"Words are only words but we turn them into gifts... then we seem confused as their meaning slowly shifts"

"You're on earth...there's no cure for that."

Just got back from opening night of John Turturro and Max Casella in Beckett's Endgame.

All I can say is wow! Turturro makes you realize all over again what a truly phenomenal writer Beckett was.
This production only runs through May 18 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Go here for tickets.

Footnote: As you take your seat at Endgame you'll hear the song A Thousand Kisses Deep by Leonard Cohen. It's the song I quoted from a little while ago on my birthday. What a brilliant juxtaposition of two great writers on somebody's part! Given the subject matter of Endgame what better way to start than with:

The ponies run
The girls are young
The odds are there to beat
You win a while
And then it's done
Your little winning streak

If you don't have Leonard's album Ten New Songs go get it.

A cool day - in many ways!

I just got back from performing at the New Jersey Folk Festival.

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday the temperature around here hit nearly 80. And my allergies were bad enough for me to resort to antihistamines in the fear that today would be the same.

So, I inadvertently buy an antihistamine that also has pseudoephedrine in it (which I cannot take) and I wake with a drug-induced tremor in both my hands. Great for playing the guitar. Then as I'm driving to New Jersey I see the temperature is getting lower and lower. By the time I go on stage my hands are like blocks of ice. But at least they've stopped shaking. I made the mistake of being polite and watching the three singer/songwriters who were on before me. Bad mistake. Even standing in the sun I could feel the breeze getting cooler and cooler.

Then suddenly I'm on stage in front of some really nice, warm, welcoming people. I mutter on for a few moments about how "my songs are really nocturnal...this is the first time they've been allowed out in daylight." That gets a laugh and I begin to feel like my fingers may actually work.

I played City Of Ghosts, More By Luck Than Judgment, Love Is The Only Surprise and Overlapping Love. Three new songs and one from Raised In Vain.

It goes far better than I expected. I actually enjoy myself. They pay me for turning up and even give me a cute little certificate to prove I turned up.

All in all a cool day.

A reminder: I'll be "folk singing" tomorrow

New Jersey Folk Festival
American Studies Department
Rutgers, the State University
131 George Street
New Brunswick NJ 08901-1414
(732) 932-5775 Phone

njff@rci.rutgers.edu

What was I thinking? An outdoor performance just as allergy season kicks in. Oh well..lots of antihistamines
tonight I guess!

So, The Shore Stage @ 3.50pm - that's my slot. But the entire day is filled with music.

Marking Time: A song is finished

I posted the first verse of this song some time ago. Now it's finished. And I'm quite pleased with it. It was inspired by conversations I have had recently with my newly-discovered relative in England, Richard Tutin. He did a family tree for me, showing my direct line back to Joseph Tutin born in 1691. It got me thinking about how we are all proverbial links in a chain. A cliche I know. But true.

MARKING TIME

There’s something in my heart that shouldn’t be there
There’s something in my soul I can’t explain
A feeling that it isn’t really me there
But a fragment of someone else’s pain
It’s been there since I was born
It’s a coat that I have worn
Down through all my winters of decline
There’s something in my heart that shouldn’t be there
Marking time

All the souls I was have come to listen
All have come to see how far we came
They are gathered here to testify that
We share so much more than just a name
They’ve been here since I was born
Like a coat that I have worn
Not knowing that their strength was always mine
There’s something in my heart that shouldn’t be there
Marking time

Marking time till I was ready
To feel their presence openly at last
Marking time till I was ready
To know the past’s not really past

It’s a coat that I have worn
Since the day that I was born
Made from thoughts I never felt were mine
There’s something in my voice that shouldn’t be there
Marking time

There’s something in my heart that shouldn’t be there
There’s something in my soul I can’t explain
A feeling that it isn’t really me there
But a fragment of someone else’s pain
It’s been there since I was born
It’s a coat that I have worn
Down through all my winters of decline
There’s something in my heart that shouldn’t be there
Marking time

©2008 Dave Tutin

I'd laugh...if it wasn't so serious!

I just happened to be reading one of my favorite books...the dictionary...and I saw this given as the tenth definition of the word hope:

10. hope against hope, to continue to hope, although the outlook does not warrant it: We are hoping against hope for a change in her condition

Oh man am I hoping for a "change in her condition."

If Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic nomination, then McCain almost certainly becomes President. Which will amount to the biggest opportunity in living memory having been blown. And we all know that she won't win it, she'll try to steal it.

Even given Clinton's "win" in Pennsylvania the delegate count still makes Obama the rightful nominee at this stage. Let's hope against hope that the rules are followed and the delegate count finally decides the nominee. Because Clinton will revise the rules as often as she can - it's what she does.

Only one Presidential candidate has the character and intelligence to lead this country through the troubled times ahead. I just wish that was obvious to more Americans.

Saturday April 26th...anyone know the weather forecast?

I truly don't remember entering but I got a phone call recently telling me I was one of the "winners" chosen to perform at the New Jersey Folk Festival.

At first I thought it was like those emails that tell you there's a fortune waiting in a South African bank if you'll just lend someone the airfare to go get it for you!

But it turned out to be real.

So this Saturday at 3.50 in the afternoon I'll be doing my thing - folk music or not - on the Shore Stage of the NJFF which is on the campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ.

Here's some info on the others who will get their twenty minutes in the sun...or rain...the event happens no matter what!

Oh and it's FREE.

The Best Cohen Song You Never Heard:

I just read that if you even know that "Do I Have To Dance All Night" exists you went to the right concerts in the 70s. Well, the answer in both cases is I did.

And I've been trying to find a copy of it ever since. Finally someone posted it online:
Do I Have To Dance All Night - Leonard Cohen

Songs:Volume One. Limited number now available.

It started as a purely selfish exercise. Not being able to read or write music I wanted a tangible record of the songs on Raised In Vain in addition to the actual recordings. I wanted something other musicians could use if I ever got to play the songs live with a full band (something I'd love to do some day).

But then a couple of friends who play guitar asked if they could get sheet music for my songs. So I decided to produce a very limited edition that includes all 18 original songs from the CD as well as the collected pieces (most of which first appeared on this blog) in which I write about the origins and inspiration for the songs.

It will be available at amazon.com for $10. But I'm sure those friends who asked for this will get a freebie in the mail some day soon.

My thanks to Justin Flynn (Tin Fly Music) for transcribing the songs, to Lam Ngo (Black Dragon Graphics) for book design and, as always, to Platon for the front and back cover photography.

It's official...

As those of you who came to the Cornelia Street Cafe last night already know, I have been asked to be on the board of directors of:

I just got back from my first meeting and I'm proud to announce that I was formally voted onto the board.

The Foundation was born out of the events of 9/11 and the desire of Valerie Ghent to use her musical talents to help children and families who lost loved ones on that dreadful day.

As our web site says, The WFMH is dedicated to helping people discover an emotional vocabulary, teaching creative methods to express emotions in a positive way and offering programs that foster healing through music.

Our efforts, now that the Foundation has obtained recognition as a not-for-profit organization, will continue to expand beyond the immediate needs of those 9/11 families and bring the healing power of music to kids who have experienced trauma of any kind.

The signature program of the Foundation is called:

And you can find out more about this and the Foundation in general at musicandhealing.org

I'm extremely pleased to have been asked to play a part in this wonderful use of music as a healing force.

One more thank-you

Last night was the first time my Taylor guitar made it on stage. And it really surprised me. It has an amplification system built into it that Taylor pioneered that is much better than the usual pick-up in the bridge.

I'm not good with either guitar model numbers or the fancy names they give to systems like this. The main thing is it did what it was supposed to do. So my thanks to Taylor Guitars in general and mine in particular!

Photo ©2008 Paul V. Carter

A good night.

Last night was a challenge. But it was one I really enjoyed. I did as I had promised and delivered a complete set of songs I've never performed before. And judging by the audience reaction, they worked.

So thanks to everyone who came. And to everyone who played.

Photo ©2008 Paul V. Carter

OK everyone - stop writing songs!

Apparently, according to UK music critic Mark Savage, there's really no point.

It doesn't matter if I'm a fan of Madonna or not, her success cannot be questioned. But in a review of her new album, Mr Savage states:

"The main themes are love, revenge, sex and music - subjects on which Madonna surely has little left to say."

It reminded me of when, years ago, I was one of a bunch of students who tried to form a debating society at my school. The extremely conservative headmaster gave his okay as long as we did not debate "politics, religion or sex." Needless to say the debating society never became a reality.

The "themes" of life are extremely few. They repeat throughout history, across cultures, in the work of all the great writers, artists and composers. What matters is the ability to uncover a new perspective, new insight or simply a new way of describing these themes. In struggling to do so many artists have revisited the same theme throughout their lives trying to find answers or simply different questions.

To write that just because she's covered them before, Madonna "surely has little left to say" when it comes to "love, revenge, sex and music" is simply dumb. The question should not be whether or not she should say anything more on these subjects but does she succeed in how she says it. Critics seem constantly to cross the line between critiquing the result and condemning the effort. I am a huge fan of the BBC - even its reporting on the US Presidential race is often clearer and less biased than US coverage. But in this case Mr Savage has turned it into Blah Blah Crap.

Wednesday April 16th: flying solo

My next performance:

The Cornelia Street Cafe
29 Cornelia Street
(between Bleecker and West 4th Streets)
Greenwich Village, New York, NY 10014
212.989.9319
Web site.

I'll be one of four singer/songwriters performing as part of the Songwriter's Beat.

Also playing: Susan Kane, Patti Keough and Owen Roberts. With host Valerie Ghent.

$10 cover. $7 minimum which can be applied towards food and drinks - incidentally the food is great so come for dinner!

Doors open 8.30pm.

I'll be performing solo - for the first time in years. Why? Because I have promised an entire set of new songs that may - depending on how much I still like them after this performance - find themselves on my next CD, Harvesting Light. With songs being performed live for the first time, I have no idea what will happen. And that's a little tough on backing musicians - so there won't be any.

And I'll be giving away free copies of my CD Raised In Vain to anyone who doesn't already have it (or wants another copy). Yes, free - included in your cover charge. Just turn up!

Dylan wins Pulitzer

Bob Dylan was just awarded a Pulitzer Prize - a special music citation for "profound impact on popular music and American culture."

I often wonder if Robert Zimmerman is proud of Bob Dylan yet?

My "piano of a guitar" is almost ready

This is John Monteleone - probably the finest luthier working in the USA today - working on the guitar he's building for me.

It's his Hexaphone model - a huge flattop guitar (the only one John makes, being known primarily for his archtops). It has been described as a "piano of a guitar" - its sound is that big.

You can see the finished guitar on John's web site but mine is a little different and very special. John is making it using maple and ebony that came from the collection of Jimmy D'Aquisto when he, sadly, died in 1995.

I'll post photos when I finally get my Monteleone. If I can stop playing it long enough to take some!