Bill Small's Blog » singing

Memphis Afternoon

billsmall — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 17:49:17 +0000

My whole life I’ve heard about Memphis. The rich fertile musical soil there has produced too many of my influences and heros to mention. Over the years, I drove through Memphis a lot on my way back and forth to Nashville and played a couple of shows there in the first 2 years of the Mystiqueros. Actually, the first time I played Memphis I heard Jimmy Davis. He freaked me out. Amazing voice, great songs and even though there were about 6 people in the club he was bringing it up from his toes. His energy was infectious. Fast forward a bit and now Jimmy is pretty much a Mystiquero. He’s joined us on stage for many shows and will be touring with us the whole month of July this year. So, this past weekend as we traveled and worked in Alabama and Tennessee, Jimmy came along for the ride. He also got us another show in is home town of Memphis, TN.

I was really excited to spend some time in Memphis with Jimmy. Get some of the real stuff. So after a stop at Jimmy’s house, which was wild because he’s like a real person and not just a traveling gypsy sleeping outside and playing shows with no shoes on, we headed out into town. WW suggested a stop at Sun Studios. Yes! A must see. But first, BBQ.

JD took us to Central BBQ. We might have hit the Rendezvous, but it was Sunday and they’re closed, and Central BBQ was no slouch. Love the signage in the front window. Now here’s where I usually take a picture of my food, but I was so hungry and my plate of slow roasted pork with slaw and green beens went so fast that I couldn’t get the camera out in time. You’ll just have to picture it for yourself. Nothing fancy here. A paper lined plastic basket full of pulled and chopped pork that was cooked seemingly forever and topped with a vinegar based spicy ass BBQ sauce. A cup of cole slaw and another of green beans side by side. Fantastic!

Ok, now I’m really full and can’t get enough iced tea in me as we make our way through the fairly oppressive heat and swampiness to Sun Studios. We took the tour and were treated to a fun time by our tour guide Cora. It was just cool to stand in that space. The cutting room itself hasn’t been changed in 60 years. To think that I was standing in the room where Howlin Wolf and Muddy Waters both began their careers. Not to mention Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee and oh yeah….. Elvis. Too freaking cool! After t-shirts and chachkies were purchased we headed to our next stop.

Off to see a band that Jimmy knows and sings with sometimes, The Hookers. I can’t remember the name of the bar right now, but it was, well…. a bar. Dark and cool on a sweltering afternoon. The one thing that really stood out, besides the musicianship of the band which was terrific, was the guy cooking on stage. Yes, “Chef” was cooking up some venison quesadillas for the crown right there in front of the bass rig! Only in Memphis. I was too full to sample the fine cuisine. Maybe next time. The Hookers were solid and Jimmy sat in on a mind blowing version of “Helter Skelter” and off we went to our show.

Murphy’s Bar. I can’t say I walked in to the place and thought, “Wow what a great place to play a show”. It’s a bar, plain and simple. A dive really, but I like dive bars in general and I liked the feel of this one. Jimmy’s old band, The River Bluff Clan, played many a Sunday here and he assured us that people would show and a good time had. He was right. G had flown home for his first Father’s Day so we did a WW, JD, BS song swap with Ray on the drums and Eric Lewis on Steel. Jimmy brought Eric in and WOW, great player. He really made the night. So indeed a good time was had. From WW’s first song to our closing rave up rendition of JD’s “Sanctuary”, the crowd was hoopin, hollering, clapping and happy. I don’t know how they did it since I was having trouble just breathing the heavy air, as was WW, but I guess they’re used to it. It was a blast. As I sat behind the wheel of the van and headed us towards Little rock and then home, I felt like I finally got some real Memphis on me and I’m ready for more.

Love and Hard drives

billsmall — Sat, 29 May 2010 16:52:44 +0000

I love technology. I’m a closet computer geek. I love the tools man. However, there are some drawbacks. Beyond the “falling down the rabbit hole” trouble with surfing the web and losing hours of your life, there is also the danger of losing your life’s work. No, this isn’t going to be a tirade about backing up your hard drive, though you might want to think about that if you’re not already doing it. It’s just that last August, the hard drive in my macbook decided, and I do think it decided, to stop being available. Oh it was still spinning, but you can’t access it. No how, no way. Don’t worry, I’ve consulted the experts and at least for right now it’s a no go. The crazy part is that it’s been almost a year and I’m still finding out exactly what I lost.

I’ve been working to kickstart my songwriting engine lately. Which is no mean feat for me. When I go for awhile without writing, and I do, it get’s difficult to engage in the process again. My mind goes blank. Everything I’ve learned about it the craft goes out the window. But, one thing I’ve always done, even back in the days before my macbook, (remember paper?) was to go back through my various fits and song starts to look for inspiration or something to work on. It can be a great way to get me writing, even if all I do is go through a bunch of stuff that seems like crap to me.

Over the past few years, I’ve been in the habit of recording little snigglets of songs. Musical ideas, lyrical starts, etc. The mac has this wonderful thing called Garage Band and it’s so easy to just launch the software and throw down an idea. Can you see what’s coming here? I lost 3 or 4 years worth of songs and song ideas on that freaking hard drive!!! Mostly I’ve been very zen about the whole thing. It’s good to clean out and not hold on to stuff, but damn it! There was some good stuff in there!!! Or maybe it was all crap. I don’t know. But I want the option to check it out and decide. As my New England friends would say, “It’s a pisser”.

Every now and then I run across some vestige of my lost files. I found this video on the Boundless Living Challenge website this week. I forgot it was there. It’s just a verse and a chorus of a song I started writing at my friend and Boundless Living creator Bob Doyle’s house in Atlanta in 2008. I may finish it. I may not. Mostly it just reminded me of all the other recordings and videos I lost. So the least I can do is share it with you. It feels a bit like I’m hanging my ass out in the breeze ‘cause I don’t like to put unfinished work out in the world, but what the heck.

Is there a point to this? A moral to the story? That’s for you to decide. (back up your drive) I’m just venting my frustration. (back up your drive)Thanks for listening. (back up your drive) I’m not here to preach. (back up your drive) I’m just sharing my personal experience. (back up your drive)
Enjoy the video…….

and p.s. Back Up Your Drive

Find more videos like this on The Boundless Living Challenge

The Next Time

billsmall — Mon, 17 May 2010 18:49:45 +0000

Like the song says, “Mostly I want to know that there’s gonna be a next time”. Last Tuesday, I woke up anxious. There were questions, and not particularly useful questions, running through my brain. I was sleepy. I was jumpy. Agitated. I guess it makes some sense. Later that evening I was scheduled to play my first official CD release show in support of “The Next Time”. My first solo record in almost 10 years. It’s also the first time I’ve played my songs with a band other than the Mystiqueros in years. Of course when it comes to the band, I stacked the deck in my favor. Chris Gage, my friend, producer and musical wunderkind on guitar. Glenn, (I’ve played on everyone’s record including yours and toured with all kinds of amazing folks), Fukunaga on the bass. And, my Mystiquero brother other half of R-n-B drummer Ray Rodriguez. Of course having Glenn and Chris there was a source for more nervousness. Would I lead the band well? Would I remember the songs? Would I have any money to pay them?

As show time approached I began to let go a bit. I’d been in the studio that day playing bass on a project that WW was producing and everything was lined up as far as I could see. But would anyone come? I knew a couple folks would be there, (like my girlfriend) but would it be full? I didn’t expect it to be as full as the MQ release show, though that would be cool, but would the club have a good night? Luckily, the show was booked at The Mean Eyed Cat and after a year or so of monthly Monday nights with Sam Baker back in 2007, I felt very comfortable there. I knew I had MQ sound sensei Mike Horn running the show and making sure everything was handled. But, I was still nervous enough to slam a couple of ice cold beers in the first 20 minutes of set up. ( so good)

Show time arrived as it always does and there was nothing for it but to stand up and sing. I managed to call the first tune in the wrong key and after a re-start we began to play the new record. I decided to just play the record in order start to finish. Some of the songs have been around for awhile and some are newer. Some I’ve played many times and others not so much, so I wanted to see what the flow would be like if I just stuck to the sequence of the record. Frankly, I just couldn’t bring myself to come up with another plan at that point. Even though I broke a string in the second measure of the title track, (we re-started that one too!) I was surprised by how much I enjoyed playing those songs. It was really fun. And what a band. Those guys were stellar!!

The crowd dug it. And yes there was a crowd. Even the folks who just came to the Cat for a drink, having no idea who I was, stayed and listened. The audience actually moved in closer as the show went on. It was nerve wracking and exhilarating at the same time to have everyone paying close attention, but that’s what we do this for isn’t it? That nervous exhilaration. That rush of energy passing between you and the audience. That’s what live music is all about.

So where does all this lead me? I want to play with that band again! I can see that show as a step in re-awakening a part of myself that’s been resting for a bit. As I performed that night I was once again, “Bill Small”. Not just El Guapo, bass player of the Mystiqueros, but also the old singer songwriter, the guitar slinger, the artist that I have been, as well as the artist that I am becoming. I felt it all bubbling up that night.

So next time I may be nervous again. Next time I may have a different band, a different crowd. Next time I may reach some transcendental state of live performance bliss or fall flat on my face. But there will indeed be a next time.

p.s. This is kind of what the show looked like to me:

10 years after…… almost

billsmall — Mon, 10 May 2010 16:35:47 +0000

In September of 2000, I released the first ever Bill Small record, “Singin“. I’d been involved in a couple of records and a cassette tape (showing my age) with bands before that, and I think “Singin” was the end product of the 90’s for me. All the musical roads I’d been down in my first decade in Austin ended with that recording. Now, just 4 months or so shy of 10 years after, “the next time” has arrived. This may well be the record that sums up the first decade of the new millennium for me. The roads I’ve traveled thus far. Seems like I might want to shorten my creation time or it’ll be 2020 before I manage another record! It’s been a bit surreal as the responses to the new cd have started to trickle in. Seems like people dig it. Actually, I dig it. Produced by my friend Chris Gage at his Moonhouse Studio, I got to show up and just be the “artist” to a large degree and so I still hear things in these songs that surprise me. So, record season is in full swing. The Mystiqueros “Agave” and now “the next time”. Get ‘em both. And as WW says’ “If you don’t like it we’ll refund your money and mow your yard.”

p.s. To get your copy of “the next time” just click the picture above.

Ready for Bart De Win?

billsmall — Tue, 04 May 2010 17:08:13 +0000

I have a great life. I make music with exceptional musicians. This past week I had the great pleasure of playing on a few tracks for a new record by an artist from the Netherlands named Bart De Win. Walt is almost always producing a record for someone and whenever it’s appropriate, we Mystiqueros are the studio band. I never know what to expect when I walk into the studio on the first day, and when Walt said these sessions were for Bart, I really didn’t know what to think. I remember meeting Bart and his wife Arianne last year when they were visiting TX and Walt had met them in Holland. I had heard Bart’s last record and really liked it, so I figured it was bound to be a fun time in the studio. That was an understatement. I had a blast. Bart is an amazingly talented musician, singer, songwriter. He plays anything with keys, including but not limited to the nicest melodica I’ve ever seen, and even made his guitar debut. He also sings his ass off! He not only has a deep resonant voice that makes me feel like I sing like a teenager, he can also falsetto the high notes with the best of them. Bart was kind enough to join us at the Saxon Pub in Austin for our weekly show and below is a video of one of his songs, filmed by Arianne. For more Bart and the MQ’s go to the MQ Tribe Blog. I hope to see Bart again soon and make some more music.