Here’s the new recording of the song I released this week last year. Go ahead and compare the two by going here and listening to the 2010 version.

I did a little rework on this one. Jumbled some things up. But nothing too spectacular. I used another old Carter Family tune for the melody. This time, “I Wouldn’t Mind Dyin.” That’s another one I used to play out all the time. So it’s just kinda always in the back of my head.

Now, the previous version was pretty much a straight up blues progression. This one is too, might sound different, but it’s still blues. Just maybe a little more hillbilly blues than delta blues.

Also, I’ve got my new song all finished for this week. (Finally….) I’ll load it up tomorrow for you to enjoy over the holiday weekend. Then I gotta come right back with something else new, I guess.

Be sure you’ve marked your calendar for this Friday too. Remember that I’m playing at the Auxiliary in Logan Square. Check out the facebook event. It’s gonna be hot. Starts at 9pm.

Here’s the re-record of the song I wrote and released this week last year about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Go listen to the original version here. You can see that last year I used the Cater Family’s “Wildwood Flower” as the structure and melody. I found it really hard to do anything with this tune since it was such a strong melody, so I just used another Carter Family tune for this year’s re-record. This time I used “Sowin’ on the Mountain,” which is actually a combination of a few different Carter Family tunes that uses a melody that they used a lot. Ramblin’ Jack Elliott recorded a version of it that I always play. Was one of the first tunes I learned. Check it out here.

So that’s that for this one.

Also, remember that the Barehand Jugband is playing a big show tonight at Double Door. We’re opening for the Infamous Stringdusters. Gonna be a great show. Doors open at 8pm, we go on at 9pm sharp, and the Stringdusters follow at 10pm. Come see what it’s all about.

The tune I wrote and recorded this week, last year was “Hammer ‘n’ Nail.” You can go check out the blog post and listen to the original recording here. For the 2010 version I used the song “Ballad of John Henry” as a basis for the melody. You can hear Ramblin’ Jack Elliott do that here. I always really loved this song. Sing it all the time around the house. Just one of those old gooders that I can’t shake outta my noggin.

So, for this new version, I decided to use another old melody that I really love. This time I picked the Carter Family’s “Black Jack David.” Check it out here. It’s a great song. But it was kinda, actually, hard to fit my words in there. Not that they don’t fit, but I’m so used to singing about Black Jack David taking a fair lady across the sea and sleeping out under the moon and stars that I had a hard time singing different words. Took me three takes of recording once I started, though. So, not too bad.

Anyway, let me know what you think. And remember, I’m singing on Monday, June 20 at the Fedora Lounge. The set starts at 9:30pm and I’ll be slingin’ em until around midnight. Start off your workweek right and stop on by.

Here’s the rewrite of the song I posted this week last year.

Commence the clapping.

You can click here and listen to the original version.

Anyway, for this rewrite I didn’t really know what to do. I never really liked this song to begin with. It’s okay, but I think it’s a little too much of, “Hey, listen to this, I’m clever, and I’m telling you how it should be.” That ain’t no way to write or sing a song. There’s none of your own self in it if you’re just going at someone else’s way of living. So I tried to turn it around a little. It’s sort of successful, I supposed. I basically just rearranged the words and made a sort of repeating verse line.

The song’s more aimed at me now. Says I only been doing one thing and how am I supposed to know anything else or care about anything else. And that ain’t no way to live.

Or maybe it doesn’t say that. Maybe I’m analyzing it too much. What do you think?

Here’s the new version of “I Have No Idea.” This is another song that made it onto my full-length album from last year. Was the last song I wrote for that album, in fact. Wrote it while I was driving down the road. Ever done that? I don’t recommend it. The people behind you know what you’re doing and they don’t like it. They’re busy and’ve got places to be, damnit.

Anyway, the structure of this one is pretty similar to the original (which you can listen to here). I haven’t performed this one too much, so I’m not totally bored with it and when I went back to play it I remembered how much I liked it. The original felt like a finished song already. So I didn’t change much. Just maybe the guitar part and the melody and singing a little.

The guitar part is loosely based on my song “Lawd Almighty.” Do you hear it in there? Go listen to that tune and maybe you’ll be able to pick it out.

I’ll leave it up to you to compare, though. You’re probably a better critic than me.