Welcome Surprise - Jeff Daniels

[david]

I enjoyed this song:

[billhammond]

I enjoyed it, too, but let's be honest, it was an OK song, sung and played capably by a famous actor, and it earned a wild standing ovation. There are dozens on this forum who do much better stuff every week. I guess the lesson is, become a movie star first, then try songwriting.

[dradtke]

Remembering, of course, that a large part of the successful delivery of a sing is a form of acting.

[drlj]

Daniels has been playing & performing for many years-longer than he has been an actor. That part is nothing new. It is simply that Kelly Clarkson had no idea he played, wrote, and sang so it was a big shock to her and her audience. The audience reacted more to her surprise than they did to the song. I am sure most thought this was his first time playing and singing.
He wrote that song probably 10-12 years ago. I heard it a long time ago. I like it.

His main guitar is interesting and I am including a video that explains it. The Jeff Daniels signature Martin OM is a recreation of the guitar described in the video. His was one of a kind until that point. I knew about his guitar & how it came about through someone mentioned in the video
That’s Dick Boak, who used to be the Martin Historian and product development guru, interviewing him. He is retired now. The video was done before the signature model was put in production, but this is the meeting that led to it. The signature model came out in maybe 2011 or so. I don’t know how many were made. I played one, though, and it was very nice.
He has a very interesting guitar done by a friend. The 1st 4 minutes or so explains the guitar.

[Marshall]

Saw him about 10 years ago at City Winery. Nice show. His son was in the band. I like his voice a lot. Warm and comfy. His tween song banter was fun and poignant and funny.

[millring]

May 10, 2024 21:54:55 GMT -5 Marshall said:

Saw him about 10 years ago at City Winery. Nice show. His son was in the band. I like his voice a lot. Warm and comfy. His tween song banter was fun and poignant and funny.

I thought I remembered someone here had gone to see him live. I thought he also toured with some Nesmith/novelist/other-famous-for-another reason guy. I'm prolly conflating Peter Tork touring with ____ _____ another guy whose name I don't recall.

[drlj]

I don’t recall if Daniels had the guitar and took it to Konkoly or if Konkoly had the guitar and showed it to Daniels when he was at Elderly. Either way, the guitar was re-topped & became Jeff’s main guitar.

[Marshall]

May 11, 2024 5:36:09 GMT -5 millring said:

May 10, 2024 21:54:55 GMT -5 Marshall said:

Saw him about 10 years ago at City Winery. Nice show. His son was in the band. I like his voice a lot. Warm and comfy. His tween song banter was fun and poignant and funny.

I thought I remembered someone here had gone to see him live. I thought he also toured with some Nesmith/novelist/other-famous-for-another reason guy. I'm prolly conflating Peter Tork touring with ____ _____ another guy whose name I don't recall.

James Lee Stanley

[drlj]

I found Clarkson’s reaction kind of irritating, to be honest. She irritates me anyway, she and her Mayfair ads!🤬🤬
Just be quiet and let him do his song. No need to zero in on her reaction, either.

[docfroon]

May 10, 2024 20:10:02 GMT -5 dradtke said:

Remembering, of course, that a large part of the successful delivery of a sing is a form of acting.

Amen. When I try to help newbies with guitar playing, which often involves lessons that they will have to unlearn later 😱, I teach "tune your guitar, learn the lightest amount of pressure required to sound a note ( I had to unlearn the tendency to strangle ) and to learn songs" In learning songs, practice performing them, because that's the goal even if it is just for yourself.  

I may have ruined a few students. But I hope not.

[Rob Hanesworth]

I liked the song. Maybe it was just "OK," but I aspire to be OK.

We know him most and first as an actor, but I don't think he needs to stay in his lane.

[epaul]

Which he hasn't. He is a guitar player, a singer, a songwriter, a band dude, and an actor. And, while I don't know this for sure, he strikes me as the kind of fellow that plays trombone, as well.

[epaul]

Incidental, I just watched Jeff Daniels in a Netflix (or Prime) western revolving around the efforts of a reluctant gunfighter to stay hidden from his former, and set on revenge, gang. Daniels played a bearded bad guy; a crazed looney who would pray for his victims before shooting them. He was wonderful!

[Dub]

I thought this interview was cool.

[John B]

May 11, 2024 14:19:35 GMT -5 epaul said:

Incidental, I just watched Jeff Daniels in a Netflix (or Prime) western revolving around the efforts of a reluctant gunfighter to stay hidden from his former, and set on revenge, gang. Daniels played a bearded bad guy; a crazed looney who would pray for his victims before shooting them. He was wonderful!

Was it "Godless"? If so, a great series. And no horses were harmed (so they say) in the finale. They did some pretty serious planning on how to get horses to climb stairs without injuring themselves.

[epaul]

BINGO!

[RickW]

I thought that was a great song, and he sang it well.

Still, my favourite “ode to my guitar song” of all time…..

[millring]

I actually played that at the very first Valparaiso Guitar Talk gathering.

As to the Jeff Daniels/Kelly Clarkson video, the song is just fine. But the video as a whole is why I almost can't watch this kind of TV anymore. It is "laugh track" on steroids. It probably started with the vocal competitions -- American Idol and The Voice -- but now the idea that we'd somehow enjoy the reactions of audience members, hosts, or judges as much as we'd enjoy an uninterrupted performance drives me nuts. It's the same cynical calculation that we can be manipulated into thinking something is funny by hearing a laugh track. Now we think a performance is somehow made more brilliant by watching Simon Cowell raise his eyebrows (or in this case, by watching Kelly Clarkson wiping tears from her eyes and blurting "What just happened here?!").

I remember viewing the most subtle use of this I've ever noticed before. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. It didn't have a laugh track. But it did. Her "stand up" routine was set with a laughing audience.

[martinfever]

This thread reminded me of a scene from "The Newsroom."
I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't know this great song from the late, great Tom T. Hall until I heard it couple years ago.
I think Jeff and the guys do a nice job.

[billhammond]

I wonder if Jeff would be interested in buying my Goodall. He'd forget about his dumb ol' Martin.