Hello, welcome to the Phile. So, this Saturday on the 23rd it is our 13th wedding anniversary. Also known as I Can't Believe She Put Up With Me For Another Year Day. Philosophy is a struggle to answer the most basic questions in life such as “Why are we here;” “Where do we come from;” and “What the hell was Jennifer Tackett thinking marrying me?” Starting in January, couples can actually get married at McDonald’s in Hong Kong. I’m not saying those marriages won’t work, but when have you been to a McDonald’s and not regretted it one hour later? A man in India just moved into a billion-dollar home with 27 floors. It’s really hard to make excuses when friends ask to crash on his couch. He’s like, “Oh, ordinarily I’d totally let you stay, but I already have like 2,000 friends staying with me.” One of the 33 Chilean miners revealed that they all joked about cannibalism while they were trapped. He was like, “If you don't believe me, ask the 34th guy — I mean... never mind.” November 2 is Election Day. Americans will cast their votes and everything will remain exactly the same as it was before.
The White House canceled President Obama’s visit to a Sikh temple because you have to cover your head, and they thought pictures of Obama in a turban may fuel rumors that he’s a Muslim. It’s the same reason he canceled Turban Tuesdays at the Rose Garden. Apparently the Octomom still has 29 frozen embryos, which is almost enough to give one to each Chilean miner. I think it’s time for President Obama to build a border fence around the Octomom’s uterus. Hopefully Brett Favre won’t be suspended. It would break his streak of retirements.
Christine O’Donnell revealed in a debate that she didn’t know the separation of church and state is in the Constitution. I guess they don’t teach that at Hogwarts. Okay, you all know that Disney (the greatest company to work for ever) purchased Marvel, right? Well, real soon there's going to be Marvel super heroes in the parks... with a slightly different look. Here on the Phile is an exclusive of what one character will look like.
And here's an inspirational poster that I really truly like. And I agree 100% with it, which isn't a joke.
And now for some sad news...
Bob GuccioneFrom the Penthouse, straight to the basement.
Tom Bosley
October 1, 1927 - October 19, 2010
Sunday, Monday, Happy Days. Tuesday - not so much.
Barbara Billingsley
December 22, 1915 - October 16, 2010
That's a beautiful casket you're wearing there, Mrs. Cleaver.
From the home office in Port Jefferson, New York, here is this week's...
Top Ten Ways To Make Baseball Games More Exciting10. Replace Green Monster with green monster.
9. Three strikes and you're neutered.
8. Incorporate the word "Extreme" in some way.
7. Play with a football, have the players wear pads and helmets, use a 100 yard field... well, you get where I'm going here.
6. Have announcer read an entry of the Phile.
5. Bat Night featuring Ozzy Osbourne.
4. 9 players, 7 uniforms.
3. Skip the first eight innings.
2. Bases loaded -- with TNT.
And the number one way to make baseball games more exciting...
1. Steroids.
This is the 10th book to be pheatured in the Peverett Phile Book Club...
It's available at http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1527924 and in two weeks the author, Patricia Cox, will be a guest on the Phile. 
Today's guest is a singer/songwriter from New Zealand. His latest album "Delirium Tremens" is available on Amazon and at iTunes. Please welcome to the Phile... Elliot Ulysses Brown.
Me: Hello, Elliot, welcome to the Phile. So, how are you, and g'day.
Elliot: Thank you sir, it's an honour! I am good thank you.
Me: By the way, I love your name, a very good stage name. Do you use Ulysses often?
Elliot: I never used to use my middle name, Ulysses, until I discovered that U.S. Grant's middle name was Ulysses but due to a mis-print they put his middle name first and added an S. Grant didn't have any names starting with S but he couldn't be bothered changing it back. When I was younger my stage name was Ulysses E. Brown for that reason. I've stopped doing that now, I'm not like that anymore.
Me: I have to ask, being from New Zealand, are you a fan of "Flight of the Conchords"?
Elliot: Yes I am, and I have been for a long time. I'm not a fan of Lord of the Rings, however, which is the other thing NZ has done since the War.
Me: You played in a band called The Stomps, am I right? Did you leave the band to go solo or do you do both?
Elliot: The Stomps was a band Jackson Hobbs and I started a few years ago. We were angry young men and we sang a lot of anti-love songs. We never wrote a single pro-love song. We had a basic 1/1 time signature and played at every dive we possibly could. At our best we played 7 consecutive nights and then died of exhaustion.
Me: What do you prefer, being in a band or being solo?
Elliot: I prefer being in a band, or at least playing with a band. It's frustrating playing solo when you know, for instance, that an organ should be playing with you.
Me: You kinda have a new band, right? The Candy Caps. Who is in the band with you? Did they play on the CD?
Elliot: The Candy Caps was what I called anyone who would help me record or perform. There were any official Candy Caps. The name comes from a mis-hearing of the words ''Canned Heat Tapes''. I guess the Candy Caps, who never existed, decided they were sick of me being drunk at every practice and so up and left for the coast to do their own thing. They're probably going to be more successful than I ever will be like when Brian Poole left the Tremeloes.
Me: Okay, let's talk about the CD. It's called "Delirium Tremens" which is not an easy name to remember. What made you name the album the after the song of the same name?
Elliot: I have thought about this since deciding on the name. It is difficult to remember and the name isn't immediately appealing unless you have heard the term before. People are more familiar with the expression DTs than Delirium Tremens. The reason I chose that as the album title was because it was played on the radio more than any of the other songs I've ever recorded, and was getting a lot of airplay when I was compiling the album. The other reason I chose that as the title track was because I was polishing off at least three litres of wine per day when all of those tracks on the album were recorded, so it's a pretty central theme.
Me: I purchased the album off from iTunes and really enjoyed it. It took you two years to record it, right?
Elliot: Thank you! Well, it is a compilation of two years' recording. I never had the idea to record the album then spent two years working on it, the album really only took about two days to make.
Me: Who are your influences and idols?
Elliot: My most recent two heroes are Jimmie Driftwood and Townes Van Zandt. Van Zandt doesn't need to be explained but Jimmie Driftwood is almost completely obscure. He was a schoolteacher and folklorist from the Arkansas Ozarks born in 1907 and he wrote over 6, 000 songs including The Battle of New Orleans, Tennessee Stud, and Banjer Pickin' Man. He has changed my approach to music more than any other musical hero I have ever discovered. There was a period recently when I actually couldn't listen to anything except Jimmy Driftwood songs. There's a comforting lesson for all of us young songwriters who are struggling: look at Jimmy D., he was better than all of us and lived in relative obscurity all his life. I guess that may account for the fact that he remained so productive over all those years-fame and fortune never got a chance to make him start sucking. The only other influence which comes close, for me anyway, is Hank Williams. He taught me a lot about songwriting too, but then again he influenced EVERYONE. Edgar A. Poe, of all people, has probably had the most influence over the way I meter lyrics.
Me: I read that you are planning on coming to the States. Is that to live or to tour? Any plans to play in Florida?
Elliot: I have wanted to come to Florida since I was about 6. There was a competition on where if you collected enough lemonade bottle wrappers and sent them in you'd be put in the draw for a 3-week holiday there. I also want to see the Everglades after hearing the Kingston Trio song "Everglades" and growing up listening to Jim Stafford. I have been intending to come to the States for some time but have never had enough money to get there. There are quite a few really good underground bands in the US that have offered to set up tours with me and have offered accommodation, but the problem is getting to the US in the first place. I have considered stowing away on a freight ship. If I ever do get to the US I will tell them that's how I got there, unless it's true, in which case I'll tell them I got there legitimately. I would love to live in the US eventually, especially in the South, but that's a long-term plan.
Me: Also, I noticed that you have a few videos on youtube done by yourself and fans. You are very good to your fans, letting them make their own videos. Was that your idea? It's a very good one to say the least.
Elliot: Haha, thank you! Yes it was my idea but it came out of desperation. I simply don't have the means or the talent to make my own videos so if I were to get any videos made at all it had to be through other people. I'm very grateful for all the people who have made music videos for me and am surprised that most of them have come from countries other than New Zealand.
Me: So, Elliott, what is your next plan? Any new music coming out?
Elliot: I always have a backlog of songs I want to record but finding people to record me for free is not always easy. At the moment I'm trying to find some free recording hours to get as many songs recorded as I can. I don't have any plans for another album as yet though, but I'm sure it will happen within the year (assuming I get free recording time). I also play live country/traditional music with a few other young country music bands in the area (as well as performing original music). Here in NZ in one of our cities called Christchurch (in the South Island) has recently had an earthquake so there will be a lot of reconstruction work going on down there over the next year or so. I might jump on that wagon and save up some money. I hear they like country music down there which suits me. At the moment I am a busker (which means I play guitar out on the street with the hope that people will throw coins into the hat).
Me: Like I said I love your album "Delirium Tremens" and I cannot wait to hear more music from you. Go ahead and plug your website if you want and anything else. When you come to the States you are welcomed back to the Phile.
Elliot: Well, most of my new music gets posted on either youtube (youtube.com/rogermiler) and myspace.com/elijahbrownmusic and also I have a website which some kind Americans have set up for me elliotbrownmusic.com which has a heap of stuff on there, please check it out! Incidentally I have recently discovered that some kind person has made a Wikipedia page for me which has some good links on it.
Me: Thanks for taking part and continued sucess.
Elliot: Thank you very much for the interview! When I'm in Florida we will have to have some corn whiskey and cider!
Elliot: Thank you sir, it's an honour! I am good thank you.
Me: By the way, I love your name, a very good stage name. Do you use Ulysses often?
Elliot: I never used to use my middle name, Ulysses, until I discovered that U.S. Grant's middle name was Ulysses but due to a mis-print they put his middle name first and added an S. Grant didn't have any names starting with S but he couldn't be bothered changing it back. When I was younger my stage name was Ulysses E. Brown for that reason. I've stopped doing that now, I'm not like that anymore.
Me: I have to ask, being from New Zealand, are you a fan of "Flight of the Conchords"?
Elliot: Yes I am, and I have been for a long time. I'm not a fan of Lord of the Rings, however, which is the other thing NZ has done since the War.
Me: You played in a band called The Stomps, am I right? Did you leave the band to go solo or do you do both?
Elliot: The Stomps was a band Jackson Hobbs and I started a few years ago. We were angry young men and we sang a lot of anti-love songs. We never wrote a single pro-love song. We had a basic 1/1 time signature and played at every dive we possibly could. At our best we played 7 consecutive nights and then died of exhaustion.
Me: What do you prefer, being in a band or being solo?
Elliot: I prefer being in a band, or at least playing with a band. It's frustrating playing solo when you know, for instance, that an organ should be playing with you.
Me: You kinda have a new band, right? The Candy Caps. Who is in the band with you? Did they play on the CD?
Elliot: The Candy Caps was what I called anyone who would help me record or perform. There were any official Candy Caps. The name comes from a mis-hearing of the words ''Canned Heat Tapes''. I guess the Candy Caps, who never existed, decided they were sick of me being drunk at every practice and so up and left for the coast to do their own thing. They're probably going to be more successful than I ever will be like when Brian Poole left the Tremeloes.
Me: Okay, let's talk about the CD. It's called "Delirium Tremens" which is not an easy name to remember. What made you name the album the after the song of the same name?
Elliot: I have thought about this since deciding on the name. It is difficult to remember and the name isn't immediately appealing unless you have heard the term before. People are more familiar with the expression DTs than Delirium Tremens. The reason I chose that as the album title was because it was played on the radio more than any of the other songs I've ever recorded, and was getting a lot of airplay when I was compiling the album. The other reason I chose that as the title track was because I was polishing off at least three litres of wine per day when all of those tracks on the album were recorded, so it's a pretty central theme.
Me: I purchased the album off from iTunes and really enjoyed it. It took you two years to record it, right?
Elliot: Thank you! Well, it is a compilation of two years' recording. I never had the idea to record the album then spent two years working on it, the album really only took about two days to make.
Me: Who are your influences and idols?
Elliot: My most recent two heroes are Jimmie Driftwood and Townes Van Zandt. Van Zandt doesn't need to be explained but Jimmie Driftwood is almost completely obscure. He was a schoolteacher and folklorist from the Arkansas Ozarks born in 1907 and he wrote over 6, 000 songs including The Battle of New Orleans, Tennessee Stud, and Banjer Pickin' Man. He has changed my approach to music more than any other musical hero I have ever discovered. There was a period recently when I actually couldn't listen to anything except Jimmy Driftwood songs. There's a comforting lesson for all of us young songwriters who are struggling: look at Jimmy D., he was better than all of us and lived in relative obscurity all his life. I guess that may account for the fact that he remained so productive over all those years-fame and fortune never got a chance to make him start sucking. The only other influence which comes close, for me anyway, is Hank Williams. He taught me a lot about songwriting too, but then again he influenced EVERYONE. Edgar A. Poe, of all people, has probably had the most influence over the way I meter lyrics.
Me: I read that you are planning on coming to the States. Is that to live or to tour? Any plans to play in Florida?
Elliot: I have wanted to come to Florida since I was about 6. There was a competition on where if you collected enough lemonade bottle wrappers and sent them in you'd be put in the draw for a 3-week holiday there. I also want to see the Everglades after hearing the Kingston Trio song "Everglades" and growing up listening to Jim Stafford. I have been intending to come to the States for some time but have never had enough money to get there. There are quite a few really good underground bands in the US that have offered to set up tours with me and have offered accommodation, but the problem is getting to the US in the first place. I have considered stowing away on a freight ship. If I ever do get to the US I will tell them that's how I got there, unless it's true, in which case I'll tell them I got there legitimately. I would love to live in the US eventually, especially in the South, but that's a long-term plan.
Me: Also, I noticed that you have a few videos on youtube done by yourself and fans. You are very good to your fans, letting them make their own videos. Was that your idea? It's a very good one to say the least.
Elliot: Haha, thank you! Yes it was my idea but it came out of desperation. I simply don't have the means or the talent to make my own videos so if I were to get any videos made at all it had to be through other people. I'm very grateful for all the people who have made music videos for me and am surprised that most of them have come from countries other than New Zealand.
Me: So, Elliott, what is your next plan? Any new music coming out?
Elliot: I always have a backlog of songs I want to record but finding people to record me for free is not always easy. At the moment I'm trying to find some free recording hours to get as many songs recorded as I can. I don't have any plans for another album as yet though, but I'm sure it will happen within the year (assuming I get free recording time). I also play live country/traditional music with a few other young country music bands in the area (as well as performing original music). Here in NZ in one of our cities called Christchurch (in the South Island) has recently had an earthquake so there will be a lot of reconstruction work going on down there over the next year or so. I might jump on that wagon and save up some money. I hear they like country music down there which suits me. At the moment I am a busker (which means I play guitar out on the street with the hope that people will throw coins into the hat).
Me: Like I said I love your album "Delirium Tremens" and I cannot wait to hear more music from you. Go ahead and plug your website if you want and anything else. When you come to the States you are welcomed back to the Phile.
Elliot: Well, most of my new music gets posted on either youtube (youtube.com/rogermiler) and myspace.com/elijahbrownmusic and also I have a website which some kind Americans have set up for me elliotbrownmusic.com which has a heap of stuff on there, please check it out! Incidentally I have recently discovered that some kind person has made a Wikipedia page for me which has some good links on it.
Me: Thanks for taking part and continued sucess.
Elliot: Thank you very much for the interview! When I'm in Florida we will have to have some corn whiskey and cider!
Corn whiskey and cider? Yuck. I'd rather just have a beer. Anyway, thanks to Elliot for a really good interview. The Phile will be back next week with another New Zealander I think... recording artist Carrie Wade. Then the week after that it's Peverett Phile Book Club author Patricia Cox. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let alligators and snakes bite you. Thanks for reading, bye love you bye.
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