The Wood ‘n’ Lips Open Mic Newsletter

Hi All,

Who turned up the heat! Thank God for the Friendly Grounds efficient air conditioner; do any of you remember when we played at Just Java in Chula Vista—with just rickety old fans burring in the background, not moving much air in that huge venue?

6:20 Wood ‘n’ Lips:  We have been working on some new songs and resurrecting others; this week we did Elizabeth Cotton’s Freight Train”; Patsy Cline’s “Tennessee Waltz”; The Everly Brothers’ “Devoted to You”; and Bobby Darin’s “Dream Lover”.

6:45 Scot Ryder: Is an accomplished finger-style guitar player; he utilizes alternate tunings, percussive slapping, capos, partial capos, and anything else that works.  He started with his original, “Traveler”; then an unnamed improv piece; and “El Moshe”, about his pet mouse.  While he was tuning, he put a good word in for Kev’s upcoming CD release party at Cosmos’ Coffee House on Saturday night (he had a good turnout); Scot ended his set with another improv tune utilizing multiple capos. 

7:00 Les Armstrong & Ray Poe:  Sans drummer (Alton called in sick), they played Ray Price’s “My Shoes Keep Walking Back to You”; Faron Young’s “Here I am in Dallas”; Larry Stewart’s “Alright Already”; and Johnny Cash’s “I Still Miss Someone”.  I found myself wanting to buy a pickup and an old hounddog.

7:15 Eric Alegre: Moved to Arizona a few years ago, got married, had a child, and now is back in town to perform for us again.  You may have seen him playing with Christian and Anthony, back in the day.  He only did a couple of songs; his first tune was an original called “A Fresh Start”; then he closed with “Mix Tape”.

7:30 Rose Scibelli: Brought us a mellow Hank Williams with “I Can’t Help it If I’m Still in Love with You”; John Prine’s “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness”; Iris Dement’s “Let the Mystery Be”; and Garth Brooks’ “Night Rider’s Lament”.

7:45 John Movius:  Was joined by Greg Gross for a set of The Virtues’ “Guitar Boogie Shuffle”; Ricky Nelson’s “Hello Mary Lou”; Elvis’s “Mystery Train”; Ritchie Valens’ “We Belong Together”; and The Bel Airs’ “Mr. Moto”.  Okay, now I want to buy a 48 Ford woodie and a surfboard.

8:00 Bob Arsenault, Don Bidwell & Greg Gross: Bob drafted Don to play on a set; though a regular attendee of the open mic, he hadn’t played for us for quite some time.  They did “The Death Valley Waltz”; Jay Unger’s “Ashokan Farewell”; Ken Orik’s  “November Rain”; “Cherokee Shuffle”; “Westphalia Waltz”; “Mississippi Sawyer”; and to humor Greg, Leroy Mack’s “Praying Mantis Love Affair”.

8:30 Bob Cool, Bob Arsenaut & Greg Gross: Kept the bluegrass vibe going with “Bile Them Cabbage Down”; “The Roxanna Waltz”; Bob Cool’s “San Diego Breakdown”; “The Pig Ankle Rag”; “Up Jumped the Devil”; and “The Road to Lisdoonvarna”.

8:45 Blake Sapp:  Brought us out of the bluegrass territory with some originals, “It’s Just a Shadow of What Once Was”; “New Song #2 (I think No Regrets would be a good title)”; and “There’s No Harm”.  He claims his songs are sad, and he’s right—it’s odd because, fortunately, he’s not a sad kind of guy.

9:00 Bob Wilson: Could be called a plinker; that’s what his banolele kind of sounds like.  He played “Ukulele Lady” from 1925; “Brian is Trying to Learn to Talk Hawaiian”; and Jack Yellen’s “Hula Lou”.  Make that a 1925 Ford woodie.

9:15 Bob Holliday: Our last performer was a newcomer to our open mic and he patiently waited for his turn, unfortunately we didn’t have much of an audience left by the time he got up to play.  He fairly exploded into a bluegrassy version of Bob Dylan’s “You’re No Good” (complete with harmonica); followed by an original, “The River” (based on  Black Mountain Rag); Old Crow Medicine Show’s “Wagon Wheel”; and another original, “Let You Go”.

Once more we had a pleasant evening of good music and a wonderful human experience.  Come on by soon and join us.

God bless,

Tim Woods, Greg Gross, and the Wood ‘n’ Lips open mic crew