1/26/2012
Hardchargers,
Things are crazy right now. Playing gigs in Texas, flying back & forth to LA to work on post for our film Zombex, and heading into the studio on Sunday to start work on the new Kinky Friedman record. Lots of time management taking place. Can't really get into it this week, but will update y'all next week.
We're playing two shows this week: THURS. NIGHT @ THE BROKEN SPOKE in AUSTIN, TX, 9-12. Somehow I've managed to hang onto this gig in the midst of a lot of craziness. Just for example, imagine this scenario...I'm sitting in Burbank working on the edit for Zombex and I tell a room full of movie folks, "well, I'm flying home to Austin for the night to play this honky tonk called The Broken Spoke. Be back in the morning." Needless to say, they don't "get it," but who cares? One thing I've learned is the money and the career comes and goes. Life is all about the hang, and I love playing the Spoke and checking in with my friends there.
SAT. NIGHT we play at THE KESSLER THEATER in DALLAS, TEXAS @ 9:00 sharp. I hear this is one of the nicest listening rooms in all of Texas. I'm playing on a three band show and I'm in the middle, so I will go on at exactly 9:00 pm. Seems like we're moving up to playing more theaters and halls lately so if you're in N. Texas, come out and support us on this one. I'll be playing all my tunes and throwing in a few obscure originals.
ok amigos, here we go again!
onward,
P.S. Congrats to my friend Lew Temple, who just got a part in the new Lone Ranger movie with Johnny Depp...not bad, huh?
1/17/2012
Our first headlining gig at Gruene Hall was packed last Sat. night. Thanks to everyone who came out from all over the state of Texas to support us. I saw people from Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Corpus, hell one couple came from El Paso, (that's a little shy of 12 hrs. away!). We hope y'all dug it as much as we did. We played everything from "Wayward Soul" to "Dick Soup"...living the dream!
Also, big thanks to the Allen Oldies Band, Mike Stinson (who played drums), and David Bebee who played farfisa organ (ala 96 Tears!), and backed me up earlier at the Benefit for Houston Press writer Chris Gray ealier in the day. I had to go on early because I had to get back for the show at Gruene Hall, so I was suprised at 2pm what a great crowd we had for my ALL DOUG SAHM SONGS set!
Ok, back to reality...working on Zombex with our editor, our visual FX guy, our color correction guy, and our composer whose helping me with the music. I've surrounded myself with some hotshot folks on this film and it's really starting to show in the edit. So excited about this film I can't sleep (ok, yea, I can sleep...but ya get my drift?), and it should be locked pretty soon. I gotta get back on it.
GIGS THIS WEEK: this THURS. NIGHT we play the BROKEN SPOKE, 9-12 in AUSTIN,TX where the crowds just never cease to amaze us.
FRI. NIGHT we play a show at the SONS OF HERMAN HALL in DALLAS,TX in the DEEP ELLUM area, 10 - 12.
SAT. NIGHT I play one of my favorite places on the planet...WRECKS BELLS' OLD QUARTER CAFE on GALVESTON ISLAND 9-11. Me and Wrecks have a lot of history together, and he always inspires to me play things at this show that I NEVER play anywhere else. Our last OL' QUARTER gig was on fire. Lots of sing-a-longs happening.
ok, I'm off....see y'all on the road!
1/11/2012
Tonight I'll be the guest on legendary country outlaw Ray Wylie Hubbard's radio show, "Roots and Branches." Go to KNBT 90.1 FM to listen online. I go on at 7:50 pm Central Time. We'll be talking about my music and film stuff along with promoting my show for this weekend at Gruene Hall.
Things are moving fast right now. I'm looking for a break in the schedule sometime in February when I can get away and just relax. But right now we're at the tail end of post-production on my film "Zombex" (starring Malcolm McDowell, Sid Haig & my old friend Lew Temple), which is looking amazing. I've surrounded myself with extremely talented people on this film (most of which I couldn't afford, but who came on because they liked the script and had worked with myself or one of the other producers before), who have all been major collaborators. Again, it's by far the hardest thing I've ever done, but it's also the most humbling. The old T-shirt Willie used to wear comes to mind, "we are not in control!"
CALLING ALL HARDCHARGERS....IMPORTANT SHOW: This SAT. NIGHT, JAN. 14TH @ 10:30 to 12:00. I will be headlining the legendary Texas music venue GRUENE HALL in GRUENE TEXAS. Brian Keane opens at 8:30. This gig is about as important as it gets for a Texas musician. And this week, between the radio interviews and the film stuff, our band will be rehearsing to do songs from ALL of my solo records. Expect nothing less than the greatest show I've ever put on. Some special guest will be there as well. You'll be surprised for sure.
Ok, there ya have it. Make the road trip to Gruene Hall and hang with us after the show as well!
brang it,
1/5/2011
Just got back from a working holiday in LA. Brought my family out there while I was editing my film Zombex. We stayed on the beach in my producer's swank digs and got some nice time in together and I got exactly one hour and 5 min. into our hour and 30 minute film. It looks fantastic and I'm learning a lot working with Ed Marx, our rock star editor, whose taking the film to levels unknown!
This new year is already starting to crank up like never before. On SAT. NIGHT, JAN. 14TH, I'll be HEADLINING (that's right ya'll, not a Sunday gig in the corner, HEADLINING!) at the most legendary hall in the state of Texas, GRUENE HALL. This is a big opportunity for me and the band. WE NEED EVERYONE OF Y'ALL TO COME OUT FOR THIS (regular performers at Gruene Hall include Willie Nelson, Lucinda Williams, Lyle Lovett and the list goes on and on). So pleeeeease put it on your calendar for a road trip and start the new year off right. We'll be playing all originals goin' back as far as "Train of Dreams," to the new stuff on "One For The Dancehalls." If this show does well, we'll be in regular annual rotation at Gruene Hall, so bring every dang warm body you can think of.
THIS WEEK: THURS. NIGHT we play the BROKEN SPOKE, 9-12, in AUSTIN. By the way, we had a RECORD CROWD for our last gig of the year at the Spoke. I've never seen it that packed before and I flew home to Austin just for the day to play the show, and flew back to L.A. the next morning. Glad I did. Thank you Austin for letting us go out in 2011 with a bang.
FRI. NIGHT in HOUSTON, TX we play a FREE SHOW (NO COVER!) from 9:30-12:30 at the HOTEL SORELLA in the new City Centre area of Houston. This has been a great gig for us and for Houston hardchargers who get in for absolutely FREE. People in Houston ask me why I like playing this show. Well, it's because the people who run the Hotel Sorella treat us all like rock stars. Expect a big after party in the lounge.
NEXT TUESDAY, JAN. 10TH, I'll be on Ray Wylie Hubbard's radio show, "Roots & Branches," on KNBT at 7:50. We'll be playing tunes and talking about the various projects I've got goin' on. If you aren't in the New Braunfels area, you can listen online at KNBT Radio. Just click the "Listen Live" button.
Ok, gotta get back on it. 2012, I'm comin' to getcha!
onward mi amigos,
p.s. Here's a picture of me sitting in with the Joe Ely band the other night at music guru Jim Jard's private event. Ryan Bingham and Mike Stinson were also there in attendance. Jim has a special knack for getting all kinds of people together who would normally never see each other. Every generation thinks to themselves "if I only lived back in the days of so and so when everything was perfect." Well folks, things were never "perfect," and Jim reminds us that the most important times are NOW.
11/30/2011
On my way to do an interview with the Austin Chronicle. Then working on "Zombex" edits the rest of the day.
Last weekend we played a show in Houston and I pulled out quite a few old Road Kings songs during the show. I gotta say, it felt great. Out of some allegiance to the band, I've always been protective of NOT playing those songs with the solo band, but with the final nail banged into the coffin of the Kings (knowing we'll probably never get back together...I know, "never say never") I said F it. Besides, I wrote all those songs by myself (lyrics & melody) sitting around with my beat up Silvertone acoustic guitar in a little garage apt. in the Montrose in Houston back in the day. Then showed them to Jason & Eric at sound check where we would slog our way through them 'til they eventually became halfway tight. (it took an act of God to get us into a rehearsal room) But playing those songs did bring me back to why I got into playing music in the first place and also reminded me that shredding on my guitar (while it might turn off those asexual indie shoe gazer types, and some haters who use "taste" as an excuse for playing boring parts) truly, truly makes me happy! Anyway, I've got a whole arsenal of these songs laying around (years & years of ditties) so it looks like I'll be releasing a trio, guitar-based, record next year to get them out of my notebook and into some stereos.
GIGS THIS WEEK: After taking last week off for Thanksgiving, this THURSDAY we return to the BROKEN SPOKE, 9-12 in AUSTIN, TX.
FRIDAY, I play an acoustic show with Rick Watson on upright (the same show we do in Galveston at the Old Quarter) in CONROE, TX, 8-11 at the CORNER PUB, where lots of great song writers have been turning up and playing.
Ok, gotta get back to editing Zombex. Someone's dying a horrible death by the mashing of zombie teeth. Please bring your inner kid if you see this movie. It's not for grown ups who've lost touch with that...nom, nom, nom.
I've been in a dark editing room in Burbank for five straight days, so I'm ready to get back to Texas and shred on my guitar. Expect to hear Road Kings, Captain Clegg, Banjo & Sullivan, and solo tunes. Cars & guitars....is there anything else??
11/2/2011
Just got back into Austin from spending Halloween in New Orleans where we stayed in the French Quarter. Making a feature film requires dealing with "grown-ups" and basically being responsible in a way that I've not had to before. While I've enjoyed the change, I needed to go to Nawlins (the coolest spot in the world for Halloween) and blow it out a little...ok, alot. lol
The press this past week on my film Zombex has been really cool. Check it out here.
Anywanker, to say that I'm a little burned out is an understatement, so this newsletter is gonna be a short one.
THIS WEEK: we play THE BROKEN SPOKE in AUSTIN TX. 9-12 on THURS. NIGHT. This gig has been pretty amazing lately. And yes, I've gotta drop a few names (only the haters will tell me to "pick up that name you just dropped." But hey? Go with the ones who love ya, right? Remember, those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter. Advice via my Grandma!). Cuz it was too cool...in the last three weeks we've had actor Vince Vaughn, director Quentin Tarantino, and the Golden God himself, Robert Plant (singer for Led Zeppelin) all come out to our Broken Spoke show in Austin. Crazy, huh?
FRI. NIGHT in HOUSTON, TX we play a FREE SHOW (that's right, no cover to get in!) at THE HOTEL SORELLA n the new CITY CENTER AREA where we play 10-12:30, AND where we somehow always end up hanging out 'til closing time since the bar stays open to 2 am.
SAT. NIGHT we are in GRUENE,TX at TAVERN IN THE GRUENE, at 9:00. This show will be the JD Trio, so expect a heavy dose of guitar shredding!
OK, that's it ya'll...gotta crash!
p.s. check out this picture of myself, actor John Gries (aka Uncle Rico from "Napoleon Dynamite") on harmonica, and Academy Award winning songwriter Ryan Bingham, from last week!
10/11/2011
Just got out of a screening of the movie I did last summer called "The Sinner." We're in talks about developing the film into a TV show. Fingers crossed!
The last week has been great for "Zombex." Our editor is really making serious headway. The film thing takes a lot longer than music (unless you're Brian Wilson!) and I've never been big on patience, so taking deeeep breathes and not being too reactive, is my latest life lesson.
The soundtrack has kept me from going nuts, and I can't wait for people to hear the new Capt. Clegg & the Night Creatures record. It's different than anything I've done. It sounds like a cross between Ennio Morricone (composer for "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly"...all those Clint Eastwood spaghetti western movies) and Joe Strummer meets Buddy Holly. This music makes me feel like a kid and that's where it all started for me. I'm done making "grown-up" records for awhile. Cranking up my hollow body through a 50 watt Marshall has been a BLAST, and has reminded me why I started doing all this in the first place.
This week we dance with the one who brought us...LIVE MUSIC SHOWS.
This THURS. we play THE BROKEN SPOKE, 9-12. This gig won't last forever, so I'm enjoying it while I can. Last week was a great crowd.
FRI. we play our fav up in N. TEXAS at LOVE & WAR in PLANO TX, where the Hardchargers have NO fear of jumping up on their tables and dancing a jig to "I'm At Home Gettin' Hammered, While She's Out Gettin' Nailed."
SAT. we play on the coast at THE BACKPORCH BAR in PORT ARANSAS from 8-12. "It's a drinking island with a fishing problem" is what my buddy says about it, and we love being down there. If you're in Corpus Christi brang it. Hell, make a road trip. We'll be spending the night for sure.
Last but not least, here's an interview with me and my girl that we did for a magazine in Austin, Austin Fusion ...ch-ch-check it out!
9/27/2011
Just got out of the studio playing guitar on one song, and singing on a couple of others, with producer RS Fields & Mike Stinson. Mike is recording his new record here in Austin at Red Horse Studios and I gotta say, it's every bit as cool, if not cooler, than the one we did together. Can't wait for everyone to hear it.
In the meantime, my all encompassing directorial film debut is taking every second of my time from when I get up to when I go to bed. This is by far the hardest thing I've ever done. It's a HUGE juggling act that never ends. Well, it will soon, but for right now it's multi-tasking to the inth degree! Working on scoring the film right now. Trying to keep it fresh. One day we're working on Kyoto drums, and the next we're doing a loop featuring hip-hop star Fat Tony from Houston. It's a trip, but it is looking great and can't wait for everyone to see it. The sound track for Zombex will also feature a new Capt. Clegg & the Night Creatures record as well.
After the film is done, I'll be heading back out on tour. But for now, I'll be in Austin slaving over the film like it's a life or death situation. This week we play 2 shows in Austin.
THURS. NIGHT we play the BROKEN SPOKE, 9-12. One of the last great honky tonks in the state of Texas.
SAT. NIGHT we play UNCLE BILLY'S on the lake, right next door to the OASIS, 9-11.
Ok, that's all for now. Be good to yourself!
7/29/2011
A friend just reminded me that it's George Jones' birthday today (from my hometown of Beaumont, TX) With my all time fave singer goin' on my stereo in the background of my garage while I write this, thinkin' about what's ahead for the next few weeks...
Deep in the middle of post production on "Zombex." Editing is going great, but it's a details gig for sure. Time consuming, but incredible working with editor Ed Marx. Next we cut the Capt. Clegg soundtrack for the film. Which means we're around Texas at home working in the studio, or in post for the film, which means....
We're gonna play the BROKEN SPOKE in AUSTIN, TX this THURS. NIGHT 9-12. So if you're looking for the premier Texas dance hall experience, brang it.
SAT.NIGHT we're sliding over to HOUSTON, TX to play the ARMADILLO PALACE on KIRBY DRIVE, (next to Goode Company BBQ) from 10-12. Owned and operated by our friends/restaurantuers Jim & Levi Goode, who have this written in HUGE letters on the sign of their Goode Co. BBQ place, "You might give some serious thought to thankin' your lucky stars that you're in Texas." Houston is the most under-rated city in America. Being 3rd or 4th largest, it's got it all. Great pro-sport venues (my poor Astros!) Easily more diverse restaurant scene than Dallas or Austin (one of my favorite places to eat is Tony's Gulf Coast Kitchen, and the Mexican family places in the Montrose are killer) Great pub scene, great live music venues. Wrote my first two records in an old house in the Montrose, so I always dig going back to H-town and playing those very same tunes .
OK, my black labs have just come into the garage with that "you are taking us for a walk, right?" look...hasta luego amigos!
JD
8/9/2011
On the 8th day of a 10 day fast. Why the hell would a guy from Beaumont, TX who grew up on BBQ, Cajun & Mexican cuisine ever wanna do this? After directing "Zombex," I pretty much collapsed and crashed for 2 days straight. The shooting schedule was brutal. If the cast got there at 7:30 am, then the crew got there at 6:30 am, which meant the director and producers got there at 5:30 am, and then the shoots would last forever. Which means, when you're sleeping 4 to 5 hrs. a night for over a month straight your work-out schedule and diet pretty much go to shit. Anyhooch, 2 more days and I'm back at the gym and coming out of this like a lean mean rockabilly machine. Which means this week I'm gonna be brangin' it hard onstage with the band.
WED. NIGHT I'm in GRAPEVINE, TX. with my friends from the band, 1100 SPRINGS, doin' a live acoustic set on KHYI FM radio for the COUNTRY JAM RADIO SHOW where myself and Matt Hillyer will be swapping songs, stories and promoting our big gig in Dallas this Fri. night. Come by and be on the radio with us, it's free!.
THURS. NIGHT we play the BROKEN SPOKE in AUSTIN, TX where the crowd was killer last week. This gig never ceases to amaze me how many out-of-towners it brings. If you wanna dance to country music in a real honky tonk in Austin on Thurs. night, go to the Spoke...est. 1964.
FRI. NIGHT we're playing the nicest live music venue in DALLAS, TX, GRANADA THEATER, on a co-bill with 1100 SPRINGS. Tickets are selling very well on this show and it's a big step up for us to co-headline such a big venue. We'll be playing all JD MUSIC exclusively (except for "Just What I Needed" and "Loretta" which, let's face it, have been completely revamped into our versions) and will be throwing down harder than ever before. DON'T MISS THIS.
SAT. NIGHT I'm playing an acoustic show at the CORNER PUB in CONROE, TX. from 9-12. Lots' of really great songwriters have been playing this show, so I'm looking forward to it and since it's really the only one I've done acoustic besides the Ol Quarter in Galveston.
ok, that's it....let's do this!
Laissez les bons temps rouler!
Just spent the last two days filming pick up shots for the "Zombex" movie. We just cranked our final edit up to levels unknown with this new footage we have. We had Hawgfly Special EFX make up dept. (they did Machete, True Grit and we're just nominated for an Emmy for the HBO movie Temple Grandin) sending zombies all over the East side of Austin and yes, we did get stopped by the cops who wanted to know why we had so many blood stains on an old pick up truck we were using as a prop. Luckily, Austin has become a film mecca so we didn't get arrested while they tested to see if the "blood" was real. We just hired on legendary Hollywood horror movie editor, Ed Marx, to finish the film while I'm scoring the soundtrack. This is gonna be good amigos!
The play I did in Houston called "Becoming Kinky: the world according to Kinky Friedman," where I play the Kinkster himself, will be hosting a one night only show in Marfa TX, on Sept. 3rd during the Marfa Lights Festival. An off-Broadway venue in NYC is being sought out for the play and I've almost finalized a deal on doin' a whole record of Kinky songs to be recorded and released soon.
Ok, back to the gigs...this week we play THE BROKEN SPOKE on THURS. from 9-12. The place where Willie Nelson played a weekly gig after leaving Nashville, the place where Ernest Tubb played regularly until he died, the place where Johnny Paycheck was busted for holding Merle Haggards stash cuz Johnny knew Merle couldn't do the time, the place where Willie played a private show just two months ago on a Monday night with Asleep At The Wheel for a wealthy couple who had their 50th wedding anniversary. It's by far the most legendary honky tonk in the whole state of Texas and I'm not goin' to be playing there forever. Come see me while you can.
FRI. NIGHT we play a double-bill with the Stone River Boys at one of the best live music venues in North Texas, DANS SILVER LEAF in DENTON TX. They go on at 9:30...we go on 11:00...our last show here was great.
ok, back to work on the film. Brang it like you ain't never brought it before son!
7/22/2011
SATURDAY NIGHT (7/23)...AUSTIN, TX...UNCLE BILLY'S ON THE LAKE...9:00...BRANG IT!!
I'm stayin' very busy with "Zombex", so I'm sending out a condensed version of the newsletter. Just want to make sure ya'll know about a show we are doing tomorrow night. Uncle Billy's is a cool place out on Lake Travis, with a great view, and some killer home brew. It's a FREE show, and we'll be passing the donation jar around for my friend Chadd Thomas who passed away and has a little girl he left behind. See ya there!!
-JD
6/29/2011
Doin' pick up shots and working on edits for my film "Zombex" in Austin. The film is looking kick ass mi amigos. Malcolm McDowell, Sid Haig, Lew Temple, David Christopher, Corey Feldman, Emily Kaye, Kinky Friedman, Pierre Kennel, Desiree McKinney, John Doe of X and Tom Araya of Slayer, all star in the film. They did more with the script on screen than I could've ever asked for. That being said, we're taking our time in post and letting the film have a life before we release it on the world. To be honest, I've been too busy to really soak all this in. Just tryin' to get my footage and sound design placed, and stay focused on making a great film with my post crew, has been all encompassing. The work is hard but incredibly rewarding.
This week I go back to doin' what started all of this. Check this crazy schedule out:
WED. NIGHT in SPRING, TX at PUFFABELLY'S. I play an acoustic show with my friend/songwriter Davin James from 7:30-10.
THURS. NIGHT we play the BROKEN SPOKE in AUSTIN from 9-12, for one of the only real honky tonk shows left in Texas.
FRI. we fly to PARIS, FRANCE.
SAT. we play EURO-DISNEY at the new BILLY BOB'S.
SUN. we play the BERCK COUNTRY/ROCK FEST in BERCK, FRANCE.
MON. we play CAFE TIELEMANS in BOEKEL, HOLLAND.
WED. we play CAFE DEN BROMFIETS in BONHAIDEN, BELGIUM.
THURS. we play BLUESIANNA in VELDEN, AUSTRIA.
SATURDDAY we play the WESTERN SPIRIT FESTIVAL in BUJALEUF, FRANCE.
Ok, I gotta jump. Early morning tomorrow. Big love to all y'all and remember, work hard/play hard and try to enjoy yourself!
p.s. I'm still reeling over the 3 hr. and 41 min. set we played in Luckenbach, TX for the Waylon Birthday Party. I've told the powers-that-be to book me and the band back there, and often. It's one of the most legendary spots to play my kind of music in the whole dang state of Texas, besides the Broken Spoke. Look for us back in Luckenbach for a road trip. We had so many bikers there I felt like David Allen Coe and ZZ Top we're doin' a double bill with us...then I woke up. ha ha
6/1/2011
We finally wrapped my film and last night I slept for a looong time for the first time in 20 days. We start post production editing this weekend. I'm too fried to even write this. Goin' to lay around the house with my black labs and catch up on some rest til we play this weekend.
THURS. we play the BROKEN SPOKE in AUSTIN.
FRI. we return to N. TEXAS and play one of our fav shows at HANKS in MCKINNEY TX.
Me and the band are ready to get back on stage and brang it big time! Hope to see y'all out!
4/20/2011
I've been directing a horror movie for a script that I wrote, called "Zombex," in E. Texas and New Orleans and we just got back to Austin to shoot 10 more days here. To say it's a lot of work would be an understatement. Directing a feature film is a "sleep when you're dead" kind of gig. The director is always the first person to get there and the last person to leave. Most of our call times have been 5:30 or 6:30 am. Not exactly my normal musician hours! LOL The cast for the film is pretty amazing; Malcolm McDowell, Sid Haig, Lew Temple, David Christopher, Corey Feldman, Emily Kaye, John Doe (from the iconic punk band X), Desiree McKinny, Kinky Friedman and Tom Araya (of one of the biggest heavy metal bands in the world, Slayer!) Most of these actors have already filmed their prospective scenes, but we still have ten more days of shooting in and around Austin with most of the core cast and John Doe. If you'd like to be an extra in the movie, email the producers at zombexextras@gmail.com The film has an amazing crew of over 40 people who have all been great to work with, and have taken excellent care of me. The press on "Zombex" is already taking off. Google it. There's pages and pages of it and we're not even done shooting. We sent a teaser-trailer to Cannes Film Festival where Malcolm McDowell was given an award this year, and the over-seas response has been great. Anywanker, if you like horror films then you'll probably love this one. If you don't, well, you still might love it. It's an hour and twenty minutes of fast paced zombie action with lots of cliched-breaking scenes. And of course, some of the coolest music around from some of the most legendary musicians on the planet. No, I'm not doing ALL the music. For the New Orleans scenes, I wanted to get some real stuff. Boozoo Chavis, The Meters, Fats Domino...you get the point.
Ok, all this being said I've still got music to play!
THURS. I play the BROKEN SPOKE in AUSTIN for the first time in 3 weeks. I've missed it.
SAT. we play 2 shows. First one is at the CRAWFISH FESTIVAL in SPRING TX. at 2:00 pm Sat. afternoon. This festival has really turned into a big one. Lots of transplanted Cajuns from all over show up for this one and face it, I'm a Beaumont TX. boy, so I'll probably be the only white boy there that breaks down into some real Cajun classics in the middle of whatever I'm doin..."Kissing Abilene" or "Ain't Grace Amazing" or whatever it is....ahhhyiiieee!.
Later that night is the real deal though. On GALVESTON ISLAND at the OLD QUARTER myself, MIKE STINSON and BRENNEN LEIGH will all three be playing a show together onstage at the same time from 9-11. Call now to get your tickets cuz this show is gonna be over the top packed cuz getting myself, Stinson and Brennen (the hillbilly princess) all together on the same stage is damn-near impossible.
So...BRAAAANG IT!!!
sleep when you're dead,
People have been asking me left & right, how is it playing Kinky Friedman on stage? Damn, that's a loaded question! How is it playing a guy who had to have a police escort in New York to escape radical feminist after playing "Get Your Bisquits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed?" How is it playing a guy whose best buddies are Bob Dylan, Tom Waits and Willie Nelson, and has written thirty-one books with six of them being NY Times Bestsellers? How is it playing a guy who was once introduced as "ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the first full blooded Jew to ever appear on the stage of the Grand Ol' Opry?" One word comes to mind: HEAVEN! I've always been attracted to irreverent characters. Hell, if I would've been the "boy next door" like 90% of the cheese balls on Nashville owned and operated country radio stations, well, I'd probably be a lot richer...err, and a lot more unhappy as well. When I first read the script I was laughing my ass off uncontrollably. When an actor gets to say lines like "I smoke twelve cigars a day, I don't inhale, I just blow smoke at vegetarians, small children and anyone who happens to be jogging by." I mean, c'mon, our vanilla safe corporate politically-correct world could use a big dose of that these days! Sure, there's some hardcore lines like "I have a big penis like Ernest Hemingway, not a small penis like F. Scott Fitzgerald, now I don't know weather to drink myself to death or blow my fuckin' brains out?" (which always gets a huge laugh) But there's also some stuff in this play that will reeeeally pull at your heart strings like "the main health problem in the world today is people who don't love themselves." Or, "money can buy a fine dog, but only love can make him wag his tail." Or, "the important things in life are not things." After spending a good amount of time with Kinky, researching the role, I've come to realize that beneath all the craziness there's a lot of soul and sincerity that if you're listening closely enough to him, manifest itself in every song, every book, every political speech that he does. I called him yesterday to discuss a record of all Kinky songs we're going to do, and he was at Billy Bob Thornton's house co-authoring a book with Billy Bob in LA. He said, "JD, I can't wait to get this play OUT of Texas." Which means when we take it to New York City, it will be a whole other ball of wax. Doing theater in NYC is something I've never thought about, but I will tell ya...it's a hell of a intimidating thought. You know, "if I can make it here, I can make it anywhere..." and all that stuff!
Anywanker, we're doing four more shows in HOUSTON at the MUCKY DUCK (THURS.-SUN, April 28, 29, 30, 31) at the end of this month before we head out for the rest of the world. Since we got the ticket prices lowered (they we're $100 and it still sold out!) to $35 bucks, and it's on a weekend, I'd say if you're in Texas you should make a road trip. The NY Times has already been talking it up and well, what a lot of people don't know is that Houston is one of the great theater towns of America, where lots and lots of plays get their footing BEFORE they take it to NY.
This week I play my last show at the BROKEN SPOKE on THURS., from 9-12, before I take off three weeks to shoot this film in New Orleans, E. Texas and Austin.
SAT. I play a PRIVATE show at STUBBS in Austin.
Contact McGonigels Mucky Duck (www.mcgonigels.com or 713-320-3098) for tickets and advanced seating to see the play, "Becoming Kinky"...onward!
brang it son,