News

June 22, 2014

Gang,

A fellow recently sent me an email about his aged cat who had stopped eating and was losing weight. The vet told him the problem was dementia. My initial reaction was to feel sorry for the poor beast and its owner. (Actually “owner” is not right. It is truly said that dogs have owners, cats have staff.)

But then the thunderbolt hit. “Eureka!” I cried, “I’m rich!” Fad diets have for the past hundred years been making their promoters obscenely wealthy, at least up to the point where they are discredited and sent to jail, or have to change their names and leave the country. Dementia-Slim™ is in development as I write this and the boys in the lab are working around the clock to find a way of inducing a slenderizing dementia that does not involve getting old, ingesting illegal substances or having a teenage daughter. (It’s rumored that the Don’t-Eat-So-Much diet is surprisingly effective, but it’s never really caught on.)

In other news, we still haven’t settled on a place to settle, but are out and about looking at schools and communities in New England. (We truly appreciate all the generous, insightful responses to my last missive about finding a place, but none turned into a Plan of Action.) Stay tuned!

Coming up:

A Private Party in New York City on Thursday, June 26. (All I’ve been told so far is that “it’s in a restaurant.” I’m hoping they get more specific soon—I seem to recall that Manhattan has several restaurants and it might take a while to find the right one.)

Wolfeboro, NH, Great Waters Music Festival, Friday, June 27th. It’s gonna be great, but it’s sold out—sorry!

And best of all … the video documentary on me that’s been in the works of the past couple of years is finally ready for its coming-out party! (An early cut won Best NH Documentary at the NH Film Fest in Portsmouth last October, but now it’s really, really ready.) If you possibly can come by the Regent Theater in Arlington, MA on Saturday, June 28. The screening’s at 8PM followed by a few songs and a Q&A session with yours truly and the filmmakers, Todd Kwait and Rob Stegman This should be fun!

And enjoy the first days of Summer!

All the best,

Tom Rush

Quote of the month: “My mind is a neighborhood I try not to go into alone.” – Anne Lamott

P.S. – I’m on the road for the next few weeks and may not be able to respond to any replies to this. Please forgive me! TR

April 21, 2014

Gang,

Sugaring season is just about over here and people are taking down the gear. (My entire crop amounted to about a pint of syrup.) But I spotted the bucket pictured here hung on a local telephone pole. I think the NSA has just gone too far this time!

Speaking of networks of spies, I need to recruit my own personal web — you! Due to a bewildering swirl of circumstances we unexpectedly need to MOVE. I won’t burden you with the details, but there’s a novel in there, or maybe a sit-com. And no, it’s not the Witness Protection Program thing again — they gave up on me some time ago.

The long and the short is that we’re looking for a place to rent for three years, somewhere in the Northeast, on the water (ocean? lake? My bride and child are half-mermaid and need large expanses of H₂O to feel at home). And we need a really good high school within commuting distance; public or private, but we favor a Day school over Boarding. The Kid is going into 10th grade, is super-bright (doesn’t get it from me) and needs challenges in a supportive and inspiring environment. She’s into the arts (including the performing arts, God help us!) and humanities, not so much the sports side of things.

And we need to accomplish all this by the end of May. That last is the scary part — we have 5 WEEKS to pull this off! Any and all serious suggestions will be considered. The finder’s fee for a winning entry: a FREE HOUSE CONCERT!!! We’re serious about needing some help here. Start spying!

On the road again this weekend:

Thursday the 24th in North Easton, MA at the Oakes Ames Hall, a very cool old building. Last time sold out, so don’t dawdle.

Friday the 25th at the Players Theater in Peterborough, NH. Always sold out in the past (but I don’t want to jinx it).

Saturday the 26th, a Common Fence concert at Salve Regina University in Newport, RI. Never been there before, very much looking forward!

Sunday the 27, a benefit concert for WUMB in Boston. A great radio station that just happens to play a lot of our kind of music. SOLD OUT!

Monday the 28, the White River Junction Indie Film Fest is screening “For The Love Of The Music” and Jim Rooney and I will be doing a song or two after the movie, answering questions as long as they’re not to hard, like, “What’s the capital of South Dakota?”

Enjoy the Spring! I’m going to get back to putting things in boxes now.

All the best,

Quote of the month:

“If I’d have known how much packing I’d have to do, I’d have run again.”

— Harry S. Truman

February 16, 2014

Gang,

I was recently at a radio station getting ready to do an interview to promote an upcoming show. While I was tuning up, waiting for the show’s host to appear, a young lady came in and handed me a piece of paper. “We’ll need your signature on this before air-time,” she said, and walked out again.

It was the FCC “Language Agreement,” enumerating in excruciating detail all the words you’re not supposed to say on the radio. My first thought was to jauntily tell them, “You missed a couple,” but after a careful reading I honestly could not think of a single vulgarity they’d left out, and I have a pretty good vocabulary. (I’m not bragging or anything, but fifty years on the road with musicians, technicians and teamsters can be very educational.)

A couple of questions were raised by this. What if the person going on the air was as prudish as the FCC apparently thinks the listeners are? Wouldn’t they be too shocked and offended to carry on? And what if the person was underage? Would not the FCC be contributing to the delinquency of a minor, teaching them words they’re not supposed to know (but undoubtedly do)? And what if …

I was pondering these weighty matters when the young lady returned to retrieve the form. I told her I’d left my glasses in the car and asked if she’d please read the page to me. After all, I can’t be expected to sign something if I don’t know what it is, now can I? She looked at the paper, opened her mouth to speak, closed it again, looked at me, looked at the paper. She seemed a bit flushed (perhaps overwhelmed at being so close to a star of my magnitude?), and left the room hurriedly. Apparently it was determined that my signature was not necessary after all because I heard no more about it.

In other news:

The hit kid’s video of the Fish Story Song is now available free-for-nothing on our YouTube channel. (It’s an odd thing – kids love it, grownups love it, but between about 5th and 12th grades there’s a period where they think it’s “too childish.”) If you like it, the actual DVD contains extra stuff: me reading the story of Paul Bunyan and the Grizzly, and the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, along with some very cool drawings by Jocelyn Slack.

And upcoming shows:

Wednesday, February 19th, at the Ark in Ann Arbor – a great room.
Thursday I’ll be at the Folk Alliance gathering in Kansas City – the first time I’ve been able to attend this conference which is becoming a Big Deal in the music world.
Friday at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago – a great organization with music lessons, an outreach program for school kids, on and on.
Saturday I’ll be in Stoughton, WI at the Opera House – never been there before, but I’m told it’s a glorious old theater that the town has lovingly (and expensively) refurbished.

And then at the end of the month/beginning of March:

Thursday, February 27th, Mechanics Hall in Worcester, MA – another great old room.
And, finally, on Saturday, March 1st, Town Hall in Woodstock, VT, a place I’ve played many times, and had a great time every time!

Thanks for reading. Stay warm!

All the best,

Tom Rush

Quote of the month:

“Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer.”

–– Mark Twain

Gang,

Years ago, when he was but a tyke, my boy Benjamin was asked in school to write a short piece about what he would like the world to have for Christmas, and then what he would like for himself. After long and careful thought he said he would like the world to be a beautiful and peaceful place and wanted everybody to love each other and get along without fighting. For himself, on the other hand, he desired the GI Joe Hovercraft fully decked out with rocket launchers, machine guns and flamethrowers. And that, in a nutshell, seems to be the problem. Something to work on in the New Year!

In late-breaking news: Some top-tier seats have just opened up for the Symphony Hall show on Saturday the 28th (Donald Trump can’t make it after all). Several other sections are sold out already. These tickets, of course, are the most tasteful and exciting gifts possible, so don’t dawdle! (If the Box Office can’t mail them out on time, not to worry — they’ll just hold them at the ticket window.)

Also, the video documentary about the original Club 47 and the Cambridge folk scene in the ’60s, “For The Love Of The Music,” has just come out and is available in DVD or Blu Ray. And the very nicely done DVD/CD set recorded at last year’s show, “Tom Rush Celebrates 50 Years of Music,” is by far the most popular item at the web store. (Both fit nicely in stockings!)

It’s time to thank all the folks who have helped me get through the year in style. Mr. Dan Beach runs TomRush.com with a firm and elegant hand, never letting me drift too far from my moorings. Andrea Sabata and all the good people at Skyline Music find me fun gigs to do (sometimes a few too many, but I won’t complain). The troops at Nimbit do a great job of fulfilling orders at the web store. Tim Burke tends the vending table at most of my shows with boundless energy, setting up the most beautiful displays. Todd Kwait and Rob Stegman make great videos of all sorts, including the videos mentioned above, and have provided essential support in mounting this year’s Symphony Hall show. Jim Musselman and Alan Edwards at Appleseed Recordings do a fabulous job at getting the music (and the word) out. And my family. Ah, my family! They haven’t yet kicked me out. (It’s not easy being me, but being related to me can be pure hell!)

And of course you, the Gang, who make all of this possible by supporting my various projects and explorations, some of which actually turn out to have been good ideas. Then there are the others, but we won’t talk about that just now.

Thanks for reading, and have the warmest and happiest of holidays!

All the best,

Tom Rush

Link of the month: Our favorite holiday music here at the Rush household is the Yule Ties CD from our old Jackson Hole buddies, Loose Ties. Check it out: For an actual CD go to http://tinyurl.com/m3xt7cb and buy direct from the artists. For a download, go to http://tinyurl.com/mcnkpom

November 20, 2013

Gang,

I don’t know what brings this to mind, but at one point I was working on a book to be called “The Worst Gig I Ever Did.” It was to be a compilation of stories from my colleagues and contemporaries about all the time things don’t go at all the way they should. I never got much farther than the title, but I did collect just a few anecdotes and one of the best was from David Wilcox.

He told me he was playing a show at a VFW hall in Somewhere, Arkansas. Or maybe it was Alabama. Down There, in any case. The oldest living Veteran got up to introduce him and welcome the crowd. “We’re goin’ to have us a fine time here tonight,” he wheezed, “but before we get started I’d like y’all to rise.” The assemblage dutifully lurched to their feet. “Now the flag’s out being dry cleaned,” he continued, “but if y’all would just turn and face the Pepsi machine … we’ll pledge allegiance.”

The Symphony Hall show on Saturday, December 28th is coming along apace – the first ads should be hitting the media in the next day or so. The top tier tickets are almost gone and the rest are moving briskly. We’ve added more names to the roster: Sarah Lee Guthrie (Woody’s granddaughter and Arlo’s kid) and Johnny Irion will be joining us in the merriment. (As you will recall, the Kweskin Jug Band with Maria Muldaur, Geoff Muldaur and Bill Keith will be there, and Patty Larkin, and of course your humble servant, moi!) The link, again, is http://www.bso.org/Performance/Detail/60206 and the phone is 888-266-1200.

In the interim, just after Thanksgiving I’ll be in:

Portland, ME, One Longfellow Square on Friday, 12/6
Shirley, MA at the Bull Run on Saturday, 12/7 (with Eric Lilljequist and Dean Adrien – our annual get-together)
Fairfield, CT, Stage One on Sunday, 12/8

Have a great, and thankful, Thanksgiving!

All the best,

Tom Rush

Link of the Month: Just in from Ted Williams by way of Renee. In case you think it’s as bad as it can get – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8GOCT0qQYQ

PS. For those of you who haven’t yet gotten around to buying a Naked Lady guitar, MacKenzie & Marr are having a pre-Christmas sale. Check it out!! http://www.macmarr.com/store/tom-rush-naked-lady