J Chris Campbell » Music

They are all nude!

J Chris — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 13:44:35 +0000

My good friend Mike Gowan has put his skills to the challenge of remixing the Radiohead song nude. Are you a musical mixing madman? Well give it a shot, download the stems from itunes and upload your completed songs to www.radioheadremix.com.
Just a plane ole music fan? Well go check out all the mixes at www.radioheadremix.com there are already 700 entries as of April 7! Listen to the all and vote on your favorite. Ok, you don’t have to listen to them all. Just listen to my buddy Mike’s and vote for him.

Unusual Music CD

J Chris — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 12:35:29 +0000

Go grab a copy of Students of the Unusual Giant-sized Music Special #1. “The first comic to come with it’s own music cd.” The cd is loaded with tunes from winners of a music contest including Wappie Ashley Holt and features a cd design by me! The issue also contains the first issue where Brad McGinty takes over the art for “Recalcitrant Jones and the Dead Beats.”

Giant Invasion

J Chris — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 02:08:20 +0000

They Might Be Giants have been one of my favorite bands for a very long time. They are spectacular live and I’m thankful I’ve been able to see them perform several times. But I’ve missed them in recent years due to the travel time and mostly because I caught the old man doesn’t want to leave hometown for rock show illness. They always play 2 hours away from here. In every direction. That dang The Orange Peel in Ashville has been bringing them around for years.

So when my friend told me they were coming to a local club I knew he had made a mistake. And sure enough, there on the TMBG homepage October 30 – Greenville, North Carolina - The Handlebar. But there could not be a Handlebar in Greenville NC also, could there be? After checking our Handlebar’s website you can see that it’s just a silly typo, and they are coming to Greenville SC! Now I have no excuse not to go see them, and to get all my hometown buddies to join me.

Sure they’ll be playing mostly songs from the new album The Else, which is an amazing album if you include the songs on the extra CD. The extra cd is loaded with 23 tracks from their ultra cool podcast (since 2005). By itself it’s one of my least favorite albums. But if they play with just a dab of the energy I’ve experienced at previous shows then they will totally change my mind. Hopefully it’ll be an amazing show and I’ll never have to leave town again to see giants.

Just my M-A-C and me

J Chris — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 13:40:05 +0000

Press check! CMYK in da house.

Why not give a little love to Mr. W AL and his white and nerdy while you’re here.

How to be a rock star

J Chris — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 02:33:53 +0000

12 or so years ago I was the lead singer of the mega group LOWBOT. Enjoy the masterpiece that is The Coat hanger Song!

So back in the day me and my good pal Mike would spend time recording songs on a little four track tape recorder. Basically Mike would spend all the time, I’d just come in and try to sing or in this case make up stories to say over the music. Sometimes I would actually play music. Maybe I’ll share some of the stuff I did all on my own. Maybe I shouldn’t. I’m no James Kochalka that’s for sure.

Car Car

J Chris — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 04:21:29 +0000

My mom sang “going for a ride in the car car” all the time when we were little. I think my dad did also. The lyrics were pretty simple and I always thought she made it up.

Going for a ride in the car car.
Going for a ride in the car car.
Going for a ride in the car car.
Mama’s gonna take you for a ride.

I started singing it while driving around my son and nephews. Of course I changed it up a little and made it more interactive. Naming everyone in the car. Then we started naming things in the car along with feet, hair, fingers and shoes. Moving them about while we sang. It’s been a handy little sing along.

I felt like doing a little family portrait using it thinking it might be a pretty cool children’s book. So I decided to look it up on the ole interwebs to make sure it wasn’t a real song.

Not being a big Folk music guy I’ve never really listend to Woody Guthrie. The guy who sang This Land Is Your Land. It was his song called Riding In My Car. Really cool little song, a minute and a half long, here are the lyrics courtesy of www.woodyguthrie.org.

Riding In My Car

Brrrm brm brm brm brm brm brm, brrrm b’ brrrm,
Brrrm brm brm brm brm brm brrrm b’ brrrm,
Brrrm brm brm brm brm brm brrrm b’ brrrm.
Brrrm brm brm brm brm brm brrrm.

Take me riding in the car, car;
Take me riding in the car, car;
Take you riding in the car, car;
I’ll take you riding in my car.

Click clack, open up the door, girls;
Click clack, open up the door, boys;
Front door, back door, clickety clack,
Take you riding in my car.

Climb, climb, rattle on the front seat;
Spree I spraddle on the backseat;
Turn my key, step on my starter,
Take you riding in my car.

Engine it goes boom, boom;
Engine it goes boom, boom;
Front seat, backseat, boys and girls,
Take you riding in my car.

Trees and the houses walk along;
Trees and the houses walk along;
Truck and a car and a garbage can,
Take you riding in my car.

Ships and the little boats chug along;
Ships and the little boats chug along;
Boom buhbuh boom boom boom buh boom,
Take you riding in my car.

I’m a gonna send you home again;
I’m a gonna send you home again;
Boom, boom, buhbuh boom, rolling home,
Take you riding in my car.

I’m a gonna let You blow the horn;
I’m a gonna let you blow the horn;
A oorah, a oorah, a oogah, oogah,
I’ll take you riding in my car.

Then I remembered seeing a really great drawing of Woody by Josh Cotter. Click for larger version at his blog. Josh, you need to school me on this guy.