The Blazing Stump Tavern

I just received word from Mr. Henry Swain, storykeeper and long-standing resident of Brown County, that the Tall Tale event that he asked me to judge this weekend has been cancelled. Hank cites lack of entries. This is not from a lack of stories apparently, just a lack of people willing to tell them. My response is much like the fellow who was told by a couple fishermen headed back from the Arrowhead Lake that the bullheads weren’t biting. “Good news,” he thought, “That means they’re waiting on me.”  

Two items of note from the European subcontinent: First, I’ve recently received a payment from Mr. Gerard van den Heuvel in Euros. My plan is to keep them handy until I hit the Netherlands. Following my philosophy of localism; spend it where you got it. Also, a recent piece in the Spiegel on-line Kultur section from Germany lists my six best songs, from one album and two compilations apparently. I do appreciate “Living Things” and “Screen Door” being mentioned, even though I didn’t write the second one.

Our performance at the Indiana University Art Museum for the Jordan River Fest, a celebration of local enviromental consciousness and the work of regional artist Thomas Hart Benton, was a thorough delight. We shared the stage with writer Scott Russell Sanders, who read from his own work, as well as passages authors like Mark Twain and Wendell Berry. A lot of folks chose to join us inside on a beautiful spring day. It was sweet. The band played great, Scott is such a compelling writer and reader, Bloomingfoods set out food, Bloomington Brewing Company and Oliver Winery set out spirits. I came back home and sat on the porch for an hour to take it all in. Not sure I’ve ever had more fun playing just six songs live.

I wrote earlier about my great respect for James Talley’s work. On Friday, May 2nd, the band and I got an opportunity to share the stage with James for Tim Grimm’s Americana Folk Series at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Columbus. James is a direct musical descendent of Woody Guthrie as channeled through Bob Wills. Both James and Woody were from Oklahoma. If  you listen to Bob Wills’ early mid 30s recordings and Woody’s first compositions about the Dust Bowl and California migration, you’ll resonate with what James brings to the table. James has played at the White House, the Ryman Auditorium, and now the Unitarian Church in Columbus, IN, but the venue that I think might suit him best would be Cain’s Dance Academy in Tulsa, OK. That was the legendary venue for Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys during their creative peak. James tells a story related by his aunt of the band playing at Cain’s on a Saturday night with speakers out front and 2,000 people dancing in the streets. The very essence of regional music. That’s Bob. That’s Woody. That’s James.

Then there’s Madison and the Thomas Family. An incredible evening in the heart of spring. A lovely presentation of a fine straw fedora and a box from Jim and the Winery,  just in time for Straw Hat Day on May 15. Fudge from the Madison Fudge Factory, including their newest creation: Million Dollar Fudge. An amazing and generous gift from my buddy John of a half-filled bottle of Carstairs Blended Whiskey, which made an appearance in the song “Vigil Of Friends”. And it was Dave Adams’ birthday besides. A lot of friends: Dex, John, Robert, Annalise, Emma, Kevin, and Mr. Darrell House. An extraordinary evening. An extraordinary town.

I’m fascinated by the recent release of original albums by actors Zooey Daschanel, Billy Bob Thornton, and Minnie Driver. Asking whether their albums would have been put out in the absence of the advance name recognition from film work is a bit disengenuous. Singer-songwriters have been poaching in movies for decades. Let’s just review the short list: Kris Kristofferson, John Denver, Tom Waits, Lyle Lovett, Sting, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Robbie Robertson, Loudon Wainwright III… you get the point. This goes beyond the music-related cameos in a film like “Blues Brothers”. These musicians have all had roles in films where they never sang a note and actually carried themselves off quite well. There’s a bridge between the two disciplines and apparently it runs both ways.

To complete the circle, Scarlett Johansson just released an album of Tom Waits covers on Atco.