Independence Day. Being unemployed and penniless, I don’t feel particularly independent, but it’s the principle of the thing, I guess. Here in Garibaldi, Oregon, we are also celebrating Giuseppe Garibaldi’s birthday (he was born on July 4); there won’t be fireworks—we save that for Garibaldi Days, late in July (I started that, while I was city manager here)—but we will be going to a goat roast, and there will be music.

There has been, or is, or will be music all of this three-day weekend (which is a holiday weekend for those folks who still have jobs). Dick Ackerman and I performed at the City of Rockaway Beach’s 100th birthday celebration Friday, and went from there to play two hours more music with the Friday Night Group. Today, several folks from the Friday Night Group have been tapped to play at an afternoon something at the Old Mill, plus there will be musicians at the goat roast. And Sunday is the monthly bluegrass jam at the Forestry Center.

I responded to an ad on Portland Craigslist (I still watch Craigslist, despite a poor track record of people responding to my e-mails) from a restaurant-bar in Portland looking for live, original music and offering to pay $100 a night. It’d be solo for that kind of price (and they said the place was small, anyway). I gave Eric from the Portland Songwriters Showcase as a reference; he hasn’t responded to me, but he may them. I think he liked my stuff—and I did play to a sizable crowd at the Thirsty Lion Pub, even if they weren’t there precisely to see me (they’d been there to watch the LA-Orlando playoff game on big-screen TV, and I was the first act on after they put the big TV away).

Reviewing the e-mail I sent these “Jade Lounge” people, I do come across as mildly impressive. I told them I couldn’t do a gig on July 18 because I was taping a couple of public television shows of my material, couldn’t do July 25 because me and the band were performing at Garibaldi Days, and couldn’t do August 22 because I was performing in Central Point. I warned them that some of the material on Soundclick and MySpace was off the album (thereby letting them know I have an album out). Dang, I look good. So when (or if) they hire me, I can stand up in front of a crowd (probably a small one), not one of whom I know—because very few people on the “joelist” are actually in the Portland area.

Reminds me of a comment I heard azbout someone in Texas: “Big hat. No cattle.” Yes, but is it possible the hat will enable you to get some cattle? We may find out.

I keep tweaking setlists, and wonder whether there’s any point in doing so. I have a 2-hour family show (from the Bay City concert), and a couple one-hour shows (the one I’d spec’d out for the Museum, and the one Dick and I did in Rockaway), and some half-hour shows, too (the RVTV shows, and the Thirsty Lion); is that enough? I could probably treat them as set pieces if they work—I just don’t want to repeat myself in front of an audience that’s already heard the stuff before. I need to take a 1-hour setlist with me (printed out, and on CD) when I go down to southern Oregon in mid-July, to give to Dan Doshier for the band for the 22 August concert in Central Point.

It does look like the southern Oregon trip will be a busy one. Interview in Gold Beach on the 16th (Thursday), I’ll help put together (since I’ll be there) the Southern Oregon Songwriters concert that’ll be on the 17th (Friday), I have the RVTV taping on the 18th (Saturday), plus there’s a SOSA event at Johnny B.’s in Medford Saturday night. Thursday night (the 16th) is probably the only chance to practice in advance of the TV taping. Should I happen by some wild chance to have been offered the city-manager job in Myrtle Point, I’ll be lining myself up an apartment there on my trip, getting utilities connected, &c.

There are a lot of things that are uncertain. I have not heard a word from Eric about whether I might get picked for a paying gig at the Thirsty Lion. I have not heard a word from the West Linn Library or the Airway Café in Portland (in both cases, that probably means no). I have a pile of jobs, too, that I’ve applied for that I haven’t received rejection letters from yet. I have nonetheless managed to make myself very busy. There is room for employment in the schedule (thankfully), but it means I will once again be going on automatic pilot—I won’t have time to think about things, only to do them. I nonetheless think I’d enjoy that.

Joe