Band practice Saturday night. Of mine, we did “Duct Tape,” “Cuddle in the Darkness,” “The Abomination Two-Step,” Odd Vindstad’s “Simple Questions” and “Pole Dancing for Jesus.” A set of three jigs from Jane, plus a pair of Irish tunes she and Ken are used to doing together, plus everybody’s favorite, “The Swallowtail Jig.” Bass player Clint wants to do “Muskrat Ramble,” an old jazz tune, and he can do a decent job on the old traditional “Long Black Veil.” Ken’s got at least “Dream” (the old jazz number) and David Wilcox’s “Rusty Old American Dream.”
We do sound good together. I was told I could tell the 2nd Street Market we’d be ready about five weeks from now. We’ll need 20 songs to fill a 2-hour set.
The suggestion was made that Ken, who has a tremendous singing voice, should sing some of my “sweeter” songs. I’d love it if he would. I don’t know if he’s interested, and I’ll let others press; I’m not going to. I’ve generally preferred authors’ renditions of their own songs, even where they’ve been covered by more famous people—I think the author brings something undefined but special to the performance that the “coverer” can’t—but I’d happily not apply the rule to myself; with my limited voice range, I’m not bringing much to the table. (Bob Dylan was in much the same boat. Almost anybody could sing a Dylan song better than Dylan could.)
Setlist assemblage is easier if there are more lead vocalists, and in this case we’ve got four (counting Jane’s fiddle as a “voice”). When I’m doing setlists for a solo concert, I concentrate mostly on alternating fast and slow songs; the goal is to have every song sound different from the one before it. Here, I’ve got multiple ways for us to sound different—we’ve got different keys, different genres and different singers, as well as different speeds.
The Modest Proposal soliciting entertainers for Garibaldi Days, the Rocktoberfest, and Relay for Life went out to Roger MacDonald, Michael and Sedona, the LaTorres Jim Loughrie, Skip Farmer, and Loren and Judy (the Crazed Weasels) in addition to those who’d already got one. We’ll see.
Heard the best rendition ever of “Invitation to St. Patrick” at the Rapture Room. Fiddle, trumpet and Cajun squeezebox leads (among others) and Michael and Sedona in the background chanting “St. Paddy! Go, St. Paddy!” in a Beach Boys-style counterpoint. Wish it could have been recorded. Only a couple more opportunities to play the song this year—St. Patrick’s Day is Saturday. I will get to play it at the Tsunami in Wheeler Thursday night, and hopefully at Jim’s jam session in Tillamook Friday night. And it’s on the setlist for the Thirsty Lion March 27.
Does beg the question what I should be releasing for the initial offering of the Song-a-Month Experiment. I don’t have anything yet, really. I’m not happy enough with the Influence Music Hall solo recordings, and I don’t want to use any of my Tascam recordings—I want this to be professional stuff.
Perhaps the 2007 recording of “Oil in the Cornfield, a 1976-vintage song I entered in the Woody Guthrie Song Contest that year (last year they ever had the contest, I think). It didn’t win any of the top three slots (so I didn’t get to go to Moore, Oklahoma, Woody’s hometown, and perform it on stage), but it did get honorable mention—and I got the impression it was the first time anybody not from Oklahoma ever got an award in the contest. Vic “Mississippi Spud” Bonner did the recording, with him playing lead and bass, and Vikki Flawith doing piano and backup vocals. I could use that one. It’d be timel, after a fashion—Woody Guthrie would have been celebrating his birthday this month, if he were still alive. April 1 release date? I will need another professional-quality recording one month later.
Joe
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012
ATTENDING SOMEONE ELSE'S SHOW...
26 songs done now for the New Joe Songbook—and I found another one where I’d never posted lyrics: “50 Ways to Cure the Depression.” I’ll have to re-type the lyrics. (Of course I remember them.) Got confirmation from Denise she’d like to do the Thirsty Lion on March 27. Next step: a setlist CD (easy) and find an opportunity to practice (not so easy).
Next Friday, instead of going to City Hall, I’ll go see the Ocean Bottom Blues Band (Sara, Wayne and Dale) play the 2nd Street Market. They’re one of the groups I’m considering hiring (using the term loosely) for one or more of the summer gigs (Relay for Life, Garibaldi Days, and the Rocktoberfest), and I want to see them in action. I want to do this with all the bands under consideration. I want to see how they work a crowd, and how the crowd reacts to what they play.. That’s more important than anything they could put on a CD.
I’m not sure of the value of CDs, either, though I’ve asked everybody for one. A CD used to indicate that a band had progressed far enough, and maybe made enough money, to “do time” in a studio, but the proliferation of cheap, quality home recording equipment has lowered that bar a lot. You can make a radio-quality recording these days with nothing more than a decent computer, a good set of ears and a good sense of arrangements.
What you hear on a CD is not necessarily what you’re going to get, either: one of the groups that applied for the Rocktoberfest last year was a duo, but their CD had full instrumentation—five or more instruments—on their songs, and you knew those two musicians weren’t going to be playing all five instruments simultaneously on stage. I guess the main value of the CD these days is it allows the tone-deaf concert promoter (me) to easily share what he finds with his “crew.” We don’t all have to go attend somebody’s performance.
There are other ways around it, though. I’ve arranged to record part of the Ocean Bottom Blues Band’s performance Friday with a borrowed iPhone—I know they don’t have a CD out. That’s why my Modest Proposal offers everybody alternatives, and says, “If you don’t have this, let’s talk.”
Following the 2nd Street Market performance, I’ll attend the jam session at a Tillamook tavern that’s reportedly been happening Friday nights for a couple of weeks now. Hosted by Jim, one of the co-owners of the music store (and partner in The Mercantile in Beaver). Want to see what that’s like. It might be a good alternative to Garibaldi when the group at City Hall gets boring.
I’ve got three or four more groups and a couple solo musicians to send the Modest Proposal to, encouraging them to be part of one or more of the summer gigs.
Applied for another job—another non-city manager one. After you’ve done city manager work for nearly 20 years, it is hard to convince people to hire you to do something else, even when you can show them how your skills and experience translate to their job. Occasionally, I feel like Woody, the cowboy in Toy Story: “You’re a cowboy and there’s no jobs for cowboys. We want spacemen—and even if you dress up like a spaceman and act like a spaceman, we’ll know you’re really a cowboy.”
Joe
Next Friday, instead of going to City Hall, I’ll go see the Ocean Bottom Blues Band (Sara, Wayne and Dale) play the 2nd Street Market. They’re one of the groups I’m considering hiring (using the term loosely) for one or more of the summer gigs (Relay for Life, Garibaldi Days, and the Rocktoberfest), and I want to see them in action. I want to do this with all the bands under consideration. I want to see how they work a crowd, and how the crowd reacts to what they play.. That’s more important than anything they could put on a CD.
I’m not sure of the value of CDs, either, though I’ve asked everybody for one. A CD used to indicate that a band had progressed far enough, and maybe made enough money, to “do time” in a studio, but the proliferation of cheap, quality home recording equipment has lowered that bar a lot. You can make a radio-quality recording these days with nothing more than a decent computer, a good set of ears and a good sense of arrangements.
What you hear on a CD is not necessarily what you’re going to get, either: one of the groups that applied for the Rocktoberfest last year was a duo, but their CD had full instrumentation—five or more instruments—on their songs, and you knew those two musicians weren’t going to be playing all five instruments simultaneously on stage. I guess the main value of the CD these days is it allows the tone-deaf concert promoter (me) to easily share what he finds with his “crew.” We don’t all have to go attend somebody’s performance.
There are other ways around it, though. I’ve arranged to record part of the Ocean Bottom Blues Band’s performance Friday with a borrowed iPhone—I know they don’t have a CD out. That’s why my Modest Proposal offers everybody alternatives, and says, “If you don’t have this, let’s talk.”
Following the 2nd Street Market performance, I’ll attend the jam session at a Tillamook tavern that’s reportedly been happening Friday nights for a couple of weeks now. Hosted by Jim, one of the co-owners of the music store (and partner in The Mercantile in Beaver). Want to see what that’s like. It might be a good alternative to Garibaldi when the group at City Hall gets boring.
I’ve got three or four more groups and a couple solo musicians to send the Modest Proposal to, encouraging them to be part of one or more of the summer gigs.
Applied for another job—another non-city manager one. After you’ve done city manager work for nearly 20 years, it is hard to convince people to hire you to do something else, even when you can show them how your skills and experience translate to their job. Occasionally, I feel like Woody, the cowboy in Toy Story: “You’re a cowboy and there’s no jobs for cowboys. We want spacemen—and even if you dress up like a spaceman and act like a spaceman, we’ll know you’re really a cowboy.”
Joe
Friday, March 9, 2012
BUNCH OF UPDATES...
I (or we) are on for Tuesday, March 27, at the Thirsty Lion. Time enough to promote, and encourage a good crowd (I no longer believe any crowd will come, however). Don’t know yet if I can do it with Denise; it’d be nice—polkas sound better with an accordion, and I (or we) should do “The Six-Legged Polka,” ‘cause St. Leif’s Day will be just two days away. I can recycle the promotional posters—just need to change the date.
Host Eric John Kaiser will not be there; he’ll be in New Orleans, for the release of his new album. I understand Skip Farmer from the Influence Music Hall will be hosting again. I’ll apply the same rule I do with Eric: I don’t want to play anything Skip has heard before (though that leaves me with a lot of stuff to choose from, since Skip has only hosted once before when I’ve been there, and in fact everything on the current draft setlist would qualify). I want to convey the impression that I am a constant fount of new stuff (which isn’t far from the truth).
The City of Central Point (near Medford) e-mailed, wanting to know if I was interested in doing a concert there, and if I could bring the band. Answer to the first question is “yes”; to the second, “not unless you’re paying a lot of money”—the band has to come from over 300 miles away, and get put up for the night. What I’d rather do (and told them I probably could do) is assemble an impromptu band from musicians down there that I know, who are very good and also familiar with the material. We’ll see. Nice that they’re interested.
Got the parts for the speaker stands; design changed again (I forget how many iterations it’s been through), but this time I let the design be dictated by the availability of materials at a price I was willing to pay—and within a distance I was willing to drive. The upright shafts will be 3-to-4-foot sections of a fiberglass flagpole, and the bases will be crossed 1x2s held together with a circular flange; bottom of each flagpole piece will have a piece of threaded water pipe to attach it to the base, and the top a threaded electrical fitting to attach the speaker. The arrangement will be able to be disassembled for easier transport and still be uber-stable when put together. Sixteen bucks total. I’ll paint it all black to disguise its provenance and make it look nice and professional.
I want to put that together today, so it can be used Saturday. (And next Wednesday. I’ve got my “practice square” of local dancers, if I can arrange a space for them to practice in.)
The new band’s scheduled to practice Saturday; I believe they’re intending to work on ten songs of mine, including “Cuddle in the Darkness” and Odd Vindstad’s “Simple Questions,” which I musicated. I’m glad to see those two being played; I’ve always liked them. “Cuddle” is one of those songs where I find virtually no fault with my writing—but I’ve played it very little because it’s serious and I mostly don’t “do” serious. Both it and “Simple Questions” fall into the “say something different” category; “Simple Questions” is a boy-meets-girl song where the boy never actually meets the girl, and “Cuddle in the Darkness” is a frank (and blunt) appeal for a one-night stand, from (and to) somebody who’s spent too many nights alone.
Is either one marketable? Maybe not; they’re both aspects of “love” that don’t get talked about. Instead, we see lots of lost love songs on the market—applying, perhaps, the Shakespearean dictum, “Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” But the “never loved at all” (or “never loved enough”) people are out there; I notice their reactions when I play those songs.
Music Friday (City Hall), Saturday (practice), Sunday (the Rapture Room), and Thursday next (Tsunami); caller class Tuesday and maybe caller practice Wednesday. And I’ll be going to the Community Chorus concert Monday night. I have managed to get myself busy every single night this coming week—and I still haven’t managed to get a job.
Joe
Host Eric John Kaiser will not be there; he’ll be in New Orleans, for the release of his new album. I understand Skip Farmer from the Influence Music Hall will be hosting again. I’ll apply the same rule I do with Eric: I don’t want to play anything Skip has heard before (though that leaves me with a lot of stuff to choose from, since Skip has only hosted once before when I’ve been there, and in fact everything on the current draft setlist would qualify). I want to convey the impression that I am a constant fount of new stuff (which isn’t far from the truth).
The City of Central Point (near Medford) e-mailed, wanting to know if I was interested in doing a concert there, and if I could bring the band. Answer to the first question is “yes”; to the second, “not unless you’re paying a lot of money”—the band has to come from over 300 miles away, and get put up for the night. What I’d rather do (and told them I probably could do) is assemble an impromptu band from musicians down there that I know, who are very good and also familiar with the material. We’ll see. Nice that they’re interested.
Got the parts for the speaker stands; design changed again (I forget how many iterations it’s been through), but this time I let the design be dictated by the availability of materials at a price I was willing to pay—and within a distance I was willing to drive. The upright shafts will be 3-to-4-foot sections of a fiberglass flagpole, and the bases will be crossed 1x2s held together with a circular flange; bottom of each flagpole piece will have a piece of threaded water pipe to attach it to the base, and the top a threaded electrical fitting to attach the speaker. The arrangement will be able to be disassembled for easier transport and still be uber-stable when put together. Sixteen bucks total. I’ll paint it all black to disguise its provenance and make it look nice and professional.
I want to put that together today, so it can be used Saturday. (And next Wednesday. I’ve got my “practice square” of local dancers, if I can arrange a space for them to practice in.)
The new band’s scheduled to practice Saturday; I believe they’re intending to work on ten songs of mine, including “Cuddle in the Darkness” and Odd Vindstad’s “Simple Questions,” which I musicated. I’m glad to see those two being played; I’ve always liked them. “Cuddle” is one of those songs where I find virtually no fault with my writing—but I’ve played it very little because it’s serious and I mostly don’t “do” serious. Both it and “Simple Questions” fall into the “say something different” category; “Simple Questions” is a boy-meets-girl song where the boy never actually meets the girl, and “Cuddle in the Darkness” is a frank (and blunt) appeal for a one-night stand, from (and to) somebody who’s spent too many nights alone.
Is either one marketable? Maybe not; they’re both aspects of “love” that don’t get talked about. Instead, we see lots of lost love songs on the market—applying, perhaps, the Shakespearean dictum, “Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” But the “never loved at all” (or “never loved enough”) people are out there; I notice their reactions when I play those songs.
Music Friday (City Hall), Saturday (practice), Sunday (the Rapture Room), and Thursday next (Tsunami); caller class Tuesday and maybe caller practice Wednesday. And I’ll be going to the Community Chorus concert Monday night. I have managed to get myself busy every single night this coming week—and I still haven’t managed to get a job.
Joe
Thursday, March 8, 2012
THIRSTY LION SETLIST THOUGHTS (AND BLOG 6)...
One of the things I like about local budget committees is they seem to regard me as a good financial manager—which I guess I am. Or was. I haven’t done it for a living for a while. Every now and then I manage to come up with a good idea. I wish there was still a demand for that stuff. (Got compliments on the articles I did for the paper, too. That was nice as well.)
I do not know—yet—if I’m invited to the Thirsty Lion on March 27, the closest to St. Leif’s Day (March 29) that they’ll be having one of their Songwriter Showcases. I’ve asked host Eric. If I (or we—I’d love to have accompaniment for this) am (or are) on, I (or we) will have to do “The Six-Legged Polka,” my St. Leif’s Day song. It is my only St.Leif’s Day song, however. I (or we) will have to do five (or four) other things along with it.
One plays to the venue—endeavoring to give the audience (or what I think will be the audience) what I think they’ll appreciate. What do we have here? The Thirsty Lion is a tavern; the crowd is over 21, so adult material is okay, and they’ve been drinking (especially if the Songwriter Showcase comes on the heels of a playoff game on the big-screen TVs), so one has to work a little harder to get their attention, and keep things fairly easy to understand, because a lot of ‘em won’t be operating with a full set of brain cells. I’ll start with something slow and sleazy—that usually will get their attention—and then alternate fast and slow numbers if I can.
Many of the folks in the audience will have come to hear one of the other “acts” perform, which means they’re inclined to be attentive, but not necessarily attentive to me. I try on principle not to do songs I’ve done there before, but that’s for host Eric John Kaiser’s benefit, not the audience’s; most of the audience have never heard me before anyway. Assuming I’ll have accompaniment, I’ll want to make the setlist conist of songs that work well with that accompaniment. And I don’t want to do anything serious. I’ll leave that up to the other “acts” (who will usually more than make up for my lack of seriousness).
Tall order? Maybe not; with over 80 songs, I can usually come up with something to fit almost any occasion. And I do have a complete list of my songs handy—it’s what I’ve been working off to assemble the lyrics for the New Joe Songbook. How about:
Can I Have Your Car When the Rapture Comes?—slow & sleazy
50 Ways to Cure the Depression—folk-rock
Invitation to St. Patrick—mod. tempo blues
The Six-Legged Polka—fast bluegrass
Bungee Jumpin’ Jesus—deliberate Gospel
The “Rapture” song is a good attention-getter; I haven’t performed that or “Bungee Jumpin’ Jesus” at the Lion for a long time. I’ve never played the St. Patrick song there—and our show date is reasonably close to St. Patrick’s Day. “50 Ways” would give ‘em a little tongue-in-cheek (and memorable) social commentary along with their beer.
It’s nice if a short setlist can at least fit the “describe what you do in one sentence” description I gave Songstuff when I first joined: “Happy, upbeat, uptempo songs about death, lost love, betrayal, religion, and dead animals.” (That way, I can mention it in the Rap.) The above setlist actually includes everything except dead animals, unless one considers the ants in “The Six-Legged Polka” as qualifying (they were going to die, but St. Leif saved them).
And if I have to do the show solo again, I’ll change the setlist. I’ll have six songs instead of five, and will pick ones that either don’t have or don’t need a lead break.
Joe
I do not know—yet—if I’m invited to the Thirsty Lion on March 27, the closest to St. Leif’s Day (March 29) that they’ll be having one of their Songwriter Showcases. I’ve asked host Eric. If I (or we—I’d love to have accompaniment for this) am (or are) on, I (or we) will have to do “The Six-Legged Polka,” my St. Leif’s Day song. It is my only St.Leif’s Day song, however. I (or we) will have to do five (or four) other things along with it.
One plays to the venue—endeavoring to give the audience (or what I think will be the audience) what I think they’ll appreciate. What do we have here? The Thirsty Lion is a tavern; the crowd is over 21, so adult material is okay, and they’ve been drinking (especially if the Songwriter Showcase comes on the heels of a playoff game on the big-screen TVs), so one has to work a little harder to get their attention, and keep things fairly easy to understand, because a lot of ‘em won’t be operating with a full set of brain cells. I’ll start with something slow and sleazy—that usually will get their attention—and then alternate fast and slow numbers if I can.
Many of the folks in the audience will have come to hear one of the other “acts” perform, which means they’re inclined to be attentive, but not necessarily attentive to me. I try on principle not to do songs I’ve done there before, but that’s for host Eric John Kaiser’s benefit, not the audience’s; most of the audience have never heard me before anyway. Assuming I’ll have accompaniment, I’ll want to make the setlist conist of songs that work well with that accompaniment. And I don’t want to do anything serious. I’ll leave that up to the other “acts” (who will usually more than make up for my lack of seriousness).
Tall order? Maybe not; with over 80 songs, I can usually come up with something to fit almost any occasion. And I do have a complete list of my songs handy—it’s what I’ve been working off to assemble the lyrics for the New Joe Songbook. How about:
Can I Have Your Car When the Rapture Comes?—slow & sleazy
50 Ways to Cure the Depression—folk-rock
Invitation to St. Patrick—mod. tempo blues
The Six-Legged Polka—fast bluegrass
Bungee Jumpin’ Jesus—deliberate Gospel
The “Rapture” song is a good attention-getter; I haven’t performed that or “Bungee Jumpin’ Jesus” at the Lion for a long time. I’ve never played the St. Patrick song there—and our show date is reasonably close to St. Patrick’s Day. “50 Ways” would give ‘em a little tongue-in-cheek (and memorable) social commentary along with their beer.
It’s nice if a short setlist can at least fit the “describe what you do in one sentence” description I gave Songstuff when I first joined: “Happy, upbeat, uptempo songs about death, lost love, betrayal, religion, and dead animals.” (That way, I can mention it in the Rap.) The above setlist actually includes everything except dead animals, unless one considers the ants in “The Six-Legged Polka” as qualifying (they were going to die, but St. Leif saved them).
And if I have to do the show solo again, I’ll change the setlist. I’ll have six songs instead of five, and will pick ones that either don’t have or don’t need a lead break.
Joe
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
THE "SONGS FOR KIDS" ALBUM (AND BLOG FIVE)...
The Songs for Kids CD arrived in the mail today. It’s got ten songs:
I’m a Squirrel—Gene Burnett
Great Day—Marion Rose
Love is Wonderful—Delonde Bell
I See a Cloud—Scott Perry
Dream Pony—Larry West
When They Die, I Put Them in the Cookies—me
Tangle of the Jungle—Diana Roarty
Stand Up/Sit Down—Gary Elkinton
Cinnamon Bear—Sheila Kaufman & Lee James McAboy
Abby’s Waltz—Bridget Wolf
And a photo of a cookie on the cover (yay!). Bunch of great writers there—and it turns out I know seven of them personally and an eighth by reputation. Proceeds from sale of the CD benefit the Maslow Project, which helps homeless kids. I understand the CD’s for sale for $10 (plus shipping) but am not sure—yet—where people can order it; I understand the Southern Oregon Songwriters Assn. board will be deciding this weekend whether they’ll sell it, and if so, it’ll be possible to get it through them.
This is the third time I’ve had a song on someone else’s compilation CD (that I know of, anyway). In 2009, my song “Santa’s Fallen and He Can’t Get Up” was on the album A Global Christmas, published and released in The Philippines. Mine was one of only three songs on the album that were in English. And last year, when the Coventry Songwriters group over in England put out a “Best of…” CD, one of mine was on that, too—“In the Shadows, I’ll Be Watching You.”
First encouragement—finally—at caller class. A couple of people (including instructor Daryl) think I’m improving. I need that. Got some insights, too, into how the whole “traffic pattern” in a square of dancers works, that I think are going to make it easier. Like Gene Burnett says in the “Ninja” song (my favorite song of his, I think), “I can do this thing, I know that I can.”
I am ready, I think, to have a square of live dancers to practice on. Bob (square dance club president) and I were going over whom I might enlist locally, and there just might be enough if everybody’s willing. I’d warn all of ‘em it might be frustrating for a while—I am a novice at this, and don’t have my timing down at all. On the other hand, the only way I’m going to get it down is practice. I don’t have the luxury of popping down the street to a friendly square dance club any night of the week like the Portland folks do; if I do that, it’s a 5-hour drive and $50-60 in gas in the old truck.
I’ve figured out how to make matching speaker stands for the PA system. I need some electrical parts; outdoor light boxes would work best, because they have threaded holes on all four sides and in the lid, but I don’t want to buy them new. I’d like the $10 speakers to remain the most expensive component. (Which they won’t be. I’ve already arranged to buy one of those fancy square dance caller’s mike holders that’s got the on/off switch and volume control in the handle. They sell for over $100 new. I’m getting mine for $25.) When I’m done, I‘m going to be spray-painting the whole arrangement black, to hide what it was made out of, anyway.
Music Thursday, Friday and Sunday this week; the new band will practice either Saturday or Wednesday next—they haven’t decided yet. Need to work up a St. Leif’s Day set for the Thirsty Lion March 27—I believe I’m being invited back. Can I get Denise and her accordion to come with?
Joe
I’m a Squirrel—Gene Burnett
Great Day—Marion Rose
Love is Wonderful—Delonde Bell
I See a Cloud—Scott Perry
Dream Pony—Larry West
When They Die, I Put Them in the Cookies—me
Tangle of the Jungle—Diana Roarty
Stand Up/Sit Down—Gary Elkinton
Cinnamon Bear—Sheila Kaufman & Lee James McAboy
Abby’s Waltz—Bridget Wolf
And a photo of a cookie on the cover (yay!). Bunch of great writers there—and it turns out I know seven of them personally and an eighth by reputation. Proceeds from sale of the CD benefit the Maslow Project, which helps homeless kids. I understand the CD’s for sale for $10 (plus shipping) but am not sure—yet—where people can order it; I understand the Southern Oregon Songwriters Assn. board will be deciding this weekend whether they’ll sell it, and if so, it’ll be possible to get it through them.
This is the third time I’ve had a song on someone else’s compilation CD (that I know of, anyway). In 2009, my song “Santa’s Fallen and He Can’t Get Up” was on the album A Global Christmas, published and released in The Philippines. Mine was one of only three songs on the album that were in English. And last year, when the Coventry Songwriters group over in England put out a “Best of…” CD, one of mine was on that, too—“In the Shadows, I’ll Be Watching You.”
First encouragement—finally—at caller class. A couple of people (including instructor Daryl) think I’m improving. I need that. Got some insights, too, into how the whole “traffic pattern” in a square of dancers works, that I think are going to make it easier. Like Gene Burnett says in the “Ninja” song (my favorite song of his, I think), “I can do this thing, I know that I can.”
I am ready, I think, to have a square of live dancers to practice on. Bob (square dance club president) and I were going over whom I might enlist locally, and there just might be enough if everybody’s willing. I’d warn all of ‘em it might be frustrating for a while—I am a novice at this, and don’t have my timing down at all. On the other hand, the only way I’m going to get it down is practice. I don’t have the luxury of popping down the street to a friendly square dance club any night of the week like the Portland folks do; if I do that, it’s a 5-hour drive and $50-60 in gas in the old truck.
I’ve figured out how to make matching speaker stands for the PA system. I need some electrical parts; outdoor light boxes would work best, because they have threaded holes on all four sides and in the lid, but I don’t want to buy them new. I’d like the $10 speakers to remain the most expensive component. (Which they won’t be. I’ve already arranged to buy one of those fancy square dance caller’s mike holders that’s got the on/off switch and volume control in the handle. They sell for over $100 new. I’m getting mine for $25.) When I’m done, I‘m going to be spray-painting the whole arrangement black, to hide what it was made out of, anyway.
Music Thursday, Friday and Sunday this week; the new band will practice either Saturday or Wednesday next—they haven’t decided yet. Need to work up a St. Leif’s Day set for the Thirsty Lion March 27—I believe I’m being invited back. Can I get Denise and her accordion to come with?
Joe
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
AN OPEN MIKE THAT'S NOT AN OPEN MIKE (BLOG 4)...
23 lyrics typeset—takes us through the letter E. (Yes, that’s only 20% of the alphabet. I said this was a big job.) I’m keeping the same format throughout, this time; the New Joe Songbook is going to be a thoroughly professional publication. (The previous edition had a few flaws. This one will not.) One item I can include with the photos is concert posters—I do have quite a few of them, some dating back to my Southern Oregon period (2007-08). Other photos? I’ll just have to keep taking photos, I guess.
I raised at the Arts Center’s Board meeting the idea of a by-invitation concert (a la The Mercantile) in lieu of our next open mike at the Arts Center, and I think the Arts Center’s Board would like me to try it. They’ve noticed, as have I, that attendance at the open mikes has been sparse of late. That will be in May (no open mike in April, because we’ll be having a John Stowell concert instead, with fiddle instructor Paul Patterson). May 5, in fact (and that is a holiday in some cultures). I need to make sure the Tillamook Community Chorus is our headliner—the event was scheduled a year ago for the specific purpose of showcasing them.
For the other performers, I’d call on people I know—songwriter Eric Sappington from Netarts, Roger from Nehalem, Michael and Sedona (Sedona Fire), Loren and Judy (the Crazed Weasels String Band), Irene and Lori from South County, the 5-1/2 Piece Band from Rockaway, “Chippewa Bob” and his musical saw, Ken Hardy, and me and Jane (and the band, if the band are ready for prime time by then). Maybe a few others. If everybody was agreeable, we could have quite a lineup of local talent. And I could publicize it heavily. I do know how to do that.
The other suggestion made was to go back to having food up in the auditorium, like the Arts Center did for open mikes years ago. Easy enough to do; I bake cookies anyway (and people do eat them, even after they’ve heard the “cookies” song), and one could simply tell all and sundry, “Hey, bring something if you can and we’ll make it a potluck.” A few “hot pots” for coffee and tea is about the only infrastructure we lack.
On the computer front, “Lazarus” the laptop is going to get a new addition—a remote DVD-rewritable drive. (Yes, Lazz came equipped with a DVD-rewritable drive, but it never did work; that was apparently a design defect in that model laptop that Dell never could—or would—fix, and it’s one reason that model laptop isn’t made any more.) I’d bought earlier an external case I was going to use for Alice’s old hard drive; that old hard drive is dead, alas, but the case will fit a CD drive, too. John at Backscratcherz having a DVD-rewritable drive on hand was a nice plus.
Since it’s an external case, I can mate it up to other computers, too—and one that could really use a CD-rewritable drive (not to mention a DVD-rewritable one) is old “StuartLittle,” my inherited semi-portable computer. (Everything but the monitor fits in a plastic storage container.) “Stuart” is a pretty good little computer despite being a little shy in the brains department—but he’s 11 years old, and back then computers didn’t come with CD-or-DVD-rewritable drives (and Stuart is such an odd design nothing normal will fit). So the computers can share. I may get away from the need to have four computers around yet.
I managed to get both a news story for the paper and my column done just before their deadlines on what for this week is a real busy schedule. I’d like to be earlier, but it’s nice that I could pull it off. And this month’s challenge from the Coventry songwriters is for songs about TIME (not the “parsley-sage-rosemary-and” variety). I wonder if I could manage to say something about that before their deadline?
Joe
I raised at the Arts Center’s Board meeting the idea of a by-invitation concert (a la The Mercantile) in lieu of our next open mike at the Arts Center, and I think the Arts Center’s Board would like me to try it. They’ve noticed, as have I, that attendance at the open mikes has been sparse of late. That will be in May (no open mike in April, because we’ll be having a John Stowell concert instead, with fiddle instructor Paul Patterson). May 5, in fact (and that is a holiday in some cultures). I need to make sure the Tillamook Community Chorus is our headliner—the event was scheduled a year ago for the specific purpose of showcasing them.
For the other performers, I’d call on people I know—songwriter Eric Sappington from Netarts, Roger from Nehalem, Michael and Sedona (Sedona Fire), Loren and Judy (the Crazed Weasels String Band), Irene and Lori from South County, the 5-1/2 Piece Band from Rockaway, “Chippewa Bob” and his musical saw, Ken Hardy, and me and Jane (and the band, if the band are ready for prime time by then). Maybe a few others. If everybody was agreeable, we could have quite a lineup of local talent. And I could publicize it heavily. I do know how to do that.
The other suggestion made was to go back to having food up in the auditorium, like the Arts Center did for open mikes years ago. Easy enough to do; I bake cookies anyway (and people do eat them, even after they’ve heard the “cookies” song), and one could simply tell all and sundry, “Hey, bring something if you can and we’ll make it a potluck.” A few “hot pots” for coffee and tea is about the only infrastructure we lack.
On the computer front, “Lazarus” the laptop is going to get a new addition—a remote DVD-rewritable drive. (Yes, Lazz came equipped with a DVD-rewritable drive, but it never did work; that was apparently a design defect in that model laptop that Dell never could—or would—fix, and it’s one reason that model laptop isn’t made any more.) I’d bought earlier an external case I was going to use for Alice’s old hard drive; that old hard drive is dead, alas, but the case will fit a CD drive, too. John at Backscratcherz having a DVD-rewritable drive on hand was a nice plus.
Since it’s an external case, I can mate it up to other computers, too—and one that could really use a CD-rewritable drive (not to mention a DVD-rewritable one) is old “StuartLittle,” my inherited semi-portable computer. (Everything but the monitor fits in a plastic storage container.) “Stuart” is a pretty good little computer despite being a little shy in the brains department—but he’s 11 years old, and back then computers didn’t come with CD-or-DVD-rewritable drives (and Stuart is such an odd design nothing normal will fit). So the computers can share. I may get away from the need to have four computers around yet.
I managed to get both a news story for the paper and my column done just before their deadlines on what for this week is a real busy schedule. I’d like to be earlier, but it’s nice that I could pull it off. And this month’s challenge from the Coventry songwriters is for songs about TIME (not the “parsley-sage-rosemary-and” variety). I wonder if I could manage to say something about that before their deadline?
Joe
Sunday, March 4, 2012
ARTS CENTER OPEN MIKE (&C.)...
Lyrics for 15 songs now done for the New Joe Songbook. Found two songs (thus far) where I had never posted lyrics, and I’ll have to write those from scratch. Found another that apparently was never recorded—“The Dead Porcupine Rag”—and I’ll have to fix that, too. Slowly, agonizingly slowly, the work gets done.
Small crowd—both performers and audience—at the Arts Center’s open mike Saturday night. From me, they got “When They Die, I Put Them in the Cookies” (there were kids in the audience), “One Gas Station,” and “Selling Off My Body Parts.” They liked the “Cookies” one best. (And despite it being a small crowd—and despite my singing the song—they still managed to eat most of eight dozen cookies.)
Some folks asked when the SOSA/Maslow Project CD (which has the “Cookies” song on it) was coming out—I think they’d like to buy copies. I got word when I got home that the CD has been released, and I’m being sent a copy. Price will be $10 plus shipping; don’t know where to order it yet. (The Maslow Project, by the way, is a charity for homeless kids. Everybody on the album and involved in its production is donating their services. All the money from sales will go to the kids.)
April’s “Artist of the Month” at the Arts Center will be the kids from Tillamook High School, and we will need some kind of musical performance Saturday, April 7, following the artist reception. I think we need to do something different to increase attendance. Perhaps a by-invitation show, a la The Mercantile? I know a number of musicians; question is whether I could get them to come. Could we do a theme? The Mercantile was able to exploit Valentine’s Day, with an “Oops, I Forgot Your Valentine” show (Feb. 18). What could one do at the beginning of April? It’s probably too early to talk about spring—last year, spring didn’t come until the end of July. There is April Fool’s Day, of course (April 1)—but there’s also Easter (which is actually the next day, April 8).
I am of course partial to St. Leif’s Day (March 29), partially because it’s so obscure—few people ever heard of the guy—but also because it’s a feast day for musicians. St. Leif is the patron saint of bagpipes (if any instrument ever needed a patron saint, it’s bagpipes) and it’s said one should celebrate St. Leif’s Day by playing music. Not necessarily on the bagpipes, of course—but it would be fun to get one or more bagpipers to come. It is kinda Their Day, after all. We would need blueberry popcorn (the traditional St. Leif’s Day snack).
I think the “One Gas Station” song is too long. It feels like it’s dragging even without a lead break (I played it without a lead break at the Arts Center). Can’t speed it up easily, because parts of it have a lot of words, and they come pretty fast—it’s one of those that requires strategic breathing. The only option is to excise a verse—and I’m not sure which one. Or not perform the song, of course. The goal is to have the song end just before the audience is ready for it to end. If I can’t do that, I shouldn’t be performing the song.
I’ve had to shorten songs a couple of times before (they’re not always “done” when I say they’re “done”). I had a Nashville music publisher tell me “Crosses by the Roadside” was too long, and at the time the criticism really bothered me—but I eventually decided the guy was right, took out a verse(and chorus), and the song was much better for it. We recorded the shorter version on the Deathgrass album. In the same vein, “Meet Me at the Stairs” got better once I took out one of the verses (it originally had five, and they’re long verses)—and it’s been so long, I no longer remember what was in the verse I eliminated.
Joe
Small crowd—both performers and audience—at the Arts Center’s open mike Saturday night. From me, they got “When They Die, I Put Them in the Cookies” (there were kids in the audience), “One Gas Station,” and “Selling Off My Body Parts.” They liked the “Cookies” one best. (And despite it being a small crowd—and despite my singing the song—they still managed to eat most of eight dozen cookies.)
Some folks asked when the SOSA/Maslow Project CD (which has the “Cookies” song on it) was coming out—I think they’d like to buy copies. I got word when I got home that the CD has been released, and I’m being sent a copy. Price will be $10 plus shipping; don’t know where to order it yet. (The Maslow Project, by the way, is a charity for homeless kids. Everybody on the album and involved in its production is donating their services. All the money from sales will go to the kids.)
April’s “Artist of the Month” at the Arts Center will be the kids from Tillamook High School, and we will need some kind of musical performance Saturday, April 7, following the artist reception. I think we need to do something different to increase attendance. Perhaps a by-invitation show, a la The Mercantile? I know a number of musicians; question is whether I could get them to come. Could we do a theme? The Mercantile was able to exploit Valentine’s Day, with an “Oops, I Forgot Your Valentine” show (Feb. 18). What could one do at the beginning of April? It’s probably too early to talk about spring—last year, spring didn’t come until the end of July. There is April Fool’s Day, of course (April 1)—but there’s also Easter (which is actually the next day, April 8).
I am of course partial to St. Leif’s Day (March 29), partially because it’s so obscure—few people ever heard of the guy—but also because it’s a feast day for musicians. St. Leif is the patron saint of bagpipes (if any instrument ever needed a patron saint, it’s bagpipes) and it’s said one should celebrate St. Leif’s Day by playing music. Not necessarily on the bagpipes, of course—but it would be fun to get one or more bagpipers to come. It is kinda Their Day, after all. We would need blueberry popcorn (the traditional St. Leif’s Day snack).
I think the “One Gas Station” song is too long. It feels like it’s dragging even without a lead break (I played it without a lead break at the Arts Center). Can’t speed it up easily, because parts of it have a lot of words, and they come pretty fast—it’s one of those that requires strategic breathing. The only option is to excise a verse—and I’m not sure which one. Or not perform the song, of course. The goal is to have the song end just before the audience is ready for it to end. If I can’t do that, I shouldn’t be performing the song.
I’ve had to shorten songs a couple of times before (they’re not always “done” when I say they’re “done”). I had a Nashville music publisher tell me “Crosses by the Roadside” was too long, and at the time the criticism really bothered me—but I eventually decided the guy was right, took out a verse(and chorus), and the song was much better for it. We recorded the shorter version on the Deathgrass album. In the same vein, “Meet Me at the Stairs” got better once I took out one of the verses (it originally had five, and they’re long verses)—and it’s been so long, I no longer remember what was in the verse I eliminated.
Joe
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