Almost January—and time for the 2011 Worklist. Easy this year, because we didn’t accomplish that much on the 2010 Worklist—no DEATHGRASS ALBUM, no SOUTHERN PIGFISH ALBUM, no JOE WEBSITE; no TRIP TO NASHVILLE (deliberately bailed on that one because of money), and I didn’t WIN SONG CONTESTS though I entered three. I’m still not a HOUSEHOLD WORD (“toilet paper” is still a more familiar household word) , and I still don’t have any better answer to MAKING MONEY OFF THIS than “Perform a whole lot more than I’ve been doing.” Maybe there isn’t one.
On the plus side, I did manage to do a decent VIDEO or two (and learned a lot), and acquired DECENT VIDEO EQUIPMENT. Managed to EXPAND THE FAN BASE a little, playing at the coffeehouse in McMinnville. Nine new songs in 2010, five (maybe six) of them “keepers,” and three of them were in DIFFERENT GENRES; four co-writes (all musications), of which two were “keepers,” too. (I scripted a couple plays, too. That wasn’t on the list.) My productivity dropped sharply after getting the Lafayette job, but I suppose that’s to be expected. There just wasn’t a lot of free time after that.
So for 2011:
WRITING. One good song a month, and one good co-write a month—both on average, of course. Keep exploring different genres; I haven’t done jazz, or ragtime, for instance. Eastern European folk dances? Why not?
THE ALBUMS. Record the Deathgrass album; finish the Southern Pigfish album (and it’s supposed to be videos, on flash drive). I have enough material for the “12 Reasons Why Joe Is Going to Hell” album, and it’d be fun to do that, too. (Let’s be real, though—the money for that would have to come from somewhere.)
MARKETING. CDBaby (for the new album), the Joe Website (simple, with links to everything), and the publishing company. Figure out a way to use the promotional machinery to get more gigs. Get some video footage for gig solicitation of Deathgrass performing, also of me. Train one of the computers to produce DVDs. CD release parties, of course—one on the Coast, and one in southern Oregon.
VIDEO. Vid-ify the half-dozen or so songs I can do easily; line up resources to do the complicated ones. Do an experimental fan-generated video of the Southern Pigfish anthem, “For Their Own Ends,” and if that works, do more.
MORE (AND MORE PAYING) GIGS. Besides the Concert Season stuff from this year, hit all the people I’ve hit up before (or wanted to)—the Willamette Writers’ Conference, Neskowin Harvest Festival, Whitney Streed’s comedy open mike in Portland, Garibaldi Museum, and so on. Some solo, some with the band.
STAY IN TOUCH WITH EVERYBODY. That was the hardest thing to do while I was employed; I did it, but not easily or well. Make it easier and simpler, without being remote or insensitive (or expensive). That’s a challenge a lot of independent musicians face these days—we may be breaking new ground by figuring out how to do it.
Lastly, ORGANIZE THE WORLD TOUR. (I decided there ought be one “a man’s reach should exceed his grasp” item on the list.) I know (or think I know) people in Australia, Britain, Canada, France, the Philippines, Sweden, and on the Arabian peninsula; getting there really is doable for not much money. The operative question is what I’d do after I got there. There may at least be a song in it:
“They applauded my performance back in Ulan Bator,
Though they might not have understood a lot I said;
Din’t know Barbie, or Jesus, or a thing about the war,
But they liked it that the animals were dead…”
Joe
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
PRE-CHRISTMAS & ALBUM THOUGHTS...
The Christmas-present CDs are done and wrapped for the folks at work; this weekend, I baked more cookies and stuffed stockings. And made some more Christmas CDs. Six songs on those, but only five are actually Christmas songs. (Thought about including “In the Shadows, I’ll Be Watching You,” since I’ve been telling folks this season that it’s really a Christmas song because Santa is a stalker—sees you when you’re sleeping, and all that—but I’ve resisted the temptation.)
Might get to go to the Southern Oregon Songwriters’ Christmas party (it’s next weekend); it appears the weather will be decent for traveling—40-degree temperatures and nothing more dangerous than rain. It would be nice to see everybody—and staying in touch has been hard since I got employed. Yes, there’s e-mail, but I’m a country boy—I like and need “face time.” I haven’t been down there since the concert in August, and that was a real whirlwind visit.
I discovered I had almost forgotten the Album List (and here I was attempting to get the thing recorded in January). Here’s the last iteration. Hight “Dead Things in the Shower” (after the opening cut):
Dead Things in the Shower (with Bobbie Gallup)—fast two-step
Armadillo on the Interstate—slow & sleazy
Tillamook Railroad Blues—deliberate blues
For Their Own Ends (Southern Pigfish)—folk-rock
No Good Songs About the War—slow marching two-step
Free-Range Person—fast bluegrass
The Dog’s Song—rock ‘n’ roll
Crosses by the Roadside—slow two-step
She Ain’t Starvin’ Herself—fast blues
Rotten Candy—fast Gospel
Un-Easy Street (Stan Good)—deliberate two-step
Two co-writes (our standard opening and closing songs for concerts, and they’ll be the opener and closer on the album, too); two that Mike harmonizes on; and half (at least) that’ll show off Doc’s harmonica playing. And a good mix of styles, too: some blues, some bluegrass, some rock ‘n’ roll. Including “Rotten Candy” lets us put the little sticker on the cover that says “Includes the Song Rejected by American Idol!” And of course, “No Good Songs About the War” won first prize in that contest over in England. We’ll dedicate the album to blues harp player Dick Ackerman, who died last year. (“Crosses by the Roadside” on there for him.)
While I’m thinking about it—and have time—I should design the album cover. I know what it (and the record label) should look like. I just need to stage the photo. I have photos of the band, too—and a good black-and-white one of Dick as well.
Music Wednesday at the coffeehouse in McMinnville; unless something changes at the last minute (and I’m not expecting it to), this will be my last performance there. Since it’s before Christmas (Dec. 15), I should do them the one Christmas song I haven’t performed yet—“Chipmunks Roasting on an Open Fire.” I’ll have to figure out the tablature again—it appears I never wrote it down when I recorded it. For the serious song, “Hank’s Song,” I think—I haven’t done that there yet. Not sure about the rest.
Never did hear back from the church soup kitchen I’d contacted (on the advice of a lady in Lafayette) about doing a Christmas show. I won’t press; I get enough rejections from potential employers—I don’t need to deliberately solicit them. It’s quite possible the soup kitchen operators listened to the music and decided it was too dark or too funny for their venue. It’s okay. Out in the remains of the garden, I have the tomatoes that never did ripen rotting on their trees to remind me things don’t always work out the way you want.
Joe
Might get to go to the Southern Oregon Songwriters’ Christmas party (it’s next weekend); it appears the weather will be decent for traveling—40-degree temperatures and nothing more dangerous than rain. It would be nice to see everybody—and staying in touch has been hard since I got employed. Yes, there’s e-mail, but I’m a country boy—I like and need “face time.” I haven’t been down there since the concert in August, and that was a real whirlwind visit.
I discovered I had almost forgotten the Album List (and here I was attempting to get the thing recorded in January). Here’s the last iteration. Hight “Dead Things in the Shower” (after the opening cut):
Dead Things in the Shower (with Bobbie Gallup)—fast two-step
Armadillo on the Interstate—slow & sleazy
Tillamook Railroad Blues—deliberate blues
For Their Own Ends (Southern Pigfish)—folk-rock
No Good Songs About the War—slow marching two-step
Free-Range Person—fast bluegrass
The Dog’s Song—rock ‘n’ roll
Crosses by the Roadside—slow two-step
She Ain’t Starvin’ Herself—fast blues
Rotten Candy—fast Gospel
Un-Easy Street (Stan Good)—deliberate two-step
Two co-writes (our standard opening and closing songs for concerts, and they’ll be the opener and closer on the album, too); two that Mike harmonizes on; and half (at least) that’ll show off Doc’s harmonica playing. And a good mix of styles, too: some blues, some bluegrass, some rock ‘n’ roll. Including “Rotten Candy” lets us put the little sticker on the cover that says “Includes the Song Rejected by American Idol!” And of course, “No Good Songs About the War” won first prize in that contest over in England. We’ll dedicate the album to blues harp player Dick Ackerman, who died last year. (“Crosses by the Roadside” on there for him.)
While I’m thinking about it—and have time—I should design the album cover. I know what it (and the record label) should look like. I just need to stage the photo. I have photos of the band, too—and a good black-and-white one of Dick as well.
Music Wednesday at the coffeehouse in McMinnville; unless something changes at the last minute (and I’m not expecting it to), this will be my last performance there. Since it’s before Christmas (Dec. 15), I should do them the one Christmas song I haven’t performed yet—“Chipmunks Roasting on an Open Fire.” I’ll have to figure out the tablature again—it appears I never wrote it down when I recorded it. For the serious song, “Hank’s Song,” I think—I haven’t done that there yet. Not sure about the rest.
Never did hear back from the church soup kitchen I’d contacted (on the advice of a lady in Lafayette) about doing a Christmas show. I won’t press; I get enough rejections from potential employers—I don’t need to deliberately solicit them. It’s quite possible the soup kitchen operators listened to the music and decided it was too dark or too funny for their venue. It’s okay. Out in the remains of the garden, I have the tomatoes that never did ripen rotting on their trees to remind me things don’t always work out the way you want.
Joe
Saturday, December 4, 2010
A FAN-BASED VIDEO IDEA...
A music video idea, courtesy of Lorelei Loveridge, who describes herself as “chief rabble-rouser” of the Performing Songwriters—United Worldwide group that coalesced in the wake of Performing Songwriter magazine’s demise a couple years ago. (Good group, by the way. Full of neat ideas—and innovation, in my opinion, is what is going to allow independent writers and musicians to make a living in the Modern World.)
There are apparently some artists and groups out there that have done “fan-based” music videos—the video consisting of clips contributed by fans, sometimes footage of them singing, sometimes photos… There’s one Johnny Cash tribute song that consists of line drawings of the Man in Black contributed by fans, and strung together along with the music.
Could I do this? I think so: I’ve wrestled with scripting out video for my songs for a while, and only have four where I could create something that’s both (1) innovative and (2) easy and cheap. (I have a couple that would take production and expertise I simply don’t have and can’t afford.) And I do want to do video; as DJ Len Amsterdam says, “Video is the new audio.” For a lot of the songs, though, I default to “well, maybe we ought to just film a live performance.” I wouldn’t want to do that for everything—in fact, I’d rather do it for very few things. I am insistent that every song has to be different.
My candidate for a fan-based video would be the Southern Pigfish anthem, “For Their Own Ends.” The imagery is strange—Dylanesque obscurantism, after all—but one doesn’t want footage of the band performing it, because Southern Pigfish (as I remind folks every concert) doesn’t exist. On the other hand, the song is popular; we play it every show. (It can be argued that Deathgrass’ performances are why the song is popular—but we wouldn’t be performing it if people didn’t like it.) So it’s a song people might want to contribute something to because they like it.
Here’d be The Call, I think. I’d ask people to both film and record themselves singing along with the song. If they play an instrument (the “joelist” is chock full of other musicians, after all), feel free to play along, too. I’ll take the footage and “soundage” and mix and match things together to where I think it looks and sounds best. (I may need assistance with that. I’m not sure either “Alice” or “StuartLittle” has the brainpower to handle mixing on that scale.) The basic soundtrack on the video, though, would be Deathgrass, recorded in the studio—and I have to do that first, before issuing The Call. That soundtrack is what I’d need to send out to everybody.
And then we’ll see what we got. I have a feeling it might be great. If it is, I might try to do some more, using slightly different parameters (because every song has to be different—see above). I know some painters, some photographers, some mechanics (now, that would be interesting), some actors—there’s a lot of ignored talent out there
Timing? January, perhaps—it’s pretty certain my job in Lafayette ends the end of December, and then I’ll be both schedule-free and income-free until I can garner another temporary or permanent job (which, more than likely, would be out of town again). January, accordingly, would be the time to do all this work, as long as I can do it for very little cost. Another item for the 2011 worklist.
The fan-based video idea is one way to accommodate the need for people (I don’t want to call them “fans,” really) to be connected to “their” artists and writers. They need to feel not only that they know the artist personally, but the artist knows them personally, too. That’s something I and other small-scale independents like me can do, and the Big Boys can’t (especially with the Big Boys’ focus on not letting “non-members” inside their closed circle). The question has always been how to involve “our” people in what we do—just being listeners and audience isn’t really enough. Maybe this is a way.
Joe
There are apparently some artists and groups out there that have done “fan-based” music videos—the video consisting of clips contributed by fans, sometimes footage of them singing, sometimes photos… There’s one Johnny Cash tribute song that consists of line drawings of the Man in Black contributed by fans, and strung together along with the music.
Could I do this? I think so: I’ve wrestled with scripting out video for my songs for a while, and only have four where I could create something that’s both (1) innovative and (2) easy and cheap. (I have a couple that would take production and expertise I simply don’t have and can’t afford.) And I do want to do video; as DJ Len Amsterdam says, “Video is the new audio.” For a lot of the songs, though, I default to “well, maybe we ought to just film a live performance.” I wouldn’t want to do that for everything—in fact, I’d rather do it for very few things. I am insistent that every song has to be different.
My candidate for a fan-based video would be the Southern Pigfish anthem, “For Their Own Ends.” The imagery is strange—Dylanesque obscurantism, after all—but one doesn’t want footage of the band performing it, because Southern Pigfish (as I remind folks every concert) doesn’t exist. On the other hand, the song is popular; we play it every show. (It can be argued that Deathgrass’ performances are why the song is popular—but we wouldn’t be performing it if people didn’t like it.) So it’s a song people might want to contribute something to because they like it.
Here’d be The Call, I think. I’d ask people to both film and record themselves singing along with the song. If they play an instrument (the “joelist” is chock full of other musicians, after all), feel free to play along, too. I’ll take the footage and “soundage” and mix and match things together to where I think it looks and sounds best. (I may need assistance with that. I’m not sure either “Alice” or “StuartLittle” has the brainpower to handle mixing on that scale.) The basic soundtrack on the video, though, would be Deathgrass, recorded in the studio—and I have to do that first, before issuing The Call. That soundtrack is what I’d need to send out to everybody.
And then we’ll see what we got. I have a feeling it might be great. If it is, I might try to do some more, using slightly different parameters (because every song has to be different—see above). I know some painters, some photographers, some mechanics (now, that would be interesting), some actors—there’s a lot of ignored talent out there
Timing? January, perhaps—it’s pretty certain my job in Lafayette ends the end of December, and then I’ll be both schedule-free and income-free until I can garner another temporary or permanent job (which, more than likely, would be out of town again). January, accordingly, would be the time to do all this work, as long as I can do it for very little cost. Another item for the 2011 worklist.
The fan-based video idea is one way to accommodate the need for people (I don’t want to call them “fans,” really) to be connected to “their” artists and writers. They need to feel not only that they know the artist personally, but the artist knows them personally, too. That’s something I and other small-scale independents like me can do, and the Big Boys can’t (especially with the Big Boys’ focus on not letting “non-members” inside their closed circle). The question has always been how to involve “our” people in what we do—just being listeners and audience isn’t really enough. Maybe this is a way.
Joe
Sunday, November 28, 2010
A CHRISTMAS EP?
Music at the library Saturday got cut short with a power outage (‘tis the season, I guess). Ice tonight, which will make for a fun trip back to the Valley tomorrow.
Ran into a couple of Christmas EPs—short, 6-song albums—at a thrift store. Both were pretty obviously self-produced. One was a guy vocalist singing some Christmas classics (at least he had real musicians, and it sounded like it was done in a real studio). The other CD had two Christmas classics and four not-very-good originals; girl singer had an okay voice, but it was pretty obviously computer-generated music.
I could do that—and do it better, I think. If I had a record of Christmas songs, though, there would be only five—all originals, of course:
I’m Giving Mom a Dead Dog for Christmas
Santa’s Fallen and He Can’t Get Up
Even Roadkill Gets the Blues
Chipmunks Roasting on an Open Fire (co-wrote with daughter Kimberly)
Song for Polly and Glyn (I Want a Man for Christmas)
First two were recorded in a commercial studio (they’re on the “Santa’s Fallen” album), the other three just on the Tascam (though the chipmunks song is actually pretty professionally done). I took all of them and ran them through the Audacity program to make the volumes consistent (if a professional did that, it’d be called “mastering”).
I do hate to give something that’s only got five songs on it, but I think I will keep this one to the Christmas stuff. (Mostly. I’ll throw in “The Cat with the Strat” as a bonus track. It’s really good—and it’s never been on an album anywhere.) Designed a decent Christmassy label, using one of my archived gift tags as a template. (Last time, I photographed one of our cute Christmas potholders and used that for the label.)
This coming week is shaping up busy: music Wednesday night at the coffeehouse in McMinnville, Saturday afternoon at the library, and Friday I’ll either be playing music in Garibaldi with the Friday Night Group or being Santa Claus for the little kids in Lafayette—I don’t know which yet. Got Christmas presents to get ready for the people I’ve worked with, too—I don’t want to “go poof” without leaving them something to remember me by. Cookies and copies of the “Santa’s Fallen” album for everybody, I expect. And that doesn’t take into account the day-job work, of which there’s quite a bit next week, too.
The Southern Oregon Songwriters Assn.’s year-end bash this year will be Saturday, Dec. 18. Depending on the weather, I could maybe go. (Three 2,000-foot-plus hills to cross between here and there. I don’t want to do that in snow or ice.) No Deathgrass Christmas concert this year—drummer Chris isn’t available—so the weekend’s free; I could hang out in southern Oregon an extra day and see if anyone at the Wild Goose remembers me (they did the last time I went). It does mean I have to have all the Christmas stuff done ahead of time. As usual, not much time.
The Deathgrass “Failed Economy Show” benefit for the Food Pantry will be in January—third Saturday’s when the Dance Floor at City Hall is available. January may be good; people won’t be so busy, and there may be a shortage of good entertainment. We could remedy that easily. Wonder if we could get it videotaped this time?
Joe
Ran into a couple of Christmas EPs—short, 6-song albums—at a thrift store. Both were pretty obviously self-produced. One was a guy vocalist singing some Christmas classics (at least he had real musicians, and it sounded like it was done in a real studio). The other CD had two Christmas classics and four not-very-good originals; girl singer had an okay voice, but it was pretty obviously computer-generated music.
I could do that—and do it better, I think. If I had a record of Christmas songs, though, there would be only five—all originals, of course:
I’m Giving Mom a Dead Dog for Christmas
Santa’s Fallen and He Can’t Get Up
Even Roadkill Gets the Blues
Chipmunks Roasting on an Open Fire (co-wrote with daughter Kimberly)
Song for Polly and Glyn (I Want a Man for Christmas)
First two were recorded in a commercial studio (they’re on the “Santa’s Fallen” album), the other three just on the Tascam (though the chipmunks song is actually pretty professionally done). I took all of them and ran them through the Audacity program to make the volumes consistent (if a professional did that, it’d be called “mastering”).
I do hate to give something that’s only got five songs on it, but I think I will keep this one to the Christmas stuff. (Mostly. I’ll throw in “The Cat with the Strat” as a bonus track. It’s really good—and it’s never been on an album anywhere.) Designed a decent Christmassy label, using one of my archived gift tags as a template. (Last time, I photographed one of our cute Christmas potholders and used that for the label.)
This coming week is shaping up busy: music Wednesday night at the coffeehouse in McMinnville, Saturday afternoon at the library, and Friday I’ll either be playing music in Garibaldi with the Friday Night Group or being Santa Claus for the little kids in Lafayette—I don’t know which yet. Got Christmas presents to get ready for the people I’ve worked with, too—I don’t want to “go poof” without leaving them something to remember me by. Cookies and copies of the “Santa’s Fallen” album for everybody, I expect. And that doesn’t take into account the day-job work, of which there’s quite a bit next week, too.
The Southern Oregon Songwriters Assn.’s year-end bash this year will be Saturday, Dec. 18. Depending on the weather, I could maybe go. (Three 2,000-foot-plus hills to cross between here and there. I don’t want to do that in snow or ice.) No Deathgrass Christmas concert this year—drummer Chris isn’t available—so the weekend’s free; I could hang out in southern Oregon an extra day and see if anyone at the Wild Goose remembers me (they did the last time I went). It does mean I have to have all the Christmas stuff done ahead of time. As usual, not much time.
The Deathgrass “Failed Economy Show” benefit for the Food Pantry will be in January—third Saturday’s when the Dance Floor at City Hall is available. January may be good; people won’t be so busy, and there may be a shortage of good entertainment. We could remedy that easily. Wonder if we could get it videotaped this time?
Joe
Sunday, November 21, 2010
"SHOULD I BLOG?"
The question was asked on one of those social-networking Websites, “Should I blog?” I wasn’t able to respond (social-networking sites being into this “friending” thing, that I’ve pretty much stopped participating in), but for what it’s worth, here’s an answer of sorts. It depends on your purpose.
Come January, I will have been doing “The Writer’s Blog” for five years, I think. It started as an attempt to organize my thoughts for a songwriting seminar I taught the last two years of the [now gone, and missed] “Moograss” Bluegrass Festival in Tillamook, Oregon. (Yes, teaching songwriting to bluegrass musicians, who mostly play only “traditional” music, is a little like shipping coal to a nuclear power plant. I was surprised the seminars ended up being popular.)
Of course, as a writer on the make, I’m interested in getting attention for the songs I write, so the blog talked about doing that as well—and attempted to be organized about it. That’s where the annual Worklists and regular “reality checks” come in. As a writer and a performer, I am interested in what works, and what doesn’t—just as I am in my occasional gigs as a city manager—and I write it all down so I don’t forget it.
The blog provides another continuing benefit: it’s practice at writing. Each “issue” is roughly the same length, and expresses (more often than not) a complete thought about (more often than not) a single subject. And I do it at least weekly—following that old Internet rule that one’s Website has to change at least once a week to keep an audience’s attention. (I’ve written issues of the blog more often while being unemployed.) The practice writing for space and writing for deadlines made it easier to do the weekly column for the newspaper. (That’s not what got me the gig, however. Knowing somebody was what got me the gig. The practice with the blog just made it easier to do the work.)
I never counted on an audience, and I’d advise the would-be blogger not to count on one, either. The Internet being the amorphous, anarchic critter that it is, I have no idea who’s reading, or why; I don’t even know how to ask. Nor do I have a clue how to “monetize” (as the gurus at Google’s Blogspot put it) what I do. My advice to the would-be blogger, then, is a question: Is there a specific benefit to YOU—without reference to other people (because there may not be any), and without any expectation of financial reward (because there may not be any) in doing this? If there is, do it. If not, don’t.
These days, a lot of people seem to be doing videoblogs (“vlogs”) instead of the old-fashioned kind. I am not that interested, myself; I don’t see (yet) how adding the video component would make me a better writer. It might be good practice using the video equipment (and I could use the practice), so we’ll see. I do want to “do” video, but I want to use it to add a 21st-century component to my songs, nothing more.
UPDATES: No music at all last weekend, and there won’t be any until at least next Saturday. I heard about another open mike in McMinnville, but it’ll be a couple of weeks before I can go. And there’s reportedly a radio station in Nashville that’s looking for original Christmas songs (and I have five), but I haven’t figured out how to reach the Responsible Parties. I get four days off over Thanksgiving, and it’d be nice if there were an opportunity for the band to practice—but I still don’t have confirmation from everybody whether they can do a Christmas show. Time is getting short…
Joe
Come January, I will have been doing “The Writer’s Blog” for five years, I think. It started as an attempt to organize my thoughts for a songwriting seminar I taught the last two years of the [now gone, and missed] “Moograss” Bluegrass Festival in Tillamook, Oregon. (Yes, teaching songwriting to bluegrass musicians, who mostly play only “traditional” music, is a little like shipping coal to a nuclear power plant. I was surprised the seminars ended up being popular.)
Of course, as a writer on the make, I’m interested in getting attention for the songs I write, so the blog talked about doing that as well—and attempted to be organized about it. That’s where the annual Worklists and regular “reality checks” come in. As a writer and a performer, I am interested in what works, and what doesn’t—just as I am in my occasional gigs as a city manager—and I write it all down so I don’t forget it.
The blog provides another continuing benefit: it’s practice at writing. Each “issue” is roughly the same length, and expresses (more often than not) a complete thought about (more often than not) a single subject. And I do it at least weekly—following that old Internet rule that one’s Website has to change at least once a week to keep an audience’s attention. (I’ve written issues of the blog more often while being unemployed.) The practice writing for space and writing for deadlines made it easier to do the weekly column for the newspaper. (That’s not what got me the gig, however. Knowing somebody was what got me the gig. The practice with the blog just made it easier to do the work.)
I never counted on an audience, and I’d advise the would-be blogger not to count on one, either. The Internet being the amorphous, anarchic critter that it is, I have no idea who’s reading, or why; I don’t even know how to ask. Nor do I have a clue how to “monetize” (as the gurus at Google’s Blogspot put it) what I do. My advice to the would-be blogger, then, is a question: Is there a specific benefit to YOU—without reference to other people (because there may not be any), and without any expectation of financial reward (because there may not be any) in doing this? If there is, do it. If not, don’t.
These days, a lot of people seem to be doing videoblogs (“vlogs”) instead of the old-fashioned kind. I am not that interested, myself; I don’t see (yet) how adding the video component would make me a better writer. It might be good practice using the video equipment (and I could use the practice), so we’ll see. I do want to “do” video, but I want to use it to add a 21st-century component to my songs, nothing more.
UPDATES: No music at all last weekend, and there won’t be any until at least next Saturday. I heard about another open mike in McMinnville, but it’ll be a couple of weeks before I can go. And there’s reportedly a radio station in Nashville that’s looking for original Christmas songs (and I have five), but I haven’t figured out how to reach the Responsible Parties. I get four days off over Thanksgiving, and it’d be nice if there were an opportunity for the band to practice—but I still don’t have confirmation from everybody whether they can do a Christmas show. Time is getting short…
Joe
Monday, November 15, 2010
HOW'D WE DO THIS YEAR?
Time, as we get close to December, to review the 2010 Workslist and see what got accomplished. This year, not much. I suppose I could blame a lot of it on having had a job since the end of July, but I won’t—the idea was to be able to do both. I managed to fit Concert Season into the schedule, but not a lot else.
What have I accomplished in 2010? I did manage to WRITE IN SOME DIFFERENT GENRES—a medieval ballad (“Last Song of the Highwayman”), a country death metal anthem (“Angel in Chains”), and another polka (“The Dead Sweethearts Polka”). I managed to EXPAND USE OF VIDEO, too: the Hong-Kong-via-eBay video camera turned out to be quite good, I can do video with my digital camera, too, I’ve got a good tripod, and I’ve acquired Skype.
On the other hand, the JOE ALBUM is precisely where it was a year ago; the SOUTHERN PIGFISH ALBUM now has an album’s worth of songs, but is no closer to getting produced. No WEEK IN NASHVILLE, no JOE WEBSITE, and while I did enter three SONG CONTESTS this year, I didn’t win any of them. And I’m no closer to FIGURING OUT HOW TO MAKE A LIVING OFF THIS STUFF.
I suppose I’m a little closer to BECOMING A HOUSEHOLD WORD. (Still not as good a household word as “toilet paper,” though. People spend money on toilet paper.) I did expand a little into the New Market made available by the temporary job; there’s a new (albeit small) fan base that’s gotten used to me being around, and I might yet manage to get a concert out of it before my time here is over. Did a fair amount of work with the Coventry songwriters group in England, too, though my writing volume declined as the job got busier. I’ve done rather a lot of graphic-design work this year, too, for quite a few new people—all of it for free—and I hope that’s gotten some attention.
PLAY WITH MORE PEOPLE? The rock band in Astoria didn’t work out, but “Deathgrass” is a going concern—people definitely know who we are, and we’ve got fans (and I’m continually surprised how many of those fans are young). The eclectic ensembles that I play with at the Tillamook Library, the Forestry Center, Garibaldi City Hall, and (before I had a job) the Garibaldi Pub probably don’t qualify, since they’re usually the same people. I don’t know if there are MORE PEOPLE PLAYING MY STUFF (that probably means there aren’t).
So the 2011 Worklist is going to look pretty much like the 2010 one. MORE VIDEO, to be sure—deejay Len Amsterdam’s mantra, “Video is the new audio,” seems more apparent every day. With a good video camera now, I might be able to do a lot of experimentation. The WEBSITE; the ALBUMS. I expect I have to postpone travel for a while, but that’s okay—I’m not famous enough to be able to get any real advantage out of it. PUBLISHING I really will try to take care of when we record the albums. I probably do not have enough contacts to do a good job of publishing anyone but myself, but I can definitely publish myself.
About six weeks remain until the end of the year, and there are still things I want to (and think I can) do. Chief is another Failed Economy Christmas Show with the band, benefiting the Garibaldi Food Pantry. This time, it’d be nice to get it filmed and re-broadcast on cable TV. I’d like to put a similar concert together in Lafayette, too, to benefit the local food bank here—and it’d be fun to snag one of the “featured” Friday night gigs at the coffeehouse in McMinnville (I can talk to the organizers when I go there to play music Wednesday night).
And there’s a Christmas song to work on, too; I’ve managed to do one every year for several years running—some better than others, of course. Re-reading old files (which I have to do now and then), I ran across a comment on last year’s Christmas song, “I Want a Man for Christmas”: someone had said, “There’s got to be a dead reindeer in here somewhere.” And that’s a line that really needs a song to go with it…
Joe
What have I accomplished in 2010? I did manage to WRITE IN SOME DIFFERENT GENRES—a medieval ballad (“Last Song of the Highwayman”), a country death metal anthem (“Angel in Chains”), and another polka (“The Dead Sweethearts Polka”). I managed to EXPAND USE OF VIDEO, too: the Hong-Kong-via-eBay video camera turned out to be quite good, I can do video with my digital camera, too, I’ve got a good tripod, and I’ve acquired Skype.
On the other hand, the JOE ALBUM is precisely where it was a year ago; the SOUTHERN PIGFISH ALBUM now has an album’s worth of songs, but is no closer to getting produced. No WEEK IN NASHVILLE, no JOE WEBSITE, and while I did enter three SONG CONTESTS this year, I didn’t win any of them. And I’m no closer to FIGURING OUT HOW TO MAKE A LIVING OFF THIS STUFF.
I suppose I’m a little closer to BECOMING A HOUSEHOLD WORD. (Still not as good a household word as “toilet paper,” though. People spend money on toilet paper.) I did expand a little into the New Market made available by the temporary job; there’s a new (albeit small) fan base that’s gotten used to me being around, and I might yet manage to get a concert out of it before my time here is over. Did a fair amount of work with the Coventry songwriters group in England, too, though my writing volume declined as the job got busier. I’ve done rather a lot of graphic-design work this year, too, for quite a few new people—all of it for free—and I hope that’s gotten some attention.
PLAY WITH MORE PEOPLE? The rock band in Astoria didn’t work out, but “Deathgrass” is a going concern—people definitely know who we are, and we’ve got fans (and I’m continually surprised how many of those fans are young). The eclectic ensembles that I play with at the Tillamook Library, the Forestry Center, Garibaldi City Hall, and (before I had a job) the Garibaldi Pub probably don’t qualify, since they’re usually the same people. I don’t know if there are MORE PEOPLE PLAYING MY STUFF (that probably means there aren’t).
So the 2011 Worklist is going to look pretty much like the 2010 one. MORE VIDEO, to be sure—deejay Len Amsterdam’s mantra, “Video is the new audio,” seems more apparent every day. With a good video camera now, I might be able to do a lot of experimentation. The WEBSITE; the ALBUMS. I expect I have to postpone travel for a while, but that’s okay—I’m not famous enough to be able to get any real advantage out of it. PUBLISHING I really will try to take care of when we record the albums. I probably do not have enough contacts to do a good job of publishing anyone but myself, but I can definitely publish myself.
About six weeks remain until the end of the year, and there are still things I want to (and think I can) do. Chief is another Failed Economy Christmas Show with the band, benefiting the Garibaldi Food Pantry. This time, it’d be nice to get it filmed and re-broadcast on cable TV. I’d like to put a similar concert together in Lafayette, too, to benefit the local food bank here—and it’d be fun to snag one of the “featured” Friday night gigs at the coffeehouse in McMinnville (I can talk to the organizers when I go there to play music Wednesday night).
And there’s a Christmas song to work on, too; I’ve managed to do one every year for several years running—some better than others, of course. Re-reading old files (which I have to do now and then), I ran across a comment on last year’s Christmas song, “I Want a Man for Christmas”: someone had said, “There’s got to be a dead reindeer in here somewhere.” And that’s a line that really needs a song to go with it…
Joe
Sunday, November 7, 2010
A DRAFT CHRISTMAS SHOW SETLIST...
Well, the Big Job in Lafayette—recruiting a new city administrator—is done, except for the paperwork. They picked one—and it was the guy from Alaska (thereby indicating the value of Skype). Now, I can work on the city’s money, which I haven’t had a chance to do much with since I got here. Today, however, I’ll do other stuff. A day off—and away from home, spent mostly at the computer, I’ll apply for jobs (I’ll be needing one), do the SOSA newsletter if I’ve got all the material, and write.
I haven’t got confirmation from the band that they can do a Christmas show, but I have a draft setlist anyway. It looks like:
SET #1 (12 SONGS):
Dead Things in the Shower—mod. fast two-step
Armadillo on the Interstate—slow & sleazy
Santa’s Fallen and He Can’t Get Up—fast bluegrass
Tillamook Railroad Blues—deliberate blues
Things Are Getting Better Now That Things Are Getting Worse (Gene Burnett)—fast two-step
For Their Own Ends (Southern Pigfish)—folk-rock
Eatin’ Cornflakes from a Hubcap Blues—slow & sleazy quasi-blues
Our Own Little Stimulus Plan (Betty Holt)—Buddy Holly-style rockabilly
Dance a Little Longer (Woody Guthrie)—country rock
Ain’t Got No Home in This World Any More (Woody Guthrie)—fast two-step
I Want a Man for Christmas—rock ‘n’ roll
Un-Easy Street (Stan Good)—mod. fast two-step
SET #2 (11 SONGS):
50 Ways to Cure the Depression—folk-rock
Hey, Little Chicken—slow & sleazy quasi-blues
When I Jump Off the Cliff I’ll Think of You—fast bluegrass
Even Roadkill gets the Blues—sleazy two-step
Duct Tape—mod. speed country
The Dog’s Song—rock ‘n’ roll
Free-Range Person—fast bluegrass
[NEW] Another Crappy Christmas (Don Varnell)—fast country-rock
Bungee Jumpin’ Jesus—mod. speed Gospel
I’m Giving Mom a Dead Dog for Christmas—slow & sleazy
Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad (Woody Guthrie)—fast bluegrass
Five Christmas songs on the list this time, 11 songs about the economy, and the rest just plain fun (and normal inclusions in Deathgrass’ setlists). Only one song the band have never played before. It’d be fun to enlist Indica, the girl who sang with us at the wedding (and this time, give her lyric sheets and a CD); if we could do that, we could substitute a couple of her Gospel songs and really give the audience a treat. Short potty break for the band between sets, which this time I want to fill with stuff to discourage the audience from drifting away; I want refreshments (my cookies, hopefully Jeannette’s cinnamon rolls, coffee and punch), and maybe we should have somebody at the microphone doing announcements. Could we film it this time? (We didn’t manage to film the two previous shows.)
I would really like to do a benefit concert for the food bank here in Lafayette; it could be a “Joe Farewell Concert” at the same time—an opportunity for me to thank everybody for a genuinely enjoyable gig as their temporary city manager. Yes, I’d want a band: bass, drums (unless we’re going to play bluegrass music), “whiny” and “non-whiny” leads—and if other people can sing, we can do their stuff as well as mine. I have a couple of folks, now, that I can ask, who may be or know those resources. It’d have to be in December, because I “go poof” December 31.
Joe
I haven’t got confirmation from the band that they can do a Christmas show, but I have a draft setlist anyway. It looks like:
SET #1 (12 SONGS):
Dead Things in the Shower—mod. fast two-step
Armadillo on the Interstate—slow & sleazy
Santa’s Fallen and He Can’t Get Up—fast bluegrass
Tillamook Railroad Blues—deliberate blues
Things Are Getting Better Now That Things Are Getting Worse (Gene Burnett)—fast two-step
For Their Own Ends (Southern Pigfish)—folk-rock
Eatin’ Cornflakes from a Hubcap Blues—slow & sleazy quasi-blues
Our Own Little Stimulus Plan (Betty Holt)—Buddy Holly-style rockabilly
Dance a Little Longer (Woody Guthrie)—country rock
Ain’t Got No Home in This World Any More (Woody Guthrie)—fast two-step
I Want a Man for Christmas—rock ‘n’ roll
Un-Easy Street (Stan Good)—mod. fast two-step
SET #2 (11 SONGS):
50 Ways to Cure the Depression—folk-rock
Hey, Little Chicken—slow & sleazy quasi-blues
When I Jump Off the Cliff I’ll Think of You—fast bluegrass
Even Roadkill gets the Blues—sleazy two-step
Duct Tape—mod. speed country
The Dog’s Song—rock ‘n’ roll
Free-Range Person—fast bluegrass
[NEW] Another Crappy Christmas (Don Varnell)—fast country-rock
Bungee Jumpin’ Jesus—mod. speed Gospel
I’m Giving Mom a Dead Dog for Christmas—slow & sleazy
Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad (Woody Guthrie)—fast bluegrass
Five Christmas songs on the list this time, 11 songs about the economy, and the rest just plain fun (and normal inclusions in Deathgrass’ setlists). Only one song the band have never played before. It’d be fun to enlist Indica, the girl who sang with us at the wedding (and this time, give her lyric sheets and a CD); if we could do that, we could substitute a couple of her Gospel songs and really give the audience a treat. Short potty break for the band between sets, which this time I want to fill with stuff to discourage the audience from drifting away; I want refreshments (my cookies, hopefully Jeannette’s cinnamon rolls, coffee and punch), and maybe we should have somebody at the microphone doing announcements. Could we film it this time? (We didn’t manage to film the two previous shows.)
I would really like to do a benefit concert for the food bank here in Lafayette; it could be a “Joe Farewell Concert” at the same time—an opportunity for me to thank everybody for a genuinely enjoyable gig as their temporary city manager. Yes, I’d want a band: bass, drums (unless we’re going to play bluegrass music), “whiny” and “non-whiny” leads—and if other people can sing, we can do their stuff as well as mine. I have a couple of folks, now, that I can ask, who may be or know those resources. It’d have to be in December, because I “go poof” December 31.
Joe
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