Articles by g

This has to be one of the guttsiest protest songs to date.

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
-Benjamin Franklin

When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross.
-Sinclair Lewis

With those thoughts in mind, I direct your attention to the website www.wastelandofthefree.com

Folksinger Iris Dement makes McMurtry seem kind of tame. I heard this song on XM’s Cross Country a few weeks ago and thought I needed to hear it again. The website has a link to a YT video (of course) and an MP3.

“We got preachers dealing in politics and diamond mines/
and their speech is growing increasingly inkind.
They say they are Christ’s disciples
But they don’t look like Jesus to me
And it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free.”

-Dement

Here we have a couple of links to some ATB or ATB related youtube videos. Enjoy. The first one is sort of proof to those in attendance at Anthony Lake I can actually play my song “Dear Oklahoma Rain.” The second is a clip of “24 Feet at a Time.”

I just had a thought I should probably keep to myself…I wonder if any shoe stores use that song as motivation for sales.

“If everyone sells twelve pairs of shoes today, we will reach our goal…24 feet a time.” g

Just talked to our drummer. He was pulling into Denver for a two night stand. Check out www.myspace.com/guserock

New Chris Knight is up on his myspace: www.myspace.com/chrisknightmusic off his forthcoming album called Heart of Stone. Of course, I am geeked up about this.

See you at 1 or 2 in Anthony so I am told.

g

It isn’t quite two weeks but this will have to suffice. No, no I am not quitting.

So I am hanging out in Fayetteville the other day when Mason Powell called and asked if I was up for a 4th of July show in Anthony, KS.

I said, “heck yes,” or something close.

Here is the deal, the ATB will be playing with Guse, Mason’s face melting progressive rock band, for the Fourth of July in Anthony, KS. Guse has continued to rock and will be coming back from a regional tour when they hit Anthony on the 4th. Come to the lake for a little rock with your country or for a little country with your rock.

Good friends and good times will be had by all…

g

Your ears will be ringing like mine.

I have collected a few songs here that I cannot stop listening to. I find a lot my music on XM Satellite Radio’s Channel 12 Cross Country station. It feels like some of my kindred spirits are there spinning the tunes. Here goes. Songs are listed in no particular order.

“Haley’s Comet” by Tom Russell

This is a delectable treat from Tom Russell, very simply one of the best songwriters you don’t know. Often mentioned in the same breath with Dylan, Russell scores with this song about the end of Bill Haley’s life. It is funny at times, sad at others but terribly well written.

“How to Get Old” by Elliot Randall

I don’t even know what I don’t know about Elliot Randall but heard this song several weeks ago and it stopped me in my tracks. Randall captures Ryan Adams a la Gold and if this tune is anywhere close to the rest of what he has done, I found another favorite.

“Abilene” by Dave Alvin

This is nothing new but it was new to me and resonated with my spirit. Alvin demonstrates here why is so highly regarded as a songwriter; this could be a Nashville hit too but it isn’t cliche so it probably won’t make it.

“Big Cheeseburger” by Blaze Foley

Blaze Foley is another new artist to me. He passed away a few years ago and this is one of his best known songs from the 70’s. He toured around with the likes of Townes Van Zandt and Guy Clark and was a nomad by all accounts. He also penned the oft covered “Snowing on Raton” (Van Zandt and Robert Earl Keen).

“Claude Dallas” by Tom Russell

Tom appears on my list again here with a story of stories about Claude Dallas, the famed last outlaw who in 1981 killed two game wardens in Idaho. This reminds me of Todd Snider’s D.B. Cooper and is well worth checking out.

“Bad Liver, Broken Heart” by Hayes Carll (songwriter Scott Nolan)

“In this line of work no one retires/ You come in clean and leave torn apart/
Bad liver and a broken heart”

The song captures the essence of traveling around the country and Lost Highway artist Hayes Carll delivers it to a much broader audience than Nolan had previously. Look for this one and for the entire Carll album.

“Your Sister Cried” by Mary Gauthier

Mary is another songwriter few could match. This song stood out to me but check out “Camelot Motel” too.

“Bible and a Gun” by Jason Ringenberg (Jason & The Scorchers) and Steve Earle

Jason & The Scorchers are credited with inspiring such bands as Forty Twenty and the Old 97’s and their influence on the genre of alternative country music is as heavy as anyone’s according to much of what I have read. Ringenberg is the father of Cow Punk and purveyor of alt-country. This is one of his finest tunes, a Civil War tale underscored with Earle’s vocal takes.

“Drinkin’ Days” by Slaid Cleaves

Listen. Slaid relates the end of the road for a drinker in this tune following a bar fight where the narrator flattens a cop. “My drinkin’ days are over/ No more nights at the Carousel”

“Wishbones” by Slaid Cleaves

Here is another tune by Cleaves and this, along with “Broke Down,” would be well worth the time to find it and listen.

“Cry Lonely” by Cross Canadian Ragweed (songwriter Chris Knight)

While I liked this song as Knight released it, the sound Ragweed captures with their take on it, engineered by Mike McClure of course, adds to what Knight had.

“Prozac Made Her Stay” by Antsy McClain and the Trailerpark Troubadours

If you are looking for something a little less serious, McClain delivers here. This is tongue in cheek comedy in the style of Ray Stevens and so true, so true.

“Ruby and Carlos” by James McMurtry

I was fortunate enough to hear this tune live last Friday in Fayetteville, AR. McMurtry isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but he is mine. This tune particularly combines some of the most vivid imagery with a melodic tune to create an awesome platform for storytelling.

“Hurricane Party” by James McMurtry

While McMurtry scored with his political anthem “Cheney’s Toy,” he doesn’t get any better than this tune. While the entire album Just Us Kids is worth your money, try this one out first and tell me this guy isn’t a genius.

Enjoy.
G

Follow the link to read the latest essay I have concocted for the LitTunes site.

The essay is kind of a “what the heck have I been up to for the past six months” so if you are wondering, check it out. For those Chris Knight fans out there, I most recently finished an essay about The Grapes of Wrath in which I referenced his song “Broken Plow.” The coolest thing in the world is that I got to interview Knight on the phone and some of that transcript is included in the essay. That was quite an honor as I consider him to be simply one of the best songwriters in any genre. If you would like to read the essay in advance of its publication, drop me a line and I will be happy to send a copy. I plan to interview and highlight other artists in the upcoming weeks and months.

chrisgoering at gmail.com

g

Simply airing up the tires on that dolly will not do the trick. It needs to have one of two things happen to it: 1) Replace the pneumatic tires with solid rubber tires; or, 2) Take the dolly and kindly place it somewhere people not lifting very heavy things (i.e. your speakers and amps) can use it and replace it.

The problem with the dolly is the design. It was made for light residential use. You know, like taking a trash can to the curb or wheeling a UPS delivery of socks from QVC inside the house. By airing the tires you may have actually created more of a problem as when the heavy speakers, amps, etc are placed on the dolly, they will inevitably tilt and tip to one side.

I staunchly agree with your father on this issue. The dolly needs real wheels instead of toy wheels…

Still making progress out here in sunny, ahem, Colorado. Yesterday it sleeted intermittently most of the afternoon. Today, they are expecting eight inches of snow up in the higher country. Brrrrr.

So far the critters have been pretty tame. I have been taking walks in the morning hoping for a glance of something cool. Today I did walk within ten feet of a deer. It looked dumb, like one of the deer which will probably end up in someone’s grille. I wonder what it thought of me? Hmmm. Fresh venison does sound tasty. Other than several of the aforementioned large hooved rats, I have seen a lizard, three ground squirrels, two rabbits, and several hummingbirds.

The writing retreat continues to be fairly productive as a whole. Currently, I am working on a book proposal that is due at the end of June. It seems I have more work than I remembered. Hmmm. Time for an ATB post, aka delicious distraction. Yesterday I worked on some songs including one I am co-writing with Effron White, a folk singer from the Northwest Arkansas area.

I am still hoping for a 2008 release date of my first cd, sort of a sampler of songwriting as much as artistry. If I could just play a Bm I would be set.

Back to work. Take care friends, g

I knew the Maddy family was big but had no idea they had their own COOP.

I took this picture yesterday in Montrose, CO on the way here to Ridgway which I misppelled in my post yesterday.

Today has been productive. I have two pieces submitted for publication and, if the internet holds out, I will publish at least one more here tonight when this post goes active. Aaron will probably get credit for it. Figures…since it is his band and all. I am the eternal offensive lineman.

I am on a regimented diet of exercises for the mind, spirit, and body. I read. I walk. I write. I watch. I listen constantly. I photograph. I dream. I play. I believe, I eat, I drink.

Is it Blake Shelton who has that song which says something to the effect of, “the more I drink, the more I drink, the more I drink” playing on the idea that drinking will lead to more drinking, etc. I have found this to be the truest thing…when it comes to writing. The more I write, the more I write, the more I write.

If I think back to some of the most literate times of my life, I was working on several things in several genres. Last night I wrote an ATB post and that will go down as the first of hopefully about 15-20 things I plan to accomplish during this trip.

One of those things is to get an up-to-date gauge on how my songs sound and more unfortunately, how not good at singing or playing the guitar I am despite doing it a lot. I swear I could do this music thing if I could only find someone to play guitar and sing my songs…but then I would be a hack.

g