A Happy HOLLiday
Monday, December 29, 2008

1/2 a Road Soda

What an excellent Christmas it was. For the past three years my good friend John Holl has invited me to his family's home in Maplewood, NJ for Christmas. For three years I had to work on Christmas. But not this year. I had a wonderful time at the Holl household, singing carols and eating a terrific meal.

John's brother Tom and I have a side project band called the Road Sodas. We made our first US appearance around the Holl family Christmas tree this year (our other "gigs" were a couple mustachioed appearances in Montreal). We sang holiday fare ranging from the traditional "Rudolph" to Robert Earl Keen's "Merry Christmas From the Family" to Old Crow Medicne Show's "Tell It To Me(!)"

I sang for several suppers this Christmas. On the Eve my friend Gitano and I played Stones songs at two great Argentinian restaurants in Williamsburg, Sweetwater and El Almacen.

El Almacen , on the corner of Driggs and North 7th (right outside the Bedford subway stop) is run by two great folks, Diego and Flo, a brother and sister team. I'll blog more about this excellent cafe, which opened its doors two weeks ago, very soon.

Rumor has it Gitano and I will reprise our Christmas Eve gig at Sweetwater on New Year's Eve before crossing the river to do a 1:30 a.m. set at the Lakeside Lounge. We'll also be playing the annual Hank-O-Rama, Hank Williams Sr. tribute, at the Rodeo Bar around 6:30 on New Year's Day.

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Happy Holidays, Do Good Deeds
Thursday, December 25, 2008

That's my mini-tree, complete with presents thanks to a care package from Dad (thanks Dad). The feline is Callie, who belongs to my roommate, and is my best friend. We've been rocking to Keef's version of Run, Run Rudolph all afternoon.

Happy Holidays to you & yours. My most poignant holiday moment came last night when I was walking with a guitar playing friend in Williamsburg, Brooklyn from one fabulous Argentinian restaurant to another (where we would go on to sing Stones songs until 5 a.m.) A gentleman in a round black hat carrying a menorah greeted us by saying, "Happy Hanukkah, I am Jewish, are either of you Jewish?"

"Nope," we said.

"Well today we celebrate Hanukkah and we encourage good deeds. Please do good deeds."

And away he walked. Simple as that. Please do good deeds.

I feel especially good this holiday season because of how great the songs the New Heathens recorded last weekend sound. I've got 'em on an iPod loop and they're still my favorites. Hopefully one of these days you might consider making them yours too...

Finally, good fish news. Anybody see my totally non-music related post about bull trout a few weeks back? Well, according to a Christmas Day story from the Associated Press, the White House now admits that bull trout were not given critical habitat protection on federal lands because of an administration appointee who meddled with the science and bullied workers in the US Fish & Wildlife Service. This administration is now reconsidering its positions, and they may be revisited again in the next administration.

Please do good deeds, administrations...

There's another really cool article about scientists working to save Montana's native trout on one of my favorite websites, New West.

Study this!

Special shout out here to a couple of my favorite fish bloggers, Jack & Merle of Wapiti Waters.

OK, now you know where my head is at this Christmas Day. Off to my buddy John Holl's house for dinner...

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Magic Shades, Hot Wax
Tuesday, December 23, 2008

I can't pinpoint the exact reason this past weekend's recording session went so great, but there happened to be this one particular pair of sunglasses lying around...

Brandy says this doesn't look like me...
Brandy "Bass Goddess" Wood
Butch
Dominator
One of the best drummers I know, Tony Graci
It's the Unibomber! No, it's Engineer Tim "Timbo" Hatfield!
Roscoe

Or maybe it wasn't the shades. Maybe it was our world-class rhythm section.

And they're adorable too!

I know one thing, our great friend Charlene McPherson, helped out a lot. She came in to sing on a new song of ours called, "I Thought You Were My Friend." It sounds awesome. I think it's the best thing we've ever done.

Confidence in a confidant: Charlene McPherson, who always amazes me with her singing talent
It's a family affair: Charlene brought her cutie-pie cousin Kirsten to the studio. Kirsten says she's in college studying criminology to be a crime scene investigator. After Charlene sang her vocal parts, she and Kirsten went to see a vampire movie.

The second song we waxed is called "Thankless War," which I'm proud of because I nailed a take singing, playing guitar AND playing harmonica on the rack.

The third tune we did is a Wilco-Meets-Keef rocker that Domenick wrote called "Responsible." It cracks me up every time I sing it.

Not only was it our last tracking session at Cowboy Technical Studios, it was THE last tracking session at CTS. Roscoe says he's moving the studio to a new location in the new year.

Can't wait to see the new place. But I've got some vivid memories of the old one, down in the basement under a Brooklyn street suspiciously named "Hope."

The vocal booth at CTS
Vocal mic
A gold, Roscoe Gibson

Happy Holidays, from the Heathens.

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Best New Heathens Yet!
Monday, December 22, 2008

Just spent two days in the studio and we laid down the best New Heathens tracks yet.

I'm really blown away by how they sound, been listening to them nonstop.

Can't wait to share them with you.

Stay tuned here. I'll stick up a bunch of pictures soon...

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Back Into The Studio Tomorrow
Friday, December 19, 2008

Going into the studio tomorrow. In addition to rehearsal, I know Domenick got ready by watching both Wilco & Neil Young and Ryan Adams & Oasis at Madison Square Garden this week. Butch was also at the Adams/Oasis show. Brandy and I checked out a rockin' set by one of her favorite bands, Wildstreet, at Kenny's Castaways on Wednesday night.

And I've been running my lyrics by Alex Battles , rooting for the Montana Grizzlies in the AA college championship football game, and watching YouTubes of The Man, Bo Diddley:

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Studio Preparation, Solo Gig with Ollabelle
Tuesday, December 16, 2008

The New Heathens practiced tonight to make sure all the screws are tight before we hit the studio with Roscoe this weekend. Backed by the purple gang rhythm section of Brandy Wood and Tony Graci, I thought we sounded pretty damn hot. Can't wait to share it all with you.

Played a solo gig at Banjo Jim's on Sunday night when I went on right before one of my favorite bands, Ollabelle .

At 7 p.m, when I started, there were exactly two patrons in the bar.

At 7:59 p.m., as my last chord rang out, there were exactly four patrons in the bar

At 8:00 p.m., when Ollabelle started, there were 100 people in the bar.

At least they have impeccable taste. Ollabelle were amazing.


Thanks to Michelle and her daughter Kelly for coming out to listen to me.

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Winter Vacation, the Gram Parsons Pilgrimage
Monday, December 15, 2008

Friends,

Took a little winter vacation and I wanted to share some pictures with you.

I'm a big Gram Parsons fan. For the past three years I've organized Gram Parsons tribute nights here in New York. (2007, 2008)

But I'd never been to the spot where Gram's spirit lives, Joshua Tree, until now.


Joshua Tree

The quick version of The Legend is this: Gram Parsons, who fused country music and rock 'n' roll into a style he dubbed "Cosmic American Music," sought inspiration in Joshua Tree National Park, high in the Mojave Desert about a three hour drive from LA.

In 1973 Gram ODed on drugs at the Joshua Tree Inn, a motel just outside the park. He was 26.

Shortly before he died Gram told his road manager that when his life was over, he wanted his body cremated in Joshua Tree National Park. That manager, the legendary Phil Kaufman, stole Gram's corpse before it was shipped to his stepfather's estate in New Orleans. He took it out to Joshua Tree and set Gram ablaze.

At the risk of being what Gram biographer David N. Meyer dubbed, a "Grampire," I wanted to see these spots (Once, during a Key West to Seattle road trip, I visited the grave in New Orleans where what was left of Gram's charred body was finally buried; his marker reads, "God's Own Singer.")

First, the fun part:

Gram was burned at a crossroads in the park known as Cap Rock.


So I went to Cap Rock and walked around to the back where I found some stuff like this. Pretty nice.


Thanks GP

Opened up the doors of the red, rental Mustang, cranked Gram tunes and sang at the top of my lungs while the sun went down. Awesome way to spend an evening.



The sound system & the scenery.


Considering what happened at Cap Rock, I found this sign there kinda' funny.



Now the un-fun part. On a Gram jag I looked up the Joshua Tree Inn on the internet and found that the motel actually advertises letting guests stay in the exact room where, according to legend, Gram died. Room 8, the website boasts, offers "A quintessential Cosmic American Musical Experience." Boy was I a waterhead, a sucker. I reserved the room.


Room 8

It wasn't until I checked in and cracked the door that it hit me. As a Gram Parsons fan I shouldn't want anything to do with that room. I should HATE that room. That room is wicked.

Freaked out, an inquiry was made as to whether there were any other vacant rooms in the motel. The motel owner had good news and bad news. The bad news was that the band the Arctic Monkeys and their entourage, who were shooting a video in Joshua Tree, had rented out every other room in the motel.

The good news was a part of "The Legend," that I never read in any biography.

According to the motel owner, Gram Parsons didn't actually die in Room 8. He died in Room 3.

Apparently Gram was staying in Room 3, doing some pretty heavy drugs. Late in the night one of his companions returned to the room and found him unconscious. The police and the paramedics were called. However, there was allegedly paraphernalia scattered all over Room 3. Not wanting the police to know what was going on, Gram's body was moved to the only other vacant room in the motel: Room 8.

That's where paramedics tried, and failed, to resuscitate Gram.

This revelation begged two important questions. Does the hotel tell this to people who come specifically to stay in Room 8?

And more importantly, do they tell this to the people staying in Room 3?!


Gram

I will say that despite the creepiness, which was entirely my fault, the Joshua Tree Inn is as cool, funky and great a hotel as you're ever going to find. I look forward to one day going back.



OK, also made brief stops in LA, and San Diego, where I visited my best buddy Chris and his wife Laura.

Unfortunately, this is how Chris greeted me at his door. When that blue liquid was gone, so was my memory of San Diego.



That ain't entirely true. I went to the Zoo.





Considering how brilliant the San Diego Zoo is, I found it even more ironic to find this on a San Diego bumper.


Survival of the cleverest...

Speaking of fish, next stop was (Ooh) Las Vegas. Out in there in the desert they've got one of the best shark aquariums I've ever seen (note: I'm a big shark aficionado too). I was awfully excited to get to see my first tiger shark.


A tiger in their tank!

Despite all the wretched things that have been said about Las Vegas (some by me), I'd be a liar if I told you I didn't have the time of my life there. Lucking into a hotel room at the Four Seasons, with an oh-my-god view of the Las Vegas strip from 36 floors up certainly had something to do with it. (As did my luck at the craps tables, but mostly this view:)


Ooh Las Vegas, ain't no place for a poor boy like me.

Well, maybe just for a night...

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Prax, Odetta, THIS Is Fly...
Wednesday, December 3, 2008

OK, music news first. Had a Heathens practice last night with our producer-Kramer, Roscoe. Band sounded mighty fine. We're tuning up to do some more recording at the end of this month. Worked on three songs, a rocker that Domenick wrote called "Responsible," a soldier-song of mine called "Thankless War" and kinda' a kiss-off tune I wrote called "I Thought You Were My Friend."

While we were figuring out our songs the names of bands referenced included Crosby, Stills & Nash, Steve Miller, Neil Young, Dire Straits, Wilco and the Stones. Can't wait to throw 'em all into the pot in the studio and see what kind of soup comes out.

More music: sad to see that folk singer and civil rights activist Odetta passed away. My favorite memory of her was watching her jump up at Banjo Jim's last winter and belt out, "Old Cotton Fields Back Home" with the string band onstage. Don't know who was more surprised, the audience, or the band! Damn cool to see a legend at your neighborhood bar. Thanks for the music, Odetta.



(Really cool interview with her here.)

Last, y'all know my affinity for flyfishing. Well, now I'm a published flyfishing writer. The ultra-cool, online flyfishing magazine This Is Fly published a story I wrote about fishing in Montana's South Fork of the Flathead River last summer. (The editor thought it was cool that a rock 'n' roll dude from NYC was into fishing for Westslope Cutthroat trout ).

My good friend Michael St. George [who I may have been out listening to Stones tunes with until 4 this morning] said "Only Led Zeppelin has cooler R&R fish stories than this one."

So, read all about how I ended up half-nekkid' in front of a grizzly bear. Page 59.

Nate, trout, Scout (the dog)

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