Column #17: The road to being a writer has twists and turns

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you become a writer?"

The young lady asking this was a friend of a friend.

She had asked if I minded her question, which usually doesn't happen unless the question seems like a rude one. (For example: "Hey, if you don't mind me asking, what happened to your face?")

The way she asked it was odd, as if being a writer were some weirdly obscure profession that polite people don't talk about. Replace the word "writer" with "executioner" or "prostitute," and you might get a sense of her tone.

However, being a writer is far from an obscurity. I would guess that there are many multiples of millions of people who are writers, or like to consider themselves to be writers.

I considered myself a writer, and would tell people that I was, long before I was ever paid or otherwise recognized for accomplishing such a task.

When I was 14, I tried to write a TV script for the first time. I didn't think it would get produced, but at that time I didn't have many friends, and my ability to play baseball competitively had ended as others grew larger and stronger than me.

If anything benefits a writer, it's having lots of free time and no other more useful abilities.

My favorite TV series at the time was Moonlighting, an inventively comedic detective-romance show. I got 30 pages into my script before I gave up. There are a few reasons why high school freshman don't write for major Hollywood productions. I wish I had kept that script, though. I'm sure it would be fascinating to look at today.

At 22, I moved to Hollywood (or, more precisely, Santa Monica). I didn't know where to go to be a writer, or to whom to give my writings when I was done. I hadn't thought that I had a foolproof plan. I just didn't know what else to do.

A listing in the LA Weekly caught my attention. There was a comedy show happening near my apartment, featuring a comedian I had seen on TV, which is where famous people live!

The show was free. The venue was called Connections or Crossroads and was in a small storefront run by an aging Venice hippie. (It closed months later, because free shows don't help pay the rent.) It - clearly - was not a comedy club. It was more like a workshop for the many free spirits who would perform, for free, in the hopes of being spotted by an agent.

Amateurs were allowed to get up and try to be funny, too. Months later, I, hoping that one five-minute spot would get me hired on The Simpsons, decided to try. Three years later, my writing abilities had improved, though I had learned that I am not a good performer.

I met a girl, Tannis, who also wanted to write for TV. We wrote three scripts, all of which went nowhere. The years were going by, and my personal life was as big a failure as my professional life - good material for writing, but bad for living.

Before L.A., I had spent a year in Louisville, attending the University of I-Can't-Find-a-Parking-Spot-Within-Three-Miles-of-Campus, and I had loved the relatively small scale and pace of the city. A month after I returned, I met a guy in a bar.

A mutual friend told him that I was a writer, and that I knew a lot about music. As a Louisvillian, surely you have recognized that the man I met that night was Jeffrey Lee Puckett, the mayor of Germantown and the pop music guy at our newspaper.

So, that's one way to become a writer.

c. 2010 Velocity Weekly

Column #16: Offbeat picks for mayor could spice up our future

Though a few, bittersweet "Tyler Allen for Mayor" signs remain on lawns across the Highlands, our mayoral primary is over.

Last month, Louisville went back to the polls and voted for the next affluent white man whom we wouldn't mind being mayor more than the other guy.

Though we knew it was coming, it was still a shock when neither our incumbent mayor-for-life nor musician/entrepreneur Scott Ritcher was on the bill.

When Jerry Abramson was first elected mayor, the year was 1813. Now it's 2010, and, like it or not, we're in for some changes. (Don't worry, though -- public radio will continue to play old 10,000 Maniacs and Waterboys discs way too often).

This is an exciting time for Louisville, but one fraught with uncertainty. Will we continue to progress into the future, making great strides with technology, healthy food and "green" living? Or will we continue to dwell on the same issues, causes and excuses that we used in the last century?

I'm not a political genius, and I lack fundamental insight into what it takes to run the 16th- (aka 64th-) largest city in the country. What's great about this country, though, is that I can freely share my ideas about who might make a good future mayor for this city. Most aren't even rich.

Harold Maier would be my first choice. The heart and soul behind the late Twice Told Bookstore is a bold, surprising thinker, as anyone who lingered in the aisles of his shop could testify. While his politics may be a tad to the left of the mainstream, I think "Possibility City" is ready for some surprises.

I doubt that there's any reasonable universe in which his former shop assistant, artist Sean "Rat" Garrison, could run this town. However, if Garrison promised a reunion of his early '90s band, Kinghorse, for everyone who voted for him, I think he could easily win, becoming our Jesse Ventura. There's little this town loves more than nostalgia.

Rob Pennington is another singer/screamer from the good ol' days. Many Louisvillians were raised following his lead -- helping and respecting others and living a thoughtful, responsible life, examples he continues to live by. Pennington is a natural for greater public service. It's a great shame that few of the 1,500 folks excited to see his band Endpoint perform again are as interested in his current work, teaching children with special needs.

There are probably a few folks involved in the sporting world who are good leaders. As a non-sports person, the only one famous enough for me to know about is Coach Rick Pitino. I like Italian food, too, so I know why he probably won't run.

Summer Auerbach, vice president of Rainbow Blossom Natural Food Markets, achieved success at a young age. She has proven that she can run a multifaceted, growing, progressive business. She has been a civic leader and booster, seen often in newspapers and at neighborhood festivals. Best, she is scandal-free, an important quality for a mayor.

A sure bet for the office would have to be James Olliges Jr. You probably know him better by his stage name, Jim James. The leader of My Morning Jacket is evidence that Louisville has more to offer than a two-minute horse race and KFC, and he's a proven uniter of people from different worlds. Who else could so easily share a stage with both John Prine and Erykah Badu?

J.K. McKnight, founder of the Forecastle Festival, is another uniter. Though this paper has had fun pointing out his festival's growing pains through the years, this year's Forecastle promises to be the best yet. What McKnight has accomplished -- taking a neighborhood party in Tyler Park and guiding it into a major regional event - cannot be denied. Has Widespread Panic ever played an inauguration party?

Gill Holland, owner of The Green Building, already wants to make our neighborhoods greener and more artsy. Plus, he has something none of those other non-candidates has: He's not from here. Maybe that's something we need. Also, he's an affluent white man. I hear they do well in politics.

c. 2010 Velocity Weekly

Jonathan Glen Wood interview

Jonathan Glen Wood is a country/folk/singer-songwriter magician making tentative steps into the Louisville musical jungle. His debut EP, things you find out about the people you love., is available for free listening by clicking here. He'll soon leave for a short East Coast tour with fellow local Johnny Berry.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Sissonville, WV, which is about 20 minutes outside the state capitol of Charleston. Once, I bought a copy of a book published by The Onion and a tiny article in the book actually included a bio of a fake soldier from "the rural, impoverished village of Sissonville." They really must have done their homework. It really wasn't a village, but when I was growing up, there was a bar at the mouth of my road called The Village and it was certainly rural and impoverished.

Is your family musical or artistic?
Music and art were never an important part of my family when I was growing up. It was almost taken for granted. The dreams and aspirations of most of the people I knew were to have a family and a job they could retire from. I could never understand why I never shared those goals and felt pretty lost. Creativeness seemed almost equal to daydreaming - it was certainly fun to create, but there was really no future in it and it was shelved. My parents always wanted me to be a dentist. I'm still not really sure why, other than the fact that my mom is obsessed with keeping her teeth clean and white.

What is your musical background / training?
Everything I know about guitar, I learned from my good friend Robin Kessinger. Robin is a renowned old-time flatpick guitar player from close to my neck of the woods, with a musical heritage that's out of this world. It wasn't necessarily the flatpicking aspect that drew me to the guitar. I loved finding new chords and rhythm patterns to play behind fiddlers and lead guitarists. Everyone I knew wanted to be a lead guitar player; I felt like I just wanted to be a strong rhythm player. Robin started taking me around the country on gigs with him to back him up and I learned so much from so many incredible players along the way.

I always dabbled in songwriting on the side, but never really thought about playing much on my own. I liked singing a song or two in sets with the folks I played with. I completely quit playing music for almost two years right before I moved to Louisville, due to lots of job stress. I decided playing and writing made me happy and I needed to strive to do it more often. Louisville has given me a fabulous opportunity to be creative and happy.

Who are your musical favorites/inspirations?
Most of the usual suspects. When I began writing songs, Hank Williams, Norman Blake, Townes Van Zandt and Merle Haggard were probably my biggest influences. I felt so connected to their words and delivery. I still think they were/are the greatest poets that ever lived. I went through a pretty large Gram Parsons phase when I discovered him. My mom was a huge John Prine fan, so I still hold those first few Prine records dear. One music related childhood memory I do have is knowing all the words to "Illegal Smile." I had no idea what an illegal smile was at that point, but I could sing the hell out of it. Over time, I certainly learned what it meant.

I'm interested in so many different things. Can I just list some things that I'm fairly obsessed with? Ginny Hawker and Tracy Schwarz, The Byrds, The Delmore Brothers, The Delta Sisters, Jody Stecher, Tex Ritter, Hamper McBee... the list just goes on and on.

Being new to Louisville, I'm completely inspired by the immense talent that surrounds me. I'm also flattered to call some of my favorite singers and songwriters in the country, friends. Thomas A. Minor and the Picket Line, Elephant Micah, Joe Manning, The Ladybirds, Johnny Berry, Andrew Iafrate, Maiden Radio, Mickey Clark, Young Widows, Nathan Salsburg, Glen Dentinger, Natural Geographic... all continue to reassure me that Louisville has one of the richest music communities in the country.

What bands/projects are you currently involved with? How did you get involved with them?
Usually when I play out, my good friend Andrew Iafrate accompanies me. He's actually from West Virginia as well and I've known him before we both ended up here in Louisville. Our voices and ideas blend well, and playing with him has shaped some new creativity.

I've got a few new things on the horizon that I'm really excited about. I've been writing a lot of songs with Oscar Parsons, of Thomas A. Minor and the Picket Line, for a project we hope to get off the ground sometime soon. Oscar is a kindred hillbilly. We got to talking about where we grew up and our circles started overlapping. We know some of the same folks. We sat down with guitars and three and four songs started happening at a time.

I'm also writing some things with Evan Patterson of Young Widows. Evan and I met last year when I played a show with him and Dan Davis under the moniker Bad Secrets. It was completely improvised and I was terrified. I lived, though, and Evan and I stayed in touch. We've been talking about collaborating for a while and lately we've been working some things out. We're both pretty excited about the sound.

What do you hope to achieve with music?
I just want to keep doing what makes me happy. The only "goal" that I have is to make an album at some point down the road. I don't put time lines on many things, for better or worse. Maybe a few people will like what I'm doing and come out to a show? Oh, I also hope to make enough money to buy a decent ribbon microphone.

Jonathan Glen Wood plays at Sunergos Coffee on Saturday, June 12th, along with Andrew Iafrate and Joan Shelley. The concert begins at 7 p.m. and is free.



c. 2010 Velocity Weekly

Joan Shelley interview

Joan Shelley is a busy woman starting to make her name in Louisville's ever-fertile music scene. Her first album, By Dawnlight, produced by Danny Kiely and featuring appearances by some of the city's finest session players, is being released, an occasion celebrated by a concert on the Glassworks rooftop, on Friday June 4th, with her friend and collaborator Cheyenne Marie Mize, who is also releasing her first album. She will also perform on Saturday June 12th at Sunergos Coffee.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Louisville, or just outside of it really, on a few acres just east of the city. I gained access to Louisville only first through the ever encroaching suburbs in the east end. And that was dull. It was only until after coming back to town about two years ago that I really started to feel that I was from Louisville.

Is your family musical or artistic?
My dad is an artist and a painter. He has been the greatest source of inspiration and confidence in choosing this path. Besides him, I had a very art/music-loving family that raised me. I have one of the most supportive families of anyone doing what I am trying to do.

What is your musical background / training?
I have been singing forever, in whatever form I could. I started writing songs in elementary school. I've walked around singing into a handheld recorder for most of my 24 years. I was in all kinds of school choirs up until college, when I started playing in bars down in Athens, Georgia. I picked up instruments along the way to support my songwriting. I would say that the most intense learning has happened in the past year and a half, in recording this album with Danny Kiely and playing with Maiden Radio and several other great musicians around town.

Who are your musical favorites/inspirations?
I have to say that Gillian Welch and Jolie Holland were the biggest game-changers for me. They turned me on to old-time music and a kind of vocal delivery that has hung in my head like smoke since the day I first heard them. Along with them, I think Bonnie Raitt, Neko Case, J.J. Cale, Betty Davis, Gram Parsons and Townes Van Zandt have been significant influences on me and on how I thought music ought to be done. And Paul Simon can write a song. I’ve always wanted to be able to do it like he does.

What bands/projects are you currently involved with? How did you get involved with them?
I currently have my solo project, Maiden Radio, and a very new thing with Joe Manning. It’s a pretty exciting time. Maiden Radio happened last fall when I met Cheyenne Mize through some mutual musician friends. We were all playing and singing around a campfire when Cheyenne and I realized that we had a really good sound going. She knew another great vocalist and player, Julia Purcell, and we’ve been having a great time playing together ever since. Then I met Joe Manning just a few months ago and started playing with him to see what would happen. It was another easy fit, and, as rare as those can be, we plan to make something good come out of it.

What do you hope to achieve with music?
There's a long answer to this. But for now... I just want to write some good tunes and one day, a really great song that melts everybody's hearts. Is that too much to ask?