Three Penny Opry

ROBERT A. WAGNER | T. MITCHELL BELL

noreply@blogger.com (Jack Erdie) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 22:25:00 -0400

Saturday August 23 at 8pm
412.818.3817 for details
$5 suggested donation

Three Penny Opry is only one of many things that Robert Wagner has started. He has fronted two great bands, The Little Wretches, and The Mercenes. And he has been a driving force in the Pittsburgh music scene. His craftsmanship, honesty, and intensity have been inspirations to me, and he remains one of the standards against which I measure my fumbling progress as a songwriter, and as a performer.

I always think of Robert as the singing Poet Laureate of Pittsburgh. He paints startling portraits of Pittsburgh's people, history, and places. If you've heard him, I need say no more. If you haven't, you're missing more than you can imagine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

T. Mitchell Bell is also a great singer-songwriter. He brings an expansive conscious-ness, compassion, and soul to his craft. I've shared stages with him a couple times and have always been impressed by his style and capacity.

He has a new CD, recorded and mixed in Nashville, called The Ballad of Philo Paul, and I hope it'll be available for sale at the show.

Steve Vesolich | George Kantor & Dave LaRose

noreply@blogger.com (Jack Erdie) — Wed, 9 Apr 2008 23:18:00 -0400

Saturday April 12 at 8pm
George Kantor & Dave LaRose plus
Steve Vesolich
412.818.3817 for details
$5 suggested donation

George and Dave are wonderful songwriters/performers full of melodic and lyrical surprises. I find them both to make music that is like comfort food with an edge. Their styles are different enough to lend a nice dramatic tension, but compatible enough to get everybody wondering how these magical combos find each other. They'll be doing covers by Pittsburgh singer-songwriters, so ego and curiosity ought to bring us out. Their deft musicality ought to bring everybody else.

Steve Vesolich blew me away when I first heard him at Club Cafe playing gospel, country blues, Americana, and just a touch of grunge sensibility in some of his vocals. I thought, "Where'd this guy come from?" You'll ask yourself the same. And you'll be, as I was, eager to hear him again.

Please join us.

www.myspace.com/3pennyopry
www.myspace.com/jackpittsburgh
www.myspace.com/stevevesolich

Bill Toms & Tom Breiding

noreply@blogger.com (Jack Erdie) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 17:29:00 -0400

Saturday, March 22, 8pm

The Pittsburgh Calliope Folk Music Society presents
Three Penny Opry featuring
Bill Toms & Tom Breiding at
The Starlite Lounge
364 Freeport Rd. Blawnox PA 15238
Suggested Donation: $5

For more info: 412.818.3817

Twas the night before Easter, and all through the town
All the candy was nestled in shredded green down
The slackers were drooling from gluttonous dreams
Of gorging on eggs till they burst at the seams
Then loudly Pete Cottontail started to spring
"What's any of that got to do Spring?!?"
So, shake off the stupor of cold hibernation
And come cure your soul of it's Winter starvation
With heartfelt and thoughtful love offerings of song
And leave fit for life again, hopeful and strong!

I've had the honor of co-billing with Bill Toms several times, and with Tom Breiding at least once - though I've heard them both on many other occasions.
And every time I've heard them, I've become an exponentially greater fan. How many people's songs can you say that about. Most of them catch you with a hook, hook you with a catch, and get you tricked into indiscriminately listening over and over again till you say, "Wait, there's no substance! Wait, I've just wasted a chunk of life. I want my money back."
This music is the diametric opposite. You'll like it at first. We like to see great gardens as we drive by. After a while though, the great gardens of song pull us in, and we get to feel the depth of the roots, the variety of the crops, the nourishment of the harvest. There's a bounty to be had in this music. And you get it by repeatedly hearing the songs.

Those of you who haven't been introduced to their bodies of work, you're in for a treat, an introduction to a great adventure.

Check them out:

Bill Toms
Tom Breiding

And then, Check them out with me!

Your Servant in Song,

Jack Erdie
www.myspace.com/3pennyopry

Dennis McCurdy & The Lonesome No More Band | Plus Jeff Wiley

noreply@blogger.com (Jack Erdie) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:10:00 -0400

SATURDAY, MARCH 15 @ 8PM
The Calliope Folk Music Society Presents
Three Penny Opry [LISTENING ROOM] featuring:

I've had both of these performers play for me at various other venues and, no matter how jaded or unmotivated the audiences, they got great and varied reactions, for great and varied reasons. It's been too long since I've heard them, and I can't wait to hear them again, and to share them with you.

About Dennis & Lonesome No More:

"The sound is pure Americana with pedal steel, dobro, fiddle, mandolin and lush harmony vocals, wrapped around the acoustic guitar, bass and drums." Jim Hoehn, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

About Jeff:

Jeff is a vetran songwriter, entertaining in and around the Pittsburgh ares for over twenty years. Bringing to the stage melodies of haunting beauty and lyrics welcoming slices of inspiration, loneliness, and relationship. Together forming delicately crafted pop folk music of the highest order.

See you there,

Jack Erdie

Dennis McCurdy & The Lonesome No More Band

noreply@blogger.com (Jack Erdie) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:10:00 -0400

Coming Distractions

noreply@blogger.com (Jack Erdie) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:47:00 -0500

MARCH 15
Dennis McCurdy Lonesome No More Band
& Jeff Wiley

MARCH 22
Bill Toms & Tom Breiding

APRIL 12
Alicia Romano | George Kantor & Dave LaRose

ERIN DRAGAN (The Meridians) & JACKSON MONSOUR

noreply@blogger.com (Jack Erdie) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 13:01:00 -0500

SATURDAY, FEB 23 at 8 PM
The Calliope Folk Music Society Presents
Three Penny Opry [LISTENING ROOM] featuring:

Erin Dragan with The Meridians

AND Jackson Monsour

The Starlite Lounge, 364 Freeport Rd. Blawnox PA 15238
$5 Suggested Donation (meaning you can always give more)

About the Artists: WORD

THE MERIDIANS:

There's a mystical thread running through the lyrics, driving guitar, flavorful bass riffs, and rock solid drumming. Their performance is dynamic, with three part-harmonies that wisk the listener to bygone eras. An infectious blend of classic rock, blues and punk.
They won the opening band slot at the Pitt Program Council's Fall Fest '07.

JACKSON MONSOUR:

...is an engaging, upbeat Americana artist, described as "ridiculously good-looking." He doesn't let that get in the way of his talent though. Since performing in the Johnstown Folk Festival last year, he has been touring the western PA region, and is building quite a following. Don't miss this up-close-and-personal with one of the region's brightest young stars.

I'll be hosting, and look fondly forward to seeing you all there.

Your Servant in Song,

Jack Erdie

www.myspace.com/themeridiansmusic
www.myspace.com/jacksonmonsour

Peter King and Todd Burge

noreply@blogger.com (Jack Erdie) — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:05:00 -0500

Saturday, January 26, 8pm at
The Starlite Lounge 364 Freeport Rd. Blawnox PA 15238
$5 (suggested donation)
For more info, call: 412.818.3817

Peter King and Todd Burge are both exceptional performers and world class gentlemen.

Here's what people have said about Peter's music:

“Intricate guitar work, exciting singing and evocative, richly melodic songs.” — Philadelphia City Line News

“Proof yet again that we don't have to look any further than our own back yard for great talent.” — Shadyside Summer Arts Festival

You won't believe how easy he makes it look when you hear how masterfully he plays. Great passion and poignant humor subtly seep through his songs.

www.peterkingmusic.com

Todd Burge is considered by many to be the best singer-songwriter in West Virginia. You may have heard him on Mountain Stage, jamming with Tim O'Brien. He also hosts a radio show, called Songwriter Night with Todd Burge .

Here's what people are saying about Todd:

"A prolific songwriter with melody, passion, and wit to spare."

"The hardest thing for a singer/songwriter to do is distinguish yourself to be original. [Todd's] music is unmistakable. The very best songwriters share a common trait: they all have a great, ironic sense of humor. Todd is West Virginia's contribution to this tradition." -- Larry Groce, Host of PBS's Mountain Stage

www.toddburge.com

You won't believe you paid so little and received so much. You'll hug yourself for not going elsewhere and paying a prince's ransom to receive so much less.

Heather Kropf & Keith Hershberger

noreply@blogger.com (Jack Erdie) — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 19:32:00 -0500

FOLKS,

Heather Kropf, Keith Hershberger
The Too Tall Americanos
Saturday, November 17, from 8 to 10pm at:
The Starlite Lounge
364 Freeport Rd. Blawnox PA 15238
412.828.9842
Suggested Donation: $5

"Pittsburgh singer/songwriter Heather Kropf debuts her group, the Too Tall Americanos, at the Three Penny Opry. The other half of the Americanos is singer/songwriter Keith Hershberger. They will be joined at the show by Vince Camut on pedal steel and banjo and will do a combination of original tunes and covers.

"Heather (originally from Portland, OR) and Keith (from Lancaster, PA) have been performing together since the early 90s when they were in a college cover/alter ego band called Schpaklava. Voted as the campus's "Fun Band", Schpaklava shows were best known for their zany cameos, choreography and unconventional instrumentation (i.e. kazooz on Jimi Hendrix's "Cross Town Traffic").

"Both Heather and Keith moved to Pittsburgh in the mid-90s and have self-produced a collection of albums with original songs that range from folk to rootsy americana, neo-soul and pop rock. After years of performing as a duo they've decided to make it official with a name...and possibly someday: a THEME SONG.

"When they aren't recording and performing, Keith is working at the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild. Heather works at an afternoon tutoring center in East Liberty and Starbucks, which is where the group’s name was inspired.

"The Too Tall Americanos have been stealthily performing private functions as a trio with Vince all summer; this is their first public show. The Americanos’ shows aren't quite as rowdy as the Schpaklava days, but then, no one's getting any younger."

Except Me, Your Servant in Song,

Jack Erdie

Return of Son of 3PO!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Jack Erdie) — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 16:00:00 -0400

On Saturday, September 22, the year of discord 2007, Three Penny Opry gets back to doin' what it always did best: giving you modern music in touch with its roots.

This time, it's a leaner, hungrier show. Two hours tops. You're in, you're out, your head is spinning, heart's brimming... YOU WANT MORE. The show starts at 8pm, 8:05 at the latest. If you're not there, you miss out on a song or two. It ends at 10pm, 10:05 at the latest. You want to hang afterwards and swap songs, fantastic. Everybody who doesn't want to commit a huge chunk of their overtaxed weekends can go home, humming, drumming, and eager to come back.

Mike Strasser will play first. He came into Moondog's with Anne Feeney and the otherwise oblivious crowd hung on his every phrase. He's been in Sacramento for 28 years, but he's a 'Burgh native, and we're lucky to have him back.

Then Jack Erdie will play with his band, The Insubordinates. Most of you haven't heard the Insubs since the release party for Jack's Pumpkin CD. They fully intend to rock the house in a rootsy way, with a surprising cover song.

As always, there'll be a $5 suggested donation, but feel free to give more. How much has music done for you???

Come out and help start the new season off proper. We promise to make it a night for you to remember, and want to relive.

Spooks, specters and space

noreply@blogger.com (smallstreams) — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 20:33:00 -0400

Float over to the Starlite on Saturday the 28th for songs of spooks,
specters, and space! It's time once again for a night of 'filk,' the folk music of science fiction, fantasy, and horror -- focusing on the horror this time in honor of Halloween (costumes are optional). Come 'howl in' the witching hour with us!

8:00 pm or thereabouts...

www.calliopehouse.org

songwriters from ohio, ontario, pennsylvania and west virginia

noreply@blogger.com (smallstreams) — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 17:56:00 -0400

The Threepenny Opry at The Starlite Lounge goes international this weekend:
Ohio's Jason Quicksall;
Ontario, Canada's John Allaire;
Pennsylvania's Robert Wagner;
and West Virginia expatriate Tom Breiding

The backroom of The Starlite opens at 8:00, and the music starts at 8:30. There is no cover, but we suggest a $10 donation to keep these traveling minstrels safe and well-fed. (And we hope you come out to support these guys. We'd want them to tell people in other cities that Pittsburgh is a great town that supports music.)

As you know, we invite you to bring your kids.
Later Saturday night after the Pirate game, Jack Erdie and Robert Wagner will appear on KDKA-Radio with Carol Lee Espy to talk about The Threepenny Opry and play a few songs.

And next week, we have Jack Harlan coming all the way from Vancouver.

www.calliopehouse.org

songwriters from ohio, ontario, pennsylvania and west virginia

noreply@blogger.com (smallstreams) — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 13:58:00 -0400

songwriters from ohio, ontario, pennsylvania and west virginia

noreply@blogger.com (smallstreams) — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 13:58:00 -0400

more songs from the land of unimarts,pit bulls+ karaoke machines

noreply@blogger.com (smallstreams) — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 08:01:00 -0400

This Saturday, September 23rd, Robert Wagner debuts all new songs, joined by Steve Sciulli of Life in Balance on lap steel guitar and various flutes.

www.lifeinbalancemusic.com
www.littlewretches.com

Sounds from South of the Border

noreply@blogger.com (smallstreams) — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 13:22:00 -0400

This Saturday features Peter B. King and Emily Pinkerton. The sounds of Brazil resonate through Peter's "Road to Ubatuba," and Emily is an ethnomusicologist who did her fieldwork in Chile.

www.peterkingmusic.com www.emilypinkerton.com

Sing Around the Campfire at the Three Penny Opry

noreply@blogger.com (smallstreams) — Thu, 7 Sep 2006 09:58:00 -0400

"Hey, Mrs. Wilson, can Bobby come out and play?"

"No, Bobby has to stay at home and babysit on Saturday nights."

"But Mrs. Wilson, didn't Bobby tell you that he's allowed to bring his little baby sister to The Starlite Lounge for Campfire Night?"

"No, he didn't. Are you sure Campfire Night is safe for baby girls?"

"Well, sure it is. We start at 8:30. We're done at 11:00. And all we do is sit around and play songs, and everybody can either sing along or play along or just listen. Everybody's invited."

"Would I be allowed to sing 'Take These Chains from My Heart'?"

"Why, sure you would, Mrs. Wilson!"

"Well, then. To heck with Bobby. Me and Mister Wilson are bringing our baby girl to Campfire Night and Bobby can stay home and wash the dishes."

"How about, to heck with the dishes and bring the whole family instead!"

"Why, that's a lovely idea. Bobby, go fetch your guitar and your baby sister's diaper bag..."

CAMPFIRE NIGHT IS AN OPEN SONG-SWAP.
NO COVER. CHILDREN WELCOME. ALL MUSICIANS INVITED.

Sam Flesher and Dave Hart

noreply@blogger.com (smallstreams) — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 19:14:00 -0400

Sam is the shepherd of love--teacher, mentor, doctor of beauty. He is one of the few songwriters you'll ever meet whose songs are known and sung around the world.
He sings when he can't talk and dances when he can't walk.
May we all do the same.

Kids welcome.
No cover charge.
Calliope

We Like Big Buts

noreply@blogger.com (smallstreams) — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 13:19:00 -0400

Robert writes . . .

Our controversial 42nd President turns 60 years old on Saturday, August 19. And we're celebrating with song at The Starlite Lounge.

At 9:00 pm, Jack Erdie, Sue Gartland, Kate Snow, Van Stragand and Robert Wagner will be performing “in the round” in the back room of The Starlite. If you want to join the circle, bring your guitar. We’ll have some cake and ice cream, and maybe some chicken wings. Feel free to bring your kids.

When NBA superstar Charles Barkley said, “If ifs and buts were beer and nuts, we’d have a hell of a party,” he was NOT talking about Bill Clinton.

President Clinton is considered by many to be among the most intelligent and charismatic men of the twentieth century (and now, the twenty-first), BUT . . .

Was there ever a guy who so polarized the public? Leftists accused him of acting like a Republican. Rightists accused him of being a closet socialist. People doubted his sincerity, his honesty. A cottage industry of conspiracy theorists made big bucks of his alleged misdeeds. IF he’d have kept his zipper zipped

IF, IF, IF

Maybe eight years of relative peace and prosperity wasn’t enough.

Wouldn’t it be cool if Presidents were like professional wrestlers and they never really retired? Wouldn’t have been cool to see Bill Clinton square off against Ronald Reagan to settle once and for all who was the REAL great communicator?

How about Clinton versus FDR? Roosevelt retired with the belt, like Rocky Marciano, but he never had to square off against a guy like Bill Clinton. Clinton would have been the “heavy” in the match, having had to turn Republican just to get a chance to get in the ring with the champ. Maybe Clinton would overturn the wheelchair while the ref’s back is turned, get the pin on a fast count and run for the exit, waving the championship belt in the air while pelted by debris from the angry mob.

Clinton would proceed to defend his title against Richard Nixon, a fighter so dirty and vicious that even Bill Clinton would come out as the good guy. Nixon would tear him to shreds but get himself disqualified by using foreign objects and refusing to break a choke hold by the count of four.

The biggest showdown of all, of course, would be Clinton versus JFK. JFK would show up with Jackie and Marilyn and all that glitz and panache. Clinton would enter the ring with an entourage of trailer park hairdressers and truck stop waitresses. A huge battle royale would erupt, and in the confusion, one of Clinton’s floozies would seduce Kennedy, allowing Clinton to steal a thrilling victory.

Anyhow

Clinton wasn’t a wrestler, just another MIGHT HAVE BEEN
..

Calliope

Eve Goodman this Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (smallstreams) — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 14:32:00 -0400

Saturday, August 12 9:00 pm
The Starlite Lounge proudly features Eve Goodman and Jim Hart.
Love offering requested.
Here's what people have said about Eve Goodman:

"... (an) amazing singer and songwriter and guitar player who has songs that are somehow complex and simple at the same time and of the heart." - Larry Berger, The Saturday Light Brigade

"...Goodman's vocals are gentle and unassuming, yet there's a rock-ribbed confidence under the surface....her strength lies in her straightforward poignancy." - Kris Fell, The Boston Phoenix

"...Goodman sings like a seasoned blues performer, squeezing and wringing the words from her throat....her (guitar) style is as unassuming as her personality...graceful and effortless playing that could have entertained on its own all night." - Madeleine G. Eno, South End News

"...My thoughts, my feelings, reflections of parts of myself that I try to keep hidden -- somehow I find them revealed in the songs of Eve Goodman and realize that I no longer have to feel that way alone.". - John Hayes, Staff Writer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"...the music is top notch". - Bill Jackson, Boston Rock

www.calliopehouse.org
www.evegoodman.com

Deliberate Strangers This Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (smallstreams) — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 15:40:00 -0400

Unless you're attending the Blues Festival, this is a must-see show:

Saturday, July 22 9:00 pm at The Starlite Lounge
The Deliberate Strangers plus Filthy Gringo!

Filthy Gringo, hailing from the outskirts of Pittsburgh, is a raw, no-frills, two man country group singing songs of alcohol, controlled substances, and heartbreak. Songs that are borne from living in a harsh, post-industrial area where these things are known all too well by the people of this decaying rust belt region.

The Deliberate Strangers have survived roots/rock scares, mutations, excommunication from Bluegrass, and other social ills. They've been called Hillbilly Noire, Rustbelt Revivalists, Chuck Kinder's house band, and much worse. They've shared the stage with acts ranging from Hazel Dickens and Jimmy Martin to The Drive By Truckers and Sixteen Horsepower.

Rag, Mama, Rag

noreply@blogger.com (smallstreams) — Thu, 6 Jul 2006 11:04:00 -0400

This Saturday the Threepenny Opry hosts an evening of country and blues rags from the 1920s and 1930s by Bill Weiner.

In addition to his solo work, Bill Weiner is known for his work with The Monongahela Sheiks and Calliope. Bill's love of the music shines through on each song. If you close your eyes and listen closely it's almost as if you can hear the grooves on those old 78 rpm records.

At the conclusion of Bill's show, we invite anybody who'd like to participate to join an open song-swap.

Calliope

The Threepenny Opry Rolls out Those Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer

noreply@blogger.com (smallstreams) — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 20:35:00 -0400

Soda, pretzels, and beer at the Starlite this Saturday. Sue Powers of Devilish Merry hosts Bob Powers, Joe Walsh and Sam Satler.

No cover charge. Donation requested. Children welcome if accompanied by parent.

Sponsored by Calliope, The Pittsburgh Folk Music Society.

What Does It Mean to be Irish?

noreply@blogger.com (smallstreams) — Wed, 21 Jun 2006 15:42:00 -0400

This Saturday, The Threepenny Opry at The Starlite Lounge presents Terry Griffith and Jim Hart at 9:00 pm followed by an open song-swap.

Come to sing, come to play, come to listen and enjoy.

Jim Hart has great, hook-laden tunes with spirit and gusto.

Terry Griffith has been performing Irish ballads in local Irish pubs as well as performances at Irish festivals and fundraisers all over the U.S. for the last 20 years and has been a working musician for the last 35 years.

His music reflects his Irish heritage and appeals to the Irish-Americans who look beyond the stereotypical to the true essence of being Irish.

His work with Irish organizations and the Pittsburgh St. Patrick's Day Parade committee earned him the honor of Grand Marshall for the parade in 1999. He is currently the chairman of the Marching Bands Committee for the parade and also does PR for the parade as well as for many Irish events in Pittsburgh.

He is a former Editor of the Irish American Unity Conference Newsletter published monthly and mailed to 1500 subscribers as well as being available on line through the IAUC web site.

www.calliopehouse.org

It Can't Be Avoided; So Don't

noreply@blogger.com (smallstreams) — Mon, 12 Jun 2006 17:49:00 -0400

ThreePenny listener Morezannue Knandle writes:

I am writing to you as a concerned music listener, and as a friend of Mr. John Wells.

I have known Mr. Wells since he moved to Lawrenceville in early 1999. I live and work in Lawrenceville. I am a cashier at Shop and Save.

I have attended many Three Penny Opry shows during the past couple years. I have always been concerned that Mr. Wells has been allowed to embarrass himself, his neighbors, other musicians, and music itself by occasionally taking the stage at Three Penny Opry, dragging his old, arthritic, diabetic, fat, hairy, and ugly body onto a stack of chairs to attack his guitar like a cerebral palsy afflictee wearing boxing gloves, and to moan and groan into the microphone with the voice of a chain smoking, whiskey guzzling, horny bullfrog.

As a friend of Mr. Wells, I am very sad that no one has taken steps to effectively discourage him from performing. Mr. Wells is not a real singer-songwriter. He exhibits none of the qualities of professionalism. He is not original like the real singer-songwriters who usually grace the stage at Three Penny Opry.As a friend of Mr. Wells, I am very sad that no one has taken steps to effectively discourage him from performing. Mr. Wells is not a real singer-songwriter. He exhibits none of the qualities of professionalism. He is not original like the real singer-songwriters who usually grace the stage at Three Penny Opry.

This has gone too far. Mr. Wells has now issued a CD. It is not a professional effort. He did it all himself. At least musicians and engineers had the decency not to contribute to this amateurish effort of Mr. Wells', his tragicomedic attempt to produce a CD like those that real singer-songwriters with real money for real professional production and both the respect of Pittsburgh's musical community and the assistance of its members.

I, therefore, have taken it upon myself to write the following review of Mr. Wells' recording of his flat-footed song bashing to be posted on threepennyopry.blogspot.com:

Make Orgasms; Not Deals
John Wells

This CD is an insult to acoustic singer-songwriters everywhere. There is not a single original song on it. This is tired old material. The instrumentation is totally inconsistent. One never knows what instruments are going to be used. Even though there are never more than 4 instruments, including Vocal, on any given track, there is a total lack of arrangement, and the art of orchestration seems to be something of which Mr. Wells is unaware. The Bass, including the Washtub Bass is synthesized rather than played on a real instrument, and this is obvious from the fact that it is always played in a register that is a full octave below the range of a real Bass. Effects are overused, obviously in an attempt to cover up Mr. Wells' lack of talent.

Track 1. Money, Honey (J. Stone)--Electric Guitar, Bass, and Vocal (As on all tracks, all instruments performed by Mr. Wells.):

This song, like all the songs on this CD, is a tired old song which other musicians beat to death decades ago. It is obvious that Mr. Wells has no idea of how to properly record a multi-track performance. The Bass should have been recorded first. The Electric Guitar next. And the Vocal last. It is evident that Mr. Wells only knows his material from the point of view of his inept live performances. He obviously records his live performance versions then tacks on other instrumentation as an afterthought. Rather than treating the Bass as a rhythm instrument, Mr Wells plays it as though it was a melodic instrument serving the additional function of nailing the tonic notes of each chord change.

The lyrics try to make a protagonist of a man without sufficient funds to keep his woman. The definitive version of this song was recorded by the Drifters. It has also been recorded by Elvis Presley and later by Tom Rush. Mr. Wells' version ignores the Drifters arrangement, and Eliminates the entirety of the Coda. Mr. Wells' vocal delivery is a poor attempt at Elvis impersonation. The reverb on the Vocal cannot hide Mr. Wells' obvious lack of vocal training, his ruined gravelly vocal tone--the result of Mr. Wells' years of heavy drinking, drug abuse, sexual indiscretions, and the fact that he is much too fat, hairy, old, ugly, unprofessional, and uncouth to ever become an American Idol.

Track 2. House of the Rising Sun (Traditional)--Electric Guitar, Bass, Acoustic Resophonic Slide Guitar, and Vocal:

No song in the entirety of the industrialized world has been more thoroughly beaten to death more often than this piece. Mr. Wells cannot seem to grasp the fact that the only way to redeem this piece is to play it faster than all other versions that have been laid to rest before. He plays it slowly and deliberately as though it contained some universal truth that reflects the subject of this CD's title. The slide guitar cries like a weeping child who needs to be slapped back to the reality of life and sent out to get a job.

Track 3. Separation Blues (Patrick Sky)--Acoustic Guitar and Washtub Bass:

Obviously Mr. Sky, a man of Irish and Native American descent, was drunk when he wrote this piece of would-be humor. Mr. Wells' amaturish interpretation features an entire AAB form verse done instrumentally, but during which the acoustic guitar does nothing that it doesn't do during the vocal sections. During this section one is, therefore forced to concentrate on the unrelenting portamento technique of the pseudo Washtub Bass, which also does nothing different than what it plays during the Vocal passages.

Track 4. Ebb Tide (C. Sigman and R. Maxwell)--Acoustic guitar, Bass, and Vocal:

This song should never have been culled from the movie "Sweet Bird of Youth," then it could have been forgotten along with the film. The lyrics take a saccharine and sentimentalist view on love and trust. This is Mr. Wells' excursion into the realm of Easy Listening Music and Lounge "Jazz." The Bass track was obviously tacked on to cover up for Mr. Wells missing the G# major chord in the bridge by a full beat in the guitar track.

Track 5. Baby, Please Don't Go (Traditional)--Acoustic Resophonic Slide Guitar and Vocal:

In claiming that this piece is "Traditional" Mr. Wells ignores the fact that "Big" Joe Williams long ago obtained a copyright for his sophisticated arrangement of this prison song. Mr. Wells totally ignores Mr. Williams' sophisticated arrangement. He instead opts to perform a primitive, naive, and totally unsophisticated arrangement, utilizing slide guitar non-technique that ignores all the exciting ways of playing the instrument that everyone else uses. Topping off this lack of sophistication, Mr. Wells demonstrates his lack of talent as a mastering engineer by applying effects processing to the master mix such that the song sounds as though it was recorded at a prison farm in the early 1930's with primitive recording equipment.

Track 6. Jelly Roll Baker (Traditional)--Electric Guitar, Bass, and Vocal:

Once again, in claiming that this is a "Traditional" piece, Mr. Wells ignores legitimate copyrights. Almost every Blues artist who has recorded this song has obtained a legally binding copyright on it. Obviously, Mr. Wells is just trying to get out the legal responsibilities of paying royalties by this ploy. Once again, the effects used on the vocal track cannot hide Mr. Wells' lack of vocal training. The worst part of this song is the fact that the "Bass" is obviously playing to a different drummer than the Electric Guitar and Vocal. The rhythm that the Bass follows only rarely crosses paths with the other instruments. This is clear to the listener who plays the recording and concentrates on the Bass, because in doing so it becomes impossible to follow the other tracks.

Track 7. I Am the Blues (William Dixon)--Acoustic Resophonic Slide Guitar, Bass, and Vocal:

Mr. Wells takes Mr. Dixon's fine piece of Electric Chicago Blues and with no respect for its form tosses it into a time warp, archaicizing and acoustifying it mercilessly, speeding it up from its intended Chicago Blues tempo to the tempo of 1920's and 1930's Downhome Blues. Then, apparently unhappy at how he'd slaughtered the piece, Mr. Wells proceeds to mix genres and idioms and styles the way untrained writers mix metaphors. He tacks on a simplistic and repetitive Chicago style Bass line and mixes it in much too prominently for its lack of sophistication, but for once at least attempting, though ineptly, to play the Bass as a rhythm instrument. Mr. Wells has no right to play this song, because he is not a Negro.

Track 8. Deep River Blues (Traditional)--Acoustic Guitar and Vocal:

This is a pitiful attempt to imitate Doc Watson. Mr. Wells obviously does not have the guitar playing skills to even come close to Mr. Watson's several recorded versions of this piece, eliminating Mr. Watson's brilliant, virtuoso arpeggios, replacing those in the turnaround with a lame series of chords. Mr. Wells also adds a bridge of his own composition which is utterly superfluous to the song. Unlike Mr. Watson's versions of this piece which emphasize instrumental virtuosity, Mr. Wells takes the lyrics too seriously making this piece, which is good time music in the hands of Mr. Watson, into an ode to males who experience impotence from having sex with only one woman.

Track 9. Death Don't Have No Mercy (Traditional)--Acoustic Guitar, Bass, and Vocal:

A really tired, really old, really sad, really depressing song. It is hard to understand how Mr. Wells conceived it appropriate to include this piece of Pagan Theology, wherein the anthropomorphic personification of the personal deity Death roams the world picking off the living, into an album which purports to be "...an in depth analysis of the ethics of romantic love examining both what can go wrong and what can go right. Concluding that one should Make Orgasms; [sic] Not Deals." Mr. Wells restructures the verse order to Freudian psychology, whereas traditional performances have non-ordered verses such that the song is considered to be a collection of verses, each of which is a self contained short story, and the verses are sung in no particular order. Mr. Wells structures the verse order to represent the order of love fixations throughout the course of a human life from birth to the immanence of ones own death, i.e., mother, father, sister, extended family, community, and, finally, spouse. He always perfoms the verses in this order. This song is much too long. It clocks in at something like 12 minutes. There are too many guitar solos, each of which is a full chorus, two of which are verbatim Rev. Gary Davis solos. Incongruously two of the guitar solos sound like and intercultural marriage of Scottish dirges and Negro spirituals, one being a constant drone on the high E and the D below it played over the chord progression, the other being a constant drone on the high E and the Bb below it over the chord progression. This is long and boring. This song will put anyone to sleep.

Track 10. Hellhound on my Trail (Robert Johnson; P.D.)--Acoustic Resophonic
Slide Guitar and Vocal:

Mr. Wells claim that this song is in the Public Domain is obviously erroneous. Despite the the silly, obsolete copyright law which states that intellectual properties published but not copyrighted are in the public domain, recent lawsuits have established that these silly and out of date laws will be ignored by the courts just like the equally silly and out of date 4th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The founding fathers never thought of modern problems. There was no Terrorism in the days of the Boston Tea Party. If the 4th Amendment was enforce today, lots of crimes which hurt no one would go unpunished, because restricting the police from seizing people and property without warrants specifying for what and for whom they could search and what they could seize many crimes that hurt no one would never be discovered. So recent legal action has made clear that this song cannot be performed, or published in writing or audio recording without the legal team which initiated the case receiving royalties and dispensing the pennies left after legal fee to Robert Johnson's heirs. Mr. Wells has committed a crime in recording this song and claiming it to be within the public domain. It is too long. It doesn't sound anything like the original. The evil eye can only be lifted by a ritual performed at the stroke of midnight on the cusp of Christmas Eve/Christmas Day. The evil eye has cursed the protagonist in the same manner as the protagonist of Deep River Blues. Forcing him to a life of sexual promiscuity.

Track 11. The Coming of the Roads (Billy Ed Wheeler)--Acoustic Guitar, Bass, and Vocal:

Sentimentality on the part of a hillbilly who loses his girlfriend to a strip miner. This wouldn't have happened to him if he had a job. Who cares?

Track 12. Sitting on Top of the World (Traditional)--Acoustic Resophonic Slide Guitar and Vocal:

Yet another sickeningly sentimental song about a poor man (this time a farmer-- as opposed to the greaser/hoodlum of Money, Honey and the murderer/prisoner of Baby, Please Don't Go, or the tree hugging hillbilly of The Coming of the Roads) bemoaning his woman running off to find a responsible man who cares about the important things in life, i.e., getting a job and making money.

Track 13. No Regrets (Tom Rush)--Acoustic Resophonic Slide Guitar, Bass, and Vocal:

This is a very confused song from another musician who, like Mr. Wells is not a real singer-songwriter. To the best of my knowledge and belief Mr. Rush only wrote 3 songs in the course of his career: (#1.) On the Road Again; (#2.) Rockport Sunday (an instrumental piece heavily influenced by "The Bells of Rhymny"--I've never figured out if it depicts the church bells of Rockport, Massachusettes or those of Rockport, Maine.--; and No Regrets, which, while it benefitted from the influence and constructive criticism of Phil Ochs, is still a piece of sentimental drivel. The theme of this song is I don't care that you left me, but I can't get used to living alone. Again, who cares? Why doesn't he start dating?