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