Back to Bookman's! Leave your Chestnuts at Home

The Song Circle will be resuming after a hiatus of more than seven months to...

 
What the hell happened? You may ask.

Here's the short version:

We loved Bookman's, but we decided we needed to start seeing other venues.

We played the field for awhile, but settled on The Weatherford Hotel, because of its cozy mezzanine sandwiched between two bars: Charly's downstairs and The Zane Grey Lounge upstairs. The convenient downtown location worked.

Then something disastrous happened -- or wonderful, if you are a hotel trying to make a profit. Monday Blues Night became a hit, but made holding a Song Circle difficult. For awhile we were able to move up to a side room off the Zane Grey lounge, but only when that room wasn't reserved for a paying customer.

Could we have paid for the use of that room? Certainly. But it was hard enough encouraging the cheap-ass songwriters to buy a beer from the bar 20 steps away.

The song circle became homeless. I held one or two meetings at my house, but only the diehards came -- including Sherrill Kennelly who told me that we had to find a public place, a familiar place, a place that people could find from memory; without directions. She was right.

So for months I inquired, did reconnaissance, and asked around. Then I got word that Bookman's might take us back -- would take us back. I just needed to get through to the right person; the one with the calendar and a pencil in hand. That took a few more months. Until yesterday, in fact.

Thank you, Desiree.

So, songwriters, let's begin anew. Bring your new song, your in-progress song, your under-renovation song. Leave your chestnuts at home, but bring a couple bucks for a coffee drink. The Flagstaff Song Circle is back on!

To be without a home / Like a complete unknown

The Flagstaff Song Circle has not yet achieved the inevitable prestige and success that allows us to throw our weight around with the entitled ego of rock stars. Last month the Hotel Weatherford had a paying client reserve the Zane Grey Ballroom.

And since we can't yet simply demand any venue we like on the spot, we had to scramble to find an alternate venue. What we found was Flagstaff's Heritage Square.

Chuck Cheesman performs "King of the One Horse Town"
for a circle of homeless songwriters.

It wasn't that bad. Really. It wasn't.

This month's Song Circle is roughly on the 46th anniversary of the release of "Like a Rolling Stone," Bob Dyan's classic song of a comeuppance, where the target of the song, Miss Lonely, "has fallen from grace and is reduced to fending for herself in a hostile, unfamiliar world."

Seriously, it wasn't that bad.

But this month I've confirmed that the Zane Grey Ballroom is available.

ABACAB (+ tag)

Friends,

Friday night I played a gig with a singer/songwriter named Jennifer Sluder. "Jenne" has been driving around the country in an old sub-compact car with her Yamaha guitar, a PA, and her solo acoustic CDs. I've run into a lot of people at gigs over the years. Many are very good. Most are long forgotten. Jenne is memorable. She writes simple songs that reminded me that my favorite songs have always come from places of hurt and hope. You can download her songs from her website and from Apple iTunes. I highly recommend "Song for Sarah". The way I figure it (depending on gas mileage) every download gets a deserving songwriter another ten miles or so down the road.

For those of you looking for a venue to try out your songs on a new audience, contact Fiddlers Dream in Phoenix. "Fids" usually hosts a Thursday night open mic, and they generally book two or three acts on weekend evenings. It's a completely unplugged, alcohol-free room. Attendance is sometimes sparse, but the folks who come out are a listening audience.

I met the duo JC & Lany at a radio show yesterday. J.C. writes folk/pop love songs. What this duo have going on vocally makes them special. With a background singing in hard working classic rock cover bands, Lany has Pipes with a capital "P". Timid types (like me) should take note of their swagger when they perform. They just go for it.

Go for it. We've been meeting once a month for a while now, and some of our songwriters have built up an impressive collection of their own songs. Consider that chefs don't aspire to cook for other chefs. Song circle is a nice, safe environment. Looking around the circle, I see more than a few people who are ready to face the dangers of playing to a real audience. There's no substitute for a real gig, and there is nothing quite like gigging to help you grow as a writer/performer. But I digress...

Also guesting on that radio show, JD Stooks was introduced as something of a punk rocker. I got a surprise when the first track started playing. This guy has a sound that'll make any recording artist a bit jealous. Think acoustic guitars surrounded by swirling pedal steel, synth, and moody drums. One of the fringe benefits of gigging with other artists is swapping CDs. I listened to JD's new single "Maker's Mark" and his full length album "Women and Gold" driving back up the mountain last night. Awesome stuff. Also available on CDBABY and iTunes.

And speaking of that radio show, a very different opportunity for performance exists at Erich Sielaff's Arizona Music Cafe on KKNT AM 960. Yes it's a conservative talk station, but Erich runs the show with a no "pee pee" rule - no profanity and no politics. If you're bringing your axe to play and leaving behind your axe to grind, even the most liberal performer (like me) should feel comfortable. Erich sticks to the music and makes your visit a pleasure. Check it out.

Now, why did I title this ABACAB (+ tag)? Was I paying tribute to Genesis? Or is there something else at work here?

Cheers,
Chuck Cheesman

Chuck Cheesman has a new CD called Imagining Dancers.

The Mezannine Runneth Over

For the first time ever, men folk were outnumbered at the song circle.

Some might say it was a confluence of several factors: A low turnout of men, our two reliable women, recruitment by Kate, or a scheduling snafu.* But I know it was the raw magnetism of Neil Diamond. I'm a believer.

Sara, Michelle, Sophia, Sherrill, and Kate
(Not pictured: Jim and myself)

Everyone brought new, wonderful, original songs.

We had an audience of one. Tom from Tempe was in the right place at the right time, minding his own business in the Mezannine when I arrived and told him that some songwriters were about to intrude on his solitude. He enjoyed it so much that he stayed until the end, and asked to be put on our mailing list.

I look forward to seeing these newcomers again.

*About that snafu: It turns out that the 24th wasn't the last Monday of the month after all. As Edith Piaf would say, "Je ne regrette rien."

Neil Diamond's Birthday

This month's song circle falls on Neil Diamond's birthday: January 24th.

I won't attach any cosmic weight to that coincidence. In fact, I don't even like Neil Diamond very much. But for more than 20 years, I've looked at my indifference as a personal failing.

The album with which I'm most familiar is the soundtrack to Jonathan Livingston Seagull. I received it for Christmas or a birthday when I was about 11 years old. I could probably still hum a few tunes from memory.

When I was about 20, I was pretty smug about my musical tastes. (Like I said, I was about 20.) I was working at a strip mall pizza restaurant in Glendale, AZ. It was called Best Bite. One slow night this high school kid came in bent my ear for at least an hour telling me about how awesome Neil Diamond is.

He was so earnest. He wore me down. I have not been able to be as dismissive of Neil Diamond since that night--almost 30 years ago. And for almost 30 years, I've had the very low-priority intention to investigate what the fuss is all about.

I don't think I'll get to it by Monday.

But I've dug up some quotes attributed to Neil Diamond on songwriting for inspiration:

All the sparkly shirts and the stage trappings - that's just the performer, the public me, ... Songwriting is the hardest and most personal thing I do. When I'm writing, I'll go into the studio at six in the morning and stay until after dark, including weekends.

After four years of Freudian analysis I realized I had written Solitary Man about myself.

When I first started, I worked with three chords in every bar, but I found that tied me down - I'm not a chord-change writer, I'm a songwriter.

There's a mystery to writing, and you don't really know where most of it comes from.

The main objective in any song, the songs that I write, has always been that it reflect the way I feel, that it touch me when I'm finished with it, that it moves me, that it can take me along with it and involve me in what its saying.

Songwriting is the only real discipline I've had in my whole life-thats why I hate it so much; I don't like imposing that kind of discipline on myself, but it has to be.

Performing is the easiest part of what I do, and songwriting is the hardest.

I was always interested in science, and pre-med was a respectable thing to do while I pursued my songwriting.

Christmas Morning Sunrise

There will be no regular Song Circle meeting this month.

However, here's a Christmas gift from member Irl Wilson; a song he presented at our November meeting.

I don't know how many Song Circle members identify as Christians, but I think we know good song when we hear one.

Christmas Morning Sunrise
Irl Wilson © 2009

The first light in that eastern dawn shone on the world with bitter scorn.
People felt his heavy hand as mighty Caesar taxed the land.
Then Joseph went to Bethlehem with Mary by his side, and she with child
And in the manger where He went, watching was the angel sent.

Alleluia... alleluia.. alleluia... Christ is born.

As shepherds tended flocks by night ,the angel came in a heavenly light
"Do not fear for unto you, is born this day a savior who is Christ, the Lord."
Suddenly a multitude; a heavenly host were singing praise.
"Glory be to God on high, peace on earth good will to men."

Alleluia... alleluia... alleluia... Christ is born.

See you all next year.

Embrace the Stupid

One of my new songwriting principles is, "Embrace the stupid."

Many of the songs that I've written that give me the most satisfaction are ones that began life as throwaway ideas. "This is going to be stupid," I say to myself, "but I'll just spit this out, and maybe it'll prime the pump."

One of these songs was Cleanup Man. If you've attended the song circle regularly, you heard this song after I'd put about 15 minutes into it before one of our meetings. I just didn't want to show up empty handed again. The song got under my skin, and I ended up putting in a lot more time into the arrangement (and a little more time into the lyrics).

This is how it turned out:

The point here is not to pimp my own song. It turned out better than I expected, but I don't expect you to agree.

Actually, this is an overly-long introduction to this recent article by Derek Sivers, the founder of CD Baby:

Obvious to you. Amazing to others.

2010-11-21

Any creator of anything knows this feeling:

You experience someone else's innovative work. It's beautiful, brilliant, breath-taking. You're stunned.

Their ideas are unexpected and surprising, but perfect.

You think, “I never would have thought of that. How do they even come up with that? It's genius!”

Afterwards, you think, “My ideas are so obvious. I'll never be as inventive as that.”

I get this feeling often. Amazing books, music, movies, or even amazing conversations. I'm in awe at how the creator thinks like that. I'm humbled.


But I continue to do my work. I tell my little tales. I share my point of view. Nothing spectacular. Just my ordinary thoughts.

One day someone emailed me and said, “I never would have thought of that. How did you even come up with that? It's genius!”

Of course I disagreed, and explained why it was nothing special.

But afterwards, I realized something surprisingly profound:

Everybody's ideas seem obvious to them.


I'll bet even John Coltrane or Richard Feynman felt that everything they were playing or saying was pretty obvious.

So maybe what's obvious to me is amazing to someone else?

Hit songwriters, in interviews, often admit that their most successful hit song was one they thought was just stupid, even not worth recording.


We're clearly a bad judge of our own creations. We should just put it out and let the world decide.

Are you holding back something that seems too obvious to share?