Spring Fooler

It’s 70 and sunny in the Ozarks today; not a cloud in the sky. I call this kind of day the ‘Spring Fooler”. It kind of lulls you in to thinking; “Maybe Spring is here, maybe the hard times are over”. But, in the back of my mind, I know that we almost always get one more blast of ice or snow after the Spring Fooler.

My friend L.K. has made the big move west. She packed up and moved to San Diego. She has relieved herself of many possessions including a bunch of CDs. So, this morning I had a chance to listen to the Charlie Haden-Pat metheny album, “Beyond the Missouri Sky (Short Stories)”. Thanks for that one L.K.

This is one of those records that I meant to get when it was released but, didn’t get around to it for whatever reason.

Pat Metheny, everybody knows him. He’s a top flight guitarist/composer/improviser-he’s just an all around musical guy. He exudes music. Both these guys are from Missouri. A funny thing about Charlie Haden-he is from this area, over in Forsyth but, in 25 years or so, I can only think of a handful of times when someone, from this area, mentioned Haden or his music. To me, that’s odd because I see Charlie Haden as an important musician in the big picture. I think that a couple of hundred years from now, people will be studying his music.

I was interested in this particular record because, both these guys have a knack for invoking the atmosphere of this geographical area in their music. It just sort of comes out that way. For most people, they think of bluegrass or some sort of country music, maybe even country blues, when they associate a sound with these rural settings.To me though, if I stand high on the ridge and look across the valley, the way it looks, sounds like Metheny playing a minor 13th chord or Hayden sliding up to the three.

Here is Hayden/Metheny playing “Waltz For Ruth”.

Had a good gig last night at the Outback Pub. I had one of those deals where I was thinking that there was one more set to go when they did last call. That’s a good sign that you are having fun.

It seemed like there were a lot of people from out of town doing the weekend getaway. The last couple of months there has been the traditional, off-season, semi-hibernation groove going at these Branson gigs. Last night it seemed like it was getting back to the norm; people away from the their norm wanting to cut loose a little. Maybe it’s more of that Spring Fooler going on.

One thing I have noticed lately is that, on these weekend gigs, when we are playing both nights at the same place, the Friday night is real good and Saturday seems a little slower. That seems like a new trend. I talked to musician/contractor Roy Decker this morning, and he’s been noticing the same thing. He thinks it’s related to a sluggish economy and people only have enough for one night out. They get paid on Friday and hit the streets while the money is fresh. I don’t know. He may be on to something there. It will be interesting to see how it goes tonight because, like I say, a lot of the crowd last night was from out of town and traditionally, that crowd is out to party on both nights.

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Tags: charlie haden, L.K, Missouri, Music, Outback Pub, ozarks, pat metheny, Roy Decker