In 1983 I was in the Navy and my ship was was sitting on the gunline off the coast of Beirut, Lebanon. I was bored. There was absolutely nothing to do except sleep and stand watch. I had read every book that I could get my hands on. One day I am just sitting there staring at the water when I had a thought. One of the guys that I worked with had brought a guitar along, and I wondered if I still knew how to play. I picked up the guitar and was surprised that I still remembered those long ago learned chord shapes. When that cruise was over and we got back to the United States, I attended my first Bluegrass Festival in Smithfield Va to see Bill Monroe. It was there that I was introduced to the Jamming and Parking Lot picking and from that point on I was hooked.
Talking to my relatives, I discovered that I was not the first musician in teh family. It's something that we didn't talk about very much because of the shame,. but my great-grandfather on my mother's side was an alcoholic banjo player. (alcoholism is a requirement to be a banjo player in some states) I also discovered that my father was a local Honky Tonk singer. No wonder my mother divorced him, well at least he didn't play the banjo. Regardless, I come from a long line of attention whores. I guess that means that I come by it honest.
I was recently reading some psychiatric magazine mumbo-jumbo about Alpha Waves where it said that music, or the repetitive motions involved in making music, supposedly stimulated alpha waves in some peoples brains. It said that when your brain was in an alpha state, your brain slowed down and your awareness was supposed to expand, your fears would all vanish, you would feel a sense of peace and well being, and all of the hot chicks in the area would experience the overwhelming compulsion to show you their bare breasts. In other words, it said that Alpha waves are good.
I play music because I have to. I don't know if it is due to the Alpha Waves addiction, the fact that I am an attention whore, or just what it is that propels that need, I just know that I possess it. I crave playing music and being on stage like a junkie craves the needle. One of the greatest feelings I have ever experienced was playing with a group of people in a field in the middle of Nowhere, Missouri where by some magical fluke, we are all perfectly in synch, all of us were right in the pocket. The harmonies were perfect and everything was as it should be. Time just seemed to stop and the music just kind of crystallized in the air. I remembering being filled with an overwhelming sense of joy and intimacy and wondering if this was in anyway similar to what God must have felt like when He created the universe.
I have been chasing that feeling every since.
I've played in all kinds of different bands, both rock and country music, I've played bluegrass and old-time music with some pretty well known musicians on some respectable stages and around campfires all around the world. I have always wanted to put together my own band together, to play my kind of music, to follow my personal musical vision, instead of someone elses, but I have had difficulty finding these like-minded individuals who have the time to devote.
I have never let that stop me.
When I get the opportunity I play with others, I take it, but if there is no money to pay somebody else to play a gig along with me, I just do it by myself. I can pull that off and it's usually a whole lot less hassle.
I reallyhave a desire to be taken seriously as a musician, because I am under the delusion that I am a pretty good picker, but it seems like my personality, my natural irreverence, my disdain for any type of authority, and my self depreciating and totally whacked-out sense of humor all get in the way to the point where sometimes I'm not sure of whether I should market myself as a comedy act or a musical one... or both. I don't really write songs, instead I screw up other peoples songs. I don't perform them the way you are probably used to hearing them. I've been accused by some of not playing some songs the correct way. In fact I was once referred to as a "Song Molester. " I'm not sure what that means. Also I have never understood what the correct way refers to. Now why in the hell would I want to ever play anything the correct way anyhow? I prefer to play these tunes my way. I discovered that the Violent Femmes - Blister in the Sun makes a pretty damned good Honky Tonk song, as does Blue Oyster Cult's - Godzilla.
What I normally tell people from the stage is "If you want to hear these songs done the "right" way, well you are hearing them done the "right" way. If you really want to hear them the way that they were originally recorded, then go buy the damned original recordings, shut up and let the rest of us have our fun.
Recently, a friend called me to tell me that he had run across a DVD that contained some film he had shot of a couple of my solo performances and wanted me to have a copy. I have always had a difficult time explaining to people what it is that I do on stage. Telling people that I tell these stories and that I play fucked up hillbilly music that is best suited for getting drunk or divorced to just doesn't seem to adequately describe what it is that I do. Now I have video evidence.
I'm getting ready to share that with you.
I now have in my possession an hour length DVD of these performances, Knowing what cheap bastards all of you are, I know that none of you would ever fork over the money to actually buy a DVD of my performances, so I broke it into manageable sections and posted it all on the You Tube.
Below you will find all of those clips, in the correct order. Below that are the links to teh album I recorded in about 2 hours last fall, Because this post is primarily being posted in an effort to get gigs, I am also going to post a recent set list. I know several hundred tunes, so that set list varies quite a bit.
Look all of this stuff over and then get hold of me at twangzine@gmail.com if you think that I may be the perfect entertainer for your next House Concert; Bar, Tavern, Restaurant, or Club; Pig Picking or Chicken Stew; Your Bris, Cross burning, Eid ul-Fitr, Juneteenth celebration, or Church Social Solstice; your Engagement party, Wedding, Divorce Celebration, Hanging, Gay Pride event, Birthday Party, or any other event or celebration that you might be having.
Enjoy.
Jeff Wall
aka BigDumbHick
BigDumbHick - Jeff Wall - The DVD via YouTube
BigDumbHick - Jeff Wall - It is what it is - The Album
Downloadable mp3's
01 - jeff wall - call me the breeze
02 - jeff wall - big river
03 - jeff wall - after midnight
04 - jeff wall - carmelita
05 - jeff wall - mississippi kid
06 - jeff wall - please be with me
07 - jeff wall - state trooper
08 - jeff wall - swinging doors
09 - jeff wall - taking care of business
10 - jeff wall - you shook me all night long
BigDumbHick - Jeff Wall - Typical Set List
Hello, I'm a BigDumbHick
Are You Ready for the Country – Neil Young
Big River – Johnny Cash
No Expectations – Rolling Stones
Introduction & Story - George Jones & Heroin
Dead Flowers - Rolling Stones
Carmelita - Warren Zevon
Lonesome Ornery and Mean – Steve Young
Story - Vatican
Plastic Jesus - Unknown
Gimme a Ride To Heaven Boy – Terry Allen
The Lord'll Provide – Mike Cross
Story - Ying/Yang
Sympathy for the Devil – Rolling Stones
Story - My Criminal Career
Time to get a gun – Freed Eaglesmith
Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash
Washed My Hands in Muddy Water – Stonewall Jackson
State Trooper – Bruce Springsteen
Story - Audience Participation
Mercedez Benz - Janis Joplin
YMCA – The Village People
Dead Skunk - Louden Wainwright III
Story - Fucking up
Company I Keep – Drive By Truckers
Only Hell My Mama Ever raised – Johnny Paycheck
Story - Crazy Chicks
Dim Lights, Thick Smoke – Joe Maphis
That’s How I Got to Memphis – Tom T Hall
Dixie Chicken – Little Feat
These Boots Are Made For Walking – Nancy Sinatra
Story - My wife's music
Blister in the Sun – Violent Femmes
Help – the Beatles
Story - Rock and Roll
Godzilla – Blue Oyster Cult
Taking Care of Business – Bachman Turner Overdrive
Seven Bridges Road – Steve Young
You Shook Me All Night Long – AC/DC
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment