Spring 07

The time falls past us like the Portland rain and history collects itself in puddles along the avenues of our minds. It's a new year and there's a new light on our old paths. The highway call is fresh and inviting. The haunts and stages have cleared the smoke and broken glass. The microphone stands have regained their posture; the microphones' dents have worked themselves out to their former smooth, silver globes.

The shiftless rounders have a new record completed, another one in the works, and we are coming to your town. Keep an ear to the ground and an eye fixed to the fork in the road and when you start to hear that homemade dobro and grandpa banjo, trust that we're on our way.

Summer 06

Its been a long one already. Seems like we could fit two years into the last six months. Late nights on a tour bus with the lovely Sarah Harmer and her all-star entourage. A friend from kindergarten in a midnight blue Jetta. A Roller coaster that runs from San Francisco to Olympia. New homes, wearing in bit by bit like a baseball mitt. BC jamborees under the Firmament. Chisels, saws and lumber. Daybreak, mate and family. A million friendly faces in the places we need them most. More twists, turns, quirks, quacks, ups, downs and run-arounds than we dare write about.

Start of 06

well happy new year everyone. 2005 was a heck of a year for rounding and 2006 promises to be quite a time for being shiftless. the tour back in november in support of (places) was quite fun - always nice to be back in old new england. and december's run through the pacific northwest and british columbia was a blast. except that ben and phill got really really sick in the middle of it and i grew evermore superstitious as i am convinced that the strange illness befell upon us all because i lost a capo in seattle (the night we made a turn for the better - in duncan, bc - i found another capo - coincidence? i think not). the shows have been great, there are new songs on the burners and studio time is booked for the next record, so what's not to be happy about? this month ben is working on some instruments in his new home in washington and phill is staying busy playing in western canada. we get back on the road in february for some california action before heading to austin, texas for some world-class bullshiting and shmoozing folk alliance style ("oh my god - you know 'so-and-so'!?! i knew them when they were just 'what's-his-face'"). there are also some big things on the horizon, but we'll keep that under our hats for now. stay tuned.

Dog Night of August in the Lost Northwest.

It felt as if the ray-beam eye of the almighty lord was boring gaping holes in our chests while we banged out sweaty chords and croaked our dripping lyrics, lips kissing blistering microphone domes, blinded by the violent sunset entrenched over the far hillside facing the Pickathon plywood stage that Saturday dusk in Woodburn, Oregon. Bodies shivered and faces came forward only to melt stinging my eyes, brows boiling. It was wonderful.

To be a shiftless rounder is to be more than just a Joe under a surplus Stenson swinging a guitar and seeming carefree (if it ever seemed that way). There’s no mythological character or quest. Aside from being a musician it’s about being an absent lover, a missing husband, a regular working stiff, a wandering sleep deprived emotional masochist, a distant friend, a worrisome child, an underpaid migrant, a loafer, a no-good, a crack-slipper, an unexceptional exception to the rules, a gas-guzzling capitalist, a penny-begging socialist, a good friend, a bad friend, a bathroom stall poet, a passenger side politician, a slave to the credit card companies, a slave to the cheap bad food machine, a slave of the beer-pushers, a willing cog in the great machinary of shitty clubs and a nipping participant in the ground work of beautiful happenings. What I’m trying to say is that we wish being a rounder was as easy as climbing up behind the microphones and singing every night for and hour and a half and having all the energy in the universe to do it night after night after night after night till the very last cow wonders home, BUT the truth of the matter is the harder you work at it the less you feel human and the more inhumane you begin to feel the deeper it sinks into your mind that you’re ONLY human and humans, like anything, need rest, water, good food, shelter, love, space, non-movement.

Buddhists feel if something refuses to bend it will break. A willow in a great storm. A flagpole amiss a flurry of heavy salutes. Guitar strings.

But People in the music business say if you don’t break – you’re broke.

Who knows anything?

The Shiftless Rounders have appreciated all the kind emails and calls inquiring about our absence on the circuit and all those words of support and kind advice. We have enjoyed our break and are planning on a GRAND RETURN (actually, I think we’ll call it THE REUNION TOUR – THE FIRST OF MANY), starting with a New England run before Thanksgiving and more to follow.

Late July '05:

The Rounders have cut back our touring schedule to focus our energies towards finding a label to put our the next record (a kick-ass live cd). BUT we will be performing at The Hillside Folk Festival in Guelph, Ontario as well as The Pick-A-Thon around Portland, Oregon before the summer is out.

Keep an eye and ear out for more exciting news as the fall falls upon us. In the meantime, check out Phill's new band, The Digs, as well as Ben's numerous side projects.

Nearing Tax Day, Rocky Mountain Time Zone:

Drive all night
Utah
No frills breakfast
Funeral bags
Drive all day
Colorado
Fly through time zones like a goose in a cloud
Like nothing
San Fran
Get up for dusk
Don’t restring
Wear the same shirt
No one will know
No one gets that close
Strawberries and coffee
Thick warm milk
Stomach pills in Barstow
Later under stars dose off after work

There’s a watermelon field in North Carolina where me and Ben sleep when we play that circuit. We always roll in late night style after playing the George Washington Bookstore and Tavern. It’s so dark usually that all we can make out in the mist is the old shed where we’ll flop down. Then in the morning I walk outside as the cobwebs in my eyes breakup and I get to see the low laying fields and the rows and rows of corn and melons. There’s a grassy acre between the crops and tree line and the sound of the river is behind them. I say to myself, I had no idea it was so beautiful here last night. Anyway, same sorta thing happened out here in Utah at the Mystic Hot Springs. I fumbled around like a drunk on the hillside late last night searching for tubs and found one, finally. I lowered down in the thick steaming mineral water and looked up to the stars and felt wonderful. The constellations still confuse me but they are calming none the less. But in the morning the true beauty of that area became devastatingly clear. The dry brush and smooth grey dirt giving way to the green fields and purple flowers that grow up to the base of the mountains covered in snow against the wide cloudless sky. Boy howdy.

One time in Eugene, the whole shiftless crew was rolling around trying to find a place to get our grub on. So the only place we could find that still was serving up some eggs was this bar on one of the shadier streets. We go in and sit and there’s a bar tender (not a chipper gal), the lone first-to-come-last-to-leave drunk and this one pimp playing video poker back by the payphones and restrooms. And that guy was one of those cats who passes you and says something but you can’t understand a word of it. You say excuse me but his explanation is even more confusing. So you smile and lower your eyes and wait for the two eggs over medium to show up. But then later this pimp comes over after whooping it up pretty good at his machine. he says, clearer now – wanna see the fastest trick out there? Coming from this guy? But we say, sure and he fumbled some quarters outta his pocket (jangly chains. Fake gold? Rings? You betcha. Hat, too. Whole nine yards, really). So he comes over and pulls some a-okay hind jives and makes a few quarters disappear. I don’t remember any in our camp being in a sunny mood that day, but I know I can see us all laughing at this guy like we were in pleasant dispositions. Sensing his accomplishment he performed one final trick, this time using a twenty dollar bill. He rolled it up, folded it all sort of ways, tore it in half, made it disappear and in the end a fresh 20 ended up neatly on the table before us. We were impressed and we clapped. He smiled big and tipped his brim and bowed back to the poker machine, leaving us the Hamilton to pay for breakfast.

I’m reminded of this story by the fact that a twenty spot don’t get you squat at the gas pump. What gives? Damn, son. But we finally got here to Colorado for the Rocky Mountain portion of the tour. Good to be back. There are bobcats wild here. Their prints are in the snow and people in the valley know to keep pets in at night. I was in Nederland years and years ago with another group, Beggar’s Tomb. No one remembers us. One time, though, a member of that band (won’t tell who) walked into a bar and within seconds was forcefully thrown out. Profanity exchanged. Threats (no promises!) thrown. Pride was wounded. Revenge was plotted. Returned to the safe house. Honed plan over Irish whiskey. Drank more and more. Found knife. Proped selves up and headed for the door. Screamd at the ladies pleading with us to stay and forget about it. Then, another member of the band (won’t tell who) keeled over by the stairs. Brought to. Taken to the clinic for acute alcohol poisoning. Revenge put on back burner. People disappear. Time passes. That’s Nederland.

-Portand, OR, ME and all points in between

Us Rounders been taking it easy this month, laying towards the low, coming out only in dawn, speaking only tongues, writing code to one another in dreams, breaking apart five strings, shining pretty the resophonic, hunting ghost voices and herding them into magic cans, feeling like lemon seeds, like gas pumps, like hardwood floors, like motel carpets, like warm home food, like love bugs, as the crows near the roses, as the fury caterpillars creeping along phone lines, like the slowest hitchhiker that ever was.

But soon, watch out.

We’re heading back to the toes we see on the feet we know can get worn out but still get us there.

See them folks who know us better than they know better.

Wear the old songs like lucky garments that never get washed - talismans in sound and distance.

-The Day After Valentine’s Day, Portland, Oregon.
A woman in Eugene, Oregon last week came up after the show and bit my necktie. Literally went for my jugular. Right outta the blue. I was standing there dripping with sweat and she says, “Now there’s a guy with a hat!” Then BAM – she pounced. “Uhhh…how ‘bout a CD,” I suggested. The sentiment was a bit misplaced, seeing as how she had a whole week to wait for St. Valentines’ day. Luckily, my double Windsor knot was too thick for this vixen to fully bite through, so thanks dad for showing me how to do it right. Speaking of action, we’ve been in the fast and furious lane the last 2 weeks starting with our shows at the San Francisco Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Festival. Regardless of how high my fever soared, the music we heard and played that weekend carried me through. Most Amazing Show Award goes to Kenny Hall and His Longhaul Stringband. For those of you who don’t know (I didn’t), Kenny is an old man who lives in some mysterious area of California. Doesn’t play out much. He’s blind and mostly plays the mandolin. But he plays it in a way I’ve never seen. He uses his index and middle fingers like chopsticks on the strings. His timing and phrasing are impeccable. The man is practically a catalog of field recordings in and of himself. Watching him play and hearing his strong tenor was an honor and getting to see him at The Noe Valley Ministry was an experience we won’t soon forget. Only in San Fran could you find a church with a liquor license.

From San Fran we headed north to Arcada, California – home of our esteemed agent and palm-reader. There we played our customary gig at Muddy Waters. Thanks to all our amazing fans who came out and showed the love. That was a really fun night for us. Same shout out to the crowd in Eugene at Sam Bond’s Garage (mandible girl excluded) – thanks for coming out. We had a good time in Portland as well. It was our first time double-billing with Greg Clark – a stellar Northwest old-time player. Although we had some technical difficulties at the top of our set, we managed to get through the mire to play a real fun show. Big thanks to Our Main Man Randall for giving us his help with the feedback and the whatnot. Hell of a guy, that Randall.

Growing up, I always wanted to go to where they filmed “The Goonies” and on Saturday my wish was finally granted. The small but substantial crowd at the Voodoo Lounge really made us feel at home. I was kinda bummed, tho, when my attempts to quote my favorite line from “The Goonies” went without much notice. “Fifty dolla bill! Fifty dolla bill!” Oh well….

Sad news – we had to put our much loved Wayne, Maine Fire and Rescue Van to rest here in Portland. Somewhere in the Rockies we blew our head gasket, and we had been riding on borrowed time ever since. She was a fine ride and we’ll miss her as we soldier on into Canada. Speaking of, for the remainder of the month we’ll be with our kind Canadian friends, Po’Girl, playing shows all around the snowy north. So all you people out there who threatened to head for the border after that dipshit ‘won’ in November, here’s your official invitation. Now you have something to do up there other than just sit around and milk the health care system.

-Salt Lake City, January 30. High noon.
A man I know here says he can get me and Ben work on the Union Pacific line if we ever wanna hang up our traveling hats and trade in the strings for the cross-ties.
“It’s great work. You go out to the yard at 3 in the morning and get some order to put a train together. So you spend an hour moving cars around putting this thing together and then you ride it out into the boonies for three or four hours off to some other yard in Wyoming. Then in the morning they send a bus or a van out for ya and put you up in a motel. You sleep a bit, get up and ride a train back. Great job.”
Hmmm… maybe, but when you’re me and Ben playing shows like we did last Friday at the Acoustic Café in Nederland, Co, the thought of hanging anything up anytime soon is totally out of the question. Thanks to everyone who came out to that gig as well as our other engagements in the Boulder/Denver area.
Ryan Speerman (formerly of High on the Hog) opened the Nederland show with a breath-taking set of country blues and ragtime. Just grizzly ol’ Ryan up there with that beat up ’36 Gibson and that real soft but clear voice he’s got – man that was good music. Talking with him later in some high mountain cabin around 3 am we spoke of future plans, for both him and me (this was before the train option). And he’s got it alright, I must say. He and his partner Kelly (sorry for being so loud when you were trying to sleep) run a bookstore up there in Nederland called Once Again Books (http://www.nederlandchamber.org/members/OnceAgainBooks.htm). Real cool store. Check it out. Good people. But then again, me and Ben are suckers for a good bookstore. Months ago in Virginia we spent the night in one. I slept in the philosophy section. I think some knowledge may have seeped into my brain at some point in the night. Could of been the other way around. Ben slept in the sports section. That’s why he out skiing right now and I’m here writing this. Not really.
Of good people – thanks to those who promoted, hosted and attended our private party in Park City. We had a real good time playing for everybody. Most Interesting Person Award goes to young Savannah, who at age nine can pick a handful of tunes on the bluegrass banjo with eerie sharp accuracy. I asked her who her favorite banjo picker was and she said Earl Scruggs. I told her to find some Stanley Brothers (that shit is classic). “Ralph really has that old-time sensibility to his picking,” I said. I asked Savannah if she’d ever wanna play old-time banjo. She picked up the Vega and tried ‘Cripple Creek’ and said, “Not with action like this.” Classic.
We came a day late and a dollar short for the Sundance thing, which was a bummer cuz The Rounders have been dabbling a bit in the world of filmmaking. Currently, I’m editing my first film, “Clothes on the Line.” Keep an eye out.
We continue our GRAND DRIVE OF OH-FIVE this afternoon with a pilgrimage to Winnamucca, Nevada. There’s a funky desert casino there where Ben and I like to unwind. He takes my free drink tickets and hits brilliantly at the blackjack table while I shadow the exterminator who roams the halls with canisters of poison on his back, his hose swaying back and forth like the head of a grazing heifer; and me behind him with my banjo, playing him sad slow moonshiner melodies.
Library bums are in a class of bum-dom all their own. Hard to explain. To me, these old guys aren’t too different from the books they pile up around themselves. Full of shit no one knows or understands anymore. Nameless. Covered in dust forgotten on the shelf. Looked at but not seen. I am thankful to be here. Years ago I was on the road in Vermont and was running around with some street-wise characters and this guy, Dempsy, tells me, “Best place in the world to get cigarettes is the public library. Find the butts in the pale and take ‘em, like 4 or 5, and get all the tobacco out and roll up a new one.” “Hey Dempsy,” I said, “what about courthouses?” He snapped back, “Shit, kid, I wouldn’t smoke a lawyer’s butt.” That still makes me laugh.

-Jan. 22. 2005. Lawrence, KS
Other than the Northeast Kingdom back in Vermont, the coldest wind lives under the railroad bridges of Lawrence, Kansas. Man is it cold today. Played The Gaslight Tavern last night. Cool funky place cornered between the highway bridge and the river. Had a good show. The new songs are working their way into the sets. “Over the Water” and “Joe and Odell” are my new favorites. Real nice people out here. One nice fella who sat a the bar during our show (ours was the early show) turned out to be Lefty Groves – only the sickest free style lyricist in the Midwest! We stuck around for his set and were blown away. One man, one mic and a jambox wired through the house and this guy owned the whole world! His thoughts and words flew like a thousand dark birds; furious and peaceful and completely unpredictable. A real treat.
Zoned out to the Weather Channel later at the motel waiting for sleep to come and it seems that our passage through the mountains in the next week should be devoid of any serious storms. With that news, I nodded off with ease.
Now working on the coffee fix and just about to – HEY! there goes Greg Brown (played last night, too) cool… - hit the road and head back to Missouri to play The Setlist. It’s been a year since we last played there. Looking forward to it.
We had a great time in Knoxville. Thanks to WDVX (Tony Lawson and Matt Morelock), the cool crowd at Barleys, and our esteemed host, Marty. The people of Knoxville are as fine and kind as anyone anywhere in the world. No joke. Our buddy and one of East Tennessee’s most consummate picker, Kyle Campbell, is soon gonna be a daddy – so best wishes to him and Sarah.
Now in the café in Lawrence, two men (would-be philosophers after they graduate) at the head of this table talk about ‘ideal love’ and its trappings. An older woman in the corner across the room sketches figures on a pad. “Everything’s about safety. Nature is not safe. Love is not safe.” So says the strangers around me. Muffin crumbs in beards. More coffee rings than wedding bands. Silver tin ceiling. Spraypainted.
“I like sugar. I like aesthetic forms of sugar. Something that’s been created. Artistically formed sugar. Life can all be sugar. If you want it to be.”
“Our culture’s becoming rotten teeth.”
“We all are.”
“Oh, man…”
God I love people watching.

1/15/05 On the way to north Carolina to open for Chuck Brodsky.
The rain that’s been assured by the news anchors has yet to fall, so we are thankful for an uneventful drive. Earlier last week while traveling from Northampton, MA to Rosendale, NY we were forced to triumph over snow and icy roads in a van that managed to brake down twice. But the shows of THE GRAND WINTER DRIVE OF OH-FIVE so far have been very very fun. It’s good to be back out working.
Thanks to all who showed up in NYC, Easthampton, Rosendale, Great Barrington and Vienna and showed the love and support. We’re grateful, and busy. This tour will last around 8 weeks, ending up in the wilds of british Columbia. Over this time and the coming summer, Growlin & Grumblin Records plans to expand their horizons a bit. This is good news for us, as they are going to release a Shiftless Rounders Live sorta thing. Slated release date is July 4.
We’ve brought a new face into the flock. Yonder Stands Little Maggie Ellis, with a cell-phone in her hand. ‘Mags’ is a good friend and stout Mainer who has agreed to come on tour and help out with the living and the what-not. She’s a hard worker and good thinker and a pro-bono peace activist.
We had a good time in the fall touring with Huck Bean of Portland, OR. It was a treat to play with such a naturally gifted musician. For those in the Portland, OR area, keep an eye out for Huck on the scene. He’s the guy with the great porkpie hat. On a similar note – shout out to Po’ Girl. We had a great time kicking it with those ladies (and Luther). We’re looking forward to meeting up with them again the end of February. Also, we’ve made some new allies in the New England Old Time Bluegrass duo, The Hunger Mountain Boys. Kip and Ted are some great pickers and singers and their sound and look takes us back to a time when we weren’t even born. that’s good music!
We’ve been receiving some good press lately. Check out the ‘press’ page to see some blips and an interview that Phill did for the Freeman Times. It’s alright, sorta contrived, but hey…. (who keeps track of milage after the fourth cross-country tour??? For the record, The Shiftless Rounders’ ’12,000’ is like the Tao Te Ching’s ’10,000’ or the Bible’s ‘40’. Does that make any sense?) Also, ‘Ghost in the Radio’ is reviewed in the new Sing Out! mag. It is the Shiftless New Year’s Resolution to do this update thing a bit more diligently. So if you’re reading this, first of all – we’re impressed, we pledge that we hope to do weekly or bi-weekly entry. So check back in and see where the digger’s tossed the dirt.

9/10/04 Portland, OR
It's a sunny morning here in the Rose City. We've been in town for a couple of days now, and as always, we're having a great time. We've been fortunate enough to sing some amazing Sacred Harp with the people here and tonight we'll be performing with our friends, the Crooked Jades. This western tour has been real good to us. We were happy to be asked to play the 6th annual Pick-a-Thon festival at Horning's Hideout. Danny Barnes blew us away with his space-age folk banjo, and seeing and meeting the band Po' Girl was a real treat, not to mention the many other friends that we made. We were also lucky enough to have that ol' Huck Bean from the Kitchen Syncopators grace us with some washtub bass and fiddle playing during our set. We played Seattle for the first time, doing a triple bill with the Tall Boys and the Syncopators at the Tractor Tavern. Those folks there couldn't have been kinder to us.
Soon we'll be making our way south to California for some shows in Humboldt County and the Bay Area. Then we're hoppin out to the Rocky Mountains for a slew of gigs across Utah and Colorado. Please check our calender for specifics.
Our new record, Ghost in the Radio, is recieving rave reviews, and our version of Townes Van Zandt's "Dollar Bill Blues" is getting some air play. We couldn't be more pleased. Our partner in crime, Terry Groves, is working his tail off booking and getting his new buisness, Round Mountain Music, off the ground. Things are looking bright.
There comes a time when one must gamble, and in a lot of ways this country is one big casino. We've been pumpin' the slots, uppin' the ante, and hittin' on 16. Hopefully the luck holds out.

5/17/04 New England
We've been back in the Northeast for a few weeks now. We took a little time off after our westerly jaunt, but were back at it quick. We played a couple shows and got good and warmed up for two of days recording with producer Jim Armenti and engineer Dan Richardson. We ended last week with a rough mix or what will soon be our next album. Striving to capture the vibe of our shows, we recorded mostly everything live with just a few overdubs, most notably a clarinet solo by Jim on Phill's original: Big Round Moon. We're hoping to have a final mix at the end of next week. It's gonna be called Ghost in the Radio, keep your eyes out for its release sometime in June.

4/3/04 Gunnison, CO-
We're 5 weeks into our first west coast/rocky mt. tour, having a blast and playing our best shows ever. The crowds out here have been great and we've met many wonderful people. It seems that the most consistant thing in our lives now is the kindness and generosity of strangers. In Arcata, CA we had a chance meeting with Terry Groves, a stand-up fella who liked us enough to take over booking and management of the band literally the second day we knew him. We're currently traveling with Terry in Colorado, doing a run of shows that he put together for us. We played to a sold out crowd last night in rowdy Gunnison, CO, with special guest Doug Van Gundy from Elkins, West Virginia. The show was a blast and we're about to do it again tonight. We met Doug in San Diego at the North American Folk Alliance Confrence. We hit it off right away and we were elated when he agreed to meet up with us for a week in Colorado.
Some other highlights of the trip so far have been opening for the Crooked Jades at the Starry Plough in Berkeley, CA, and opening for the Kitchen Syncopators at the White Eagle in Portland, OR. Both shows were for a packed house and it was great to meet these excellent bands. We ended up pickin' and hanging with members of the Syncopators for three nights in a row and are making plans to do some touring with them as a double bill in the near future.
We've got a couple more weeks on the road and then we're home for a little rest. We don't rest long though and we'll be playing around the North East until our next stint on the road. We're begining to plan a trip to the South in June and are planning to be out west again in the end of July. Keep an eye on our calender or sign the mailing list to find a show near you.