Good weekend to be a capitalist!

[Terry Allan Hall]

Saturday's winerie solo gig went extremely well...they were also having an antique auto show (and as you might well expect, this is a hobby primarily for the moneyed set!), so the tips came quickly and lavishly (if y'all ever get a car-show gig, learn every car-related song* you can...it'll be worth it!)

 

One of the coolest parts of the day was getting all these wealthy folks to sing along on the chorus of David Wilcox's "Rusty Old American Dream"...a few glasses of wine and these folks were ready to have fun!

 

 

I don't look all that ragged for all the time it's been,

 

But I'm weakened underneath me where my frame is rusted thin.

 

And this year's state inspection just barely passed

 

Won't you drive me 'cross the country, boy,

 

This year could be my last.

 

 

 

I'm a tailfin road locomotive from the days of cheap gasoline,

 

And I'm for sale by the side of the road going nowhere,

 

A rusty old American dream.

 

 

 

I rolled off the line in Detroit back in 1958,

 

Spent three days in the showroom, that's all I had to wait.

 

I've been good to all who owned me, so have no fear;

 

C'mon, boy, put your money down and get me out of here!

 

 

 

I'm a tailfin road locomotive from the days of cheap gasoline,

 

And I'm for sale by the side of the road going nowhere,

 

A rusty old American dream.

 

 

 

This car needs a young man to own him

 

One who will polish the chrome,

 

I will give you the rest of my lifetime,

 

But don't let me die here alone.

 

Just jump me some juice to my battery,

 

Give that old starter a spin,

 

Hear me whir, sputter, backfire through the carberator,

 

And roar into life once again.

 

 

 

I'm a tailfin road locomotive,

 

You can polish my chrome so clean

 

We can fly off into the sunset together,

 

A rusty old American dream.

 

After this solo gig, as I was packing up my gear to head home, one of the car-club's officials came over and offered me a gig for the next afternoon (yesterday), saying the band they had booked was unreliable and that everyone enjoyed my music. After they explained how much $$$ they'd be willing to spend, I immediately called Kat (drums/percussion/harmony vox/daughter) and Wendy (bass/tuba/harmony vox) and gave directions to the gig and what time to be there!

 

Next day, I loaded up my PA, acoustic guitars, and Kat's drum stuff, along w/ some extra gear (Telecasters, electric guitar amp) and we met Wendy about halfway to the gig and had a great afternoon/evening (the gig was supposed to be from 3 to 7, but they asked us to play longer, so we didn't get through until a little after 10, but they were very generous in compensating us! )

 

And I passed out a lot of business cards, so, hopefully, this'll lead to more private gigs w/ these folks!

 

 

*Songs that went over well, mixed about 1:1 w/ our usual repertoire:

 

"Mustang Sally" - Wilson Pickett (of course)

 

"409", "Shut Down", "Fun, Fun, Fun", "Little Deuce Coupe" - The Beach Boys

 

"The Little Old Lady From Pasadena" and "Dead Man's Curve" - Jan and Dean

 

"GTO" - Ronny and the Daytonas

 

"Hey Little Cobra" - The Rip Chords

 

"Rapid Roy, The Stockcar Boy" -Jim Croce

 

"Pink Cadillac" and "Cadillac Ranch" - Bruce Springsteen

 

"Maybelline" and "No Particular Place to Go"- Chuck Berry

 

"Cars" - Gary Numan

 

"Fast Car" - Tracy Chapman (one of the few songs Kat'll sing lead on)

 

"Drive My Car" - The Beatles

 

"Driver's Seat" - Sniff 'n' the Tears

 

"Driving My Life Away" - Eddie Rabbitt

 

"Geronimos Cadillac" - Michael Murphey

 

"Hot Rod Lincoln" - Commander Cody, etc.

 

"Long May You Run" - Neil Young

 

"Low Rider" - War

 

"Mercury Blues" - Steve Miller Band

 

"Truckin'" - The Grateful Dead

[bigby]

Great Terry! Sounds like a great gig; you seemed to have enjoyed yourself and getting some decent compensation is always a plus!

[babablowfish]

Cool! Did you already have all those songs ready to go? If so, how many songs do you know? I mean, I count 25 just on that topic. Wow!

[FallingRock71]

Sounds like a great day in Baja Oklahoma! If I still lived in OKC I may have been tempted to make a road trip to hear all those great car tunes. And to see the cars as well. Don't get to hear Rapid Roy all that much!

"Oh the Demolition Derby

And the Figure Eight

Is easy money in the bank

Compared to runnin' from the man

In Oklahoma City

With a 500 gallon tank"

 

Congrats man, sounds like you had a good time AND got paid well.

That's kinda like a sore peter, hard to beat!

[bbarkow]

Hey Terry -

Ever heard "The Tough Sell" by the Drive By Truckers? Sort of a psychobilly tune, but might be right up your alley.

"..... and BEEEEEsiiiiiides..... Them's highway miles....":cool:

[Terry Allan Hall]

Cool! Did you already have all those songs ready to go? If so, how many songs do you know? I mean, I count 25 just on that topic. Wow!

All of those (towards the end, I was racking my brains try to think of more "car" songs, I don't mind telling you...and some we repeated 2 or 3 times as folks requested 'em).

Probably know about 600 songs, total...more, if I can use word sheets to help remember the lyrics to songs I haven't played in years (we Geezers call it CRSS - Can't Remember S*** Syndrome )

Wish my Saturday night (after the winery) gig had been half as much fun...Wendy was booked elsewhere, as were all the other bassists I'd normally call to sub for her, so I had to hire a new guy and he was a royal PITA...played adequately enough, but a terrible attitude and complained about everything...and didn't follow us very well, so we had to compensate for his inattentiveness all night long. Bass and drums must work as a team.

The only highlights of that gig was when he tried sweet-talking Kat and she shot him down in flames and when we got paid...all the way home, Kat apologized for not being able to create the usual solid back-up, and I just kept telling her that if the bassist can't (or won't) listen to the drummer/percussionist, there's only so much she could accomplish!

We won't use him again, ever!

[Terry Allan Hall]

Hey Terry - Ever heard "The Tough Sell" by the Drive By Truckers? Sort of a psychobilly tune, but might be right up your alley. "..... and BEEEEEsiiiiiides..... Them's highway miles....":cool:

No, but I'll check it out ASAP...thanks!

[denvertrakker]

Saturday's winerie solo gig went extremely well...they were also having an antique auto show (and as you might well expect, this is a hobby primarily for the moneyed set!), so the tips came quickly and lavishly (if y'all ever get a car-show gig, learn every car-related song* you can...it'll be worth it!) *Songs that went over well, mixed about 1:1 w/ our usual repertoire: "Geronimos Cadillac" - Michael Murphey

Kind of a subversive song, mixed in with all that good time stuff, don'tcha think? I guess all they heard was "Cadillac" and didn't get into the rest of the message...and in that part of the country, too...great song, though.

[FallingRock71]

Oh hey, just thought of a fun song you might want to check out. "Stickshifts and safety belts" by Cake.

[mrmoe]

Have to brush ou on Brian Wilson's "don't worry baby" and maybe an acoustic version of Queen's "I'm in love with my car"....

[Dan Hall]

Wish I'd a been there.

 

"Son don't ya know you're gonna drive me to drinkin'

If ya don't stop drivin' that hot rod lincoln!"

[tkris]

check out "asheville turnaround" by the del mccoury band ...

[mrmoe]

Reminds me of a song an old band of mine used to do....

 

bore that block of iron

stroke that mother too

put in a cam shoves the lifters right out of their holes

run it on nothin' but high test rock & roll

[T.B.]

Wish I'd a been there.

Me too. I would have requested, 'Little Red Corvette'.

Trina

[babablowfish]

Terry, I stand in awe at your knowing 600 songs. I don't have many more than that number of words in my vocabulary.

OK Here's another great car song for you:

"Silver Thunderbird" by Marc Cohn

[guitarist21]

Terry, I stand in awe at your knowing 600 songs. I don't have many more than that number of words in my vocabulary.

+1

[denvertrakker]

OK Here's another great car song for you: "Silver Thunderbird" by Marc Cohn

One of my daughter's friends, who my wife and I think of as our "second daughter" sent me a mix tape a few years ago with Jo Dee Messina's version of this, because she says she instantly thought of me when she heard it...and that's how I discovered Marc Cohn...whose "Ghost Train" has become one of my favorites.

On the other hand, my daughter is dead-on convinced that Jo Dee Messina used to be a guy...

[Terry Allan Hall]

Terry, I stand in awe at your knowing 600 songs. I don't have many more than that number of words in my vocabulary. OK Here's another great car song for you: "Silver Thunderbird" by Marc Cohn

Well, I've been playing/learning songs for about 40 years...that only averages to what? about 15 a year? A bit over 1 a month.

The trick is remembering the words ...I rarely forget the melody or chord changes.

[Pablo]

I know I'm late responding to your post, but I really enjoy hearing about your gigs, Terry. You're a real pro!

[BigRed51]

towards the end, I was racking my brains try to think of more "car" songs,

 

 

I can't believe you overlooked my FAVORITE car song ... "I'm Gonna Put a Bar in the Back of My Car and Drive Myself to Drink."