THE SQUARE DANCE CALLER AT WORK...

Ordered three songs from Hanhurst’s Music, the people who supply music for square dance callers—“A Fool Such as I” by Bill Trader (the song was made famous by Elvis, Hank Snow, and a few others), “The Midnight Special” by Huddie Ledbetter, and “Gloom, Despair and Agony on Me” (yes, the Hee-Haw theme) by Gospel songwriter Susan Heather. Yes, I can sing all of them. Been working on the Hee-Haw song first. (I think it fits my image.)

From Hanhurst, I got “karaoke” versions—i.e., sans vocals—but also extra recordings of each one that include choreography sung by a square dance caller. I might use some of those callers’ moves, and I might not. I’ve listened to parts of the calling, and “A Fool Such as I” includes some choreography that’s “plus”—i.e., more complicated than the “mainstream” square dancing I’m going to be working with initially—so I’m going to have to work out my own moves for that one. Caller class this week is Thursday night (I’ll miss music at the Tsunami), so I have some work to do.

I’ve got one other possible source for square dance music. “Chippewa Bob” the saw player’s got a couple of “karaoke” tunes he uses with the Friday Night Group; one of them I know won’t work because it’s a 12-bar blues, and I need 16 bars for square dancing, but the other karaoke song of Bob’s I’ve heard might work. But what I’d really like to have a listen to is the album the two tracks came off of. For a singing call, I need 64 beats repeated seven times. (I find myself counting beats now, as I listen to songs on CDs.)

And I really want to record some—both some songs of mine, and some traditional country and bluegrass tunes that just aren’t available from the Hanhust catalog (which is a tad limited in scope). Of mine, “One: I Love you” would work, I’m sure; so, probably would “Duct Tape,” “Naked Space Hamsters in Love” and “The Dead Sweethearts Polka.” All have the requisite number of beats. Two Woody Guthrie tunes I’d like to record as square dance calls are “I Ain’t Got No Home in This World Any More” and “Aginst the Law.” The latter is a 16-bar blues, rather than a 12-bar blues, so it’ll work for square dances. (And I’m obviously attracted to the more obscure stuff. As “Valvoline” proved, if I’m doing something nobody’s heard before, I can’t be compared to anybody.)

I need a full band for this stuff, I think. It’s important to have a strong bass line, both for the dancers to follow and for me-the-caller to not get lost, so we need a bass player; ideally I want the usual “whiny lead” (fiddle, harmonica, or the like) and “non-whiny lead” (banjo, guitar, or the like). Should it be done in layers? That probably depends on the recording setup and the musicians—and the sound engineer. If I were doing it—and I do not want to be—I’d record rhythm guitar first, to a click track, and then add the bass and other instruments. It could be done with four tracks like the Tascam has (guitar, bass, and two leads).

Next step, then, is to enlist the musicians and the sound engineer. It would be nice if the three recordings I bought from Hanhurst were the last three I had to buy. (It’d be nice, too, if other square dance callers ended up interested in the stuff I produced. It’s possible—as noted above, the Hanhurst catalog is a tad limited.)

First four songs typeset for the New Joe Songbook; it’s slow going but I’ve been deliberately doing two a night. I still have no idea what to use for photos. Designed a solicitation letter, too, to send or give to bands and musicians I want to enlist to perform at the three events where I’m in charge of entertainment (Garibaldi Days the Rocktoberfest, and the 2012 Relay for Life); sent it to the lady who’s in charge of the Relay to make sure I got my facts right before I send it out to too many people.

Caller class Thursday (instead of playing at the Tsunami) and performing/recording at the Influence Music Hall in Hillsboro on Friday (instead of playing at City Hall). Yes, two trips to Portland in two days right as the price of gas goes through the roof. I assume there will still be music at the Rapture Room Sunday night.

Joe