Tentatively, the Willamette Writers’ Group setlist looks like this:

Dead Things in the Shower—fast two-step

Pole Dancing for Jesus—slow & sleazy two-step

Free-Range Person—fast bluegrass

Writer’s Block Blues—slow & sleazy

Bungee Jumpin’ Jesus—mod. speed Gospel

Crosses by the Roadside—slow two-step

Twenty-Four Seven—fast waltz

Rotten Candy—fast Gospel

The Taboo Song—slow & sleazy

When They Die, I Put Them in the Cookies—fast bluegrass

Hey, Little Chicken—slow & sleazy quasi-blues

I May Write You from Jupiter—fast bluegrass

Leavin’ It to Beaver—fast bluegrass (but starts slow)

Last Song of the Highwayman—medieval two-step

Earwigs in the Eggplant—Irish drinking song

Eatin’ Cornflakes from a Hubcap Blues—slow & sleazy quasi-blues

Born-Again Barbie—fast Gospel

The Cat with the Strat—talking blues

I’m Giving Mom a Dead Dog for Christmas—slow & sleazy

19 songs. Works out over an hour (there’s nobody on after me), but probably less than an hour and a half. (I maintain people like me best in small doses.) Includes a couple of my oldest songs (“Beaver” was written when I played with the Dodson Drifters, almost 35 years ago) and my newest (“Earwigs”). There are songs about writing, songs about food, and one for kids (“Cookies”); nearly all the songs on the setlist were actually written deliberately, for one reason or another (so much for my “oh, they just happen” claim), and the Rap talks a little about that.

I could include more, but one has to draw the line somewhere. I can make plenty of “but you included this one—why not that one?” arguments; while those are fine coming from someone else—that lets me know what songs people consider favorites—I tend to dismiss them when it comes from me. Whether I like a particular song is irrelevant—the only determinant of “good” is whether an audience likes it. In this case, all of the songs on the setlist are intended to make a point; the Rap is a sort of miniature lecture on writing, so the setlist includes a couple of songs I don’t play very often.

I’ll need some “gig infrastructure” for this one; they are expecting me to bring my own amplification. I have the mike and stand, but that little amp has only one input—it can handle guitar or voice, but not both. I need to find (or borrow) either a 2-channel amp, or speakers that’ll work with the little 2-channel PA I got from Carol.

A quieter (well, less musical) week ahead… That’s good—I have a few meetings to attend, work to do on the house, and it’d be nice to change strings on the guitar without having to play it right away. Writers’ Guild meets Thursday night; I help teach Beach Art week at the Arts Center Wednesday and Thursday; and it appears I’m hosting the open mike at the Arts Center Saturday night. I’ve been rejected for two of the three interim city manager jobs I was waiting on—still one to go.

Joe