yankee

we're gonna miss ya there kid. yikes, gotta practice some tunes now. anyway, i like to sing forget the flowers. works for a female voice better than lots of wilco tunes.

So everyone, if you were to sing a Wilco song at live band Karaoke, what would you pick?

the late greats are excited and ready to rock. bring it on karaoke stars! anyone up for a 13 minute karaoke version of spiders?

I've got the same problem. Gotta wait until Monday to sign up . . . according to the OTS website, there are 9 spots left.

Well, if you'd sign up for the Wilco ensemble for next session, I bet Bob would get is song-figurin' out ninja skills working for you. Come on man, you know you want to sign up! Bob's got this song totally figured out and we are ready to rock it at the Sky Blue Sky record release party at the Hideout. Now all we need is groo.

I have to admit, I actually played with Jeff at a living room show before I ever saw a Wilco show. I'd been listening to all the albums for a while and I had seen Jeff solo, Golden Smog, two Autumn Defense shows, and a Glenn and Nels show. I'd even performed Wilco stuff with a group of musician friends before I ever saw a Wilco show. Yeah, I know, pretty weird. Anyway, I finally made it to a show in November of last year. I saw them in Madison, WI and then at the Auditorium theatre in Chicago. The auditorium show was cool, but I liked the more intimate space in Madison better. In Mads

It's gonna be fun! The new material is really coming along and we've got a good list of older stuff for the karaoke fans to pick from. Should be a great time. See ya thursday someareteeth!

I think it's drunks too. And I also think of the drunks at Ricochet on Lincoln Ave when I hear that lyric!!

yeah, 19 is jeff playing a strat that belongs to a member of our group (t.t.). he said that jeff lifted the curse on that strat, since that night was the first time he'd had a good performance with it. 28 is bob (leader of the wilco ensemble) and jeff discussing guitars. bob's inspecting jeff's beat-up looking guitar. the guitar that bob brought was also a very worn looking. those guys talked a lot that night about gear and guitar playing.

he he. that's me on piano. DB got some amazing shots too. http://photo.bluest1.com/febshow/

That's the great thing about the Old Town School. Anyone at any age can get in on making music, and once you get to a certain level on your instrument, you can jump into one of these ensemble groups and learn to play as a band. Check it: www.oldtownschool.org By the way, Late Greats (aka the Wilco Ensemble) is going to play this Friday night. Here's the info: Friday, March 2, 7 p.m. 909 West Armitage, Chicago (Old Town School of Folk Music's Old Town location) BYOB We're going to play the entire Ghost is Born album. We're mixing it up this time with new bass players (who usually play

Yeah, we talked more about music in general, how to play various things, alternate ways of playing stuff, and different arrangements of songs. For Company in my Back, Aimee used castanets to create the clickitty clack sound you here at the beginning of the tune. Jeff was skeptical about it when he first saw them come out (as in jokingly saying "castanets? I think you might be taking some liberties with my arrangement here.") Then after we played he said it was perfect and described the unique "Glenn-vention" that Glenn uses to get a similar sound for that song. (Very clever AT.) It sound

yeah, we were all joking around at that point. before posing for this one, jeff said, hey, how about if i look at you adoringly? (i think he might be trying to make the kid's girlfriend jealous. )

here are the ones from my camera. http://sfolk.smugmug.com/gallery/2515098#132085535 i'm sure there are more out there.

i thought it was hilarious that dave pitched in with legal advice about disclosure of intellectual property and jeff said, that's ok is should be public domain, but you can be my lawyer, right? in any case, i think the wii story came up as the sleets (the band formerly known as the barnyard pimps) were setting up. it made me think, wow, jeff really fits in with our band. this is exactly the kind of thing we talk about when we get together to rehearse. the guys were definitely excited about screaming the last lyrics of kicking television along with jeff. anyway, the entire night

yes, we are planning to play lets' not get carried away with him so we'll definitely ask about that one! it sounded great in our runthrough last night. let's just hope we don't get carried away with stage fright this evening!

I couldn't agree more. Is is time yet? Is it time yet? Yikes, it's to practice some songs one last time. Looking at the photos from last year and getting really excited.

something like that. we are indeed part of a giant wilco tribute band. we certainly would invite jeff to hang out with us any time, but he's a busy guy. this gathering actually came out of a charity auction. basically, jeff participated in a charity auction and the prize was a private living room concert for 30 people. he agreed to do three living room shows this year, and each group that won is pitching in a bunch of money for a nonprofit that helps kids in need. thanks to a generous benefactor (our host for the event) our group won one of the shows. when jeff found out that we a

the thing with jeff you mean? it's going down at a secret suburban hideout with plenty of bathrooms. aka the home of a member of our giant-wilco-tribute band, the late greats. can't say any more than that, but i can say that we are also playing at the old town school of folk music's 909 W Amitage location in Chicago on Friday, Feb. 2. sorry, that one's just us, without jeff (although we will invite him).

great review, thanks. I've been playing piano on this stuff lately and working from lyrics sheets with just guitar tabs and chords leaves me to fill in the blanks. I'll be curious to see whether this book has really captured the piano parts I'm hearing on the recordings and live performances. Seems like these books usually come out of some sort of music publishing house and not directly from the musicians themselves, who generally can't be bothered. The publishing houses tend to created simplified versions that are good enough for beginners but aren't very satisfactory if you want to pl

Good question young grasshopper. I'm the one playing keys on Cars Can't Escape with you guys and Tweedy this weekend. YIKES! You gonna make friday night practice at the burrito palace penthouse? Time for one last run! indeed. Groo, you ready to rock this weekend?

ah, I see now that you already have it. worthwhile you think then?

I wonder whether they will be the chords the band plays or a simplified version making it easier for less advanced players. There are some crazy chords in some of those songs--not the standard stuff at all. Also wonder if there's anything in there that BG hasn't already notated and tabbed out for his class. Groo, if you get this, I'd love to take a look!

yep, those be the tabs-direct from the best wilco-song-figurin'-out-ninja i know. does sensei know you posted his tabs? he might just slap you in the throat. (just kiddin') then again, don't think he ever looks at via chicago, let alone posts a dang thing. to busy rockin'. correct me if you're out there BG. and JS, keep rockin' that green Gretch.

Very cool to see that some people played with Jeff. I'll be playing with him at one of these next week. I think nearly everyone at the next living room show will get up to play with him at some point. It's gonna rock. Glad to see that this show went well and it sounds like it was great fun. Now I'm getting excited about next week. Gotta practice some tunes!