1. Happy New Year!

2. News: TK’s Ireland 2012 Friends-and-Family Tour booking now! Waymores album ready to go. Gearing up for the road. TK song on new album with David Crosby & Burt Bacharach.

3. Drawing Board 2012: Record solo record. Publish songbook. Tour with the Waymores, New Agrarians and Sherpas. Dreams and schemes.

4. Food for Thought: Our Brains vs. Computers

5. Poem of the Month: “The Bar”

6. Recommended: Movies!

7. Short note to promoters & concert hosts

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1. Greetings
Holy crap it’s 2012! I think I’ve been in denial. I remember when my mother dropped me and my 15 year old girlfriend off for a movie date to see “2001, A Space Odyssey”–this was in 1968–and even the year 2001 seemed impossibly far in the future. Heck, my mother was only 35, which is 23 years younger than I am today.

Hey, Happy New Year Everybody!

—

2. News: Ireland 2012 Friends-and-Fans Tour. Waymores album release coming. TK song on CD with Randy Newman, David Crosby, Burt Bacharach and Zooey Deschanel.

a. Registration is open for my 2012 Friends-and-Family Backroads Tour of Ireland! 

Dates of our tour: August 14-23, 2012

Last year’s tour was one of the highlights of my life, and I’m thrilled to be taking another group of friends and fans to the Emerald Isle with Irish Tourmeister Tom Pigott.

This year we’ll be visiting Counties Waterford, Cork and Kerry and exploring some of the most soulful and beautiful places on the planet. I can’t wait.

For all info (including downloadable pdf), click HERE.

b. Waymores release coming

The Waymores album is in the can. I just got a peek at the album cover, and it’s a real work of art. We’ll lining up our release now, and we couldn’t be more excited.

I’ll be keeping you posted.

For more on Waymores click HERE.

c. Every Child CD Release

Shawn Colvin’s recording of my song “When You Know” is included on a new compilation album benefiting the Every Child Foundation, an organization working with sick and abused kids in Southern California.

Other artists and writers represented on the album include David Crosby & Graham Nash, Burt Bacharach, Lisa Loeb, Kenny Loggins, She and Him (Zooey Deschanel) and my personal favorite American singer-songwriter, Randy Newman.

My co-writer Jeff Franzel and I are happy to support the foundation.

To order the CD or learn more about Every Child Foundation click HERE.

—

3. Drawing Board for 2012

a. Songbook

I’ll get it out this year. Or bust.

b. Solo record

Recording it is the next thing on my list, and I’m so ready to get to it.

c. Solo and trio touring. Lots of shows, lots of places.

—

4. Food for Thought: Are computers finally smarter than we are?

From “Computers vs. Brains,” by Mark Fischetti, Scientific American Nov 2011 issue

  For decades computer scientists have strived to build machines that can calculate faster than the human brain and store more information. The contraptions have won. 

  The world’s most powerful supercomputer, the K, from Fujitsu, computes four times faster and holds 10 times as much data. And of course, many more bits are coursing through the Internet at any moment. 

  Yet the Internet’s servers worldwide would fill a small city, and the K sucks up enough electricity to power 10,000 homes. The incredibly efficient brain consumes less juice than a dim light bulb and fits nicely inside our head. 

  Biology does a lot with a little: the human genome, which grows our body and directs us through years of complex life, requires less data than a laptop operating system. Even a cat’s brain smokes the newest iPad⎯1,000 times more data storage and 1 million times quicker to act on it.

—

5. TK Poem of the Month

“The Bar”

I’m not leaving in the lines
That didn’t make the book
They’re somewhere in a drawer where they belong

I’m not singing you the notes
That didn’t make the cut
Though they could turn up some other song

And probably not!
That’s how it goes
When they go down
They hardly ever come up smelling like a rose

The world is cold
And it’s a shame
But there’s the bar
And we must raise it just the same

—

6. Recommended: Movies!

Had a chance to see a few films over the holiday break–a real luxury these days–and I particularly enjoyed:

a. The Descendents. I’ve loved all Alexander Payne’s movies (Election, About Schmidt, Sideways). Big Oscar buzz for this one–and deservedly so.

b. Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Devoured the books. Liked the Swedish film. Not easy to condense the sprawling thriller, but I was really happy with this one. 

c. We Bought a Zoo. Took the family and everybody loved it. How rare is that?

d. Into the Abyss. Legendary German director Werner Herzog looks deeply into the human experience with this documentary. Gritty, but with insight and compassion.

e. Moneyball. Now out on DVD, so if you’re any kind of baseball fan and missed it in the theater, I recommend it.

f. The Fantastic Mr. Fox. Speaking of DVDs, I missed this one in the theaters, but Santa Claus brought the DVD. What a gem! I’ll be watching it again.

—

7. A Note to Concert Promoters and Hosts of all kinds:

We’re booking TK solo shows, workshops and events for 2012 . . .  and beyond.

Contact: Shauna Jamison
615-513-2404
shauna@tomkimmel.com

(If it can happen… she’ll make it happen.)

Note: Shauna also is booking the New Agrarians (Kate Campbell, Pierce Pettis & me) and the Sherpas (Michael Lille, Tom Prasada-Rao et moi).

The Waymores are booked by John Laird at the Americana Agency:

john@americanaagency.com
(919) 489-4824

—

In This Issue:

1. Greetings!
2. News: Waymores album in the can, next Ireland trip, Sherpas report
3. Drawing Board: Solo record, songbook
4. Food for Thought: Hakan Nesser, PJ Curtis, Rufus Thomas
5. Poem of the Month: “Home, Like Ireland” (short essay)
6. Recommended: 2 novels
7. Note from Shauna: TK house concerts & song coaching

—

1. Greetings!

I’m on the train between Austin and Ft. Worth. Fare is $26. Why have I not taken this train before? Hello McFly!?! The seats are wide, there’s a flip-down foot rest, the car is clean as a whistle, there’s a pretty girl across the aisle, I have a hot cup of halfway decent coffee on my tray, and I’m looking out the window at a sheet metal building advertising WELCOME TO TAYLOR Home of the Ducks. Could it get any better than this?

Welcome!

—

2. News: Waymores album, Ireland 2012, Sherpas report

A. Waymores miracle

Miracle? Maybe not, but surely it’s a wonder. After two years and change the Waymores album is in the can. Stick a fork in it! And we couldn’t be happier.

Next steps, the usual: cover design, liner copy, game plan, release, press, promotion…

And to pay for all this we’re doing some good-hearted fundraising, offering various fun and juicy perks in exchange for every manner of financial support: small, large and in between.

To lend a hand or just to check out the trio, visit Waymores website.

B. Next Ireland Tour

I’ll be hosting another backroads music tour in Ireland in 2012 from August 14 to August 23. Details will soon be posted to my website, and I’ll include info in next month’s newsletter.

C. Sherpas sighting

The Sherpas (Tom Prasada-Rao, Michael Lille and myself) perform all too seldom, and we had an extraordinarily fine time playing 3 shows together this past weekend in Texas. It had been over 2 years since our last performance, and that’s just no good.

For future Sherpas booking email Shauna Jamison at: booking@tomkimmel.com

www.thesherpas.net

—

3. Drawing Board:

A. TK solo album due up next

It’s not going to happen overnight, but I’ve broken ground on my next solo album. There are two projects I’m keen to do right now. One is a cohesive collection of new songs in the spirit of my live shows, and the other is a collection of songs I’ve written over the past few years with writers from up north: Danes, Swedes and Canadians. (Working title: “Songs from the North Country.”)

B. TK Songbook

A brave friend in Texas has offered to jump in on final proof and corrections, and I’ve just sent him the first song to experiment with. This is to say that there is glacial movement in this department. More to come.

—

4. Food for Thought:

“Who can control the capricious mechanisms of memory?”
–Hakan Nesser
Swedish crime writer

“The best way to insure that a tradition endures is to ban it.”
–PJ Curtis
Irish author, producer & scholar

“If you were black for one Saturday night on Beale Street, you would never want to be white anymore.”
–Rufus Thomas (1917-2001)
entertainer

—

5. Poem of the Month (short essay: Home, Like Ireland)

Home, Like Ireland

Show me the way to go home
I’m tired and I want to go to bed…

One of my earliest memories is of my grandfather singing that song to me, and I do believe that even as a toddler I knew what it meant. Home. Where I belonged, where I was safe and loved, where I could feel my feet on the ground and know I was sheltered by family. Where I had a growing sense of who I was.

Of course home is more than place, and in my travels I find it unexpectedly here and there in a song, a deep breath, a lift to where I’m headed, a shared meal or kind word. And certainly there are places, locations that are unmistakably home. Houses, towns, rivers and names. For me, that is Alabama, and the Deep South, and Tennessee, where I was born and where I’ve lived for the longest time. And surprisingly, Ireland.

To continue reading, click HERE.

—

6. Recommended:

A. A Star Called Henry, by Roddy Doyle

Some of us know Roddy Doyle as the author of The Commitments, which was subsequently made into the popular film that spawned a best-selling album.

A Star Called Henry is an historical novel of the highest order, and it brought to life for me the nature and origins of Ireland’s conflicted contemporary character. Indeed, to quote myself, the Irish are the sweetest and the meanest people I believe I’ve ever encountered. (And maybe that’s why I feel so at home in that country.)

Doyle tells the story of a Dublin street urchin born at the turn of the last century who finds his heart, strength and wit while growing up through one of the most troubled and pivotal chapters in Ireland’s modern history. Highly readable… and educational.

B. Mind’s Eye, by Hakan Nesser

If you were enthralled with Stieg Larsen’s best-selling crime fiction trilogy (Girl With the Dragon Tattoo…) you may be hungry for more first rate Swedish crime writing.

Hakan Nesser is one of the most highly acclaimed Swedish yarn spinners, and Mind’s Eye is the first in a series of 10 novels featuring an ill-tempered, highly intuitive detective named Inspector Van Veeteren. A highly entertaining, well written read.

—

7. Notes from Shauna: TK Songwriting coaching… and House Concerts

A. INTERESTED IN TOM’S SUPPORT WITH YOUR SONGWRITING?

Tom is available to teach/coach/mentor songwriters in one-on-one sessions (in person or long distance via phone, iChat or Skype).

For more, see Tom’s info page online at:

http://tomkimmel.com/pdf/Song_Coaching_3.pdf

…or email me for rates at booking@tomkimmel.com

Feedback from Tom’s students and peers is consistently outstanding. He’s not only a great writer; he’s a great teacher for writers.

“Your insights and thoughts on songwriting have really opened doors for me, and your encouragement continues to mean so much.”
—Aisling Kavanaugh, IMRO Workshop, Dublin, Ireland

“Thank you for the excellent job you did for us at Dallas Baptist University…. Our students did not want it to end… and later asked if we could have you back for a week!”
—Terry Fansler, Ph.D., Director of Studies in Music Business, Dallas Baptist University

B. INTERESTED IN HAVING TOM PLAY A CONCERT IN YOUR LIVING ROOM?

A “HOUSE CONCERT” is a unique way to hear Tom’s music in an intimate, personal setting. If you’d like to learn more about creating a night you and your friends will never forget, email me—Shauna Jamison:

booking@tomkimmel.com

—

*Shauna Jamison
Point Clear Creative Director
shauna@tomkimmel.com

*Shauna will also arrange bookings for the New Agrarians and the Sherpas.

–for WAYMORES Concert Booking:
John Laird
The Americana Agency
johnlaird@americanaagency.com

1. Greetings!

2. News:  Last Call for Ireland, tweeting, Waymores mixing

3. Drawing Board:  Songbook and more, dreaming big

4. Perspective:  Spotify and the revolution sweeping the music world

5. Summer Food for Thought:  Garrison Keillor on the bikini and more  

6. TK Poem of the Month: My Theory

7. Recommended: Cliff Goldmacher’s new website for songwriters

8. Note from Shauna: TK house concerts & song coaching

1. Greetings!

You know, being a touring musician doesn’t just mean staying up late. Sometimes it means getting up early–and staying up late.

This morning, in fact, was a sunrise day, as the Waymores have a day trip gig in Illinois. We’ve somehow gotten all our gear into Sally’s Toyota Yaris–the Barris Yaris, Don calls it–and we’re zooming north at 80mph, Sally (we are discovering) being the Danica Patrick of Yaris drivers.

I have my McDonald’s *Senior Discount coffee in hand, and Sally just put in a CD of some traditional Scottish music that sounds for all the world like the singer has the hiccups. Hey there’s the sun! Welcome everybody.

     *The kid at McDonald’s said, “That’s $2.57 with the Senior Discount.”

      I said, “I don’t think I qualify for the Senior Discount. I’m only 57.”

      “Oh yeah,” she said. “You qualify.”

2. News: Last Call for Ireland, Tweeting, Waymores album

A. All aboard for Ireland

I’m so excited about taking my group and pals and fans to Ireland at the end of next month. I thought we were sold out with a gang of 22, BUT we’ve moved to a slightly larger, nicer tour bus, and thus there is room for 2 (count ‘em) more of us.

So if you’ve been on the fence about joining my merry band on our deluxe backroads un-touristy, musical tour of Counties Cork, Clare & Kerry, there’s room for you and your sweetheart—or you and your dad, your mother, or pal, or boss. (OK maybe not your boss.)

For more info, click HERE.

B. TK tweets!

I’m tweeting. Sort of. Or at least I’m set up for it. Check it out HERE (LINK twitter.com/tomkimmel. OK I just tweeted that I have a new newsletter coming for my tiny but elite, fast-growing group of followers—and I promise that future tweets will be entertaining.

BTW if you missed my short wacky essay on Twitter in last month’s newsletter, click HERE.

C. Waymores album update

I’m beginning to feel like the boy who cried wolf, but the Waymores debut album is like the space shuttle waiting for the weather to break so it can come in for a landing. We’ve been waiting for our pal Ray Kennedy (4 Grammies) to finish up projects with some high profile clients, but our time, Ray says, is nigh. Fingers crossed.

Speaking of the Waymores, we’re working fools. Check out our fledgling website and sign on for our short, humorous (I am told) e-newsletters, tweets etc. It’s a wonderful, fun band, and it’s an honor for me to work with talents like Don Henry and Sally Barris.

3. Drawing Board: Dreaming big (Songbook & more)

A. Songbook

Really, the drawing board is about nothing but the Songbook right now. Thanks to Chas Williams—author of the outstanding book, The Nashville Number System—I have the last component of the book in hand, plus Chas has helped pinpoint the last round of required tweaks and edits.

You can be sure I’ll be keeping you posted. In the meantime, if you’re a writer or player, I highly recommend Chas’s book, which is not in its 7^th printing:

www.nashvillenumbersystem.com

B. Next album, book

I’m quite anxious to dig into my next solo album. And record a large backlog of demos. And begin assembling and rewriting for another book.

Time, time, time—studio time, writing time, study and practice time—it’s so precious… and so hard to come by.

4. Perspective: Spotify

Did you hear it? Spotify landed in the U.S. last week (after years of immense popularity in Europe), and if the cultural repercussion had made a sound, it would have been a sonic blast heard coast to coast.

If you’re not familiar with Spotify, you will be soon, for it will likely re-order popular music on every level, in every genre: for listeners (naturally), but also for writers, players, publishers, labels… everyone who makes, markets or appreciates popular music.

Here’s the million-dollar question:

Would you still buy albums if you could listen to virtually any song by any artist… anytime, anywhere? Well that is the service Spotify provides. And it’s legal, and it’s free at your computer… or as cheap as $5/month to skip the ads… or $10/month to stream from your smart phone or iPad.

Plus since smart phones are rapidly becoming portable jukeboxes that stream to sound systems in our cars and houses, Spotify will basically enable us to play almost everything, everywhere.

And here’s the thing—if it’s not Spotify, it’ll be something else. And soon.

CDs will soon become souvenirs for artists to sell and sign at shows, appreciated mainly by collectors and audiophiles who either want a greater connection with their favorite artists or the superior sound quality CDs offer.

I’m not saying it’s a good thing or a bad thing for artists like me and my peers, but it doesn’t matter because that’s the way it is—and the way it’s going to be for virtually everyone. And very soon.

Check it out. SPOTIFY

5. Summer Food for Thought

A girl in a bikini is like having a loaded pistol on your coffee table—there’s nothing wrong with them, but it’s hard to stop thinking about it.

—Garrison Keillor

I walk without flinching through the burning cathedral of the summer.  My bank of wild grass is majestic and full of music.  It is a fire that solitude presses against my lips. 

—Violette Leduc, Mad in Pursuit

Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it. 

—Russel Baker

6. TK Poem of the Month

These past months I have been watching with fascination the great movement toward freedom across the Middle East. In our own country, too, and in Europe, is there not a collective agitation for greater freedom and personal choice? And a heightened sense of rage against the machine? Surely there’s a great conflict, a pressure building—externally, internally, here there and everywhere.

My Theory

I have a theory.

Essentially it’s this:

Life is a series of overreactions.

Think about it.

When we’re hungry we overeat.

When we fall in love we go too fast.

When we run away we run too far.

When we’re weak we’re victim.

When we fight back we become the aggressor.

When the house in the country

proves difficult to manage,

we move to a condo in town.

When we find it confining

we build the dream home in a suburb.

Soon enough we long to see the stars

and retire to a cabin in the mountains

where we enjoy the view

but feel isolated, and so on until

we are interrupted by death

or blessed by financial hardship.

Likewise does the slave not yearn for freedom?

Does he not scheme and fight for it,

celebrate its attainment till its familiarity

engenders in him a dark longing for new experience?

It draws him in, sends him onward

—but in the opposite direction, and crisply,

because there is no slow turning,

real or imagined, in this universe.

7. Recommend: Cliff Goldmacher’s The Educated Songwriter

My talented friend Cliff Goldmacher wears many hats—and wears them well. (I’ve recommended he not wear the pink one with the flowers again, but that’s his call.)

His latest venture is a service for songwriters called The Educated Songwriter. It’s chock full of useful and inspiring info and ideas for writers—including an insider’s measured take on how the crazy music business works.

Check it out:

www.educatedsongwriter.com

BTW Cliff has co-produced several of my albums and we have collaborated on songs, including Young and Naïve, which was co-written and recorded by jazz chanteuse Heather Rigdon and is featured on the Putumayo Records collection, Jazz Around the World.

8. Note from Shauna: TK House Concerts & Song Coaching

A. INTERESTED IN TOM’S SUPPORT WITH YOUR SONGWRITING?

Tom is available to teach/coach/mentor songwriters in one-on-one sessions (in person or long distance via phone, iChat or Skype). 

For more, see Tom’s info page online… or email me (Shauna Jamison) for rates at booking@tomkimmel.com.

Testimonials abound that Tom’s not only a great writer, he’s a great teacher for writers.

B. INTERESTED IN HAVING TOM PERFORM IN YOUR LIVING ROOM?

A “HOUSE CONCERT” is a unique way to hear Tom’s music in an intimate, personal setting. If you’d like to learn more about creating a night you and your friends will never forget, email me at booking@tomkimmel.com.

1. Greetings!
2. News Updates: Ireland tour, Waymores album, website & fundraising
3. Drawing Board: My wish list!
4. Food for Thought: Harmon Killebrew, Mark Twain, Arthur Miller, Dick Goodwin
5. TK Poem of the Month: To Tweet or Not to Tweet
6. Recommended: My new favorite gizmo + healthy FAST food + fine summer movie

—

1. Greetings!

Happy Solstice everyone! Longest day of the year! (And welcome Summer!) It’s jungle-like in Tennessee at present due to a long rainy Spring–and that’s about all it takes to make things grow like crazy here.

—

2. News

A. Ireland tour update

For those of you who are teetering on the brink of coming to Ireland with me in late August, we are down to 2 (count ‘em) seats remaining on the tour bus, so come on!

For new readers: I’m taking a group of 22 friends and fans to Ireland with me in late August.

For more, click here.

For the whole schmear, click here.

B. Waymores album and fundraising

i. Album progress

For reasons beyond our control we’ve been moving rather slowly down the home stretch toward completing our debut album. However “moving” is the key word! We’ve got our first “single” mixed, and it sounds so sweet. Now we’re impatiently waiting for studio days to open so we can proceed with our Grammy winning mix master, Ray Kennedy. (And big thanks to Ray for taking us on.)

ii. Funding Waymores work and dreams

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who’ve contributed to the Waymores fundraising efforts. Because of your generosity we’re going to have an album out this year.

My talented friend Marcus Hummon once said that he begins songwriting workshops by asking his students if they are willing to take a vow of poverty!Unfortunately, he’s only half joking!

In this fast-changing musical landscape artists are sailing into a brave and uncertain new world–a world that takes a community of supporters to keep the the musical boat afloat. We literally can’t do it without you.

(A second round of fundraising will begin soon so we can promote the thing.)
iii. New Waymores website

It’s modest, but now it’s up and we can build on it.

To visit, click here.

(You can also sign on for our newsletter there.)

—

3. Drawing Board: What I’m dreaming up

A. The songbook. Someday! Seriously Chas Williams (author of the excellent book, The Nashville Number System) just sent me his first batch of song charts for my approval. We’re inching along.

B. I’ve upgraded my Tree House Studio over the past couple of weeks, and I look forward to recording a string of demos and album tracks over the coming weeks and months

C. I’ve got lots of new material toward another book of poems… and a book of essays and stories.

D. I am yearning to get a solo album recorded and released before another year goes by.

—

4. Food for Thought:

“My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, ‘You’re tearing up the grass.’ ‘We’re not raising grass,’ Dad would reply. ‘We’re raising boys.’”
–Harmon Killebrew, Baseball Player (1936-2011)

“You can’t reason with your heart–it has its own laws. It thumps about things which the intellect scorns.”
-Mark Twain, Author (1835-1910)

“Don’t be seduced into thinking that that which does not make a profit is without value.”–Arthur Miller, Playwright (1915-2005)

“If I don’t practice one day before I play, I know it. If I don’t practice two days, everybody knows it.”
–Dick Goodwin, Jazz Musician (b. 1941)

—

5. Poem of the Month

(This month’s poem of the month is an essay.)

To Tweet or Not to Tweet

To tweet, or not to tweet? Of course I know the obvious answer: tweet hard, tweet fast, and tweet often! And yet I resist.

Perhaps I’ve crossed a certain line of demarcation drawn between my physical body and any hope of finding a wide audience in the modern world. My friend Walker, a real estate agent, shared with me that he learned recently at a real estate workshop the three absolutely essential tools for the realtor: internet, internet, internet!

Blog, he said. Tweet. Blog and tweet and blog some more. Build a mailing list. Remind people at every possible opportunity that you exist. Not only that, but that you exist and are still in business. They will assume, he said, that you know what you’re talking about and are doing a good job.

This is also the kind of thing I hear at music conventions. The debate rages about whether or not music should be free. Whether or not artists and writers should be in some way compensated for their songs and recordings. Panels of experts espouse the necessities of viral marketing, social networking, blogging, tweeting… Tweeting! Woe to the luckless artist who refuses to tweet!

And yet here I am. Tweet-free. Tweet-less. Tweet-impaired. And gloomily defiant about it. Why?

(Continued… The entire short essay can be found here.)

—

6. Recommended: My new favorite gizmo + healthy FAST food + summer movie

A. The Gizmo: Hamilton Beach Single-Serving  Blender

I  have the bad habit of skipping meals when I’m busy. I’ll wait to eat till I’m starved, then eat too much of the wrong stuff. But now there’s hope in the form of the Hamilton Beach Single-Serving  Blender! This little wonder whips up a smoothie in seconds, so there goes my excuse for a breakfast or lunch consisting of a cup of coffee and bag of Cheetos.

Seriously, this thing is the real deal. It does what it’s supposed to do, does it lightning fast, is piece of cake to clean, and the little canister (which has a travel top) fits in your car’s cup holder.

Note: my unit is model # 51103. There’s a very similar model with a different number, but they look the same to me.

I should also mention that this little guy is not designed for prolonged blending or heavy duty chopping… but it’ll crush ice if you goose the button a few times. Only $15 online. Best money you’ll ever spend.

B. What to put in it: Spiru-tein High Protein Energy Meal

If you need some high quality protein powder for your smoothie, look no further than “Spiru-tein High Protein Energy Meal. It’s vegetarian, super high quality protein (from rice, peas and soybeans), it tastes great, and it works like a charm in the handy dandy Hamilton Beach Single Serving Blender. About $27 online for the Vanilla, a little more at your local natural foods store.

C. Summer Movie: Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris”

What a treat! Ranks with Woody’s best. See it!

1. Greetings!
2. News: Ireland calling! + Waymores album update
3. Drawing Board: How I’ll spend my summer vacation
4. Special Feature: NPR features my favorite non-profit
5. Food for Thought: Kindergarten wisdom
6. TK Poem of the Month: “Love Is a Meatloaf Sandwich”
7. Recommended: The art of Alabama painter Michael Banks

—

1. Greetings!

I’m home in Nashville today, where it’s a decidedly summer-like 90 degrees. Spring in the south means we get a few clear, warm days, then it rains cats and dogs and cools off for a bit. This is my favorite season in Tennessee. It’s incredibly lush, the new yellow-green in the hills leafing out into a deeper, almost psychedelic hue.

For some of my fellow southerners, however, this spring is a nightmare. I’m sure most of you are aware of the present flood in Memphis–and up and down the Mississippi–and last month’s horrific tornados in Alabama and across the south.

To all of you who have emailed or facebook-messaged me to ask about my family and friends in Alabama: THANK YOU! Thank God, everyone is safe, and no relative or friend has lost a family member or their home. But for a thousand others, that is sadly not the case.

If you have even $5 to spare, please consider a *donation to help them:

United Way of West Alabama

American Red Cross/Mid Alabama Region

Thank you–from the bottom of my Crimson heart.

*As I write this Kate Campbell and Pierce Pettis and I (the New Agrarians)—are putting together an Alabama tornado relief benefit in Nashville, to be held in the near future. I’ll keep you posted.

—

2. News

A. Ireland calling!

Just talked to the powers-that-be and I’ve got 4 open seats on my tour bus for the trip to Ireland that I’ll be leading in late August/early September. If a “un-touristy” backroads musical exploration of Ireland’s spectacular west coast sounds inviting, join me and my merry band of friends and fans for an unforgettable experience. This will be my 7th visit to Ireland, and I’m thrilled at the chance to share this trip.

For the whole story click here.

(…or visit my website at www.tomkimmel.com)

B. Waymores album and fundraising

i. Album progress

Don (Henry), Sally (Barris) and I finished recording our album in December, but various unforeseen, unavoidable (and sometimes maddening) delays have pushed back mixing for months. As I write this, however–knock wood–the table is now set to mix with four-time Grammy winner Ray Kennedy. Ray’s much in demand these days, but I talked with him this morning, and he says we’ve cleared all obstacles.

ii. Funding Waymores work and dreams

Having the finished product also means it’s time we raise some real dollars in order to fund the next phase of our work. We’re proud that we’ve managed thus far to record an entire album and tour for two years on sweat equity and what’s in our pockets… but now it’s time to mix, master, manufacture, promote and generally introduce our music to the rest of the country and beyond.

As you may know, the traditional model for making and promoting records has crumbled, and it’s anybody’s guess as to how artists will forge careers in the years to come. For now, however, it seems that a band of supporters passing the proverbial hat can give a project a chance.

I just did a little figuring, and if each of our fans (mine, Don’s, Sally’s, and the trio’s) contributed just a little the sum would entirely cover the cost of mixing, mastering, designing the album cover, manufacturing the first run of CDs–as well as going a long way toward funding a press and promotion campaign.”

If you’re interested in chipping in, please visit our Kapipal page.

BTW, we’ve come up with some fun ways to share the music with contributors. Each level of contribution has its perks, from an advance download of the new album (for a contribution) to a private house concert (for a 00 gift).  For more info on levels of contributions and their perks, email shauna@waymores.net

And if you’ve not yet had a chance to hear the Waymores, you’ve got a real treat coming—if I say so myself!

www.waymores.net

—

3. Drawing Board: How I’ll spend my summer vacation

I’m going to have some chunks of time at home this summer, and here’s hwo I plan to fill the lonely hours.

A. TK solo album, songbook, demos, writing

I’m looking forward to getting on with ALL of these endeavors. I love playing on the road, but it’s hard to change gears bouncing in and out of home base. Longer stretches at homes will make it easier to connect the dots.

B. OK, I’ll also be doing some serious catching up on put-off home repairs and house-painting

—

4. Special Feature:  NPR features my favorite non-profit.

The little chapel my family attends supports an incredible organization that was recently featured on NPR’s  of “All Things Considered.”   Listen and/or watch now

(The link to all aspects of this feature: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thisisnpr/2011/05/06/135765759/npr-in-the-news-nashvilles-magdalene-program)

—

5. Food for Thought:

My wife Robin tutors kids of all ages. This afternoon one of her students shared an exercise that a teacher at Ensworth School in Nashville had given her kindergarten class. The teacher began each sentence in the exercise… and her kindergarteners completed it. Here are some of the gems:

Better late than late late.
–Eb James

The early bird gets there first.
–Brady Mosely

Children should be seen and not taken.
–Oliver Pilkington

A woman’s place is on the beach.
–Anna Belle Needham

Never bite the hand that moves fast, but you can bite the hand that moves slow.
–Hudson Sheer

Ask me no questions and I’ll buy you a toy.
–Hampton Coleman

—

6. Poem of the Month

Last month I introduced the feature “Poem of the Month.” Here’s #2.

“Love Is A Meatloaf Sandwich”

Love is a meatloaf sandwich
when she gets up to make it
at five in the morning
while you finish packing,
and holds your tea at the station
while you can’t get your ticket
out of the stupid machine.

The girl nearby says
she couldn’t get hers out either,
so you’d better go inside, and you do,
except no one’s at the counter.
“Tap the glass,” someone says,
and the grumpy guy comes from the back
as you hear the whistle blow.
He’s so unbelievably slow!
You know that’s your train
—you can’t miss it
or you’ll miss your flight—
but when you hurry out
your bags are on the platform,
and she is chatting with someone
like it’s no big deal.

And so it is no big deal.
You haul your things aboard,
and she hands you your tea at the door,
and your meatloaf sandwich,
and kisses you. And though
you can’t hug very well
because your hands are full, it’s ok.
But now you’re in the people’s way.
You should move.
“See?” she says.
And you do.

for Kate Wallace
January 2011

Click For more TK poetry! (or visit www.tomkimmel.com & click Poetry)

—

7. Recommended: The extraordinary art of Michael Banks

I spent Mother’s Day weekend with my mother and family in Tupelo, Mississippi, and my sisters and I enjoyed the annual art festival there. There was lots of stuff I wanted to take home, but one artist in particular knocked me out. His name is Michael Banks, and he’s a folk artist from Guntersville, Alabama. His paintings deeply affected me, and I want the world to see it too:

http://www.jtfolkart.com/artist/michael-banks/

http://www.marciaweberartobjects.com/banks.htm

And this short video pretty much says it all!

(link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2OrOKi3W2g)

Michael’s known as an “Outside Artist”–a term used to descibe a group of artists known for being productive despite struggles with mental illness or addiction. I tell you this: Michael is a striking man with a powerful personal presence and a big heart. That much was apparent in our short encounter.

–Check out the photo of me and Michael here.

(link: http://www.tomkimmel.com/photo-gallery/friends-family/?nggpage=3)

1. Greetings!
2. News: Waymores album in the mix, Waymores website… and touring with
three (3!) trios
3. Special: Seats on the Irish bus
4. Drawing Board: Solo recording, Songbook
5. Food for Thought: Mark Twain, Carl Jung, Gordon Lish
6. New Feature: TK Poem of the Month
7. Recommended: Incredible underwater art
8. Note from Shauna: TK house concerts & song coaching

Greetings!

Hello from 36,000 feet above Idaho… or Utah… or New Mexico. I’m really
not sure, but it doesn’t appear that Spring has quite made it to the snow
capped mountains outside my window as I fly southeast from Washington state.

Hey wherever you are, hope Spring is tapping on your door… or rounding the
corner and heading your way.

2. News: Waymores album mixing, Waymores website, three (3) trios

A. The Waymores album is being mixed as I write this, and it should be
complete within a week or two. Lord it’s been a long train coming, but it’s
nearing the station. Don Henry, Sally Barris and I are very excited.

B. The Waymores’ fledging website is up and running. Check it out!

(It’s a work-in-progress, with much more to be added in the coming weeks.)

C. While I love working with the Waymores, I’m also happy to be reuniting
with two other trios: the New Agrarians (Pierce Pettis and Kate Campbell),
and the Sherpas (Tom Prasada-Rao and Michael Lille). Don’t think I’ve ever
been spread so thin, but it’s hard to turn down opportunities to work the
with artists I enjoy so much.

(New Agrarians shows in TX in April (tonight!) and May; Sherpas in TX in
September.)

3. Special Feature: TOUR IRELAND with me late summer 2011!

I am thrilled to be co-leading a backroads sight-and-sound tour of Ireland
from August 28 though September 6 of this year.

As of today we still have 3 or 4 “seats on the bus” available, so if a
personal, musical tour of the “real Ireland” sounds appealing, I’d love for
you to complete our group of twenty-one.

In a nutshell, we’ll travel in a luxury bus by day, exploring the
spectacular Irish west coast, visiting castles and stone circles, shopping
in small towns, dining on excellent pub fare… and in the evenings we’ll be
entertained by some of Ireland’s very finest musicians.

For details, visit my website!

(FYI my talented friend Johnsmith leads several of these tours each year,
and he has informed me that we’ll be going at the IDEAL time of year!)

4. Drawing Board:

A. TK solo album next up

I broke ground last week on my next album, recording some tracks for “Clear
Blue Sky.” I’ll be working on it from here on… every chance I get… and
keeping you posted.

B. TK Songbook

Chas Williams, author of the excellent book The Nashville Number System, has
agreed to write Nashville number charts for all twenty songs in my
songbook… so we’re closing in on completing this long-in-the-works
project.

5. Food for Thought:

“You can’t pray a lie–I found that out.”
–Mark Twain (Huckleberry Finn)

“…the pioneer only knows afterward what he should have known before.”
–C. G. Jung (Foreword to Erich Neumann’s The Origins and History of
Consciousness

“I see the notion of talent as quite irrelevant. I see instead perseverance,
application, industry, assiduity, will, will, will, desire, desire, desire.”
–Gordon Lish (author, editor)

6. New Feature: Poem of the Month

“Enlistment”
Now I know why Rhett Butler enlisted
when the war was a lost cause
Even the scurrilous have their scruples
and must live with themselves in some fashion
She says here’s how it ought to work
The young man’s on the road
The old man’s in the garden
I believe you have it backward
And doesn’t that make perfect sense
when she puts it that way?
Still I can’t help making trouble
while there’s trouble to be made

TK
March 2011

For more TK poetry

7. Recommended: Magic beneath the waves

I was recently introduced (online) to Jason deCaires Taylor’s phenomenal
underwater sculptures, and I hope you’ll explore his website.

Stunning, unforgettable work.

8. Notes from Shauna: TK Songwriting coaching and House Concerts

A. INTERESTED IN TOM’S SUPPORT WITH YOUR SONGWRITING?

Tom is available to teach/coach/mentor songwriters in one-on-one sessions
(in person or long distance via phone, iChat or Skype).

For more, see Tom’s info page

….or email me (Shauna Jamison).

Testimonials abound that Tom not only a great writer; he’s a great teacher
for writers.

B. INTERESTED IN HAVING TOM PLAY A CONCERT IN YOUR LIVING ROOM?

A “HOUSE CONCERT” is a unique way to hear Tom’s music in an intimate,
personal setting. If you’d like to learn more about creating a night you and
your friends will never forget, email me.

1. Greetings!
2. News: Posi Music Awards report, Waymores album + tour Ireland with Tom
3. Special Feature: Valentine’s fun facts
4. Drawing Board: Solo recording, songbook in 2011, next TK book
5. Food for Thought: Sinatra on Rock ‘n’ Roll, Hendrix on imitation
6. Perspective: Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Winston Churchill, Chris Rock
7. Recommended: old book, new films
8. Notes from Shauna: TK Songwriting coaching… and House Concerts

1. Greetings!

Hello everyone from snowy Kansas! I’m nearing the tail end of a nice six week run through FL, CA, WA, CO, NE and KS (mostly Waymores shows, with some stray solo dates mixed in). We’ll be home in a week, but alas, I’ll arrive after Valentine’s Day. My wife loves Valentine’s Day, so thank goodness I remembered to send the roses and chocolate. (See, I can learn!)

BTW I was just wondering where the heck Valentine’s Day came from, so I did a little exploring, and I’ve lifted some fascinating V-Day trivia from Wikipedia. (See Special Feature below.)

2. News: Positive Music Awards, Waymores album mixing, Tour Ireland with Tom

A. Posi Music Awards
I enjoyed my time at the 6th Annual Positive Music Awards in Orlando last month, but alas, my song “No One Gets to Heaven (If Anybody Else Is Left Behind)”–co-written with Klaus Caprani–did not win. Thus I have racked up a fourth close-but-no-cigar loss at the Posi’s.

Yeah, I’m disappointed. But you know, judging art is a tricky thing. Kind of like wine tasting. What one man prizes another pours down the drain.

FYI a few years ago I took a wine tasting course in Nashville. After a series of lectures the class participated in a blind taste test. When I found out I’d picked the most expensive Cabernet as my top wine I was pretty pleased with myself. Then I discovered that my second choice came in a box!

B. Waymores album: mixing this month! Recording’s done on the Waymores’ debut album, and we are now booked to mix it mid March with Grammy-winning producer-engineer Ray Kennedy.

Hard to say exactly when we’ll have a release because we intend to explore opportunities for support, promotion and distribution… but we look forward to sharing it asap.

C. TOUR IRELAND with Tom late summer 2011!
I am thrilled to be taking a group of friends and fans on a backroads tour of Ireland starting late August 2011.

I’ll be partnering with Irish “tour master” Tom Pigott, owner and operator of Enchanted Way Tours, and our band of twenty will be exploring one of the most beautiful places on earth. By day we’ll be traveling in a private luxury coach along Ireland’s breathtaking west coast, visiting castle and abbey ruins, stone circles and fishing villages. We’ll be staying in B&B’s and small inns and dining on excellent Irish pub fare. By night we’ll be enjoying some of Ireland’s finest musicians and songwriters.

There are still a few seats left on the bus, but I am told the tour will sell out, so if you’re interested, visit the web pages at this website.

And to read a “special edition” newsletter I recently sent–including a short essay I wrote about an unforgettable day spent on an Irish island–scroll down to the newsletter just below this one.

3. Special Feature: Valentine’s Day trivia!

Ever wonder about Valentine’s Day? Me either! But if you look it up, it’s got a pretty interesting story:

• Numerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine.
• The Valentines we indirectly honor on February 14 are both Italian: Valentine of Rome (martyred about AD 269) and Valentine of Terni (martyred about AD 197).
• No romantic elements are present in medieval biographies of either of these martyrs!
• By the time a Saint Valentine became linked to romance in the 14th century, distinctions between these two fellows were entirely lost.
• The story goes that Saint Valentine (one or the other, take your pick) was executed for secretly performing marriage ceremonies for Roman soldiers (who were forbidden to marry), but that before he died he miraculously restored the sight of his jailer’s blind daughter.
• That story was embellished over the years, and it was further told that before he departed Saint Valentine wrote a love note to the daughter (now healed), and signed it, “Your Valentine.”
• Scholars tell us that Geoffrey Chaucer (author of Canterbury Tales) made the first link between Saint Valentine and romantic love in his poem, “Parlement of Foules” (1382), which he wrote a few decades prior to the invention of the printing press. The key words:
  “For this was Saint Valentine’s Day, when every bird cometh there to choose his mate.”
• Prior to Chaucer’s reference, earlier links with the saint were focused on sacrifice rather than romantic love. (Some might ask, “What’s the difference?”)
• Chaucer did not link Valentine’s Day to February 14, and it should be noted that mid-February is an unlikely time for birds to be mating in England!
• Paper Valentines, sometimes adorned with lace and ribbons, became extremely popular in England in the early 19th century.
• In the States, the practice of exchanging cards was extended to all manner of gifts, typically roses and chocolates (often packed in a red heart-shaped box).
• Hallmark Cards, the largest manufacturer of greeting cards, was founded in 1910 by Joyce C. Hall. The company sells a boatload of Valentine’s cards.
• In Iowa, in 1921, Russell Stover and a partner invented the world’s first chocolate-dipped ice cream bar. At a dinner party Russell’s wife Clara suggested calling it an Eskimo Pie. The production of chocolate candy followed.
• My wife prefers Russell Stover’s chocolate covered caramels, and on Valentine’s Day she will be enjoying a large box of them (which I ordered from the Russell Stover website).
• The three (3, count ‘em) dozen roses in the living room were sent to her on my behalf by Costco. Happy Valentine’s Day everybody!

4. Drawing Board:

A. TK solo album next up
Now that the Waymores album is wrapping up I can begin recording my next solo project… and my first studio days are coming up in March. Hard to say how long it’ll take, but breaking ground is the necessary next step!

B. TK Songbook
Here’s what’s left to do: a final proof and corrections to the master PDF file, the compiling of instructional videos (already shot), and the addition of Nashville number charts. We’re close!

C. Next TK book
As I write this I am remembering the long home stretch of work that pulled my first book together… after I thought it was done! So while another book release is not imminent, I am accumulating poems, stories and essays, and the energy is building for another written-and-spoken word project.

5. Food for Thought: Sinatra, Hendrix

“Rock ‘n’ roll: the most brutal, ugly, desperate, vicious form of expression it has been my misfortune to hear.”
–Frank Sinatra (1915-1998)

“I’ve been imitated so well I’ve heard people copy my mistakes.”
–Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970)

6. Perspective: Moynihan, Churchill, Rock 

“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”
–Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1927-2003)

“In 1970 the richest 1 percent made 9 percent of the nation’s income; now the top slice makes closer to 25 percent.”
–Newsweek (December 13, 2010 edition)

“The best argument against democracy is a five minute conversation with the average voter.”
–Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

“Every town has the same two malls: the one white people go to and the one white people used to go to.”
–Chris Rock (1966- )

7. Recommended: old book, new movies

A. Book: Huckleberry Finn (no kidding!)

I’ve read Huckleberry Finn several times, but I recently picked it up and am reveling in it once again. One reviewer wrote that it’s not only a masterful telling of an adolescent’s story, but the story of an adolescent nation.

One of the first American novels written in the first person vernacular, it’s uncannily timeless–in that the class stratification and pig-headed frontier spirit of our culture is not so much changed today.

Of course, some references to slavery, some characterizations and the use of the “n word” are painful, but they must be viewed in the context of Clemens’s story, the time in which it was written and the author’s intention. I suppose the bottom line for me is that anyone with half a brain who reads this wonderful book will not question the author’s reverence for life, freedom and human dignity.

B. Movies: The King’s Speech, True Grit

Regrettably, I don’t get to the movies much these days, but I see what I can, and lately I’ve enjoyed some wonderful films. (Last month I recommended The Fighter–a very fine film, in my book.)

This month I’m recommending two more Oscar contenders:

True Grit. This Cohen brothers remake is something special. The dialog is superb, the acting sure and crisp, the story told with patience and reverence. (Fourteen year old Hailee Steinfeld is a wonder.)

The King’s Speech. What a lovely film. Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helen Bonham-Carter in a great story, deftly and beautifully presented.

8. Notes from Shauna: TK Songwriting coaching… and House Concerts

A. INTERESTED IN TOM’S SUPPORT WITH YOUR SONGWRITING?

Tom is available to teach/coach/mentor songwriters in one-on-one sessions (in person or long distance via phone, iChat or Skype).

For more information click here or contact us for rates.

Feedback from Tom’s students and peers is consistently outstanding. He’s not only a great writer; he’s a great teacher for writers.

“Your insights and thoughts on songwriting have really opened doors for me, and your encouragement continues to mean so much.”
–Aisling Kavanaugh, IMRO Workshop, Dublin, Ireland

“Thank you for the excellent job you did for us at Dallas Baptist University. Our students did not want it to end… and later asked if we could have you back for a week!”
–Terry Fansler, Ph.D., Director of Studies in Music Business, Dallas Baptist University

B. INTERESTED IN HAVING TOM PLAY A CONCERT IN YOUR LIVING ROOM?

A “HOUSE CONCERT” is a unique way to hear Tom’s music in an intimate, personal setting. If you’d like to learn more about creating a night you and your friends will never forget, email Shauna Jamison.

“For an Irishman, talking is a dance.”
—Deborah Love

Eight months from now—after this winter has passed, and the spring, and most of the summer—I’ll be arriving in Ireland with twenty fans, family and friends to take a very special tour. Spaces remain in our group, and if you’ve ever longed to visit that unique country, I’d love for you to join us. Ours will be an extraordinary visit—a backroads musical tour of a side of Ireland most tourists never see.

I first set foot in Ireland while touring with Nanci Griffith in 1991, and I’ve returned five times since. Enchanted is word worn thin with overuse describing that green and rocky place, but it’s worn for good reason. As Disneyland is a wonder for children, Ireland is a wonder for those of us drawn to beauty, soul, spirit, music and poetry—and for many of us, a heightened sense of where we come from: directly or indirectly—artistically or spiritually.

“I have a total irreverence for anything connected with society, except that which makes the road safer, the beer stronger, the old men and women warmer in the winter, and happier in the summer.” —Brendan Behan

When I am in Ireland I have the greatest feeling of being welcomed, appreciated—even understood. I’ve wondered if there is some kinship between Southerners and the Irish, in that both regions have endured hardship with good humor and a depth of spirit. But others, from elsewhere in our country and in the world, often say the same thing. Going to Ireland feels like going home.

“People live in each others shelter.”
—Irish proverb

We’ll travel in a luxury coach along the spectacular west coast, exploring Counties Cork, Clare and Kerry, and we’ll stop for walks, castle ruins, stone circles and dolmans, small town shopping and pub lunches. I’ll have my guitar handy and from time to time will play a song or two upon request—and I’ll perform a concert one evening as well. Other nights we’ll hear some of Ireland’s finest musicians and songwriters—something I especially look forward to.

“Life has been your art. You have set yourself to music. Your days are your sonnets.”
—Oscar Wilde

Our Irish tour guide will be Tom Pigott with Enchanted Way Tours. Tom has led a number of tours for my good friend Johnsmith, and he is leading tours with my New Agrarians partner Kate Campbell and other artist peers. This will be my first tour with Tom, and I’m very grateful for his invitation.

“This is what home is: not only the place you remember, but the place that remembers you.”
—Oriah Mountain Dreamer

For complete info on the trip click here.

“My Irish Friend”
(A short essay I wrote after my last trip to Ireland in the fall of 2009)

My last day on Inishere, a starkly beautiful island off the west coast of Ireland, I missed the early ferry back to the mainland. Alarm, however, soon yielded to the awareness that I now had a free day on the island! Soon I was wandering among the ruins of a 10th Century church, being soaked by a squall on a stony beach, and wandering narrow lanes between pastures of Irish dairy cows. And it was on one of those lanes that I was greeted by a wind-burned farmer on a tractor.

“What you doing out here?” he asked in an accent so thick that at first I didn’t realize he was speaking English.

“Just walking, exploring,” I replied.

“Have you seen the wreck?” he asked. And when I said I hadn’t, he patted the seat beside him and called, “Climb on!”

I did, and we were off to explore a fifty year old shipwreck, visit the old lighthouse and survey the island as he gave me a finer tour than money could ever buy.

In the midst of it all, Martin—my new friend—insisted we visit his hillside home, a whitewashed cottage he’d built himself that offered a spectacular view of the sea on three sides—including the wrecked freighter on the beach and the Cliffs of Mohr across the way. While there he served hot black tea, fresh brown bread he’d baked himself, and just-caught boiled crab. A feast! I was starving, and it was all the more delicious for being prepared by my friend’s hand.

Martin’s kindness was in itself food for my soul. In his company, it seemed the world was full of kind and generous people—people who appear out of nowhere, take you in, feed you, and point you in the right direction.

“Come again!” he called, as he dropped me by a tiny lane leading to a castle ruin. “Come again!” And he waved as he pulled away.

I watched the tractor round the hillside.

Come again, he’d said. And I will. I will.

TK