Fill 'er up.

This morning I looked at the NY Times and there was an article about the 'cash-for-clunkers' program and how it is such a success that it has run out of money already. The article was titled "Running on Empty".
I got to thinking about how the phrase ‘running on empty’ is linked – for many of us – with the song by Jackson Browne. I believe that the phrase predates the song, but the song made it real – gave it an additional ‘concrete-ness’ – in a way that enriches and extends its allusions.
I’d love to write a song like that – one that would become woven into the culture’s psyche in a permanent way. Also, it’d be nice to get the checks.

The Past and the Future

The “Past and the Future” Show

Reading through a 30+ year old New Yorker magazine – looking at the ads, thinking about how these were predictions – in a way – about what we’d be using and doing as time went on. Some of those things are just gone. Some of the ads are kind of quaint.
I think there’s a show in this idea. The not-so-distant past and the future it anticipated as seen through the ads and the articles in a popular magazine.

31st Cape May Jazz Festival Show

(Bernadette Matthews photo)

MQM, Carl Grubbs, Tim Price at WCFA studio

4/18/09
On the radio show, did a special Jazz Festival show with interviews – Monnette Sudler, Carl Grubbs and Tim Price. Three fairly different kinds of artists. All from the Philadelphia area, Monnette is a guitarist and Grubbs and Price are sax players.

I really think that serious musicians are spiritual people – I believe that it would be hard to be in touch with a talent/impulse/gift like that within yourself and not somehow have a spiritual experience.
Carl Grubbs in particular reminded me of some kind of a wandering saint. He had a quiet patience that seemed deep. I felt in him a recognition and an acceptance of the sacrifices that dedication to an art requires.
I felt honored to sit and talk with him.

Robbie Fulks

(Image found at RobbieFulks.com)

I ran into my friend Barry Seetoo-Ronk at the Cape May Singer-Songwriter thing last night. We talked about our favorite music a bit and Barry told me he really likes this guy's stuff. I just checked out his website and read a bit on his blog.
"Countrier Than Thou" was one of the tunes that Barry mentioned - totally cracked me up. At the risk of marginalizing my show even more, I've got to get this music into a playlist soon - I love it.
Here's a paragraph from his site:

"Hi, I'm Robbie Fulks and this is my website. I play and write music, mostly country of one stripe or another. I think you knew that if you came here, but if you're unfamiliar, click below to hear and see examples of my style. Otherwise click around as you please and let the magic that is me enfeeble your defenses."

'Stunned' is how I put it.

(Image found at Jennifer Warnes.com)

3/15/09
So – I did the Jennifer Warnes/Famous Blue Raincoat show yesterday on Six Degrees. 

Right now – even with the errors that occurred I committed - it is ranking up there as one of my favorite shows. Attributable, certainly, to the quality of the material.
I’ve written elsewhere about how I recently came to discover the album twenty-two years after it was first released. By the end of the show yesterday I was thinking “You could fall in love with this voice!”.
Listening to the album I found myself wishing that I could have been there when it was being made. Such a stellar group of players and singers – they made Cohen’s material more than it had ever been, in my opinion.

One of the things that I love about doing this show is how I’m led to discover music and players that I wasn’t aware of. I started out with the similarities of ‘Bird on a Wire’ and ‘Nightshift’ thinking that they must have a producer in common in addition to having a drummer in common. I was wrong about that, but was led to discover C. Roscoe Beck. He’s a bassist and he did the production on Famous Blue Raincoat.

My best word to you: if you thought you knew who Jennifer Warnes was based on the soundtrack hits, do yourself a HUGE favor and get this disk.

3/15/09 11:30 PM
PS – Sent a fan letter to Jennifer Warnes through her website earlier today – received two responses from her portal guardian, a very warm person named Dee Perez. Later in the evening my socks were blown off by a personal response from Jennifer Warnes herself. Such graciousness and a gorgeous voice to boot! Too much.
I’m smitten, for sure.

LPFM in the news.

On Facebook there's a group called Local Radio Now! that is spreading the word about Low Power FM stations - they posted a link to a Bill Moyers article about it. Check it out:

Atmosphere

Just a brief entry here -
listening to John Hiatt's 1987 album "Bring the Family", there's a great line in "Memphis in the Meantime":

" . . . sure, I like country music and I like mandolin,
but right now I need a Telecaster through a Vibrolux turned up to ten."