Tuesday, July 29

New Solo Tracks

First of all, a shout out to the healthy music scene in Dubuque, IA. We've had a blast here over the last three days, picked up an unscheduled gig last night, and made some friends who are going to follow us up to Minneapolis to party and see the next couple shows.

I've posted some new solo tracks on Myspace for the public ear-hole, so click on the title of the blog post, it has a link to something related to the blog every time I write. In case you can't locate those huge letters at the top of the screen, it's http://www.myspace.com/trevorjonesmusic.

99% of my creative mojo juice goes toward Frogs Gone Fishin' these days and as such, I have little time for any solo musical activities. Before we went on tour however, I recorded around 12 tracks by myself in my apartment in New Orleans. I used a simple program called GarageBand to produce the tunes, which essentially lets me sit in my bedroom and record with little else but my instruments and computer, a very low pressure creative environment where I am my own engineer, songwriter, producer, performer and critic.

As a result, the songs turn out much more conceptual than structural, and I have the opportunity to play passages how I mentally conceive them to sound. I also get to play every instrument on the tracks. Though my drumming skills admittedly need some polish, "The Zoo" features a funky drum loop I created by simply resting the computer on the floor tom, pressing record, and going nuts (later pruning the track for a tasty loop, which I played bass and sang over).

This is quite a different process from writing/recording songs as a band. I greatly enjoy bringing the meat of an idea to a band, only to watch them apply their creative alterations, how they hear the song in their respecetive mind's ear in order to create a piece which we can all feel apart of.

Both methods of recording are fun and both necessary for artistic development. The truly amazing part of the process is the technology which musicians, amateur or advanced, have access to. This is a double-edged sword, as GarageBand has probably produced far more naseating noise than collosal compositions to contribute to the world's collective catalogue.

But hey, it's all music right? We'll leave that discussion for the next post...

Friday, July 25

Minnesota Livin'

Today I ate a bowl of cereal for the first time in what I would estimate to be around three weeks.

You might not have an accurate idea of how hard a bowl of cereal is to come by on tour. Sure, maybe the most quality of gas stations might have those little plastic portable bowls of Lucky Charms or Frankenberries. But to get some of the real stuff, in a porcelain bowl, a real live person who cares about their own well-being must invite you in to his or her home and share such bounty with you. It is because of the extreme generosity of the people of Minnesota that we in FGF have had many life changing opportunities over the last week, such as said cereal eating, and I wish those of us in Frogs had a better method of showing our gratitude.

So: to Dave, Sean, Heather and A.J., Carl, Mary-Beth, Rio, Lido and C.P....
THANK YOU FROM FROGS GONE FISHIN'!

On a more serious note, there is a somber question everyone should pause and think deeply about...

What will you do when Z-Day comes?

It has recently been determined by a leading think tank in Washington DC that most of the country is vastly underprepared for the day a zombie virus breaks out. Luckily for us, several Zombie Preparedness Resources are available at our disposal. In addition, I will be posting Z-Day tips on occasion to help educate the public.

Because touring musicians are constantly travelling, we are well versed in the type of mobility that would immediately become neccesary on Z-Day.

The Z-Day lesson for today is: Weapon Choice.

It is well known that the only way to kill a zombie is by removing their head. The zombie virus is a malicious one, causing the infected to obtain great strength and running speed. You must remain calm, move quickly, and separate the zombie head from the zombie torso.

Acceptable Weapons: sword, shotgun, chainsaw etc...
Ineffective Weapsons: shovel or garden tools, any other gun but a shotgun, knives, silver-bullets, crucifixes or those dust-buster things they have in Ghostbusters.

If you see or hear about any zombies, please notify the author of this blog immediately.
For more Z-Day tips, please visit http://www.zombieinitiative.org .


"Keep your head, remove theirs..."

Monday, July 21

Midwest Touring (IA, WI, MN)

This day in tour life takes us to the local coffee shop near Rogers, Minnesota to use our day off for booking and promotional activities. It's also the first time we've had internet access in several days.

After leaving Nebraska, we stopped in the home of the Iowa State Cyclones, Ames, wedged some Frisbee golf into the schedule, played to an energetic audience, and ate really good hot dogs at 2am after the show. Next was La Crosse, WI and Bluffland Bloom and Brew, one of the more unique venues I've ever played. Instead of the typical smoky bar where us Frogs congregate for music, BB&B was more of an eclectic tea house atmosphere, complete with indoor water-garden, plant life growing up the brick walls around you. We drank many good cups of tea, played an intimate set, and slept until late in the morning on the many comfortable couches set around the venue.

Our set the next night in Rochester, MN proved to be the first lacking an energetic audience in eight gigs or so. The lackluster night's hangover was curbed by a fantastically fast water slide at the Ramada where the club put us up. Little kids, parents, and the concerned lifeguard looked at the five of us questioningly as we repeatedly ran up the slick stairs to the top of the slide, probably giggling too much for 10am. But on tour, you break the monotonous cycle of endless travel any way you can.

We did just that the next night in Lake Howard, MN with a group of Portwood's (guitar, FGF) old college friends. They were gracious enough to invite the band to a lake house where we barbecued, played a private set on the deck for fifeteen people or so (and the boats who arrived to listen), and wakeboarded in the morning.

Long story short, tour has been sweet the past few weeks. Most places we go there are friendly people waiting, ready to listen and dance. Folks in the Midwest are warm and inviting and always want to make sure that we are comfortable, even though I sometimes feel like bringing a smelly/hungry band of five into a decent midwestern man's home is the height of imposition.

After several shows in Minneapolis this week, we head to Chicago to absorb Lollapalloza and play a show. Then back to Colorado to regroup, plan fall tour and decide on a timeline to record a follow-up album to "Tell Me True".

You consistently hear about musicians who find life on the road really hard, almost unbearable. There are a couple hard aspects, notably uncertain notions about where you will sleep on a given night and extended periods going without a shower. You have to adopt a nomadic attitude and realize that hey, for most of human history we probably slept on or close to the ground anyway and didn't shower for weeks (I hear the smell repels bears and zombies).

From a psychological perspective, what doesn't kill you on tour probably makes you harder. The question remains, does becoming harder help, or hurt creativity? The answer depends on one's conception of the artist as creator. If you believe artists should be hard, rejecting the outside world to protect their own viewpoint, then tour away! But if artists need to be soft, receptive to the world around them, then tour could potentially skew or even drown that ability.

As long as Ramada's have water slides and Minnesota has lakes, I don't think I'll become either one of those extremes.

Next post: Zombie Preparendess Tips: What Will You Do When Z-Day Comes?

Wednesday, July 16

Heading to the Midwest (Nebraska)

Hello from Hastings, Nebraska this morning...

Nebraska is really flat. Because it's so flat, and we did nothing but sleep off Monday's gig last night, I have no stimulating current events to write about. That makes me want to tell you about other, non-current events, like Mountainside Mardi Gras. But I can't even tell you what artists we are negotiating with.

Because we could get sued.

It's actually a funny aspect of music promotion which is more indicative of the state of justice in the US than anything else. See, turns out if you announce that an artist will be performing at your festival, people get really excited. If the artist cancels, and its your fault, people get really angry. So angry, in fact, they can sue and seek emotional damages in a court of law!

How silly, no? We've all heard of the woman who sued McDonald's because her coffee was too hot, albeit the fact that is was she herself who spilled the drink on her own lap. I guess at For/Sure Productions we could view such emotional attachment to our event as flattery, but I struggle to imagine a situation where the public cries about brass bands to the point of litigation.

But I'm not telling you which brass bands. (You might sue).

In Frogs Gone Fishin' news, we sold some CD's in The Netherlands.... Dank je wel!


Monday, July 14

Some Mountain Jam

On Saturday FGF had the opportunity to play at the inaugural Some Mountain Jam Festival, located in The Middle of Nowhere, Colorado. The event was a magical gathering of kind souls in South Park County, better known as the setting for the show South Park. Rather than try and describe the day in typical blog fashion, I'll provide a completely subjective time-line of what happened.

Friday Jul. 11- We played a really jumping show at The Lazy Dog in Boulder (playing there again tonight at The Pearl Street Pub) for lots of our friends. It proved to be the third night in a row with an awesome crowd after Dulcinea's on the 9th and Dillon Dam Brewery on the 10th. The band goes to sleep tired but ready to wake up and drive to South Park County for the festival in the morning.

Saturday Jul. 12, 9am - Band painfully wakes up in Boulder and stumbles, bleary-eyed, outside to the Tourmobile for departure to Some Mountain Jam. We have no idea what this gig involves other than word that lots of hippies, music lovers and ski bums with nothing to do in summertime will be travelling to a discrete location in the Colorado mountains for a gathering. The drive to South Park is mountainous and beautiful.

2pm - The Tourmobile takes a turn onto a dirt road and continues without seeing a soul for 11 miles into the hills. As we make the final turn into the valley where the festival will take place, the terrain opens up into a sunny expanse of land, completely empty except for the group of trailers and tents set opposite a hand-built wooden stage. The Tourmobile descends from the mountain, drives across the valley, and travels up the corner of the valley to the foot of the next adjacent mountain. Needless to say the location was picturesque and miles from civilization in all directions.

2:30pm - We find that our friends from summit county, Hustle, have already arrived and have joined the morning-long effort to erect a wooden stage, soundsystem, lights and generators. Carloads of people are trickeling into the valley, cause for celebration anytime the dusty cloud of a truck or RV is spotted across the valley. Hustle taps a keg in the backstage area where most of the bands camped, and Some Mountain Jam '08 is under way. Demonstrative of the immediate good vibes felt backstage, we unanimously decide to cancel our gig scheduled for Saturday night and enjoy the festival.

4pm - Frogs Gone Fishin' was slated to play first and we happily took the stage in the sunshine, greeted by a field of smiling faces. Playing music while looking at a stunning mountain valley is quite a different experience from our normal habitat of darkly-lit, smoky clubs and bars. As we groove, campers continue to fly down the mountain into the valley, set up their tents and make their way to the stage area. As we wrapped up our set, I fully realized the effect that four straight days of playing live music had on my body, quickly watched Mark Levy (drums, FGF) sit in with Laughing Bones, a fantastic bluegrass infused band from Summit County, and crashed heavily during Got Jababa's set in our tent.

7-11pm - My nap was the first of several dreamlike experiences that night, as I would briefly wake up and perceive the watery organ and soaring guitar lines of Got Jababa, a band I surely hope we get a chance to play with in the future. I emerged groggily from the tent as Hustle began their set to find that my perception of the festival grounds had completely changed.

It was no longer daylight and the stars and moon were illumunating the sky in pink and purple hues. The resourceful mountain campers had built a large bonfire in front of the stage to keep the energy high while dancing. A fire also burned mysteriously in the hills above our campsite, lit by forest dwellers who I had not yet perceived, holding their own secret ceremonies while music resonated through the valley. I wandered down to the primal fire dance and joined in the festivites. After Hustle concluded their set, it was decided by the musical elders that somewhat of a superjam should be initiated. Myself, Portwood (guitar, FGF), Dave (bass, Laughing Bones), Andrew (keys, Got Jababa) and Hollerin' Pete (drums, Hustle) led the late night jam ceremony until the fire bouncing off our pupils looked too inviting, and we could take no more.

3am- All who were still awake gathered around the flame and sang even more songs as acoustic guitars and drums were passed to all who would play. My face hurt from laughing as Wookie Foot, a well known head from the mountains sang songs about mountain men, Colorado, and a women who would only love him for his wookie foot (a fake cast set around an unbroken leg to sneak drugs into shows). I passed out as if floating on a cloud in the tent, oblivious to the intense morning heat that was just below the horizon.

7am- Too hot and foul in the tent, moved under a cool shady tree to continue sleeping.

11am- Frogs depart for Denver, thankful for the experience and ready to head to the Midwest this week for tour.

Wednesday, July 9

Summer Tour Part II

Good news and bad news this week as we start the second leg of our FGF summer tour.

As you might have read in a recent post, our cherished '94 Suburban has been having some technical difficulties. Turns out, we are in need of a new transmission, worth $3,000. This is very bad news. We could most likely buy a completely new Tourmobile for this kind of cash, but the 'Burb has really grown on us. More importantly, we have ten gigs in a row, ten nights in a row, starting tonight at Dulcinea's 100th Monkey on Colfax Avenue in Denver and ending in Rochester, MN. This leaves no time for researching and buying a new Tourmobile, and so we fix old red.

The good news is that the new Frogs Gone Fishin' CD, "Tell Me True", is now available online. Please go sample the tunes:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/frogsgonefishin2

The best thing about selling CD's online is the random orders that come in everywhere from New Jersey to New Dehli, or anywhere else the wonderful world wide web works worldwide. This is one of many ways we are trying to distribute our music, and we are constantly finding out about new methods. Digital music distribution is a big question mark for many bands, and one of the biggest unanswered questions in the music industry.

Sunday, July 6

A Short Break

Frogs Gone Fishin' is on a short break until we play at Dulcinea's in Denver on the 9th with our friends Toasted Jelly. The days off are well deserved, as we played 15 shows in June, or roughly a show every other night in ten different cities.

Toasted Jelly, like several bands in Denver/Boulder, is made up of players who members of FGF have played with in years past. This group of about ten musicians in four bands have rotated members since high school and all continue to stay in touch and jam together.

In my mind this is what constitutes a "music scene", along with consistent venues to play at and a dedicated group of music lovers who come out to see shows on a regular basis. We just received word that another band in our circle, The Springdale Quartet (Boulder), will be playing at the 10,000 Lakes Festival. We can't help but be happy for these guys; not only because they are our friends, but because we know that success for them means success for the rest of the circle. When it rains it pours.

At least we hope so. Because the only leg of summer tour more intense than the one we just completed, is the leg we have coming up... 18 shows in just over a month.

Wednesday, July 2

broke and burnt at the border

Today we are in humble Raton, New Mexico, near the Colorado border.

Why, you ask? I just checked the calendar and Frogs are in the mountains tonight, right?? You guys start at 9pm, right?!?

When the funny noise under the hood sounded, we had just left Clayton, NM. Excited to go camp at the Sand Dunes National Park and rest up for the (now questionable) gig tonight, we attributed the grinding sound to our A/C which had mercilessly broken somewhere in Texas. It was the A/C alright. The compressor jammed at 70mph, in turn melting the serpentine belt, spewing molten rubber onto several pulleys which now must be replaced in quiet little Raton, for a mere $1,200.

Not only will we be spending our earnings from the last three or four shows fixing the car, we will more than likely miss our gig in Carbondale, CO tonight. The very helpful people at United Toyota (fixing our Chevy) claim that they can have the whip fixed by business-day end. This would put us in Carbondale at 11pm, too late to play a full show but hopefully early enough to sneak a late set in.

At this point, we need the tips. I love tour season.