"a heart needs a home"

i stumbled across this on "you tube" today. a truly incredible, inspired performance of a beautiful song.

richard and linda thompson - "a heart needs a home"


originally released on the album hokey pokey, released 1975

the saddest songs are the happiest,

the hardest truths are the easiest, put yourself to the test...


the title and opening line are from an "over the rhine" song ("what i remember most"), but ryan adams sure seems to subscribe to it. i'm not sure what it is about a heartbreakingly sad song, if it's the simple beauty, the honesty, the raw emotion, the guts to just say what & how you feel for the whole world to hear, i have no clue what it is but the great ones do it well. dylan, waits, townes and my favorites, over the rhine and cowboy junkies & ryan adams, they take you some place special with their words and music. there is something in their words, their phrasing, their music. it moves you in a strange way, to a strange place, not to sadness, it's more of a comfort, a peace, they "relate." or to quote OtR once again, it gives you a sense of "yeah, we're gonna be alright." when done properly, there's not much better, ryan adams does it properly. from his first solo effort, the brilliant "heartbreaker" to his lastest "easy tiger" and many times in between, he has mastered it.

at his best, he is one of the top two or three people making music right now, at his worst he is troubled, confused and fucked up. but regardless, whatever he is, you get the sense, for better or worse, that there is an honesty in his music and he's just throwing it all out there, almost like he can't hold it in any longer. you can take it or leave it, he's just tellin' you how it is. i thought this record was pretty damn good at first listen, and it gets better and better every play. this one's gonna stick with me for a while.

callie and zach came over after work, we grilled hamburgers and corn, had "daddy fries"(tm) and a happy birthday cookie to celebrate zach's birthday (last monday). he reached in the 'fridge and grapped a BBC american pale ale to have w/his burger. weird. callie is taking him out with her friends tonight to celebrate. i think he gonna have a helluva headache tomorrow morning.

they left and lilly and i took a long walk and gave "easy tiger" yet another listen.

"Tears of gold, tears of gold promise the rapture and heal the soul
Replacing tears of gold with music and laughter
Tears of gold, tears of gold"
~Tears of Gold | Ryan Adams | Easy Tiger

forever young & getting old(er)

saturday, i was babystitting for braedon (my 9 month old great-nephew), we were swinging on the porch & playing the game "how big is braedon?" i would say "how big is braedon?" he would then do his part of the game and throw his arms up in the air (like a touchdown) and i would say "so big." then he would smile and laugh really big, then stare at me and wait for me to do it again. and again. and again. it just doesn't seem like it was that long ago that i was sitting there with zach on my lap, playing the same game. man, how time flies...zach turned 21 today.

i guess as a parent, all you can hope for is that you get them here, to this point in life, to "adulthood" with the common sense, the good judgement, the confidence and the tools they need to get the rest of the way on their own. it's their ride from here on out, they know you are always there for them, but it's their life to live. their decisions, their choices. one night you go to bed a child, you wake up the next morning a responsible adult. that is how it works, right?

i feel very lucky, very blessed. i have two great kids, well...great adults...great people. actually, i guess as a parent, that's your goal (and your fears) to get them "here" safe and sound. i am very proud of them both. they made it, we made it. yep, i am very lucky, very blessed.

happy birthday son...

May God bless and keep you always,
May your wishes all come true,
May you always do for others
And let others do for you.
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous,
May you grow up to be true,
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you.
May you always be courageous,
Stand upright and be strong,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy,
May your feet always be swift,
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift.
May your heart always be joyful,
May your song always be sung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

over the rhine - live in louisville & "the trumpet child"

they all four walked onstage smiling & laughing...mickey had karin cracking up over something as simple as the two them snapping their fingers to kick off "fever." the chemistry of this foursome is amazing, fun, lighthearted, it seems that it would be impossible not to enjoy these people "working". but, while it seems to be all in good fun, when they get down to it...they seriously "get down to it." and once again, these people never fail to amaze me, and they did once again tonight, delivering another beautiful, inspired and fun set at the "930 listening room" here in louisville.

the show was pretty close to sold out (my guess, in the 250-275 neighborhood) and it was a great, respectful yet involved and appreciative crowd. i had three "first timers" with me that were just blown away by what they saw and heard and at 108 times into this, i can't say i was much different. i've said before, i don't think i have ever seen them playing like this, so "in to it," so inspired, so good yet so loose and having such a good time just doing what they do. and it is infectious. to everyone. there were a couple of times during "long lost brother" & "b.p.d." that i thought karin might internally combust...or just out and out explode. last night was as good or better than any performance of those two songs that i have ever seen. and it's pretty cool to watch karin, linford, jake and brandon shaking their heads in amazement and smiling ear to ear during mickey's solo on "who'm i kiddin'" knowing that seeing him play, time-after-time, night-after-night, that he still seems to surprise & entertain them too.

last night they were also joined by mickey's wife, molly (molly is the lead singer in "swan dive" and they were also celebrating their 11th wedding anniversary) who joined in on harmony/backing vocals with karin on "and can it be" and "fool" which were the highlights of a great set for me (as was mickey and molly slow dancing during the beginning of the song, almost bringing karin to tears). "and can it be" rivaled some of the performances w/karin and terri from years ago, which were some of my favorite performances of one of my favorite songs.

after helping out at the merch table after the show, where business was brisk, then hanging out with friends and K&L a while, i left the venue to find my rear driver's side tire was flat. brandon and jake saw me in the corner of the lot getting the stuff out of my trunk to change the tire, they came over with karin who noted "we're not leaving 'til we're sure you're ok" and after he had just finished their load out and working his ass aff all day long, brandon isisisted on taking the tools away from me, jacking up my car and changing my tire for me.

yes, these people may be great musicians, singers, artists, writers, performers...but, more importantly, they are even better people.

thanks to all for helping and more importantly, for caring, and especially to brandon...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------





a few officially "leaked" songs from the august 22st release "the trumpet child" are ---> www.shorefire.com/clients/rhine/

carrie last night, OtR tonight

no time to write...

rambling thoughts & fond memories...

ok for some reason, while listening to this and walking tonight, i was struck with some vivid memories. good ones. great ones.

when i was younger, there was a pretty tight knit group of us, 4 or 5 guys. we all lived in the same neighborhood, varied in age over 2 or 3 years and did most everything together for several years. one of the guys name was mike vismore, and he lived just around the corner from me. mike had a sister named maria, she was a couple of years older than me (and i was a year older than mike), she was hot, she sunbathed in the back yard and i'm not sure if it was the first summer that she did it or if was the first time we "noticed," but i do remember we hung out at mike's house a lot that summer. he also had a brother named tim, who was 5 years older than me.

ok... i digress, the "flashback," tonight i remembered like it was yesterday, walking into mike's house one afternoon, his mother was still at work and tim was playing this record. loud. we heard it and were pretty much blown away, it was released in july of '68, so i would have been 12 or so. i asked tim about the record and he invited us into his room to listen, he was burning insense, his room had posters all over, etc. it was pretty cool to us and he played it through for us from start to finish. he told us about "the band" the dylan connection, etc. he was very into music and as i said, he was older, a senior in high school, had grown his hair long, yep...a budding hippie. he thought it was very cool that we were interested in and liked this music and as he bought new stuff, he always went out of his way to play it for us or let mike take it into his room so we could listen to it. i heard the allman brothers, traffic, cream and i'm sure many others for the first time in that house. and i remember mountain's "mississippi queen" being played so loud one day that the next door neighbor called the police. tim also exposed us to "something else" a year or so later that enhanced our love of music, but that's another story better discussed elsewhere. ;=) :=)

this is a great record that led to me learning a lot about music, and in turn, emotion and life. thanks tim, wherever you are.

apparently, it's influenced a couple of others too...
"You hold me just the same way
Levon would play
And The Weight is my favorite song
We’re gonna pull through

Breaking our own rules
We’re gonna pull through

Maybe, sorta, kinda
If I really had to say
Something good is on its way
And we’re gonna pull through"

from: We're Gonna Pull Through | Snow Angels
(Words and Music: Bergquist/Detweiler)

ribeye steaks!

the kids came over for father's day dinner, i'm eating less and less red meat these days... but screw it, i just scored well on my cholesterol test and it's father's day. so...rib-eye steaks, "daddy-fries," as callie named them when she was young (my special home made thin cut french fries) and corn on the cob from the grill. hush, it's father's day! to me, this is a much better way to spend and celebrate the day than in some restaurant.

it was a great day, i rarely get to have the both in the same place at the same time anymore and it makes it special when that chance comes around. we have to figure out a way for it to happen more often. and i got a great "highlands" t-shirt and some ear x-tacy gift cards too. :=)


the soundtrack for tonight's walk was cat power's "you are free." this record, released in 2003 was the record that i originally discovered the voice of chan marshall (aka: cat power) on. and what a voice i found. after one listen i immediately went out and purchased her back catalog and she is one of the very few artists that i will go out of my way to make a trip to the store to pick up their new releases on street date.

a quote from a review on amazon sums it up pretty well..."'You Are Free' is crafty, melodic, layered, painful, beautiful & inspired. Its' quiet spaces give way to angry lamentations that manage to flow together seamlessly. Anyone who can sing, "turn out the lights, set yourself on fire, say goodnight" & make it sound sexy & like a piece of freedom, deserves attention." and as amazing as this record (and her prior work) is, she has continued to get better and better with each new release, with her latest, "the greatest" being tied for my favorite record released last year (w/neko's "fox confessor bring the flood" & tom wait's "orphans" boxed set, not bad company).

the only voice that moves me, sticks with me more than her's is karin's, and yet they couldn't be more different...

beer, blackjack and girls in short shorts, on the church lawn

tonight was the annual "st raphael's big picnic," in louisville each catholic parish has an annual fundraising picnic, there is usually one almost every weekend somewhere in town all summer long. they have fish frys, bake sales, cake walks, carnival type games & rides, raffles, beer tents and yes, real live gambling!

st. raphael's is one of the oldest and largest in the city and it's at the end of my street, a very short walk. a couple of years ago, my parent's were here for callie's graduation and the picnic was the same weekend. my dad and i walked up, after a few minutes, he looked a little confused and said "ok, we're sitting here, drinking a beer and playing blackjack in a church parking lot?" i replied, "yep." he said, "this is great!" (trust me, baptist's in the south don't raise money this way).

it is also a huge social event for middle and high school kids in the area (the church also has a middle school and all-girl high school) and the girls show up all dolled up, in their hottest (and shortest) attire strolling the grounds in groups of three or four and the boys look goofy and act like idiots, usually in larger groups. pretty interesting and different ways of trying to get each others attention. i think the girls idea works better.

me, i lost $30 playing blackjack & "beat the dealer" (a pretty cool dice game). oh well, it's for a good cause, right? i consider it a donation, not a loss. ;=)



tonight i listened to a newer release on my walk, since i'm going to see him live this week, i chose tim easton's "ammunition," it was only my second full listen and man, i love this guy's work. he's four albums into his career and not a clunker or disappointment in the bunch. great literal, topical music with a little edge and a little fun thrown in at times. i'm seeing him twice next week (opening for carrie rodriguez), i've seen him once before and he was very impressive live. i'm really looking forward to these two shows, it's rare that i look forward to seeing both acts on a bill equally (ok, i look more forward to "seeing" carrie but you know what i mean).

tim & carrie x 2 and OtR 5 minutes from my house, looking like a good week.

J. P. M. F. Y. F.
tim easton

jesus protect me
jesus protect me
from your followers
not all of them

just the ones that turn love into fear and hatred
and the ones that say they are above me
and the ones that point their fingers down at me
and the ones that judge me when me i am troubled
and they tell me on my street that i am lost
and they tell me on my doorstep that i will burn in hell

jesus protect me
jesus protect me
from your followers

like the ones that only speak from anger
they're screaming from my television
while stealing from the hands that feeds them
and demanding that you are the only way
while spitting in the face of love
with one hand on the bible
and the other in the purse

jesus protect me
jesus protect me
from your followers

like the ones that turn their heads on the dying
and laugh in the face of pain and suffering
they would kill in the name of freedom
or the ones that would manipulate the constitution
and try to make laws of their opinions
while walking shoulder to shoulder with greed and violence
to the ones that would start wars in your name
to the ones that would attack me for this song

i sing, jesus protect me
jesus protect me
from your followers

not all of them
just the ones who turn love into fear and hatred
yes they turn love into fear and hatred

the voice of a generation

dylan, need i say more? how about dylan & cash?

it's impossible for me to pick a favorite dylan record, my favorite tends to be whichever one i'm listening to at the time. "nashville skyline" tends to be one i listen to a lot. i'm not sure why it sticks with me, but it does.

as trite as it sounds, he (dylan) was, and continues to be the voice of his generation and his relevance today is hard to question. much like johnny cash, a friend and mentor, who he duets with on this record (recorded in 1969), he seems to be making some of the best music of his life in the latter part of it. which is saying a lot.

their duet on "girl from the north country" brought together two of the most distinctive and important voices in american music and gave each of them creditability in different way. with dylan showing respect and admiration for music and musicians that came before him and cash recognizing, respecting and acknowledging where music was heading. it was not a popular decision among his fans or label for him to embrace dylan and his generations anti-war stance and progressive politics, yet he didn't care and did it anyway. he did what he felt. it was also a risk for them both, with dylan veering off towards country music and cash taking a step from traditional country towards folk and popular. and it worked beautifully. but more than anything, there was a true respect, admiration and friendship born. these were true visionaries and risk takers, at a time in their career that neither needed to take a risk. yet they chose to be true to themselves and their music. as they both have (and did) throughout their careers.

while i was aware of him, i didn't really "find" dylan until a few years after this record was released, but once i found him, his words, his thoughts, they never left. they never will, they are a part of who i, and many people my age, are. he, more than anyone else is part of our DNA, part of what defines us and our lives. his voice, conscience, words are what we wanted to say, what we needed to say but couldn't. he speaks, we listen. he was "us." he still is. he always will be.

"Once I had mountains in the palm of my hand,
And rivers that ran through ev'ry day.
I must have been mad,
I never knew what I had,
Until I threw it all away.

Love is all there is, it makes the world go 'round,
Love and only love, it can't be denied.
No matter what you think about it
You just won't be able to do without it.
Take a tip from one who's tried."

this little exercise is bringing back some good memories. :)

it was inevitable, wasn't it?

inevitable that i thow an OtR selection into this little experiment? first off, i listen to OtR all the time... there is such a depth, breadth and wealth to their music that it still amazes me at times. i just can't believe that there are so many that haven't found it, that don't "get it."

"eve" is a classic, if not brilliant piece of work. from the opening track "happy with myself," to the spare and beautiful closing with the "hidden" track "bothered." as as said early on, one of the biggest drawbacks to "i-poding" is the tendency to listen to "songs" not "albums" and records like this one suffer the most from that bad habit. honestly, there is not one weak track on this record, not a single one. and it seems, the more i listen to it, which i will have to do more often, the better it gets.

it was a beautiful night for a long walk, this weather makes you just wanna stay out and play. my grass is dying from lack of rain (but, i haven't had to mow it in a week! :=) ) and i'm having to water the trees i planted last fall, but man, it's good for a nice, long walk.

and for what it's worth, i received a great report from my recent visit to the cardiologist. he was very happy w/the resuts from my exam and EKG, my cholesterol is at a very healthy 121 (it was approaching 300 about 2 years ago at this time when my heart nearly exploded), he's put off my next stress test for a year and is considering reducing some of my medication.

"i'm happy with myself, i'm happy with myself..."

oh yeah, some jackass apparently snagged my sweet little "lumix" camera and i had to replace it. i've been eying this sweet, sexy little thing for a while and it's as cool as i thought it would be. it's 10.1MP w/a 3-1 schneider zoom lens, spiffy, high tech and easy to use menus. and at about the size and weight of a razr cell phone it's perfect to throw in your pocket. woo-hoo, can't wait to go out and play with it.

dinner and a walk

after work and a few errands tonight, i met callie for dinner after she got off work. i love it when she calls and asks if i want to meet her for lunch or dinner. it's amazing when i look and her and realize that she is grown, an adult, a woman. but no matter what, whenever i look at her, i still see a little girl, i hope i always will. time passes. too quickly. way too quickly.

the weather lately has been incredible. beautiful. still hot but very low humidity and very pleasant, lilly and i walked a little earlier than usual tonight and a little longer. the music of choice, sticking w/my full album idea, i chose the beatles "abbey road," there has been a lot of talk recently about "sgt pepper," imho not only is it not the "best album ever" it's not even the "best beatles album ever." i'll take "abbey road," "let it be" and "rubber soul" over "pepper" anyday of the week. i have nothing againt pepper, it's damn good, the others are just better.

just as we were turning the corner and heading for home, "golden slumbers," came up, followed by the amazing "carry that weight" and "the end" carried us up to the front door.

when this was released, i was 13 years old. time passes. too quickly. way too quickly.

the world was a better place when these boys were making music for us...

"and in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make."

then i sat on the steps as i listened to "her majesty." lilly rolled in the grass. not a bad way to end a day.

OtR @ 3rd & Lindsley/Nashville (05.29.05)

another great show by "over the rhine" last night, opened by "treva and the suits" which had a very "ellery-ish" kind of sound (and they were very nice) and "swan dive" (fronted by mickey's wife, molly felder and bill demain). i enjoyed both.

as usual, OtR delivered a great set to a sold out, appreciative, hot, sweaty, packed crowd in this funky little "L" shaped club. the setlist was pretty typical of the past few shows with the added highlight of a duet by karin and molly on "fool," damn, it was great to hear this underperformed gem once again and their voices sounded excellent together. hint hint, i hope there is more of this to come in the future.

the lighting was less than spectacular for shooting but it was pretty nice for viewing the show, very "warm." my pics from the show are @: http://picasaweb.google.com/bivester

not the best, not horrible either.

got in @ 4:00 am, i'm gettin' too old for this rock 'n roll lifestyle. but, damn, i enjoy it...

we have all been here before...

for my generation, an album full of anthems. sadly as relevant today as the day it was released a little over 37 years ago.

"and i feel like i've been here before,
feel like i've been here before
and you know it makes me wonder...what's going on"

on and on...

Gregg Allman | "Playin' Up A Storm"

(imho) a "modern day" and underated blues masterpiece, this album was a commercial disappointment, hell, i think it was virtually ignored at a time that gregg's career was a bit lost in it's own right.

the allman bros were the first band that i really got into during my teens and high school and they were really the soundtrack for my high school years. i saw them live (luckily w/duane) many, many times. after duane's & barry's death, and being one of, if not "the" biggest band in the country, the band and especially gregg and dickey betts, got a bit lost... both musically and personally. leading to one of many break-up and reformations of the band for a decade or so. this record was recorded during what was the first of many and appeared to be a "permanent" break up of the ABB. this was gregg's first real "post allman" solo effort, his life and career were a mess, he was in the middle of his "on again, off again" marriage to cher, his brother had recently died, if there was an illegal substance available, he was addicted to it, he was drinking heavily, he had just escaped serious jail time costing him most of his friends and business associate and his band had just broken up. good time to move to LA i guess.

ever heard the saying "you gotta live the blues to sing the blues?" the mess that was his life resulted into a modern day blues classic. sadly, few bought it and/or ever heard it. gregg at this point in his career was arguably one of the greatest blues singers ever to record. and he was livin' what he was singin'. the pain, loss and sadness in his voice tells the story as much as the words. he had just moved from georgia to LA and replaced his circle of musicians w/LA session players for a very different backing sound that works well for this music. he covers everyone from his own band ("come and go blues") to ray charles ("brightest smile in town") and closes out the record with the soulful, pleading "one more try."

for some reason, this record always stuck with me, not sure why. i was in a very happy long term relationship at the time, life was good. so it wasn't the message or the "blues" theme, maybe it was just because this guy was singin' his heart out, singing what he felt, what he was living. maybe because i had just been a fan of gregg and the ABB for so long, i don't know, again...don't really care.

"you brought me love, ahhhh tender love, that made my whole world glow
then you took it all away, ummm just why i'll never know
i'll soon forget, in time, i'll smile again
but, i can never, never smile as i did then

i had the brightest smile it town, oh yeah...
you took it it baby and you turned it upside down

ohhhh yeah, you took baby and you turned it upside down"

released: 1977

John Butler Trio

wow!

i went to see these guys play friday night @ headiners here in louisville and was completely blown away (i also lucky enought to see john butler do a pretty incredible short solo set @ ear x-tacy prior to the show). zach and i went, along w/a friend of his and we had a great time. the JBT is really one of those "unclassifiable" bands with roots in rock, jazz, reggae, folk, jam, etc. and they are truly amazing players w/butler on several acoustic guitars & banjo, shannon birchall- upright and elecric bass, michael barker-drums, possibly the most incredibly full sound i have ever heard from a 3 piece band (the police reunion @ $300+ per ticket & these guys @ $15 per show? i say, forget the police rehashing their old stuff & go see JBT 20 times w/the same money). and loud, damn they play loud.

lyrically his music is strong, topical, political and full of "social commentary" (but never "preachy") and perfectly matched with their playing. and my god, these guys love to play for an audience, they feed off of them like sharks, the more the audience gave, the more took and gave back ten fold, 2+ hours after they took the stage the place was in a spent frenzy, exausted, happy and content. as it should be.

their new record, "grand national" hit a couple of weeks ago and is (imho) excellent and was the focus of the set but they also pulled heavily from their (again, imho excellent) previous release "sunrise over sea" for a really great set. it's still early in their tour promoting the new record and the energy was amazing, if they continue to get stronger on the road, well damn, i i can't imagine... if you get a chance to see these guys play, go! seriously...GO!