Month: May 2004

I’m going out of town this weekend, so I better get this recap up fast. I thought the night was going to be slow, since few people signed up ahead of time and a lot of the regulars (Sarah, Jason, Forest Greens, etc.) weren’t signed up. I ended up having a great time, even though I was the only one who did a Talking Heads cover. I think we may need to set a number at how many different Talking Heads covers are playing until we switch to next month’s winner. So far there have been just two and I think if we get 6-8 covers that should be enough for the first try at this thing. Talking Heads was a tough band for the initial trial of this thing, but hopefully it will be fun.

1. Ben Garvey – I played too many songs to name them all. I did a 5 or 6 song set at the end of the night and the people hanging out at the Tree House seemed to be into it. My cover of the Talking Heads’ “And She Was” wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be for having spent only a day or two on it. I’ll try it again next week.

2. Bob Michel – He helped me out by playing early on. He made a joke about his dog eating his Talking Heads cover, so I’ll have to deduct one letter grade.

3. Eric Schank (Schenk?) – A guy from Vorhees who did some interesting acoustic rock. He couldn’t describe his music, but I’d say he sounds like Jack Johnson a little bit.

4. Brian Evans – It’s a good thing Roz hadn’t shown up during Brian’s cover of “In Your Eyes.” Roz has been known to terrorize In Your Eyesers. Brian sounded good though.

5. Johnny Miles – Johnny comes around every few months and kicks ass every time. He’s just great. He’s playing at the Collingswood Farmer’s market on Saturday morning.

6. John and Dan – Still no band name for John and Dan. Here are some suggestions… The Frets, JD Power and Associates, The Anvil Dodgers, The Forest Blues, etc. They played a few country blues songs tonight

7. John Shaughnessy – John did his “Cigarettes wil Kill You” song and the eternal crowd favorite, a Britney Spears medly. He’ll be playing the Collingswood May Fair on May 29th.

8. Pat Hipp aka Kilpatrick – His voice is so freaking loud. I think it might be louder than Roz’s. He playing a Cursive song and a pretty good version of Nirvana’s Polly. He finally caved and brought back the acoustic Thong Song, too.

9. Roz King – He’s playing Saturday night at the Court House Tavern in Mt. Holly. He borrowed my guitar tonight after failing to get Pat’s guitar into a playable condition.

10. Jarrod Schafer – Thankfully he was bluffing when he threatened to play some Hootie and the Blowfish. Instead he played that Refreshments song, “Banditos” and “Running Down the Dream” by Tom Petty. Supposedly he’s going to learn a David Byrne song for next week.

11. No Joy in Mudville – I checked out their website before the open mic and realized one of the guys probably lived about a mile from the house whereI grew up. Josh was a few years younger than me, but his brother Chris was in my grade. I didn’t expect to see Mark Simone there hanging out, who I can’t even remember the last time I saw. I used to be great friends with his older brother Matt way back in elementary school. Josh and Kevin were awesome, especially with their cover of Tenacious D’s “Tribute.” I was super impressed and I think Tina is probably going to try and book them at the Tree House for a gig.

It’s always funny when you’re confused with someone else on an instant messaging service. I only wish I drew this one out a little bit. Her accent is classic.

NameWithHeld: you on
GarveyB: yeah, who is this?
NameWithHeld: this is your mom
NameWithHeld: just checking this puter out. so i will get off and call library and tell them the password worked
GarveyB: what are we having for dinner mom?
NameWithHeld: i am om your mamaw’s computer
NameWithHeld: dont know what you are having but we are having icecream
GarveyB: you have the wrong person. you have me confused with someone else
NameWithHeld: ok sorry thought yo were billy

Come out tonight to the Tree House open mic. It runs from 8:00PM – 11:00PM. You can sign up in advance here or just come to hang out and drink coffe. Supporting your local coffeehouse is a noble cause.

See you there and be sure to bring out your Talking Heads covers. I’ve been working on “And She Was” and hopefully I’ll be able to remember all the words.

I was pleasantly surprised to see someone do a Talking Heads cover already. Thanks Scott and Joe! Email me and I’ll post a link to your website if you have one.

1. Ben Garvey – As a favor to Rob I played Johnny Cash’s “Big River” and “Folsom Prison Blues.”

2. Phil – Came back for the 2nd week in a row and played some original acoustic rock. I’m pretty sure those were originals.

3. Roz King – Roz played his own version of Folsom Prison Blues that destroyed mine.

4. Jarrod Schafer – He did a nice cover of “Bucket Seats and Safety Belts” by Cake.

5. Sarah Allen – Started off her set by doing an impression of me, which consists of stuttering and simultaneously talking and strumming the guitar. I’m looking for a way to get her back, so feel free to send me any dirt or gossip on Sarah Allen.

6. Willie Tapps – I love his version of “Tell Everybody I Know.”

7. Kilpatrick – Covered Nirvana’s “Opinion,” but integrated Radiohead (I think) into the song instead of Burning Brides.

8. Jason Vertucio – I’m required to mention any time someone trips on stage and Jason did. It wasn’t the worst stage trip ever at the open mic, though. He did a Foo Fighters song.

9. Bob Michel – Bob once again brought out some tunes from his teenage years when he was into Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs.

10. Keith Lewis – It was good to see Keith come back and play a few songs. His website has some techniques to improve your guitar playing.

11. Joe – I liked the first song Joe played. I think it was called something like “secrets.”

12. Scott & Joe – These guys got the distinction of being the first to participate in our artist tribute by doing their version of Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer.”

Collingswood Rocks ? The May Fair
May 29th, 10-5pm

When I moved from Philadelphia to NJ in 2001, I figured the opportunities for a performing artist were pretty well diminished. Aside from settling into my thirties, with two kids and a steady nine-to five, I was leaving the cultural center of the big city for the quieter, even ?boring? confines of suburbia, right? Well, before long I encountered local spots like Collingswood?s Living Room (now the Tree House). There I saw those three words printed on a sign – the three words welcoming any would-be musician, without discretion for race, creed, color, age, (or talent?) ? ?Open Mic Night?.
Now, musical opportunities like ?Open Mic? are not unique to Collingswood. Many area bars and coffee houses feature live music and maybe a night with an open stage. But Collingswood also boasts venues like The Scottish Rite auditorium hosting national acts. Besides the Tree House, there?s GrooveGround across the street too, if you prefer the intimate setting and coffee with your guitars. You can even catch live music on Saturday mornings at the Collingswood?s outdoor Farmers Market.
While past events in the area like the Newton Colony Arts Festival have discontinued (due to withdrawal of financial backing from the neighboring township/boroughs), Collingswood pushes ahead with it?s support of the arts with the 25th annual May Fair. I?ve enjoyed the past two May Fairs immensely, and this year?s promises to be quite an event. Besides the usual fair attractions like crafters, kid?s activities, food, and classic autos, there is MUSIC, and lots of it. There will be something like 16 music acts performing over four stages spread over the expanse of Haddon Avenue. And for the most part, it?s LOCAL music. Area bands Girl Upstairs, Every Other Thursday, and several burgeoning high school bands are scheduled, along with cover band No Relation, bluegrass band Jersey Grass, and Collingswood?s own Amber DeLaurentis.
Who needs Philadelphia? Collingswood rocks! I?m excited to be a part of it, too. See you next Saturday the 29th at the May Fair.

John Shaughnessy
http://www.johnshaughnessy.com
(John Shaughnessy lives in Haddon Township, but sometimes he says he?s from Collingswood)

I just read tonight that a 2nd Pixies show has been added on Sunday, December 5th! It’s still at the Tweeter Center in Camden, NJ even though the Pixies website claims it’s in Philly. Tickets go on sale on Friday, May 21st!

Head here for more info.

Just when you thought the event ticketing industry was filled with greedy assholes with little regard for customer service and satisfaction, you get an email like this:

Benjamin,
Thanks for purchasing tickets through our website for The Pixies on Dec 4th
in Camden, NJ.

We had a cancelled order, so we moved you to better seats. Your new seat
locations for this show are:

Sec 104, Row A, Seats 9-12

If you would prefer to be moved back to your old seats, Sec 204 Row H Seats
9-12 we can do that, but I think you will like these seats better! There
was no additional charge for the better seats.

Seating chart is here http://www.ticketmaster.com/seatingchart/16465/3964

Let me know if the new seats work for you.

Thanks
Brian

Brian Blue
Director of Operations
SCI Ticketing
http://www.sciticketing.com

I’m floored.

I had to call them up to make sure this wasn’t a well orchestrated joke by one of my friends. After all, I have been bitching about how I got crappy seats during the Pixies pre-sale last week. They could have easily re-sold the tickets, but instead they helped me out. I did some research on the company, and now I realize why they sounded familiar. This is the company started by the String Cheese Incident to get around Ticketmaster’s monopoly. SCI Ticketing has just made me a customer for life, or at least until they sell out.

Come out tonight to the Tree House open mic. It runs from 8:00PM – 11:00PM. You can sign up in advance here or just come to hang out and drink coffe. Supporting your local coffeehouse is a worthwhile cause.

See you there and be sure to bring out or begin working on your Talking Heads covers.

I’ve been putting off the recap this week, because I can’t find the notes I took. Lately I’ve been jotting down a few things so I don’t forget what people actually did. A lot of good it did me this time. I’m sure I’ll forget someone, so remind me of who I left out.

A quick reminder to everyone – Start working on your Talking Heads covers!

1. Ben Garvey – I played “99%”, Built to Spill’s “Big Dipper,” “The Genius of it All” and a few other songs.

2. Phil – It was his first time out to the open mic and I liked what he was doing. I think he’d sound better with the monitors turned on. Unfortunately they weren’t working.

3. Greg Winkler – Hailing from the great beer and cheese state of Wisconsin, Greg played some straight up folk.

4. Roz King – Played a strat this week. Catch his new band, Jersey Fresh, if you can.

5. Jason Vertucio – He also went the electric route this week, since he’s working on getting a new acoustic. Also, check this out.

6. John Shaughnessy – He played his new song, “Cigarettes will Kill You (if I don’t do it first).” Great title.

7. Jeff – I’ve said before that I really enjoy Jeff and Brian’s Greensleve demo. I was happy to hear the first song from it.

8. Brian – I’m always impressed with Brian’s harmonica playing.

9. Mike Romano – Mike of the Forest Greens did a great solo performance on the tin whistle. Everyone got really quiet while he played, so I think he may have been charming us.

10. Kilpatrick – His “running around like a clown with it’s head cut off” song is catchy. He should bring back his website.

11. The White Witch aka Joe – I had to cut Joe’s song off prematurely because he was going over the amount of time an artist can take.

12. First II Nothing – 4 piece rock group doing acoustic alternative rock.

Once again, I’d like to encourage people to support the Tree House on Wednesday nights and any other night of the week. Every dollar you spend there keeps the open mic going strong without a cover.

There must be a lot of Talking Heads fans out there because you guys voted them as our first open mic artist tribute. The idea is that over the new few weeks you should learn one of their songs and play it at the open mic. Anything from their catalog is acceptable and I’ll even take anything by David Byrne.

I’ll put up a new poll today with a replacement for the Talking Heads. Nominations on who it should be should be made in the comments to this post.