The Wood ‘n’ Lips Open Mic Newsletter

Hey,

We had a pleasant surprise; this month’s San Diego Troubadour arrived and we discovered that they dedicated a little more than a half-page of photos from our For Love of Mic Music Festival in their “Local Seen” section—a big thanks to Liz Abbott, the editor.

The weather was hot and people were slow in showing up; it looked like we might have to recycle our performers in order to put on a show for the good folks who came out for some entertainment.  I meant to send an email reminding people how nice the air conditioner at the works, in hope that a few might drop by rather than sweltering at home. Shoulda, woulda, coulda.

6:30 Tim Woods: Greg Gross joined me on “Under the Boardwalk”, our reference to the steamy weather; an illogical follow up for that was Johnny Horton’s “North to Alaska”; John Lennon’s “Imagine”; John McCutcheon’s “The Red Corvette ($65.00); Tanya Tucker’s “Delta Dawn”; and The Band’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”.  “Johns” are well represented this week.

6:45 John Movius: Took the opportunity to do a solo set of his versions of Buddy Holly’s “Maybe Baby”; Chad & Jeremy’s “The Summer Song”; Jimmy Rodgers’ “Miss the Mississippi and You”; finishing with the Beatles’ “All My Loving”.

7:00 Greg Gross: Jumped seasons with John McCutcheon’s “Christmas in the Trenches”; The Rooftop Singers’ “Walk Right In”; LeRoy Mack’s “Praying Mantis Love Affair”; and “Danny Boy”.

7:15 Gus Mezza: Returned for his second week with us; he launched with Hank Williams’ “Jambalaya”; Alan Jackson’s “Remember When”; George Strait’s “Write this Down”; and Randy Travis’ “For Ever and Ever, Amen”.

7:30 Marquita Lawson: Decided to do a set of her originals—nice originals—starting with “Making Plans”; “Gonna Spend Time Walking with My Lord Today”; “You’re the One I Love”; and “Take Me Down to the Water’s Edge” with the audience providing echos.

7:45 Bob Setzer: On a borrowed guitar, played Bob Dylan’s “You Ain’t Going Nowhere”; Simon & Garfunkle’s “Richard Cory”; and Gram Parsons’ “Lazy Days”.

8:00 Z (Richard Zelmer): Saw one of our fliers at the Acoustic Expressions music store, and on the internet too, so he decided to give our open mic a try. He started out with a nautical tune, the traditional “The Leavin’ of Liverpool”; then Don Willaims’s “I Recall a Gypsy Woman”; Elvis Presley’s (among others) “I Washed My Hands In Muddy Waters”; and Earl Green and Carl Montgomery’s “Six Days on the Road”.  Z mentioned that he usually performs at the open mic that Valley Music has on Saturday evenings, you may want to check that out.

8:15 Tom Barbarie & John Movius: The boys combined their versions of The Sons of the Pioneers’ “Ghost Riders in the Sky”; Buck Owens’ “Act Naturally”; Johnny Cash’s “Guess Things Happen That Way”; Charlie Pride’s “I’m Just Me”; and Merle Haggard’s “Swinging Doors”.

8:30 John Wayne: The newlywed came by to play a set for us before he and his new bride, Janelle, moved to Kentucky. He’s hoping that he might make it this week too. He kicked off his set with Clint Black’s “Killing Time”; and continued on with Garth Brooks’s “Mamma’s in the Graveyard, Poppa’s in the Pen”; Carl Smith’s “Loose Talk”; Marty Robbins’ “Don’t Worry About Me”; Don Gibson’s “I Can’t Stop Loving You”; Freddy Fender’s “Before the Next Teardrop Falls”; Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode”; and “Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues”.  I gave him a little extra time because we still had open slots.

9:00 Tim Woods & Greg Gross: We wound down the evening with the Statler Brothers’ “Countin’ Flowers on the Wall”; Roger Miller’s “King of the Road”; The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “What a Day for a Daydream”; John Denvers’ “Country Roads”; and Dale Evans’ “Happy Trails”.

We closed a little early as the crowd had dwindled after John Wayne’s set.

Drop on by and help us get through these dog days of summer, I guaranty you will have a good time.

By the way, if you have just recently added your name to the email list for the For Love of Mic Newsletter and want to peruse previous issues, check out the Santee Patch website. They have been posting our newsletters for the past few months. A big thanks goes out from me to Steven Bartholow, the Santee Patch’s editor; they are now listing us on their upcoming entertainment page. www.santee.patch.com

God Bless and have a good week.

Tim Woods, Greg Gross, and the crew