My favorite song for February 14 is a sweet ballad from Steve Earle's 1996 album "I Feel Alright.'' The artist has been married seven times, most recently to Allison Moorer, so I'm pretty sure that his forgetting Valentine's Day is an honest sentiment. This song may have actually gotten the slacker off the hook -- at least once.
And you might be off the hook, too. If you haven't bought the flowers or chocolates yet, might as well just sit down and figure out how to play and/or sing this great song. Or download the song or CD.
I can't get the chord letters to match the lyrics below, but you should be able to figure it out, especially if you're familiar with the song.
If the tablature police come after me for posting this I'll tell them Cupid made me do it. Enjoy...
VALENTINE'S DAY
By Steve Earle
A C#
I come to you with empty hands
D A
I guess I just forgot again
Dm A
I only got my love to send
E7/G# A E7/G#
On Valentine's Day
A C#
I ain't got a card to sign
D A
Roses have been hard to find
Dm A F#m
I only hope that you'll be mine
D E7/G# A
On Valentine's Day
D A/C# E7/G# A
I know that I swore that I wouldn't forget
D A C# F#m E7/G#
I wrote it all down, I lost it I guess
A C#
There's so much I want to say
D A
But all the words just slip away
Dm A F#m
The way you love me every day
D E7/G# A
Is Valentine's Day
D A/C# E7/G# A
If I could I would deliver to you
D A C# F#m E7/G#
Diamonds and gold, it's the least I can do
A C#
So if you'll take my IOU
D A
I could make it up to you
Dm A F#m
Until then I hope my heart will do
D C# F#m E
For Valentine's Day
D E7/G# A
For Valentine's Day
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
You say you want a revolution
This morning the words of the great poet and spiritualist John Lennon are whispering in my ear:
“You say you want a revolution
Well, you know...
We all want to change the world”
A wonderful and enlightening comic strip you haven't yet seen (unless you pick up the Bradenton Herald, St. Pete Times or a couple of niche magazines) is drawn by Sarasota 
artist Rick Hotton, a karate instructor and math tutor who started doodling in the classroom a while back to lessen the boredom.
The result was Holy Mole, which offers a thoughtful message each day without being religious or preachy. Rick would like Holy Mole to change the world, one panel at a time, but there is a heavy burden attached to such a noble undertaking. And timing, well, timing is everything.
"I'm afraid I was born 200 years too late for martial arts, and 30 years too late for newpapers,'' laments Rick (who, by the way, has trained 48 black belt martial artists. That's like a baseball manager with 48 players in the Hall of Fame.) But I think Rick arrived at just the right time, and that's why I have joined the Holy Mole crusade.
There is great wisdom and spiritual energy in what Rick draws -- and the world could surely use a daily dose of that. The strip, featuring irresistible characters you will want to adopt like housepets, represents a place where high aspirations of existence intertwine with the practicality of everyday living. Click on the panel above for bigger impact, and check out other strips at http://www.holymolecartoon.com/
It may be true that newspapers are an almost impossible sell these days. Good heavens, they seem determined to kill themselves (starting with their Managing Editors). But there must be venues for Holy Mole, and we will find them, in papers, magazines, on websites, atop billboards or rooftops. And the world will become a better place, one panel at a time.
I have met devoted fans who plaster their refrigerators with Holy Mole strips and pass copies along to family and friends. Believe me when I say it's a beautiful thing.
Pass along the strip. Listen to the drumbeat. Join the revolution.
artist Rick Hotton, a karate instructor and math tutor who started doodling in the classroom a while back to lessen the boredom.The result was Holy Mole, which offers a thoughtful message each day without being religious or preachy. Rick would like Holy Mole to change the world, one panel at a time, but there is a heavy burden attached to such a noble undertaking. And timing, well, timing is everything.
"I'm afraid I was born 200 years too late for martial arts, and 30 years too late for newpapers,'' laments Rick (who, by the way, has trained 48 black belt martial artists. That's like a baseball manager with 48 players in the Hall of Fame.) But I think Rick arrived at just the right time, and that's why I have joined the Holy Mole crusade.
There is great wisdom and spiritual energy in what Rick draws -- and the world could surely use a daily dose of that. The strip, featuring irresistible characters you will want to adopt like housepets, represents a place where high aspirations of existence intertwine with the practicality of everyday living. Click on the panel above for bigger impact, and check out other strips at http://www.holymolecartoon.com/
It may be true that newspapers are an almost impossible sell these days. Good heavens, they seem determined to kill themselves (starting with their Managing Editors). But there must be venues for Holy Mole, and we will find them, in papers, magazines, on websites, atop billboards or rooftops. And the world will become a better place, one panel at a time.
I have met devoted fans who plaster their refrigerators with Holy Mole strips and pass copies along to family and friends. Believe me when I say it's a beautiful thing.
Pass along the strip. Listen to the drumbeat. Join the revolution.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Pssst: Here's the other side of Nashville
In describing his East Nashville neighborhood, songwriter Todd Snider says: "Shit man, we're living in a dream world over here.''
It's easy to roll into Nashville and never get past the honky tonks of Lower Broad. But just a few minutes from the glitter of downtown, heading east over the Cumberland River, there's a cool place with a vibe all its own. "Our skyline ain't very high, but we love it,'' says Snider in his talking tribute "From a Rooftop.''
Even though it's still gritty in places, "East Nasty'' has become a desirable hangout and home for songwriters, hipsters and people of all persuasions. And today we take you there with Pssst (Personal Six String Sanctuary Tout) No. 2:
Red Beet Records in 2006 released a two-disc compilation titled "The Other Side: Music From East Nashville'' featuring artists who live in or hang around the neighborhood. There are a generous 31 cuts, some by familiar names like Snider, Jon Langford, Thad Cockrell and Chely Wright.
But you also get Kevin Gordon, Jon Byrd, Eric Brace and Peter Cooper -- artists you easily could stumble on in popular East Nashville joints like the Alley Cat or the 3 Crow Bar. Cooper, the Nashville Tennessean music critic and master storyteller, offers "Ol' Strom'' an ode to the late senator from his native South Carolina.
For more information about Red Beet and its artists go to http://redbeetrecords.com/
Good stuff. May the Beet go on...
It's easy to roll into Nashville and never get past the honky tonks of Lower Broad. But just a few minutes from the glitter of downtown, heading east over the Cumberland River, there's a cool place with a vibe all its own. "Our skyline ain't very high, but we love it,'' says Snider in his talking tribute "From a Rooftop.''
Even though it's still gritty in places, "East Nasty'' has become a desirable hangout and home for songwriters, hipsters and people of all persuasions. And today we take you there with Pssst (Personal Six String Sanctuary Tout) No. 2:
Red Beet Records in 2006 released a two-disc compilation titled "The Other Side: Music From East Nashville'' featuring artists who live in or hang around the neighborhood. There are a generous 31 cuts, some by familiar names like Snider, Jon Langford, Thad Cockrell and Chely Wright.
But you also get Kevin Gordon, Jon Byrd, Eric Brace and Peter Cooper -- artists you easily could stumble on in popular East Nashville joints like the Alley Cat or the 3 Crow Bar. Cooper, the Nashville Tennessean music critic and master storyteller, offers "Ol' Strom'' an ode to the late senator from his native South Carolina.
For more information about Red Beet and its artists go to http://redbeetrecords.com/
Good stuff. May the Beet go on...
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Get some midweek mojo
Good morning, young rockers, will you please go out there and make something happen today? For you, for your hit-starved countrymen, for your music-depraved world?
Not to go transcendental on you, but historically there have been some strange musical forces at work on this day. Forces that offer hope. Events that warrant closer scrutiny. My friend Natasha, the psychic lady, consults the tarot cards. We review the music charts -- and they are off the charts on February 11:
Way back on Feb. 11, 1946, Al Dexter placed the nation on a boogie woogie full alert when "Guitar Polka'' crossed the charts for a No. 1 hit. Four years later Red Foley put Blue Lick, Ky., on the map for good with "Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy'' -- his first of three No. 1 songs that year.
On this day in 1962, Joey Dee and the Starliters were shimmy-shaking "The Peppermint Twist'', and exactly eight years later the Shocking Blue made it to the summit with "Venus.'' Shocking Blue? Not even Lady Natasha could have predicted a Dutch group would rock like that. There's definitely something gurgling on this day.
Polyester alert: On this day in 1978 the Bee Gees topped the charts with 'Stayin' Alive.''
Birthdays? We give you Vincent Eugene Craddock, aka Gene Vincent, of "Be-Bop-a-Lula'' fame (1935), "Monster Mash'' maestro Bobby "Boris'' Pickett (1938), Brazilian bossa nova baron Sergio Mendes (1941) and sweet rocking Sheryl Crow (1962).
(As one-hit wonders go, we loved Bobby Pickett, who would get up at Oldies shows and declare, "Now I'm going to do a medley of my hit.'')
Mix these in blender (disco is optional), hit the puree switch and ... drink at your own risk.
Not to go transcendental on you, but historically there have been some strange musical forces at work on this day. Forces that offer hope. Events that warrant closer scrutiny. My friend Natasha, the psychic lady, consults the tarot cards. We review the music charts -- and they are off the charts on February 11:
Way back on Feb. 11, 1946, Al Dexter placed the nation on a boogie woogie full alert when "Guitar Polka'' crossed the charts for a No. 1 hit. Four years later Red Foley put Blue Lick, Ky., on the map for good with "Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy'' -- his first of three No. 1 songs that year.
On this day in 1962, Joey Dee and the Starliters were shimmy-shaking "The Peppermint Twist'', and exactly eight years later the Shocking Blue made it to the summit with "Venus.'' Shocking Blue? Not even Lady Natasha could have predicted a Dutch group would rock like that. There's definitely something gurgling on this day.
Polyester alert: On this day in 1978 the Bee Gees topped the charts with 'Stayin' Alive.''
Birthdays? We give you Vincent Eugene Craddock, aka Gene Vincent, of "Be-Bop-a-Lula'' fame (1935), "Monster Mash'' maestro Bobby "Boris'' Pickett (1938), Brazilian bossa nova baron Sergio Mendes (1941) and sweet rocking Sheryl Crow (1962).
(As one-hit wonders go, we loved Bobby Pickett, who would get up at Oldies shows and declare, "Now I'm going to do a medley of my hit.'')
Mix these in blender (disco is optional), hit the puree switch and ... drink at your own risk.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
All in the name of research
My friend Bob 
has been working in his "lab'' late at night to perfect an invention that will revolutionize the art of guitar playing. If I told you more he'd shoot me.
I am not kidding, at least about the invention part.
Bob's problem is that he is always surrounded by guitars. Now this is normally a pretty cool thing, but too many guitars can be a major distraction when you are trying to refine a revolutionary idea, even if it happens to involve guitars. Last night, for instance, I went back to the "lab'' to check on his progress and found him doing some vigorous 12-string bottlenecking on a Danelectro doubleneck.
Now Bob is an excellent player, and the sound coming from that Danelectro was truly splendid. But his picking seemed a bit off point. Fiddling while Rome burns, so to speak.
My role in this brilliant undertaking, as a business partner and designated project prodder, is to keep my inventor on task. And being that we have a patent deadline approaching, it's high time we generate some results.
Bob convinced me he was working on something that was crucial to our success, and he was kind enough to invite me back today to join him for some important "research.''
Which is where I'm headed right now. Wish us luck today...
has been working in his "lab'' late at night to perfect an invention that will revolutionize the art of guitar playing. If I told you more he'd shoot me.
I am not kidding, at least about the invention part.
Bob's problem is that he is always surrounded by guitars. Now this is normally a pretty cool thing, but too many guitars can be a major distraction when you are trying to refine a revolutionary idea, even if it happens to involve guitars. Last night, for instance, I went back to the "lab'' to check on his progress and found him doing some vigorous 12-string bottlenecking on a Danelectro doubleneck.
Now Bob is an excellent player, and the sound coming from that Danelectro was truly splendid. But his picking seemed a bit off point. Fiddling while Rome burns, so to speak.
My role in this brilliant undertaking, as a business partner and designated project prodder, is to keep my inventor on task. And being that we have a patent deadline approaching, it's high time we generate some results.
Bob convinced me he was working on something that was crucial to our success, and he was kind enough to invite me back today to join him for some important "research.''
Which is where I'm headed right now. Wish us luck today...
Monday, February 9, 2009
The abbreviated Grammys
Good morning, today's edition of Six String Sanctuary is rated PG (Post Grammy).
No gold or glitter here, no speeches or lavish television production. Just a link to the list of winners. Isn't that what you really wanted?
I was happy (and surprised) to see "Raising Sand'' win five awards, including album of the year, and found myself scrambling this morning to find it in a stack of CDs. There it was, sandwiched between Pieta Brown and Andres Segovia (now that would be an interesting pairing). It's playing now.
Congratulations to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, who proved that the aging rocker/bluegrass fiddler pairing can work, especially if it's produced by T Bone Burnett.
Come to think of it, the 2002 album "Let's Leave This Town'' with Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez is also stellar, and more upbeat, but somehow that one stayed under the radar.
Did you know that the complete list of the 2009 Grammy winners includes 110 categories, is 1,932 words and would take six pages to print?
http://verizon.net/newsroom/portals/newsroom.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=newsroom_portal_page__article&_article=1565006
No gold or glitter here, no speeches or lavish television production. Just a link to the list of winners. Isn't that what you really wanted?
I was happy (and surprised) to see "Raising Sand'' win five awards, including album of the year, and found myself scrambling this morning to find it in a stack of CDs. There it was, sandwiched between Pieta Brown and Andres Segovia (now that would be an interesting pairing). It's playing now.
Congratulations to Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, who proved that the aging rocker/bluegrass fiddler pairing can work, especially if it's produced by T Bone Burnett.
Come to think of it, the 2002 album "Let's Leave This Town'' with Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez is also stellar, and more upbeat, but somehow that one stayed under the radar.
Did you know that the complete list of the 2009 Grammy winners includes 110 categories, is 1,932 words and would take six pages to print?
http://verizon.net/newsroom/portals/newsroom.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=newsroom_portal_page__article&_article=1565006
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Dusting off an old LP
You wouldn't call my parents music fanatics, but there was always a turntable in the house and LP records to be played. They exposed their children to songs and music we might never have discovered, much less embraced, without their influence.
I remember a record titled "Songs That Brought Sunshine into the Depression'' that received some serious play when I was a kid. What brought back the memory was a movie showing recently on IFC. It was the 1992 flick "American Heart'' with Jeff Bridges and Edward Furlong (who that year became a 15-year-old star after being cast as John Connor in "Terminator 2'').
"American Heart'' has a nice soundtrack that's heavy on Tom Waits' songs, including "Jersey Girl'', but the tune that got my attention was performed by Bridges, who was playing a tiny guitar I mistook for a uke until I noticed it had six strings. He did a stripped down version of "Sunny Side of the Street'' and immediately I was transported back to Gene and Mavis Smith's house on Blair Street circa 1960.
Grab your coat and get your hat
Leave your worries on the doorstep
Just direct your feet
To the sunny side of the street
Strummer alert: Here's a link to some simple guitar chords for the song, with lyrics. It's guaranteed to break you out of any depressing set you may have strummed yourself into: http://www.megachords.com/guitar/music/8850/in-the-sunny-side-of-the-street.htm (Just overlook the incorrect song title.)
With the mess we're in today, it might not be a bad idea to bring back some of those memorable Depression-era chestnuts. No doubt the music of that time helped folks cope with the difficulties of the day. Playing off the old game of Records to Take on a Deserted Island, I submit a short list of Old Songs to Kick the New Depression:
1. All of Me (Gerald Marks/Seymour Simons)
2. Pennies From Heaven (Arthur Johnson/Johnny Burke)
3. Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee (Irving Berlin)
4. We're In the Money (Al Dubin/Harry Warren)
5. Brother Can You Spare a Dime (Yip Harburg/Jay Gorney)
And I'd have to add "Sunny Side of the Street'' from that long-ago LP, which provided audible lessons and insights on the Great Depression that couldn't be uncovered reading history books.
I remember a record titled "Songs That Brought Sunshine into the Depression'' that received some serious play when I was a kid. What brought back the memory was a movie showing recently on IFC. It was the 1992 flick "American Heart'' with Jeff Bridges and Edward Furlong (who that year became a 15-year-old star after being cast as John Connor in "Terminator 2'').
"American Heart'' has a nice soundtrack that's heavy on Tom Waits' songs, including "Jersey Girl'', but the tune that got my attention was performed by Bridges, who was playing a tiny guitar I mistook for a uke until I noticed it had six strings. He did a stripped down version of "Sunny Side of the Street'' and immediately I was transported back to Gene and Mavis Smith's house on Blair Street circa 1960.
Grab your coat and get your hat
Leave your worries on the doorstep
Just direct your feet
To the sunny side of the street
Strummer alert: Here's a link to some simple guitar chords for the song, with lyrics. It's guaranteed to break you out of any depressing set you may have strummed yourself into: http://www.megachords.com/guitar/music/8850/in-the-sunny-side-of-the-street.htm (Just overlook the incorrect song title.)
With the mess we're in today, it might not be a bad idea to bring back some of those memorable Depression-era chestnuts. No doubt the music of that time helped folks cope with the difficulties of the day. Playing off the old game of Records to Take on a Deserted Island, I submit a short list of Old Songs to Kick the New Depression:
1. All of Me (Gerald Marks/Seymour Simons)
2. Pennies From Heaven (Arthur Johnson/Johnny Burke)
3. Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee (Irving Berlin)
4. We're In the Money (Al Dubin/Harry Warren)
5. Brother Can You Spare a Dime (Yip Harburg/Jay Gorney)
And I'd have to add "Sunny Side of the Street'' from that long-ago LP, which provided audible lessons and insights on the Great Depression that couldn't be uncovered reading history books.
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