Folsom Prison Blues

I hear the train acoming, it's rolling round the bend.-Johnny Cash

All my life I was told that one day, I would understand Bob Dylan.  I STILL don't.  I did come to understand Johnny Cash, though. He was a regular guy with regular guy problems.  I first listened to "Ring of Fire" as performed by Wall of Voodoo and became intrigued.  Johnny even had Trent Reznor write a song for him called "Hurt".  I highly recommend both, however, I digress, this post is about the stripped bare original core of Cash's music.  I would come to know Johnny Cash well.

I got word that another open jam had been going on at a place called "Whiskey's".  I had been invited more than once by Joe, a drummer that has shopped where I work for years.  "Bring your bass, and quit making excuses!" He messaged me.  "These guys will like ya, I hate ya, but that's besides da point." He tells me with his usual Philly attitude.

Fair use?

I step over a huge puddle outside the door and inside I am instantly transported to "Bob's Country Bunker" from the Blues Brothers.  The stage is sans chicken wire, but everything else is the same.  Before shutting the stage door behind me, I notice the sunlight striking the thick cigarette smoke. Joe notices me squinting and says, "They could tear this place down and build a new place and the smoke would be intolerable."

I meet the musician that is running things, a guy named Al.  I recognize him from his tenure in "Clutch" a show band that had been around for a while, he plays horns, guitar and sings.  Al introduces me to Robert, a guitarist and Jerry, a keyboard player.   "Jerry used to own this place, the stage is in his old liquor storehouse."  Al tells me with a smile.

I find out quickly that this place demands a repertoire of country music.  Most of the older songs I can give the Root-V treatment, but they throw a few tough ones at me.  I make the best of it, and when a song is too unfamiliar, Al just tells me to turn down and fake it.  This is not too hard, since Jerry has been nice letting me plug into the same amp as him.

A few different musicians rotate in and out, with Al organizing everything.  Al punctuates his sets with great commentary and reminds the crowd that the house band would be back "with more STUFF!".  Al returns with 2 cans of Natural Lite in his hand  and asks what kind of drinks that I like.  He has so much to learn about me.

At the end of the night Al announces that most of the musicians featured would be appearing at "another network" down the road . He steps off stage and presses money into my palm.  "Great job." he tells me with a wink and his fist pounding his heart.

I return several times to try and learn this Country Music thing.


As usual, when I arrived home, my wife asked "How did it go?"
"They like both kinds of music, Country AND Western," I responded.
She laughed.

What else could I say?



Stir up that MONKEYDUST!

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