Talking Heads ‘Houses In Motion’, funky, fun, arty, searing, uplifting, grooving, and just damn good:
Enjoy,
SJ
Live Show: May 31 at Coppergate in Ballard :
Lovers of live music, you are always on the top Continue reading
Shop :
You can download Saint John and the Revelations music with Continue reading
Free Downloads + Newsletter :
Enter your email address for a free download of one Continue reading
The Music Drug
A recent study shows that hearing new music triggers the brain to release “reward” chemicals in similar ways that food, sex, drugs, and other carnal pleasures do:
More from BBC News: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22096764
This news makes my addiction to music seem much less trivial, although being a songwriter also sets me up to be my own drug dealer, and hopefully one of yours too!
Best,
SJ
The Brothers Jim
On Friday, I went to see the Brothers Jim from Olympia play some tunes in downtown Seattle at Bernard’s, and the audience loved them:
They sing catchy folk tunes and some covers that sound cool with their lovely folky instrumentation, you can hear some of their tunes here: http://www.reverbnation.com/tbj
They’re playing a show with us at the Coppergate in Ballard on May 31, put it on your calendar, you invite some friends, we’ll invites some friends, and we’ll have a fun party.
Best,
SJ
Happy Saturday April 27 2013!
Good morning!
Songwriting makes some mornings feel like Christmas. I wake up, and the first thing in my head is the song I was working on before I went to sleep, so I get right up and move straight to my guitar. It’s kind of like I remember asking Santa Claus for a bike for Christmas, and I was pretty good all year, so there’s a reasonable chance it’ll be there Christmas morning, but you never know, because sometimes Santa is a prick, but then you rush down and you see the shiny bike by the Christmas tree, and all is righteous in the world.
When I woke up and went straight to my guitar this morning and picked it up with a little anxiety that maybe I forgot what I was playing, but it all flowed right out, and it was still pretty good so I smiled and played it through a few times. Santa really deserves some credit though, it’s not even Christmas, and I haven’t been that good this year.
Thank you, SC!
Best,
SJ
George Jones
I spent a little time in a car last weekend with someone who was playing some modern country music (I’m not the biggest fan) on the radio, and all I could think of was getting home to play Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, and of course, George Jones R.I.P., ‘Things Have Gone To Pieces’:
“There ain’t nothing in my pocket, but three nickels and a dime,
But I’m holding to the pieces of my dream”.
Enjoy,
SJ
Show Schedule
Come on out for some live music and good times at one of our upcoming shows:
May 8 at Nectar in Fremont
May 21 at White Rabbit in Fremont (acoustic duo show with SJ and Phil on cello)
May 31 at Coppergate in Ballard
Put these shows on your calendar, bring your friends (only the ones you like), and let’s have some fun nights very soon.
Best,
SJ
Games People Play
Joe South ‘Games People Play’:
I often judge a song on whether it feels good to sing, and when I put this song on I end up having to sing along with it at least ten times.
Enjoy!
SJ
Show Reminder: May 8 at Nectar in Fremont
Live Music Lovers!
We’ve been packaging up some extra rock-and-roll goodies to play for you at our next show, May 8 at Nectar in Fremont:
Paula Boggs Band and the Jeremy Serwer Band are also going to be treating you right, so come on out and join us for a fun night!
Best,
SJ
Cute Wins
I played some music at a fun house party last night. There were lots of good folks, a bonfire, some kegs, etc., plenty of refreshments of every variety, but I think despite all of the other distractions, this girl got most of my attention:
The folks who lived there had this cute puppy that probably never gets any attention (yeah right), so I was sure to play with her a bit. I almost snuck her out with me in my guitar case.
Best,
SJ
Ukulele Tip
If you play ukulele and guitar, then you probably already know this, but I just (finally) figured out a cool way I can practice ukulele when my ukulele is out of reach. It’s very simple, simply put a capo on the 5th fret of your guitar and play the four highest (D G B E) strings just as you would a ukulele:
Now you can play all your ukulele chord shapes easily. Like I said, most people probably already know this trick, but I’m a little slow and I was recently missing my ukulele (it’s in Venice right now) and all of the sudden an image flashed in my brain of the capo on the 5th fret, I tried it and it worked, I was back in business. The sound is not the same, it’s more like ukulele methadone, but it’s still pretty fun.
Best,
SJ