Izze and Nessa went to Newark (or Nerk as we say) for a volleyball tournament. They left around 0530. It could be worse. A male kid playing ice hockey would require lots more driving. Anyway, left home alone, I took Mav for a walk down our Hwy 61 in between storms. Rain or not, at least it’s warmer and any day now I expect to hear peepers.
Well, we sent out # 39 to our brothers and sisters in Radio Stream Dreamland last night, and here’s what we did:
Jorma Kaukonen 10, 2021
Quarantine Concert Series #39
The Fur Peace Station
Darwin, Ohio
Saturday, February 27, 2021
West Coast Blues
Serpent Of Dreams
Walkin’ Blues
Full Go Round
Brother Can You Spare A Dime
Living In The Moment
Kansas City Southern with John Hurlbut
Someone’s Calling with John Hurlbut
Mann’s Fate
Letter To The North Star
Genesis
West Coast Blues was the first finger style songs I ‘got’ when I was first starting out finger picking in 1960. thanks brother Ian! I owe more to you than I was ever able to tell you, may your memory be a blessing! I rarely do it as a performance piece so it was big fun to start the set with it. I hadn’t performed Brother Can You Spare A Dime since one of the very earliest shows of the Quarantine Concert Series so it was equally great to bring that beauty to light again. Now I’m already thinking about #40. Hmmmm….
After their walks Percy relaxes in Maverick’s house and they both contemplate sharing a bone.
Photo by Jorma Kaukonen
I’ve got a Sunday Zoom lesson coming up but I just wanted to get this post up and running.
Except for some of the deepest piles, the snow is gone. Maverick, the big Dog and I took a two mile walk in the morning mist and then I dittoed that with Perseus, The Little Guy. Nice to be able to walk around outside without being bundled up like a kid in a snowsuit. (Remember those, older folks?)
It looks like some road gigs may be coming my way, but these are still thoughts and nothing is even close to being written in stone. Based on ongoing discussions my colleagues and I have, it will be a very long time (if ever) that touring returns to pre-2020 levels. That said, what else are we going to do except, well… the best we can.
Well, it’s always warm in the Fur Peace Station, so I hope to ‘see’ you all there tonight.
#38 was yet another good time for us here at the Fur Peace Ranch. Instead of waiting until our 8 o’clock start time, we started recording at four. We’ve had some nasty weather here (I know we’re not alone) and the temperature dropped to 8 degrees F last night. We just couldn’t have our people driving these country roads late at night under those conditions. Things look like they’re warming up, if a little rainy. We’ll be live and in person for #39!
While I’m making corrections, for years I’ve been crediting Snooks Eaglin with Uncle Sam (or Questionaire Blues as it is also called.) I also went back last night and checked the Folkways LP I have been referencing. The song is not there. Armed with these facts, I can’t remember where I got the song and why I blamed Snooks. Could it have been Ian Buchanan? Perhaps, but that’s not even an educated guess. I stand corrected… the true facts may be lost in antiquity.
Moving on… the set list from last night:
Jorma Kaukonen 9, 2021
Quarantine Concert Series #38
The Fur Peace Station
Darwin, Ohio
Saturday, February 19, 2021
Been So Long
Trouble In Mind
That’ll Never Happen No More
Second Chances
Ninety Nine Year Blues
They Call Me The Breeze with John Hurlbut
Smokestack Lightning with John Hurlbut
Uncle Sam Blues
Death Don’t Have No Mercy
A Walk With Friends
Like I said… 8 degrees when I got up this morning… and then things started to warm. After Izze’s volleyball practice, we collected Vanessa and drove to Columbus for a delicious dinner at Akai Hana, one of Columbus’ premier Asian eatery.
Back home we look forward to warmer if rainy days. Got some great ideas already for #39.
Hey everyone… Monday the First here, and probably there. Tomorrow is Groundhog Day. What will Phil say? Hmmm… It’s not that cold here, speaking in terms of East Coast winters… it’s just nasty. Drizzling snow for the last 48. I’m waiting for the mud to seep up to the surface.
#36 was a blast, as always. I hadn’t really thought about Hamilton Camp’s Pride Of Man for over half a century. I remember David Frieberg picking it on some giant 12 string. Cool… anyway…
Jorma Kaukonen 5, 2021
Quarantine Concert Series #36
The Fur Peace Station
Darwin, Ohio
Saturday, January 29, 2021
Dime For Beer
Big River Blues
Genesis
Come Back Baby
Dark Holler with John Hurlbut
Pride Of Man with John Hurlbut
A Walk With Friends for M & P
Hesitation Blues
Song From The Stainless Cymbal
Bar Room Crystal Ball
Water Song
After the show Vanessa was still chuckling about 86’ing the nudge who was saying really stupid stuff on the chat feed. My only comment at time was that it’s easy to be a tough guy sitting behind a keyboard, or like my friend Ben H. says, ‘Everyone thinks they’re a trough guy… until they meet one!’ Before I knew it, my pal MIchael M. up Detroit way sent me this great folk tune done by Jeff Daniels.
Caution: Almost every line is marinated in adult lyrics. This one may not be for the faint of heart or the kids in the house.
Good work Jeff…
Sometimes people just confound me. Like we say down here in the country, ‘Oh well.’
In a more upbeat thought process… fortunately it ain’t my business what people think of me. Anyway, thanks to Jeff for writing and singing it and to Mike for sending it to me.
Moving right along. Groundhog Day tomorrow and who knows what next? Nessa and I have more good stuff coming your collective way.
Indeed, Nessa got hers first in Meigs and then I got mine at Holzer in Gallipolis. This is all good news relatively speaking. When I get back from my trip down to Florida and Nashville both our second shots will be due. Now I know there’s no guarantee of a free lunch or a certified cure, but it’s time for me to show my face and make a few bucks. Like so many, I’ve been out of work for the better part of a year. Covid-19 has stolen so much from all of us, not the least of which is time that can never be recovered.
Well, I’m here with the gang this weekend and we’ve got #35 coming up tonight.
Good to be back live again.
Yeah, there was a lot of emotion in the comments for the last post and I thought about weighing in and then I thought at least for now, if you need to vent, vent. Look, we’re all fighting the same battle here… some of us may have different weapons, but in the end none of that matters.
I have been listening to Volunteers recently for a number of reasons. There is some really great music and great songs on that album. Nicky Hopkins is certainly a big part of the sound in that moment. What a guy! It’s been so long since that was a real world for me that I have to chuckle at some of the material content. At this point in our collective lives we were all quite well off and hardly dirty anarchists. That said, I’m talking about art here and art marches to a different drummer and exists in its own parallel universe. In the light of evolving time some of the writing might seem sophomoric or fatuous. I wouldn’t suggest that anyone make life choices based on the personal stands of their favorite pop star… but you can still like the music… and even the poetry may stand the test of time… or not.
Well… still working on the set list for tonight’s show. Cold indeed… but beautiful here today in Southeast Ohio.
Yeah… a trip to the D.C. Metro Area and a gig at the Birchmere. It’s been more than a minute or two since I have been to this wonderful stage and it was great to be back. It’s also been about nine months since I got to see my son so that was awesome as well!
Jorma Kaukonen 3, 2021
The Man Alone @
The Birchmere
Alexandria, Virginia
Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Whining Boy Blues
Death Don’t Have No Mercy
Great Divide Revisited
Ain’t In No Hurry
Too Many Years
In The Kingdom
Trial By Fire
Hesitation Blues
Broken Highway
Take Your Time
Been So Long
Let Us Get Together Right Down Here
Barbeque King
True Religion
Corners Without Exits
Good Shepherd
Keep Your Lamps Trimmed & Burning
Encore: Water Song
Indeed, it’s still not ‘normal,’ whatever that means these days, but it sure felt good.
Here I am with Gary Oeltze, the proud founder of this great establishment!
Photo by Myron Hart
Back home at the Fur Peace Ranch in time for dinner. A more than awesome venture!
Yeah, so Hurl and I met up in Grandview, Ohio last night at Natalie’s for a live stream together. Even though we have played together so much over the past couple of years this was actually our first ‘gig’ together outside of the Fur Peace Ranch. Natailie’s room in Grandview is a perfect small room for both acoustic and electric music. Jack and I did a show there back in November when Ohio still permitted socially distant audiences and needless to say, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Obviously a show with me and Hurl is a different animal than Jack and myself but even with no audience present, the room was magic. Here is our set list:
Jorma Kaukonen & John Hurlbut #1, 2021
Natalie’s
Grandview, Ohio
January 8, 2021
Ballad Of Easy Rider
People Get Ready
Choices
Kansas City Southern
She Belongs To Me
After Midnite
Sugaree
I Shall Be Released
Borderline
Travelin’
The Old Homestead
All Along The Watchtower
Someone’s Calling
So here it is 2021. I was listening to Jefferson AirplaneWe Can Be Together while I was doing my morning chores and after all these years I have to say, what a track! Sad to say Nicky Hopkins is not still alive to play with. Time spares no one. Now I realize a half a century has passed since this tune was penned and played and some of the thoughts seem sophomoric in the light of history, but as my grandmother Vera said in an interview in 1950, ‘It is not a bad thing to be audacious when you are young!’ Paraphrasing Nana a bit, but it went something like that. The passions of youth are, well, the passions of youth. Anyway, what a great track.
Anyway…
Time is indeed marching on… thank goodness. We’ll be here tonight for #34.
Last night was my first ‘show’ of 2021 and #33 in our Quarantine Concert Series. It is still our honor and pleasure to bring these shows to all of you out there. As life evolves around us our commitment here at the Fur Peace Ranch is to bring you quality, heartfelt and honest musical entertainment… interspersed with a little window into our lives.
Jorma Kaukonen 1, 2021
Quarantine Concert Series #33
The Fur Peace Station
Darwin, Ohio
Saturday, January 2, 2021
Serpent Of Dreams
Things That Might Have Been
The Terrible Operation
Waiting For A Train
Sea Child
Good Shepherd
Barbeque King
Take Your Time
Big Boss Man with John Hurlbut
Choices with John Hurlbut
Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone with John Hurlbut featuring Izze Kaukonen
Yeah, so I always take my time with the set lists for our weekly show. Fortunately I have a lot tunes to choose from. John Hurlbut always brings some gems to the table but on this night we got to accompany my daughter Izze singing the great Bill Withers tune, ‘Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone.’ As a musician, to be able to share a moment of artistry with one’s kids is beyond awesome. I remember when almost a decade ago my son Zach took it upon himself to learn my tune Been So Long and we got to play it together at the Birchmere in Virginia as well as a couple of other places.
Izze’s interpretation of ‘Ain’t No Sunshine,’ evolved over the last week into a powerful tune. As an artist I look forward to whatever she brings to the table next. As a dad… well, you can imagine.
A fine start to 2021 for the Kaukonens here in Southeast Ohio.
