CONCERT SEASON STARTS...

Add one more to Concert Season: I’m playing at the Hoffman Center’s “Hoffapalooza” in Manzanita next Saturday, 23 July, at 1:30 p.m. Just me solo (I understand they were contacting Candice, too, about doing the same thing). I’m on for just 15 minutes, which is four songs if I’m playing solo. That could be:

Dead Things in the Shower—fast two-step
Pole Dancing for Jesus—slow & sleazy Gospel
When They Die, I Put Them in the Cookies—fast bluegrass
Un-Easy Street (Stan Good)—deliberate two-step

Those who were at the Hoffman Center’s Talent Show in January should remember “Dead Things”; “Pole Dancing” is one of those attention-getters that’s been a hit with every crowd to date; “Cookies” is for the kids (I’m told there will be kids there), and “Un-Easy Street” tackles a Burning Social Issue. I can also use “Dead Things” and “Un-Easy Street” to promote Deathgrass and the album (and the Garibaldi Days gig), and “Pole Dancing” to promote 45 Degrees North, which will be playing later that day (4-6 p.m.) in the “Rapture Room” in Nehalem.

I suppose there will be a few more “surprise” add-ins as Concert Season progresses. At this point, though, every weekend until the middle of August is “gigged.” I’m not going to actively solicit any more business; at this point, I want to find out if I have a job—I think I have a decent shot at two of the three jobs I applied for this week (all local, too—yay!), but getting any one of them will drastically reduce my availability schedule. I need to concentrate on fulfilling the commitments I’ve already made.

For efficiency’s sake, I’ll do them in order. 45 Degrees North has two 2-hour shows coming up next week. We can keep everything on our Wheeler setlist—it’s all good, and the band does just fine with it—but need to add maybe 6-7 more songs. I’ve suggested:

Walkin’ After Midnight (Candice)—mod. slow blues
Breitenbush (Kathryn)—uptempo & jazzy
Always Pet the Dogs (me)—slow & sleazy
You’re Still the One (Candice)—uptempo pop
Welcome to Hebo Waltz (me)—fast waltz

Need a couple more. We could do The Carl Thor trio of contra dances—what I’ve dubbed “Mossyfoundit”—if I could work out a guitar part for in between the tunes. I might be able to do that. Would be nice if I could record it, though, and play around with it. I may not have that luxury for a while.

Setlists for both shows should be the same (efficiency’s sake, again). The two shows are back to back (one Friday, one Saturday), but 24 miles apart. Folks who go to one are unlikely to go to the other, unless they are real diehard fans (and I’m not sure we have any of those, yet).

For the Rocktoberfest gig, Deathgrass needs 90 minutes of (mostly) rock ‘n’ roll. I could change our Wheeler setlist to include some “rockers” we have played before:

Simple Questions (O.N. Vindstad)—rockabilly
Steamboat Bill (Shields & Leighton)—1910 ragtime turned into rock ‘n’ roll
The Dog’s Song—rock ‘n’ roll
Angel in Chains—country death metal
--and maybe Test Tube Baby—Elvis-style rock ‘n’ roll

Packing for practice (which is also packing for the gigs, because I will not have time to do it twice). Purple bag? Check. (I’ve got a few more guitar and mike cords to include, just in case—and the 25-foot extension cord and extra outlets.) The e-mail list notebooks? Check; one for each band (need new covers, so I can tell them apart). Mike stands and mikes? Check. Amps? Check. Cookies? Check. Deathgrass T-shirt and “I See Dead Things” sweatshirt? Also check. Hiwigo…

Joe