PDX–>JFK

"She said the years had been a friend to me,
and that I must be doing well.
I said the audience was heavenly,
but the traveling was hell."
-Dan Fogelberg

Seems a common refrain....

You somehow managed to double post on front page. Never seen that before.

Can't wait to see you in concert again. I maintain this fact.

Hey Jonathan - Awesome to see you perform for the first time (not your first time....my first time, but you probably knew what I meant....). Gosh, what a fired up bunch of geeks you had in Seattle. But of course what else can you expect in the land of Microsoft and Nintendo? You and Paul and Storm's voices blend really well, almost like you are brothers. Where did you get the box on a strap you played for Mr Fancy Pants? I want one! Very cool. Sorry the Moore was so damned cold! The Moore's 100'th birthday is this year.....I guess they are still working on installing an HVAC system. It's good you are not here now -- It snowed last night. Brrrrrr......

Congrats on moving up the ladder to a bigger venue in Portland. You guys rocked the place.

Totally thrilled to see your first live performance of Not About You. In fact, last night's set list was great all around.

It was cool that you brought Molly up on stage all the way from the internet. "My Hope" was a big hit!

The fact that you rickrolled us was brilliant.

The show in PDX last night was awesome. It was the first time that I was able to see you play live. I've been a fan since before you started your TAW.

Can't wait till the next time you come in the area for another Tour.

I know that you said what the device was that you used when Molly first came out, but I forgot to make a note of it. I was wanting to look into it. The flashing lights are it were pretty.

Thanks again for the awesome concert.

Lots of energy last night - The set list was great, too. I managed to get some video (not sure of the quality) of Molly doing her 2 songs, as well as a few other things. I'll post links when I get them up.

Oh, and the lighted box/synthesizer thing is called a Tenori-on, the sampling box used during "Mr. Fancy Pants" is called a Zendrum.

I answered my own question. Sorry...the Internet answered my question. Thanks to whoever invented that. Here you go:

http://www.jonathancoulton.com/wiki/index.php/Mr._Fancy_Pants

Initially, "Mr. Fancy Pants" was rarely performed live, since Jonathan had felt that a short piece of music with no defined ending and little sense would confuse the listener. This changed at the September 14th, 2007 show in San Francisco when Jonathan started using his newly purchased Zendrum, and he began remixing the song as a mid-song solo, coming up with such classics as "chances are you're- best in- everybody's- PANTS". "Mr. Fancy Pants" and the Zendrum solo gradually became more and more common, has now become a concert staple, and he has said that he enjoys playing it immensely.

http://www.zendrum.com/catalog.html

Thanks Richard. I did some googling & found out about the Zendrum, but it was the Tenori-on that I was asking about. Now off to do some research on it.

Wow. Last night was absolutely awesome. The house was absolutely packed, and I had way too much fun shouting random stuff from the left side of the audience. We were being dorks, I know... but it was just so fun! Hope we didn't bug you guys too much.

Thanks for an awesome night of music, JoCo! Can't wait to see you around here again.

Have a safe trip back to NYC, JoCo. You truly are awesome!

Best show so far, I've gone to all the ones you've had in Portland.
Thanks for signing my iPhone, haha, hopefully when you come back and I whip iot out and be all "Look, it's still there!"

I'm still on cloud 9! Last night's show was just incredible! All the performers were hilarious and wonderful, and the audience was clearly into it. The audience participation was great - especially on Re: Your Brains, of course.

I ended up sitting waaay up in the balcony, but I had a perfect view of the stage! I can't wait until you guys come back - hope it's soon!! :)

Please thank Paul and Storm for all the laughs. My sides still hurt a little.

Thank you again for playing "Drinking With You"! And "Always The Moon" hit me square in the chest, but in a good way.

Portland, thank you for making my third concert since I moved here the most fun I've had in a crowd. Pirates, KOL'ers, WoW players, all of y'all.
We'll have to do it again sometime.

I've traded shiny 0's and 1's from my bank account for MP3's.

That was like the best day ever for me. And YES I AM a comedy duo! In my imagination......

This night was absolutely great. We have 2 small boys and this is the first date night alone we have had in a year and a half. I am so glad we chose this show over any other for our fun night together.

We can't wait for you to come back to Portland.

Last night at the Aladdin was really awesome. I hope the heckling didn't get too annoying for you guys - I thought you handled the rowdy crowd well without ruining anyone's fun.

I'd love to hear you play "That spells DNA" next time you're in Portland!

Izayah, I'm the other half of that comedy duo.

Great show, second time seeing you in concert first time was up at PAX and you signed my Brawndo can :D

Nice to have Paul and Storm there for the change up from what you played at PAX.

"My Monkey" really made my night.

The girlfriend loved it too, though she wished that you would of played Tom Cruise Crazy. She was a "concert virgin" before you... How does that make you feel...? Huh? Huh? :P

Thanks again, it was a blast!

All I gotta say is:

"OHHHHH HO HO HO HO HO!!!!"

Right on, Man, coach sucks.. Saw you in Nyack a few months, loved it, brought the kids they loved it too. Come to back to NY soon.

Mr. Coulton-My family all love your music, and we've bought all of your records. My kids especially love you, but they are 9 and 10. They know all the words to re: Your Brains, Skullcrusher Mountain, Chiron Beta Prime, etc.

You are coming to our area (Birchmere in Alexandria) and they want to see you, but it will be a late night for them and I want to make sure that your live show features material that will be okay for them.

I am hoping that you actually run this blog or that someone who knows you can answer this question. My e-mail address is ekalett at yahoo.com.

Thanks! My wife and I will be there at the show, and we hope our kids can come too!

Hey Ethan,

This sort of question is always hard because it's such a subjective thing what's appropriate for children. Speaking for myself, I generally try to avoid First of May when I see little kids in the audience (unless I know or get a sense that their parents don't mind). But the show overall is still likely to lean overall toward the R-rated side of things - I swear sometimes, and Paul and Storm have some off-color stuff. Other people who have come to shows may be able to help you get a sense of it, I'd suggest asking in the forums (or maybe people will respond here).

I say: having taken my teenage son (age 14), it is OK for my teenager (he already knows all those words, and knows that First of May is not intended to be, um, realistic). But I wouldn't presume to tell other parents what is OK for their teenager. The thing is, he and I _talk_ about the songs.

But 9 and 10? You might have a lot of work to do explaining the punch line of Paul and Storm's "Captain's Wife's Lament," as well as their somewhat blue vaudeville-like material about strippers, etc. Trying to remove all their adult, that is, adolescent, material would pretty well eviscerate their act. So as a parent I'd have to recommend against it, sadly.

It occurred to me, Ethan, that you could listen to a whole show to preview, if you like, although of course the exact content of the show has no doubt changed since last summer:

http://thepottshouse.org/pub/joco_pontiac/

Hey there JoCo,

Just a quick note to say thank you again. I sat in the very back of the hall, but still had a great time! Can't wait for the next show.

A question though; do you ever record your live shows? It would be a really cool document of you did, or if others do, or if you allow others to record. It's cool to hear the variations on a song or a real-time moment that you missed out on because you can't make a show, or perhaps the "Philly show really rocked!" and you wish others could have heard it. ;)

Anyway, keep up the greatness man! You're evil genius puts most ninjas to shame.

Cheers,

Jeremie

"you're" ..... (ewww) meant your... (shame on me)

Paul: As long as the songs aren't distributed for commercial use, free sharing is legal in Michigan so feel free to post those songs. (Don't know the laws for other states, though...) Also, his cover of "Baby Got Back" is under creative commons in its arrangement, so that's not copyright protected anyway.

Jeremie: He's already posted about the fact that he's going to release an official live album/DVD set. I think the title is "The Greatest Concert Ever!" or something like that.

Paul: A little pre-emptive clarification: JoCo's COVERS are free to legally distribute as a non-profit thing, the original recordings by TMBG and Neil Diamond respectively are NOT.

Speaking for ourselves, yeah, it's indeed a very subjective thing. I would generally classify the *musical* content of both acts' songs (except for "First of May") as "PG-13"--adult content, but not overtly explicit. And our songs, indeed, contain a lot of adolescent-style humor, and can make for an uncomfortable night for the unprepared parent. Also, the between-song banter, esp. during our opening set, can sometimes contain cursing--it varies, depending on the lateness of the show, the age limit, and the rowdiness of the crowd.

Personally speaking, I believe that if a child is still awake at 11 pm or whenever the time is that "First of May" rolls around, and have been capable of sitting through a 2.5 or 3 hour show, then they're old enough to handle the language and/or mature enough to realize that they're bad words and shouldn't be repeated, etc. But everyone parents differently, and we certainly don't begrudge those differences.

Paul Potts' suggestion of previewing some material on YouTube is probably your best bet. If you find our stuff too much for the kids but still want them to see Jonathan, you could wait in line, and get seats, but then go eat & play pool outside in the bar area (or go somewhere down the street) for the ~60 min. of our set, then come back for Jonathan's set.

Paul (and Storm)

Zach: I get what you are saying about the covers, but I don't think it is correct (it contradicts what JoCo has told me via e-mail, in fact). I'm actually not 100% certain about distributing my recording of JoCo singing "Still Alive." It is in the set currently, but I have to admit I don't know what kind of precise legal arrangements exist wrt. that song and JoCo and Valve.

As an _individual_ distributing these recordings I have to be certain; I don't have any kind of indemnification against lawsuits. The last thing I want is some kind of DMCA/RIAA assault that would wipe me out (get what meager savings/investments I have, and even garnish my future wages for some kind of ridonculous settlement. Yes, this really happens).

Zach: or, let me put it another way: your blog says you are a 19-year-old student. Are _you_ gonna indemnify me and cover my costs if I get sued for following your legal advice? If not, then I'd be wary of giving people advice on copyright, which is a thorny subject to begin with.

Great concert in Portland, JoCo.
You should come to Boise, Idaho (I know, everybody is always telling you where you should come...) Driving 7 hours to see you, and then driving another 7 hours to go home made for a very long weekend, but it was worth it for me. I've got a bunch of friends for it was not worth it, but it would be if you came to Boise.
Maybe we could pass the hat around and pay for your airfare, or something...

I meant "...for whom it was not worth it..."

stupid fingers.

Zach and Paul, here's more clarification (which may result in less clarification):

All songs that I have written and recorded are creative commons licensed. This means they are still protected by copyright, but I give you permission ahead of time to share them with your friends for free and use them in derivative works that are not commercial as long as you credit me. Songs that I have not written (or Still Alive, which was a work for hire and does not belong to me) can't be put under a creative commons license by me, because I don't own the copyright. Some would argue that Baby Got Back is parody and protected under fair use, but a judge or jury would have to decide that.

I am fine with people recording and distributing recordings of shows for non-commercial purposes. I don't believe creative commons applies to this really, because we're talking about a new recording - there are lots of other licensing layers that would apply to audio/video recordings of live shows, and it's thorny enough that it's not worth talking about. Just know that I don't mind if you record my shows and pass them around without commercial gain. Legally, you're on your own if you include cover songs, I can't give you permission to do anything with your recording of me playing Birdhouse in Your Soul.

All I know is what I read when studying the Michigan charter of laws when trying to determine the exact legality of the bootleg recordings I have downloaded. In what I read it said that free distribution of unofficially released recordings and the ownership, downloading, and purchase of said recordings is legal. The stealing of the outtakes if it's a studio bootleg, the SALE of any bootleg, or the recording of a show without an artist's permission are illegal. This may be outdated for all I know, or I may have read something false in a well-prepared but legally inaccurate document, and all I know only applies to Michigan law for all I know anyway, but that is what I read. I do not blame Paul for covering his ass legally, and I appreciate the clarification from Mr. Coulton on Creative Commons legalities.

Also, we all know the RIAA sometimes ignores laws that they don't like anyway, so you may be better safe than sorry, too. *laughs*

JoCo, thanks for weighing in. I think the ambiguity and complexity of traditional copyright just goes to show how much cooler and more fun it is to use a Creative Commons license. I know I'm having a blast with the Mandelbrot set virtual cover band. We have several songs in progress, and it will be fantastic to actually distribute them, which we couldn't do without the CC license. Also, your release of the source tracks has been really helpful as a case study of how to build up a finished, polished song from tracks.

As for the recordings of live shows -- I appreciate your generosity there too. The Grateful Dead didn't go broke allowing people to distribute recordings. My hope is that my little bootleg (does that term still apply?) will just encourage more people to support your work.

Looking forward to your Ann Arbor show! Although I think I will not be recording this one -- too much distraction from actually just enjoying it in the moment. I have signed up with Scarface as your minion for that show since I live very close to the venue -- get in touch if you need anything.

Hi! I would just like to say that the PDX show was awesome! My husband is a computer geek, so he gets all the little jokes (then has to roll his eyes when he explains them to little ol' me). That's not to say that I did not also thoroughly enjoy your music despite my ineptitude with general geekery. I actually love zombies, the monkeys are just a plus. I am a whole other sort of geek really.

You know, I think touring like this is great, just to give some general feedback.

A) How often would guys like my socially awkward geeky husband get out? Come on, really... I know I'm not the only one in the same position. The dudes (with wives at their side) in front of me were of the same sort, blathering on about stuff in a geek language I can identify but can't understand. I asked if he wanted to gather his friends over for the superbowl and he said he'd need a week to think about it.

B) We drove 3 hours to hear you sing, so you know now the commitment of even just the newest fans. And like I said, it was a feat of great social exposure for my xenophobic husband. He loved your show, Paul and Storm, the jokes, Molly's Myspace song (which we full heartedly concur) and of course being with a bunch of people who understand him/me :D.

Take care!! -Sophie

I

JoCo,
I happened to notice the Seattle show when I was intertubing from my hotel room in Saudi Arabia the week before; how nice to be able to buy tickets from the great burka-ed desert of the Middle East.
I got back late Thurs night and spent a jet lagged Friday night in a rather cold theater with alot of other nerds listening to you sing and singing along... Life is good.

The GF came too... her first exposure to JoCo outside of hearing me sing along to Ikea when we shop there.... she mostly worried about the number of 'unrequited love geek' songs in a row... a direct quote "Jesus, even though I am a dyke I am tempted to fuck the boy to see if he could write something uplifting and less depressed... Is he getting laid?"

I assured her you probably were, with all the groupies you have... but now I want to know, are you getting laid?

Jonathan,

You are wonderfully talented musician but if it is all the same to you, I would prefer not knowing if you are getting laid.

wolmyn2me: He's married (I believe) and just had a second kid, I feel a little rude and presumptuous to say this, but I think he's doing alright.

Wolmyn2me: it's his personal life, but he is married and has two young children at home.

So, the answer is most likely "at least twice, but now, probably not so much!" : )

(Spoken as a father of 4, ranging from 14 years to 11 weeks old).

I would prefer to know _only_ if he writes a funny song about it!

Wolmyn2me: "Unrequited Love Geeks" is the name of Jonathan's other emo band.

Somehow I think you're going to get a lot of emails from depressed geeks having a hard time writing uplifting songs.

*laughs* "Jonathan's Other Emo Band" is the name of my Beatles Tribute Band... (to carry on the proud tradition of that sort of joke).

"X is Y's Other Band" is the name of my new meme.

So, JoCo... do you practice your Zendrum solo, or is it all improvised?

JoCo and friends -- I'm a little late with the commentary, but I was at the PDX show on Saturday, bought two CDs and have been listening to them non-stop ever since. I don't remember ever having a better time at a concert, and I'll be there faithfully next time you're in town. I should have dragged my roommate, but will do so in future. As it was I shared the evening with some of the people most special to me -- my best friend and his wife, my other best friend, her fiance and boyfriend (yeah, yeah, I know... it's the company I keep) and the woman I love. I'd never heard "I'm Your Moon" before, and now I think it's my song for her. You guys are all the greatest -- come back soon and keep flying your geek flags for the world to see.

At the risk of just continuing to be all swooning fanboy, I do have to say that "I'm Your Moon" does have one of my favorite JoCo lyrics of all time. It's the combination of the funny and the poignant that gives these songs replay value for me.

"I'm Your Moon" is great, but I'm pretty sure AP meant to say "Always the Moon."

"I'm Your Moon" wasn't played at the Portland show. Whatever.... "Always the Moon" is great too.

First off, I would say you're tired of hearing it but if you guys are all as regular guy as you seem to be you probably will not get tired of it but also never be comfortable with it, you guys all are kickass.

I was in a barbershop quartet in high school, so YEAH! I KNOW!

Yes, a member of the SPEBSQSA...oh why did I give it up?? *ahem*

Anyhow...legality of bootlegs...HAHAHAHAHA (by definition they're not - otherwise they're "live recordings"). The short answer is that it's not much longer until it's moot. Can't stop the passing of information now, and music is just another type, just more lossless in emotion than most. Blame it on the internet...it we ever achieve something close to global consciousness it will be for that reason alone. I saw Britney Spears try and perform a cappella on SNL once...it was miserable. So no faking it anymore...people will have to perform and earn their pay We get to see them and give them money directly. /digression

Now what do we do about Ticketbastard? I know how it happens so I won't ask how the stranglehold gets put on the distribution channels, but that's going by the wayside as well...just like the distribution of the music itself.

Paul and Storm missed an arrr joke that I thought for sure they would get - you know, genetics...arrrrRNA. And ctrl-alt-del vs. Mac joke and nobody even brought up Linux/UNIX (ctrl-D!)...for shame.

I was the guy in the audience that responded he brought his kid when the irresponsible parent comments were laid. I actually have 4 now, this was #2 and she's 14. All the kids are you tubing everything (try farting mario head - man I wish I could stop that nonsense) and Rock Band pimpin' (Still Alive and Skullcrusher Mountain) means that all the chilluns (now 10, 12, 14, and 15) know a bunch of JC's work. I randomly came across that the show was happening while looking for other stuff (I have wicked netmojo - cool stuff just finds me) and after mentioning it to the kids and confirming it was all-ages show, Ame (#2) said she wanted to go instead of getting a birthday present in April. Since my hours at work were cut back we really couldn't afford to have everyone go outright and really it's not for everyone's taste in humor (it's mine for sure - I'm an engineering technician for wireless product development teams) she got the special outing. I had to explain a few things (like a Chuck Mangione reference P&S used, and I had to use a Family Guy episode to back-reference the reference and I can't believe she didn't get the KoL since they all have accounts) but she was busting up too.

And I don't think the First of May tune is tongue in cheek. I think it's a fabulous idea and everyone should foster and encourage this. It's certainly easier than trying to do it during the Polar Bear Plunge.

To that ahole behind me in the balcony that kept shouting buttsecks, I hate to give y'all attention because it just encourages you (it took all my resolve to not at the show even though I was RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU) but F*&*&# OFF.

I have rarely seen performers handle heckling and rap with the audience as smoothly and fluidly as you guys...you are awesome (real-time even)...lots of people that need love in the crew that night and you spread it around...

Oh, and Molly rocks. The kids say, so it must be true.

Stay kickass and I hope everyone comes back to town soon.

Russ: I took my 13-year-old, so personally I think that's fine, depending on the kid. As long as you're prepared to set straight any misunderstandings of the lyrics or banter (I don't think JoCo _really_ made the 2-backed beast at the park with a lady who sells ice cream and a man with a tan shar-pei, although I could be wrong).

That said, we left the younger kids at home. I did not want my 4-year-old going around bellowing "outdoor f-cking starts today." Also, she would have probably taken P&S's "Better Version of You" a little too literally, given that my wife was pregnant at the time!

PS I also reminded kid that while it's nice to make stuff look effortless, for 99.99999% (yeah! five nines!) of the population it takes a crapload of work and sacrifice to gain true kickassery.

I didn't realize you'd hacked away at the oak for that long before it started really paying the bills...

Congratulations for escaping the box - most people do not understand that really, very few engineers are like Dilbert.

In fact, the further up the food chain you get, the more rockstar the people are like - hell, I'm pretty much a roadie slash guitar tech equivalent...lots of the big brains need handlers.

It is insane the amount of training, practice, and creative effort it takes to bring a concept out of your head or collective heads and into reality in a usable and sellable form...I know more engineers that are painters and blues musicians (or total gun nuts) than I do ones that are dry and lifeless.

Crap...digressed again. Started out with intent to let you know I'm trying to use you guys as a good role model and that if you really work at it and don't give up you can probably escape the fates of ordinary...frightening. /darkening doorstep for real now

re. the traveling: you just need some roadies. and i am sure you could get any number of such willing and/or able assistants the same way you get people for your merch table.

JUST SAW YOU AND JOHN HODGMAN on Google Talks :D You should do a post about how it's finally online. I don't know if you did a post about it.. I don't regularly read this blog.. but I want to make a post.

You and Hodgman are hilarious. Anybody who goes to see you are getting their money's worth :) Isn't it great? You guys are big time enough to go present at Google--someday.. someday I may be that cool.

I'm dying to see you live, JoCo. Please come to Texas sometime soon. :(

JoCo -

A few sites are saying the concert DVD, entitled "Best. Concert. Ever." is coming out on 10 February 2009. Can you confirm or deny this?

I need to know in advance how much T-shirts cost if purchased at the show. I've got my tickets to the Ann Arbor one already, and I just want to have an idea of how much money to set aside for that night.

Jonathan... I... don't know what to say......

Holy flashbacks, Roman. That's awesome.

P.S. You should be on the forums.

Oh I know, I've been told to be in the forums before. I just, I don't know, can't find the time - between school (lots o' credit hours), and programming projects, and my band, and all sorts of craziness.

That's Hodgman next to Coulton, btw. I know!

Just tweeted the pic to Hodgman in case he has not seen it. Hilarious!

@Zach: 20 bucks

Cool, thanks, that's about what I was expecting, but I wanted to be sure.
Also, is it okay if I were to bring my laptop and record the audio from the mixer (assuming the venue also says it's ok)?

@Zach: Soundboard! YES!

"I am fine with people recording and distributing recordings of shows for non-commercial purposes. Just know that I don’t mind if you record my shows and pass them around without commercial gain."

Those are the well-established Rules of Ethical Taping, for those not familiar with the practice. You can trade recordings, you can give them away, or you can accept just enough money to cover burning and postage (called a "B&P trade" -- although a lot of that is now moot thanks to file sharing. If the artist asks that people not record, that's that (I remember when Nickel Creek apologetically asked fans to stop taping because their record label didn't like it). Sites like Dime a Dozen and Lossless Legs exist for no other purpose than to facilitate ethical trading. (Sharing the Groove, you are missed!)

Just a little context for those who may not be in the know about the context of Jonathan's position on this. He's right in line with pretty much every trade-friendly band.

Ok, I knew he was fine with cameras and such, I just wasn't sure how far that stretched. Thanks for clearing that up for me Luke.

Yes, you should always check with the venue ahead of time though - sometimes they have their own policies about audio and video recording.

You may actually have to appeal to the artist if that's possible -- in San Francisco last month, the venue (which has a stated policy of "it's OK with us if it's OK with the performer") claimed than Jonathan had requested no video and made everyone leave their cameras in their cars, but he had made no such request, according to Colleen. I've heard similar stories about other venues. I don't know why they do that, but it happens.

JoCo: Right, I was planning on calling the Ark in advance and informing them that it's cool with you as long as they're cool with it.

Luke: That's actually the second reason I asked on here, so that assuming he said he'd be fine with it (which as we both know he did) that I'd have proof when calling the Ark about it in the next few days to get their approval or not.

JoCo: Also, thanks. Really looking forward to seeing you, and having a recording of a concert that I was actually at is always pretty awesome (this will be my second, the only one I have currently is Radiohead's Lollapalooza performance from last year). ...assuming the folks at the Ark let me record it that is.

@ Zach

Paul & Storm are cool with it too AFAIK, so if you could get their set too, that would be awesome (I am presumptuously assuming you intend to upload this recording at some point) ...

Luke: Aye, I was planning on uploading the show as well, and sure, assuming the venue says it's fine for me to record, I'll get Paul and Storm as well!

Hey, I just wanted to say that i saw you at the Whiffenpoof's Centennial. (The concert was amazing in general, I was very heart-warmed during the "Whiffenpoof song" I thought you and Jon Hodgeman did an excellent job, and I look forward to seeing you perform again.

@Zach: I've taped at the Ark several times, and never been hassled. Assuming I can snag a ticket, I think I might break out the rig and "roll tape" -- well, capture bits -- for that show.

Hey JoCo,
I was gifted a ticket to your Seattle concert, with my fine family of JoCo fans. Thanks so much for your interesting music, harmonies, and story telling lyrics. My mind is now full of monkeys, zombies and robots.