Yucca, Yucca, Yucca!!!

Back in March, I played a gig in Tempe at Last Exit with Bret Hartley, Jim Gerke and Curtis Grippe. We had a great time. Actually, you can hear one cut from the gig at my MySpace page, and the same song at my MySpace Audio page.

I loved Last Exit, and I loved playing Tempe again. But I have to admit there was something that caused me a bit of regret.

About a month before the show, Rodney, the owner of the Yucca Tap Room, shot me a message. Rodney thanked me for posting my blog on the good ol' days at the Yucca. He, like many, has fond memories of those days. He understood I was playing at Last Exit this time through, but he wanted me to know he'd be happy to have me back at the ol' stomping grounds sometime in the future.

The future is now...or September 6th.

Yes. Bud will be laying down the law again at the Yucca Tap Room on Saturday September 6th! There will be other bands involved and more details between now and then; all we know right now is we're firm for 9/6.



Regrettably, Mr. Hartley will not be making the trip out from Atlanta for the show, but Gerke and Grippe are signed on, making us the most blistering trio this side of the Rio Grande. Just like the Chicago show at Uncommon Ground on Friday June 13th, you'll hear Songs from Memory songs, and Refreshments songs, and covers. You'll also get to watch me be a ham.



So, mark it on your calendars now! Write something like, "Art slays in the name of the crown at the Yucca" in the space under "September 6."

As you can see, the summer is shaping up rather nicely for yours truly. Make a point to come out and see me! I'll have more firm



dates in more places as we go forward.

Thanks,

Art


Buy Ghost Notes



Buy Songs from Memory

New Chicago gig, plus Sting is a Fraud

There are some special things that come with promoting a novel and a CD. The best part is that I get to play gigs, and the next gig is booked.

It's in my hometown of Chicago at a place called Uncommon Ground in Wrigleyville.

And here's the best part of the best part: the gig is on Friday the 13th.

Ooooooooooo.

What kind of crazy shit am I smokin'?

It's true. Friday the 13th at 9 PM is the date and time of my next show at Uncommon Ground. I'll be playing solo acoustic, and two other solo acoustic fellas, Christopher Joel and Brooks Geenen, will go on after me. This is going to be a great time, and it's a small place, so make your reservations now. (They don't do tickets there but reservations. O, la la. Bring a date!) You'll hear Songs from Memory songs, and Refreshments songs, and songs that are just as good but neither Songs from Memory songs nor Refreshment songs. Come and see me! It's a Friday night, and I'm known to ham it up pretty good.



And if you're not in the Chicago area, don't worry. I've got at least one other gig to announce...but not until next week. This week, I need you to feel the full effect of Chicago at Uncommon Ground in Wrigleyville.

Feel it? Okay. Onward.

Also on the music front, Radio Free Phoenix has kindly picked up three Songs from Memory for its rotation. So, check out Radio Free Phoenix and prepare to be entertained.

Finally, and perhaps least importantly, a gentleman in Nampa, Idaho claims that Police songs were stolen from him by Sting. This guy "wrote" them by telling Sting about his life one night in Reno, Nevada in 1977, about a his girlfriend Roxanne, and the message he left for her in a bottle. Sting then composed songs from the stories, and this guy feels jilted.

So, Sting's a fraud. Everyone deal with it.

Too bad the rest of his work doesn't measure up.







In retrospect, it's so obvious.

Thanks,

Art

Buy Ghost Notes



Buy Songs from Memory

Albert Hofmann Dies

First of all, read this new interview with me at the very cool Spraygraphic. We cover all the important stuff, Ghost Notes, Songs from Memory, the Refreshments, Dead Hot Workshop and the conflicts of rock 'n' roll heart. Enjoy!

This week, Albert Hofmann died.



Who's he?

Albert Hofmann will forever be known as the inventor of LSD.




He was 102, and smiling in every picture.



You would be too if you invented LSD.

Funny, but Tom Petty is always smiling in pictures, too.



Hmmm.

Anyway, LSD has always been a fascinating subject to me.

I've never done it.

Too square.



But, as a rock musician, you'd have to be living under a rock to be unaware of LSD's profound effect on rock music.





The shit was everywhere.

As a teenager, I wanted to know what an acid trip was like, and I hassled some "experienced" friends of mine, soliciting their opinion of me trying it. They all said the same thing.

Stay away from it.

(Some friends, eh?)

Seriously, they said, "Forget it. It's not for you."

Not for me? Why not for me?

Because I'd freak out, they said, and they'd be forced to deal with it.



So, reluctantly, I took them at their word and gave up my quest. I'd never be the lizard king.



It was tough to deal with at the time, but it's kinda cool now, especially since the lizard king is now worm food.



Still, who wouldn't be fascinated by LSD?

Opening the doors of the unconscious.

Freeing your mind from the chains of linear thought.

Letting all the bats loose in your belfry.



Woo hoo!

Unless you're a nerd.



D&D, anyone?

Art

Ten Years!!!

As many of you guessed last week, today marks the ten year anniversary of the Refreshments' last gig.



So, Art, how do you feel, ten years removed?



Proud.

Proud of a band that put its indelible stamp on Tempe, Arizona and rock music in general?



Yep.

Proud of having written and recorded 30-some songs together, compiled into two records and change, that still get played ten years later?



Very much so.

Proud of having laid down the law with such sweet authority from coast to coast from 1994-1998?



Bet your ass.

Would you ever reunite with your old bandmates?

(Sigh.) Don't do this to me.

Well, I think people want to know where you stand on this.

How 'bout this: not never, but not imminent either.

You're being evasive.

I'm tired. I had a gig last night.

Where'd you play?



Fun?

(Art smiles.)

Anything else you'd like to add on this momentous anniversary?

The most moral way I know to honor what the Refreshments did is to keep doing it.

Doing what?

Inventing new forms of art and entertainment, writing new books and songs and blogs, performing for people; in general, creating "that which did not exist before," as Faulkner said.



Who's Faulkner?



He was in Gunsmoke.

One more question.

Sorry. Lunch time.



Art

The Crust Thickens!

Don't Forget. Dallas this Saturday at Club Dada. Be there!

Events

I was feeling bad around this time last week.

I was feeling guilty for comparing



to



Tom always seemed like a pretty likable guy.



He’s always holding his guitar and smiling.



I mean, if you're going to pick on someone, why Tom Petty? There are so many better targets.



So, I felt bad. Tom didn't deserve it. I even apologized.

Then, I started noticing things.

I noticed that Tom's name

Tom Petty

is quite similar to Pizza Hut's name

Pizza Hut.

Actually, the names are almost mirror images of each other. For example, there are five letters in "Pizza" and five letters in "Petty."

Moreover, each word starts with a P, has two vowels, and has double consonants in the three and four slots.

Then there's "Hut" and "Tom."

Three letters, two consonants, one vowel. And that T in both names.

That T...



That T...



The similarities were too compelling, so I delved further.

Which of course means I went to Wikipedia.

There I found a bevy of similarities.

For example, did you know both Tom Petty and Pizza Hut came to existence in the fifties?

Pizza Hut started in 1958 when Dan and Frank Carney borrowed $600 from their mother Kathy and purchased some second-hand pizza-making equipment. They took a family pizza recipe, rented a small building, and opened the first restaurant at a busy intersection in Wichita, Kansas.

Tom Petty "started" when Petty's mom and dad got together in early 1950.



It was also something of a family recipe.

In 1977, Pizza Hut was acquired by Pepsico, along with KFC and Taco Bell.

Also in 1977, Tom Petty’s single "Breakdown" was re-released and peaked at #40, beginning his two-decade “ownership” of the pop charts.

In 1997, the three Pepsi restaurant chains-Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell-were spun off to Yum! Brands, and in 2002, they were joined by Long John Silver’s and A&W Restaurants.

The years don’t correspond, but it’s hard not to notice the similarities between those five big restaurants and another “Big 5” that joined forces in 1988: Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison and Jeff Lynne, who were, of course, the Traveling Wilburys. I’ll leave it to you to match up each Wilbury with his correct fast food chain.



Hint: Roy Orbison is not Taco Bell.

Pizza Hut experiments with new products frequently. These include the Bigfoot, the 16 Big New Yorker, made with sweet sauce and a foldable crust, the Chicago Dish Pizza and Sicilian pizza, the latter also offered in 2006 as Lasagna Pizza.

Tom Petty experiments run the breadth of the entertainment industry. He’s explored many musical styles, with results that were, predictably, pretty good. He’s also had stints as an actor in movies such as The Postman, on TV shows such as It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, and on cartoons such as The Simpsons and King of the Hill.

Wait a second.

King of the Hill.

This is starting to get interesting.

Until next week, when we’ll celebrate a very special anniversary. Anyone know what it is?

Art

My Apologies

OKC this Friday! Be there.

Events

You'll have to forgive me for last week's post. This was a good bout of silliness on my part, and I don't want my regular readers to think that I've sunk so low as to demean other well-meaning artists by comparing them to cold, faceless corporate retail chains.





I'm talking about true rock 'n' roll originals who deserve better than some punk with a computer taking cheap shots at them.





Who the hell do I think I am, anyway?





I'm talking about the great singer-songwriters, the great bands of ours or any generation.





These are irreplaceable pop music icons. We'll never hear music that wonderful again.



John Austin

They sure don't make 'em like they used to.



Dead Hot Workshop

Too bad no one is writing great songs today.



Stephen Ashbrook

Or making great records.







(The first two are out. The last one is in stores 6/17.)

So, no more clowning,

Until next week.

Art