the first show went so well that they’re having us back tonight! I’m very excited that Michelle is joining me on the majority of the songs, and Mark will be playing bass too. so this should be a lot of fun.

also, we’re playing Prater’s Mill this fall, which should be really cool. I’m looking to fill in a few shows this summer and fall, so we’ll see what comes up.

finally, I’ve updated my main music website, so check it out here:  http://www.wiegersfamily.com/music

I’m very excited to be able to play my own songs for the first time tonight at our local coffeeshop’s grand opening celebration. I’ll have a report on how it goes soon!

we’re thrilled to have a new baby in the house as of 2 months ago, but that’s put a bit of a damper on extra-curriculars like music stuff. but there are a few things to report/remember from the last couple months.

at our Christmas Eve service in church, I was able to do my “Shepherd’s Song” with a bunch of the guys. it was a lot of fun to do and it felt really good to be a part of the service. Joe and Mark and the guys always make my stuff sound much, much better. I had a lot of really good feedback, including some surprisingly emotional responses and lots of encouragement. so I’m very thankful.

for Christmas presents I gave family members a copy of my new home made album (which you can currently find here). no body has said much about it that I can remember.

but I’m glad I got the album done, and I’m thinking of passing it around town to see if I can get some gigs…perhaps put a toe in the waters. so I might play at the new coffee shop here in the neighborhood, which should be fun.

before the baby was born I did some recordings of me doing octave mandolin stuff, because Michelle asked for it. I just improvised some mellow stuff and I think it turned out ok. some raw material to work on perhaps. I have a long-term goal of arranging my stuff with more instruments, but I think I’ll need a lot more time than I currently have.

just this month I was scheduled to play for church, and I usually get the usual suspects together to work on something. but this time I decided to do a octave mandolin solo of one of my “simple songs”. the last time I tried something like that it was pretty bad, but even tho I was quite nervous, it went ok. it’s a good thing I know that particular song well, or my nerves may have ruined it. but again people were very encouraging and thankful for it. 

I havent written a complete song in a little while, but I do actively collect ideas to work on. I havent sat down to put ideas together, but I think that’ll come when it should.

now I’m getting excited about the potential to play at the local coffee shop. I dont know when it might be, or even what it’ll look like (will anyone be there? will I be just in the background?) but it’ll be good to have a milestone to look toward to.

here’s a santa-inspired song. I was up in the middle of the night with a head cold, and somehow the first line came to mind and stayed there until I got this down:

I aint on the good list – by Bob Wiegers – 12/1/2008 – tune: the usual campfire kinda thing

I aint on the good list this year
I have caused many a tear
So big guy dont check me twice
This heart’s been as cold as ice
No I aint on the good list this year

I aint on the good list this year
I done too much cussing, I fear
if you can see into my soul
back up that big rig full of coal
cuz I aint on the good list this year

I aint on the good list this year
things arent always how they appear
my heart has wandered to and fro
so can you make it white as snow
cuz I aint on the good list this year

I aint on the good list this year
you dont make exceptions, that’s clear
next year I’ll do what I should
but right now I’m not very good
so I aint on the good list this year

it so happens that my Shepherd’s Song is one of my favorites, and I’m pretty excited about doing it in church this Advent season. I wasnt really planning on writing another Christmas song, but we read the Christmas story with the kids last night. also, Michelle is 8 months preggo, so I was joking about her riding a donkey in such a state (she was on the couch because sitting at the dinner table used up all her energy). which got me to thinkin a little, so here’s this work in progress (tune a little something like Kasey Chambers “Rattlin Bones”):

She’s Singin a Song – by Bob Wiegers – 10/6/08

Rough demo MP3 here

9 months pregnant and we’re far from home
me and my love wander down the road
got no friends, got no plan
got nobody who can understand

the pains been coming since morning light
gotta find some shelter from the cold of night
but there aint no room, their aint no bed
aint no place for her weary head

(chorus)
but there’s joy in her eyes, she’s singing a song
now she knows that it wont be long
till she holds his hand, looks in his eyes:
her little boy is God with us

we found a cave with some ox and cows
started a fire and chased them out
in the dirt and hay I laid her down
water and blood spilled on the ground

she cried out in pain the whole night thru
I hadnt a clue what I should do
so I held her hand and started to pray
singing a song to drive my fears away

(chorus)

through pain and blood she delivered her son
his cries pierced the dark as his life begun
she wrapped him up and held him tight
sang him a song til the morning light

(chorus)

Had a good time at the Thile/Meyer show last night in Nashville. They played a bunch of stuff from the new record, some Bach, a strange quasi-improvisation, as well as some other stuff like a track off Not All Who Wander…, the Smoothie Song (which got the best in-song crowd reaction), and a track from Short Trip Home (if I recall correctly).

I think they were at their best doing the Bach stuff, as it lacked Chris’s usual musical fits and seizures, which I tend to get real tired of. their non-melodic stuff was interesting and challenging, yet to my tastes I got tired of it. I did enjoy the ethereal stuff like they did for an encore, but the frenetic stuff I cant get into the way I did when I was in college. But when they did get to something that had a little drive or a little melody, it was very, very good, as you would expect.

Anyway, we spotted Bela Fleck and Jerry Douglas in the crowd, and seeing them take their seats got us a little sad, as we were hoping they’d sit in on stage. 

Also, it was good to go with our old friend Scott Anderson, who lives in Nashville and works for the Country Music Hall of Fame. we always have a good time chatting up music stuff, and it was very good to see his family.

Whenever I go to a show, I try to take away a little lesson for myself. Usually it’s along the lines of whether or not what I’m taking in is something I should aspire to. I remember the first and last songs they played were very mellow and ethereal, and I was quite mezmerized, thinking “wow, this is defintely something I want to do.” and I think that I’ve taken a baby step toward that with my “Simple Songs”. That stuff that I do is heavily influenced by Edgar’s stuff like “Short Trip Home” so it was very good to hear stuff like that in person. on the flip side, the crazier stuff reinforced for me that I do NOT want to go there with my own stuff…I’ll be happy with “normal”, thanks, but I’m glad someone is out there pushing the boundaries.

Finally, here’s a link to a low-quality vid of the encore tune:

here’s a song brought on by a running conversation Michelle and I have had over the years, and some of the stuff I’ve been thinking about due to that. most lyrics written with Joe Pug’s “Hymn 101“ (great, great song) in my head, although the first line is completely coincidental (I thought of that last week, before I heard his song). I suppose I’ll have to give it my own tune eventually.

still the same – by Bob Wiegers 

rough demo mp3 here

in 70 years I’ll be 101
if we’re both here will you still be my love?
If I’m old but I’m not wise
and never really realize.
will you still love me if I never change?
even if I’m still the same?

I’m finding I’ve got a lot to learn
and dross that needs to burn.
I can’t do this on my own
shatter my illusions of control
kick all these intentions to the curb
drag my good intentions out to the curb

(chorus)
you know I want another start
purge the darkness in my heart
but this stuff keeps holding on
while we’re looking for the dawn
so will you still love me if I never change?
even if I’m still the same?
even if I’m still the same?

sometimes I’ve got so much to say
but I’m always getting in my own way.
I want to give you all I’ve got
but that dont mean a whole lot.
I wish someone could figure me out
yes I wish I could figure you out.

I’ve heard what the answers should be:
look to Jesus’ love, now and eternally.
but working all these things out
can make me want to cry and shout.
but will you still be my lover and friend
will you be mine until the bitter end?

(chorus)

this one was inspired by this article

Senator Norris and the TVA

Young and old come gather ’round
Hear how the TVA came to be found
Long before the New Deal was assured
Good Senator Norris fought one Henry Ford

Down in Alabama, town of Muscle Shoals
The president was selling, the story is told,
The Wilson Dam, and it almost got sold
To old Henry Ford, whose plan was quite bold.

The folks in the Valley started to dream
that soon they’d wipe out all poverty
They saw grand visions of fortune and fame
Detroit of the south would soon be their name

But to Senator Norris it didn’t make sense
No good for the people or their government
So he told old Henry and his pal Edison
Your profiteering here isn’t welcome

So the poor Wilson Dam had nowhere to go
And anger flared up at old Muscle Shoals
The Alabama Ghost it soon became known
But Senator Norris had a plan of his own

But with President Coolidge the plan went aground
And then later Hoover voted it down
But times had changed when FDR came
And brought to the people the great TVA

Build it for the people
The rivers command
Control all the floods
Bring power to the land

well, I guess I’m not really poor, but when it comes to recording equipment, I have but one item: my little Zoom H2 digital recorder. that and a computer allows me to do pretty much anything I currently want to do, although I admit my wants and needs are rather minimal at this point. so, for the record, here’s how I record my stuff.

first, I record my voice and guitar (or mandolin, as the case may be) in one live take. I set up my Zoom H2 in our walk-in closet (or our little guest room, depending what is available) and just fire away. usually it’ll take a few tries to get a good take. right now, for me a “good take” is one where I don’t screw it up that badly. I will readily admit I am not an accomplished vocalist or instrumentalist. but my goal is to simply get my little songs down, so I’m not too worried about being polished. I’ve found that being closer to the mic on the Zoom makes for warmer vocals. 

once that’s done, I import the audio file into the computer and use Audacity (free audio editing software) to edit it if necessary. usually it’s just turning up the volume a little as well as fading in and out in the beginning and end. if there’s a mistake that can be fixed by some creative copy-n-paste, I’ll try that. other than that I leave it alone. I know there’s lots of nifty things the software can do, but so far I’m blissfully ignorant of such things.

if I want to add another track, like bass or mandolin, I’ll put the original edited file on my ipod and listen while I play along, recording the 2nd track to the Zoom. then I’ll but that side-by-side with the original in Audacity, nudging it back and forth until they’re aligned. this can be rather tedious, especially when compared to a “real” multi-track recorder, but this is what I got.

so far I’m happy with the results. last night I recorded a bass track for 4 of my songs, and it turned out pretty well. I’ll probably add in some mandolin soon too. there’s only 3 more songs left to record to make it to my goal of 10 (or 11) songs, and then I’ll see what can be added.

this is a pretty lo-fi operation, but I think that suits my humble songs. we’ll see where, if anywhere, this stuff leads, but so far it’s been fun.