If I was covered, part 2

Here's some that I came up with:

Kris Kristoffersen-Destination Unknown
Junior Wells-Saint Louis Rockin' Blues
Gin Blossoms-Driving Through Georgia
Busta Rhymes-Insane
Peter Holsapple-Time Bomb
Sean Kingston-Saga Of The Coffeehouse Blues
Denver and the Mile High Orchestra-Mary Rose
Run DMC with The Beastie Boys-21st Century Folk Song
Richard Carr-Loose Cannon
Cumberland Gap-Alone
Van Go-Unrequited Love
Black 47-Raise A Toast
U2-Radio Free America
Fastball-Roll River On
KT Tunstall-My Heart Skips A Beat
William Fitzsimmons-The Ballad of Mr. O'Donnells Daughter

Yeah I know-kinda weird.

If I was covered....

If I was covered.....
Category: Music

A couple of years ago Stephen Koritta and I had a discussion about what songs of mine should be covered and by who. Not long after he e-mailed me a list of what he would like to see:
Matthew Sweet-Unrequited Love
Brian Setzer Orchestra-Mary Rose
Goo Goo Dolls-Destination Unknown
The Corrs-Raise A Toast
REM-21st Century Folk Song
Chris Isaac-My Heart Skips A Beat
Tom Petty-Insane
Yo La Tengo/White Stripes-Fireplace
Paul Simon-Everyman
Barenaked Ladies-Saga of the Coffeehouse Blues
Violent Femmes-The Happy Dance
Crash Test Dummies-159
Toad The Wet Sprocket-The Ballad of Mr O'Donnells Daughter
Five For Fighting-The Landing

Interesting! What do you think? Who would you like to see cover me, and what song(s). I would love to see what you come up with.

Remember This? etc

Back in March I posted a blog and picture of a house that was being built across the street. Construction had just started, and there were only a few brick pillars. Then and now photos show how far they've come.

In other news I will be performing at the Catsup Bottle Fest in Collinsville, IL on July 12.

Mississippi FC 2, New Orleans 1

I took the girls to see their first professional soccer game yesterday at Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans. The New Orleans Shockers play in the lowest level of professional football here in the United States, the PDL. Many of the players are from England, and South America, as well as New Orleans. It rained prior to the game but the skies cleared just in time. We got to our seats just as the players came onto the field.

My girls were just as interested in buying snacks and soft drinks as they were in the game, but led cheers of "Go New Orleans!" throughout.

Mississippi FC, nicknamed the Brilla--(I must admit I don't know what a Brilla is, but I am going to look it up!) got out to a 2-nil lead in the second half. Near the end of the game, we finally got on board, sparked by the play of #20, who had the assist. Despite the small crowd and the loss, all in all it was a lot of fun and I hope we can make another game before the season ends in July.

Me Old Mates

Hung out with my old friends from Illinois, Brad F and Todd G in the French Quarter yesterday. I haven't seen Brad in about 10 years. He lives in Dallas, TX now and came in for a few days on holiday. We had a nice lunch at the Chartres House in the French Quarter and then over to Todd's house on Magazine Street. The time was too short but very enjoyable.
L to R--Todd, Me, Brad in the garden at Chez Todd.

AC/Heater Vents

Next time you are in a restaurant or a store look up at the AC/Heater vents. They are probably dirty.

Just a pet peeve of mine.

Monday

Mostly catching up on things around the house. Nothing too exciting. Listened to William Fitzsimmons and Glen Hansard/Marketa a little bit on the ipod. Made a video for "Alone" on my youtube channel the other day. Supposed to meet up with Funkhouser and Grove probably tomorrow in NOLA.

Lyric Series: Alone

This series will be appearing on my myspace music site at www.myspace.com/fredclarkmusic. I am putting the first installment here to encourage you to visit that site and become my friend there. In the future, the lyric series will only appear on that site.

My new series will be individual blogs of lyrics from the first two albums with a little bit of background info. I will alternate albums and otherwise keep the order random.
First up: "Alone" from Just Another Day.

Background: I had played some bass with EV (1981-83), and with the impending breakup of that group, I bought a guitar and amp in March of '83. I basically learned to play barre chords and put together quick paced 3 and 4 chord songs with distortion. The few covers that I learned were basically '50's tunes which I sped up and used distortion on also. At the end of June, I debuted the Rockouts, one week after the last EV show. In July, I came up with the music for "Alone", which had a radically different, almost countryesque, no distortion sound. I basically had the lyrics for the chorus, and that was about it. I kept the tune under wraps, so to speak, because it didn't really fit with the other material. In '84, after Mike Gassmann joined the group, I approached him about helping with the lyrics, told him my ideas and he came up with just what I was looking for on the verses. I tweaked it a bit and we debuted it in the summer of '84. At that point we felt comfortable in moving the band in a different direction and it paid off, as it become a crowd favorite. It stood out from the other songs in our set.

Fast forward 10 years later when I started my solo career---"Alone" was the one song I carried over from the Rockouts era because it fit with the direction I was heading, although I almost didn't put it on the album because I basically wanted new material for it. In the end, I relented, and am glad I did, as it is still one of my favorites. If I had one thing to do over with this song production wise, I would have loved to put some strings---violin or cello, and possibly a haunting organ to it. I would love to hear somebody cover it in that manner. Anyway, here are the lyrics:

"Alone"

I wish that I could leave this town
where the sun don't shine and the rain keeps falling down on me
Ever since you left I don't know what at all or who I'm really supposed to be

and don't take your love away
baby I wish you'd stay

Now I just don't know what to do
I'm hoping that somebody new will take your place
and I've been looking all around but I can't seem to rid myself of your smiling face

and don't take your love away
baby I wish you'd stay

and don't take your love away
baby I wish you'd stay

I'm so alone so alone

Copyright 1984/1996 Fred W Clark, Michael E Gassmann, Surfmonk Music/Rockout Records (ASCAP)

Yes, I am very proud of this song--it's simple but strong.
fc

Grand Isle, part 2

During our stay at Grand Isle, the kids had a great time at the beach. To break up the monotony, I would go each day to the SureWay Supermarket, which is more or less the center of the Grand Isle universe, to pick up a newspaper or other supplies. If there was a negative to the holiday, it was that I turned down an opportunity to work for a couple of days on the Jim Carrey/Ewan Macgregor movie that is shooting in New Orleans, but I figure more chances will come my way.

Grand Isle, part 1

We returned home today after over a week at the family camp on Grand Isle. I was hoping to spend a great deal of time writing, brainstorming, and generally letting the creative juices flow but I just could not seem to get on track. Aside from watching the kids on the beach, most of my time was spent reading the Beatles biography by Bob Spitz, which I started and finished--over 800 pages.
My internet access was limited--as I don't have a notebook and had to rely on the mobile library which has been in use since Katrina damaged the building.
Grand Isle is a haven for fishermen, which I am not much of. In fact, I didn't go fishing while I was there although Lauren and the girls did, and caught a few.
Pics--The Camp at Grand Isle, Me walking down Louisiana Highway 1, Lauren and the girls at the Butterfly Dome.

Twitter

I am now on Twitter. See link on the side.

Donation Button

I now have a donation button for paypal. Not sure what I am really doing with it but you are welcome to send me some $.

Lunch Date: Bridget

During the summers, I take the girls out for lunch occasionally on an individual basis. Today was the first of the season, and Bridget had the first opportunity. She chose Peppers Pizza here in Houma. We arrived about noon but it was not very crowded. Picture #1 is of us in the parking lot--(I took the picture). We were seated at a booth which was near a television showing the match between Portugal and Czech-land, so I was able to sneak some peeks during lulls in the conversation. (Portugal won 3-1).
Bridget was given a coloring/activity page and some crayons as well as some wiki-sticks--little bendable sticks that can be molded into whatever you can create. She made a rainbow, then took it apart and made a stick man. We ordered a garlic bread appetizer with some dipping sauce. For the main course, Bridget ordered a kids cheese pizza and lemonade. I had spaghetti with meatballs and an unsweet tea. Very tasty!
Picture # 2--Bridget eating pizza. We talked about all kinds of different things. Most of the pizza ended up in the to go box. We then ran a couple quick errands on the way home. We had a good time.

Morning Walk

In the mornings I go for a walk. It covers about 1.25 miles here in the neighborhood. Lately I've had one of the kids with me during the walk. Today I had three that wanted to go: Colette, Bridget, and Frederick. Picture #1 is of the three a little before the half way point. A little past the half way point, Colette decided to walk ahead. Near the end, Bridget joined her-(picture # 2). Frederick is a real trooper on these walks. He walks most of the way, but wants to be carried for a few stretches too. Today, on Beauregard Street, he decided he wanted to run! (picture 3). With the children, my pace is not as brisk as I would like it to be, but it is well worth it to share their company and conversation.

More Dance Pics

Dance Recital Weekend

The girls had their dance recital this weekend. They participate in both a tap and ballet class. The dress rehearsal was yesterday, and the recital was today. The pictures are from the rehearsal and before the recital, as picture taking was not allowed during the actual recital. My girls were fantastic, of course, and they had a good time. They each performed a tap and a ballet routine.
If there was a negative to it, it was some of the parents expressing concern over a few of the costumes and dances of some of the older participants. I have to agree. At one point Lauren turned to me and before she could say anything I said "Where's the pole?" Maybe Mr. Gerald could consider toning some things down a little next year.

McNoShake

We don't go to McDonalds much, but when we do at least one member of the family wants a shake. More often than not, we are told the shake machine is broken. It's not always the same location either. Different locations, same result. If there is not an issue with the shake machine, most likely something else will be wrong.
This week was an extreme week for frequenting McDonalds---3 times. Here are the results:
Visit 1: Through the drive-thru for the family, dinner---shake machine broken.
Visit 2: Drive-thru, just me, breakfast---order completely wrong, had to drive back and go inside. Any consolation, when I went inside the employee realized what the problem was. (Note: Visit 1 and 2 was the same location.)
Visit 3: Drive-thru, for the kids, dinner---shake machine broken, one of the drinks incorrect. (different location than visit 1 and 2.)
Yes I realize the people that work there don't make much, don't have much of an education, etc, but it is always something. The so called convenience of patronizing this company just is not very convenient if they can't get things right.

Living Proof, Part 2

Friday, June 6 was my second day on the set of Living Proof, a Lifetime Network movie that will air this October,starring Harry Connick, Jr., produced by Renee Zellwegger, and directed by Dan Ireland.
Having worked Thursday on the set in Gretna, the family and me decided to stay at my in-laws place in Luling. About 9 p.m. I found out from casting that they wanted me to bring a suit to wear in the morning. My previous instructions were that wardrobe would fit me with what I needed. Luckily, my brother-in law Tony, who lives down the street, let me borrow one of his so I wouldn't have to drive back to Houma for mine.
My call time was 10 am but I arrived about a half hour early. The set was at a Chinese restaurant, the Cafe East, in Metairie, but we were depicting Wolgang Puck's Spago's restaurant in Los Angeles, 1990. Base camp was in a building next door. Some of the extras were the same as the day before, but most were new. I enjoyed speaking to many of them. Lots of interesting people.
I had a rather high profile bit. I was the maitre'd. I wore my glasses to give myself a more distinguished look. (I was glass-less on Thursday)The director and assistant director introduced themselves to me and went over my bit. I was then introduced to Angie Harmon. I would be leading Angie, Harry, and the lady playing Harry's wife to their table, pull the chair out for Angie, she says "thank you", and then I go back and interact with some of the other extras. I was pretty relaxed until right before the first rehearsal. Then I got a little nervous. Fortunately, everything went down without a hitch. It was fun. The director smiled at me and Harry gave me a nod. Later, during a break, I passed Harry on the sidewalk and he said hello. Of course, we did several takes over a few hour period. I wasn't released for the day until several hours after after I was done. I left about 7:30, but the rest of the crew and most of the extras had several more hours of work ahead of them working a scene depicting the Beverly Hilton. I was happy to get back home in Houma before the kids went to bed.
Anyway, you'll probably get to see me rather prominently for a few seconds when the movie comes on in October.
Picture of me is a bad self portrait taken in the mirror in the restroom. It worked out well the day before, but not so good this time! Let's just say it is artistic!

Living Proof, Part 1

Thursday, June 5, I worked as an extra on the Lifetime Network production "Living Proof".
It was a good time, but I got off to a rocky start due to incorrect Map Quest directions. This is not the first time this has happened to me, but that is the subject of another blog.
Basecamp was at the Timberlane Country Club in Gretna. After checking in, the wardrobe department gave me a tshirt to wear, a replica of the May 11, 1996 Revlon Run/Walk For Women in Los Angeles. I learned that the movie was about a doctor who developed a drug that increased the life expectancy of breast cancer patients. The star of the movie is Harry Connick, Jr.
At approximately 10:50 am I was on the set, and for the next several hours I depicted a walker for the most part, but also someone in the crowd clapping, and a guy just standing around.
I was enjoying the outdoors but developed a headache as the afternoon wore on. I just wasn't feeling well. Luckily we wrapped early. Must've been about 3:30 or so.
Pic 1 is a self portrait of me, taking a picture of myself in the restroom mirror.
Pic 2 is the number I wore.

...and the new baby is .......

....a BOY!
Here are some ultrasound pics. Boy due on Dec 19.
So....looks like we will have a little more balance here and Frederick has someone to play choo choo trains with.

Would you believe......

This goofy picture got me a part as an extra in a movie. I'll be working on it Thursday and Friday. I will let you know all about it after I wrap.

Miscellaneous Esplanade

Hung out with my old buddy Todd for a bit at the Fair Grinds--very cool.

Some more pics from morning walks: Dog on balcony, Hare Krishna Temple, McDonough High School--(a really ugly building amidst the beautiful and historic buildings on Esplanade). Bridget and Bernadette playing chess at the park.

Botanical Garden

We went to the Sunday brunch at the Botanical Garden with Lauren's dad, Allen. Frederick was fascinated by the train garden--- multiple model train sets amongst flowers and plants.

Cafe Degas

We ate out a few times while staying at Maison Lottinger on Esplanade. Our favorite was Cafe Degas--named after the famous painter. L'ongelet de Bouef was delicious and the service was good. Me, Lauren, and Colette went there. (that's where the pics here were taken.) Colette was quite charming talking to the waitress and some of the folks sitting next to us. After, we went to the Fair Grinds Coffee Shop, a very cool place to hang out.
We also ate at Liuzza's and La Vita--both very good.
Oh yeah, almost forgot---there was a guy at another table near us that looked just like John Sebastian of the Lovin' Spoonful. Not sure if it was actually him or not, but it sure did look like him!

Our Lady Of The Holy Rosary Church

On Sunday we went to mass at Our Lady Of The Holy Rosary Church on Esplanade. It is across the street and a few doors down from Maison Lottinger. It's a beautiful church and every time we go there I think about taking some pictures. This time me, Colette, and Bernadette brought my camera back after mass and took a few.