We’ll Fix It in the Mix
Music
I mailed my Mixed Bag 2 CD’s a little while ago, so I guess I’d better post a little about my mix, just in case anyone wanted to see what I was thinking.
As a newcomer to the mix group and a relative unknown in the comics blog scene*, I wanted to put a solid mix together that would make a strong impression on people, whether good or bad. I also wanted to be entertaining and hopefully provide everybody with at least one artist they didn’t know, but would like enough to search out more of their work. Plus, as the owner of a large collection of pretty diverse CD’s, I wanted to reflect the width (and hopefully) depth of my collection, my regular listening habits, and stuff I’ve been listening to recently. To top it all off, I wanted it all to sound good together, and have a decent flow to it.
I thought I had the mix all worked out and was ready to burn, when I started to get the first CD’s from the other participants. The ones I was getting were about 20 minutes shorter than the ones I was planning to send out!
I had gone really conservative on song lengths, and as a result only had about 60 minutes of music and about 17 songs. Keith told me not to mess with a mix that I was happy with. But I really felt like, if others were sending me twenty-plus songs, then it was only fair that I give them the same. I went back to my list of possibilities for the mix, and pulled five more that I thought would work well with what I had.
I think it all works well together and makes a nice package, but that may just be because I know and really like these songs. I really didn’t intend to, but I ended up putting the songs on in three semi-distinct groups, with a couple of exceptions.
I really got into this, right down to the packaging. I made the cover/insert by photocopying the inside of a CD case a couple of times and pasting the copies together. Then I typed out my title and song list, printed them, tore them off the large sheet of paper, taped them to the photocopy and copied the whole deal. The whole process of making a mix CD is so technological that I wanted to bring a little bit of a “home made” feel to the cover that using a graphics program and clip art just wouldn’t have. I was pleased with the end result, which had a great DIY look and feel, that I thought complemented the mix.
I agonized over actually doing a CD label, due to the expense and large amount of black ink it would require. I looked at several alternatives, but none really worked the way I wanted. After seeing that the bulk of the CD’s I was getting didn’t have labels, I felt okay about giving up the idea and just pulling out the old sharpie.
Anyway, here’s what’s there and why it’s there:
Johnny Rottentail by Amy Ray, from the 2001 Daemon Records CD, Stag
This was one of the later additions to the mix. Amy Ray** is best known as part of the Indigo Girls. Her first solo album, Stag, was Ray’s way of paying homage to her punk roots with a loud, rocking, non-Indigo Girls-like CD. Oddly enough, I think this song, with a solo Ray wailing away and flailing at her mandolin captures that spirit better than any other song on the CD, even though they’re all full of loud, high-speed electric guitars. She manages to draw a connection between the organic, emotionally powerful thrust of traditional mountain music and those same characteristics in punk. And the story she tells, with its elements of good and evil, mercy and redemption, sounds like it stepped off the front porch of someone’s cabin in the Tennessee Mountains. I felt it made a good bookend for the “official” tracks when paired with the Teen Idols cut.
“I loves him but I won’t miss him, as he’s burning and he’s twsting.”***
Every Day I Love You Less and Less by the Kaiser Chiefs, from the 2005 Universal CD, Employment
This is one of the newest CD's I’ve got. I just got it in the last month or so. I really like to go to our independent music shop and listen to the new CD’s each month. Sometimes, I’ll end up buying one even if I don’t know anything else about the artist. This was one of those times. I really like the 80’s pop feel of their sound, which combines with their sarcastic lyrics (a little reminiscent of The Smiths) to make an irresistible combination for me. In the original mix, I felt this one started off things with a kick. In the final version, I liked the shift from the shout that ends “Rottentail” to the synth beats that start this one.
“I can’t believe once you and I did sex.”
Let’s All Live Underground by the Merediths, from the 2005 Debauchery Records CD/EP, A Closed Universe
The Merediths are a Louisville indie pop group. I liked the retro-pop sound of this song. It feels like it ought to be played right after Yellow Submarine. Plus it’s so bittersweet, morbid, and almost frightening that I can’t help but like it. “Let’s all die and get buried together!”
“Now I’m gone and searching for cover.”
New Casablanca by Shivaree, from the 2005 Zoë Records CD, Who’s Got Trouble?
Shivaree is one of my musical discoveries for this year. I read a good review of this CD that convinced me to go out and pick it up. If they still made movies with scenes set in nightclubs, where the action and plot grind completely to a halt while everyone listens to the performers, then the performers would be Shivaree. The only way that I can describe their music is either Rock Cabaret or Postmodern Torch. Either way, I’m really drawn to these songs. Everything about them sounds right, the arrangements, the more modern instruments, and the clever, but not too clever, lyrics. I had a hard time picking just one song off this CD, but eventually decided to go with the shortest one, which I also find myself humming quite a bit. You really can’t go wrong with a song that includes the phrase “Handsome Buckaroo.”
“It won’t be over easy, but it could be over soon.”
Portions for Foxes by Rilo Kiley, from the 2004 Brute/Beaute Records CD, More Adventurous
This is another one I got based on the strength of the reviews. I like the lyrics, the jangly indie power pop stylings, and the structure of their songs. They all tend to run long, so I picked this one at random. It’s another one that I catch myself singing from time to time.
“The talking leads to touching, and the touching leads to sex, soon there is no mystery left.”
Ooh La La by the Ditty Bops, from the 2004 Warner Brothers CD, The Ditty Bops
This is the last song in the “Favorite New Artist” portion of the mix. It’s also another listening station discovery. I really like their modern twist on the old timey sound and their quirky lyrics. This is another one where choosing the song was really hard. I finally went with this one for the chant-like chorus. When I bought this CD (in San Francisco) the clerk in the store and I chatted about it for almost five minutes. Turns out, at least there, that a lot of people are listening to it and buying it on the spur of the moment.
“What they call summer love is happening in Spring.”
Drifting by Sugar Plant, from the 1997 World Domination CD, After After Hours
I have some kind genetic inability to bypass any CD that looks even slightly interesting, which costs a buck or less. Turns out the Great Escape in Nashville has an annex, where they sell stuff at greatly reduced prices—including tons of CD’s for a buck or less. Whenever we’re down there, I tend to go in and drop five or ten bucks on a small stack of stuff and spend the next few weeks listening through it. The miss to hit ratio is pretty high, but at those prices, it’s a bargain if I only find four or five things I really like.
This CD came from our last trip down. It looked interesting, and boy it sure is! I guess I’d call it Japanese emo lounge jazz or something like that. Maybe it’s the music or maybe it’s the bizarre lyrics in such stilted English, but there’s something about this CD that I just love! This song in particular.
“When will an angel come and give me two ears to hear?”
La Vie En Rose by Edith Piaf, from the 1998 Prism Leisure CD, La Vie En Rose
There are some things I like to listen to from time to time when the mood strikes. Edith Piaf is one of them. Sometimes life just needs a few French cabaret songs, you know? La Vie en Rose is probably my favorite Piaf song. I thought the CD needed a song that actually did come from another era, after so many that incorporated sounds and stylings from earlier eras. I also really wanted to have at least one song that wasn’t in English, to represent that part of my music collection.
“Voila le portrait sans retouche de l'homme auquel j'appartiens”
Flying Saucer by Brave Combo, from the 1995 Rounder Records CD, Polkas for a Gloomy World
Do I need to say anything more than “It’s a polka about UFO’s”? This group tends to run the gamut of musical styles that incorporate accordions and do it all fairly well. This is a CD that always puts me in a good mood.
“Something way beyond sex, death, or birth or playing music in this band.”
No Myth by Michael Penn, from the 1989 RCA CD, March
I love the drum programming on this one and the way it interacts with the acoustic guitar. This is the only song Penn’s ever done that approached even minor hit status. It’s a shame really, because he’s a fantastic songwriter. One of my favorite tunes (and albums) from the late 80’s. I had to search all over to find this CD. It was an addition to the original mix.
“She blocked her eyes and drew the curtains with knots I’ve got yet to untie.”
All That Heaven Will Allow by the Mavericks, from the 1994 MCA CD, What a Crying Shame
From here on out, except for the next song, the last “official” one and the “bonuses” this section pretty much represents my main musical interests and most frequent listening habits. This is my favorite CD from the Mavericks, and probably their most well-known. Raul Malo is at his finest here, and the band handles a bunch of different styles. This is a cover of a Springsteen tune that just sounds so perfect in this setting. It’s such a sweet, sweet love song I had to put it on here.
“So come on Mr. Trouble. We’ll make it though you somehow.”
I Spent My Last Ten Dollars on Birth Control and Beer by 2 Nice Girls, from the 1989 Rough Trade CD, 2 Nice Girls
I’m guessing this one will cause the most difficulty for some folks. It was a hard tune to place in the mix, both musically and thematically. No matter when I put it, it seemed to stand out a little more than I thought it should. Still, I really felt I had to include it. It’s an old favorite and it’s part of who I am.
It’s a reminder of those days when Keith and I would go to the lesbian bars to hear the musicians play because we got tired of the dance music at the more male-oriented bars. We started with a local women’s folk-rock group, and from there got turned on to nationally touring groups like 2NG.
Don’t laugh! It’s also how we discovered Michelle Shocked and several other singer-songwriters with guitars. Although for the record, I was an Indigo Girls fan long before I started going to lesbian bars, and even before Keith and I got together. In fact, I introduced him to the Indigos’ music.
Anyway, I’m thinking some of the lyrics here are going to come off as anti-hetero or anti-male, which might cause problems. I’ve always thought the song was a hoot myself, kind of an ironic poke at both some extreme homophobic attitudes (“You just need to find the right man.”) and some of the more extreme lesbian lines of thought (“Men ruin everything in the world.”) It’s way over the top, especially the abortion line, but it’s great, pointed satire. It still makes me smile when I play it.
“I did not drink. I did not smoke. I did not say goddam.”
Birches by Bill Morrissey, from the 1994 Philo CD, Philo So Far
A songwriter, his guitar, and a good story—that’s all you really need, as far as I’m concerned. This one comes off the folk label Philo’s 20th anniversary anthology, and is probably my favorite song on the disc. That’s really saying something when you realize that folks like Nanci Griffith and Tom Russell are also on it. The imagery is so vivid I can see these people and hear their conversation. I can feel the heat from the logs and watch her shadows on the wall. What makes the song so totally engrossing for me is the ending. She doesn’t leave to seek someone who will share her sparks of passion. He doesn’t suddenly change his mind and come dance with her. She thinks about what she’s had and what she’s missing, and still decides that she still got a pretty good deal despite it all. It gives me goosebumps, which is always a sign of a good song.
I’m currently on a quest for out of print Bill Morrissey CD’s, by the way.
“Pour yourself just half a glass, and stay for just a little while.”
Our Lady of the Shooting Stars by Mary Gauthier, from the 1999 Groove House CD, Drag Queens in Limousines
Mary Gauthier is my big musical obsession at the moment, so it was a given she would be here. Which song to choose wasn’t quite as obvious. I love her dark, bleak take on life and society and her growly vocals. No one writes or sings like she does. I decided to pass up the obvious choice, anything from her current CD, Mercy Now, and go for something older. I like Mercy Now, especially the political edge that starts coming out in some of her songs, but the songs on the Drag Queens and Limousines CD have a more personal, intimate feel to them. I finally picked this one because of the strong emotions--yearning for salvation and peace in the arms of an unattainable lover. It’s very powerful.
“I have followed gypsies, girl. I’ve lost my way back home.”
Pony by Kasey Chambers, from the 2004 Warner Brothers CD, Wayward Angel
This was an addition to the original mix. Chambers fits really nicely between Gauthier and Sobule, I think. Some of my favorite chicks with guitars, I guess. The kind of jazzy stroll here is a little different from the more overt folkie/Americana leanings of Chambers’ other stuff, which is one reason I included it here. I also thought that one of Chambers’ own songs of longing for that unattainable love fit well after the Gauthier tune, although Chambers’ tends to be a lot more desperate in her yearnings, more like a needy obsession for a lover that will give her some sense of self-esteem.
“He’s nice but he looks so mean.”
Rainy Day Parade by Jill Sobule from the 2000 Beyond CD, Pink Pearl
I love Jill Sobule for her quirky songwriting. Pink Pearl is her best CD as far as I’m concerned, and this is one of the best songs on it. I love the Petula Clark-ish vibe and the catchy tune. And I love the way that the words all of a sudden hit you after you’ve been humming them out loud for a few minutes. “Did she really just say ‘Back on my medication?’”
“I used to have the stars in my pocket, now I just watch them on TV.”
Comin’ Around by Steve Earle and Emmylou Harris, from the 2004 Artemis CD, The Revolution Starts…NOW
I had to include Emmylou Harris somewhere, as she is the goddess of music. BUt I also had to be careful, because I could very easily crete a CD with nothing but Emmylou on it. I ended up going with this duet from Steve Earle’s last CD because it’s my favorite of all the duets they’ve done over the years. Both of their voices have this world weary kind of rasp that suits the characters in this song perfectly. I also like the song’s sense of latent optimism, especially coming off an album that’s full to the brim with the ills of American society. It flows well from the “getting my life together” vibe of the Sobule song, plus it has that really cool vocal tracking at the end. Steve and Emmy singing with Steve and Emmy!
“My heart’s a little ragged, but it’s all that I’ve got.”
Pretty Dresses by Amy Farris from the 2004 Yep Roc CD Anyway
At this pont I didn't feel like my mix was gay enough, so I dug this song out and added it. :-)
Actually, after skating safely in the Americana rink for several songs, I decided to do a hard turn into heavy alt-country twang. I added this to the mix because I felt it set the stage for the shift to punk-pop to follow. I really like this song for the way it takes all the emotional tricks and clichés of honky tonk music and then turns them on their head with one line: “Or was I just a pretty dress to you?” And the singer starts becoming just a little more than just a pleading, dumped lover trying to get her man back.
“Can silk or satin make love anew?”
Porno Shop by Teen Idols, from the 1997 Honest Don’s Hardly CD, Teen Idols
I wanted to “end” the CD with something completely different from what went before, just to make it memorable. This song fit the bill perfectly. I’ve only got one Teen Idols CD, but I’d like to get some more. They’re not quite as accessible as the slew of radio-ready punk-pop bands out there, but their songs are a lot of fun.
“It may suck now, but he knows somehow he’ll see his face on TV screens.”
A Couple Small Tracks of Silence
I wanted some space after the Teen Idols song before the “bonus” songs and the burning program I was using wouldn’t give me more than two seconds. So I ripped a few seconds of silence from the end of one song and inserted the mini-track here a few times. That’s why your CD player is telling you there are actually five tracks after the “official” last song.
BONUS TRACK 1: I Want to Be a Mysterious Woman by Christine Lavin, from the 1994 Philo CD, Philo So Far
I couldn’t resist including a bonus. This one also comes off the Philo anniversary CD. Christine Lavin is known for her witty and humorous folk songs. Sometimes she stretches her point a bit too much for my tastes, causing her songs become a bit precocious. She treads that line here, but it fits in with my reasons for using it.
I originally gave this mix a deliberate self-mocking ironic kind of title to poke a little fun at myself and at the approach I had intended to take to the CD, which was throwing a whole bunch of stuff that didn’t fit together solely because it was bizarre and obscure. (At least half of the songs I was considering at first were not in English.) I scrapped that approach in favor of creating something people might actually want to listen to, with a few of those original elements sprinkled in, but not dominating the whole mix. That felt like a better way to musically introduce myself. I can go totally gonzo next time.
Anyway, the whole idea of creating a deliberately “mysterious” persona who orders strange drinks and eats obscure food felt like a perfect way to have a little fun at the whole idea. Even after I changed my approach, I couldn’t quite let go of this song. Here it is in tribute to the Eddie-torial Comments mix that could have been.
“Maybe it’ll work a little better, if you pretend I’m not wearing underwear.”
BONUS TRACK 2: Kneelin’ Down Inside the Gate by Stanley Thompson with Clifford Ellis and Group, from the 1996 Rounder Records CD, All Over the Map
And just to drive that point home that I really can do much more off-beat music, in a much more pretentious, "mysterious woman" kind of manner: a Bahamian rhyming song! :-) And it was originally part of some field recordings made in the 60's. I figure it doesn't get much more deliberately obtuse or high-faluting than that, unless your name is Mike or Dorian!
Actually, I do like this song quite a bit. I think the volcals are awesome, and have a rough-hewn, organic soud in them that ties back to the opening song and brings everything to a nice close.
“Lord. Lord.”
--------------------------------------------
*I know. I know. If I would just blog more, it would help. Oh well,,,
**By happy coincidence, I am typing this while listening to her new solo CD, Prom, which is awesome on so many levels I don’t have room to describe them here. Sadly, it doesn’t look like she’s doing any touring to support it. At least, the only dates I can find any info for are Indigos dates.
***I’ve lifted the idea of including a quote from each song from Greg Burgas, who did it in the excellent liner notes to his own CD.
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
No time to write much, more later, but this is time limited!
Music
It’s Tasty Tuesday at Not Lame Records, which means they’ve got a song from an upcoming release available for free download! This week, it’s The Toms’ Something Happened Overnight. Not Lame specializes in guitar-driven, indie power-pop. The download is only available today, so check it out!
Music
It’s Tasty Tuesday at Not Lame Records, which means they’ve got a song from an upcoming release available for free download! This week, it’s The Toms’ Something Happened Overnight. Not Lame specializes in guitar-driven, indie power-pop. The download is only available today, so check it out!
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Father's Day
Personal
My house and yard look great today. I got the bushes trimmed and mulched, my flowerbed mulched, all my laundry done and put way, and all of my dad's stuff boxed up until my brother and I can look at it together.
I've basically tried to stay busy so I wouldn't think about the first Father's Day without Dad. For the most part it worked. It helped that I was getting to some things that had been undone while I was dealing with his illness. It seemed like getting my life back together was an appropriate thing to do on Father's Day. Dad always liked his small garden, so in a way I was paying some homage there.
A woman that I work with was talking to me last week about Father's Day. She lost her dad a couple of months ago, after a long hospital stay--kind of like me. She was telling me that she was having a hard time going into stores and seeing displays of Father's Day gifts. I'll need to be sure and touch base with her tomorrow to see how she's doing.
I suppose the first one is the hardest. A couple of times today, I had some of those odd moments where you stop and all you feel is the loss and the hurt all over again. Everything is going fine and the, all of a sudden it hits you.
I guess it really is a one day at a time process.
Roger Green was kind enough to share some thoughts with me in an email. He also directed me to this recent post in his own blog. He's not the only person who only knows me from the other end of a computer who took a couple of minutes to check in on me today. I appreciated all of them so much. I hope that I can return the favor some day.
What I need now is some supper, some lap cat time, and some time alone with Keith. If it weren't for him, I would not have been able to make it through any of this.
I also need to call my brother and see how he is.
If you haven't done so already, call your father. I know I wish I could.
Personal
My house and yard look great today. I got the bushes trimmed and mulched, my flowerbed mulched, all my laundry done and put way, and all of my dad's stuff boxed up until my brother and I can look at it together.
I've basically tried to stay busy so I wouldn't think about the first Father's Day without Dad. For the most part it worked. It helped that I was getting to some things that had been undone while I was dealing with his illness. It seemed like getting my life back together was an appropriate thing to do on Father's Day. Dad always liked his small garden, so in a way I was paying some homage there.
A woman that I work with was talking to me last week about Father's Day. She lost her dad a couple of months ago, after a long hospital stay--kind of like me. She was telling me that she was having a hard time going into stores and seeing displays of Father's Day gifts. I'll need to be sure and touch base with her tomorrow to see how she's doing.
I suppose the first one is the hardest. A couple of times today, I had some of those odd moments where you stop and all you feel is the loss and the hurt all over again. Everything is going fine and the, all of a sudden it hits you.
I guess it really is a one day at a time process.
Roger Green was kind enough to share some thoughts with me in an email. He also directed me to this recent post in his own blog. He's not the only person who only knows me from the other end of a computer who took a couple of minutes to check in on me today. I appreciated all of them so much. I hope that I can return the favor some day.
What I need now is some supper, some lap cat time, and some time alone with Keith. If it weren't for him, I would not have been able to make it through any of this.
I also need to call my brother and see how he is.
If you haven't done so already, call your father. I know I wish I could.
Save the Music!
I cannot imagine what the loss of Mountain Stage, Soundstage, and Austin City Limits would be like. They are about the only places left on TV where you can find artists who are not cut from the ClearChannel cookie cutter.
Emmylou Harris
Lucinda Williams
Los Lobos
Nanci Grittith
Patti Griffin
John Prine
Wilco
Bright Eyes
That list only scratches the surface of the huge mountain of names that will virtually disappear from TV without public broadcasting.
Even worse, the only outlet I have for local and regional music on TV is PBS. Shows like Jubilee, Kentucky Life, and Mixed Media regularly support and showcase Kentucky artisits. This is the kind of material that is found only on PBS stations in Kentucky, which brings me to another point.
If PBS goes, all traces of programming by Kentucky, for Kentucky, about Kentucky go with it. Our PBS stations here devote many hours each week to covering various aspects of Kentucky life. This is stuff that is found nowhere else on TV.
Turning to public radio, if it did not exist, then all that remains is a desperate sea of corporate ownership and mass market programming. No radio station in this town plays local artists, except the public radio station. No station plays any of the artists listed above, except the public radio station.
If you care at all about musical diversity*, then you need to stand up and be counted right now. Here are some places to go for more information.
Sign Move On's petition.
Look up your elected officials and contact them.
Read more about the effort to cripple PBS and NPR.
Do it now. This could come to a vote in the coming week.
Get involved now before we face the prospect of nothing but Britney Spears and Toby Keith on the radio.
*There are, of course, many other reasons to support public braodcasting, and other places are making those important arguments. I haven't seen many people speaking out for music though, so I wanted to take that approach here.
Music/Politics
As Congress sets takes aim at PBS funding, looking to wipe it out, the little musical diversity that’s left on the air is in extreme danger. As usual, the Repblicans are using a smokescreen of disinformation, deceit, and out-right falsehoods to cloak their actions, including going so far as to suppress a poll showing 80% of Americans support public broadcasting.I cannot imagine what the loss of Mountain Stage, Soundstage, and Austin City Limits would be like. They are about the only places left on TV where you can find artists who are not cut from the ClearChannel cookie cutter.
Emmylou Harris
Lucinda Williams
Los Lobos
Nanci Grittith
Patti Griffin
John Prine
Wilco
Bright Eyes
That list only scratches the surface of the huge mountain of names that will virtually disappear from TV without public broadcasting.
Even worse, the only outlet I have for local and regional music on TV is PBS. Shows like Jubilee, Kentucky Life, and Mixed Media regularly support and showcase Kentucky artisits. This is the kind of material that is found only on PBS stations in Kentucky, which brings me to another point.
If PBS goes, all traces of programming by Kentucky, for Kentucky, about Kentucky go with it. Our PBS stations here devote many hours each week to covering various aspects of Kentucky life. This is stuff that is found nowhere else on TV.
Turning to public radio, if it did not exist, then all that remains is a desperate sea of corporate ownership and mass market programming. No radio station in this town plays local artists, except the public radio station. No station plays any of the artists listed above, except the public radio station.
If you care at all about musical diversity*, then you need to stand up and be counted right now. Here are some places to go for more information.
Sign Move On's petition.
Look up your elected officials and contact them.
Read more about the effort to cripple PBS and NPR.
Do it now. This could come to a vote in the coming week.
Get involved now before we face the prospect of nothing but Britney Spears and Toby Keith on the radio.
*There are, of course, many other reasons to support public braodcasting, and other places are making those important arguments. I haven't seen many people speaking out for music though, so I wanted to take that approach here.
Friday, June 17, 2005
Musical Miscellany
Music
(Eddie-torial Note: I Eddie-ted this post and the one that follows on 6/18 and 6/19 to add links and fix some typos.)
When my dad took ill, Keith and I already had tickets to three concerts: two in Nashville and one in Louisville. My brother convinced me to go ahead and go to the concerts, since we had paid for them. We also went to a couple smaller shows here in town, just to take a small break. Music is one of those things that really comforts me, so I’m glad we ended up doing this. It’s one of the few routines that didn’t get disrupted.
Anyway, I haven’t been able to blog much through the whole ordeal, so here are some belated thoughts about these shows, and a whole bunch of other musical stuff. Some of it is a little old, but I still wanted to include it. I’m going to catch up on musical blogging tonight, then tackle comics and other subjects in the next couple of days.
Speaking of comics, from time to time, Warren Ellis creates a podcast of music that he finds on the web—usually from new and unsigned bands. He lets folks on his Bad Signal mailing list know about them after he uploads them. They’re always interesting, and frequently very, very good. I know that many of the songs have intrigued me to find out more about the artists. You can find the archive of past SuperBurst Mixes here.
We saw The Duhks do an in-store at Ear X-tacy in May. They're another one of these young bands with old souls who are taking traditional tunes and older music and newer sounds and melding it all into something new that strikes the same kind of vibe as the older music did (usually dark and almost gothic) and honors the old traditions. Some of the groups are good enough to raise the hairs on the back of my arm-the Duhks are one of them. At the end of their performance, after they had talked to folks and signed stuff, they all went shopping, which I thought was pretty cool. And it was serious shopping too! I love to see folks supporting our independent music store!
You know, I really need to stay away from places where the CD's are a dollar or less.
We also went to Nashville in May to see Patty Griffin at the Ryman. Great show. I did not realize the level of rabid, cult, sing-along fans she has, nor how diverse her audience really is. There were heavy pockets of LGBT folks (that were heavy on the L), along with young female aspiring sensitive singer-songwriter types (who seemed to most like her earliest stuff-which is cut from that mold), their sensitive male boyfriends, and a large contingent of folks who have discovered her through AAA radio (where her last release got a lot of play) or through other artists who support her. It was a broad, eclectic sea of people and it packed the house.
She's gotten to the point now that she has too much material to possibly play everything one would want to hear. So, I didn't get the Rowing Song, or Mother of God, or Mary, but I did get Useless Desires, Making Pies, Icicles, Silver Bell, Top of the World, and more than enough other stuff to make up for their loss. And you just have to adore anyone who starts her show sitting alone at the piano and singing in French!
Her band is truly phenomenal, especially her percussion player, who pulls the most amazing rhythms from all kinds of materials, while never staying in one place too long. He was fascinating to watch. The opening act, Charanga Cakewalk, recruited the band to play a fun set of upbeat latin dance music. It was probably easy, since Michael Ramos, the mind behind Charanga, spent a decade playing for Patty himself. His material takes traditional musical forms, like the cumbia, mixes in enough electronic stuff to perk things up, but not enough to overpower anything and keeps the focus on traditional instruments like the trumpet and the accordion. It's a hard mix to pull off well, but they did it.
The only real glitch in the show was the real disparity between Griffin's music and the opener. I am eclectic enough to appreciate and enjoy both, but so many of Griffin's fans are locked into one style or taste of music that they just couldn't relate. One of my pet peeves is people who sit and talk during the opening act, and there was a lot of that going on. Luckily, since the songs were largely instrumentals, the band was able to overpower them pretty easily. Still, it's kind of funny how everyone managed to pay attention when Griffin joined them for their closing number. The same folks have probably forgotten that she's spent more than her share of nights as the opener trying to deal with people like them.
Has anyone bought to Ryan Adams’ new CD? You can stream the whole thing here. I like most of it a lot, but it feels to me an awful lot like one good solid album’s worth of songs blown up into a double disc set for no good reason.
I’m enjoying the hell out of the Ditty Bops CD. It’s just the right amount of whimsy to be clever and charming but not cloying and the old timey pseudo-vaudeville styling works well for the songs. It’s now part of my short list of best releases of 2005…
…Along with Fair and Square, the first new John Prine CD in ages and ages. It’s full of prime Prine insights on love, life, human relations, along with a kick ass cover the an old Carter Family tune, Bear Creek Blues. Awesome!
Keith and I saw Prine at the Louisville Palace at the end of April and it just amazed me how well the new material fits in with all the Prine standards that one expects to hear him play live. He sprinkled the new stuff throughout the set, doing some solo and some with his band, giving everyone a good taste of the new work, while depriving no one of the classics, some of which never sounded better. They slowed Angel from Montgomery down just enough to let it sink deep down inside every listener. The result was the most powerful and moving version of the song I have ever heard. They took the same approach with Prine’s standard encore, Muhlenberg County, which is typically a raucous affair. A slightly slower tempo and a more low-key approach helped re-focus the song’s energy back to the loss of childhood memories and environmental devastation, which made it much more powerful than I have ever heard it. All in all, it was an evening not to be missed.
We also had the pleasure of attending our first concert at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville and seeing Guy Clark with Slaid Cleaves. We hadn’t seen Slaid before. In fact, Keith was not that familiar with his music, but that changed really quickly. He did a great set of his hard luck stories and songs and left everyone wanting more.
Guy Clark is an incredible songwriter and a darn good guitar player, but what impresses me most every time I see him is his graciousness and wit. As usual, Verlon Thompson played with Clark, and Shawn Camp was there to add a fiddle to the mix as well. Twice during the evening, Clark ceded the stage to allow each of them to perform, which was a real treat. Thompson is a helluva songwriter in his own right, and watching him and Camp trade licks back and forth on guitar and fiddle was amazing.
Everyone in the audience had the dubious pleasure of being entertained by a drunk in the second row who kept shouting to Clark. (And this guy was totally waster, during the intermission, he stumbled past Keith and I and nearly fell in our laps!) Clark bore the interruptions patiently, using his sly sense of humor as a buffer to both quiet the guy for a bit and calm the audience.
Keith bought the new Robert Earl Keen CD in May and is, of course, in heaven right now. Between a new Prine and a new Keen, he’s a pretty happy camper at the moment.
The Americana Music Award noms are out now. I wouldn't want to be the one to have to make any of these decisions. Someone is going to have to make some tough choices. I mean Steve Earle, Buddy Miller, and Mary Gauthier are all nominated for Album of the Year. I wouldn't be able to decide who to vote for!
Has anyone tried this service? Their selection doesn't seem too deep in the areas I am interested in, but I still think I could create a queue with them that would last me at least a year. I pay six bucks for used CD's all the time, so getting a new one for that price, plus free shipping, doesn't sound bad at all to me. Oh dear! More online shopping!
And, finally, one of the world's coolest music stores shares the way one of its customers celebrates his birthday. I wanna be one of this dude's friends, too!
More Musical Notes
Music
By the way, CMT has a 20 question thing with REK. Some of the questions are really dumb, but it is CMT. He takes it all in stride and manages to get in a great plug for Hardly Strictly Bluegrass.
Speaking of HSB, the expanded performer list is up. Sigh! Doc Watson, Rodney Crowell, Rhonda Vincent, Eliza Gilkyson, Split Lip Rayfield, JD Crowe, Kevin Welch and Kieran Kane, Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez, plus the festival regulars and several good old favorites. And we can't go! This is the sound of my heart breaking.
As far as I am concerned, Kentucky Homefront needs to schedule Dale Ann Bradley to do a show. It's ridiculous that I'll miss seeing her because I cannot get to SF, when she's an hour and half from Louisville.
However, They Might Be Giants is (are?) coming to Louisville! So is David Olney. TMBG conflicts with opening night for Kentucky Music Weekend. Oh dear. What to do? It would help if KMW would post their schedule. We might very well end up at KMW regardless. I can't get TMBG tix until next payday (this coming Friday), but they go on sale tomorrow. Since it's actually a part of Lebowski Fest, they could sell out before our coffers are refilled.
As far as other upcoming shows are concerned, things look pretty good. See what I mean:
6/25 Garrison Starr at Phoenix Hill
7/16 Lyle Lovett at the Ky Center
7/18 Johnny Berry at Headliners
7/24 Tim Krekel at Headliners
8/12 Kasey Chambers at Headliners
10/28 Greg Brown at Headliners
Kasey Chambers and Mary Gauthier in the same year! I can die happy….
I know we can't do all of them. In fact, I'd probably put Garrison, Krekel, and Johnny B. into the "probably not" category. Garrison conflicts with the free Tim O'Brien show, for one thing. (See below.) Kasey's a definite. I'm going to lobby for Brown. I wish I could see Lovett happening, but the tix are outrageous. We're both already pretty bummed that the Bob Dylan/Willie Nelson tour is coming through town (with the Greencards opening!), and the 50 buck ticket price has pretty much knocked it off the list. The Lovett tix are even higher!
Speaking of the Green Cards, they have a new one coming out on the 21st.
The Lonesome Pine Specials are bringing some cool stuff in too, including the Austin Lounge Lizards, Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys, and a Windham Hill deal that sounds interesting.
Now, we just need to get the new Michelle Shocked!! (Due out on the 28th!)
Amazon now has a section featuring music recommendations from a variety of artists, including Lucinda Williams! It's interesting to get an insight into the musical tastes of people whose music I like. The inconsistent formatting is annoying though.
One great source of new music I've been enjoying lately is InRadio. Every other month they send out a mix CD of great, unheralded music from all sorts of genres. A year's subscription (6 discs) is twenty bucks. I enjoy every one of them, and usually find one or two acts that I have to learn more about. The current disc, May-June, is themed "Old Friends." It's devoted to new releases from people they've featured in the past, including Josh Rouse (with a live cut) and Kathleen Edwards.
Rounder Records is creating a new label, Rounder Archives, to showcase titles from their huge back catalogue that have been out print. Anything that brings out more roots music is okay with me.
Billy Joe Shaver was on 60 minutes not long ago.
Here's a fun little web page: Candye Kane CD came out on June 7. I've not budgeted for it, however. What to do? She's another one that NEEDS to do a tour that includes Louisville. I'll have to include her in a future mix, if there are any more past this one. Oddly, Ear X-tacy doesn't have it yet.
Tim Krekel's newest one is out too.
Carrie Newcomer just announced that her newest CD will be out August 9.
And, finally, John Hiatt's latest comes out June 21.
Whew! That's a lot to listen to! And I just got Amy Ray's new solo album, Prom.
Speaking of Amy, there's a message from her on the Indigo Girls site about the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival. I haven't read all the interviews yet, but this is a difficult topic, and I'm glad to see someone like Amy looking at all sides of it.
Oh yeah, and the Indigos' Rarities is due out soon!
Here's a place that will create a tracklist for a mix on any topic you submit. One of my faves is "I lied to a priest yesterday, several times. Make me a mix tape to accompany me during my time in hell." The eternal torment mix is especially well-chosen. I always knew that damn song from Titanic would be playing in hell! They also have a whole lot of music news.
Musical Treats
New video from Chuck Prophet.
E-card for The Bills.
Also, E-cards for Dwight Yoakam and John Hiatt. I have to say that Mr. Yoakam still looks and sounds mighty fine these days. I used to think he was the sexiest thing. And I still do!
If we must have cheesy music, let it be liberal cheesy music! Seriously, I've been absolutely unable to get that chorus out of my head all day. Makes me proud to be a card-carrying bleeding-heart liberal, now that I have a theme song. I must include it on a mix CD some day.
That link comes courtesy of folksinger Christine Lavin's page. It's not regularly updated, but she devotes a lot of space to plugging other musicians and sharing music-related news. Check it out!
On the other hand, not all cheese is created equal. At least the liberal song doesn't have a terrible video to go with it. Link courtesy of Mark Morford at SFGate.com.
The goddess of music speaks out for animal rights.
Links to photos from the shows we've seen this spring
John Prine
Guy Clark
Slaid Cleaves
Mary Gauthier
Kathleen Edwards
Pics courtesy of Keith, of course!
Enjoying the hell out of lately
Bill Morrissey, Inside: There's just something about the way he spins a story. He's my latest quest, in terms of tracking down all his work. He's on my Mixed Bag 2 CD.
Ronnie McCoury, Heartbreak Town: Wow! I guess talent runs in the genes. At least, Del McCoury's son seems to prove it.
Demolition String Band, Pulling Up Atlantis: Anybody that does a twangy alt-country cover of Madonna's Like a Prayer is okay in my book! That song would have been on my Mixed Bag CD, if I had found it earlier.
Otis Taylor, Respect the Dead: It makes the hairs on the back of my arm stand up. Wow!
The weird things you buy when they're a quarter
A Parade of Dusty Hobos: I thought, "Cool. Probably folksy, traditional-style music, just the kind I like." But no! It's weird music from the hearts of space experimental jazz instrumentals!
The Desert Fathers: Really strange spiritual shit. The liner notes are overloaded with all kinds of pseudo-mystical blather. I think this is actually supposed to be some kind of concept CD, but the story is muddled and obtuse. Nevertheless, there are several interesting tracks here.
Music
By the way, CMT has a 20 question thing with REK. Some of the questions are really dumb, but it is CMT. He takes it all in stride and manages to get in a great plug for Hardly Strictly Bluegrass.
Speaking of HSB, the expanded performer list is up. Sigh! Doc Watson, Rodney Crowell, Rhonda Vincent, Eliza Gilkyson, Split Lip Rayfield, JD Crowe, Kevin Welch and Kieran Kane, Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez, plus the festival regulars and several good old favorites. And we can't go! This is the sound of my heart breaking.
As far as I am concerned, Kentucky Homefront needs to schedule Dale Ann Bradley to do a show. It's ridiculous that I'll miss seeing her because I cannot get to SF, when she's an hour and half from Louisville.
However, They Might Be Giants is (are?) coming to Louisville! So is David Olney. TMBG conflicts with opening night for Kentucky Music Weekend. Oh dear. What to do? It would help if KMW would post their schedule. We might very well end up at KMW regardless. I can't get TMBG tix until next payday (this coming Friday), but they go on sale tomorrow. Since it's actually a part of Lebowski Fest, they could sell out before our coffers are refilled.
As far as other upcoming shows are concerned, things look pretty good. See what I mean:
6/25 Garrison Starr at Phoenix Hill
7/16 Lyle Lovett at the Ky Center
7/18 Johnny Berry at Headliners
7/24 Tim Krekel at Headliners
8/12 Kasey Chambers at Headliners
10/28 Greg Brown at Headliners
Kasey Chambers and Mary Gauthier in the same year! I can die happy….
I know we can't do all of them. In fact, I'd probably put Garrison, Krekel, and Johnny B. into the "probably not" category. Garrison conflicts with the free Tim O'Brien show, for one thing. (See below.) Kasey's a definite. I'm going to lobby for Brown. I wish I could see Lovett happening, but the tix are outrageous. We're both already pretty bummed that the Bob Dylan/Willie Nelson tour is coming through town (with the Greencards opening!), and the 50 buck ticket price has pretty much knocked it off the list. The Lovett tix are even higher!
Speaking of the Green Cards, they have a new one coming out on the 21st.
The Lonesome Pine Specials are bringing some cool stuff in too, including the Austin Lounge Lizards, Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys, and a Windham Hill deal that sounds interesting.
Now, we just need to get the new Michelle Shocked!! (Due out on the 28th!)
Amazon now has a section featuring music recommendations from a variety of artists, including Lucinda Williams! It's interesting to get an insight into the musical tastes of people whose music I like. The inconsistent formatting is annoying though.
One great source of new music I've been enjoying lately is InRadio. Every other month they send out a mix CD of great, unheralded music from all sorts of genres. A year's subscription (6 discs) is twenty bucks. I enjoy every one of them, and usually find one or two acts that I have to learn more about. The current disc, May-June, is themed "Old Friends." It's devoted to new releases from people they've featured in the past, including Josh Rouse (with a live cut) and Kathleen Edwards.
Rounder Records is creating a new label, Rounder Archives, to showcase titles from their huge back catalogue that have been out print. Anything that brings out more roots music is okay with me.
Billy Joe Shaver was on 60 minutes not long ago.
Here's a fun little web page: Candye Kane CD came out on June 7. I've not budgeted for it, however. What to do? She's another one that NEEDS to do a tour that includes Louisville. I'll have to include her in a future mix, if there are any more past this one. Oddly, Ear X-tacy doesn't have it yet.
Tim Krekel's newest one is out too.
Carrie Newcomer just announced that her newest CD will be out August 9.
And, finally, John Hiatt's latest comes out June 21.
Whew! That's a lot to listen to! And I just got Amy Ray's new solo album, Prom.
Speaking of Amy, there's a message from her on the Indigo Girls site about the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival. I haven't read all the interviews yet, but this is a difficult topic, and I'm glad to see someone like Amy looking at all sides of it.
Oh yeah, and the Indigos' Rarities is due out soon!
Here's a place that will create a tracklist for a mix on any topic you submit. One of my faves is "I lied to a priest yesterday, several times. Make me a mix tape to accompany me during my time in hell." The eternal torment mix is especially well-chosen. I always knew that damn song from Titanic would be playing in hell! They also have a whole lot of music news.
Musical Treats
New video from Chuck Prophet.
E-card for The Bills.
Also, E-cards for Dwight Yoakam and John Hiatt. I have to say that Mr. Yoakam still looks and sounds mighty fine these days. I used to think he was the sexiest thing. And I still do!
If we must have cheesy music, let it be liberal cheesy music! Seriously, I've been absolutely unable to get that chorus out of my head all day. Makes me proud to be a card-carrying bleeding-heart liberal, now that I have a theme song. I must include it on a mix CD some day.
That link comes courtesy of folksinger Christine Lavin's page. It's not regularly updated, but she devotes a lot of space to plugging other musicians and sharing music-related news. Check it out!
On the other hand, not all cheese is created equal. At least the liberal song doesn't have a terrible video to go with it. Link courtesy of Mark Morford at SFGate.com.
The goddess of music speaks out for animal rights.
Links to photos from the shows we've seen this spring
John Prine
Guy Clark
Slaid Cleaves
Mary Gauthier
Kathleen Edwards
Pics courtesy of Keith, of course!
Enjoying the hell out of lately
Bill Morrissey, Inside: There's just something about the way he spins a story. He's my latest quest, in terms of tracking down all his work. He's on my Mixed Bag 2 CD.
Ronnie McCoury, Heartbreak Town: Wow! I guess talent runs in the genes. At least, Del McCoury's son seems to prove it.
Demolition String Band, Pulling Up Atlantis: Anybody that does a twangy alt-country cover of Madonna's Like a Prayer is okay in my book! That song would have been on my Mixed Bag CD, if I had found it earlier.
Otis Taylor, Respect the Dead: It makes the hairs on the back of my arm stand up. Wow!
The weird things you buy when they're a quarter
A Parade of Dusty Hobos: I thought, "Cool. Probably folksy, traditional-style music, just the kind I like." But no! It's weird music from the hearts of space experimental jazz instrumentals!
The Desert Fathers: Really strange spiritual shit. The liner notes are overloaded with all kinds of pseudo-mystical blather. I think this is actually supposed to be some kind of concept CD, but the story is muddled and obtuse. Nevertheless, there are several interesting tracks here.
Mary Gauthier and Kathleen Edwards at Uncle Pleasants
Music
I think we're too old for Uncle P's any more, sad as that is to say. Too crowded, too smoky, and too small for comfort. Still, I'll go anywhere to see Mary Gauthier, who was making her first appearance in Louisville. She seemed to be having a good time, as she told the crowd: "The radio appearance went well. The hotel is nice. And the place is packed. What more can a songwriter ask for in the middle of her life?"
There are not enough words for me to say how awesome I think her latest, Mercy Now, is. She may very well be the best chronicler of the miserable depths of the human condition since Prine and Kristofferson. No Mercy takes you into those dark places where our demons, both personal and societal, dwell. But, she manages, through the prayer-like lyrics of the title tune to leave us with a small ray of hope. Yeah, we all need a little mercy now, but we have somebody like Mary Gauthier on our side calling for us to get it. That’s more than good enough for me.
Gauthier's set was too short for my tastes, but she chose her material well. The songs largely came from Mercy Now, but she threw a couple of surprises in too: Our Lady of the Shooting Stars (from Drag Queens and Limousines) and Christmas in Paradise (from Filth and Fire). I had about a half dozen more that I wanted to hear, but she was only the opener, not the headliner. So, I had to take what I could get.
Nevertheless, she held the crowd spellbound, hanging on to every note and word. There was none of the typical noise and rudeness that opening acts typically have to endure. It was awesome to experience. For a few minutes, a room full of complete strangers let this woman take us all on a ride to some of the darker corners of life. Like I said: Awesome.
She had one guitar player with her and their stripped down playing and singing was all she needed to carry us all along. In the end she got a greater ovation than the headliner would later. Gauthier promised to return to Louisville to headline a show. I intend to hold her to that.
Unfortunately, Kathleen Edwards couldn't build on the energy and enthusiasm Gauthier left her. She's talented. Her band was good. She's written some good songs. But the show was largely average with a few moments of brilliance tossed in.
Part of the problem is Edwards' voice. It's too fragile and hollow to front a band as loud as hers. Until the end of the show, she was completely lost in the mix, the vocals completely muddled and slurred. I don't have her new CD yet, and based on what I heard at the show, I have no clue if there's anything on it that I would like. It's obvious she wants to be a rocker-chick, but she just doesn't have the chops to pull it off.
I think her material has a good edge to it, but she needs to present it in a way that showcases that edge instead of dulling it. The show only came together in the last four or five songs, which included Six o'clock News and One More Song the Radio Won't Like from her first CD. She didn't tamper with them or their arrangements and as a result, everyone could hear and experience with wit and skill of her writing. I just wish the rest of the show had been like that.
To give Edwards credit, she got a good stage presence when she's not striking rocker-chick poses and is at ease with the audience. She's got a quick, dry wit that serves her well when she's chatting in between songs. There's tons of potential there, but she has a lot of work to do on her live performances.
Music
I think we're too old for Uncle P's any more, sad as that is to say. Too crowded, too smoky, and too small for comfort. Still, I'll go anywhere to see Mary Gauthier, who was making her first appearance in Louisville. She seemed to be having a good time, as she told the crowd: "The radio appearance went well. The hotel is nice. And the place is packed. What more can a songwriter ask for in the middle of her life?"
There are not enough words for me to say how awesome I think her latest, Mercy Now, is. She may very well be the best chronicler of the miserable depths of the human condition since Prine and Kristofferson. No Mercy takes you into those dark places where our demons, both personal and societal, dwell. But, she manages, through the prayer-like lyrics of the title tune to leave us with a small ray of hope. Yeah, we all need a little mercy now, but we have somebody like Mary Gauthier on our side calling for us to get it. That’s more than good enough for me.
Gauthier's set was too short for my tastes, but she chose her material well. The songs largely came from Mercy Now, but she threw a couple of surprises in too: Our Lady of the Shooting Stars (from Drag Queens and Limousines) and Christmas in Paradise (from Filth and Fire). I had about a half dozen more that I wanted to hear, but she was only the opener, not the headliner. So, I had to take what I could get.
Nevertheless, she held the crowd spellbound, hanging on to every note and word. There was none of the typical noise and rudeness that opening acts typically have to endure. It was awesome to experience. For a few minutes, a room full of complete strangers let this woman take us all on a ride to some of the darker corners of life. Like I said: Awesome.
She had one guitar player with her and their stripped down playing and singing was all she needed to carry us all along. In the end she got a greater ovation than the headliner would later. Gauthier promised to return to Louisville to headline a show. I intend to hold her to that.
Unfortunately, Kathleen Edwards couldn't build on the energy and enthusiasm Gauthier left her. She's talented. Her band was good. She's written some good songs. But the show was largely average with a few moments of brilliance tossed in.
Part of the problem is Edwards' voice. It's too fragile and hollow to front a band as loud as hers. Until the end of the show, she was completely lost in the mix, the vocals completely muddled and slurred. I don't have her new CD yet, and based on what I heard at the show, I have no clue if there's anything on it that I would like. It's obvious she wants to be a rocker-chick, but she just doesn't have the chops to pull it off.
I think her material has a good edge to it, but she needs to present it in a way that showcases that edge instead of dulling it. The show only came together in the last four or five songs, which included Six o'clock News and One More Song the Radio Won't Like from her first CD. She didn't tamper with them or their arrangements and as a result, everyone could hear and experience with wit and skill of her writing. I just wish the rest of the show had been like that.
To give Edwards credit, she got a good stage presence when she's not striking rocker-chick poses and is at ease with the audience. She's got a quick, dry wit that serves her well when she's chatting in between songs. There's tons of potential there, but she has a lot of work to do on her live performances.
Ditty Bopping
The Troubadours of Divine Bliss opened, which made for an excellent fit between the two acts. The Troubs are as eccentric as the Bops are quirky, so they matched up quite well. Aim Me and Renee did a good mixed set of some of their more folky, guitar-driven material and some of the accordion-centered stuff. It worked well and was really enjoyable. They're a fun act to watch, because they can be so versatile. They tend to use that versatility as a strength to give their sets an eclectic, but not schizophrenic, feel. While they did stay pretty close to the Ditties' cartoon cabaret style, they threw in enough other stuff to keep things balanced.
It was good to catch up with Aim Me and Renee, whom we had not seen for a while. We need to catch more of their free shows on Sunday nights. (Consider this full disclosure—we do know the performers personally.)
The Ditty Bops took the stage almost as soon as the Troubs stopped playing, which I appreciated. I hate the lag between acts, as it sometimes gets to be unnecessarily long. Changing out gear is one thing, taking your dear sweet time is something else.
Throw a little bit of vaudeville, a dash of old-timey music, a healthy heaping of Betty Boop cartoons, a pinch of the Carter Family and other early country acts, and just a touch of modern irony and cynical humor and you’ve got the Ditty Bops. It's a concoction that works so well for them, resulting in quirky, catchy little tunes that they perform with enthusiasm and glee. Relationships never seem to go as expected in their tunes, and the worldview can be a little off-kilter, but everything is so fun to listen to and watch!
Their harmonies are impeccable. In fact, I was surprised to see them trading off lead vocal duties. From the CD, I had guessed that one of them did the lead, while the other provided the harmonies. They also have a really tight band, with an upright bass (any group with an upright bass is okay in my book), a drummer, and a guitar/violin/lap steel player. The guitarist/etc. was a little too annoying for me—not his playing, but his personality. Thankfully, He didn't say too much, but what he did say was truly aggravating. I really could have done without the part of the show where he made up a “poem” on the spot. The idea is a nice vaudevillian touch, but he doesn’t have the style or the panache to pull it off. That was the only real flaw in an otherwise fun show. The set was a great mix of stuff from their debut CD and things that aren't on it. I hope they record and release the other material soon!
Music
About 40 or so people turned out a while ago to hear the Ditty Bops play. I had a great time and thought it was a good show. Keith was somewhat less enthused, since it was a tad out of his musical comfort zone. Not too far, really, but sometimes the smallest step can seem like a great chasm. Nevertheless, it was a good show. (And he is awfully sweet to indulge me like that...)The Troubadours of Divine Bliss opened, which made for an excellent fit between the two acts. The Troubs are as eccentric as the Bops are quirky, so they matched up quite well. Aim Me and Renee did a good mixed set of some of their more folky, guitar-driven material and some of the accordion-centered stuff. It worked well and was really enjoyable. They're a fun act to watch, because they can be so versatile. They tend to use that versatility as a strength to give their sets an eclectic, but not schizophrenic, feel. While they did stay pretty close to the Ditties' cartoon cabaret style, they threw in enough other stuff to keep things balanced.
It was good to catch up with Aim Me and Renee, whom we had not seen for a while. We need to catch more of their free shows on Sunday nights. (Consider this full disclosure—we do know the performers personally.)
The Ditty Bops took the stage almost as soon as the Troubs stopped playing, which I appreciated. I hate the lag between acts, as it sometimes gets to be unnecessarily long. Changing out gear is one thing, taking your dear sweet time is something else.
Throw a little bit of vaudeville, a dash of old-timey music, a healthy heaping of Betty Boop cartoons, a pinch of the Carter Family and other early country acts, and just a touch of modern irony and cynical humor and you’ve got the Ditty Bops. It's a concoction that works so well for them, resulting in quirky, catchy little tunes that they perform with enthusiasm and glee. Relationships never seem to go as expected in their tunes, and the worldview can be a little off-kilter, but everything is so fun to listen to and watch!
Their harmonies are impeccable. In fact, I was surprised to see them trading off lead vocal duties. From the CD, I had guessed that one of them did the lead, while the other provided the harmonies. They also have a really tight band, with an upright bass (any group with an upright bass is okay in my book), a drummer, and a guitar/violin/lap steel player. The guitarist/etc. was a little too annoying for me—not his playing, but his personality. Thankfully, He didn't say too much, but what he did say was truly aggravating. I really could have done without the part of the show where he made up a “poem” on the spot. The idea is a nice vaudevillian touch, but he doesn’t have the style or the panache to pull it off. That was the only real flaw in an otherwise fun show. The set was a great mix of stuff from their debut CD and things that aren't on it. I hope they record and release the other material soon!
Homefront June 12, 2005
Music
The last Homefront of the season was last Saturday, and it was stupendous! Irene Kelley set the stage with a great selection of her heart-ache soaked country—including “Bluer Than That.” The woman knows how to wring every drop of honest emotion from her songs without ever tilting over into sentimentality. She also paid homage to Dolly Parton with “Coat of Many Colors.” How can you not love a set like that?
Curtis Burch (formerly of Newgrass Revival) was next up with his wife Ruth, and a couple of friends. They did a great range of bluegrass and other styles of music. Ruth has one of those slightly dusky/smoky voices that I just love, and no one can play dobro like Curtis.
The second show opened with Chip Andrus and his band. They do an interesting take on adult contemporary music, by adding a dash of spirituality to their lyrics. They keep things from being overtly religious and end up being thought-provoking, instead of preachy. Most of their set was stuck in the same tempo, however, which made all the songs sound too similar for my tastes.
Louisville band Fire the Saddle closed the evening with their catchy, spooky blend of folk, rock, and old timey music. They fit nicely into the Gillian-Old Crow-Duhks niche. I'm starting to think a whole generation of musical old souls has burst on to the scene in the last couple of years. Excellent stuff.
It was a great Homefront night and a great way to end the season. The only real kink to the evening was featuring Col. Bob Thompson as the storyteller. He’s mildly annoying, but tolerable, as the host of the storytelling segment, but did nothing for me as the featured storyteller. I know he has a local rep as a storyteller and a passion for preserving the artform, but he tries way too hard to be clever for my tastes. Still, he usually does find interesting folks to come to the show and share stories. Hopefully, next time, we'll hear one of them.
Next weekend, there's a special road trip Homefront, as the show goes to Corydon Indiana to tape the Bluegrass on the Square show, which is totally FREE and features Tim O'Brien. I wanna go!!!!
Music
The last Homefront of the season was last Saturday, and it was stupendous! Irene Kelley set the stage with a great selection of her heart-ache soaked country—including “Bluer Than That.” The woman knows how to wring every drop of honest emotion from her songs without ever tilting over into sentimentality. She also paid homage to Dolly Parton with “Coat of Many Colors.” How can you not love a set like that?
Curtis Burch (formerly of Newgrass Revival) was next up with his wife Ruth, and a couple of friends. They did a great range of bluegrass and other styles of music. Ruth has one of those slightly dusky/smoky voices that I just love, and no one can play dobro like Curtis.
The second show opened with Chip Andrus and his band. They do an interesting take on adult contemporary music, by adding a dash of spirituality to their lyrics. They keep things from being overtly religious and end up being thought-provoking, instead of preachy. Most of their set was stuck in the same tempo, however, which made all the songs sound too similar for my tastes.
Louisville band Fire the Saddle closed the evening with their catchy, spooky blend of folk, rock, and old timey music. They fit nicely into the Gillian-Old Crow-Duhks niche. I'm starting to think a whole generation of musical old souls has burst on to the scene in the last couple of years. Excellent stuff.
It was a great Homefront night and a great way to end the season. The only real kink to the evening was featuring Col. Bob Thompson as the storyteller. He’s mildly annoying, but tolerable, as the host of the storytelling segment, but did nothing for me as the featured storyteller. I know he has a local rep as a storyteller and a passion for preserving the artform, but he tries way too hard to be clever for my tastes. Still, he usually does find interesting folks to come to the show and share stories. Hopefully, next time, we'll hear one of them.
Next weekend, there's a special road trip Homefront, as the show goes to Corydon Indiana to tape the Bluegrass on the Square show, which is totally FREE and features Tim O'Brien. I wanna go!!!!
Mixing and Mingling
Music
I get to be one of the cool mix CD kids!
I’m excited about it because I wasn't sure that I’d get into this round. Seems people who don't update their blogs regularly are questionable characters or something. :-)
Seriously, I've enjoyed reading all about the first Mix CD exchange and various folks' opinions about the music they selected and the CD’s others made. Just from reading their blogs, I've found several artists I want to try. One of my favorite things is finding new music to enjoy, so I'm really glad to be a part of this round.
When organizer Chris Brown emailed me that I might or might not get in, depending on how many slots were taken by the regular-updating bloggers, I started thinking about my own mix anyway. I think I've come up with a fun one, filled with interesting music, that covers the gamut of my own music collection. We'll see. Once I get them sent out, I’ll wait a month or two to my next update and post my list and the thinking behind it. :-)
I am hoping this might give some more exposure to this blog, which will then motivate me to post more. We'll see, I guess.
I was also hoping that the experience would be a nice distraction from the situation with my dad, but it didn't work out that way. In fact, I'm late sending my CD's out because of the funeral. I hope to get that done soon. I'm running late!
A couple of years ago, I created personalized mixes for a bunch of friends and family for Christmas. I also made a mix of a bunch of different instrumentals from different genres for people at work. I got a lot of good comments, but burned out on the idea. It's time to give it a try again! (A couple of years ago, I created personalized mixes for a bunch of friends and family for Christmas. I also made a mix of a bunch of different instrumentals from different genres for people at work. I got a lot of good comments, but burned out on the idea.)
Oh yeah, the CD's I've gotten so far have been pretty cool. More on that later.
Speaking of Chris Brown, his wife had some pretty major surgery recently and is still recovering. Get well soon wishes from Eddie-torial Comments, Kelly!
Music
I get to be one of the cool mix CD kids!
I’m excited about it because I wasn't sure that I’d get into this round. Seems people who don't update their blogs regularly are questionable characters or something. :-)
Seriously, I've enjoyed reading all about the first Mix CD exchange and various folks' opinions about the music they selected and the CD’s others made. Just from reading their blogs, I've found several artists I want to try. One of my favorite things is finding new music to enjoy, so I'm really glad to be a part of this round.
When organizer Chris Brown emailed me that I might or might not get in, depending on how many slots were taken by the regular-updating bloggers, I started thinking about my own mix anyway. I think I've come up with a fun one, filled with interesting music, that covers the gamut of my own music collection. We'll see. Once I get them sent out, I’ll wait a month or two to my next update and post my list and the thinking behind it. :-)
I am hoping this might give some more exposure to this blog, which will then motivate me to post more. We'll see, I guess.
I was also hoping that the experience would be a nice distraction from the situation with my dad, but it didn't work out that way. In fact, I'm late sending my CD's out because of the funeral. I hope to get that done soon. I'm running late!
A couple of years ago, I created personalized mixes for a bunch of friends and family for Christmas. I also made a mix of a bunch of different instrumentals from different genres for people at work. I got a lot of good comments, but burned out on the idea. It's time to give it a try again! (A couple of years ago, I created personalized mixes for a bunch of friends and family for Christmas. I also made a mix of a bunch of different instrumentals from different genres for people at work. I got a lot of good comments, but burned out on the idea.)
Oh yeah, the CD's I've gotten so far have been pretty cool. More on that later.
Speaking of Chris Brown, his wife had some pretty major surgery recently and is still recovering. Get well soon wishes from Eddie-torial Comments, Kelly!
Monday, June 06, 2005
RIP Carl Mitchell 1930-2005
Personal
My father died about three hours ago.
It's now six in the morning and I have to be at work at 8, so I'm trying to do anything, like, say, blogging, to take my mind off of things.
We have a major event happening on Thursday, and I have to go in this morning to put the finishing touches on things and get everything I was supposed to do that day parceled out to three (!) other people. Then, I can get into funeral planning mode, once I figure out what that's supposed to be.
In the meantime, I am blogging.
It's kind of fitting, since it's been caring for and dealing with my father that has kept me away from blogging for the last couple of months. (Yes, I finally had a good reason!) I have scads of half posts and notes all over the place, but all I've really been of the mindset to do online lately is surf. Spectating was about I could do. Participating took too much energy.
I'll blog in more detail later about the course of Dad's illness later on. For now, let me just say that he took ill (seriously) with heart/brain problems as I was coming back from San Francisco and had been in three different hospitals since April 12. The capitalist bastards at the last hospital were preparing to discharge him one day this week, citing "guidelines." Medicare guidelines, that is. Meaning, of course, "We can't get any more money off your father's illness, so go find a nursing home." My father decided to draw up his own discharge plan.
Keith and I spent Saturday visiting nursing homes and I was trying to mentally and emotionally prepare to juggle my work event, getting Dad assessed by a nursing home and then moved.
We visited him last night for a couple of hours and he was agitated and breathing roughly. The nurses said he had tried to get up and had fallen. He had not been upright since April 12. He kept telling us that he had to get ready to go. He wanted socks, because he couldn't go bare foot. He asked what time he was supposed to be there.
Ever since he had started talking again a couple of weeks ago, he had been increasingly disoriented. A neurologist at the hospital had started to suspect Alzheimer's, aggravated perhaps by the other conditions he had. He was never sure where he was, and we could not explain it to him so that he understood. The confusion made him anxious and he had been given some sedatives to calm him down.
Because of his recent history of confusion and agitation, we didn't think anything about it when we left. We were concerned, yes--I always hated to see him upset and not be able to comfort him in a way he could understand--but certainly not worried about him lasting the night.
Then at 2:47 this morning the call came. He had completely coded and was in the process of dying. When we got there, his heart had stopped and he was taking his last gasps of breath. I held his hand, called my brother, and then watched him go. He took one last big gasp, and then didn't move any more.
I've never seen anyone die before. Never thought I would either, much less my own father.
Right now, I'm a jumble of confused feelings and thoughts. I need to get through today, and then I can be with family and start our collective grief.
I am glad that, despite several heart attacks and strokes, he was able to live on his own for the past seven years, until this April 12, where he wanted and how he wanted. No one in the family approved and we all worried, but it was what he wanted to do. I am glad now that we did not force him into assisted living or some other facility.
I am glad that we did not have to put him through the confusion and stress of moving to the nursing home, where he would have forever been mentally and emotionally lost, confused and miserable.
I am glad that I do not have to go through the court hearing that was scheduled for July 11 to become his guardian. To do that, he would have to be declared incompetent by the court. I was dreading having to do that when he was not in a state to contest or fight back.
I am glad that we all got to have these last two months with him, that we all got to talk with him (even if he didn't always make sense), and that, in the end, he was the one who picked how and when he left the hospital. (I called the discharge planner and left a message on her voice mail that she didn't have to worry about her guidelines any more.)
I don't know what I believe any more about what happens to you when you die, but I do hope he's somewhere with his parents and siblings (he was the last survivor), and that he is at peace.
I sat with him for a long time. Keith said good-bye to him and left us alone. I told him how sorry I was for all the stupid shit that kept us apart for so many years. I told him that I hoped we had made up for that over the last decade or so. I apologized for being a bad son and forgave for the times I felt he was a bad parent. I told him that, in the end, we were what we got, and it really wasn't that bad after all. I told him I was glad that he lived long enough for me to realize that.
I thanked him for loving Keith the way he did, because I love him too. I thanked him for the miracle of a man with no high school diploma, who came from a working-class, Depression-era, Catholic family and had spent a lifetime in the army who didn't bat an eye when his oldest son finally said, "Dad, I'm gay." And then proceeded to make that son's male partner feel welcome every time they were together. In his more coherent moments, if I was there alone, Dad always asked about Keith. As he started to slip a bit, he asked me if Keith was "ever" going to come see him again. (Even though, usually, Keith had been there the day before.)
Then I took the little monitor thing off his finger. It had always bothered him, but he could never figure out how to get it off. I put his arms under the cover, tucked him in, kissed him on the forehead, turned out the light, and said good-bye.
The hospital that he was at used to be a Catholic hospital, and the private company that bought it out has left the chapel intact. I had taken my mother there a while ago, and she had filled out a prayer card for him and left it on an altar. (They provide them in the chapel for this purpose.) There is a banner in the chapel placed there by a local parish that provides some services there. It reads "Spend time with the Eucharistic Jesus." My dad was born and raised Catholic and then later baptized into the Baptist church (which was Mom's faith). I looked at the Eucharistic Jesus and said, "I don't know if you get him or if the Baptist Jesus gets him, but take care of him, whichever it is." Then I filled out a new prayer card requesting prayers for his soul and left it in the altar beside the one Mom filled out.
After we left the hospital, Keith and I went to Waffle House to eat. It was Dad's favorite place to eat and the place we always went whenever we visited. I wanted some coffee, and it seemed like the only fitting place to get it.
Now, it's seven, and it's time to try and get Keith up. He laid back down a while ago. I've cried and typed my way through the past hour and now it's time to get ready for work. God, I hope that I am ready for this week, but I don't know how I can be.
Personal
My father died about three hours ago.
It's now six in the morning and I have to be at work at 8, so I'm trying to do anything, like, say, blogging, to take my mind off of things.
We have a major event happening on Thursday, and I have to go in this morning to put the finishing touches on things and get everything I was supposed to do that day parceled out to three (!) other people. Then, I can get into funeral planning mode, once I figure out what that's supposed to be.
In the meantime, I am blogging.
It's kind of fitting, since it's been caring for and dealing with my father that has kept me away from blogging for the last couple of months. (Yes, I finally had a good reason!) I have scads of half posts and notes all over the place, but all I've really been of the mindset to do online lately is surf. Spectating was about I could do. Participating took too much energy.
I'll blog in more detail later about the course of Dad's illness later on. For now, let me just say that he took ill (seriously) with heart/brain problems as I was coming back from San Francisco and had been in three different hospitals since April 12. The capitalist bastards at the last hospital were preparing to discharge him one day this week, citing "guidelines." Medicare guidelines, that is. Meaning, of course, "We can't get any more money off your father's illness, so go find a nursing home." My father decided to draw up his own discharge plan.
Keith and I spent Saturday visiting nursing homes and I was trying to mentally and emotionally prepare to juggle my work event, getting Dad assessed by a nursing home and then moved.
We visited him last night for a couple of hours and he was agitated and breathing roughly. The nurses said he had tried to get up and had fallen. He had not been upright since April 12. He kept telling us that he had to get ready to go. He wanted socks, because he couldn't go bare foot. He asked what time he was supposed to be there.
Ever since he had started talking again a couple of weeks ago, he had been increasingly disoriented. A neurologist at the hospital had started to suspect Alzheimer's, aggravated perhaps by the other conditions he had. He was never sure where he was, and we could not explain it to him so that he understood. The confusion made him anxious and he had been given some sedatives to calm him down.
Because of his recent history of confusion and agitation, we didn't think anything about it when we left. We were concerned, yes--I always hated to see him upset and not be able to comfort him in a way he could understand--but certainly not worried about him lasting the night.
Then at 2:47 this morning the call came. He had completely coded and was in the process of dying. When we got there, his heart had stopped and he was taking his last gasps of breath. I held his hand, called my brother, and then watched him go. He took one last big gasp, and then didn't move any more.
I've never seen anyone die before. Never thought I would either, much less my own father.
Right now, I'm a jumble of confused feelings and thoughts. I need to get through today, and then I can be with family and start our collective grief.
I am glad that, despite several heart attacks and strokes, he was able to live on his own for the past seven years, until this April 12, where he wanted and how he wanted. No one in the family approved and we all worried, but it was what he wanted to do. I am glad now that we did not force him into assisted living or some other facility.
I am glad that we did not have to put him through the confusion and stress of moving to the nursing home, where he would have forever been mentally and emotionally lost, confused and miserable.
I am glad that I do not have to go through the court hearing that was scheduled for July 11 to become his guardian. To do that, he would have to be declared incompetent by the court. I was dreading having to do that when he was not in a state to contest or fight back.
I am glad that we all got to have these last two months with him, that we all got to talk with him (even if he didn't always make sense), and that, in the end, he was the one who picked how and when he left the hospital. (I called the discharge planner and left a message on her voice mail that she didn't have to worry about her guidelines any more.)
I don't know what I believe any more about what happens to you when you die, but I do hope he's somewhere with his parents and siblings (he was the last survivor), and that he is at peace.
I sat with him for a long time. Keith said good-bye to him and left us alone. I told him how sorry I was for all the stupid shit that kept us apart for so many years. I told him that I hoped we had made up for that over the last decade or so. I apologized for being a bad son and forgave for the times I felt he was a bad parent. I told him that, in the end, we were what we got, and it really wasn't that bad after all. I told him I was glad that he lived long enough for me to realize that.
I thanked him for loving Keith the way he did, because I love him too. I thanked him for the miracle of a man with no high school diploma, who came from a working-class, Depression-era, Catholic family and had spent a lifetime in the army who didn't bat an eye when his oldest son finally said, "Dad, I'm gay." And then proceeded to make that son's male partner feel welcome every time they were together. In his more coherent moments, if I was there alone, Dad always asked about Keith. As he started to slip a bit, he asked me if Keith was "ever" going to come see him again. (Even though, usually, Keith had been there the day before.)
Then I took the little monitor thing off his finger. It had always bothered him, but he could never figure out how to get it off. I put his arms under the cover, tucked him in, kissed him on the forehead, turned out the light, and said good-bye.
The hospital that he was at used to be a Catholic hospital, and the private company that bought it out has left the chapel intact. I had taken my mother there a while ago, and she had filled out a prayer card for him and left it on an altar. (They provide them in the chapel for this purpose.) There is a banner in the chapel placed there by a local parish that provides some services there. It reads "Spend time with the Eucharistic Jesus." My dad was born and raised Catholic and then later baptized into the Baptist church (which was Mom's faith). I looked at the Eucharistic Jesus and said, "I don't know if you get him or if the Baptist Jesus gets him, but take care of him, whichever it is." Then I filled out a new prayer card requesting prayers for his soul and left it in the altar beside the one Mom filled out.
After we left the hospital, Keith and I went to Waffle House to eat. It was Dad's favorite place to eat and the place we always went whenever we visited. I wanted some coffee, and it seemed like the only fitting place to get it.
Now, it's seven, and it's time to try and get Keith up. He laid back down a while ago. I've cried and typed my way through the past hour and now it's time to get ready for work. God, I hope that I am ready for this week, but I don't know how I can be.
Thursday, March 24, 2005
Letters, I Get Letters…
Life As I Live It
Some excerpts from recent emails that I’ve received:
First, for the more serious side, here, courtesy of the ASPCA News Alert, are the five plants that are the most hazardous to your pet’s health:
Lilies
Azaleas
Oleander
Sago Palm
Castor Bean
More details available here.
And now, the ridiculous. The Nigeria Scam has been brought up to date with recent worldwide political events. Here is an excerpt of an email I got last night:
“Dear Friend
This mail may not be surprising to you if you have been following current events in the international media with reference to the Middle East and Palestine in particular. I am Mrs. SUHA ARAFAT, the wife of YASSER ARAFAT, the Palestinian leader who died recently in Paris. Since his death and even prior to the announcement, I have been thrown into a state of antagonism, confusion, humiliation, frustration and hopelessness by the present leadership of the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the new Prime Minister. I have even been subjected to physical and psychological torture. As a widow that is so traumatized, I have lost confidence with everybody in the country at the moment. You must have heard over the media reports and the Internet on the discovery of some fund in my husband secret bank account and companies and the allegations of some huge sums of money deposited by my husband in my name of which I have refuses to disclose or give up to the corrupt Palestine Government. In fact the total sum allegedly discovered by the Government so far is in the tune of about $6.5 Billion Dollars. And they are not relenting on their effort to make me poor for life. As you know, the Moslem community has no regards for woman, hence my desire for a foreign assistance.”
Emphasis mine. Everything else is unchaged.
And finally, what the world needs now is…Christian Debt Counseling! It's certainly one of the more interesting bits of spam I've gotten lately. I guess the next one will be for Christian Viagra! It seems to me a much more “Christian” thing to do would be to stop the “moral values” political party from selling everyone out to the credit card companies.
Arrived in the Mail
Magazines
Between Iraq and Social Security, the political situation is so damn dismal right now, that you have to take every chance you can to laugh. It’s either that or go stark raving mad. These guys are helpful. I just got one of their sample issues and will be subscribing as soon as I can. And then ordering a few of these as gifts!
I also got an unsolicited sample copy of this publication the other day, which looks quite interesting. It’s a novel approach to history, that’s for sure.
Magazines
Between Iraq and Social Security, the political situation is so damn dismal right now, that you have to take every chance you can to laugh. It’s either that or go stark raving mad. These guys are helpful. I just got one of their sample issues and will be subscribing as soon as I can. And then ordering a few of these as gifts!
I also got an unsolicited sample copy of this publication the other day, which looks quite interesting. It’s a novel approach to history, that’s for sure.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Funny Book Mish Mash
Comics
Dorian wrapped up his week of non-comic book talk on Friday in a particularly eye-catching way.
There are very few super-hero comics I want to read these days, and it looks like the one I’m most interested in reading will never be published again.
Newsarama has been doing a long-term series of articles that follows a brand new comic shop from its opening day. It’s been an interesting look at what goes into operating a small business. I find it almost intriguing that only one of the owners is a comics nerd. The other one is a friend who got drug into the business.
The latest installment is up, and it contains this telling little tidbit:
"There was a girl who came in who looked like she was about high school age. I asked her, "Can I help you find anything?" And she said, "I don't know. I was just curious. I've never read a comic before." I said, "What kind of things are you into?" She just says, "Um. I'm into romance." That's a tough one to swallow when it comes to comics. I don't really carry manga. So I was trying to think of a romance title. I had just finished reading a few Noble Causes trades a couple weeks before that. It's like a superhero soap opera. So I turned her on to the first trade of Noble Causes. A couple weeks later she was loving it. Digging it. She wanted Volume 2. It's a great title."
On the one hand, they’ve stated a couple of times that they want to be able to serve the casual reader/browser that wanders into the store. On the other, when one does come in (a female, yet), they’re almost at a loss for a recommendation! Happily, the one they can make seems to have clicked with her, but the whole incident makes it look like the store is lacking in a depth and variety of selection (and the owners are definitely lacking in their knowledge of what's out there), which is kind of sad. You can’t get new readers/customers without the material that will appeal to them. I wonder why so many LCS owners don't seem to get that concept.
Comics
Dorian wrapped up his week of non-comic book talk on Friday in a particularly eye-catching way.
There are very few super-hero comics I want to read these days, and it looks like the one I’m most interested in reading will never be published again.
Newsarama has been doing a long-term series of articles that follows a brand new comic shop from its opening day. It’s been an interesting look at what goes into operating a small business. I find it almost intriguing that only one of the owners is a comics nerd. The other one is a friend who got drug into the business.
The latest installment is up, and it contains this telling little tidbit:
"There was a girl who came in who looked like she was about high school age. I asked her, "Can I help you find anything?" And she said, "I don't know. I was just curious. I've never read a comic before." I said, "What kind of things are you into?" She just says, "Um. I'm into romance." That's a tough one to swallow when it comes to comics. I don't really carry manga. So I was trying to think of a romance title. I had just finished reading a few Noble Causes trades a couple weeks before that. It's like a superhero soap opera. So I turned her on to the first trade of Noble Causes. A couple weeks later she was loving it. Digging it. She wanted Volume 2. It's a great title."
On the one hand, they’ve stated a couple of times that they want to be able to serve the casual reader/browser that wanders into the store. On the other, when one does come in (a female, yet), they’re almost at a loss for a recommendation! Happily, the one they can make seems to have clicked with her, but the whole incident makes it look like the store is lacking in a depth and variety of selection (and the owners are definitely lacking in their knowledge of what's out there), which is kind of sad. You can’t get new readers/customers without the material that will appeal to them. I wonder why so many LCS owners don't seem to get that concept.
The guys at Alter Ego may think they're operating a store that's friendly to the non-comics reader and casual browser, but they're not.
I wish APE would post their programming schedule. I already know that I’m going to be doing a lot of browsing and shopping, but I’d like to know what else they’ve got planned.
Shows, CD's and What Not
Music Mish Mash
Keith and I went to see Kieran McGee do an in store show at Ear X-tacy on Saturday, pre-back strain. I don’t get where this flood of young folks doing this music that’s so heavily influenced by traditional and old-time tunes is coming from, but I hope it doesn’t stop any time soon. To look at him, you’d expect him to do these droney emo-core mope-ass songs, and he hits you with this flood of old time country bluesy twangy music! His lyrics could have used a tweak or two in places, but it’s obvious he’s got great talent and potential. I’ll have to check out his CD, soon!
I found an Edith Piaf CD at a thrift store recently and spent yesterday playing it. I really got a kick out of it. Great, great stuff! It was a fun change of pace from my usual listening habits.
Music Mish Mash
Keith and I went to see Kieran McGee do an in store show at Ear X-tacy on Saturday, pre-back strain. I don’t get where this flood of young folks doing this music that’s so heavily influenced by traditional and old-time tunes is coming from, but I hope it doesn’t stop any time soon. To look at him, you’d expect him to do these droney emo-core mope-ass songs, and he hits you with this flood of old time country bluesy twangy music! His lyrics could have used a tweak or two in places, but it’s obvious he’s got great talent and potential. I’ll have to check out his CD, soon!
I ended up going to see Natalie MacMaster with a friend from work, since Keith wasn’t feeling well. There simply aren’t enough superlatives to describe the show. From start to finish it was a blast of high energy playing, charisma, and fun. MacMaster took great pains to point out that despite all the flash, her music is firmly rooted in the Cape Breton tradition, with “a few bells and whistles added on.”
I think it’s this sense of rootedness and tradition that made for such a great show. Yes, there were all sorts of extra touches, electric bass, drums, and so on, but they never overpowered the fiddle-playing. Instead, they supported and complemented it, creating a mix of the old and the new that was intoxicating.
MacMaster is a consummate musician and entertainer as well. She spent the show interacting with various band members, pulling them off to one part of the stage or another, as if they were a mini-band within her larger band. She carried the audience along too, teaching about Cape Breton and its music, as well as entertaining. She’s also not afraid to let her musicians shine on their own; in the middle of the show, her piper, Matt MacIsaac, gave a solo on the Highland bagpipe.
I found an Edith Piaf CD at a thrift store recently and spent yesterday playing it. I really got a kick out of it. Great, great stuff! It was a fun change of pace from my usual listening habits.
Keith and I have become really enamored of the Americana music channel we get on cable via Music Choice lately. We can listen to a variety of artists, many that we know and like and many that we don't kow but find intriguing, without having to change CD's! It's encouraging that they'll play even more politically-charged music, like stuff from Steve Earle's last CD. We are puzzled by a few of their choices, though. I mean, Alan Jackson? On an Americana channel? C'mon!
Better Late Than Never, I Guess
Comics
Note: I actually had hopes of getting this posted in a somewhat timely fashion. I was kind of proud of actually completing a Previews write up, early in the month, for the first time since I started this blog. But, for some reason, it never happened. However, I'm determined to have more comic-related content here, so I am going ahead and posting it (as originally written) to meet that goal, if nothing else. Since I am posting this so late in the month, I have decided to forego adding links to titles and publisher.
Previews has pretty slim pickings this month. Maybe that means I’ll finally get one of these things finished and posted. Maybe not, but a guy can dream, right? Think of this as nothing more than a few things that came to mind as I looked over this month’s listings. Some of them I will order. Some I won’t. Some I already have. Some just brought out my snarky pundit, for whatever it’s worth.
Dark Horse has another of their wonderful Little Lulu volumes: Sunday Afternoon. I just wish they would include volume numbers, to make it easier to keep up with things. As a long-term Lulu lover, I’ve been getting a great kick out of this series. John Stanley rocks!
DH also has the first new Too Much Coffee Man book in FOREVER, which will make Keith very happy. Me too, especially when it’s combined with a new volume of What’s Michael. I haven’t seen this munch to look forward to from Dark Horse in AGES!
DC continues to mine the aging fanboy nostalgia market with The Wrath of the Spectre tpb, which reprints some genuinely creepy Spectre stories from the 70’s by Michael Fleisher and Jim Aparo. For their time, these were some pretty disturbing stories, but I doubt that feeling has held up in the years since their original publication. TwoMorrows stakes its own claim to aging fanboy nostalgia dollars with a book about the THUNDER Agents.
Hoping to hitch a ride on the coattails of the movie (sorry about that), DC is also trotting out their Hitchhiker’s Guide tpb again.
A few months ago, Brian Hibbs stated in one of his Newsarama columns that Image had an image problem (sorry again). He feels that the company lacks a clearly defined identity. Several people took issue with that statement, but this month’s solicitations support his thesis. Mixed in amongst the standard Image fare is this:
SLOP: ANACLETA TP
May 25 • 144 pg • BW • $12.99
written by DAVE CROSLAND & DEBBIE
art & cover by DAVE CROSLAND & DEBBIE
This digest-sized volume is a collection of short stories from underground kingpin DAVE CROSLAND (BAD IDEAS, PUFFED, HEAVEN LLC) and his partner in crime, DEBBIE (Venus Magazine, Spin, tastes like chicken). The book culls the best stories from the five-year run of their out-of-print mini-comic, SLOP, including the Zine Yearbook Award-winning “Patience Gets You Nowhere, Tolerance Gets You Hurt.” It also contains original pinups and rare sketchwork from DAVE and DEBBIE’s art book, Acid Bomb, monthly “Slop” comic strips that appeared on tlchicken.com and all sorts of never-before-seen doodles and goodies. As if that wasn’t enough, SLOP: ANACLETA is rounded out by four brand new, mind-blowing comic shorts. It’s all the humor, drama and social commentary these tenacious Ds could muster, finally collected and available to the worldwide masses!
I know that Image prides itself on being a home for creator-owned work, but that’s too vague a concept to be a core identity. What they need is a series of imprints and lines, kind of like DC does, to at least organize their output a little better. I can see four:
Crappy comics from the Image founders
Lame super-hero comics from other people
The few titles we publish that are actually good
Oddball stuff like Slop: Anacleta that’s probably pretty bad
Moving into the back, Mike Allred is offering another issue of his retelling of the Book of Mormon. I may be alone in this, but I’m finding this series to be fascinating. In my Southern Baptist upbringing, Mormonism was considered a cult, so I don’t know much about their central scripture book at all. It’s pretty hokey and outlandish in places, but no more so than any other scripture collection. Allred’s art suits the story well, and this is obviously a labor of love for him. If I’m going to indulge my weakness for religiously-themed comics, it’s nice to see one done my one of my favorite artists!
Speaking of religiously-oriented works and favorite artists, Vertical has another volume of Tezuka’s Buddha up for release. When they first started this series, I worried that they might fold before getting all eight volumes out. They’re up to six, so it looks like they’re proving me wrong. This is probably the best series being published right now, and certainly the best thing from Tezuka I’ve ever read. (Which says a lot when you realize how much I love Adolf.)
Out of all the other manga, the only thing that looks interesting is Pale Pink from CPM. You don’t see many manga dealing with topics like bulimia and self-esteem issues. I just hope the book doesn’t end up going for melodrama at the expense of serious storytelling. ADV is releasing the original Gatchaman anime series, the one that was bastardized into Battle of the Planets. I have wanted to see this for YEARS, so this is exciting news!
On the alternative side of the comics playing field, Alternative is offering a Xeric winning book by Bishakh Som, called Angel. On the one hand, it sounds interesting. On the other, a solicitation that references Beardsley, Klimt, Gorey, and Jaime Hernanadez may be raising expectations too high for the work to meet. Drawn and Quarterly has the first of their Gasoline Alley collections. At 400 pages, it’s going to be pretty hefty! I hope it does well for them. I’d like to see the King strips completely collected. DQ also has a new book from Luc Giard. I don’t think I’ve seen anything from him since the earliest issues of DQ.
Fantagraphics has a new collection from Johnny Ryan. Oh, joy. They more than make up for that lapse in judgement, however, with new books from Thomas Ott, Jason, and Paul Hornschmeier.
I cannot remember seeing Britsh publisher Knockabout in Previews before, so their solicitation came as a pleasant surprise. A very pleasant surprise, indeed, given the listing of a book from Hunt Emerson! NBM takes on Lincoln’s assassination in the newest Victorian Murder volume from Rick Geary. And Top Shelf rounds out the alt round-up with a new volume from James Kochalka—featuring super-heroes, believe it or not!
And to prove that not every thing in the back of the Previews catalog is worth reading, Dementian Comics has another volume of Stylish Vittles from Tyler Page. I’ve never seen a series with the potential to be so good waste its time on pretense and indulgence the way this one does. The core of Page’s story, a retelling of his first serious relationship, is pretty solid, but he lays out conflicts that aren’t resolved and can’t resist playing all kinds of authorial tricks which bog things down and distract from the story. If he had a good editor, this three volume sprawling epic could have been pared down to one volume of solid story.
Also in the over-praised disappointment category, the new True Story Swear to God trade is solicited from AIT/Planetlar. This one will contain what I consider to be the absolute low point of the series: the protagonist coping with the thought of a hurricane threatening his lover’s home by imagining them both as super-heroes! Thankfully, it’s just for one scene at the beginning of a story, but it almost completely undermines the emotional impact of the rest of the story. It’s a shame that the scenes showing Lily and her friends barricaded inside while the hurricane rages all around them and Tom waits and worries by the phone are undercut by the nonsense that opens the story.
This continues to be one of the most frustrating series I read. It has such potential, but manages to waste a lot of it. Even when they aren’t flying over hurricanes, there still seems to be something in the story that keeps me from totally investing in Tom and Lily and their story. For a true to life story, I often feel like everything is being carefully crafted to place some topics and areas of discussion off-limits to me as a reader. Unfortunately, these are the very things that would make the story much more interesting and realistic.
Of course, every time I think I’m going to drop the series, it has a minor upswing, so I stick around optimistically hoping that the series will start growing into its potential. Needless to say, I usually end up disappointed. Thankfully the recent issues dealing with Tom’s decision to uproot himself from the only home he’s ever known to move to Puerto Rico with Lily have much more emotional resonance than is typical for this series. Which, of course, means I’m still hanging on.
Finally, looking at things more tailored for the bookstore than the comic shop, Marjane Satrpi has a new book, Embroideries (Pantheon) and Puffin has a whole raft of classics as gn’s, including MacBeth and Black Beauty. Keith Knight is putting out another K Chronicles collection too. Pickings may have been slim, but some of them look really nice.
For other opinions on Previews: check out Johanna Draper Carlson, Augie de Blieck, (both de Blieck and Carlson have more favorable opinions of True Story and Stylish Vittles than I do), and Ninth Art.
Sunday, March 20, 2005
The Fine Art of Re-Surfacing
Music
This is the weekend's musical update. According to the latest email newsletter from Not Lame Records, the entire Boomtown Rats catalog is being reissued! This stuff has been out of print FOREVER!! Yay!
Music
This is the weekend's musical update. According to the latest email newsletter from Not Lame Records, the entire Boomtown Rats catalog is being reissued! This stuff has been out of print FOREVER!! Yay!
Friday, March 18, 2005
Concert Catch Up
Music
I have a real bad habit of writing posts and setting them aside for proofing and editing and then never getting around to posting them. As a result, I’ve pitched about a dozen Days of Our Lives updates because they got to be so out of date. I really don’t want to do that to these concert posts, because I thought all the shows were worthy of comment. So, if you’ll pardon the length, here is a run down of the shows we’ve seen so far in 2005. I’m trying to paste and edit together all those old, unused blogs, so I hope it all flows okay.
Family Children First Fundraiser (sometime in January—can’t find the date now)
It was all about good music for a good cause in January at the Rudyard Kipling. Five local bands came together to raise money for Family and Children First, a local counseling/social service agency that had been hit by two devastating break-ins recently, resulting in the loss of many of the gift certificates and things they use to help families in need.
Some of our agency’s programs partner with and interact with Family and Children First, so I thought it would be good to go. The fact that two of my favorite local performers, Tim Krekel and Danny Flanigan, were on the bill had nothing to do with it, of course. The cause was good. The price was right for a show featuring three acts we didn’t know anything about.
I’m always up for exploring new artists, usually more than Keith, and there were a few signs that indicated I just might like them. The event organizers had gotten alt-country mag No Depression to sponsor the show, for one thing. As an avid ND reader, I know the music they support and it’s typically what I like.
Besides supporting FCF and hearing the bands, going to a show sponsored by ND was kind of important to me too. One of ND’s publishers lives in Morehead, KY and this was the first show in the state that I knew of where they were involved. I wanted to support that idea, so that maybe this kind of thing can happen again. Louisville and Lexington are full of the kind of musicians ND supports, so are Berea, Frankfort, the Northern Ky area, and on and on.
Tim Krekel opened the show with his rootsy rock. It was the first time we’d ever seen him with his band, which includes a couple of horn players. Tim can rock out on his own with just his guitar, so what the band added to his songs was a little more color and dimension. It was fun to hear live versions of songs like Sunshine Baby and Happy Town with full instrumentation.
I love acoustic music. I always have. I like the organic feel it has, and the way the unadorned connection between the performer/songwriter and song comes to life. It’s almost like hearing the song the way it was heard the first time it was played. Nevertheless, I also like the chance to get a different perspective to familiar songs. That’s what I got from the Krekel band that night..
Of course, Krekel ended up with a small crew of Krekies in the audience. Their singing and dancing brought an element of fun to the event and helped set the right mood for the evening.
I’d never heard The Betweeners, who came next. They’re a smaller group and their music struck me as a mix of old timey music, alt-country, and some rock. Unfortunately, the lead singer’s vocals weren’t miked very well, so he kept getting lost in the mix. That’s not a good way to hear a group for the first time, because you can’t get a handle on the lyrics. Still, I was intrigued enough by them to want to hear them again, which is a good thing to say about someone you hear for the first time.
Dallas Alice was next up. They take their name from Willing, a truck-driving song that’s been recorded by dozens of folks. I think of it primarily as a Linda Ronstadt song, but the band kept referring to Willie Nelson’s version. Of course they also performed it as part of their set. Their songs have some twisted humor in them, which I really liked. I’ll definitely be getting one of their CD’s soon.
I wasn’t that impressed with the next act, the John Mann Band. He had a three piece horn section, which was fun to watch and listen to, but his songs didn’t have anything to them that reached out and grabbed me.
Danny Flanigan closed out the show, with his band, the rain chorus. Like Krekel, it was the first time we had seen him with his band. They did a pretty complete set of their best crowd-pleasing songs: Vernon’s Mud, the ode to the working man, Flanigan’s exhortation for people to get involved and make change, Work the Change, Faith Never Sleeps, a song about hard times, Iowa, about an emotional family reunion, and others. They really rocked out throughout the whole set, on into the encore, where they did covers of Country Roads and Me and Julio among other songs.
Their best moment, though, came when Flanigan debuted a new song, one that the band hadn’t even heard before. He told them to take a break and started to play, but bit by bit they started picking up on the melody and playing along with him, even improvising guitar solos and backing vocals. It was fun to watch a group of creative minds coming together ad hoc to contribute to the song.
The only real downer to the night was slow service from the Rud, which is perennially understaffed. There was a huge crowd all night long, and there were only two servers to cover everyone. I felt sorry for them. Judging from the size of the crowd, Family and Children First raised quite a bit of money, which is good. I hope they’ll use some of it for new locks.
Music Weekend in February
The weekend of February 25-26 was a good one for music. That Friday night we went to see Chicago folk duo Small Potatoes at the Kentucky Theatre. I’m glad to see the Kentucky having more performances and getting active again. They’ve had a tough year in terms of funding. I hope things are starting to look up for them.
I had not heard Small Potatoes, but had heard of them. I talked Keith into going based on that reputation, which is the kind of thing I’m prone to do. He calls me our social planner, based on my tendency to find some odd little musical event or art exhibit for us to check out.
Anyway, it was a great performance. Like a lot of more grass-roots oriented musicians, Small Potatoes’ repertoire is a combination of insightful songs mixed with slightly silly ones. The best of the silly category was a ditty about a traveling salesman who meets the Knott family: Will, his wife Norma Lee, and daughters May Bea, Shirley, and Wy (short for Wynona). They called this their “Abbot and Costello on Hee Haw” song, and if you say those names out loud with the family name, you’ll see why. It was fun.
Their other songs dealt with the things that make up life: aging, love, living in community, trying to make each moment count. The song A Thousand Candles, A Thousand Cranes used the story of two women scarred by World War II to make a case for growing beyond past pains to build a peaceful world. The lifetime of hatred one woman has borne for the Japanese after losing two of her sons in the war is finally overcome when a woman who survived Hiroshima becomes her nurse.
Music
I have a real bad habit of writing posts and setting them aside for proofing and editing and then never getting around to posting them. As a result, I’ve pitched about a dozen Days of Our Lives updates because they got to be so out of date. I really don’t want to do that to these concert posts, because I thought all the shows were worthy of comment. So, if you’ll pardon the length, here is a run down of the shows we’ve seen so far in 2005. I’m trying to paste and edit together all those old, unused blogs, so I hope it all flows okay.
Family Children First Fundraiser (sometime in January—can’t find the date now)
It was all about good music for a good cause in January at the Rudyard Kipling. Five local bands came together to raise money for Family and Children First, a local counseling/social service agency that had been hit by two devastating break-ins recently, resulting in the loss of many of the gift certificates and things they use to help families in need.
Some of our agency’s programs partner with and interact with Family and Children First, so I thought it would be good to go. The fact that two of my favorite local performers, Tim Krekel and Danny Flanigan, were on the bill had nothing to do with it, of course. The cause was good. The price was right for a show featuring three acts we didn’t know anything about.
I’m always up for exploring new artists, usually more than Keith, and there were a few signs that indicated I just might like them. The event organizers had gotten alt-country mag No Depression to sponsor the show, for one thing. As an avid ND reader, I know the music they support and it’s typically what I like.
Besides supporting FCF and hearing the bands, going to a show sponsored by ND was kind of important to me too. One of ND’s publishers lives in Morehead, KY and this was the first show in the state that I knew of where they were involved. I wanted to support that idea, so that maybe this kind of thing can happen again. Louisville and Lexington are full of the kind of musicians ND supports, so are Berea, Frankfort, the Northern Ky area, and on and on.
Tim Krekel opened the show with his rootsy rock. It was the first time we’d ever seen him with his band, which includes a couple of horn players. Tim can rock out on his own with just his guitar, so what the band added to his songs was a little more color and dimension. It was fun to hear live versions of songs like Sunshine Baby and Happy Town with full instrumentation.
I love acoustic music. I always have. I like the organic feel it has, and the way the unadorned connection between the performer/songwriter and song comes to life. It’s almost like hearing the song the way it was heard the first time it was played. Nevertheless, I also like the chance to get a different perspective to familiar songs. That’s what I got from the Krekel band that night..
Of course, Krekel ended up with a small crew of Krekies in the audience. Their singing and dancing brought an element of fun to the event and helped set the right mood for the evening.
I’d never heard The Betweeners, who came next. They’re a smaller group and their music struck me as a mix of old timey music, alt-country, and some rock. Unfortunately, the lead singer’s vocals weren’t miked very well, so he kept getting lost in the mix. That’s not a good way to hear a group for the first time, because you can’t get a handle on the lyrics. Still, I was intrigued enough by them to want to hear them again, which is a good thing to say about someone you hear for the first time.
Dallas Alice was next up. They take their name from Willing, a truck-driving song that’s been recorded by dozens of folks. I think of it primarily as a Linda Ronstadt song, but the band kept referring to Willie Nelson’s version. Of course they also performed it as part of their set. Their songs have some twisted humor in them, which I really liked. I’ll definitely be getting one of their CD’s soon.
I wasn’t that impressed with the next act, the John Mann Band. He had a three piece horn section, which was fun to watch and listen to, but his songs didn’t have anything to them that reached out and grabbed me.
Danny Flanigan closed out the show, with his band, the rain chorus. Like Krekel, it was the first time we had seen him with his band. They did a pretty complete set of their best crowd-pleasing songs: Vernon’s Mud, the ode to the working man, Flanigan’s exhortation for people to get involved and make change, Work the Change, Faith Never Sleeps, a song about hard times, Iowa, about an emotional family reunion, and others. They really rocked out throughout the whole set, on into the encore, where they did covers of Country Roads and Me and Julio among other songs.
Their best moment, though, came when Flanigan debuted a new song, one that the band hadn’t even heard before. He told them to take a break and started to play, but bit by bit they started picking up on the melody and playing along with him, even improvising guitar solos and backing vocals. It was fun to watch a group of creative minds coming together ad hoc to contribute to the song.
The only real downer to the night was slow service from the Rud, which is perennially understaffed. There was a huge crowd all night long, and there were only two servers to cover everyone. I felt sorry for them. Judging from the size of the crowd, Family and Children First raised quite a bit of money, which is good. I hope they’ll use some of it for new locks.
Music Weekend in February
The weekend of February 25-26 was a good one for music. That Friday night we went to see Chicago folk duo Small Potatoes at the Kentucky Theatre. I’m glad to see the Kentucky having more performances and getting active again. They’ve had a tough year in terms of funding. I hope things are starting to look up for them.
I had not heard Small Potatoes, but had heard of them. I talked Keith into going based on that reputation, which is the kind of thing I’m prone to do. He calls me our social planner, based on my tendency to find some odd little musical event or art exhibit for us to check out.
Anyway, it was a great performance. Like a lot of more grass-roots oriented musicians, Small Potatoes’ repertoire is a combination of insightful songs mixed with slightly silly ones. The best of the silly category was a ditty about a traveling salesman who meets the Knott family: Will, his wife Norma Lee, and daughters May Bea, Shirley, and Wy (short for Wynona). They called this their “Abbot and Costello on Hee Haw” song, and if you say those names out loud with the family name, you’ll see why. It was fun.
Their other songs dealt with the things that make up life: aging, love, living in community, trying to make each moment count. The song A Thousand Candles, A Thousand Cranes used the story of two women scarred by World War II to make a case for growing beyond past pains to build a peaceful world. The lifetime of hatred one woman has borne for the Japanese after losing two of her sons in the war is finally overcome when a woman who survived Hiroshima becomes her nurse.
Small Potatoes play several instruments and a variety of genres, referring to themselves as “eclectomaniacs,” but their greatest strength is their songwriting. During the song Time Flies the narrator grapples with getting older, saying “Time flies and I can’t get off the ground.” In their closing song, they used a series of (not so) rhetorical questions to make a case for deliberately living to make a difference, even if it’s small.
For me the high point of the concert came after the intermission, when they opened with an ancient Irish tune and segued immediately into Phil Ochs’ I Ain’t Marching Any More, a poignant anti-war song, which details the devastation wrought throughout American history by war. At the end of the song, they made the comment that a few years ago they would have thought the Ochs song was just a “quaint bit of nostalgia.” Sigh!
Saturday evening, we went to Headliners to see Buddy Miller. It was the most interesting Headliners experience I think we’ve ever had. We got there a half hour before the door opened to find we were the first people in line. Usually getting there that close to opening puts you behind a couple dozen people. This is significant when you realize that Headliners doesn’t have a whole lot of seating and all the shows are general admission.
By the time the doors opened, there was only one other couple waiting there with us. We actually began to worry that the turnout would be low. The place filled up after a little while though. Since the only station that plays Miller’s music is our AAA format public radio station, the audience was largely made up of station-listeners, which meant a lot of people our age or slightly older. As a result, there was a lot less cigarette smoke to deal with and fewer annoying drunks. It was Headliners like we had never seen it before. I almost think I could get used to that.
The most noticeable exception was the other couple who was waiting outside with us. They pulled up in a cab, and she was carrying a highball glass from the hotel where they were staying. (They were from out of town.) Before the show started, they had several mixed drinks, and I saw him ordering vodka shots at the bar. After the music started, they had no telling how many beers. Still, they managed to keep to themselves and not bother anyone else the whole night. And at least they weren’t driving!
The opening act was Louisville alt-country band 10 Months Later. I had not heard them before, but I liked what I heard enough to want to check them out again some time. Some times that’s about the best thing you can say about a band that’s new to you.
Buddy Miller only had a three piece band (drums, bass, keyboards, along with Miller on electric guitar), which gave the songs a sparse, stripped down feel that benefits his somewhat dark, brooding material really well. I thought things would feel different without the powerful, gospel-oriented back up singers he’s been using lately, but the low key back up let the power of Buddy’s killer guitar playing and songwriting take center stage.
They opened with rocking versions of Hole in My Head, Does My Ring Burn Your Finger, and Worry Too Much, and then went in to some of the more gospel-oriented material from his latest CD, Universal United House of Prayer. There was an oddly communal feeling to signing along with his cover of the Louvin Brothers’ Higher Power with a room full of strangers! Shelter Me Lord had a similar feel to it. Much more of that and it would have been almost like being at church, albeit one which features alt-country bands and keeps an open bar.
That churchy vibe might explain the wedding in the middle of the show. Yes, I said “wedding.” The drummer and his long term girlfriend were married by the keyboard player who is apparently ordained in some fashion. The band put on little while silk flowers as boutonnières, and the bride carried a bunch of carrots. The ceremony was short and direct: The keyboard player asked if they loved each other and wanted to commit. They said “Yes.” He pronounced them married. They kissed and put on rings made of guitar strings. As odd as it all sounds, I think it was serious.
Keith was even recruited to serve as official wedding photographer. He was taking pics of the band, when two women asked him if he would take some shots of the ceremony. He talked one of the security folks into letting him go up into the balcony area, which was closed for this show, and fired away. You just never know what’s going to happen when you leave the house some evenings.
Miller interacted with the crowd all evening, on and off stage. I actually ran into him going into the bathroom before the show. He smiled at me! During the show, he talked at length about how Emmylou Harris intervened when his record label wanted to call Universal something else. He didn’t find out she did that until after the fact, but for me it only reinforces her status as the Mother Goddess of Music. She looks out for her “children.” He also shared his conversation with Jim Lauderdale about appropriate Grammy dress.
Even with all the extra happenings, it was Miller’s music that was the star of the show. His version of his wife Julie’s song In My Father’s Arms raised the hair on my arms, while his wail in Midnight and Lonesome ripped my heart out. It was a heckuva show and a heckuva night. Awesome.
Homefront in February
The new season of Homefront started last month, and we were right there picking up our season passes. We both feel so guilty for missing so many shows last season that I doubt we let one go by this spring.
John Gage and company started off on the right foot this time, with Traveler’s Dream, Junkyard Jane, Janis Pruitt, and Steve Jowasis. The first show opened with Jowaisis, who used traditional instruments to perform a variety of traditional and orginal tunes. He performs in a variety of venues, including schools, and his love for traditional music and drive to share with any audience that will listen was evident in his performance. I bet that his engaging personality is great with kids.
Traveler’s Dream was next up. Like Jowaisis, they perform a variety of traditional and original tunes, but they incorporate folk tunes and instruments from a variety of other cultures that have helped form the American experience: Irish, French, Gypsy and others. Their performance was marred by a couple of technical glitches, but part of the fun of going to a Homefront taping is the occasional re-take. Given all of the things that can go wrong in a live performance, I’m always surprised that there aren’t more do-overs.
The second show veered more towards the contemporary end of the scale with singer-song-writer Janis Pruitt. I’ve only heard Pruitt a couple of times, but she has a way of telling stories and crafting songs that reminds me of both Kate Campbell and Carrie Newcomer. I was especially touched by her song about the way love of music helped form a bond for Pruitt and her father, despite the fact that their musical tastes were wildly divergent. I also liked the bouncy Amsterdam, an ode to a love long lost.
Junkyard Jane followed with their “swampbilly” sound—a conglomeration of rock, Cajun, folk, blues, country and anything else that can be thrown into the mix. They’re almost as much fun to watch as to listen to. Their drummer has a kit that’s largely homemade, seemingly out of whatever odds and ends he could get his hands on, while vocalist LeeAnn Trevalyan also plays everything from a washboard to a kazoo shaped like a trombone. They were great!
In between the acts on both shows, storyteller Graham Chapman shared stories of his experiences teaching English in Japan. Each story was liberally sprinkled with bits of Japanese (along with a translation), which gave them a grounding in the culture where they happened. It was a great start to a new season.
Homefront on March 12
In honor of St Patrick’s Day, Homefront shows in March typically feature Celtic acts, featuring a couple of this region’s many talented bands that play music of Irish origin (frequently with some Scottish, English, and Bluegrass tunes thrown into the mix). I tend to look forward to those shows, because we’re guaranteed good music. (I really like authentic Celtic music.) Unfortunately, this particular Saturday’s show didn’t fully deliver on that promise.
The first hour was the Celtic hour, as the show that was taped featured Colin Grant-Adams and Guilderoy Byrne. Grant-Adams is a transplant to Kentucky from Scotland, and his set included both original and traditional tunes. While introducing Grant-Adams’ set, Homefront host John Gage said that they had been trying to get him on the show for a long time. After his set, all I could do was wonder “Why?”
He has a pleasant enough voice and plays guitar competently, but his original compositions were underwhelming, with awkward lyrical structures that made them hard to follow. His rendition of Barbara Allen sounded like it was lifted right off a Burl Ives album, turning this tragic love ballad into some kind of bouncy, sing-a-long campfire ditty. The only good song in his set was another original Where the Rhododendrons Grow, which drew upon this plant, common to both a certain area in Scotland and a part of Tennessee where many Scots settled, to tell the story of people making their way in the new world, taking comfort in the familiar, while overcoming the challenges of the new. The song’s lyrics were plain and direct, which meant that the emotion they carried was powerful and real. Unfortunately, from there he went back into sing-along schmaltz mode by closing with When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.
Thankfully, Guilderoy Byrne more than made up for the poor first act with their set, a mixture of traditional music, original songs, instrumentals, and more. They played a combination of traditional instruments with non-trad items like bongos mixed in. I was really impressed with their fiddle player (who also played the viola at one point). In addition to the nimble fiddling typically associated with Celtic music, she frequently used her instrument to add mournful undertones to the songs, an effect I found really haunting. The mix of music (including a couple polkas!) kept the audience engaged, clapping along, and singing from time to time. They closed with a four-song medley that showcased a variety of instruments and left me wanting much more.
It’s rare when Homefront has an act disappoints me as much as Grant-Adams did, but the other three acts usually make up for it. This Saturday turned out to be the first night that two of the acts were mediocre. The second set featured Jason Eustice and Danny Flanigan. I knew that Flanigan was performing without his band, and I only saw one chair set up for Eustace (who opened), so I guessed that the theme for the show was going to be sensitive singer-songwriter guys. Boy, was I wrong.
In introducing Eustice, John Gage described him as a young man making his way in Nashville, which started to make me a little apprehensive. That could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how one goes about making one’s way. Then he started to sing. And it wasn’t a good thing. Not at all.
It’s not that he wasn’t talented. He played well. He sang well. He’s young and cute. He’s got good hair and trendy clothes. And he writes overwrought, sentimental songs with all the substance of a cotton ball. In other words, with the right management, he’s primed for mainstream, contemporary country music success, either as a songwriter for others or a performer in his own right. And none of that is what I go to Homefront to see.
About halfway through the first song, I thought: “This is way too Rascal Flatts for me.” Two songs later, he announced that the next song is being considered for a Rascal Flatts album! (And this was after two that were being considered by Brooks and Dunn.) The whole set was just awkward and out of place. Homefront is about preserving musical traditions and grassroots artists. It’s not about lyrics like: “Every morning when I wake up/The first breath I exhale/I tell the man in the mirror/To go straight to hell.” (Try saying that with a straight face. I dare you.)
Admittedly, I’m not the demographic for this kind of stuff, but bad music is bad music. And Homefront exists to counter stuff like this and celebrate the good music that’s out there. I’m chalking this one up as an aberration.
Once again, the show was saved by the second set. After John Gage sang an Irene Kelley song and reminded us how good country music can be when it’s simple, honest, and direct, Danny Flanigan took the stage and repeated the lesson. Opening with Three Days to Benjamin, his song about leaving his son to go on a tour. With a few simple, low key phrases, Flanigan sums up his frustration with having to leave the son he loves to play the music he loves. Rather than dwell on the difficulty of the separation, he builds on the anticipation of the reunion, as the song counts down the things that stand between him and his son: three days, three states, three hours, three roads, three walls. It’s bittersweet and touching, and the complete opposite of anything performed in the first set.
The rest of his set was just as moving—sometimes to laughter, sometimes to deep thought. Unfortunately, the show was running over, and to make the tape length, he had to cut things short. But Gage asked him to do an encore once the tape stopped, and he obliged with Dumpy Like Dad, a new song about the perils of middle-aged metabolism.
It was the most mixed night I’ve ever seen at Homefront. But even a mixed night at Homefront is better than a good one somewhere else. On the plus side, the place was packed. I haven’t seen it that full in a long time. There were hardly any empty seats! I hope those folks saw enough of the good side of Homefront to want to come back.
They announced at the beginning of the show that they’re looking into taping the shows for TV broadcast in addition to radio, which is a fantastic opportunity for them. To prepare for this, they’ve been putting together a new set for the stage. It’s supposed to debut next month. Unfortunately, I have to miss that show, so I’ll have to wait until May to see it. They’ve also gotten back into the groove of updating their web page regularly, which is a good thing.
Whew! Thanks for bearing with that. I’ll work harder at keeping up with that. I’m worn out from putting it all together!
Upcoming Shows
For Keith and Eddie:
Natalie MacMaster at the Kentucky Center for the Arts (Tonight!)
Ladysmith Black Mambazo at the Brown Theatre (Next Friday)
For Eddie in San Francisco:
Shivaree with Clem Snide
Michael Penn
For Keith in Louisville while Eddie’s in San Francisco:
Steve Earle at Headliners(!)
Todd Snider at Headliners
Looks like we’ll both miss Homefront in April!
Possible Shows for Keith and Eddie:
Kieran McGee at Ear X-Tacy (This Saturday)
Sahara Odyssey: Arabic Music and Dance at Kentucky Theater (Next Saturday)
Girlyman at the Rud on March 30 (I just got an email saying that they've got a new CD ready to come out soon!)
Alan Rhody and Tim Krekel at the Rud on April 15
Slaid Cleaves at the Rud on April 27
(I haven’t talked with him about any of these, but they’re all easily doable.)
I also have a feeling—call it a hunch, if you will—that Keith will catch the free Todd Snider show at Ear X-Tacy on April 9….
And there’s also a certain singing Cajun passing through here in May….
Plus, this guy coming in April!
Musically, at least, life is good!
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