old enough to repaint, young enough to sell
PDF | Midi Mp3

Here’s one to grow on. Written in a time beyond the self-imposed half-century boundaries for this songbook — when I was a full 51 years old — I present as a look forward to my next half-century of aging, feeling, saying, meaning, and… well, you’ll see in the lyrics for the song.

Below the PDF and midi mp3, you’ll find one of my favorite rehearsal reference recordings (i.e., something we record when we figure out an arrangement for a song so that we’ll be able to remember what we did later), recorded in October 2019 while rehearsing for what would have been our final set of live shows before the pandemic hit. This place has everything: it sounds like us, it sounds good, it’s imperfect, it’s got moments where it breaks down and we lay bare the device, and it’s got moments of nice, spontaneous invention. And I sneak in a final moment, Fats Waller style, to deliver some wisdom that only comes with age (or with listening to Toots and the Maytalls).

Rehearsal video from around the same time (maybe exactly the same time?) follows in the first comment.

Rehearsal track (boy, would this sound nice with a suitcase

Video

NEXT STEP: DOWNLOAD BOTH OLDER VIDEOS FROM YOUTUBE

Watch Rob Henn diagram a sentence at 2:50.

It can be hard to parse without my help.

Also I think this occurred a good bit later than the rehearsal track — it was used to advertise an upcoming gig in… Chicago I think? Maybe a California Clipper show. It’s one of my favorites of our “sneak preview” videos, along with Yodeler’s Christmas.

The only parsing Rob Henn likes is that dipped in Ranch Dressing.;

Also, Riley Broach really lets you know when it’s over.

Ryan Jerving (riley here), I think the little train tells us when it’s over. My favorite part of this video is watching the train struggle up the hill a few times, getting stalled at one point, and then simply giving up at the end.

The Little Engine That Couldn’t: A History of The Viper & His Famous Orchestra.

This video also features lots of entertaining interruptions, as well as a climactic train derailment.

You really have to look closely for the train derailment. It works much better on a big screen in 70mm, like Jacques Tati’s Playtime.

Rehearsal in Highland Park, IL. Listen for the sounds of those around us getting older, too.