The Clintons

Show Notes: John spins the old demo of “Box Of Wine.”

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The Jim Beam Guitar Photo Contest was a HUGE success.  We wanted to build our fan base on Facebook as well as give away one of our Jim Beam acoustic guitars in a creative way that involved all of our fans whether they entered or not.  This contest had big entertainment value!  Before the contest was announced we had just under 2000 Facebook fans.  As of this writing we’re at 3270!

Thank you for taking part in the voting and thanks to all of the entries.

TOP ENTRIES:

OFFICIAL CONTEST PHOTO ALBUM: *VIEW*
TOTAL VOTES: 769
TOTAL ENTRIES: 34
AVG VOTES PER ENTRY:23
MOST VOTES: 136
LEAST VOTES: 1

WINNER!
RYAN ANDRIST: “I Just Can’t Quit You” 136  votes *VIEW*

OUTRAGEOUS AWARD:
DERWIN: “Clintons Tattoo” 73  votes *VIEW*

ARTISTIC INTERPRETATION & CREATIVE SET-UP AWARD:
STEVE GOFF: “Free Ride In A Cop Car”  56  votes *VIEW*
JIM MATULEVICH: “Senior Kegger” 49 votes *VIEW*

VOTER’S FAVE AWARD:
JAYME GREEN: “Pair of Clintons Fans” 63   votes *VIEW*

TAMMY QUITRELL: “Nipples” 60 votes *VIEW*

SEXXXY AWARD:
JONNA DENSON: “Two Chicks Makin’ Out and a Dude Motorboating”  23  votes *VIEW*

Thanks to all other entries!  You all did a great job;)

I have no clue if “Don’t Stop Believin” is the most requested Karoke song of all time, but it certainly is the most non-Clintons song requested at our shows.  It’s even more requested than “Free Bird,” “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” and “anything by Johnny Cash.”  Yes folks, it’s requested THAT much.  

I don’t know why either.  Anyone going to one of our shows knows that we aren’t a cover band.  Who pays 10 bucks at the door to see a band, only to walk up to them and ask for a song that was written, recorded and popular, long before they were even born?  Oh yeah, the guy that does that is the same guy who’s been drinking since he was eleven.  Shame on his parents.

I saw this awhile ago on my friend Scarlette’s blog.  I don’t know why, but I just figured I’d steal it for a post today.  

Don’t Stop Believin y’all.

I moved to Bozeman in the fall of 1998.  I was 21 years old and didn’t know a single soul.  I found an ad for an apartment on the corner of Babcock and 11th, and after a phone call and an interview with the land lord, I had moved in the same day I’d rolled into Bozeman.  Everything I owned fit into my car back then, so it was a quick and painless move.

That first night in my new basement apartment, I flipped on my boom box radio and surfed around the dial.  I found a station that I kind of liked at 95.1.  They called themselves, The Moose.  It struck me as weird that a radio station would name themselves after an ungulate (aka-hoofed animal) but hey, I was in a ski-bum/college town now, so I had to adjust.  (Little did I know I’d be in a band a year later that was named after a political family.  I digress…)

Needless to say, over the years I’ve fallen head over heals in love with The Moose.  They’ve introduced me to amazing bands/artists like Martin Sexton, The Pushstars, and The Young Dubliners.  They’d play songs by the “big names” of classic rock (like Neil Young, Bob Dylan, etc) but they always played songs that weren’t “radio hits.”  The Moose just marched to the beat of its own drummer.  I loved it.

I don’t know when, but at some point in time, Elle Fine started working on Sunday mornings for her show called, “Sunday Brunch.”  She features mostly acoustic tracks, and for the most part the songs she features are all really laid back, slow to mid-tempo tunes with lots of acoustic arrangements.  Her show really creates a very relaxed, “sipping on a cup of hot tea on a cool morning” type of vibe.  I love it.

Yesterday, as I was passing through Bozeman on my way home from our gig in Billings on Saturday night, I was able to listen to Sunday Brunch from Big Timber almost all the way to Townsend (approximately 2 hours of driving time) before I lost FM reception.  I wrote out a Twitter saying, “Listening to the Sunday ACOUSTIC BRUNCH on The Moose.  I wish we had The Moose in Helena.  Bozo, you’re lucky.”  

Every time I update my Twitter, it automatically updates the “status” part of my Facebook.  (This is true of all of the band guys too.)  It turns out Elle Fine was on Facebook at that moment and read my status update.  She didn’t know I was zipping through the Gallatin Valley at 75mph, but she knew I was listening.  Right after she’d played a killer cover tune by the band Barefoot, she said:

“I’d like to send a shout out to my friend John McLellan.  John, if you’re listening, I’ve been searching everywhere for an acoustic version of SECOND THAT EMOTION by Smokey Robinson.  If you’re feeling up for an adventure, I’d like to see if you could arrange that particular song for me.”  She then dedicated an acoustic version of Hey Ya by Obidaiah Parker to me.  I was getting off of I-90 to head north on hwy 287 (right there at the “Wheat Montana exit”) and about swerved off of the exit ramp. Her dedication made my day.

I’ve been listening to Second That Emotion by Smokey Robinson off and on all day now.  It’s got such a kick ass groove, but I think I’m going to arrange it like a hypnotizing love song with only lead vocals and an acoustic guitar (no other pads, layers, harmonies, etc).  It’s my goal to have this song arranged and recorded by this Friday.  Thus, if it works out, I’m going to play it in next week’s podcast (#17).  

Oh, and if you’re wondering where today’s podcast is, well, we’re actually gonna record it tomorrow.  Levi had a bit too much fun in Red Lodge last night and didn’t quite make it back to Bozeman in time for our Monday morning SKYPE call.  Hey, it happens, eh?  As a result, plan on seeing CIA Podcast 16 up tomorrow by noon.  If you have a request for tomorrow’s podcast song, leave it in the comments section.

Levi and I will be talking politics tomorrow.  I’ll be discussing why I think America should move towards a hard core socialist society, and Levi will be arguing why America should lean more towards a “hands off” capitalist society, complete with monopolies and unregulated stock markets.  It’ll be a doozy.

I’m full of bull, of course.

We WILL be on the radio, but we sure as hell won’t be talking about politics.  For one, we don’t know crap about politics, and secondly, who wants to hear musicians talk about politics?  (For the record, if I ever got to talk to Rush, I’d rather talk about addiction to pills than anything else.  That’d be cool.)  What will we be talking about?  Hell, why don’t YOU suggest the subject?

Here’s the homepage of ANTI-CRAP RADIO.  We’ll be on at 4pm MST on Saturday.

Here’s the link that you can listen on-line, LIVE!

Contribute to our conversation!  (406) 728-0093 or 1-800-568-5309.  Call the studio between 4:10pm and 5pm MST.  We’d really enjoy hearing from you.

If you haven’t yet heard yesterday’s podcast, I suggest you give it a listen.  It was hands down the most fun we’ve had doing a podcast, at least so far.  I laughed so hard while editing it that I had to take a moment to get my composure a few times.  Then, even though my throat is haggard and tired, I still had a good time singing “She’s A Chimney.”  Holy crap, Levi, that was fun.

DISCLAIMER:  If you’re reading this blog post, you most likely know us.  Thus, you know we don’t take ourselves very seriously at all.  We love music, we love to party, and we love having a good time, but we’re normal dudes who have to buy closet organizers and trash cans.  So, if you think I’m bragging that we’re professional comedians, please stop thinking.  I have no misgivings about the fact that we’re just dudes who have abnormally normal lives.  Listen accordingly.

Here’s the link over to CIA Podcast 15.  Enjoy.

Here’s a picture of what I think Florence (aka-”Flo”) looks like.  She is a chimney, indeed.

I love music.  I love to sing, I love to play, I love to write.  Honestly, it feels like sometimes I can’t get enough.  I’m guilty of staying up late at my computer and singing along to songs instead of going to bed, even when I’m tired.  I’m also guilty of sitting by myself for a few minutes in my car at the end of a long road trip just so I can finish listening to a song that was playing on the radio.  There’s something about music that just crushes me.  Music rules.  

As a result of this passionate love for music, I’ve been lucky enough to make my living being in a band.  I write songs during the week, then go perform them on the weekends.  People show up to shows, sing along, dance, drink, and we all carry on until we’re kicked out.  It’s awesome.

I’ve been “self employed” for so long that I honestly don’t know any other way to live.  If the band up and burned to the ground tomorrow, I’d undoubtedly continue to write music, and record songs, whether it was my living or not.  (For the record: I’m hoping the band doesn’t crash and burn anytime soon, cuz this whole thing gets better by the day.)  Hey, do what you love, right?

Which brings me to the title of my post.  Click here to meet Chris Guillebeau. He’s all about living life by your own rules (aka-self employed).  He travels, he writes, and he loves coffee.  I’m certain I’d get along great with him if ever we bumped into each other in a coffee house.  

He’s written a cool “manifesto” that I want to share with everyone titled 279 DAYS TO OVERNIGHT SUCCESS. I read every word and loved it. It gives me hope that our band is on the right track to making good records, playing good shows, and raising hell until the day we keel over and die (aka-the day the band breaks up).  For those of you who are dreaming of self employment by doing something artistic (aka-writing), I hope you get as much out of it as I do.  Cheers!

I am now a brand new subscriber to BYO magazine.  Brew Your Own.  I’m not a homebrewer, yet, but since I’m getting this whole “hops growing club” going here in Helena, I decided that it’s only a matter of time before I want to start brewing my own beer.  Thus, I’ve subscribed to BYO magazine as a first step of learning more about how to make beer at home.

If anyone is interested in “joining” the hops growers club, you don’t have to live in Helena to be a member.  We’ve got a member in Kalispell, three members in Billings, one in Bozeman and if our friends out in Brainerd end up having some success with their hops, our disorganized organization will have members from out of state!  Kind of cool.

There are four requirements to join the hops club.

1. Buy some hops rhizomes or plants, preferably Cascade or Centennial hops, since they make great beer.

2. Have a space where they can grow vertically, get lots of sunshine and water.

3. Be willing to donate your flowers to the Lewis & Clark Brewery for use in their 2009 “Neighborhood IPA.”  Or just give them to a homebrewer.

4.  Speak English (optional).

The first ever “Hop Heads” meeting will be at the Lewis & Clark Brewery Tap Room on Monday, April 27th at 6pm.  We’ll be distributing rhizomes (cost is 3 bucks per rhizome), talking about proper planting techniques, and we’ll be sampling different brews to taste the subtle differences in how they affect your taste buds (translation: we’ll drink beer).  Details can be found at local hop heads (www.localhopheads.com).  See y’all in the Tap Room on the 27th!

Keehr and I had one hell of a tour this past few weeks.  We actually felt like super heroes for awhile! However, upon finishing this past stretch of gigs, I woke up on Easter Sunday with a nice little sinus cold. Ugh! As a result, I popped a few Tylenol PM last night around 6pm and it knocked me out. I got up in the morning feeling really groggy, and basically I’ve spent all day feeling nice and stoned. Drugs rule.

Needless to say, getting sick has once again reminded me that I am indeed mortal.  There can be only one highlander, and alas, that isn’t me.  Excuse me while I go blow my nose.

Here’s a quick recap of our duet acoustic tour:

*We played 10 gigs in 13 days.

*The shortest show we did was 3 hours, the longest was 5 hours. We never took a break.

*We drove 3,145 miles, with only 150 miles (from Bismarck to Fargo) being shitty roads.

*We networked with approximately 20 schools at the NACA conference.

*We made 8 tour videos that we posted to clintonsband.com, and another 6 that we posted exclusively to the CIA site.

*We ate a lot of meat and cheese, and drank our fair share of midwest beer.

In all, I’d like to send a nice WORD UP to all of our peeps out in the midwest. You guys are the reason we have had such a good time out there. It’s fine and dandy to play shows to strangers, but it’s even better to play shows filled with friends. Thank you for your support, and please help us spread the music by sharing it with your friends. We’ll be back this fall, so be sure to have a few beers in the fridge for us.  We’ll be thirsty.

Who’s planning on coming down to our gig in Great Falls this Saturday? I, for one, will be there. I will also be bringing three cans of food. What kind of canned food? I don’t know, but I’m guessing I’ll bring chili.

Why would I be doing that, you ask? Well, because we’re having our very own food drive for the Great Falls food bank this Saturday! Normally, it’d cost 8 dollars to get in the door to see us at Machinery Row. If you contribute to our food drive, you’ll be getting in the door for 5 bucks. It’s simply our way of saying THANK YOU for helping us out with this.

As for “Road Journal #8,” well, my guess is you’ve noticed that there is no #8. That’s because I’ve been posting some special extra videos for our CIA peeps on the CIA site. My favorite is Keehr’s and my cover of “Atlantic City” by Bruce Springsteen. Dig around the CIA site. You’ll find it.

Thanks again to everyone in Great Falls for helping us out with that. We sincerely appreciate it.

Keehr and I drove from Eau Claire to Duluth to spend a day with Josh’s 3 year old nephew, Kieran, and his 9 month old niece, Freja. As the video below will show you, we had a blast.

(Click the picture to see the video.)

(If that doesn’t work, watch it directly from The Clintons YouTube channel.)

On Sunday afternoon, Keehr and I rolled to Jimmy Woo’s Pagoda in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.  We were there to watch a few bands play music all afternoon for a “homeless veterans benefit.”  It was pretty sweet.  Every band was damn good.  One in particular, “Thick Shoe,” kicked our butts.

Thick Shoe is a five piece band (two guitars, bass, drums and keys) that plays live once, maybe twice a year.  Despite the fact that they don’t play together hardly ever, holy crap they were killer.  The grooves were tight, the vocals were impressive and overall they were very entertaining.  Keehr and I had a blast.

I met Terry, bass player for Thick Shoe, before their set.  He was a really laid back guy .  He kicked total ass when he stepped on stage, as did the whole band.  Damn.  Terry didn’t sing for the first four or five songs, so after about fifteen or twenty minutes I didn’t expect him to use the vocal mic in front of him at all.  When he randomly stepped up to the mic to announce an upcoming show at the venue, he dropped us.  On April 24th, “Tommy Two Tone” will be playing live in Eau Claire at that bar.  He is your typical REALLY NICE WISCONSIN guy, and when he talked on the microphone, it was very apparent that Keehr and I were far, far from home.  For whatever reason, Keehr and I doubled over in laughter at the thought of “Tommy Two Tone” playing in that place.  Honestly, I want to see that show.  Damn.

(Click on the picture below for the video.)

(If that doesn’t work, try watching it directly from The Clintons YouTube channel.)

This is our video from Saturday. I didn’t get a chance to get on-line yesterday at all, and to be honest, I think I started going through internet withdrawals. Thus, now that I’m back in the “world wide net” zone, I’m having a grand time.

(Click on the picture below for the video.)

(If that doesn’t work, try watching directly from The Clintons YouTube channel.)

Keehr and I rocked hard for day 2 of the NACA conference. As always, the chaos never ends. (Click on the picture below for the video.)

(If that doesn’t work, try watching directly from The Clintons YouTube channel.)

Day 1 of the NACA conference was a blast.  Picture John and Josh, surrounded by college kids who love music and aren’t afraid to talk to strange men in bands.  Needless to say, we talked ourselves hoarse.  

I did my best to keep the camera on and get some footage.  Note our AMAZING backdrop for our booth.  We’re professionals.  Hellz yes.

(Click on the picture below to see the video.)

(If that doesn’t work, try watching directly from The Clintons YouTube channel.)