Museum concert, too.
Joe
SET #1:
Dead Things in the Shower—fast two-step
Armadillo on the Interstate—slow & sleazy
Tillamook Railroad Blues—deliberate blues
Eatin’ Cornflakes from a Hubcap Blues—slow & sleazy quasi-blues
Take Me Back to the ‘Sixties [NEW]—mod. fast two-step
For Their Own Ends (Southern Pigfish)—folk-rock
Duct Tape—mod. speed country
Steamboat Bill (Shields & Leighton)—rock ‘n’ roll
Things Are Getting Better Now that Things Are Getting Worse (Gene Burnett)—fast two-step
Bungee Jumpin’ Jesus—mod. speed Gospel
The Strange Saga of Quoth, the Parrot—talking blues (actually, a talking two-step)
Test Tube Baby—fast rock ‘n’ roll
SET #2:
When I Jump Off the Cliff I’ll Think of You—fast bluegrass
50 Ways to Cure the Depression—mod. fast two-step
Hey, Little Chicken—slow & sleazy quasi-blues
Free-Range Person—fast bluegrass
Crosses by the Roadside—slow two-step
I May Write You from Jupiter—fast bluegrass
She Ain’t Starvin’ Herself—fast blues
Ain’t Got No Home in This World Any More (Woody Guthrie)—mod. fast two-step
So 20th Century (Coleman & Lazzerini)—ragtime
Un-Easy Street (Stan Good)—mod. two-step
Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad (Woody Guthrie)—fast bluegrass
Two one-hour sets, with a short potty-and-refreshments break in between. To make CDs for the band, I’ll need to record the “’Sixties” song, and re-record “Crosses” and “50 Ways” (I want to eliminate a verse from each one of those—I think it’ll make them better). Mike and Doc haven’t heard “50 Ways” or “Jupiter”—we did those in the first Failed Economy Show, and haven’t done them since—and nobody’s heard “Quoth.” (Actually, only John’s done “Crosses” before. Haven’t played that since our first concert in February 2009. I didn’t play it for a long time after it was rejected by a Nashville publisher, but I think I’m over that now. I don’t care what Nashville thinks. If I like the song, I’ll play it.)
I had written another version of this blog that talked at length about the Bay City Centennial concert, and I’ll do a brief post-mortem here. It was good. Some musicians who presumably know what they’re talking about said it sounded real good, and they were impressed. Best song? This time, “Test Tube Baby”; a bunch of teenagers had asked for a fast song, just as that one was coming up on the setlist, and we did have ‘em dancing in the sawdust. Second? Stan Good’s “Un-Easy Street. It makes people listen. “Steamboat Bill,” the Big Hit from 1910, came off good, too. It probably ought to be a permanent addition to the setlist.
One weekend’s break from concerts—next weekend, and we really should practice. Two concerts coming up fast after that—the Rocktoberfest on Sunday, Sept. 19, and the Bay City Arts Center concert the next Saturday, Sept. 25. I still need to arrange a date for a Garibaldi Museum concert, too.
Joe
Friday, September 3, 2010
A WEEK WITHOUT THE INTERNET...
TWO WEEKS since I’ve posted any issues of the blog? I am sorry. Not only has the new job kept me busy, but I’ve had no laptop the past week, and accordingly no access to the Internet outside of work (and I will not use the work computer for personal stuff). Got to read a lot, and play music some, despite the meetings that took two of the evenings this past week.
Central Point concert came off pretty good. Despite not having played together for three years, Dan (mandolin), Gary (electric bass) and I fit together well. And it was a good crowd—nice night in the park, and it brought people out—and they listened. After the show, Dan and I went to Johnny B.’s, the little tavern in downtown Medford, figuring we could make some music because there weren’t any bands scheduled. Nearly everybody from Screamin’ Gulch, the punk-rock band I used to play with down south, showed up (the percussionist was the only one missing), and we played until about midnight. Small but appreciative crowd. And two requests, surprisingly enough (it had been a long time, and I didn’t think anyone remembered): “Eatin’ Cornflakes from a Hubcap Blues” and “Naked Space Hamsters in Love.”
Rest of the weekend was occupied with moving daughter back to college, so there wasn’t time to practice with the band. We’ll be doing the Bay City Centennial concert on the strength of just one practice. I don’t really worry about the rest of the band, but I need to make sure I can remember all the words.
Wednesday night was the open mike in McMinnville, at Cornerstone Coffee Roasters, and I’ve been making sure to go. They got five songs, “The World Enquirer” (which did have the audience clapping in time with the song), “Electronic Love,” “Song for Charity (and Faith, and Hope),” “The Strange Saga of Quoth, the Parrot,” and “I May Write You from Jupiter.” I think they liked “The World Enquirer” best. I don’t think those folks get to hear much bluegrass music. Sold a CD, too.
I’ve moved the Tascam and its little attachments back home. I don’t (and won’t) get time to record anything while I’m in Lafayette—and until I score a cheap laptop running Windows XP (for which I am not holding my breath—such a find would be almost unheard of), I don’t have any way to interface the Tascam with anything but “Alice” the home computer anyway. I have the new song, “Take Me Back to the ‘Sixties,” to record for the Coventry songwriters group—I’ve sung it enough in the car on these long trips that I know it by heart now.
And this weekend? Good thing it’s a 3-day holiday weekend: besides the Deathgrass concert on Saturday, I have a new back door to put in in the house, SOSA’s September newsletter to typeset, the setlist for the September 25 Deathgrass concert to figure out, record, and distribute, and the column to write for the newspaper. Next weekend, the band should practice for both the “Rocktoberfest” concert Sunday, Sept. 19, and the Bay City Arts Center concert Sept. 25. Oh, and posters. I need to do posters—and distribute them. (Poster for the Sept. 25 concert should be easy to design, since I already have all the photos I need (and can take more at Saturday’s concert). For the “Rocktoberfest,” I need to take a photo of Doc, too.)
I never got to distribute posters for the Bay City Centennial concert; there wasn’t enough time. I did get a message out to the “joelist,” and to the thousand or so “friends” on Facebook, and posters to the Arts Center. I hope that was enough.
Joe
Central Point concert came off pretty good. Despite not having played together for three years, Dan (mandolin), Gary (electric bass) and I fit together well. And it was a good crowd—nice night in the park, and it brought people out—and they listened. After the show, Dan and I went to Johnny B.’s, the little tavern in downtown Medford, figuring we could make some music because there weren’t any bands scheduled. Nearly everybody from Screamin’ Gulch, the punk-rock band I used to play with down south, showed up (the percussionist was the only one missing), and we played until about midnight. Small but appreciative crowd. And two requests, surprisingly enough (it had been a long time, and I didn’t think anyone remembered): “Eatin’ Cornflakes from a Hubcap Blues” and “Naked Space Hamsters in Love.”
Rest of the weekend was occupied with moving daughter back to college, so there wasn’t time to practice with the band. We’ll be doing the Bay City Centennial concert on the strength of just one practice. I don’t really worry about the rest of the band, but I need to make sure I can remember all the words.
Wednesday night was the open mike in McMinnville, at Cornerstone Coffee Roasters, and I’ve been making sure to go. They got five songs, “The World Enquirer” (which did have the audience clapping in time with the song), “Electronic Love,” “Song for Charity (and Faith, and Hope),” “The Strange Saga of Quoth, the Parrot,” and “I May Write You from Jupiter.” I think they liked “The World Enquirer” best. I don’t think those folks get to hear much bluegrass music. Sold a CD, too.
I’ve moved the Tascam and its little attachments back home. I don’t (and won’t) get time to record anything while I’m in Lafayette—and until I score a cheap laptop running Windows XP (for which I am not holding my breath—such a find would be almost unheard of), I don’t have any way to interface the Tascam with anything but “Alice” the home computer anyway. I have the new song, “Take Me Back to the ‘Sixties,” to record for the Coventry songwriters group—I’ve sung it enough in the car on these long trips that I know it by heart now.
And this weekend? Good thing it’s a 3-day holiday weekend: besides the Deathgrass concert on Saturday, I have a new back door to put in in the house, SOSA’s September newsletter to typeset, the setlist for the September 25 Deathgrass concert to figure out, record, and distribute, and the column to write for the newspaper. Next weekend, the band should practice for both the “Rocktoberfest” concert Sunday, Sept. 19, and the Bay City Arts Center concert Sept. 25. Oh, and posters. I need to do posters—and distribute them. (Poster for the Sept. 25 concert should be easy to design, since I already have all the photos I need (and can take more at Saturday’s concert). For the “Rocktoberfest,” I need to take a photo of Doc, too.)
I never got to distribute posters for the Bay City Centennial concert; there wasn’t enough time. I did get a message out to the “joelist,” and to the thousand or so “friends” on Facebook, and posters to the Arts Center. I hope that was enough.
Joe
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
