MORE THOUGHTS ON A WEDDING SETLIST...

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