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John Mellencamp Community
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April 26, 2024, 12:00:22 pm
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MELLENCAMP.COM ANNOUNCEMENTS / Announcements & Updates / The Tennessean: Honesty Still Drives John Mellencamp's Brand of Music
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on: September 07, 2010, 03:22:11 pm
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http://blogs.tennessean.com/tunein/2010/09/06/honesty-still-drives-john-mellencamps-brand-of-music/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TennesseancomTuneInMusicCity+%28tennessean.com+|+Tune+In+Music+City%29 Twenty-three years ago, amid radio directives to “walk like an Egyptian” and “wang chung tonight,” suddenly there arose a sprightly interplay of accordions and fiddles. The instigator was John Mellencamp, the musical pugilist once known as Johnny Cougar. He was using his pop star status as a bully pulpit, proclaiming the validity of tradition-based American roots music and proving the commercial worth of what has come to be known as Americana. On Thursday, Mellencamp will receive a lifetime achievement award for songwriting from the Americana Music Association. It’ll be the first formal acknowledgment of his impact on a music movement whose practitioners tend to rhapsodize about doomed “Cosmic American Music” enthusiast Gram Parsons, doomed song-poet Townes Van Zandt and other shadowy masters of jagged song. Mellencamp’s name went unmentioned at past AMA awards shows, and yet the impact of 1980s albums such as Scarecrow and The Lonesome Jubilee is hard to dispute. With those works, he tweaked the ears of millions of listeners, helping make palatable a rootsy blend of largely acoustic instrumentation. He did not invent the kind of music now made by Lucinda Williams, Buddy Miller, Jim Lauderdale and others, but he furthered its popular cause. And this year he has issued a nearly universally praised album called No Better Than This, which dwells in country and blues terrains and was recorded at three Americana Meccas: Sun Records in Memphis, the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, where Robert Johnson first recorded, and the First African Baptist Church in Savannah, Ga., a former Underground Railroad hideout. No Better Than This, which features contributions from Nashville bass man Dave Roe and from former Jason and the Scorchers guitarist Andy York, was produced by tastemaker T Bone Burnett. The musicians gathered around one RCA microphone and played and sang. Mellencamp’s 1980s hits weren’t recorded so simply, but neither were they exercises in artifice. They were Americana songs that happened upon unlikely popularity, and they impacted audiences and artists alike. Mellencamp recently spoke with The Tennessean about his life and career, and about his dealings with one notable Music City pool shark. No Better Than This is garnering the best reviews of your career. Surely that’s a point of pride? Well, it’s interesting to me. I don’t live my life by reviews. If I did, I would have quit a long time ago. But I’m very happy that people are discovering this record in a very natural way. It’s a different kind of album. And so was Lonesome Jubilee, back in 1987. Yes, I was acutely aware of how different Lonesome Jubilee was, simply because the guy I was making records with (Don Gehman) spent the entire record fighting with me, saying, “Why are you doing this? You just made Scarecrow, and now why are we changing?” I said, “We’re not changing, just moving a little bit further. We’re progressing.” Did the record company go along with that progression? In the early ’80s, I made a record called American Fool, and the record company absolutely hated everything about it. They hated the songs, hated the production and hated me. But, much to their chagrin, or good fortune, it had two songs on it (“Hurts So Good” and “Jack & Diane”) that were both No. 1 records. That album turned out to be the largest-selling album of the year in 1982. After something like that happens, it became “Well, we already told him we hated this record, so our advice to him is worthless.” I never had interference after that. Which is good. I really hate to be told what to do. I wrote “The Authority Song,” and it may be juvenile in its lyrical content, but I still feel the same way today. Do you consider your songs to be Americana works? After I learned to write songs, I had Woody Guthrie in one hand, Hank Williams and Smokey Robison in the other. Combining with Hank and Woody and all of a sudden putting the melodies — my strongest suit — with this type of folk music. I’ve always considered myself a folk singer. I read a review the other day that said, “John Mellencamp’s new record is like a lost Woody Guthrie record,” and I liked that. In the new century, T Bone Burnett has introduced more people to roots music than anyone else, through his work on movie soundtracks and through his productions with Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, Jakob Dylan and others. What did he bring to this project for you? I think the reason T Bone is so successful, and the reason I work with him, is (that) his sense of honesty toward the music is unparalleled. He’s my conscience in the studio. When I started with T Bone, he’d go, “Why are you (cluttering) up this song with all this stuff you don’t need? Just put a bass and drums on it and let’s call it made.” It takes courage to expose a song so nakedly, and that’s one of the things people are responding to. Of course, you’ve got to have the right bass and drums. Yeah, and we did. Dave Roe on bass was absolutely fantastic. I couldn’t ask for a better guy to come play on it. He was spectacular. These guys had not heard any of those songs until I would go, “Okay, here’s the next song.” I’d play it on acoustic and we’d launch into it. No arrangements, and they all jumped right in. You didn’t record any of this album in Nashville, but Nashville isn’t new to you. I’ve been there a lot. One time, in probably 1985, I came to play at the arena, and I walked into the Hermitage Hotel, where I was staying. Turned out (billiards legend) Minnesota Fats was living there. I was shooting around at the pool table, and this guy comes up and says, “You want to shoot for some money?” After he hustled me, he gave me a card that said, “You’ve just been hustled by Minnesota Fats.” He also gave me one of my favorite lines. He was telling me how handsome he used to be. He said women used to follow him around with mattresses on their backs. Isn’t that lucky, to have a story like that? I’m the luckiest guy in the music business. No matter who you are, nobody’s had more fun than me. I’ve had so much good fortune, it’s ridiculous. I’ve fought with many, but people love me just the same. Tags: Americana Music Lifetime Achieve Award No Better Tha
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MELLENCAMP.COM ANNOUNCEMENTS / Announcements & Updates / 2010 Farm Aid Charity Auction Bids UPDATED ENDED
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on: September 02, 2010, 01:31:30 pm
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6th ANNUAL FARM AID CHARITY AUCTION Begins September 6th at 10AM with bidding ending on September 17th, at 12PM ET giving us almost 2 weeks of bidding. First and foremost a huge thank you goes out to all of the fans, that donate items, and bid on these great items. We could not accomplish this without YOU. As you know the Farm Aid Auction has been a huge success over the last five years. John and the staff at Farm Aid are always amazed how the Mellencamp fans pull together to help support the family farmer! All funds we raise including anyone that would like to donate will be credited to "The members of Mellencamp.com Community Payment is expected within 10 days of the auction ending. Checks, money orders and paypal will be accepted. Please note that Paypal takes a fee. We are going to present the charitable contribution at Farm Aid 2010 so it is essential that payment is received within the ten days of the auction ending so all payments are clear and one check can be issued. The staff at Farm Aid will receive a list of all of the fan club member's names that donate and/or win an auction item and receive a thank you letter from them. Please serious bidders only. Good luck and thanks for your support!
Below are the easy to bid step by step directions:
To bid on any of these items simply email [email protected]
Put the NUMBER and ITEM DESCRIPTION in the SUBJECT of your email
Your bid amount
Name, Address, Phone number in the body of the email
You will receive an email back of receipt of your bid; when and if someone bids higher than you we will notify you by email and let you have the chance to bid again! It's that simple! (If you do not get an email back IMMEDIATELY DON’T PANIC!) I go by the time the email is received. I will do my best to get back to all bidders in a timely manner.
Once there is a bid on an item I put the highest bids in red text
If you want to donate please email [email protected] we take donations up until the end of the auction!Item No. 1 Farm Aid Package - 2009 Farm Aid Bandanna, Autographed Water Bottle, Brand New Never Been Worn Size M 2009 Farm Aid T Shirt High Bid $45.00  Item No. 2 Brand New Never Been Word Autographed Skull Guitar Baseball Cap High Bid $150.00  Item No. 3 Billboard Magazine John Mellencamp Century Award Donated By Lori Hoag High Bid $20.00  Item No. 4 Club Cherry Bomb Jersey Size Small T Shirt Donated By Kathy Kepchar High Bid $40.00  Item No. 5 The Mellencamp Bundle Donated By Kim King High Bid $50.00 ROCK in the USA Album Cover (no record is included)  The Kid Inside Album cover (no record is included)  Wild Night Cassette  Scarecrow Album (Record Included)  American Fool (Record Included)  Nothin Matters and What If It Did (Record Included)  New Years Eve Poster  Cuttin Heads Poster  Item No. 6 Autographed John Mellencamp Audio Tour High Bid $300.60 Item No. 7 Extremely Rare Autographed John Cougar American Fool Flag High Bid $60.00 Item No. 8 Autographed Mr. Happy Go Lucky Postcards and CD Book Donated by Lori Hoag High Bid $75.00   Item No. 9 Hand Stamped Sterling Silver Doubled Disc Soldered "Save Some Time To Dream" with a clear swarvoski charm necklace Donated By Cindy Briggs High Bid $75.00  Item No. 10 Autographed Jon E Gee T Shirt Starting Bid $25.00  Item No. 11 The 45 Collection Factory, Miami, Peaceful World, Authority Song, Pink Houses, Check It Out, Love And Happiness, ROCK in the USA, A Peaceful World, Small Town, Lonely Ol Night, Cherry Bomb, Rain On The Scarecrow, Rooty Toot Toot, Jackie Brown, Paper in Fire, Pop Singer High Bid $75.00  Item No. 12 No Better Than This Merchandise Premium Ticket Package (TICKED NOT INCLUDED) Donated By Jane Shawver High Bid $80.00Exclusive John Mellencamp Concert Shirt Size Large Collectible Tour Poster (limited, numbered) Limited edition vinyl copy of John Mellencamp’s new album No Better Than This Commemorative Tour Laminate  Item No. 13 Troubled Land Posters (2) Donated By Jeri McCabe High Bid $20.00  Item No. 14 Rural Electrification Tour XL Sweatshirt Donated By Lori Stubbs High Bid $40.00 Item No. 15 Dane Clark Drums Sticks Starting Bid $20.00  A Special thank you goes out to John for taking the time to create these pieces of art for us! From the man himself! THANK YOU JOHN! Item No. 16 - Hand Written and Framed - No Better Than This John Mellencamp 2010 High Bid $300.00  Item No. 17 High Bid $500.00Hand Written and Framed - Between A Laugh and A Tear Smile in the mirror as you walk by John Mellencamp 2010  Item No. 18 High Bid $300.00 Hand Written and Framed - My family and friends are the best things I've known. Through the eye of the needle I'll carry them home. John Mellencamp 2010  Item No. 19 High Bid $250.00 Hand Written and Framed - Oh Yeah, They say life goes on long after the thrill of livin is gone John Mellencamp 2010  Item No. 20 High Bid $600.00 Hand Written and Framed - Life is Short, Even in its longest Days John Mellencamp 2010  Item No. 21 John Mellencamp Battery Operated Clock with Stand High Bid $20.00  Item No. 22 Human Wheels Sticker and Small Town Guitar Fly Swatter Starting Bid $10.00  Item No. 23 Autographed On The Rural Route 7609 Box Set Starting Bid $150.00   Item No. 24 Handmade Farm Aid Pillow from 1985 Bandanas High Bid $20.00 Item No. 25 Minute To Memories Newsletters Issue #24 1994! - through 2003! Donated by Lori Hoag High Bid $40.00 |
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MELLENCAMP.COM ANNOUNCEMENTS / Promote John / No Better Than This #1 4th Week On The Americana Radio Chart - Request NBTT!
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on: September 01, 2010, 01:09:51 pm
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No Better Than This #1 4th Week On The Americana Radio Chart - Request NBTT! John's new album, No Better Than This, is #1 for the fourth week on the Americana Radio chart!
Please call your local station in these formats and request the album, thanking them for playing it and let them know how much you love the record!
The song along with the entire CD has been sent to multiple radio formats, including AAA, Americana and Non-Commercial.
If you want to support John's new album, call your local station in these formats and request the
album, thanking them for playing it and let them know how much you love the
record! To find your local station in these formats please click HERE and search for your local area.
Now is an ideal time to contact your local radio stations listed below and request the single
No Better Than This or ask them to play some tracks from it! Hearing interest from their listeners will help encourage them to play John's new music more.
Drop us an email at [email protected] if you hear the song on your local station and when.
Email also what stations you requested the song to be played! When requesting
No Better Than This, like we did when requesting songs in the past remember these important tips:
* Personalize all email requests by mentioning the DJ's name, something that happened at their station or in you community or something you heard the DJ say. Make sure they know you are a real listener!
* Do NOT mention you are a fan club member, street team member or part of the Mellencamp fan community. These requests are coming from you as a real listener so don't give them an excuse to think you are not sincere or that you were put up to it. Your requests come from the heart and are honest requests to a station you really listen to and that is all they need to know.
* Don't email the same DJ more than twice a week. Don't email the same station more than once a day.
* Try not to use fan related email accounts. It's better to send requests from your real name or a generic email address so that you don't sound like you are part of a fan club.
* Keep your requests friendly, fun, and upbeat.
* Try to be patient and polite at all times and eventually your positive input will help encourage them to play songs from the CD.
* When you request, don't just say. “I love John Mellencamp”. Focus on the CD and tell them why No Better Than This excites you and that you want to hear songs from the CD.
* Do not mass mail your requests to more than one station at a time.
* If you hear a John Mellencamp song played on your local station, call them up to thank them. They love positive feedback and that will actually help more than the request itself because it shows you were listening and moved by the song!
Below is a list of stations that should be playing the single or album. Click HERE
for the complete list of phone numbers, emails and request contact information.
Acoustic Cafe Syndicated
Altville Syndicated
CAFÉ World Cafe
Countrybear.com Internet
Folkscene Los Angeles
Indie 101.5 Internet
KAXE Grand Rapids, MN 91.7
KBCS Seattle-Tacoma 91.3 FM
KCSN Northridge, CA 88.5
KDBB Park Hills, MO 104.3
KDEC Decorah, IA 100.5
KDHX St. Louis 88.1 FM
KDNK Carbondale, CO 88.1
KDTR Missoula, MT 103.3
KEXP Seattle-Tacoma 90.3 FM
KEZE Spokane, WA 96.9
KFAN Fredericksburg, TX 78624 107.9
KFJC San Francisco 89.7 FM
KHYI Dallas-Ft. Worth 95.3 FM
KLCC Eugene, OR 89.7
KLRR Bend, OR 101.7
KMTN Jackson Hole, WY 96.9
KNBA Anchorage, AK 90.3
KNBT San Antonio 92.1 FM
KOPN Columbia-Jefferson City 89.5 FM
KOZT Fort Bragg, CA 95.3/95.9
KPFT Houston 90.1 FM
KPIG Monterey-Salinas 107.5 FM
KPND Sandpoint, Idaho 95.3
KRCB Santa Rosa 91.1 FM
KRCL Salt Lake City 90.9 FM
KRFC Ft. Collins 88.9 FM
KRSH Santa Rosa 95.9 FM
KRVM Eugene, OR 91.9
KSUT Durango, CO
KSYM San Antonio 90.1 FM
KTAO Taos, NM 87571 101.9
KTBG Warrensburg, MO 64093 90.9
KTHX Reno 100.1 FM
KUT Austin, TX 78712 90.5
KUWR Laramie, WY 82071 91.9
KVMR Sacramento 89.5 FM
KVNF Grand Junction 90.9 FM
KVSF Santa Fe NM 87507 101.5
KWMR San Fran 90.5 FM
KXCI Tucson 91.3 FM
KYSL Frisco, CO 80443 93.9
KZSU San Fran 90.1 FM
Maine Public Broadcasting 90.1/90.9
Morehead State Public Radio Morehead, KY 90.3
Public Radio East Greenville 88.1 FM
Radio Vagabond Internet
SRTR (The Spectrum)New York,NY 10020
WBJB Lincroft NJ 07738 90.5
WCBE Columbus, OH 432-15 90.5
WDBM Lansing 88.9 FM
WDST Woodstock, NY 100.1
WDVX Knoxville 102.9 FM
WERU East Orland 89.9 FM
WETS Johnson City 89.5 FM
WEVL Memphis 89.9 FM
WEXT Troy, NY 12180 97.7
WFDU New York 89.1 FM
WFHB Bloomington, IN 47402 91.3 /98.1
WFPK Louisville, KY 91.9
WGCS South Bend 91.1 FM
WGWG Western Charlotte, NC 88.3
WHAY Whitley City 98.3 FM
WHEE Martinsville AM 1370
WIKX Ft. Myers 92.9 FM
WJMQ Green Bay 92.3 FM
WMKY Lexington 90.3 FM
WMLB Atlanta AM 1690
WMMT Whitesburg 88.7 FM
WMNF Tampa 88.5 FM
WMSR Auburn 94.9 FM
WMUD Burlington 89.3 FM
WMVY Vineyard Haven, MA 92.7
WMWV Portland, ME 93.5
WNCW Charlotte/Asheville, NC 88.7
WNKU Cincinnati, OH 89.7
WNRN Charlottesville, VA 91.9
WOCM Ocean City, MD 98.1
WOUB Athens 91.3 FM
WPHB Harrisburg AM 1260
WQBR McElhattan 99.9 FM
WRRW Williamsburg 102.5 FM
WSM Nashville AM 650
WSYC Harrisburg, PA 88.7
WTYD Norfolk, VA 92.3
WUIN Wilmington, NC 106.7
WUKY Lexington, KY 91.3
WUMB Boston 91.9 FM
WUTC Chattanooga, TN 88.1
WVMP Roanoke, VA 101.5
WVOD Wanchese, NC 27981 99.1
WVTF Roanoke 89.1 FM
WWUH Hartford 91.3 FM
WXLV Allentown 90.3 FM
WXPN Philadelphia, PA 88.5
WYCE Grand Rapids 88.1 FM
XMLF SiriusXM/The Loft 12
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MELLENCAMP.COM ANNOUNCEMENTS / Mellencamp.com Blog / Contest Winner Gets Royal Treatment in John's Hometown
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on: August 23, 2010, 11:25:34 am
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 ClubCherryBomb.net contest Winner Sherry Lee relates her experience of winning a professional tour of John's hometown. By Thad Requet When Sherry Lee found out she won the tour of John Mellencamp's hometown of Seymour, Indiana, she was very excited, even though she had been to the town three times before. Sherry is a true fan and she wears her Mellencamp pride every day...literally. She has 10 different tattoos of Mellencamp on her body. She has had the opportunity to meet John and he and his son Hud have seen the tattoos. She and her 16-year-old nephew Andre, drove from Des Moines, Iowa, listening to Mellencamp music the entire way, through Illinois into Indiana before arriving at the Fairfield Inn in Seymour. "When we arrived we found out that our hotel expenses had been taken care of, thanks to Jana Plump, from the Seymour City Office," Lee explained. She and her nephew traveled on a Thursday. When they got up the next morning, Mayor Craig Luedeman picked Sherry and Andre up and started the tour of the "Original Small Town." "He gave me a copy of the audio tour cd, "The Roots of an American Rocker: An Audio Driving Tour of John Mellencamp's Hometown" which was really cool. It has people from the town telling stories about different experiences they have had. It's really nice," she said. The CD was released by the Jackson County Visitor Center in 2009.  Jane Plump and Sherry Lee The first place they went was to Larrison's Diner, which appeared in the movie Falling From Grace. "We went through it because it was on the way. We came back later and ate lunch there," Lee said. They also went to the Schneck Medical Center which also appeared in the movie. One of Sherry's favorite things to see was the parking meter and marble stone that were installed on Chestnut Street in Seymour as a tribute to John. She decided to get her picture taken beside it. She then toured the City Hall, that's where she met Jana Plump, a receptionist, who also served as Sherry's contact person for the trip. "I was able to see the mayor's office and view the Wall of Seymour's famous people." Mayor Luedeman also gave her a poster of the City of Seymour. She said the tourism facility had a lot of John Mellencamp memorabilia. "We then went to the Dakota Ridge Country Club, which also appeared in "Falling From Grace. We got to visit with a couple of people who were there when the movie was being filmed," Sherry explained. "We also drove past the cemetery and saw the big Mellencamp headstone," she said. The headstone appears in the "Small Town" video. Next they went by John's parents' house, which also appeared in the movie. "We drove by John's boyhood home, which was just a small square house. It really wasn't very big at all," she said. They then went to the Rok-Sey Roller Rink, which has also appeared in the movie and previous music videos. Sherry said she was told that a couple weeks earlier they wouldn't have been able to go to the roller rink due to high water from a nearby river. They also saw all three schools that John attended while growing up in Seymour. "Another really cool thing was that I was interviewed by the local radio station. I explained how I won, what I got for winning, and then got to request a John Mellencamp song," she said. Sherry requested her favorite Mellencamp song..."Hotdogs and Hamburgers." "I also had to request "I Need A Lover" for my husband. Another thing Sherry really enjoyed seeing was the Minutes to Memories Garden. "I hadn't seen that before and it was really nice," she said. She then visited with Don Hill and toured the Art Center. "We didn't get to go up in the loft, but that was okay. We did see the famous cage that appeared in the movie. I tried to get Andre to get in it, but it was hot and he would have gotten all dirty, so he decided not to," she explained. Sherry and Andre also got to see John's famous grandmother Laura Mellencamp's old house. Laura is the one who sang the verse of "The Baggage Coach" known as "Grandma's Theme" on the Scarecrow album. "The house was being lived in by one of the nieces, which I thought was cool that it was still in the family," Sherry said. Another highlight of the tour was the stop at a guitar store called This Old Guitar owned by Larry McDonald. McDonald used to be a band member of John's back in the very early days. "He told some very interesting stories and was such a nice man. He also got a kick out of my tattoos," Sherry said. McDonald ended up giving Sherry an autogrphed shirt by John. "He was a very nice guy and made me really feel comfortable while I was there," she said. Even though it was her fourth trip to Seymour, Sherry said it was well worth it. "I already want to go back!" She said there are a couple of different Mellencamp related things the mayor wants to do. "The first thing is, off the interstate there are three big silos. He wants to put John's picture on the middle one with a couple other local celebrities on each of the others. The second thing he talked about was naming the stretch of road that goes by John's high school Mellencamp Way, or something to that effect," she explained. She also noted that when she and Andre got back to the hotel Friday afternoon, they were notified that Mayor Luedeman had paid for their room for an extra night. Sherry said she is very thankful to Tony and Sharon and the John Mellencamp Fan Club for making this trip possible. Quick Facts about Sherry Lee How she became a fan: "I remember when "Hurts So Good" and "Jack & Diane" came out and loved those songs. Then I attended the show in Moline, Ill. during the Mr. Happy Go Lucky Tour. That made me a Mellenhead." Needless to say, she has all of John's albums. Favorite Albums: Lonesome Jubilee, Cuttin' Heads, Life Death Love and Freedom, and Freedom's Road. Favorite Songs: "Hotdogs And Hamburgers", "Mansions In Heaven", and "Small Town".  Sherry Lee, Mayor Craig Luedeman and Larry McDonald |
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MELLENCAMP.COM ANNOUNCEMENTS / Mellencamp.com Blog / Grammy Q&A Report
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on: August 19, 2010, 09:46:44 am
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Review by Patricia - Mellencamp.com Community Member farfelp An evening with John Mellencamp 8/17/10 Grammy Museum at LA Live.  First and foremost thank you mellencamp.com and the Grammy Museum for a unique and most enjoyable evening. With all of the current tour listings are out of reach for me I greatly appreciated this opportunity. With the help of two mellenheads and my daughter, I was able to make the trip to LA for what proved to be a memorable experience. The Grammy Museum is part of the new LA LIVE entertainment center by the Staples Center. While I did not get to spend much time at the museum this trip I do intend to go back and would encourage all music lovers to do so. There are really nice hotels within walking distance and many restaurants all in the same block, as well as a variety of live entertainment options. I was impressed with what the city has done in this area of town. The Grammy Museum had a few ground rules that were stated several times, including no cell phones, photos, recordings etc. which I chose to honor – so no pictures. In this intimate setting I found it very distracting when someone did pull out a cell phone for pictures, so I completely understand their request. The museum staff said the entire event will be in their archives and that they would put selections on their website over time. The intent is to have a series of these in the archives. This was a 200-seat venue so there were no “bad seats”. The seating was not assigned and as we waited in line we were told that press and museum members would enter first so I figured we’d be in the back – but we ended up in row 3. Considering there was less than 10 feet between row one and the small stage which was only slightly raised our seats were wonderful! There were three mellencamp.com winners besides me, Rich sat behind me (next to the Boston Globe reporter), Peggy (hope I got it right) who I’ve met before sat in row 2 just in front of us, and we met the other winner while waiting in line. There was an aisle about one row behind Rich, then more seating – Elaine and the boys sat in the front row of that second section directly behind us. John directed attention to “Henry” (T-Bone Burnett) a couple of times, who was in the audience as was his agent. Those are the notables I know of. There were quite a few media people present. Bob Santelli, who is executive director of the museum spoke for a moment about the Grammy Museum, it’s direction and goals. He then introduced John to a standing ovation (of course!) John was in his typical attire of late – Levis, work shirt, black shoes, white T, and seemed very at ease. First was an interview of John by Santelli who noted that his questions came from the perspective of a music industry writer and professional as well as that of a long time fan. He told John that he was on the top of the list of artists they wanted to host for these events. Bob thanked John for his participation with "In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement" and asked if he was nervous performing in front of the President. John said that Bob (Dylan) was very nervous, but that he had done it before and was not particularly so. He went on to tell the story of performing for President Clinton for the first time and walking out without thinking twice about his guitar and then having an’ uh-oh’ moment realizing it was the one with “Fuck racism” written on it and seeing President Clinton and others reading it from the audience. Back in his dressing room, he was told the President wanted to see him. During this visit – staff were coming in to tell the President that they were getting calls about the writing on the guitar and asking what should they do about it. Clinton thought for a moment and said, “Tell them they misread it.” Of course there was a focus on the new record. What I appreciated hearing most was John’s comments that no, this was not some attempt at a ‘throw back’ record but rather a group of musicians wanting to capture a moment of their own and how those moments are mostly missing from the current music scene. He described each recording location in detail as well as some of the difficulties with the set up such as having to take down curtains and cover up carpeted floors in the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio to be as authentic as they could in recreating the setting Robert Johnson recorded in, as well as talking a bit about Johnson. He explained the history of the First African Baptist Church in Savannah, GA having been part of the underground railroad. The conversation also hit on his start and the early years at several points. He relayed again his teenage experiences with racism when his band mate was made to wait outside the bars during breaks due to his race, and said it even got into a fistfight once. He talked about going to New York to both check out the art schools and how ‘by the way he had a demo tape in hand.’ John was humble as always saying he was “just a barroom singer” “he didn’t know how to write songs” and going through the process of learning that, that his first records were “awful” and similar comments that we have heard him say over the years. He spoke a bit about being tagged ‘Cougar’ and how being so young and dealing with an older record exec he felt powerless in some of those decisions. At times he downplayed his talent and success so much that the audience had to disagree! What was unusual and nice to hear is that he also said that after practice practice practice practice – his band became the best in America and how for a time in the 80s and 90s no one could top them – a statement to which his agent agreed. John talked about the drudgery of being under a contract with the expectation of making a record every 18 months and for how a time it got to a point where he just didn’t care. For example he didn’t tour at all in support of Big Daddy - and when the boys were little and he and Elaine just stayed home for two years and raised babies. He said this was one of the most enjoyable times for him and you could tell it was a period in his life that he truly cherishes. When asked how he got started painting, he told how his mother was a painter and how he used to think I took forever to make an oil painting because it took her so long to finish one, when in reality she would get the chance to paint for maybe 10 minutes then have to stop to take care of something for the kids. He indicated that when he went to New York it could have been either or – he was just as interested in art or commercial art as music. Another line of conversation I found very honest and interesting was John relaying a conversation with T-Bone about how he had the misfortune (or fortune!) of being a rock star and as he nears 59 the question of how would he now continue to make music, meaning a desire to make “music with dignity.” It is an interesting question and one most artists aren’t around long enough to address. I so appreciated John sharing this. We all question ourselves at times, but not everyone is willing to admit that! In line with this he talked about how he is not the same guy who wrote “Hurts so Good.” A humorous moment was John talking about Speck and how at the moment he is not taking his guitar playing seriously because he has discovered girls – but he hasn’t quite got it yet how guitars and girls go together. Some of the questions had multiple parts and in one case John started talking, got off on a tangent, then had to stop and ask what the question was. There were several that went the way of John talking and not necessarily answering the question in full. But it was all good conversation to hear. He talked a bit about President Bush’s “No School Left Behind” and how that was a bunch of shit, and about the state of education. He said he was asked to do something to help the schools and he refused in this particular instance because if I understood correctly - it was some people who had voted for Bush’s deal who were doing the asking and he felt they should clean up their own mess. John expressed some of his fears regarding the internet such as how easy it would be for someone with ill-intent to mess with our power systems, banking etc. and in another vein how it is destroying the book industry, movie industry, and music industry. He mentioned how T-Bone had shown him the difference in quality and sound of an original recording verses the iTunes version (which lacked the warmth and quality the artist’s intent) using the Beatles as an example. He discussed changes in music over generations, how the big band era was every bit as important and ‘big’ in its heyday as rock music is now. He said that while he was proud to be part of it, Rock too would pass. In making this point, he challenged the audience to name 5 names out of the hundreds in big band music (which had mellenhead Rich just about jumping out of his seat with dozens in mind.) This was followed by a brief audience question and answer period. While we were in line, the Grammy staff told us all of the questions would be recorded for the archives and so to ask good ones. So (and sorry if this was you) but I was really disappointed in the first question being what did John think of Willie’s haircut. (John said he didn’t know he had gotten one, but his sister must have had something to do with it. ) Also someone asked how long he would play with Bob Dylan the next night – would it be for at least an hour. (John said yes). What a wasted opportunity! Better questions followed. One being did John’s grandmother know she was being recorded for Grandma’s song (the answer was, “Yes”) and for John to talk about what she meant to him. John described growing up in her care and how she told him every day that he “was the luckiest boy in the world.” What I thought was the best question came from one of the mellencamp.com winners. She asked if there were locations where John would have liked to record for the new record, but couldn’t. He said yes and described difficulties with the property owner just not being cooperative. He was asked how he got past being “Cougar” – and I believe he said, “clumsily”. He was asked who was the one person living or dead with whom he had not performed that he would like to – and he answered “Bob Dylan” I think meaning that Dylan was the one person for whom he had that kind of desire to play with since we know he has played with Bob already/currently. He was asked who he felt was not in the hall of fame that should be – he did not name names but said there were so many singers and songwriters who should have been nominated before he was. The audience member asked about someone specific – I believe it was Mick Jones of Foreigner. To me this seemed a little awkward for John. He said he knew Mick, he was a nice guy (or something like that) that he liked the first two albums well enough. He never directly answered - he kind of shrugged his shoulders and left it at that. There was a question about the organization of Farm aid, what had John learned from it and if I remember right that questioner tried to tie in the unions. Anyway, it was a little too much for one question. Part of John’s answer was that when two people rub together only two things can happen – something good, or something bad. Next was a short performance. Andy York played on two songs, the rest were just John. He started with “Save Some Time to Dream.” I have heard this song plenty of times – but hearing it live, so close and with John’s voice sounding so clear and strong pretty much had me in tears. . . and just then he messed up and was trying not to laugh. When he messed up again I knew the “F-bomb” would follow and by then I was laughing. You could say I was *Between a laugh and a tear* John was smiling afterwards and said he had been singing that song for two years and how many times did he just mess up? He asked for Andy to come out and fix his amp, which was kind of funny too. Other songs he sang (all acoustic and not in order) were Cherry Bomb, Small Town, Don’t Need This Body (Andy is so good on this one!) and Thinking About You (Also with Andy). A nice mix of new and old! I hope I didn’t leave one out. The audience was so appreciative and you could tell all were really listening to every note. Outside of toes tapping along – everyone was so absorbed in the music – it was really quiet. So very different from a concert crowd, and such a special opportunity to have! As I listened in this setting with the sparse stage in a small room with John singing so close, I could imagine what it must have been like to be at the recording locations for No Better Than This – a music moment of my own!  |
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