June 14, 2005
Living room bliss circa 2005
Hey cats and kittens,
Thought I'd drop everyone a note and bring the summer in with an Everlovin' bang!
( Ya know kids, I'm gettin' to the age that my cutesy lil' introductions are starting to make me roll my eyes too!)
So.... 1st and foremost, the mighty HalLing Ass and The Ringers are regrouping for a few shows this summer! This means I will be singing a few tunes here and there when Ben, Danny or The Dix aren't handling lead vox.
This ALSO means I'll be back behind the drum kit that I can barely play.( Actually it'll be the 1st time that I'll use the kit for a HAATR's show as I'm normally a "snare drum and ONLY the snare drum." Ala Jazz, circa Live @ Stubb's kinda guy... yikes...remember the scene in The Jerk when Mavin can't get the beat? there ya go...)
Nonetheless, watch for us opening for the South Austin Jug Band in July here in Houston.
On top of that, when the original HAATR conglomerate is in respite, I'll be playing with members of HAATR in another amalgamation that will fall, musically speaking, somewhere between retro/TX blues and bluegrass It'll be an ensemble with Danny Green handling lead guitar chops and vocals. I'm looking forward to seeing what becomes of this.
On that note, I also have been in the preliminary stages of forming my own band as well.
I have played several solo shows here and there and it's a stressful enough place to be by yourself, when things are clicking, but add having an off night to the mix and it can be a mother, not having any one else on stage to help bring you back to the fold, so to speak.
The flip side of this quandary is that, if this band takes the shape I'm hoping for, I may have surrounded myself with musicians that easily outplay me and for the most part have been in active bands.
Not the worse thing to happen to a fair to middling' wanna be rocker. but it has added .....what's the word?
I can't think of it right now but I'd better step up.
It means that I better get my act together and take advantage of their collective abilities and learn a thing or two or I will be the guy that they kick out of the band because I suck.
Already this year my friends Ben, Matt and Kim have worked out the arrangement for one of Kim's songs.
It was such a cool feeling to come up with a tune from thin air. I think everyone else was geeked too. As Kim said " I want to take this to the next level."
I do to.
It's SO daunting in some respects.
I some times feel so hampered by my ability and other times I'm besides myself that I have the knowledge to come up with riffs and beats that other musicians dig.
Those of you that have been there or are going there, understand this.
Some days you spend all day just trying to find a simple note to make a song work. Some days you have little or no desire to be let down by your shortcomings and feel as if you are going through the motions. BUT....
Some days you make magic.
I had one of those days today
I'm really quite stoked to see what the future holds.
I feel that perhaps I've aligned myself with people that have the same vision and see me as a catalyst to realize their dreams as well.
It's an honor and a HUGE weight.
I hope they feel the same way, because finding someone that can help get my songs and actually my ideas, to the surface is huge. I hope that I don't let them down and I am so thankful for the opportunity to play with the collection of friends that I have.
I feel like I need to tie this in with something RK-esque.
I had a e-mail conversation with David Abeyta today and he said something so simple, but it was huge to me.
It was something like:
"I can't wait to play"
or words to that effect.
How many gigs do RK knock out in a year? 200-250?
AND they are promoting a new record?
currently gigs scheduled with Willie Nelson and Dwight Yoakam?
probably nearing the 500k+ mark on the van?
I can't wait to play?
Someone forgot to tell this guy that this is his JOB
I'm willing to wager a tidy sum that David and the rest of the boys have nights where they are amazed that they get paid to have this much fun and some nights they can't remember the last time they slept in their own beds.
Could it have something to do with not going into the studio with a record already in mind and finding the groove there?
I bet the songs that we all know and love off the new record are really starting to take shape on stage. I love that.
It's almost like RK heard the new RK record and are doing incredible covers of the songs with a RK twist on them, ala So Lonely, Castanets, 57 Black Vincent, etc.
I can tell you that I am in awe of every member of RK for the simple reason that no one in that band outshines any other member.
They all work their asses off every nite they play and then on top of that, they are completely immersed in what they do when they are not on stage.
I think the word is passion.
( it might be all they know but I doubt it.)
I love that without skipping a beat they all can be rock stars and make you so jealous that they are up there instead of you.
then they can be out in the crowd shooting the breeze with their fans like they came to see the show too. If you have ever seen any of the Boys at a show when one of their heroes/influences is playing then you get to see what I like to refer to as Fanboydom. It means an unwavering concentration to pickup up any hint of what makes whoever is on stage or in the studio ...tick.
( I defer to the Buddy Miller incident and the Steve Earle Por Vida studio stories, ask me another time)
They work hard and play hard .
I wish I knew the secret.
I had a real close call today
It was oozing all over me after playing guitar all afternoon in my living room and finding EXACTLY the sound I wanted and having the practice take on a whole new direction.
I'm gonna make a record.
I'm gonna play my ass off
I'm gonna ask questions and write it all down.
( that's hard for me....) I should be prolific but I'm my own worst enemy.
I don't want to be a slave to genre.
but I want to play anywhere and anywhere they'll have me.
I'm not sure that I have a gift exactly, but I know that I'm at a stage that finds me wandering out from in front of the TV and picking up my guitar more and more each day.
It's almost like I need a fix.
It's everything there is when music is your passion.
I hope you don't mind that I rambled like I did but I needed it something fierce.
thanks
comin' atcha since '68
r
Here's what we are listening to at KREH
Grant Lee Phillips- Virginia Creeper
The Finn Brothers Everyone is Here
Loretta Lynn- Van Lear Rose
The Black Crowes- Lions
Beck- Guero
Bob Schneider- Lonelyland
Posted by reh at 06:25 PM | Comments (0)