The first show of the year was my first chance to book the 8pm-10pm slot before Cowspace’s weekly maraud.  I enlisted my friend David Bowick to kick things off and joined him for a mix of Ocelot Robot songs, a Butch Walker cover, and an original tune that he and wrote together.  David’s voice sounds better than ever and for some reason these songs came very naturally, something that doesn’t always happen when converting high-energy electric guitar rock to an acoustic setting.  

The one and only Cooper Walker took the next shift, and continues to grow into his own musical beast, maturing right in front of your eyes and ears with each show.  I’ve come to know and love several of the original tunes he turns out, especially “What Made Her Go” and “Fix”, two songs that are as catchy as they are heartfelt.  Cooper would return to the stage later to play a nice spice of electric guitar with Cowspace for their set, but there is something special about the insight you get from hearing someone play solo acoustic - the impact of the songs and the sincerity of the performance shine through a bit brighter.  Cooper is no exception and it’s always inspiring to hear him do his thing.

Tucked into Sepulveda and Washington (I always forget which one) is CInema Bar, maybe my favorite place to catch random live music on the planet.  It’s a small room with a smaller stage and they have tons of great live country, blues, and americana on a nightly basis (and a killer jukebox too).  While I was there a few Thursdays ago, I caught a stellar set by Bruce Ray White and his band.  His opening cover choices of “Buckets of Rain” (Bob Dylan) and “All the Best” (John Prine) grabbed me immediately. There is a story in his voice and his tunes were brought to life by his band, most notably Tom Gramlich on lead guitar.  After their set I asked Bruce if he would play at Brennan’s and he obliged.  Tom joined him and the two came storming out of the gates on Wednesday with the Band classic “Shape I’m In”, which won the room over immediately.  Bruce has a compelling, personable voice and a guitar tone to match (which he actually built himself) and Tom is not only scary good at guitar, but sings quite commandingly as well.  Check them live if you can and hopefully I’ll be able to get them back for another set soon.

For a shorter than usual Razorface set, I focused on my original material.  It’s never been easy for me to anticipate inspiration (much less force it), but lately there’s been enough clarity in the noise inside of me to make it possible to document some of it. The more I play, the more of a difference I see between playing covers and originals.  The former being a personalized tribute to a song that moves me and the latter being an attempt to give the movement it’s own personality.  Here’s what I had to offer up:

Wednesday, January 4, 2012 - Brennan’s Pub - solo acoustic set

1. “Champagne, Illinois” - Old 97’s

I’ve been opening with this lately because it helps me get warm and it is audacious and fun.

2. “Give Up” - original

A song I’ve been playing quite a bit with Jeff Cleveland, he joined me for harmony vocals and harmonica on “Give Up”.  

3. “Cigarette” - original

The newest song of the batch, I wrote this on an airplane flying back to LA from a visit home to Albuquerque.

Very much inspired by the writing of Jules Shear, I made my first attempt at harmonica on “Senseless”.  

5. “The Benefit of Doubt” - original

A country tune that is begging for pedal steel, though I suspect there is no other kind.

6. “Just One Maybe” - original

This is what happens when you listen to too much Ryan Adams, which I also feel is not possible.

7. “How Many Times” - Jules Shear & Carole King (Between Us - 1998)

Another hidden gem by Jules Shear, “How Many Times” is a perfect song that comes from this late-90s album of duets.  Sometimes a song sums up everything you’ve felt about a situation so perfectly that you want to name it the official theme song for that part of your life and consider it’s lyrics your own little historical fact.  This is further proof that great music is about the listener, no matter who it was written for. 

8. “Why Don’t You Do Right?” - Peggy Lee (1962)

I’ll admit that my exposure to this classic came from Jessica Rabbit’s version in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.  However, while I was back in Albuquerque playing through some tunes with my good friend Steve Archuleta he showed me the chords and I fell for it even without the cartoon red dress.  Compare the versions below… Either way, the changes are perfectly sultry and the melody sings itself - thanks Steve!

Upcoming Razorface shows:

• Wednesday, January 18, 2012 - Brennan’s Pub - w/ Jeff Cleveland 8pm, FREE
• Wednesday, February 1, 2012 - Brennan’s Pub - 8pm, FREE - solo acoustic w/ special surprise guest