Monday, October 22, 2012
Drunkard's Epiphany Video
We posted the video for Drunkard's last night, here it is:
Sometimes in our darkest hour, we're faced with the choice of reaching out for help or becoming our own worst enemy. The protagonist in this song is one of those guys who manages to do both at the same time.
That's our friend Ferd from the Hackensaw Boys as our man of mystery, along with a few other local/Colorado friends. A lot of the people looking slightly perturbed are probably actually perturbed, as they were strangers and we were disrupting their evening beverage. Our luminous, singing 'angels' really are the ladies who sang the harmonies on Drunkard's on Tilting, Laniece and Thalia from Mama Lenny and the Remedy.
Taking an about-face from the styles of the Another Road and Construction Man videos, our director Tomas went for a sort of film-noir style that I think really captured the mood of the song. After the "bouncer" threw me out, when we were filming the alley shots, two policemen came by after hearing that a guy was passed out in an alley and people were taking pictures. How's that for darkly humorous?
Enjoy. (The link for sharing the YouTube video directly from Facebook or email is... http://youtu.be/11Pt04LKuN4 ).
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Blog resurrection
Dear friends...after some prodding from folks in the Crumb Nation and my band mates I've decided it's time to start putting out the occasional blog again. I’m anticipating a loose, ongoing catalog of stories and recollections that chronicle my lifer status as a musician and songwriter. Among other topics, I'll discuss some details of my 30-year-plus friendship and 20-year ongoing musical partnership with David Lowery and our formation of Cracker. I'll also try to answer questions I’ve gotten about my new 2nd solo record "Tilting", my musical side projects and more. I'll try to keep it mostly about the music, but I imagine I'll sometimes veer off into things more personal as I did when I wrote my monthly column for Scene magazine a few years ago. I'll at least try to steer clear of topics that really aren't my area of expertise. This fan base is nothing if not diverse in matters political, social and philosophical. I will try as I always do to remain respectful of all of my/our supporters. I feel honored to have your attention in the first place.
I hope to shed some light on the combined creative output that resulted in all of these Cracker songs and records. I'll invite you into the vans, tour buses and backstage green rooms, rehearsal and recording studios, dimly lit hallways, 4 star hotels and squalid motels from Birmingham to Bilbao and anywhere else the ideas flowed into creative reality and/or the shenanigans ensued. I’ll try to recall the hirings, firings, the keepers and the ones who walked away. Think back to each album as I felt and experienced it and try to answer some questions you might have. With the average lifespan of a rock band spanning roughly 5 or 6 years, we've been very fortunate to say the least…Cracker have now had over two decades of thriving success and managed to stay the course on this roller coaster of a career with continued support from fans and friends like you. Thanks for your time, Johnny Hickman… (Lead guitarist, co founder, co songwriter / singer, and harmonica player for the semi-hip band of misfits known collectively as Cracker.)
PS: Please make sure and click "follow" on the blog. I started setting it up months ago and then abandoned ship, so it's time to roll it back out and get my friends following. Also, to make things simpler for myself, I’ll probably disable blog comments but post each entry on Facebook. I welcome your comments on any given post and/or subject but will exercise my right to 86 you from the vicinity if you make trouble….and yes, I decide what constitutes "trouble". My blog, my party, my rules. Stay tuned for the one I’m writing right now, "Paying Dues And Don'ts.” The story of Lucky #7 and this rock musician's early seduction into this strange and wonderful career. Cheers, J
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Hickman-Dalton Gang Vol. II, release party, videos!
Hello friends, although I don't really blog here on a regular basis I do plan to bring the blog back to life in the next year or so. In addition to Cracker and my plans to get another solo album off the ground, many of my fans know that I also have a country side project with my Colorado buddy Jim Dalton. As many of you know I lived in Bakersfield for a while and am a big fan of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, etc. I guess that releasing Cracker Countrysides with David back in 2003 wasn't enough to get the country out of my system. It's in my blood and so it's been great to have a fellow country-loving collaborator to work with when I'm home from the road.
Jim and I released The Hickman-Dalton Gang Volume I CD back in 2006, and I'm proud to say we found the time to record another album, The Hickman-Dalton Gang Volume II and it's available on CD, iTunes, Amazon, etc. today! Our sound is very much old-school, alt- or outlaw country to me, nothing like the slick stuff that comes out of Nashvegas. Hickman-Dalton Gang may not be every Cracker fan's cup of tea if you aren't a country music fan, but if you dig the twangy side of Cracker, I invite you to check this side project out.
We will be having a CD release party at the Soiled Dove Underground in Denver on July 1st and I hope to see some of you there. No news on other shows or the videos we keep talking about making, because Jim is so busy with Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, and of course I have a ton of Cracker dates on the books as well.
Update: December 6, 2011: Back in November we had a HDG hootenanny featuring Jim Dalton, yours truly, Jeremy Lawton, Tony Nascar, Chris "Pelon" Helvey and guest Jimmy Stelling. We invited about 75 friends and folks from the FoCo music scene, my wife and our friends made a great spread of food, and we rolled in kegs of New Belgium and other liquid treats. Fort Collins film maker Tomas Herrera captured it all on film for the video to "Construction Man," a song from Hickman-Dalton Gang Volume II. It was pure lighthearted whiskey-infused fun in the sun. Check out on YouTube, out today!
Jim and I released The Hickman-Dalton Gang Volume I CD back in 2006, and I'm proud to say we found the time to record another album, The Hickman-Dalton Gang Volume II and it's available on CD, iTunes, Amazon, etc. today! Our sound is very much old-school, alt- or outlaw country to me, nothing like the slick stuff that comes out of Nashvegas. Hickman-Dalton Gang may not be every Cracker fan's cup of tea if you aren't a country music fan, but if you dig the twangy side of Cracker, I invite you to check this side project out.
We will be having a CD release party at the Soiled Dove Underground in Denver on July 1st and I hope to see some of you there. No news on other shows or the videos we keep talking about making, because Jim is so busy with Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, and of course I have a ton of Cracker dates on the books as well.
Update: December 6, 2011: Back in November we had a HDG hootenanny featuring Jim Dalton, yours truly, Jeremy Lawton, Tony Nascar, Chris "Pelon" Helvey and guest Jimmy Stelling. We invited about 75 friends and folks from the FoCo music scene, my wife and our friends made a great spread of food, and we rolled in kegs of New Belgium and other liquid treats. Fort Collins film maker Tomas Herrera captured it all on film for the video to "Construction Man," a song from Hickman-Dalton Gang Volume II. It was pure lighthearted whiskey-infused fun in the sun. Check out on YouTube, out today!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
"Uncle Johnny's Tips for Musicians" (Scene) August 2009
Update: This entry is from my column that originally appeared in the Northern Colorado entertainment magazine The Scene. While I'm not doing this column anymore, I'm still as involved as I can be in the Fort Collins area music scene in general.
This edition’s topic: Art is FREE. WHEE!
I'm not going to pretend to be an economist. I’ve already shared some theories on why our country is in financial decline, and who knows if I’m right. But right now I’m in a somewhat obsessive phase of reading world history, especially the history of Stalinist Russia. I’ve begun to think that one very disturbing symptom of decline may be people’s gradual numbness to art itself. In this regard, the internet is the modern miracle that is simultaneously saving and destroying us.
It’s hard to say whether the internet has done more economic harm than good. I would think harm, but I honestly can’t say. While it has put millions of travel agents, car salesmen and realtors, etc. out of business, I’m sure it has also provided some jobs, exposed more people to global concerns, and let people telecommute, among other positive things.
This nation was once a major exporter of goods in the world. Now, not so much. American workers have earned themselves a reputation for being lazy, most everything is made overseas, and mega-corporations constantly price-set and put local competition out of business. I meet more and more people who are employees in retail, and fewer who are business owners or who actually manufacture something. I ask: what exactly are we making here in the United States that the world is interested in buying anymore? And for that matter, what are we making that WE are interested in buying? Our spoiled and selfish consumers favor quantity over quality, and seem to gleefully use the internet to pirate that which they can’t legitimately find for free.
New movie coming out? Buy it? Dude....you can burn it...for FREE! WHEE! Music? Get it FREE! WHEE! Piracy “feels” less dishonest than shoplifting, even though it’s not. Consumers are totally desensitized to the effects of their own behavior. For those that bother to compare and pay attention to the lessons of history, today’s commodity-hunger and devaluation of art are eerily similar to what happened to Rome. That super-power ate itself up in a hedonistic orgy of food, sex and entertainment. And after the implosion of a society, it is usually left to some restrictive regime to pick up the pieces.
Music, art and literature were once highly valuable commodities in the United States. Now writers, artists and musicians here are vying for any attention they can garner.....for FREE!! WHEE! Ask most young people today if they believe they should pay for fine art, literature and music and they will look puzzlingly at you. Who can blame them? It’s there – FREE! WHEE! Many young, budding musicians I know give away music that cost them to make, somewhat reluctantly, but their attitude is “that’s the only way to promote it anymore.” Sometimes their self-promotion pays off, sometimes not. The diminishing desire to create art that gives voice to the pains and desires of a society is part of the decline of that society. The concept of the starving artist is somewhat romantic for a while, but artists have dignity too and want to get a fair reward for their work. Authors have mortgages and actors have car payments just like everyone else. Art for art’s sake is a lovely idea, but one still has to eat. If this trend continues, the result could very well be a society that has its arts completely funded and hence dictated by its government, much like the art of other countries throughout history. If that happens, the handful of remaining artists will end up on government payroll, which will certainly lead to two things. One, the art they produce will be created in an atmosphere of fear of job loss and will grow ever more stale and predictable. Two, art will most assuredly NOT be FREE!! WHEE!! Does undervaluing the arts still sound inexpensive? Uncle Johnny, over and out.
This edition’s topic: Art is FREE. WHEE!
I'm not going to pretend to be an economist. I’ve already shared some theories on why our country is in financial decline, and who knows if I’m right. But right now I’m in a somewhat obsessive phase of reading world history, especially the history of Stalinist Russia. I’ve begun to think that one very disturbing symptom of decline may be people’s gradual numbness to art itself. In this regard, the internet is the modern miracle that is simultaneously saving and destroying us.
It’s hard to say whether the internet has done more economic harm than good. I would think harm, but I honestly can’t say. While it has put millions of travel agents, car salesmen and realtors, etc. out of business, I’m sure it has also provided some jobs, exposed more people to global concerns, and let people telecommute, among other positive things.
This nation was once a major exporter of goods in the world. Now, not so much. American workers have earned themselves a reputation for being lazy, most everything is made overseas, and mega-corporations constantly price-set and put local competition out of business. I meet more and more people who are employees in retail, and fewer who are business owners or who actually manufacture something. I ask: what exactly are we making here in the United States that the world is interested in buying anymore? And for that matter, what are we making that WE are interested in buying? Our spoiled and selfish consumers favor quantity over quality, and seem to gleefully use the internet to pirate that which they can’t legitimately find for free.
New movie coming out? Buy it? Dude....you can burn it...for FREE! WHEE! Music? Get it FREE! WHEE! Piracy “feels” less dishonest than shoplifting, even though it’s not. Consumers are totally desensitized to the effects of their own behavior. For those that bother to compare and pay attention to the lessons of history, today’s commodity-hunger and devaluation of art are eerily similar to what happened to Rome. That super-power ate itself up in a hedonistic orgy of food, sex and entertainment. And after the implosion of a society, it is usually left to some restrictive regime to pick up the pieces.
Music, art and literature were once highly valuable commodities in the United States. Now writers, artists and musicians here are vying for any attention they can garner.....for FREE!! WHEE! Ask most young people today if they believe they should pay for fine art, literature and music and they will look puzzlingly at you. Who can blame them? It’s there – FREE! WHEE! Many young, budding musicians I know give away music that cost them to make, somewhat reluctantly, but their attitude is “that’s the only way to promote it anymore.” Sometimes their self-promotion pays off, sometimes not. The diminishing desire to create art that gives voice to the pains and desires of a society is part of the decline of that society. The concept of the starving artist is somewhat romantic for a while, but artists have dignity too and want to get a fair reward for their work. Authors have mortgages and actors have car payments just like everyone else. Art for art’s sake is a lovely idea, but one still has to eat. If this trend continues, the result could very well be a society that has its arts completely funded and hence dictated by its government, much like the art of other countries throughout history. If that happens, the handful of remaining artists will end up on government payroll, which will certainly lead to two things. One, the art they produce will be created in an atmosphere of fear of job loss and will grow ever more stale and predictable. Two, art will most assuredly NOT be FREE!! WHEE!! Does undervaluing the arts still sound inexpensive? Uncle Johnny, over and out.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
"Uncle Johnny's Tips for Musicians" (Scene) July 2009
Update: This entry is from my column that originally appeared in the Northern Colorado entertainment magazine The Scene. While I'm not doing this column anymore, I'm still as involved as I can be in the Fort Collins area music scene in general.
This edition’s topic: The Glamorous Sound of Eco-touring
Today’s topic arises as the result of a well-intentioned, blonde dreadlocked music fan who wobbly Birkenstocked up to me at a recent festival and asked, “Hey, man, what is your band doing to keep your tours green? I mean do you guys buy offsets to help with the carbon footprint?” “No, we don’t,” I said immediately. She looked shocked. Well, shocked, and a little bloodshot, and somewhat disappointed. I tried to explain.
Regarding the mucho-hyped carbon offsets, I feel compelled to put things into a pragmatic perspective. A little background: The idea of carbon offsets is not brand new (but maybe not familiar to everyone). Per Wikipedia, “In the … voluntary market, individuals, companies, or governments purchase carbon offsets to mitigate their own greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, electricity use, and other sources.” You buy an “offset,” and with that money, you support some ecologically P.C. groovy project like a solar or wind farm. (Is it just me or is this a little bit like going to an O2 bar to offset the lung damage done by smoking a pack and a half of Camel Lights a day? Basically, you are just fining yourself for touring.) But don’t get me wrong. Bands who buy carbon offsets are doing something important for the greater good, and I commend them for doing so. At least it’s honest, for it acknowledges that our industry pollutes (most do). Dave Matthews, Phish, The Dead, they’re all buying offsets and sponsoring clean energy, and I am proud that they are. Bear in mind though, that they do this in part to inspire others, not just musicians, but fans who are insurance adjusters and company CFOs. The point of these bands using their fame “for good” is to remind everyone that our travels make an impact.
Unfortunately my band (and in actuality the vast majority of bands) just don’t tour at the level of Dave or The Dead. Some of our friends are still crossing the map with two giant buses (at 6-8 MPG), one for band and one for gear. They SHOULD be buying carbon offsets. When they do, it’s because they can afford to. We tour nationally at a much more modest level. Trying to make a profit during this recession, Cracker tours in a single Sprinter van that gets over 20MPG even with a heavy gear trailer. When we arrive in a city after a 5 to 8 hour drive every day, our legs and asses are asleep and we have had almost NO sleep, but may I point out, we are leaving a much smaller eco-footprint. We recycle. Some of us are vegetarians. We play “sustainable living” fairs, and as individuals we give money to green charities when we can and still afford to keep going. But our business requires that we travel. CD sales are a fraction of what they used to be for EVERY band, so survival equals touring. A videoconference or podcast of a show just doesn’t give our fans that vibrating-through-the-floorboards, smell of the beer that just got dumped on the guy next to them, live in-concert feeling. We can really only pollute less by touring less, and by not making a living and not bringing our live show to the fans that sustain us. So until Ben and Jerry’s gives us our own flavor (Cracker Surprise with Whiskey, Milk & Honey?), or the industry reinvents itself in a big way, we will keep doing the many little things we hope will add up to helping sustain the earth, just as we hope our fans will do, even if we can’t publicly boast that our exhaust paid for an entire wind farm in Wyoming.
To learn about the many ways bands can tour more responsibly, and how fans can help, one great site is reverbrock.org (started by the folks from Guster). A final fact, from the Dogwood Alliance website, says that 80% of a concert’s carbon footprint comes from fans’ commutes. Hey dreadlock girl, wherever you are, I trust you walked or carpooled to that festival. Or perhaps you bought a carbon offset instead of that extra bag of “herb.” My only advice to friends and readers is this: do everything you can to fight global warming and social ills, but don’t waste time feeling guilty about things that are out of your hands. If you are doing your part, you are ahead of many who just don’t care.
Footnote: My wife and personal editor would like me to point out that we know Wikipedia is not a “real” source, but, this is not a New York Times column, either. This is college-town entertainment publishing, and Uncle Johnny is just fine with that, over and out.
This edition’s topic: The Glamorous Sound of Eco-touring
Today’s topic arises as the result of a well-intentioned, blonde dreadlocked music fan who wobbly Birkenstocked up to me at a recent festival and asked, “Hey, man, what is your band doing to keep your tours green? I mean do you guys buy offsets to help with the carbon footprint?” “No, we don’t,” I said immediately. She looked shocked. Well, shocked, and a little bloodshot, and somewhat disappointed. I tried to explain.
Regarding the mucho-hyped carbon offsets, I feel compelled to put things into a pragmatic perspective. A little background: The idea of carbon offsets is not brand new (but maybe not familiar to everyone). Per Wikipedia, “In the … voluntary market, individuals, companies, or governments purchase carbon offsets to mitigate their own greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, electricity use, and other sources.” You buy an “offset,” and with that money, you support some ecologically P.C. groovy project like a solar or wind farm. (Is it just me or is this a little bit like going to an O2 bar to offset the lung damage done by smoking a pack and a half of Camel Lights a day? Basically, you are just fining yourself for touring.) But don’t get me wrong. Bands who buy carbon offsets are doing something important for the greater good, and I commend them for doing so. At least it’s honest, for it acknowledges that our industry pollutes (most do). Dave Matthews, Phish, The Dead, they’re all buying offsets and sponsoring clean energy, and I am proud that they are. Bear in mind though, that they do this in part to inspire others, not just musicians, but fans who are insurance adjusters and company CFOs. The point of these bands using their fame “for good” is to remind everyone that our travels make an impact.
Unfortunately my band (and in actuality the vast majority of bands) just don’t tour at the level of Dave or The Dead. Some of our friends are still crossing the map with two giant buses (at 6-8 MPG), one for band and one for gear. They SHOULD be buying carbon offsets. When they do, it’s because they can afford to. We tour nationally at a much more modest level. Trying to make a profit during this recession, Cracker tours in a single Sprinter van that gets over 20MPG even with a heavy gear trailer. When we arrive in a city after a 5 to 8 hour drive every day, our legs and asses are asleep and we have had almost NO sleep, but may I point out, we are leaving a much smaller eco-footprint. We recycle. Some of us are vegetarians. We play “sustainable living” fairs, and as individuals we give money to green charities when we can and still afford to keep going. But our business requires that we travel. CD sales are a fraction of what they used to be for EVERY band, so survival equals touring. A videoconference or podcast of a show just doesn’t give our fans that vibrating-through-the-floorboards, smell of the beer that just got dumped on the guy next to them, live in-concert feeling. We can really only pollute less by touring less, and by not making a living and not bringing our live show to the fans that sustain us. So until Ben and Jerry’s gives us our own flavor (Cracker Surprise with Whiskey, Milk & Honey?), or the industry reinvents itself in a big way, we will keep doing the many little things we hope will add up to helping sustain the earth, just as we hope our fans will do, even if we can’t publicly boast that our exhaust paid for an entire wind farm in Wyoming.
To learn about the many ways bands can tour more responsibly, and how fans can help, one great site is reverbrock.org (started by the folks from Guster). A final fact, from the Dogwood Alliance website, says that 80% of a concert’s carbon footprint comes from fans’ commutes. Hey dreadlock girl, wherever you are, I trust you walked or carpooled to that festival. Or perhaps you bought a carbon offset instead of that extra bag of “herb.” My only advice to friends and readers is this: do everything you can to fight global warming and social ills, but don’t waste time feeling guilty about things that are out of your hands. If you are doing your part, you are ahead of many who just don’t care.
Footnote: My wife and personal editor would like me to point out that we know Wikipedia is not a “real” source, but, this is not a New York Times column, either. This is college-town entertainment publishing, and Uncle Johnny is just fine with that, over and out.
Friday, May 1, 2009
"Uncle Johnny's Tips for Musicians" (Scene) May 2009
Update: This entry is from my column that originally appeared in the Northern Colorado entertainment magazine The Scene. While I'm not doing this column anymore, I'm still as involved as I can be in the Fort Collins area music scene in general.
This edition’s topic: A few words
Hello Fort Collins! Short column this month; I had considered not submitting anything at all due to time constraints, but I wanted to give a few props before summer insanity hits.
I was so impressed with the bands and the organization that went into our city’s first Fort Collins Music Experiment! We enjoyed two great nights out and I got to see a few local artists I’d only heard about. Take it from this happily weary, 25 year alt-rock veteran...Northern Colorado has one of the best locals scenes I’ve ever seen, much less been a part of. I hope FOCOMX grows every year, and thank you FOCOMA for supporting local music. It’s been an honor to be part of it.
Creating support for musicians at the local level is so important...without a local fan base, bands have nothing to build on. With the recession still in full swing, local music fills a community need for affordable and quality entertainment, to say nothing of the tremendous release that a night of musical escape from the day-to-day grind can provide to the soul and the spirit. So, folks, consider it your civic duty to hoist a few drinks in front of your favorite local band whenever possible! That said, I will be away from the Fort a lot this year.
My band Cracker has a new album coming out on May 5th. As my fellow musicians know, touring during a recession means more legwork and more dates, fewer patio lunches in Old Town, less time with friends and family. Summer can be grueling, but, this is what we do. We had an amazing time recording the Cracker album and I hope to bring tales of the road back home. We had great guest musicians on this record, like Patterson Hood, John Doe, and Adam Duritz. Due to a tight recording schedule, I didn’t bring home any tales of debauchery from the sessions, but if we spend any time with these characters on the road this summer, you had better believe that there will be adventures and misadventures to share. I will try to make time to write about them between festivals, long drives, hangovers and layovers!
Here’s to a fine summer, Uncle Johnny.
This edition’s topic: A few words
Hello Fort Collins! Short column this month; I had considered not submitting anything at all due to time constraints, but I wanted to give a few props before summer insanity hits.
I was so impressed with the bands and the organization that went into our city’s first Fort Collins Music Experiment! We enjoyed two great nights out and I got to see a few local artists I’d only heard about. Take it from this happily weary, 25 year alt-rock veteran...Northern Colorado has one of the best locals scenes I’ve ever seen, much less been a part of. I hope FOCOMX grows every year, and thank you FOCOMA for supporting local music. It’s been an honor to be part of it.
Creating support for musicians at the local level is so important...without a local fan base, bands have nothing to build on. With the recession still in full swing, local music fills a community need for affordable and quality entertainment, to say nothing of the tremendous release that a night of musical escape from the day-to-day grind can provide to the soul and the spirit. So, folks, consider it your civic duty to hoist a few drinks in front of your favorite local band whenever possible! That said, I will be away from the Fort a lot this year.
My band Cracker has a new album coming out on May 5th. As my fellow musicians know, touring during a recession means more legwork and more dates, fewer patio lunches in Old Town, less time with friends and family. Summer can be grueling, but, this is what we do. We had an amazing time recording the Cracker album and I hope to bring tales of the road back home. We had great guest musicians on this record, like Patterson Hood, John Doe, and Adam Duritz. Due to a tight recording schedule, I didn’t bring home any tales of debauchery from the sessions, but if we spend any time with these characters on the road this summer, you had better believe that there will be adventures and misadventures to share. I will try to make time to write about them between festivals, long drives, hangovers and layovers!
Here’s to a fine summer, Uncle Johnny.
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