Talking into Microphones - Episode 3
Jace & Dan return after a protracted hiatus; from Egursund, Norway! Replete with unnecessary swea...
Talking into Microphones - Episode 2
Jace Everett & Dan Cohen talking dates, music and other bullshit.
Hey folks, As we prepare our toiletries and pack extra strings for this tour, we thought we'd take an hour off and screw around. This is Dan Cohen and I discussing the upcoming tour, my new record, his new record and, of course, "Game of Thrones"
You can click on the Soundcloud player in the top right hand corner of this page and listen to the inaugural episode of "Talking into Microphones". Or you can go straight to Soundcloud
Ireland, England, France and Spain... here we come.
JE
Hey kids... here's some new dates for April/May. Details about venues and tickets to follow: April 22- Belfast
April 23- Dublin
April 24- Birmingham
April 25- Manchester
April 27- Brighton
April 28- Norwich
April 29- Nottingham
April 30- London
May 1- Bristol
May 2- Oxford
May 3- Paris
May 5- Madrid
May 6- Barcelona
May 7 Zaragoza
May 8 Madrid
May 10- Valencia
Dan and I have been in the UK and Norway these past two weeks. Great fun on both of these icebergs. (Shit be cold in January/February!). Big thanks to all of our friends over here who are so kind, so supportive and so damn lovely.
We'll be back very soon. Cheers, Tussen Takk and thanks for the fish...
Jace
Hey folks, If you're comin' down to Ye Olde 12th & Porter January 13th, we have moved the start time. The ticket web site will not reflect this. But this is the show. These are the songs. And the following is the schedule:
Doors will open at 7 p.m. CST
Dan Cohen will play at 7:30
Friendship Commanders will start a little after 8:00
Jace Everett will begin a little after 8:30
So get there a little after 7 and bring a friend. Or twelve.
Jace
It’s been a difficult year. This past month has been like climbing Mt. Everest with an anvil in my pants. An exhausting slog… (Hey, is that an anvil in your pants or are you just horribly disfigured?).
There’s been death; both physical and relational. There’s been terrific disappointment; both professional and personal. There’s been a sense of hopelessness. A general malaise festering beneath the surface and more open wounds airing out in the wind than I care to count.
In short, there’s been some pretty crappy stuff going down.
But…
There’s also been some amazing things. My son is doing fantastically well. My friend Melody Pool released a record I co-produced, with her and Brad Jones, to both critical acclaim and commercial success. I finished up and put out the best artistic achievement of my life, “Terra Rosa”. My brother Dan Cohen got through some very difficult times relatively unscathed. My grandmother pounded out a recovery from life threatening illness. My mother and father continue to do well; physically, spiritually and otherwise. I have a handful of friends that do their level best to meet me where I am and love me anyway! And I have opportunity. Good God. The opportunities I have frittered away due to negligence, laziness or plain old stupidity! It’s embarrassing. But, we live, and if lucky, we learn.
We truly have no idea what life will throw our way. We can control so very little. But those few things we can control, or at least manage, those should be our focus. How do we spend our time? How do we spend our money? Who are the people we spend our time with? Are we taking care of our health? These are big determiners of our “fate”.
We cannot always choose our circumstance, but we do get to choose our attitude towards that circumstance. Choose wisely. And please remind me to do the same.
Here’s to 2014 being an amazing year for you, my friends.
Yours,
Jace Everett
I'm supposed to be promoting the new record. It turns out that I'm really terrible at promoting myself. I think it's because I get really uncomfortable around people that ARE good at promoting themselves. It's amazing what a pain in my own ass I am. Anyway, not really germane to the task at hand.
What the hell is "Lloyds Summer Vacation" about? Excellent question. Glad you asked! The book of Genesis is really an astonishing thing. If you haven't read it, well, you're genuinely missing out. Truly Genesis is the genesis of most literature that exists. Whether your a fundamentalist Christian or a really evangelical Atheist, Genesis is a mind blowing read.
So, I dug into the story of Lot for this tune. It's a story that still resonates to this day. How many times have nut bags like Pat Robertson told us that whatever recent catastrophe is the direct result of the "sins of the people"? Hell, Westboro Baptist Church makes their whole "ministry" about the notion. But what's really fascinating in this story is what a complete morally debauched sociopath the hero is. (I think Lot may have been the template for Peer Gynt!).
The man offers his own daughters to an angry mob in the beginning of the story. Later on, his wife, who is never honored with an actual name, gets turned into a pillar of salt. Nobody even looks back! (Well, I guess that may have been an object lesson). And in the end, Lot sires his offspring WITH his offspring! What is this, Kentucky?
So, I changed some names, put the kids in a van and dropped a pretty sweet 808 beat on the whole shebang. You're welcome!
3. LLOYDS SUMMER VACATION
EVERETT-LYRIC EVERETT/RASPANTE/COHEN/BEASLEY-MUSIC
NOW LLOYD WAS UNACCUSTOMED TO THE COMPANY HE KEPT THAT NIGHT HE PULLED OUT ALL THE STOPS YEAH, IT WAS NOTHING BUT THE BEST HE PROFFERED KOSHER FUNNEL CAKES HELL, HE POWDERED EVERY PLATE POURED THEM ALL SOME MANISCHEVITZ SO THEY WOULDN’T MIND THE WAIT
HE WAS ALL LIKE, “COME IN, COME IN NOW. PLEASE, PLEASE TAKE A SEAT” WHILE HIS GIGGLING GIRLS, THEY TWITTERED DOWN THE HALL BUT YOU COULD ALMOST SMELL THE TENSION THROUGH THE WINDOWS, FROM THE STREET YEAH, YOU COULD ALMOST READ THE WRITING ON THE WALL
YEAH THE WRITINGS ON THE WALLS
FOLKS GREASED UP THEIR LITTLE TORCHES AND THEY PITCH FORKED ‘ROUND THE HOUSE THEY CRIED, “WE’D LIKE TO GET TO KNOW THEM LLOYD, WHY DON’T YOU SEND THEM OUT?” SLIPPING THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR, LLOYD HE BEGGED THEM TO DECIST THEN HE MADE THEM ALL AN OFFER EVEN HE COULD NOT RESIST
MEANWHILE, HIS GUESTS ARE GETTING RESTLESS AS THEY SCRAPE BACK IN THEIR CHAIRS POKE THEIR BEAKS OUT OF THE WINDOWS AND GLOWER DOWN THE STAIRS THEY YANKED OL’ LLOYD BACK IN THE HOUSE TOLD HIM, “GOOD GOD MAN, PACK UP THE KIDS, PACK UP THE WIFE, AND FIRE UP THE VAN!!”
SOAKING UP THE RAIN WITH A SHAKER FULL OF SALT GOTTA GET AWAY YOU BETTER, YOU BETTER SOAKING UP THE RAIN WITH A SHAKER FULL OF SALT GOTTA GET AWAY
SO LLOYD PACKED UP THE FAMILY AND THEY HEADED IT OUF TOWN (THIS WAS BEFORE THE OCEAN DIED, SEE, AND WALLS BURNED TO THE GROUND) THEY SAID, “JUST KEEP ON DRIVIN’ MAN. MAYBE HIDE OUT IN THE WOODS.” SO VERY FEW INSTRUCTIONS EVEN FEWER UNDERSTOOD
NOW MAMMA, DON’T LOOK BACK IN ANGER MAMMA DON’T LOOK BACK AT ALL BUT SHE NEVER COULD CONTAIN HERSELF (NO IT’S REALLY NOT HER FAULT) SHE HAD HER MOTHERS CRYSTAL CHINA AND HER DADDYS CRYSTAL BALLS THEN A FLASH, THEN A BANG, THEN A SHAKER FULL OF SALT
SOAKING UP THE RAIN WITH A SHAKER FULL OF SALT GOTTA GET AWAY NO IT AIN’T HER FAULT SOAKING UP THE RAIN WITH A SHAKER FULL OF SALT GOTTA GET AWAY
POOR OLD WHAT’S HER FACE…
LATER IN THE EVENING AFTER EVERYTHING THEY’D SEEN THOSE WHISPERING, GIGGLING GIRLS COOKED UP A NASTY LITTLE SCHEME THE BUGGERS AND THE BEGGARS WOULD HAVE SHOOK THEIR HEADS IN SHAME BUT THEY DIDN’T GET THE CHANCE MAN, THEY WAS SOAKING UP THE RAIN!
A LITTLE DROP OF POISON IN A JIGGER FULL OF WINE YOU KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY, IT ALL WORKS OUT IN TIME SEE LLOYD WAS NOT THE KIND OF MAN TO LOVE AND LEAVE A LADY HE RAISED UP TWO STRONG DAUGHTERS THEN HE MADE HIS OWN GRAND BABIES!
Dan Cohen and I will be doing the "duo thing" on Saturday, December 14th in Dallas. You should come see us.
Dan Cohen and I will be de-icing the plane this January and headed to the UK and Norway for a little gripping, grinning, picking and... well, I dunno. We are piecing together a "proper" tour for the Spring. Likely targets? UK, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Holland and Spain. Why not France? I can almost speak French. C'mon my Froggy friends, pool your resources and get me to the land of la liberté, l'égalité et grand fromage!
Anyway, that's later. First off Dan and I are gonna come over and seduce you into a sense of false insecurity.
January 30th at The Greystones-Sheffield
February 1st at The Cluny 2- Newcastle
February 2nd at Oran Mor- Celtic Connections Festival- Glasgow
February 6th at Buckleys in Oslo
February 7th at Madam Felle in Bergen
See ya there folks! JE
Howdy folks, The vinyl came out of the closet yesterday. Looking good too.You can get some here:
It's the first time "Bad Things" has made it onto a petroleum based product and we're pretty stoked about it. "Beyond the Wall" is the B-side and I've got to say, it sounds epic.
Of course the new album "Terra Rosa" is also on vinyl. The art work from my Dublin based buddy Steve Averill looks astonishingly gorgeous in the larger format. The late Janet Shafner (1931-2011) was an incredible artist and I am in her husbands debt for allowing me to use her gorgeous painting "Adam and Eve: The Sparks".
Please check out both of these great artists: Janet Shafner
Also, here's an interview from September that I thought I'd share. It's got some good bits...
http://www.syncweekly.com/news/2013/sep/10/bad-gets-biblical/
Next post I'll get back to talkin' lyrics with youin's...
JE
So, the CD of "Terra Rosa" is, allegedly, available today. Notwithstanding my lachrymose antipathy to the music business and the current state of my "career", I'm going to just assume everyone who reads this will buy the record! The vinyl (which sounds great and looks obscenely gorgeous; thanks to Steve Averill and the late Janet Shafner) will be out November 12th. Anyway, I thought I'd take the time to illuminate some of the tunes on the record. They were written with opacity in mind. So, if you like being in the dark, read no further. If, however, you're like me and want to get the down low on just what in the hell the songwriter is banging on about, proceed.
This tune kicks off the record. At a dirge like pace. Frankly, when I sequenced the album I had to simply go with the chronology of the source material. Each tune is based on some scrap of scripture. This one is in the Adam and Eve vein.
Frankly, I was as inspired by Mark Twain as much as Genesis here. Check out "Letters from the Earth" if you want to have a really good time. Brilliant.
Rather than go line by line in typical pedantic fashion, hopefully you, dear listener, can spend some time with the music and the lyric and derive your own meaning.
The narrator of this song is Adam himself. Of course, my own prejudice is imposed throughout all of these songs and this one is no exception:
"In the Garden"- J. Everett HE MOVED ACROSS THE WATER UNTIL HE MADE DRY LAND AND DREW UP FROM THE MUDDY BANKS THIS VERY SIMPLE MAN
HE REACHED INTO MY BRITTLE CAGE WANNA HELP TO LEND A HAND AND UP UNTIL I SAW YOUR FACE I DIDN’T KNOW I’D NEED A PLAN
THE FRUIT FALLS FROM THE BRANCHES THE SCALES FALL FROM OUR EYES THE WORLD SPREADS OUT BEFORE US AND LOVE IS ALL I FIND
IN THE GARDEN WON’T YOU STAY WITH ME IN THE GARDEN DARLING NEVER LEAVE IN THE GARDEN I DON’T WANT I DON’T WANT TO BE FREE
THE YEARS THEY NEVER GET TO HIM THE WAY THEY GET TO YOU AND ME GUESS IT’S TRUE, WHAT OPHIDIAN SAID I WAS BLIND AND NOW I SEE
THE CRIMSON KISS THAT’S ON OUR LIPS THAT AIN’T NOTHING BUT A STAIN FROM LOVE THAT NEVER COULD FORGIVE THE SIMPLEST GROWING PAINS
IN THE GARDEN WON’T YOU STAY WITH ME IN THE GARDEN SAY YOU’LL NEVER LEAVE IN THE GARDEN I DON’T WANT I DON’T WANT TO BE FREE
WHAT WE WERE MEANT TO FIND THERE WAS NEVER MADE TOO CLEAR BUT FOOTSTEPS IN THE DARKNESS WON’T RUN ME OUT OF HERE
IN THE GARDEN WON’T YOU STAY WITH ME IN THE GARDEN SAY YOU’LL NEVER LEAVE IN THE GARDEN WON’T YOU STAY WITH ME I DON’T WANT I DON’T WANT TO BE FREE
Hey kids,My buddy Kevin Walters at The Tennessean (Nashville's News Leader) put up a podcast of our conversation a few weeks ago. Check it out and spread the good word... TENNESSEAN MUSIC PODCAST- with Kevin Walters your host and Jace Everett, his guest
http://blogs.tennessean.com/tunein/2013/09/04/tennessean-music-podcast-jace-everett/
Hey kids, I recently discovered eMusic. It's pretty damn cool. It is a subscription service with a generous allocation of downloads for it's subscribers, but it's a little more than that. It appears to be a pretty entertaining way to discover some new music too. There even seems to be some semblance of music journalism going on, including a reader comments section populated with folks who've at least learned to read and write! Who'd a thunk it?
As of today they are giving away the infamous, "No Place to Hide" on the site. So, if you haven't cribbed it already, heres the L I N K
But check out the site as well. It's kinda cool...
JE
Hey kids... Some of you having been asking for lyrics on the new record. Well, they be here: L Y R I C S
Each song is based on a different passage or concept from the Christian Bible. Some are pretty "on the nose" and others are a bit more opaque. This was done by design. And brilliantly I might add. ;)
If you are like me and enjoy the vinyl and CD aspect of owning music, those opportunities will arrive on October 29th. Why the long wait? Who the fuck knows. If I had any sense of running a business I'd be a licensed plumber showing my crack all over Davidson county. There's always 2015 to look forward to... who knows?
Anyway, print up the lyrics and wall paper your guest bedroom with 'em. It's bound to make your guests not wear out their welcome.
Hugs and stuff, Jace
I've had a small mass of people ask for the lyrics to the new record, "TerraRosa".
Small mass. Sounds like something my future Oncologist might say...
Anyway, I'll work on getting the lyrics up here in the next week or so. Just rest assured that they are all really great. Brilliant even. Well, they rhyme anyway. Mostly.
For you weirdos (like me) that care who wrote these songs, here's a list:
1. IN THE GARDEN- That was just me. I wrote this one as I was creating the track. The lyrics just kind of tumbled out.
2. NO PLACE TO HIDE- Sometimes it's better to just let it be.
3. LLOYDS SUMMER VACATION- Words were written by me. There was some musical input by Dan Cohen, Chris Raspante and Jacques Laurent.
4. BEYOND THE WALL- Wrote this one with Dan Cohen. He had the chords and the melody idea for the verses. We then hacked away at it for an hour or so. I think it's one of the few truly "pretty" songs we've written in quite a while. I love Dan Cohen a bunch.
5. PENNSYLVANIA- Another ditty with Dan Cohen. He was on a slide mandolin kick at the time. I'm not sure that's even a thing, but it was that weekend.
6. THE GREAT FISH- Totally my fault. I tried to get as much maritime imagery as I could and flip it on it's head.
7. RISE UP- Guilty here as well. This one is a dialog. The chorus/refrain is one character and the verses another. A rather heated and absurdly melodramatic argument.
8. LOVE CUT ME DOWN- Irritating at this point, but another solo write. This all tumbled out at 7 a.m. on a Tuesday morning. Dan was asleep in the next room, Stephany asleep upstairs. I was whispering the song into my tape recorder and playing an unplugged telecaster. The work tape is pretty creepy.
9. LIKE A SONG- Wrote this with Brad Jones, my co-producer. He pitched me the basic music idea and told me to get Dylanesque. I did. Then he fixed the parts I had screwed up.
10. SAPPHIRA- My words, but musical help by Chris Raspante. This one is supposed to be tongue in cheek and as absurd as the source material. It may have gotten away from me a bit. I might like this better if somebody else sang it. But, what the hell...
11. PRETTY GOOD PLAN- I had the idea and direction, but Bill Lloyd helped me bring it all home at the 11th hour. Thanks Bill! This was a tricky one lyrically, but I'm happy with it in the end.
So there you go.
When the vinyl and CD come out in October they will include all the pretty pictures and words and such. Also the fresh smell of plastic, paper and paint.
Enjoy...
JE
From my friends at True Blood Online:
http://www.trueblood-online.com/jace-everetts-new-album-terra-rosa-now-available/
Well, it’s been a while kids. No doubt about that. But today is the day... well, in cyberspace anyway. My new album, “Terra Rosa” is finally out there. It’s a strange new world in which we live. The record is available all over the planet with the flip of a switch. You can buy it from Apple (a computer company). You can buy it from Amazon (a warehousing and shipping company). You can just listen to it for “free” damn near anywhere and within minutes of it’s release, you could likely download it for free!
I don’t know what to think about all of it. The technology changes so quickly, it’s pretty difficult to get a hard on about anything that lasts long enough to matter!
So I’ve taken a new stance. It’s called; “Have it your way, Dude”. Not only is this a doff of the cap to my favorite movie, “The Big Lebowski”, but it’s also a pretty good way to maintain my much lauded sunny disposition.
So, however you get the new record, I hope you enjoy the hell out of it! It was a true labor of love for me.
Growing up as an Evangelical Christian, in the diamond crusted buckle of the Bible Belt, I turned out to be a kinda weird dude. A dichotomy of rebellious hipster doofus and square jawed traditionalist. Well, I’ve never been skinny enough to really be a hipster. And I really like shaving.
Whatever you think of the music, I’m grateful for the opportunity to make it. I could be flipping burgers or slinging drinks. Hell, I may yet go back to both!
So thanks for giving me a shot. Thanks for listening. I’m a damn lucky man to get to put out these increasingly bizarre sonic experiments and even be noticed.
Your Fan,
Jace Everett
Pretty excited about today; September 10, 2012. We'll start recording the new Melody Jane Pool album! Brad Jones and I producing. I'm going to try and put up some video and such as the week progresses. I met Melody last year while touring Australia. She's got a 20 year old face and a 1000 year old soul! This is going to be a very special record. Do you want to own it? Buy it now and help the funding. Check back soon!
Not really. I know it's been a little quiet around here of late, but there's a storm coming. Trust me. September I'll be producing the great Folk/Americana artist Melody Jane Pool. More on that soon.
Then in October, the boys and I will be headed North. We've got a handful of shows in Norway.
It'll be a hyper bluesy affair with Dan Cohen and Chris Raspante doing their gunslinging best, while I lay down the bass. That's right kiddos; daddy's back on bass. For now.
Even cooler, my man Tim Horsley will be slinging the skins this go 'round. Tim has played drums with Nashville acts like Keith Urban and Gary Allan. He also played with me on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.
All in all, Norway is about to get smacked around. Not Norwegian? Buy a ticket, jump a plane. They all speak your language, make a mean reindeer steak and would be delighted to see you're beautiful self. And their so damn pretty! Bring a camera.
Anyhoo, check the DATES tab for Norway shows. I can't be fucked to post a hyperlink. I'm very busy.
Lastly, there's a record in the can. Not the toilet Einstein. In the drawers. Ah hell... I made a record. It's all about Bible stuff. It's also the best damn record I've ever made. We got Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, my main man Judas Iscariot, Peter the Rock, Saphirra, Sodom and Gomorrah; hell it's a dang Vacation Bible School Rock Opera! With a few twists of course. Brad Jones and I got the usual crew together for a meeting of the minds. 5 minutes later we had coffee. Then we called our friends and made this record. Fun was had, tears were shed, shirts were rent and ashes melded with the sackcloth.
Also, barbecue. There's a really good joint right around the corner that Jones turned us onto. Sweet.
So, that'll be coming out in 2013. It's called "Terra Rosa" and it will fry your brain. You're welcome.
Stay tumescent....
As the Prophet says (Chuck that is), Peace out cub scout
Jace
PS- Go buy Chucks new record."Temple Beautiful". Unlike much in this world, it does not suck.
PSS- I promise to put links to stuff next time around. I've been awake for 20 hours and just can't finger it all out.