Category: rock

Then Your Clothes

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

[az]B000008EFC[/az]Despite the fact that I still don’t own his entire catalog, I’m saddened by Jude Cole’s apparent decision to record others’ music instead of creating more of his own.

This morning as I was taking Russia Saturn to work Jude put a smile on my face with my favorite track off “Start the Car”—”First Your Money (Then Your Clothes)”

A simple tale of misguided affections is accompanied by simple but effective music. One of the first things that struck me when I was learning the song was that the bass (my starting point) isn’t doing anything other than the root note of each chord: bom, bom, bom, bom instead of a rockabilly shuffle or alternating country bass or some complicated rock riff.

The album’s opening with the crunch of the title track strongly reinforces the laid back country feel of the rest of the album. “First Your Money” has the same kind of wryly amusing lyrics you might find in the work of Brad Paisley or even Roger Miller:

 My mom said, "Son, it won't last She'll be gone when you're out of cash." Hey, Mom, I need a ride back home

and later

 We stopped to wish upon a star She stole my breath; she stole my car

And one more:

 Oh, no, love ain't cheap There's a tollbooth up on lover's leap

Just as “Start the Car” is aggressive without being angry, “First Your Money” is more about lessons learned than some tragedy about love gone wrong. For my money it’s a better message.

Lou Cowboy Blonde Concrete Junkies Reed

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

[az]B000002WCL[/az]A guitar-playing friend mentioned he was learning Concrete Blonde’s “Joey”, which of course made me think of Cowboy Junkies since they melded in my mind years ago, so I started talking about Lou Reed.

When I first heard the Cowboy Junkies doing a song the DJ claimed was called “Sweet Jane”, just like the Lou Reed song, I thought he was mistaken, then I thought it was just the same title. Those sentimental lyrics and the delicate melody certainly weren’t the rock and roll animal.

Wrong wrong wrong.

Add two really loud distorted guitars and speed it up slightly, and it’s the latter half of the vocal half of Lou Reed’s monster.

Which is the song Ted Nugent’s “Stranglehold” was trying to be, only without the anger and mayhem.

In a Barn with Berkley Hart

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

Upstairs at Kevin’s Acoustic Barn in Newcastle, Jeff Berkley and Calman Hart were amazing. The last time I found a musical performance anywhere near this entertaining was when Best Beloved took me to see Michelle Shocked at Marilyn’s in Sacramento.

The artists and venue graciously allowed me to video the event, so hopefully there’ll be clips of some of my favorite moments posted here soon.

Up the River with Berkley Hart

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

[az]B00006HCBB[/az]Hard to believe it’s been over five years since I wrote about ‘Elvis Einstein Rockefeller Jones‘ (and almost as long since I’ve seen my older kids, one of whom introduced me to ‘Wake Up, Charlie’ way back then; both songs and more are included on 2002’s ‘Wreck ‘n’ Sow’)

I found out earlier this week that Jeff and Calman will be doing a house concert at The Acoustic Barn, just up the road from us in Newcastle, a hilly town between Sacramento and Auburn, the seat of Placer County (Placerville, of course, is in El Dorado County; Yuba City, rather than being in Yuba County is in Sutter; I wonder how Sacramento ended up in Sacramento County?)

Listening to Calman Hart’s ‘Up the River’ from the unavailable ‘John Boy Drum’ reminds me that these guys aren’t a small-time bar band. Opening with a flute way off in the distance, ‘Up the River’ is a complex and painful song about loving too much and not too wisely.

For your love there's not much I wouldn't doBut I never dreamed I would sail up the river for you . . .

Why is it that what we all think of as love is so often just a peculiar sort of brain damage? Even now, after nearly four years married to the right person, painful memories are still just below the surface. Sometimes letting them out just a little relieves the pressure enough to move on again.

But, tonight, it’s just us and BH and the music. Thanks to Kevin and Co. at The Acoustic Barn; Best Beloved and the Little One and I intend to enjoy ourselves.

Heart Like a Train

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

[az]B000002LAZ[/az]One thing I love about blues is that they don’t have to be sad, despite the lyrics.

Chris Isaak’s “You Took My Heart” from his eponymous 1987 release is a two-chord rockabilly blues song with the kind of freight-train snare drumming you really don’t hear in any other genre. Despite Chris singing “There will be no more love for me . . . ” it’s hard to believe he’s all broken up about it as he repeats the line over and over, louder and angrier (or more exuberantly, perhaps?) Bass, drums, and guitars all drive like Jehu behind but not beneath the vocals. It leaves me smiling every time.

Still Haven’t Found What You’re Looking For? (9)

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

[az]B000002GVO[/az]Got an interesting search yesterday: “call something paradise kiss it goodbye”

Near the end of Don Henley’s epic Eagles tune “The Last Resort” you’ll find that line. In a not-very-remarkable synergy I was playing the song for Rush just last week. It inspired me to talk about how passionate the 60s were; she agreed that folks her age don’t generally get all worked up about causes.

And just to clarify, the 60s started about 1964 and ran through 1974, more or less. Just thought you should know they weren’t confined to a calendar.

The Grassies

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

Northern California now has a music award.

The Grassies are the Northern California Artistic Achievement Award. Named in part for The GrassiesGrass Valley, where the first awards will be presented, and in part for the grassroots artists they honor, The Grassies are an idea long overdue. Originally intended to be a purely musical award, we The Grassie(Co-Founder and Primary Evangelist Andy Gonzales and Know Your Music writer, Grassies Co-Founder and Anamchara Eolais Joel D ‘spinhead’ Canfield) realized it needed to encompass the arts in general to match our vision.

The First Annual Grassies will be the highlight of the Nevada County Music Expo on April 28th, 2007; all the pertinent info is at The Grassies website. While most of the awards are given to artists and others in music-related fields who are still on the rise, the Masters and Mentors Award is a special award for a grassroots artist who has, in some sense, made it. This year’s recipient is The King of Surf Guitar, Mr. Dick Dale.

The Expo will include workshops, live performances, vendor booths of all kinds from local bands, stores, and other artists, food, and more. Admission is free.

Still Haven’t Found What You’re Looking For? (8)

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

Another lazy post based on searches, and my best guess at what you were looking for.

In no particular order:

  • “dido my love is gone” – still one of my favorite songs; here you go
  • “another carsong” – I’m writing one; does that count?
  • “doesn t mean i don t love you” – oh, good
  • “i changed the lock on my front door” – Lucinda Williams’ song with no chorus
  • “imogen heap” – ah; I’ll have to borrow rush’s CD and write about this amazing performer
  • “kid” – my least favorite Pretenders song. For some reason, one of their most popular. Must be me.
  • “parting glass” – a lifelong favorite from the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, featured in “Waking Ned Divine“
  • “squirrel nut zippers evening at lafitte s” – great jazz, featuring the luscious voice of Kathleen Whalen. Possibly a unique album.
  • “te hoe poti i tahiti” – I am at a total loss; I know no Tahitian music whatsoever, except for the collaboration between Chet Atkins and Mark Kopfler (on ‘Neck and Neck’) playing ‘Tahitian Skies‘