Late Summer News

I’d hoped to make this a more-or-less weekly update of my activities as well as a place to lay out thoughts and observations on a regular basis. So far that hasn’t happened, but there’s no time like the present (and future!).

It’s been a busy summer – I’ve spent time in Asbury Park NJ, Tucson, New York, Chapel Hill, Norfolk VA, and the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia. I was lucky enough to see Neko Case in Central Park and hang out backstage after the show. I also saw her again last week here in DC at the 930 Club & got to chat with her steel guitar & banjo player Jon Rauhouse, her guitarist Paul, and her opener Eric Bachman. Also in New York a night after I saw Neko, I got to see Lucy Wainwright-Roche at the Living Room (where I’m playing in September). In an interesting coincidence, Neko brought Lucy up to sing backing vocals for a few songs at the 930 show.

Two weekends ago I ventured down to Chapel Hill for the first time since the ‘80’s & stayed with my friend Gerald, who records as Sound of Singles. He and girlfriend Lizzy were very hospitable in giving me a futon to sleep on and were wonderful company. We stopped by a few used record and book stores, took a nice walk with their dog at the botanical gardens, had some great meals, and saw Allen Toussaint outside at the Raleigh museum. I really liked the Chapel Hill area and will look at it as a potential place to settle in a couple of years.

On the way back from Chapel Hill I decided to take a side trip to my old Navy stomping grounds of Norfolk, Virginia. I got out of the Navy, in Norfolk, in August of ’89 and had visited in October of ’92, so it’s been almost 15 years since I was there. As I guess you’d expect, some things have really changed and others are exactly the same. I was amazed at how much Old Dominion University has grown. I went to what was a regular stopping point all those years ago, Ward’s Corner, which, at the time, had a pretty cool record store (Tracks), a pizza place where we were regulars (one of my friends ended up marrying a waitress), and a well-stockednewsstand. I just KNEW the record store would be gone, replaced by a drug store or restaurant. But it was still there, now as a Warehouse / FYE. I picked up a few cool things cheap, but the store itself really didn’t have the vibrancy it did back in my day. Alas, the pizza joint and the newsstand were both gone, but the Wendy’s down the road was still there.

Later I went to another old destination point, Military Circle Mall, and got a motel room. There was a video arcade located on the perimeter, Flipper McCoy’s, that was still there. When I went inside I was really taken back – they still had this boxing game, Ring King, that I used to play. In ’92 I was surprised that it was still there. Fifteen years later I was absolutely stunned! ‘Course I had to play a few quarters.

The next weekend, last weekend, I went down to Bridgewater, Virginia, to hang out with my pal Jim Shelley of Book of Kills. Jim and I share similar musical sensibilities, so it’s always nice to spend time with him. Lately he’s been recording other local bands with his mobile setup, so we went up to Luray to record his ex-drummer Casey’s new band, Sleepfeeder. It was really good to see Casey & his significant other Deanne as well as some of their friends. Their band is interesting. It features three songwriters who take turns with lead singing duties depending on who wrote the song. So far it seems to be an egoless venture; Casey is excellent about keeping his artistic goals in focus. I’d had a less-than-pleasurable experience with these folks (not their fault) at a music festival in July. This weekend was nice as it removed the bad taste of the festival from my mouth.

In two weeks I’ll be playing a couple of shows – one in North Carolina with Sound of Singles on September 7, the other at the Living Room in New York on September 8. I feel honored and fortunate to be able to play at the Living Room. See my website, www.robchristensen.com, for more details.

I guess that’s about it for now. I’ll try to come up with another entry sooner than later. I’ve got plenty of ideas; it’s time that seems hard to find.

Cheers!