A Simple Message for Complex Times

One should speak only to improve the silence

Vermont Proverb



One should sing, whether an improvement or not

Gary

Portrait of a SongCatcher as a Middle Aged Man

And so, the question arises, what makes you want to catch a certain song? Or put another way, why does a song choose you? Why do you never grow tired of singing certain songs, and other songs just fade away over the years and they never return. My favorite answer to so many of these questions is quite frankly, I don't know. But that easy answer put to the side, I think that the songs that choose me reflect where I am in my life. These days I seem to be more attracted to songs that have a more life-affirming sense about them, that help me to realize that it isn't all bad. And I am still attracted to songs that are about social injustice (still can't resist a good anti-war song if it is poetic). I find that the songs that no longer talk to me are the ones about "getting the girl" or about feeling lonely (I think this is a good sign :-) Like most humans, I will always feel that longing inside or gnawing emptiness that tells me there is something more, and perhaps this is the reason that I still feel compelled to get behind a guitar and sing out-it helps give me some sense of completion or dare I say spiritual fulfillment (its about the closest I come to religion these days).

Well, thanks for listening. Got to get back to relearning that old traditional song Jubilee and learning for the first time a song by that great folk music group The Talking Heads!

Musically,

Gary Bass

Speaking Words of Wisdom or The Quote Man Quometh

I love a good pun (or should I say a bad pun), or the quick witted quote or response which sums up in just a few words nuggets of wisdom. When the folksinger Art Thieme used to tell a pun to an audience, he sometimes would say "You're groaning now, but you'll be telling it later". One of my favorite responses to a bad reaction to a pun is "I steal from the best" or "We'll be here all week". Over the years, some of my favorite lines from musicians have been

"Funny, it was tuned when I bought it"

"There's tens of dollars in folk music"

"Good enough for folk music" (in reference to tuning)

"I get paid by the note"

And I understand, there is even a book out there of jokes about the accordion. BTW, have you heard this one (not about the accordion):

What do you call the guy at your door delivering the pizza?

A musician

Now, all seriousness aside, about thirty years ago, there was a beautiful album by the musicians Malcolm Dalglish (hammered dulcimer) and Grey Larsen (multiple instrumentalist) with liner notes that contained some beautiful wisdom about performing traditional music. If my memory serves me well, it went something like this:

As we play this music, we come to think of it like being on a rocking chair on a porch. As time goes on,the rocking chair begins to drift a little too much to the edge of the porch, and then we know its time to move it back.

Hence, I admit I get a little uneasy with a dance version of the fiddle tune Cotton Eyed Joe, and yet I sometimes treasure a jazzier version of a traditional Irish or American tune. At the end of the day, of course, all that matters is what music speaks to you, whether "unadulterated" or not. Even the "folk" singing music in the more isolated parts of our country, by the 1930's were listening to the radio and being influenced by "popular" music, and from what I understand, even in the 1800's classical musicians would travel through small towns and people would come to see them play.

So, to end with a quote from Pete Seeger:

Take it easy, but take it.........


Musically,

Mr. Punderful (Gary B)

P.S. One of my favorite non-musical quotes is from Graucho Marx:

Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, its too dark to read.

A Night at the other Friendly Coffeehouse (Perry Hall)

Well, Willie's bus made its final stop of the Almost Famous Folksinger 5th Comeback Tour last night at the Perry Hall United Methodist Church for Folk Music Night, after a few detours during the week (apparently the driver had discovered some of Willie's leftovers hidden away in the back seat). And what a nice evening it was, including open mike performances from Marlin and Tom (playing instrumentals on squeezebox and recorder), John (playing a resophonic guitar including an old piece by Reverend Gary Davis, something unfortunately you don't hear too much of these days), Leah and Debbie (playing and singing three beautiful duets including the Kate Wolf tune Gold in California and the Joni tune Urge for Going), John (playing some ragtime/old-time piano that fit just right with the slightly, well almost slightly, out of tuneness of the keyboard), Dan (singing some nice country tunes on guitar and playing this tight instrumental in which he joked he was being paid by the note), Dick (singing some great old tunes on his baritone uke including Sixteen Tons), and a fellow with the last name of Shapiro (sang three originals including a sad one about a family member and a humorous one about global warming). There was also a featured performer, Kimmon Waldruff, who played some some rock oriented tunes on his acoustic guitar and then finished with some fine instrumentals on a guitar tuned to CFCFFC, giving it a beautiful haunting quality (and must be quite a challenge to tune :-).

My three song set:

1. You Ain't Going Nowhere (the old Bob Dylan tune that I still adore after singing it for close to 40 years, with some key changes and chord changes along the way-I am fascinated how songs evolve as they stay with you-as John McCutcheon once said, if you were to play the song exactly like the record, you might as well play the record up there on the stage.It would be hard to find a record player anyway. Or in the words of Joni Mitchell, you would never ask Picasso to paint the same picture twice).

2. Kitty Alone and I (from Joe and Janette Carter of the Carter Family tree (not Jimmy) and learned from the singing of Ed Trickett (or as the folksinger Bruce Hutton used to refer to him as Dead Crickett-sorry Ed :-)

3. Here Comes the Sun (the Beatles tune as channeled through one of my musical heroes Richie Havens)

Well, my thanks to Neil and Debbie Zimmerman, who host the coffeehouse every month. Check out their website at [www.perryhallumc.org] .

For now, we're all cleaning out Willie's bus before we return it. And we are keeping one eye on the driver.......

Peace,

Gary B

A Night at the Friendly Coffeehouse

Well, Willie's tour bus made a stop at the Friendly Coffeehouse (sponsored by the BFMS with emcee Leah U.) this past Friday night and I had a real nice time there, hearing some fine performances. The thing I love about open mikes is that you never know what you're going to hear. There are almost always some wonderful unexpected surprises. Its like walking into a used record store and finding that one album you hadn't heard in years (whoops, dating myself again :-) Some of the highlights for me were the following performances:
1. local singer-songwriter Greg Shupe ( [www.gregshupe.com] ), including the singing of a humorous sing I Likes Her Personality

2. a delightful presentation of native American songs on different woodwind instruments played by Jan Seiden ( [www.janseiden.com] ) including an instrument with two sides in two different keys that she played simultaneously

3. Leah U.'s playing of the Dar Williams song about underground radio (I grew up myself listening to underground radio late into the night, so that one has a special place in my heart, and one of those station was a Pacifica station)

4. Mark's (sorry I don't know the last name) playing of a relatively unknown Pete Seeger song called Old Devil Time and also Stewball

Political songs and speeches were at a minimum, though after Elise played an original song on her autoharp about putting Hilary in the House, I was tempted to yell "move over Mama, I'm voting for Obama", but of course this fairly restrained folksinger, unofficial member of the League of the Socially Awkward, did no such thing. As for my set, after having recently watched Jimi Hendrix on YouTube burn his guitar at Monterey Pop ( [www.youtube.com] ), I was going to open (and close) with the acoustic version of Wild Thing, but I decided to leave the lighter fluid at home. My set:
1. I'm Gonna Mail Myself to You (Woody Guthrie as channeled through Pete Seeger and John McCutcheon)
2. Oh Mary Don't You Weep (and yes, people did sing along)
3. Not Fade Away (old Buddy Holly Tune, though like most I first heard it through the back door back in the sixties as played by the Rolling Stones)

My only suggestion, if there is a way of cutting back on some of the lights,it would provide a more intimate atmosphere and keep things a little greener :-) But that aside, was a good night and in the words of the General, I Shall Return.

Gary B

How to Make a Small Fortune in Folk Music

According to Pete, a recent performer at the open mike at The Perry Hall United Methodist Church Folk Music Night, the way to make a small fortune in folk music is to start with a large fortune.......................

After late "after midnight" negotiations with Willie Nelson, he has agreed to lend his bus to the Gary Bass Almost Famous Folksinger 5th Comeback Tour with tenative stops scheduled at the following venues:

Friday, February 8th
Johns Hopkins Interfaith Center (The Friendly Coffeehouse)
3509 Charles Street
Baltimore, Maryland
(open mike begins at 8 PM)

Saturday, February 16th
Perry Hall United Methodist Church (Folk Music Night)
9515 Belair Road
Baltimore, Maryland
(open mike begins at 7:30)

Maybe see you there. And thanks again Willie for the bus (sorry we weren't able to work up that duet together, but maybe on your next album)..............

Gary B

Warning: Dropped D Tuning May be Addictive

It all started out so innocently. I slowly and methodically dropped the lower E string of my guitar down to D and carefully started relearning that old Woody Guthrie chestnut I'm Gonna Mail Myself to You. But in the next few days, the dropped D tuning magically led to Here Comes the Sun (Beatles/Richie Havens), Norwegian Wood (Beatles), and Oxford Town (Bob Dylan). And then, dare I say, I took the big risk, dropping the upper E string to D and Not Fade Away (Buddy Holly/Rolling Stones) appeared without being invited in. For those faint of heart, do not explore the magic of the double dropped D, but for those brave souls willing to risk it all..............................


P.S. Last night I had the strangest dream. I had also dropped the G string down to D, after consulting Ravi Shankar, and approached Nirvana (smells like middle aged spirit).


Gary B

Getting Back to Church

"An untuned guitar is not worth playing......" (apologies to Socrates)

Well last night, Saturday, January 19th, I made it to the open mike run by Neil Zimmerman at Perry Hall United Methodist Church. with featured performer Bob Sima. It was such a nice evening, a real musical shot in the arm. The featured performer, Bob Sima, a singer-songwriter with his own CD, played some strong songs including one about not dying with the music still in you (I could relate to that one) and one about warm ham and cold bodies (couldn't relate as much to that one). Heard some fine open mike performances too, ranging from humorous songs (about state songs) to Yiddish folk songs (sung by Leah Ulanskey who runs the Friendly Coffeehouse). The church of the basement was pleasantly filled with good people who listened and even sang along.

I sang three songs and the audience seemed very receptive. The set list:

1. If I Had a Hammer (I know, an old chestnut, but I've reworked it recently and it has a little different feel to it-more late 20th century :-)

2. Ballad of a Crystal Man (old Donovan song reworked to fit the current political climate)

3. Bring Them Home (old Pete Seeger tune covered by the Boss (Bruce Springsteen) last year that I learned off of http://www.youtube.com ) and it was a folksinger's dream to have the audience sing along (if a song like this doesn't bring the troops home what will?)

It was good getting out and seeing some old musical friends that I hadn't seen for over two years (Dick Oles and Leah) and I will be back. Oh, and did I mention that they had cookies, coffee, and veggies (donation requested)?

Gary B

Was Socrates the Original Beach Boy?

I learned this morning, while reading philosophy (one of the great pasttimes of almost famous folksingers) that Socrates said (more or less) "God only knows". Controversy still arises as to whether he sang it also..........

Gary B

Is it true all folkies are closet rockers?

This past Sunday, January 6th, 2008, two old friends who had barely played together since junior high school (over 30 years ago), got together in a living room with their guitars, and started sharing songs back and forth. One (Howard) was predominantly a rocker and played amazing guitar riffs reminscent of Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jimi Hendrix, and one (myself) played predominantly folk oriented stuff. I'm sure Pete Seeger would have no problem knowing one of his songs was accompanied by some amazing swirling fast guitar riffs (Pete once said that he electrified long before Bob Dylan when he first played in front of a microphone). I did my best to keep up the rhythm when Howard was doing his rock stuff and it went alright (I still do love rock and roll).

Think if everybody that was fighting would drop their weapons, join hands, and sing a rousing version of Kumbaya while all the rock guitarists in the world provided a wailing background. Works for me :-)............

Gary B

A Musical Night at the Ukazoo

Had a pleasant evening at the open mike at the Ukazoo book store in Towson last Thursday night, January 3rd. Nice atmosphere (I find a certain comfort in being surrounded by books), chairs for virtually everyone, no sound system (I prefer this-gives a more natural sound), respectful audience (mostly people in their twenties), and free coffee and cookies. The crowd was fairly receptive, and as I looked out as I was playing and singing I felt like maybe I connected with at least one or two (especially my sister, who has been such a wonderful supporter over the last 30 years :-). The set list:
1. You Ain't Going Nowhere (Bob Dylan tune)
2. Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream (that timeless anti war song from the early folk revival, I believe written by Ed McCurdy, and covered by artists from Pete Seeger to Simon and Garfunkel)
3. Walking in Your Footsteps (The Police)

All in all a good experience, and the host (Shenko) even posted pictures on My Space (I feel that I have now truly entered the post-post modern era (error?). I am quickly beginning to realize that folk-oriented music is best played in living rooms, but there is still something to be said to getting out in public and presenting your wares. BTW, did I mention the free coffee and cookies?

Gary B

How do you eat an elephant?

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. I've been experimenting with this method lately with learning a new song (which does get harder as one is about to turn 50), working on one verse a day, and practicing the same song 5 or 6 times a day for a month until it becomes an organic part of you.BTW, this is a great test for deciding if the song is a keeper, because at the end of month, if you still want to sing the song, you really must love it :-) Nothing wrong with singing from a piece of paper, of course, but their is something to say about communicating a song when a piece of paper if not between you and the people you're with......

Gary B