The line of last night...

(Woman I was talking to referring to band on stage)

"The singer sounds like he's hitting a baby with a cat"

Listen and mellow

Thursday link roundup

• Bill Buckley and Hugh Hefner
• Town buys strip club to shut it down -

  The town of Lavonia shelled out nearly $1 million Tuesday to buy and shut down the strip club along I-85. Then, the city quickly burned the interstate signs advertising the club, which was popular with truckers.

  For those curious, that's $1,287 per household. Such a wise use of taxpayer dollars.
• Toby Keith opposed the Iraq War
• Quote of the moment (by Ben Franklin) "A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle."
• Check out this Despair.com post, and the government reply - quite funny, and scary too.
  

I play with video

From my new tiny video camera. The sound quality is impressive, the degree to which YouTube Crunches it is not welcome.

Tom Waits

Last night I saw Tom Waits playing the Fox Theater. The show was wonderful; he did about half the songs I was hoping he would do. The only fly in the ointment was the massive array of hoops that TicketMaster made everyone jump though; only two tickets per household, original credit card required to enter, ticket checks every 20 feet, etc. It was a bit like the old Soviet Union. Security was much tighter at the show than at my visit to the capital last year actually.

And an addendum - I was talking to a long time Waits fan after the show and she said that the security concerns probably were Waits' idea; apparently he's willing to go a long way in his vendetta against scalpers.

With summer comes five more strings

Lately I've been fighting a craving for a banjo, I see the wonderful rendition of a Dock Boggs song (below) and I'm almost out the door to buy one....

Or should I get a mandolin?

The Freedom House sessions

Yesterday marked the first of what will hopefully be many Freedom House sessions, this time with Rocksploitation. Recordings will be available soon.

Rocksploitation joins the internet

Check out the new Rocksploitation site - designed and built by me.

I play a different venue

In this case, Blind Willies in the Highlands on Sunday night. Judging the reaction of the small but appreciative crowd, it sounded good.

Band Name needed

It seems that the impromptu pairing of myself and a bass player has resulted in a gig of sorts, which means we need a name.

Any thoughts anyone?

Funniest description of my musical ability

From the quite talented (both technically and in performance) Keith Lokey last night

"Your voice isn't very good, but it is appropriate".

What I'm reading while uploading...

• Hardcore Troubadours - a bio of the Old Crow Medicine Show
• Catalogs of Data Visualization on Coding Horror
• Minorities become the majority in 10 percent of U.S. counties - which has the interesting quote

  In northern Virginia, Teresita Jacinto said she feels less welcome today than when she first arrived 30 years ago, when she was one of few Hispanics in the area.

  "Not only are we feeling less welcome, we are feeling threatened," said Jacinto, a teacher in Woodbridge, Virginia, about 20 miles southwest of Washington.
  ...
  "I think across the board all of us feel like we're not welcome," said Jacinto, who was born in the U.S. and volunteers for an advocacy group called Mexicans Without Borders.

  Perhaps it's because she's feeling unwelcome because she's advocating an unpopular cause?

• The Old Crow Medicine Show on AT & T Blueroom
• Green Fakers on Radar. The celebrity excuses are funny.
  

Addendum to the Grateful Dead post

I came across this interview with Ann Coulter on JamBands.com, evidently she's quite the fan. Favorite Quote:

Moreover, I really like Deadheads and the whole Dead concert scene: the tailgating, the tie-dye uniforms, the camaraderie – it was like NASCAR for potheads

Most interesting fact

My collection of Dead tapes, by the way, was the reason I heard one of the Linda Tripp tapes before Ken Starr did. Tripp's lawyer obviously needed to hear the tape before turning it over to the prosecutor, but he only had an old 1950's tape player and couldn't get it to work and Ken Starr wanted the tape the next morning. He was terrified he'd hit the wrong button and erase the evidence. In the wee hours of the morning, it occurred him, a Deadhead himself, that he knew one person in D.C. who definitely had a tape machine. So, at around 2 AM, he called me and asked to come over to use my tape deck.

Friday in appreciation, volume III

I was in Chicago last week so I didn't get a chance to do the in appreciation post, but here is this week's.

This week's in appreciation is the Grateful Dead. While I'm not a huge fan of the music (I love Old and in the Way, and the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band is quite good) they stand out as true American icons, especially for artists. Not only did they commit to a style of music and a style of life, they created it first. And seemingly with the attitude that it's better to have a small achievement than a great excuse (to paraphrase Hoffer). They spend 30 years doing what they wanted to do without asking favors or permission. Contrast that to the Live 8 and the Live Earth crowd and they become a marvel.

So, Grateful Dead, you get this week's In Appreciation.

A good time was had by all

My first ever gig at Limerick Junction was a success. Everyone seemed to have a good time. The songs "I Miss Ronald Reagan" (written by Tommy Womack) and my song "Heroin and Cheetos" seemed to go over particularly well. My would-be guitar showcase of Bonaparte's retreat fell a bit flat. The room sounds noticeably different when full than when half full and that threw me off a bit as the set progressed.

On the whole a good night. The A-Sides rocked as usual. The photo was taken by my brother, who also recorded the show.

Come see me play tonight

If you're in Atlanta come out and see me play in my first ever scheduled gig this Sunday at Limerick Junction Pub. I'll be going on at 8:00. Atlanta legends the A-Sides are the headliner.

Last night's open mic

It was a decent performance, the crowd was withdrawn, but not rude.

A good crowd

As usual, I did the open mic last night. Unusually, there was a good and enthusiastic crowd, probably the best I've ever had. I happened to be in fine voice last night too, which helped. A good time was had by all.

Performance anxiety

So, at long last, I have my first gig as a solo performer in one month, opening for the A-Sides. And I need a full hour of material.

It's good to have goals. And deadlines and stress I suppose.

Local music legends mentioned in the mainstream media

Atlanta based garage rock duo The A-Sides are briefly mentioned in today's Atlanta Journal Constitution.