Great night, lightly attended by excellent people. We did a second round, so here I am performing 6 songs. For the second set, I indulged myself by singing a vulgar song that–as my pal and would-be manager, Geoff, observed–has the structure of a children’s song. Hopefully children will not sing it.*
* Incidentally, the aforementioned vulgar tune was inspired by a recent visit to Gettysburg, which is documented at:
I finally got a chance to perform the songs I had planned for Independence Day. This set features a few never-before-performed originals: Penniless Adventure, Freedom Is In, American Dream; and, I couldn’t resist putting a bow on things with Chinese Buffet. I’ve realized I enjoy performing on guitar more than piano, but I’ll definitely dive back into pounding the 88s from time to time, especially if I can back a blues act.
The peculiarity and variety of peoples’ perspective on America interests me. This song represents one of a few different snapshots of my own impressions, originally penned in the 1990s. It plays with the idea of what one does with the responsibility of carrying a message about your nation. I delicately tweaked two lyrical lines to more closely resemble my current thoughts. I recorded this song several times until arriving back to the basics of folk rock instrumentation (including the two chords I know on the mandolin!). There is a Phil Lesh-inspired emphasis on bass guitar celebrating the awesome Ampeg rig I recently acquired.
After attending a Phillies game, I found myself muscling through these songs. Nevertheless, I debuted the piano version of Redneck Vacation; delivered my best vocal performance of Fred Jones Pt. 2; and finished with Robots and Cloth Mother. I’m going to celebrate July 4 on guitar.
Playing the real piano gets my heart racing, so the Thirsty Soul’s acquisition of one is a fantastic event I have been celebrating for the past few weeks. This is my first performance on it. Featuring Fred Jones Part 2 (Ben Folds), This Heart of Mine, and Humiliation Compost Heap (the boogie woogie).
