Happy New Years bands and fans! Where did this year go?

More importantly, what do I have to show for it? This time last year, I was still a fresh-faced blogging-newbie, naively thinking ggdc would become a chat room or someone would throw money at me for starting a magazine etc. Thinking it would happen in 2003 was the naïve part, realizing the real reasons I try desperately to keep up this journal has been a complex and rewarding journey.



Trying to keep my show-going notes current online has given me new respect for those in the performing arts that also keep a day job. As a visual artist, I am used to locking myself up in the studio until ready to present my work to the world like a batch of freshly baked cookies. Not so with performers and journalists, you have to be out there multi-tasking , growing the cocoa beans, milling the flour and preheating the oven – all while performing. Knowing that many of these actors and musicians also punch a 9-5 time clocks like myself, is truly mind-boggling. For those of you that have made the redoubtable move of kicking the 9-5 safety net to the curb take heed of this thing a 40’ish male friend of mine said after seeing LTH at Carter Baron Amp this summer: “It does my heart good knowing that there is someone my age going to work with their shirt untucked.” While I am not a 40’ish male, I know exactly what he means. I sometimes enjoy the “untucked shirt factor” as much as the music.



What else has this obsession got me? A ‘beater’ of a car. For most the only way getting a beater would be of mention was if proceeded by four letter words. Having lived in DC for over a decade without a car by 2003, (I had not even been behind the wheel since the mid-nineties) the decision to actually buy a car was formidable. While I’m still not sure it was a great idea, and as I’m still afraid to drive on highways and parkways having been nicknamed “the threat” by at least one person. Embracing the rock & roll world started me questioning my slavish attachment to the DC subway system that has yet to move into the 20th century and stay open 24/7 and made me re-visit driving as more than a spectator sport. While I’ve not been on 95, or even close, I’ve been known to wear a path Clarendon like a Conestoga wagon trail. For you readers prone to worrying, this driving thing has reduced my bar tab to all time lows. While this may not be rock & roll, it’s got all kinds of benefits like health and money in the bank (sort of).



I said these exact words last year, but it bears repeating. To all the musicians, club owners, bouncers, bartenders, musicians’-significant-others, and fan friends THANK YOU for sharing your gifts, your love and your livelihood with me and all the groupie girls and boys. If I didn’t live it everyday, I would not believe that hard ass rock n’ rollers and club owners could be unjaded, all around fantastic human beings. Please don’t ever loose sight of that.



I also want to thank those behind the scenes at ggdc. In no particular order



Debbie & Jenn are #1.




Ask Mike at Crosstown Arts who took my suggestion for the new WAMA Members Calendar-visit it often.


to Mike of Cheap Date for linking to me.


To bands who took time to read ggdc, while I am still trying to find time to see them perform Juniper Lane, Junk Food, and The Issue, Mark Helm, and
Mike Shupp.


And to Mike Holden for starting
AMS that sends me plenty of hits.


To the deej and
Hungry for Music for doing more than the next guy for the right reasons even when they don’t have too.


And Mr. Joel for keeping his calendar up and running when I don’t have time to update mine.


And my greatest hope is that my brother’s Wigilia (Polish word-look it up) promise to me comes true: to help me work out my IT problems and try to find time to possibly be my webmaster, so cross your fingers.





Love & Luck & remember enthusiasm doesn’t cost a cent


ggdc

The nice people at the DC nightlife Coalition bring you the DCNC AUTOSEND. Tell the government what you think, get DC the live music venues it deserves!

So I left off with the dynamics of stage sharing, who gigs with whom and whatnot. I'll Start with the bene at Iota because it is fresh in my mind. Can I just tell you the biggest most pleasant surprise of the Alejandro Benefit was Karl Straub singing harmony with Mary Batiata on a new song of hers. Whoa, harmony is an understatement, they sound great together! Karl has played guitar live with Little Pink on more than one occasion and I think he produced her first album, oi vay, why did it take so long to discover how great they sound together?

Other funzies at the bene, hearing the band June Star. They had opened for LTH, like over a year ago at The State - I remember them as being interesting. They totally hung together at this benefit, even with what was a sit in drummer (I think?). And this sit in drummer, he rocks - he played electric and sang a number of lead vocals with Lee Wilhoit & Phoebus in a band that is yet unamed, or so they joke. Anyway, gotta find out what this talented youngster's name is. Another treat was Bill Kirchen, rockin solo with some old bluesy stuff then sitting in on Jumpin' Jupiter's set. These are really fun things that just don't get a chance to happen day to day-yay for benefit show mentality!

Hello, so it's been a good old fashioned groupiegirldc kind of week. We'll have been to Iota 3 times in 7 days by Sunday. There are good shows at Velvet Lounge and Staccato this weekend. Check out Mr. Joel's calendar, it's got most of what I have not had time to add to mine.

Especially take note of the Alejandro Escovedo Benefit little promos for this show have been popping up everywhere. It's my kind of line up-LTH, Little Pink, Bill Kirchen, Jumpin Jupiter, Bill Kirchen, Brandon (whose last name I can't remember, from Canyon, Karl Straub, Lee Wilhoit (hmmm that's now all the members of the former Graverobbers? Reunion anyone?) It will be a lot switchin' around, but it should rock! I'm sure there may be other players I've missed to so come on out. If you have not heard of Alejandro Escovedo, search him on the net you will find gracious tribute to this still living artist who needs a lot of help with medical bills.

Now the super groupie thing to do is always keep tabs on 'developments', like who shares stage with whom and who gets posted on what message board or list serve etc. I am going to try and map out some of these new developments next as I did make it to the Holden/Rotoscope show and got visuals now on some of the AMS postersand Brandon whats-his-face from Canyon is playing at this benefit Sunday....hmmm, must digest

this is a post for me only, remember this name, Malcolm Holcombe, from North Carolina. wow. real. very very real.

Hi people. Well the least I could do is update the calendar for November, right? Well, I have a number of times, but the template doesn't want to save or publish, which is maddening. My life has really gone to hell in a handbasket lately, I don't feel like half the groupie I used to be, only time will tell. Let's hope I can at least get back to posting the dates of shows I would like to see, if Blogger cooperates.

Can I just tell you how thankful I am for Mr. Joel. Check out his October/November calender, droppin' science on A possible B-Cat gig for Spottiswoode. Mr. Joel certainly suceeds in keeping us informed on shows even the one's not in the papers yet-that means his hiney is AT shows. sigh.

Here's a show at AU this Saturday the 8th. First band on is Los Hermanos Rodriguez. They are the only band I've seen in this lineup of Lunchbox, Red Line Index, Paper Doll, and The city The sea who are scheduled to appear in this order. I saw LHR at Velvet a year or more ago, at one of their first playing out gigs. It was a fundraiser gig and Arblemarble's last one I think. Anyway I am curious about this lineup. LHR was 3 piece I think and loud and tight when I saw them. Is there one of those music monikers out there called speed punk? If so, that's probably them . Somehow they resemble a metal band in sound, with political messages wrapped in. They were a happy surprise when I saw them last year and I think you should go see them now and report back to me, especially after that cruddy Citypaper article on Fugazi ruining the rock scene in DC-go listen to LHR-hopefully AU will represent and get some more shows for them.

Do you know this guy?

It make's me believe that the internet was not developed for clandestine defense purposes - instead the internet came into being to provide immensly talented artists, like this jazz drummer, with an income to live on. Sigh, I need an income.

Oh Mi Goodness.


It's almost October and this site is in a shambles-sorry about that folks. Cyberspace is not that forgiving when you try to use both a mac and a pc for working on the same template, I'm guessing that's the problem with my calendar. I will try to fix it up soon because October seems to be lining up a lot of fun shows.

It was great to see the Dustbowlers out and about, even better to hear them. The gig took place above Politiki at a place called "Top Of The Hill", no tiki's there. it sounds stuffy, but it was comfortably laid back. I was most struck by the fact it was a Saturday night and there was no yelling, puking or passing out observed. But more about the band.

My oh my, they do know a lot of songs. This Tim Penney fellow is a very, very prolific songwriter and he's go A LOT of guitars. Let's see there was a pretty 12 string that he was playing as I walked in, your friendly neighborhood telecaster, a lap steel, and something my friend Peter refered to a gold top Les Paul with action, which I can't prove or deny, I had never seen the likes of it up so close. Again, pretty. Very, very pretty.

So, what Tim stocks in guitars is karmically accounted for by the sparse drum kit of Mike Magor. I don't know how I didn't notice months ago when I saw them for the first time. Perhaps he's pared it down even more, his kit was almost as small as Shortstack's. A bass, a snare, a highhat, and somekind of reversoid highhat setup I've never noticed before. Additional percussion in the the form of a tamborine thingy on the highhat and a set of double bongos was whipped out and played on the side too, so I suppose while the set up looked small there was more there than met the eye.

The other Mike, Mike O'Malley plays bass and upright and is quite facile at both, which is nice. I wonder how the songs have been arranged for this trio as Tim writes all of them I think? The choice of upright vs. electric bass for each song was really spot on.

And again sooooooooo many songs. For a trio they really weave in some beautiful complexity that is very understated and appropriate to the songs. I hate making comparisons, but there is a Guthrie-ness and a Wilco-ness and a Cal-i-forn-i-a-ness to what they are doing. Not like a "Wilco is cool" or "I want to be Woddie Guthrie" thing, but a laid back, honesty, simplicity and clarity that makes Wilco and Woody so cool. The Dustbowler lyrics are short and often subtle and poetic, but they are about NOW, nothing retro rooty about them, if you really pay attention. Even if you are not going to pay attention, don't worry, they just sound good.

Many apologies for the short notice, hope you can make it to hear the(drumroll)

DUSTBOWLERS

play this Saturday night at 9:30, at Politiki, 319 Pennsylvania Avenue SE. If I have time I will refresh your memory about this Californiaesque Trio

Hello there groupiegirldc readers, missing me? I'm sorry, my bread & butter job is kicking my butt - so I have barely been able to see shows, let alone write about them, but check out what landed in inbox this Labor Day weekend the below is from Brian McGuire, the point man for 52-pickup and the Bop 'n' Bowl.



Hello Bop 'n' Bowl fans:


Well, there's good news and bad news...


Bad news first! In case you had heard of this show previously, let us clue you in that the Bill Kirchen/Cigarbox Planetarium/'52 Pickup Bop 'n'Bowl originally scheduled for this Saturday, September 6 is NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!CANCELLED! Sorry, but the alley management, in their infinite wisdom, decided to close the lanes for the first two weeks of September!

The GOOD news is that the latest proposal by the big money interests to demolish the historic duckpin sanctuary to make way for luxury condos has been sent packing by the Falls Church City Council! Wow! This is how government is supposed to work! The City Council, for at least the second time in a row, is more concerned with the public good than money! So the duckpin lanes keep rollin' on for the time being! Read the laughably-biased pro-development coverage by the Falls Church News Press !

That is so freakin' cool, super-duper yay! Since I will not have time to update the calendar anytime soon, I will mention that Spottiswoode & his Enemies are gigging the Velvet Lounge in DC on September 10, I think, I saw it in the City Paper, I hope it's true.

number 5

Tee hee, I just read a plug for this book on the AMS list. Check it out, so for 'maximizing' your blahdee blah as a musician this guy says you need -

1. Personal Manager

2. Attorney

3. Business Manager

4. Agency

5. Groupies

Then he says "With respect to number 5, you're on your own." Wow, how life affirming for me-I'm part of the master plan. More later.

I know nothing about this Bands v Bush, but it can't be bad.


The Bands Against Bush DC chapter
is meeting again!

THURSDAY AUGUST 7

Sparky's Espresso Café

14th St. NW

(between R & S Sts.)
7:30 PM

bring yourself,
and your heart,
and your brain.
also bring two friends
so
they can bring two friends!


WE WILL WIN!


xoBvB DC

please pass this message on to all and sundry

Shake it baby shake it

I thought I was about done talking about Last Train Home on this site, but I got all a-fluttery on Saturday. While the band does it new intensive touring thing, the 'Iota Weekend' was a bit more of a personal thing, looking for little nuanced changes that seemed gossipy and not worth writing about. So how cool is it that Alan Brace stepped up and clinched the night (On Saturday). Now we adore Alan, though I don't know how much I've written about him in the past. He heart wrenching cover of "These Little Things" - the Patsy Cline standard and likewise with Bob Dylan's "Song to Woody". His voice is fantastic and he's got the emotion to really break your heart, but oh mi god, he just opened up on the song in the title here, "A Whole Lota Shakin' goin' on." As you can see a kind of Sun record tribute night brought some new material to the stage which was excellent. (And note to self: Bill Williams did a version of Buddy Hacket doing "Shapoopie" from the Music Man that was a non-sequitur to end all non-sequiturs).

"Walls of Time" is one of my favorite songs ever, (up there with Phil Ochs "The Highwayman" and the posthumously recorded "Remember the Mountain Bed" by Woody Guthrie). I am not a purist, I love LTH's arrangement and I love that I can save my voice now at shows because other people will groupie-scream for it, it's caught on like "It Doesn't Matter". I am getting off on a tangent though. The first time I heard this song was at a show with Lee Wilhoit sitting in for Alan. Lee is a crazy mofo on stage and he runs away with the vocals, forget harmony, he goes for broke and plows over Eric. That's when their version of "Walls" truly rocks, totally transcends. Well after channeling the spirit body of Elvis, Alan through complete happenstance, I think, managed to take "Walls of Time" over Lee style without even realizing it. For what ever reason, finally, finally, finally, Alan Brace while on the second mike took over the vocal, the fact that Alan has the aforementioned heart wrenching je ne sais quoi gives him a bit of an edge on Lee too. For whatever reason is how it should be on this song. Eric's voice just does not carry on "Walls of Time", so much so that on their recent CD, Time and Water the "Walls of Time" track was a let down to me and my compadres. Lee Wilhoit sings on the CD, but the tracking on Lee's voice is not prominent enough, not loud enough, not there enough, of course there are others that look at me cockamamie when I mention this.

God forbid anyone in the band actually reads this, someday please plant a seed for a re-issue of that track with the vocals remastered or retracked with Eric (Um, cough cough-hesitant pause) on backup. (Smile) Just on this one song, I swear.

Oh, one more thing. Kevin Cordt was not there to play trumpet so Chris Watling bought the barri-sax along which went awful well on "Walls of Time" too. And while I'm at it, dude needs a remote mike for his accordion NOW! If he's going to keep bringing it to LTH home shows. Bye.

Hi

After lamenting my not posting and talking about the same stuff too much, I just got back from the benefit at La Casa I menitoned in the previous post. Much was accomplished.

1) I've found out when and where my 'local lo-po' broadcasts from, information I've been wanting to know, but too lazy to try to figure out.

2) While I know my rule is to not to talk about bands that are not from around here, I am breaking it. The second band in the lineup tonite was the Molehill Orkestrah, from Tucson, AZ, billed as "Eastern Klezmer-Core" on the flyer. Oh my, I am still vaklempt, my $5 for the benefit got me 3 bands - one of which was this 8 piece Klezmer, as tight as almost any Klezmer I've ever heard. But wait one second, on reflection, I've never heard a Klezmer band live because they tend to be expensive shows (worth the money though to someone that has it.) Anyway, Molehill should 'fess and say "Southwestern Klezmer Core", for the extra beautiful twist on this band was the subtle Spanish guitar/mandolin head they put on some of the numbers and a break in one song that I swear keep flipping between Klezmer and a Bossa Nova rhythm, pretty wicked. Who knows if they'll be back this way, but well worth taking note. And if you have never heard a klezmer band, even on recording get your heinie out there and find some (Klez qualifies as 'Wall of Sound' bands with which you can't go wrong)

3) The mighty, mighty news. I've a new band to talk about. Shortstack. So Cowlick Lucy played with them once, and I see now that the guy playing upright for them, played banjo in Helen & Pete's.

"Shortstack, Haunted Hill Rockabilly" per the flyer and this time the description is right on. Four pieces in this band, very spare and very moody. The upright, guitar, lap steel and a tiny drum kit (bass, snare, cymbal, highhat and a wok(?)) I spent way to long mezmerized with this tiny, tiny kit. As I know none of the players names I'm at a small disadvantage to speak of them individually, but what was most striking is that the entire impression is that everyone plays to the song, not to themselves, there are no solos or major flourishes. Now that I think about it, it's what makes them Dischord-esque. Apparently they will be on a fundraising comp that is getting help from Dischord. The Shortstack material is truly rockabilly/lo-country/almost Appalacian sounding-if I exagerate a little. I know I am gone on a band when sight unseen I leave a first show with a lyric stuck in my head. Such is the case with "Troubled Mind". Musically it was reminiscent of "Wanted Man", but lyrically not like it at all. I will have to hear this song again. Soon hopefully.

Reflecting on July and why my postings were so horrid, I found some peekaboo silver lining. I did see the WP's Weekend section Roots/Americana show at Carter Barron and I saw the Seldom Scene on the Library of Congress stairs. I would have liked to have said something about seeing the 'new' Scene, but about 30 minutes after that show my back went out and it became priority #1.

In the here and now, this has just come across my email account. It's not in the side calendar, so lets' see if you are paying attention. There is something afoot at La Casa - 3166 Mt Pleasant St NW - this Saturday that is $5, goes from 8-11 pm, is going to be rootsy, tho interestingly enough, I got the "fo" from Planaria. A band called Short Stack is playing that was recommended to me by two people, Vivian & Cret-aquaintances from very different times in my life, yet the same recommendation. The other two bands sound interesting too, I just can't remember the names at the moment.

Sigh, look how long it's been since I posted! Sorry. And I have not named any stand outs for July, I am slipping again. I am tired of singing this tune, I am broke! Money for music is harder and harder to come by, you know I am fully in support of paying for talent, but I am getting to the point that I can't. I am thanking my lucky stars for Summer and free outdoor concerts, like The Grandsons at the National Zoo on Thursday, but when winter comes I am going to be screwed. If you do not see me out and about, at least "remember me well" or "remember me when".

I was traveling for five days and when I got back I had emails from new musicians I have not met (ie. heard) yet. Great! I will be trying to check ya'll out. I think it is so cool that it's musicians that gravitate to groupiegirl. When I first started the blog I was not sure it would be that way, but in my unscientific estimation that's the way it's turning out. Doing the blog is like a big thank you card to you musically inclined artists that really put on a show.

Now do any of you musicians want to buy some art? Paintings, sculptures, photos, a robot?

OK, THIS was a total biatch to find. It's The Hosiery mailing list, which also keeps track of The Warehouse Nextdoor shows. Apparently Measles, Mumps, Rubella is playing at "TWN" tomorrow-per a TPC crony I ran into at Lungfish on Saturday. I hope the mailing list link continues to work, it seems like the planaria identity is in flux.

So, I had pipe dreams that on Saturday I could see Spottiswoode open for Cravin Dogs at Iota, pop across the street to Galaxy Hut to see the Bomb Pops, then over to the Black Cat for Lungfish. As it turned out I was feelin' poorly in my person that day, so it took all my power just to drag myself to the B-Cat, let alone 2 other shows.

I made it to Lungfish. Honestly, I've only seen Lungfish once before, though I am in the age group that could have seen them umpteen million times when they were rippin' up the town back in the day. On a whim about a year ago, (OK, maybe almost 2) after surfing Dischords website I picked up The Pupils CD, a touchy- feely, stripped down version of Lungfish - Daniel's lyrics accompanied by 2 guitars, played by him and Asa. I listen to this CD a lot-and it made me see why I've heard Daniel referred to as 'the Spirit-Head of Dischord'. His verse is magnetic-there are no metaphorical petty ironies standing in for bigger issues here. If Armageddon comes it will be our own fault, because Daniel's seen it and tried to warn us about it. Sigh.

So, I didn't melt That Woodrow Wilson Plaza place is tre's Euro once you walk the 300 yards off Pennsylvania Avenue. There's tables and chairs with umbrellas, a little grove of trees, some totally stupid sculpture. Like I said, very Euro. Whomever is putting this shindig on has a nice setup though: a raised stage, a giant PA, passing out revival meeting fans with music schedules on them. The Grandsons seem to real dig outdoor shows, which is cool - or in this case, hot. For an inside show, definitely head out to the Duckpin lanes to the The bop-n-bowl, there may only be 3 or 4 more of these shows, if the developers get their zoning approved for condos in the next few months. Looks like Tom & Debra & their swing dancin' posse will be there. So, if you feel like gettin' really special put on your ultra-retro duds and check it out.

Hello Music People

I'm getting ready to hop off to the "International Trade Center" (ie. The Ronald Reagan Building). I brought my sunnyblock lotion with me to work, so I won't fry, but I may melt.

Pick up the city paper and look at CHEAP SEATS section because it seems the CP has finally dropped science on what is going on with the Falls Church "Duckpin" Bowling Center. Oh well-it looks like it will hang in for the rest of the summer before being raised to make way for luxury townhomes and retail.

You know it's funny, I go in to a grocery or a pharmacy and there are almost never more than 3 or 4 cashiers working, doesn't matter the day of time or that there are 7-8 cash registers. Do we really need MORE stores or just better management and attention to the stores there are? Seems companies treat their buildings and employees like disposable silverware-the appreciate it when they first get it, hold onto and may even reuse it, but the minute the going gets a little rough the place a little dirty, they dump it. Seems like a bad practice.

On the other hand a lot of the clubs I frequent, often have shows that sell out. Even on a weekday in a small place like the Velvet Lounge I may have to wait in a 3-deep line with 2 bartenders working to get a drink. Also I can't go hear live music indoors anywhere in my neighborhood (Mt. Pleasant). It's a drag, this is the area where I am being underserved, I have absolutely no need for another poopy CVS, Giant grocery store or a $900 to $1200 efficiency apartment which though supposedly 'luxurious' is roughly 75% more than I can pay for rent (I already pay about 33% more than I can afford and that's paid to friends.

So are you a hipster that works a square job in downtown DC? Check out this copy - "to entertain office workers and visitors alike" it's Live!On Woodrow Wilson Plaza -now if someone would just realize how many of us are "just visiting as office workers" then things could get interesting. But really, rock on. This is a very ambitious program, live performance almost everyday. I hope to hit Frederic Yonnet and the PoEmcees, both come highly recommended yet I have missed seeing them live repeatedly in the past year. And just two short days from now, weather permitting, I will be able to punctuate my workday with some Grandsons fun!

(By the way Woodrow Wilson Plaza is apparently the Courtyard of the freakin' Ronald Reagan Building, where 13th Street, NW dead ends into Pennsylvania Ave.)

Wow is there a lot of competition for outside music this weekend. Check this out, what the heck is Fete de la Musique? Music outside in DC, some of it just spontaneously happening in front of a grocery store near you. For instance, check it out, Jon Kaplan at the Shops in Georgetown. bit-chin. I hope I get a chance to ask some of these players what the experience is like being a street musician for a day. When I saw the "call for musicians" forwarded to the Arlington Music Scene listserve, I thought it was a flame. As it turns out, according to the press release, the DCCAH did not come up with this idea itself, but stole it from France, (which explains the ala musi-Q name-does anyone else find this funny?)

Anyway, do not be alarmed by the musicians on the street, they are just like you and I, just a little bit crazier. Here's the Fete de la Musique Schedule for this weekend so you can get to know everyone by name, like a proper groupie.

You should go to this on Sunday if the weather is nice. It's one of like 4 plus outdoors shows happening in the next few days, especially for The Grandsons.

At the risk of gettin' suburban on yass, this thing on Sunday is a no miss. Rockabilly, Tony Hawk, 'grandfather' of extreme skateboarding, and the new AFI Silver Theaters totally hip program. (someone posted the Summer film schedule at Iota-teehee). Really though the AFI can finally do it's job, showin good films at a good price. A standard $8.50 usually, and you can purchase online! Can I get an Amen. And really, if does not rain, bring your sunscreen and git out dang it.

READY, SET, EVOLVE!



If I had my life to live over again, I would have made a rule to read some poetry and listen to some music at least once a week.


- Charles Darwin



Got it covered. In fact I must be mega-evolved!, once a week-pffft.

OK, sorry to be so pokey, hopefully I can get this extensive June calendar up soon. Looking at my posts, sorry to bore you, but I went to another Spottiswoode show...well it was an S & M show, by which I mean a John & Riley show. Clear as mud now, right?

Anyway thanks to these lovely people for having S&M play. I heard these two play a few songs at Visions when they screened "The Gentleman" a lovely film co-written and directed by Spottiswoode, but that was at least two years ago, maybe close to three. Honestly that Visions show did not hold a candle to last weekends performance.

While I am not a musician I am going to be bold and suggest that if you are in a band of more than two and have been considering playing out with a smaller combo, do it.

a) I was quite interested in technically how much better John's guitar playing has gotten b) In this case I also got to see a whole different musical side to Riley. In S&HE he is normally engaged in impressive finger gymnastics with guitars and other string things, in the duo it's about the timing and the rhythm using bells, toys, & frying pans c) Perhaps if you are a songwriting performer it gives you a whole different venue for different songs. If you've got freaks like me who have been listening to your material on & off for a decade, presenting them with new material is a good thing.

(you know I go off about wanting change, but often, often, often at Spottiswoode shows I am amazed at the cigarette torch mentality that can pervade-it can't escape notice that people still want to hear those Zimmerman songs, great songs, but get real, the world has moved on-and of all the people that should it not be Zimmermans fans that 'understood' "That's how the civilized will be punished? Oi vay.

Why the hell was this not the feature in the newspapers ENTERTAINMENT section this Sunday-screw that, why not all last week!!!" I'm really mad. There's really just too much out there to keep up with, but that's not an excuse. Join me in geting up on FCC issue's at FUTURE OF MUSIC COALITION

THEN POUND AND FLAME THE FCC WITH COMMENTS!!!!!!!

COMMENT TO THE FCC NOW! You know, while you are at it, pound the POST too, I am sick of the Entertainment/Style headings used in the print and online sections of this newspaper. Where's the section where you would learn that your country is trying to violate your free speech by ensuring that your poverty will keep you from ever figuring out what is going on?



From the Post: Letters to the Editor




Q: How do I submit a letter to the editor?


A: We offer two methods of sending a letter to the editor of The Washington Post: 1) You can e-mail your Letters to the Editor to Letters@washpost.com.


2) If you prefer, you can send your letter by surface mail to:


Letters to the Editor

The Washington Post
1150 15th Street Northwest
Washington, DC 20071

Guidelines on sending Letters to the Editor can be found at:


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13301-2000Mar5.html

So there's a run of Last Train Home shows coming up at Iota in a few weeks. The right thing for me to do would be to point you towards Sunday the 8th as it is then you will most likely get to hear the Kevin Cordt "tet" as we've taken to calling them (really known as the Kevin Cordt Trio). I really wanted to write about the Sunday show at the end of April where at one point there were 7 players on stage with Kevin's Trio. It looks like what ever bug that Last Train Home's got that makes people jump on stage and get called out of the audience is catching. It's a lovely thing to watch if just for the reason that this group of fellas plays around each other in a number of different kinds/types of bands-(country, rock, straight up roots, art rock) and it is really fun to hear them wrap it around the jazz idiom now too. There's a lot of personality and music edjoocayshion on the bandstand, I lobbied for a rendition of Nature Boy in April, after hearing that Dave VanAllen had it transcribed for the Steel. Now that steel and Kevin singing it would be sweet. New life to an under used song.

Speaking of LTH and devotion, I just have to make a short note about Mike Aldridge and Jimmy Gaudreau and how either freaked out or amused, (I could not tell which) they were at the woohoo's and cat calls they got at Iota playing as the Skylighters with three Last Train Homers. Jimmy kept hootin' back-atchaudience. I like that Jimmy bunches. I know that being ONLY 30 or so, I am an exception when it somes to my knowledge of the Seldom Scene and the heyday of DC bluegrass. There were some regulars from the specifically Iota LTH crowd that did come out to the Thursday show and it was interesting to see the audience/band dynamic. Even the most rabid LTH/Eric Brace fan has got to hear in Mike and Jimmy the foundations of LTH. Will these 25-35 year olds stick it out long enough to figure out who the Seldom Scene was and is?

Which brings me to my executive decision to put up for you readers of groupiegirl, what do we call those individuals that pack those Last Train Home shows? Now granted I am often one of them, but I hope that I am recognized as an all around music scenester. These are the people you pretty much never see anywhere else but Iota. So are they already called something-the specific LTH groupies? I've heard mention of TRAINEES, what about HOMERS? VOTE, dammit, what do you call them?

Hello music fans. Did you think I fell off the flat-plane of earth c. 1492? Well, no I am still here, I've written two posts and lost them to the ether as I attempt to balance my 9-5 $ job with a 'career' as a visual artist and a full time 'hobby' of music/niteclub denizen. I'd think I was insane, except I know that I really get unhappy if I am not in the "studioaudience". Oh well, enough dunderblogging, let's get on with the show.

So, things that have passed my eyes and ears on my 'hiatus' - for one Cowlick Lucy has announced a website!! Go girls-and Dan. Let me at those MP3s, especially "Hide Away", that song by J. Spott. Of all the bands I know that sing this song, (J. Spott himself and The Grandsons), mmmm, Vivian's voice and CLL's version, yum. (In fact, not that they are hurting for material, but I'd like to see one of the Brace brothers wrap their voice around this song as well)

Speaking of J.Spott, I made it to that Spottiswoode/Grandsons Jammin Java Show. The sound there is amazing-go for that. It's a little 8 inch tall stage too that you can get right close to if you are into that type of thing and there are lots of places to sit. The place was quite filled up at one point. It's being in a strip mall made me realize what a city slicker I have become though-I'll spare you how freakedout I was hanging out in a parking lot after the show. There were retail store type alcoves that made me feel like I was in a shoe store the whole time, but I just remember-the JJ space was formerly a Christian book store. Wish I had realized that while I was there.

If you checked out what S&HE was doing in Vienna, they did an almost all acoustic show. I was impressed in spite of myself. There has been so much talk of the big production 'gospelesque' show with lights and backup singers, etc. - which is the show they are taking to Lille, France, I think-that i was not prepared for this very down to earth thing. At least a year ago, I was at S&HE show at Iota with someone who knew Jonathan fairly well back in his college days. During that show she said to me "Oh mi god, you actually think he's a rockstar?" Well, I do. Knowing a bit about his films and other art ventures I expect to see him keyed up and glam. This performance was, I don't know, a treat? A dose of realism in an often abstract - conceptual cirque d'avant garde.

There's a lot of shows coming up on June, mostly the same players. I'm beginning to see that to keep up writing about these bands, I am going to have to start being more proactive-maybe starting interviews and questioning them about real fan stuff if I'm going to keep writing about the same 7 or so bands.

I'll tell you, I have been eavesdropping on a yahoo group called Arlington Music Scene that has really made me start to see that there are probably close to at least 500 bands in the extended DC area getting stage/studio time. Lord knows I suk at math, but it seems that there are NOT enough places in "the city" zoned to deal with with it and it makes me mad. There are bands/people I've seen a handful of times that I would love to plug, Bicycle Thieves, John Athyde (Rotoscope) in this VA crowd, Measles Mumps Rubella in DC, especially, Dark Water Transit and The Pupils-more Baltimore bands. After Metro Cafe closed these bands these are the kind of bands that got kind of shut out. They are not big enough to headline the Black Cat or get in opening ticket at the 930. For reasons that shall remain unspoken are too big and been around the block enough to not be playing Velvet Lounge on any kind of 'regular' basis, if at all. Staccato can't take this loud indy pop besides ITS SMALL. And do the 'roots rock/country scene' bands play DC anywhere in this year-NO, not really.

It's a real bugger. I've got no problem with the way the major clubs are booking, I just think there's more of a market for more types of establishments, more types of music and at different times. The city makes it too hard to host live entertainment, nothing against a good DJ, but this city does not need any more 'DJ lounges'. Also, music from 5-8 pm is a completely under-marketed thing in the city. 30-50 yr old suburbanites go to happy hours, you get the benefit of traffic having subsided afterwards. Hanging out in the city for 3 hours or more until a show starts at 9 or 10 pm is something most will not do. And as we know, once home, very few leave the comforts of their nest to venture back out into the unknown. You would think this would make it easier on clubs in dealing with 'neighbors' if live entertainment ended at 8 or 9 pm. Vision's Live Music Happy Hour used to follow this format on Friday's and I am in major, major withdrawal because they have not started it up this year. I know there were some conflicts with neighbors over a movie theater having live music. Visions has also sited as it as not being enough of a money draw for them, once they pay the bands. Their lounge space is small, so this is not a surprise. I watch the issue and I stress anyone that hits groupiegirl and lives right in DC, think about what good would come out of lobbying for live entertainment. Business owners need to be protected from neighbors and having their licenses revoked if they are making good faith efforts and helping building another small business community of professional musicians. Come on would a music from 5-9 pm at small bar or restaurant that holds under 75 people really be an intractable nuisance to a neighbor?

I'm glad to say that my first trip to Jammin Java will be to see The Grandsons and Spottiswoode and his Enemies. An average person on first glance of these two bands would be confused about the two bands playing back to back. To this I say don't be average. I went to some of the shows I picked in April, but really did not have the energy to think about them for you. How lame an I?

This just in, voila Karl Straub Music Website from the master himself. Very, very nice. This Sunday benefit show at IOTA should be very, very nice as well.



SUN APRIL 6

IOTA 2-5 PM

MEMORIAL SHOW FOR SAM JOHNSON

Last Train Home, Karl Straub Combo, Grandsons, Rhodes Tavern Troubadours and Scott McKnight's Naughty Pine


the ruff sched

2pm - 2:30 - Naughty Pine

2:35 - 3:05 - Karl Straub Combo

3:10 - 3:40 - Grandsons

3:45 - 4:15 - Last Train Home

4:20 - 4:50 Rhodes Tavern Troubadours

Tonite, Grandson's show just added at The State. Get out and enjoy the new beautiful Spring evenings!


On another note, in chatting with another 'regular' at the Straub Combo's show at Iota on Friday I was fed this little tidbit. Mongrel Music is the booking agent for Last Train Home, Alejandro Escovedo, and Saffire-Uppity Woman Blues, groups that I know are locals off the top of my head. You see thay also 'carry' others you may know, like The Iguanas, Tarbox Ramblers, Dave Alvin and Los Straightjackets. Mongrel is nice enough to list all these bands advance tour dates for us audience groupies. Other booking agents tend to be more helpful to the clubs, organizers and promoters by having sites like this one, Samhill Bands page on The Grandsons in this case a great resource if you go to the songlist page where you can see the crazy amount of fantastic roadhouse covers that the G-sons have made their own, something they don't flaunt it on their own website.

Anyway, enjoy the resource and when you request Buddy Knox "Party Doll" or show up for a LTH show on June 13th at the Bubba Mac Shack in Somers Point, New Jersey tell 'em groupiegirl sent you.

On another note, by seeing where your faves are being booked, you may be able to start auditioning new places to live, ones that are less conspicous than WDC area with as good a music scene, good luck. If you're tuning in from out of town, ya know in DC we all come to work and take the metro and do are part to not be scared by 'terrorists', well that's bull shit. I love my city but it sucks, I trust MY government at large about as far as I could throw it, DC or Federal. Luckily if you haven't figured me out already, I do have faith in 'individuals, like The Arlington Music Scene list serve. It provides this gem from the NY times about a Dixie Chicks bashing event in Louisiana. Excerpt from Paul Krugman: "a crowd gathered in Louisiana to watch a 33,000-pound tractor smash a collection of Dixie Chicks CD's, tapes and other paraphernalia. To those familiar with 20th-century European history it seemed eerily reminiscent of. . . . But as Sinclair Lewis said, it can't happen here." So the dot dot dot thing is kinda weak-dude it's op-ed - say it Fascist Nazis!!!!! But wait a second, whomever owns the Times probably has some kind of gag on language that means the journalist can't put "Fascist Nazi" in print and that's the point of this op-ed. Media companies engaging in rally's, why? I tell you something, the next few years should be interesting if majority of the population of the US ever wakes up to the fact that we live in a corporate oligarchy, sigh.

Sorry, these are stronger opinions than even I thought I had, I did not expect to write a screed, but again more to the point, thank you some person in Arlington that hooked me up to this opinion column, booking agents and record contracts aside we all need to be looking out for more than just suspicious people and packages.

Hello, shoot, I am busy and I'm sorry I don't have more time to record my thoughts. I'm making it out to a few shows here and there, but doing the writing and webbing is kinda not happening as much as I would like. GG posts should be better in April.

I did get to sneak out and catch Karl at Velvet. I did not get to hang and schmooze after the show, as I am preoccupied at the moment with ROBOTS which you will hear more about later. I hope the KSC went away appreciating the show as much as I. The intimate atmosphere of this club showed me a new level of emotion in Straub's "Little Johnny Spotlight" and was also the perfect setting to hear "Autumn Leaves"-yum.

On an administrative note, and something I look for to write about, this show was interesting because for once the club system really seemed to work. I was perched in a group of 'scrappy' fans left in the audience from the previously performing bands, and for all their hootin' & hollerin' I saw the fans that stayed on undergo a conversion, get quiet for the most part and listen, then quietly at the break between songs whisper "this guy is really good" to each other (any situation where men whisper to each other must be like the freakin' annunciation right?). I give this audience credit for being able to recognize what someone REALLY playing a trumpet sounds like (ie. the fabulous Kevin Cordt), considering their exposure to the band that went on right before Karl.

And speaking of the multi-talented Mr. Cordt, be on the lookout for Spottiswoode & his Enemies 'en concert' where ever you can find them. My sources tell me they have a 'rehearsed' production now with theatrical mood lighting extraordinaire, let's hope DC can take on this cabaret style performance that is already a hot commodity in NYC and LA. It's not for everyband, but Spottiswoode is far from everyother band. I can't wait to see this.

oi, the Karl Straub Combo at the Velvet Lounge in my 'hood today!!!!!! and I didn't put it on the sides, sorry! They're at IOTA on March 21st if my negligence is going to cause you to miss tonite.

OK, check this out. Mr. Joel has e-mailed me that he is internet hosting a Karl Straub bio. If you need to hear some Karl fast you can always go to Sam's Records.

Now only if some nice fan could do the same for the elusive Lee Wilhoit.

So sad. Snow keeps ggdc from a Spotty & Sons samich on Thursday. Oh I'm sure the show went on, I just couldn't get there.

Well, I pride myself on observation, and what I observed at IOTA Friday night at Last Train Home's new CD release was that when your front man/band leader does not work a full-time job, the audience gets a much better show for it. Or maybe it was just all the pomp and circumstance of it being a CD release that kept them on the straight and narrow. Or maybe that the Maker's rounds were held to only 2 on Friday (Soooo, not the case on Saturday.) Kudos to all band members for for making it there through the traffic snarls. Funny thing, if traffic (therefore Metrobus) had not been snarled I probably would have been in G-town at Lady Brain Space Mind Meld, and not at the Friday show. You should go see "Mind Meld" anyway, FYI there's lots of Rockin' DC Lady in it that hold there own in the music scene so go support their work!

On Friday, after a few warm up songs LTH went and played the new CD straight through. In talking to a regular LTH junkie on Saturday he was amazed and thought it was a ballsy thing to do. "Like super confident" were his exact words. Hmmm, I'm not sure what I think about that statement. For a band that doesn't religiously play to a fixed set list, playing this "CD set" didn't bother me. We all know the material. And ever the gents, they mixed it up on Saturday as there were so many repeater audience members.

Beyond that neither show was so structured that on both nites, Chris Watling's accordion couldn't all of a sudden appear, for the first time ever (to my knowledge) on the LTH stage. F-I-N-A-L-L-Y! Man, I have been waiting for a loooooooong time for the accordion to get on the LTH stage. I hope it keeps up.

There's all kind of accordion potential for Eric's songs and arranging. So often in the arranging you've got a sad depressing melodramatic lyric paired with a driving rock & roll rhythm (List of Sorrows, Walls of Time, It Doesn't Matter) or a song you thought was happy go lucky lovey dovey (Angelina or So Long Baby Goodbye), played to pensive, haunting, dirge melody. Perhaps, it's the penchant for this emotional flip-flop that makes me think accordion. You people may disagree, but I think it's a very emotional instrument. It breathes and it's breathy sound can be excited, steamy, exasperated or lonely sounding like no other. This was really one of the super musical highlights for me at both shows. It's a like a scientific theorem, accordion inertia.

On Saturday, though the Makers flowed and there was some flailing, there were two major mentionable moments. One when Alan Brace sang Bob Dylan's "Song for Woody" and really nailed it vocally. Clear, clear, crystal clear. I could hear every syllable of every word (and every word spoken was felt, might I add). Second, three words: "Walls of Time". I love this song and I have for a long time. I love Last Train Home's arrangement, I recognized it the first second I heard it, though the band says Mr. Monroe may be spinning in his grave and the press has agreed it's rockin makes it unrecognizable from the original, I say "pshaw." Well there's always a little sax and trumpet repartee goin' on in the horn section between Chris and Kevin on this song. Well, towards the end of the song on Saturday, holly schmolly, I do not know what got into the two of them, but mother mary it sounded good. I wish I knew more about both their influences right now. They both know soooooooo much music and they rip from everyone in sooooo many genres. The best I can do for you at the moment is describe it in non-music terms. It was as if I was transported to a strange time and place where beatnik horn players duel. The horns played over and through the din of guitars, those string things were demoted to wallflowers and after two plus hours of standing in a crush of like 100 people, I felt like I was living in a Thomas Pynchon novel all of a sudden. Everything else would seem anti-climactic from then on.

And naturally, the most appropriate of anti-climax would occur. The fan known as TEX would redeemed himself in my eyes, with a crazy freestyle lyric to the tune of 'Take This Job & Shove It' during the encore which ended up being a little trib to Johnny Paycheck. It would seem the LTH 'guitar platoon' can unendingly fudge any music written in the past twenty years for their fans if they ask loud enough. Then in a category all it's own, a 'Big Fish' o-gram closed the night. If only you could buy a bottle a Maker's anywhere by whipping out this cheery ditty, the world would be a better place.

Hey there, before I drop words on the "Time and Water" CD release show, I admit, I really did enjoy the opener, Kathleen Edwards, even after all the hype. This is a BIG admission because she's not from here, she's Canadian and that usually keeps you off groupiegirldc. Now understand, I listen to tons of music from everywhere and I go to live shows for major and minor players from all over. However, I don't think the world needs another person on the internet talking about Wilco, Radio Head or Dave Matthews. I'm interested in what people are doing around me and I am recording ideas and impressions about a small slice of it, the part that I revisit over and over and over.

Back to business, I mention Ms. Edwards, because, after talking with Jenn, we're in agreement that there is an unmistakable Straub-ness in many of her lyrics: pain portrayed in pictorial poetry, like One More Song the Radio Won't Like. Beyond that, even the rhythm and melody in some songs smacked of Karl, so there is a local bone in it for me. I'm not saying there's any influence, because I do not know, but there is a confluence. You know, I am also struck by how much Edwards looks like Danielle Howle and even acts/sounds like her a bit, in a general way. Truthfully, in the long run I will probably prefer Ms. Howle. I should listen to my own advise and get out and see her shows.

Stay tuned, hopefully it will not take to long to get to "Time and Water" (upon looking at my past posts, why it seems I have never posted anything about Americana Motel 2, dang, what have I been doing?)

ewh, yay, everything I wanted, plus extra, And you can get it on Sams Record's already. Go Kevin. And check it out, a new look for LTH's website, thanks for not moving anything 'cept the tonality. woohoo.

Oh well, so the boys of The Grandsons and Bicycle Thieves didn't walk away with any WAMMIES, I don't think. Last Train Home/Eric Brace, and Bill Kirchen walked away with some. Dave Chappell walked away with rock instrumentalist. Of all things, The Rhodes Tavern Troubadours get best rock group. OK, wah-hoo. Seems that Hungry For Music was suitably honored too. Good for them, I like them.

Now unfortunately, February is half over. I'm still hurting in the financial department, and I have not really considered 'picking' a club or band for February.

Honestly, the only no-miss show I have on my roster is LTH's CD release for "Time and Water" next week. This should not be taken as a slight to anyone else, as mentioned I am pressed for time and money recently. So The State Theater is going to stay up at bat for hosting the WAMMIES and LTH is going to get it, with the caveat that Eric promised that their version of Bill Monroe's "Walls of Time" would be on it, even though that was a promise from back in the Summer. For the first time in a long time I am anxious to hear what the mix turned out like. It would be great if "Lorelei" made it on too, but somehow I think not. The CD release is supposed to be a crush; if you can believe it will be more of a mad house than usual, do. Just 10 more days...

Hey there, anyone have suggestions for band and club of the month for February? I am torn.

Wow, a band I don't talk about much, but is perfectly great, is The Bicycle Thieves. Being much more up-to-the minute than most of the heavy retro-influenced music I go see, The Thieves are hard rock without a lot psychedellia. Well, those guys have 6 Wammie noms in the rock category, yay!

Also the Washingtonian Magazine's cover story for Feb. '03 is area music. There are little pictures of area greats popping out of big alphabet letters that spell "Great Music", the likes of Duke Ellington, none other than Mr. Bill Kirchen, five other artists, but no hardcore rock or punk pics on the cover. I have not read the thing yet, I've barely even looked at the cover, but this should be interesting.

I honestly did not think I would make it to this show, I've been broke and busy. But after a weird week, I am glad I found someone to take me out to the Birchmere to see the Skylighters. I will tell you who the Skylighters are when I get a chance to edit this in the morning. Right now I am taking advantage of an early night to write some of my impressions now.

So a major fact finding mission for attending this show was to get 'visuals' on Starling and Auldridge. I've listened carefully to certain Seldom Scene recordings, but I have never heard them live. I encountered Starling, Auldridge and Gaudreau doing My Sally at the Americana Motel Show, but it was not mad clear to me who was who. Jimmy came back for Americana Motel 2, so I had my visual on him. As for the other two though, I've gone around the past year mistaking other people for them and thinking I was spotting them across crowded rooms like I was sighting aliens. I can be just a little impressionable at times.

Anyway, what a cool idea--the Skylighters. If you have read along with from the start of this chronicle, you may notice my affinity for music happening in DC now that continues to be influenced by none other than Starling, Auldridge and Gaudreau, both as they are and as they were. It really is magical bluegrass, especially the high pickin'. Auldridge spent a lot of time at the pedal steel, which I hear almost never happens at his shows. While you get less singing from Auldridge at the pedal, which is a shame, man his steel playing is so light and airy it's almost like singing. And even after listening to Seldom Scene recordings, I had no idea how mournful a dobro could be. The quintet, sans Starling, did Louvin Brothers, Stanley Brothers, Jimmy & Jesse, a Jim Croce country song whose name I can't remember, and Brace's song that seems to be going by either "Hurry Back To Harlan" or "See What Love Can Do" (I suppose it will get more standardized when Time & Water comes out.)

They did Bonaparte's Retreat which is a song I need to look up. Jimmy said on Bonaparte's Retreat that he "would Kill" on mandolin, and he certainly did, as did the dobro work, and I have to admit Martin Lynds on drums. It was kind of ballsy having a drummer get out there with 'a bluegrass band' but man, on this song he really kicked ass, no two ways about it. I don't know how I would justify this, but the drumming was somehow reminiscent of a tattoo, without being one at all. It was like the vogue in military television documentaries right now where they get really close to one historic uniform then they shake the camera a lot and put the narration over it so it is reminiscent of the battle being described, without having to reenact it. Fairly effective. Well somehow Marty did that, it was spare, and subtle, yet I got really drawn into it, I am making more out of this probably than what most people heard, but hey, this is MY chronicle, so live with it.

Starling came out a little more than half way through the set and this guy is a force to be reckoned with. he too is in the 6'4"+ category of lead signers, and he's got this Virginia drawl that he so plies on the audience with anecdotes between songs. Starling sang his own Carolina Star, while additionally needling Eric Brace throughout the song, particularly rolling his eyes skywards then towards Brace as he sings "he's gonna be a country music star." Yet why not? things happen on all kinds of scales, right? I can really appreciate what Eric would say later about the honor of playing in this combo, coming full circle, playing with your heroes and inspiration, while all the time remembering what it was 'like to be a kid and want to get up on stage with The Scene".

Anyway, I would have been completely satisfied by this show if it ended here, but they would go on to do two encores one of Starlings "Those Memories of You" which is on the order of a bob Dylan song lyrically--truly amazing and then again amazingly enriched by the way Auldridge makes the Dobro moan (in the good way-wink) The 'second' encore included "Keep Out the Lord's Burning Rain" (that probably has another title I need to look up) a sad, sad, song I wish more bands in the present redid, like Patsy Cline favorites or this night's closer song, "Walls of Time," the speeded up Last Train Home version of Bill Monroe's best loved ballad.

Let me end with, I wish I could have been a fly on wall when Starling let loose with what he had to say about that number.

So, I realized that when I posted about Nitrate Hymnal yesterday, I never really talked much about the music. Kind of a dumb thing to overlook for a supposed music chronicle. Granted, along with all the stuff you get in addition to music at an opera, like a narrative, a set, blocking, and acting, in this case there was film too.

With what little, esoteric information I know about opera, I thought Hymnal's score did function remarkably well. There seemed to be themes for each character. Once of the most interesting things I eventually noticed was that when the action returned to the nursing home there was instrumentation like the pinging of heart monitors and a hissing of assisted breathing.

I was struck how much this was like the Czech composer Janacek's obsession with simulating the songs and calls of birds and other animals at least one his operas, The Cunning Little Vixen. Hymnal's overall composition was complex enough that I would want to hear it again by itself and emotional enough that at the narrative point at the end where my eyes flooded with tears, I am sure it was as much the music as the libretto that knocked me emotions off kilter.

But again, I am tempted to talk about the overwhelming reaction from people who called this production amazing. It was a classic opera in many ways; and it's many other derivations were also worn on it's sleeve. After some more thought, I still think Hymnal's most truly amazing quality was in it's libretto and narrative of self discovery. I am going to go out on a limb and commit to this statement. I think very unconsciously, Nitrate Hymnal is the a modern equivalent of the Mozart's Magic Flute. Like Flute was born of late Enlightenment Masonic values and rituals, Hymnal is produced by the local pantheon of old school Punk musicians. But Hymnal doesn't talk make it's point by simply explaining the rituals of Punk. Flute obscures the Masons, without obscuring their goals for society by making the characters be animals and the setting be the forests and so called 'magic' being the motivator. Hymnal likewise makes the setting the modern equivalent of a scary forest, the hospital/nursing home and motivates the action of the narrative by invoking the 'magician' of this century, film. Hymnal's film student narrator who is so sure he has the answers already at the start, learns otherwise by the end is is able to truly start on path of self-discovery.

Whoa, did I just say that the Punk goal for society is pretty much like the Masons? Well, take it or leave it.

Hey there, FYI, I just got my Grandsons mail and they are nominated for 4 Wammies, wow. Way to go. We'll find out how it all shakes down on like Feb. 9, I think, at The State Theater, if you are inclined to attend.

So, right now, I am not going to talk about bands, rather I will speak of another music anomaly like the show that went with the film about Go-Go music, "The Pocket". I saw on Thursday, 1/23, what is being run thru the papers as a post-punk opera (not necessarily what the producers are calling it) called Nitrate Hymnal. So apparently DC is ready for the $20 opera, the pay what you can nite was packed and a 3 day run at a large theater seems to have sold out. So what is going on here?

I've had a couple interesting discussions with people who saw it this past weekend. For something that was trying pretty much to be a straight forward opera, I have to open every time I start talking about it by admitting that I came pretty close to bawling at the end-even with being a frustrated audience member questioning the casting of 3 'musical theater voices' with one flat-out opera diva, and technical issues like sound drop-outs (coming from tech people in the music business), still, to make an audience member cry in a semi-social setting like live theater is no small matter. The libretto is very honest and direct in a stream of consciousness kind of way, like the 3 minute punk song-so I can see how the media glommed onto the 'post-punk opera' catch phrase. And while the narrative reeks of sap, a grandson witnessing his grandmother's death in a nursing home while he recounts her life to us. For sappy, man almighty, it was sincere in it's sappiness. I agreed with every crazy thing the narrator said about his grandma being superhuman, I feel exactly the same way about my gramms-that's nice to see, it felt honest-no compunction about being emotions. Yet somehow this sappy sincerity was artfully given an intellectual grounding, where thru the narrator you are meant to realize the limited time and materials we have as human beings to make our piece with ourselves as individuals; blink and your life is gone.

The performances are done, as in over and finito, (it only ran Thursday to Sunday) for the time being. As I was talking to another music type at a party on Saturday, we hope it is a work in progress. It seems that there is still work to be done to completely realize this project. I hope the immense crew that they have assembled can go thru with it and work out the kinks. Also, I really wonder what all those people in the audience thought, all that recitative trash talking going on and all, I mean do that many people want to start going to operas? Apparently I like opera as much as the next person, boy that was a surprise. Or was the DC punk community just there to 'represent'? Is the corner turning in DC to new and even weirder things. That's fine with me. There is power in weird, as long as it is an honest and sincere weird.

So, I am proud to say that I made it to Bill Kirchen & Too Much Fun with Mark Wenner and Ratso at IOTA. This was kind of a water shed moment for me to hear Bill Kirchen LIVE. I may have mentioned it earlier, but there was a point when I hung out A LOT with a group of guys 10-20 years my senior that grew up here. Therefore, they learned to play guitar because of Hendrix, learned their history lessons because of the Seldom Scene, and wanted to be rock stars because of Commander Cody and teh Lost Planet Airmen, and therego, ergo Bill Kirchen. So none of these guys I know grew up to be rock stars but they know their way around a lick or two and consequently hearing "California Cotton Fields" got me kind of teary eyed for the good ole days-that I experienced second hand thru devoted fans and pick up jams. But thats the beauty of it, music is an oral history that carries real well. Likewise, I was touched when Wenner sang "Walkin' After Midnight". So no one could do it better than Patsy, but that doesn't mean people shouldn't play it, it's the song that's great. She made that song SO LOVABLE that to sing it is a devotional act-I sing it all the time when walking home, it sounds great, 'cause for me devotion to music goes a long way, often quite a lot further than technical acuracy or hipness.

I was mightly surprised by the jazzy "Swing Fever"-is it just that I am now noticing all this jazziness? or is it a drummer conspiracy? It's OK with me. By the way, Jack O' Dell is a fine fine drummer with a great voice that he lets out from behind the kit and always chooses to sing balads with great character. Likewise with Johnny Castle, bassist, character extrordinaire in singin' and playin'. There's a decent amount out there on these guys, they were Grammy nominated for Best Country Instrumental in 2001 and they play around DC often.

I am going to try something new here, running links with all the local shows I can find links for in the left hand column of this page, instead of using the yahooey calendar. Tell me what you think.

OK there, so if you were not familiar with The Graverobbers then you probably don't know about the The Impromtadudes or the Karl Straub Combo, therefore you need to find out about Mr. Straub. Right now this is about the only place I know to send you right now for any information on Karl Straub, a fantastic local songwriter. His lyrics strike me as different from any I have heard before, yet the music surrounding them can be comforting and exciting at the same time. Seeing the combo go on at The State Theater before The Grandsons yesterday was great. I've been watching this new combo have mild growing pains in the past few months. As a listener the Combo came to fruition for me in some beautiful free form jazzesque accompaniment that occurred at this show. False starts and strange endings unconsidered, I am pleased as punch to hear Kevin Cordt on Trumpet, Chris Watling on Sax and the Straub Combo's drummer (whose name is Matt Tebo) who all have jazz leanings be able to let loose in this project. I for one think it matches beautifully with the painterly poetic lyrics of Karl's. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I don't know what happened? I did not get my hoppin' john on New Year's day, but I did have a great New Year's Eve. I suppose I will have to make things happen with my regular kind of luck. That's OK. it's served me thus far. I generally loath New Year's resolutions. But I do think that January one is as good a time as any to take heed of the past year and think about what made you happy and respect those individuals that mean something to you.

So here it goes, I am real lucky that Jenn, the ultimate groupie girl, who has been with "ggdc" from the start will start writing, hopefully later in the winter. I'm also really glad so many of our other friends have taken up the banner of MUSIC ENTHUSIASTS, listened to their own good sense and have started coming out to see LIVE MUSIC with amazing frequency. And they drive us places, can't thank ya'll enough for that.

I need to thank Dan who suggested this page in the first place and was the person that explained that when a musician is on stage at a small club, like many of the one's I frequent, they really can SEE ALL most of the time. They see who's listening, who's singing along, who "gets" what the band is playing, and so on. They see very clearly when someone connects with the music and they often can tell when you start going to their shows with regularity. Arblemarble bestowed my groupie status on me, and I have not looked back.

Now to all the individuals-musicians, club owners, bouncers, bartenders, and musicians-significant-others, thank you for sharing and for being wonderful human beings. I would not seem that likely that girls and boys with hearts of gold could grow up to be rock and roll musicians and own bars, but so many of the boys and girls I speak of in the dc area are priceless treasures. Whew, so sappy I am sticking to myself.

To digress and say a bit about the New Year's Eve line up at Iota for instance, the show completely kicked ass. Little Pink opened it up. Battiata and the rest of the band are beginning to command the rock and roll stage and it's great. What was always interesting writing on Battiata's part has really, really blossomed in the song 12 Birds. (So by the way thank Mr. Nelson for Adult Swim and for putting out a 4 song LP-CD with this song on it. If you have read this far, may I suggest you buy it?). New Year's Eve also played host to the Lee Wilhoit Experience. Lee while weaving and jumping and occasionally flailing in performance, always seems to be 100% present in the lyrics. He steps in with other bands a lot and he never 'phones it in'. His own lyrical material seems to follow suit , it's moody and mayhem in tandem. Then, even though it was a school night, and Bill Williams and Alan Brace were not there, Last Train Home, did justice to this gig, together, they just know Soooooooo many songs. They stepped up with all the energy that make's LTH shows so truly amazing.

Lastly, I am also thankful for bands with fun websites and e-mail lists. At the risk of slighting bands without these things, linking to lilks.com off of Last Train Homes cool links page has saved my 9-5 sanity more than once this past year. And kudos to Karl Straub, who without a doubt, has the best web presence without even having a major web page. The beauty is in his e-mail list, without a doubt the most amusing and informative e-mail I get from a band . This is perfect because to get on this list you GO SEE KARL play! You have a chance soon, this Saturday (1/3) he will be at the State Theatre along with Scott McKnight and The Grandsons.

Happy New Year!