A day on the Gulf Coast, and a week in Texas

Hey y'all from Texas Lutheran University in "suburban Seguin" (to quote Charlie Robison). I am here to play music for the upcoming week at an event called The Disciple Project...sorta like a week of Jedi/Ninja training for young Lutheran leaders.

Flew here to the Lone Star State yesterday morning, picked up my rental car (a Mercury Milan this time, interesting car) and embarked on a long Saturday of personal retreat time. My schedule had changed in the past week, leaving me with an entire Saturday with nothing to do, so I put that car Southbound on I-45 and drove down to Galveston, TX, on the Gulf of Mexico shore. Above is a picture of East Beach in Galveston where I spent the afternoon swimming in wonderfully bath-like ocean water and bobbing in the mid-sized breakers. Whenever I'm on tour near any ocean, I always try to make my pilgrimage to the beach. When you grow up and live in the Midwest, you've got to jump at every chance to see the sea. It was 85 degrees and cloudy yesterday and the water was heavenly. After my swim I listened to a classic rock cover band for a few minutes up on the beach-party-deck (they played Black Sabbath and ZZ Top) and eventually drove back up to Houston.

Had some more free time in the evening so I went to a huge mall in Katy, TX (home of one of my favorite bands, King's X!) and caught a movie, the box office bomb "Mr. Brooks" starring Kevin Costner and Demi Moore. The script was interesting, but I must say this was one of the most horrendously violent movies I've ever seen. I felt a bit gross after I saw it. How to describe the film? Maybe "Silence of the Lambs" meets one of the CSI-type crime scene shows...but really, unless you've got a strong stomach, there are probably better movies to see.

This morning I was the guest musician at St. John's Lutheran Church in Bellville, TX, where I had played once before a couple years ago. It's always nice to know that somebody wants to have you back! WEIRD MUSICAL EVENT: the Pastor quoted John Lennon's "Imagine" during the sermon this morning, and so afterwards during the offering, I played "Imagine" on the piano and sang the verse from the sermon, and the chorus. Now, the music and melody for "Imagine" are quite lovely, but I totally can't stand the song, and I normally would have NEVER played it. I can't stand those lyrics about "above us only sky" and "imagine...no religion too." Sorry Josef Stalin, that's not a world I'd like to imagine . But, yes, I did play the song at a church...the verse that goes:
"imagine no possessions/I wonder if you can/no need for greed or hunger/a brotherhood of man/imagine all the people sharing all the world/you may say I'm a dreamer but I'm not the only one/I hope some day you'll join us/and the world can live as one"

Now, I've even got some minor issues with some of the stuff in this verse, but since the Pastor quoted it in the sermon, I figured I had permission to play it, so I did. Was Lennon being literal about the "no possessions" line, or was he just taking a stand against materialism? 'Cause I think I know what he means in a "sharing" kinda way, but I'm not sure it would be good stewardship for me to give my car away for free to anybody who asks for it. You know what I mean? Well, anyway, I never would've believed that I would have ever played "Imagine" in public, let alone at a church service, but today I did.

Everybody LOVES "Imagine." It always gets voted in the top 10 greatest songs ever written lists. Famous musicians play it all the time...I saw Emmylou Harris do it in concert once, and I think I just read someplace that Avril Lavigne covers it on a new Lennon Tribute album. But I just can't take those lyrics. Anyway, I'm a McCartney man, anyway. I'll take "Yesterday" over "Imagine" any day.

Enough vitriol. It's time for me to meet with the other leaders of this event...I'll try to blog as the week progresses.

Chicagoland tour recap: bad movies, good shows, nice folks, and a rental Prius

Well, it's Wednesday night and I'm home after a long weekend tour to the mighty Chicago Metro Area. Dawn & I moved away from Chicago five years ago exactly, but whenever I go back it's a bit of a homecoming in my mind. Here's how it all worked out:

FRIDAY: hit the road at 6:30AM in my rented Toyota Prius. That's right, a hybrid car. Took me a few times to get it to run...it's weird not having a shift (just a joystick) or an ignition (just an "on/off" button). The touchscreen computer screen on the dash was cool. Rather than FM-broadcasting my iPod like I'd usually do, I brought along a bunch of Summertimey CDs in a cardboard box the way I did in the pre-iPod era. It was fun. For the first couple hours I listened to an audiobook called "The Partly Cloudy Patriot" by Sarah Vowell that my fried Richard loaned to me. I love Sarah's books, but I'd never listened to a book-on-tape (actually on CD) before. Sarah is my age and she's equally music-obsessed and culturally-reflective as me (probably more so), and I always enjoy her geeky confessions. I got through the whole book (5 CDs!) and felt a bit queasy after all that Gen-X self-analysis, so I popped in some rocking music for the rest of the day's drive. Would you like to join me in the Honeymoon Suite for some "Wave Babies" anyone?
I cruised across Wisconsin on a beautiful day and caught some classic American road images. Check out this pic of a gas station sign North of Madison on I-90/94! Love it. I was making good time, so I stopped in Waukesha at the brand new googleplex movie theater to catch a Noontime showing of the film Ocean's Thirteen. Sucked! I remember liking the first two in the series but this baby was a chore. Incoherent plot, too many cooks spoiling the supper, and not enough scenes of those guys just hanging around looking cool. I like Pitt and Clooney usually, but this time they really phoned it in.

Oh yeah, did I happen to mention that I was on tour to play music? Well, gig #1 was in Kenosha, WI where the church was a hosting a concert in honor of the dedication of their new sanctuary building. I was the opening act for the West Great Lakes regional Youth Encounter Captive Free band. 'Twas a bit of a reality check for me to open for the YE team, knowing that I myself was playing music in a Captive Free group freakin' EIGHTEEN YEARS AGO. I had fun at the concert, though, and it was extra appropriate to play "Narthex" during the dedication weekend of a brand new church structure.

SATURDAY: Slept 'til 10AM (yayhooo!), checked out of the hotel, and zipped a few exits South into Illinois where I visited the once-mighty Gurnee Mills Outlet Mall. Back when I lived in Chi-town I loved this mall and it's multiple sections of factory-outlet record stores. Oh, the great music I purchased here in the $1 bins! Sadly though, all the CD stores are closed. There's only one FYE Music outlet remaining, and it's lame and overpriced. So rather than shop for music I went to another movie: Spider-Man 3! Sucked, pretty much. Once again, I enjoyed the first two of the series but this one was too long, too cheesy, with too many villains, and just plain yawn. So, back on the road, cruising through Chicagoland to Elk Grove Village where I played at my good pal Meghan's congregation. Another lovely group of folks at the show, and we all had a wonderful evening. The musical highlight for me was playing the rarely-performed song "Deadly Life" from the Sound Theology album, and reflecting on my gigs playing Gospel piano at United in Christ Lutheran Church on the West side of Chicago back in the '90s. A true cultural and musical education for me, indeed. Oh, and I also played my Chicago anthem "Ridgeland" which received a very warm response. "We could ride that two-lane on down to Tennessee."

SUNDAY, FATHER'S DAY: At 6:30AM I drove over to the morning gig, and was welcomed by this lovely sign in McHenry, IL. Played two morning services at this friendly congregation and had a wonderful time. Favorite musical moment for me was leading the congregation in singing "Oh Morning Star, How Fair and Bright," my current favorite hymn. When we wrapped everything up at Noon, I was pretty exhausted, but I had to drive an hour back into the city for my evening show. Chicagoland is BIG. Later that night I was in Park Ridge playing at an "emergent" worship service, and the congregation had arranged the sanctuary and balcony into the coolest layout I'd ever seen...discussion tables, puffy comfy lounge chairs, hipster decor, beautiful lighting, etc. 'Twas a very effective atmosphere.

MONDAY: slept in again, and had time to lay out by the hotel pool in 90 degree heat before Noontime checkout. My brain and body needed the refueling. Spent the rest of the afternoon revisiting my former life in Chicago. Drove past my old condo (where Sound Theology was recorded) on North Ave., drove past the parking garage on the campus of Concordia University that stands where my house (the Future Parking Ramp Studio) used to exist (and where the Muckrakers album was recorded). PLUS, I found a couple remaining record stores with amazing $1 used-CD bins. Thank goodness for Reckless Records in Bucktown and Dr. Wax in Hyde Park! Some cheap CDs I scored include:
Robbie Fulks "Revenge"
Low "Drums & Guns"
John Denver "Live"
Michael Penn "A Collection"
That night I played an evening show at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, for a intensive youth training program. The chapel is recently remodeled, but I remember playing there when my cousin Bruce was a student way back in 1993 (I think). There I was in the same space, so many years later. Most fun song for me during the gig: "Message in a Bottle" by The Police. After the performance I hit the road again, and made it all the way to Beloit, WI before needed to pull over at the Econo Lodge and fall asleep to the soothing sounds of "Saving Private Ryan" on HBO.

TUESDAY, I drove the rest of the way home listening to Michael Penn on the stereo, and tonight is WEDNESDAY and I'm preparing to leave for Texas this weekend for a 9 day tour.

Man, the recurring theme and realization for every gig and tour I've done in the past few months is this: Jonathan, you're getting OLDER. Everywhere I go it seems I've been there before, only 15 years earlier. And it's a bit concerning....you'd think I would've "moved up" on the rungs a bit after nearly two decades. Shouldn't I be playing arenas or something by now? Then again, maybe the amazing thing is that after all these years, I'm STILL doing it, and I never quit. It's either pitiful or inspiring. You decide. I know for a fact there are people out there who feel both ways about it. I like reading the blog by Shaun Groves, who has a similar career to me as a touring acoustic fringy-church-resource musician (all though he's got an actual CCM rockstar resume). Shaun recently posted this quote about his musical life: Six years as an artist on a label. Three studio CDs and one live album. And I don’t love it. I’m grateful to be doing it. I like it. But don’t love it. And I’m fine with that. It’s work.

I find that very interesting. I guess I still totally love it. I doesn't feel like work for me. And certainly I'm going through a bit of confusion due to the onset of middle age, and I'm perhaps grieving the loss of my (maybe never reality-based) identity as a respected independent rock-club gigger, I'm still thrilled to be playing. So look out America...I will rock your local Lutheran church, see a matinee in your theater, scrounge the $1 at your area used CD store, and swim in the pool at your AmericInn, and I cannot be stopped.

Studio Guinea Pig

Here's a glimpse into a day in the life of a musician and stay-home-Dad. This Monday was a great and fun day, with much zipping around, thanks to beautiful Dawn who bailed out of work for a few hours to allow my musical opportunity.

After 5 hours of sleep following Sunday's show at the 400 Bar, I got up, got Paavo and Svea fed, dressed, and in the car, and we picked up Dawn from work. She accompanied us over to St. Paul were I had a 9:45AM studio appointment. Dawn pushed the kids around the Capital City for an hour while I recorded a song at McNally Smith School of Music. My friend and super-mix-master Scott Malchow teaches a studio engineering course at the college, and he needed a musical guinea pig for a engineering lab. I showed up with a song, Scott booked a session drummer (nice playing, Jeff!), and the students learned how to mic the drum kit, work the board, and run the session. Here's a photo from my view in the isolation room...I played Scott's lovely Wurlitzer and sang a scratch vocal, and you can see the window into the control booth where the students listened. Scott was at the board with the students and he played bass. The drummer was in a different room. We did a few passes at the song to figure out our arrangement, and after two real takes we got a keeper. The song we did was one I wrote WAAAY back in 1993 called "I thought you were mine." Over the years I had tried it a zillion different ways, demoed it multiple times, and even re-wrote the whole thing with my cousin Bruce using different lyrics and music. BUT, I went back to my original idea (always a wise move, I have learned) and turned the song over to Scott to be the producer. I had overthought the song so much over the years that I really needed Scott to decide what to do with it. The result was awesome, and much more rocking than I had expected. It's one of the rare songs I've recorded where my foundational instrument is NOT guitar, and the vintage Wurly electric piano was a perfect sonic cornerstone. I told Scott and the students that I was trying to channel Michael McDonald and Daryl Hall...and gol' darn it, it actually did turn out to have some '70s white-soul potential. I'm gonna come back in in July and sing the real lead vocals, and hopefully some super tight John Oats "oooohs" and "ahhs." Stay tuned!

After the morning session I drove Dawn back to work so she could participate in a conference call, and I pushed Paavo and Svea around downtown Minneapolis in the double stroller. I love being downtown and in the skyways during lunchtime....thousands of interesting folks bustling around. On the corner of Hennepin and 4th St I looked up to see something I'd never noticed before in all my hundreds of times at this intersection. Check out the yellow letters on the building..."Forgive Yourself." A strange and lovely message for everybody downtown each day.

In the early afternoon we picked up Dawn yet again, and I dropped the family off at home so I could zip back to St. Paul for another studio appointment. I did the same situation with Scott's afternoon class, and we tracked a totally different song. This time I played acoustic guitar and we recorded a song I wrote in the late-90s (intended for inclusion on the Sound Theology album) called "I Don't Need This Rock & Roll." Like the previous tune, this was a song that I had overthought so much that I no longer had any clue what was good or not. So Scott put on his producer hat and expertly directed the process. We ended up with a nice heavy Americana-ish stomp tune that Scott plans to steer towards an arrangement not unlike The Band's "Up on Cripple Creek." I'm really excited to see how this turns out. Scott was half-seriously talking about adding jaw harp and wah-wah-Clavichord, just like The Band. Go for it, man. My brain is shot, when it comes to this tune. Take it away, Levon Helm.

After a great day spent behind the studio glass with headphones on, I cruised home with Dave Edmunds on the Vue stereo, and got home at 6PM. Picked up Paavo and 8 minutes (yes, only 8 minutes) later we were swimming in Lake Harriet in South Minneapolis. This is one of the many many reasons I love living here. Feel like swimming in a clean beautiful lake in the middle of a major city? Drive 8 minutes from home and hit the beach. Minneapolis rules. The water was cold, but I eventually got totally under, and after a few moments it's just perfectly refreshing.

Speaking of refreshing, I'll leave you with a picture of Svea's bath from later that evening. After a challenging month of May, I'm pleased to say that Summer has roared in with much creative fulfillment, beautiful weather, and family fun. To quote one of Paavo's favorite songs by The Eels, "Hey man, now you're really living."

Sunday's show at the 400 Bar

Sometimes it just feels right and salutary to plug in the Telecaster to a Vibrolux (you know the John Hiatt lyric from his song "Memphis in the Meantime": "right now I need a Telecaster through a Vibrolux turned up to 10") and bang out a loud and fun 45 minute set with a great rhythm section. "Hit it and quit it," to quote Sir Mix-a-Lot.

John Kerns (bass, vocals) and Troy Alexander (drums) joined me for a show on Sunday at the 400 Bar in Minneapolis. The room was surprisingly full for 11PM on a Sunday night, the other bands on the bill were good, and the vibe was cordial. Although it took 8 hours out of my life (arrive, load in, set up, soundcheck, hang out, listen, perform, hang out, listen, tear down, reload, get paid, drive home), I sold no CDs, I gave away three CDs, set myself up for two following days of sleep deprivation, and (once I factor in parking and some other costs) I LOST money, it was worth it just to hit that verse riff on "Librarian" really loud and hard, and feel the nice Stonesy groove by Kerns & Troy bangin' away behind me. I don't get to be the Jonathan Bar Band often enough, and it feels good to nail it once in a while. Now it's out of my system and I'm ready to be the acoustic Lutheran Folksinger this coming weekend in Chicago.

Anyway, here was the short but oh-so-sweet setlist from Sunday:

LIBRARIAN: on that last chorus Troy whacks that snare on quarter notes and my soul soars!
CONTINENTAL DIVIDE: me and cousin Bruce wrote this baby 10 years ago, and Bruce sings lead on the album version, but I jump at the chance to play it live whenever I can. One of the songs I'm most proud of, and I'll never tire of playing it. "I don't even think about her, I don't even care!"
IF I EVER GET THERE: my pretty-darn-successful attempt at arena rock, and after all the earnest retro folk and indie rock heard at the 400 Bar, I saw the bartender and the doorman flashing the heavy-metal-horns hand signal and happily headbanging during this tune. When I wrote and recorded this one on the Sound Theology album, I never really expected that I'd play it live, but since moving to Minneapolis I play it quite a bit...I think because Kerns likes it. It's a reaaaaalllly fun one.
THE PROPHETSTOWN TORNADO: this evening we played it Uncle Tupelo style, with electric guitar. Another one I'm very proud of, but rarely play solo. It needs the full-band boost.
ASK ME IN NEBRASKA: we've arranged a new post-solo chorus with some stretched out chords and vocals...it's the way it should've been played all along. I did this song in every show from 1994 to 2000, and then never played it at all from 2000 to 2007. It's good to have it back!
NOTHING OLD NOTHING NEW: happily, my band seems to really like this one. I love the bridge, and I love delivering those lyrics. Heaven knows why I would write lyrics like that as a 25 year old, and I have no idea how it happened, but I love to say "you can bet that when I'm a senior citizen all these houses will be standing / you can bet that I'll still have some time and energy just for you." Like "Nebraska," it's good to resurrect this one back into the set list.
TAPE: Perhaps one of the 5 songs I'd choose to represent my career.
CAUTIOUS SPRINGTIME BLUES: this evening was the first time this song had ever been performed in concert with a full band. Kernsey requested it, we never rehearsed it, but we did it quite nicely. I remember trying to write it like a slow Lyle Lovett song, but it's become a real barnburner.
NO MORE WALLS: Michael Morris jumped up to play acoustic guitar on this one. The first song I ever wrote back in 11th grade, but it still feels true and legit and current to me. And singing and playing it feels especially subversive at a divey rock club. Teenage longing and earnestness and innocence. Could it have been Emo, only 15 years ahead of time? Hmmm...

Another reason the gig was totally worth doing was the presence of Yooper rock legend Scotty Alan (of the hugely impactful U.P. band The Muldoons) on the bill, who played his first show after three years of hibernation in his Upper Peninsula cabin. We'd played together before in Chicago and Marquette, so I knew he was awesome, but his new songs are totally inspiring and amazing...visit his lovely hand-drawn webpage and rock out to his MySpace site. This guy is the real deal, completely original and pioneering, and he makes me love life and music more than before. Thanks for driving down for the show Scotty, and I'm glad you didn't hit any deer!

"Nothing Old, Nothing New" (alternate mix) MP3 and commentary

June marks the 10 year anniversary of the release of my album Recital. Hard to believe that a decade ago this month I played a CD release show at Gunther Murphy's Bar in Chicago, opening for Dolly Varden!

In honor of this anniversary, I'm excited to offer up a never-before heard alternate mix of "Nothing Old, Nothing New"...a song that appeared on the Recital album.

A quick history of the song:
It was written back in the Spring of 1996 at my apartment in Eugene, OR. The entire song sprung from a composition exercise where I forced myself to create guitar chord positions that existed only within one fret. The main riff of "Nothing Old..." is a F#m7, followed by a Bm7, resolving to an A, all played only within the 2nd fret.

The lyrics are about the neighborhood in Ishpeming, MI, where I spent my teenage years. The locals call it Westwood Circle, and indeed that is what it is. As I entered my 4th year of marriage, it struck me that the comfort level I was feeling in my relationship with Dawn reminded me of that similar "home" connection I had to my hometown neighborhood. I always felt the lyrics were sweet and romantic, but apparently they come off a bit more chilly, as evidenced by this review at the All Music Guide.

Here's a photo of me and drummer Lowell Michelson in the studio in Iowa as we worked on this recording. I was thrilled with all the musician's performances on this song, and the sounds you hear in this new mix are the original tracks from 1996-1997. Lowell rigged up a floor tom as if it was a kick drum, and replaced the snare with an African hand drum. Dave de-tuned his bass to get that lovely low note at the end of the bridge, and Richard nailed an incredible acoustic guitar lead throughout the song.

The original mix of this song from the Recital album is pretty good, but when I began to assemble my Best of the 20th Century album, I wanted to try to maximize this already-fine recording. In the Fall of 2006, audio wizard Matt Patrick dug into the original tracks of this song and created this mix before you now, with the introductory percussion groove effected into a drum-loopy atmospheric crunch. I loved what Matt brought to the mix in general, but I missed the natural sound of the pedal-tom and African hand drum, so for the final Best Of album version Matt restored the percussion tracks to their un-effected state. Matt's non-album alternate mix is available HERE as a free download...click below:

"Nothing Old, Nothing New" (alternate mix 2006)

Here are the song's credits:

Words and Music: Jonathan Rundman
Jonathan Rundman: vocals, acoustic guitar, melodica
Lowell Michelson: djembe, pedal tom, hi-hats, splash cymbals, triangle
David Casimir: bass
Richard Bruxvoort-Colligan: lead acoustic guitar
Joel Setterholm: organ
Matt Patrick: acoustic guitar
Recorded by: Richard Bruxvoort-Colligan at This Here Studio, Milford, IA, December 1996-January 1997.
Mixed by: Matt Patrick at Yellowbelly Studio, Crystal, MN, Fall 2006.

And here are the lyrics:

NOTHING OLD, NOTHING NEW

all of this was some field back in ’71
before they built this subdivision
now we got landscaped circles, courts, and lanes
twenty-odd split levels
looking pretty much the same
I guess that’s like the way it is with you
nothing old, nothing new

I don’t mind familiarity
I like it when I’ve got some history
it’s good to have a place to call your own
I know every street that takes me home
I guess that’s like the way it is with you
nothing old, nothing new

you can bet that when I’m a senior citizen
all these houses will be standing
you can be that I’ll still have
some time and energy just for you
nothing old, nothing new

not so long ago we build these frames
and put out mailboxes with our names
yeah, we’ve been taking care of things
just like we should
no one can deny we’ve got it good
I guess that’s like the way it is with you
nothing old, nothing new

cp1997 Salt Lady Music (ASCAP)