Something new, as of
24 June 2009
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Gigs at
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 16 Aug 2008: Jim & Warren layin' down some funky rhymes out the Mission Viejo Borders. video clip: Jim & Warren bash their way manfully through Wilco's 'Side with the Seeds'. Borders cafe 'residencies' Our Borders dates are now wired into the following monthly pattern:
[Bloggage by WA] At some point Jim suggested 'Heart Full of Soul', which seemed out of reach, but it's so much fun to play, and there seemed to be nothing to lose. Thanks to some additional attention to the sig-riff lately, I was able to play it much better than usual, and the vocal even sounded pretty good... owing at least in part to my experimental swapping-in of my AKG C-1000 small-diaphragm condenser mic. Its greater sensitivity (compared to Jim's dynamic mics) seems to allow me to step back a bit from the mic, thus getting much less of the 'proximity effect' woofy bass that makes my vocals for 'Was Not There' and 'Miss Misery' so... miserable. 
We also had a pretty strong run-through of 'Teacher' right afterward, and a little later, a personal best-ever effort with 'Four Seasons' ("...our only Vivaldi song"). Somewhere along the line, a sharp-looking young woman clapped enthusiastically for one of those song, and then for most every song, which triggered the homework girls to start doing so too, not to mention a few other people. It changed the game... making it seem suddenly a lot more worth playing. It was hard to stop, but we did, after a modestly rousing reading of 'Hey Jude'. As we were packing up, the young woman responsible for our happy ending walked up to us, with her boyfriend. I could then see that she was quite a bit younger (22?) than I'd guessed. She thanked us for playing and said it sounded wonderful, or something like that. Whatever it was, we're going to try to believe it.New song, recently, brought in by Jim: M. Ward's 'One Hundred Million Years'. After we finished a run-through of 'Into the Mystic' (which I think must be one of our best-sounding songs), we were commissioned by a 30-something guy to play a song for him and his girlfriend ("she's really special"), as soon as he re-appeared with her. When he finally did, they graciously endured most of 'Perfect Day', before we busted out the selected 'Hey Jude' and reprised 'Into the Mystic' for them. Our tips hit a record-breaking $30, thanks to a $10 bill, surely from the above-mentioned love-struck guy. 
Very soon after this remarkable outburst, a 40-ish fellow approached stage right, smiled, and said, "You guys are doing a great job." That was helpful. Grown men that we are, we carried on. Yesterday, I called the MV store and spoke to the Sales Mgr, to see about the status of our 'residencies' program, which turns out to be, after all, fiction. The Bob did not bother to communicate this new schedule to the store, apparently, and probably not to any of the other stores either, before he quit altogether. The Sales Mgr. decreed that we would no longer have a regular 4th Saturday gig at the MV store, but he did allow that we could continue to show up every 2nd Saturday -- so J&W and K&W will now share that one 'residency'. Keith would rather play at the Spectrum Ctr. Food Court anyway, at least now that it's warming up, and is lighter longer... I can't resist either. Being Wednesday evening, it was nowhere near as crowded as on a wknd night, when it's thronged with 20-somethings almost as thick as 6th St. in Austin during SXSW (but minus the rock n' roll chaos). So it was just right for us... people strolling by, and occasionally pausing to take in a song or two. Jim arrived first and he set up facing away from the adjacent long pool, perhaps in part because the array of fountains within it were blasting forth (making it very hard to converse)... and also probably because there's a good sized open area beyond the other side of the stage. Even though we managed to get the fountain turned way down later, and there are tables arrayed alongside the pool, I think Jim picked the right orientation, as it allowed people to get close, if they were so inclined, as a few proved to be.... 
...like the slender and lovely long-haired mom who turned that space into a world-class dance floor, for her and her toddler, as we bashed our way through 'Heart Full of Soul', hanging on for dear life... If there are sights more appealing than this, I still can not guess what they are. Please let me know what we can do to make this happen more often, or all the time...!There was one other candidate for Best Thing That Happened, however. A 30-something mom and dad, with their four-yr old (?) daughter camped out on the concrete floor for our very very good (for us) rendition of 'Into The Mystic'. Afterward her dad came up to the stage and told us that when he asked his little girl if she liked the song, she said, "It's sliding into my heart!" We're going to take that as a good thing... a very good thing... Shall we do it again? Perhaps, though it's a stretch for Jim to go this late on a week night. Hoped-for special guest Kyle Kaiser was not able to get away from his studio construction project for producer Jack Joseph Puig. Jim even brought along his Burns Steer and a tiny amp... maybe he'll join us this summer. One other good thing: no money disappeared from the tip jar.
Good news: Jim brought in another great song: Van Morrison's 'Into the Mystic'. Blawg of previous gigs: as far back as Aug 2004 
Gig pics:
Costa Mesa, 23 Feb 07
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RSM, 20 Aug 2005
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La Habra, 7 Nov 2004
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A few LO-Medium-FI recordings... mostly live at Borders...
Not that old......
Jim & Warren's pretty good live cover of The Jayhhawks' Angelyne, 4 Aug 06.
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Free song one
:: Jim & Warren's medium-fi recording of the late Buffalo Springfield classic I Am a Child :: WA: lead vocal, acoustic guitar, tambourine. :: Jim: harmony vocal, acoustic guitar, harmonica. Recorded at JR's Flippen Way studio/den, 31 May 2004. WA's transcription of this song. |
Free song two
New! :: Jim & Warren's medium-fi recording of Rhett Miller's There is a World Inside the World :: Jim: lead vocal, acoustic guitar. :: WA: electric blue guitar, harmony vocal, harmonica. Recorded under a lucky star at the South Coast Plaza Borders cafe, Costa Mesa, CA, 3 Mar 2006. |
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Free song three
:: Jim & Warren's lo-fi live recording of Nick Lowe's classic (What's so Funny About) Peace, Love and Understanding :: Jim: 1st vocal, acoustical guitar. :: WA: 2nd vocal, electrical guitar, harmonica. Recorded dead or alive at the La Habra Borders Cafe, 6 Nov 2004. |
Free song four
:: Jim & Warren's lo-fi live recording of (Buddy and) Julie Miller's lovely Holding Up the Sky :: Jim: lead vocal, acoustical guitar. :: WA: harmony vocal, Ibanez AFS-75 electrical guitar, harmonica. Recorded on the spot at the La Habra Borders Cafe, 6 Nov 2004. |
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Free song five
:: Jim & Warren's lo-fi live recording of the Jim's poststructural space age instrumental Orbit :: Jim: rhythm guitar (Gibson Songwriter). :: WA: melody guitar (Ibanez AFS-75). Recorded while pretending to be a jam band at the La Habra Borders Cafe, 6 Nov 2004. |
Free song six
:: Jim & Warren's lo-fi live recording of Jim's blues-fringed and well-rusticated instrumental Gone :: Jim: rhythm guitar (Gibson Songwriter). :: WA: melody (slide) guitar. Recorded under duress at the La Habra Borders Cafe, 6 Nov 2004. |
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Free song seven
:: Jim & Warren's lo-fi live recording of the Jayhawks' Angelyne :: Jim: lead vocal, acoustical guitar. :: WA: harmony vocal, electrical guitar. Recorded anxiously at the La Habra Borders Cafe, 6 Nov 2004. |
Free song eight
:: Jim & Warren's lo-fi live recording of Lou Reed's scary Perfect Day :: Jim: lead vocal, acoustical guitar. :: WA: harmony vocal, electrical guitar. :: Cathy: additional vocals ("...do do do..."). Recorded deleriously at the La Habra Borders Cafe, 6 Nov 2004. |
A few mildly scandalous J&W Set Lists...
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