The Good Stuff

If you go out to listen to music, no matter how skilled the player or how good the sound, it seems like there's distractions you have to zen through, things like people talking, and other people talking, and the people next to them talking. The better the performer, the more annoying this becomes. The problem is that there is no unity of intent in the audience. I intend to listen carefully and enjoy the song. The couple next to me intends to entertain each other and ignore the music, no matter how fine.

There are moments, all too rare, when this problem goes away and you have the convergence of a great performer, a quiet room, and an audience who values the music over conversation. Friday night was a perfect example.

You've never heard of Joe Crookston until now. He's a gifted songwriter, engaging storyteller, off-the-hook guitarist and, between sets, a great guy to hang with. Bill Nork introduced me to his music. Bill and Joe Milsom aka Robert Bobby met Joe Crookston at NERFA, sort of a Millennium Conference for folk singers, and maintained contact over the years.

Mr. and Mrs. Bobby graciously opened their basement for a house concert featuring Joe Crookston. All basements are not created equal. Mine is filled with crap. Theirs is a first-rate venue for acoustic music. Around 25 people sat facing a small, well-lit stage, with acoustics so good that Joe didn't even plug in.

After introducing himself, Joe played a beautiful song about why we were together, what we could expect, sort of an opening hymn whose theme was, "We have all we need here." That song, and the encore, a deeply moving song about Michelangelo's David, bookended the best concert of 2010 so far and one that will be hard to top. Neither of those songs are recorded yet, but hopefully that will be remedied on Joe's next album.

For the second set, Joe invited Mr. Bobby and Bill Nork to sit in on a Robert Bobby song, "Sweet Potato Vine."



Bill stayed up to play a few more songs with Joe Crookston, including "Red Rooster in the Mash Pile."




I'm an old Peter, Paul and Maryite, so for me "folk music" comes pre-loaded with some expectations. Joe Crookston meets and exceeds all of them. Folk music to me implies stories of real life, taking actual events and true stories and presenting them in such a way that they become universal. When every head in the audience nods in recognition and agreement at a line, you know you're getting it right. When a performer makes this process look effortless and natural, you can bet there's tons of back-breaking work that went into it. Go to Joe's website and look at his schedule, and imagine keeping that pace for a while.

Again, thanks to Mr. and Mrs. Bobby for their hospitality, and to the audience for zipping their lips. Jefferson Pepper, seated next to me, did sing a little harmony now and then, but he did it quietly and perfectly in pitch, so that was cool. Karen Gray (hey, girlfriend!) was in discussions with Mr. Bobby about doing a one-woman show there. If and when that happens, it will be a tough ticket, so talk to Ms. Gray about that deal.

Check the news on Robert Bobby's site for a reunion of The Speedboys in Lancaster on May 22nd. Unless you just signed a contract to play somewhere else (#%$#*!), mark your calendars and don't miss it.

It's been an amazing musical week. Two new songs showed up on my doorstep and were debuted at the Midtown Arts Center open mic on Wednesday, and then last night I experienced once again the beauty and power that can be created with "Hands, Metal and Wood." In the words of the prophet Zappa, "Music is the best."

And In Other Muse...

I'm walking around feeling pretty smug about writing two little ditties this week. Joreen sits down at the piano and plays this four part choral piece that she's been wrestling with for at least two years, and it finally came together. It is exquisite, and it's going to sound even better when a choir sings it. There's something going on around here, and I don't know what brought it on, but I hope it sticks around for a while.

Maybe I should write a song about sump pumps, and how important it is to have a backup source of power for them so you don't have to go to Lowe's and buy a battery powered aquarium pump and try to move five gallon buckets of water all morning. Now, that's a hit record.

Be Vewy Qwiet. I'm Hunting Lywics.

The recurring image that comes to my mind about songwriting is that of Elmer Fudd hunting wabbits, when Bugs Bunny is tip-toeing right behind him. Songwriting can be the most frustrating activity in the world and the most rewarding, almost all at once. Case in point: I've been carrying around a fragment, two lines -- two really, really good lines -- for about 20 years. Last night, on the way to the store, the rest of a song just marched up and said, "Okay, Doc, ya got me." Then there's that interesting time between the creative flash and when you can get somewhere to write it down. A few minutes at the laptop, a few simple chords and viola! Bonus: today while tearing down my equipment after a hearing, a second verse started materializing. I think it's done, and I'm pretty happy with it.

I think going to the open mic at the midtown arts center might be helping get stuff moving for me. I've been threatening to "work on my solo album" for a long time. This being The Year Of Getting Around To Things, I guess it's time. The material is all over the place stylistically, but we'll see what happens. I do know this new tune is going to be in there.

Fly, Eagles, Fly

Just Friends made some new friends last night at the Carlisle Eagles. The club is spacious and the crowd is friendly and ready to dance. The usual "first-date" jitters gave way to a pretty good time, and before you know it the set list was out the window as "Proud Mary," "Saw Her Standing There/Slow Down," "For The Good Times" and other tunes just showed up. We had great feedback (from the people, not the amps, thanks to our ace sound engineer, Brian Juran) and we are confident we'll be back. Earl the doorman said, "You sound good and you're not too loud." I tried to be helpful and volunteered to play louder next time.

To those of you who are new to the band, hearing us for the first time or for the first time in a while, we appreciate your compliments and encouragement. The band is working hard in somewhat hard times to find venues and keep people dancing, which we see as a public service. People work hard and they deserve to relax, move around the dance floor and smile for a while. That's our mission.

If you frequent clubs or venues that have live music, mention us to the management. If you get any response from them, please let us know. We're more ready to play than we've ever been. As always, thanks for your friendship and support.

At Last, My Gig Has Come Along

Last night, after what seemed like a lot longer than 33 days, Just Friends was set up, turned on and ready to play for a very packed Verhovay. The band was pumped and came out of the gate roaring. We had a great time. Many of the regular readers of this blog were there: Kathy Patti, Tina Wallish, Reita Wilson, Sharon Evans (the complete Band Wives Club!); some of John the drummer's family, including the brother who introduced him to the band; my little brothers Dave and Bill and sisters-in-law Kathy and Ginny; Ed and Grace McGovern, Karen Gray and Mike Dougan, Cari Longyear, Tom and Bob Roller, Mike Knarr, my daughter Mary and her friend Monica, and probably a few others that my guitar-player brain is forgetting. My apologies if you're one of them. *

Besides three members of the newly formed band Laredo (Dave, Bill and Brian Juran), two members of Jury of Five were present, Mark Sigouin (sp?) and Al Condit. It's always great when fellow musicians are in the audience; it makes me sit up a little straighter and try just a little harder not to clam. We saw many familiar faces at the club and many new ones, and we were very gratified at the positive response to the show.

Special mention goes to two of our long-time fans and friends of Just Friends, Tom and Betty Kresge. They have been following us and supporting live music in general in this area for as long as I've been in the band, and if this area had a thousand more folks like them, central PA would be a paradise for live bands.

Tom has been battling a serious illness recently. As we were setting up, I thought of the Kresges and called Mike and Dottie Miller to get Tom's number, just to let him know we'd miss him. I was pleasantly surprised to hear the Kresges would probably be there, and sure enough there they were at their usual table. As I told Tom, he looks to be in pretty good shape for the shape he's in. Everyone was glad to see him up on the dance floor, along with his wife, who as you know dances like a wild woman but is just as sweet and gracious as her husband. Tom is a real gentleman, and we hope to see him and Betty at our gigs for a long time to come, starting with March 6th when we return to the Verhovay.

There might be some folks around who think this band is not as good as it used to be. That opinion wasn't shared by anyone in the club last night. All we have to do now is rebuild and expand our list of venues. This is going to be a great year for the band, and we hope to see old friends and make new ones as we go along. Watch for some surprises. Do us a favor if you were there, and tell your friends. Befriend us on Facebook, check the website, and if you know any brides-to-be, tell them about us. I don't want to sound needy, but we're excited to be playing and want to do it as much as possible. Fortunately we don't have to wait long. Tonight we're at the Carlisle Eagles, a new venue and a new chance to make a first impression. I wish it was eight o'clock already.

(* I just remembered that Mike Liddick was there. Mike is a veteran of the Harrisburg music scene as a member of the Sounds of Gold and many other bands, including Just Friends. Sorry, Mike. Glad you could make it.)

Best. Leftovers. Ever.

For those of you in the Pampered Chef cult, you may be familiar with the Deep Dish Baker, that ceramic thing that makes a whole chicken in the microwave in a half-hour. Joreen used one of the recipes that came with it, and served it with some misgivings. "It's either going to be good or not." The recipe is this:

Mix one can of whole berry cranberries with a can of cream of mushroom soup and one packet of onion soup mix. Pour over top of chicken in baker. Cover with lid, place in oven, bake for 1.5 hours at 425.

The little Purdue chicken came out as moist as could be, and the drippings left behind were delicious as a sauce. The best, though, was the leftovers tonight, chopped up chicken in the drippings (which thickened up nicely overnight in the refrigerator). Served over mashed potatoes with homemade bread. The blend of sweet and savory flavors was outstanding. It was one of the best things I ever tasted. No, there's no photo. I ate it all. Make your own and you can see what it looks like then. Next time, I'm going to make waffles to go with it.

We're getting psyched up for the Verhovay Friday. Hope to see all our friends there.

Joreen's Choice For Dinner Tonight

We've been married too long. She said at lunch, "What do you want to do for dinner tonight?" I said, "Oh, all right, I'll take you to the Farm Show." That's where we're headed. It's actually one of our favorite restaurants and it's only open one week a year. I'm not thrilled about paying $10 to park, I can tell you. We might see if we can scam a free spot on Cameron Street and "stick it to the man."

I've been quiet on the blog, but one fun thing happened recently. I went down to the open mic at Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center and played some of my original tunes to a pretty large and very receptive crowd. I had mostly given up on the open mic experience, finding it not too satisfying, but this has a lot going for it. Mike Banks is a very experienced host and really keeps things moving. The stage is beautiful, very tastefully lit. The sound is really good (as long as you're playing acoustic). The audience is more than just people coming to play and there's talking, but there's listening as well.

Some years ago, Joreen bought me a Boss loop station pedal and for some reason I couldn't wrap my brain around its operation, put it away and said, "I'll get to learning it someday." I've declared 2010 The Year Of Getting Around To Things, and that's one I can cross off. In fact I don't know why I had such a hard time of it earlier. It's pretty simple once you get the hang of synching up the loop. I used it on stage and didn't have any train wrecks at all.

For you Facebookers, the open mic page is here. I don't know if this link will go right to Facebook for you or not.

Anyway, Joreen will be here soon. Better get ready to get in the potato donuts line. Mmmmmmmm.......potato donuts.............