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A couple weeks ago, I posted a short remembrance of John Prine. COVID 19 took him from us, but not before he’d altered America’s consciousness with half a century of astounding songwriting. I asked members of my mailing list to send us their own memories of John. Here they are ... /////////////////////////////////  I already was playing and singing John Prine songs before I saw him in Waikiki while I was in the Navy ‘round about 1973. I’ve probably forgotten more of his songs than I still know, and that is a lot. His was the first voice I heard on our local community radio station 41 years ago.He is one of the few artists that I keep learning the songs of, the latest being Egg and Daughter Night. Michael Handley ///////////////////////////////// Thank you for this opportunity to give grateful tribute to the late, great John Prine’s prophetic poetic genius which was best exemplified by two of our Woodstock Generation’s most culturally impactful songs: SamStone and IllegalSmile. The former decried the illegal Vietnam War and the latter presaged We the People’s now solid victory in the hypocritically fruitless and sadly still too often tragically hurtful War on Drugs. We’re soooooo grateful for your Musical Legacy, Dearly Departed Folk Songwriting Giant whom We Luv, Love, LOVE: JohnPrine. Lew Welge /////////////////////////////////  I started listening to John in the mid to late '70's when I was in college. I was hooked. I will never forget the concert I attended at the Paramount in Austin, TX with John and Steve Goodman together. It was magical. His range of songwriting that makes you bust out laughing and then zings your heart was one of kind. The one thing I learned from his illness and now death was just how many of my friends loved him too. I was surprised at the variety and number of people who responded first to my post on Facebook about his being sick and then about his passing - as well as postings of their own. He touched so many lives and will be deeply, deeply missed. Barbara Condon ///////////////////////////////// I admired John Prine's words and music-- the wonderful humor and biting commentary, so accurate. Sharon Johnson /////////////////////////////////  I'm almost 10 years ahead of you in listening to John Prine. He was one of my favorite singers/songwriters. I actually thought his voice was perfect for his songs. He wrote songs that were goofy, and songs that were profound, often at the same time. I have heard his songs used to mark special events - Paradise for environmental pillage, Hello in There for mental health and loneliness, Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven any More for wars and Veteran's Day...and now, Don't Bury Me in the Cold, Cold Ground and This Man is Goin' to Town for his death. You need a song for an occasion, go look at John Prine's oevre. When I heard he was in the hospital on a respirator, I wrote into his website and kept looking for news on his condition every morning. I was pleased to see how many people other than me loved John Prine's songs, even one woman from England who said that she had never heard of John Prine until she read that he had coronavirus, so she started listening to his songs and now is a devoted fan. I was heartbroken when he died, and did a mini - John Prine song listening marathon at my house. Somehow, when I was listening to his songs, I was able to laugh and appreciate the phrases and forget about our loss. A little taste of heaven, if you ask me. One long evening, and I'm only finished CD1. There is a 50 song John Prine set on YouTube, for those of you who aren't so fortunate as to own the box set. So I hope you're forming that band in heaven, John Prine. Save a spot for me. I bet I'll be welcome. Onward with love and music, Kendyll Stansbury ///////////////////////////////// As for a tribute to John Prine, my story is not unusual. Growing up in the greater Chicago area I knew that John, Steve Goodman & Bonnie Koloc regularly played at the Earl of Old Town and Holsteins and I wanted to play there, too. Eventually, I did. As I started performing professionally, a couple John Prine songs were always on the setlist; Please Don't Bury Me, Dear Abby and Your Flag Decal were always crowd favorites. John Petrusa /////////////////////////////////  Just yesterday, I posted a John Prine cover to Facebook. Here is "Big Ol’ Goofy World." Walton Walker ///////////////////////////////// COVID 19 BREAKDOWN
for John Prine World a prison On lockdown America’s Head Screw Ain’t well maintained Might not be human Certainly ain’t humane Stranger danger in the manger An innocent bat And armored pangolin Took us all on Brought great nations to their knees Love from distance Equals attempt at connection The art of touching Out of business Like all the restaurants in the sky Don’t cry for me Susannah As banjo players seek refuge In isolation wards and Breathing machines plugged Into the wrong Zeitgeist I dared to walk outside Myself and peer intently in Was there never any foundation Willing to grant us wonders Earned and stolen from Troubadours of the new as Marching boots threaten power Awaken from gullible daydreams sisters Brothers it’s past time to move We can chant people and sigh revolt But our heads must stay In the Suckers Game until Victory is declared by forces of grace Dressed in shimmering gowns Stitched by elves and shamans Songs survive and grow lyrics Dig deeper every time we listen Birds sing round the clock Spheres make music on Their own labels — I’ll meet You in Paradise at the OK Corral Richard Friedman We are devastated to learn of the passing of John Prine due to COVID-19. In the early 80’s I delivered audio-visual equipment all over the Bay Area, which is to say I drove around and wrote songs all day long. When I wasn’t actually composing I was listening to KFAT Radio out of Gilroy, studying what a song really IS or really could be. And in the song laboratory of my mind, John Prine was a frequent visiting professor.  Later, when Melanie and I were writing songs for our eccentric country rock bank The Twang, John’s songs challenged us to be economical, ass-kicking, soulful, singable and sly, all in the same three and a half minutes. John wrote amazing no-bullshit songs, some hilarious slices of life, some uncompromising character studies. He could crack you up and he could break your heart. “Sam Stone,” “Illegal Smile,” “Paradise,” “Linda Goes to Mars” … we can call them up to the front of our minds faster than you can Google them. “In Spite of Ourselves” is in frequent rotation on our long drives across the country. When we heard that John was suffering with COVID-19, we wanted to add to the chorus of those wishing him well. So Melanie pointed a camera at me, and I did my best with “Angel From Montgomery.” Molly Bauckham generously contributed a harmony.  Molly Bauckham is a wondrous singer/harpist in Seattle, and our dear friend. Please check out her YouTube Channel including covers of our songs “Someday (We Shall Overcome)” and “Hope, Struggle and Change.”  In 1983 KFAT morphed into KPIG Radio, and our beloved friend Sleepy John Sandidge has deejayed there since. A couple years ago, Sandidge was putting together a benefit concert for a Santa Cruz musician who’d lost everything in a fire - an evening of John Prine songs, performed by a number of other local singers and songwriters. Just before the event, he got a call from John Prine’s wife and manager, Fiona. “John hears you want to use his material,” she said. Sandidge was sure a request for royalties was about to follow ... “Well,” said Fiona, “John is going to match what you make dollar for dollar.” If you haven’t heard John Prine’s songs, DO Google them. When you’ve finished listening, you’ll know more about America. Hot dog bun, my sister’s a nun. -- RZ
Did you see Laura Ingraham drinking through a straw from a light bulb-stuffed steak? Did you watch Kirstjen Nielsen calmly surveying the gulag she helped create at the Southern border? Did you hear Trump’s spiritual advisor Paula White speaking in tongues? Did you face-palm hard enough to get a concussion? I wrote a song called “My Conservative Girlfriend” a couple decades ago, and over the years have dedicated it to Ingraham, Nielsen, White as well as Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Ann Coulter, Kellyanne Conway ... But my favorite conservative girlfriend of all time has to be internet sensation Mrs. Betty Bowers, America’s Best Christian, a wickedly satirical character written by Andrew Bradley and played ferociously by Deven Green. Deven is also a hilarious comic chanteuse. I got to share the stage with her and her partner Ned Douglas at my recent show at McCabe’s in Santa Monica. Deven and Ned agreed to help me serenade “My Conservative Girlfriend.” Here are the results ...  I wrote "My Conservative Girlfriend" in 1995 for The Foremen with Arianna Huffington in mind. (This was pre-Huffington Post when Arianna was a leading conservative voice.) The song features a line I considered absurd at the time. It’s the lyric I'm least happy to have been prescient about ... She's got the Supreme Court tattooed on her rump Beside an autographed portrait of Donald Trump During the Bush and Obama presidencies, I changed that line to “Donald Rumsfeld.” Now, alas, the song has come full circle.
 And the Girls Choir of Wilmington, NC have done an amazingly compelling video too. As arranged by Steve Errante and conducted by Sandy Errante, the Girls Choir changed the point of view of the song; they’re singing from the kids’ point of view. “WE too young to say impossible…” 
-- Roy and Melanie
Woody Guthrie wrote on his guitar: This Machine Kills Fascists  Pete Seeger adapted that for his banjo: This Machine Surrounds Hate and Forces It To Surrender  Our banjo says: This Machine Drives Neocon, Homophobic, War-Mongering, Corporatist, Anti-Intellectual, Polluting, Imperialist, Crypto-Fascist, Hate-Speak, Faux-Populist, Theocratic, Chickenhawk Privateers from the Room.  Welcome to our blog! We'll take you into the inner workings of this machine we call our Satire Delivery Service. Come with us backstage, down the back roads, and into the backstories of our songs, our travels, our inspirations, our interactions with you.
Love and Looking forward, Roy and Melanie |
