Sometimes when I write a column, the editors whack out a piece to make it fit. But I feel badly that in this week's Street Level column in The Nashville Ledger the nice little section on Kevin Gordon -- a talent and nice guy -- was dropped.
I contacted Kevin because I like him and I admire his talent. And, in a world of acoustic fellows, he sometimes stands out by staying electric.
Anyway, the story was about how musicians have been affected by the COVID-19 virus and how it has pretty much forced cancellations or, as in Kevin's case, adaptation.
I chose him as one who could represent all the pickers, grinners, lovers and sinners who are out there who have been forced to go to Stageit or other similar online venues to play for tips and to keep their fans in the loop.
I'm sorry it got cut, though the story turned out well (check it elsewhere on my Facebook page) and mentions all kinds of folks from Mick Jagger to Jimmy Church to Suzie Brown Sax to Super T and even my pals Thomm Jutz and Eric Brace and honky-tonk hero Jon Byrd. Actually, I pretty much love everybody I interviewed for this long piece, and I think you should read it. Hell, Duane Eddy, one of the fellows who invented rock 'n' roll and who I love as one of my best friends, even talks about what Waylon called "Skull Orchards." Anytime I can get Duane Eddy and Waylon Jennings into a column or blog, even, I feel fulfilled, Hoss.
However, Kevin, who is a big name in smaller circles, didn't make it from the big Apple computer machine to the printed or digital page.
I am sorry about that.
But I figure that, what the hell, this is a fine musician and he spent valuable time with me. And anyone with a pit bull named Pearl has to be a fine individual, with the accent on individual.
With all that as a prelude, let me bring the section on Kevin Gordon back from the dead. Well, I've been talking a lot about death lately. Let's bring him back to life.
That lengthy prelude, in which I was able to invoke the names of Duane Eddy and Waylon Jennings, and apology brings me to this point:
Live from the dining room: It’s Kevin Gordon.
When counting Nashville’s musical treasures, Kevin Gordon is in the first fistful, and, like all independent musicians, he’s a road warrior.
The other day he had one of his shortest gig trips in his long and poetic/rocking career.
“I’m doing one of these live-streaming things from my dining room this evening,” says Kevin, who is hunkering down and staying away from crowds.
“I’ve done a couple of them, and I really like it,” says Kevin, who was to perform for a crowd of one in the live audience: His 44-pound rescue pit mix, Pearl. His wife was in Des Moines, Iowa, visiting their daughter.
“Once I get started, I’m fine,” he says of live-streaming shows. “Beforehand, I get this feeling like I’m producing a television show, and I just worry way too much about it, especially since a lot of the people are going to watch it on their phones.”
His choice for the concert was Stageit, but there are different platforms for live-streaming, and artists from Nashville continue to use them in order to make a little money via remote.
The basic format of Stageit is artists select their times and places to perform and hope to get the word out to their fans, who pay to hear the intimate show as well as tip the artists. It’s always live, unarchived and offers fans the chance to request songs.
If you look at Stageit.com, you’ll see a large number of your Nashville favorites, from the troubadour types, like Kevin, to the voices from the Lower Broadway bars. Big label artists also are finding online platforms, Facebook, etc., to connect their fans during this time of pestilence and constant sorrow.
Kevin adds he didn’t lose a lot of gigs, because he is in the songwriting part of his creative cycle, working out songs for a new record.
“I did have a couple of dates in April. Those have been postponed. They haven’t been rescheduled yet.”
And then there was the elaborate staging of his online show: “I have a little amp across the room in the dining room. That’s the best room in the house as far as ambient sound.”
And I'm sure the pit bull named Pearl enjoyed it as much as the fans from around the world who checked it out.
(Note here: Street Level is on COVID-19 hiatus. You'll still see me around, though … writing other stuff I hope, since I try to support my family and pets... And I expect my personal blog "They Call Me Flapjacks" will get pretty active. I hope you like me. This is free stuff. Maybe I need to put out a tip jar. But the loss of a column, even temporarily (I hope), while nothing new to me, is not much to be concerned about when I've lost friends like John Prine and other people are dying all around me. On ABC News David Muir said "small businesses are getting fucked these days," and I'm a very small business. Oh, I also may have only been wishing David Muir, my favorite TV anchor, had used my colorful description, because I talk that way and he probably doesn't. Anyway, if I was you, I'd go upstairs and listen to some happy music. Maybe something by Duane Eddy. Or Thomm Jutz. Or Kevin Gordon.
Me, I'll likely settle for Dylan's "Murder Most Foul" as a pick-me-up. Or "Working Class Hero.")
Here is the link to the story in The Ledger, my last Street Level at least for now. You'll like it:
http://www.tnledger.com/editorial/article.aspx?id=127765&fbclid=IwAR0vYEviLOYTgQ_iTDxbhGdJQIVLO8XfX2v8wZ-otTRT0S68feq83NPzRYU
I contacted Kevin because I like him and I admire his talent. And, in a world of acoustic fellows, he sometimes stands out by staying electric.
Anyway, the story was about how musicians have been affected by the COVID-19 virus and how it has pretty much forced cancellations or, as in Kevin's case, adaptation.
I chose him as one who could represent all the pickers, grinners, lovers and sinners who are out there who have been forced to go to Stageit or other similar online venues to play for tips and to keep their fans in the loop.
I'm sorry it got cut, though the story turned out well (check it elsewhere on my Facebook page) and mentions all kinds of folks from Mick Jagger to Jimmy Church to Suzie Brown Sax to Super T and even my pals Thomm Jutz and Eric Brace and honky-tonk hero Jon Byrd. Actually, I pretty much love everybody I interviewed for this long piece, and I think you should read it. Hell, Duane Eddy, one of the fellows who invented rock 'n' roll and who I love as one of my best friends, even talks about what Waylon called "Skull Orchards." Anytime I can get Duane Eddy and Waylon Jennings into a column or blog, even, I feel fulfilled, Hoss.
However, Kevin, who is a big name in smaller circles, didn't make it from the big Apple computer machine to the printed or digital page.
I am sorry about that.
But I figure that, what the hell, this is a fine musician and he spent valuable time with me. And anyone with a pit bull named Pearl has to be a fine individual, with the accent on individual.
With all that as a prelude, let me bring the section on Kevin Gordon back from the dead. Well, I've been talking a lot about death lately. Let's bring him back to life.
That lengthy prelude, in which I was able to invoke the names of Duane Eddy and Waylon Jennings, and apology brings me to this point:
Live from the dining room: It’s Kevin Gordon.
When counting Nashville’s musical treasures, Kevin Gordon is in the first fistful, and, like all independent musicians, he’s a road warrior.
The other day he had one of his shortest gig trips in his long and poetic/rocking career.
“I’m doing one of these live-streaming things from my dining room this evening,” says Kevin, who is hunkering down and staying away from crowds.
“I’ve done a couple of them, and I really like it,” says Kevin, who was to perform for a crowd of one in the live audience: His 44-pound rescue pit mix, Pearl. His wife was in Des Moines, Iowa, visiting their daughter.
“Once I get started, I’m fine,” he says of live-streaming shows. “Beforehand, I get this feeling like I’m producing a television show, and I just worry way too much about it, especially since a lot of the people are going to watch it on their phones.”
His choice for the concert was Stageit, but there are different platforms for live-streaming, and artists from Nashville continue to use them in order to make a little money via remote.
The basic format of Stageit is artists select their times and places to perform and hope to get the word out to their fans, who pay to hear the intimate show as well as tip the artists. It’s always live, unarchived and offers fans the chance to request songs.
If you look at Stageit.com, you’ll see a large number of your Nashville favorites, from the troubadour types, like Kevin, to the voices from the Lower Broadway bars. Big label artists also are finding online platforms, Facebook, etc., to connect their fans during this time of pestilence and constant sorrow.
Kevin adds he didn’t lose a lot of gigs, because he is in the songwriting part of his creative cycle, working out songs for a new record.
“I did have a couple of dates in April. Those have been postponed. They haven’t been rescheduled yet.”
And then there was the elaborate staging of his online show: “I have a little amp across the room in the dining room. That’s the best room in the house as far as ambient sound.”
And I'm sure the pit bull named Pearl enjoyed it as much as the fans from around the world who checked it out.
(Note here: Street Level is on COVID-19 hiatus. You'll still see me around, though … writing other stuff I hope, since I try to support my family and pets... And I expect my personal blog "They Call Me Flapjacks" will get pretty active. I hope you like me. This is free stuff. Maybe I need to put out a tip jar. But the loss of a column, even temporarily (I hope), while nothing new to me, is not much to be concerned about when I've lost friends like John Prine and other people are dying all around me. On ABC News David Muir said "small businesses are getting fucked these days," and I'm a very small business. Oh, I also may have only been wishing David Muir, my favorite TV anchor, had used my colorful description, because I talk that way and he probably doesn't. Anyway, if I was you, I'd go upstairs and listen to some happy music. Maybe something by Duane Eddy. Or Thomm Jutz. Or Kevin Gordon.
Me, I'll likely settle for Dylan's "Murder Most Foul" as a pick-me-up. Or "Working Class Hero.")
Here is the link to the story in The Ledger, my last Street Level at least for now. You'll like it:
http://www.tnledger.com/editorial/article.aspx?id=127765&fbclid=IwAR0vYEviLOYTgQ_iTDxbhGdJQIVLO8XfX2v8wZ-otTRT0S68feq83NPzRYU
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