JADE LOUNGE AUDITION...

Setlist for the Jade lounge audition was:

Hey, Little Chicken (sleazy quasi-blues)
Dead Things in the Shower (mod. fast two-step)
Sam & Melinda (slow & sleazy)
Bungee Jumpin’ Jesus (mod. fast Gospel)
Crosses by the Roadside (mod. slow two-step)
The Termite Song (fast bluegrass)
I’m Giving Mom a Dead Dog for Christmas (slow & sleazy)

Almost exactly 30 minutes—and it showcased (in order, of all things) all the things I told the folks at Songstuff I wrote about: death (“Hey, Little Chicken”), lost love (“Dead Things”), betrayal (“Sam & Melinda”), religion (“Bungee Jumpin’ Jesus”), and dead animals (“Dead Dog”). Plus one serious song (“Crosses”) and one addressing a burning social issue (“The Termite Song”). Not a bad list, and I might use it again.

The Jade Lounge has good acoustics for a small place. They have a PA system I didn’t bother to use, but might next time—not because amplification is necessary, but because (like at the Burgerville gig) it’s good props. One looks more official, I think, standing behind a microphone, even if it’s not on. When I was in there, there were six people in the bar, not counting the staff—two couples eating, and one couple drinking. I think two of the couples were mostly paying attention. I have a definite fan in one of the staff.

I’m not sure how well their Sunday night open mike is working. (They’ve had one on Monday nights for a while, and it may be better.) Assigning people half-hour time slots is good, but I noticed the person before me and the one after me didn’t show up. (If it were my place, those two would be out of the running for the paying gig right there. I don’t hire people who don’t show up.)

If I were running it, I think I’d have the PA already set up and running, and would plug people in and set their sound levels, and introduce them—basically what Little Thom and his clones have done at the Wild Goose for years, and what Chris Parreira (and later Delonde Bell) did at NW Pizza. Doesn’t matter that there’s only six people in the joint. If things are going slow, I’d slip some musician $50 a week and say, “You run it—and be prepared to play three hours yourself if nobody shows up.” (Would I be willing to do that? Sure. It’d be an interesting experiment.)

It’s always possible the Jade Lounge turns into a more jumpin’ joint later in the evening (I wasn’t there much past 8 p.m.); I’d have to be there at a later time to see what the crowd (if there is one) was like. They (the staffperson fan, that is) do want me back, but all they were asking for starters is for me to come to another open mike next Sunday. I won’t be doing that; it’d be okay if I had a reason to be in Portland next Sunday, but I don’t—the Burlesque Troupe won’t be meeting.

TO-DOS: Lots of them—I have April Johns’ “Family Photo” to re-record, two Stan Good songs to musicate (his “Real Good Coffee and a Real Good Wife” is blatantly chauvinist, but a real fun Cajun-style romp), the Rap to write for the Insomnia Coffee Co. gig (I think I’ll actually have some people I know in the audience for that one), and the Failed Economy Show Sequel to organize. (Still need three more songs for that, to substitute for the ones I can’t sing very well.) Music Friday night at City Hall, and Saturday at the Library.

Joe