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Relay For Life Setlist...

For the Relay for Life (Sunday, July 8 at 1 a.m.), the setlist looks like: SET ONE: Dead Things in the Shower—fast two-step (chairperson Robin requested it) Bungee Jumpin’ Jesus—deliberate Gospel Crosses by the Roadside—slow two-step (and one of my two cancer-related songs) Bluebird on My Windshield—fast bluegrass Invitation to St. Patrick—sleazy blues The World Enquirer—fast bluegrass Milepost 43—mod. tempo two-step Welcome to Hebo Waltz—fast waltz Sell
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Recording (Finally)...

Recording at Jim’s Monday… He’s now got “base†tracks (rhythm guitar and vocal) for “In the Shadows, I’ll Be Watching You,†“The Dead Sweethearts Polka,†“Born Again Barbie,†“Pole Dancing for Jesus,†“50 Ways to Cure the Depression†and the Jedi Pigs of Oz theme song, “1-800-HANSOLO.†Managed to do all that in less than two hours. And we’ll do some more, probably in a couple of weeks. Got the second Dylan Show and my gig at the Relay for Life to get out of the
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About That Future...

Thought-provoking question from Lorelei Loveridge at Performing Songwriters. What DOES the future of the music business look like, these days? And what is our place in it? One view (by an industry professional) suggests the “amateurization†of music production, thanks to cheap and available technology, has cheapened music to the point of valuelessness; no one will make money off music because it’s all free and anybody can do it. There was a science-fiction story about that—not
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Practice, Computer, And Random Thoughts...

COASTER PRACTICE. Went well; our renditions of some of my songs—“The Abomination Two-Step,†“Cuddle in the Darkness,†“Hank’s Song,†“Pole Dancing for Jesus,†“Naked Space Hamsters in Love,†and “Spend the End of the World with Meâ€â€”are excellent. We are, I think, ready for prime time—and that’s good, because prime time is coming up. Gigs at 2nd Street Market in Tillamook June 29 (2 hours), the Dylan Shows at NCRD June 30 and July 7 (4 songs), Wheeler Summerfest Jul
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The Mid-Year Review...

Time again for that mid-year review of the Worklist. How the heck are we doing? ALBUM. I think it’ll be the “religious†songs this time. Tentative title: 13 Reasons Why Joe Is Going to Hell. One song recorded for it thus far—“The Resurrection Blues.†A couple more in the pipeline. I have a place to record (the music store) and sound engineer (Jim). Plan is still to release a song a month (once I find an outfit that won’t charge an arm and leg to do it), then compile them
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Square Dance Caller Takes The Stage (Briefly)...

Did my first square dance calling with a real floor of dancers—we had five squares on the dance floor at City Hall tonight, most from out of town. It went okay, and a bunch of ‘em said they liked it (and some said they couldn’t believe this was my first time). Got compared to Willie Nelson (for which I thanked the complimenters profusely, but I’m no Willie Nelson—he can sing, and I can’t). The crowd got the two singing calls I have definitely mastered, “Gloom, Despair and Agony
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More Thoughts On The Southern Pigfish Album...

A couple ideas, before I forget them… I know, I think, how to record the Southern Pigfish album. I can do it at Jim’s shop! What I need for recording The Band That Doesn’t Exist is a band that doesn’t exist. He’s got one—or at least the musicians that could pretend to be one. And I’ve heard them all—even heard them playing together—and they’re pretty good. Since they’re not a band (most of the time), they can record their tracks separately—which is how Jim does it a
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Updates...

Well, I knew it was going to happen—like Murphy’s Third Law says, “Peanut butter sandwiches always land peanut butter side down.†Four people can run the front desk at the hotel so long as nobody gets sick. So somebody got sick, right? And I got to work 12 hours straight after my traditional Day-of-No- Sleep-and-I-Got-Up-Early-Because-I-Had-Things-to-Do. Thought I’d have to do it again (she’s still sick) but I actually got to go to work two hours late the next night because I’
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Chorus Different From Verses?

More songwriting tips, this time from the folks who run SongU. They emphasize the importance of contrast—in their case between verse and chorus, but really it’s possible to take it a lot further. Yes, you can have a different number of beats, and/or a different chord progression in your chorus; there are a couple of John Prine songs where he even made the verses a waltz and the chorus a two-step (and one where he reversed it, and made the verses a two-step and the chorus a waltz). Yo
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Re-Invention In Progress (Maybe)...

Got my rejection e-mail from the City of Damascus, that revenue-strapped, conflict-ridden new city on the outskirts of Portland—and it didn’t bother me. I know I’m the best person for the job—nobody else has quite as thick a skin—but I’ll happily send them the requisite “best of luck on the path you have chosen†thank-you letter. Waiting on two more, that I’m almost certain will be rejections, too; it’s been way too long since applications closed. And again, it’s okay.
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Sayonara, Thirsty Lion (&c.)...

Yes, “Syonara at the Thirsty Lion†went well—all the performances have been going well lately. Audience liked all the songs—I enjoy keeping people in stitches—even though most of them were there as fans of other performers (and of course voted for them—doesn’t matter). I got to do two encores, too (a good reason to be last on the agenda)—“I’m Giving Mom a Dead Dog for Christmas†(because both Eric and my daughter requested it) and “Pole Dancing for Jesus.†Didn’t sell
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Somebody's Rules For Lyric Writing...

I ran across another “rules for writing†article. I’m always interested in those: I want to know if I’m “doing it rightâ€â€”but I also tend to critique what they’re saying. So many of the rule-propounders claim, “Do what I do, and you’ll be a success†and this one was no exception. The rules in this case were for writing LYRICS, which is of particular interest to me since words is what I do. Because I have a limited voice range, am not particularly good on the guitar and am s
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Workin' Man Blues (Or Is That A Two-Step?)...

Just a list of things to do, while I rest. The job is tiring, and I have been sleeping a lot—which I shouldn’t: I have way too much to do, and just reduced by a third (by getting a job) the time available to do it in. (Got to start setting an alarm clock again.) On the plus side, I’ve been paid twice, and next month’s mortgage payment is covered, and I managed to afford new tires for the old truck, too. Backscratcherz has “Justin,†the giant computer I bought last summer that has
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Dylan Night Post-Mortem (&c.)...

Dylan Birthday Night was good. The audience said they liked all the songs, but I think we did the bluegrass protest song “When the Ship Comes In†best. (I do like “Absolutely Sweet Marie,†though.) Bunch of artists there; I think I was the only one able to do the songs without a music stand (I deliberately left all notes at home, and did everything from memory). Didn’t get to hear Ken or Jane very well—I think my guitar was too loud—and what they were doing was a whole lot more i
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Thirsty Lion (&c.)...

The poster, notice and Rap are done for the Thirsty Lion performance next Tuesday, May 29. It’d be nice if some folks came (though folks really never have come to one of these); I expect to start working Tuesday nights come June (and June comes in, like, a week), and then I won’t be able to go to the Thirsty Lion for quite a while. So this is the Joe Equivalent of “the last waltz.†And it’ll be “the last waltz†no matter how many (or how few) people come. For the Thirsty Lio
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Thirsty Lion (One More Time)...

Post-getting-a-job cleanup: I told Eric John Kaiser, who runs the Songwriter Showcase at the Thirsty Lion on Tuesday nights, that I will cease having Tuesday nights off at the end of May, when my square dance caller class in Portland is over (I will end up having Monday nights off instead). So Eric’s asked me back to perform Tuesday, May 29, the day after Memorial Day (and the night of my last class). I’ll be doing this solo; it’d be nice to have backup, but I’m not going to ask
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"the Resurrection Blues," And Other Stories...

Got Jim Loughrie’s recording of “The Resurrection Blues,†and it’s nice. Jim, Jane and I tweaked it a little at Jane’s house tonight. Three leads on the song, by Jim on dual harmonicas, Jane on fiddle, and (surprise!) Jim on kazoo. Posted it on Soundclick (it’s at http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=11577540), and also sent it to the Coventry songwriters, who were reportedly interested. Album material, definitely; it’s a very professional-sounding recording. I also got Jimâ
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Doing Dylan At The Mercantile...

There’ll be a “Dylan Night†show Saturday, May 26, at The Mercantile in downtown Beaver (some have argued The Mercantile is downtown Beaver), and I’m one of those invited to perform. Nothing but Dylan songs—it’s his 70th birthday, I understand. I have only three Dylan songs I know by heart and can sing decently, and I can’t do one of them because Fred and his girlfriend Sonya are performing it, and it looked like the performers were getting four songs apiece, so I beset myself to
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Thoughts On The "going To Hell" Album...

At this point, the 13 Reasons Why Joe is Going to Hell album looks like this—seven “religious†songs, and six that I think of as the Bad Guys Series (things you will go to Hell for). Not in order, yet: RELIGIOUS: Can I Have Your Car When the Rapture Comes?—slow & sleazy Pole Dancing for Jesus—slow, sleazy Gospel Song for Charity (and Faith, and Hope)—fast bluegrass The Resurrection Blues—mod. fast blues The Abomination Two-Step—fast polka Bungee Jumpin’ Je
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2Nd St. Market Post-Mortem...

Yes, it was good. Our 22 songs filled exactly two hours with a 10-minute break, and there were people who came specifically to see us. And we got tips. (Hadn’t seen one of those new Presidential “silver†dollars before. We got five of ‘em.) I think I have some of the Celtic fiddle tunes down now. I had sheet music for the jigs, and didn’t look at it at all; I remembered the Irish polka (easy, admittedly—only two chords), and I had finished my “Every dog eats bacon†mnemo
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Schedule Triage...

First time this week I didn’t have to do anything between two work shifts except sleep—so that’s what I did. (I won’t get to do that tomorrow—I have to do a photo shoot for the paper.) Since I’m in in-constant-motion mode these days, being awake means I have Stuff To Do. Last shift for the week at the hotel tonight, and Sunday afternoon it starts again—another 36 hours crammed into four days (actually nights). Thus far the Private Life hasn’t suffered too badly, though S
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Arts Center Showcase Post-Mortem...

Bay City Arts Center’s first Performer Showcase was a big success. Nice crowd, the performers were all good, and there was quite a variety. A lot of support, I think, for doing another show. (And the audience drank all the coffee, ate all the cookies, and left behind a bigger “take†in donations than the Arts Center’s seen in a long time.) Some folks were surprised there is that much really good talent hanging out in Tillamook County. (And those were just some of the people I know.
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Mercantile Post-Mortem (&c.)...

I like the job. Of course, I haven’t exactly done it yet—I’ve just shadowed people who are doing it and when they tell me to do things, like the song says, I go where they send me. The people who work there—including the owner—have a lot of fun doing what they do, and I expect I will, too. One of the inevitable casualties of the Schedule Triage will be the frequency of the blog. Instead of three or four times a week, I’ll probably be back to once weekly, like the last time I
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In Which Joe Is Offered A Job...

Well, I got offered a job Monday. Night auditor/front desk clerk at a local hotel. Low pay, part-time (though I got the impression they’d like to make me full-time quickly)—and only three blocks from home. I think I’m going to love it. I asked for a week to get my afairs in order, but don’t think they’re going to give me that much time. They really do need somebody right away. I also warned them that I have three city-manager applications in the pipeline, and two of those jo
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Arts Center Showcase (&c.)...

Looks like the Arts Center Showcase thing might just work. Got confirmations back from one soloist (and a “maybe†from another), two duos (and a “next month†from another), plus our band will play. Got another soloist to talk to tomorrow at his birthday party and one Sunday at the Rapture Room. Yes, might work. I do think we should be doing something different with these open mike things, and this might be it. Next step, if we’ve got enough performers, is for me to take mug sho
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