Sept 18
I have a show in NYC next Tuesday night. I’m playing at Makor, up at the 92nd Street Y. (One block south of the 93rd Street Z.) The show part of a monthly series of performances called Under The Radar hosted by WFUV deejay (dj? djay? deej?) John Platt. Check out the other people on the bill. They seem cool: Antje Duvekot and Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams. I’m glad someone finally came up with a band name worse than “Earl Pickens and the Black Mountain Marauders”.
This’ll be an acoustic gig; just me, my guitar, some new songs, some old songs and whatever’s left of my mohawk. Remind me to tell you at the show how my hair is similar to the war in Iraq. Hopefully Jessie Yamas will be doing that harmony singing thing that she does so well.
This is an important show for me, and I can use all the support I can muster, mister. Mister Muster: good name for a band.
Later.
Sept 5
The Joshua Tree show was cool. You should’ve been there. We’re going to do it again in late October. Details to come.
August 31
You Too, Brute?
The big Joshua Tree gig is this Sunday night. And when I say “big”, I mean “not small”. I guess that’s what most people mean when they say “big”, but you can’t be too careful thse days.
Merle Twang is coming back from the hoosegow for the show. I look forward to seeing him again. I might bake him a cake with a file inside it, for old time’s sake. Frank Cantelmi, aka Tink Travers, aka Frink Traverelmi will be handling the harmonica and lap steel chores. I guess that means it’s my turn to cut the grass. Joe Horseman will play the drums as only he knows how: very well. Howie Ingerman of the Queens Country Ingermans will play bass as only Joe Horseman knows how. My good friend Jessie Yamas will provide a healthy dose of sweet harmonies to make the evening complete.
Speaking of Jessie and the Joshua Tree, here’s a recording of our rehearsal of With Or Without You This was recorded on a hand-held tape recorder, so the quality is on the lo-fi side, but I think it sounds pretty darn good. Check it out. Once you add Franks pedal steel, Merle’s twangy guitar licks, Howie’s rock-steady Bill Black-style bass, and Horesman’s Horseman-style drums, you’re gonna be in for a real country fried treat.
Hope to see you at the show.
August 9th
Does my nose smell? You would tell me if it did, right?
By the way, check this site out.
July 27th
Here’s the PDF version of the booklet from my new ep. Happy reading (1.7 MB)
July somethingth
I don’t understand this, but I like it anyway.
June 11
Flicker? I hardly even KNOW her!
I like to rock. That’s no secret. What has been a secret for some time now, a secret I’ve kept from even my closest friends, is that when I’m not rocking I like to watch birds.
There. I said it. I feel better already.
I’ve also been doing some biking lately. I live in a small town in central Pennsylvania that is surrounded by rolling hills, fields, farms and forests. I like to hop on the old bicyclette, as the French say, and go for a nice long ride early on a Sunday morning to check out the scenery and my feathered friends. I’ve seen an amazing variety of birds in the few months that I’ve taken the trouble to notice. I’ve seen bluebirds, warblers, hawks, vultures, finches, woodpeckers, osprey, herons and mockingbirds in the last two months alone. I lived in New York City for 15 years before I moved out here and I only recall seeing two kinds of birds during that time: pigeons and fucked-up pigeons.
About two weeks ago while I was out biking/birding I caught sight of a bird I’d never seen before. It was light brown, with polka dots on its breast and a red patch on the back of its head. I startled it unintentionally, and when it flew off I noticed it had white spot on it’s back. It was really beautiful and I really wanted to know what it was called. I tried asking it, but the bird gave no reply. As soon as I got home I searched through my bird books (yes, I have bird books) but couldn’t find anything that looked like the bird I’d seen.
A few days later I went up to New York for a gig. On the way home the next morning drove through the area where I had been biking, to see if I could see this bird again. I guess I was going kind of slow, because the car behind me was tailgating for a while and eventually decided to pass me in a dramatic “THIS is how you’re supposed to drive down this freakin’ road” fashion.
It’s amazing the number of thoughts that can run through your head simultaneously. As this car moved into position to blow my doors off, I found myself thinking the following thoughts in the space of about three seconds:
1. Okay, this jackass is finally going to pass me.
2. Hey. There’s that bird again, flying across that field!
3. Wow. This guy is really driving fast.
4. Man, that is a beautiful bird.
5. This guy is going to hit that bird
6. That bird exploded on impact.
7. DAMN YOU, FAST DRIVING JACKASS!!! DAAAAAAAAAMN YOOOOOOUUUUUUU!!!!!
That bird never had a chance, and that guy never even slowed down. He certainly didn’t do the customary “I’m sorry I just killed that bird” slight reduction in speed that bird-killing etiquette would require.
Me, I turned around and drove back. Not because I thought I could help the bird, because it was most definitely dead. No doubt about that. I drove back because I wanted to get a good look at what was left of it so I could try and figure out was kind of bird it was. I also wanted to show the other birds that we humans aren’t all bad. That sometimes we actually care about the impact (pun not intended) of our actions. I think they appreciated the effort because they did not shit on me or my car as I poked their fallen comrade with a stick.
Once I found its head, torso and wing (still attached to each other), I was able to see some more markings on the bird (yellow feathers under the wings, black spot by the beak, BMW logo on the forehead). When I got home and got the books out, I determined that it was a Northern Flicker.
I salute you Northern Flicker, wherever you are. If you someday get reincarnated as a person and grow up and learn to read, and if this blog entry is still posted here, I hope you’ll read it and know that I thought you really were a beautiful bird. You’re probably a nice person too. By the way, be careful crossing the street.
May 15, 2006
There was an owl in the tree outside my bedroom window the other night. Either that or it was some other kind of bird doing one heck of an owl impression. I never heard an owl before, unless you count the one in those old tootsie pop commercials. Despite my inexperience, I was able to instantly identify the unseen bird as an owl by it’s distinct “HEY – I’M AN OWL!” call. That and the hooting.
I lay awake listening to Mr. owl (not his real name) for half an hour or so, (that’s 18 minutes in owl time), before drifting off to sleep. That’s how I do it. I DRIFT off to sleep. Nice and gentle-like. No falling to sleep for me, thanks.
In the morning I walked out into my yard and discovered the raw, ravaged, bleeding carcass of a robin strewn across my patio. “Damn you, owl” I cried, looking up into the trees overhead. The owl looked down at me, shrugged, and waved a roll of Mentos in the air. Me and the dead Robin couldn’t help but smile.
April 24, 2006
Yo.
I have heard it from on high that the release date for my new ep will be Tuesday, May 23rd. Begin cleansing ritual immediately.
The ep is comprised of 5 songs that I wrote at the tender age of 17, re-recorded at the tender age of twice the age I was when I wrote them. It comes with a downloadable booklet replete with handwritten lyrics, stories and a few cartoons.
April 13, 2006
I’ve been working on a new album for the last few weeks. Five songs. Full band on four of ‘em. Rock and roll on all five. It’ll be out in May. Kill Buffalo is releasing it online as a downloadable EP via their web site. There’ll be a booklet to download and print out as well, complete with handwritten lyrics and song info & cartoons. Really. I’ve seen it. I’ll be posting a track from the album/ep/whatever it is on my music page soon. Sooooon. Soooooooooooon.
Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooon.
Earl
April 2, 2006
I’ve been slacking on the blog lately. I’ve been told that for some, my blog is a “crucial procrastination device”. This warms my heart. Here’s one of the cartoons I promised to post back in January. Read this at work and stick it to the Man. Stupid Man.
Oh yeah, visit my myspace page for free music. That’ll really piss off the aforementioned Man. I like that word. Aforementioned. It has a nice ring to it. You know what word I hate, though? Memento. That word rubs me the wrong way and I’ve never known why. I have mementos and I like them just fine. I simply prefer to call them keepsakes.
Actual conversation with my 3 year old daughter last week (out running errands with me on a cold day):
She: “Daddy, can we go home now? My hands are freezing.”
Me: “No, sweetheart, we can’t go home just yet. Try putting your hands in your coat pockets.”
She: (crying) “I caaaaaan’t put my haaaands in my po-o-o-o-ckets because my (sniff) gloves are in there!”
February 22, 2006
My Patented Method
Start using my patented method today.
Tell your friends about my patented method.
February 19, 2006
Man, the day before Presidents’ Day is always such a letdown.
I don’t have time to write much at the moment, as I am currently in the midst of my grueling training regimen leading up to this Thursday’s gig at Mo Pitkin’s House of Satisfaction. I hope you will not take this personally, and that you will know that it is solely for your benefit that I do this. Hope to see you at the show, when I will spread the spicy mustard of rock and roll upon the meaty hot dog that is New York City. Mmmmmm.
February 3, 2006
Man, the day after Groundhog’s Day is always such a letdown. There’s so much build up to the big day that I guess it’s no surprise I feel a bit depressed when it’s all over. And is it just me or does Groundhog’s Day seem to be getting more and more commercial each year? We need to pause and remember that Groundhogs are the reason for the season. I guess that’s just the way these things go. Look at what’s happened to Flag Day.
Anyway, I hope your Groundhog’s Day was a great one. 364 days to go until we do it all again. sigh . . .
EP
-Earl “I Got Shirts” Pickens
January 15, 2006
I have to give a shout out to O’Hanlon’s Bar (349 East 14th St) for proudly displaying the entire Earl Pickens recorded catalog (yes, both albums) in their jukebox. Stop by and put a quarter in that country music jukebox and let old Earl iron out the rough spots. Thanks O’Hanlons!
Yrs.,
Earl
January 11, 2006
Chuck Norris responds. Uh oh.
December 17th, 2005
Public Service Announcement
These facts about Chuck Norris require your immediate attention. This link was forwarded to me by NYC country music superstar Jack Grace. Jack’s a swell guy and a great act to check out if you’re ever in New York City on a night when I’m not playing there. God forbid.
See you soon. Happy holidays. Rock on.
Earl
The Blog Entry With No Title
Hey. The EPATBMM farewell show was a blast. Rodeo Bar was packed to the door and the show was as rowdy as all get out. (All get out is EXTREMELY rowdy). Thanks to everyone who came out to give this band, AMERICA’S BAND, the send off it deserved. You touched our cowboy-hat-wearing hearts. Yes, our hearts wear cowboy hats. Thanks again. Thanks Marauders, wherever you are.
November 15th, 2005
A Picture of Me and Jessie Playing Live on the Folk Show with Gene Shay
This is a a picture of me and Jessie playing live on The Folk Show with Gene Shay.
Which reminds me, I’ve been meaning to post some recent Country Music Jukebox news. Here goes:
COUNTRY MUSIC JUKEBOX NEWS
I visited WBAI (in New York city) in March to chat with Peter Bochan on his show “All Mixed Up”. That was cool. Peter is a swell guy and it was an amazing experience being on his show and sitting in the very same chair that his previous guest had sat in. We talked country music, Long Island & Ricky Nelson and then I played some songs.
I made an on-the-air visit to wxpn in Philadelphia in November to talk to Gene Shay and play a few of my songs on his show The Folk Show With Gene Shay. It was coooool.
My trip to Nashville was a success. I was down there in Music City, USA in late October for a gig and also to meet a few people who heard and dug Country Music Jukebox. The gig was at the Kazu Restaurant, in Cummins Station, in downtown Nashville. The show was the latest monthly installment of a series called Tunesmithing @ Cummins Station “Spotlighting Emerging and Professional Songwriters” The show is sponsored by Whiting Publicity & Promotions and the Nashville office of The Songwriter’s Guild of America. Met lots of cool people and heard some great songs. I definitely want to get back down there to play again soon. Thanks, Nashvillians!
Country Music Jukebox has been getting airplay across the USA. Check it out, yo:
David Dye, host of the nationally syndicated NPR / WXPN radio show World Cafe, played my song “Come On Up and Haunt Me Tonight” on his show and said that Country Music Jukebox is “filled with good songs”! I nearly dyed! Mr. Dye’s show airs weekdays at 2pm in Philadelphia. The show is then rebroadcast on over 185 public radio stations in the USA! Someone from Alaska emailed me to say she heard the song and dug it. Looks like I gotta go play in Alsaska now.
Show your love by clicking here to request an Earl Pickens song on WXPN! Some folks on my mailing list have written me to say that they’ve been requesting “Come On Up and Haunt Me Tonight”. Many thanks. I appreciate your support. No, really. I actually do.
Gene Shay has played some tracks from Country Music Jukebox on his Sunday night WXPN show The Folk Show With Gene Shay. What can I shay? Thanks Gene! See the links above to catch his show online, request a song etc.
In New York City, WFUV dee jays John Platt and Don McGee have played Country Music Jukebox a few times on City Folk Sunday Breakfast. They also gave Country Music Jukebox a solid on-air endorsement. Said they heard shades of Springsteen, Neil Young and Steve Goodman in the album! Not a bad way to start my Sunday morning. I don’t know who those people are, but it sounded like they were famous or something so I assume this was a favorable comparison. Having my music played on WFUV is a real thrill for me, since I have been a big fan of this station for a long time. Here’s their site, for those who might want to listen online.
Dan Reed played “Come On Up and Haunt Me Tonight” on his weekly wxpn show “New Release Tuesdays” in August. What a great New Release Tuesday that turned out to be. I’ll never forget that new release Tuesday, even if I live until next new release Tuesday.
If you know of another station that’s playing Country Music Jukebox let me know. If you know of another station that should be playing Country Music Jukebox let them know. Then let Earl know that you let them know.