Casey the Puppy's memorial album

Slow Joe - Roller Blading on Stilts

2008-02-09T08:04:00.000-08:00

Slow Joe, by Catfish Bones

Video includes Fire Juggling with a Devil Stick, Roller Blading on Stilts and clips of Catfish Bones (that would be me) playing harp. The song "Slow Joe" will appear on Glenn "Catfish" Bones next CD - titled: Casey the Puppy's Memorial Album. "Slow Joe" was written and arranged by Glenn "Catfish" Bones, foolscircus, 2008. Stop by and say hi at: www.myspace.com/glennbones

Bubblegum Blues

2008-01-15T19:02:00.000-08:00

In this track I'm playing cross harp in B (a Blues scale) against a backing track in B minor. The more major feel of the blues harp scale of the solo creates a tension against the minor backing track, and the harp is one of the higher pitched harps - so that when played at a faster tempo, like in this track, it creates an edgy, nervous kind of feel.

It's like what a kid would want to hear after drinking a 12 pack of Mountain Dew. This can be effective after a slow, "throaty" song. I call this stuff "Bubble gum Blues". It's for the kids more than us old folks. Myself, I'm like " you can't dance to that".

Anyways, I'm just jamming, then turning it into a MPEG file, and downloading it to this page. I was having too many problems with the movie making software, so I got some new software, Sony Vegas Studio.

Hopefully, this means I can cut down on how long it takes to make make a clip - it's ridiculous to spend 10 minutes practicing a track, 3 minutes recording a track, and 3 hours trying to get it in a movie format - this only took about a half hour to put together after I ran the setup program.

The Black Keeshond is Casey, and I'm doing going to be recording a memorial album for her (Casey passed away at 14 on Oct 1, 2007), and I have a number of dog-related songs I'm going to put together to make this CD.

Anyways, I have a web page, if your interested: http://glennbowen.biz/index.htm

and an email: glennwbowen@hotmail.com

Later,

Catfish

Still Jamming after all these years

2008-01-14T20:20:00.000-08:00

Like I said last time, I'm going to use a rhythm machine for the
backing tracks on a CD I'm going to record - so I'm just playing
around with it -to get used to it, and sort out some recording issues
(not that I'll ever advance much beyond hit record and hit stop -but
I can play around with the audio quality of what gets recorded).
So here is my latest effort - total time to make (including slide show -under 2 hrs
(to quote Arlo Guthrie - I'm not proud, or tired).
I'm recording from the rhythm machine direct into a digital recorder,
and playing the harmonica right into the recorder too, using the old
Turner/Schure mic that I always use plugged into an instrument jack.
I'm playing in A
As always - email glennwbowen@hotmail.com
website: http://glennbowen.biz/index.htm
Later,
Catfish

Another Solo CD

2008-01-07T19:37:00.000-08:00

So I'm going to make another solo CD, and to pick up the tempo, I bought a new DR-880 Rythm machine yesterday. I'm just jamming on a tin whistle, and using a hand held tape recorder, so the audio quality is pretty miserable -but for ten minutes effort - what the heck. It's energetic, at least.

I wanted to just upload it as a .wav file, but that's not an option on this blog (it has to be a picture or a movie, not an audio file) so I spent the next four hours figuring out how to make the damn thing into a movie - anyways I don't think Hollywood's going to be calling any time soon.

The black Keeshound is Casey, my old dog -she passed away back on October 1st, and the CD is going to be a memorial album to her life, mostly, along with some other stuff.

I've given up on getting other musicians to record on my solo CD's. I know drum/bass track machines are totally bogus, but hey, unless you're a drum or bass player who want's to record on the CD, don't give me grief about how I get some backing so that I can do what I do - Jam.

I haven't stopped playing the Blues harp, but sometimes, like on this track, I screw around with the tin whistle.

Anyways, I had fun with it. As always - you can contact me at glennwbowen@hotmail.com

web page: http://glennbowen.biz/index.htm

Later,

Catfish Bones

Doggie Heaven

2007-12-09T20:02:00.000-08:00

so here's the complete song
(composed Dec, 2007, Glenn Bowen)

I don't want to go to People Heaven
I'd probably meet Don Rumsfield there
I'd call him an Ass and He'd call me a Jerk
He'd kick me in the balls, and I'd pull out his hair

we'd kick,and we'd bite and we'd spit and we'd swear
'til some Heavenly Angel comes out of nowhere,
grabs us by the scruff, throws us way down below
in that Eternal Fire, where bad people go
full of all the bad people, who do all the bad things
and everyone sings ------like me

No I don't want to go to People Heaven,
it's full of Republican Christians, you can't make me go
there must be a place called Doggie Heaven,
yeh that's the place where I want to go

yes, give me a coat of long brown hair
give me a tail, hey I don't care
even call me Rover, I'll still be your friend,
and when this life is over -send me to Doggie Heaven

Yes, Suzie and and Bootsie, I will see you soon
Oliver old pal, we'll go howl at the Moon,
Casie I know you'd never leave me alone,
It wont be too long 'cuz I'm going back home,
to a place where I will spend all eternity,
with lots of good friends who care about me,
you know you're home when you can pee on a tree----
in Doggie Heaven

another song I wrote yesterday (Dec, 2007, Glenn Bowen)
(no title yet-maybe "Wheelchair by the Door")

He's an old man of Ninety
His wheelchair's by the door
He thinks his friends are coming
but they died in the War
He knows that you are family
but your name he can't recall
and if you can't see the Beauty,
you can't see at all

yes, if you can't see the Beauty
you can't see at all

She's the Old Lady in the shoe,
gets by on that Social Security check
But she'll break out the best china
aint no trouble, what the heck
the steaks are thick and juicy
when you leave, she asks you to call
and if you can't see the Beauty,
you can't can't see at all

Yeh, I tell you she's a Beauty
but you don't see at all

The cold wind was blowing trash
down this God-damned, lousy street
and I swear it was a week
since I last had a bite to eat
when I first picked up this harp
played it and had a ball
and if you can't hear the Beauty
you can't hear at all

If you can't hear the Beauty
you can't hear at all

anyways, as always -the website is
http://glennbowen.biz
and the email is glennwbowen@hotmail.com

next Gig is at the American Legion in Mound,Mn
on New Years Eve with the Barefoot Boogie Band,
Stop by and say hi,

Later,

Catfish

Same old Shit

2007-12-02T19:29:00.000-08:00

I'm working on a song called "Doggy Heaven",

and it starts out:

I don't want to go to People Heaven,

I'd probably meet Don Rumsfield there,

I'd call him an Ass, and he'd call me a Jerk,

He'd kick me in the balls, and I'd rip out his hair

We'd kick and we'd bite and we'd spit and we'd swear,

'til some heavenly Angel comes out of nowhere

grabs us by the scruff and throws us way down below

in that Eternal fire where the sinners go,

full of all the bad people who do all the bad things,

and everyone sings-----like me

no give me a coat of long brown hair,

give me a tail, I just don't care

even call me Rover, I'll still be friend,

and when it's all over,

send me to Doggy Heaven

(then I'll go into some lines about Dog's

I've owned in the past who are now in

Doggy Heaven)

and finally end with:

A place I can go spend all eternity

along with good friends who all care for me,

you know that you're Home when you pee on a tree

in Doggy Heaven

otherwise it's all the same old shit

but you gotta keep the Faith-

Later

Catfish

Good bye, Casey the puppy

2007-10-12T17:18:00.000-07:00

So my dog Casey, passed away
Oct 1, 2007 about 3 in the morning
or so,and later, in the afternoon,

we buried her. Then I went

to Purgatory (which is the name

of an off-leash park were I would

take Casey for a walk and practice

my music. We would go almost

every day).

I wanted to record something, and it was important

to me that it be recorded here, because Casey

loved going to this park, running around, meeting

other dogs, etc, etc.

Anyways, so I made a couple attempts on another

instrument (a hulusu, a Chinese gourd flute), but I

was not getting what I wanted, and the sun was
starting to set, and I didn't want to be playing in the

dark, and I felt I needed to get something recorded

before the sun set, or the moment would be lost.

(Of course I could go record something

the next day,or when ever, but that's just being practical

and you know what, "F**k being practical.)

So, with the sun quickly setting, I gave up on the hulusu, and

went for the another instrument in my car that I had

grabbed on the way out the door, a flagolet

(which is what you call a tin whistle when it's made out

of wood, not "tin").

Now, about a year ago, I was walking along the

path at Purgatory, with Casey following along, playing
a Clarke tin whistle,and this lady came up to me

out of nowhere. She had tears running down her face,

so you'd figure she was sad, and something was wrong,

right? But she was smiling, and she'd come up to me

to thank me for playing, something she'd found beautiful.

It turns out her son had passed away, and she had gone

to the park after the funeral, and the flute-like songs

drifting through the woods, was something she found

appropriate to the mix of emotions she was feeling.

It was for her a moment when she could really

acknowledge her love and her loss in one joyous

moment that she could hold on to, and music was the

catalyst.

I of course was just practicing my music, and walking

my dog (or more correctly walking along with my dog

lazily following along in her own sweet time), and was

blissfully unaware of any profound event going on

around me.

As soon as she appeared, told her story and thanked me,

she walked away, leaving me going "Huh?",

So I went back to practicing my music. But somewhere

in the back of my mind, I'd stored this event, and so as

I'm walking out of my bedroom, I grab the flagolet,

without even thinking why.

Now, with the sun setting in a couple minutes, I have

one, maybe two chances to record something, before

I'm sitting there alone in the dark.

If that happens, the moment is lost, and I really

want something this day to capture what Casey

meant to me.

I take the flagolet out of the car, pull it out of

the case, and hit the record button of my portable

digital recorder, and compose an air, I later call

"10/01/07" playing here: http://glennbowen.biz/

I think a minute about trying to do another

recording, but I decide that this is what I want

to keep. By October 1st the sun is setting

fast and a minute or two later it is dark out.

I drive home in the night.

Now, I'm not saying it's great or anything -

I'm a Blues harmonica player,
not an Irish Tin Whistle player.

Whatever,

This is a lamentation for Casey the Puppy,

and a description of why it's called 10/1/07.

http://glennbowen.biz/

Goodbye Puppy Friend

As rare as a harp player at a blues fest

2007-08-31T11:25:00.000-07:00

So I got back from the Last Ride Blues Festival
in Thief River Falls, MN
at the Seven Clans Casino.

I played harp with Little Bobby and the Storm
on Saturday, and had a good time - but it's a long
drive from Minneapolis, and harmonica players
don't make money like this, and making trips out-of-
pocket to "Preach the Blues (Harp)" is not nearly
as much fun as making a little money after devoting an
entire weekend to this D*mned instrument.

I was the "Official harp player of the Last Ride Blues Fest"

In fact, this is the second festival this year
I played at where I was the only one playing
harmonica. This is very dissapointing to me,
because honestly the harmonica makes the
Blues the Blues (ok I'm biased).

None-the-less, Harmonica players are being
cut out by B3 players, or Sax players, and most
people listening to the new rock-based blues
really don't know what they're missing.

They've only heard crummy harp players, or
recordings (not recognizing the instrument
they are not hearing in the live shows is called a
harmonica).

If you've gone to a Blues Fest, and you haven't
heard a live harmonica player - you've been
ripped off - complain to the promoter -tell them
you want Blues Bands with Harmonica players
in them.

Enough griping - you know I'll be back at it.

Friday Sept 31 (playing with Barefoot Boogie at
Lord Fletchers in the Twin Cities), and with
Little Bobby in Winnipeg on Sept 21 at the Park
Theater.

And if you do see a real live harp player - stop by
and say hi, before we're all extinct.

Later,

Catfish

Listen to a Blues Musical about a Harp Player

2007-05-03T04:05:00.000-07:00

I've posted a reading of a one act musical about a Blues Musician
on my website. This is a complete reading of an original
work with eight original songs. Here's the link:

http://glennbowen.biz/nobodycares.htm

This site was featured at CoolPick.com as the cool site of the day
for April 29th, 2007.

The entire play takes about 35 minutes, but you can listen to parts
of the recorded songs and then skip ahead if you're pressed for time.

I'll be playing harp in Grand Forks, ND with Little Bobby and the Storm
next Saturday (June 12, 2007) at Sanders 1907.
Stop by and say hi,

Later

Glenn
http://glennbowen.biz/

Hey Man, Look What I've Done

2007-01-09T17:43:00.000-08:00

So it's done.

I finished my 2nd CD,
"An Ark in the Basement" yesterday,
and have posted it on my website.
http://glennbowen.biz/cdlyrics2PTa.htm
(these are complete tracks of the 10 songs)

Here's a couple track's that I happen to like:

http://glennbowen.biz/cdlyrics2PT_JohnDoe.htm

http://glennbowen.biz/cdlyrics2PT_rainfallsdown.htm

I decided to do a second CD about a year
ago, and I just finished it up, and with
trepidation, I put it on CD player and I
listened, and I thought "yeh, I like this,
this is good." Check it out.

I wasn't making any progress, so I decided
over the Christmas/New Year holidays,
to devote myself to recording all the tracks
on a home studio unit I own (a Boss-900CD).

So I'm sitting in my Basement room, playing
my harmonica on a mouth rack, and singing,
while at the same time playing a Bodhran
(an Irish Goatskin Drum). I decided to keep
playing the same song over and over again
until I got a track I liked, but I didn't do any
editing or cutting and pasting - this is
performance music, so it's not perfect, but
it is very good -there's an energy that comes
off a performance that isn't captured in a
studio, and I think these tracks capture
that energy.

I'm done, I'm done, I'm done.
Boy I'm glad I'm done.

I've got quite a backlog of really good songs,
that I'm hoping to record on this portable
studio, now that I know how to use it - I'll
post them on my website, but I think I'm
done making CD's, so this will be my last
post unless something big comes up.

I'm going to be playing the Fargo Winter
Fest with Little Bobby and the Storm,
Feb. 10th - I'm told they were specifically
looking for a harmonica band, which is
good to hear (as a harmonica player).
I'm excited about going back to play
in Fargo.

Bobby Houle says he got the initial gig
through a contact with a local Twin Cities
musician Big Walter Smith, so indirectly,
I owe Big Walter Smith a debt of gratitude.
Now, Big Walter wouldn't know me from
Adam, but I have met him, and I think he
is one of the great local performers. I actually
saw Big Walter Smith perform once on the
tarmac of a Minneapolis St Paul Airport
runway! How many blues player can say that?
They have a CD "Big Storm Coming" -which I
thoroughly enjoy - very energetic blues with
horns. It's good stuff (if you still have money
after buying "An Ark in the Basement").

Anyways, I started this blog to describe the
making of "An Ark in the Basement". Now,
I'm sending off the CD's to CDBaby tomorrow.
They should be on sale in a week or so, and
I'll have something to bring up to Fargo, to
try and promote my harp playing when I'm
up there in a couple weeks.

I guess that means I'm done. so I'll sign
off with my final words on the CD
(warning - this is a very odd recording):
http://glennbowen.biz/cdlyrics2PT_ark.htm

"He's building an Ark in the basement,
waiting for the waters to rise.
I used to think he was crazy,
but I came to realize,
if you build an Ark in your basement,
even if the waters don't come,
you point to that boat in your basement
and say:

"Hey man, look what I've done"

Later,
Glenn "Catfish Bones" Bowen
http://glennbowen.biz/
952-797-3543

CD Bootlegging the Blues is on sale

2006-12-26T14:45:00.000-08:00

The CD "Bootlegging the Blues"
is on sale at CD Baby:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/fargoblues2

I'm playing harp on track #4
Six String Telephone with the band
Little Bobby and the Storm.

I was on their first CD "Before the Storm"
on the song "Worried" which they made
into a video:
http://glennbowen.biz/bobbyhoule.htm

Like I said, I was called in at the last
minute, so I didn't get a chance to rehearse
with the band before the Fargo
performance. One big jam for me, but it
was fun, and people who where there said
it went off really well.

I still haven't heard the whole track yet,
but there's a one minute sample on the
CDBaby link and it sounds pretty good.

Hopefully my name shows up somewhere
in the liner notes, because you know I'm
not getting a dime off this one.

Later

Catfish

What a Wonderful World, Oh Yeh.

2006-12-08T13:08:00.000-08:00

I just got done reading Satchmo
(Louis Armstrongs biography of
his early New Orleans years) - good.
I guess it's a sign of the times that what
was once considered "rough" now seems
well mannered, and gentle.

It's interesting to read about a musician
getting his start. Satchmo sang one of the
greatest songs of all time - "What a
Wonderful World", and lately I've been
walking outside, and that's the first thing
I've been thinking as I look out the door.

This is a little disturbing:
a) because I'm not kidding,
b) because I'm not in Love, and
c) because I live in the Minnesota,
in the Suburbs, and it's the first
week of December.

But the browns, the golds, the tans,
the muted greens - the tall prairie
grasses, the shapes of the trees without
their leaves against the muted blues of
a Winter sky is truly beautiful. Honestly,
the rest of you are missing something
profound.
(nah, nah, nah, nah, nah na!)

I should mention that I quit my position
as a Sales Engineer about two weeks ago
from a real dead end job working with people
whose Spirits were just crushed by Life.
If you're really nosey, or are looking for a
excellent Engineer/Sales Engineer you can
read my resume here:
http://glennbowen.biz/glenres1.htm

But back on topic - like I said it really is
beautiful in Minnesota this time of year,
and I'm not the only wacko who thinks
so. I went to an exhibition of
Brandenburg photos of the prairie at the
Bell Museum today, and he had some
amazing prairie photos of late Fall/Early
Winter. Poke around his website, and
you'll see what I mean:
http://www.jimbrandenburg.com/flash/index_flash.html
(look under Gallery- Autum and Winter)

So, I've been sleeping better, and eating less,
and swimming a mile a day, and going out
playing some local jams lately, and in a month
or so I'm going to have to start worrying about
money again, but for right now, to quote one of
the most profound heart felt "oh yehs" in history:
"I think to myself, what a wonderful world.
Oh yeh."
-Louis Armstrong

Later,
Catfish
http://glennbowen.biz/index.htm

More Macaroni

2006-11-25T04:47:00.000-08:00

CD Release December 8th, 2006
Bootlegging the Blues - #11
(Fargo Blues Fest #11).
The CD will feature:
Two Tracks by Little Bobby and the Storm.

I'm the Harp player on these tracks.
It's like Christmas, because I haven't gotten a copy yet -
so I'm counting the days until my copies arrive in the mail.

I've been told its really good. Technically, I've heard it
once before, but I was kind of busy at the time, and a
recording engineer/sound guy can do amazing things
with the sound, compared to what you hear in the
monitors on stage.

The Fargo Blues Fest web page hasn't been updated
yet (11/25/06), but here's the link - it's the #11 album,
that I'm on, not the #10 album. If you read
this after December 8th, 2006 it should be there:

http://fargobluesfest.homestead.com/index.html

I'm not going to make any money off this one either,
but it is another feather in my cap as the saying goes,
or to reference the song "Yankee Doodle" - .....stuck a
feather in his cap an called it macaroni". - more
macaroni.

John Williams is at the Cedar December 3rd.
Master Irish Accordian/Concertina player.
Highly recommended.

Guy Davis (Blues Musician) at the Cedar
last week, was excellent, of course.

I'm going to sign up for some open jams
over the next couple weeks - I figure
I haven't been getting out enough.
tenative jam schedule:

Famous Dave's - 11/26/06
Whiskey Junction - 11/27/06
Dick's Bar & Grill (Hudson WI) -11/29/06
Cedar Open Stage -12/6/06
Riverside Cafe Open Mike - 12/7/06
Bootlegging the Blues Release - 12/8/06

Stop by and say hi.
Later,

Catfish Bones

ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

2006-10-19T18:03:00.000-07:00

So I went to visit my little sister in New York, NY,
and got to JFK, and she wasn't able to make it down
there to meet me, so I called her on my cell phone
and asked what I should do, she told me to take
the "A-train". Yeh, I knew then that this was going
to be a good trip. It was my first time in NY,NY and
I really liked it- not at all like the I imagined it - a
very livable well run, clean, friendly vibrant city -
another predjudice shot to hell.

Speaking of predjudice, I got to play a house party in
N. Minneapolis, and I'd asked someone I knew if
they wanted to play there too - I had gone last year
and had a good time, but he said no, that address was
in the hood (yeh, that's the Minneapolis hood) - so he
didn't go, I went, but I was like looking around when
I got there, like maybe I'd underestimated the danger
or something, but at some point you realize - no -
it was just a good chance to play some Blues for
an appreciative audience.
So much for the Minneapolis hood on that street.

To put it in perspective, there was a lady in
a wheel chair dancing with an older man, and wives
with children in strollers, old folks, young folks, red
folks blues folks - but no hood.

Why, because there was no drugs - soon as you have
the drugs- you got the hood, but you get people who
work for a living together for a party and it's just a party
-it's got nothing to do with how much you make - the
sole factor is drugs. That's why so many people want
the Police to start doing their jobs and get the damn
drugs off the street rather then just localizing into
neighberhoods far away from where they live.
Enough preaching.

So I need to get back on schedule with my CD -
so I went back and changed the title and the songs
on the CD.

New Title -
Why Blues Harp Players don't get Invited to Weddings.

Yeh, I know - the blog site title doesn't make much
sense if I'm no longer making - an ark in the basement -
so from now on- this project is "Operation Ark in the
Basement", Pretty Clever, huh.

anyways the "very, very rough draft recordings -
no backing tracks, poor recording quality, no practice -
very rough" but here is a sample of all the songs that
will be on the CD, in order:

[Warning - you don't want to hear me sing two songs in a row]
#1 - I am not - good at a love song:
http://glennbowen.biz/j16.htm
#2 - Dig It
http://glennbowen.biz/cdlyrics1_5.htm
#3 - Casey, the puppy
http://glennbowen.biz/cdlyrics1_6.htm
#4 - Dino Gas
(I really hate this recording -but it's a good song)
http://glennbowen.biz/cdlyrics2PT_9.htm
#5 - Off to War
http://glennbowen.biz/j12.htm
#6 - Why Blues Harp Players Don't Get Invited
to Weddings: http://glennbowen.biz/j22.htm
#7 - Baby's sittin' on my lap (just sayin' no)
http://glennbowen.biz/j13.htm
#8 - Rain Falls Down (on a Freeman)
http://glennbowen.biz/cdlyrics2PT_5a.htm
#9 - Talking 'bout Robert Johnson
http://glennbowen.biz/cdlyrics2PT_6a.htm
#10 - Born To Make That Little Girl Dance
http://glennbowen.biz/cdlyrics2PT_2a.htm
#11 - Catfish Bones Solo
http://glennbowen.biz/cdlyrics2PT_8a.htm
#12 - Hog Heaven (My Baby likes my Dog)
http://glennbowen.biz/j20.htm
this will be posted on the blog:
http://makinganark.blogspot.com/

I'll post the lyrics next time.

So hopefully I'm back on track, and going into the
Studio in November to actually record something.

Later,

Catfish

Contributing to World Sanity, in a small way

2006-09-06T17:58:00.000-07:00

The Performance at The Thief River Falls
Casino went extremely well, I got to meet
the keyboard player for Walter Trout
in the hotel (a superb player) but not
Kim Wilson or Bo Diddley-Kim Wilson
played excellent, but I did real good,
and I all ready knew Kim Wilson is one
of the masters at harp - so I played tourist
and took pictures of his band-the Fabulous
Thunderbirds from the 3rd row, and sat back
and enjoyed the show - catch it if you get a
chance- it's really good. Also got a free 10
minutes of recording time at Jamesland and
met Freeman James through the Minnesota
Area Songwriters - free recording time is
always welcome -but I didn't have
anything prepared for recording (last
minute deal for me- I brought my harps
just in case), so, it's a jam - but I'll
post it one my website when I get the
mix. Certainly I do appreciate any chance
to record at a premier Twin Cities studio
like Jamesland (this is a plug, but it is
an amazing studio). I'm doing a block party
next week in Minneapolis with Little
Bobby and the Storm (so I've got the
easy drive this time).

Anyways, I've been playing tin whistle at
a local park (Purgatory Creek -good name
for a park aint it?), just practicing really, but
a number of people have come up and
commented on how appropriate it is- the
sound of the tin whisitle drifting through
the woods- it just works, it makes sense-
if your walking your dog in a park, there
should be some guy sitting on top of
a hill with his keeshond, playing Irish
jigs and reels and slow airs- you hear it,
you look, you say to yourself - "yep,
that makes sense" -
Thank you ma'am, Just doing my part.

Opening for the Fabulous Thunderbirds & Bo Diddley

2006-08-25T04:57:00.000-07:00

Hey ev'rybody have you heard......

I'm driving up to Thief River Falls this
morning (Fri, August 25, 2006).
I'm going to be playing harp with Bobby
Houle and the Storm Saturday, at the
7 Clans Casino in Thief River Falls, MN.
They open for the Fabulous Thunderbirds
and Bo Diddley. I'm hoping to meet
Kim Wilson and Bo Diddley, but we'll see.
As long as I play solid, I'll be happy.

Anyways it's a 6 hour drive and there's a
Friday bill there with Big Walter Smith,
John Lee Hooker Jr, and Walter Trout.
I got to see Walter Trout last week at
the Fargo Blues Fest and he's
monster on the guitar-worth seeing twice.
I still have to pack and hit the road by
noon today- so, later
If you're there, stop by and say hi.

Glenn Bowen

Fargo Blues Festival - Opening Day

2006-08-22T18:56:00.000-07:00

So out of the blue last tuesday, I get a call from Bobby Houle,
and he asks if I want to play Harp at the Fargo Blues Festival.
Now I haven't heard from Bobby in at least 6 months, and so
I did what any mature, sensible man would do when someone
who hasn't said word one to you in over half a year asks if you
if you can take off from work on Friday, and drive 250 miles
for no pay, with no rehearsal to play at a blues festival in
Fargo. I said "of course", threw my gear in the car Wednesday
night, and left Thursday night right after work. Got to Fargo
just after midnight, woke up Friday morning, and it was raining.

But, sometimes these things work out, and this was one of those
times. The band really came together by the third song - the
sound crew was very professional (truly amazing sound),
everyone was playing together, and could could feel the music
breathing on stage (like it does when it really comes together).
A lot of people really liked it, A lot of CD's were sold, and some
great musicians took note of this act, which is cool.

I've never played in a festival before, but if you get a chance,
do it. It's something you'll remember a long time.

One Festival Down, hopefully, many more to go.

Later,

Catfish

Back at it

2006-08-09T18:30:00.000-07:00

Aug 9, 2006

I'm back from Oshkosh, which was a really good time,
and the new CSS based home page is in place.
What a pain, but it really looks good - traffic to the page
has doubled since I published put it up too.

Go to http://glennbowen.biz and check it out.
I've been practicing the Tin Whistle a lot lately
for the Catfish Bones Act, but I'm now wanting to
go back into the studio again, so I'm looking for
a guitar player and bass palyer I can work with.

Other general notes: Casey the puppy is much better now,
and she sleeps alot, but she is 13 years old. I did get
my Glider rating to add on to my Single Engine Land
Pilots License. Took a couple hundred aviation photos
at Oshkosh, and I have a few thousand more on my
computer, so I'm trying to find time to update the
webpage for my aviation photos like I did for this
Blues Harp page - I'll get to it.

Anyways, check out the new home page, and
work on the CD is now going to resume after
this longer than intended summer break.

Later,
Catfish

And The Beat Goes On

2006-05-13T19:04:00.000-07:00

Rory Block was excellent at the Cedar on Sunday.
Amazing stuff. I needed something like that to
remind myself just how powerful the Blues is.

It's also a reminder just how dead the Blues is
right now - the Cedar was about 3/4 to 7/8's
full. It puts my struggles in perpective, when
Rory Block doesn't sell out, but you play the
Blues because something inside you keeps
telling you this is your music -that's the way
it's always been, always has been, always
will be.

I'm going to post a link to my 1 act play
"Nobody Cares" on my new home page,
It's about a Blues Harp player, and the
struggle he faces:
http://glennbowen.biz/nobodycares.htm

Casey, the puppy is doing better - she's
not a 100% or anywhere near that, but
she's a lot better. I'm posting as
track #5 on my new home page
a song "Make a Miracle Happen".
it's sort of a votive offering. See #5:
http://glennbowen.biz/index.htm

This is the "new style" I'm woodshedding.
I'm playing the Bodhran (an Irish handheld
drum), while tapping my foot on a sounding
board (a park bench seat actually), while
playing a G harmonica in cross harp (key of
D) on a mouth rack, and singing.

I think this "one man band" style has a lot
of potential. I'd appreciate comments from
other people, because I haven't tried the
"new style" in public yet. my email is
gwbowen@mninter.net
let me know what you think.
later,

Catfish

Casey, the Puppy

2006-05-10T17:46:00.000-07:00

Casey, the puppy is now about 13 years old,
and she's not doing very well. I've been
been trying to stay with her as much as
possible, and one thing that is kind of
amazing is how tenacious the desire
is to stay alive is.

You can just see Casey willing herself to
get up and walk around, and get better,
even as she stumbles into things because
she can't see in one eye, and her balance
is not very good (it's a brain tumor, they
think).

She still enjoys some things - vanilla Dairy
Queen's, and cheese, and salmon, and
she's drinking a lot of water - and she does
get up and walk around some, and she
like getting some attention, but not too
much (she just walked up to me to be petted,
and now she's walked away again- thump,
thump)

So hopefully she'll get better, but right now
she's pretty confused. She's not really in
pain - its just tough getting around for her.

Gone Woodshedding

2006-05-09T03:54:00.000-07:00

Rory Block is at the Cedar next Fri
(May 12) and Goran Ivanovic on
Sunday-I'm volunteering both
nights. Then Ralph Stanley
on June 3rd, and I bought a ticket
for that one. Open Stage on Wed.
I was going to skip that one, but,
I recently heard of a local harp
player who passed away,
and it was kind of a reminder
that I really do need to get out
and see the live performers more
because other wise you're just
limited to you know what
(the #$%^*& on the radio)
and you're missing the music
and the musicians that really
matter.

Anyways the Wilbur Cole Weekend
jam was a good time, but I was
eventually driven out by the
smoke -I've had a headache for the
last two days, so ouch. [I used to
smoke more than a pack a day].
It's frustrating going home like
that, but when you quit smoking,
secondhand smoke can be a problem
years later ( it gives you a "nic fit",
for days basically), anyways enough
griping - it was a good time.

As you can guess from this completely
aimless blog - nothing major to report
on the CD - I've decided that to get a
good backing track I'm going to have to
learn the rudiments at least of playing
the drums - so I'm going to be
woodshedding on my harp, and
studying the drums and bodrhan
for the next month or so - next
posting in June, unless something
happens.

Later,

Catfish

Honesty Sucks

2006-04-30T08:48:00.000-07:00

I 've been a little remiss in
posting lately. Vasan tonight
at the Cedar Cultural Center
should be excellent (Sunday)- next
Fri, Sat, Su Floyd's weekend (May 5)
jam in Victoria, MN. details
are on my homepage,
http://glennbowen.biz/index.htm

My internet has been down for a couple
weeks, an in the interim, the webpage
got kind of screwed up, so I was planning
on going flying in the Blanik, but it's
raining, an I'm sitting in the basement
working on the webpage.
I am starting a major revision,
with some really nice CSS planned for the
home page, but that's going to be put on
hold - this is just pure troubleshooting,
and temporary measures- to get back to
a working website site (it's easy to forget
sometimes that Microsoft isn't the enemy).

I hope to post the phase 1 Demo CD today,
also- if I can get to it, if not, this week.

So, I handed out 9 copies of my Demo CD,
and asked these 9 people to be on my CD.
2 people said yes, 5 said no, and no response
from the others. This is a setback, I'll admit.

Basically, it means that I'm going to have
to add a phase 2 - with me doing all the
arranging, and then coming back in a couple
months, and trying to get some other
musicians involved. Everybody was pretty
nice about turning down the chance to be on
the CD, but a couple people were pretty
honest about what they thought of my
efforts, and I respect that, but since we're
all being honest about this, I got to admit,
honesty sucks.

the real mistake I made was that I put it out
at too preliminary a stage. If I was working
with musicians who were used to composing
and arranging I would have been fine, but I
was dealing with musicians who are used to
adding a part to a cover of someone elses
work, and it was too much of a leap of
imagination to ask them to make a
contribution with what I had so far, so it
was a "tactical error" on my part, you
can't ask people to step out of their
comfort zone.

I do have the equipment, and skills
to do this arranging, but its going to add
some time. I figure it sets me back three
or four months.

I purchased a really nice Roland electronic
drum kit a couple months ago, and now,
since I've got no drummer on the CD, I figure,
I better learn how to play the damn thing.
It's actually a lot of fun though, and I have
some serious software (Project 5, Sonar 3,
etc, ) so I can do it - just not on my initial
schedule. I just have to be good enough
to make a good backing track -I'll still
bring in a good drummer for the final CD.

So, after I post the phase Ia demo (which
is done all ready, I just have to post it),
I'm going to start posting the backing tracks
for the CD as a Phase 2, then I'm going
to get some more musicians to agree to be
on the CD, and go into the studio as Phase 3.

Later,

Catfish

Even if the waters dont come

2006-04-10T19:59:00.000-07:00

Battlefield Band played Sunday at the Cedar,
and they were excellent. Still the best musical
group around, for my tastes.

I saw Toots Thieleman at the Dakota tonight,
and it was more moving then the last time I
saw him, wonderfull.

Plain and simple, my tastes are changing from
the Blues Harp, that used to be so important.
Not that I still don't respect Little Walter
or Sonny Boy Williamson, or Sonny Terry, its just
that no one ever came along to replace them, and
I can't even listen to the shit they play on the XM
blues radio station- I listen to Classic Jazz, Irish,
Bluegrass, Battlefield Band (a great group) - at some
point you start to realize - I don't listen the Blues
anymore.

So it's like I don't listen to the blues, I'm not in a
blues band, I practice the Tin Whistle (Irish Folk
Musical Instrument) more than I do the Harp,
What keeps me going - the songwriting, the challenge
of coming up with a harp phrase that works with
a song you've written- but performing, its' tough,
especially if you're not a good singer (and I'm not),
and especially if you're as shy as I am. And then
there's the non-existant pay.

I wrote a play called "The Acts of Cain", and for several
years, I really poured my heart and soul into it, and
got something that I was really proud of, but I was
unable to market it, so I ultimately gave up the
playwriting , after writing "Nobody Cares"- a
play about a harmonica player. When I wrote this
play I realized that what I really wanted to do was
devote myself to playing Blues Harp, and I did,
and with this album, I've taken my song writing
and harmonica playing as far as my talent will take
me, but it is going to be a struggle to really get this
album completed, and my ability to market it
when I am done it just about nil, so if I spend
$3,000 on this CD, that money's pissed away.
That's a lot of money - I don't mind doing it,
in fact, you couldn't stop me from doing what
I can to get the best CD I can, (and it is a labor
of Love) but when its finally done, honestly,
I think it's time to move on -

(I want to go to Ireland and play the Tin Whistle
in a pub in the County Clare, which would be really
cool.)

But down to business. I trimmed down the song list
to (8) songs. I've been writing songs a long time,
and plain and simple -this is the best I got.

1. Make A Miracle Happen
2. Born To Make That Little Girl Dance
3. To Make You Believe
4. lightnin' (Surges)
5. Rain Falls Down (On A Freeman)
6. Talking 'bout Robert Johnson
7. An Ark In The Basement
8. Catfish Bones Solo

So that's the songs. I will be posting the Phase 1A Demo
CD with these songs by April 23rd, so you can listen to
what the general outline of these songs are - but I am
going to start doing some more serious arranging, and
looking at instrumentation for these tracks - I'm
far from done.

Later,

Catfish

The Sorta True Story of "Catfish Bones"

2006-04-02T13:09:00.000-07:00

I got to see Jonathan Pascaul at the Cedar last night
(Flamenco guitar) overall very good, but it ranged
from aimless procession of notes, to some burst of
just amazing drive- the combination of the percussive
tapping on the guitar body, plucking the low bass string,
and rapid chording can really drive a rhythm - I'm still
trying to break down some of what I heard-there's
something there to listen for, for pure driving music.

Tonight I'm going to use my free pass to see Eight Head
at the Cedar - for four nights volunteering get you
into one show. I don't know anything about this band-
but someone said I should go. April 9th at the Cedar
again, Battlefield Band!! (my personal favorite musical
group for the last year or so - excellent) Then April 12th
I'm going to sign up for the open stage at the Cedar for
a 10 minute set (3 songs off "An Ark In The Basement").

I just got back from seeing a presentation by
Jim Brandenburg (an amazing Nature photographer
for National Geographic), check this out:
http://www.jimbrandenburg.com/gallery/wolves/wh01.html
I like to think of myself as a photographer, but nothing
like that, these are my aviation pictures:
http://glennbowen.biz/avpics.htm
(not as cool, I know, but Brandenburg is world class).

Anyways, Brandenburg was speaking at a Fishing/Hunting
show, and I walked around to look at these fishing boats,
and the cheapest of them, even the cheapest pontoon boats
cost more than the houseboat I used to live in.
I lived for two years on a 35 ft Lakeliner, that I bought used
for under $10,000 - and it was not luxury living, but it was
mine.
Anyways, I ended up moving to St Louis, and losing everything,
before moving to Chicago, before finally, deciding to go back
home to Minneapolis. So when I talk about "living on the
houseboat, fishing out the bedroom window" that is true.
You could cast out a line - but it is not true that you could reel
the line back in from the bedroom (the hook would catch - so
you'd have to go out on the deck to reel the line back in), also
I would drive to a local lake, and catch Crappie and Sunnies,
and cook those up, rather than eat Catfish out of the Mississipi,
so while I'd catch a few catfish, I didn't really eat them - that's
artistic license. If you want to hear a Leperchaun recite part
of the "Catfish Bones" song, go here:
http://glennbowen.biz/catfishwords.htm ,
what is true about the song was how very, very, poor I was at
that time, and for the next several years, and it's tough to
forget how people treat you when you're down like that. so you
laugh - the next verse goes:
you're always welcome for dinner, but usually I eat alone,
you're always welcome for dinner, but usually I eat alone -
I'll serve up a little ol' catfish, raw catfish, with catfish bones.

later,

Catfish

Oops. Did I mention Phase 1a?

2006-03-30T04:21:00.000-08:00

I'm going to go back into the studio for a short
session. I posted the lyrics for a new song
"Lightning (surges)", and it improves the continuity
of the album greatly. Especially since two of tracks
didn't turn out well (#8 "One Lesson", #9 "Dino Gas")

So I'm going to basically throw out the CD's I have
( I made 26 copies, and handed out 6 - so 20 copies
going in the trash, ouch, but this one change really
improves the CD) . I'll post the latest Practice Tape
(Phase 1a) when I get it, and then archive the initial
Practice Tape (Phase 1).

I thought about deleting it, but then I realized that
that would be a mistake- I'm documenting the Making
of "An Ark In The Basement" in this blog and on my
website, and these changes are part of that process.

This change isn't going to set me back, schedule wise,
because I have a home recording of the song that I can
distribute along with the Phase 1 CD, until I get the
new Practice Tape, and then I'll redistribute the new
practice tape.

So, I'm going back to Checkerhot
Later,

Catfish
gwbowen@mninter.net

What Do You Mean "Practice Tape"

2006-03-29T03:16:00.000-08:00

I've been referring to the collection of songs I currently
have for the "Ark in the Basement" project as a
Practice Tape, but I've been distributing CD's and
posting mp3 files. But none-the-less, it is a Practice
Tape, literally. The recording I'm doing is being
recorded on an ADAT tape. Once it is recorded,
it is mixed and mastered on the computer over at
Checkerhot, but what I walk out of when I'm done
with phase 1 is an ADAT Master tape, a backup tape,
and a box of (26) Work In Progress CD's, which I call
Practice Tapes (partly because I'm a Dinosaur who lives
off cassette tapes).

Further housekeeping. Track #9 (Dino Gas) and
Track #8 (One Lesson) on the Practice Tape are now
off the CD (They just weren't recording well- so they go
back into my song folder). When I finished up with the
songs for the Practice Tape, I had a couple minutes of
leftover tape, so I grabbed a harp and just blasted away
until we ran out of tape - it sounded pretty good and I like
the idea of ending the CD with a pure solo jam (not those fake
jams, but a real off-the-cuff jam) so, that's how the last
track (Catfish Bones Solo) came about. I promise to keep it
a jam, but I might do a couple different takes, and take the
best one for the CD (which is cheating, but just a little).

The new Track #8 is called "Lightning (Surges)", and I just
wrote it last week. It's really short and really simple, but
I like it. A lower quality recording is all ready posted as
Track #8 on the Practice Tape Link:

http://glennbowen.biz/cdlyrics2PT_8.htm

and here's the lyrics:

She looks like the lady who lives down the block,
a little like the gal at the bank
you hand her your CD, you say this is my soul,
she looks, she shrugs, she just says "Thanks"
and she don't understand, and you don't understand,
and I don't understand it, at all
And I am making a total fool of myself
and I will try to tear down that wall,
because lightning surges from her fingertips
I tell you lightning surges from her fingertips
I swear that lightning surges from her fingertips
and I would die if I could taste those lips
(harp solo)

can't get much simpler than boy meets girl.

later,
Catfish

Contact Glenn Bowen at: gwbowen@mninter.net

The Practice CD is Posted

2006-03-27T04:11:00.000-08:00

The Practice Tape/CD for An Ark In the Basement is posted.

Go to my webpage: http://glenbowen.biz/index.htm
and look for the button that says "Listen to the Practice Tape"
The entire tape is on this link, along with the individual songs,
and lyrics. There is an RSS link too.

I have distibuted four CD's so far, and will distribute another
two tonight. Considering that I picked up the Practice CD's
Fri. aft and it is monday morning I'm doing pretty good. Of
course, some musicians are more difficult to get a hold of than
others. I haven't gotten any feedback yet, because no one has
had a chance to hear it.

I made 26 copies of the CD, which should be plenty for the
musicians I'm asking to be on the CD, but I'm obviously not
planning on handing out more than a couple CD's to
non-musicians. I apologize for this, but it is posted,
for anyone to hear - it is obviously still a work in progress,
but there's some good material here. If you do listen to
the entire practice tape, let me know what you think of it.

Catfish Bones
gwbowen@mninter.net

Back At It

2006-03-25T15:11:00.000-08:00

Last Night I saw Kelly Joe Phelps, and an intro
solo act Natalia Zukerman. Good Stuff, but I had
an ulterior motive in going, also. I picked up the Phase 1
CD's (the Practice Tapes) Friday, just before the show,
and handed one out to a guitar player I know that I
want on this album. I was kind of nervous about
handing it out without listening to it first. But, for a practice
tape, it is really good, and I'm glad I spent a little extra to
get something good (not finished, not perfect, but good)
Next time I'll put more time in practicing the day before
I record, and leave my self more time to relax the day I record.
I handed out a Second CD at the Homestead Picking Parlor,
and I'll hand out one Sun morn to a guitar player, and a couple
more Mon Eve. Some of the other players/singers are going to
be harder to get ahold of, but I'm hoping that I will have
distributed most of the musicians' CD's next week.

Sun. evening at the Minnesota History Center, Liz Carroll with
John Doyle, 7:30. General Admission, tickets at the door
(3/26/06). A genuine virtuouso (Irish Fiddle).

A quick update - Solas on Sun was good, but Flook on Wednesday
at the Cedar was incredible - Irish music at it's best.
Next time I'll be Podcasting the Phase 1 - CD (the Practice Tape).

Catfish
gwbowen@mninter.net

Phase One - Recording Completed

2006-03-09T03:38:00.000-08:00

I finished recording the demo tracks
for Phase 1 last night, and now the
tracks will be mixed down to a CD.
I only ordered 20 copies of this CD,
since its sole purpose is to distribute
to the musicians who will be on the CD,
(with a couple extra CD's) . So far,
I'm still on schedule, but I'm pushing
back the schedule for the actual CD
release (Phase 2 CD). I think I forgot
to tell you when the target date for
the actual CD release will be.

But moving on, all the song lyrics have been
posted. They are more or less in the order
they will be on the CD if you go through the
previous postings at this site.
When I get the Demo CD I am going
to podcast it again -there will be a link on this
blog page or on my webpage:
http://glennbowen.biz/index.htm
So for now, the only unfinished business is
to post the CD label information.

Title:

An Ark In The Basement
more songs in the key of D

1. Make A Miracle Happen
2. Born To Make That Little Girl Dance
3. To Make You Believe
4. Child Of The Gutter
5. Talking 'bout Robert Johnson
6. Rain Falls Down On A Freeman
7. Puppies In The Shade
8. One Lesson
9. Dino Gas
10. Staying With The Dog
11. Of Course I'll Fail
12. Building An Ark In The Basement

As always, feel free to contact me at
gwbowen@mninter.net

Catfish

Hey Man, Look What I've Done!

2006-03-07T19:24:00.000-08:00

So I go into the studio again tommorow.
I should be able to finish up the Phase 1
Demo tracks, and have them mixed down
next week. I've been posting the lyrics
as I go, and I only have 1 lyric left,
and that's the title track. This isn't
the greatest song in the world or
anything, but I really like the lyrics,
and this whole album - all the effort
writing songs, going to open stages
testing out songs in front of people,
handing out demo CD's, networking
and jamming with other musicians,
arranging the Studio recordings,
etc, etc, etc is ultimately my own
personnel "Ark in the basement".

so, enough BS, here goes:

Building an Ark In the Basement,
Glenn Bowen, 2005

He's building an Ark in the basement
waiting for the waters to rise
I used to think he was crazy
but I came to realize
if you build an Ark in your basement
even if the waters don't come
you point to that boat in your basement
and say "Hey man, look what I've done"

And if you build an Ark in your basement
and someday the waters do come
you hop in your boat in the basement
and then, I guess you dont look so dumb

She's building a chapel in the attic
out of Play-Do, tin foil and toothpicks,
she won't talk too much about it
she knows that you'll think that she's sick

But she knows that she's married..to Jesus
and someday her Savior will come
they'll go up there to that chapel
then together, away they will run

I'm playing my harp in the forest
the Music, it doth soothe my breast
I'm playing my harp in the forest
sometimes I just need to rest

You know you can get so judgemental
and I'm not sure if I'll pas your test
so I'm playing my harp in the forest
I'm just out here doing my best

He's building an Ark in the basement
waiting for the waters to rise
I used to think he was crazy
but I came to realize
if you build an Ark in your basement
even if the waters don't come
you point to that boat in your basement
and say "Hey man, look what I've done!"

Catfish Bones
gwbowen@mninter.net

Staying with the Dog

2006-03-04T20:20:00.000-08:00

So MNBOTNA (The bluesgrass weekend)
is going on. This afternoon, I got to hear
Monroe Crossing (1st tier bluegrass in my
book), the Fishheads (entertaining as always),
and Girl Germs, which was really pretty good,
and very entertaining - I'm going to try
and catch there full show sometime -it look
like fun. But the highlight is the songwriters
showcase. A small room with three talented
singer/songwriters, and a group of 20 or so
people sitting in. Its my favorite part of the
weekend (except that the writing is so talented
that its pretty overwhelming till you get your
composure back and say, hey I've got some
good songs too) . This year they had
Becky Buller (fantastic - she locks into the rhythm
so well that the song starts to breathe).
I hadn't heard of Andrew Savage before, but he's doing
some seriously good writing - its seems to be a lot
more acessible than the stuff I do too-which
is causing me to rethink my approach a little
on the next song I write.
Finally Mark Kreitzer. Mark is with the Middle Spunk
Creek Boys, and has a solo CD - all told I own about
6 or 7 CD's with Mark on it, and I all ready knew
the words to the songs he played - so I'm not objective,
but so what - I buy it cause it's really blanking good,
and hearing it live just makes it better. Its worth
tracking down the solo album for three of the songs-
you'll know them as soon as you hear them.

So I went home, showered, and then saw the Irish
group Boys of the Lough. again Excellent - so
there are too many superlatives in this blog,
so lets' bring it down a bit.

I read a cartoon about how the Katrina disaster
was going to be source material for a bunch of
washed up-has been Blues players, and I had
written a Blues song about Katrina that I wanted
to include on this CD. After going to this songwriters
session, I briefly thought about pulling this song
and subsituting in "I just met John Doe today",
but I'm sticking with it - its' a good song, and
its' the Blues, and my album should have this
type of Blues on it . One thing that is neat
about this song is you can just about identify
the very day I wrote this song from the words.

Staying With The Dog, Glenn Bowen, 2005

They looted my house yesterday,
today I sat and weeped
They looted my house yesterday,
today I sat and weeped
I hoped the waters don't come up
and drown me in my sleep

The waters' rising,
bodies floating like a log
The waters' rising,
bodies floating like a log
you don't give a damn about me,
I'm staying with the dog

I aint gonna leave my home
and wind up sleeping on the street
I aint gonna leave my home
and wind up sleeping on the street
I aint gonna leave New Orleans,
not standing on two feet

The waters' rising,
bodies floating like a log
The waters' rising,
bodies floating like a log
you don't give a damn about me,
I'm staying with the dog

I remember Tom,
when he came back from 'Nam
I remember Tom,
when he came back from 'Nam
He never found a job,
and no one gave a damn

The waters' rising,
bodies floating like a log
The waters' rising,
bodies floating like a log
you don't give a damn about me,
I'm staying with the dog

There is water everywhere
but it aint fit to drink
There is water everywhere
but it aint fit to drink
and you can call New Orleans home
if you can stand the stink

The waters' rising,
bodies floating like a log
The waters' rising,
bodies floating like a log
you don't give a damn about me,
I'm staying with the dog

This is the 11th of 12 lyrics for this CD.
which leaves just one more lyric to post
for the CD - An Ark In The Basement.

Next time - "Building An Ark In The
Basement" (the lyrics). Then I go into
the studio the third time, and I'll post
the order of the tracks when the
Phase 1 CD gets mixed down.

So everything's going along ok- but
like I've written before, it will in Phase 1.
It is Phase 2 when things get interesting.

Dino Gas

2006-03-03T16:11:00.000-08:00

It's Friday evening, and I figured
I'd relax by doing a little blogging.
It's odd working on my site at 6:00
in the evening instead of 6:00 in the
morning. Anyways, Saturday, 7:30
in Hopkins, The Boys of the Lough-
is playing, - highly recommended-
I've got a front row ticket, so you
know I'm going to enjoy this. Also
all weekend at the Radison off 494
and Hwy 55 - the MN Bluegrass
and Old Time Music Association
Winter "musicthon" (all day and all
night Bluegrass) - so much Bluegrass
that at some point you got to go and
hear some good Irish music or play some
Blues (Floyd's Jam in Victoria Sunday
night). You can have a good time this
weekend if you follow this plan.

So I'm going back into the Studio again next
Wednesday, and I wanted to post another lyric.
[this is the tenth of twelve songs on the CD]
The parts in bold are sung as a
chorus, the parts not in bold are spoken
(its a little different format, but it works here).

Dino Gas, Glenn Bowen, 2005

Now a little bit of history, this is a song about back
when I was living in Missouri, and I was very poor,
and I was all alone, and just about as homesick as
you can get.

Give me some of that Dino Gas,
Give me some of that Dino Gas,
Give me a whole tank, got to make it last,
Give me some of that Dino Gas

So anyways, people talk about homesick, and about
how things get so bad that you really do get sick,
and you just want to turn around and go home,
and see someone you know, and be with someone
you care about.

Give me some of that Dino Gas,
Give me some of that Dino Gas,
Give me a whole tank, got to make it last,
Give me some of that Dino Gas

So, I'm driving along in my pickup, going down the
highway, feeling about as low as you can get,
And I start to think back to when I was a kid, and we'd
take these long driving vacations, and go in the station
wagon to North Dakota or some damn thing.

Give me some of that Dino Gas,
Give me some of that Dino Gas,
Give me a whole tank, got to make it last,
Give me some of that Dino Gas

Now gas stations used to try and differentiate themselves,
Shell had the giant shell sign, Mobil had the flying horse,
and of course Sinclair had the big green Dinosaur. And
a lot of times, we'd stop at the Sinclair station, with the
big green dinosaur on the side lot, get some gas, and eventually,
we'd get home.

Give me some of that Dino Gas,
Give me some of that Dino Gas,
Give me a whole tank, got to make it last,
Give me some of that Dino Gas

So, like I said, here I am in Missouri,
feeling as homesick as you can get,
and I see a Sinclair station. So, I pull in,
get a tank of gas, and, as stupid as it sounds,
as I drive away, I feel better.

Give me some of that Dino Gas,
Give me some of that Dino Gas,
Give me a whole tank, got to make it last,
Give me some of that Dino Gas

So that's the story, I got a tank of Dino Gas,
and probably four or five years later,
I headed back home.
That tank went a long way.

Give me some of that Dino Gas,
Give me some of that Dino Gas,
Give me a whole tank, got to make it last,
Give me some of that Dino Gas

anyways,
Glenn Bowen , aka "Catfish Bones"
gwbowen@mninter.net

Of Course I'll Fail

2006-03-02T17:32:00.000-08:00

I went into the studio again last night,
and recorded four songs, so I'm right
on schedule with the CD. You might be
wondering why the title "Of Course I'll
Fail"? I'll get to that.

But I wanted to recap how I got to this point.
I've been playing Blues Harp for well over
ten years, and just in the last couple years,
I've gotten really good.

I've always written song lyrics, and about a
year ago I met up with someone at a
Songwriters Dinner,
(Minnesota Area Songwriters), and he
had a studio (Checkerhot Studio), I had
some songs and an excess of capital, and
in short order, I had a demo CD called
A Puppy At The Table.

I made up about 90 copies of this CD and
handed them out to any musician who didn't
move fast enough, but I still had 5 copies
left over.

To get rid of them, I sent them off to CDBaby,
and to my suprise I sold 1 CD (to a guy in
Maryland).

Of course when I sold the CD
I got worried that there might be a run
on these so I had another 20 copies made,
and they're in the trunk of my car right now.

So, I recorded a demo CD and I was pretty
happy with it, and a year's gone by, and
I've written a bunch of really good material,
I've tried it out on open stages, and people
seem to like it, and I've left the last band I
was in (The Dee Miller Band), and the next
band (The Blue Jack Trio) isn't getting up to
speed like it should, so I decide I'm going to
make a real CD this time.

Not another demo CD, but a honest to
goodness CD with other musicians and singers
and effects and arrangements and the whole
thing - a CD not just for a music lover in
Maryland, but one that any typical person
might listen to and even buy.

So building on one success after another like
I have, I've gotten to this Second CD.

So I'm going into the Studio again next Wed.,
and I'm going to start the session with "Dino
Gas", and then go to a song called "Of Course,
I'll Fail". This song is my response to
all those people who sit sit on their ass and tell
you that you'll never make it.

Of Course I'll Fail, Glenn Bowen, 2005

Of course I'll fail,
tell me something that I don't know
Of course I'll fail,
tell me something that I don't know
Of course I'll fail,
tell me something that I don't know
I'm going to try,
That's why I'm standing here tonight

Look what it took,
Look what it took just to get here,
Look what it took,
Look what it took just to get here
And here is no where,
it is nowhere they will tell you

Of course I'll fail,
tell me something that I don't know
Of course I'll fail, tell me something that I don't know
Of course I'll fail, tell me something that I don't know
I'm going to try,
That's why I'm standing here tonight

You better believe,
man you better believe in something
you better believe,
man you better believe in someone
you better believe,
man you betther believe in something
or they will drive
they willl drive you into nothing

Of course I'll fail,
tell me something that I don't know
Of course I'll fail,
tell me something that I don't know
Of course I'll fail,
tell me something that I don't know
I'm going to try,
That's why I'm standing here tonight

You better live
you better live the life you believe
you better live
you better live the life you believe
you better live
you better live the life you believe
'Cuz that man in the long black cloak,
he's gonna tell you to leave

Of course I'll fail,
tell me something that I don't know
Of course I'll fail,
tell me something that I don't know
Of course I'll fail,
tell me something that I don't know
I'm going to try,
That's why I'm standing here tonight

So I'll just leave on that encourging note:
Of Course I'll Fail

Glenn

Free CD for the Pod People

2006-03-01T03:25:00.000-08:00

I've got up a couple hours early
before work for the last couple days
to "Podcast" my First CD. I'm tired,
but this time in the morning is the
only free time I have any more.
I then worked on it a couple hours last
night, and I got it (I think). I knew
when I heard RSS stood for "Really
Simple Syndication" that this was
going to be a royal pain, but like I said,
it works, its really cool, check it out.

TheFirst CD is called "A Puppy At The
Table", and it has (8) Original Songs,
with me playing Blues Harp on all
the tracks. There's some good harp
playing on it, and it's original material,
I'm not copying other peoples riffs,
like so many Blues players these days.

Windows' people - you need a piece of
software (freeware) to make this work-
you can get it at:
http://thirstycrow.net/happyfish/default.aspx
(read their directions -its pretty straight forward)

When you have this "aggregator" called HappyFish,
paste this address into it and play it:

http://glennbowen.biz/BowenCD1.xml

Then play it.
Let me know what you think:

gwbowen@mninter.net

This blog is now going to go into extra innings.
I'm going into the studio again tonight,
and I want to do (4) songs at the phase1
demo versions. I've been posting the lyrics,
and so here are the other two lyrics for
tonights session.

One Lesson by Glenn Bowen,

I was walking in the rain
last Saturday night
just walking with my dog,
but that's all right
I was walking with my dog,
last Saturday night
just walking in the rain
but that's all right

And the people who once Loved me,
they still Love me
and the people who don't
well, they wont
andthe people who are Wise
they will listen
and the people who will Rule
well they wont

Because there's only one lesson
that's worth living
There is only one lesson
that's worth living
There is only one lesson
that's worth living
and it's about Love
and Forgiving

Harp solo
Repeat last verse

Rain Falls Down (on a Freeman) by Glenn Bowen

So there's this guy out on a pier, and it's cold
and it's wet and it's raining, and he's not
catching a damn thing. But he looks like the
happiest SOB I've ever seen in my life.
Now I've never been one to shy away from
crazy people, so I'm like OK I'll bite, and I
walk up and I say "So, how's the fishing?"
"Pretty Bad, Pretty Bad"
"Think you're gonna catch anything?"
"Nope, no I know I wont"
"So...."
"Yep"
"So"

So the rain falls down on a Freeman
rain falls down on a Freeman
I say the rain falls down on a Freeman
Let the rain fall on me

Harp solo

So we're standing out there in the rain like that,
standing out there for quite a while actually, and
finally he says "You know, I just got out of Prison
today. I was there for Eight years. For Eight
years, the people who ran that place tried to
tell me Iwas an animal. For Eight years, the
people who lived in that place tried to turn me
into an animal. But I knew I was gonna get out
of there one day, and I was gonna leave a
Freeman. Now it's cold, and it's wet, and its' raining,
and you know why that is?

Because the rain falls down on a Freeman
rain falls down on a Freeman
I say the rain falls down on a Freeman
Let the rain fall on me.

later - Glenn Bowen (gwbowen@mninter.net)

More Lyrics

2006-02-27T04:04:00.000-08:00

I did some volunteer work at the Cedar
Cultural Center - which is a good way
to hear some music - at $20/show,
I'd be about $60.00, and instead I
get credit to attend another show.

The Cedar Cultural Center is about
the only place in the Twin Cities that
is playing the music I really love-
The Irish Traditional, the good Folk
Music, Blues Artists like Robert
Lockwood and John Hammond, etc.

I saw Patrick Street (Excellent -a
real Irish band), Curtis and Loretta
(Excellent - Twin Cities based Folk
Music) , and The California Guitar Trio
(Technically Virtuostic, but just not to
my tastes - Think of YES, without words,
and just acoustic guitars-that's intended as
an endorsement if that sounds like something
you'd like, but it's not John Lee Hooker).

Anyways it's Monday morning and I want to
get a couple more lyrics posted before my
next recording session. Next song to record:

To Make You Believe, by Glenn Bowen

You're standing in the doorway,
I'm standing in the hall,
You're standing in the doorway,
I'm standing in the hall,
I'm trying to explain
but its too late after all

Before you say it's over
before I have to leave
Before you say it's over,
before I have to leave,
after I say I'm sorry,
I will make you believe.

(Harp solo and repeat first verse)

Puppies in the Shade, by Glenn Bowen

Puppies in the shade
Man, they really got it made
sit around and sleep all day,
and wait for dinner

Puppies in the sun
Man I wish I was one
sit around and sleep all day
and wait for dinner

They get food in a bowl
and they eat 'til they are full
then they hop into my car
and go for a drive

They go out to a park
and they hang out there 'til dark
then they into my car
and then they go home

They go home and go to sleep
and that's how you spend you're week
being a puppy dog
is not a bad life

But when I go and jam
then I have to tell her no
because puppy doggies dont get to go

When I go and jam
then I have to tell her no
because puppy doggies dont get to go

I say puppy doggies don't oh no
puppy doggies don't oh no
puppy doggies don't get to go

I say puppy doggies don't oh no
puppy doggies don't oh no
puppy doggies don't get to go

A little housekeeping -
I'm doing twelve songs now,
and I'm going to sing on the
title track of the album, and I may
sing on Puppies in the Shade

Day One at Checkerhot Studio

2006-02-23T03:25:00.000-08:00

It's 5:30 in the morning here, but I wanted to get up
an hour early and write this, because if I don't do
it today it won't get done - there is so much going on
in the Twin Cities music scene over the next two
weeks -Starting with Patrick Street tonight, the
MNBOTMA Winter Bluegrass Weekend,
tommorrow thru Saturday - a lot of good music,
and I'll doing some jams too.

Anyways, Phase 1 of the demo CD is being recorded!

Its pretty straightforward because I'm playing the
harp and doing the singing, and Guy Acree is doing
the recording. Phase One isn't going to have a lot
of action, but it allows me to post the lyrics to all
the songs.

Later on, things will get more interesting,
because in Phase Two I'm going to bring in a
number of musician friends and rework all these
demo tracks into song arrangements in the studio.

So I recorded (4) Songs, Make a Miracle Happen,
Born to Make That Little Girl Dance, Talkin'
'bout Robert Johnson, and Child of the Gutter.
Lyrics to the first two songs are on the first posting.
Here are the other two lyrics:

Talkin' 'bout Robert Johnson, by Glenn Bowen
People talk about Robert Johnson
seem to like the name,
Well they talk about Robert Johnson
think he had the fame
well they talk about Robert Johnson
I don't know what to say
he took his hat and his guitar
and he made his way
Well they talk about Robert Johnson
seem to like the songs
well they talk about Robert Johnson
but I think they got it wrong
'cause if that man were alive,
if he was alive today,
they wouldn't give him a nickel
that's all I got to say
Robert Johnson could stand on the corner
in that Helena town,
block the intersection
with all the folks aroun'
Played a mighty strange music
and if you don't know the soun'
You might just walk on by and say
"Who the Hell's that clown?"
but he'd pick up his guitar
and when he start to play
you might not know the words
but you know he got something to say
and when it all was over
standing there a little stunned
you say "Who the Hell was that?"
They say that was Robert Johnson
and you might not never hear of him
again in your life,
'cause he'd be off playin'
playin' with some man's wife
and they talk about Robert Johnson
I don't know what to say
he took his hat and his guitar
and he made his way
(Harp instrumental)

Child of the Gutter , by Glenn Bowen
Child of the Gutter, Child of the Sun
Child is tough, hates everyone
still a child, no matter what he's done
just a child, aint you one?
a Child of the Gutter? Child of the Sun.
Johnny wants to rest, but Johnny's got to run
Johnny is afraid, cuz Johnny got no one
he thinks he's a Hero living off the crumbs
but Johnny's just a child with a gun
a Child of the Gutter, Child of the Sun
Janey's old enough to open up to Love
Janey's old enough to share the joy's of Love,
Janey's sixteen, pregnant for the second time,
Janey studies Algebra, when she finds the time
(Harp instrumental)

I've added two more songs to the CD so now there are
12 songs. Next time I'll post the Song List, and
then its basck to the studio next Wednesday.
PS - Check out my webpage
http://glennbowen.biz/index.htm

Glenn Bowen
2/23/06

Making "An Ark in the Basement"

2006-02-18T14:54:00.000-08:00

An Ark in the Basement is my Second CD.

Like the last CD, I'm going to record at Checkerhot Studio,
but unlike the last CD, I only plan on singing on two songs
on this CD. The CD will be made in two phases - phase 1 is
when I lay down the basic lead line and harp solo for all 10
songs - so phase 1 is just like my last CD - I do all the singing,
and play the harp to accompany my singing.

Then I distribute the demo CD to some musician friends.

In phase 2, I go back into the studio with a small group of
musicians and rerecord all the songs, with me just playing the
harp this time. So on the final CD, I will only sing one song
(Song #10 -An Ark in the Basement). When the album is
finished, it will be on sale at either my site: glennbowen.biz
or CDBaby.com.

These are all original songs, and I've spent about a year writing
and testing out these songs so I know this will be a good CD.
I'm excited about this CD.

On Wednesday, I want to lay down the first two songs for the
phase 1 demo, here are the lyrics:

Song #1 Make a Miracle Happen - by Glenn Bowen, 2005

I say tell me what it takes, I say tell me what it takes
How do you sweat and bleed, how do you make the breaks?
I say tell me what it takes to make a miracle happen?
Yeh, make a miracle happen,
Yeh, make I miracle happen,
I say tell me what it takes to make a miracle happen.

I say tell me what it takes, I say tell me what it takes
How do you hope and pray, what do you really say?
I say tell me what it takes to make a miracle happen?
Yeh, make a miracle happen,
Yeh, make I miracle happen,
I say tell me what it takes to make a miracle happen.

(harp break)

Peace upon this Holy Earth, Peace across these Holy Lands
Peace upon this Holy Earth, Peace across these Holy Lands,
Yeh, make a miracle happen,
Yeh, make I miracle happen,
I say tell me what it takes to make a miracle happen.

(harp break to end)

Song #2 (Born To Make) That Little Girl Dance

Well, I might be ugly, just don't look at me,
and if I get too horny, go and climb a tree,
and if we get too poor, I guess we'll lose some weight,
I tell you little girl, that it's all just Fate,
'cuz I was born
yeh, I was born
yeh I was born
I was born to make that little girl dance

(harp break)

I'm like a big old seal, and I'll keep you warm
but I won't wow nobody with my form
and you aint got Religion, I can hear you say,
but that still don't mean that I won't hear you pray,
'cuz I was born
yeh I was born
yeh I was born
I was born to make that little girl dance

(harp break to end)

So I go in Wednesday record two tracks, do the
same for the next 4 weeks, and I got the 10
songs for the phase 1 demo CD done. Easy.

to hear other Blues Harp (Harmonica)
music by Glenn Bowen, visit my
website: http://glennbowen.biz/index.htm
Feb 18, 2006