Frank Gutch Jr: The Dog Ate My Homework…

My goddamn computer ate my column.  Four hours of work down the toilet!  Luckily, I prepare my Notes section in a different file.  This will be short, but there are some pretty cool things in here.  Next week, unless my computer acts up again (I’m blaming Trump), I will be back on track.

Notes…..  Regarding last weeks Notes column, I misspoke (erm, typed) when I said that Will James was in Houston.  Turns out he lives in Buffalo, of all godforsaken places.  I remember Buffalo— lake effect snow, cold, miserable, the Bisons.  Then again, without Buffalo we probably would never have had wings— not Buffalo Wings— so let us celebrate that.  Will is responsible for my having found Elise Davis, who is one bona fide talent.  Let us listen…

Set yourself.  There will be more.

A few years ago I spent a night at the Axe & Fiddle in Cottage grove, Oregon, watching Cincinnati’s Mad Anthony rock the stage.  It was one hell of a show and I will never forget it.  The opening act was a singer/songwriter named Matthew Zeltzer in whom I saw more than a little talent.  Zeltzer has been knocking around Northern California and the Pac Northwest since, building a resume which is finally starting to pay off.  Playing solo and also with MAITA as The American West, he is beginning to attract attention.  It is a long hard road, being a musician.

Eliza Gilkyson‘s latest video, The Great Correction, traces the history of the resistance movement over the years.  Like I said, if nothing else, Trump is activating an exceptional number of protest songs.

While dumpster diving on the Net this morning I ran across this video of Noam Pikelny, the banjo player for The Punch Brothers.  At first, I was wondering if it was real or not but slowly began chuckling and then laughing out loud.  This is one of the coolest videos I have seen in awhile.  Set your phasers to hilarity with tongue firmly in cheek.

Kingsley Flood?  Hadn’t heard of them until I saw this.  I need to catch up.

Jesus!  I wrote a review of The Suitcase Junket‘s last album wherein I said some very nice things about him, but this… This is impressive!  Just one guy.  Who knew?

I’ve heard a lot about Whitehorse from my friends north of the border but have not really taken the chance to listen.  I do believe I should have started listening some time ago.  From their upcoming album Boys Like You, street date in May.

To be fair, I lifted the above four videos from alternateroot.com.  I steal videos from them all the time.  Hell, I lift videos from everyone who has decent videos to lift.  Just spreading the music around.  But thanks, Alternate Rooters!

Italy lives in its own little world, musically, and I have known it since the days of PFM, Maxophone, and I Pooh.  The latest I have heard is from Verdiana Raw and it is something else.  Operatic in places, dramatic, theater- and calassically-enhanced.  My guess is that you are going to love it or hate it.  I love it.  Music sometimes needs more drama and Raw gives it up in spades.  The new album is titled Whales Know the Route, but this video is from her previous effort, Metaxy (2012).  I am posting this because it is the first video of Raw I have watched and I’m impressed.  I have watched a few other videos and am impressed with those as well.  There is something really going on here.

In keeping with the growing number of musicians who want the Orange Shitgibbon not only out of the White House but out of the country, Iris Dement brings us another in a long string of musical f**k yous.  Mussolini wanted to deconstruct Italy’s government, too, and look what happened there.

For Jilly Blackstone:

=FGJ=

Frank’s column appears every Tuesday

Contact us at dbawis@rogers.com

“Frank Gutch Jr. looks like Cary Grant, writes like Hemingway and smells like Pepe Le Pew. He has been thrown out of more hotels than Keith Moon, is only slightly less pompous than Garth Brooks and at one time got laid at least once a year (one year in a row). He has written for various publications, all of which have threatened to sue if mentioned in any of his columns, and takes pride in the fact that he has never been quoted. Read at your own peril.”