Who is Jon Black

On 9/30/2008 I’ll be releasing my new record Goodbye Golden Age. You can listen to the album here and then pre-order it here.

After the release I’ll be on the road for a bit.  October is looking great with some dates not yet announced but here are the FULL BAND SHOWS you for sure don’t want to miss:

9/30 - Nashville, TN - 3rd and Lindsley
10/2 - Athens, GA - Caledonia
10/3 - Atlanta, GA - The Vinyl BUY TIX
10/4 - Birmingham, AL - Workplay Theater BUY TIX

If you’re going to come to these shows PLEASE buy tickets in advance. It helps me and the clubs out and they’re generally a few dollars cheaper.
 

Nothing is Useless

“In solitude we become aware that our worth is not the same as our usefulness.” - Henri J.M. Nouwen

This morning I read a Tao story of a flawed tree but the story didn’t call it flawed but rather, useless. It was useless in the sense that it couldn’t be used for lumber and so it was never cut down allowing it to grow gnarled and huge. The problem I have with this story is that there’s no redemption for the tree. It grows old but is still useless but they praise the tree for being old and beautifully flawed.

The tree is useful. It provides shade and helps with the whole carbon dioxide to oxygen conversion (yeah, I just nerded out on you). It’s true out worth shouldn’t be found in usefulness… however, I’m under that impression that nothing is useless.

Random Screams
One of my favorite things to do when I work is found on wilcoworld.net. They have this killer feature where they stream live shows in the Roadcase section of the site. I’m listening to 05/15/2008 from St. Louis and something that grabbed me from the beginning is that people scream really loud at concerts. So loud that I’m debating whether the screams are for Wilco or for themselves. I listened to a the beginning of other bootlegs I have of Wilco and the same thing happens… people scream in the about a minute into the first song which generally is something a little quieter.

My first rock show was in 1994 at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. My friend’s dad took us to see Pearl Jam on the Vs. Tour after we begged and begged. The night we went was also the night they broadcasted it all over the U.S. and we all screamed one of our friend’s names at a specific point in the concert. We couldn’t hear it when we listened back though. Lame.

Postman
I’m not sure how to communicate with postmen these days. I’ve had some stuff in the mailbox that I’m waiting to see how long it takes to get picked up.

I’m starting a lie. I was ryan adams in this performance.

seriously. look.

You’d be shocked at how much hair gel this took to fool America into thinking that I was him.

On another Ryan Adams side note: I think I’m going to pass on the Tuscaloosa show that’s coming up.

Goodbye Golden Age - Available 9/30/2008

This isn’t my quarterly “I’m quitting music” post.  In fact, I’m far from it right now.  I’ve never felt more encouraged to continue doing what I’m doing and I’m thankful for friends, old and new, that have shown me that what I’m doing does matter.  

I live in a world of tension, two forces pulling me in different directions, and I’m quite sure I’ll never be able to shake either of them.  These two forces are: creating what I feel vs. being too concerned about if people like what I’m doing.  Unfortunately, to continue playing music for a living people have to like what I’m doing but I don’t have to play music for a living.  It’s a reality I’ve come to grips with recently.  What I have to do is create music because I believe I was created to do that. 

As I gave up and cut a specific string on the side that makes me mostly insecure, I found freedom that I’ll never forget.  A freedom that helps me sleep at night.  A freedom that makes me want to write more songs.  I watched the string float away with the wind tonight in Birmingham.  It danced down the sidewalk towards the entitled people drinking cheap beer and listening to awful “country” music.  I turned to talk to my friend Brian and then I turned back to look at it… it was gone.  Out of sight.  A thing of my past that will probably haunt me occasionally.

Thanks to everyone that came out to Sloss Furnace tonight and thanks to Brian T. Murphy and Clint Wells for joining me on the stage and, without them knowing, helped me let go.  Mark Kozolek complimented me tonight… once to my face and once to the talent buyer.  That’s enough fuel for a while.  His music was really great and I’m going to enjoy diving into it.

First of all, sorry for the delay in posting. I’ve been on the road for a little over three weeks now and internet has been sparse.

The past 12 days I’ve been on a house show tour with Eliot Morris. If you’ve been at the show or hosted us THANK YOU!! We’re really having a great time driving around in a Volvo and having a memorable experience playing our songs in living rooms across the Mid-West and East coast. Here’s some pics from the tour so far.

I hope this fortune cookie is right.

The Ninja Fight of the Century.

Jon Black Wins! Fatality!

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza from Gino’s

A Large Lake that Chicago sits on (Lake Michigan)

Backyard show in Lafayette, Indiana

After our show in Medford, NJ last night we drove up to Bethel, NY to meet up with the Counting Crows. Bethel is where Woodstock happened back in 1969. This week is the 39th anniversary and walking around there felt electric. Eliot had the fortune of being on tour with Counting Crows in 2006 and sent all the right Christmas cards to get us passes backstage and full set photo passes as well. We took some great footage. Before the show we got a small tour of the farm where Woodstock happened. When I was 13 and learning to play guitar we would rent the Woodstock movie and watch it mainly to see Jimi Hendrix. A childhood dream of mine came true today. I stood where the Woodstock stage was and had goosebumps. Our tour guide accidentally ended up at Woodstock and never left. He spoke of it like it was yesterday. Music combined with the human experience and exchange is a powerful thing.

I thought about how I’ve named my new record Goodbye Golden Age while standing in the very spot of the Woodstock stage… right where Jimi Hendrix played his version of the Star Spangled Banner… things may never be like that again. Things have changed. I was reminded of that watching Maroon 5 sell sex tonight on stage in front of a lot of white middle-aged women dancing awkwardly. The band sounded great but it’s like Lester Bangs said: “Rock n’ Roll, in the future, will be the industry of cool.” Too much noise to cut through these days and songs about life, dreams, and how big the moon actually is may not have a place in the future. Thank God for living rooms full of people who want to listen.

We ended up catching most of the Counting Crows set and then jumping on stage at the end to sing Hangin’ Around. I’ve never stood in front of that many people and used my voice. It was something I’ll never forget and I’m grateful for everyone that helped make this happen. I even hand-delivered a copy of my new record to Adam Duritz… hopefully he’ll connect with it.

We have a few more dates left on this tour and it’s been a huge success. I’m glad it’s not over and I hope to have more adventures later this week to share about.

I miss my wife though and my own bed but that’s part of the deal with playing music… you give and take.

Hope all is well on your side of the screen.

“Eleanor’s at the bar drinking beer with all her post-modern friends…”

I can honestly say that I am blessed with so many talented friends. They’re truly an inspiration to me and they push me to be a better person and a better artist (whether they know it or not). I saw my friend Drew Holcomb today in Birmingham and he was kind enough to give me a copy of his new record, Passenger Seat.

Let me tell you about my friend Drew. He and his wife, Ellie, are not only incredibly talented but incredibly good-hearted. We met a while back but on the past Guys with Guitars tour I felt like I got to know him better and I’m looking forward to our friendship growing.

I just spent the last 44.5 minutes thinking about how great the songs on his new album are. It’s not a couple of good songs but an album of great song after great song after great song. If you’re a fan of Springsteen, Petty, a good American sound, or just good music in general you should check out this record. It comes out officially on 8/14 but you can get it at his website.

There’s this moment in the song Hallelujah at (2:56 to be exact) that I just keep rewinding to hear the energy transfered from the studio to computer to CD to iTunes to my ears. It makes me want to jump up and down and remember how great music can make us feel.

Check his music out:
Drew’s Myspace
DrewHolcomb.com

In August I will be doing a house show tour with my friend Eliot Morris.

8/02 - Birmingham, Alabama
8/03 - Fayetteville, Georgia
8/04 - Nashville, Tennessee
8/05 - Metropolis, Illinois
8/07 - Cedar Falls, Iowa
8/08 - Chicago, Illinois
8/09 - Lafayette, Indiana
8/12 - Medford (near Philly), New Jersey
8/14 - Bellingham, Massachusetts
8/15 - Mineral (near Lake Anna), Virginia
8/16 - Richmond, Virginia
8/17 - Winchester, Virginia
8/17 - Washington D.C.

If you’d like to come to any of the shows feel free to e-mail the contact in the show info.

This is going to be a very intimate setting and a very exciting time for us to travel to your living rooms and share music with you and your friends.

We are looking to fill Sunday, Aug 10 in the Midwest between Indiana and Pennsylvania. And Wednesday, Aug 13 between Philly and Boston. So, if you are in those areas and have the space and want to host, please contact Kendra at house_concerts@yahoo.com.

If this is a success I’m sure there will be more tours like this in the future.

Weezer - The Red Album

A while back I said I wasn’t sure about Weezer’s new album (The Red Album). I longed for the days of the Blue Album and Pinkerton. Now, let me go on record and take back my comment of:

After a few listens I’ve come to the conclusion that their are a couple of good songs but nothing really new or classic Weezer.

I was so wrong. This album, from start to finish is fantastic. This is the album that should have followed Pinkerton. Speaking of Pinkerton, when I first heard it I hated it. It didn’t feel right. I put it away for a few months and then put it back on and started listening again. I still love that record and this is something I’m thankful I gave more chances.

My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges

One of my favorite bands right now is My Morning Jacket. I even own a t-shirt of theirs. I just heard a bad review of this album and I was shocked because critics love this band. Lots of people love this band: The jam band community, the indie rock kids, people who like southern touches in their music, and critics. Something you should consider when listening to this album is that MMJ isn’t going to fit a mold that well. They have some bizarre songs on this record (Highly Suspicious) that will really make you take a second glance at them. They are an evolving band and, honestly, it might be a too weird for some people who enjoyed their past stuff (especially It Still Moves). I have a friend that loves It Still Moves and I don’t think he’s heard this but he’ll hate it. It’s hard to shake people who like their easy rocker southern twang music… people still swear that Wilco’s A.M. was their best… I totally disagree (Being There is the best).

I love this album but parts of Evil Urges won’t be for every listener and that’s okay. That being said, their live show is for everyone and you must see this band if they come within two hours of your house. I was lucky enough to see them last year at The Ryman in Nashville and it was incredible. I wanted to jump up and down and scream “THANK GOD FOR ROCK N’ ROLL!” - I didn’t because you have to look like you don’t really care in Nashville because that’s what makes you really cool… I will jump up and down at my next MMJ show because looking cool is overrated.

Crosby, Stills, & Nash - Greatest Hits

I have this thing where I go back and listen to bands that are “Legends” and see if I can tell why people say that they are. Right now I’m on Crosby, Stills, & Nash… Here’s some songs that I like by them and why.

Ohio - Just for the intro alone… of course, this is during the CSNY days and I can hear Neil Young’s fingerprints all over this. The intro is twenty-five seconds of awesome.
Helplessly Hoping - songwriter’s guide to alliteration.
Southern Cross - goofy lyrics and dated instrument sounds but excellent execution of folk rock and vocal dynamics.
Helpless - yeah, technically CSNY but still, this is one of my favorite songs… I’m actually just a big Neil Young fan.
Carry On/Questions - The first two minutes are incredible then it gets to the part where everyone tripping on mushrooms takes their clothes off and wanders around the desert looking for the spiritual significance of an eagle and I almost get bored. I can see the “noodle dance” starting during this song. Which bothers me because the song is really cool and noodle dancing destroys songs for me.
Suite: Judy Blue Eyes - Seven and a half minutes that really does pay off when you listen to it a couple of times.
Our House - I never knew that they did this song. I’m not sure why I like this song so much but I do… and that’s all you need to know. You don’t need a reason all the time.

My big thing right now that I’m trying to figure out is if CSN actually said anything. You know, it’s all great and abstract (”Love isn’t lying it’s loose in a lady who lingers, Saying she is lost and choking on hello.”) and I can get down with abstract but I think I’m missing something. Can anyone tell me what I’m missing (except lots of weed)?