Drink Hole Friday Night Concerts - Guy Clark "Keepers" Live!

Ah, it's the end of the work week again and time to take your brain out of mind-numbingly unimportant menial tasks and hopefully get on a plane of what's really worth-while.

Ironically that's almost what Guy Clark said when he first heard his friend Townes Van Zandt play a song for him. When Townes explained that he had written that 3 minute piece of music (whatever it was...it was a Townes song...and that's all you need to know), Guy remarked to himself "That's something worth doing!" and he went out and got a guitar and learned hisself to do it too!

Guy is a craftsman at heart. He loves wood as much as he loves songs and whiskey and his wife Susanna. He's built guitars for a living and he's built boats for a living. He comes to songwriting with the same sensibilities that what's worth doing is worth doing well and taking out all the rough edges.

If a tree is a piece of art by God, so too does God love a 2 X 4. And so are the lines of a good song hewn and rubbed smooth.

You'll note, Guy does not spend a lot of time telling stories between songs like Prine does, he just plays 'em and lets you fill in the blanks.

Like I said last week, I have plenty of unreleased live music by my heroes, but this is a primer for what's to come. This is all from Clark's 1997 commercially available 'live' album "Keepers".

Enjoy!

"L.A. Freeway" - 'if I could just get off of this L.A. freeway without gettin' killed or caught' - I feel that way sometimes...



"Texas 1947" - The tale from Guy's childhood when he and the past saw the future coming...FAST!



"Like a Coat from the Cold" - for his wife Susanna...



"Heartbroke" - a heart breaking song that sounds like it should be played at a rodeo...



"The Last Gunfighter Ballad" - This is Guy shining...a true master of the 'story-song'...



"Better Days" - sometimes romance doesn't go like it should. But that's OK, it doesn't for everybody...



"Homegrown Tomatoes" - 'there's only two things that money can't buy, and that's 'true love' and 'homegrown tomatoes'. Ain't it the truth, brothers and sisters?

These songs are not available for download from me. Guy is a working artists and you can find this and a slew of other great albums and merch at his website. Go visit, you'll be happy you did!

More Guy tomorrow night!

Talk to you soon!

Old Time Radio Friday Morning - Vic & Sade 1938 and Superman pilot!

Warm up the Philco, Ma....it's "Oldtime Radio Friday Morning"!


First let's check in with the little house 1/2 way up in the next block...

In the interest of sorting through all the existing Vic & Sade shows in which the circulating files often are duplicates with different names, today brings us to 1938. What a shame that all the shows from 1932 to 1937 seem to be lost to the ether. The few that remain (260?out of 3500?) are some real meaty golden comedy gems. I can only imagine what we're missing.

I'm happy we have something, nonetheless.

The first of the 2 shows that I'm posting today, is actually one I posted two weeks ago to give the uninitiated a taste of the show. Like all these shows though, multiple listenings just seem to make them richer and funnier though. I encourage you to take another ear-full as Rush tells Vic all the better plans he has for their up-coming party that would make it memorable, in opposition to the run-of-the-mill everyday party that Sade has planned.

Wonderful turns of phrase, genius in it's rhythmic repeating patterns (which are never done in a technical way, but rather as part of the speaking characters personality) and imagery that fills your mind's eye. 5 minutes in and you forget it's not a movie...you can see it all.

From March 3, 1938:



The second show really gives you a funny glimpse into each character, and the way they each attend to their personal agenda vibrates with how real conversations happen.

Vic needs a new hat and Sade plans to take him shopping so that he buys a sensible smart businessman's model, and not a garish wide-brimmed floppy wild west Pennsylvania cowboy model, he would prefer. On the side-lines, Rush tries to regale the room with the tale of Smelly Clark's Uncle Strap's intent to escort his lady friend to Peoria for the purpose of enjoying a fish dinner. All the while, life moves forward as the household readies themselves for Fred & Ruthie Stembottom to visit for a game of 500.

From November 30, 1938. Glorious!



I really want to hear the end of Rush's story. And I want to see Vic in a wide brimmed hat and being dashing. And I want Sade to be in charge of my finances.

More Vic & Sade next week, but now something for you afternoon adventure serial radio fans!

Superman was on the radio air waves for 11 years from 1940-1951.

A few innovations in the character first happened here and not in the comic book. The first meeting between Superman and Batman for example, and even the introduction of Kryptonite are from the radio version and later integrated into the comic.

I'm not really a huge fan of the "Adventures of Superman" TV show from the 1950's. It seems pedestrian in comparison to the comic for it's limitations of putting this fantastic character into the real world...but this radio show really soared. Anything seems possible with the listeners imagination and the imagery of pure audio story-telling.

Many of you have heard episodes of this show before...maybe mostly out of curiosity...but they really are some fine stuff.

Here's the not-so-often-heard pilot made to sell the show. Note that the commercial announcements "brought to you by 'Blank'"!

From 1939, parts 1 and 2:





Happy listening.

Talk to you soon!

Turf Log - Favorite Kid's Jokes - pt. 2

"What did the snail say when he was riding on the back of the turtle?"

It's all relative kids.

Talk to you soon!

Turf Log - Favorite Kid's Jokes pt. 1

It's the apex of summer and fair and vacation season. It's the time when the old man spends more time with his kids than he may be used to and when nephews and nieces are foisted upon their "fun" uncle to spend time with.

As an adult you may be thrust into a world where your conversation skills are put to the test as you find common ground on which to walk with little snotty-clumsy-stupid miniature people. This can be a challenge.

Luckily I've come to a point in my life where that challenge no longer presents itself, as I've proven myself to be a bad influence AND bad company for most adults, let alone children...but for those of you in this predicament I thought I'd pass on to you some of my favorite "kids" jokes.

Use them in good health...


Trust me. This one will make you "golden" with the tykes.

More tomorrow.

Talk to you soon!

Jeffy Music Monday - "A Pirate Looks at 40"

Happy Monday to all you hard working folks out there.

In my quest to practice singing and playing more, I reflect that next week is my birthday.

I was 32 before I ever picked up a guitar and tried to make a noise come out, and back in those days when I thought it as all about memorizing a chord progression, this was the first song I ever sat down and memorized.

I had to hold on to it for 8 years till I was old enough to sing it.

This year I'll be 47 and I'm still singing it.



It means different things than it did 15 years ago when I first played it. It still means lots of good stuff too. If you're old enough to sing it and learned enough to see the beauty in it...you're winning!

Happy one year older to everyone else out there too.

Talk to you later!