chicago farmer: a mid west troubador

Chicago Farmer: A Mid West troubadour

A review/bio by: Moose Gronholm

 

 

                Chicago Farmer comes from a small town in Illinois and brings his folk songs via the interstate and state roads that he drives on to each and every show. These roads he travels have become a main source of inspiration and have taken him back to a young age, where at 17 Cody Diekhoff, better known as Chicago Farmer, got a guitar that his dad bought for him his first “real guitar” and gave his poetry a voice.   I’m reminded of something a folk singer from Chicago once said “there’s great poetry in this stuff,” that guy was Fred Holstein, and, this guy Chicago Farmer definitely has a way with words.

                Whether it is storytelling, spoken word, or just a good old sing-a-long Chicago Farmer brings his poetry from being an “outlet of emotion and creativity” too putting it in song. There is no shortage of tunes to choose from either. Over the course of about seven or eight years Cody has put out numerous recordings some six tracks long some fifteen tracks long. All encompassing  where he has come from, the small town or the big city, and “with great big stars in my eyes” from a song called Gunshots on Tuesday he embodies the travelling folk singer.  This song that I just mentioned also gives a good look into where he has come from and where he went and to a certain extent where he is now. Although a few years older now than when the song was written and recorded, but the feeling can still be the same.

                From a recent conversation I had with Cody I asked him what the songwriting process was like for him and he said “It definitely varies, sometimes they come raging through my head like a flood. Sometimes there’s definitely a drought. When that happens (the drought), I usually put the notebook away and just go for a long walk or drive and live life for a few days. When I get back, I usually have a lot of material. Sometimes the words come first, sometimes the melody and music. The other day I wrote a song in five minutes,  and now I’m trying to finish a song I started a few years ago.” Through this writing process you can hear the wheels on pavement or boots on the ground. Cody brings you along for the ride that he has been on since he was seventeen, and again there is no shortage of tunes choose from.

                Being a one man show makes for a great experience at a live show, and as the attendee you brought into the world of this singer songwriter from a small town in Southern Illinois. As one man show he feels it’s important for him to be unique and stand out from the other “guys with guitars.” He certainly does with his own material, a harmonica, a stomping foot, storytelling, spoken word, and sing-a-longs. You won’t see any “smoke or mirrors, props or effects” at a Chicago Farmer show, although from that recent conversation I had with him he did say “I do occasionally enjoy a good fog machine at my one man folks shows.” 

                For Cody (Chicago Farmer) the support of family has made the road easier to travel. From graduating high school and his mom and grandpa turning an old room in their basement into a music room , too his dad buying that first “real guitar,” but most importantly the support of his wife as well. “She travels to almost every show, makes the wheels go round, and encourages my dreams,” a quote from our recent conversation. If not for this support system Cody would probably still be in southern Illinois “breaking things with nothing better to do,” he told me.

                This mid west troubadour will be playing all over you can check him out at chicagofarmer.com, facebook, or pick up his new album “Backenforth, Il” on itunes. Cincinnati we are graced with him coming to our small town and playing the southgate house revival this Friday the 8^th along with Whiskey Bent Valley Boys and Buffalo Wabs and the Price Hill Hustle. With Chicago Farmer’s “one man show” he will bring you on the road with him if just for an hour or so. Through the foot stomping and sing-a-longs  songs from a time once forgotten but still alive and going strong.

those darlins

By: Moose Gronholm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHR1PcfVGSc

Blur the Line: Those Darlins gut Rock N Roll and Make it New Again.

Those Darlins are hitting the road with the release of their third album! Those Darlins formed in Nashville in a college town just outside of their hometown, Murfreesboro, TN. Their hometown had a pretty good music scene and through that scene they were able to meet, find similar interests and started playing together. Jessi had wanted to become a Veterinarian or a homeopathic healer, each great professions to get into, but lucky for us she found the guitar and these fine folks. In a way Those Darlins are healers as music can be therapeutic. Blur the Line is certainly proof of that.

Blur the Line melds the different styles that encapsulate them. Those Darlins are; Jessi on guitar and vocals, Nikki on guitar and vocals, Linwood on drums, and a newly added bassist Adrian Barrera who they met on tour a couple years ago. They bring their punk rock, soul, and straight up rock and roll influence to the forefront on this masterful album. They do not “blur the lines” they take the inside reaction from outside influences, which Jessi was kind of enough to tell me in a recent interview, and slap it on this thirteen song album.

This first track “Oh God” kicks it all off with a slow build into a rock and roll ending. Asking “Oh God what I have done?” As the album progresses they keep the punk and rock influence on this record driving, with songs such as “Optimist” and “Drive.” Towards the end of the album “Western Sky” has just an easy driving melody with the chant of “I don’t want to hear another civilized war, let’s make our own noise.” That could sum it all up, but as the album comes to a close with the last track “Ain’t Afraid”, the vocals get gritty and the wall of sound bleeds through the straight up rock n’ roll that has driven the album.

For these folks this album isn’t a coming of age, rather, this album brings the listener to where they are right now in their musical lives. Sure, growing up with Appalachian songs is at their core, but they have found their sound and they are running with it. The record was wrote over the course of two years and according to Jessi, “The goal was to write a new album, because we are musicians, and that is our job. We wanted to represent ourselves and where we were at as people. It’s kind of like therapy ya know? We’re all crazy people we need music to make something positive out of it.” This album definitely conveys that emotion and feeling. With the help of Roger Moutenot of Haptown Studios in Nashville, the producer of the album, who helped them pick out 14 tracks to focus on the album keeping that feeling alive and present. No looking back just moving and living in the moment.

On the wings of this third album, produced by Roger Moutenot and created by Those Darlins, hopefully the sky is merely the beginning. They will be taking this record and their live show across the US, and hopefully around the world. Those Darlins did something with this album Blur the Line... they hit the refresh button on rock n roll, they gutted it and made it new again. It was a refreshing listen to my ears. Cincinnati we have the honor of welcoming them back on Sunday October 20^th  at the Northside Tavern. I’d get your tickets soon!

Enter to win tics to the show HERE!

Those Darlins

w/ Gambles

Northside Tavern

Sunday October 20^th

9p Doors / 10p Show

Mutts

Mutts

By: Moose

                Mutts are a band based out of Chicago. They bring a style of blues, jazz, and rock through Mike Maimone tickling the keys, Bob Buckstaff on the doghouse (or Upright Bass), and Chris Pagnani on the skins or drums. These three fellas have come together to create not only music but art. A wall of sound to describe these guys can’t really do them justice. Mike’s gravely and sometimes growling vocals shape the stories and round out this distinct sound.

                These guys met through the big city of Chicago. Where music is plentiful and great shows happening all around town. Through an introduction from a recording engineer Jon Alvin Bob and Mike met. They played together in a band called Company of Thieves Bob was already in the band and Mike came along and was an instant fit. They were then on tour full time and at the first gig Bob ever played with Mike in Burbank a few days later while the band did interviews him and Mike went out for smokes. They walked and talked and got back to the hotel with a bottle of Johnny Walker Red, and Mutts was being born.

                They started the band as a side project on tour breaks, and had three EP’s within the first year all recorded by Jon Alvin who introduced them.  Soon after a longtime acquaintance of Bob’s Chris Pagnani had found himself without a band and fortunately enough Bob and Mike were looking for a drummer. From Bob’s own words “Dude was in. Dude was good.” Chris had nailed all the songs and within six months they had two full lengths recorded. Again from Bob “We got lucky. I got lucky.” Luck clearly sometimes plays a factor.

                Music for these guys is something that is in their blood. It ain’t all wine and roses life on the road can be hard, but the one factor the one thing that keeps them going is the music. The shared experience between the other players and the listener. Sure these guys could have quit music all together or not done it all, Mike was an auditor for an accounting firm which he went to college for and Chris could have just as easily picked a job and done the whole 9-5 to thing. Mike at the age of 24 though had a near-collision with a semi while coming home from work and thought, “I’m not gonna die and accountant.” Chris, not having that same experience but the sort of same thought, expressed to me that he is much happier having found music instead of picking a job and going through those motions. Not to say that is bad, but when you have a dream or a goal and in this case these fellas have their music how could they not go after it? The resounding feeling is we have to. They love what they do, and through their music you hear it. The release of sharing song and their art has paid them more than any job could.

                Mutts currently have a new album out called Object Permanence and they are out there doing what they love to do. Check em out on any of the social media networks or an even better justice to yourself go catch their live show. I’ll leave it up to them to explain the rest because my words are merely that, their music will sum it all up. 

Whispering Beard Folk Festival 2013

Whispering Beard Folk Festival 2013

By: Moose

                The drive from the West side of Cincinnati down Route 50 west to Friendship, Indiana (located between Versailles and Dillsboro, Indiana) was much needed this year. As I began to get closer to this sleepy little town nestled in a valley the sun’s rays peeked through overcast clouds and seemed to light up this place that would be home for the next five days. A smile came across my face as I knew that this year would again be better than the last.

                This gathering of bearded and non-bearded people for three days has the feeling of the coming of a New Year. It brings people together from different walks of the earth. Some known and some that are coming for the first time. They come for the music and the relaxation and from their own words: “this is a festival unlike any other.” It is kid friendly as well as you take a walk over to Vendor’s Row where all sorts of trinkets, clothing, and walking food are sold you come to an area named “Val’s Pals” or the “Lil’ Beardo Village.” Where you can have your kids face painted with a beard and where they keep busy with craft making. And for the first time this year the kids were graced with a little music adventure called “The Macaroni & Joe Show,” which the kids loved. Stop by and say hi to Val who puts a lot of effort into helping with the lil’ beardos get their “good vibes.”

                The “good vibes only” is sent through the grounds of the festival. The attendees keep smiles on their faces that don’t leave until it is time for them to go, and hopefully stay with them until the coming of next year’s festival. The music is the source of these “good vibes.” The music is what brings them together in relative peace and harmony. While the headliner may leave the stage the music does not stop. It will go until the early hours of the next morning. Whether it is at Zippy’s Edge or at just some person’s campsite the music truly does not stop.

                From day one as the venue area and campground are empty the feeling of this coming together begins to take shape. Whether in physical form with stages and signs or just the emotional feeling of being in the presence with good people with good hearts. The directors of the festival “Big” Dan Williams, Matt “Buffalo” Wabnitz, Matt “Katfish” Williams, Patrick Gronholm, and Adam “Mulekick Murray” O’neil bring this to us each year with hard work and their due diligence to make sure that this festival goes as smoothly as can be. The help of friends coming to the festival a couple days prior to the opening up of the festival has been present since the festival first started back in 2008 in Buffalo’s backyard. A few friends came down helped build a stage in a barn, or in Kentucky putting up perimeter and making signs and then doing the same thing in Friendship, but with each year making these little nuances better and more appealing to the eye.

                The director’s make it a point to not take too much credit. As they believe this is for the people that come every year, or new people that have never been. To make sure that you can get within what seems like an arm’s reach of the artists performing on the stage. This is for the people that come, not us is a sentiment echoed by the director’s. A community has arose from this that are aptly named “Beardos.” Their presence at the festival is apparent the moment you get to your campsite and are welcomed with a smile either at Zippy’s Edge, The Tye Dye Crew, The Dill Pickle Gang, or The Crow’s Nest West. This is for them, and everyone who attends, it is a chance to let your hair down for a few days and enjoy the music of our generation and generations past.

                The festival is more than just music for a few days. This isn’t other festivals where the bands simply play and then go on to the next show. No, this festival is about bringing the artists to the fans on stage and off. As Friday opens up, the first day of the festival, artists come rolling in along with the campers, vendors, and people that were planning to stay just for the day but soon decide “nah we have to stay the weekend.” The musicians as they file in, load in their gear, and then go to soak in the festival and see what is going on with the people and then soon find themselves among a community of Beardo’s that truly love music. I think, in my humblest of opinions, this is what “they” love about the festival. The chance to not only be a fan but also meet their fans or gain new ones and hang out with them and among them all weekend long. They will play by the bonfire till the wee hours of the morning for anyone who is listening and for anyone that wants to join in.

                The festival has been graced with the likes of Peter Rowan, Guy Clark, Todd Snider, Langhorne Slim, Pokey LaFarge, Jason Isbell, and last year Ramblin’ Jack Elliott. Who hung around on Sunday well after his set was over and said he had never played a festival where he was able to hang out with the people that put it on. For a couple of hours I think everyone sitting around that picnic table couldn’t keep their mouths closed in disbelief that this man a folk legend was hanging out with us. Then there is this year where a lesser known fella Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton took that “hanging out” term to a whole new level. He showed up on Thursday evening and didn’t leave till Tuesday morning. When he got to the festival on Thursday he simply said I want to go wherever the music is, and aside from sleeping he searched out the music all weekend long.

                Something comes over people when they attend for the first time this sense of community takes charge I believe. That everyone in this place is all here for the music and to be good to each other. Music is the driving force of that. Music is a powerful thing when it is done right. It brings people together, and for a few days in Friendship, Indiana it can truly be a universal language. Some people that came this year might not have known anything about a lot of the artists that played, but then you take a look over at the “Murch Booth” and their albums are being bought. Or you take a look at the crowd and see how much they are truly feeling what is happening on stage, music is electric and it is universal.

                “Our” festival is about bringing people together for a few hours or a couple days to just sit down under and oak tree and smile away the hours as different bands play their style of folk music. The lineup that is created by Matt “Buffalo” Wabnitz is quite interesting. As he seems to find bands and acts that go well with each other. From Friday to Sunday it is almost like a mix tape, burned cd, or a playlist. And, don’t get up because in between bands it is only a five minute break a quick sound check and then we are off and running again. Through the music that sometimes feels from years ago but present. I like that dichotomy.

                “Our” festival through the five years that it has been happening has grown and keeps growing. The word of mouth seems to get louder. The people keep coming and keep supporting it. That is a testament to the directors whom once the festival is over and the vendors, campers, and artist have all left next year’s festival planning and brainstorming begins. While there may be no corporate sponsorship that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t welcome a partnership that still remains true to the heart of the festival. Word of mouth, radio ads, pre-shows, and write ups in the local area newspapers are what drive this festival and the people that come.

                The Whispering Beard Folk Festival is an experience one has to have. The good vibes, the community, and especially just being in a town called Friendship where you are welcomed as a friend at the general store and at the tavern is a place one needs to experience if only for a few days. Go say hi to the Stutler’s Judy and Scott who own and operate the General Store and see for yourself why this is the perfect setting to have a festival.

The festival happens at the same time every year the last weekend in August or the weekend before Labor Day, but the planning and brainstorming begin the day after. Check out whisperingbeard.com for more info about the festival, pick up a t-shirt, and register to become a beardo which is free. They are also on the facebook and you can follow them on the twitter-verse. Do yourself a favor and check out one of the best festival’s around. 

Whiskey Bent Valley Boys

Whiskey Bent Valley Boys

By: Moose

From PeWee Valley, Kentucky (and plenty of downed bottles of whiskey and dancin’) these four fellers bring their old-timey bluegrass music. Pewee Valley, located in the rolling hills of Kentucky is home to them, and where it all began.

Whiskey Bent is JR on the fiddle, Robert “Mason” Dixon picking the guitar, Leroy Duane Jones on upright bass, and Chance Wagner rounding it all off with his old-timey banjo flailin’. With this brand of roots music, they take you through the hollers to a style that has been lying in wait. Where at a young age Mason traveled with his parents in their bluegrass band, and soon met JR through JR’s older brother a childhood friend of Mason’s, and his best friend. Mason taught both JR and Leroy and soon these three found the makin’s of what is now known as the Whiskey Bent Valley Boys. Soon after by “chance” they met Chance Wagner, after his band had met a crossroads, and rounded it all off for these boys.  

They bring their style of old-timey bluegrass up from under the ground and onto your plate, in the hopes that for a little while you can dance, sing, and enjoy the sounds of music that has been passed down to them from grandmas, grandads, moms, and dads. They bring it from out of the garage, and from up off the porch for you all to get whiskey bent with them.

As family goes with these boys, there is no shortage of that. Mason’s parents are their biggest supporters. Whether it is driving them around the country in the RV, filling their bellies, or just showing some good ol’, southern hospitality, they are a driving force behind the band, both literally and figuratively. Family is what makes this all the more pleasurable for them.

There are no frills with these guys, just a good old, down-home, foot-stomping fun time. The smile never leaves JR’s face as that fiddle wails and sings along with songs from generations passed. They sit in their half circle and bring to you songs that come straight out of the Appalachian Mountains. With that, make no mistake about it, they can hold their own, and will gladly lend a tune for anyone who has an ear. Their new release, “Peter Tracks” is now available on their website, and you can check ‘em out on any of the obligatory social media sites, Facebook, Twitter, and listen on Reverbnation.

Come see them this Thursday,September 5th at Washington Park for your own trip to PeWee Valley, Ky via Cincinnati.

the latest installment is a bio on Ben Knight and the Well Digger's

Ben Knight and the Well Digger's 

A bio by: Moose

                In January of 2012 Ben Knight moved up to Cincinnati and decided that when he got here after being in school that it was just not for him right now. By pure chance he went to Molly Malone's in Covington, Kentucky where The Tillers were playing. Ben hung around for a little bit and began talking to Sean Geil of The Tillers. Sean told him about an open mic on Tuesday nights in which he hosted at The Crow's Nest in Cincinnati. Ben went, "religiously" as he told me, and from there was able to start doing small gigs in and around town. Then at Stanley's Pub on the "eastside" of town he met Elia Burkhart of Elia Goat and the Natural Horns. Ben approached Elia about making some music together and soon after they were gigging around town. They figured out a name had some gigs and as they were gigging they came to a conclusion that they wanted another man to come along. Again they reached out to a friend James Funk of Red Beard's Revenge who got them in touch with Jeremy Smart of Josh Eagle and the Harvest City. Four months later, after Jeremy decided it was time to move on from his friends (and still good friends) Josh Eagle and the Harvest City, he joined up with Ben and Elia which is now Ben Knight and the Well Diggers.

                With Ben Knight on acoustic guitar or banjo, which he handmade, Elia Burkhart on upright bass, and Jeremy Smart on lead guitar they bring a brand of country folk music that is unique and fresh. Ben has a unique ability to bring different characters into different places and or situations into his songwriting. His picking of the banjo or guitar wraps those stories around upbeat and get ya thinkin' kind of melodies. Elia brings his accomplished bass playing with not only thumping the strings but seemingly putting some percussion behind it as well. Almost like cross sticking a snare drum as he pops and plays. And too round it all out Jeremy adds a lead guitar that has the blues and soul that isn't loud or boisterous, but just right for these Well Diggers.

                I had a recent conversation with Ben and Jeremy in which I asked them both "why music?" Ben said "Music, because I'm a thrill seeker. Music, because I am romanced by what a good song can do to or for the listener and songwriter." That feeling is portrayed through his music. Jeremy said something that I have heard previously and feel myself he said "Music is a universal language. It's a cliché, but music chooses you. I couldn't stop playing (even) if I wanted to. It's in my blood. And it's a damn fine way to make a living if you can make it work. I love touring and meeting folks all over the country. Good work if you can get it." Through his lead guitar and background vocals the passion bleeds from that guitar.

                These three gentleman have a chemistry through their songs. They have only been together for about a year, but through the songs and live shows you would think they had been together much longer. They evoke the blues, through Jeremy's leads, jazz through Elia's upright bass, and folk and bluegrass through Ben's acoustic and banjo. They come to us via different ways of getting there through a move, chance meetings, and different bands and through these chance encounters we get Ben Knight and the Well Digger's.

                They will be touring very soon and will have their first album set to release, aptly titled “Diving Rod” on September 13th. You can check them out at benknightandthewelldiggers.com or on facebook. This brand of country, folk, and blues this Well Diggers music is pure and raw. Check them out they are sure to be a good time.

                

a preview of things to come and things in the works

Good afternoon folks the latest bio on, hahahahah i won't say, is in the works I should have it up later today. I suppose I could say.
Ben Knight and the Well Diggers is in the works. Shiny and the Spoon's new album will be coming to you by next week. I've been getting a nice response from friends and musicians so with all of you help we can keep this going.
I have been honored by Buffalo Wabs to do a piece on the Whispering Beard Folk Festival that will be coming in about a week or so. I asked Ian of Terminal Union to review his album and that too will be coming soon. A lot of things in the works and will be coming soon.
So stay tuned and hope to see a bunch of you at The Whispering Beard Folk Festival happening this Friday August 23rd through August 25th.

Ring Around the Moon the lastest album from My Brother the Bear

Ring Around the Moon

By: My Brother the Bear

Review by: Moose

My Brother the Bear is Daniel Bayer. His latest album "Ring Around the Moon" is ten tracks that convey an inner monologue of life, love, and leaving home and coming back. Through his travels and time spent in the military, he brings the conversation from inside himself onto these ten tracks. A falsetto, guitar, harmonica, kick drum, some friends, and whistling My Brother the Bear for almost an hour brings you on the road with him. He invites you to share in the experiences that have lead him from leaving home and to his return. Making his home now in Cincinnati he brings to life his "inner monologue" as he recently told me.

The opening track "Huckleberry Finn" starts us on the road and into the inner workings of this singer songwriter. Just "knock another down" and keep going he says. To the next track "I'm Coming Home" a track that has the struggle with leaving home and then having to come back. The same brick the same freeway signs a place that on the outside never changed but inside you see it through a different lens. A couple tracks later we are introduced to a song called "Far Apart and Few Between" in which My Brother the Bear leaves his falsetto at the proverbial doorstep and speaks with a candor of someone thinking out loud of the places that have been seen and the place he is coming back to. In the next track "Abigail" comes to our ears a track that Bayer gathered twelve of his closest musician friends to help this song become full and breathe.

The album comes to a close with a Stephen Foster classic "Hard Times Come Again No More." With this track the album is wrapped up and closes with a thought. That through all the troubles of love, life, being away from home and coming back there is still always tomorrow..."Every day you have lingered all around my cabin door, oh hard times come again no more"....Sung calmly and distinctly through a melodic tone of voice you can hear the hope of better days to come.

These ten tracks that My Brother the Bear lends to our ears gives us insight into a songwriter who has traveled around a bit and seen life and love through a lens of a hopeful tomorrow, with the past always on his heels. I had the pleasure of asking him recently "why music?" And he said without skipping a beat "It's universal." Through this album he gives you a glimpse into his world that much of us have probably been down. For almost an hour you are welcomed inside the world of My Brother the Bear to get lost behind a falsetto that strikes that good chord maybe sometimes lost within one's soul.

The album will officially be released on the 16th of August with Bayer having an album release show at The Crow's Nest in Cincinnati, Ohio.  He will be playing the Whispering Beard Folk Festival (Aug. 23-25) followed by a mini tour in September. You can visit his website: http://mybrotherthebear.com/ for any other news or updates or check him out on Facebook or Reverbnation, and introduce yourself to this refreshing brand of My Brother the Bear's music.

Blue Caboose

Blue Caboose

By: Moose

In December of 2010, three guys from three different bands found themselves needing something new. These three fellas are Tony Hall, Sleepy Andy Tracy, and Michael "Marty" Martin. Tony was in a band called Zen Lunatics, Sleepy Andy in Eazy, and Marty in Perfect Norm. They got together and formed a bluegrass, folky, old-timey band called Blue Caboose.

The band's namesake was an old, blue Caboose near Queensgate, in what I like to call the "Warehouse District" of Cincinnati.

These three gentlemen, with one microphone, perform with Sleepy Andy playing the banjo, mandolin and harmonica, Marty on accordion and keyboard with Tony on guitar and an iron cooking skillet. All three sing the songs that bring to life a rock and a sway of that last car - the caboose - pounding the rail.

In a smoky room called "The Lounge" at The Southgate House Revival in Newport, KY, I sat quietly and listened to these guys sing originals and covers, all the while the smile never leaving my face. It was infectious. They have an innate ability to bring fun to the music that they enjoy playing. Whether it is to a full room, or, just you, music is what these guys do. They leave it up there on the proverbial stage for you to listen and enjoy.

They encapsulate a down-home fun time. The jokes don't stop, and the music seems to never end, and you don't want it to. The first song, "Sittin' on Top of the World" featured an awesome accordion solo - yes - an accordion solo. The accordion is their something extra. Or how can you ever go wrong with playing The Jungle Book's "The Bare Necessities" (of life, that is)? They can also bring you back to Cincinnati's Over-the Rhine with a song called "Goin' O'er the Rhine (Diddle Um Day); which tells the story, with an up tempo melody, of the changes that have been taking place there.

They slow it down as well with a song called "Tennessee" which made me want to travel back there with a different set of eyes. But, it was when Andy and Marty put their instruments down (except guitar) and the three of them used the instrument they were born with: their voice. Then, I could really tell what these guys were about: simplicity at its finest. Nothing unnecessarily fancy with these guys, just plain and simple their version of Blue Caboosin', folk, country, old-timey, bluegrass music.

On this National Dance Day "The Skillet Song" which, is a must-see, brought the stompin' and clappin'. People literally stopped in their tracks as Tony wailed away on his skillet with a set of drum sticks. They came down off the stage and played to the bar, the crowd, and to their fans.

This is their mix of sound, some original, some covers. They bring their roots and their hodge-podge of influences into each song.  I asked John Baker, the owner of a great venue, "The Plain Folk Cafe", how he would describe Blue Caboose? He said, "I would say that their sound is like bluegrass, folk, funk, polka, jazz, and jam rock all had a big orgy. Then, Bluegrass ended up pregnant, not knowing which of the others was the father, and gave birth to Blue Caboose."

Music is what these guys do. I asked Tony a two word question that always plays in my head with musicians: "Why music?" His answer, which show's in Blue Caboose's Music: "There is no other choice."

That, my friends, gets to their core. Go ahead and check 'em out www.bluecaboose.net and check out their album, Modern Limited, and see for yourself why these guys had "no other choice" than to do what they love. While you're there, do yourself a favor and head out to one of the many upcoming shows for Blue Caboose. You will not be disappointed and will surely have a fun time.

new things

it's been a while folks, but you should be seeing more posts on a more frequent basis. overhauled myself and we will see where this thing goes.
hope all is well with everyone stay tuned for the new direction in which this is going to go...

hunger and halfway home

Hunger & Halfway Home 

Intersections and street corners just me and this sign

Homeless and any little bit will help.

Been halfway to home a thousand times

Can't seem to bring myself to go back.

Hunger sets in like the dark of night

But I'm free out here with choices I make.

Ain't got a dollar to my name

Freedom you can't buy anyway and I don't need fame.

Livin' under a bridge any little bit helps

Livin' on the streets any winds blow seems right.

Livin' under a bridge and takin' step by step

Tryin' to get at least halfway to home.

I wake up with the sun as she peers through the morning sky

Homeless and wandering troubles all by and by.

I'll meet ya on the other side from here to then

My freedom is all I need and glory is in my pen.

Temporary Dogs Still Cross Roads

Temporary & Dogs Still Cross Roads

I've sat here and re wrote this and re thought this out countless times since Monday when this happened. We know their names, we know where they are from, and we will know more in the coming days and weeks and possible months. As I sit here though and think about it, why do we care about the why? The why won't bring anyone back, the why won't solve anything. The only thing that matters to me is peace, and these "kids" shot that down in an instant. Love and compassion for your neighbor shot down. Fortunately though the people of Boston came together and helped with what they could.

Now, I'm just some guy behind a few key strokes in a warehouse in Cincinnati, Ohio reflecting about the crazy week that has evolved and keeps evolving. I am reminded of something my cousin said just this morning "I don't understand this. With all the beauty this world has why is there so much hate? I just don't understand it." I don't either. In my humblest of opinions this world is filled with so much more beauty, good, and love than there is hate or so it may seem. I feel there is though. That eight year old boy that died in the blast on Monday was seen in pictures smiling but in one he was holding a sign that read "No More hurting people, peace." When I heard that yesterday following my girlfriend to get something to eat I cried. I welled up inside because if an eight year old can see the hatred in people and only wants peace than why can't everyone else? It seems as if this has been a fight for decade upon decade upon decade upon decade. I'd like to take that boy's statement and wear it proudly in honor of him, and in honor of the meaning behind it.

Look I may not agree with my government or some religious folks or people in general but that doesn't mean I am going to plot out a way to kill them and in the process kill myself. I guess that's the difference between me and them. I still feel for peoples that have been done wrong by this the United States of America. Some peoples have been helped and when the shit hit the fan the USA were nowhere to be found. That's a lonely feeling and that cuts deep to these sometimes third world countries, but it still gives no human being to take a life of another. I guess you can only be pushed into a corner for so long to where you finally snap as well.

What happened on Monday though doesn't seem like that though to me, but what do I know? All I do know is that there are families, innocent in whatever these crazy kids idea was who have family members that won't come back and that have been maimed. To that pure hatred I just don't understand. Flat out just don't understand. There is no rhyme or reason to this. When you conduct this act of violence your "cause" is not just and to me there is no "justifying." You can explain but you will get no sympathy from me. I can forgive yes, but I cannot and will not sympathize with you.

I’m just reminded of what that little boy had wrote on a poster board. Five words that we should all take stock of. Five words that quit honestly speak volumes of morality. That if you can’t be touched by that, even a little bit, well I just don’t know what to say to you.

In concluding this thing here I guess just be good people. There is always someone who has it worse, and we all are in this thing together. Life is temporary and dogs will still cross roads but at the end of the day treating people kindly is a lot more gratifying than the alternative. 

April Fool's Her Better Half

April’s Fooled Her Better Half

Inspired by my friends in the Cincinnati Songrwriter’s Group

Hope you enjoy this friends….

April fools her better half with half told truth’s and unkept sheets.

April fools her better half with half bitters and a fool’s vodka

The last thing written on the chalkboard by the bathroom stall was,

“HA HA HA fooled you yet again!!!”

April’s fool leaves the light on when not in the room

April’s fool has never swept with a broom

April’s fool while all in love

Never cleans up nor never seems to care.

Her better half is a mess of a dresser

The same shirt for a week along with them “lucky jeans”

He ain’t the smartest man nor does he try

He just lives each day and just tries to get by

April’s fool loves her with the light on when not in the room

April’s fool doesn’t want to sweep up after with that broom

April’s fool while all in love

Will always stay in love no matter how much she may shove.

Her better half ain’t that GQ kind of feller

He’s got a beard and mustache and loves Old Yeller.

Her better half ain’t a sharp dressed man

He’s just all in love so why give a damn?

April’s fooled her better half with all the love

She makes him breakfast and really gives a damn

April’s fooled her better half with all the love

But is it really foolin when all yer doin is messin?

April’s fool may not be well dressed

April’s fool may not be well groomed

April’s fool may not be good with a broom

But when he smiles at her that’s when it all blooms again.

April fools her better half for no more

April fooled her better half for the last time

April fools her better half for how or why?

April loves her better half for a hundred scores.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!

To My Mom

You deserve something special

You deserve something from the heart

You deserve these thoughts however long or however short.

You are always willing to help even when I don’t ask

You are always there to help when I’m in dire need.

Something special for a special mother

Always a kind word

Always an honest word

I may call a lot sometimes it’s just to hear you

I miss our talks

You see I guess the old irish saying is “that irish boys don’t like leaving their mother’s”

Well I may have left but some times it feels like I haven’t

I hope you don’t mind the calls

I hope you don’t mind them at all.

Something special for a special mom

Something from my heart for you I give

It’s your birthday and however small it may feel to you

It is a big deal to me.

I may have been a punk when I was younger

But I am trying to make up for those lost years.

You have always been the best you can be

And us four have only needed you to be that.

Yes, you deserve something special

Even though these maybe words

I just want to say I love you

I want to wish you a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

I miss when you would come home and the dogs would bolt to the door

I miss that loudness of their howling.

I miss our conversations in your room about our day

Or about our goings on

I miss the way you could crush me when I lost a job

I simply miss you.

Something special for a special mom

I hope that in someway this worked

I hope you have a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY,

And I love you…..

jolly banker woody guthrie lyrics (performed by wilco and then by moose)

all i want is you by barry louis polisar

I'm Just Gettin' Older

I’m Just Gettin’ Older

My joints hurt and my back aches

I get sleepy well before 8

Yeah I ain’t getting no younger

I’m just getting older

Ain’t got no gray hairs

Just nickels and dimes to share

Yeah I ain’t getting no younger

I’m just getting older

Make me a boat

So I can float outta here

Cuz I ain’t getting no youner

I’m just getting older

Put myself on a train

To get me lost for a few days

Cuz I ain’t getting no younger

I’m just getting older

My dirty old socks

They just ain’t getting washed

Cuz I ain’t getting no younger

I’m just getting older

we are the same you see

We Are The Same You See

By: Moose Mcdonholm

The Flinger Flanger sits atop the Ringer Ranger Mountain,

Where he sits and thinks about his feet so furry.

His daughter miss Lilly Flanger asked him one day,

“Poppa why are my feet not as furry as yours?”

The Flinger Flanger said with no pausey pause,

“Because my darling Lilly Flanger you are still a little Flanger. When you get a little bit older your feet will be just as furry as this Flanger.”

It wasn’t two weeks later that little Miss Lilly Flanger was at Hanger Langer Middle School and she noticed her once not furry feet were now just as furry as the Flinger Flangers.

And she smiled a smile so wide it stretched the hallway at Hanger Langer.

Little Miss Lilly Flanger went on about her day enjoying her new found furry feet happy and smiling.

Then the Wrencher Fencher twins saw Miss Lilly Flanger and pointed and laughed at the furriness of her newly found furry feet.

Miss Lilly Flanger began to cry all while the Wrencher Fencher twins kept pointing and laughing.

The bell rang and it was time to get back to class and when Lilly Flanger got into the classroom the teacher Mrs. Henny Fenny asked Lilly what was wrong and Lilly explained what happened.

Mrs. Henny Fenny took Lilly down to the principal Mr. Belly Jelly and he said he would deal with the Wrencher Fencher twins and that he would call the Flinger Flanger and have Little Miss Lilly Flanger picked up.

Little Lilly didn’t wait long and poppa was there gave her a hug and asked her what happened and she told him. As the Flinger Flanger lead Lilly to their car he came up with an idea.

Little Miss Lilly with her furry feet and watery crying eyes was all ears when the Flinger Flanger said “Darling oh Darling don’t be upset for there is way to get them back.”

Little Miss Lilly’s eyes went wide when the Flinger Flanger told her his idea.

So the next day at Hanger Langer the Wrencher Fencher twins with their frizzy hair of purple color atop their coney woney heads started pointing and laughing and Lilly Flanger didn’t flinch at the fench.

She smiled and waited and then said “oh Wrencher Fencher twins I may look differently from you but we still bleed blue. Both you and me are the same you see. Our look may be different, agreed, but we are still the same indeed. You can point and laugh at my furry feet and my furry everything, but you, me, and all are all the same you see.”

The Wrencher Fencher twins put down there pointy fingers and quieted their cackle hackle laughter and simply shook Little Miss Lilly Flanger’s furry little flanger furry finger.

Little Miss Lilly Flanger went home to see her poppa the Flinger Flanger atop the Ringer Ranger Mountain and hugged him a hug tight and warm and said “thank you poppa.”

i'm gonna drink em down...

i'm gonna drink em down

happy valentine's day...too my one love...

Roses are red violets are blue I love you and that is true. Roses are violets are blue I love you for you. Roses are red daffodils are yellow And all I want to be is your fellow. Rose are red tulips are green I love you and hope that is seen. Poems are great stories of fate All about you from this once lonely dude. Hoping my words uplift you a bit cuz your smile stays with me for miles and miles. I could dance and I could sing I can and have danced and sung All the moves All the words Are all about you. A simple twist of fate Came along one October day And brought you with all your beauty to me. Roses are red and violets are blue I like you and hope you like me. Roses are read and violets are blue I love you and hope you love me. HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!!! To you the most beautiful woman EVER. I love you Moriah Haven Lawson, And this gift to you is only a something to say that.

HAPPY BEARDIFUL FRIDAY!!!!

i sit and spin, dream and think, all the while standing motionless and unaware. times they are a changing, funny how dylan was right. i do not stand on a soapbox. i do not know nor have the answers to why? or how? or when? or where? i won't pretend to know either. all i know is all i have. which ain't much. common sense and common human decency where have you gone? maybe you've gone the way of ridin' the rail like so many hobo's who have came before, but now have gone into hiding. waiting for the chance to be free again. to get into a nice warm boxcar and listen to the hum of steel on steel. oh times, how you have changed. i am a romantic. hopeless and hopeful for the day when common sense and human decency will run down that boxcar and take one last ride to set us free. you are still there however. lying in the shadows. peeking around unlit street corners. shyly smiling at all of us pretending to have the answers. i see you there waiting and slowly and methodically making your return. if no one can here though how will they know? don't be afraid, speak up, take a chance because you never know who is listening. you never know who may here your cry. oh it is out there i know it. i can feel it. i can see it. i can taste it. these are just words for anyone you that read them, i know that. maybe you like it maybe you don't. either way these are just words to fill up space and blank pages. every single one chosen carefully. i don't know. all i know is that this is fun. treating life with common sense and human decency is all i know and all i am trying to do. what else can i do? it's FRIDAY folks, and a BEARDIFUL one at that. that much i do know. that much i do care about, because no matter what or which way the wind blows i'm still breathing and as long as i'm still breathing i'm putting my rubber soul'd boots to the ground and gonna try and figure it out. HAPPY BEARDIFUL FRIDAY AND ENJOY YER WEEKEND FOLKS!!!!

pennies & tails

Pennies & Tails: There was a word or phrase that escapes my brain It had the melody of a sweet song of rain. It danced all the pain away As you’d layed naked out in the shade. There was a turn at the end of the street That knocked and tumbled at my feet. Jesus Christ came back and played the beat While Judas sat stone face and a little too neat. There was a sign posted on the front door But the floor boards were rotting and sore. The teller at the store had more to score Than the land master and all his chores. The chords on the machine gun stand Played all night long with the band Jesus and Judas sat and clapped their hands And the man with the fan ran to clasp the clamps. There was a cry that came from up the mountain Ellie Mae was tired and didn’t hear the shoutin The old man by the fountain pulled a shotgun Ellie Mae tried drawing open the curtain The string was stuck and she pulled and pulled The cry became more faint and turned to a lull The old man tried to fire that big old bull But it backfired and the smoke and debris hit em in the skull. There were signs of warning and of waning That where distinctly uncannily wavering The flailing of the spanning climbed steadily To the beating of dumb founded drumming. She was boldly finger picking at her stockings He was shyly thumbing thoroughly at gravity While the waitress in black netting kept serving coffee, And stating to the ceiling that everything is so dreamily dreamy There was a word or phrase that escapes my brain That lingers in the veins of my darkest pain. There was a word or phrase that erases my shame Tears apart at fame and lame old lames with weird names There was a word or phrase that escapes my brain There. Was. A. Word. Or. Phrase. That. Escapes. My Brain.

ahh thoughts...

many thoughts have passed along with many a dream. from the whispering beard 08 to the whispering beard '13. i'm just a feller on the well oiled machine. supposing and juxtaposing my dreams and my needs. here it is the beginning of the new, and the end of the old. here it is whether it be good or bad at least it will be true. ahh, the whispering beard so close i can smells it........if you listen closely you can hear the vague sounds of foot stomping off in a far off distance....shhhhhhhhhhh....it's coming...will you be there?

family tree & the end of time

i was born into my family's tree without a nickle nor a dime. they taught me about life and love they taught me about doing right. i was told there's more to life than this this is what i'm tryin' to recollect maybe it's the drag of everyday life maybe it was the she hung it over me like a knife. my family's tree no it ain't that big. my family's tree lord, is torn and ragged from dreams to come and to not from lost souls to ones who found homes. i was born into my family's tree without a nickle nor a dime now i'm stuck on this county line til the very lonesome end of time...

thirty years....

Thirty years in Chicago that blue line came to know my name. Lake Shore Drive spelled more ways to have fun than the Webster’s dictionary. The magnificent mile would smile with the goblins and the lions that lined the buildings along her magnificent street. Your parks and your lake took my insides wrapped them around each other spat them out and then I felt alive again. The sunrise over your lake was a sight that few get to witness. It may look like an ocean, and it does, but the sound of tide coming in was and is relaxing to say the least. The colors that pop when that sun rises over your horizon dances with each other to the beat of your own heart if you listen close enough. I’ve never truly been wowed by you Chicago until I left you. I never thought I would miss you but I do. You have a way about you like a beautiful woman with curvy hips and when she dances she makes you lose track of self. You’ve got a way about you Chi-town and you’ll be near to my heart, but the time for moving has come and gone starting a new… Thirty years of slow growth has brought me to a place that is worth more than these eyes can see, more than these words can bleed, more than these ears can feel through the sounds that pound like conga drums. Cincinnati you’ve brought to me, home. Your sideways streets that pour melodies from the hills that roll up and down when you are cruising along Cleves Warsaw or the ferry. I might have been lost in a sea of loneliness, but now it’s too hard to be lonely when you have all this scenery surrounding you. I’ve seen your sunrise over the hills by your university and it set me aflame with words and melodic beats stuck in my head that need to be released. The river so easy breaks my heart when I see her so dirty, lifts me up when I see her in those quiet mornings and evenings. She’s got a way of being patient with you. She gives you time to sort things out. Nothing is fast paced we take our time. You have to have a sense of urgency, but at the same time just relax you’ll get there is what she says to me when I’m awake or asleep. The people here I adore. They are all different in so many ways, but they do have something in common, patience. Sure you have people that want things done now, but that is any town. Here however, there is no rush. The hustle and bustle of rubber to pavement is more for fun than it is to get somewhere. The hustle of life’s busy race is a nowhere place they get more out of life with the less that they worry. Yes it’s true we all have stresses, we all have worry, but here maybe it’s more held in. The looks and the handshakes make us all feel new when we get together at the Crow’s Nest Saloon. I’ve never meant no harm or foul, I’ve meant to be swallowed up by these experiences that all become new each time I see the lights on the marquee. Thirty years man and here I am enjoying each day that comes to pass my way. Each new adventure that falls upon my broad shoulders brings joy and wonder of what else could be out there. Thirty years and now I call Cincinnati my home. Been calling it that for a long time and when you finally get the balls to take a risk it’s one of the most fulfilling feelings that I could have. People come and go they find new things around different corners of the street, their town, their world, but there’s something about leaving what you knew was so true that lights a fire deep inside. I love this place. I love this race. I love the looks on people’s face. The Charlene at the UDF that always greets you in the morning with “morning honey” or “is that all you need baby?” makes me feel warm inside. Has me thinking, just simply has me thinking. I could get lost for days on this train that has come my way. She spells her name to me in the sky as the clouds fill my mind. She’s nervous and I can tell something’s been bugging her and she can’t find the words. Wish I could grab her all up whisper to her softly in her ear that it’s okay dear. We could get lost from all this mess that’s been dug up. We could spread our wings and fly away and take me away from me. Here we go again the same old lines and the same old dance. The same lies been played so many different times. I’m leaning on you for some truth, for some rhyme or reason for the meaning that’s been lost in this dry and crazy wind. Been getting sidetracked been wanting you more than you could ever know. The sing songy sway to the rock in your voice brings me to my knees. The smile amongst these old and ragged trees calms my heart and eases my pain. You’re like a soothing rain that’s brought the light through the grey clouds to shine upon my weary soul. That might be a little too much but it’s the truth. That might be more than should be said but when you feel something true the least you should do is say it and say it loud for all the world to hear. There’s no rhyme there’s no reason to the way you’ve moved me. This train that has rattled and hummed it’s way to my side has frayed knots in my stomach, has calmed the bees that bother my insides. I’m just a road through your streets, maybe better just a crack in your many sidewalks that bleeds with passion and love for all souls, all beings, all people that walk the streets with heavy hearts and worn out eyes. This could go on and on and it probably will. When you feel something deep to hold back would only make the feeling stronger and more alive. The thoughts that rage in my head make sleep a pointless act. I lay awake at night with dreams that pound my brain like that freight train blowing his horn all through the morn. I like the exhaustion you sleep too long you will miss out on something wonderful. I like the mornings here calm and quiet. Sometimes the fog rolls in and the hills and trees peak there tops out just enough to say good morning, and what a great feeling it is. I could get lost here in all these streets and hills, but somehow I always find my way back home.

words of prose

the slow prose of dominating dominoes makes cops go fetch jelly rolls i sing no sad song to be sung and flung. like the dirt on the windshield i'm left stranded to watch the setting sun wash over my sunburnt skin. cops yes fetch jelly rolls what else are they supposed to do when all that they know is becoming less and less of a clue? i do not pretend to be unknowing i want only to be all serving. for friends and family and a special lady are worth serving...