More Delia!

Somebody found 260+ tapes in Delia Derbyshire's attic.

w00t!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7512072.stm

A Double Feature

And Now Here's The Busking News.

I played at two farmer's markets this weekend. And my finger burn like hell-fire. I got to be the "official lunch time background enhancer" for the U-district market. And thus I was paid in kind by being given a whole, organic, freshly made, no cheese pizza by Mike a the Rolling Fire Pizza Concern. Great goddamighty that was tasty! and Again! Aaron at The empire ice cream stand tossed me the last of thier strawb sorbet - great lord that was awesome. I'm not kidding. These foods...their not like food. it's like - they are their own art. There's so much trade and barter that happens at the farmers market, it gives me hope that corporate capitalism in not the only answer to allow humans to thrive. It feels very healthily pre-AND-post capitalizm.

In the Dr. Who Role Playing Game, which I owned at one point - they had a chart that listed levels of political advancement for a planet. From least advanced to most it went - no org, tribal/clan based, city-states, nations, democracy, whole world govenrment, and at the apex of civilization? - tribal/clan based. Ah....such cleverness. If feels so true. Like how regions have thier own cultural flavor within the EU countries...they all have a simultaneous eye to the larger interests of thier collective - while celebrating their own hertiage and culture at a local and regional level.

Anyway - i played for about 2.5 hours on saturday and 3 solids on sunday. My new songs are "hey Good lookin'" and "james Alley blues" and i made a pretty good stab at improvising a "ring of Fire" for a super-fun couple (the lady sang along with "When you love somebody" by the Fruitbats!) and thier super cool kid who parked in front of me for like, 1/2 hour. I don't know why i didn't learn Hey Good Lookin' before - It's just perfect for this thing - everyone knows it, it's easy to dance to, it's a bit rascally, it's postive, just a perfect song. And Peter - who kept at me about James Alley Blues is absolutely right - It is one of the best older folk songs in the world - so clear, so clever, so full of emotion, so soulful, and i'm going to play it for the rest of my life. (on a side note - Mcguinn and Wilco got it wrong - Rabbit Brown doesn't sing:
I bought her a gold ring and i paid the rent
He REALLY sings
I buy the groceries and I pay the rent

The difference is that instead of singing a trope - Gold ring = marriage - It keeps it grounded in the day-to-day details of ANY relationship - sanctioned by the bourgeoisie/state/church or not. For some folk music that is RARE, mang - so personal/universal and special.

Ok...back to regular life, and learning new tunes....I'm actively working on Pancho and Lefty and Georgia on my mind (SO! beautiful!), and These boots are made for walking.

Wish me luck!

The Recap

What's been up? Well, this transplanted west-coaster has been taking in some mad shows. Thanks to the good folks at the sasquatch festival i was able to see:

• Vince Mira
  
  
  
  • That boy is amazing
  
  
  
  


• The Breeders
  
  
  
  • Why, oh lord why are they not regarded as the greatest art band in history. BTW: just found out that this is happening and is LONG overdue, a tribute comp to Kim Deal! Greatest of all guitarsongwritingbassists! Good job KIM! you are my heroine!
  
  
  
  


• R.E.M. (again!)
  
  
  
  • Damn you Stipe in your suave suave ways...how i feel like you know me, down somewhere deep.
  
  
  
  


• Dan the Automator and Mike Patton as "Crudo"
  
  
  
  • ummm...no thanks. I bounced after the mid point of the third song. I didn't like rap rock the first time i heard it. But godamighty! Lovage is a great band!
  
  
  
  


• Beirut
  
  
  
  • Snore!
  
  
  
  


• M.I.A.
  
  
  
  • Verrrown...!Bang!Bang! heeerowwwn...Boomboomclickboom....heeeeeerooown...chckchkBang!
  
  
  • She didn't play mangopickle(downriver) = sad.
  
  
  
  


• A bit of Modest Mouse


• I say Johnny Marr in person! (looks at gran check list of life, finds and entry - makes check mark). Their sound for whatever reason sucked ass...but i didn't feel like i was missing anything lifechanging.


• A bit of Ozomatli
  
  
  
  • (again!)

So i can't really complain.

Also saw Erykah Badu (Finally!!!) and The Roots opened up for her. WOW i love me some roots. I was mentioning to a friend that the roots sound like they're just a super crafty studio group - but live they are this incredible football team sized party/funk band. And was lamenting the fact that they don't have a live album to reflect that dichotomy - so i went to the roots website for the first time and great goddamighty - they have a TROVE of FREE live recordings...talk about over the moon! i'm over the kuipier belt!!! Oh to be the pick in ?uestlove's bangin' fro!

As far as busking goes.
I saw Once and loved it. The (second) opening scene is just chilling in it's jugular rawness...it's worth any rental cost just for the first 5 minutes. That guy transcends humanity.
I didn't play for reals this sunday - i'm trying to learn a new batch of songs and bust them all out at once...i need a bigger songbag and there are just too many good songs out there. I got to play some music in my work-neighborhood and that was fun...met a guy names taylor who is getting into the whole "let's play pop-punk on acoustics" which is ALWAYS a good way to start in on acoustic playing.
I'm working on making a CD or two to sell that actually has recordings of me playing at the market.
And i've been writing bits of new songs on my cell phones voice recorder...i def. think smartphones are the greatest thing since the awl.

Ok...i'm tapped out now.

More Hits

Since we haven't had a post since feburary, i'll do a quick recap:

Busking-blahblahbah i got tipped a baguette(!!) blahblahs gonna record myself to cd to sell blah blah

Software - Fl Studio 8 is just incredible and will even do quadratic equations and i don't know what those are. Also - free amp 3 is just flat out perfect and free and sounds good...the tools that are free now are just incredible.

This is just flat out awesome. What happens outside album covers.


(Via (not leo)Kottke)

Busking update: Spring

Starting to look like spring around here with 5 to 6 days of sunshine in a row. I was *so* excited to get back to the market since i haven't been there since early January.

Gah! when i arrived it were plagued with other musicians in full flight and all the good sunny spots were all taken...no place for the late-arriver to set up with barraging the patrons when a cacophony of homespun tunage and entertainments. So i slipped over to the shady side, set up in front of a very bored looking chocolatier and dug in.

Yesterday marked my first foray in to actual Vaudevillianism. I actually tried to do a bit of a dance while i got into a number. This is sort of the plunge that I always hope to take but spend each day running from any sort of leap of faith like it. More later.

Not to be presumptious, but i do feel like i was in fine form. I've had plenty of rest and i've been studying new tunes and learning some new chords for tunes that I can't WAIT to whip out on the market/earth at the earliest opportunity. My guitar playing was more sure, as it was much warmer than the past bajillion times, and I sung as close to my real range as possible...only once did i croak out a poor low note (during lone pilgrim), and once i swallowed a falsetto that i shouldn't have even approached in the first place (during Buffalo Tom's paen to wasted, perfect time - Summer).

I busted out the two Misfits songs that I'll go to my grave knowing, as i've known them since i started playing, nearly. I was feeling a bit restless, and thought maybe i should pack it in, but then i saw a clump of tied up dreads above a gray Misfits hoodie sweat shirt, so off came the fingerpicks and out came the flat pick and here comes the bass riff for "london Dungeon" and the fella's head wipped around and gave me such a grin. It got bigger when i was done with "dungeon" and jumped right into my Misfits-by-way-of-superchunk-on-halloween special "Horror bizness". I really should learn "Bullet" but i'm afraid singing that song in public would actually cause me to land in the jailhouse. The young gent scooted up to tell me "I never hear the misfits at the market" and i could only shrug and wink "Claro Que Si! but now i'm here and now you DO hear them at the market". highlight of the day. wow. yes. it really were.

So, i figured out on Saturday that i've been singing "Moses, Don't Get Lost" in Fminor. So i tuned up my A and D strings a whole tone each and capo-ed at the 1st fret and bingo! now i have a guitar tuned to Open Fminor. I've never been shown that by anybody and I was pleased as punch to figure it out. But, when the georgia Sea island singer do it, they've got like, 6 folks clapping and stomping in that way that causes my hackles to rise. To mimic it, 1 think white-boy - i started stomping with my feet and smacking about my guitar to get the different tones. I felt like the first Vaudeville entertainer leaving the cave for the first time to see if there were any sabretooths about. But if you're not going to go balls out. why go outside? I don't know if it was a success... and my slide and singing "Nobody's fault but mine" is kind've intense and a downer for the market...but it felt actually cathartic to do....so it stays. I don't know how to make my guitar sing quite like Rev. Johnston...but i do try. Also - i don't wanna cast stones, but I think the Duhks are an emasculated, updated-not-so-much-for-the-millennium version of Peter Paul & Mary. and not in a good way. Have a listen to a sample of their version of "moses, don't get lost" and let me know if you agree, or if I should stick to what i know, and leave my opinions whereever the fuck.

New songs i busted out that I hadn't ever busted out before:

• London Dungeon
• Horror Bizness (both misfits)
• Lone Pilgrim (B.F. White)
• Moses, Don't Get Lost/Nobody's Fault But Mine (trad./trad)
• Move it on over (hank williams)
• Midnight Special (boogie like your name is Huddie)
  
• Po' Black Mattie (R. L. Burnside)
• Chips Ahoy (Hold Steady - my version is pretty short though)
• The Five Deadly Venoms (hyder)

Songs I hope to bust out soon:

• Blackwaterside
• Souper Trouper (Camera Obscura style)
• O Pato
• Manha de Carneval
• I Heard the Voice of A Porkchop (come cover me in grits)
  

Dying to get back in the ring coach. Let me at 'em!

Ghost Pleads With Fans "Go Cop My Shit!"

This video posted on Ghostface Killah's Myspace page last month catches the artist in between bringing the ruckus and choppin' heads, as he expresses hurt at his fans' downloading his music without buying his CDs. The video is actually quite sad, and is probably the most real and personal expression on the subject I've seen from any artist in the music biz.

On an upnote: Ghost states clearly that if you buy his CD and show it to him when he comes to your town, he'll personally kick it with you and ya'll can get "goosed up."

Sounds like a plan.

Via Fader

Sacred Harp Convention this weekend

I'm stoked. And I'm apprehensive. I've been sick a dog for the past 2 weeks and my voice doesn't want to speak even, and when I try to sing in general i start to cough. But I'm going anyway. It means i'll have to miss a sunday farmers market (which i haven't been to for 3 weeks or more), and i'm jonesing for that. But the Convention only comes once a year, and the market happens 51 times a year so....

Also - I don't know what food to bring. Cornbread is always a sure bet...but I want to bring something else, but don't feel inspired.

Today i'm going to listen to my library of recorded tunes and see which ones I'd like to lead. I do love Rocky Road - but I led that last year...don't want to repeat myself. but I do love Rocky Road.

I know when I get there, i'll probably cough my brains out halfway through singing the notes of "Holy Manna" and then i'll be hooked and won't leave till the cut the lights off.

The convention is Saturday and Sunday. So if you live is Seattle and are curious heres the deets:

9:30 am to 3:30 pm (or so) each day at Sunset Hill Community Club, 3003 NW 66th St, Seattle, WA.

Maybe you'll come down and see what all the magic is about. You won't believe how fast this thing will jump all over you and won't let you go.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter (w/ salt on top?)

Love love love that music biz talk.

love love love that Mac.

Love love love that david byrne.

Get well soon,

I'm sad y'all.

I just found out that Nate Dogg recently had a stroke and is getting the help he needs.

I can't tell you how much each time i hear Nates smoove vocal drop into a track that i'm just mezmerized.

Get well soon, Nate Dogg!

(props to the sexxy snake head on that cane. fierce!)