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.
