Sunday, September 14, 2008

Band On The Run: Right Behind Ike


Norman Oklahoma: We just woke up after playing The Opolis with Matt Bauer and Sheree Chamberlain, dehydrated and on the humid floor of a mister Tate James. He responded to our over the mic request by Jay asking for a place to crash that night. We are always surprised and grateful by the amount of people that help us out on the road.

Campus TV: Joe is 72 yrs old. He's run this small shop in the college district of Norman since starting the shop back in 1960 (also the year that Roy Orbison's "Only the Lonely" came out)

Jer was dodging the sticky rain and slid into a shop filled with a key coping machine, an outdated dust-collected array of musical accessories, plus a white-haired Joe (the saggy grand-father type, who muttered in a slow, low southern accent), and Jack, his fat black cat sprawled across the floor like a wicker welcome mat.

The prices on cables, guitar strings and harmonicas have raised in the last few years but Joe didn't bother with changing the signs. Maraca's, shakers, tambourines, blocks, triangles and other but more random percussion instruments were hung from the ceiling while pulled apart mechanical machines were scattered on the ground. The walls were wallpapered with guitar cables, slides, stands, and guitar strings.

Our receipt read as follows.

lee oscar harmonica holder $19.95
tension rods (snare drum) $4.30
2 curly chords $7.95
4 gold Hohner harmonica necklaces each $2.53
Marine band F harp $25.95
Marine Band C harp $25.95
six keys copied (3 for van, 3 for trailer) $9.75

The keys were ground out by hand on a machine that looked like it was purchased the year the shop opened.
I think we gave Campus TV a good day. Although we never saw one TV at all.

(Band of Annuals. Stay tuned. We'll be blogging for the next seven weeks)

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