Let's see, where was I? I think our story left off in June of 2003. Needless to say, a lot's changed in nearly two and a half years. As I write this, it's October 17, 2005. I am hoping to present my latest "story" to My Morning Jacket a month from tomorrow in Dallas. They're coming back here for the first time in 14 months. There was a time, way back in the halcyon days of summer 2002, which they played Texas ten times in a four month period. Those tours were as the opening band when they played with GBV, Ben Kweller, and Doves. They put some miles on the van that summer. My fanhood hasn't gone anywhere but it might have changed a little bit. Of course a lot has happened to me since the summer of 2003. I haven't had the time to travel to see them that much like in the olden times. Back then I was basically living what Son Volt sang in Loose String with "not a care in the world" We lost my mother on August 25, 2003 to a sudden heart attack. And Dad succumbed to the lung cancer on December 30, 2004. All those years that you have your parents you inevitably take them for granted. Even if you try not to, you end up being a little bit complacent with your time and how you should be spending it with them. So most of my free time is going to be devoted to caring for my little brother Steve, who is blind. Not to get you bummed out so soon! There's still a lot to be thankful for and music is easily in the top two or three!

    But let's quickly get back to the main reason I am at this again: MMJ! The historic date of my MMJ discovery (or actually being led to them by Scott of Centro-matic) is coming up next week: October 25, 2001 (a date which shall live in infamy, as I like to borrow from Roosevelt). Once I saw 'em live and bought The Tennessee Fire and At Dawn, “it was all over but the cryin'”, as my old friend Jimmy "Sport" Faires would say. I followed them all over the Southeast that following spring and saw 'em in Texas all of those previously mentioned dates. Lots of stuff was written and said about them. I ended up meeting (although at the time it was unbeknownst to me - sudden thought: isn't "unbeknownst" just a great and classic word!? It's a funny sounding word and it rolls off the tongue and kinda signals a bit of confusion to the reader) one of their biggest fans in Florida, William Bowers. He and his then-girlfriend were at both the Gainesville and the Tampa shows. They commented that Phone Went West was their favorite during one of these shows. William later wrote a piece on MMJ for The Oxford American. My buddy Lance told me that I needed to buy it, so I headed over to Dallas that spring and I must say that it's easily the best-written article on MMJ that I have had the chance to read. Jim later told me that he thought it was the most important thing that had heretofore been written about them, too. Now I'm wondering if "heretofore" is correctly used since it's being used two plus years after its original time frame. "Theretofore"? "Henceforth"? As Alan "Yak" Yeakley says, "Who knows, who cares?"

    So that last MMJ essay/novella/write-up/journal/piece of crap that I finished in June of 2003 is where our story left off. This one probably won't have as many "I saw them here, this is what Jim said, this is what the others said, they played this that night, it was great, etc" in it since I have only seen 'em (I'm counting back in my head now....short pause..) nine times since June of '03. That may seem like a lot but it's nothing compared to how much I saw them in 2002. For the record, I saw My Morning Jacket (or Jim solo) 20 times between January 23 and September 27 of that year. That's an average of roughly once ever 12 days! And it's either fanatical or just further proof that I had "no life" and that I still don't! But hey, you gotta spend your free time the way *you* want to, right? Kinda reminds me of that line in Dazed and Confused when Wooderson says something like 'it's the same bullshit they used to pull in my day - if it's not that piece of paper they want you to sign it's another decision they're going to make for you'. "But you gotta do what Randall "Pink" Floyd wants to do, man. And let me tell you this: the older you *do* get the more rules they're gonna *try* to get you to follow. You just gotta keep livin': L-I-V-I-N!" Maybe that's what Jim was saying in At Dawn - the proverbial raising of the knife when they burned his papers in their empty trash cans! There used to be a popular bumper sticker around here but I haven't seen one in years. It just said "Question Authority" Anyway, at least the authorities haven't tried to curb my MMJ road trips!

    So....are you ready to go, my readers? I've been waitin' at the keyboard, I've been waitin' all day, a-a-a-a-yeh!!!!! With few exceptions, all of these essays are just repeated lines from others that I admire. I oughta repeat every George Miller joke here just to piss you off! I do that to my friends enough already, though. We'll see if times allows for that or not.

    So I really don't remember much about going down to Austin on June 3, 2003. I do remember seeing Matt from the yahoo list there very early on. I met his girlfriend there, too. I can't even remember the openers; I just know that I didn't tape or I would remember 'em. I do recall seeing Danny and his girlfriend in the crowd before they went on. They came back to where I was going to be (back and center, the taper's paradise and sweet spot!). She was nice and she had actually been with them since their West Coast swing just days before. I think maybe she had flown out to Seattle or Portland, but I can't remember. She told Danny, "he looks like Tim Robbins!" I had only heard that once before and that was from Laura and Lisa of Detroit and Postcard fame. I met 'em at SXSW earlier that spring in Austin at Buffalo Billiards. MMJ was wrapping up the recording of It Still Moves and they didn't play SXSW that year. Danny also gave me a little hint of what the album cover would look like. He disclosed that they band had a song title of this cover's subject. I thought about it for a few seconds and I came up with 'The Bear'. I mean, what else could it be? There aren't too many MMJ song titles of objects. Maybe you could've shown a Heartbreakin Man or an Honest Man but what else? A telephone traveling in a Westbound direction? An imaginary woman? A map showing the route from Nashville heading North? The sky right around dusk? The sky right around dawn? Someone in the act of suffocating by constricting the windpipe? Any of several venomous snakes, especially of the genius Naja, that are native to Asia and Africa and are capable of expanding the skin of the neck to form a flattened hood? I suppose that technically it could have been any of these but it was more likely a bear. I probably thought of a bear more quickly because it's so high on my list of favorite MMJ songs, too! "Gun to the head", as Sport would say when we're rating songs: The Bear is #1! He confirmed that there would indeed be a bear on the next album's cover.

    Danny also turned me onto another hilarious story. I guess I was pumping him for "inside" information about Jim, I don't remember. But somehow the story came around to the first time that he met Jim. Oh yeh, I asked him "are you in awe of Jim like the rest of us?" He said "no, I'm not in awe of him", but he related this story about either their first meeting or a very early one. I believe that Danny was working the sound at a club and Jim got up there to warm up. This may have been during the Month of Sundays days when Jim just sang. I don't know the details about MOS, but I have read that his main job in the band was to sing and that he didn't write any songs. That could be wrong. Danny went on to say that Jim was warming up, or doing a soundcheck in this club, and that he belted out an earth-shattering note as loud as he could. His voice was too loud for the speakers and his vocals caused a lot of distortion. The club owner hears this and he looks over at Jim and says, "Hey, you're going to pay for those speakers!"

    Well, the band rocked, big surprise! Their status and stature had grown within the musical community. Word of mouth goes a long way. But they'd also been touring a LOT over the past two years, too. This was pre-Conan. That would come fairly soon, though. There was a good-sized crowd and this was the first time I had been able to see them on the same stage that I had seen 'em on originally: Mercury Lounge, Austin, Texas, October 25, 2001, "a date which shall live in infamy". You won't mind if I point out that today is the four year anniversary of that infamous date! And if you do mind, whatcha gonna do about it? Sue me? Yeh, it's now October 25, 2005 and they're going to be here in exactly 24 days. So "let's get cracking", as Mrs Braddock told her son Benjamin in 'The Graduate' when he was implored to go downstairs and talk to the guests at his party.

    Jim talked about this friend of theirs in California and his dog had had exploratory surgery. He asked for a moment of silence. And this dude's name is George and I am sure that Cheryl or Mishell must've said "George Savage" because Jim said something like 'no, not George Savage but we do love him..how can you not love him?' That was cool. Everyone knows that I am proud of my son and his band! They even dedicated War Begun to me on this night. And what can be said about an eight and a half minute version of War Begun? Not much except you know that it HAD to rock. I am fairly certain it was about four to five minute of Jim's guitar there in the middle. What a great song and the thing that's so cool about it is that it's so different from the album's version. I guess it was Johnny who once told me that they referred to The Tennesee Fire as their 'lo-fi' album. It's still Sitter's favorite. It's kinda hard to choose which is best, though, isn't it?

    It's kinda like choosing between your children. I like to tell my daughter (my only child) Becky various and sundry ridiculosities such as "don't tell your other brothers and sisters but you're my favorite child!" She just rolls her eyes, she's kind of used to my same old tired and worn-out jokes. And My Morning Jacket is probably used to them by now as well. Sorry, kids, I'll try to come up with something new!

    After the show we got to hang out with the band for a few minutes. It was getting late and I think that Nora Lee had to work the next day. I only remember that Cheryl wanted Terry to go and get her car. He kept insisting that it was too early and she ended up going to get it herself and when he came back she was Soaked! She was madder than a wet hornet, too. Oh well, I think she got over it fairly soon.

    We ended up going down to La Mexicana, a donut/taco joint about 2 AM. I remember that Terry and I talked to Patrick for the most part. I think it was here that he told us that he was engaged to be married. Jim was going to be best man, of course. It's so cool that two best friends can be in a band together. And not only just any band, but one of the greatest bands in the history of rock and roll, right!? This place sold tacos until 3, I think, or maybe all night. I remember that there were a couple dozen different pastries, too. And they sold 'real' Coca-Cola, imported from Mexico. I love real Coke but I usually drink the diet colas now. Once you get used to the diet taste then it's hard to take all of that sugar. This one tasted really great, though. Sudden remembrance: when Jim sang the second verse of The Bear at the 10/25/01 show, he sang it just like Elvis would have. Now *that's* comedy. Forever! Forever! Forever! Forever...ah-ah, oh-oh, ah, ah-ah! After this most tasty version of The Bear they go into "Phone" and he talks about eating shrimp downstairs and how that MSG is in his mouth still. And he talks about what they have for sale. "T-shirts, cassettes, LPs, and compact discs for sale...we'll have them on stage" "This next song's dedicated to the MSG in my throat". And in a most hilarious lie, "cassettes of this performance and of our last two albums” Anyway, Cheryl drove us all back to the club and I remember Jim talking about the William Bowers article. It was here that he said that it was the single most important article that had been written about them (for those of you who are keeping track of exactly where it was that Jim said what and on what date!). I think Paul's on record as the first Beatle to wear floral clothing and I'm sure that Jim's the first Jacket to talk about the MSG in his mouth, at least publicly! But hey, he's usually got the mike! As their fame continues to expand then the others might be questioned about other stuff. "Hey Patrick, what's the deal with the pandas on your bass drum?" "What's the true meaning of 'Regurgito, and what does it have to do with a bear?" Jim once said that Tom's the master of the two-tone. "Tommy, just what exactly does "the master of the 'two tone' mean? Perhaps Two Tone's a consultant for all things two-toned. "Say man, what do you recommend for my new wardrobe apparel? "Does this beige clash with this taupe?" "Are there any limits for my two-tone collection?" I know so little about Bo and Carl that I would just have to ask them about where they are from and what bands they played in. "When's the first time that you heard of My Morning Jacket?" "Are you Louisvillians?" "Are you Louisvillains?" Kinda reminds me of that scene in Hard Day's Night, I wonder I if the nice Jackets are getting this kind of stuff: "How do you find America?" "Turn left at Greenland!" "What do you call that hair style?" “Arthur!” "Has success changed you? "Yes!" "Are you a mod or a rocker?" "No, I'm a mocker!"

    We said our goodbyes and I crashed and burned and slept and went to Dallas the next day. I recorded The Gourds at the Gypsy Tea Room. Tasty stuff, with or without the MSG!! Sudden thought: It just occurred to me as I typed this (it's Oct 27, 2005 now) that I read last week that MMJ will be playing at the MSG on New Year's Eve! They're opening for the Black Crowes. Maybe Jim will allude to that MSG in his mouth at the MSG! "Long hair at the Madison Square!" -off 'Rock Show' by Wings, '75

    The summer flew by as it always does. "Now watch the summer pass, so close to you" -Neil, '70 I’m not a very good historian but I will find out what the exact date of that Conan appearance was. In fact, I just posted to the MMJ 'forum', a monstrous message board of unending and enviable proportions! This forum was created by Riny, webmaster extraordinaire, probably some time in the summer of 2002. I like to kid Riny that he "single-handedly killed the yahoo groups list", which is basically non-existent. I joined the forum a long time ago but I never posted until recently. And that was just to try to turn some people onto the 10/25/01 show on the four year anniversary of its occurrence. I am guessing that the forum was created in the summer of 2002.

   I remember talking to Tommy outside of the 40 Watt Club in Athens, GA and he mentioned that they were excited about the forum being added to the website. I also remember that it was hot and humid as hell. From a geeky historical standpoint, this was also where I learned that Chocolate and Ice was "all Jim". I only learned this because I was complimenting Tommy's bass line in Cobra and he told me it was Jim. I already knew that Tommy was/is a major badass on bass, though. At the July 20, 2002 Good Records performance only 4/5 of the Jacket fit on the tiny stage! Johnny was on the floor and Tommy was sitting on an amplifier. I remember watching Tommy's guitar work during Picture of You and I thought "Damn, he's good!" I already knew it by listening to the records, too. But as a taper you're always in the back and you can't really see much from there. This intimate setting allowed me see them up close for the first time. Hell, I could even see Jim's feet!

    Anyway, we knew for some time that they'd been asked to appear on Conan O'Brien. My cousin Susan asked me in Nashville "When are they going to be on Letterman?" after seeing them at the Exit/In on January 24, 2002. We're still waiting, David! But that should be very soon now. I think it's just around the corner. This recent press explosion and exposure is sure to catch fire. Next year they'll be playing at the MSG as headliners! And I just want to know where's my piece of the action!? Didn't I "call" this? Didn't I predict "you'll be playing to 10,000 within a couple of years. Of course they've already played to what, 100,000?

     I believe that's the estimate at Bonnaroo........but I only know that I haven't been there! That kind of reminds me of what John said at Shea Stadium (the first time, 8/15/65, the 40th anniversary just celebrated by many a Beatles fan about ten weeks ago). He was introducing a song to the crowd and he named it off (Baby's in Black, I think) and he said something like "this is a new one and over here in America I think it's off Beatles VI or something - I only know I haven't got it!" He was alluding to the way Capitol Records cut up their albums and repackaged them over here in the States. He just kind of looked at Paul and laughed. Classic John. So anyway, I know that I didn't "call" anything that someone else didn't predict a long time before I did! To think that they'd been playing live about two and a half years before I'd even heard of them is amazing. They're at that stage where they're possibly getting tired of the road just as they're about to take off. And speaking of The Beatles and My Morning Jacket: will there come a time when follow The Beatles' lead and give up touring completely? I hope not and I think it's probably unlikely. Only The Shadow knows.

    It's the next day now, Friday, October 28, 2005. I think that the boys are playing in Madison tonight. And Chicago tomorrow. Lots of talk about it on the "internets" as President Shrub calls it. People on Postcard (Son Volt/Wilco/Uncle Tupelo list that's about ten years old) who can't 'get' MMJ but are going to see them live and now maybe they'll get it. There's this one dude in Milwaukee who was dissing At Dawn at the height of my MMJ exuberance. I like to abide by the 'live and let live' philosophy for the most part but I guess I just took it a bit personally. I remember writing a scathing parody of At Dawn (the song) about his criticism of MMJ. Needless to say, his 'life' ended and mine started again. Again! Again! Again! So this dude was on Postcard today revisiting his indifference to the band and that he hoped this live show made him appreciate the band a bit more but that he doubted it. And he kept referring to us "fanboys" and how we'd better be right about them live. I am anxious to find out how he feels. In a way I hope that he digs 'em and in a way I hope that he doesn't. I mean, MMJ's not exactly hurting for true fans right now! And he can continue to call me a "fanboy" any day of the week, even if in his own little mind it holds a negative connotation! Name? Low Dog, sir! Occupatation? Dispatcher, sir! Purpose in life? MMJ fanboy, sir! "....and loving it!" -Maxwell Smart, '67 Anyway, three weeks 'til the Dallas show. Sitter said that he got his tickets today.

    I got very little written last night. It's now Saturday, October 29, 2005. My Morning Jacket did play in Madison, Wisconsin last night. I read the reviews on Postcard and they were very positive. Even that dude who hated MMJ back in '02 was blown away! Now let me tell you a little somethin' about Sitter. His real name is Bradley Don Tarrant and I met him at the place where we both work: Farmers Electric Cooperative. He started off as a dispatcher like Ol' Lo but he's since moved onto bigger and better things in the Technology Dept. He got a camera in '01 and it changed everything. He also turned me onto Centro-matic through acopy of Navigational on cassette. He loaned me his camera for the Brent/South San Gabriel/My Morning Jacket show back in the fall of '01. I remember talking to him after that historic occurence and he asked me about the show. Brent? Great! South San Gabriel? Awesome! My Morning Jacket? "One of the greatest bands in the history of American music!" I think that was my direct quote; I certainly was already blown away by them. He was a bit skeptical and his fanhood didn't really come close to matching mine. But slowly he got into them and he's bought all of the albums. He's also a musician and an artist, so he's one of the few people that I have anything in common with at work. The rest of the others that I work with are more interested in Nascar, Toby Keith, Larry the Cable Guy, and the Republican Party. I guess it's partly a geographical thing but mostly it's a Dumbass Thing. Of course they all think I'm a Dumbass for following MMJ around the country. But as James Carville once wrote about the Republicans: "we're right, you're wrong!" Sitter's also going to be my art director for this piece and that CD thing I hope to get done within the next three weeks. The other connection is that Sitter's in Trudgernaut, who covered By My Car for the most recent MMJ tribute CD. The other half of Trudgernaut is our friend Tim 'the singer' Pittsinger; he's another music freak and a big Jacket fan. To quote The Gourds, "Dem's Good Beeble"

     Well, I found out that the actual date for their national television debut was September 18, 2003. Thanks to Riny, aka CC Baxter for getting this exact date to me. I was thinking the 14th. Maybe this should also be cited as "a date which shall live in infamy"!? Because I know for a fact that thousands of fans were earned on this night. There had to have been! Conan is watched by something like 10,000,000 a night, I think. That might be slightly high, but then again, so am I! At any rate, it was great exposure and their performance of One Big Holiday was certainly an eye-opener to the uninitiated. They just tore it up and JQ and Jim got their own individual solos. All of them were totally into it; either that, or they're really good actors. I remember reading the forum and there seemed to be a groundswell of fanhood right around that time. There were posts like "Who are these guys?" and "Boy, can these dudes rock!" Naturally, I taped it when it aired. I stayed up for it even though I had to work the next day, and the following day I taped it again when they aired Conan again on Comedy Central. At that time, my broadcast channels were cable, and it was a fairly bad picture on

    NBC that night; so it was good to get a more clear picture off the satellite on Friday. I ended up taking it to work and passing it around to my coworkers. None of them became fans but at least they got to see what all the fuss was about! In a way, their Conan debut was comparable to The Beatles' debut on the Ed Sullivan. Though obviously not as historic or world-changing, it did give them an opportunity to showcase their talents to millions of people. And their appeal became evident to new fans everywhere. The Knowers were already aware of the magical music of My Morning Jacket. But this Conan appearance no doubt introduced many a hardcore fan to the Crack Hit.

      Let's go back about three weeks. As I told you earlier, my mother died suddenly on August 25. Bad news, to be sure. Mr Clem spoke at his father's funeral about that feeling of loss and how it literally hurts you to breathe and you wonder how you're going to take that next breath. I experienced this firsthand in the days after my mother's passing. I'd wake up and just feel this immediate burst of pain; but over two years later I can tell you firsthand that time does indeed wound all heels! Mom's in Heaven now and I'm going to see her again. There's been talk about how that Beatles explosion in February of 1964 brought America out of its post-Kennedy assassination funk. Maybe that MMJ Conan appearance helped me a little bit in that regard as well. Obviously I still hurt, and I still miss my mother every day, but music helps you when you're hurting. So watching "my boys" on national TV did help to ease the pain somewhat; I'm sure of it. I've talked about music with my fellow music freaks and we wonder: just how can people go through life without it? You hear people say "I don't care for music of any kind" and your jaw just kind of drops.

    I took a trip in the summer of 2000 to the Southeast. I saw shows by Slobberbone and Drive-by Truckers in Asheville and Athens. I remember driving around Athens and listening to what I labeled "R. E. M. Compilation Tape #47" the afternoon before that Athens show. I was talking to Brent pre-show and I mentioned it to him. He said that he dug it and I made the comment about how music really moved me and how important and great and lovely it was and he just smiled and said, "What else is there!?" The music is your only friend...until the end! Until the end! Until the end!

    Fast forward to about a month after Conan. They played in Austin and Dallas in mid-October. I don't even remember who opened for them; it may have been different acts in those cities. The album itself was released on September 9, 2003. Someone had obtained it prior to its release and I'd gotten it from someone on Postcard. In fact, four people wrote to me privately and offered it to me. I guess spreading all of that Jacket love and karma brought me some love and karma back. Karma is so real. A right-wing fanatic and ardent George W "Shrub" Bush supporter recently suggested that to believe in karma automatically made one a Buddhist. I'm not that learned, maybe that's the literal meaning. But to me, "karma" simply means this: that if you randomly do something nice for someone then something or someone's going to do something nice to you. If you're unnecessarily mean or petty, then expect some of that behavior directed back at you. It's all pretty simple: do unto others as you would have them do unto you!

    As I think back to the release of It Still Moves, I am trying to remember which songs we already had. A quick appraisal from my red-eyed mind says that these were as of yet unheard by this MMJ fanatic: Masterplan, Run Thru, Rolling Back, and One in the Same. We'd heard Mageetah since the fall of '02 and Dance Floors and Golden since that April '03 tour in Nashville and Atlanta. One Big Holiday was obviously older than dirt since I'd heard that one on A Date Which Shall Live in Infamy, 10/25/01. I Will Sing You Songs and Easy Morning Rebel were also first heard during those April 2003 shows. Just One Thing, (or as I labeled it back then, "There's Just One Thing") was possibly as old as One Big Holiday, which I believe has already been determined to be the age of soil deposits in Oldham County. Engine Steam was almost two years old upon its release. That song kicked off what probably should be known as The Other Date Which Shall Live in Infamy Show, January 23, 2002. That's the solo show from Bloomington that involved out-of-body experiences and astral traveling.

    So about 2/3 of It Still Moves was already circulating on the live tapes upon its release. I remember going to Best Buy in Mesquite and picking it up. I think that I commented on the yahoo groups page that "what a difference a year makes" - at this time in '02 they didn't have a single disc, much less a slot with 'My Morning Jacket' on it. It was also a trip to see *my name* listed as one of those that they thanked! They listed probably about a hundred or so but that was sweet and I really appreciate it. My friend Sport in North Carolina said something like "I may live to be 100 and the most successful person in radio sales in the history of the world, but I will never live to see my name in the liner notes of a rock band!" Not that he shouldn't be; it's just that he doesn't have time to follow any of them around since he's got a wife and a life and two small kids!! And the cover of the bear was hilarious!

    I was in Hasting's looking at CDs or movies one day in the fall of '03 and I heard something that got my attention. They're usually playing previews from the current DVD releases. But on this day they had feed from a music station or possibly their own feed. I couldn't believe that I was actually hearing One Big Holiday in Hasting's! I hurried over to the monitor and it was the actual video! It was so weird to see My Morning Jacket on the little screen in Greenville, Texas (pop 23,000). But it was just a sign of what we Knowers possessed all along: the knowledge that this band of merry-makers were slowly but steadily gaining fame, popularity, even influence in the beautiful music world!

    One of my favorite quotes about baseball is by former Commissioner A Bartlett Giamatti. He's the guy who banned Pete Rose from baseball in 1989 for gambling as a manager of the Cincinnati Reds. He prefaced his announcement of Rose's banishment by stating one of the great truths about baseball: "the game of baseball was designed to break your heart" The entire quote is even better: "It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." I suppose that it's more meaningful to true fans of the game, too. I asked JQ aka "Johnny Ringo" in the fall of 2002 if any of the band members were big sports fans, and I believe that he stated "not really". He may have said something about one or more of them kind of like basketball. I do know that in an early show that the entire band more *basketball uniforms* during a live show and I have seen pictures of that performance. Classic. It'll be a hoot to see what they come up with for the San Francisco show. It was recently revealed on the forum that they'd be recording their performances of both of these upcoming shows. They encouraged the audience to dress up as fairies, goblins, and early 1900 ballroom dancers. Unfortunately, I won't be in the Golden State next week when all of that goes down.

    I bring up baseball briefly here because I remember that it broke my heart yet again right before the My Morning Jacket show in Austin on October 16. It was Game 7 of the American League Championship Series and the hated Yankees and the beloved Red Sox were tied at three games apiece. I watched the game prior to MMJ's appearance in the bar right next door to The Mercury "Rev", as Jim called once called it. I'd already gotten into the venue and I would go up there every so often just to make sure I didn't miss any of MMJ.

    I ended up running into Tommy and Linda at the doorway downstairs. I said 'hello' to 'em and they were really nice to me. Tommy just has that jovial way of greeting you - if I could imitate it, I would. It kind of reminds me of how David Brinkley used to greet his guests on his program This Week with David Brinkley on Sunday mornings: "pleasure to see you, welcome to the show, thanks for being our guest" He just has a certain kind of politeness that makes you feel welcome and wanted. I mean, of course, there are limits. A little bit of Low Dog goes a long way! All of my friends *can* get sick of me in a hurry. Some can take more than others. And by mentioned Tommy's niceness, I'd be remiss if I didn't state right here on this page once again what was told to me by Riny way back in the halcyon days of early 2002.

    I'd been emailing him and the list in general about my travels and the splendor of the My Morning Jacket; and I told him that I couldn't get over how nice and cool that Jim had been to me. Even with all of my over exuberance, he was pleasant and genuinely appreciative. Either that, or he was a damn good actor! And Riny just agreed and said that Jim was a cool and nice dude and added, "but they are all, really!" So this was before I'd met any of them except for Jim. And that may have been Ger Potze, not Riny, who told me this! The brain cells aren't what they used to be and that was almost four years ago. It's easy to confuse two Dutch guys who each have their own individual My Morning Jacket websites! These dudes were/are very cool to me with "inside information", especially in those early days of discovery. And they are very generous with trades and such. So here's to Riny and Ger, wherever you are tonight!

    The baseball game went on and on and on and on and on. It was a close game throughout with many blown chances by both teams. Somehow I just knew that the hated Yankees would pull it out. And in the bottom of the 11th inning the hated Yankees won the game and the series. First pitch of the inning, home run, game over, end of story. The Sox lose again and the Yankees go onto the World Series. Heartbreakin Loss. Heartbreakin Man would soon be heard, though. Music, that great healer was just around the corner..literally!

    I go up there and tell Lance about that horrible loss. He's an Angels fan but at least he isn't a Yankees fan. And now watch Bo and Carl be huge fans of the Yankees! Oh well, even if they are it's impossible to hold that against them. With those groovy musical vibes?

    For a quick update now, here is the date and time as I type: Sunday, November 6, 2005 at 8:51 PM CST. I am really far behind on this one with only 12 days 'til the show! But at least Sitter and I got something done last night on the CD front; he wrote out a series of questions and asked them to me with the help of Hal 9000 doing the asking! I had very little if any prior knowledge of what he was going to ask me, and I am not completely happy with my answers. If I ever stumbled, he'd usually just insert that famous line (one of dozens of lines that we quote almost daily) from Sling Blade: you "can't explain what goes on!" We might be doing an addendum to that "interview" a little later in the week or on next weekend. I thought about some of these questions later and I would definitely have different answers to stuff like "What's your favorite cover song they do?" O Holy Night, Dream a Little Dream of Me, New Morning, Rocket Man - there are so many to choose from, and according to Ger's website he's/they've also done stuff like Why Don't We Do it in the Road?, Jeremy, and a couple or three dozen others. Meanwhile, back to the fall of 2003!

    I still can't remember who opened but MMJ played two nights in a row at The Parish, as it was now called. This is the same venue that they played on October 25, 2001; they'd been here just four months earlier in June. By this point, they were mostly doing stuff from It Still Moves. But they had worked up a delicious version of Xmas Curtain and included it in the setlist on the first night. Unfortunately, that was the night that I left my battery box at home. It's something that I got when I bought my binaural microphones and a new MD recorder back in early 2002. It's just a little rectangular box power with a 9-volt battery. This accessory also includes two sets of switches; these are used to provide a feature called "bass roll-off". I remember talking to Will of Centro-matic just after the Pest Went East tour about my new recording devices. He asked me about the box to power the mikes and I explained it to him and I remember one of his comments: "Bass roll-off, huh!?" I gave Scott and Will a bunch of MMJ shows that I had recorded on that tour and some other stuff that I had collected along the way. Centro-matic was playing in Denton that night, exactly two weeks after I had witnessed My Morning Jacket there at Rubber Gloves.

    That MMJ show in Denton was great and it's still one of my favorite recordings. That was the night that Jim threw the bread into the audience and had given all of the band members nicknames based on superheroes and what properties they had. "I am Constricto!" "He is Black Box!" "He is Torso!" "He is Disappearo!" I can't remember the other name but that was hilarious. That was the first time I ever heard Heartbreakin Man live and Jim closed the show with a splendid rendition of Bermuda Highway. It was after this show that I first met JQ and Danny. I had announced to Jim earlier that I was going to follow them around next week to Florida and other parts. But I am digressing here, this has probably already been written about in Here We are in the Years or Ridiculosity on Parade.

    That Centro-matic show was great, of course. That was March 29 of 2002 and Slobberbone were playing in Austin. My friends Terry and Wendy were either putting up the band or they were somewhere with them. I drove home from Denton (80 miles) and arrived here probably around 1:30 or so. I was still up when the phone rang and it was Wendy and Terry. I had turned 40 when the clock struck midnight and it was now March 30. They called to say 'hi' and "HB #40" and then they put Brent on the phone. He just started singing I Will Be There When You Die! "He was born in East Missouri", and something else. He sang two or three lines and changed up the words to apply to me. It was sweet of him and them to do that. "Such a wonderful thing to have such devoted friends" - Mr Braddock, in 'The Graduate'

    Bringing up Brent reminds me of another funny story. I was talking to some friends about my travels and those MMJ shows in March of 2002. They would ask me about whether I got to talk to the band, hang out with them at all, etc. Since they are privy to my manner of operation, they were wondering if I had had an opportunity to party with the band after those shows. I just told them the truth: I don't think they party! Hell, they didn't even drink on the stage! But who knows what they did after the shows; it certainly wasn't any of my business or anyone else's. So somehow this got construed as "Low Dog says that MMJ doesn't drink or smoke or anything else!" Fast forward to May of 2002 and I was at the Bottle Rockets show in Dallas. Slobberbone opened and Brent came up to me before the show. I guess maybe he thought that I was still some really naive simple-minded sucker. Not that I'm not, but that wasn't the issue. My point to these inquisitors was that "Hey, I don't know if they're partying or not. I just know that they're not partying with *me*!" Brent comes up to me and says something like, "Dude, I've heard what you've said about MMJ not partying. A guy plays barefoot on stage, he gets high!!" I think I just laughed and told him that my comments about their party habits were misconstrued. As Mike aka Hamhock says, "it's none of their (our) fucking business!"

    During this October 2003 show in Austin, Jim told us about a roadside attraction somewhere out in Arizona called 'The Thing'. There were signs along the road leading up to its location like "30 miles to 'The Thing'", so naturally they had to stop and check it out. It was off in the back room of some gas station, I think. I know that I have never been there; sure I would remember something like that! I think that they were fairly amused by it; he gave them some points for originality for some feature it possessed.

    Jim played a great solo show the next day at Waterloo Records. I can't locate that tape right now, so I am going on memory and that's kind of hazy. But he played about twice as long as most of those performers do at the "in-stores", or so said Mr Clem. I taped, of course. I remember this jackass next to us that was just there shopping but he was about 20 feet from Jim when his blasted cell phone rang and he had the audacity to pick it up and proceed to talk! Someone beside me gave him the evil eye but it didn't help. I would've ruined my tape (not that it matters much since I can't find it now!) but I should've said something like "Hey Dumbass, there's a performance going on here!" or "to emulate Dustin Hoffman's character Rico "Ratso" Rizzo in 'Midnight Cowboy', "Hey, I'm Taping Here, I'm Taping Here!!!" I hate dumb-ass morons. "Hate" is a strong word. I know that Bill Hicks encourages us to "Love All the People", but that's not always easy. Luckily, he only ruined maybe 30 seconds of a song and moved on. I glanced over at Lance "LP" Davis and noticed that he had a huge smile when Jim was covering a song that I wasn't familiar with. I later learned that it was Townes Van Zandt's "Be Here to Love Me". It's a great song and Jim covered it with his typical brilliance. I got a poster of the album covered signed afterwards and we chatted/bothered Jim for a minute or three.

    We went back to The Parish later that night for another round of live musical brilliance. They changed the setlist up a bit by opening with Easy Morning Rebel. They hadn't played that the night before. Also got most of It Still Moves again but also War Begun and Sooner. Jim sang part of La Bamba at the beginning of Sooner. Mark that down as another cover song they've done! As I told Sitter last summer, "it counts!" I was referring to my shortest-ever camping trip; I camped in Central Oklahoma on July 9. I left town about 5 PM, got up there about 8, set up my tent, drank a few, read the map and listened to music. My plan was to go over into Western Arkansas and camp the following night. But something strange happened on the way to the two-nighter; I woke up to pee and I couldn't go back to sleep. I tossed and turned and turned and tossed for about three hours. Finally, I got up about 6 and just drove back to Commerce! I was in town by about 9 or 9:30 and I just went to bed. So it was short and sweet but "it counts!" My camping list is currently lost or misplaced and that sucks. I had updated my list about ten years ago and I had a list of every date/place/park name/town/state/part of the state/who I camped with; I started camping in '87 and I think the number of states that I have camped in is/was 30. I think that I have been to 41 of these United States. That number of nights camped was around 130. And speaking of 1987, if I recall correctly, that was a Monster year for My Morning Jacket! I think that was the year Jim talked about early in their career; stuff like "this song is on our greatest hits album that was released in 1987!" And "this song is off our album entitled 'Jesus and God' from 1987!"

    It was after this show that we got to hang out with the band briefly. I remember going backstage and seeing some of them. After a few people cleared out, we got to talk to Jim for a second. The bar had closed down and we were thirsty for some of the delicious malted, hopped, and barleyed beer! I gingerly asked about obtaining a beer from them. "Hey Jim, I hate to ask, but they're not selling them outside, do you have an extra beer?" He graciously pointed us in the right direction: to a metal tub filled with ice cold Tecate. Delish. I was told recently by Mr Clem that he kind of balked at drinking Tecate and Jim brought them Heinkens. I don't remember that, but I do remember this oft-repeated phrase: Jim uttered "Help yourself to a Tecate!" But he pronounced it as 'tuh-kate', as in Cate Blanchett. Now we don't call it anything but Tuh-Kate!

    There was this gal there who had known them in Louisville and was visiting them backstage. At one point, she referred to Jim as "Jimmy"; since I can never "let well-enough alone", I had to chime in and ask him, "So I'm not the only one who calls you "Jimmy", huh?" He just said something like "no, anyone can call me that!" And I once again couldn't be quiet and added, "Yeh, but can anyone call you "son""?!? He said, "only you and my real dad!" He was nice about it but he probably wanted me to just go away at that point; I'm sure that his friend thought "Who's this 'tard!?" We drank the tasty Tuh-Kate and head over to Mishell's.

    Mishell and Cheryl had planned a post-concert party and of course they wanted the guests of honor to be My Morning Jacket. They had other plans, and I think that Cheryl even drove up to the club again to see if they were coming. It wasn't like that fateful day in The Beatles history when they were invited to dinner with President and Mrs Marcos. That "snub"awas widely and expertly chronicled in The Beatles Anthology about ten years ago. Ringo said something like "We just kept watching ourselves on TV....not showing up!" That was it for Austin.

    I had promised my little brother Steve that I would get him to the Dallas show, so I left Austin early. I drove to Commerce, hung out, got Steve aka Ron aka Cracker aka Pancake, and we made it to Dallas. They were playing the "tea room" at the Gypsy Tea Room. This place holds about 250-300 when it's absolutely packed; maybe it's more like 150-200 when it's packed. They sold it out easily. I am sure that some new hardcore fan left in tears that night when they were told "sorry, it's sold out!" We positioned ourselves in the center of the room since (of course) I was recording. We ran into Brent and his girlfriend. We talked about the greatness of It Still Moves with Brent; he obviously likes it a lot. After all, he knew about them long before I did! And while this won't be the answer to any world-wide trivia questions anytime soon, he's the dude who loaned me money after the 'A Date which Shall Live in Infamy' show in Austin on 10/25/01. I used this money to buy The Tennessee Fire and At Dawn. Talk about never being a drawback and always being an asset: that's Brent David Best for you!

    They were awesome, as always. Steve and I ran into Johnny before the show and we chatted for a couple of minutes back by the door by Elm Street. I thanked him for including me in the credits and he said "You've earned it - you've been there since Day One!" And I quickly corrected him by saying, "more like Day Two" and he agreed. I guess that's the last time I ever saw him but I hope it's not the last.

    We talked to this couple near us for awhile. The gal was more talkative than the guy. They were from out of town and their main reason for being in Dallas was some kind of arts and crafts fair. Arts and Crafts! It reminds me of a hilarious George Miller joke that I must go ahead and tell you now: "I opened up for Seals and Croft earlier this year, but I got fired right after that - yeh, I was loaded and I introduced them as "Arts and Crafts!" RIP, George Miller, you beautiful creature.

    This woman and her husband were there because he had heard a song or two on the radio, I think. Or maybe they'd seen the band on Conan and were blown away. I can't remember, but she agreed to help me take some pictures. She can be heard on my tape a few times. I guess she didn't get the concept of not talking to the recorder? Anyway, what could I say to her? "Shut up?" I just didn't respond on the tape and maybe she caught my drift that way. She was saying stuff that Myrna Lee and I were saying the first time we saw 'em. "All that hair!" "There's nobody in there!" "Do they ever show their faces?!" "I hope I don't get arrested, will you tell them it's your fault!?" She also told me that she had taken a picture of me while filming the band. She said something like "it's a documentary now!" They left about halfway through. I was shooting audio and video. Unfortunately, Sitter's camera had a problem and *absolutely nothing* showed up on the video! At least I got audio.

    After the show, we went over to the stage and tried to find 'em. Eventually, Danny came out and we chatted and Steve got to meet them all. I urged Patrick to come over to Steve and I know that it was thrill for Steve. They were all really nice to us both. In fact, Danny gave me several of his backstage passes after the show. He said that he figured a hardcore fan such as myself would appreciate them, and he was right. Now I'm kind of wanting that kidney transplant so that I can sell this stuff on eBay with a clear conscience!

    Jim ambled over to us and I introduced Steve to Jim and we told him how cool the show was. Steve then said "You're my nephew!" and Jim kinda laughed and had his hand up to 'high-five' Steve. He didn't realize that Steve was blind 'til I told him. It was cool, Jim grabbed Steve's hand and shook it. We didn't bother them too much longer. Ron finally had seen what all the fuss was about. I think we bid Danny adieu and headed Northeast and back to Commerce.

    The fall of '03 turned into the winter of '03-04; Mom was gone, dad had gone through his cancer treatments, but another crisis of sorts emerged in the form of a gold digger. I can't blame Dad too much for his interest in this woman. After all, he only wanted happiness and love. And he had cancer and he knew that he was probably not going to be on the planet much longer. This woman was just evil; through a series of proactive moves and her own inability to mask her true self, we rid ourselves of her. I won't go into it further but Dad realized in the end that she was just after one thing. Just one thing!

    It was during this crisis that a strange incident occurred. I was worried about the aforementioned crisis and I was lying in bed one night. As I mentioned earlier, I believe that music is a great healer; it possesses medicinal powers for the soul. It also provides the soul with elements of truth, beauty, understanding, realization, love, boron, argon, and excitement. Sorry! Scratch boron and argon; those aren't obtained from music!

    I was watching a video of My Morning Jacket from The Nick in Birmingham, Alabama. It was on this night that they played to about 40 people. The date was September 4, 2002. Jim thanked the crowd and he pointed out that this was their first time to play in Birmingham; and in fact it was their first concert in the state. "It's great to be here...in the Sunshine State...of Alabama!" - Jim James, 9/4/02

    So I was lying in bed and watching this show. Jim had requested that the lights be turned off about halfway through the set. They kicked off the show with a splendid version of Xmas Curtain and wound their way through many familiar favorites. This set also included the only version that I have ever heard of Glen Danzig's 'How the gods Kill'. They played almost all of the second half of the show in the darkness; Tommy was the only one that I could see and that's probably because he was in the center of the stage. Just a single light shone into the crowd from the back of the stage. They went on to finish the set with Black Sabbath, Strangulation, and It's about Twilight Now. Jim came out to finish the show with a solo version of Bermuda Highway.

    I was lying there thinking about my mother and our current situation. I was kind of depressed about how things had turned out. We had this pest on our hands and she threatened to disrupt the natural flow of my dad's legacy and his love. I was just thinking how things used to be.

    I had an epiphany at the Tampa show on March 20, 2002. Somehow I realized that the music that Jim sings at the end of Bermuda Highway is what one will hear 10,000 angels singing right after death and ascension up into Heaven. At least that's the gist of a thought that I had that night. Hell, the night before I came up with the "Jim's my son" story! I was on a roll, right?!?

    I was watching the end of this show; as I said earlier, they had requested that all of the lights be turned off. But there was this one stage light shining out into the crowd. It's the only thing that can be seen during Jim's solo rendition of Bermuda Highway, the closing number. Something (reads: God) spoke to me again on while I was watching this. I guess that I was just thinking about Mom and that she was gone and in Heaven now; and that she probably heard those angels singing Jim's beautiful music. And I realized that that single light that shone off the stage was perfectly in line with my heart as I lay in bed; that may not make sense now, but at the time I felt that it was an answer or a greeting of sorts. I believe that it was my mother and/or a higher being speaking to me. They were just telling me that everything was going to be okay down here and that my mother's love and spirit is still with me and inside of me. I have a couple other stories about answered prayers and messages from God. We'll see if I get to 'em this time around or not.

    Well, it's now less than a week to the MMJ show in Dallas. Remember that line from Dr Strangelove when they Air Force was given the order to drop the bombs on Russia? Slim Pickens played one of the pilots and he said "Boys, we've got some flyin' to do!" Well, boys: "Ol Lo's got some typin' to do!" My friend Brad (aka Sitter) interviewed me last weekend about my Jacket fascination. He and I concluded the interview last night at his studio. His wonderful wife Dondi, aka The 'tender (as in bartender), aka Croc (as in Crocodile Dundee), helped us out and participated in the second half of this interview. He used the simulated voice of Hal 9000, the computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey. If the members of My Morning Jacket get through a third of this thing, I'll be amazed. The star of the whole thing is Hal, though. I hope they'll at least be slightly amused with it. What a wonderful robot he was!

    So back to the music and how it's affected me. I wrote about that night when that single light shone off the stage and it was perfectly aligned with my heart as I lay there thinking about my recently deceased mother. And I figured that she heard those 10,000 angels singing those "ahs" and "ohs" that Jim sings at the end of Bermuda Highway. I figure that it was a message or a greeting from my mother, whose spirit is alive and well in Heaven. But as Dennis Miller used to say on his HBO show in the late 1990s, "of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong!" He'd say this after hammering out about three or four minutes of strong opinion that he held up as fact! So who knows, maybe that light shining out wasn't perfectly aligned with my heart. It could have actually been perfectly aligned with other body parts: my leg, my arm, even my dick!

    This reminds me of one of my friend's infamous quotes from 1991. This dude's name is Jason Grant, and I call him "Easy". Anyway, this friend of mine was recently married and I was writing he and his new wife a letter. Remember those days when people actually wrote letters!? I was just basically telling them, "congratulations, I think you will be happy" I added to his new wife that "Jimmy's a great guy, his heart's in the right place" I was reading this letter to Easy before I mailed it out and he came up with this classic:

    George: "Jimmy's a great guy, his heart's in the right place"

    Easy: "Yeh....it's a shame that his dick's not!"

    That made me laugh then and it still does. He didn't even know Jimmy at this point, so it wasn't a personal attack. It was just a stab at humor and I liked it. Easy also came up with a few other great lines. He once was kind of down about his career and made the observation that we were only in our late 20s and "it's not too late to get into rock and roll!" We were caught in a deluge at King's Canyon NP in California in the spring of '93. His tent didn't hold up too well and basically he was soaked. As we were driving out of the Park, he said something like "the only things we didn't encounter last night during that hell was the Plague and a swarm of locusts!"

    I don't think that MMJ toured very much in the winter of '03-04; I seem to recall a European tour that they shared with Centro-matic. I had the pleasure of seeing South San Gabriel in Denton on January 10. Scott told me pre-show that Danny was leaving the band; that was a shock. Later we heard on the internet and the messages boards that both Danny AND Johnny were leaving. It's been widely speculated as to why and what happened. Only the band members know what happened and why those guys left. The band was gaining more fame and notoriety and more of it was right around the corner. They basically said that they were tired of touring. Who knows if there were others reasons? Only the Shadow knows! And besides, as Hamhock said, "it's none of their fucking business!"

    I guess that the new members of the band played with MMJ in the spring of '04 for the first time. I am not sure and I just might look it up on the website now! Well, I just looked and it *might* have been May 7 when the Carl and Bo first played with the band in a live setting. The band played in Australia on March 12 and then there was a two month layoff. That would be my guess, anyway. They weren't playin Texas in the summer, so I decided to go to Nashville in June of 2004.

    My cousin Susan "Suzgal" Huston Drudge lives in NashVegas with her husband Mike. To quote The Gourds, "Dem's Good Beeble!" They're so cool, nice, smart, funny...all qualities that I love in people, animals, comedians, and TV shows. Susan always clips stuff out of the Nashville paper concerning MMJ or Slobberbone or Drive-by Truckers. She called me and told me about the show and suggested that I come up for it. What was I gonna say, 'No?!?' So I took the time off from work and headed up there on the 18th or 19th. It must've been the 19th. I stayed in Little Rock at a motel. I can't remember the reason that I didn't camp out. The next day I made it into town.

    I had arranged to meet a gal from South Carolina there. She was a newbie but she loved the Jacket. She drove over there and we met near The Parthenon. Or maybe that's where I was when she called me. I got ahold of my cousin and we met them in downtown Nashville. I can't remember the name of the joint, but it was a nice place. But I am getting ahead of myself.

    I first found the place that they were playing, the Exit/In. I had previously seen them there on January 24, 2002 and on April 23, 2003. On that former show, they came out dressed in suits! That was one day after the glorious Jim solo show in Bloomington, Indiana; I achieved astral flight on that night. It was so mystical and I felt that I truly left my body at times. Some of his more comedic statements that I can recall were relayed to the crowd at Exit/In; I will try to give examples directly.

    So I found the Exit/In before I met Tammy from South Carolina. I took a chance and drove to the back. I saw a white van with Kentucky plates, so I figured "they're here!" I sat there for a minute and I think I called my cousin to tell her that I was in town; right after that Patrick walked out to the van to get something. I hollered at him and he came over and greeted me. We chatted for a second and he took me inside. Jim and Tommy were there on the stage. I think either Bo or Carl were there or nearby, too; several other guys were working on the stage. I am sure that some of them were new MMJ employees. I didn't want to bother them too long, so within a few minutes I was out of their hair.

    We ate with my cousins and got ready for the show. I parked out on the street and lost my tickets momentarily. I think they were under the seat. I thought that Tammy had hidden them as a joke at first. The line was long. This was the first time I had seen them in eight months and their popularity was constantly growing. It still moves, onward and upward! The two previous visits to My Morning Jacket shows at this venue was sparsely attended. Even in the April 2003 show there were scarcely 50 people in the crowd at the close of the show! So while I don't want to sound like a dinosaur and talk about the "good ole days" when

    I saw MMJ play to 75 people, it's probably inevitable that I sound like an old fogey! It's inevitable that they're going to be hugely popular; I predicted it the first time I ever saw them. I couldn't believe that a band so great wasn't playing to several hundred already. It's coming.

    I still believe that there is the potential for them to be playing to several thousand fanatics and that time could be upon us as I type. Just a little bit more exposure and it might happen. It happened for R. E. M., and while times are slightly different ten years later, the buzz and the internet and just Plain Ol' Overall Genius and Musicianship can still take a band a long way, I think.

    We got in there and it was Packed! I got a beer and we set up near a taper there in the back/center. I talked to him and he exchanged email addresses with me. I think his name is Nick Graham. I looked for him last month in Nashville, but I didn't find him. And that's a shame because it's the only MMJ show that I attended and didn't tape! They kicked the show off with Golden. I think Carl sang while he played pedal steel. Beautiful song. I love the way that they sing those "ooh-oohs" at the end of the song. And of course the

line that always gets a loud cheer from the crowd near the end: "and on Heaven's golden shores we'll lay our heads" Man, does that paint a picture! Sudden remembrance: it was there at the Exit/In that I first heard Golden, and it *might* be the place where he first sang it live. That's probably not right, but it's definitely the first place I ever heard it. The next night, in Atlanta (4/24/03) I learned from Johnny and their manager Mike that it was called "Golden". It's another in a long line of songs that I first heard live and wondered "is this a cover?" And it turned out to be a song courtesy the Genius of Jim "son" James: Steam Engine, How Could I Know? (Oxen), Easy Morning Rebel, Golden.

    Tammy was really enjoying it as well. She helped me with my taping and my beer. Quite a nice gal, too. And another true fanatic was turned on the live MMJ Experience! It was the first time she'd seen them and she continues to love the Jacket. After Golden they went into Just One Thing. I love this song. It's also one of those songs that you just want to sing as LOUD as you can! And it's easy to do, too. It's a song that almost can't be sung at normal volume; it just feels better to sing it loud. "And I want it Soooo Bad, it's the first thing I see when I wake!" One is tempted by the dirty mind to wonder, "what's the first thing they're seeing? Body parts? Private parts?" My friend Gary "Gray" DiBello's theory is just that he's singing about the light of love that they share. It's sure as hell to fun to sing about, whatever it is!

    I promised you some funny (to me, at least) Jim comments previously heard at the Exit/In. I can't really remember any comments from the January '02 show. But based on wearing suits onstage during their kickass performance, that's comedy in itself, right? It is in my book. Admittedly, I'm easily amused! They did a blistering job on Lil Billy that night, I do remember that. Jim and Johnny with the dueling guitars front and center. Awesome. But it was during the 4/23/03 show that he made me laugh out loud. He's not a stranger to getting laughs. I kind of compare his sense of humor to Neil Young's in a way. I know that his voice is usually compared to Neil's and that's reason that he's stated that he has no desire to cover Neil songs. Neil's might be a bit drier than Jim's and Jim's slightly more absurd than Neil's but they are similar in some ways. Jim likes to state the outrageous. It was during this show that he alluded to a television "reality" show called Nashville Star. I think it was basically like the dreaded American Idol, but in this competition you basically had to wear a cowboy hat and of course you couldn't sound anything like Merle Haggard or Johnny Cash or Loretta Lynn or Patsy Cline or Tammy Wynette or Hank Sr. Please, folks! Only those who sound like Toby Keith or Gretchen Wilson or Kenny Chesney or Big and Rich or Montgomery Gentry need apply! And don't forget that hat and lots of makeup and tight blue jeans, okay? And if you had any real talent, please stay away! So Jim makes a joke in Nashville about the show called Nashville Star and it went something like this: "Thank, you Nashville. I'll tell you what: we've worked really hard to make it this far on Nashville Star, and I'm glad that we've made it this far, to the semi-final quarter round. It's been a long tough competition, but I think the rest of the performers on Nashville Star deserve to win just as much as we do. But when you call that 900 number later, just tell them to vote for My Morning Jacket. It would be awesome to win this round of Nashville Star and to move onto the quarter or the semi-finals!" It's just called "classic Jim" in my book. There is no 'off' position for the genius switch.

    Adding onto the ridiculosity during the 6/20/04 Exit/In show now: Jim stated that they had a new song that they were about to play for us. The song is from 'Z', released about six weeks ago and it's called 'It Beats 4 U' - he went on to say that during this song that they would "be conducting an experiment in subliminal communication, are you guys ready for an experiment in subliminal communication? Every word you hear me say and every move you see us make on stage tonight has been carefully planned out to relay a secret message to you and that's a code that you must decipher. Every time you see me step two times to the right or back once, or three times forward, or when I raise or lower my guitar, these are all secret codes and symbols that relay an important message....so I hope that you can figure that out!" It's just classic Jim, a ridiculous statement but carefully thought out to provide comedic relief or just something to think about! It's probably not for everyone; maybe even some of their hardcore fans wish he'd knock off the comedic bits and just play the music. But I hope that he never quits making jokes and doing 'bits' on stage. I've said it before, but if he weren't a musical genius then he'd probably be able to develop his comedy and become a standup comedic genius. I have never seen a Louisville MMJ show; I have seen Jim solo when he opened for John Mayer there on April 30, 2002. ItWas here that he tapped on my shoulder in that overly crowded room. It was amazing that I saw him at all. The next night in Knoxville we saw him on the street and I hollered out the window and requested (of all things) "Chills", and he freakin' played it - at the Tennessee Theatre!! So I dare say that there's been some Divine Intervention in my various travels to other states regarding my contact with said genius Jim James! "Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong!" -Dennis Miller

    The Exit/In show continued with much bliss. I'm not sure if anyone figured out that subliminal message by deciphering their foot and guitar movements. If they did, it probably involved something along the lines of "all you need is love" or "be nice to your neighbors" I was wondering and wandering earlier, but I never got to the point! Big surprise. Dumbass Strikes Again! I was wondering if maybe he felt more at home with his comedy in Nashville. I mean, you gotta figure that many of their hardcore fans and longtime friends are driving down from Louisville when they play Nashville. I know that I would if I lived there! But on the other hand, he's probably just as prone to joke around with the crowd in Miami or Seattle.

    They continued rocking throughout the show with stuff like Lowdown, The Way that He Sings, Strangulation, One Big Holiday (still THE biggest crowd favorite by far, I think), I Will Sing You Songs (one of Tammy's favorites). I remember this young woman going into a funky dance/head-banger stance/fist pumping during the opening guitar riffs of Dance Floors. I also remember realizing that this band is finally getting some credit and they're being noticed. The kids are finally getting the message and one of the greatest rock bands in the history of the world is right here for us to enjoy. And they're still playing in small clubs, at least for now. Even if they get really big, maybe they'll play "surprise" shows like Neil still does. There will be some word-of-mouth show around San Jose sometimes and a crowd of less than a thousand will be able to witness Neil Young and Crazy Horse live in a club. We can hope that MMJ will be able and willing to do that, anyway! I just can't see them playing to 1,000 people too much longer. I figure that there will be a leap to the 3,000-4,000 seat venue very soon. And who knows, maybe they'll be playing to 15,000 soon. I kind of hope not, but you can't wish them anything but success and fame if that's what's in store for them. It couldn't happen to nicer and more talented guys.

    I had heard via the internet that they were actually playing about 3/7 of Cobra. The way I see it, Cobra is comprised of seven segments and they did the first three during this tour. I couldn't believe that they were actually playing Cobra live! I had requested it during the fall '02 show but they just weren't into it. I guess that the full band hadn't learned enough of it to pull it off; or maybe they just wanted to play other stuff. Some others requested it at the September 4, 2002 show in Athens, Georgia. Jim was playing solo and asked for requests. Someone yelled "Cobra!" and he just said "Here's Cobra in its entirety" and strummed a single note on the guitar. Sudden remembrance: it was during this Athens show that Jim tried out some more comedy on us. Right before At Dawn he announced, "This is a composition that we wrote earlier this month about Tom's birth date and Social Security number....all of which will be revealed through the course of the show!" Gotta Love It.

    Now if you are a MMJ fanatic then you have heard of their webmaster Riny. He's lives in Holland. I'm not sure how he got the gig, I assume he met or contacted them early on when there was that early popularity explosion in Holland and Belgium and other Benelux places. Actually, I guess the only other 'Benelux' place would be Luxembourg, technically. But I know that they've got a big following in most of Western Europe these days. Riny has been very kind to me over the years as a fellow fanatic. The other website manager from Holland has been very nice to me as well. His name is Ger Potze. I knew that Riny was in the States for four or five shows during the summer of 2004. I think he saw them in Indianapolis, Birmingham, Bonnaroo, and Nashville. That's probably close but not completely accurate. But I got to meet him after the show and we spoke about the current state of all things MMJ and it was a real pleasure to be able to put a face with a name and all of its connected generosity and knowledge. I had asked Riny via email if he'd ask the band to play Cobra in Nashville; and later Tommy emailed me and said that "Cobra was for Low Dog", so Riny made it happen! Thanks to all of you nice Jackets and webmasters for your generosity throughout the years! You never were a drawback, always were an asset. Actually, I think that Riny also saw 'em in Louisville because he commented that all of the old guys were there: Chris Guetig, Danny, and Johnny. Not sure about J Glenn. "It's a wonderful thing to have such devoted friends" -The Graduate, '62/'67

    Meanwhile, back to the show. They closed the first set with Mageetah, which was quickly becoming a fan favorite. Hey, what's not to like, huh? *If* I do get around to rating the songs before next Friday, I'll probably have to rate just the album tracks. Then later I can come back and rate all of their released stuff. I can't find either of the Darla discs that came out this year called Early Recordings, or The Sandman Cometh or whatever it was called. Those have been missing for months, including my CD of At Dawn and this bonus disc of solo Jim stuff! Ouch! Maybe I will find it when I move over into Steve's house.

    Moving on now - I have only tonight to finish this up and I really wanted to write about the last four shows that I saw and my camping experiences last month. So...it'll probably have to be shortened. The Nashville show was great, I met Riny after the show, Tammy really enjoyed her first-ever live MMJ experience, and I went camping and visited kin after that. I got to go to Diehlstadt, Missouri. It's in the 'boot heel' and not very far from extreme Western Kentucky. We got a Paducah TV station out there. My great and uncle used to live in Diehlstadt and all of the women in my mother's family were born in houses in Diehlstadt. This was a bittersweet homecoming.

    It marked the first time that no kin of mine resided in that town since I've been alive. We always had either our great aunt or our aunt as Diehlstadt residents (Diehlstadtites? Diehlstadtiticians?) while we visited there until the summer of '04. Aunt Frances was taken to the nursing home in nearby Charleston winter. My great aunt was born there in 1905, so that marked 99 years of life in Diehlstadt for some of our kin. Life goes on. I visited my aunt in the nursing home but she's suffering from Alzheimer's Disease and she isn't all there. She asked "how's your mother?" and I had to remind her "she died last summer" And then she'd look at me and say "Oh yeh...I'm slipping!" Sad but true. I visited Aunt Billie in Charleston and got caught up on everything. Sue's getting a divorce, Uncle Bill's got a bad heart, I have emphysema and arthritis. It was a virtual celebration of good news and good health! It kind of reminds me of that Bill Hicks bit about being on a road trip with his mother and she's going on and on about who has which disease and who'd just died. And he says "Mom...I've been listening to you here in the car for about 10 hours now...and I just got one question for you: Do you know ANYONE who DOESN'T have a Fucking Tumor!?!?"

    I ended up camping out the next three nights in Missouri and Arkansas. I also got to see my cousin Tonya up near Potosi (SW of St Louis). I got the best kind of camping in: no rain! On the way back home, I stopped in Charleston one last time and said 'goodbye' to my aunt. She'd had a bad day at the nursing home. She believed that this was only temporary but she was told that she would be for good and she threw a temper tantrum. Her son Walter had to come up there and calm her down. Poor ol' gal. Didn't someone once sing, that 'life goes on long after the thrill of livin' is gone'. Ain't that the truth? Restless souls, enjoy your youth!

    Gray had a grandfather who died of old age; he described the last few years of his grandfather's life as 'living hell'. I remember him saying "it's not fair!" I guess it's kind of a brutal truth and slightly ironic that you hear that saying your whole life. "Life isn't fair!" to the teenagers who want to stay out past midnight and break their curfew. And to have the last one wither away at the very end of their life is further proof that life isn't fair. I think the best way to go is to either 1) die in your sleep 2) die in a car wreck as long as it was instantaneous 3) get hit in the head by a foul ball at a baseball game - you could go out doing something you love: watching the wondrous sport of baseball.

    Well, it's November 16, 2005. The time is 6:59 PM Central Standard Time. I got three paragraphs written at work today. So I'll have to wrap up the last 17 months of my MMJ-loving life in the next four or five hours. Sitter is the art director. Artboy wants this thing done tonight so he can print it tomorrow night. Time is of the essence. One of the ideas that Brad (Artboy, Sitter, Caesar, and several other nicknames) has is for a T-shirt with oxen on it and it just says "Dad" on it below; that's an allusion to the "I'm Jim's dad" allusion.

    Hal, the hard liquor robot who interviewed me last weekend in Campbell, Texas, was heavily fixated by Oxen. This most certainly came about with his interest in a song called How Could I Know (Oxen). We first heard that song on September 17, 2004. MMJ opened their show with it and it was yet another milestone in their brilliant musical career.

    Centro-matic opened up for them this night. They were their usual phenomenal selves on the stage. They were really loud, though, and their mix was definitely off. It wasn't easy to enjoy the show because it sounded bad. MMJ came out and I think that Jim was wearing a suit or at least a sports coat. I couldn't see too well because I was (as always, and obviously) in the back and taping. Their sound was good and that's a relief. By now they had their own sound guy, I think. They kicked it off, as I said, with How Could I Know (Oxen). The song started and I didn't recognize it. I said at the time that it sounded like something out of 1969 by Dylan and Neil Young. It's got that opening guitar strumming and then that unmistakable Voice stating, "I wanted to see you holy (?) mouth, I wanted to feel the air come out" and some
other stuff. Once again, it's not *what* he sings but the feeling with which he sings it and the feeling that it creates in the listener.

    Then that drum and keyboard and bass kick in, and "should've known better, all those (old) letters, always wanted to be, ? , ?, just let me be! How Could I Know?" It's been worn out a million times but "it's just the way that he sings!" As Sitter said, 'it just has a certain *feel* to it' - that could apply to so many of their songs. Sitter's other comment that prominently sticks out in my mind is the one about how Patrick plays at the end when Jim's just wailing "How could I know, oh-oh-oh, How Could I Know oh-oh, How Could I know" oh-oh, oh-oh, ah, ah, oh-yeh-eh!" Perfect song!!! Hal the hard liquor robot asked me five days ago if Oxen was in my top ten MMJ songs. Hard to say, but it's waaay up there, no doubt.

    A hilarious thing happened between Oxen and Golden. The Golden Ox! Wow, I don't think I've ever thought of that. A song request can be heard right before Golden. Someone down front yelled out for The Bear - "not unusual, he might say", but he asked for "Bad Idea!" The show continued on with chestnuts like Just One Thing, 'Way', Lowdown, 'It Beats', How Do You Know, 'Holiday', Strangulation, Mageetah, Steam Engine, Cobra, and Run Thru. I might be missing a song or two, my Disc Two of this show is currently missing! It was the first I ever heard How Do You Know live and I was slightly surprised to hear it. I remember that Jim did about a six minute solo during Steam Engine and it appeared that he was sitting or kneeling on the stage with his back to the crowd while he played. Cobra was great, as usual. Maybe one day they'll do it in its entirety! That would be hard but still great.

    Another funny thing happened during Lowdown. They apparently were having some kind of difficulty with one of the guitars. I think maybe it was Carl's. But they kept playing the introduction. What is usually probably 30 seconds turned into two and a half minutes. And right in the middle of the "introduction" Jim sang one of those "baump, baump, ba-daump, ba-dump"'s and the band just kept playing and improvising a bit. I also loved the faux-trumpets on the introduction to The Way that He Sings. Another thing I noticed from this show as well as the June 20 show in Nashville) is that Jim sang the parts that became the "Good, Bad, and Ugly" musical sequence on It Beats 4 U. He also used to do this in the early days of playing Magheetah live. He'd sing the guitar parts from early in the song, namely at the 0:39 mark in the song; then later he wouldn't sing them live. We wondered if they'd make the album, and thankfully they did. The crowd was fairly sparse for a MMJ show in Dallas. The only reasonable explanation is that Wilco was also playing Dallas night at the Granada Theatre. Jim thanked us for being there on "your Friday night here with us" - it was, as they all are, a wonderful spectacle of an aural event of a live rock show. We got outta there after the show. I had been up for about 20 hours and I now have the built-in excuse of "I'm old!"

    It became fall four days later. I was reading on the internet just a couple of days after the Gypsy Tea Room show that Jim would be playing with Bright Eyes and M Ward in Ft Worth on October 8th. I hurriedly went online to get tickets but this was already sold out! I threw myself on the mercy of the Jim James list decision. I hated to ask him to do it, but with no tickets remaining I took a chance. He graciously agreed to include me as one of his guests. What can I say? I raised a good boy; I mean, what father *shouldn't* be included on his own son's guest list?!?!? Sorry, Jim. It's the beer, man! The beer and my warped brain.

    I was late for this show. Unfortunately, I am almost always late. Fort Worth is 90 miles from my town of Commerce, Texas. I got in there and M Ward was playing This was at the historic Ridglea Theatre. I'm not privy to the details of its rich history, but surely one exists if they take the trouble to call it "historic", right?!?

   Within about ten minutes Jim was up there with M Ward. I couldn't believe it when I heard what I believed to be a Dylan song from Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid! Sure enough, it was Billy (Main Title Theme). Or maybe it's called Billy 1, I can't remember. The list of songs that MMJ has covered over the years is astounding. And just last month you can add Bread's 'Make it With You' and Nick Drake's 'Northern Sky'!!! Jim and company were really "on" this night, but Jim was *really* "on"! He was on fire, truth be known. This was the opening night, too. I remember thinking how nice it would be to be rich; if I had been rich I would've just followed this tour all over the country. I think they only played about ten shows total last October. I know that they went out West from here. Jim played five or six in a row. The Bear! One in the Same! I Can't Wait! Death is the Easy and Bermuda Highway! (these two with Will of Centro-matic) And he covered Always on My Mind (Willie, or I assume it's Willie..he at least made it famous, I think) and played Golden with the others. They also played At Dawn and Girl from the North Country (more Dylan, with J Cash).

    I thought that M Ward was good. It was my only experience with M Ward. I still don't have any of his albums. I think he's a good singer and a good writer, though. Bright was okay. I know that the crowd was primarily there for Bright Eyes, but I'm damn sure that many new and true MMJ fans were won over by Jim at this show. There's no doubt in my mind. A rather amusing thought entered my head when Conor of Bright Eyes was talking about his music and that he was "very competitive". I just thought to myself "If you're so competitive then what are you doing up here with my son!?!?" That's like asking for a footrace and failing to lace up your runnin' shoes, Conor. Apologies to Conor and his apologists if he wasn't actually referring to being competitively musically. He had some interesting stuff but it got old after a bit.

    After the show I made my way around to the back of the building and found the bus. Security had told me that if they were going to come out and talk to the fans that it would be back there. Sure enough, I saw Jim out there right after I walked up. I greeted him and gave him eight discs of various show. The MMJ show from 9/17/04 and the Gram Parsons tribute show were a couple of them. I left him to sign the tennis shoes and tickets of 16-year-old girls.

    My attention was basically already diverted to my dad's care but on November 6 he had his second stroke in four months. We knew that the end was near. I was comforting him with My Morning Jacket's 'Old Sept Blues'. That song is the absolute truth about both my parents when he proclaims "never were a drawback, always were an asset" - we knew Dad was dying and I wanted him to know how much I had appreciated him throughout my lifetime. I took my jambox out to the hospital and played Old Sept Blues for him. He kind of winced during the song. I know that while he was happy that I was showing him my appreciation that he still was grappling with the fact that his life was very near the end. He didn't want to die.

    He was so incredibly brave that it's something that I will never forget as long as I live. He was constantly wanting to go somewhere for as long as his body would allow him to go. He never complained, he never cried. He was brave for us because he didn't want us to be sad. He fell flat on his face one night and he was bleeding like a stuck hog. He was delirious and he wouldn't get up and go to the hospital. He was lying on the bed and I had to call an ambulance to take him to the emergency room. This was the final nail in the proverbial coffin. It caused a cranial bleed and it contributed to his death. He died on December 30 of last year. My aunt suggested that I write a 'good-bye' letter of sorts to Dad. I wrote it the morning of the funeral and my cousin Michael read it at the service. It's probably one of the only funerals in modern times to include the phrase "as My Morning Jacket sang, 'you never were a drawback, always were an asset'" - his best friend delivered a touching eulogy to his old pal. Dad named me after him; his name is George Munns and he lives in Houston. Dad's gone, Mom's gone…but they are still living inside of my heart and brain and soul. That sounds corny but it's the truth. They will always be a part of me and I'll see them again. Maybe when I show up and they greet we can break into Steam Engine or Just One Thing or By My Car or Bermuda Highway or.......pick your song here!

    I can't really say much about the early part of 2005, Jacket-wise. Obviously I still loved them but I went through phases where I wouldn't listen to them as often and with as much vigor as I have listened to them in the past. But when I received that 'Z' pre-release I got back into them in a big way. Sitter had burned a show from Athens from June for me, but I didn't really get into it much. 'Z' set me off again, though. My cousin called in late August with a surprise announcement; My Morning Jacket was coming back to Nashville! She read off the other tour dates that had been posted. At that time I think that they had only agreed to about 15 tour dates or so - I remember Cat (Cheryl) asking me "why doesn't the Jacket love Texas anymore?" and I heard from my son right after that: "dude, we're playing Texas, it's just not announced yet"

    I got my tickets for Atlanta, Knoxville, and Nashville in late August. I wrote to Matt and Jon, these Atlantans that I know. Hell, I only know them because of music in general and MMJ in particular. I met both of them at separate MMJ shows in Hot'lanta in '03, and '02, respectively. Jon ended up opting out; he's not as impressed with 'Z' as Matt and me. It's okay, he's still a groovy cat and "we still have South San Gabriel and Centro-matic" as he recently emailed me!

    The arrangements were made, the weeks flew by like days, and I headed East. This would be the fifth trip East of Texas to see either Jim or MMJ. Coincidentally, I left on October 4, which was the day that the new album was released. I was trying to see my old friend Casey in Jackson, Mississippi. I've known Casey since '72. And I think that was the year of the first Monsters of Folk tour, according to Jim. I got bad news on the way; he's splitting up with his wife and I never got ahold of him. I ended up camping in a state park about 25 miles East of Jackson. I can't even remember the name of it now - atlas time! Those things are handy - it was Roosevelt State Park. I got there about 9 PM and it was dark. I finally managed to find a campsite that was slightly level enough for me to sleep in. Most of the campers are RV campers. Does that count as a campsite? I guess it does but it's more like true camping to sleep in a tent. And certainly there are those that would argue that it's not really camping unless you sleep out under the stars. "Tents are for pansies!"

    I had just gotten into Neil Young's Prairie Wind. This album was released in late September, I think. Maybe it was early Sept. I got it soon after its release. Neil had an operation to treat an aneurysm and you can tell that he was thinking about his life and the current situation when he wrote these songs. I listened to Prairie Wind as I set up my tent. I became totally immersed in the fifth song, called It's A Dream. "It's just the way that he sings" - "it's gone, it's only a dream" - chills runs down my spine! I was fairly comfortable in the tent.

    I woke up about 7 AM, broke camp, washed my face and headed East. I only had to travel a little ways on this Wednesday. I decided to try to camp out again. I headed towards Auburn, Alabama. I also took a different route from the one that I had been on previously. Well, I'd never been to Auburn, actually. I drove through Meridian and then on Hwy 80. This same road, US 80 goes through Terrell, Texas; it's about 45 miles from here in Commerce where I live. I went through towns like Demopolis and Selma. I called my daughter from the road. It was her 24th birthday. I was in Alabama and luckily I had Harvest. So I not only got to sing "Alabama, you've got the weight on your shoulders that's breakin' your back" BUT also "24 and there's so much more". I called her up and I cued the tape to that exact part of Old Man and I her "24 and there's so much more" on her 24th birthday. It's a shame I missed playing that for Jim and Patrick but I didn't have their phone numbers. Actually, I didn't even know Patrick yet! But I digress, as is my habit.

    I drove all around the cemeteries there in Montgomery looking for Hank Sr's grave. I had seen it before sometime around late 1998. But I couldn't find it although I drove all of those cemeteries. I finally figured that I needed to get going, and I headed towards Auburn. I got down there about an hour and a half before dark. I found the state park (atlas, please...), which is called Chewacla. It kind of looked like it might rain and I figured a few years ago that I am too old now at 43 to willingly set up my tent if rain is a certainty. I even asked the gal at the gate if she had heard a forecast, but she hadn't. I asked the Park ranger, "is it going to rain?" He looked up at the menacing sky and said "you might be okay". Well, for whatever reason I decided to set up my tent. As Talking Heads sang on 'Animals' on Fear of Music in 1979, "big mistake!"

    I went across the interstate and found a place to eat. The sun was still out. I drove around the campus and checked out the co-eds. Where were these chicks when I was their age? I suppose they were around, they just didnt' look as good then. I made my way back to the campsite and I got out the atlas. It started sprinkling and I got in the car. I heard some baseball game on the radio. The playoffs were going by now. It started to harder and it was about 10. I got inside the tent and hoped for the best. The best didn't happen. Well, I guess I can be thankful that I made it out of there without drowning! By midnight there was a steady rain falling and by 3 AM or so it was a drenching downpour! I ended up getting out of the sleeping bag about 7 AM. I broke down my tent with one hand because the other hand was busy holding up a freaking umbrella! It probably didn't stop raining in Auburn until late October! The good news is that I did get to take a hot shower and get into some dry clothes before departing for Georgia.

    I was reminded of a hilarious Curb Your Enthusiasm in which Larry is at a colleague's son's birthday/pool party. Larry and his gang end up getting a glimpse of this kid's penis and it's apparently huge. He's only about six or so, but Larry unwisely mentions something to his friend. "Boy, that's some penis on your son there" Well, the dad obviously isn't happy about this observation. Later in the episode, after Larry has alienated this guy who he now needs a favor from, his wife asks: "Larry, why would you do that...why would you mention something like that?" And Larry just looks at her and says, "I took a chance...it didn’t work out" That's how I felt after that drenching I received in Auburn. Oh well, there are worse things. I couldn't dry out my tent 'til I got to Atlanta. "George, why did you camp out when it looked like rain?" "I took a chance...it didn’t work out”

    I went by the Lewis Grizzard Museum in Moreland, Georgia on the way to Atlanta. I recently became a Grizzard fan; he died of a heart attack in '94 at the young age of 47. I got a couple of videos and a book and I got to talk to the curator of the museum. The curator also doubles as a seller of headstones for graves. I hit Atlanta fairly early, probably about noon. I called Matt from a Wendy's and got directions to his apartment. After inevitably getting lost by driving the wrong way on the interstate, I turned around and made it to his place about 4 or so. He allowed me to put my tent and my tent cover out on the balcony of his apartment. That helped a lot - by Friday it was almost completely dry. I also managed to dry my sleeping bag in the dryer of his apartment's laundry room. It's good for sleeping bags to be dry. This old-timer can give the youth of the world that bit of advice for free!

    Matt is a Huge MMJ fan. He even went to the same high school as Jim. I think Matt's two years younger than Jim; but he's followed his career from the very early days. I am fairly sure that he saw MMJ in '99 at the Twice Told Coffeehouse. And he possesses just about every EP and vinyl record that MMJ has put out. I mean the dude has The Tennessee Fire on vinyl! That's rare. He showed me the CD case, which I hadn't seen yet. Lots of cool drawings that feature a 'Z' in them. And he referred to the picture of the band in the inside of the CD case and "totally MMJ", I think.

    There's been so much press lately and this band is probably on the verge of exploding. Nobody seems to believe that where I work and constantly rave about them, though. We'll see. Matt also commented about how funny it is of Jim to reference Madonna in Anytime. His mother apparently knew Jim's mother or they at least attended the same school in Louisville. Matt talked about being at the Lebowskifest in June of '04 and what a hilarious and cool sight it was to see Jim's mom singing along and totally into Steam Engine. "Take your money and your drugs!"

    We got down to the Roxy fairly early. We saw all of Kathleen Edwards. I was up in the balcony, Matt was in the front. I think he said that he was in about the fifth row or so. Lots of newbies, lots of "kids" I hate to call the 18-year-olds "kids" but they're six years younger than my daughter. They are probably even starting to look young to MMJ! What can be said except they freakin' Rocked!?! It was the first night of the tour and they were happy and excited to be playing the new stuff for us. That was evident. We got every song off Z except for Into the Woods. They covered Bread's "Make it With You" and everyone in the band was most excellent. I thought that I heard saxophone at the end of Dondante and Matt verified it later. Carl was playing it; I just couldn't see it! Matt also made the comment about Carl just playing that same riff over and over in Gideon and how cool the song was. Needless to say, MMJ once again blew us away in the live setting. They never are less than stellar. We ended up meeting up with Jon Ouzts, our old MMJ buddy. He's the guy who isn't totally into Z, but we still like him. Maybe one day he'll dig it. If not, no big deal.

    On the opening number, Jim's out there without his guitar and he's singing Wordless Chorus, the opening song on the album. For a few minutes, I thought, "they're going to play the whole album from start to finish!" I was 30% right: we got Wordless Chorus, It Beats 4 U, and Gideon for the first three numbers of the show. Each band member just playing their heart out up there, seemingly total into the music. You got wonder this: do they get as much satisfaction out of playing these gorgeous and wondrous rockers as we do by receiving them? I figure that they sense ecstatic feelings at times just as the audience does during their favorite songs. But you figure that some nights are better than others for them. They are, after all, human. And all humans have good and bad days no matter what they're doing, right? "I have my good days and I have my bad days", as Aunt Dink used to say towards the end of her life in the nursing home in Sikeston, Missouri. And all of that jumping around, playing, singing, cavorting - all of that energy expended must take its toll after awhile. These are young men, to be sure. But by the end of these shows they just must feel exhausted. I wonder just how tired they are by now. It's November 17, 2005 now. They have played close to 30 shows by now in 42 days. It was six weeks ago today that they played the opening show in Atlanta. I figure that they're ready to get back to Louisville and relax a bit by now.

    All of this wondering reminded me of a part of a John Steinbeck novel called Travels With Charley. He was talking about being amazed by truck drivers and their job requirements. "It takes strength and control and attention to drive a truck long distances, no matter how much the effort is made easier by air brakes and power-assisted steering. It would be interesting to how and easy to establish with modern testing methods how much energy in foot pounds is expended in driving a truck for six hours. Consider then the small unnoticed turning of the steering wheel, perhaps the exertion of only one pound for each motion, the varying pressure of foot on accelerator, not more than a half a pound perhaps but an enormous total over a period of six hours. Then there are the muscles of shoulders and neck, constantly if unconsciously flexed for emergency, the eyes darting from road to rear-view mirror, the thousand decisions so deep that the conscious mind is not aware of them. The output of energy, nervous and muscular, is enormous"

    He's got a point there. Truck driving is certainly a job that takes a lot of energy and I'd say that being a nice Jacket does, too. And speaking of nice, will they soon or ever get to a point that they just don't want to be nice anymore? Will the strain of being musical and media darlings wear thin? Do they ever just want to say "leave me alone...please!?" Hopefully there's plenty of beer for those times!

    We ended up partying with Jon after the show; it was good to see him again. I had bought a $3 baseball cap in Mississippi earlier in the day for him. He was born in 1971 and it said "Starter, Established 1971", so I figured that it was the perfect gift. We had fun talking about the band and Z and all of our crazy internet fanatic friends. I slept 'til noon the next day. I got my drenched sleeping bag off of Matt's porch and loaded up the trunk. We left town at about 2 or 3, I think. The traffic was bad and it was raining, but we got out of town soon enough and were flying up the highway towards Knoxville. To say time we ate at McDonald's' it was absolutely atrocious. The fries were cold and I took 'em back. But "it'll keep you alive" as I like to say!

    We hit town about 5 or 6, I'd guess. It was still raining lightly and I went about the business of finding a motel. My cousin Susan had talked to me on the phone about where to stay. I found that exit and we pulled off. The Motel 6 was sold out; after all, it was the weekend of the Georgia/Tennessee football game. We went next door and I got a room at the Days Inn for the paltry sum of $90! The most I've ever paid for a motel room but I am a cheap bastard. It was worth it; it sure beats the hell outta trying to find one after the show. We watched some of a baseball game. Matt's a Yankees fan and he was happy to see the Hated Red Sox go down in three games to the White Sox. We went up to downtown Knoxville and found it. It took awhile, and as usual I was no help, but we found the place and Matt parked. We were walking up to the door and Matt noticed the bus. "They're got a tour bus!" I just thought, "You mean that they don't have a private jet yet?" It took awhile to get inside but at least it wasn't raining on us much; there was a bit of a mist falling down. We went in and it was really a little place for them to be playing. It's called Blue's Cat, I think. Packed it probably only held 400 to 500 people, I'd guess.

    I think Matt got a beer or something and I found him later. We got there pretty early; there were less than 100 people there when we arrived. Soon enough I had decided that I'd be upstairs. There was an open area that enabled you to view the stage pretty well. I knew that it would probably sound pretty bad up there but it was still the best place for me. We ran into a taper downstairs. I got his email address and he agreed to trade me for a copy of his show....or so I thought! When I got back to Texas and emailed him for the show he just said, "you shoulda patched in when you had the chance, blah blah blah" I guess in his defense he did at least offer me a chance to patch in to his rig. I had explained that I didn't have the equipment to do that and I figured that was why he gave me his email address. I pleaded with him once more but he never responded. I was tempted to write to him and tell him that I think he's a sorry individual but I decided against it. It wouldn't help, and that's not a smart move. "Love all the people" - Bill Hicks

    I did get to meet some really cool people upstairs. A couple of couples were there by me and we started chatting it up. The dudes were in a band of their own but they'd never played anywhere live yet. They were probably in their early 30s. One of them, Benny, agreed to fetch my beers for me and he wouldn't even let me buy him a beer for his troubles. I insisted, he scoffed. "Buy your wife a beer then" "She doesn't drink!" "Buy her some cigarettes then" "She has enough of those already!" He just wouldn't take 'yes' for an answer! Benny was the drummer in the band and he had a bet with his friend (Darren, maybe?) about what type of drums Patrick played. I told him that I didn't know but that I should know. After the show, I actually remembered to ask Patrick what type they were. The guy would've lost the bet, he was wrong. I do remember that they're from some company in Austin.

    Kathleen Edwards and her band played a set similar to the night before in Atlanta. She's very good and the band rocks. Not to mention that she's easy on the eyes. The crowd was whipped into a frenzy by the time MMJ came out. Their set was similar to Atlanta, just no Knot Comes Loose and more "oldies". I think they played At Dawn and Heartbreakin Man; they also played Where to Begin, the song from the Elizabethtown soundtrack. It's a song that's kind of similar or in the same vein as Golden and Oxen. At one point after a beer run for me, Benny asked "Why's the drummer wearing a mask?" I think I said "it's a part of their comedy act!" Jim wore a similar mask on the Conan O'Brien show about a week or two later! Patrick was in a full Mardi Gras one. I was probably one of the few who wished that I could've seen their faces. But as Stephen Stills once said about Neil Young: "No one tells Neil Young what to do!" As long as Jim and company are happy and they're not hurting anyone, what's the harm, right?

    I was upstairs and that couple that stood by me kept saying "glad I'm not down there amongst the sardines" I mean it was packed downstairs. They were really loving their MMJ. I'm not sure if they'd played Knoxville before or not. I know that Jim played there on May 1, 2002 when he opened for John Mayer. I'm happy that the world is finally beginning to pay attention to the real deal, MMJ! They continued on and after Mageetah I couldn't believe my ears when they dedicated that song to "our old friend George "Low Dog" Savage" - I just about fell off the balcony. For one thing I hadn't even spoken to them on this trip. I had emailed them beforehand but he'd obviously seen me up there in the balcony. Thanks guys for the shout-out. That was sweet and I appreciate it very much. He was thanking the crowd for digging Mageetah so much. He just told the crowd that the first time they ever played it that I was one of about four people in the room. They wouldn't let me record it, either. Long and ridiculous story that's been written about before in prior remembrances!

    After the show I got a CD and a poster signed by this "sublime quintet" as William Bowers once called them. I briefly chatted with them right after the show and I just told them once again just how phenomenal they are and how happy I am for them.

    Editor's note: This thing's going to have to wrap up really soon! It's 9 PM and Sitter's waiting on me to get it done and sent out to Campbell for printing and hell, I haven't even proofread it yet. The next day I went to Nashville. I had had so little sleep that night that I crashed at my cousin's. I got a good nap and went over to the show. I called Matt from the parking lot and we discussed last night's greatness.

    The crowd in Nashville was around 1,000 - that's easily the largest crowd I have been apart of for MMJ. But they've played Bonnaroo and other festivals. It's small beans to them now. But boy, were they On Fire in Nashville on October 8! It was the one year anniversary of the Monsters of Folk tour in Ft Worth. They played the usual setlist, most Z and a few nuggets off the older albums. I had asked them when they planned on doing Into the Woods in Knoxville. Patrick or Jim said "tomorrow night" and of course I had to say something stupid like "can I quote you on that to the internet?" and Patrick just grinned and said "now you're guaranteed to not hear it!" But they did it and it was amazing. It was just Jim, Carl and Bo at first. Then Patrick and Tommy started in (just like in the song). Jim explained that there was a men's choir in the song and that we were all welcome to sing along during that last part. About six guys came out and a couple of them were dressed in Viking headgear or the like. It was hysterical. The crowd was just overwhelmingly enthusiastic.

    I’ve noticed a general shift in Jim’s onstage banter regarding the band and the crowd. Back in the olden times, he used to always announce the band’s name. It was always “We are My Morning Jacket…all the way from Louisville, Kentucky, etc.” But now it’s Jim making a blanket statement about the crowd. “You are a most delicious crowd” “You have been a most obedient crowd” It’s just another example of comedic Jim.

    Fist pumping, hollering, dancing, and all forms of excitement in between. Fact: My Morning Jacket is one of the greatest live bands of all-time. We've been over this, though. We hold these truths to be self-evident.

    I gotta close it up now. As usual, I don't have an ending in mind. So let me just say thanks to the band, all of the cool helpers and roadies and managers. Thanks to the cool fans and to the webmasters over in Holland: Riny and Ger. Thanks to God for allowing me to discover this band and for forming my brain and eyes and ears so that I can enjoy it! I am looking forward to many more years of enjoying music. Not only this music, but all kinds of great music. "What else is there?" -Brent Best, August 11, 2000 in Athens, Georgia
 

    Another crazy deal here, folks. Let's just call it the Crazy Deal, or maybe the New Deal (no, that's been done), or possibly just (another) Ridiculosity on Parade moment. What whatever we call it, I gotta remind you of a bit of comedy on Laugh-In, circa '69. A bit in which Mr John Wayne is introduced to Mr Tiny Tim during the show. Dan Rowan is standing there with Tiny and he says something like "Welcome to Laugh-In, and please say 'hello' to our guest tonight, Mr. Tiny Tim (applause) - and I'd like to introduce you to tonight's other honored guest: Mr John Wayne!"

     So John Wayne comes out and he looks at Tiny Tim and he says, in his own very imitable way, "Well...it's a pleasure to meet you (and here they shake hands), MR. TIIIMMMMMMMMM!!!!!" And he has this grimace on his face, as Tiny's firm handshake has basically incapacitated Mr Wayne. That's it, folks. Upon seeing that on Nick at Night (?) circa '88, a legendary picture-taking opportunity became evident. I have countless friends doing the "Mr Tim" shake - and even three or four on video! Even last week Friday I persuaded some friends to take some more Mr Tiimmmm shots; my ideal goal is to get as many pictures of Postcarders participating in this Ridiculosity as possible. Come on y'all, it'll be a blast!

    I remember telling Brent of Slobberbone about this skit before the 10/25/01 (a date which shall live in infamy) MMJ show- Brent opened, with Scott, and he laughed about it, but refused to participate. Fast forward to April 8, 02 (?) in Dallas at Son of Hermann Hall - I persuaded Adam "LK- Lee" Richards to go across and shake Brent's hand - he did it but I was too quick on the snap, so it didn't work out. Mr Clem and Myrna Lee (Terry and Wendy) have
participated in this Historic Event on video, at least I think they did. It's not verifable on camera but Brent has partcipated in this oh-so-classssic mimicry of said ridiculosity!

    Anyway, about a month ago, I was out at a friend's house and talking shit about Mr Tim and everything else. I got some friends to re-enact the historic 1969 Laugh-In skit and Dondi took this most excellent picture. If I can get this right, I will send you the link. This is me, as John Wayne, shaking hands with (ironically) Tim Pittsinger, who plays Tiny Tim. It was taken with their digital camera. I don't have a dc, but I must admit that this shot does them justice. Look at the lights outside the window (back yard)....I think those are just over my head in the shot. Their sliding glass door is open. You can also see Brad's (Caesar/Sitter/GB/GBC/Ramon/New Kid Do/Dirt/Cupcake/Sorter/Sailor/Spinner/Spider/The Briz/BDT not DBT) boats sitting all pretty in the yellow on replica display. The yellow glow on my glasses is the reflection of a very cool lit globe by their front door. This is the globe that Tim (The Miz/Kittyphone/K1/Guns/D'arms/D'arcy/Owen Wilson/The Pretender/TP/Joey 3) couldn't find the Continent of Australia on! With the ocean (s) and hemisphere's spotted!

    Bottom line/last bit of ridiculosity/plea - do any of you have this clip with John Wayne/Tiny Tim on Laugh-In? The last time I remember seeing it was in '88 or '89. When Trio showed those Laugh-In reruns back in '02-03-04, I never was able to find this episode. I read later that they only had the rights to half of the 140 episodes. Holler at me in the remote event that you have this classsic bit!!

Yer pal,
Low Dog

"any time your war gets out of hand I'll take it on" -my son, '99
"until I see you again, thank you a lot...and I know you'll have a good time...bye now" -Hank Sr, '51

Here's Tim and myself as Tiny Tim and John Wayne re-enacting the classsic Laugh-In skit. Picture was taken in Campbell, Texas, early April 05:

Closing Music - Around The Bend by Pearl Jam

Jennifer

Click Here to Read "Here We Are In The Years" (Another Lowdog Rambling)