Someone once told me, “Hey, you should write a blog.” I thought, who’s got the time to write? And then
If you’re here to find out what the heck I’m singing when I launch into one of my original compositions whilst on stage at The Mill, in the admirably urbane Iowa City, Iowa, just skip on ahead to
This here blog-o-sphere seems as good a place as any to set my lyrics out to graze. Of late, I’ve been gigging at Open Mics, &, altho’ I lean heavily on cover tunes, such as “Comfortably Numb” & the “Petticoat Junction” theme song, I reckon I have to play at least one homespun tune in each set, lest people get the notion that I’m just some sort of walking iPod. Then there are songs like “Dyslexic Blues” and “Quantum Jesus Just Left Chicago”, which provide a vehicle for my wacky wordplay, whilst giving folks those melodies they all know and love. (I know it sounds like intellectual property theft on my part, but the Supreme Court calls it the “Fair Use doctrine”. Thank you, Luther Campbell!)
All these songs have to fit into a 30-minute time slot, not counting set-up & takedown, which amounts to about a half dozen songs, tops. Let’s look at a typical set list, in this case, my 10:30PM slot last Monday, Sept. 14th, at that swell venue, The Mill, in Iowa City, Iowa, & consider what went into picking the songs.
“The Streets of Laredo”
A parody version taken from an old Smothers Bros. album, I start with a bit of harmonica in the key of C. (My fave key for harp, until I can afford a Meisterklasse in a different key.) I usually like to start with the harp, as it stands out from the usual acoustic guitar sound which underpins most open mic performers’ sets. Also, I like to keep it varied, and a bit goofy. In the past, I’ve gone with such gems as “Lydia the Tattooed Lady”, and Walt Disney’s “Minnie’s Yoo Hoo.”
“Oops, I Did It Again”
I wish a could claim the insight to recognize what a twisted delight this little number is, but the truth is that I’m just aping Richard Thompson’s version from “1,000 Years of Popular Music”. It has the advantage of being well-known, and yet it sounds vaguely subversive coming out of an old folkie, not unlike Lou Reed’s cover of Van Halen’s “Jump”. Also, it’s simplicity itself to play it on guitar, what with the stone-age arrangement I’ve cobbled together, which can be a good thing at the start of a set, when the adrenaline is still pumping.
“D’Yer Maker”
This reggae tune hails from Led Zep’s “Houses of the Holy”, &, yes, I am a bit crazy to want to step into Robby Plant’s shoes. But reggae guitar riffs are such a hoot to play, & even if I can’t pull out the vocal stops the way the Great Wavy-Haired One can, I have a lot of fun trying.
Cry “Traffic”, and let slip the blogs once more.