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Updates...

Ah, it is hard to not feel hopeful when the sun is shining. On the other hand, it doesn’t shine that much… Three news stories to do for the paper: one is a non-news story (but probably important because everybody expected it to be news), one a news story that turned out to not be very newsworthy (but I got a photo, and had to sit through a meeting, and I’d like to get paid for that), and the third hasn’t happened yet—it’ll be this weekend—and I have to be in two other places

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"georgia, Slightly Revised" (&c.)...

Did it again… I was trying to learn “Georgia on My Mind†(the band wants to do it), and I couldn’t remember the words. So it grew new ones. (Sleazy ones, in this case.) This has happened before—“The World Enquirer†happened because I was trying to learn that old bluegrass turkey about Jimmy Brown the newsboy and couldn’t remember the words. (“The World Enquirer†isn’t performable in a lot of places, either.) On the assumption it’d need new music (that happened wit

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Recofrding At The Tsunami...

Jim brought his recording equipment to the Tsunami last night, and recorded basically everybody who played. Of mine, he got “The Resurrection Blues†(the new one), and (because people requested them) “Pole Dancing for Jesus†and (after Jane arrived with her fiddle) “Can I Have Your Car When the Rapture Comes?†and “The Abomination Two-Step.†The recording setup was simply one of those fancy omnidirectional mikes in the center of the room, wired into Jim’s mixer and computer,

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"the Resurrected Blues"?

“The Resurrected Blues†(sounded more down home than “Resurrection Bluesâ€) has six pretty good verses now. It needs a seventh, for closure—to wrap everything up, and make the song feel “finished.†Seven verses also allows for three lead breaks, which would be nice. Since this is a pretty standard blues, musicians pick up on it really easily and can have a lot of fun with it. It’s short, too (so there’s room for a lot of breaks, which musicians like, too). No choruses: in

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Updates...

Well, I did it all: the interview (still need to write the story) with photos, the Relay for Life meeting, the photo shoot with the Community Chorus and the GOP Central Committee meeting. Wasn’t really late for any of it. Today: a moving sale (at which I’ll be looking for furnishings for the Cascade Locks house), looking over the Garibaldi Pub with Denise as an a-la-Thirsty-Lion “showcase†venue, a meeting on the library tax levy (and a news story if it gets nasty), and music. Las

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Sinking De Mayo, And Other Stories...

Well, I didn’t get the Museum job. Couple other irons in the fire but really, despite the governmental protestations about “recovery,†I don’t see things getting any better. There is (as usual) a reflection in my private life: I’ve talked a lot about “reinventing myself,†but I haven’t—I’m still doing the same things I have been. And they’re not working, either. It is time to do something different. What? Does it matter? Caller class last night was the first one I

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Ncrd Post-Mortem--And A Video Idea...

NCRD Comedy Show went good, I think; sound was perfect, and Jane and Ken were very good. Practicing both songs repeatedly the night before definitely helped. I think the audience liked “When They Die, I Put Them in the Cookies†better (but they still ate all the cookies that had been laid out for refreshments). A lot of good standup, slapstick and improvisational comedy at the show; some of these folks were quite good. Ours was probably the tamest of the acts on stage; I’m inclined

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Potpourri...

After all the musicians bailed out early from the Tsunami jam session, I let myself be persuaded to play some songs by myself. So I did a few that come off well solo, and that I didn’t care whether anybody heard or liked. I played “One Gas Stationâ€â€”and people applauded. I think they listened. So they also got “Leavin’ It to Beaver†(which Jane now wants to do in the NCRD comedy show), “The Strange Saga of Quoth, the Parrot,†“Song for Charity (and Faith, and Hope)†and for

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St. Leif's Day...

It’s St. Leif’s Day! One should be playing music on St. Leif’s Day—he being the patron saint of bagpipes, and all—and there will be music tonight at the Tsunami in Wheeler. And at home, I’ll make popcorn (the traditional St. Leif’s Day snack). No music at City Hall Friday; The New Band will practice instead—and figure out setlists, too. It’ll be a chance to run through “Quoth†again, too, before the comedy show Saturday. NCRD has announced a “dress rehearsal†fo

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Thirsty Lion Post-Mortem (&c.)...

Thirsty Lion show was good. It was really nice having Denise for backup vocals and lead; one thing she pointed out was in our arrangement, the accordion player (her) got to be the “straight man,†which never happens—and probably threw people off balance. (Precisely what I like to do.) We actually had fans there: Ji Tanzer came (just to see us), and a couple friends of Denise’s—no, not enough to make us winners of the “contest,†but still nice to see. I think we were better t

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Finally...

Good stuff… I have a job interview (first in a long time); Jane and I (and maybe Ken) are on the North Coast Recreation District’s comedy showcase (because both the person who asked and the person who told them to ask have heard my stuff); I’m getting responses back, slowly but surely, to the “Modest Proposal†letter soliciting performers for the three summer concerts; and my “guinea pig†square dancers claim I’m getting better (and I had ten of them come Wednesday night, two more

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A Photo Idea For The Songbook...

68 lyrics typeset for the New Joe Songbook. 64 of them were on the three Soundclick “pagesâ€; I found I had the lyrics to four more songs on ReverbNation, including “Leavin’ It to Beaver,†probably the longest song I ever wrote. (I’m glad I didn’t have to re-type that one.) There are nine songs I spotted where I’ll have to re-type the lyrics (I’ve already done that for a tenth): Born Again Barbie (2006) 50 Ways to Cure the Depression (2009) Last Song of the Highwayman

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Things We Might Be Doing Right...

I’m getting slowly but surely the opportunity to see in action some of the bands and musicians I’ve solicited for the summer festivals. And—of course—I can’t resist comparing Deathgrass to those other guys. This isn’t meant to be critical of the other guys—but here’s some things I think we’re doing right: NO PROPS. No music stands, no music books. I’ll have a list, on a little scrap of corkboard propped unobtrusively against a mike stand, but that’s it. Nothing c

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Caller Practice With The Guinea Pigs...

First caller practice last night with my “troupe†of live dancers. I thought they did well (and they thought I did well). We’ll do it again next Wednesday—it’s probably possible to do it three times a month, if everybody’s available and willing. The little PA system does exactly what I want it to: I can play a track off the laptop and sing (or talk) on top of it, and control the two volumes separately. Still haven’t retrieved my Professional Square Dance Caller’s Micropho

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Success Tips?

Every now and then I run across tips on how to be successful in the music business. Latest ones were on the USA Songwriting Contest Website, and were from one of the guys who runs SongU, which teaches classes in songwriting. The question I always have is how well (or if) I measure up. (Them, too.) Here’s the tips: Good songs. Other experts insist on this, too; you’d think it’d go without saying, but the quality of so much commercial music is so poor people may wonder whether it

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Practice (&c.)...

Band practice Saturday night. Of mine, we did “Duct Tape,†“Cuddle in the Darkness,†“The Abomination Two-Step,†Odd Vindstad’s “Simple Questions†and “Pole Dancing for Jesus.†A set of three jigs from Jane, plus a pair of Irish tunes she and Ken are used to doing together, plus everybody’s favorite, “The Swallowtail Jig.†Bass player Clint wants to do “Muskrat Ramble,†an old jazz tune, and he can do a decent job on the old traditional “Long Black Veil.†Ken’s

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Attending Someone Else's Show...

26 songs done now for the New Joe Songbook—and I found another one where I’d never posted lyrics: “50 Ways to Cure the Depression.†I’ll have to re-type the lyrics. (Of course I remember them.) Got confirmation from Denise she’d like to do the Thirsty Lion on March 27. Next step: a setlist CD (easy) and find an opportunity to practice (not so easy). Next Friday, instead of going to City Hall, I’ll go see the Ocean Bottom Blues Band (Sara, Wayne and Dale) play the 2nd Str

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Bunch Of Updates...

I (or we) are on for Tuesday, March 27, at the Thirsty Lion. Time enough to promote, and encourage a good crowd (I no longer believe any crowd will come, however). Don’t know yet if I can do it with Denise; it’d be nice—polkas sound better with an accordion, and I (or we) should do “The Six-Legged Polka,†‘cause St. Leif’s Day will be just two days away. I can recycle the promotional posters—just need to change the date. Host Eric John Kaiser will not be there; he’ll

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Thirsty Lion Setlist Thoughts (And Blog 6)...

One of the things I like about local budget committees is they seem to regard me as a good financial manager—which I guess I am. Or was. I haven’t done it for a living for a while. Every now and then I manage to come up with a good idea. I wish there was still a demand for that stuff. (Got compliments on the articles I did for the paper, too. That was nice as well.) I do not know—yet—if I’m invited to the Thirsty Lion on March 27, the closest to St. Leif’s Day (March 29)

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The "songs For Kids" Album (And Blog 5)...

The Songs for Kids CD arrived in the mail today. It’s got ten songs: I’m a Squirrel—Gene Burnett Great Day—Marion Rose Love is Wonderful—Delonde Bell I See a Cloud—Scott Perry Dream Pony—Larry West When They Die, I Put Them in the Cookies—me Tangle of the Jungle—Diana Roarty Stand Up/Sit Down—Gary Elkinton Cinnamon Bear—Sheila Kaufman & Lee James McAboy Abby’s Waltz—Bridget Wolf And a photo of a cookie on the cover (yay!). Bunch of gr

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An Open Mike That's Not An Open Mike (Blog 4)...

23 lyrics typeset—takes us through the letter E. (Yes, that’s only 20% of the alphabet. I said this was a big job.) I’m keeping the same format throughout, this time; the New Joe Songbook is going to be a thoroughly professional publication. (The previous edition had a few flaws. This one will not.) One item I can include with the photos is concert posters—I do have quite a few of them, some dating back to my Southern Oregon period (2007-08). Other photos? I’ll just have to kee

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Arts Center Open Mike (And Blog-A-Day Three)...

Lyrics for 15 songs now done for the New Joe Songbook. Found two songs (thus far) where I had never posted lyrics, and I’ll have to write those from scratch. Found another that apparently was never recorded—“The Dead Porcupine Ragâ€â€”and I’ll have to fix that, too. Slowly, agonizingly slowly, the work gets done. Small crowd—both performers and audience—at the Arts Center’s open mike Saturday night. From me, they got “When They Die, I Put Them in the Cookies†(there we

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"dropboxing" (And Blog-A-Day Two)...

66 of the songs mastered (to equalize the volume) and archived in the “Dropbox†program Jane turned me on to. When I copy a file there, it automatically sends it to the rest of the band (Clint, Jane and Ken). I’m basically doing everything I’ve weitten—I needed to re-master and archive the songs anyway, since most of them were on “Alice†the ‘puter’s now-deceased hard drive. Clint, Jane and Ken can decide which ones they’re interested in us performing. Ultimately, we should

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Pine Grove Post-Mortem (And Blog-A-Day One)...

Should mention the “upper†first. Got tapped at the last minute to be part of a band playing a benefit concert in Manzanita. The “band†ended up being Ken, Jane, and myself, and we probably played two hours. We ended up doing a lot of my stuff (with over 80 songs, I have a lot of material to work with). The crowd wanted uptempo material, so they got it: Spend the End of the World with Me The Abomination Two-Step Naked Space Hamsters in Love Bungee Jumpin’ Jesus Bluebird

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About Recording...

It was the evening of the Big Snow—six feet worth fell overnight in Cascade Locks, Oregon, January 6, 1980—that the Dodson Drifters recorded “Valvoline,†the first song of mine that ever got played on the radio. It was a fluke. We were partying in the studio, which was in Portland, and sound engineer Craig Imm was experimenting with the equipment, and had got things arranged so when you recorded you heard lots of reverb through the headphones, but none of it ended up on tape—and

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