Globex Corporation Newsletter

So last night's Dunn Bros. open mic was a blast as usual. All open mics have their own vibe, Dunn Bros. seems to be that just when you think nobody's going to show that it just explodes. The last two weeks it looked like Mike and I were going to be playing all night, interrupted only by the odd straggler off of the street and TSA when he finally arrived after work. Then all of a sudden the sign-up sheet is full and Mike is wondering how he's ever going to fit everybody in. My folks talked about coming out, but I told them that they'd better get there early if they wanted a place to sit. It's seriously getting like that people.

The great thing about open mics in this area is that if you start a new one it'll grow. And another thing I like is that you'll see different folks at all of them. Some people can't make it certain nights of the week. Others don't like establishments that allow smoing or drinking. Some people are just more comfortable one place or another. I'm sure there's more reasons (Dunn Bros. has the hotest chicks who just show up to listen), but each has it's group of regular performers. Sure there's cross-pollination, it's a relatively small musician community, after all. I am starting to think that this town could support another open mic. Hey folks, Monday and Friday are open.....

TSA came down to Dunn Bros. last night trying to remember how a song I wrote went. The horrible thing is that it took me a little while even though I had played it at Borders a few weeks ago. See, the problem with my songs is that I'm not very good on the guitar and I keep using the same chords and chord patterns over and over again. Wyle E. Coyote Blues and Beer is the Answer sound a lot alike simply because I wrote them a long time ago when I had no clue what I was doing. That's not to say that I've grown much as a songwriter since I wrote them, but I've been known to put as many as six, count 'em, six chords in my more recent tunes. I guess that would make Two Condoms twice as good as Beer is the Answer.

TSA and I figured out how Wyle E. Coyote Blues went and decided to play it. Since we spent so much time trying to remember that one song, we had even discussed anything else we wanted to play before we found ourselves on stage. So we kicked off with Wyle E. Coyote Blues which went surprisingly well considering. Trying to decide what to do next, Andy suggested Brian Wilson. His reasons were two fold. Willy Grigg had brought me a copy of Brian Wilson's Smile, the project he was working on when he, well when he went a little nuts as is portrayed in the song. Also accrossroads.com's Ken has admitted to waking up hearing that song in his head. Anything to add to anyone's dementia is as good a motto as any, I suppose. We hadn't really decided on a finisher, and since Mojo is a little long and it was pretty late, that was out. A quick scan of Dunn Bros. revealed that no one under 18 was in the joint. So I just said "Two Condoms" to Andy. He gave me an odd look. "I'm serious, Two Condoms!" So we gave it a go. It's a simple song about a skanky former girlfriend. I'm sure it's a theme that's been repeated by amateur songwriters the world over in a myriad of syles and languages. No real insight here, I suppose, but it usually gets a giggle out of people. As I've stated many times before, that's mostly what I'm going for in anything I write.

I was so excited at how well it went that I blurted out the name of the woman I wrote it about. Maybe that will get on the web site, maybe it won't. Then again, since that woman's son is a psychic I'm sure she knows that I've written a song about her.....

BOJ