Stone City Acoustic Showcase 8-5-18

Songs:

Listen To Love
Games People Play
The Race Is On
Fox On The Run
I Started Hating Cheating Songs Today

Aaron Caryl-Fiddle

After a month being away, I returned back to Stone City and the General Store for a fifteen minute set of country songs.  The songs were well received.

This weekend, Cedar Rapids had the Evolve Festival to which Maroon 5 and Kelly Clarkson played, but on Sunday, most of my musician friends were playing on the main stage.  I heard that Amanda Marshall might have played her last show with Four Day Creep,  I hope that's not true.  They are a fun band to watch (and play a song or two with).  I was still dealing with back issues and decided to stay close to home.   Even with a muscle spasms, I did help Julie by putting up a pallet fence for a neighbor with a couple dogs.  Buddy and his wife, Steve Black Wolf and Dave Bonham did the dirty work.  At least it felt good to help somebody out.  Julie had a gig with Ryan at a private party, so I went to Waubeek to play drums for the jammers up there.  Helped out Steve O, Chuck and Lenny on their songs for a couple hours before calling it an early night.

Sunday:  We had storms going through the area, and I really didn't want to get wet with wave after wave of monsoons at the Evolve Festival.  For the first time in over a month I returned to Stone City General Store and played a mostly country set.  Yesterday, at the Viola Gospel Bluegrass Festival, a band did a version of Fox On The Run and so I modified my version to make it a bit more bluegrass sounding and not so much rock.  Aaron helped on fiddle.   I stumbled over Listen To Love and Games People Play but people seemed to like it.  Got a big applause on The Race Is On and I Started Hating Cheating Songs Today, which seems to be a strange song to end my set. I could have done a couple more but thought five songs was enough since I only did a run through on the songs at home before leaving.

Phil Thomas was part of a bluegrass collective yesterday at Viola and he ran into me while I was walking back across to my house.  Had a nice chat with him.

Jordan was a Stone City Resident and she liked my version of the Race Is On. She mentioned that she loves the Grateful Dead.   I doubt if I was playing their version.

Carl Meiners was at both the Waubeek and Stone City jams, he didn't play last night but did today and did his usual fan favorites including Your Cheating Heart.  I do think he enjoys the women yell OH CARL after the bridge.

It was the first time since the Marion Sanctuary Freedom Festival In The Park that Ed Butler and I played together.  Like the previous, he led off with his song including a folkish remake of Pinball Wizard.

Those in attendance:

George And Vic
Richard Edward Butler
Lane Gaffney
Bart Bock
Mike Moran
Jordan
Carl Meiners
Danny Diaz
Aaron Carl
Maki Dervo
Rocky Smith
Dave Bonham (With a date)
Shawn Ster (At Waubeek only)

(Steve Kofron-photo)

Notes on the Tuesday Parlor City Blues Jam

Brook Hoover-Guitar
Tom Giblin-Keyboards
Byron Stevens-Bass
Matt Burger-Guitar
Me-drums
Jon Wilson-Host

Songs:

Chicago Boogie
Sweet Home Chicago

Got to play a couple songs with 11 year old Matt on guitar. Somehow the jam ended at around 9 40.
Basically a boring jam tonight. Gibby had to coax my playing down a bit on Sweet Home Chicago. Somehow I seem to play it too fast for them.

Thought tonight they had the acoustic jam at Dick's Shake And Tap but when I got there, it was closed.  Perhaps Ramsey's would have been better suited for me tonight.

Working on some SONGS  for the next Townedgers album and wondering if I'm failing in trying to make Julie happy.  Things are changing and not for the better.  I've been dealing with major back pains and have not been around much to help her out.  The usual things, money matters.  Trying to find time to spend together.   There are times you just want to give up, count your losses and wish each other well and try to stay friends.  I hate to see her suffer, offering to help out finances and pay off outstanding bills that she might have and car repairs.  Somehow, she won't take the money, she's too proud.   I'll go to my grave and try my best to help her out (if she's willing) and  love her, maybe somehow this will work itself out.    But I don't know, all I see is dark clouds ahead.

And I really do not  want that.

Speaking of dark clouds, we got rained upon four times today, including a big monsoon at 7 in time for the Balloon Glow at New Bo.  It rained so hard this afternoon to a point that somebody's car hydroplaned off the road and into a flooded medium during monsoon number 2.  We had off and on rains the past three days and I'm basically sick of it.  Can't mow the yard since it's underwater.  Things should dry out tomorrow.

I hope.