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.

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...

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.

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...

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...

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.

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

WAFFLE HOUSE!!!

The Saga of Waiting

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

Loveliness from Mary Chapin

I love this tune!

Hurricane Party

Well, something's blowing in from the south: In the spirit of Mary Chapin Carpenter's line from "Down at the Twist and Shout" -- "they have a hurricane party every time it blows" -- my buddy Katie and I are going to hunker down with some hummus, Diet Coke, and blank t-shirts and Sharpies. See, I decided that being on tour as a Merch Girl for 2.5 weeks...well, no one wants me to wear the same Susan t-shirt every night. No one wants that...probably especially Susan because she sits in the van with me. So Katie and I have been coming up with clever things worthy of a t-shirt. I'll share what we come up with later, but one of Katie's suggestions was "Merch Girls Do It On the Bar." Oh my.

San Angelo to Switzerland

I'm off to be Merch Girl in San Angelo tonight, kids. In the meantime...here's a tune too new to be on EP 1, but I am pretty set on having it on the next record. It's my $20,000 History/Poli Sci degree at work! Switzerland from janapochop on Vimeo.

If You Miss the Bus

If You Miss the Bus from janapochop on Vimeo.

Before the Big Gig

Opening for Terri Hendrix tonight at Threadgill's!!! Come see us. People Being People from janapochop on Vimeo.

To the Top of the World

This is one of the most gorgeous versions of this tune... (If you squint you'll see Lloyd in the background behind Emily!) I'm driving to New Mexico, y'all...see you on the flip side in the Mountain Time Zone.

Girl Crush on Imogen Heap

I'll admit it...I have a girl crush on Imogen (don't worry, the NYT says it's cool). I watched her latest video blog just now and my mouth kept dropping at each new bit of sound-making genius. From the swirly tube thing that we all had as kids and never quite knew what to do with except annoy the crap out of our parents...to using the Gameboy start up sound on her song...sheer genius. SHE PLAYS THE GAMEBOY. ON HER RECORD. And I thought I was all cool playing the banjo. Imogen, if you need someone to play the Diet Coke bottle, or flip flop around the studio loudly, or perhaps type with 3 fingers on a keyboard really fast...I'm your girl.

Sesame Street Goals

My friend Mary pointed this out to me, and it is awesome: Feist put out a lovely record last year, and "1 2 3 4" was in one of the iPod commercials...but as a kid raised on Sesame Street, there's no cooler remake than something that involves Muppets and counting. I don't know what song I'd re-do. Maybe "paper beats rock and rock beats scissors" could turn into an order of operations math song about "parentheses beats exponents beats multiply and divide beats add and subtract." Hmm, not quite the ring. Oh well.

I love this song.

Stones in the Road - Mary Chapin Carpenter.

Biology Lesson with my cousin

Cleaning out some files (of the digital kind), I found this tiny little clip I had ignored from my tourage of New Mexico last year. We were at the Very Large Array looking at Very Large Rabbits. This made me laugh out loud...but maybe you have to know my cousin! Transcription: Susan: There's another very large rabbit. Rochelle: That is a big rabbit! Jana: Shoot, it's the jackalope. Rochelle: Oh it is. Jana: Just kidding. Rochelle: Is it? Jana: Jackalopes don't exist. They have elk horns.

EP 1 Check-In

Well. We've got one tune mixed and 4 more to go! What a process. One I will discuss more after we have a few more mixes under our belt and I know what I'm saying. It's a cool thing, to see a baby song grow up and sound like something that fits in with your iTunes playlist full of other artists. Neato. On that note, things I have been listening to lately: Mescalito: Ryan Bingham (I saw Ryan open for Patty Griffin and he caught my attention. For someone opening for Patty Griffin to catch my attention and not just leave me thinking, "Man, I wish Patty was playing now" is a triumph. The record is great). Trouble In Mind: Hayes Carll (Anyone who writes a song called "She Left Me for Jesus" wins. Same for "Bad Liver and a Broken Heart"). All I Intended To Be: Emmylou Harris (How cool is she? She makes great records, period, end of story). Here's "Red Dirt Girl", my one of my favorite Emmylou tunes.

What the Cool Kids Buy

Um, the new Susan Gibson album is out. Let's just pause for a minute to allow you to go purchase it from her website, or perhaps download it from iTunes. "New Dog, Old Tricks." Clickity click click. Got it? Good. We all know I can wax poetic about the songwriting skills of Ms. Gibson all day. This record has some new tunes and a bunch of Suz tunes that she recorded with her former band, The Groobees. Those are great records but not readily found these days...and since Susan performs these tunes at her shows, it makes sense to let the people take them home. Give the people what they want, I say. (Unless the people want chocolate covered cauliflower. Then the people are wrong. But usually they are right. Usually). So you can get to know Susan a little better, I present one of my favorite videos of our New Mexico tour from last year. Spontaneous song creation is the name of the game. I wonder why this one didn't make it on "New Dog, Old Tricks"? Strange, haha. Oh yeah...to make things even sweeter, some of the proceeds from sales of this album go to Blue Dog Rescue. An awesome cause AND new music. I like. Here's some linkage to keep you busy: SusanGibson.com (buy it here, too!) Susan's Myspace Download "New Dog, Old Tricks" from iTunes

Tori II: Bouncing Off Clouds

I know, this is the second Tori post in a week. But the benefits of having a really devoted fanbase mean there are really great quality Youtube videos of you around. This is my favorite track off Tori's latest, American Doll Posse. Note how she plays TWO pianos at the same TIME. One behind her back. I know it's probably easy for her but it looks dang impressive.

A Sorta Fairytale

Tori Amos is brilliant. I love this live version of "A Sorta Fairytale." Talk about commanding a stage. Presence, dress, voice, musicianship, confidence, all of it. I won a front row seat at one of her shows when I was in college, and it changed my perception of live music. I will admit I was not familiar with much of her music before the show, but I was instantly converted. This is probably my top Tori song, and not just because it mentions New Mexico, haha. In fact, the "Scarlet's Walk" record is one of my favorite records period. It creates amazing soundscapes and is beautifully written.

I want a banjo.

This song makes me want to buy a banjo. I almost snagged one off Craigslist but it didn't work out. If you have a banjo in your attic let me know! Also, Abigail Washburn is awesome. She has lived in China and is also steeped in Appalachian folk music...and somehow the two combine into...Appalachinese? Something like that. Go read her bio, it's impressive.

Running to Stand Still - U2

Amanda, Emily, and I covering U2's "Running to Stand Still" at the Red Leaf show. We make our audience practice patience...the solo doesn't come until about 3:30 in, but Emily and I trade some tasty licks so check it out. The Telecaster should get out of the house more. Thanks to Brent for his awesome filming and editing job!

Blonde on Blue

My shirt says, "A city built on rock and roll would be structually unsound." My shirt cracks me up. "Blonde on Blue" from the Red Leaf Rocks show April 5, 2008.

A little blues harp break

Here's a video of Lisa Mills and Simon Wallace (aka Simon from porterdavis and also the harmonica teacher at Red Leaf)...it's pretty cool stuff. One day I will hit Simon up for a harp lesson or several hundred.

More Hearts and Stars for Sugarland + New Music

I know, I know. Commercial country Nashville yadda yadda. As I have said before, I will defend the gloriousness of Sugarland, and here is more proof. Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush lead their tourmates (Little Big Town and Jake Owen) in a really cool cover of "Life in a Northern Town." This song is an ode to Nick Drake and was recorded originally by Brit folk-rockers The Dream Academy. So not typical Nashville. So cool. This song combines a bunch of my favorite things: big guitar sounds, good harmonies, nonsense word choruses, and Jennifer Nettles' voice. Yep. Dig. There's your musical break for the week. Also, Kris Delmhorst's new one is available, it's called "Shotgun Singer" and from my first listen through, it rocks. Kris always delivers quality stuff. Susan has a couple of her new tracks up on her Myspace page -- totally stoked for the new record. Kevin and I have jumped into a big pool of soul guitar at my lessons, so my assignment for the week has been to listen to The Staples Singers and various other soul legends, and watch the documentaries Wattstax and Standing in the Shadows of Motown. Tough life. (Mavis Staples is SO GOOD! I know I'm slow).

Mean People Suck

Fer reals and can I get an "Amen"? It's time for a Terri and Lloyd Break! Let go of that computer mouse/pen/stapler/crowbar/steering wheel (ok NOT the steering wheel) and dig. It.

Beggin' you for mercy (ode to Mondays)

I think maybe it's Monday, and that requires a toe-tappin' jam track to get the week started right. This was the free track on iTunes last week. I downloaded it. It's been stuck in my head. Never say I don't have an appreciation for a good pop song, hm? Duffy - Mercy: Oh yeah, and luck o' the Irish to you! Duffy is from the UK, which is closer to Ireland than Texas is...that's how I geographically roll.

Reminder: San Antonio Webcast Today!

Heading down to San Antonio to meet Ms. Kelli King and get my song on! After I change my guitar strings. Ahem. Here is the link to the live webcast. It starts at 6 PM Central time. Add and subtract at your leisure! Word. Now I'm just filling up space. Go buy Kathleen Edwards' new CD. Drive!

Live Webcast on Sunday - from San Antonio!

Y'all -- I'll be sprinting to lovely Leon Springs (near San Antone) this Sunday to feature at the Scenic Loop Cafe open stage run by my lovely and talented Life's A Song workshop roomie Kelli King (see? I told you we workshoppers travel in packs). The whole shebang gets webcast every week from Kelli's site and you can log in around 6 PM Texas time on Sunday the 9th to see moi...but it all starts at 4 PM so log in early, grab some popcorn, and hang out. You can even chat with us...I plan on bringing my laptop and being a tech-nerd, too. I know, shocking. Wild West Webcast: j.Po onstage Sunday, March 9 at 6 PM (that's 5 PM if you live in New Mexico. Mom.)

Ode to the Albuquerque Tribune

A little piece of my growing-up years shut down yesterday...after 86 years of publishing, the Albuquerque Tribune has ceased to exist. It was the afternoon paper, and I guess people like morning papers, so now the only paper left in ABQ is...well, "the other one." My parents always subscribed to the Tribune, and since they are current events savvy folk, I learned how to "read" the paper with them after dinner (though it was always just the comics and TV listings for me until I got a little older). When I was probably 8 or 9, they published an opinion piece that I had sent in. The topic? "Why I love cats." (I still do!) I felt like a real writer. They sent me a certificate to tell me so, too. I got to know the columnists by reading them every week, and in some happy twists of fate, I had the pleasure of crossing paths with a few of the Tribune folk, too. V.B. Price was one of my favorite professors in college. When he wasn't writing for the Trib or writing his own books and poetry, he was leading an amazing seminar on poetry and poets at UNM. I still have my final essay I wrote for that class with his words of encouragement to me as a writer inked on the last page. It meant a lot coming from him. I got to know Kate Nelson and Gene Grant by virtue of working with them at KNME. I was an intern, they were the hosts of In Focus and The Line. They always treated us with respect on the set, even though we definitely had no clue what we were doing at the beginning, hehheh! I was a dang good water girl, though. Kate was exceptionally helpful and patient when we produced our own episodes at the end of our tenure. Gene was always one of my favorite Trib columnists, so I'll admit to being a little starstruck when I started seeing him around KNME...but he's simply a nice guy to talk to. (Right now I'm all paranoid that I am writing about writers and I just ended that sentence with a preposition. Oh well). Me and Kate and producer Tish Bravo on the set of "By the People" in 2005. I got to speak with Jim Montalbano for the first time when he called me here in Austin to interview me about going back to Albuquerque to play some shows with Susan last May. I think I probably rattled on nervously for too long, but he was great to talk to and the article was very cool. I thought it was neat to be an actual part of the paper I grew up with. I got to meet Jim when we went down to the Trib's offices to film a segment for TribVid with Michael Amedeo, another of the nice Tribunites. Of course we have video. I don't mean to sound all funeral-like...the good thing is all these folks are great at what they do, and I am curiously awaiting where they'll pop up next. (Kate is already working for the Lt. Governor...good stuff). So that's that. A newsroom full of nice people, great writers, and what I thought was the more cutting edge and technology-aware news daily in the city...cheers to the Tribune! Thanks for all the words.