Since August

Dear Sharon -

My how time flies, doesn't it? I didn't realize I hadn't written since I was in North Carolina. Had a great time while there, though I spent too much money. Sometimes you have to do that, though.

The Pylon / Gravel Truck show was great fun. I'd never seen Pylon before, but now that I have I'm cooler than almost everyone. They were great. Turns out I knew everyone in Gravel Truck (Mitch Easter's Let's Active cover band) so it was nice to be able to say hello to various acquaintences. Had some pals in the audience, too. It's cool when you travel around enough that you can know people in many places you go, even if you've never been there before, as was the case in Winston-Salem, where the show was.

Spent several hours with mastering engineer & good friend Jeff Carroll. He listened to some tracks and thought they were recorded pretty well. I'll probably be using his services soon.

Had a show in Alexandria a couple of weeks back. I got to play though my new PA system again. It was a fairly loose show, but I think I played pretty well. Still have a lot of practicing to do to get to the 1999-2001 level.

Next week I'm heading out to California to see the family & friends. I'm also going to be interviewing Matt Boudreau for Tape Op magazine, and will be at the AES show at the Tape Op booth on Saturday and Sunday. That'll be fun & I'll see more music friends.

Sharon, I guess the big news is that for the foreseeable future I'm going to be recording and performing under the name "The Saturday Sound." The reasoning is, to put it succinctly, I never could imagine putting "Rob Christensen" on t-shirts. It always made me uneasy even thinking about it. But "The Saturday Sound" on a t-shirt, button, or bumper sticker... That's another story. That means a new "Saturday Sound" blog is on the way.

Well, better go now.

See you soon!

Rob

North Carolina roadtrip

Dear Sharon -
Just a quickie to tell you that I'm heading down to North Carolina tomorrow morning. I'll be staying in Chapel Hill a few days with studio designer extraordinaire Wes LaChot while I check things out in the area. Right now it's number one on my list of places I want to move to. I'm going to see a few friends, mastering engineer Jeff Carroll and Sound of Singles main man Gerald John. Friday I'm heading to Winston-Salem to see a Pylon reunion show, with Gravel Truck, Mitch Easter's Let's Active cover band opening up. Should be great fun. I should be home late Sunday.
Cheers!
Rob

New York summary

July 15, 2008

Dear Sharon,

I had a great time in New York. Willy’s reading on Friday was a treat. It was in this cute little bookstore in Brooklyn, “The Word.” Willy was shocked when he saw me – he certainly wasn’t expecting me there. He read from his book, played a couple of songs including an extended version of the middle portion of “Walter’s On The Lamb,” from Post To Wire. Afterward I was tired after having worked the previous night and bussed up to New York, but he and his editor invited me out to a post-reading get together. Drinks were paid for by the book company, which was very nice, and the evening was filled with stimulating conversation with music and book people. I finally made it home at 3 am.

On Saturday I spent the day walking around Manhattan. I started off just north of Times Square, where I spent some $ at the Virgin Megastore (The Idiot, Never A Dull Moment ($5!), and an R.E.M. single) before heading down to Greenwich Village. I wanted to walk all the way – 50+ blocks – so I could get some exercise and see the sights. I’d done this back in ’92. On the way I saw the (in)famous Chelsea Hotel and got a delicious slice of New York pizza. There was plenty of activity in the Village. Lots of people about, an Obama rally, and a couple of street fairs. Found a cool Dylan DVD for $10 at one booth. I ended up in Washington Square Park. Last time I was there was in ’92 and it wasn’t a pleasant place. This time it was filled with people, including several groups of musicians singing and playing together. One group was doing Traveling Wilburys songs, another was a group of young lads doing Beatle covers.

Around that time my pal Sash met up with me. We had a great experience doing some record shopping. In one store we met up with a woman who was educating herself on the history of (mostly) New York punk. She was in her early thirties & had never really been into music before. She was choosing to be very clinical in her approach and was intent on buying records by the year and working her way to the present chronologically. At this point she was at 1976 and was looking for Patti Smith’s “Horses.”

Saturday night was more fun, sort of, as Sash gave me some lessons on record production, timing, and other things I won’t get into. It was a little brutal but very educational. After that we blew off steam by drinking until 4 in the morning at the local watering hole.

Sunday was spent sleeping in & having breakfast at the Bel Aire diner in Astoria, which the New York Post named as the best diner in New York City in 2005. After future plans were discussed, goodbyes were said, and I made my way to Manhattan to catch my bus home to Washington DC.

Hope all is well with the family. Give everyone my love.

Rob

Pre- New York & Interwiew

July 9, 2008

Dear Sharon,

When I started this blog I’d fully intended to keep it up to date by writing an entry at least once a week. As, obviously, I haven’t been very successful, I think I’ll try a new format and make the blog entries letters to you. Hope you don’t mind. My hopes are that it, as a whole, will read somewhat like a book of collected letters.

This weekend I’m going up to New York City again. My pal Sasha has graciously offered to put me up once again and for that I’m grateful. Friday night my old acquaintance Willy Vlautin will be reading from his new book Northline. I haven’t seen him for a couple of years so I’m looking forward to it.

On Tuesday I was interviewed by Dave Kriddle for the Home Made Hits Show podcast. The interview went for a good 30 minutes and it sounds like they’re devoting a whole show to me and my music. I’m truly thrilled and honored. I’ve never done a non-print interview before.

Hope all is well with you. I’ll write when I get back from NYC.

God Bless,

May and June, Two Thousand Eight

It’s been a busy several weeks since my writing last graced (?) these pages.
It was noted in the May 2 entry that I wouldn’t be playing at Googies, above the Living Room in New York. Well, that afternoon I arrived in New York, checked my email, and there was a note asking if I was still interested in playing Saturday night. Of course I was! I made arrangements to borrow a guitar (thanks Sasha Zand!) and set to emailing as many New York folks as I could to let them know the show was on.
Backing up, Friday night’s Mother Hips show was fun, if a little disappointing. Their merchandise booth had copies of “Later Days,” a Hips album I’d been looking for for quite a while. Unfortunately Tim, the Hips’ lead singer, was sick so their set wasn’t as great as some I’d seen in the past. But that’s okay. Part of the fun of seeing live music is the spontaneity of it. If the lead singer is sick, odds are you’re seeing the band do things it wouldn’t normally do.
Saturday’s set at the Living Room was fun, if a little shaky (literally) at first. They had these tall stools on the stage, and I hate to sit on tall stool while I’m trying to play guitar. I always feel like I’m about to fall off; something echoed by a performer I saw last week. Anyway, I was up there trying to play, feeling nervous, and my leg, because of the position on this stool, would not stop shaking. After a couple of songs I made an adjustment and was fine for the rest of the night. Some friends came out, the room was fairly full – something not to be taken for granted by a basically unknown artist – and one table in particular was very supportive and vocal. It was a really fun night!
On May 14th I did a show here in the DC area at St. Elmo’s Coffee Pub in Alexandria. New York’s Matt Keating was the headliner. Matt is a veteran performer and songwriter and is releasing a new album this summer. Matt came with Jason Mercer on stand-up bass.
One of the cool things about the May 14th show was that I got to try out my new PA system. As a solo-acoustic performer, sometimes I play in places without sound systems and, in the past, I’ve had to pay for and make due with rentals. Now I have something nice to play through whenever I need it. Another cool thing about that show was that I got to hear Matt and Jason play though it so I know that it sounds really good.
As for my performance, tried a couple of new things. First, I did a couple new-ish tunes, “Days Don’t Last Forever” and “When I See The Light”. I’d debuted these in North Carolina in April, and it was nice to play them for some local friends. Second, I stood up for a show for the first time since I started performing again. That may sound like a minor thing, but it forced me to break out of my comfort zone and made me do something different. Basically it’s another color on my performance palate, one that I haven’t used for quite some time.
In early June it was time for the Pot Luck Conference, formerly Tape Op Conference, held down in New Orleans for the first time since Katrina. Every year at this conference producers and engineers and musicians get together and talk about how to make records. I run a panel on Home Recording and this year I had Nick Luca, Tracy Shedd, Chris George, Chris Gooseman, and Chris Stamey on the panel. As usual, I learned a bunch and had a great time. I’ve been going for so many years now that it’s like a sort of family reunion. I count as friends now some people who were behind some of my favorite records.
One of the great things about the conference is the live music. In the past I’ve been fortunate enough to be treated to a poolside performance by Calexico, DeVotchka, and John Vanderslice, as well as small club performances by J Mascis, Barbara Manning, Rebecca Gates (using my guitar!), Richmond Fontaine, Steve Wynn & the Miracle 3, Mitch Easter, American Music Club, Cracker, M. Ward, Jason Lytle, and several others. This year was no exception as we were treated to a fine show featuring (yep) the Blues Magoos, Chris Stamey & Mitch Easter (& friends), and Calexico, all appearing at New Orleans’ famous Tipitinas. A great time was had by all. Plans are already underway for next year. If you’re into recording or the technical side of music making, you owe it to yourself to come.
Since I’ve been back I’ve been playing at the Friday night open mic(-less) at the café downstairs from Politics & Prose, the great bookstore located on NW Connecticut. I think open mics are a great way to meet other musicians and to practice playing in front of an audience. And, truth be told, the crowds are often better at Open Mics than they are at regular shows.
Thanks to Dave Criddle for mentioning me on the Homemade Hit Show podcast. The HMHS is a show devoted to nothing but music recorded at home. Check it out on iTunes – there’s some great stuff being done out there.
I think I’ve covered everything and brought things up to date. I should have more news soon. Cheers!

North Carolina Weekend Recap

I had a great time in North Carolina, despite some weather-related attempts to dampen my spirit and everything else.

Friday I drove down from DC. About ¾ of the way down I remembered that I’d forgotten to pack some important things – a hat and sunscreen – for my Saturday at Merlefest (www.merlefest.org). I remembered that at the next exit there was a Wal-Mart. Now, I’m not in favor of the way Wal-Mart conducts most of its business (though I do like their attempts to make the music industry lower prices on CDs), but this time I chose to drink from the devil’s well. I found a straw sunhat and some sunscreen and headed to the music & movies area, where I picked up special editions of “Stand By Me” and “Rocky” from their $5 rack. I mean, I just could not turn these down. Thing is, I know that’s how they close down smaller retailers – they drastically lower prices on popular things, taking sales away from smaller retailers, and never intend to carry less than popular, artier titles. Like I said, I drank from the devil’s well.

Friday evening I got down to Gerald and Elizabeth’s house, who graciously put me up for the weekend. Gerald is the musician behind Sound of Singles, whom I opened for Sunday night. Friday evening we went out and met a few friends for a beer, then called it a night.

On Saturday we were off to Merlefest. As you may know, Merlefest is an Americana / bluegrass / folk / roots music festival held in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. This year the lineup included Old Crow Medicine Show, Tift Merritt, Ricky Skaggs, Doc Watson (the festival is named for his late son, Merle), Jorma Kaukonen, Levon Helm, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Sam Bush, Avett Brothers, and many more. The drive from Durham to Wilkesboro took about three hours, but we arrived in time to see a blistering set by Tift Merritt and a cool jam with Jorma Kaukonen. The weather was hot, Gerald was cursing himself for wearing black, and I was glad I bought the Wal-Mart hat. After a corn-dog lunch we headed to an indoor workshop on record production. It was interesting to hear the Nashville perspective and I learned a thing or two. We then headed outside to… a thunderstorm! We’d brought chairs and I’d left my sweatshirt out, which I brought in case the evening got cold, and everything was beyond soaked. I’d hoped that the storm was just passing through and that the sun would come out again, but it wasn’t meant to be. We did stick around for a few more hours and caught a few more sets, including a great one from the fabulous Carolina Chocolate Drops. Levon Helm was headlining that night and I was really looking forward to seeing him, but since the rain never really stopped we elected to pack up our wet things and head home. Still, I had a great time, and one of my fantasies for the future would be to stay for the entire festival, get one of the nearby motel rooms (or stay at the campground, where I hear the real partying takes place!), and make a weekend out of it.

On Sunday I spent the afternoon exploring downtown Chapel Hill. I browsed some used book and CD stores, went by the Cat’s Cradle, and generally just looked around and enjoyed walking out in the sun. That evening Gerald and I packed up our instruments and headed out to the Cave. The Cave (www.caverntavern.com) is located in a basement downtown and, as it turns out, it’s moniker is well earned. It’s very cave-like. Dressed up in my finest blue thrift-store suit, I played a 15-song acoustic set that included 5 new songs, as I believe I mentioned in the last entry. Everything went very well, I thought, and I feel like I’m finally getting my performance-legs back. The small crowd was very supportive and I had a great time. Gerald – Sound of Singles – played a blistering set that was capped by a warp-speed version of Bob Segar’s Turn The Page. A great time was had by all, I think.

On Monday I headed back. Most of the time it was pouring rain, at times quite heavily, and after seeing a Motel 6 sign inviting me to stay over for only $37.99 I elected to get off the road about an hour south of DC. When I got settled in I turned on the news to see that I’d missed, by less than 100 miles, some wicked tornadoes. It was nice to be off the road.

On Tuesday I packed back up and came home to DC and got ready for my shortened working week.

This coming weekend I’ve got more going on… Thursday night I’m attending a Sweetwater Sound sponsored ProTools workshop. Friday morning I’m hopping on a bus to New York City where my pal Sash and I are going to catch the Mother Hips at the Mercury Lounge that evening. I fell in love with the Hips after much encouragement from my friend Shawn (where are you these days?) and one spin of their 2001 album, Green Hills of Earth. As they are a Northern California band I saw them several times in Eureka and Arcata, CA, where I grew up and lived for years. It’ll be cool seeing them in New York. I don’t think they make it back this way too often, so it’ll be a California Soul treat.

Saturday I’m planning to play tourist in New York and just look around. The Living Room show didn’t come off, and to be honest, I’m kind of glad. I would’ve loved to have played, but I’m glad I don’t have to worry about it. It’ll be nice just to bum around.

I’ll let you know how it went.

Take care, be safe, and smile!

*** Free For All – Rob Christensen Music News – Spring 2008 ***

Hello –

I hope you’re having a good Spring. I’m sure glad the winter is over!

I wanted to let you know about a couple of shows coming up. The first is next Sunday, April 27, at The Cave, in Chapel Hill, NC. I’ll be opening for Sound of Singles, and the show is set to start at 9:00 pm. Go to www.caverntavern.com for details.

The second is on Wednesday, May 14, when I’ll be playing a show with New York’s Matt Keating at St. Elmo’s Coffee Pub in Alexandria, VA. This show is set to go from 8 pm to 10 pm. Go to www.stelmoscoffeepub.com for more details.
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There’s also a slim chance that I’ll be playing at the Living Room in New York City on Saturday, May 3. Check back to my website or MySpace page for more news as soon as I have it.

I’ve got five new songs on the set list for the North Carolina show. If they go well I’ll play them again in Alexandria.

As for the rest of the year, I plan on mostly concentrating on writing and recording the next album. If the occasional show opportunity arises I’m not going to say no, but there are no tour plans or anything. That said, I do plan on coming out to California in October. While I’m there I hope to play a show in Arcata or Eureka. I’ll send out another of these notices as October gets closer to let you know what’s happening.

For several months now, my MySpace page has had the headline, “$5.99 CD sale ending soon.” At this point I’ve decided to keep my CDs at $5.99. In this economy, and with the changes in the music business, I think it’s the right thing to do. So help out an independent artist and buy a CD or two (or three or four…).

Finally, I’m putting together a free 8-song sampler CD. Three of the songs will be acoustic versions of older songs, while the rest will be tracks from my CDs. I’ll make everything on it available for download via my website and myspace. If you want a CD copy, send me a buck and a half for postage and I’ll mail you a copy.

For more news, song downloads, CD’s, and other wonderful things, please visit www.robchristensen.com and www.myspace.com/robchristensen.com.

Have a great spring and summer and write if you can!

Cheers!

New York City Weekend recap

The weekend trip to New York was fun, productive, and a bit tiring. I'd hoped to have this summary up by now, but between the lack of sleep and the cold I caught, it wasn't going to happen.

After catching up and relaxing on Friday, my pal Sash and I spent a few hours Saturday in Manhattan. We hit the 48th Street music stores – Manny's, Sam Ash, etc. – and played guitars & looked at things that we can't afford. From there it was down to Times Square and the Virgin MegaStore. That's a place where I could spend loads of money, but I kept it to one CD – a live Dylan session from '62. Sash was impressed by how busy the place was. After hearing all of the doom and gloom about the record industry he was pleasantly surprised at how many people were spending an evening in a record store.

After that we ventured over to Hell's Kitchen for burritos, then headed back to Queens for a solo-acoustic recording session. I did six songs. At least one of them will be on my upcoming free (Free!) sampler CD. Four were new songs that I'm working up for the next album. I tried a couple of those in different keys and slight changes with arrangements.

Sunday evening Lemonheads was spent at the Lemonheads show. Mr. Dando and his band are on tour performing their near-perfect 1993 album, It's A Shame About Ray. Opening, as I mentioned in the last entry, was Second Dan, who are friends of Sasha. I guess I can sort of count them as friends, too, as we first met at a studio opening party in New York last fall. Before the show we hung out a little bit, talking guitars and such. They played a good rockin' set with plenty of energy and warmed the crowed up real good for the main event. Obviously, Ray is a favorite of mine, so it was a real treat to see and hear the Lemonheads perform it in person, especially in a small venue like the Bowery Ballroom. I believe I even got a little teary-eyed seeing my fellow Gen-X'ers swaying along to "Buddy". All in all a fun night and a good capper to a great weekend.

Monday it was back to the daily grind – an 11 am bus back down to DC and home to the day (night) job in the bookstore (which is actually really quite fun).
Until next time…