The Wabash Cafe

So, I’ve been doing a pretty poor job of keeping you guys informed of my progress. I can only plead guilty/busy/sick/the sun got in my eyes/writers block/the aliens ate my homework/etc. Bottom line, I promise to do a better job going forward.

Anyway, to the update…I’ve added two more songs to the site. They’re both very rough drafts, but I hope you’ll like them. The first is called “The Kid”, and is loosely about Ken Griffey Jr.’s retirement from baseball, and in a broader sense about watching guys your own age become “the aging vet who needs to go”. The second is, at long last, the title track – The Wabash Cafe. I’m excited to get this into everyone’s hands, even in this rough form. I hope you all enjoy it.
(By the way, I’ve had a couple of people tell me that they can’t find the new songs on the player. If you hit the fast forward button it moves you to the next song. You can scroll through to the new stuff that way.)

In other great news, I’ve got two new members of the team that I can announce here now. First off, my friend Mark Hrabovsky (who has played with a ton of great bands around town, including former alterna-faves Suave Octopus and currently with Wackadoo, a great Vintage/Swing music band you can check out here) has agreed to be a part of the project. Mark can play virtually anything, and is incredible at all of it, so he’s going to be a great addition to the album and the team. Thanks for hoping aboard Mark.

And in news that I am a super excited about my longtime friend and European traveling partner Paul Bordeaux (formerly of Roger From The Dark and the Ken Kase Group, currently playing guitar in the awesome Tight Pants Syndrome) has agreed to record and produce the album (I’m going to ask him to play some guitar too, I just haven’t told him yet – keep it on the down low). There are few people who’s opinions about music I respect as much as I do Paul’s, and he has never lead me wrong when it comes to great music. This project will be about a billion times better because he’s a part of it. I can’t thank you enough, Paul, for the interest you have taken in my music.

So, there’s the update. As I mentioned in the last post, long long ago, I’ll be looking to find a new place or two to gig now that Felix’s has killed music. I’ll let you all know as soon as I find something. In the meantime, I hope you’ll check in here once in a while to see what’s happening.

See ya’ down the road,
Brian

Hey gang, I’m not feeling really well, so you’re not going to get a full post, but I wanted to let everyone know that I’ve got another gig coming up. I’ll be back at Felix’s in Dogtown at the end of this month – Sunday, June 27th. I’m not sure what time, but it will likely be at 7pm or 8pm, and I’ll play for about an hour. It’s a great venue, and I hope you’ll save the date on your calendar to come out and see me.

In other news, if you happen to come out and see me at Felix’s you’ll probably get to see the live debut of another new tune. This one is called “The Kid”, and it’s about watching the great players of our youth become the grizzled veterans hanging on too long. I’m not promising anything, but it’s finished…and if I can kick this illness I should be able to have it performance ready by the 27th.

Thanks for checking in, and I’ll see ya’ down the road…
Brian

Well, I mentioned it in the last post, so I thought I’d go ahead and get it up on the site – I’ve uploaded “People That I Know” (aka, the Facebook song) to the site. It’s another rough cut – one take, straight to 4 track with no frills added – but it does give you the chance to hear the melody. The final cut for the album will be flushed out (I can’t wait to record it, I have some fun ideas), so understand that this only vaguely represents what this will sound like down the line.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know what you think on the forums or on Facebook.

Until next time…
Brian

Hey gang, it’s been a little while since I touched base with you all. I’ve been crazy busy, but I did have some updates to catch everybody up on.

The last time I posted I told you about my first gig playing the new songs. It was less than a week later that I had my second outing with the new tunes – playing a gig at an awesome restaurant/bar in Dogtown named Felix’s. I can’t recommend the place highly enough. I had the ribs before I played and they were excellent. The turnout was light, as I hadn’t really advertised it well, but we had a great time and I felt like the new stuff came off well. I should be playing there again this month. I’ll let you know as soon as I’ve got something solid set up. I hope you’ll come out and see me there.

Speaking of that show, and the previous one, the one thing I have been noticing is that “The People That I Know”, aka “The Facebook Song”, has been the song that people seem to remember. I was hoping to get you all a version of that song that would be fleshed out a little bit, but it will probably be a little while before I get into the studio, so I’m going to do a scratch version of it on my 4-track and get that to you guys soon – hopefully sometime this week.

Finally, I’ve written previously about how one of the themes of this album will be community. I’d be interested in your idea of what community is – be it geographic, spiritual, familial, etc. So, feel free to drop a note in the forums or shoot me an email. I’m still exploring the theme in my writing for the album, and I’d love to hear what you have to say about it.

Thanks for stopping by, and I promise to post more often going forward.

Til we meet again…
Brian

This was quite the eventful week for me.

The week started out on a wonderful note, with my good friend Holly trusting me with lyrics that she had written about an old friend who had passed on awhile back. Needless to say I was truly honored. Normally, I struggle with the music side – but this was different. I had a basic melody and chord progression within a couple of hours, and a pretty much finished product the next day. This weekend I got to play it for her, and she seemed to really like it. I’ve had some pretty cool moments playing music, but this experience has to be right up at the top. I’m hoping that by the time I record it that it will be something that is worthy of her late friend and the close-knit group of friends that the song was intended for.

Right before I left for the weekend, I received a new toy in the mail that should help me share some things with you all. I bought a Tascam DP-004 PocketStudio. What that means is that I’ll be able to record scratch demos of my songs here at home in very little time. This means I can share them with the musicians I’d like to play on the album, and has the side benefit of making it easy to give you all access to early versions of stuff. I’m hoping to have a couple of things up by the end of the week.

Finally, I mentioned before that I got to play Holly’s song for her this weekend. I got to do that because I attended the Beltane festival at Wolvenwold in Elk Creek, MO. It was a wonderful festival, and I got a chance to connect with some old friends and meet a whole lot of new ones. I was particularly excited to meet all the fine folks from Lodge Yggdrasill, down from Minnesota to entertain us with their wonderful songs and stories – they are a truly great group of folks, and I can’t wait to see them again. The entertainment this weekend was stellar as always, but unfortunately one of our good friends, Andy Shaffer, fell ill and was unable to attend. The lovely ladies of Wolvenwold, Beltana and Holly, asked me to help fill in, as Andy was part of the scheduled entertainment for Saturday. So, rather unexpectedly, 4 of my tunes made their live debuts on Saturday night. After spending a large chunk of Saturday afternoon practicing, I played an 8 song set Saturday night. I was nervous as hell, and made a couple of mistakes, but overall I was pretty happy with it. The crowd was wonderful, and truly made me feel like they appreciated my performance. I can’t tell you all how much that means to me…you made me feel like I’m on the right path musically, and I thank you.

Until next time…
Brian

For a variety of reasons, the songs have slowed a little bit. Partially because I’ve been working on the songs that are “complete” before I’m ready to record them and partially because the tone has turned a little bit and the material is more difficult to work through. The song below is about the anxiety I have regarding raising my little girl and my stepson Nick’s job as a police officer, and how that ties in to the loss of my youngest stepson Garrett by suicide in May of 2008.  The music is a work in progress, but I think the lyrics are done for the most part. Yet another song that I’m not sure will make the album, as this one is very personal, but I promised to share the process with you, so…

Until we meet next time….

Loss

Eyes are blurry, thoughts muddled in his head
He turns off the TV, and ambles off to bed
Head hits the pillow and his eyes start to dim
But he can’t fight this feeling that’s come over him

So he tussles with the pillows and adjusts the sheet
Thinks of his son working graveyard on a West End beat
Tries to get some rest, but his thoughts they roam
The sad truth is sometimes they don’t come home

He fights the Sandman and the dreams he brings
Cause the thoughts in his head aren’t always pretty things
Afraid the other shoe will drop, he just doesn’t know when
He’s lost before, he can’t lose again

In the daylight thoughts turn to his precious little girl
Eyes big as saucers, she lights up his world
But he fears everyday he’s not up to the test
So beautiful and pure, she deserves the best

Night comes again and his thoughts they ride
Over a landscape of images he cannot hide
He went to bed early and he got there late
Did he fail his family, or was it just fate

He fights the Sandman and the dreams he brings
Cause nightmares aren’t such pretty things
He’ll never be the man that he was back then
He’s lost before, he can’t lose again

I couldn’t be more excited to share this bit of news with all of you – my longtime friend, and one of the most creative people I know, Kymberlie Birkenkamp has agreed to do the photography for The Wabash Cafe. I first met Kym in the early 90’s at a Mass Communications class at Meramec Community College. It was a night class, and a small group of us began to hang out at the old Big Bend and 44 Denny’s, discussing a million different things and generally flexing our intellectual and artistic muscles. Those nights were truly captivating, and along with our friend Deidra, created a deep bond between us that neither years nor distance has eroded.

When I first met Kym, it was as a writer, but in the last several years she has turned her creative eye to photography. Although I do miss her writing, I am truly inspired by the work she is doing now, and couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to have her bring her skill, creativity and passion to this project.  Please take the opportunity to check out her website, www.misfithue.com, to see just some of the amazing work she has done.

I am so happy to have Kymberlie aboard.

Until next time…Brian

Those of you who know who Bruiser Brody is might wonder what exactly I’m about to write about now. Those of you who don’t almost assuredly are wondering what/who the hell I’m talking about.

Bruiser Brody was one of the best professional wrestlers ever, and he’s the subject of a song I’m working on now. His heyday was from the late 70’s to the mid-80’s, and he was one of the biggest draws in the world. At 6 foot, 5 inches and 300 lbs. he was an imposing figure in the ring, and he brought a ferocity and athleticism to the show that made this 8 year old kid believe it was all real. I used to go see him wrestle at the old Kiel Auditorium on the St. Louis Wrestling Club shows until Vince McMahon came along and blew up the old territories. Brody never signed with the WWE (WWF at the time), instead becoming a superstar in Japan and a huge success on the independent circuit in the states. He also became a top player for Carlos Colon’s WWA promotion in Puerto Rico. It was there that he would meet his end, stabbed to death by the star of the promotion – Jose Huertas Gonzalez (Invader 1). Gonzalez was found innocent in a sham trial on the island, and all that was left were the memories of all the fans who had loved to watch Brody perform.

I’m not sure if this one ends up being an album cut. Although I’m writing it on acoustic guitar like I do all of my songs, I’m really hearing a full-on, scorching Austin blues style rocker – and I’m not sure the style or theme will fit with the rest of the record. Either way, I’ll be sure to share it with you all when it’s done.

Anyway, I’m still trying to put down some rough cuts of the three songs I mentioned in the last post so that I can share them with the musician’s I’m hoping to have play on the record. Probably going to buy a Tascam DP-004 Digital Pocket Studio so that I can do rough demos at home. Hopefully, I’ll have something else for you all to hear soon.

Until next time…Brian

Hey gang, just a couple of quick notes…

First, for anyone who needs to contact me, you can find an email form under the “Contact Me” link I just added. You’ll find it to the right, under the About Me header. Please feel free to drop me a line anytime.

Second, I’ve got three songs I’m ready to go into the studio with soon. You’ve already seen the lyrics for “Choices We Made”  and heard that the title track was done, so that’s two of the three. The third is called People That I Know, and it’s a (hopefully) humorous look at how important Facebook has become in my life.  If you’re on my Facebook Friends list, you might just hear a little something about someone you recognize in this one.

Anyway, that’s about all I’ve got right now. Oh yeah, I almost forgot one last thing…you might just get your first chance to hear the new stuff live in May. Working on a possible gig – I’ll let you all know soon.

Til we meet down the road – Brian

I’ve been working really hard on it, and I think the title track to the album just might be done. Of course, by done I mean that I have the words, the melody and the chords – I haven’t recorded it yet. I think it is likely I will ask a couple of old friends to play on this one (at a bare minimum, I hear piano on this, and maybe a mandolin – and this one needs live drums).  One of the real exciting things about this project for me is that I expect I will reach out to several old friends for their help. It’s one of the themes of the album, and one of the things that makes this a labor of love for me.

I’m glad to have this one written. After a rush of stuff coming to me, I’d really hit a wall the last several days. Maybe I put a little too much pressure on myself, moving from “hey, I’ve got a song” to “hey, I’m going to do an album” before I really had more than one song and a couple of good ideas. That said, I know how I am, and putting the pressure on myself is the best way to ensure that this project will roll on.

Til we meet again – Brian