Monkey. File.

My job of Merch Girl has kind of branched out into what I'll just call "Monkey" although Susan usually attached an adjective to the front of that which rhymes with "fit" and I take as a term of endearment. I'm enjoying it quite a bit, and this week we spent a lot of time filing things. It made me want to go home and file a bunch of my own stuff...but I'd probably need to hire a Fit Monkey of my own. Yesterday morning before a filing frenzy, Susan had a radio inteview on KGSR to play a song and talk about her performance this weekend at the Empty Bowl Benefit. More on that in a future post (but go to the benefit!). We had to be at KGSR kinda early...which means we had to be up even earlier. Coffee was in order.

A recap from a while ago.

It's been a busy one, as usual...and I've been remiss on making videos or even filming much. Here's some random bits from October and early November...more coming soon! Promise.

Sunday in Luckenbach

Sunday brought about a benefit concert in Luckenbach, Texas to help the Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe in Galveston rebuild after Hurricane Ike. A bunch of people and artists turned out, and it was a glorious autumnal-like Sunday afternoon. And I had never been to Luckenbach (with Waylon and Willie and the Boys)...so Katie and I took it as a good excuse to jet on down the road. Plus, SusanG! was playing. I mean, come on. We also got to see Band of Heathens and Ray Wylie Hubbard. Awesome stuff. My hand at 60 mph. Excellent crowd, lovely day. Susan Gibson and John Greenberg. And I got to see my PUPPIES that I had missed since I have not been Merch Girl for a couple of weeks. Aww. Look at that face. (I stole these last two from Katie).

Merchtober Video

Thus explains the banana comment from the previous "out of context video" (Phil asked!). I especially like the "whoosh" sound the banana makes flying out the window....

Out of Context

I'm really beginning to get into this editing thing...so much control, haha. Some randomness from the gigs this past weekend in Fort Worth and Stephenville...

At the Fairmount in Fort Worth

If you squint, you can see the band. Blogging from the merch table...our buddy Amy is here with HER video camera, and she just informed me that she has video of me singing along to "Happiest When I'm Moving" from about 12 minutes ago.  I thought the filmmaker was supposed to remain BEHIND the camera, Amy, hehheh.  The Merch Girl (TM) is a trademarked term to be used only with official permission and affiliation with Susan Gibson, Inc.  Or something.  Yay Fort Worth!  I like it here.

Starting At As Low As $44.99 a Night Records

In Nashville...no, I'm not out of tour videos yet. Mwahaha.

First time on the radio...

Susan had an in-studio at KFAN in Fredericksburg before her gig in Comfort this weekend, and I was of course along to document. She is always nice and introduces me around and plugs my record...so Rozzie, the awesome DJ at KFAN, took a copy of The Early Year and while we were driving to Comfort, we heard New Mexico Boy on the radio! So you always hear those stories about hearing yourself for the first time on the radio. Usually it involves pulling over if you're driving and crying or something. I couldn't pull over because Susan was driving, and there was no crying...but we did scream a lot. Because I have a camera attached to my palm everywhere we go these days...it got caught on film. So cool to share it with some of my favorite peoples. The good life indeed.

Bowling in Comfort

Susan played at Phil's Firehouse this weekend in Comfort, Texas...Phil's is a neat venue complete with 4 lanes of bowling. The kind of bowling where real people have to set up the pins after you knock them down. So cool. Phil was nice enough to loan me bowling shoes for the night because I like to wear bowling shoes. The set up: The gig was definitely a strike and not a spare. Drama! Of course...the merch: If every gig ended with bowling...well, that would be sweet.

What we need is a MONTAGE.

Back in Austin after a fun weekend merching in Comfort, TX. It was an exciting time, but that's for the next blog post. In the meantime it's nice to sleep on my own pillows. Producer Dan and I had a check-in today and we're already talking EP 2...The Early Year is out now and it's time to think about the next step. I'm excited already! We'll start tracking in early 2009. Here's a music video I edited in the car...clips and things. Yay! So much tour video, so little time.

That Talented Suz

Susan Gibson is just brimming with talent. Of course you are all familiar with her killer songwriting and guitar skills...but maybe you weren't aware of her multi-instrumental gifts and her calligraphy experience.

J-Poville

Yep, we made it home. We had one other minor adventure on the way back involving the dogs getting sprayed by a skunk outside of Dallas, so we had 3 hours at a car wash at 10 PM with tomato paste and vinegar (thanks, Beth!)...but we made it back only a little smellier. Ok, much smellier. But it was an adventure as always! Here's a tune from Susan in Charleston, SC...the real version is "Gatesville" from her latest record, but perks of being a Merch Girl include improvised songs for you. Sweet! It's kinda my new fave...

Tracking The Early Year: New Mexico Boy

This one makes me smile because it kind of brings a neat story full circle for me. Susan Gibson was nice enough to sing background vocals on this tune, and by now you all know she is one of my favorite singer-songwriters and has been since I was in college. We met in 2001 when she played in my Music Appreciation class. I was a freshman thinking about majoring in political science but secretly wanting to find a way to be a musician (and had been doing as such since about 5th grade). There wasn't a whole lot of example around Albuquerque of songwriters who toured and recorded on a sustainable level. Success to me meant a record deal and VH-1...which was totally out of reach. But THEN...I see this songwriter perform in my class who is making the music business work as a career without selling out to MTV, and who is writing honest and brilliant lyrics with a powerful guitar style. Um, hello? I was smitten. Suz came back to New Mexico a few times over my college career and we got to know each other a little more, and when I moved out here to Austin she offered her help countless times to this very green-behind-the-ears kid new to the scene. She didn't have to do that, but she did. Lately I've been her Merch Girl and have gotten to see parts of Texas and the USA that I probably would not have for a while otherwise...and I'm psyched to be able to do my part and work the merch table magic. When I opened for her during a couple of tours of New Mexico last year, I would always request a little harmony love on "New Mexico Boy" because she made it sound fantastic...so it was a no brainer to preserve it for posterity on The Early Year. Thanks, Suz, for everything. Shucks.

The Last Merch Meal: Fish Tacos

Waffle House. WAFFLE HOUSE! Jackson, Mississippi.

Lessons of Merching

Now...just to be clear...working for and with Susan Gibson means 8 million belly laughs a minute, and she's such a good sport with her video camera obsessed merch girl on the road. Everything you see here is entirely fabricated, based on one small joke we've had for a couple of months back when she yelled backstage so I could hear it, "J-PO! I NEED A PEN!" We've had fun with that ever since. Evidenced below...

Homeward Bound

Last gig is done...Charleston, South Carolina was a fine town to end the whole shebang in. Now we're driving south to Augusta, Georgia to stay the night...it's about 2 AM and we thought we'd get a head start on the 20ish hour drive home to Texas. It's been so much fun and learning and good people and music. LOTS OF MUSIC. More on all of that later...we've got 20 hours of driving to do.

Hello, Charleston

Ladies and gentlemen, if you are not aware, there is a GAS CRISIS. From Georgia to North Carolina to Tennessee to wherever the heck we are right now, pumps are covered in plastic bags and cars are lined up out onto the street when a gas station is actually open. It's kinda of creepy. We actually filled up in South Carolina today where diesel was cheaper than gas, and Susan paid the lowest diesel price she's paid since March. Meanwhile cars were lined up for gas at $4.09 a gallon. Weird. Luckily, I have my two souvenir piggy banks on the dash for good luck. I am transferring Susan's Outlook files from her PC onto her Mac...more nerdiness in the van. Might as well be comfortable doing it, right? Gig tonight in Charleston!! Might be the last one...Baton Rouge is a bit up in the air at the moment. We might be back in Texas sooner than we thought. It's still a long haul from South Carolina to Austin, though.

Full Circle

Well this was cool.  You can now download The Early Year complete with artwork in high quality mp3 format from DigStation.  I got the email that this happened when we were in our hotel room in Nashville, and Susan was the first person to download The Early Year.  What a sport!  She said it made sense because my geekery and nerdiness have rubbed off.  It's true, I like to share the geek love.  Also, don't tell her, but even though my geekness rubbed off on her, I think her awesome songwriting influence has rubbed off on me more.   Guess what?  You too can download The Early Year from Digstation, or order it from me directly and get a hard copy with all the kickbutt artwork.  We have options here at jpo.com.  Also, since I won't mail out the pre-orders until I'm home next week, you have a few more days to get in on the pre-order giveaway.  Jana Water stuff.  Awesome.

The Early Year and Eddie's Attic

We’re on our way to Winston-Salem, NC after a great time back in Atlanta. Susan played at Eddie’s Attic and my good friends Keith and Suzanne came to the show and then put us up in their home with fluffy beds and cute dogs and cats. Then Keith made CHEESE GRITS for breakfast and I think I might officially be a grits fan. So good! Keith and Suzanne also acted as couriers for me because I had 50 copies of The Early Year delivered to their house so I could see the thing as soon as possible. We popped open the box in the Eddie’s Attic parking lot...very cool. It turned out great. Video forthcoming, of course, haha. The other surprise of the night was a box of roses delivered to Eddie’s for ME...which confounded me as I was opening them. Shockingly, I am not known for having secret admirers, even with my charming camera presence. They were from my Merch Girl Groupies back in Texas, Teri and Sandy. They are great Susan supporters and always take good care of the Merch Girl...and when I told them we were going to Eddie’s Attic, they were very excited because Decatur is their old stomping ground and where they had their first date. (Front row table on the right of the stage!) So um...getting roses at Eddie’s Attic right after opening a box of my EP was pretty stellar. And the show was great and Martha Scanlan played too and she was great...and then the fluffy bed, and now we’re back in the car to North Carolina. Phew.

Seeing the Sights

The morning started off at Pancake Pantry, one of those famous places where everyone who is everyone goes, apparently. I had the Carribean Pancakes. Tasty! We did some wandering, but found a lot of closed doors in Nashville. No, we weren't looking for record deals...but we found out that things close at 5 PM and that's pretty much lame. The Country Music Hall of Fame was closing when we got there. And the Ryman was closed when we got there. We did get in to some gift shops, though. Susan and I both picked out pens at the Country Music Hall of Fame, which will inevitably allow us to write our first multi-million selling hit songs. Oh, wait. It will allow ME to write my first. Hehheh. We stopped by Bug Music on Music Row so Susan could drop off some records - they administrate her publishing. Interesting how Music Row is a non-descript little street with brick houses and such, and all the deals that affect a lot of music in this country are made here. We stopped at the legendary Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, where all the Opry stars used to hang out... And Cotten Music and Gruhn Guitars, where I will one day drop a pretty penny when I get a pretty penny to drop... Tonight we lucked out and saw an AWESOME show at 3rd and Lindsley - Catie Curtis was in town. She's a Boston folkie and I have never gotten to see her play before. Great show! Tomorrow it's off to Decatur and Susan's Eddie's Attic show! Another legendary venue...the good life indeed.

Nashville Writer's Night

Last night we went out to a writer's night at The Camel a little outside of Nashville. Susan played a great set and then I got to get up there with Suz and Marian and we showed them how girls rock out back in Texas. Susan did a great job filming AND sang killer harmonies. She's a Jill of all trades.

Recording in Nashville

So we booked some time and recorded today. Well, we booked our hotel room...and made it a studio. Susan has some new tunes that she wants demo'd, so we spent a good chunk of today messing with mics and cables and figuring out the best acoustics. Of course, in the bathroom. Tonight Susan and I are both going to play at a writer's night, thanks to Susan's very cool and fun publicist, Brandy. WRITER'S NIGHT. NASHVILLE. Heck yeah. Can't make this stuff up.

Susan on the Billy Block Show

Nashville, TN 9/23/08

12:30 AM: Outside the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville

The Mother Church of Country Music...

Paper Rock Scissors Fiddle!

Here's a tune from Lawrenceville, GA. The house concert had to be moved to the porch because so many people wanted to come because Susan is THAT COOL. One of the fun parts of this trip is that Suz is not afraid to grab the camera and let the merch girl play some...it gets me extra saltines in the van, too. Marian Brackney, Susan's fiddle and violin virtuoso, is nice enough to play along with my songs and make me sound 40 times cooler.

Keeping the Merch Girl Alive

Viva Nashvegas!

We left the gig last night and got a little ways down the road to Morristown, TN. It was kind of late. We started late because somehow we had it in our heads that Johnson City was on Central time again, so we thought we had time to kill at the venue. In fact, it was Eastern time, so we started a little late. Oops. But it was all good. We DO know that Nashville is on Central time. We're on the road to Nashville now. We stopped for lunch in Knoxville and wandered around their Market Square district. Very cool old buildings. We grabbed a brochure at the hotel last night. Conversation in the car: Jana: Hey Suz look at this! Dolly Parton! RIVER BATTLE! Susan: No. Jana: But, it's Dolly. Susan: No. Jana: And then there's...a river battle. It's new. Susan: No. Jana: I'll work up a version of "9 to 5" for the next gig? Susan: ...No. Oh well. River Battle with Dolly Parton another day.

WAFFLE HOUSE!!!

Hello Johnson City, TN

At the Acoustic Coffeehouse in Johnson City about a minute ago...

From South to North

Greetings from outside of Asheville, North Carolina.  We left Lawrenceville about 2 PM and Suz plays in Johnson City, TN tonight.  The kudzu vines are amazing and I feel like I might get covered myself if I stand outside for more than a few minutes.  There are lots of mountains in South Carolina and North...it's chilly today and we're all wearing our hoodies and driving with windows down.  The dogs are sleeping on the couch after a rest break in Greenville.

Oh Atlanta...

Great house concert in Lawrenceville, GA tonight right outside of Atlanta. We left Birmingham at a leisurely pace, discovering that : a) It's hard to find a mailbox to mail stuff in. The blue official kind. b) Bugs were all over the front of the van. c) Boiled peanuts are sold in cans around here. As we went through Alabama it was kind of freaky to see evidence of a fuel shortage.  Entire gas stations were closed or there would be one pump open with a huge line of cars.  There didn't seem to be as much of a problem with diesel, which is good for Susan.  Cuz...we have gigs to be at. Thank goodness we have a plastic Jesus, a cute turtle, a gig potato, and a can of boiled peanuts on the dash for good luck. More tomorrow...it is so ridiculously late you don't wanna know...

The Saga of Waiting

At an unidentified chain store somewhere in Fort Worth last Wednesday...

Songswap in Birmingham!

Susan is songswapping with Beth Wood tonight in Birmingham...here's a shot of Suz being an attentive listener.  Beth is awesome. Birmingham is beautiful!  So much history here.  But we gotta get up and drive to Lawrenceville, GA tomorrow...

Stars Fall on Alabama

Almost to Tuscaloosa, AL and close to Birmingham! Small Stages tonight...ready to rock the merch. A few more hours in the car. There are lots of trees and mist. That is all. Also, Oasis called this morning and The Early Year is done and being shipped out TODAY. I will intercept a box next weekend in Atlanta, thanks to some friends of mine there willing to receive mail. Yay!

Hello Mississippi

We just crossed over the Mighty Mississippi River...we're in Vicksburg and again, THANKS TO THE POWER OF THE SHOTGUN SEAT INTERNET, we reserved a room in Jackson for the night. The Boss took this photo of the Merch Girl hard at work on two laptops. Yes, we had a situation that required a PC and Mac. They got along well.

Onward...to Birmingham

I made it on the train to Fort Worth yesterday, only an hour late...because sometimes trains have to stop and wait for other trains. I saw lots of coal fly past me in railroad cars, for sure. We were originally going to Baton Rouge tonight, but that one got canceled because of hurricane Ike clean up still in progress, so we will be there on the way back instead. Our first stop then is Birmingham, AL...very excited. We're repacking our stuff (yes, I have been here a day and need to sort again) and will take off this afternoon and drive as far as we care to. Suz got a wireless network USB thing so theoretically, I can be online in the van. This is a miracle. So um...check out Susan's tour page and come to a show. Yo!

T-shirt Plethora

Lessons learned this weekend: - Just because the weather people say there's a hurricane coming, and winds, and rain, and the city shuts down and cancels a bunch of stuff, and you huddle up with lots of Diet Coke...does not mean that you will get any hurricane weather or even wind. Or rain, for that matter. Nothing 'round here, folks. That's ok. - Inking t-shirts with Sharpie takes a LONG time. Katie and I watched lots of hurricane coverage and 1.5 movies while I inked 3 shirts. - Sharpie does remarkably well if you take your time. - I am no calligraphy expert. The results: We're lucky.