Having caught a cold this week, I wasn't able to get much work done in the studio in terms of recording songs. Couldn't sing, didn't feel like playing. So in order to get something done, I decided to get to work on editing one of the videos I'd shot.

I got the idea of shooting my sessions in the studio from Paul Westerberg's "Come Feel Me Tremble" DVD. In that DVD, we see Paul in his basement recording songs. In recent years Paul works the same way I do, i.e. playing all the instruments. So I thought "I can do that", and I set up a camera to shoot whatever I was doing, with the idea of editing the footage later. This particular song is called "Rearview Mirror", and in the video we see me playing drums, guitar, bass, slide guitar, and singing. It's a pretty good representation of my process.

For some reason I had a tough time getting it uploaded on myspace--I kept getting some sort of error message. But it was easy enough getting this video up on youtube. You can see it here. Or I'll just embed it here:

On November 8, 2004 I performed at the HHH Metrodome in Minneapolis at a benefit for Mark Hershkowitz. Mark was a pivotal member of the TV sports community in the Twin Cities, and was very sick. So a benefit was arranged to help with his medical expenses, and I was asked to play. It was an honor to perform at the event, in front of a few hundred members of the TV community gathered on the infield. There was a silent auction, and we raised about $20,000.

At the time they asked me to play, I had no band. I was performing either solo, with either bassist Tim Bolduc or sax man Dennis Landeen, or both. But I wanted to pull a band together for this event. It is a very big room after all. So Tim enlisted his friends drummer David Hill and guitarist Matt Leonetti. With very little time to prepare, we had exactly two rehearsals and on we went.

Needless to say, we had great time playing in front of 200 or so people gathered under the vast Metrodome roof. And while I have had some experience playing to nearly empty rooms, this was the most empty seats I've ever played to. Something like 49,000 empty seats. Metrodome soundman Jeff Pedersen recorded the show, and finally I have begun mixing the songs. And I've posted the first one, "Beverly's Boyfriends", on my myspace page. Check it out. I'll mix some more of these songs and post them. And maybe I'll even release a "Live At The Metrodome" CD.

One more interesting note. This was the first and last performance of this particular band. Which, I believe, makes it the only band to ever do it's debut and farewell performance at the Metrodome on the same night. Cool.

I wanted to post this right after the show last Friday, but I didn't trust my memory of the drummer's last name. Del was the first name. I knew that much for sure. But the last name went by me, as I heard it from the bass player in the middle of a song. Besides, Del had only just then walked in the door, sat down, and started playing with us. Sounds a bit bizarre, I know. But that's the way it happens sometimes. Much better than putting an ad in the local free weekly and fielding phone calls from strange musicians. Better that they just walk in the door and start playing.

Let me explain. I had a show last Friday at the Riverview. About a week before I ran into Dennis Landeen (my sax player) and his bass-playing buddy Bruce Thompson at the wine bar. We were drinking and talking music and it was fun. The next day I asked Dennis if he thought Bruce would like to play a gig sometime. He asked Bruce, and Bruce said yes he would. Not only that, he would learn the songs and be ready by Friday. By Friday? Really?

So I burned him a CD of the songs and waited for Friday, which finally came. I thought "well, this will be a fun experiment." And as it turned out, Bruce had his shit down! We started out with songs he had gotten familiar with. And that went very well. But he even nailed the one's he hadn't gotten yet!

So this was going pretty well, and I was happy. More than that, I was having a great time. Then in walked Del. Dennis had invited Del to play, but he hadn't told me because he didn't know if Del would make the show. So this guy walks in the door with a cajon, which is like a hollow box you sit on and play with your hands like a drum. So Del sits on his cajon and starts playing, and I still don't know what's going on but it sounds great so who cares? We played a bunch of songs together, the four of us in this sudden band with no name. And I must say we rocked the house, and had a blast doing it.

And just as he had blown in the door seemingly with the wind, Del was off again out the door. I guess he had somewhere to be. Gallagher. Del Gallagher.

Well that was fun. You shoulda been there.

I got this from Laura at Holy Grail Productions just this morning:

*******
Saw you at the Loring - the DEMO showcase @ the Red Room...you're going to be on TV Tuesdays in November at 8:30pm on MTN cable channel 17. Sounding good!!

Laura
*******

Cool. Dennis Landeen and I played there last month, and there was a woman with a video camera shooting. So those of you with cable TV in the Twin Cities have something to do every Tuesday night.

And just last Sunday, someone said they saw me on channel 2, or TPT as they like to be called. Apparently I was on Almanac again. About 3 years ago Clay Matvick and I were on Almanac singing "Circle Me Bert". And every now and then they drag the tape out and put us on again, I suppose when they come up short of real programming ideas. Note to Almanac producer Brendan Henahan--fill out a cue sheet and send it to BMI, they might send me a nickel.

And what about when I played with Katie Tessman on NewsNight Minnesota? You could put that on couldn't you? Even though NewsNight is no longer on the air--who would know? It was shot in the same studio anyway.

Alright, gotta go.

Not many gigs on the horizon--I've been lazy about booking--so I've been recording a lot in an attempt to feel like an active musician. And I've posted some new songs on the myspace page, as well as some new "old" songs.

The first of these new "old" songs is Son Or Daughter. Those of you who have attended my gigs have heard me play that one acoustically, as well as in the various bands I've had over the past few years, most notably with the Folkups. And I did release Son Or Daughter on my "Knives & Bleeding" EP--the one with the headless guitar player on the cover, the one you can't even get anymore. (Hell, I think I only have one or two around here somewhere.) "Knives & Bleeding" was recorded on a four track, manufactured in my basement, and sold only at live shows--so not a lot of people have it. And I always thought Son Or Daughter was one of my better songs. So in view of the fact that I now record with ProTools I thought it would be a good idea to bring that one back and re-record it for my next CD. So there it is now, here on my myspace page. Since posting it I have tweaked the recording a bit, and I may add some parts, so stay tuned for an updated version.

By the way, I wrote Son Or Daughter just before my daughter was born. She's 17 now. Yikes!

The other new "old" song is "Andy The Beachgod". Anyone who remembers that song had to have seen one of my solo shows back in my Madison days, 'cause that's how far back that one goes. I may have played it once or twice since then, but that's about it. But it's a fun little ska song, definitely not meant to be taken too seriously, and I thought I would record it. Dennis Landeen plays a mean sax on it, and besides guitars, bass, drums, keys, and vocals, I play the dumbbell. That's a first for me. Maybe a first for anyone!

Hey, it's good to see someone is reading these posts. That's what the little chart just to the left of the window I'm typing in tells me anyway.

Cheers,

Jim

Dennis and I played the Acadia last night, and I must say they really know how to do music right there. They have a little 50 seat theater adjacent to their cafe, complete with a PA, lights, etc. Owner Ted has definitely got this music thing down!

Hats off as well to the DEMO staff, Cheryl, Stephen, and everyone. Top rate in all respects. If you haven't been to one of their showcases, I say get to one soon. It's a great place to hear new music.

And a big round of applause for Ethan up there on the board mixing the sound. I say "up there" because he literally was up there. You have to climb a ladder to get to the mixer.

Of course we had a great time playing. Dennis was auditioning for a part in an indy film--more about that another time. Like when he gets the part. And nothing terribly unusual happened, like at the last gig when a woman came up to me and told me to watch out, because there were people stealing your skin, there are actually 8 Pete Seegers and only one of them is the right one, and her relatives were all missing and once she locates all of them they will have a family reunion in Wisconsin and build castles for protection. There was MUCH more to her story than that, but that's as much as I remember. That was at the gig before this one. I should've written about it. Anyway, nothing like that happened at the Acadia.

Almost as much fun as playing myself was watching the other performers. Jon Manners tore up the stage with his gritty acoustic blues. He had me wondering "Damn, how am I going to follow this guy?"
The Moonrunners were on after me, and won over the audience with their R&B flavored pop, not to mention a KILLER bass player.
The Substars are a three piece that played minimulist, "angular" punky rock. Front man Ben did a great job of keeping his cool despite getting shocks off the vocal mic while playing his guitar.
I was about to leave after The Substars, but I decided to stick around for the last band, Skittish. And I'm glad they did. They were a true multimedia band--a two piece featuring these wild videos on a screen set up between them. Very cool.

Cool night, I must say.

Well, I hadn't played anywhere since September, and I was itching to get back at it. People had been asking "Jim, when are you playing again?", and I didn't have much to tell them. I was happy that people were asking, but unhappy with my answer. So back in February when Dave at the Riverview asked if I wanted to book some shows I jumped at the chance.

The Riv is a cool little venue, with the coffeeshop on one side and the winebar on the other. Of course you can bring your beer and wine from the winebar into the coffeeshop to drink, which is a good thing for me cuz I think my "crowd" likes to booze it up a little. So do I, for that matter. Of course the problem is that sometimes the winebar side is hopping while the coffeeshop side is comparatively empty. I was happy to see that that was not the case last Saturday. In fact there was a point where I'm sure we had more people in the coffeeshop. And of course my Big Fat Ego tells me that I was the reason for that, but I am much too modest to say such a thing. Actually the last show I did there my BFE took a beating for exactly that reason--lots of folks in the winebar and not many in the coffeeshop. I actually was going to put off playing there till the weather was warmer and I could play outside (because the crowd is better outside), but like I said, Dave was after me to play...

So I'm glad I did, cuz it was a great show. We had some folks from the mailing list show up (PK & Co., Sue Duffy & Co.), and there wasn't an empty seat in the house. Dennis Landeen showed up with his sax--I wasn't sure if he would, he's a bit of a wildcard that way--and he lended his usual charm and musical expertise to the show. In any case I was glad to have him onstage--the guy's a killer on the sax. So we tore it up for a couple hours, played some old songs and new songs of mine and some old and new covers, including a version of Sly Stone's "If You Want Me To Stay". The two guys yelling for "Purple Rain" reminded me that I have to work some Prince covers into the show, and I fully intend to do that next time (April 27). This is Minnesota, after all!

So my return, after six (!) months, to the stage was a success. Of course I haven't been just sitting around. I've been writing and recording new songs for another CD, so it hasn't been time wasted. But there's nothing like playing out live. Gotta book more shows, hopefully in places I haven't been to yet. Stay tuned.

WELL, I played three days in the past week at the Minnesota State Fair on the French Crepes stage and I have to say I had a great time. I want to thank everyone who came out to the shows--it was good to see you all.

A strange thing happened to me on the way to the first show last Friday. The guy who booked me had given me a few comp tickets so I could get in the gate. Unfortunately I left them at home, and I had spent the cash I had on parking. So there I was at the gate trying to talk my way in--I explained how I was booked to play a show and forgot my ticket, blah, blah, blah, and could you please let me in, I'll bring two tickets tomorrow. Well the folks manning the gate would have none of that. Lucky for me a woman passing by heard my plight and offered to pay my way in. That was nice, but I thought it would be better to sell her a CD, so that's how I got in the first night. You can bet I remembered my comps for the next shows!

The other unusual thing was the first night--there seemed to be an abundance of young girls in cowboy hats attending the fair. At first I thought there must be some special event going on concerning horses. Then I realized what was really going on--Rascal Flatts was playing the mainstage. THAT explained everything!

And today was supposed to be the return of saxman extraordinaire Dennis Landeen. Some of you may know that I've been playing solo shows all summer, since Dennis fell thirty feet off a scaffolding and suffered a couple of compound fractures in one leg. Anyway, Dennis called the other day to say he thought he could play. But as it turned out he called this morning to say he didn't think his leg was ready, so I played another solo set. Frankly, it's probably a good thing he didn't come--just getting to the stage is a major hike through substantial crowds at the State Fair. Hopefully Dennis will be feeling well enough to play the next show, which is September 22 at the Riverview Cafe & Wine Bar in Minneapolis.

A couple Sundays ago I played at the Wishes & More benefit. My buddy Clay Matvick is in charge of the whole deal, and he asked me to play. Wishes & More works to grant wishes to children with serious illnesses, and the benefit was a $200 a plate dinner that featured celebrity waiters. Some of the celebrity waiters were Minnesota sports heroes such as Michael Cuddyer and Lew Ford of the Twins, former Twins great Bert Blyleven, and former Northstar Tom Reid, among others.

So I played my hour and a half set as the diners sipped cocktails and the celeb waiters circulated with trays of ors devours...orderves...snacks. So after my set they drew table numbers from a hat to see which table would get which waiter. Much to my surprise, I was asigned to table 20. Clay hadn't told me I'd be waiting tables, so I was more than a little bit shocked. As it turned out, Twins catcher and MLB leading hitter Joe Mauer had come down with some sort of ailment and couldn't attend, so I had to fill in for him. So the gist of this story is I HAD TO PINCH HIT FOR JOE MAUER!

But even though I had never waited tables in my life, I had a great time. It was fun to talk to the people I had just played for, and I sold quite a few CDs while I was serving salads, entrees, deserts, etc.

After the antendees left it was me and Clay and the rest of the staff keeping bartender Mariah busy. We had a big jam session with me and Clay on guitar and Clay's GF Lindsay on tambourine. What an awesome night.

Alright. I've been thinking of how to use this myspace page, and I guess using it as a blog is as good as anything else I could do with it. I've already got a website (http://www2.bitstream.net/~jpell), and I thought that posting a blog about the gigs I've been playing and various other musical activities might be a good idea. So here goes.

I just played a solo gig at Minnehaha Falls Park in Minneapolis, and I have to say I left it all on the stage tonight. Right now I'm dripping in sweat, my shirt is soaked--had a great time and had to play an encore thanks to those noisy gals in the front row. My sax player Dennis is still on the DL--broke his leg in two places--and that just meant that I could not be lazy tonight. It's just so easy to just let Dennis go off on a solo for as long as he feels like it, just so I remember to come back to the verse before he passes out from running out of breath.

But tonight it was just me, and I gotta say I had a great time. I'm told there were a fair number of people I know at the gig tonight who saw it listed in the paper and came down. I'm sorry I didn't spot them in the audience, but I thank them for being there. But I do remember the college girls who came in dancing when I was playing "Is You", the two 14-15 year old (I'm guessing) girls who wanted me to play something by Bright Eyes, the little kids who were dancing right up front (there are ALWAYS little kids dancing up front at these outdoor gigs), and the elderly lady who was not concerned at all about acting her age as she danced right up front, God bless her. And of course I remember the ladies in the front row who yelled for the encore. Come back to the next show, OK?