General Discussion http://www.yellowtailrecords.com/cgi-bin/Forum/Blah.pl? http://www.eblah.com en Uncle Bonsai on smack... or something. http://www.yellowtailrecords.com/cgi-bin/Forum/Blah.pl?m-1260170099/ http://www.yellowtailrecords.com/cgi-bin/Forum/Blah.pl?m-1260170099/#num1
But it's a good movie, and very funny, about the trials and tribulations of a "satirical" folk singer on the road.  There are lot's of similarities to another "satirical" folk group, but my favourite was perhaps the scene that takes place at the "Back Stage".

I imagine it might have been what Uncle Bonsai could have become if things didn't go so well.

You'll have to look for it, 'cause it's one o' those indie art films, but it'll be worth the effort:

"Punching the Clown" ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1192624/ )
Review: http://www.soundonsight.org/punching-the-clown/

Quoted Text
...a down-to-earth satirical folk singer who often has trouble describing exactly what it is he does ("it's like folk music -- well, uh, not like real folk music") but is nevertheless compelled to do it.

]]> Mon, 7 Dec 2009 02:14:59 kenhamer Labor Day Weekend again, which means Bumbershoot. http://www.yellowtailrecords.com/cgi-bin/Forum/Blah.pl?m-1252077619/ http://www.yellowtailrecords.com/cgi-bin/Forum/Blah.pl?m-1252077619/#num1
Besides seeing Uncle Bonsai every time they played there (I missed their first few years, unfortunately), I was thinking back to all the acts I had seen.  The Seattle Symphony, Hiroshima, Sid Cesear and Imogene Coca (they did some of their "Show of Shows" bits, which was amazing to see), Father Guido Sarducci (who did his SNL act, word for word), The Red Elvises (which, if you have never heard of, they are astounding to see in person, real Russians sort of being Steve Martin's "wild and crazy guy" while playing kick butt R&R), Maria Muldair (who did a lot more blues than I was expecting and didn't hear Midnight at the Oasis), Mark Isham, The Flying Karamazov Brothers (who grabbed me out of my seat at the Opera House and made me run up and down the aisle while they were doing their "Jews Of Denial" bit, based on their being in "Jewel of the Nile", of course)... 

There were lots more, of course, which I no longer remember, which is a shame.  Unless it was a big name act, I would generally tend to walk around and catch the smaller, unknown acts.  One I remember well was called the Imago Mask Theater, which was pretty astounding.  I won't even attempt to describe it, as it wouldn't do it justice.  I used to love seeing what kind of stuff was there.  Some of them kind of sucked, of course, so O.K., that one was a bust.  I would then go find something else to check out.  There was always something.  It was great.  Bumbershoot was probably my favorite event of the year.

Wow, I just remembered that I saw Arni's husband, David, (That is his name, right?  Sorry if I got that wrong.) play his trumpet in a group he was in at the Flag Pavilion, which isn't even there anymore.  Can't remember the name of the group now, of course.

I haven't been in a long time now...  Everyone changes and grows out of things, I guess.  But the acts changed.  Everything now seems targeted at the 20 to 30 YO crowd.  And the price!  Yikes.  It's now 50 bucks a day.  So, if I want to take my family, that's 150 just to get in the door, and that's without parking or finding a way there on public transit, food, etc.  I am just not one who goes to see the big name acts now, such as this year they have The Black Eyed Peas.  Intriguing, but not really enough for me to stay around, fight the crowds, try to get a decent seat, and then fight the crowds leaving...  I went to Bumbershoot usually for the small and eclectic.  Plus Uncle Bonsai, of course, whenever they played.  I actually still have a cassette tape of UB and Tracy Moore (acoustic guitarist) when they played there and it was broadcast on one of the local radio stations.  So, if you take away the big name acts which I am not going to go see, it is hardly worth the price of admission to wander around for half to three quarters of a day just to poke around and see what I can find.  Not worth it.  I guess Bumbershoot made their decision on purpose that they don't need to pander to us "used to be young, but something happened between now and then" kind of people. 

That kind of sucks.  Another integral part of my life in Seattle has departed the station...  I suppose I'll wake up one morning and Mt. Rainier won't be there anymore.]]> Fri, 4 Sep 2009 11:20:19 Dr_Calamari Born Again http://www.yellowtailrecords.com/cgi-bin/Forum/Blah.pl?m-1249086426/ http://www.yellowtailrecords.com/cgi-bin/Forum/Blah.pl?m-1249086426/#num1
This song came up in discussion at the live recording.  If you have the lyrics handy, I'd love to read them

]]> Fri, 31 Jul 2009 20:27:06 tb911 United Breaks Guitars (For Arni) http://www.yellowtailrecords.com/cgi-bin/Forum/Blah.pl?m-1247899031/ http://www.yellowtailrecords.com/cgi-bin/Forum/Blah.pl?m-1247899031/#num1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo

As for how it grew so quickly, here's my understanding.  Dave Carroll, the owner of the guitar in question posted a link to his youtube video on a frequent flyer bulletin board called FlyerTalk.  The Air Canada forum of this bulletin board is closely watched by the Globe and Mail, Canada's equivalent of USA Today.  Once they ran a story, it was picked up by several other news services, including CNN.  From there, the rest (as they say) is history.]]> Sat, 18 Jul 2009 02:37:11 kenhamer Encores http://www.yellowtailrecords.com/cgi-bin/Forum/Blah.pl?m-1246942132/ http://www.yellowtailrecords.com/cgi-bin/Forum/Blah.pl?m-1246942132/#num1
As a performer, what do you think of encores?

Seems so obligatory now that it is kind of silly.  A single encore is a tradition (culture?) that has no real meaning anymore.  Everybody just does it.

I think the single encore has become so common that it is expected and is no longer a surprise or something extra.  I'd say there is no bonus now until you get to the second encore.  Only then is the audience "wowed".  Conversely, the lack of any encore at all feels like you are getting ripped off.

So, in summary my thinking is that the single encore is obligatory, and therefore a silly tradition (just make the concert longer is the logical way to handle it), and if you really want to make give them something extra you need a 2nd encore (or more?)

Thoughts?]]> Tue, 7 Jul 2009 00:48:52 tb911