I remember one time in high school when I was inviting a girl to Young Life with the goal of helping her to know Jesus. Without smiling at all she said, "David Bowie is my god." I could tell she meant it. I did not know what to say and she never did come to Young Life although we remained friends.
Flash forward 19 years. David Bowie is probably not going to rise to deity in my personal pantheon, but only because I reserve that distinction for my main god, God. "Life On Mars?" is my current favorite song by someone other than me. (My current favorite song by me is called "When, If Ever" and will be available before terribly long if I can get my computer to stop skipping like a 45 long enough to mix it. Yes, that is what happened last time I opened the session.) Anyway, how did I not get more music by this man called Bowie until now?
The point being that in 1997 I wrote a song called "Andy Warhol" with no idea David Bowie had written a song by that title in 1971. In the early '00s Jubilant Dogs were getting together for a practice/adding new songs session. We e-circulated our lists of songs people wanted to add. I was thrilled to see that someone wanted to add the song "Andy Warhol" and eagerly typed up chord sheets and a lyric sheet (such as it is – the lyrics merely consist of the title repeated several times, interspersed with "ooooh"s) for the singers. I didn't know how they'd heard my song, since I hadn't played it for anyone in the band yet. I was unhappy to find that they had actually never heard of my song. My excitement dashed, I was subsequently disinclined to play the complex sounding David Bowie song I'd never heard before.
Flash forward six or seven years. Today I was listening to Bowie's album Hunky Dory for the fourth or fifth time this week. His song called "Andy Warhol" came on and I thought to myself, "This would have been great for Jubilant Dogs." My bad.
Mickey Mouse has grown up a cow.
Showing posts with label jubilant dogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jubilant dogs. Show all posts
Monday, May 04, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Ten Bands You Have All Their Albums Of
This was an interesting one to me and I could spend untold hours documenting in detail exactly which albums I have and why the ones I don't have don't count (This means you, Yellow Submarine (original version), which actually now that I think about it I bought on LP in high school) but here is the short version of what could have become a compulsive time suck. Minimum is three albums (Sorry Jubilant Dogs fans except for Stu who has a live disc and a rarities collection).
10. The Velvet Underground
9. Kaptain Karl
8. Scot Ninnemann
7. Great Uncle Helmer
6. Evan Johnson (Yes, there are three - if you do not have the five disc "The Evan Johnson Anthology" you are missing out.)
5. Simon & Garfunkel/Paul Simon (unless you count "The Paul Simon Songbook", longtime inhabitant of my amazon wish list, but not something I actually strongly desire or need)
4. Billy Joel
3. Kirsty MacColl
2. Bob Dylan
1. The Beatles
Anyone else? What's interesting is that I think there are exactly ten bands I have all their albums of.
10. The Velvet Underground
9. Kaptain Karl
8. Scot Ninnemann
7. Great Uncle Helmer
6. Evan Johnson (Yes, there are three - if you do not have the five disc "The Evan Johnson Anthology" you are missing out.)
5. Simon & Garfunkel/Paul Simon (unless you count "The Paul Simon Songbook", longtime inhabitant of my amazon wish list, but not something I actually strongly desire or need)
4. Billy Joel
3. Kirsty MacColl
2. Bob Dylan
1. The Beatles
Anyone else? What's interesting is that I think there are exactly ten bands I have all their albums of.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
A Great Band Played
On Saturday July 26 I went to go see a band called Stella For Star at Eden Prarie Dunn Bros. in (or actually just outside on the porch of) the historic Smith-More House on Eden Prarie Road. This band features two key members of my old band Jubilant Dogs, Sally McGraw and Andy Honigman. I've been listening to the songs on their myspace page and thought they were really great. I was very pleased to find their live show is equally great.
The band was missing the drummer and percussionist/backup vocalist, who are married and tending to their brand new baby. Luke (we're gonna have company!) Taylor was playing acoustic guitar and sang lead vocals on the two or three songs he wrote. That his lead vocals were a little low (what I think of as the Jody Stephens effect) was my only problem with the sound of the show. His songs were catchy and unpredictable. A. Hon was playing bass and was his usual solid self.
Sally has written another big group of catchy, meaningful, literate songs and her voice is as strong and clear as ever. Even if the rest of the show hadn't proved it, the encore of Patti Griffin's "Every Little Bit" certainly did. The electric guitar player, Toni Karlsson, was extremely tasteful and laid back. A more egotistical electric guitar player at a coffeeshop (or anywhere really) could have easily destroyed the delicate sonic balance of the show, but Karlsson added shimmer, polish, and countermelodies, contributing to the songs perfectly.
I was surprised to hear only one J. Dogs song, "The Game Is Up". I wish two things for this group; One, that they maybe throw some of those great old J. Dogs songs in there at the next show because, hey, they are essential Sally McGraw songs. Two, that they make a CD as great or better than the two created by Jubilant Dogs. God bless. See you at the next show (or maybe the one after that what with the kids and my own bands and all.)
Links:
Stella For Star
Jubilant Dogs
Eden Prarie Dunn Bros.
(Jody Stephens is the drummer for Big Star and generally sings lead on two or three songs over the course of their show. On all their live albums the first few lines of his lead vocals are low because his microphone is still set at a volume appropriate for his backing vocals on all the other songs.)
The band was missing the drummer and percussionist/backup vocalist, who are married and tending to their brand new baby. Luke (we're gonna have company!) Taylor was playing acoustic guitar and sang lead vocals on the two or three songs he wrote. That his lead vocals were a little low (what I think of as the Jody Stephens effect) was my only problem with the sound of the show. His songs were catchy and unpredictable. A. Hon was playing bass and was his usual solid self.
Sally has written another big group of catchy, meaningful, literate songs and her voice is as strong and clear as ever. Even if the rest of the show hadn't proved it, the encore of Patti Griffin's "Every Little Bit" certainly did. The electric guitar player, Toni Karlsson, was extremely tasteful and laid back. A more egotistical electric guitar player at a coffeeshop (or anywhere really) could have easily destroyed the delicate sonic balance of the show, but Karlsson added shimmer, polish, and countermelodies, contributing to the songs perfectly.
I was surprised to hear only one J. Dogs song, "The Game Is Up". I wish two things for this group; One, that they maybe throw some of those great old J. Dogs songs in there at the next show because, hey, they are essential Sally McGraw songs. Two, that they make a CD as great or better than the two created by Jubilant Dogs. God bless. See you at the next show (or maybe the one after that what with the kids and my own bands and all.)
Links:
Stella For Star
Jubilant Dogs
Eden Prarie Dunn Bros.
(Jody Stephens is the drummer for Big Star and generally sings lead on two or three songs over the course of their show. On all their live albums the first few lines of his lead vocals are low because his microphone is still set at a volume appropriate for his backing vocals on all the other songs.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
