therealmattjones

"Full House."

Cards slam against the table and some frustrated sighs and snickering fill the living room turned poker hall. I don't fancy myself to be the most stellar card player I've ever met, but occasionally, providence smiles on me and I can wrestle a few good hands. The trick is, so I'm told, to always keep the players around you guessing - if you always wait to play until you have a good hand, most players will fold and you won't get the big pot when you play...if you always bluff, people will recognize it and call you out and you'll lose all your money much more quickly.

Sounds like fairly practical advice for playing poker, right? Alas, many of us stick to our tried-but-not-necessarily-true means of playing the game because, frankly, we've always done it that way.

So, if it's not broken, should we try to fix it?  Not necessarily, but as any good carpenter I know will tell you - there's always room for a few modifications.  

This lesson is especially poignant in the writing, recording, mixing, and releasing of my new record, History. If the answer to any question is, "Because we've always done it that way," I've purposed to not do it that way. There are 3 categories where I think this is really helping me grow:

1. Artistically - Think of any jazz tune that you've heard in a live setting. It's never played the same way twice, is it? (Unless you're listening to "smooth jazz"...and if you are, you need not finish the rest of this blog) If we as "pop" musicians would adhere to this standard in our process of writing music and incorporating different kinds of instrumentation, I think the sonic landscape will continue to grow and be more challenging, but it will advance. I'm going for an 80's pop feel with more synthesizers and big drums, but more ambient sounds with electric guitars as well...some may love it, some my hate it, but at least it will be something new.

2. Practically - Mixing, producing, and engineering of a record is going to be a vast difference every time you step into the studio. Each record has been a beast all its own, and I think it needs to be that way.  It encourages growth, and creativity always arises when we are challenged with obstacles that we may not know how to overcome immediately. Ben Andrews and I have had a much larger amount of outside influence and help as far as producing and engineering this record goes - many from individuals much more experienced (and in many cases, just better) than ourselves. The result?  Hopefully, the listener benefits from this in the end, because the songs will be presented in the best way they possibly can be (to coincide with the budget we've had to work with)

3. Logistically - The world is changing ever more quickly than before. (Sorry, that made me think of the intro to "Lord of the Rings" anyway...) This shouldn't be a mystery - when I consider the route to record creation to release back in 2005, it's a world apart from what it is now.  You, the listeners, have hundreds of means to hear new music now, and in most cases, I'd say that's an awesome thing.  The fact that such a vast amount of great music is available to you (and me too, I'm a listener too!) is enabling and can be a bit stifling too.  So where does History sit in terms of the rest of the music out there?  Well, that's where I continue to ask and listen as far as how people discover and learn about new music. This is not a self-reference criterion based equation whatsoever, I have to know who you are and where you are and how you are listening. Thanks for the challenge, I'm up for it :)

I hope that everyone can grab a small something from this post - whether it's encouragement to "not do it that way" with your job/relationships/life, or maybe you just got a quick 3 minutes of entertainment from reading this on a Friday in the office. Either way, I hope we can trade a little convention for invention and keep moving.

-TRMJ

Jagged, tooth-like mountains shoot up almost immediately in the distance...I can't tell if they're ominously beautiful, or beautifully ominous. Either way, they appear much more quickly than I expect them to. Las Cruces is only 3 hours from Albuquerque, and there's no time change, so my typical lead-footed style of driving has brought me here ahead of schedule.

"I'm getting a haircut," Daniel Park's voice says through the phone. "I didn't think you'd be here so early."

That makes two of us. After fumbling through the dusty files of my memory to find my way around Las Cruces, I meet up with Dan. We exchange greetings, and go over a few funny war stories of touring and playing shows, then it's off to Brigid's Cross Irish Pub to set up for the show...and get some grub.

"Do you want to hear about our specials today?" Our waitress (and surprisingly great singer), Nikki, asks after Dan and I set up the PA system in record time.  

"Absolutely," Dan and I reply, almost in unison.

Nikki takes a deep breath and names off enough entrées and side dishes to fill half a menu. Capers? Did she say something with capers in it? 

"Those are the specials?" I respond. In truth, I've wanted nothing more than my standby dish at Irish Pubs since the moment I've heard that we're playing one.

"Shepard's pie for me, please," I say with some guilt after I've had Nikki recite the specials list, which rivaled the length of a Shakespearian soliloquy. 

It's fantastic. I don't often eat it, so maybe the infrequency of the dish itself adds to my affinity for it, but nonetheless, I wolf it down and 3 minutes later begin with my first set. Brigid's lights up with faces that I can describe with nothing short of surprise once the music begins. Awesome. I love it when people respond that way.

Between Dan and my sets, Nikki contributing harmonies and melodies, Dan playing his violin (which was broken and repaired all of 2 weeks ago) on a couple of my tunes as well...the night is awesome.  We graciously thank the audience, the venue, and each other for playing, and call it a night. Tomorrow is another one. Rock and roll.

-TRMJ 

"Again?!" 

My frustration this morning with my Blackberry rivals when you grab toast from the toaster that is completely charred on one side, and hardly singed on the other. The battery is almost completely dead, and it's been plugged in for 8 hours at least.

What's my first thought? I need a new phone. Some of us may be a little more conservative and say that the battery just needs to be replaced, but this ordeal makes me ponder for a moment - when was the last time you spent any time, effort, or money/resources to get something fixed? 

If we're not already there, we're moving into a time where essentially everything is meant to be replaced. Your camera lens is cracked? Don't fix it - you can save $100 by buying a new camera and it will have more features and better resolution than the last one.  Your TV is too heavy? Well, you won't be able to sell it, so leave it on the curb and go grab a new one today. 

A new thought arises - is this ultra-consumerist sense of reality conditioning us to make decisions that flippantly regarding other areas of life? You don't like your job? Just quit and get a new one (by the way - think about this one for a while before you quit).  Your friends are bothering you? You can always make new friends. Your spouse isn't attractive to you anymore? Well, that can always be replaced too...

Obviously, I'm not suggesting that if you're buying a new cell phone that you're also checking the stores for a new life partner, but I'm amazed at how some little things affect us that we may not consider.

Do any of these statements sound familiar?

"I don't like that band really, I just like this one song."

"Go (geaux) Saints!" (Really? That's something I hadn't even heard this earlier in 2009 from many people. What about your die-hard loyalty to the St. Louis Rams?)

"I like that church/job/group of friends, but that one girl gave me a dirty look so I'm not going there anymore."

The Replacements. That's a great band name (if it wasn't already taken), but maybe it's a better name for my tendency to want to immediately exchange anything that displeases me for something that will bring instant gratification. Just a thought...

Well, I'm off to Las Cruces tomorrow, so I'll be back to writing tour blogs for the next couple of days that will certainly be lighter in content. I hope I'm not replaced because one of the entries into my blog was a little busted ;o) 

-TRMJ

The pungent, familiar smell of oil being pumped tickles a memory somewhere in the dusty files of my brain. I'm either outside of Houston, or somwhere in West Texas. Considering that the predominant color is beige and I've seen more wind turbines than Astros fans around...well, I'll let you draw the conclusion.

Tonight is the last show of this short-run tour. Midland, TX at The Hemingway. I already have a great feeling about this venue because of it's namesake (side note: if you've never read The Sun Also Rises, please do), and Landon has played there enough that he text messages the owner in order to book shows, so we should be in the clear. Well, at least in the clear as far as the venue being supportive - it is a cigar bar, so fresh air is in short supply there, but rich mahogany is in excess.  It's kind of a big deal.
 
I like this place. Familiar faces dot the classy, smokey canvas and many of those faces have soon-to-be-familiar faces sitting with them and enjoying the music. Fans and friends shout while clapping, then fold their hands and make introspective looks as they listen and nod.  One of the staff members suggests that I make myself at home and try some of the chocolatey-smelling pipe tobacco he's smoking...and who am I to disagree with the staff? It is chocolatey... 

I wish every show could be like this. Great venue, great fans, great night. I'm more than happy to be "stuck" in the Midland with you. Until next time, so long West Texas - keep the sand hot and the people friendly, and I'll see you soon.

-TRMJ

This stretch of interstate seems to grow by a few miles each time I barrel through Plainview, TX...and my foot gets a little heavier each time too. We're at the halfway mark on the way to Amarillo, and just like each day, anticipation for what the next tour stop will bring is so thick in the air you can almost smell it - oh wait, for those of you who've driven through West Texas, you know that smell is not anticipation. Ugh.

Marty's Front Bar. The low ceilings and extremely low-lit ambiance suggest a meeting scene from some mafioso film, but Landon and I work our way to the stage area unarmed and unharmed.

"It's dark in here," Landon astutely points out.

"Who's saying that?" I answer in jest...partially.

 The stage is set, now the final chore in to complete before the 15 minutes of breathing time before a show is - the merch table. Surely, this is one of the best setups we've ever done, something of a dessert tray for the audiophile...well, judge for yourself:

Done. Now to grab a quick bite and a drink before showtime. Maybe a quick pit stop too...of course, this is where the panes stand out. Before your entry to the men's room, this is the scene before you:

I'm assuming a pay phone used to be in the corner. Strange. It's like a fun house, but none of them modify your image. For our purposes, it will be the pseudo-fun house then.

Showtime. Landon and I trade sets and the crowd responds with claps, laughs, and hooting that one would always expect from an awesome West Texas audience. During a break between sets, a group of silver-haired patrons catches my eye and ear, and I decide to say hello.

"You guys have a great melody and beat. Don't ever change that." The man who gives this generous critique is 80 years old, and has been a bassist for over half his lifetime. No fancy experience he claims...until his cronies point out that Ella Fitzgerald was his employer for a few tours she did. Wow. That seems fairly fancy to me.

The other two at the table continue on with a few other stories, and I find that one of them owns a club in Cabo San Lucas. Geez. Who knew the wealth of experience and diversity that's to be found in a venue slightly off the beaten path in Amarillo? Well, no doubt about it, these chaps are automatically cool. Lump this show in the successful gig pile. On to Midland tomorrow...

-TRMJ