jana pochop singer songwriter austin, texas music blog

Oh yeah, guitar.

2010-02-04T06:49:00.000-08:00

Made a decision to pursue art for art's sake and not business. Doesn't change a thing except maybe a sense of urgency about things. Makes me want to play guitar for the reason I ended up here in the first place: I really like playing guitar. Same thing for writing words on paper.

I can get caught up in facebooking and tweeting and youtubing and that's all awesome and I like it, too...but deciding to turn it all off for 2 hours today was long overdue.

Probably means I'll write a song or two here shortly, too.

Hello February

2010-02-01T20:28:00.000-08:00

I am coming up with the lamest blog titles lately. I've been here in Austin/Wimberley a lot, so life is going as usual I suppose. This weekend was fun, with Susan playing 2 sold-out shows in the speakeasy-like atmosphere of Oma's Secret Garden, a cool venue in New Braunfels owned by my friends Tracy and Paul. They were CD Preview shows, and the first night had Gabe Rhodes playing with Suz - he's producing her new record. Very excited about all of it.

Also Oma's had Terri Hendrix's overalls on display. Just sitting there. I laughed. They are cool like Terri.

On Sunday we drove up to Fort Worth for the Clubhouse Concerts Benefit show...it's a neat listening room above the White Elephant Saloon, and every year this benefit show funds the series. I songswapped with Susan and Ali Holder, which was very fun. I didn't even fall off my stool, which I was nervous about, because I'm a klutz. Anyway, we hung out for a bit and then drove all the way back. I could sleep for about 3 days straight I think.

I'm bracing myself because in 2 weeks it's off to Folk Alliance in Memphis and Nashville. Bring it, Tennessee.

Goodness.

2010-01-24T11:32:00.000-08:00

Oh yeah, this whole blog thing I've been doing for 3 years. I haven't forgotten! 2010 has been interesting to say the least. Some life things just require that you take some time off from your own self-imposed pressures and that is what I am doing. But I am back, blogging, and things are reaching full steam ahead momentum again. And I learned "Happy Birthday" on the ukelele for Susan. Happy Birthday, Boss!

The gigs are starting to pick up with me as merch girl/tour manager/merch manager/tour monkey/whatever...I need an encompassing title. Monkey fits, as long as people think kindly of monkeys. This weekend I opened for Susan in Austin (it's been a while since I played my own town, weird), and Susan played an awesome house concert in Kerrville last night. Here we are with our host, Paula, after the show when we had already put on our cold weather hoodies and I had donned my drive-home-hat, haha.

As for the rest of 2010, which I deem really starts in February because January never counts, there promises to be tons of good stuff happening. If I can keep all my plates spinning at once, that is.

- I'm going to be booking a couple more artists, starting soon, and I'll say more soon. That makes me a "booking agent." That means I am closer to actually "paying bills" reliably haha.

- My long-time co-conspirator Josh and I are finishing up some projects under our newly founded 20Something Media company; our first physical release of a documentary made by Josh comes soon!

- Susan's tour schedule is filling...first up out of state is Folk Alliance in Memphis and Nashville in February. I'm excited about New York in March and Virginia in April, too...still working on those dates.

- MY OWN RECORD, yeah that one, is getting there! Dan and I will get some background vocals by the fabulous Katie this week and mix away. It's sounding good. It's sounding like growth, which is what I asked for.

So there it is...much happening. I didn't chart this path for myself when I moved to Texas, but I love everything about it so far. Forward motion breeds opportunity. Perseverance breeds success.

Happy to be blogging.

Rules of Engagement: Road Food

2010-01-03T22:43:00.000-08:00

From Georgia. I did not eat these.

Time to blog about something silly but not silly at all. Feeding oneself is a topic everyone thinks about at least 3 times a day, probably more. After a year and a half of having many meals away from home and often purchased in 12-minute gas stops, I thought I'd expound upon some of the more obvious trends I've noted being (I know it's cliche) "on the road."

You have to move fast. Sometimes we have the luxury of a few hours to spare before a show, sometimes our butts are clenched to get there on time. Either way, you're not wanting to hang out at the Pilot Truck Stop along I-35 any longer than you have to, so there are steps. You walk in, and you immediately assess, "DO THEY HAVE REAL FOOD?" Sometimes you luck out and there's a deli with actual warm food that hasn't been sitting there for 6 hours. Go there first. Choose quickly. Check the lettuce, make sure it's not brown. Be thankful you are eating greens that day.

Fast food costs more at a truck stop. Usually a food and gas stop is combined, and there's not time to get gas and then drive somewhere and get food. Hence, it is handy if there is a Subway or something at the truck stop. However, be prepared to pay at least a dollar more than you would normally, and be prepared to wait. For some reason I find those gas station/fast food combo places take forever. And I tap my foot. And I get annoyed.

Alternatively, there is no deli and you're not up for fried potato products from Arby's, so then what? Some truck stops have a "health food section" which means energy bars and trail mix. Go there first. But trail mix is caloric, so don't get a giant bag. Finding Clif Bars or Luna Bars is like manna, and I actually feel the whole grains coursing through my body. Sometimes it's a Cheerios cereal bar, and I feel the high fructose corn syrup in my veins. But tasty HFCS it is.

SOMETIMES...you're without a deli, not desiring a Whopper, and there's no hippie granola bars in sight (this has happened to me in the southern states and in Wyoming, I don't know why). I have been known to pick up a Lunchable. I know. People are cringing. I get the "adult lunchable" which contains a duller package design, so that I don't feel like a 3rd grader when I check out. Sometimes the protein and minimal carb intake is worth it, even though it is a product with a name that actually means, "Able to be Lunched."

However, not surprisingly, that's not an option either sometimes. That's when I go for the juice products. Liquid dinner is better than oily grease in a bag dinner. Check the bottle and pray there's more fruit than sugar in it. I prefer grapefruit. I love it if they have Odwalla Juice. Odwallas are super rare. If you find an Odwalla in a cold case there's a Clif Bar section not far, and possibly organic pretzels,and probably hemp necklaces at the checkout counter. Rejoice. If not, go for pulp. Fiber is key when you will eat bar food later.

Experiment occasionally but not all the time. Go with what you know. We have seen every incarnation of every candy bar ever, covered in the white chocolate, dark chocolate, key lime flavored, cherry/strawberry/orange/cheesy/flaming/giant/purple/BBQ/aerodynamic. WE BOUGHT GIANT CHEETOS THAT TURNED OUR TONGUES BLUE. In Hot Springs, Arkansas. I remember that day well.

GROSSEST THING: Deep fried peanuts in shells with Cajun Flavoring. What's not to love? I like peanuts, I like Cajuns, I like fried foods. But a peanut shell is like sawdust, and if you deep fry sawdust, you're still eating sawdust. We were in Georgia or Alabama or something. Seemed like a good idea, until the next stop when I threw them out. Susan wouldn't even eat one whole one. Tsk.

In reality, we eat pretty well on the road. Between the kindness of our hosts and a lot of venues that serve good stuff, we do all right. But sometimes, you have to eat at a 7-11, and the faster you can triage the situation, get out, and get on the road...the faster you'll get to the next bathroom stop. And that's all there is to it.

Rules of Engagement: The Merch Table

2009-12-31T06:41:00.000-08:00

All right, so my oldest and dearest job title with what all I do nowadays is Merch Girl. I started this little escapade about a year and a half ago, and while I've stacked on more responsibility, this one remains an important part of the tour day.

Be present. When it's appropriate, like at a louder venue where people aren't just sitting and listening quietly, I stay at the merch table the whole time because people will come by immediately after particular songs and ask if they can buy that song. It's good to give people immediate gratification and it probably seals the deal a lot faster than forcing them to remember what song they wanted out of the 20 they heard.

They're all my favorite but try this one. People ask me my favorite all the time, and since all of the albums on the table are like unique little snowflakes full of goodness and wonder, I can't pick. But I always do for the sake of giving the buyer some direction. They don't really care what MY favorite is, they just want some decision-making help.

Know thy merch. It's not hard for me, because I love Susan's records. I came into the job already studied up on each album. It's been a big help when people will come up and say, "I like the tree song, where is it?" or "the one that goes something like, 'doo doo duh nuh dooooo,' I want that one." People get a kick out of an exuberant salesperson. I've had to sell merch for other artists that I've just met sometimes if it's a shared gig, and it's a LOT harder to even begin when I'm not familiar with their material.

Some nights, it pays the rent. Ideally, if I'm doing my other job as the booker well, this is not the case, but...some nights the merch sales are what make the difference between the artist walking away with zero profit after paying the band and buying the gas to get to the gig versus walking out with an ok payday. I try to make this a rare occurrence, but that's how the gig cookie crumbles sometimes. (So if you're ever on the fence about buying a CD at a show and the charming Merch Girl doesn't convince you, think about this paragraph).

Be part of the show. I find it always helps when people know me as "The Merch Girl." When I'm a character in this traveling road show that people come to see, it can be an extra bit of uniqueness to the concert-goer and potential merch buyer.

Be a good example. When I'm at the merch table, which is sometimes in the back and sometimes front and center in the room, I try to be a good spectator. It helps that I love listening anyway, but I'm always aware that I need to show the respect to the performer that I expect the audience to give the performer. Sometimes it can't be helped (see point number one, when someone wants to buy something in the middle of the show), but overall I'm sharing in the experience the crowd is having, and that makes things work smoothly. And I have been known to give death-stares to really loud and/or rude people who are getting in the way of people's listening.

There we go; some more notes from the road. I'm fortunate that my excitement and support for what I sell is 100% genuine. Your mileage may vary, but these things seem to work for us. I did get promoted to Super Merch Girl after all.

Rules of Engagement: Booking

2009-12-30T13:48:00.000-08:00

I've spent exactly one year now in some sort of official booking capacity for Susan. We do it the homegrown way by doing it together, combining her years of touring and networking with my OCD emailing skills. It is a good mix, and I have learned a LOT.

Firstly, I learned that I enjoy it. I like the hunt, the follow ups, the satisfaction of inking something in on the calendar. It's like jumping your opponent twice and getting kinged in a game of checkers; that type of satisfying.

I've learned it's not easy. Sometimes I wish my brain worked like they do in the movies, when all of the sudden the special effects team takes us on a trip through some genius mind that has all kinds of neurons connecting to different areas at once and we see how a brilliant thought forms. Some days I feel that powerful, when I can coincide maps and calendars and money and mileage. Some days I need to check everything 4 times to make sure it all makes sense, and correct as I go.

I've learned how to steep in a town's music culture in a very short time from very far away. I think it really takes two years or so when you live in a place to really get the ins and outs of a community where you live. Unfortunately, touring musicians don't have that luxury, and a lot of the time, I'm educating myself on a region's culture from my desk in Wimberley. Where's the best place to play for our type of music? What's the best night? Can we do an off night in that town? When are the tourists there? Who else is in town that night? You learn short cuts and ways around things, so that sometimes it feels like I've been somewhere before even when I roll into town for the first time.

I've learned that booking requires backbone. This is my boss's JOB, at which she does exceptionally well. I would argue she has honed her craft into the top 1% of people in her field (meet me in the parking lot if you'd like to argue, but I don't think you do). Sure it's all about music and art and joy, but it's also about being compensated well for a unique craft. So I walk into a negotiation knowing this, and it helps.

Booking also requires give and take. Venue owners are in business, too. We're all here to make a living, and there's a delicate balance to the relationship between the artist and the owner. We have met so many good people who want live music in their establishments, and on the good days everyone walks out happy. This is why it's important to support live music...it's small business, culture, musicians, and your community all wrapped up into a little ecosystem. We do our best and I love working with venues that do their best.

Lastly I've learned, being a songwriter myself, that this stuff has nothing to do with working on your music. But someone has to do it if you're the type who wants to get your music out there. The business brain and the time it takes to back and forth and plan and schedule is actually a huge detriment to working on one's art. I haven't really mastered the separation between the two yet, but it is possible. For now, my constant email checking will continue.

And now, I have some shows to book. 2010 is 12 months long!

End O' The Year

2009-12-28T14:28:00.000-08:00

I'm behind! I am in New Mexico for the holidays. I have been napping a lot. Thus is vacation.

The gig year ended nicely in Ben Wheeler, Texas...which I had never heard of until they booked Susan. Cute little town near Tyler...go check it out. Moore's Store is the venue there, and the SG Trio took the stage in fine form. I set up

THE LAST MERCH TABLE OF THE YEAR, too.

Michael O'Connor, Susan Gibson, David Carroll

Christmas in Ben Wheeler!

Then we drove all night to get home, and I helped by waking up every so often and saying, "ARE YOU AWAKE?" and then Susan would say "Yes," and then I'd sleep again. I'm useful like that. She's prepping to record a new album, I'm prepping to finish mine, and I think she'll probably beat me at getting a product done. She's quick like that. We'll both have records out in the spring, which is fun. Maybe everyone who buys a Susan Gibson record will magically get a free Jana record because that's how I will market myself with stealth infiltration of folk fans' minds. Hehheh. Just kidding. BUY MY RECORD.

Anyway...green chile in some format awaits me. More later.

Another EP 2 Video

2009-12-18T08:07:00.001-08:00

EP 2...Progress and Fancy People

2009-12-18T07:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the day to bring in reinforcements. I've done all my work, and so I got to sit back and watch other people prettify and grittify my album. Very cool.

David Carroll added his bass skills with some electric on "Drive Around" and some upright on "Ritalin." So cool to hear how he makes notes become other notes and it all works out so well. That is why he is the pro.

Then Susan came in to sing on "Drive Around" and "Switzerland," which was fun to see and hear..."Drive Around" really got its wings yesterday between the bass part and the background vocals. You never know what it needs until you do it.

We ran over schedule yesterday so Katie and Emily still get to come in and sing a little...luckily they are the patient sort. THEN...then! I think we might be good!

2009 Recap: Interesting Shots

2009-12-14T04:31:00.000-08:00

These are just interesting shots I took this year...some have no point to them other than I thought they looked cool. Enjoy!

I think this shot looks like it was taken straight out of a bar scene in Deadwood in 1862. It's actually from The Lodge in Red River, NM...close enough.

It's rare there are fancy mirrors in the green rooms at gigs, so Susan took advantage of it to prep for the show, and I took advantage of this neat shot.

Beyond the Evil Cisum sign lies downtown Dallas, in all it's skyscraper glory. This was from a show at Opening Bell, where I opened for Susan and Dana Cooper in April.

It's weird but just about all of the people I spend copious amounts of time with have iPhones, so I'm used to a rectangle being held up to whatever is going on to record/video/photograph it. Here Emily shows off her tech skills on the set of Good Day Austin on FOX.

I opened a show at the Luminarte Gallery in Dallas this summer...it was in an industrial part of town, but when you walked in the door you were surrounded with neat and wonderful things. Sculptures, lights, paintings. We parked right in front.

My Martin OM-15. I love this guitar. I bought it when I was 18 and just graduated from high school. It's simple, it has a simple pickup sysem in it, but everyone comments on how good the tone is. Simple is best sometimes.

I took quite a few rearview shots this year because the van windows are so dang reflective, and this is one of my favorites. We were driving to a show in Winter Park, CO in June...and I was amazed at the amount of snow.

I took about 250 shots of the sky outside San Angelo, TX on our way there for a show and got exactly 2 shots of the awesome lightning storm lighting up the sky. It was worth it.

Outside the Old Blinking Light in Taos, which has become one of my favorite towns to land in when we travel. It's homey and inspiring and smells like only New Mexico can...chile and sage and pinion.

We played a sunset show at the Old Blinking Light in August, and out behind the venue even the dumpsters are marked "OBL."

Susan songswapped with Beth Wood at a house concert on Possum Kingdom Lake in September, in a gorgeous house that had, I swear to you, a BILLIARD ROOM. I felt like I was in a game of Clue, and that Professor Plum would show up any minute wielding a candle stick. I climbed the ornate staircase for this shot...look at all the feet and hands in this photo.

We had some time to kill at the 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, PA...so I took this shot of the stoic columns outside the building while we waited. I was itching to go see some of the historical sites in the city, but alas...no time for the gigging musicians to get educated. We did see some cool buildings just by picking up our busses and trains, though.

That's my buddy, Luther...he lives with my folks in Albuquerque, but whenever I return home with a guitar case he's eager to jump in.

2009 Photo Recap: July - Now

2009-12-12T08:55:00.000-08:00

We played at the South Fork Music Festival in Colorado in August...there were a bunch of big jam bands playing and Susan played and then there was me, sandwiched between groups that had 6 or 7 band members in them. I did my best to hold my own, and the scenery and people were awesome.

Every Susan show at the White Elephant Saloon in Fort Worth is a complete and utter blast...the band is always hoppin' and our friends show up in droves. I enjoy every gig, and each has its different nuances to appreciate, but for the hyperactive loud raucous music fan in me, the White Elephant gigs are it.

I got to experience New York City in a tourist and work capacity in October. It was my job to get us from gig to gig in NY, NJ, PA, and MA all week, which kept our schedule full...but one of my favorite moments was waking up early to trek down to Times Square and see the sights and gawk like a tourist.

Our annual house concert in Albuquerque went off without a hitch, and our special guest was (surprise!) Susan. It was very fitting, because we try to have this show catch up all my New Mexico peoples on what's going on in my life and music, and who better to be Exhibit A than one of my most important mentors? It was funny, it was poignant, we should all win Grammys and Oscars for that night.

I have had a blast recording EP 2 with Daniel Barrett this fall. We've had to chunk our recording days and spread them out due to our travel and work schedules, but we made some heft progress in November and we are getting there. Dan is one of my favorite people, but he's also one of my favorite musicians and guitarists, which is great because I get some of my favorite guitar solos ever on my own album. That's a wonderful thing to be able to say. We have had a working relationship for over 2.5 years and it just keeps getting easier and more fun. Plus we eat a lot of Vietnamese food and drink lots of caffeine on recording days. Win!

2009 Photo Recap: January - June

2009-12-11T03:05:00.000-08:00

Some of my favorite moments in photo form from this year...January through June.

I got to open for Susan at Casbeer's a the Church twice this year, and this first gig was a "surprise" Valentine's Day show (in that it got booked but Susan wasn't informed of it until the day before)...so we hauled about 20 of our closest friends to San Antonio and had a great time, and I got to play on this much revered stage. (Tiny note: this was before I was doing the booking so um, the surprise wasn't my fault).

I started playing music with these two lovely ladies, Melissa and Emily. They are fantastic singers and musicians and people. I snag Emily for her bass skills as often as I can. We have plans for a project down the line, when all our lives settle down. Ha. But we'll do it!

Katie is also involved in the aforementioned project, and also volunteers to sing my songs for me at my gigs that involve wood carvings of Native Americans. Here she is doing a bang up job on "Ritalin." It was my first real experience hearing a song I wrote being sung by someone else, and now when I sing it myself, I hear Katie's version in my head. That's cool.

I had the chance to play with Kate Hearne a few times this year, and you mark my words she'll be backing up Dylan or someone sooner than later. She's an amazing guitarist. We kidnapped her and took her to Albuquerque in November.

I've added about 50 new tags to my job description over at Susan Gibson Inc., but one of my favorites is still Merch Girl. Yes, it's nice to add to the gig income overall, but I truly do believe everyone should own these albums. And therefore I have no problems telling people about them.

This is Dub, the new dog. We picked him up in April in Winnsboro, and I claim aunthood because I'm not that disciplined at...disciplining. But I am learning by watching Suz the Dog Whisperer at work, and I have picked up a lot. Dub is a sweetheart and likes to lean on people. He also likes to dig through trash cans. Hm.

I was selected as a featured regional performer at the Ballad Tree by the Kerrville Folk Festival in May, which has been the highlight of my songwriting career up to now. The next step up is New Folk...one day!

We got to hang out at a cabin on the shore of Flathead Lake in Montana in June. I wore a hoodie a bunch of the time, and it was divine knowing that it was 106 back in Texas. It was my first time in Montana and it's just as scenic as all the calendars and coffee table books say it is.

The Ceramic Pig Collection

2009-12-10T04:58:00.000-08:00

The rules: pig must be collected by me in the state I am in. Does not count if I get a Jersey pig in New York. Does not count if my aunt sends me a pig she buys me, even if I have been in the state. I do not collect pigs, ceramic things, banks, or state items. I collect ceramic piggy banks from states I have traveled to. It's complicated, I know.

From the back to the front:

1. Alabama
2. South Carolina
3. Louisiana
4. Texas
5. Colorado
6. New Mexico
7. Mississippi
8. Wyoming
9. Arkansas
10. Idaho
11. NASHVILLE!
12. New York
13. Boston
14. Connecticut
15. Delaware
16. Maryland
17. Pennsylvania

Not pictured: about 3 other Texas varieties and Oklahoma.

Couldn't find a pig in: Montana and New Jersey.

Yep.

2009 Recapment Part 1

2009-12-09T08:04:00.000-08:00

So to start, I did the lamest thing ever and put in each trip I took for musical purposes this year on Google maps and then added up everything...this includes mileage from my place of residence to the gig(s) and back. This is mostly touring with Susan, but some on my own, and I didn't always go with Susan on her tours, so she's logged a ridiculous amount more. She's a road dawg like that.

Anyway, my grand total of miles traveled (car and plane) is...drum roll please...

29,803

That's a lot. It's as accurate as it can be...sometimes we took alternate routes or drove around a lot once we were in the gig town and I don't keep track of that stuff, but in general - from point A to point Z...29k miles.

The most miles in one month goes to October for about 6700 miles, when we flew to New York and back and then drove to Nashville. The least was February, when I didn't leave Texas and went about 600 miles from home.

It's been a super fun year...I plan to ponder some of it more in blog form in the next couple of weeks. But after looking at that 29,803 number for a bit, all I really want to do now is take a nap. Hm.

Winter Wonder- oh, it melted.

2009-12-08T13:28:00.000-08:00

Greetings from rainy Austin. We spent the weekend in snowy Houston and wet Fort Worth. There was a precipitation theme throughout. When we left Wimberley on Friday it was snowing a little and pretty. As we neared Houston it got sunny, but it was still pretty cold. Since our gig was kinda outdoors, we thought we'd stop at a CVS and get some of those handwarmer things. Except CVS stores in Houston doesn't seem to sell them, because IT NEVER GETS BELOW 80 DEGREES IN HOUSTON. Makes sense.

So we went to Autozone. Surely when you are stranded along the side of a Houston road in 80-degree weather you would need a...oh, no luck there either.

So then we went to Academy Sports, to the hunting section, where I saw way too much camoflauge for my taste and were told they were out. Because of COURSE when it actually is going to be 26 degrees in Houston, people run out and buy that stuff. Luckily we found some in the shoe section. Toe warmers, not hand warmers. They saved the day, and they don't just have to stick on your toes.

I stole this photo from Susan because apparently
I DIDN'T TAKE ANY. Dang. (c) suSANG! 2009.

This was all that was left the next morning when we walked around a park in downtown Houston. That snowman's got impressive core freezing technology, or something.

Then there was a show in Fort Worth and I played a little and truly enjoyed playing my tunes, which is always nice because I'm about to put them on a record so I'll be kinda stuck with them.

Very excited for next week when we do the last bit of tracking on EP 2...it's getting closer! Now I'm gonna go find a furnace vent because I'm out of toe warmers.

Panhandle Hauntings

2009-11-29T20:37:00.000-08:00

Happy Belated Thanksgiving! I like it because I think it's one of the least commercialized holidays, in that you can only up-sell someone so much on a cornucopia.

I had a great time in Amarillo, hanging out at the Nat Ballroom for a live taping that will be part of the new Root 66 series...it is a TV show brainstormed by a collective of very talented Albuquerque filmmakers, musicians, and such. They asked Susan to film an episode, and no better place than in her hometown.

When we rolled into the venue I knew my friend Matt Jones, a great singer-songwriter also from the ABQ area code, would be there. What I didn't know is that my buddy Josh was riding along with Matt. Josh and I used to be intern together at PBS in Albuquerque...and NEITHER of us knew that our former boss at KNME, Tony, was part of the crew that day. So it was a very impromptu and fun reunion. Tony even interviewed Susan, weird collision of worlds.

Former boss interviews current boss.

The show was awesome, all of the artists including Matt and Susan and Jenn Grinels and Rodney Branigan did great. Afterwards, they wanted to film some intro footage in the boiler room in the basement of the ballroom...which is a terribly old building (I mean, it has a BOILER ROOM for crying out loud), and this basement was the spookiest place I have ever been in. Apparently there are ghosts in this place as it used to be a gambling hall and a swimming pool at various times in its life, among other things. The floor was dirt and had rusted metal things laying around, there were cobwebs all over and nails poking through the ceiling from the floorboards above us. You would never catch me down there alone.

SSSSHHHHH!!!!

Luckily, we were there with about 10 people and a floodlight for the camera, so I felt pretty safe from the ghosties. Susan filmed a hysterical intro reminiscent of Scooby Doo or the like. Then we hightailed it upstairs again, to not disturb the spirits.

You never know what you'll run into with this crazy job.

We all get fortunate sometimes.

2009-11-23T08:06:00.000-08:00

I had a good weekend. It was busy, with non-stop events and gigs, including the 13th Annual Austin Empty Bowl Project. This is a neat charity because all year long, people make bowls and decorate them...close to 4,000 of them, actually. Then local restaurants and chefs donate their time to make soup, and then thousands of people come buy a bowl and get to try good soup, and all the proceeds go to charity. Brilliant!
Susan played at the swanky preview party this weekend, whereupon I wormed my way in and partook in the hors d'oeuvres that included ingredients like dates, endives, and eggplant. Thems fancy food words. The next morning Jim and I woke up the soup eaters with our folk and roll act on the plaza at the Mexican American Cultural Center. I had a sweet potato dumpling soup. Awesome.

Then, during my errands for the day, I FOUND A HUNDRED DOLLAR BILL ON THE SIDEWALK. I am pretty sure the best thing I have ever found previous to this day was maybe 2 bucks floating in a gas station parking lot, and it was my friend's who had just gotten out of the car. A consultation with Jim reassured me...it's cash, and I was in a big parking lot, and there's no way to track down anyone who might have been its owner. Crazy. I feel safe telling you all this because I already spent my half at Hastings. (Jim gets the other half because I can never pay him for gigs, but I found it on a gig day, so he gets paid). So anyway, look up most of the time but sometimes, LOOK DOWN.

Later that day was benefit number 2 for Susan that weekend, at the Brauntex Theater in New Braunfels. It's a great old movie theater that is being repurposed for live shows (as well as film). Good times. There are neat little jewels all over the place...stop in a small town and find one.

27 Ain't So Bad

2009-11-19T10:07:00.000-08:00

It's been a Heaping good time, in fact. My birthday was on Sunday, but I'll work backwards because I am still buzzing from the Imogen Heap show last night at La Zona Rosa in Austin.

I don't recall what led me to Imogen in college, but I've had her "Speak for Yourself" album for several years, and she just recently followed that up with "Ellipse"...hence she's on tour again. I saw her at La Zona Rosa in 2006, and it was a momentous show for me. That kind of technology onstage is rare in my folk world. Also she wore a pink feathery dress and had crazy hair and hopped around a lot. I was right up by the stage so I got quite the eardrum pounding. It was awesome.

So "Ellipse" is out and I love it though have not internalized it all yet because Imogen is complicated musics (while outwardly very fun and accessible...smart), and luckily Austin was a stop on the tour. This time I got there kind of late to be in the front without being one of those jerks I hate at shows who nose their way up to the front even though they just walked in...so I scouted out the highest point in the back of the venue (which was still small enough for me to see facial expressions and everything). It was a great vantage point compared to my last show, because this time I could see the whole stage, her multiple gear set-ups, the band, etc. Good choice.

She rocked it. I won't go into glowing descriptions of individual songs. She managed to get the audience involved in 3-part harmony in a round for the encore on "Just For Now." Impressive and always a crapshoot with audience participation. She explained to us that she had microphones strategically placed everywhere, like ON HER WRISTS, so she could play all her percussive doodads and not have to walk to a microphone. She played the KEYTAR. Heck yes.

Afterwards I walked all the way to my car, said goodbye to some friends, and then had a flash of groupie-dom and went back over to the front of the venue where the tour bus was parked, and where about 30-40 people were hanging out. After 10 minutes of standing, Imogen came out and I decided to get my iPhone cover signed because her music lives on my iPod...and I had no CD cover with me, haha. And someone took a dark and slightly blurry iPhone photo. The least prepared I have been for a celebrity encounter EVER.

Which makes sense because I was pretty good at that stuff in high school and college -- meeting the artists and having a photo taken and all that. And then somewhere in the past 3 years, probably after the privilege of some of my favorite artists becoming my good friends, I stopped caring about the autographs and the tour busses.

This was neat, though...a tiny unremarkable chat amongst a sea of people (she apologized for the rude girl who had cut in front of me moments before...haha), a signature, a photo with one of my Top Fives. I guess we all need to be a fangirl sometimes (or fanboy...you can be a fanboy too).

I'll value the show and the interaction, though already the signature on the iPhone case is rubbing away, and I don't think I'll shellack it on. It was there and it will be gone but I'll have the picture to remember it by, and the mp3s to blast through my stereo on the many more miles of road to come. A face to a name is always nice.

Silly me.

2009-11-18T16:29:00.001-08:00

It finally happened, after almost a year of updating two websites, having two FTP log-ins...for a short time janapochop.com looked a lot like susangibson.com. Except without graphics. I'm kind of amazed it hadn't happened until now, what with two index.html files floating around and easily mistaken for each other.

I finally get to use this photo, though:

Luckily it was easily fixed and as popular as I wish my blog was, no one probably even noticed.

Carry on! I'm going to see Imogen Heap tonight. More on that later.

Recording Days 5 and 6

2009-11-14T07:31:00.000-08:00

SO. MUCH. FUN. So fun!

Two Hometowns

2009-11-10T10:02:00.000-08:00

So Susan's got a song called "Two Hometowns" which, taken out of context, applies to our trip this past weekend. The first stop was Amarillo, her old stomping grounds, where she played at the Golden Light and I witnessed something I thought I'd never see: a partial Groobees reunion.

I first found Susan through the Groobees records because that's all that was available my freshman year of college. She hadn't quite released the solo record yet, I don't think. So I had every song memorized, and was a big fan of the band as a unit. Gary Thomason, the guitarist in the band, lives in Amarillo so he played with Susan at the Golden Light this weekend. He is amazing. He can play anything and he hops around like a 7-year-old on Pop Rocks and Dr. Pepper. It's awesome to see.

They were joined for a tune by Todd Hall, the Groobees drummer, hence the "reunion," hence my fangirl glee. If you can get yourself a used copy of any Groobees CD, do so. They sound great.

Then it was off to my hometown of Albuquerque for the yearly house concert we deem "The JP Project," whereupon my friends from all walks of life show up and we have a reunion of our own. A lot of them know Susan by now, so as the special guest there was some familiarity but also a lot of hilarity because we do things like talk in British accents and I collect ceramic pigs and she puts change in them for my 401k plan. It was another great show and it's nice all those folks have stuck with me since moving to Texas, which...well, I'll say it...most New Mexicans hate Texas, haha. They tolerate the transplants who come back for green chile, though.

We kidnapped our friends Amy and Kate and took them along to show them the views and make them haul our gear. They are impressively accommodating! Kate also plays a mean guitar, so we made her play for her bottled water. You never know what will happen or what hitchhikers you'll pick up.

And now my tasks involve a lot of booking for next year and paperwork and web site work and yadda yadda. I will probably take a break on my birthday and sleep. Oh yeah, we're working on EP 2 this week, too! More on that, too....

Spooks in Little Rock

2009-11-09T09:49:00.000-08:00

So I've been quiet, I guess! Since Nashville it's been kind of non-stop and such. No excuse for not blogging, though. Maybe I just needed a little mini-vacation. I'm almost 27, for crying out loud...I'm old and slow, haha.

So yes, Nashville was cool and I will write more about my thoughts on that town later. We're going back in February and I'm excited.

We spent Halloween in Little Rock, playing a show and scaring people. Actually, our costumes, put together an hour before the show at a Wal-Mart near you...were awesome. Although things you snark on backfire sometimes.

At Wal-Mart:
J: "Hey Susan, wouldn't it be hysterically lame to have a fitted sheet for my Super Merch Girl costume? Hahahaha."

Later at the show:
S: "Um this sheet is fitted. Who picked out this sheet?"
J: "Oops."

Which just adds to the character of the Super Merch Girl ensemble, I say. Susan fashioned a grand logo in red and yellow and silver duct tape. Then I spray painted her glittery gold because her costume was that she went platinum in Nashville. WIN!

All the Way to Tennessee

2009-10-26T09:58:00.000-07:00

Oh hello. I thought I'd take a break from looking for a record deal here in Nashville to write a blog post. I've been pounding the pavement, knocking on doors, hoping that someone in this town will recognize my potential as the next Taylor Swift.

I'm just kidding, but I am in Nashville. We had a great drive out here, with shows at Studio Joe in Little Rock, AR and Hot Springs, AR as well as Memphis.

Somewhere in Arkansas

Susan and I songswapped in Hot Springs, something we have done before but haven't done in a very long time. It was fun, because we have all kinds of dirt to tell on each other from stage. Just kidding. We also know all of each other's songs, which helps.

View from the songswap.

Then in Memphis Susan did a true "in the round" with some nice folks. I had forgotten how musically influential Memphis is, and could only yell out "SUN RECOOOORDS!" when we passed the legendary studio. Maybe next time we can tour Graceland and see the Jungle Room.

The Otherlands in Memphis

Then we proceeded to Nashville where Susan had another "in the round" show with Jane Bach, Yvonne Perea, and Kelly Fitzgerald at The Bluebird. Jane is known for her hits with Reba McEntire and Jo Dee Messina, so that was fun to hear. And it was cool to see everyone's styles go back and forth. The show was sold out and there was a line out the door - The Bluebird is famous as a listening room, and every seat in the place was accounted for. I had to set up merch sales on the host podium.

After the show there was another one starting, and I was asked by some normal looking guy if I would sell her merch. I explained I was not working the whole night, just for Susan's show. So I glanced at his CD and his name was Tony Arata, who kind of wrote "The Dance" for Garth Brooks. That really, really famous song. Dangit, I should have said I'd sell them! Sorry, Tony.

Anyway, I'm currently supposed to be working on a project but I'm blogging instead. Right. Now you're all caught up.

Scionara, Hyundai

2009-10-20T07:55:00.000-07:00

This has been one of those "life" weeks, whereupon the stuff I spend a lot of time ignoring all came to demand my attention at once. I did my first round of taxes by myself that didn't just involve copying info off a W-2...my 2008 had 4 months of county government work, then Red Leaf, then music income, and merch girl income. It also had a giant expense of making The Early Year. Turbo Tax better have done it right because I have no clue. I just put in the numbers.

Then, before we left for New York, my little Hyundai that I have had since college...met a tree on a curve going to Wimberley. I was paying attention and being a good driver and not texting or anything, so to see how that can happen so easily will now make me yell my face off any anyone that texts and drives. Or does their makeup in the car. Or whatever. STOP THAT.

Unpleasant as it was, I now have replacement wheels in the form of a Scion and dang, the new (used) ride is cool. I am pretty stoked about the stereo, actually. And I can pack more stuff in it. Not that I'm a packrat, but guitars take up space. I spent the weekend making up excuses to drive long distances.

This week I head to Little Rock, Hot Springs, Memphis, and Nashville with Susan. Nashville is a nut I need to crack. Going to work on that.

Episode 3 in NYC

2009-10-18T18:48:00.001-07:00