Dear Uncle Sam,
This evening finds me in an ornery mood. I feel such disdain for 80 percent of the popular music produced after 1970, and I daresay we’re now witnessing the foulest era of it since the invention of recorded sound. I’m becoming increasingly embarrassed to be associated with this art form, in which art has become so scarce.
It’s times like these that I like to make myself feel better by listing a few of my favorite things, just as Maria did in “the Sound of Music”. I also encourage my readers to submit a few of their own favorite things in the comments section.
Let’s see now, what do I love?
I love the moment when John Lennon’s voice cracks on the track “I’m So Tired” from the Beatles wonderfully disturbing self-titled album… as he sings “I’d give you everything I’ve got for a little piece of mind.”
I love When David Letterman and Paul Schaffer play “Will It Float?” and “Is This Anything?” on the Late Show
I love the scene in Fred Astaire’s 1935 film “Top Hat”, in which Fred Astaire “shoots down” a chorus line of tuxedoed men using his cane and some rapid fire tapping from beneath his spats.
I love the way dogs sometimes look at you, cocking their head to one side, and raising one doggy-eyebrow, almost quizzically.
I love seeing my family laugh hysterically.
And I’d love it if some of you would take a look at this video sample from my upcoming Muller and Patton DVD “The Jonathan and Bailey Companion”.
There, see? I feel better already.
I am a songwriter, a drop-out, a nostalgist, a masculist, and a Batman-enthusiast, but first and foremost, I’m a little brother.
My big sister Anna, a phenomenal clarinetist who’s arrangements of old and new songs fuse folk and swing influences, has just released her debut album, “Isadore’s Breakfast”.
She asked me to write and sing one song on the record, and I whipped up a mock-swing number called “Brand New Pants”.
Check her out at http://annapatton.com.
My home state of Vermont is full of surprises. Every Saturday night Vermont’s local CBS affiliate broadcasts a show called “Late Night Saturday with Tim Kavanaugh”. The show is taped at an auditorium on the campus of Champlain College, and features appearances by actors, directors, comedians, authors, musicians, politicians, and just plain characters, that are tied somehow to the Green Mountain State.
I appeared on the show in February of 2006, to promote “Because the Heart”. My Dad, and bassist for the gig, was star struck to meet Chris Bohjalian, a New-York-Times-Best-Selling Vermont Author, there to tape an appearance as well. Although I was also joined by my mentor and guitarist Mr. Andre Maquera, and my favorite drummer Mr. Gary (Spud) Spaulding, I have to say, I gave a less-than-slick performance. Just look at the expression of pain that crosses my face toward the end of my Boston-anthem “Summer in Winter Hill”, as I struggle to change keys. Poor moniters may have been responsible for some of our fumbling, but lack of rehearsal is a more likely culprit. And between the two performances, I came across quite awkwardly in my “interview”… even mistakenly plugging my New York City show the following week as taking place at the “Paradise Lounge”, instead of the “Parkside Lounge”.
I played the show out during the closing credits, but after the mostly college-aged audience cheered for their moment on camera and the screens went to color bars, they filed out without a single clap. I guess they considered themselves mere extras, in the role of the audience….
But I enjoyed myself, and what else matters, right?
You’ve been warned:
Dear Uncle Sam,
A very sweet young lady named Sarah, from Illinois, sent me the following mp3.
Apparently, she turned her Mother on to my music and her Mother, a third grade teacher, taught one of my songs to her class. The song is called “I Love My B-A-B-Y”, and it appears on my second album, Because the Heart. I have to say, I like this recording at least as much as my own. …Many thanks to Sarah, her Mom, and the rowdy choir.
Enjoy “I Love My B-A-B-Y, tastefully rendered by Mrs. Burghardt’s Third Grade Class.
Dear Uncle Sam,
Indian filmmaker and photographer Sujay S. Dahake is perhaps the most impressive artist I’ve become acquainted with here in Cebu, Philippines.
He’s also one of the humblest; I had to read an article about him in Zee magazine to learn that he has not only photographed numerous fashion editorials, but also human interest photos for the annual reports of the UN.
Sujay’s gorgeous films give a lush, poetic, soft and sensual treatment to gritty, disturbing, heavy subject matter, earning him the nickname “Captain Happiness” around these parts.
Sujay generously lent his eye to photoshoots for both benpatton.com and mullerandpatton.com.
Now, he’s given me the ultimate honor, putting together this splendid music video for my song “Do Something About It”, from my latest album “The Unquiet and Apart”. The video is a companion piece to his acclaimed short film entitled “An Imaginary Portrait”.
The stars of “Portrait”, the lovely Fiona Cross and British Actor/Model Abraham Jocube-Chowdhury appear here as well.
