Get Mixing! Have You Started Mixing?!

Here we see Jason Bourgeois in his natural element busily compiling a mix CD for the upcoming big show this Friday.  At this time of year, an observer can catch many inhabitants tucked away in their livingrooms, bedrooms, dens, and dorm rooms carefully and artfully gathering and storing music.  At night you can see rapt faces lit up by computer screens as they put the finishing touches on this year's gems.

Have you begun your mix yet?  Don't be caught in the cold like lazy mouse when Friday rolls around.  Be ready and proud like enterprising mouse with your shiny new mix cd.

I'm looking forward to making mine and also picking up a new mix from someone else.  I know Brian has already made a couple mixes.  Make as many as you want folks, and please, spread the word.  The more people and the more mixes, the more fun it'll be.

• This Friday January 29 (Lesa Bezo's birthday)
• The Elevens in Northampton, MA
• The Great Mix-CD Mix-Up (disc 2)
• Featuring:
• Jason Bourgeois
• Josh Crane
• Nuclear Waste Management Club
• The Fawns
• and a special DJ set by Jason and Mike McClellan.
• Age: 21+
• Cost: 5 Clams

Here's how the thing works:

Make an awesome mix-cd. With artwork if you are fancy.

1. Bring it to the show
2. Put it in the Great Mix-CD Mixer
3. Enjoy the bands
4. Get a mix-CD made by someone else.

Remember you do not NEED to make a mix to come to this event.  We like you either way.

New Video - The Fawns - Snow Day

Sitting Next To Brian presents "The Wrong Tree" - TONIGHT

Tonight's the night, folks.  Sitting Next To Brian unveils their brand new record, "The Wrong Tree" at The Apollo Grill in Easthampton, MA.  This groovy E.P. was recorded at Rub Wrongways Records and features six brand new Brian Marchese compositions.

The band on the record is the band performing tonight: Brian Marchese, Thane Thomsen, Jason Bourgeois, me, and special guest Lesa Bezo.

Tonight's concert features three acts.  First is the wonderful National Convention, second is the mysterious Storm The Ohio, and third is us, Sitting Next To Brian.

You should come on out.  The food at the Apollo is pretty amazing so come early and get dinner.  That's what we are doing.  Have you been there?  It's a super cool little art space restaurant nestled in to a corner of the spooky and inspiring enormous Eastworks building.

If you can't make it to the show, you should certainly still pick up the new E.P. you can get it online right now at Rub Wrongways Records

Rockumentality

Still working on this new Rockumentary design. I added a Song of the Moment player in the side panel. I also added a button on the bottom of each post that makes it very easy for readers to spread around anything that they might find interesting or stupid.

I realize that this site is a little bit less personal looking now. It's a bit sterile and industrial. I'm not too thrilled with that, but I am very happy that it is much more workplace friendly, if you know what I mean, and easy on the eyes.

It also makes my life a lot easier having a white background. So many images out there are created with white background in mind and I often had to leave certain ones out with the old green screen.

It's fun to see all the crazy little widgets out there that I could install but I'm trying to keep things very simple. I don't want to slow down anyone's loading time by adding slide-shows and what-not. Even if I do kind of dig the way they look.

Is there anything that you think I should add that I haven't?

The Hardest Question For A Musician.

Trying to explain what kind of music you make is similar to trying to describe your accent. We don't hear our own accents. We know we have them because we can hear differences in the way other people speak. An accent is a natural ever-changing and nuanced thing that stems from lifelong interactions with your environment. The way you speak is as natural to you as the way that you walk, or the position you sleep in, or whether you favor your right hand or your left. If you try to explain what kind of ways you do all those things, you'll get an idea of what it is like to try to describe what kind of music one creates.

To me, my music, like my accent, is just "the normal kind of music". It's as natural and ingrained as the way that I speak and move and breathe. There are categories, though. Where would the world be without categories? In the same way that I can say that I have an American accent, I can say that I play a version of modern music. Similarly, in the way that I might describe my accent as from the Northeast, I might say that my music is of the rock-folk variety. I don't often say "y'all", just like I don't play a slap bass. We can narrow things down and say that I speak like a New Englander and make music that is mostly Jangly-College-Rock-Indie-Rock-Power-Pop-Acoustic-Songwriter-Pop. But not all New Englanders speak alike, just like not all Jangly-College-Rock-Indie-Rock-Power-Pop-Acoustic-Songwriter-Poppers sound alike. Downeast Maine lobstermen speak very differently than Southwestern Connecticut commuters.

My accent has changed over the years, but it's subtle to those who aren't involved on such a minute level. I doubt someone from Liverpool would be able to tell that my Northeastern Massachusetts way of speaking has ever so slightly evolved into my current Western Massachusetts accent. To someone from Liverpool, I probably sound like a cowboy. And to someone who only ever listens to Hip Hop, my music probably can be lumped in with Frank Sinatra, Frank Zappa, Frank Black and Frankie Goes To Hollywood.

So what do you do? How do you explain your accent to someone? Well, first you need to know who that person is and what they know about accents and what they know about the region that you live in. The problem is that when you need to describe your music you don't have that knowledge. If you are labeling yourself on a website or in a newspaper article, you don't know anything about the people who are reading it. So, how do you convey to them in words what your music sounds like - especially when it sounds different to everyone who hears it.

I've been trying to describe my music in brief terms for more than half of my life and I still fall short every time. But, I do know that categories are crucial. The human brain needs to put everything in its place in order to make sense of the world. So, I try to create categories that are not too specific and not too vague and you know what? I always fail.

I don't want to do it anymore. I know that the number one most important thing in the world of promotion is to have a solid simple definition of what you are presenting. I know this. I even agree with this. But, man, I....can't....do....it!

All I can do is come up with are things like: "School for the Dead is a music band. They write, record, and perform music for animals and people. It's poppy and rocky and indie and folky and friendly." or "You can try to lump School for the Dead in with the indie-pop-jangly-beatlesque-powerpop-songcraft-bubblegum-heartbreaking-song school. You can try. Band members say their mission is to freeze time, crumple it up, and shake it out into a song - and entertain audiences in the process."

But neither of those things really give you much of an idea what the music sounds like or how it makes you feel. Because it sounds different to everyone and it makes every one feel differently.

Another option is to list off other musicians that you might be lumped in with. I can associate us with folks like: The Lucksmiths, They Might Be Giants, Fountains of Wayne, Freedy Johnston, The Beatles, The Shins, Robyn Hitchcock, and Of Montreal, but there is no sure thing that fans of any of those bands might like our music. Also those bands don't mean anything to someone who only listens to country or jazz or heavy metal.

All you can do is throw the stuff out there and see what sticks, see what people seem to pick up on. You might ask me, "Well, why don't you ask other people how they would describe your music?" Trust me, I've tried that about a million times, they either get as stymied as I am or their responses are so varied that no single definition can come from them.

It's exhausting. I talk like I talk. Just listen to my voice.

A Submitted Video for Save My Place

Last week, I asked if anyone wanted to make a video for any of our songs. I got this in an email last night. It seems to have been created by someone named Blue Cluster.



If you like it, rate it, and leave a comment on YouTube. Maybe this Blue Cluster will make more.

The Living Rockumentary 3.0

As you can see, The Living Rockumentary has changed its looks quite a bit. I've been wanting to redesign the thing for a lot of years now, but I've been scared of messing up and losing all of our
archived posts. This blog has existed now since June of 2002. That means we've been writing here, and maybe you've been reading here, for almost eight years. This is the 4,838th post. That's pretty good huh?

The Rockumentary has had a few different looks throughout the years. For a long time now, I've wanted to switch it up to make it much simpler and easier on the eyes and work-place friendly. I'm still working on tweeking the content and design a little bit, but this is my starting slate. The thing is an ongoing ever-changing thing anyway, but I imagine that this'll be the basic look now for a while.

What do you think? Is it okay? Do you miss the sickly green of the last design? Do you miss the Red, blue, and yellow of the one from the early 2000's? I think this one will be easier on the eyes and I think images will look a lot better on the white background. Also, since I upgraded to the more current version of blogger, we have access to some useful widgets.

Please, if you have a second, let me know what you think, and in doing so, test out to make sure that commenting is still working correctly.

mixtape website

My old high school friend (and old bandmate) Mark has this website where every week he uploads a track and writes a brief comment on it. His tastes span an eclectic diversity overall so it's pretty fun to just bop around from one to the next. The few below all feature me personally in one way or another:

Something European

Beautiful Lesbian

Sycophant

No More Bets

Kiss Goodbye

Shining

This is one of the funniest things I've seen in a while. It's the kind of thing that makes youtube awesome:

Shining

Rockumentary 2010

As you can see, The Rockumentary is going through some changes. Please bare with us.

Let's Make a Video.

Do you like to make videos? We'd love it if you made one for one of our songs and posted it on YouTube or somewhere. We'd do it, but we don't know how.

Where's the New Album?

Why does it take us so long to make a record?

There are a number of reasons. The first and biggest is that it takes me a lot of time to write songs. Or, well, let me rephrase that. It takes me a lot of time before I feel like a song is ready to be recorded. Sometimes the writing is very quick. But it is important to me that songs stand the test of time. I need to have them swimming around in my head for months and months before I feel like they are officially actual songs. I don't like to rush music. For me the songs have to be carefully and slowly formed and assessed.

Another reason that our records take so long is that everyone in the band is very busy. All the time.

The New You came out in 2002
Looks Like I'm Tall was done in 2006
A Telephone Built For Two was released in 2008

I'm getting antsy. I've got enough songs now for a solo album and a half as well as a new School for the Dead album. I think its time to start getting to work. I'll ask the boys what they think.

2009 Scrap Book

At the beginning of each year I like to go through the shows that I can recall from the previous year. I made a little list here of ones that stuck out in my head for one reason or another. This isn't to say that these were the best shows I played or anything, they are just the ones that popped into my head. This year, I've included some photos and videos. Do you have any more photos or videos or memories?

January 8 - Exile On Center Street, a Tribute to the Rolling Stones - The Iron Horse, Northampton, MA
Every year the Iron Horse has a tribute concert in which several musicians perform the songs of a chosen artist. This year was the Rolling Stones. I played Ruby Tuesday on my own and then Waiting On A Friend with the Fawns. Special guest Dave Trenholm joined us and thrilled the audience with the sax solo.
(with: The Amity Front, Chris Pureka, Rusty Belle, Jose Ayerve, The Novels, Ray Mason, Jim Armenti, The Grownup Noise, Frank Manzi, Sitting Next To Brian, Swill Merchants, Thane Thomsen, Matthew Hebert, Dave Houghton, The Dingle)
Video: Henning "Ruby Tuesday"

March 27 - The Jason Bourgeois Band - The Rendezvous, Turner's Falls, MA
Why do I remember this show so well? Because I was playing drums. I feel like this was my first time playing a full planned and rehearsed show on the drums. I clearly remember having fun playing but also feeling a bit like an impostor. Also, Brian was right there in the audience and he knew all the songs and could very easily have jumped up and done a much better job than I was doing. Especially since my back was in agony the whole time.
(with: World's Greatest Dad and Oweihops)


March 28 - School for the Dead - The WRSI Meltdown - JFK School, Northampton, MA
We pulled up for this strange daytime kid-friendly show and discovered that there was not a single parking spot available in all of the school lots, along the driveways, or in the axillary parking. My back was completely thrown out and I stood around stupidly while everyone else carried my gear. We played on a stage in a cafeteria that was full of families and tables with, I don't even know what, information booths and crafts maybe? I sat on a gray folding chair in the center of the stage and we played our songs. I clearly recall seeing the smiling faces of many local acquaintances popping up here and there from the crowd.
(with: The Nields, Deedle Deedle Dees, Uncle Rock, Aric Bieganek, Laura Cayer, Ratboy Jr., Marcy Gregoire, Dennis Caraher…and many more! Readings From: Jane Yolen, Anna Alter, Jarrett Krosoczka, Timothy Basil Ering...and more.)
Crazy video: School for the Dead and Hula Myspace Video


May 1 - Multiple Bands - Wes Anderson Birthday Party - The Elevens, Northampton, MA
Jason Bourgeois had the brilliant idea of doing a show in which people would play music featured in the films of Wes Anderson. It was great, so many good songs to chose from. I did Stephanie Says by the Velvet Underground and Me and Julio Down by the School Yard by Paul Simon. The Fawns did Concrete and Clay by Unit 4+2. Sitting Next To Brian did Rock and Roll Suicide by David Bowie and I Am Waitingby the Stones. The Jason Bourgeios band did Oh Yoko by John Lennon. Jason also had a TV set up on stage that was playing movies.
(with: Jason Bourgeois, Los Hijos Unicos, Ella Longpre, George Hakkila, The Little Black Eggs, Jesse Smith, Teacher, Trials and Tribulations, The True Jacqueline.)
Video: Jos Hijos Unicos "A Quick One"
Video: Henning - "Stephanie Says"
Video: Thane Thomsen - "Billy"
Photos: Wes Anderson Birthday Bash Album


May 9, 2009 - Henning Solo - Eastworks, Easthampton, MA
This was a quiet, totally unplugged show in a small room to a small number of people. Once and a while friend Jose Ayerve throws together these intimate evenings. There are usually snacks and drinks and the nights are invitation only. I love it.
(with: Jose Ayerve and Adam Greenberg)
Video: Henning "Planes Trains and Automobiles"

May 22, 2009 - Henning Solo - Mocha Maya's - Shelburne Falls, MA
I had no idea what to expect at this show. I've always liked the little center of Shelburne Falls and how it wraps around the crazy glacial potholes and bridge of flowers. It's quaint. That's the perfect word. I was set to play a long solo set and luckily a real supportive group of friends and fans came out to take part. Throughout the evening, I had two gags. Between each song, I asked audience members for words for a big Mad Lib that I had written especially for the evening. I also had a small box of fortune cookie fortune sized slips of paper. Each one had one of my songs on it. The box was passed from person to person so we randomly created the set list together. I think it was a very successful night. I was grateful.


June 20, 2009 - The Caravan of Stars - The Black Moon - Belchertown, MA
This was my first ever show in Belchertown, MA. The Rub Wrongways gang had the whole venue to ourselves to do whatever we wanted. We set the stage with all of our equipment and had a show that included, The Jason Bourgeois Band, Ari Vais, Tony Westcott, Sitting Next To Brian, Lo Fine, School for the Dead, and The Fawns. A respectable crowd came out and we all enjoyed the place together. I distinctly remember hearing the crazy frogs chirping from outside the open window.




June 27, 2009 - The Jason Bourgeios Band - Diamond Junction - Palmer, MA
At some gigs, all of the events of the trip make more of an impression on me than the actual show. This was my first ever show in Palmer, MA. We traveled there as a big entourage and began the evening with a hilarious meal at the crazy Steaming Tender Restaurant. We got a giant table and ate in the converted train station like the tourists that we are. It was just a few turns from there to find the venue which turned out to be the most visually nostalgic tiny bowling alley that I've seen. I know we set up and played in a corner of the room and the audience was standing right in front of us, but mostly I remember: It was pouring rain outside. The bartender at the bar upstairs kept turning up the crappy music even though there were only six of us there and we were just talking quietly. The candle pin bowing, which I always considered "real" bowling. And the little plastic dogs from the vending machine.


June 28, 2009 - Henning Solo - The Blueberry House - Northampton, MA
I was invited to play a brief acoustic set during nap-time at an all-day party. I sat on the arm of a comnfy chair and sang four or five of my songs to a few tired and happy people. Then we blew up a guy.


July 2, 2009 - The Fawns and School for the Dead - Florence Center Green - Florence, MA
It was threatening to rain all day and we were scheduled to play outside. The skies were dark gray when we set up beneath the pavilion room but the rain didn't fall for the whole show! People, trusting the weather, came out with their lawn chairs and snacks. Little kids ran around while we played our songs at a volume that wasn't overwhelming but certainly was strong enough to waft down through the center of sleepy Florence center.



July 18, 2009 - Rub Wrongways Caravan of Stars - The EF Chase Tavern - Keene, NH
One of our all time weirdest shows yet. Still, quite a fun day since we all travelled up to Keene early and got a nice dinner together. The gig itself was in a weird breakfast-nook, bar, hotel lobby. There were few people in attendance but we all sort of became pals as the night progressed. Afterward, some of us got a late-night bite and discovered that Keene at night is drunk.
(with: King Falcon)


August 6, 2009 - Winterpills - Pearl Street - Northampton, MA
Two of the regular Winterpills were unable to attend so Brian and I were enlisted for this show. Was so great to play for such an eager audience. They were pressed right up against the front of the stage as my bass boomed out in a way that it only can at Pearl Street.
(with: St. Vincent)


August 20, 2009 - Goldwater - The Elevens - Northampton, MA
At midnight, I was to turn a year older and this was the debut of Goldwater! Memories of the show include an unexpected chance to play with Mike Flood on a few songs, and staring out and seeing Trace Meek during the Goldwater set. Some of the bass lines I was playing were his from the Figments (Goldwater, headed by Thane Thomsen, played a few songs from his other band, The Figments). I've been on the other side of that coin and I could just hear how Trace could hear me not do his parts justice. Real fun rock show, though. We were received well.
(with: Mike Flood, New Radiant Storm King)

September 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 - Various Acts - Wrongways Tuesdays - The Elevens - Northampton, MA
In the month of September, Rub Wrongways Records had a weekly residency called Wrongways Tuesdays. These free shows featured a unique Rub Wrongways duo, followed by a Rub band, followed by a guest band. The shows all started and ended promptly running from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. A pleasant listening volume and a welcoming atmosphere was the goal and we were wildly successful. Friend of Wrongways, Dan Richardson started joining us and running the sound part way through the series which helped a great deal. All of the shows were very enjoyable. The music was musical and the relaxed atmosphere resulted in some very nice hang-out time with friends, both old and new.
(with: Henning and Max, Sitting Next To Brian, Tasha Yar, Brian and Thane, The Salvation Alley String Band, Josh Crane, Jason and Ryan, The Fawns, Goldwater, Rick Murnane, School for the Dead, Nuclear Waste Management Club, Lesa and Henning, Jason Bourgeois Band, Matt Silberstein Band)


September 3, 2009 - The Rub Wrongways Caravan - The Lizard Lounge - Cambridge, MA
This show is very dear to me for some reason. Very few people showed up. It was just a few friends and family. The bartender told us that historically this was the very worst night for bringing in an audience in the Boston area. It had all the makings of a dreadful night. A long ride to Boston followed by an almost empty venue. But, the sound guy was most accommodating and since only Rub Wrongways bands were playing, we were able to just spread out and set up all our stuff there on the nice Oriental Rugs. The room became ours for the evening and it was so nice to not have to worry about getting our stuff on and off the stage in a rush and sharing equipment and stowing equipment and all those things that come along with multi-band shows. We were just able to set up and then relax and play some music.


September 20, 2009 - School for the Dead - The Williamsburg Music Hall - Williamsburg, NY
I've written a lot about this show. This was the New York CD Release show for the album Ciao, My Shining Star, A Tribute to Mark Mulcahy. School for the Dead had a two song set and a strange line-up of Brian, Jason Bourgeois, Lesa Bezo, and me. We played Omnivore and I Just Shot Myself In The Foot Again (our contribution to the record) to one of the greatest crowds in one of the nicest rooms that I've encountered yet. We also took the stage later as the band for the all-star grand finale version of Free Fallin'. I couldn't believe all the people I was surrounded by on that stage.
(with: Frank Black, The Autumn Defense, David Berkeley, Chris Harford, Ray Neal, The Butterflies of Love, BP Helium, The Gravel Pit, Winterpills, Spouse, Senator, School for the Dead, Jeff Ginsburg / Biet and Gryphon, Mericans, BP Helium, The Parkway Charlies, The Gravel Pitt)
More details: Living Rockumentary Recap


October 31, 2009 - School for the Dead - Halloween Show - Florence Green - Florence, MA
Again, we had an outdoor show scheduled and it was raining all day. We weren't sure until the last minute if we were even going to play. Brian, Max, and I put on some weird costumes and went out to the Florence Green and met Bill Childs who had booked us for this event. The park was empty except for a tiny WRSI tent and a carpet of millions of fallen, slippery, wet, autumn leaves. We set up and played and one by one the park filled up with costumed revelers who watched us play while waiting for the start of the annual Rag Shag Parade. I won't soon forget the pleasure of looking out over that field of monsters and encouraging them all to howl at the sky.


December 9, 2009 - The Rub Wrongways Caravan of Stars - Calvin Coolidge Museum - Forbes Library - Northampton, MA
A rock show. In a library. In a museum in a library. An open for business library. On a blizzardy night. And we pulled it off some how. I love when impossible things become possible. We had a full room and a cozy night up in this historic room playing our songs quietly. I sang without a microphone. At times we spread out around the room, using its wooden reverberation to create a natural surround sound. There was hot chocolate and peppermint tea afterward.
Video: The Fawns' "Friends"


December 11, 2009 - School for the Dead - Toad's Place - New Haven, CT
This was the New Haven CD Release for Ciao My Shining Star. Again it was such a pleasure to be able to bring our music to an eager and enthusiastic crowd of strangers from a nice stage with great sound and cool lights. Lesa joined us again on guitar and vocals on Omnivore and she sang her part on I Just Shot Myself In The Foot Again, in which she also played melodica. I was also nice to have Ken Maiuri playing with us again. We had a crazy slot right after Jounce, which included both Pete's from the great old TV show Pete and Pete. Brian and I also joined Chris Collingwood for his set, so I got to be on stage twice, which is twice as nice. As once.
(with: Elvis Perkins, Chris Harford, Chris Collingwood (of Fountains of Wayne), Jounce (little Pete from Pete and Pete), Butterflies of Love, Gravel Pit, Winterpills, School for The Dead, Dumptruck, Spike Priggen, The Zambonis, Frank Critelli, The Reducers, The Furors)



December 31, 2009 - School for the Dead and The Fawns - The Elevens and Lyman Hall - First Night - Northampton, MA
These are always part of my favorite shows of the year. I really enjoy the energy of the crowd, which is just made up of people who are out and about in Northampton doing nothing but having a good time. We get to play for people who wouldn't ordinarily see us and I always feel proud and renewed that we are able to win them over. Happy New Year.

How about you? Do you have any memories of these shows or photos or videos? How about other shows? Anything stick out in your mind?

Avatarded

Lesa and I went to see Avatar on Saturday morning. We pulled into the parking lot nice and early for the 11:30 showing and were delighted to find it almost deserted. I'm a very uptight movie watcher. I can't stand distractions. I'm finely tuned to the sound system and the lighting and the screen quality etc. I grew up in an era of theaters without the wonderful stadium style seating that they have today. A lot of the classic movies of my youth were viewed with a dark silhouette of a head blocking much of the screen. I could never accept this and if it hadn't been fixed, I probably wouldn't go to the movies today. I'm fairly tall, chances are nobody would be blocking my view, but I would be unable to enjoy the film knowing that it was possible that I was blocking someone else's view.

I am completely intolerant of people who talk or text or sniff or breathe during movies. I want to be completely and helplessly enveloped in the film. Since we were nice and early we were able to get the best seats in the house. We were at center screen and in the front row of the second section. You know, with the railing in front of us.

During the previews, however, it became clear that there was going to be a problem. Sitting in our row on Lesa's side was a father with a four or five year old little girl. The most immediate problem of course, was that this movie was in no way the right movie for a girl that age to see. It was violent and scary and lonnnnnng. Two hours and forty minutes long.

Now, let's pretend that you are a little girl stuck in a theater for that length of time. You are wearing 3D glasses and you don't understand half of what you are seeing on the screen. How do you occupy yourself? Why of course you stomp your little light-up sneakers on the ground constantly. While you are doing that, you also ask your father questions about what you are seeing. Why do you know that it is OK to do this? Because your father never once tells you not to.

Parents, please, don't bring your way-too-young child to a way-too-scary movie. If you do, please make sure that they know it is not OK to talk during the movie. But most of all, please don't let them wear the flashing sneakers. Please?

Fire Benefit Flyer for Saturday January 9 at The Elevens, Northampton, MA

Flyer by: anja schutz: fruitandsugar.com

A Recap of The Tom Petty Night

You know how sometimes you just really want a good pizza? Then you get a good pizza and you bite into it and it is the greatest thing that you have ever tasted? Then you eat another slice and another slice and it is completely amazing pizza, the best meal ever? Then you eat one slice too many? Then you sit back and say "I ate too much pizza"? Then five minutes later the thought of eating more pizza makes you gag?

That's a little bit how I feel about Tom Petty right now.

I still love pizza and I know I'll be devouring it again in the future and I still love the music of Tom Petty and I know I'll be devouring that in the future. Maybe even tomorrow. But, right now, if I digest anymore Tom Petty...OK this is crazy and too fake to be real, but I swear this is real, Don't Back Down just came on the radio. As I was typing that last sentence I was thinking, "Watch, the radio is now going to play a Tom Petty song." And they did! Man oh man, why does life have to be so perfectly movie-like all of the time?...You know what? I don't mind hearing this song right now at all. I guess the radio proved my whole scenario false. Well, never mind then. You can just ignore that whole pizza metaphor...come to think of it, I could go for a slice right now, too bad the best pizza place in town closed.

Anyway, the point is that this whole past week has been about the music of Tom Petty. We had a few full band practices and a lot of playing and singing the songs around the house. Last night's Don't Do Me Like That, A Tribute To Tom Petty at the Iron Horse was a marathon of a show. It started at 7:00 and I'm not even sure what time it ended. I think it was around 11:30. That's four and half hours in a no-standing-room and terribly hot room. That's three full length movies worth of live music, most of it Tom Petty songs.



I had a wonderful time being swaddled in the camaraderie of the music community. My only gripe was that there was not a single place to sit down (which is awesome because it meant that a lot of people came out to the show). It's not possible for me to stand for that long of a time so I had to often retreat to the green room and sit down there. Which meant I had to miss several of the performances. If I had a nice chair upstairs, I would have immersed myself in the show. Instead I went up and down and heard a few of the songs as just bass and drums through the club's floor boards.

Everything that I saw and heard was just really great. Not a stinker in the bunch.

By the time the Rub Wrongways Caravan took the stage at the end of the night, the crowd had thinned out considerably. The half that stayed were the die-hards, the tough kids, the endurance masters, the petty fans, the music fans, the I-don't-have-to-work-in-the-morning gang, the late night revelers, the too drunk to stand up crowd, the persistent, the getting-our-money's-worth, the troopers. I don't blame anyone for leaving. It almost seemed insane to stay in that sauna for that long. But those that did used their insanity to fill the room with great spirit and optimism.

Our set flew by. It wasn't close to being as tight and musical as it was in our quiet comfortable practice space, but I think we made up for that by shear will of energy and rock-and-roll. Guitars came unplugged, guitars fell out of tune, feedback squealed but I loved every second of it. For the final song, we had chosen Refugee. Brian was adamant about it when he saw that nobody was playing that song.

When I listened to it in preparation for the show, the first thing I realized is that Ken Maiuri had to play the organ and F. Alex Johnson had to play the guitar. Those parts just seemed custom made for those two players. Then we had to work out who would sing the song. It's really high. It's not an easy song to sing. It's high and powerful. I sent a message to a chosen group of singers and finally we decided that Ray Mason, Scott Lawson, and Rick Murnane would each take a verse. We'd also just invite anyone else who wanted to come up on stage. I don't know how many people were up there but when I turned around the stage was full of friends.

See?



(photos by L.A. Pomeroy)

All We Hear is Radio Yeah Yeah.

I stopped by the WHMP studio this morning to go on the Bill Dwight show and talk about the Tom Petty Tribute and benefit concert tonight. I brought along my acoustic and played "The Waiting". I even got Jaz Tupelo and Bill (not a Petty fan) to sing the response "yeah yeahs" on the choruses.

Really, how can you not sing those? Coming to the show tonight? You'll be singing them too.

I'll also be WRSI this evening at around 5:00 playing again and talking to Jaz about the show and what-all.

(photo by Bill Dwight)

UPDATE: You can listen to the Bill Dwight show podcast here: Podcast

The News News Review

There are a few articles out in the papers this week about tomorrow's big Tom Petty Tribute Benefit Concert.

Nightcrawler: Firing Back

Tom Petty Tribute becomes Fire Victims Benefit

Tom Petty tribute concert to aid Northampton fire victims

Also, Brian was on WRNX this morning for a phone interview, I'll be playing a song and talking on WHMP tomorrow morning at 9:30-ish and on the WRSI later on. Also, I think Brian's doing an interview with Channel 40 (WGGB) tomorrow evening right before the show.

Don't Do Me Like That

There are only two days to get your tickets to the huge Tom Petty Tribute Night at The Iron Horse this Thursday. All proceeds are being donated to the local Red Cross. The show very well might sell-out so get your tickets and arrive early to get a good seat.

The Rub Wrongways Caravan is ready and excited to be closing out the night with our six song set. Each of our Petty covers will be sung by a different member of the Caravan. I'm not going to tell you what songs they are or sings what, that'd ruin the surprise, but I will say that we'll be using three electric guitars (one of them is a twelve string) a bass, drums, we'll possibly have a percussionist, piano and organ, banjo, and a lot of voices.

In addition to that, Brian and I will be playing with two other acts; Brian Akey and Golden Bloom.

Performing will be: Jim Armenti, Ray Mason, F. Alex Johnson, Rocky Roberts, Jason Bourgeois, Ryan Quinn, Golden Bloom, Orange Crush, Matthew Carefully, Henning Ohlenbusch, Brian Akey, Sitting Next to Brian, Thane Thomsen (The Figments), The Fawns, Group Deville, Rusty Belle, SwillMerchants, Levin Schwartz of the Amity Front, Spouse, National Carpet, Frank Manzi , Ben Demerath, Erik Alan (The Amity Front), Fancy Trash, The Grownup Noise, Bob Hennessy and Carrie Olson.

I hope you can make it. I think it'll be a real nice night of singalongs and it's for a good cause.

Tickets and more info here: Iron Horse Music Hall

The Week In Review

I took a little vacation from the computer for the last week or so. I still check my iPhone every five seconds so it's not like I've been out of touch with, what?, Facebook, Email, Local News, Weather, Twitter etc. I'm always connected. You got a problem with that? I'm trying to figure out a way to get internet connectivity in my dreams so I can check my email while floating over the flooded streets on my friendly dream Yak named Glimpsht.

So what happened while I was away? Well, I had a couple Christmases. Caught up with family, saw the nieces and nephews a year older, ate a lot of cookies. I watched a few movies. I went on a brief overnight trip to the twenty ninth floor of a casino hotel - that was a safe, quiet, and relaxing place to be after a restless night the night before in a neighborhood that had just been the victim of arson attacks. Yep, arson. Maybe you saw it on the news (it made it to the top story on CNN), Northampton center had a string of somewhere between nine and seventeen fires lit in the wee hours of the morning on December 26th. There have been suspicious fires now for years in one small neighborhood. This year the arsonist(s) expanded a bit and lit a series of fires in a half mile wide circle around the city center. Most were car fires but a few were houses. In one of the houses, two people were killed.

It pretty much has shaken the community. The next night, police cars and fire trucks patrolled the streets regularly as we lay in bed listening to all the sounds that the house makes. Most of the houses in town now have their porch lights on all night. It's actually kind of nice looking, like the whole town is up and waiting for you to come home. But it's creepy.

What else happened this past week? We had a practice for the big Tom Petty tribute night coming up on Thursday. This event has now become a benefit concert. The Iron Horse Entertainment Group and the performing musicians are donating all ticket proceeds to the local First Cross. It's this Thursday. You should go, it's gonna be a great night. It's also probably going to sell-out so get your tickets now.

We played a few shows on New Year's Eve as part of Northampton's First Night celebration. Both School for the Dead and the Fawns played to wonderful audiences who earnestly seemed excited to be seeing us and hearing our music. I think we made some new friends and fans. At midnight, Lesa and I went out into the center of town to watch the ball rise and to scream at the night sky with the throngs of revelers. We were too far back in the crowd to hear the countdown and when Lesa casually glanced at her phone, we discovered it was 12:01. Happy new year.

Now it's 2010. The new year is starting off real busy for us here in the bands. On Thursday we have the Tom Petty show. On Friday Brian is playing with the National Convention at the Apollo Grill in Easthampton, MA (In fact, he's doing that most Fridays this month). On Saturday, The Fawns, Me, and Sitting Next To Brian are playing another fire benefit concert, this one at The Elevens. Next Thursday is a Goldwater concert at The Sierra Grille and the Sunday after we head into the studio to start the debut Goldwater album. The week after that we'll have a Sitting Next To Brian CD Release Concert and the week after that we'll have The Great Mix-CD Mix-Up (Disk 2) on January 29th!

This month is going to be over before you know it. By that time 2010 won't look strange anymore. But right now it still looks strange, and I dig that.