|
Hillbilly Haiku Events Calendar: |
|
September 6: Otis Gibbs
October 11: Linda McRae
November 15: Jay C |
~WRITERS' CORNER~
From Tom Russell's
Road Blog:
"Writing these short pieces feels like being a newspaper columnist. Hell, that's ok.
Let me tell you a little story about my favorite newspaper column, back when times where interesting and gas was thirty cents a gallon.
In 1967 or so I was dating a nurse named Penny who had an apartment near Macarthur Park in L.A. That's the place Jimmy Webb sang about: "someone left a cake out in the rain." Oh really, Jimmy? Someone left a lot of winos and junkies out in the rain too. They were lying there smoldering in the Los Angeles heat; below the windows of those old worn out apartment hotels. This was no country for young men or civilized women. I used to sit in the park all day and talk to the Indians and pigeons. Waiting for something. Waiting for Penny to come home with the grub, maybe. One day here comes a man with a bunch of newspapers under his arm and he hands me one. It's "Open City," and it contains a column called: "Notes of a Dirty Old Man," by one "Charles Bukowski." Now I doubt if there's ever been a column such as this - now or ever. This gent Bukowski wrote about working for the Post Office and drinking and trying to date women; every rank American male frustration in the book. The read was highly entertaining. Consider: Jonathan Swift meets Mark Twain and Henry Miller at Raymond Chandler's house; with a savage dose of Celine and Nathaniel West. It was drunken rant; like he was putting words in the mouth of a million American blue collar workers. A touch misogynistic. But, oh the humor! I saved all the columns in a box in my garage. Later Bukowski's publisher, through a long grapevine, found out I had the columns and Bukowski had burned all of his. Could Bukowski borrow my stash? Of course. And that started a correspondence with Buk that lasted thirty years or so.
You can find all of that in a book titled "Tough Company" on Black Shark-Mystery Island Press. Well…I don’t know what the hell I'd think of Bukowski now. Never read him anymore. He told me once that: "Hemingway is better when you're young." Well old Buk's stuff was probably better when you're young too. But, hell, I wish somebody wrote columns like that now or had something passionate to say on the news or in a magazine. Political correctness has choked us down and hobbled our guts and forced Spaulding Gray to jump into the East River. He left a note to that effect. But Buk wrote one classic L.A. poem….
"Crucifix in a Death Hand."
"Yes, they begin out in the willows, I think.
The starch mountains begin out in the willows.
And keep right on going, without regard
For pumas or nectarines."
Somehow, he nailed it. I leave you with that." ~TR
In Our Next Newsletter:
Mike Farris
Darrell Scott
Bob Sima
James Talley
Euless Girl
Larry Jon Wilson
| |
Here it is, our first official newsletter!
To view this email as a webpage click here: H3C Home Brew
Everyone on our mailing list is receiving this first one. If you find it's not for you, just hit that 'Manage Your Subscription' link at the bottom. You may unsubscribe from our newsletter and still receive our event announcements. On the other hand, if you think it's worth sharing, please use that "Forward to a Friend" link also found at the bottom. Fair? Thanks!
Hillbilly Haiku Alumni Meeting
Canadian songwriter/singer Doug Lang made a return visit to headline at Hillbilly Haiku in July. Previous Haiku headliners dropping by for the show included James Talley (Sometimes I Think About Suzanne), Krista Detor (Steal Me A Car), and Steve Young (Seven Bridges Road). We managed to keep Krista's visit a surprise for Doug and she graciously offered an opening set.
Speaking of Steve, he has a new CD, Long Time Rider, available through Village Records. It was recorded in the 80's but never widely available until now. Tom Russell had this to say about Long Time Rider: "This sound ranks with Leonard Cohen and Van Morrison: ethereal, deep hearted folk. Heavenly. Amen."
For those who have been asking, yes, we are working on having Steve Young and his son Jubal Lee return to Hillbilly Haiku in January.
Impromptu Picking Party
The week before Doug's concert Ben Bedford and Linda McRae stopped by the Haiku house for a friendly song swap and jam-session. Doug cooked up a mighty fine Chicken Curry and then sang for his dessert.
Doug honored Ben by learning and performing his song Harley Albright, and now Ben has added Doug's 61 North to his recent shows. We can't wait to hear Ben's cover! Look for Ben to return to the Haiku stage in the new year to showcase his new CD.
Work is nearing completion on Ben's second studio album. It is being mixed as we speak. He is seeking private sponsorship, in a most creative way, to help defray the expense. If you go to his website, you will see what I mean. 10 percent of all donations made through November 1 will be presented to the family of Evan Hoffman. Evan is an eleven year old boy in Springfield where Ben lives, who has an inoperable brain tumor. In a very small way, hopefully the money will allow his parents to spend a bit more time with him in his final months. $500 is the minimum that will be donated, as Ben has an anonymous patron who has guaranteed to make up the difference in the 10 percent if this effort raises less than $5000. http://www.benbedford.com
Linda is just recently back from a tour through the Northeast and into Canada including dates in Washington, Oregon and a festival in British Columbia. Join us for birthday cake when Linda plays our stage in October to celebrate my turning "too old to die young." www.myspace.com/lindamcrae
A Life In Stone
Don't you enjoy hearing where songwriters get their song inspirations? Our August artist, Nathan Bell shared about his new song co-written with Angaleena Presley and inspired by the photo of the tombstone seen to the right. His sister Jae took the photo of the tombstone while walking a little wooded trail amongst recently-built housing developments in South Carolina. "Angaleena and I don't so much write songs as discover them and when I told her about this line on the tombstone it was on the way to playing her a couple of phrases that started out "She did all she could, and it was pretty good." Without missing a beat, Angaleena says, "what if she did all she could but she was still not a very good mother?" We had just been talking about dealing with the lost parts of our lives and the song "She Did All She Could" made itself known in about 15 minutes. I can't speak for Angaleena, but for me when we write together it feels like we create something that is more than just the sum of the two of us and not a compromise where the most individual parts are sanded down or smoothed away. I'm particularly fond of this song because I could never have written it on my own. It really is the work of two writers paying attention to what the universe was offering on that particular day. And, of course, there's no song without the picture so the music really started with Jae noticing that simple stone."
H3C Wish List Artists
Ray Bonneville released his new "Goin' By Feel" CD in January on the Red House Records label, based in St Paul, Minnesota. It was recorded in Montreal and Austin, Texas, and is co-produced by Gurf Morlix, a recent headliner at our stage. This release includes the song "I am the Big Easy" a song in which the city of New Orleans is speaking to the world. I heard Ray at the Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis last February and have been hoping to bring him to H3C ever since. Early 2009 looks promising, stay tuned! www.myspace.com/raybonneville
We recently saw Diana Jones in an in-the-round at Douglas Corner. We love her music and we've seen her open for Mary Gauthier, but in an intimate setting her music was even more powerful. I am talking with Diana's booking agent and trying to find a good date to bring her magic to our living room in the Spring. www.myspace.com/dianajones
Peter Cooper's Mission Door CD is definitely on our Best of 2008 list. You can catch Peter Cooper at the Frist Center in Nashville on August 29th along with Last Train Home and Fayssoux McLean. Also on Sept. 20 he'll be at the Station Inn. In September the journalist/songwriter/singer will be appearing in Maryland, Virgina and Iowa. http://www.myspace.com/petercoopermusic
2008 SERFA Conference dates set - Volunteer Opportunities!
The Southeast Regional Folk Alliance will host it's first conference in October.
WHEN: Friday, October 17 through Sunday, October 19
WHERE: Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN
Our conference hotel is the Doubletree Mufreesboro.
HOW: Register SOON! Early bird discount end September 1. Visit our registration page http://www.serfa.org/confreg/
HELP: We need volunteers and sponsors. Please visit our sponsor page http://www.serfa.org/sponsors/
H3C Fan's Corner - Meet Some of the Haiku Tribe Of Hearts
Kansas based luthier-savant, Harley Davidson man, and H3C SuperFan Scot "Spartacus" Hamlin, whose guitars were played on our stage this month by Nathan Bell, received an honorable mention for a story he submitted to Long Way Down. Long Way Down, which airs on the FOX Reality Channel, recounts the long distance motorbike adventures of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. Way to go Scot, we knew you were a storyteller! It was great to have him join us at H3C this month and add his fun to the festivities. Scot's wife Debi plans on joining us for Jay Clark in November and bringing her brother to experience our house concert magic.
http://www.myspace.com/hamlinguitars
http://www.foxreality.com/
longwaydown/storywinner1.php
<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>*<>
***All H3C Newsletters are inspired by, created with, & dedicated to the loving guidance & endless support of Dorothy "Euless Girl" Hamm. Thank you, EG!!*** |
 |
Hillbilly Haiku Alumni
James Talley, Krista Detor, Doug Lang, Steve Young
|
 |
Impromptu Picking Party 
Ben Bedford, Doug Lang, Linda McRae
|
|
|
"She hath done
what she could"
 photo by Jae Peterson |
|
|
Goin' By Feel
Ray Bonneville |
|
|
My Remembrance Of You
Diana Jones |
|
Mission Door 
Perer Cooper
"Spartacus"
Scot Hamlin, H3C SuperFan
Townes Van Zandt standin' at the bar
Skinnin' a Hollywood movie star
Can't remember where he parked his car
Or to whom he lost the keys
Full of angst and hillbilly haiku
What's a poor Ft. Worth boy to do
Go on rhyme somethin' for em' man
Show him how you really feel
~from 'Cold Dog Soup' by
Guy Clark & Mark D. Sanders
If you have ideas, suggestions, feedback, items or artists you'd like to see in our newsletter, drop me a line at hillbillyhaiku@gmail.com.
| |
