Once again no new artists last night at the Living Room, but that is typical. I think they should do a little more promotion of it online so people can find out about it. The upside to last night was that everyone was pretty good. I don’t think anyone had to pick up slack for anyone else unless people were picking up slack for me and to that I say “Thanks for being my slack slave.” The stand out performance of the night was from Jack Sparks who did a great version of Radiohead’s “Karma Police” with random profanity inserted here and there. I heard most of it from the bathroom, but the acoustics are decent enough in there. Adrien and her new partner Paul went on after me and they sounded great. Paul plays an huge upright bass and the two sounded good together, but let’s be honest: Adrien could be accompanied by a smoke alarm and still sound amazing.
I played “Why Now Satan” and a very old song that has gone by a few titles (“I Believe So” is the most frequent one I’ve used). I hadn’t played it since I opened for the American University battle of the bands where it was severely mangled. I thought the song sounded really good last night and I think I’ll play it more from now on. I’ll definitely add some more lyrics to it since it was originally a joke love song that had no words at all.
I picked up a few CD’s the other day. Among them are The Pixes’s “Tromp Le Monde” and Frank Black and the Catholics’s “Devil’s Workshop.” I’m in the heaven of an alternative universe. Could Frank Black and his various spinoffs be headed for my Personal Hall of Fame?
Everyone has a PHF for things like sports teams, movies, and definitely music. 10 years from now I know my Dad will still be playing John Prine tunes, my girlfriend will still love Madonna’s early stuff, and my brother will be buying “Back in Black” in the latest music format. Comparing different artists in your PHF is like comparing which team was better; the LA Lakers or the New York Yankees? You can do it, but does it really matter? My music PHF has two members that have been there for many years. Because they’re in my PHF I am required to say I’m both a Nirvana and Beck fan for life. Don’t let just anyone in your Personal Hall of Fame no matter how good you think they are. You might get stuck with something really embarrassing like the Proclaimers or Techno Tronic. The whole point of it is that no matter how embarressing it may be, you shouldn’t care because the music is so good. If you are the world’s biggest Wilson Phillips fan you need to stand up with your autographed Carnie Wilson picture (pre stomach stapling) and be who you are.
I also added a picture from my last Grape Street show to the images page.
