From: owner-good-noise-digest@smoe.org (good-noise-digest) To: good-noise-digest@smoe.org Subject: good-noise-digest V4 #36 Reply-To: good-noise@smoe.org Sender: owner-good-noise-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-good-noise-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk good-noise-digest Saturday, February 24 2001 Volume 04 : Number 036 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Re: Capacities.. ["cycle12345" ] Wow! ["Sam & Sara Kniffen" ] Re: Wow! ["cycle12345" ] Bed time! ["cycle12345" ] THREE CHEERS FOR SUSAN!!! ["cycle12345" ] Good Night and Good Noise ["Sam & Sara Kniffen" ] Green... ["Sam & Sara Kniffen" ] RE: THREE CHEERS FOR SUSAN!!! ["Sam & Sara Kniffen" ] Good Noise, GREAT TIME!! (Part two) ["Sam & Sara Kniffen" ] Jennifer Kimball and Peter Mulvey [Martin ] Re: Now I'm Looking Forward To You [Martin ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 01:01:02 -0500 From: "cycle12345" Subject: Re: Capacities.. Thanks for keeping me laughing here late at night/early in the morning in Virginia, Sam-U-Am! Yes, clear the area of any liquid propellants, please . . . And you! Put that key in your pocket! And DON'T make Paula angry . . . You wouldn't like her when she's angry . . . (Remember that line from the old Incredible Hulk T.V. show? Dr. David Banner would look at the big tough guy and say, very quietly, but menacingly, "Don't make me angry . . . you wouldn't like me when I'm angry . . . " Wasn't that great?) "PBBPP", do you ever turn green? Do you ever come out of your shoes? Does your hair style change? Do you hate reporters for those supermarket tabloids? Paula-Bryn, you didn't go to bed already, did you? Well, Sam and I are just going to sit up here and talk about you all night, and then you can read it in the morning, and by the time you start turning green, we'll be gone . . . right Sam? SAM?! Get your head off that sticky keyboard, Sam! - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sam & Sara Kniffen" To: Sent: Saturday, February 24, 2001 12:42 AM Subject: RE: Capacities.. > Of course I believe you! Heh heh... > > What key... I'm sure... It's been a running joke for two weeks! Heh.. > cough! Excuse me... > > Lifting weights in what way? I'm doing elbow curls over here in Iowa... > Heh heh, hack! (Where did I put my hairball medicine...?) > > I'm prepared now, by the way... When I see that it's a message from Steve, > I put all spillables out of reach... > > Esskay ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 00:13:30 -0600 From: "Sam & Sara Kniffen" Subject: Wow! You are ON tonight, aren't ya! I'm guessing red wine... I'm amazed no one's giving us any flack for our fun messages... I can't figure out this new Outlook Express! My Windows 95 gave me a color choice, and I suspect this 98 version does also, but I can't find it... So, did you vote on anything of relevance today, or this past week? Iowa legislature is stuck on raising the speed limit to 70 (or not!) and I think that the whole thing's ridiculous. In fact, I'd really rather talk about the finer points of alcohol. It's fun but wow, I can't stand having to take a leak all the time. It's not worth the trouble. Fine tuning the art of drinking is starting to bore me, sadly, because I love the euphoria. Ahh... I just read what I just wrote and it looks well, it looks like we're not talkin about JG, heh heh... You don't have ICQ? You are the only person on Mother Earth that doesn't have ICQ. Susan has it. Bryn, the princess of peace doesn't. (That oughta get a response!) Esskay ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 01:22:27 -0500 From: "cycle12345" Subject: Re: Wow! Yeah, I used to have ICQ, but I got too obsessive with it, so I got rid of it. There's no flack because no one else is up! They'll complain about us tomorrow. No, I don't drink much at all . . . "Princess of Peace"? Yes, that will work . . . To get us killed, dude! - ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sam & Sara Kniffen" To: Sent: Saturday, February 24, 2001 1:13 AM Subject: Wow! > You are ON tonight, aren't ya! > > I'm guessing red wine... > > I'm amazed no one's giving us any flack for our fun messages... > > I can't figure out this new Outlook Express! My Windows 95 gave me a color > choice, and I suspect this 98 version does also, but I can't find it... > > So, did you vote on anything of relevance today, or this past week? Iowa > legislature is stuck on raising the speed limit to 70 (or not!) and I think > that the whole thing's ridiculous. In fact, I'd really rather talk about > the finer points of alcohol. It's fun but wow, I can't stand having to take > a leak all the time. It's not worth the trouble. Fine tuning the art of > drinking is starting to bore me, sadly, because I love the euphoria. Ahh... > I just read what I just wrote and it looks > > well, it looks like we're not talkin about JG, heh heh... > > You don't have ICQ? You are the only person on Mother Earth that doesn't > have ICQ. Susan has it. Bryn, the princess of peace doesn't. (That oughta > get a response!) > > Esskay ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 01:26:36 -0500 From: "cycle12345" Subject: Bed time! See you guys and gals later! Steve ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 01:35:56 -0500 From: "cycle12345" Subject: THREE CHEERS FOR SUSAN!!! Before I forget it, all 99 of us need to give three big cheers for all the hard work which Susan has done on the John Gorka/Gypsy Life website. Hip-hip, hooray! Hip-hip, hooray! Hip-hip, hooray! That is a MOST attractive site, and chocked full of great information, lyrics, and more! Susan, your fingers are still bruised and bleeding from all that frantic typing! And to think; she still had time to save a few dozen cranes as well . . . Paula-Bryn, that lady needs a substantial raise and a better title. Yep, that's what it's all about, ladies and gentlemen! Wages, hours, and working conditions! Way to go, Susan - thanks! Good night, all! Cheermaster ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 00:39:07 -0600 From: "Sam & Sara Kniffen" Subject: Good Night and Good Noise ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 00:39:05 -0600 From: "Sam & Sara Kniffen" Subject: Green... Do you see green now? Bryn's a wild one. Wild! I've come to know Bryn and Susan much better now, since my 'with the best of intentions' fiasco. That was a wild ride. The only word I can come up with quickly to describe them is 'fascinating.' No, can I change that? I'd rather go with 'feminine.' Says it all to me. I still haven't checked out all the good-noise messages today. I'm busy learning my new computer! Luckily I saved 'Orangey' - our little buddy. Do you have him? If not, let me know and I'll send it to you. I guarantee it's not infected with the virus. It's a little orange that floats around the desktop and does all kinds of antics. We've had him for years. Brown cows, standing like statues... Brown cows, out in the fields... Sara's gone to bed now. Big day tomorrow for her - her high schoolers have a big competition tomorrow, speech competition... They've been practicing since January... Last year they were number one in Iowa. My baby's a go-getter! Evidentially everyone's gone to bed with Sara. I mean, like Sara has... Lightweights... Should we switch over to private email, or should we try to think of more stuff to tease Bryn with...? Heh heh... Esskay ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 00:51:46 -0600 From: "Sam & Sara Kniffen" Subject: RE: THREE CHEERS FOR SUSAN!!! Big applause from Iowa for Susan and Bryn! Yay Gorkans! ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 00:59:00 -0600 From: "Sam & Sara Kniffen" Subject: Good Noise, Great Time (Part One) Here it is, Gorkans. We hope you enjoy it! It was a dark and stormy night... Des Moines is an hour and fifteen minutes away and we left at about 6:30 for our Valentine's date. Unfortunately, we were slowed by frequent white-out conditions and we didn't arrive until 8:30, but I wasn't concerned because we came to see John, not the 8 o'clock opener, Alice Peacock. Well, it turned out that Alice couldn't make it, so John, super guy that he is, came on early and said he would fill in for her. So we actually got to catch more of John than we had expected! What luck! ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 01:58:29 -0500 From: "cycle12345" Subject: Re: Green... Yes, and some black and blue. Yeah, lightweights . . . the whole lot of 'em! Nah, I guess we'd better go on to bed, too; she'll be green enough as it is . . . No, you go to your bed, and I'll go to mine . . . There, that's better. Good night, wild man! See ya'll tomorrow! Sleepmaster > Do you see green now? > > Bryn's a wild one. Wild! I've come to know Bryn and Susan much better now, > since my 'with the best of intentions' fiasco. That was a wild ride. The > only word I can come up with quickly to describe them is 'fascinating.' No, > can I change that? I'd rather go with 'feminine.' > > Says it all to me. > > I still haven't checked out all the good-noise messages today. I'm busy > learning my new computer! Luckily I saved 'Orangey' - our little buddy. Do > you have him? If not, let me know and I'll send it to you. I guarantee > it's not infected with the virus. It's a little orange that floats around > the desktop and does all kinds of antics. We've had him for years. > > Brown cows, standing like statues... Brown cows, out in the fields... > > Sara's gone to bed now. Big day tomorrow for her - her high schoolers have > a big competition tomorrow, speech competition... They've been practicing > since January... Last year they were number one in Iowa. My baby's a > go-getter! > > > Evidentially everyone's gone to bed with Sara. I mean, like Sara has... > Lightweights... Should we switch over to private email, or should we try to > think of more stuff to tease Bryn with...? > > > Heh heh... > > Esskay ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 01:01:35 -0600 From: "Sam & Sara Kniffen" Subject: Good Noise, GREAT TIME!! (Part two) The show was held on the second floor of an old Masonic Temple building. It had beat-up old cafeteria tables and metal folding chairs, a high ceiling and old wooden double doors. The room was small enough that between songs, as John walked from his guitar to the piano, or vice versa, everyone could hear him say "Thank you!" in response to the applause, without the microphone. We were about 20 feet from him, off to his left. We had a clear view of him, but the capo often hid what chords he was playing, and he uses the capo all the time. He was wearing a black sportcoat over a gray tee-shirt, and black jeans. We didn't see his shoes OR his shoelaces, darn it. I wanted to see the red shoelaces but I forgot to look! There were a couple of hundred people there. Hippies, yuppies, and even some children, and everyone was so polite! It was a perfect setting and a perfect atmosphere. We caught only three songs from the first set. He went over to the piano to play 'Houses In The Fields,' and as he adjusted himself his forehead touched the mike and he got an audible shock, from static electricity evidently. He paused, as if shaken, and said, "3500 volts!" Someone in the audience yelled, "That'll curl your hair!" John laughed. After 'Houses' he went back to the guitar for the comical 'People My Age' (have started looking gross!), from the new album, and 'Lightning's Blues.' He had the funniest lead-in to 'Lightning's Blues.' He said that ... No... wait, we can't tell! We don't want to spoil the suprise for anyone who hasn't yet seen him live. It's too good! Suffice it to say, he's not the type to just play the songs and be done with it...he entertains before, during, and after each song. Absolutely hilarious!! Okay, three words: Smokey the Bear. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 01:01:37 -0600 From: "Sam & Sara Kniffen" Subject: Good Noise, Great Time! (Part three) During the break, the music promoter, Patrick (http://www.coffeehouseproductions.com/), held an auction to raise money for charity. Typical stuff, tickets to upcoming shows, a jazz CD, etc., and then he reached down and picked up one of JG's guitar picks from his amp! That certainly got my interest. I had to have that pick! The bidding began at $1, and I was expecting to see it go as high as $50. Sara was doing the bidding for us and I got so excited about it that when I heard Patrick say, "Seven! It's going for seven dollars now! Going... going....," I yelled, "Eight!" Sara elbowed me and said that she was the seven dollar bid! "Eight! Going... going... SOLD!" Oh well, it was for a good cause. So Sara bought it and presented it to me as a Valentine's gift. It's the nicest Valentine's gift I've ever received. I have it in front of me now as I type. It's a green, triangular, medium thickness, Clayton pick. It's wonderfully smudged and the ink is worn off one of the eagle wings, so I'm hoping that he'd had it around for some time. Ain't I the lucky one? And then John came back on and immediately busted us up. He said, "I hope you enjoyed your break..." And he's got his guitar on now, and he's tuning it a bit... "I'd like to thank the guy who opened," he said. And he's tuning a bit more... and he's moving the capo back and forth over the frets of the guitar, acting like he doesn't know what fret it's going to end up on... "I use the Ouija method to find the key..." (Key? Did someone say key?) Eventually he's got it sounding like he wants it to sound, but then he reaches up and tunes it again. "Ahh," he says. He started with a couple of songs from his 'Jack's Crows' album: 'Silence'...evoking the "party atmosphere for which my music is known," followed by 'Good'. And it was, of course! Then 'Love Is Our Cross To Bear' gave us both shivers! Then, some more wry Gorka humor, explaining to the audience why he worships 'St. Caffeine'...and during the song he actually looked like he was wired on coffee! That was a natural lead-in to 'When He Cries', ostensibly about his son Bocephus Mahatma Sinatra Gorka. Tears in our eyes from laughing! His funny facials were too much! At the end of each and every song that he played on guitar, he would hold the guitar out in front of himself and gently shake it towards the lower mike. It was interesting that he did it every time. From my amateur knowledge I know that guitar notes linger much longer than most would think, and I knew he was doing it not only for the audience but also for himself. He loves the music so much. He loves every note! I'm tempted to say that the best part of his show isn't the funny things he says, or even the songs; it's seeing how much he loves what he does. He's performing for the audience and himself. That's a bold statement, I know. Not only that, I'd like to say here that his songs are even better performed live than they are on the albums. And we all know how good the albums are! Evidently someone must have asked him why he did the guitar-shake thing because he went into a hilarious explanation. Truly, my throat hurt from how funny it was! About how he has to shake out the excess notes, and that if he didn't, they would stick in his guitar and result in a waxy build-up. (He rubbed two fingers together.) He pointed at the cord plugged into the end of his guitar and said that it was actually a suction tube for the excess notes, but that sometimes it didn't get all of them. I think he was gently ribbing the questioner. The crowd hung on every word. He has great timing. I think he truly made himself laugh only a couple times during the night. He laughed alot during the show, of course, but he made himself laugh only a few times. This was one of them. I can't decide how much of what he says and does is planned, and how much is spontaneous, but every moment is great fun! We really struggled to keep notes. If you look away for a second, you'll miss something. Our notes are very minimalistic, some are undecipherable. We'll put the songlist at the end of this message. After 'When He Cries' he sang 'Where The Bottles Break,' and then a song we called 'Ordinary Ground' because we're not sure what the title is. It mentioned heroes. Then 'Blue Chalk.' All terrific. And then came the Body Parts medley! Oh my! This brings us to another point where we hesitate to say what John says after he played it. We think it might spoil the fun for future audiences. The problem here is, and what we can't decide is; does he do this particular explanation at each of his shows? If he does, then we shouldn't say anything, if he doesn't, then... Okay, we'll tell a little bit... He starts out saying that there's a "narrow song pipeline" in his head and that it's important to write down every song that comes through it. He said that bad songs clog the pipeline, and he has to get them out so that the good songs can come through. He says alot more but we don't want to spoil the fun for everybody. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 01:04:01 -0600 From: "Sam & Sara Kniffen" Subject: Good Noise, GREAT TIME!! (Part Four) Then came 'Stranger With Your Hair.' Indescribable. And then... over to the piano where, again, he bumped into the mike, resulting in another shock! "3500 volts!" He paused... "My mental health's suddenly better!" And he laughed to himself. "I feel like doing a happy song!" He played 'Night Is A Woman.' Then back to the guitar for the last song, a rowdy version of 'Good Noise.' After enthusiastic applause, John came back and played another song from the new album for the encore. 'When You Walk In' practically had all of us in tears. When he got to the lines, "Tell him to go to hell... you already did," he said it with anger in his voice. It was really good. When it was done, the mesmerized audience snapped out of their trance and came to their feet applauding. All through the show he was doing unexpected bits of comedy. People in the very front were asking him to do different songs, although we couldn't hear them. One time he said wryly, "I'm only going to do the songs I know." Funny! Sometimes he would honor the requests, other times he would politely and humorously not honor them. Another time he said, "I'm going to do a song that the guy who opened the show requested." Of course, that was him! Also, he asked the audience a lot for 'help' choosing a key in which to do this or that song. "This one?" He'd strum a note. "This one?" Strum. "Okay." After the show Patrick got a chair for John and told the audience that John would sign autographs if we'd like. So Sara and I joined about twenty other people in the line. I couldn't wait to meet him, but I wanted more time to think about exactly what I was going to say to him. I'd had a month already and here I was minutes away still not knowing for sure what to say! As it happened, I know that no matter how much time I had to prepare, I still would've tripped all over myself! I introduced him to Sara, and as he was signing my neon yellow index card, he asked if it was 'Sara' with an 'h.' Then I asked him if we could take a picture with him and he agreed. I hope this picture turns out! He's sitting down and we're both standing on either side of him, he has his arm around Sara and I have my hand on his shoulder! Isn't that great? And then I worked up the nerve to give him a copy of my goofy childrens book, stammering something out about how I only give it to friends (I was worried that he might think I was hoping for publication help.) He graciously accepted it, as predicted by Susan and Bryn (thank you two for helping me decide). Then I shook his hand and told him that I think he's a "cool human being." By the way, we didn't take any pictures during the show because we think a flash going off would have broken the spell. No one else took flash pictures either. If it had been an outdoor daylight show, or if I'd have used no-flash film, it would have been okay. Especially if I snapped the shutter while people were laughing, so it couldn't be heard. Others in the audience may have done that but I didn't notice it. Friendly advice for all! We hope everyone enjoys this review. We hope it isn't too long. You should see all the different drafts! It's been four days and I still haven't tried out the pick! If anyone wants any other details, let me know. We can't wait for the next time we see him perform (and the next, and the next...)! Song list (we think): End of first set: 1. Houses In The Fields 2. People My Age 3. Lightning's Blues 9 O'clock Show: 1. Silence 2. Good 3. Love Is Our Cross To Bear 4. Saint Caffeine 5. When He Cries 6. Where The Bottles Break 7. Ordinary Ground (?) 8. Blue Chalk 9. Body Parts 10. Stranger With Your Hair 11. Night Is A Woman 12. Good Noise 13.When You Walk In (Encore) From Sam and Sara, Keepers of the Key ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 03:08:05 -0600 From: Mary Sansone Subject: Re: Now I'm Looking Forward To You > >>Now I'm looking forward to you. > >>Bryn, stay-at-home-mother and house concert venue operator and writer Mary, manager of a Dr office, (who wishes she had found some way to be a stay at home mother) Like Bryn, Brown Shirts is the only song I skip....I too will give it another listen in the morning. busy list going here - --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.121 / Virus Database: 58 - Release Date: 01/31/2000 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Feb 2001 23:39:34 -0900 From: Martin Subject: Jennifer Kimball and Peter Mulvey Matthew et al....the following is a short review, requested by Matthew. Just got home from Jennifer and Peter's music. The venue was small. A local theatre seating about 150 or so, of the black box type. Sat 15 feet away. Reasonable sound system, and cozy! Jennifer opened with Meet Me in the Twilight. Her voice is rustic purity, gutsy staccato. She has great range, uses it, and never off key. Guitar playing solid with some finger-picking and mostly strumming. She uses alternate tunings frequently and some interesting simple chords most effectively. She also plays a 'Stick' (like a Martin back-packer guitar: 4-strings with asymetrical frets, sorta), and a bass Ukelele. Peter came on and played a song with her. Short intermission. Then Peter's set. He plays a lot of intricate finger-style patterns and many unique tunings. His voice is like a purer Tom Waits. His old $300 seagull guitar looked like an offspring of Willie Nelsons (you know, the pick-guard hole?) but sounded incredible. AND NOW......the real review... They blew me away!!! What performers! Each gave such energy to their respective sets. Jennifer's songs are so unique but still in the folk style. Beautiful lyrics and she has a way of timbreing her voice to bring out emotion in the words and phrases. She relates wonderfully to the audience; very funny/witty. Peter is powerful and musically outrageous. His tunings are wild and work. And he stretches his voice into high octaves in a raw way that just brings you with him. They sang several songs together during Peter's set, and were just....terrific. What I most appreciated about both, was their incredible desire to *perform* ! Again, both sing/write/play unique, intelligent, emotional, captivating songs. One would be a fool (hint, Matthew) not to see either of them if the chance arises, and if they are performing together....well, you get the picture. The only thing they needed was a bass player backing them up....hmmm. Okay, enough! Reviews are not my forte. But hope this helps, Matthew....enjoy! ~Martin (who's looking for work as a back-up bassist) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 23 Feb 2001 23:53:08 -0900 From: Martin Subject: Re: Now I'm Looking Forward To You Mary Sansone wrote: > Now I'm looking forward to you. > Bryn, stay-at-home-mother and house concert venue operator and writer > > Mary, manager of a Dr office, (who wishes she had found some way to be a > stay at home mother) Martin, High School Anquish Teacher on (perhaps permanent) sabbatical. Pursuing musicianhood. Occasional wilderness guide. ------------------------------ End of good-noise-digest V4 #36 *******************************