So, what do you play at a Wednesday night gig? At a bar? Thoughts?
Let’s hear it for the “long shots”!
Colleen Becker, writing in the British HuffPo, wrote a nice article that made some extended mention of my “past life” as a wanna-be politician. A quote:
In 2008, Democratic candidate Rob Russell ran for the same office, facing the same odds, to stand up for “working people” against “the party of the rich.” Despite name recognition as a local musician, he soon learned that money and partisanship matter more than sheer determination. While the Republican Party saturated his district with advertisements, Russell claims the Democratic Party siphoned funds he raised at the county level to more competitive state and national contenders. The “bandwagon effect” also played a role — in Eastern Tennessee, electing Republicans is a tradition dating back to the Civil War, when unionist voters formed a bulwark against the confederacy’s Southern Democrats. Running for Congress is the “stupidest thing” he’s ever done, and Russell’s bid took a toll on his family and personal finances. Yet, he has no regrets. He “put his money where his mouth is,” and is “proud” to say he represented people in his district.
Check out the complete article here.
Don’t Start Dreaming (Again)
This is a song that Robert Alfonso and I wrote many years ago, inspired by the Louvin Brothers. If you are familiar with them, you will probably hear echoes of one or more of Ira and Charlie’s tunes (“When I Stop Dreaming”) in the lyrics and melody, hopefully. I’ve been thinking about it and playing it a lot lately. Been messing with the key and melody a bit, but it mostly sounds like this:
Don’t Start Dreaming by robrussell
She said that it’s over
don’t try to make her stay
it has to be this way
don’t start dreaming again
look what you’re doing
it’s just a losing game
you’ve got to forget her name
don’t start dreaming again
just as sure as you can’t sleep at night
she will be there every time you close your eyes
she said that it’s over
she won’t come back around
you’d only let her down
don’t start dreaming again
try to be strong, forget about your heart
just tell yourself she was lying from the start
she said that it’s over
don’t try to make her stay
it has to end this way
don’t start dreaming again
don’t start dreaming again
Carry On
hear about it on the radio
see it all over the news
pain keeps coming through in stereo
and it’s nothing you can use
so much trouble
don’t make no sense
really nothing you can do
truth seems to have no consequence
they feed you lies to make it through
so you take a pill to dull the pain
take a drink to wash it down
take two more of each and another then
you’re following the evening down
another morning brings another day
as unlikely as it seems
burn another quart of confidence
chasing someone else’s dreams
but you carry on, that’s the way do it here
we carry on
keep calm and carry on …
mothers, fathers, it’s up to you
no one else will pay the price
’cause there’s no justice in the halls of the just
only politrix and vice
no one up there even knows your name
but they serve the ones that do
who are ready to sell you everything
that you can’t afford to lose
but we carry on, that’s the way do it here
we carry on
keep calm and carry on …
hang my coat up
hang my hat
do my best to shrug it off
somedays it hangs on like the hollow ring
of a dying man’s cancer cough
means so little to say we care a lot
but I really, really do
maybe a little hope is just enough
maybe I’m singing just to you
but I carry on, that’s the way do it here
I carry on
keep calm and carry on …
Solo Tonight
Rob will be playing a solo show tonight at One12 Tipton St. in Johnson City, 8-10 pm. It’s free, and they have a full bar. Come on down!
Free Music for Thanksgiving!
All RRSL songs are available for free download this weekend only via our bandcamp.com site! That’s to thank all of you who read the blog, follow us on FB, etc. We couldn’t do it — heck, we probably wouldn’t do it — without you. You can download the following complete albums
I Think We’re Gonna Be Alright
All you have to give us is an email address, and I promise not to spam ya.
Rock on.
These go to eleven!
In tribute to this marvelous date — 11/11/11 — I present the following:
“These go to eleven …”
Nigel Tufnel: The numbers all go to eleven. Look, right across the board, eleven, eleven, eleven and…
Marty DiBergi: Oh, I see. And most amps go up to ten?
Nigel Tufnel: Exactly.
Marty DiBergi: Does that mean it’s louder? Is it any louder?
Nigel Tufnel: Well, it’s one louder, isn’t it? It’s not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You’re on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you’re on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where?
Marty DiBergi: I don’t know.
Nigel Tufnel: Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?
Marty DiBergi: Put it up to eleven.
Nigel Tufnel: Eleven. Exactly. One louder.
Marty DiBergi: Why don’t you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?
Nigel Tufnel: [pause] These go to eleven.
And Superdrag’s heartfelt rawk tribute to a girl,
Spinal Tap-style: “My baby goes to eleven …”
Day 28 – A song that makes you feel guilty – "Tired of Being Here"
“Tired of Being Here” by the late, great Alun Cormier … listening to this song always makes me think I should do more/write more … and live my life to the fullest.
And hug all my kids, all day, every day.
Day 27 – A song that you wish you could play: "The Green Manalishi"
“The Green Manalishi” by Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac is my (current) guitar holy grail: I really need to just sit down with it for a couple of hours and suss it all out. This song haunts me, dangit … but not as badly as it haunted Peter Green. What exactly IS a manalishi, anyway?
