3-18-2007
SXSW.....Me and Pete Just got back in from a looooong week. Anyways, the best part of it is always meeting new people and most of all using music as a collaborative art. Sure, you can make pretty good, maybe even great records by yourself in your basement but there's no replacing the groove and vibe of real musicians chugging and pumping together on all cylinders. We got in on Tues but my first gig of five wasn't until 12:20 on Wed. at Mother Egan's. The Conqueroo/Guitartown party has become the opening slam of the week and one of the best-run shindigs. I followed Randy Weeks and Michelle Shocked followed me. We also saw David Olney, Pam Tillis and James McMurtry but it all gets a little fuzzy after that. The 30 or so drink tickets they gave us didn't help . Freedy and I stayed put at one table for most of the party and we were able to reconnect with virtually everybody we knew over the last 15 years! The festival seemed larger than ever in numbers this year. On Thursday I had two gigs so we spent most of the time running back and forth in Austin traffic. We saw some pretty good young talent in-between our running around and passions were really high. That's a good sign. Add passion to a little desperation and you get magic. Friday was our annual Split Rock Records/Whatever That Is party at the Ginger Man. The Ginger Man is a great, popular, well-run establishment that has been tremendously supportive of the music we put on over the last several years. Michelle Shocked opened up the festivities with my buddy Freedy Johnston knocking them dead right after. I was next and Tommy Ramone's new band Uncle Monk put on a killer set of old-tyme-y music that everyone really dug after me. My dear friend Andy Hersey closed the party and made MANY new friends with his passionate brand of cowboy country-rock. This guy is the real deal and has one song in particular, "Next Time a Diamond Won't Cut It" that's an absolute smash waiting to happen. Freedy and I then closed out the night with a spirited, though extremely under-rehearsed hour of cover songs. Some bar regular asked us if we could play every Friday! Love it. I was flattered. At that point I thought my night was over even though it was only 8 or 8:30pm. However, fate had another idea. Freedy gets a call from his former bass player who's now with Martha Wainwright and says get down to the Convention Center. Martha's playing with Pete Townshend and Rachel Fuller and I think I can get you in! Cool! So we hustle on foot about six blocks or so and meet up out side and get ushered in. We're led to a large TV studio/hanger complex where Direct TV is shooting a new series of high def music shows. A trio from Sweden was playing when we got there and they were pretty good. Next up was Rachel Fuller and she brought out Pete for two songs then Martha and Pete for one. Martha was fantastic!
That was the first time I'd seen her perform and she knocked me out. Give her the keys and let her drive!!! Anyways, that would've been cool enough but we were then ushered backstage to hang with Martha. At some point she says, "You wanna' meet Pete and Rachel?" Uhhhh, duh! The first and main reason I got in this whole game was because of Pete and the Who. That's how I learned to play guitar!!! But I never, EVER thought I'd ever get to meet my hero. I mean, I've met almost every major hero of mine and worked with quite a few now but c'mon, Pete's British! He lives in England! Well tonight folks, he was hanging with us in Austin, TX and I still can't freakin' believe it. He and Rachel were very welcoming, unassuming, kind and genuine to us and they had NO entourage. None. Just a guitar tech. Total class. Anyway, we talked gear and about going to England to talk more about recording and techniques but I didn't want to wear him out. This was beyond my wildest dreams and I didn't want to spoil it. We gratefully excused ourselves and went blissfully off into the night four feet above the ground. It's easier to get around Austin that way . Once we awoke on Sat to realize what happened to us we had to get a move on for Freedy's 11am gig at Cafe Caffeine. This is the gig we knew least about and it may have been the best. Tons of local indie musicians came out and everywhere we went people were coming extremely welcoming and supportive of Freedy and his fantastic songs. He has an amazingly loyal fan base. He just slayed 'em outside this really cool, liberal coffeshop completely off the beaten path. Ya' never know when a great gig can happen. He played some of the tunes we just recorded for his new album of covers as well as some old faves. A lot of new tunes too. He's gonna' be recording them real soon for an album of original stuff for '08. Can't wait. I played again at 2pm and then it was off to the airport and home. What a whirlwind and what a gas! The music business may be hell most of the time and it may not have made me a very rich man but it's made all my dreams come true time and time again. I can't tell you how grateful I am that I get to do what I do. The best part of it always is the hang , meeting new people and keeping up with old friends. Without that it wouldn't be any fun. 11-28-2006 Everybody wants to be best.... I hate lists. It's impossible to list art. This year's best recordings as I heard them through purchase
or gifted (mostly purchased) 2006- Top Ten The rest/honorable mention (It was VERY tough to pick a top ten) My favorite all-time best ever record? Tie:The Who-Live at Leeds and Bruce Springsteen-Darkness on the Edge of Town Best living songwriters? Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, Bobby Braddock, Smokey Robinson, Brian Wilson and Pete Townshend. Best concert ever? Bruce Springsteen, 1978 Nassau Coliseum a week before "Darkness on the Edge of Town" was released. Changed my life! But that's just me......what about you? Peace and love for the holidays, 10-20-2006 The Trip Back Down: Bloodbrothers and the closing of CBGB's
Let's get one thing straight right off: CBGB's was a dump. A real scuzz-hole. If the parents of most bands knew what the place looked like and the denizens thereof they would have had instant coronaries (and that doesn't include the bathrooms). I've played there and at CB's Gallery plenty of times over the last 15 years as well as handling tour manager duties for the Dictators on many occasions. But nothing we'd ever experienced there would compare to what we were about to embark on: closing CB's once and for all. It's hard to fathom; we figured it would fall down before it would ever close. 33 years in one place in Manhattan is a miracle anyway. Soon the only people who will live there are stock brokers and real estate agents and their massive debt. It had been seven years away from NYC for me and I guess I hadn't really thought about the emotional impact and toll a trip like this would take on me. It turned out to be maybe the most illuminating 10 days of my life. First off, Scott "Top Ten" Kempner, my best buddy, had been staying with me in Nashville for the past few months so we decided to drive up together, 10 hours the first day and 4 ½ the second. This gave us plenty of time to go through every CD Scott had brought with him. He's a regular encyclopedia of rock history if you're into that sort of thing. Me, I'm a sponge, and observer. I'll take all the info I can thank you very much. We arrived in NYC on Sunday the 8th of October and I retired to my Uncle Marty's pad in Hell's Kitchen while Scott moved on to Rich Nesin's pad uptown. Richie used to tour manage the Del Lords, Scott's other band, and is now a big wheel with John Scher's organization. Rich is one of the good ones. This gave Scott and I both a few days to get reacquainted with our old neighborhoods and friends and still get ready for the big show. This is where things get deep for me. I haven't really kept in touch with anyone from back home at all but a few months before this trip I had reconnected with perhaps one of my closest and dearest friends from high school, Alicia O. She was one of the "cool" girls who dug great music that wasn't what everybody else was listening to. Robots. Alicia wasn't a robot. She was unique. Turns out she's still cool, even prettier than she was in high school (she was pretty cute then) and she also has three wonderful kids under age 13 who don't realize how lucky they are. Anyway, I dig kids and it was quite a trip back down. (Scott says he digs other people's kids!) Alicia had never been to CBGB's so I invited her to Saturday's show. She had no idea what she was in for (I told her to buy ear plugs!!! ). Staying with my Uncle Marty was amazing too. This was the same apartment I lived in 20 years earlier, in fact my FIRST apartment. The hippie treehouse. If you could see it you'd understand. I think Marty decorated it while on an acid trip in 1968 (he's been there that long). A railroad apartment with think, beautiful, crooked old wood floors, exposed brick and a slight nautical feel (Marty's used to be big on boats and the islands…). In addition, to designate the separate rooms without doors each different section of the apartment is painted a different color. Red, blue, pink, purple(-ish). Hammocks, fans, bean bag chairs…..The perfect place to get lost. And this is where Marty has been hiding since moving in all those years ago. Marty is more of what we refer to as a "Dutch Uncle", a good, dear old friend of the family who's just been around forever. He had gone to high school with my dad and they had been friends for over 50 years when my dad died. I can tell Marty still misses him. Marty has never been very sentimental around me but he was different this time. I think he sees a lot of his friends going away. But he's been one of the best friends this boy could have and he literally has saved me more than a few times. "Maintain Eddie, maintain". I hear ya' now buddy, loud and clear. He says I'm leaving my sun phase and entering my moon phase. Does this mean I'll sleep better now??? The old neighborhood is changed. How could it not? Maybe not as much as Marty says (he won't let me shop or eat at "any of the silver, shiny, new yuppie places") but enough to notice. It appears a midtown high-rise developer I used to ad work for has discovered Hell's Kitchen. I learned irony in NYC. Maybe we really have come to the end of the line. Which brings me back to CBGB's. Everyone was there. Friday, which sold out in 18 minutes, was for the fans. The same folks we've been seeing at shows for at least the 20 years I've been around the Dictators and the band didn't disappoint. Without fear of hyperbole I can honestly say that they are one of the tightest and most ferocious bands on the plant right now. We welcome all takers. Just have bus fare for the long ride home. Handsome Dick was as good as he's ever been and no matter how much energy was expended by the 500 die hards in attendance everything went smoothly with no hassles. The band kicked ass!!! Debbie Harry, Chris Stein and Blondie opened the second night and she and the band were in fine stripped-down form and she was very gracious to the throngs backstage (there have never been any doors on the dressing rooms to CB's—just clear shower curtain's at best. That also says something about what we were all going for once). Willie Nile was there, Eric "Roscoe" Ambel from the Del Lords, Lenny Kaye, Little Steven I heard were there too. My high school friend Alicia was there the second night and couldn't freakin' believe it. She couldn't believe the unique patina of the club and she couldn't freakin' believe how good the mighty Dictators are. I was on cloud nine. We had three generations of tour managers/honorary Dictators in attendance: Myself, CJ the current chief who took over for me and E-Factor, Eric Weinstein, who flew in from a film set in Vancouver just for these two shows. We knew he wouldn't miss them. Eric is currently Mark Wahlberg's manger and is the co-creator and associate producer of the HBO hit show "Entourage". One of the most dear and touching moments for me the whole week was while watching the second night at stage right as was my custom, waiting for Richard to shed his leather Dictator coat and throw it my way for safe keeping. Except this night, he had TWO ex-tour managers on hand and when he threw the jacket our way we BOTH reached to grab it!!! It was a rock n' roll moment. We just both looked at each other, cracked up and hugged. Here we were all these years later, fully accomplished and moved on in our lives and we were still most interested in taking care of our boys, our bloodbrothers. DFFD!!! Dictators forever, forever Dictators!!! Some things will never change (I hope!). For a bunch of supposedly tough punk rockers it was a very emotional lovefest with plenty of hugs all around at the end (but no tears that I saw). There was a lot of great energy in that rooms those last two nights and I am so glad I got the privilege to attend. I will never forget Tommy Ramone closing it out with the boys covering "Blitzkrieg Bop". Hey, ho, let's go!!!!! Indeed.
Patti Smith played Sunday but we didn't go. We did our job. We came, we saw and kicked major ass. There was nowhere else to go. It was time to go home. I went back to my hometown on Long Island to get my mother's brother John, who happens to be the most fabulous mechanic in the world, to give my car the once over for it's 50,000 mile checkup. This would also provide me with much cheaper and safer parking for the week than in Manhattan! It also gave me the chance to look around for the first time in a loooong while. Maybe 25 years. Believe it or not, the town hadn't changed a bit. I had run away at 16, never looked back and it was like frozen in time exactly like I left it (other than some asshole chopped down my grandmother's cherry tree at our old house). Except I didn't know anybody there. It was all new, richer people than even before. I didn't recognize them and they SURE didn't know me. My hometown didn't belong to me anymore. I don't really have much contact with my relatives these days. It's not that I don't love them but I was always the black sheep anyway and used to little contact. But after my mom died it all really fell apart. I guess she was by sheer force keeping it all together somehow. Which brings me to my conclusion of the whole experience: You can't choose your family but you do choose your friends. It's one of the few things you do get to choose in life. Like the aged knight whispered in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade": Choose wisely. Who you associate with could be the most significant thing you do in your entire life. Now, I've made a LOT of mistakes in my life but if I have one thing to be proud of is my friends, my associates and my close buddies. Because without them I truly would be nothing. They learned me good and I hope I do them proud. THEY are my family. CBGB's was just a place. It was the PEOPLE that made it great and unique. Hilly Kristal just gave them a supportive (and safe) hang to let their freak flags fly. And that's good enough for me. There is no better training ground than the mean streets of NYC and rock n' roll. Long live CBGB's. Long live the Dictators. Long live NYC. Bloodbrothers forever, DFFD. What a trip. I'm just glad I don't have to do it again!!!! 09-10-2006 Jesus on Patrol There are insurgents everywhere and you are but a ghost That may be true at least for now but I’m calling the shots And this land was Eden once and I have not forgot, no I have not forgot Your so-called leaders use my name but never without fear Believe in only what you see and none of what you hear It’s not my idea to have you here, I’m putting my foot down I’ve given up all hope on Earth c’mon we’re leaving town, said, we’re leaving town I thought it was a passing trend, maybe another fad But even I see clearly now that it got out of hand 30,000 people died, in whose name was that again? I don’t want credit anymore it’s time to pack it in, time to pack it in You can’t stay here Jesus said and I can’t save you now And I can’t be sure the Holy Father won’t wipe it all somehow I thought peace and love and understanding would rise in the end someday But all I see now in my dreams are the ones that got away, ones that got away The Marine said wait a second Lord I’ve just begun to live I’ve got a lot of hopes and plans and so much left to give Jesus laughed and shook his head said, you’re missing the point son I’m going home, we’re packing up, our shift down here is done, son your shift is done This isn’t what I had in mind when I said spread the word Those people they don’t speak for me no matter what you heard I’ve seen this all time and again it always ends the same I am sick of all the blood that’s been shed in my name, been shed in my name I am sick of all the blood that’s been shed in my name 07-15-2006 Waxing Poetical Somewhere South of Here I'm about the embark on a rare vacation for the next two weeks and do some soul-cleansing and writing. Of course, I've never known what vacation means so I'll probably still be working. However, one of the best ways I've found to feed my head is to turn off the tv and read. A few months ago a particular publication caught my attention in a Border's in Louisville, KY while on tour. Wax Poetics covers Rap, Hip-Hop, Soul, Funk, R&B but it is so much more. It is perhaps the first publication, and I read 'em all kids, in 20 years that truly captures the spirit of the fan while at the same time using the english language in a way that would make any great scribe proud. Real without being overly pretentious I can't wait for every bi-monthly issue to hit my mailbox. It has frustrated me to no end that I haven't been able to get copies of my 1997 album Somewhere South of Here since 1998 thanks to the record label, Tangible, going belly up and basically being just dumb-asses. Make that one dumb-ass in particular. Anyway, it was a very painful period of my life in a lot of ways as well so I wasn't all that eager to revisit it. However last week I pulled out all the masters and started going through my life as it was 13 years ago when we stareted production on SSof H, just after the release of my first album. What I found shocked, saddened and astonished me;over 20 new, never before released alternate taskes and different songs, demos, live recordings....all kinds of stuff. So next Tuesday and Wednesday Bob Olhsson and I are gonna' remaster the original album IN IT'S ORIGINAL ORDER WITH ALL THE SONGS INTACT. I use caps because it still bugs me that the record label couldn't wait another week for the track we wanted as the opening track, "If I Tell You", which will also be included in the remaster as well as an alternate mix of "What a Little Love Can Do" that is much better than the one that appeared on the original album. The 20-plus bonus tracks will be included on a separate bonus disc. 2-dioscs for the price of one and remastered. I am VERY excited about reclaiming this very significant part of my musical journey. We hope to have copies for sale as early as Dec. '07 if not sooner (not soon enough for me!). I've recently gotten back into my childhood tv faves the Little Rascals and I can't believe how brilliant those serials and actors were. Watching it a realized my entire childhood was spent trying to chase those same advetures, if it were only that easy!! The official set isn't out on DVD yet but there is an excellent bootleg available with all 88 episodes for around $27.00. I don't often endorse bootlegs but since the copyright holders of the series are dragging their feet getting around to DVD transfers these will surely bring a smile to even the most jaded heart (don't worry, I'll buy the official releases as well when they come out. It's only fair.) In my previous blog to this I wrote about how I enjoyed the Dixie Chicks new CD on first listen. While I still dig the production I found that the songs didn't stand up on long rides while on the road. I think we had a unanimous decision in the car that while we liked the new sound we wished they stuck with better songs and songwriters. Which brings me to another observation I've made recently on Music Row after two full years immersion into co-writing and/or writing specifically for modern country:a lot of it just blows. This ain't mine OR my daddy's country music (and my daddy LOVED country music-they didn't call him Tex for nothin'). Leaving behind the obvious dreck like "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk" (which is just too easy a target frankly), the rest of it is just pablum, disposable and very, very predictable. For instance, I was watching a local cable show we have here in Nashville which features hit writers from Music Row. A few weeks ago I was watching this good, well hosted and well produced show when I noticed that I could predict almost every turn of a song one writer was playing even though I had never heard it. This may be what lines the pockets of publishers and radio promoters but with the amount of talent we have here in Nashville we can do better. Waaaay better. I'll say it again, Garth Brooks was huge not because he was a marketing genius but because he gave his audience credit for being smarter than what Music Row thinks they can absorb. They're simply selling us short folks and that doesn't sit right with me. Like Woody Guthrie said, "I hate a song that makes you feel like you don't know any better". Right on Woody. Did you ever get the feeling that the religious right wants everyone who's not like them to leave the country and find someplace else to live? If youi're not straight, white, Republican, religiously grounded and against everyone but your own you should get out. Go be free somewhere else. Wait, isn't that what brought ALL of us here in the first place??? Silly me. I was watching a King of the Hill episode recetly on Christian music when Hank says to a youth leader, "Stop, stop. You're not making Christianity better, you're just making rock worse!!!". What obviously makes that so funny is that it has a large grain of truth in it. However, I just stumbled upon two out-of-the-ordinary young Christian singer-songwriters who really impressed me;Todd Agnew and Derek Webb. Todd's "Reflection of Something" and Derek's "Mockingbird" are both not only realistically reflective of the times we live in but also carry a profound spiritual message while never sacrificing musical integrity. Highly recommended. Here's what else I've been listening to lately: Ane Brun-DuetsThe Ultimate Daryl Hall and John Oates (so sue me, I'm a junkie) The Jesus and Mary Chain-Darklands (remaster) The Racontuers-Broken Boy Soldiers The Hellacopters-Rock and Roll is Dead Johnny Cash-Personal File (awesome, better than the Rubin records) Scott Walker-Scott 4 Bruce Springsteen-The Seeger Sessions (meh) Vetiver-To Find Me Gone Johnny Cash-V Ane Brun-A Temporary Dive Eddie Cochran-Something Else Ane Brun-Spending Time With Morgan (didn't realize I listened to so much Ane this month until I went through the pile. I guess it's an in-bred thing for Nordic women...) Joe Williams and the Count Basie Orchestra-Every Day I have the Blues Katy Bowser-All of My Friends (EP) The Temptations-Ultimate Collection Patsy Cline-12 Greatest Hits Scion Sampler (awesome, AWESOME sampler of Funk Hip-Hop and R&B that will make any party groove. Free w/Wax Poetics subscription.) Sondre Lerche-Duper Sessions Carol King-Tapestry (this really is one of the all-time greats. It ages very well) Thee Michelle Gun Elephant-Collection (I wish they would have released this before Gear Blues. They would have had an easier time in the U.S.) Chris Rice-Amusing Johnny Cash-Live at San Quentin Gnarls Barkley-St. Elsewhere ("Crazy" isn't even the best song on the disc) Townes VanZandt-Roadsongs The Thelonious Monk Quartet w/John Coltrane-At Carnegie Hall That's it 'till next time (that may be it for a while-my accountant says I spend more money on CD's than any other expense BY FAR over the last ten years. Oooops! I think I'm on a budget from now on. More like a moratorium!!!) Anyway, drive safe and be well out there during vacation season. I'll see you in a few weeks, Ed 05-30-2006 Keeping ya'll posted... So here's what's been running through my tiny brain- All this talk of the DaVinci code made me remember a good deal of my Christian raising (that's pre-right wing Christian raising...). Let's start with the anti-Christ. I think I have found him (or it or them); the modern church. Isn't the anti-Christ described in the bible as one who will turn the teachings of Christ back against itself and thus destroy Christianity? Well, look no further than church. You see, I attend church as much as possible and I have a pretty good, though admittedly flawed, relationship with the Lord. It seems to me that the matters that concern the modern church greatly are not necessarily the same chief concerns of our God as discussed in the bible. My understanding is that it was about sacrifice, redemption, courage, conviction....and most of all peace, love and understanding. Not exclusion, fear, prejudice and destruction. It seems to me we have more pressing issues at hand than gay marriage. When the church starts to make me feel warm and fuzzy and wanted without fear of repercussion because of our differences that's when I'll change my mind. Fear is a powerful thing.... BTW:Did you know that Thomas Jefferson ripped all of the words out of his bible that weren't written in red? (The words attributed directly to Christ) Oh yeah, and about Judas and the "Judas gospels". If God and Christ were really all-knowing, all seeing then they knew exactly what they were doing and thus Judas was an intricate and valuable part of the plan. Everyone needs a demon but if you really believe in God you can't possibly continue to cast Judas as purely evil. Jesus needed him and he knew it. I dig the new Dixie Chicks album. It ain't a country mix but still a country record somehow. That's pretty durn cool IMO. More power to them (I just wish they hadn't apologized in the first place). Kudos. Scott Kempner got here to Music City two weeks ago and he's settling in. We've already written a new song and done a coupla' gigs. I hope Nashville is ready for the rock. We've already frightened a few folks around town blasting the Who very loudly at stop lights. A few members of my studio band attended the launch of the Musician's Hall of Fame here in Nashville recently. Reggie Young, Dave Hungate, Bob Babbitt.....They all belong in the hall of fame as far as I'm concerned but it's about time a hall was built to honor the great players that built this city (and many more). One thing I forgot from last time:If you like finding new music and don't mind country check out Andy Hersey's song "Next Time a Diamond Won't Cut It". If that ain't a smash I don't know what is. I just received sad news the other day that Opry legend and hall of fame member Billy Walker passed away in a car wreck coming back from a gig. His wife and two bandmates were also killed. Billy was the first star I met when I came to Nashville and God bless him he remembered me every dang time I ran into him, maybe 3-4 times over the next few years. He even made a point of coming up and saying hello to me while with a table of friends at the Station Inn one night. My friends were mighty impressed. What a guy and a great talent. Go slow cowboy, I ain't gonna' forget ya'. Here's some of what I've been listening to lately: Gary Heffern - Consolation (best disc I've heard all year)Paul Westerberg - Folker Neil Diamond - 12 Songs ELO - Best of The Who - Live at Leeds (my all-time fave record) Toto - Essential (so shoot me--Dave Hungate is awesome) Townes VanZandt - Be Here to Love Me, No Deeper Blue, Roadsongs BR549 - Dog Days Bruce Springsteen - Nebraska Neil Young - Living With War Oasis - Don't Believe the Truth Paul Simon - Surprise (pretty good) Sid and Suzie - Under the Covers Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs - both albums Daniel Johnston - Artistic Vice ....and a few others I can't remember off the top of my head (lot's of new heavy music on the way).
That's all for now. Sorry it's been so long. 03-26-2006 Where does the time go? I know one thing; I didn't spend enough in Austin. This year was by far the least stressful and most productive of the 8 years that I have been performing during SXSW. And I got to be with my blood brother Top Ten. Our party at the Ginger Man on Thursday was a smash thanks to Jane and the club said it was the best year yet in their opinion. Scott "Top Ten" Kempner rocks, Andy Hersey is the real deal, watch out Nashville, and Ben Taylor and Adrienne Young were both beguiling (yeah, I can use that word 'cause I'm grande-they were both really great). A big kudos to my fellow artists for making it a wonderful day of food and music. Thanks to my buddy Ericson Holt for backing me up again. I'm sorry I had to rush back to Nashville for a mix session that didn't happen anyway but that's another story. I sure would have liked to have spent at least another day hanging with Scott and seeing old friends. Next year for sure I'm staying through the weekend. Willie Nile, whom Scott played guitar with at SXSW, was terrific in each of the three of his five shows I saw. Kudos to Willie for making a great record and kickin' it after all these years. I missed my buddy Jim Stringer, guitar picker extraordinaire. I was at his house but he was at the supermarket. Every time I watch King of the Hill I think of Jim. He could be Hank Hills' talented brother, tell you what. Check out Jim and his band if you ever get to Austin. He's the best. (Or catch him with the dozen or so acts that rely on his pickin' skills). He's also got great taste in women. I'll put up two more new songs from my record this week. I'm trying to decide which ones.I've had the rare luxury of listening to a ton of music since I last posted: Nothern State-All CityFiona Apple-Extraordinary Machine Franz Ferdinand-You Could Have it So Much Better Alicia Keys-Unplugged Calexico/Iron and Wine-In the Reins Anthony Hamilton-Ain't Nobody Worryin' Joanna Newsom-Milk-Eyed Mender Neil Young-American Stars and Bars Kris Kristofferson-This Old Road and Broken Freedom Songs (he rules) Tom Waits-Bone Machine and Swordfishtrombones Bruce Springsteen-Born to Run (remaster) Dion-Bronx in Blue Paul Westerberg-Folker Anthony David is in town here in Nashville in April writing and recording some new stuff. I'll try to post notes when I can on our progress. The Rage wrote a nice little story about what we are up to..here Anyway, I'll have more to say later when I get a break.
Just can't collect all my post-SXSW thoughts yet.
01-11-2006 So a few months ago I get this e-mail via my website:”Dear Ed, this may come as some sort of a shock to you but I believe your grandfather was my father….”. Since we all knew my dad to be an only child, I was definitely curious. My dad passed away in 1999 so he wasn’t around to ask and grandpa is long gone. In any case it appears I have a new 58-year old Uncle Eric. This doesn’t surprise me all that much as my family has a habit of nutty and unpredictable behavior but this certainly takes the cake. Welcome to the family Eric! Be careful what you wish for buddy! I wrote a new song to illustrate this story taking a few liberties to fill in the blanks that none of us know. However, I’ve got a pretty good idea. The song is called “June, 1945”. It will be available on my new disc, “The New Punk Blues of Ed Pettersen”, which will now DEFINITELY be released in June of 2006 with the addition of a few newly recorded songs like the one above. I hope Uncle Eric likes it. I’ve had a blast the last few months in the studio. I’ve had the pleasure of working with the Black Crowes, Anthony David and the Funk Brothers, the Mavericks, Devendra Banhart, Michelle Shocked, BR549, Thad Cockrell, Joni Harms, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Julie Lee, Scott Kempner, Otis Gibbs and Joanna Smith and I look forward to another great year with more talented artists. Special thanks to the legendary Al Perkins and Donny Herron from BR549 for sitting in on so many sessions. Al and Don are true gentleman and scholars. And EXTRAORDINARY pickers. A few journalist friends of mine have suggested that I keep a journal of some of the nutty co-writing sessions I have on a regular basis on Music Row working on mainstream country songs. I must admit, it is a riot sometimes. The executives are the funniest though. I actually once had a publisher tell me a song was great and well-written but he could “hear the main character thinking”. Ummm, isn’t that the point? Anyway, I’ve learned a great deal from many other fine writers and I continue to grow every day thanks to these collaborations. Music is usually at its best when shared, with ideas and passion bouncing all over the place. I know that’s a tough nut to sell to most singer-songwriters who feel their music is sooo precious but that misses the point. It’s not about us, the performer, it’s about you, the listener. You feel what you feel, not what we want you to feel. Who are we to intercede in your joy? You’ll let us know what’s good by buying it! I personally don’t believe real music fans can be fooled that easily. However you hear it, however you feel it that’s what matters and that’s why the best material is still coming from Nashville as a whole. Many very talented people at the top of their profession and skills working together to make things, music, better. That is the true essence of musical spirit and that is what has consistently moved people since the beginning of time. The universal language. So why isn’t country music specifically even better? Why are there so many crappy novelty songs on the radio instead of meaty, issue-based songs? Well in my opinion it’s because Music Row has forgotten the Garth factor. Every label head and A&R person in Nashville is trying to recapture the market share and impact that Garth had but seem to forget the reason Garth Brooks was so successful is that he took chances. He recorded songs that were passed over many times as being too off-beat with characters that thought and acted about controversial, yet real, every day issues that affect us all. Garth never underestimated his audience and always gave it credit for being smarter than what the typical Music Row executive expected and people responded in kind. They bought more Garth Brooks records than any other country artist in history. That’s because people, you the listener/consumer, are a lot smarter than they give you credit for. And you know the difference between crap and thought-provoking, moving music. I neglected in my last web missive to post about Gerryfest 2, the now annual gathering of musicians and fans to celebrate the life and music of superfan Mr. Gerry Livers. Gerry was the coolest guy I knew and easily the biggest music fan ever. He was a true and dear friend who I will never forget. I hope to continue these Gerryfest for as long as people will show up. Gerryfest 2 was help at the awesome Pour House in Raleigh, NC thanks to the marvelous Ms. Marianne Taylor who hooked us up. Performing were David Childers, Len’s Lounge, Patty Hurst Shifter, Lynn Blakely, Kenny Roby, myself and others. It was a hoot. See you again next year. Long live Gerry!!! Here’s what I’ve been reading this past month: Cormac McCarthy-No Country for Old Men Bill Friskics-Warren-I’ll Take You There George Harrison-I, Me, Mine As far as listening to music is concerned I’ve been so busy I haven’t nearly gotten through the pile of discs I’ve accumulated the past two months but I will note that I’ve gotten back into electronic music again, just like when I was a pre-teen. It’s a gas and I’ll report back next month on what I’ve heard and what’s moved me. ‘Till then, be good to one another, 11-05-2005 Sorry it’s been so long that I’ve been out of touch. It’s been crazy busy here in Music City. All good though. First things first, I’ve been spending most of my time producing artists for the Song of America project which is cranking along quite nicely. Recently we’ve had Devendra Banhart, the Black Crowes, Anthony David, Scott Kempner and Michelle Shocked in to record songs, with more artists to come. The project wraps up around Feb. 15th which is great since that’s just about when my new album hits the stores. I’m ready!!! I need to pay homage this month to a few more folks who have been instrumental to my career the last few years since I moved to Nashville. Bob Olhsson has led an extremely varied and distinguished career in audio and I can’t say enough about how much he’s taught me. Bob makes everything better. I’ve never met anyone in the music business that cares more about music and sound. He is a treasure. It was Bob who led me to my current group of studio musicians who I’ve been tracking with for the last year. Bob Babbitt, Ed Greene, Reggie Young, David Hungate and Kathyrn Styron-Marx are among the best and most versatile musicians to ever grace a recording studio. They have been at Motown, LA, Memphis, Muscle Shoals, Philly and NYC and are truly the A-team of A-teams. They are triple-A! Special thanks goes to the late, great Tom Dowd for suggesting most of this combo to Bob Olhsson before Tom passed. You were right Tom! Speaking of God, who thinks that the God of Abraham condones the killing of 30,000 to avenge the deaths of 3,000? That’s what has happened in Iraq, a country that didn’t attack us. I have a pretty good relationship with God, flawed but I’m working on it. But I’m pretty sure the God of the bible that I was taught to believe in isn’t happy about this equation. Is God really on our side? And which God would that be? One last note on politics for the year: When George W. Bush took office we had a one trillion dollar SURPLUS in the national coffers. Now we have a one trillion dollar DEFICIT which means that the current administration went through TWO TRILLION dollars in the last four years. Some people might suggest that the surplus could have been saved exactly for the type of natural disaster or national calamity we just experienced, rather than used to wage personal vendettas or buy votes in the form of tax cuts. When I was a kid Lou Gehrig was my hero. After reading Jonathan Eig’s book “The Luckiest Man” he still is and I’m still learning from the Iron Horse. Like how to deal with a serious illness with dignity and never giving up. What a great man. I also just finished the third book of Cormac McCarthy’s Border Trilogy “Cities of the Plain”. The book was beautifully written as expected with Cormac who has become my favorite modern writer, but the ending still broke my heart. I won’t ruin it by saying more but get these books. Top shelf. I finally saw “Million Dollar Baby” and was really shook up. It was a deftly made film that left me with as many questions as answers while also inspiring me at the same time. I’m still breathless. I guess commercial art can still move when it’s done with that much heart and skill. Major kudos (and it doesn’t hurt that I heart Hillary Swank big time). Oh yeah, and I have a myspace site now. Please go to:www.myspace.com/edpettersen to check it out. Here’s what I’ve been listening to the last two months: Kanye West-Late Registration That’s all for now. Look for new tour dates after the first of the year and the new disc Jan. 24th. I promise I won’t be away this long next time. Take care of each other and happy holidays, P.S.-Download “Gather the Family ‘Round” and pass it around. It’s free! 8-10-05 I’ve become ukulele crazy over the last year and a half and have been feverishly scooping up knowledge about that funny little instrument. I just got a Bushman concert model which I’m quite fond of but I lust for a Martin! Someday though….in the meantime check out the cool uke magazine, the Ukulele Occasional ( www.ukemag.com) which only comes out once-in-a-while (it truly is occasional - only two issues since 2002) and has awesome features and lessons to titillate your imagination and start you on your way to the islands. I’ve been fascinated with the uke ever since I saw George Harrison, my favorite Beatle, playing one and found out that he was a nut for uke’s too. And so it goes. If you get hooked, don’t say I didn’t warn you!!! A great place to find uke stuff and even tune your ukulele: www.fleamarketmusic.com Speaking of uke’s, check out ukulele phenom Jake Shimabukuro’s website and the video of him doing “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. He’s extraordinary. Website: www.jakeshimabukuro.com/english/top.html Video: http://www.collegehumor.com/movies/159572/ It’s a long, hot summer here in Music City, much warmer than it’s been for the last three years since I moved here. That’s okay; we’re on fire in the studio too. We’ve been very busy finishing projects for a few Music Row country cuts , the Song of America, and some individual artists. Coming up this month is Otis Gibbs (www.otisgibbs.com) , Michelle Shocked I’ll be busy with production work for most of the rest of the year before my album comes out next January 24th (2006), that’s the new official release date, in stores and online! I am getting out to do a few shows on the weekends so please check my tour schedule for updates. I’m making a strong effort to play regions that I haven’t played yet or been back to for quite a while. I’ve been reading a good deal lately and the three books I’ve finished this month were all stellar; Chronicles by Bob Dylan (I didn’t get into Dylan until much later in life but he truly is a genius and a great writer of books as well), 1776 by David McCullough (what crazy and inspiring leaders we had then!) and my fave of the three, King of the Jews by Nick Tosches. We used to get to see Nick once in a while down in the East Village and my buddies in the Dictators and Del Lords are friends with him. He has become my favorite writer. It’s like Kerouac taking you on a history tour. The REAL history, not the myth. This book is supposed to be about gambler/gangster Arnold Rothstein when in fact it’s all about us and truth. Or what truth is left. It’s all about mentors - last month I had the opportunity to play with one of my heroes when I backed up songwriting legend BUZZ CASON (Everlasting Love, Soldier of Love, Love’s the Only House) here in Nashville at the 5 Spot. Buzz Cason is a big talent and a great mentor. We even got to perform a new song we’d written together called “The Last One to Know” and I think it went over well. Buzz brought his son Taylor out to do a few songs and Taylor slayed the place. Look out for Taylor in the next few years. He’s a comer. Scott Kempner was also scheduled to play but wasn’t feeling well enough to participate but he may become a familiar face here in Nashville as he is looking at houses. Most of you know that Scott was my first mentor in the music biz so I’m really jazzed about that. Bringing the rock to Music City….
Speaking of mentors I can’t tell y’all how important mentoring has been for my career. If you have something to say or share please pass it down. Otherwise, don’t bitch!!! And here’s a local, highly-rated Blog for your entrepreneurial brainiacs from a Belmont University professor. Here’s what I’ve been listening to in my free time (which is getting slimmer by the day): Annie-Anniemal Big Ed 6-03-05 A few quick thoughts this month- Some exciting news for the fans…. The New Punk Blues of Ed Pettersen will be released in January of 2006. Although the record was done earlier this year and I have previously announced a Summer 2005 release date, we had the opportunity to add a new song to the record that we just couldn’t leave off. The new lead track on the record Chelsea was getting so much response at shows that we just knew we had to go in and cut it for the record. Press and radio copies should go out in August or September. At least I can write and record some songs in the meantime! So sorry for the delay and confusion but I believe this is my best and most complete work and I hope y’all will find that it was worth the wait. Check back here in the coming months for the exact release date and when pre-release copies will be available. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith… this is the first Star Wars movie I’ve seen in the theatre and the only one I’ve seen all the way through. I have to say I was disappointed. The effects were cool but the story was lame and half-baked. Did anyone else believe that Annakin Skywalker loses his faith over one bad dream? Seemed like a cheap short cut to me. Plus, is Hayden Christensen a good actor normally? That was a pretty stiff performance. LOVE Natalie Portman though. We graduated from the same high school (HA!-not in the same class obviously…). George Steinbrenner…say what you will about ole’ George the tyrant but he’s the best owner in sports and everyone would soon change their minds about him if he was THEIR owner. Who wouldn’t love a guy who just wants to win, who always puts his team in the position to win? Further, he puts more of his team’s profits back into the team THAN ANY OTHER OWNER. That’s why the Yankees win dammit! Because it’s the best professional sports franchise PERIOD. If other owners put as much of their profits back into the team your team might win too. Sorry about the Derby and Preakness George. Play ball! Small Plane Threatens Capitol - The most appalling thing about the small plane that invaded Washington, D.C. airspace recently is that experts say it couldn’t have held enough explosives to do any serious damage to most buildings, much less injure properly warned citizens. Yet, a plane of that size could very well be carrying chemical or biological weapons. In that case, why are our nation’s crack security experts evacuating people out on to public streets where they are much more likely to be exposed? In fact, there are at least two typical protocols in a situation like this, evacuate or secure. Don’t you think secure would have been much more rational and less hysteria inducing than evacuate? So much for for our much ballyhooed homeland security experts and training. And it appears even the First Lady was pissed that no one bothered to tell the President. Here’s a bunch of cool web links I thought you might enjoy: My brother-in-law George has written a great book on 80/90’s Punk. Highly recommended. You can find it here: http://www.zuopress.com/My buddy Mark,journalist/pastor/musician, has this excellent site for those of us who are religiously-inclined. Please read his terrific articles. They helped me a lot during some very difficult times: http://www.recklessworship.com/home.html Downing Street memo and hypocrite of the week: http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000920839 http://www.gophypocrites.com/2005/05/hyp05020.html And in the truly hysterical category….Viking kittens (listen with the sound on): http://www.dennyweb.com/viking_kittens.htmOverheard in NYC. Hysterical real snippets of conversations: http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/And finally and maybe most importantly, your true pimp name: http://www.playerappreciate.com/pimphandle.aspI’m Silver Tongue E-Glide (naturally). This month’s playlist: Michael Card-A Fragile Stone Until next time folks, your humble servant, 4-07-05 Hey Friends- We had a short but fun time at SXSW this year. Both the shows at Mother Egan’s and the Ginger Man were well-attended and terrific. I’m sorry I didn’t get to spend as much time checking out other shows but I needed to get back to Nashville. So busy these days! Hayes Carll and Andy Hersey were my raves from this year. The Song of America project is growing fast and I’m having fun doing the co-writing thing for a while before my new album comes out. Co-writing for Music Row is kind of fun and curious at the same time. I look at each session as an adventure and I love learning more about songwriting every day. Like my buddy Bob says, you can’t learn less. From what I can tell about the current GOP plan for overhauling Social Security it will cost trillions, the same amount it would cost to float loans to keep it solvent in its current state, and in the end benefits will still be cut. Beware of the argument that under the current system you lose all right to “your money” when you die. Statistics show that you are more likely to become disabled than die before age 65 so please keep this in mind when evaluating any new plan for Social Security. Sure we could invest part of our SS account, up to one-third, but is that worth cutting benefits? It seems to me that there are better options that include simply tweaking our current system, not knocking it down. Here’s some funny stuff that makes me laugh that I wanted to share- More cowbell: http://massivemastering.com/special/cowbell.wmv Scooby Doo (R rating for vulgarity and grossness): http://www.landoverbaptist.org/news0602/scoobydoo.html Here’s this month’s playlist: George Jones-50 Years of Hits 3CD career set (One word: Awesome!) That’s it for now I guess. So much to do and miles to go before I sleep. New tour dates will be posted in the next two weeks. Enjoy the end of winter, 2-17-05 This year is shaping up and looks to be very busy for me. The Song of America Project which I have been working on for over five years is finally in production. Emergent Music here in Nashville will be releasing The Song of America in early 2006 and Emergent’s David Macias, who just won a Grammy for the Stephen Foster tribute record will be co-producing with me. The Song of America captures the history of the United States in folk songs as recorded by popular, contemporary artists. All of the final net proceeds go directly to folk music non-profits and the teaching of folk song and history in schools. Our hope is for every public school in the country to have a copy of the CD along with a teaching guide. The Song of America in USA Today More excitement this year includes my first solo record of all new material in eight years, The New Punk Blues of Ed Pettersen, to be released in June. I will have press copies available in March just before SXSW and I will be touring extensively this year. I look forward to seeing many of my old friends on the road over the next 18 months. Please check the tour dates section of this website frequently for further info. I smell it in the air…oiling my glove…..pitchers and catchers report soon!!! I hope the Red Sox take a good long look at that championship trophy ‘cause it may be last time they get that close to it for a while. Why you may ask (besides Ed being a HUGE Yankee fan)? Easy. The Sox did it again. 86 years ago they sold their best player, Babe Ruth, and started the seemingly endless slide toward baseball oblivion. So what do they do after finally winning it again? They let their best player, Pedro Martinez, go again!!!! I love it. Bring it on baby!!! See you in October. Back to politics- Can we now safely call a moratorium on Northeastern liberals running for president? Frankly, Kerry was a poor candidate anyway but please, PLEASE, don’t ask America to buy that puppy again. It was a poor sale. Further, if the DNC and whatever candidate is running would be properly prepared to hit back hard and fast when they’re attacked with ridiculous and scurrilous charges, they’d be a lot better off. I can safely say that the GOP has been pleasantly surprised and titillated, from Willie Horton to the Swift Boat boys, that the DNC are a bunch of wimps who don’t hit back. The main reason for staying diligent and fervent is that when it’s all over we can’t simply point to the mess made by our competition someday and say, “See what they’ve done…”. That isn’t acceptable. We have to have the facts and be relentless or we will never win. Face it, it’s a Republican nation for the last 30 years at least. Bill Clinton only got elected the first time because of Ross Perot who took 21 percent of the vote from conservatives. It's a GOP nation for now. If the Democratic Party wants to be meaningful again, they need to offer a candidate who understands his constituency and can unite the country. And let’s not be so angry that we’re foolish; the Dan Rather/CBS fiasco proved nothing if not that. We shouldn’t be voting against something, we should be voting FOR something. Tax refunds are meant to make us dumb and quiet as a populous. It’s working. One last thing on politics: Notice the decorum displayed by presidents Bush (#1) and
Clinton during the Tsunami crisis last month. They both stood side-by-side on TV to ask
the American public, in all earnestness and sincerity, to give and they are both visiting
the region later this month at the behest of the current President Bush. This is typical of
serious, committed, intellectual folks who care about people and our world. It’s not personal,
just politics Sonny. Let’s all keep that sense of decorum in mind next time we fight. I’m not
saying don’t fight hard, anyone who knows me can tell you I love a good fight, but fight hard
and clean and remember, we’re all in this together. Besides, if you look hard enough your
opponents give you great stuff to work with. For example, here’s a direct quote, as witnessed
by an AP reporter, from Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist directing an aide shooting a photo
of Sen. Frist in front of tsunami-ravaged Sri Lanka- Mammograms. Here’s a web site that by simply clicking on an icon you help give a free test for a woman somewhere without giving any personal information. It’s an easy, painless way to help save a life: http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/CTDSites Here’s what I’ve been listening to the past month: Beethoven: All 9 symphonies by the Berlin Philharmonic. I bought this box thinking it was his 9th symphony which was my grandfather’s favorite. DOH! He used to conduct next to me while explaining the individual instruments as they appeared. He was my hero. Some Josh Ritter live MP3’s my friend Cathy sent me. Rory Block - Last Fair Deal Guy Clark-Boats to Build (an old fave) The Sound of Philadelphia, Vol. 1 and 2 (Import-2 separate CD’s-Awesome stuff for any soul fan) Lauryn Hill-Unplugged 2.0 (I’ve seen in the press where they mock her for crying and falling apart
a bit but I thought it was one of the bravest, most artistic things I’ve heard and seen recently
by an established, big name artist) Sandbox-The Music of Mark Sandman (Mark was a very cool guy who through my friendship with Scott Kempner I got to hang out with a bit. I was touched to hear that they dedicated a ‘Mark Sandman Square’ up in Boston in his honor. He was one of the good ones.) Ray Charles-Anthology In honor of Black History Month I’ll end with two quotes from one of my idols, Dr. Martin Luther King: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that” And- “Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend” Just heard that the NHL has cancelled the first professional season in North American sports history. I'm too heartbroken to comment right now but will address it in next months journal. I’ll check in after SXSW with a recap. ‘Till then love one another, 12-20-04 Closing out the year By now most of you who follow my humble journal know that I don’t care to post indulgent things like, “It’s raining in Nashville today, it’s cold and I’m so terribly alone….” Rather, I like to think I post stuff you can use. This month I hope is no exception. I was watching Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer the other night when I realized I might be where I am because of it. “You want to be a DENTIST?!?!” When that little blonde haired guy jumps out the window after discovering he’ll “never really fit in” I got a lump in my throat. OMG!!! That’s me dammit!!!!! Freakin’ television…..sent me on this crazy trip! You can learn a lot from Rudolph :>. I’m trying not to watch TV anymore though except for the news and sports. I hate being chained to that box. I’m reading. Catching up on the classics from my misspent youth. As someone with a chronic illness, I am especially sensitive to chemicals, additives, preservatives and toxins released into our environment. Most of you can go through your daily lives blissfully unaware of the effect these demons can have on your immune system but I can enter a toxic building and know almost immediately. Same goes for foods. Most folks don’t realize that almost every can of Campbell’s soup or flavored potato chips includes MSG. Look at the labels. Don’t get me started on the innumerable chemicals and preservatives also added to processed foods. We’re a nation jacked up and buzzing on caffeine and MSG! We are also a nation encouraged by advertising and promotion to consume. What else can explain super-sizing? No normal human in their right mind could eat that much and stay healthy and fit but studies have shown that if you put food in front of people, after they’ve paid extra for it of course, they will eat it. Then they get fat. Now we have our government telling us that a great deal of Americans are overweight or obese. Well, DUH!!! How about starting with regulating the food chains and mass producers to make more healthful, honestly-labeled food first before blaming it all on consumers. If we are what we eat, too many of us are one large stew of chemicals and fat. The only upside is no other animal in their right mind would eat us. BTW: Whatever happened to the color-coded terror level alerts? Did anyone notice the level was lowered to yellow right after the election? Has anyone noticed we don’t even hear about them any more? Are we not in danger or have the fear tactics subsided temporarily until they need it again to keep us in order? You know what the worst part of our election process is? The primaries. Why is it that after one caucus (where people don’t really vote) and one vote in one northern, small state we get a candidate for the most important office in this world? It’s a joke. Speaking of vetting, no sooner than had Bernard Kerik been announced as the nominee for Homeland Security chief than I said to myself, “Gee, I wonder how he got through the vetting process”. Hee, hee, heee….. A few last thoughts on the election: 80% of Americans call themselves Christians. We’ve just posted the “Reality Checks” (click here) I authored for Music Row Democrats this past season. I read the 9/11 Commission report cover to cover among other research. Check them out if you’d like to know why I vote the way I do. In the future we need to convince voters that facts matter and they need to vote in their own best interest, rather than supplicating to old rich guys and their cronies. As in the book of Matthew, 23.8-10: You all have a single Teacher, and you are all classmates. Don’t set people up as experts over your life, letting them tell you what to do. Save that authority for God; let him tell you what to do. No one else should carry the title of ‘Father’; you have only one Father and he’s in heaven. And don’t let people maneuver you into taking charge of them. There’s only one Life-Leader for you and them - Christ. And again from Matthew, 24.4-8: Jesus said, “Watch out for doomsday deceivers. Many leaders are going to show up with forged identities, claiming ‘I am Christ, the Messiah’. They will deceive a lot of people. When reports come in of wars and rumored wars, keep your head and don’t panic. This is routine history; this is no sign of the end. Nation will fight nation and ruler fight ruler, over and over. Famines and earthquakes will occur in various places. This is nothing compared to what is coming”. And 24.11-12: “In the confusion, lying preachers will come forward and deceive a lot of people. For many others, the overwhelming spread of evil will do them in - nothing left of their love but a mound of ashes”. “Don't follow leaders, Here’s a great quote from Ray Waddle’s religion column in the Nashville Tennessean: “Values are what people talk about. Virtues are what people live by”.Which might explain why values have been dropping in the eye of the American voter for the last 12 years yet the media tells us that it’s all about religion and moral values. That’s what they want us to believe, both the media and the GOP, that’s it’s anything but the real issues. And they like to keep us afraid. Fear is a powerful tool. Don’t let fear guide you and don’t let anyone else tell you what to believe. Our founding fathers were pretty brilliant fellows. We exist as a nation to escape fear and persecution. So why is it acceptable today? No one group or organization is more religious or pious than another. We’re all the same in the eyes of God and our sins have already been forgiven. Believe what you like and have faith in what you feel and know. Life is precarious enough without adding more fear on top of it. Here’s what I’ve been listening to lately: David and David - Boomtown On DVD - The Portrait of Billy Joe (A Film by Luciana Pedraza about my hero Billy Joe Shaver) That’s all for now cats and kittens. I’ll be adding some January dates soon and more after the holidays. We will be at SXSW. My new record The New Punk Blues hits stores this May. Another project I've been working on a long time has taken off and Emergent Music will be releasing the Song of America in early 2006. A more than five year odyssey is closer to fruition. I’m very merry (and tired!). Thanks to everyone who helped along the way. Another year and another fifty cents. I love it.
Everyone take care out there. Be safe and be well. 11-05-04 Selling snow to the Eskimos It’s gonna’ be a long, cold winter. I was almost, almost, recovered from the defeat of the New York Yankees at the hand of our eternally despised Boston Red Sox (congrats to the Sox - they deserve it big time) when I sat back to watch the election returns on Nov. 2nd. It seems to me that the people of America spoke loud, purposefully and are clearly under the spell of the current administration. I say kudos to the GOP for running a brilliant campaign. Seriously. If the Dems had been as crafty, fought as hard and employed as many diversionary tactics we might have won ourselves. Well, maybe only if we had shouted our faith louder from the rooftops. Our great initiative to get out the youth vote failed. Only one in ten new young voters actually got out and voted. Yes, 21 million youths voted but the overall percentage was precisely the same as those that voted in 2000. On the other hand, nearly four million rural evangelical voters made sure that their voice was heard. Al Gore won the popular vote by five hundred thousand votes but we lost this time by 3.5 million votes. You do the math. Hopefully, this means finally some real change in the leadership of the Democratic Party. Terry MacAuliffe has lost every election without Bill Clinton and practically gave away the Florida governorship and several key senate seats in the 2002 election. Again, he has failed miserably. Without Bill Clinton, who has enough smarts, charisma and savvy to carry any party, Terry MacAuliffe is a complete flop as a leader and at best comes across as a bad used car salesman. Whether in sports or business the buck has to stop somewhere and it usually starts with the CEO and/or upper management. The GOP has identified and embraced moral and religious issues especially in the South. The Democratic party has completely lost touch with Middle America which is curious since when you get right down to it the Democratic party and its initiatives connect much more closely with their lifestyle than the true Republican party does. Ahhh, but it’s all really marketing and advertising and right now the GOP controls the images….and our attitudes. I hope the next four years brings about healing and change but I doubt it. I grew up in a Republican household and I worked for them in every election up until 1992 and I know how they operate. The party of Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt? Not any more. Those at the top aren’t big on caring and sharing if it doesn’t benefit them somehow. I’m afraid things are gonna’ get worse before they get better. Yet, I congratulate them on a hard-fought campaign. Someone has to win and the Democratic Party should learn a great deal from all this and hopefully will move forward progressively to turn this around in the next few years. It all starts at the top. God bless America, 9-24-04 The Americana conference is in town and I’m kind of depressed. I’ve been making this music professionally for ten years, and they’re still trying to convince the masses it exists. Jana Pendragon of the All Music Guide even called my music, “The definition of the Americana format”. I’m honored. But at the same time, everyone else seems interested only in making a buck. I want to make a living but I just want to make more music! I don’t care what they call it. Define it by what it isn’t, not by who it is. Build it and they will come. But the b.s., backslapping and politics just complicate things in my opinion. Plus, in festival environments they rush you in, cut sets short to jam in as many acts as possible-quantity over quality-and as artists we’re supposed to make something out of it. Sounds counter-productive to me. We played a great gig last night, the audience was awesome, but in the end we felt cheated. You know, that hollow feeling. I hate that. It can’t be good for anyone but the promoters and the clubs and it sure isn’t helping to make better music or a more fertile environment for it to develop. On a bright note, one of my favorite charities, the National Museum of the American Indian, finally opened on Sept. 21st on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. after ten years of fundraising and construction. I have supported the creation of the museum from its inception and I’m looking forward to viewing it myself in person shortly and I highly encourage everyone to do the same. It’s their land after all. You can take an online tour here: http://www.americanindian.si.edu/ American Indian magazine, which the Smithsonian publishes, is very informative and comes free with a modest, tax-deductible donation to NMAI. Good, essential reading on Native ways, traditions and comings and goings. Has anyone tried Netflix yet? Brilliant idea. Wish I had thought of it! Check out the ‘Classic Albums’ documentary series. It chronicles the making Of several multi-platinum albums from our ‘yoot’. The making of the Band’s first album is a beautiful tribute to a great band and timeless music. Check it out. On Oct. 16th at the Westville Pub in Asheville we’ll attempt to undertake the first annual Gerryfest in honor of my buddy Mr. Gerry Livers who passed away last year on the 16th. My dad’s birthday. We’ll remember them both vigorously and warmly. The Westville Pub named its stage in honor of Gerry. I’ve haven’t met anybody who didn’t love Gerry. He was a rock n’ roll original. Please try to make it to beautiful Asheville that weekend to help us celebrate. Only $5 for 5 great bands and some special guests. It will be a GOOD time. Gerry wouldn’t have it any other way. Be sure to check out the Guitartown internet newsgroup tribute CD “Hoss” which features the spirit of Gerry Livers and the music of Waylon Jennings. Link here:That’s all for now. I’m taking some time off after the elections to deal with a sure political hangover but I’ll be signing on when I can to keep everyone updated on my whereabouts and doings. Maybe I won’t have the leave the country after the results are tallied. I’ll be gearing up for the release of ‘The New Punk Blues’ after the new year early in ’05 and getting ready to tour extensively again, solo and with the band. I hope to see y’all out on the trail. DON’T FORGET TO VOTE!!!! Registration ends on Oct. 1st. Early voting starts Oct.13th. USE YOUR VOICE!!! Over and out, 08-07-2004 The word of the month is solid. Six years ago my dearest friend, Pete Abbott (formerly of the Average White Band and Ed Pettersen & the High Line Riders), decamped to Norway after meeting his future wife on tour. We hadn’t seen each other in five years until Pete visited two weeks ago and I was instantly reminded why he’s my best friend. He’s solid. You couldn’t have a better ally in your corner no matter the circumstance. If you fall, he’ll pick you up. Heck, he might even catch you before you hit the ground or keep you from falling in the first place. Pete’s brother Mike is solid too and a hell of a guitar player. I guess they were brought up well or something. We three used to be in a band together but that’s another story … The other thing I realized during Pete’s visit that’s hard to admit is I really did lose something when he left … one undeniable piece, deep down in my soul exactly right next to the place where the music comes from was missing. Anybody who’s ever played with Pete will tell you what a joy and a breeze it was. Pete is truly one of the grooviest guys on the planet and I mean that in every way. My music has never sounded better than when Pete was behind the drum kit. No disrespect to any of the other great drummers I’ve played with but it’s the plain truth. He makes everything better. Somehow we stayed out of trouble while he was here, though we had one very symbolic incident. I’ve been steward of Pete’s old drum set since he left for Norway, the same kit we used in the old days with the High Line Riders. However, neither of us was ever crazy about the sound of the snare drum, a Yamaha model. Wouldn’t you know it though, when we get to the drum shop it turns out the serial number of the snare is 666. Pete’s old nickname was Satan. At first, we thought that we couldn’t sell the drum. After all, it was Satan’s! But after more careful thought (and more partying) we decided it was time to leave the past behind us and start a new chapter. We shook pinkies and that was that. So somewhere in Nashville snare #666 is looking for a new devil worshipper and two old road dogs are looking for the next horizon on our journey down the lost highway. I think Pete really enjoyed his time here in Nashville, and is leaning towards moving here full or at least part-time soon. One thing I know for sure is the music community here would gain for it and any major act would be lucky to have him manning the skins. And of course, I’ll have my groove back :>. Pick up the pieces, P.S.-There’s a new pic of me and Pete out on the town in the photo section. 7-04-04 Hey gang, I’m also very proud to be affiliated with the Guitartown tribute record, ‘Hoss: A tribute to Waylon Jennings’ featuring many Carolina-centric acts. We had the release party at the Pour House in Raleigh, NC on June 20 and it was a smash bash. The most fun you can have with your clothes on. All the acts were great and wonderful to work with and the Pour House is a fine and welcoming venue. Marianne Taylor is a peach and books exciting, interesting shows. My buddy Charlie Berry supervised the whole project and is a true trooper and good egg. I urge you to give this charming CD a try. I think it’s ragged and beautiful just like Waylon. You can order it or listen to MP3’s here: Hoss CD Tribute Incidentally, the album is dedicated to my dear friend Mr. Gerry Livers, honorary mayor of Guitatown and profits from CD sales are being contributed to Wake County Hospice. If you get a chance and are so inclined please try to catch a peek of the new issue of Performing Songwriter. It’s a testament to the power of the people and the vote and includes some comments from musicians such as Graham Nash, G.Love, Joe Henry, Rodney Crowell and yours truly among many others. It’s a great issue and more importantly, good reading. Incidentally, don’t forget to register and vote! Now playing at Ed's house... if you haven’t found the music of Willis Alan Ramsey it’s as good a time as any to get acquainted. His debut, and only album, never loses it’s inimitable charm even after thirty years. Word is there finally may be a follow up in the can. Maybe next year? Don’t wait, get his first one now. It’s timeless. One last thing for you gearheads- Nashville Scene Pro-Tools piece and another link to the Nashville Scene article Link to the original article before it was heavily edited by the Scene. I’ve got some new pics up at the website including some new gear pics of my smaller, club pedalboard and better shots of the Coil EQ: Mini-version of my pedalboard and New Coil EQ Pics Also, new shots of gigs and with good friendsThanks and stay cool, 05-30-2004 On the positive side, I’ve co-designed and invented my first audio product for retail sale. Working with Robert Derby of Valvotronics we’ve created what we think is the best integrated hi-fi guitar channel available (great for bass and vocals too) , the Coil EQ. For a quick peek, click here to see some rough pics of the Coil EQ prototype. More information and specs will be available at the Valvotronics website soon www.valvotronics.com . In the gearheads section of my site, you can also see some neat photos of my new custom pedalboard and some quick pics of my home studio. Now for the hard part. I held off saying anything about this until after Mother’s Day as not to bum anybody out. It’s been a rough last eight months. We lost a great one. On Saturday, May 8th 2004 my beloved mother Nancy lost her second bout with cancer. My mom was the most magnificent person I have ever known. If God and time had permitted she would have tried to save and help anyone and everyone. She was the best friend any of us kids ever had. As a child I never once had to defend my mother’s honor on the playground. Not even the most egregious bully had the nerve to say anything against my mom. She was that revered and boy, could she cook. We continue to have a strong family bond all thanks to her. She basically raised six children by herself, never earning more than $16,500 in a year. Though we never had as much as other kids, we never wanted. We always knew we were loved unconditionally and somehow she kept it all together. To this day none of us can figure out quite how. She loved sales, especially 2-for-1. She must have had two of everything. When I visited her last before her condition became too debilitating she handed me a spool of blank CD’s she had bought. When I reminded her that she didn’t have a CD burner she replied, ‘But they were on sale’. I gladly took the spool with a big smile and hugged her tight. Now whenever I use a CD, which is often several times a day being in the music biz, I’ll always think of my mother. My heart goes out to my stepfather Vincent Monaco who took care of my mom real well these last several years. This is the second wife Vinny has lost to cancer. In lieu of flowers please consider donating even a little bit to cancer research so we can hopefully eliminate this heinous disease before it takes too many more loved ones. 05-01-04 Hey gang, it’s been kind of crazy lately so other than putting up new tour dates I’ve been a little slack in communicating. Bob Olhsson and I are trying to develop a regular scene here in Nashville through our ‘Re-boot the Record Industry’ parties the first Tuesday of every month at the It’s All Good Café at 51st and Charlotte Ave. If all goes well we should have various members of the Funk Brothers, Reggie Young from Memphis soul classics, Ed Greene or Pete Abbott from everything funky, some Time Jumpers and maybe even some members of the JB’s showing up every month to play and back up some really great singers. It should be a blast. I am about ready to write up my experience building an isolation box for computers now that mine is finished and has proven to work. It was a bit of work but for $150.00 as opposed to $1500.00 I’d say it’s been worth it. Hopefully next month I’ll have it online in the Gearheads section of this website. I ‘ve also been working on developing some new audio gear products and the first, a pro, hi-fi EQ channel for live gigs (it can be used as a DI) and studio work, will be ready very soon. I’m very excited. It’s class-A, discrete all-the-way-through and sounds boss (if I do say so myself !). It should be available through the Valvotronics website (www.valvotronics.com ) after July 1st if not sooner. More to come… Don’t forget to register to vote !!! This could be the most important election of our lifetime. And if you happen to be a Democrat please take a look at: I’m an Independent myself but I really like this organization and they are good people with big hearts. Our platform has finally been approved in committee and should be up within a few days of this writing. Please take a chance to look it over if you can and if you agree with us please sign up your e-mail at the musicrowdemocrats.com website. We need your presence ! That’s all for now. Keep an eye out for more dates added to my tour schedule. Things are moving fast and furious. Be careful out there, 03-23-04 My trip to Austin each year is always laden with some trepidation. While I’m always excited about performing, it is a long, wearing trip and very often I have to play with musicians I barely know or have had no chance to rehearse with beforehand. This is not the worst thing in the world but it definitely gives bands or local Austin musicians a great advantage. Nevertheless, we all plow ahead partially due to pride, desperation and a great desire to play for our friends and fans every year in the great state of Texas. It’s damn near impossible to get to see everyone and everything we planned to but that’s par for the course in a town where road work and construction seem to be never-ending performance art and at a festival where there’s so many time conflicts with so many acts. We arrived late at night on Sunday the 14th so we could relax and enjoy Austin a bit before doing the rounds. Next to Nashville, Austin is my favorite city and has some of the best restaurants of any city I’ve visited. Try Kenichi for sushi, La Traviata for Italian, Louie’s 106 for tapas and the sea bass, the Magnolia Café for breakfast and the Salt Lick outside of town in Buda, TX for barbecue. Family style, which in Texas means you get to take a lot home. On Wed. the 17th, St. Patty’s day, the festivities got started at Lil’ Deb’s Guitartown party at Opal Devine’s Roadhouse on 6th St. This is a always a terrific gathering with a wide variety of performers and usually draws a big crowd. This year was no exception . Little Deb just does a kick-ass job and is a great hostess. Eric Hisaw, myself, the Silos, Patty Hurst Shifter, Two Cow Garage, and a host of others rocked the place well into the early evening. It seemed no-one wanted to leave when it was over. I think the prime location and open-street access allows for lots of walk-in traffic. Reality TV sighting: One of the ‘players’ from ESPN Dream Job (the guy who had to cut his hair) came up after the show to be introduced by one of his buddies. He’s a musician. Naturally. Thursday was spent mostly hanging around with my online friends from the No Depression/Alt Country online newsgroup at Scholtz Beer Garden on San Jacinto (the Dog and Duck was closed). Our group gets together every year on Thursday afternoon just to shoot the breeze, hang and basically catch up on our comings and doings over the past year since we last saw each other . To me this is some of the most fun I have at SXSW. I know the point is usually promotion and playing and schmoozing but I think it doesn’t get any better than taking our time to catch up with old, dear friends. The music biz goes away for a few hours and we’re all just fans. Later, I met some of these friends at Threadgill’s for John Conquest’s ‘Thrilla at the ‘Dilla’ where we caught Catamount’s Graham Lindsey and Colin Gilmore, Jimmie Dale’s son. While the other performers were all good these two stood out for me. The new stage at Threadgill’s is fantastic and so was the sound. Dinner at Louie’s 106 closed out the day for me as I took it easy that evening. Friday was of course our ND Music Group party at the Gingerman on 4th St. Cole Roulain opened the festivities with an excellent solo acoustic set. Cole is one half of the duo Rosasharn who’s debut record I produced and he’s also a member of the Austin band Slipshod. Cole just keeps getting better and better to my ears. Next up was the beguiling duo (at least they were a duo for this trip) the HaveNots from Leicester, England. The crowd was very impressed and appreciative for good reason. They have a fine future in my opinion and we all should be hearing more from them. The Brilliant Mistakes were my big surprise of the afternoon. I dig their two records but there was something in their live performance that I didn’t find on disc. Really great, well-crafted Pop songs with inventive arrangements and musicianship. Highly recommended. I was up next before a rousing set from Roots-Rock heroes Marah. Austin residents Jim Stringer, Vance Hazen and Timmy Campbell were nice enough to accompany me with almost no rehearsal and they did a great job. It was so nice to see the same faces in the crowd from year to year. If I didn’t see y’all I think I’d be disappointed ! Thank you for coming out to hear the new songs. It really means a lot to me. Special props to my British friends who have shown up four years in a row. Great new magazine alert: Bucketful of Brains. I bet you’ll dig it. Ah, Marah. The boys from Philly just tore the house down. I don’t think there was a pair of legs in the place that wasn’t moving nor a face without a smile. These guys really know how to work a crowd and were in prime form. Even Robyn Hitchcock showed up to do a song, all of which we captured on digital video. Last year Peter Buck, this year Robyn Hitchcok. Who’s next ? Pete Townshend ??? Patty Hurst Shifter closed down the festivities with their own brand of Alt. Country that was so good the club didn’t want them to stop playing. That’s about as good an endorsement you can get in this business. Special thanks to my amazing, wonderful, incredible, amazing wife Jane who hosted the party again this year and organized the whole shebang. I don’t know how she does it but she’s mine. Friday night was a total blast and I’m not sure I’ve recovered yet. I laughed so much my face hurt the next morning. I met up with three of my friends from the bands Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven and waltzed around town generally looking for mayhem. We left the Bo Deans show at the Austin Music Hall even though Big Star was up next. I was crushed but I heard the next day they weren’t so great anyway. Oh well. Instead, we traipsed over to La Zona Rosa for the Liz Phair/Delbert McClinton/Flatlanders/Dwight Yoakum/Drive by Truckers show. Liz was okay but not impressive and took off right after her set. Backstage was funny. Delbert, Gary US Bonds (who duetted with Delbert on one song-it was killer), Joe Trippi, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, the DBT’s and the Cracker/Camper guys and I had a veritable laugh fest until Dwight’s over-zealous crew people almost knocked down Jimmie Dale right in mid-sentence as he was effusively talking about his son to us. (‘Make some fuckin’ room, star coming through’ kind of crap). Jimmie Dale shrugged it off in his humble way but we were offended for him. Especially since Dwight played one of his songs, ‘Dallas’, during his set. Show biz I guess. Anyway, Dwight is a pro, no doubt, and his band is awesome. Nice guys too (in the band). The DBT’s rocked the house to close and I’m pretty sure no-one was disappointed. There was talk between us and Patterson (of the DBT’s and son of Swamper David Hood) of trying to get together some sort of documentary of the Muscle Shoals players much like my friends in the Funk Brothers got in ‘Standing in the Shadows of Motown’. Stay tuned…. Saturday I had to see a doctor for my ailing right shoulder which I aggravated playing ball and has been bothering me a great deal lately. I found a great sports medicine doc right on South Congress near my hotel who showed me a few new tricks and really opened my eyes to some new technology. It’s amazing what science can do when motivated. See Dr. Eric LeBoeuf at Koala if you’re in Austin and are hurting. Highly recommended and a really nice guy. Great facility. We then returned our rented drums from our party and hooked up with some very dear friends for some barbecue at the Salt Lick outside of town. This is most definitely the best barbecue I’ve tasted in the seven years I’ve been attending SXSW. My friends Alec, Steve and Chuck are just about the best company a boy can ask for. Just true, genuine, humble and talented folks and I’m proud to call them my friends. The real highlight of the week for me came next at the Roslyn Records party at La Luna del Sol restaurant on S.Congress. Hosted by Jake London it was a wonderful acoustic treat for the ears as Jake, Steve Turner, Ken Stringfellow, Robyn Hitchcock and John Wesley Harding tore it up with a few others into the early evening. There was a palpable camaraderie on stage between the performers who liberally joined each other in song. Many passers-by stopped to join the party and the only other thing I can think to say is that it was utterly charming and laid-back all the way and in my opinion in the true spirit of the festival and its host city. After dinner with Frank Funaro of Cracker/Camper (who has played on almost all of my records) the evening closed for me with the Cracker/Camper show at La Zona Rosa which was just packed and an incredible show by the boys. They have a strong following in Austin to be sure. New band Maplewood opened for Cracker/Camper and I was dutifully impressed. Lilting with a 70’s LA Rock scene vibe, they are produced by David Lowery and should have a record out on his label sometime in the next few months. Look for it and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Finally, I’d like to say that the best and most important part of my week every year is being with my best friends and fans and learning something new from each person. It is truly my treat to join y’all every year and see so many fine folks who I’ve grown to know over the last ten years of performing. I really believe the true value of this festival lies not in the music itself but in the relationships that have grown around it. I don’t know that I could ever convey how important that is for me and how powerfully touching it is to my soul. It heals me and leads me onward into every new year and its endless possibilities. I owe each one of you a tremendous debt that I hope I get a chance to repay before I leave this world. Thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my rusty, old, broken-down and battered Rock n’ Roll heart. You all keep it beating. Some pre-SXSW notes and thoughts: I have finished my computer isolation box protoype and I’m proud to say it actually works. It took a bit more work (and re-work) than I expected but in practice it’s stellar. I’ll be doing a write up in a full how-to review which will be posted here next month. I’ve also just developed a Class-A, discrete, hi-fi EQ module with my friend Robert Derby of Valvotronics. I’ve just received the protoype and it’s really cool and just excellent sounding (If I do say so myself !!! Has anyone heard the new Britney Spears single, ‘Toxic’ ? No I’m not kidding, it’s amazing. I wish I’d written it. If you haven’t stumbled across Donny Hathaway in your music endeavors please do look for his ‘Live’ album as well as ‘In Performance’. These were two discs taken from the same shows but inexplicably split up by his record label at the time while they only released ‘Live’ as an EP/Promo disc. Both records are a powerful testament of a great artist at the peak of his creative powers with a kick-ass band that won’t quit (You’ll recognize some very famous players from the liner notes). Donny left us much too soon. One more thing: As someone who has read both testaments of the Bible more than once I can assure you that Jesus never said word one about homosexuality. Nada, zip, nothing. Yes, some clerics decided later to put disparaging words about homosexuality in the Bible but none were ever uttered from the son of God’s mouth to indicate one way or another. Remember the true words and deeds of Jesus, not what someone wrote down to make a point many years after his death. Oh yeah, and check out www.musicrowdemocrats.com , an organization I’ve been working with since their inception a few months ago. Music has many voices. ‘Out beyond the ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there’-Rumi I’ll be waiting, 01-24-04 Lots of things are happening and I’ve had to shift my schedule around a bit so please watch for updates as it evolves and morphs over the next few months. As February is Black History Month and in honor of Martin Luther King’s birthday I’d like to repeat my favorite MLK quote: ‘In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends’. An unbelievably great human being was Dr. King and we sure could use him today. The ‘Supreme Allied Funk Commander’ tees are in and we have all sizes !!! Just $15.00 plus 3.00 shipping and handling (we shipped one already and it’s over $2.50 at least) or just buy one at a show. The ‘Poverty With Dignity Tour’ shirts will arrive in April. I really tried to keep the cost down on the tees but I was shocked how expensive they are to make. I promise they’ll stay it this price for A WHILE. E-mail me at: edpettersen@srrecords.com to order. Next month I’ll be posting my latest article on building a do-it-yourself computer ISO box for audio recording. These boxes go for around $1500 new and I think my partner (my father-in-law, a retired Pratt &Whitney engineer) and I have devised a $100.00 alternative if you don’t mind a little sweat. Once again I’m making the prance to Austin Texas this March for the annual SXSW shake and bake. We have at least 4 gigs booked and the venues and times will be posted soon. I look forward to hanging with y’all again. Yee ha.
Also, a three-song single CD containing selections from my forthcoming ‘The New Punk Blues’ disc will be released to radio at SXSW. We’ll have plenty with us. MP3’s of the final mastered mixes of ‘Baghdad’ and ‘Top Ten’ will also be posted within the next two weeks (by Feb. 15th). Let’s Rock !!! My buddy Jeremy (Reigning Sound) and I are planning on recording a Rock record here in Nashville this July with help from Cole Roulain from Rosasharn and Pete Abbott (formerly Average White Band). We are ‘The Big Five’. Hopefully Bob Olhsson will help us all get it down on tape too. The more the merrier…. I just finally heard the music of Nina Simone. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t get enough credit. What a beautiful sound. Last but not least I’ve been involved with the recording of a tribute (yeah, I know, enough already but…this is a low key and cool tribute) to Waylon Jennings and, by osmosis, my dear departed buddy Mr. Gerry Livers. A bunch of online pals from the Yahoo newsgroup ‘Guitartown’, a North Carolina-centric music board, got together and recorded this as a tribute to two of my faves. The results are quite charming. Bob Olhsson was gracious enough to us to pull it all together for us and master it. I think many of you may enjoy it. I’ll post a link next month where you can order it and hopefully hear samples and such if you like. Proceeds will go to a ‘Gerryfest’ concert in honor of our friend and to the charity of his families’ choice. Proceeds from the concert will also be put aside for charity or possibly a ‘Gerryfest 2’. Allright, that’s enough. Take care out there and watch it on the roads, 12-11-03 Focus groups have found that Internet use is mainly split between two industries: Porn and music. Pornographers have found a way to exploit the Internet and make money. However, as we all know, the music industry is still struggling with several issues such as royalties and format before they can begin to really make money and restrict illegal pirating. The technology to restrict illegal downloading has existed for several years now. But the technology is not owned nor controlled by record companies and individual artists. In order to successfully deliver online music on a paying basis, the record companies and musicians must collaborate with the technology companies. This certainly appears to be possible in light of the recently launched and very popular ITunes service. Yet other technology companies are clearly dragging their feet to restrict illegal downloading. Why? Because they finally want to make some money off the Internet. Because they can't necessarily be pornographers but maybe they could own the music market. But they quickly discovered that the margins on downloading sales would vary widely due to different royalty structures for individual artists and that it would be a heck of a lot of work to negotiate with all the different record labels. In some cases, after paying the label, then the artist, there would be almost no profit after overhead and expenses. So what to do ? Make music worth less. As David Olgivy said so profoundly almost 50 years ago, once you give it away it's almost impossible to get the consumer to get used to paying for it in the future. So how can technology companies guarantee that their ventures in music delivery over the Internet will be profitable? Compulsory licensing. Their motivation is quite simple. The more bandwidth end users consume, the more broadband access, hard drive space, and other technology is sold. That translates into more dollars for the technology companies. Of course they will champion your right to get cheap unlimited downloads at every turn. Heck, if they thought they could get away with it they would make it free and musical artists and composers would not be compensated one iota. As you can guess, as a musical artist and writer, I’m not down with that. What does compulsory licensing mean ? Well, it means that Ed Pettersen gets a set fee of say, 10 cents from every individual download. Not bad, right? But get this: It also means that Bruce Springsteen gets only 10 cents too. No more, no less. Why is that bad ? Ask Bruce. Ask Steve Earle. Ask any top-tier artist. Because it limits their ability to make the kind of money they're used to or could possibly make through enterprise or extra hard work. Not to mention that Bruce's recording budget and therefore the cost of creating that download is a lot greater than mine. With compulsory licensing the difference in the money goes towards guaranteeing the profitability of the technology companies new ventures. Well, when us musicians can regulate the fee at which these technology companies license their software to us to set up our own downloading music sites, then maybe we'll be willing to even consider the notion of a compulsory license for use of our music. Also, anyone who thinks that downloading music is the same as broadcasting music, and should share the same type of compulsory licensing standards, ignores a basic fact. Broadcasting is largely a promotional tool to grow record sales and that the artist and record company do not get compensated (only the writer does via compulsory licensing). And broadcasting does not place the actual record/track in the hands of the user as does downloading. So forgive me if I view with suspicion the CEOs of large technology companies making donations to the Electronic Frontier Foundation in support of “digital rights”. Digital rights should never mean that a company/individual is forced to sell its product at below market value (except for drug companies of course but if you can buy my music cheaper in Canada I support your right to do so). Personally, I'd like the freedom to negotiate my own deal without any limitations. That’s American. Have you heard the new Outkast record? It’s BADASS. I dig both versions of the Beatles album ‘Let it Be’. I think the original is still the best ‘cause, well, it’s the original and it’s also the only version ALL of the band members signed off on. The new album is crisp, clean, better sounding and it’s great to hear how great the Fabs would’ve been with today’s technology. They deserve that homage; they just don’t deserve to have their history re-written. Favorite quote of the week: Please don’t forget to register to vote in the 2004 elections. ‘In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends’-Martin Luther King Happy holidays !!!! Be careful out there. Peace, 11-01-03 Probably the most difficult thing in life is letting go of someone you really care about. On Oct. 16th - my father’s birthday no less, I won’t be forgetting that date - my dear friend, good buddy, close confidant and ‘spiritual advisor’ (don’t call him a guru) Mr. Gerry Livers died suddenly and unexpectedly at his home in Asheville, NC. I won’t get into what this loss will mean to the music community. Let me just say Gerry was the best friend a musician could have. He was true-blue in every respect of the term, loved music as much as anyone I’ve ever known, and really knew his shit. He started out as an online friend, became a fan, my number one fan in fact, turned into a good buddy and finally became like a brother to me. To lose a friend would be one thing, but Gerry was tireless in promoting my music. He pushed me to friends and acquaintances far and wide and it meant so much more to me than anybody we’ve ever paid for those services because I knew he really believed in me. We used to typically hang, get buzzed and watch baseball games when I wasn’t playing and he wasn’t attending as many shows as possible. Gerry booked me to play on Sat., Oct. 18th at the Westville Pub in Asheville. Anyone who doesn’t think God has a sense of humor is sadly mistaken. When we arrived on the 18th in Asheville we let ourselves in as usual, watched the World Series, noshed and relaxed in Gerry’s house before our gig. After a while I checked the house more closely to no avail. Eventually we left notes and went to the gig. We came back later after the gig but still no Gerry. You can see 90% of Gerry’s bedroom from the door of the bedroom. Sadly, it seems my dear buddy was in the one place I couldn’t see him. At least God let him hang out with his buddies and catch one last buzz. I appreciate that and it’s so Gerry. My heart goes out to Gerry’s other friends and family and especially his girlfriend, the darling, sweet Ginny. We’ve lost one of the really good ones. I will miss brother Gerry, you freakin’ amazing, terrific, stupendous human being. I will never forget you. Every time I step onstage from here on out you’ll be with me. I couldn’t have a better co-pilot. I hope Hendrix and Gram have answered all your questions…… Here are some tribute sites by some friends and fellow musicians who knew Gerry real well: http://www.indyweek.com/durham/current/porch.html http://www.westvillepub.com/gerry.htm Give someone you love a hug today. Peace, 9-15-03 It’s been about a month since my last missive and things keep moving. The war is over but it’s not over. The Yankees are likely to finish first in the American League East again for the umpteenth time. And we have a Presidential election coming next year. Please don’t forget to register and vote. Only 50% of those eligible to vote register and only 50% of those registered vote. In a country in which so many lives have perished for that right it is just unacceptable. I don’t want to preach; it’s just a fact. I strongly suggest you check out all the candidates and the facts but I will be supporting General Wesley Clark. Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Kosovo, 1st in his class at West Point, Rhodes Scholar, decorated war-veteran, holder of three masters degrees in economics, politics and philosophy, open-minded and socially conscious…..I could go on and on. Check him out for yourself at: www.draftwesleyclark2004.com/FAQ It’s too important a choice not to know the facts. I’ve had a flurry of recording activity and I will be adding a few more tour dates before the holidays. Then I’m off to Europe in January starting in Italy, homeland of my grandparents. European audiences are so supportive and gracious. I’m really looking forward to this. I’ll also be ending up the tour in Norway, home of my fathers’s father, to record some new songs with my best friend Pete Abbott and Leif Johanson of A-Ha! I’ve never been to Norway yet so it’s like a dream come true. I’ve mixed-down a master version of ‘Baghdad’ and two Christmas songs in the last two weeks. I’m not sure what will happen to ‘Baghdad’ since my next record is already finished but the Christmas songs will likely be released together as a single next year. I’m afraid I just didn’t get them done in time for ’03 release (the MP3 here at the website of ‘Baghdad’ is an early, mono rough mix). Rare Earth records will be releasing a tribute to Uncle Tupelo on which I contributed the song ‘Coalminers’. Look for its release this Sept. 23rd. Last not not least look for my next new album The New Punk Blues of Ed Pettersen to be released in June or July of ’04. I think it’s my best work yet and I’m very proud. I hope you all will like it. ‘Till next time, 8-11-03 Just about the most intelligent treatise of the current economic state of the United States can be found in Jack Rabid’s latest editorial in the current issue (#52) of The Big Takeover. The man actually has an economic degree ! He makes more sense and is more knowledgeable than a lot of the pundits and soothsayers I’ve heard in the media. His pub is tops in my book for music mags too BTW. That and MOJO (Still). Highly recommended. Check out Snoop Dog’s ‘Doggy Fizzle Televizzle’ on MTV. Seriously, it’s funny as all-get-out. Finally got the last George Harrison album ‘Brainwashed’ and it is great. Jeff Lynne even did a nice job with production. Very inspirational. God, I miss George. Ever wonder why there are so many antacid/gastric reflux illnesses, commercials and medications ? Ever think it’s because of the last 35 years of processed foods with preservatives and chemicals ? How about the environment? The truth would bankrupt many packaged goods corporations. Sometimes caution is important. I’m sure by now we’ve all read that the only building that was protected in Iraq by our troops during the conflict was the Ministry of Oil. We also have heard a good deal over the last year about ‘dirty bombs’. As it turns out the nuclear facility in Baghdad wasn’t protected and uranium rods, like those used to make dirty bombs, were stolen. Sometimes you stir up as much or more trouble when you act than was worth it, no? That is, unless you’re into oil. I’m sure this is just the beginning. (P.S.-Often when a regime or government is toppled the first element to take hold is organized crime as well - I hope we’re prepared.) I think the industry really missed the boat with the ‘Oh Brother’ craze and by that I mean every major label that now thinks they should run out and release bluegrass/acoustic compilations because that’s what’s hot. The reason that album did well was partly because it was an event which included a road show and film. But mostly I think it was great musicians playing great songs with terrific arrangements. Music is a collaborative medium and the “Oh Brother” record had all the right ingredients. That’s what makes it great. How about Hideki Matsui ? So he won’t hit 50 home runs. He’ll hit 30 maybe and have over 100 RBI’s instead while playing near-flawless outfield. Great addition to the team. P.S.-I think it’s kinda’ cool that the Yankees don’t give bonuses for making the All-Star team. It’s expected. If you want a great, inexpensive, solid, professional acoustic-electric guitar for performing live, check out Abe Wechter’s Pathmaker line of guitars. Terrific workmanship and value and most are under $600.00. They aren’t cheaply made and feel like many higher-priced models. The electronics are fantastic sounding and employ not just a piezo or magnetic pickup or mic but all three: www.wechterguitars.com If you’re culinarily inclined (or maybe especially if you’re NOT) try out: http://members.aol.com/altcooking/index.htm?f=fsorder for the coolest Alt. Country/Roots-Rock cookbook you’ll ever find. Of course you’ll find a contribution from yours truly included as well as many other musicians. Check out www.johncoltrane.com. It’s a beautiful, reverent site for the late Jazz master and very informative. I have it on in the background sometimes just for the loop of some of ‘Trane’s songs. Finally, please consider buying one extra can of food the next time you go to the supermarket and donate it to your local Second Harvest food bank. This time of year their shelves are mighty bare. See you ‘round the campfire, Ed 6-05-03 Hey gang. I’m back. I love the fact that I can communicate with y’all here. I really appreciate the feedback some of you have taken the time to write me with. It really makes it all worthwhile. The new record is doing well thanks to all of you. I’m loving Nashville, though I miss my beloved New York. Music City is a dream for most musicians and I am no exception. I’ve learned more in one year then I did the previous eight in the music biz and met some wonderfully creative and talented people. Stove Top-I’m staying ! God, I love baseball. Is there a better show on TV than Baseball Tonight ? Saw an old Saturday Night Live this past week with Blondie as the musical guest. Man, was it SOOOOO much better than the current SNL. Blondie, not my favorite band but far from the least, was even great though low-key. Those were the days…. I still miss my favorite Beatle. I was listening to the remastered ‘All Things Must Pass’ the other day and it never ceases to bring me back to puberty. What a great record. You’re gone but not forgotten George. Remember, the third-best songwriter in The Beatles wrote ‘Something’, the second most recorded song in modern musical history. (#1 is ‘Yesterday’ of course My buddy, Motown legend Bob Olhsson, commented recently in an EQ Magazine online forum that only rich folks will be making music from now on. He may be on to something kids…it’s all about money . If you have it you can promote, prod, cajole and frankly grease many palms in this business we call show. Gear costs money, touring costs money, promoters and publicists cost money, ads and just to keep going costs money. Consolidation….forget about radio…and forget about the next Son House getting anywhere today. Indie labels know this too which is why sometimes you’re better off on your own. Sometimes there ain’t much they can do that you can’t do yourself frankly. The times they are a’ changin’ indeed. I’m a news junkie and I love CNN but lately doesn’t it seem sometimes like it’s all just propaganda for the President ? Or are Republicans better at utilizing the media ? |