SPRING
IS HERE, THE SKY IS BLUE, WHOA-OH-OH,
BIRDS ALL SING AS IF THEY KNEW, ETC.
Back in the ether-saddle, with an update, gigs, Benadryl mystery and Hi
Hello Hooray! Howareyou?, Justfine thankyouverymuch.
April 3, 2008
Denton, TX—First, credit where it’s due, and thanks! to Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector for writing “Chapel of Love,” and to the Dixie Cups for bringing it to life so indelibly. As I sit here at this Underwood manual PC, with a fresh ribbon, getting ready to write the first in a helluva long time screed for this eponymous website, it’s springtime again. I usually complain about it, but I won’t for now. My allergies are on good behavior for the moment and the oak things haven’t started to fall off the oak trees yet. But don’t get me started on the magnolia.
Double segue: 1) Don’t Get Me Started, and 2) Allergies. I can’t figure it out, so if you can, please drop me a line. For the last week or so I keep hearing rumors of a Little Jack Melody song being used in a Benadryl® television commercial. I don’t know I don’t know. I haven’t heard it or seen it myself, and I don’t have any knowledge of it, other than the shards of authoritative speculation the Internet rumormill and myspace have brought me.
But
in the first place, to the best of my knowledge, none of my songs
have been used in a Benadryl® television commercial—certainly
not with my permission, nor with any advance warning given to me. Maybe
Michael Jackson acquired all my copyrights while I wasn’t looking
and has sold me out for a few shekels in a Sisyphean attempt to chisel
down his Own Private Everest of outstanding legal bills. I don’t
know.
I really can’t imagine what’s going on or how I’ve been linked to this apparently very catchy spot. I’ve mainly been hearing from high school and middle school kids about this, so that increases the murk; I can’t think of anything from my output that would inspire such adamant curiosity from a demographic which historically has shown very little interest in my work.
If you see or have seen the commercial, please drop me a line and tell me where and when it crossed your path. I’ve been trying to monitor MTV and VH-1 for sightings, but my patience doesn’t have much lifespan. Key phrases in the commercial seem to include: It's a great day to be together, and maybe It's a lovely day to be together, I doubt if life could get any better. I’ll personally send you a dollar if you can solve this one. Thanks in advance.
And speaking of, segue 3) My myspace is here, and feel free to drop in: http://www.myspace.com/myspacecomlittlejackmelody
Hey, springtime and summer gigs! Who knew? Here are some specs, and hope to see you all at one of these several celebrations. First, you just gotta make your way to the annual Denton Arts and Jazz Festival, to which we’ll be returning like an understaffed flock of Capistrano swallows on Sunday, April 27, 3:00 pm, on the Courtyard Stage. It’s a lovely setting, plenty of shade, cold ones close at hand, and a bit removed from the madding crowd, so why not? Here’s the Barnum elevator pitch from the festival website (http://www.dentonjazzfest.com/):
|
Hear
the sounds! Experience the art! Taste the flavors! The Denton Arts & Jazz Festival is a FREE 2 ½ day event held in the heart of the city, beautiful Quakertown Park . Over 2,200 performers on 6 stages, fine arts and crafts, children's art activities, food and games, and four hundred festival members volunteer their time each year for this exciting annual event on the last, full weekend in April. For as long as anyone can remember Denton has been an incubator of talent for artists and musicians. Produced by the Denton Festival Foundation, the Denton Arts & Jazz Festival emerged from this incredible pool of both professionals and amateurs. Every April over 200,000 people travel to Denton to experience the cool sounds...the diverse entertainment...the hot jazz...and all of the talent that has made Denton a hotbed of artistic inspiration. |
Then stick around Denton until Wednesday, June 18, lunchtime, for the LJM visit to the lawn of the Denton County Courthouse, on the Square in Downtown Denton. Bring a lunch if you want to, don’t forget your sunglasses, but there should be plenty of shade so sunscreen is maybe optional. We’ll be starting around 11:45, playing until 1:00. Most of you will not need to wear a tuxedo. And lots to do around the square, as a bonus: www.dentonmainstreet.org. Seriously, I’m not making this up.
And then come Friday, July 18, head over/under/sideways/down to the Ozarks, when we’ll be appearing in Eureka Springs, Arkansas (www.eurekasprings.org). Look for us outdoors at the Basin Park band shell, playing two sets, beginning at 8 pm. If you haven’t experienced Eureka Springs for yourself, you don’t know what I’m talking about. Don’t take my word for it—you just gotta be there. Make your plans now. I didn’t get where I am today.
And on all of these aforementioned gigs, expect the personnel (I know I do) to be Brad Williams on keyboards of all sorts, Don Cento on certain guitars, James Driscoll on upright largemouth bass, and Rob Avsharian on drums. Helluva bunch of musicians, and you could all come away from these gigs better musicians, by dint of the sheer osmosis of having been in the vicinity of these masterful ones. And I’m not making this up too.
So drop me a line if you have any clues on the Benadryl® mystery, and don’t be a stranger to the myspace – could be some tunes hanging there that you haven’t heard yet.
Take care, don’t forget to vote, don’t forget to vote for the right person, and try not to hate everybody.
Your recalcitrant buddy/singer/songwriter/bandleader,
LITTLE JACK MELODY
Denton, Texas
