A Lot to Drink About!!!

OK so you are looking at the Doomsday Clock....Our 401Ks are now 201Ks....

Just the other night Jimmy and Mac were in Key West where they made sure the staff was on the front row before they opened the club for a free show. They performed a new song that I really like. It is a song for the times. I'll let them take it from here...Maybe this should be followed by a redition of "I Used to Have Money One Time?"


http://www.margaritaville.com/index.php?page=videos

Up on the East side of Manhattan,
They’re still dancing with the stars.
While over in sub prime city,
It’s getting angry in the local bars
Watching the news only gives me the blues
There’s too much going wrong.
It takes the likes of me to hit the reboot key
and write a high speed drinking song.

Billionaires losing everything.
Hey, welcome to the other side of life!
There goes the yacht, there goes the Rolls,
But, you get to keep your wife!
And don’t forget the automakers
swimming up stream like a trout.
They let the shit hit the fan
and then they made a plan
We’ve got a lot to drink about.

It’s the price of oil,
the war of the soil.
Where’s your bucket for the big bailout?
Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan,
We’ve got a lot to drink about.

Now, Madoff made off with all the money.
Now his clients are down to skunk weed.
Repeat after me, it’s so easy to see
We’re only talking simple greed.
And all those Somalian pirates are counting all the gold.
While Bush and Cheney ain’t around
and all the good lookers seem to be Czech hookers
from Key West to London town.

It’s the price of oil,
the war of the soil.
Where’s your bucket for the big bailout?
Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan,
We’ve got a lot to drink about.

So pour me some Tennessee whiskey,
pour me a fine Jamaican rum.
That loud mouth soup
gets me kind of loose
Tequila, of course I’ll have some!

Now the family devalues
and little children count their net worth
and the truth wherever it’s hiding,
can be found on Google Earth.
Citibank’s buying jets with our money.
I wanna flog ‘em with a buggy whip.
I hope Obama and Joe won’t let the volcano blow
and patch the hole in our sinking ship.

It’s the price of oil,
the war of the soil.
Here’s your bucket for the big bailout?
Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan,
We’ve got a lot to drink about.

Recession, Depression, the question good God
CNN keeps bumming me out.
I can’t take another doomsday moment.
We got a lot to drink, a lot to think,
a lot to drink about.

OK so now you see why I am a JB fan after 35 years....

Treasure the past...Plan for the Future..but Live in the Moment...I am headed to my beloved South to hang out with my treasured friends and even Jimmy's sister Lucy...I'll be checking in later. Until then you can see me down the road....

JD Souther!!! One word: awesome.

JD Souther is one amazing songwriter. During the early part of the set he played his classic "You're Only Lonely." I could really hear the Roy Orbison influence and all I could think of was Roy's "Black and White Night" video where JD joined all kinds of stars singing and playing sans color. Everyone should watch that video. It is fabulous.
Later as I listened to JD talk about writing songs in the middle of the night with Don Henley you could almost hear that Henley tone in JD's voice. Nice.
When JD played "New Kid in Town" I was taken back to a time when that song came out. The Eagles hit so big with that song it was over-played and toasted on FM. Last night it was magic to hear the author sing it. What a nice song.I caught myself singing all the lines and soon he had the whole audience taking the lead on the vocals. It was a moment.
I picked up the first new JD Souther cd in 25 years "If the World Was You" last night and I already have a favorite on that disc. "Journey Down the Nile." You can listen to a sample currently at this link: http://www.jdsouther.net/?id=15264 JD told the story of being in Cuba in 1998 during the same time as Ry Cooder was working on the Buena Vista Social Club recordings. I forgot to mention they are friends too. The Cuban influence really comes out in this song. And the story as an introduction to his performance made it all the better for me.
At this point I should interject a thought. JD has released this album in 180 gram audiophile vinyl. He mentioned that last night. He said "I love vinyl. Jackson just released his album in vinyl. John Hiatt released his too. It is cool that vinyl is back." I thought... he just called Jackson Browne by his first name. And then I remembered this is the guy who once shared an apartment with the guy who is the leader of the Eagles. Glenn Frey. Their downstairs neighbor was one Jackson Browne. Man. Very cool. I am living now. Sometimes it is nice to share a room with musicians you have followed for most of your life and listen to their stories.
"Faithless Love" the song he wrote for Linda Ronstadt's "Heart Like a Wheel" album came along and that one took me down memory lane. I think it has been years since I heard that song.
One song that stands out from last night was "How Long." The song recently recorded by the Eagles. JD mentioned that this was one of the few Eagles songs where he was not a co-author, i.e. it payed very well for him. And the song was awesome. The Eagles harmonies on this song are awesome. I listened to that whole double disc set this morning but JD's version last night was right up there because I was four feet from him listening live to a living-breathing-song-writing-legend. And it was awesome. I am out of words to describe this show. Please don't count how many times I said "awesome" describing this evening. I ran out of words to express how special the evening was. Not just the music, it was an experience. Sometimes words cannot describe things. It was just a feeling.
I can tell you I heard the couple behind me whisper "this is the best show I have ever been too." All I can say is I will road-trip to see this guy perform with a band. And I hope it is real soon. See you there. See 'ya down the road.

Don't Try This at Home Kiddies...

JD was "working" his collection of Gibson guitars last night. Here is a guy who has those massive hands perfect for playing guitar. He was cranking the tuner peg on this guitar so hard he even made a disclaimer at the end of the song that "you should not try that at home...many times the string will break." I was thinking I should have tossed him some safety glasses at one point during at song. I just knew the string was going to break in a very violent way at any moment...The strings held up and it was a very cool performance. Nice tuning dude.
Speaking of tuning. At one point JD looked down and saw a light on his tuner on the floor. He started into a side story about how he liked to drive Volvos at home. He mentioned his old friend PJ Newman and how Paul was flying past some millionaire dentists on the track at Daytona once. In a R series Volvo Wagon He said the Dentist came in from a run, slammed his helmet into the wall after parking his high dollar Porsche and said " I give up, I was passed by an old man in a wagon!" After that JD said he knew the R series was for him...anyway he mentioned the light on the tuner reminded him of the dash light on his Volvo...as he was winding the turbo one day the light comes on and says "Stop and drive safely to the dealer." I liked his thought. "What if it is the brakes?"
After the show we got into a conversation about another mutual interest. Formula One racing. This night could have lasted forever.

On the Baldwin...

JD moved from guitar to guitar and over to the Baldwin for a set. He said he likes Baldwin pianos. He even went on to tell us about a college story where he clashed with his piano professor during piano lessons. All I can say is the results of that encounter did not show last night.
I really like an artist that tells stories and acts human on stage. That is the best part of a solo act in a small venue for me. JD is a song writing master and I felt like I was in the presence of an old soul who had seen it all in one format or another. This guy knows so many of my favorite artists in person it just feels good to be listening to him tell stories. The music is like the meringue on the baked Alaska. This show was no ordinary concert. It was very special. Let's go to the next slide. I will tell you more.

JD Souther!!!

JD Souther. http://www.jdsouther.net/
John David Souther blew my mind last night. As he took the stage on a rather balmy February night in Chapel Hill he mentioned he was looking forward to playing this solo gig for us. In short I think he was tired of waiting and ready to play. And play he did. For over two hours! After the show I talked to him for a few minutes and he said something about "Sorry for playing so long." My reply? "Long is good."

April Rocking on Stage.

April's web site says she is 5 feet 2 inches tall. For some reason I find that hard to believe. She has those appealing long legs of a six foot tall beauty and she packs a very powerful stage presence. Her voice is very nice. As she flew through the opening set she really had the crowd rolling with her original tunes. The girl from Brooklyn was smoking with her tunes like "Wow and Flutter" as well as "Colors" I really liked the crowd clapping to her beat as she soared though her song into a brief segway of Led Zeppelin. A very nice set indeed. She got a rousing applause at the end and she left the stage with a very big smile. It looks like JD picked a crowd pleaser for his tour.

Last Night in Chapel Hill....

April Smith opens for JD Souther at the Arts Center.
http://www.aprilsmithmusic.com/
http://www.jdsouther.net/
http://www.artscenterlive.org/
As I stood outside the door of the venue in the 'waiting area" last night I had some time to talk to April's new tour manager who was traveling from the Northeast with her. She was a very nice girl named Alyssa. From Alyssa I heard the story of how JD Souther was looking for someone to open this tour for him and "his people" were presenting people who JD didn't see as a fit for the opening act. It came down to the wire and JD said "Give me the weekend and I will have a name." He went on MySpace and found April that very weekend. And as they say, the rest is history.

Reflections

As I sit here on the morning of my 20th, oops 50th birthday I felt like I needed to add a thought to the music blog. Actually I hardly ever celebrate my own birthday other than use it as an excuse to buy a new gadget. Did I mention I got a new camera? Now my concert pictures may improve! Just another day as I say, at least to me. Then again there are those days every now and then when one will feel a bit different.

Before I forget, there are some really nice concerts coming up in the next few weeks. I plan to be there to take it all in and report back to you on what I saw....stay tuned. Meanwhile I need to plug in my margarita machine and smell the mangoes.

Fifty years has really gone by in a blur. Just like many people say each year seems faster than the one before. I remember the day when Jimmy wrote a song about all of this and the "broken leg" tour associated with the lyrics in this song. Now all of the sudden this song means more to me. It must be the separation anxiety of the first number of my age being associated with my lucky number four. But that doesn't bother me so much. I have always believed that luck is the intersection of preparedness and opportunity instead of a silly number anyway. Breathe, Believe, Receive.
Anyway, it is time to live a bit. There is no better time than this moment because that is all we have guaranteed to us. I am grateful for this one! Yes as I say every morning "I am thrilled to be here." It is another day in paradise. I hoist my glass to you! See ya down the road.


Jimmy Buffett
1980

For all those who don't feel as old as they are and never will

I rounded first never thought of the worst
As I studied the shortstops position
Crack went my leg like the shell of an egg
Someone call a decent physician
I'm no Pete Rose, I can't pretend
Though my mind is quite flexible, these brittle bones don't bend

I'm growing older but not up
My metabolic rate is pleasantly stuck
Let those winds of time blow over my head
Id rather die while I'm living than live while I'm dead

Sometimes I see me as old manatee
Headin' south as the waters grow colder
Tries to steer clear of the hum-drum so near
It cuts prop scars deep in his shoulder
But that's how it goes, that's how it goes, right to the end
Though his bodys quite flexible, that barnacle brain don't bend

I'm growing older but not up
My metabolic rate is pleasantly stuck
Let those winds of time blow over my head
I'd rather die while I'm livin' than live while I'm dead