This started out as an attempt to kill two birds with one stone: test some expired film and — assuming the film was still good — document my guitars with that film for insurance purposes. It morphed into a documentation of the guitars and other instruments still in my possession that I’ve played on various records over the past 15 years. Some not pictured have been given as gifts, some sold, and some stolen (pour some liquor out). I’ll probably keep adding to this as I find more film that needs to be checked. (there’s a lot of it). All of these are shot on a used Canon A1 35mm camera I was given for high school graduation by my father. Generally they’re shot on 100iso film developed in Rodinal. But, as experimentation permits other films and developers will be used.

December 1st: 8PM John Solo at The Brick’s, Singer-Songwriter Forum.  John will be the lone featured performer since tonight is the big recording package give-away at Cosgrove Audio.

December 2nd: 1911 Main, KCMO 8-11PM John Velghe and (some of) the Prodigal Sons.  Chris and Mike will be joining John to perform songs from the new record, Don’t Let me Stay, as well as some covers.  KC Trumpet Player, Hermon Mehari, may drop by and sit in on a few songs.  John Griener and his band will start things off at 8PM.

December 20th: The Record Bar 1020 Westport Road, KCMO 7-9PM A matinee  show with John Velghe and (some of) the Prodigal Sons.  Again, Chris and Mike will be joining John to perform songs from the new record, Don’t Let me Stay, as well as some covers.  Don’t miss this early show.

February 10th:  The Record Bar 1020 Westport Road, KCMO 10PM John Velghe and The Prodigal Sons (the full, seven-piece outfit) will perform songs from their record, Don’t Let Me Stay.  This will be your first chance to see the full seven-piece band perform together.  Make sure you get there in time to catch Jenny Owen Youngs (NY) open the show.

When I wrote these songs they were in a nutshell.   On a cassette tape here, a voicemail message there, chords, words, melodies.  Demoing them amounted to a basic 4/4 beat and singing and playing into a mic.  A couple were never demo’d at all, instead committed from head to mic on the fly.  (something I swear to stop doing, do, regret, and end up sticking with thanks to the feedback of some great friends)  Each of the folks who played on these songs added something to it; like a kilner, stillman, and a blender.

I purposely went into this recording process without a finished product in my head.  A dicey proposition, but I’ve gotten to the point that I know “the thing” when I hear it.  Besides, going into a studio with full faith in the people you are playing with makes it a lot easier to stand or fall by the outcome.

So we’re here.  The tracking board has only a few empty boxes where the Xs go.  Mics have been aimed, Vox tubes blown, compressor knees flexed, mic ribbons tickled, cigarettes smoked, and spirits consumed.  15 songs in and there are some amazing parts committed to sine waves assembled from 1′s and 0′s.

We’ll complete tracking next week.  Then the songs will get rough mixed and will sit, like a good rye whiskey.

Mixing will happen in late September.  From there, it’s up to the drinkers of this little world to take it all in, put their woozy heads to bed and dream the dreams we hoped they would.

http://polls.pitch.com/polls/kcp/musicshowcase/vote/

There are great artists nominated in each category and my nomination would never had been possible if it weren’t for the work of the Prodigal Sons: Chris Wagner, Mike Alexander, Dan Dumit, Michael Walker, Sam Hughes and (newest Prodigal Son) Go Go Ray (on the drum kit).

Every nominee affirms that the term “local act” is about as far from a pejorative as it gets when you live in Kansas City.  I’ve been lucky enough to tour and play with a lot of local acts in other cities; KC is nurturing more talent than most other places.  I’m really excited about what this city is putting on the stage night after night.

If you’re down at SXSW please come say hi.  We’ll have dropcards we’ve made especially for our SXSW show with our two latest EPs.

The Live EP contains four songs from our debut show at the Midwestern Music Co.    We’ll also have this as part of our Drop Card release along with the six-song EP from fall 2010.  When you come to a show you can buy the Drop Card for $5 and get all ten songs.

The tracklist includes:

Owe My Soul

Big Tent Revival

New Madrid (Uncle Tupelo)

I Wanna Be Your Dog (The Stooges)

Besides being named, the real honor was in the fact that Ray Padgett and Company truly took the time to listen and embraced the place I tried to come from in recording this version of Iggy’s song.  Iggy Pop is, for me, more than a legendary rock performer, more than  the swagger and brashness he’s known for.  You can’t write songs like Iggy did without a tremendous amount of sensitivity and honesty.

So to the folks at Cover Me, not only do I say thanks for the acknowledgement, but thank you so much for appreciating where Iggy was coming from.

What they said:

10. I Wanna Be Your Dog (The Stooges cover)
John Velghe
Download MP3
There are few phrases in the English language less romantic than “I wanna be your dog.” John Velghe and duet partner Abigail Henderson turn Iggy’s grimey assault on its head, though, discovering unlikely beauty in lines like “So messed up, I want you here / In my room, I want you here.” If Velghe sang this to you, you’d let him be any animal he wanted.

KC music veteran takes solo excursion

New music from John Velghe

John Velghe

‘EP’

Nope Records

Observers of music in Kansas City over the last decade or so likely have heard John Velghe’s work. Stints with the Daybirds, famous fm and most recently the Mendoza Lie have kept Velghe visible to local fans. He’s also worked as a recording engineer and film score composer. With this eponymous EP, Velghe adds solo artist to an impressive body of work.

From the jangle and crunch of the opening track, “Little Teamsters,” through what may be the most impressive Iggy Pop cover yet, the six songs here are a finely honed mix of well-crafted hooks, earnest delivery and skillful musicianship. While Velghe gets a hand from some talented friends, he does a remarkable job handling multiple instruments himself. It’s no small feat to perform guitar, drums, piano and more all by oneself, but to make the mix feel like an inspired ensemble and not just overdubbed parts is even trickier. On tracks such as the lovely, somber “Wrecking,” Velghe does just that.

Some of the more memorable performances appear in songs that feature guest artists. “Did You Fall Down?” and “Time on Their Side” would be a great pop songs, but Michael Walker’s trombone and Sam Hughes’ sax push the hook factor over the top, resulting in tracks that will stick in the listener’s consciousness. Dan Dumit’s restrained drumming adds much to the atmosphere of “Long Face” and the almost archetypal American pop/rock of “Little Teamsters.”

Most impressive, though, is Velghe’s cover of Iggy Pop’s “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” featuring backing vocals from Atlantic Fadeout’s Abigail Henderson and upright bass from Chris Wagner. Velghe’s reworking of the Iggy classic is spare, stark, and frankly, pretty damned amazing. Those who thought Jim Campilongo’s tortured take on “No Fun” earlier this year was the end-all of emotive Iggy covers may want to reconsider.

Velghe’s song is so haunting and beautiful that even if the record weren’t already filled with five other tracks that have an extraordinary amount of heart, it’d be worth picking up just for this one.

— j howell { special to ink }

Read more: http://www.inkkc.com/content/kc-music-veteran-takes-solo-excursion-0#ixzz14EzZSjj