Pheaturing Alumni JoDee Purkeypile

Hello, everybody, welcome to another entry of the Phile, how are you? I have a lot to get to, so let's do this. First, I have to say the other day we had out 9th snake in our house or by the pool. Nine snakes! If any snakes are reading this, I want to show you what we do to snakes that enter our property. Take a look.

So, snakes... stay away. Did anybody watch the tea party debate last weekend? If the tea party really loved America, they wouldn’t have scheduled their debate against the opening night of football, specifically against the Patriots. It was quite a night. Rick Santorum won the swimsuit contest. If you didn't see the debate, did you watch the final episode of “Kate Plus Eight.”? Now, if you want to hear Kate Gosselin scream at her children, you’ll have to move within a 12-block radius of her house. A new report says there has been a sharp increase in the use of marijuana over the last year. Maybe that explains the sharp increase in unemployment over the last year. Obama wants to get Americans back to what we do best. He wants teachers teaching, police policing, firemen fighting fires, and the rest of us checking Facebook. Obama says the jobs bill will be paid for. I don’t like this focus on paying for things. That’s what future generations are for. President Obama is determined to help the unemployed because it’s looking increasingly likely that in a year, he’ll be one of them. If I was president, I’d freeze everyone in carbonite until the job market improves. It worked for Han Solo. Taco Bell is product testing a new taco with a shell made of a giant Dorito. Michelle Obama spent the morning watering the White House garden with her tears. A spokesman for Taco Bell said they’re excited about the new taco, and they’re almost ready to start testing it on humans. When it comes out, yes, I will try one. Snoop Dogg has signed on to star in a family sitcom. Remember when Snoop Dogg used to kill people? There was meteor sighting across several states. I spent the whole morning in a field looking for a baby Superman, but couldn’t find one. The University of Chicago is hosting an academic conference called “Jersey Shore Studies.” Meanwhile in Korea, students are learning something called “math.” The Lion King was just released in theaters in 3-D, don't ask me why. Anyway, they said Pumbaa was the first Disney character to fart. That's a lie... I was the first Disney character to fart. This past Friday the Star Wars films were released on Blu-ray which altered scenes as George Lucas cannot leave the films alone. Anyway, if you didn't buy the Blu-ray's yet... I have to wait til my birthday in November to get them... here is a screen shot of one of the changes in the films. 

I can't figure out if Grand Moff Tarkin is drinking a beer with a straw or an ice tea. Did you ever drink beer with a straw? You should try it sometime. I just mentioned The Lion King a few seconds and that reminded me, did you see The Lion King inspired inspirational poster? If you didn't, here it is.

And one more thing about The Lion King, I was going to work and I saw this cloud... and I thought, man, how does Disney do it? The cloud looked like Simba. This is real, look. Hey, what was Scar's name before he got the scar?

Logan: Dad, I have something to tell you.

Me: Everybody, my son Logan. Logan, what is it? I am working on my blog here.

Logan: I saw you on "Kick Buttowski" yesterday. 

Me: "Kick Buttowski" the cartoon? I wasn't on it, Logan.

Logan: Yes you were and you are famous. 

Me: Logan, do you have proof?

Logan: Yep. Take a look. 

Me: That's funny, Logan. I don't ride a bike though, even though I have a motorcycle on my t-shirt right now. LOL. Okay, now for some sad news.

Eleanor Mondale
January 19, 1960 - September 17, 2011
Her dad was Walter Mondale. That's pretty much it.
Cliff Robertson
September 9, 1923 - September 10, 2011
He played Hugh Hefner AND JFK. So versatile.

Well, it's that time again. Please welcome my good friend Jeff Trelewicz in a pheature I call...

Me: Welcome back, Jeff, before we go through the results from last week let's talk about other games. Anything stuck out?

Jeff: The biggest moments of week one was how bad the Colts will be without Peyton Manning and how Tom Brady made the Dolphins defense look like a bunch of children.

Me: How did your Steelers and my Giants do, Jeff?

Jeff: Both the Giants and Steelers were embarrassed this past week by division rivals, that we both should have been able to beat! 

Me: But Cam Newton played pretty good, right? I still say he will be benched in 8 weeks.

Jeff: Yes, Cam Newton did well for his first start. First rookie to throw for 400 yards in his debut. So it's hard to ignore those numbers.

Me: Okay, let's talk about out results. We get one point for the teams we pick correctly. So, who won last week?

Jeff: I made two predictions last week and I was 0-2 in them. Not a good start to my season with the Phile. You picked the Raiders by seven and they won their game, but not by seven so you also went 0-2. Highly competitive first week of NPPFL (National Peverett Phile Football League).

Me: Great job, Jeff. Maybe we should just pick the winners... that way I get a point. 

Jeff: You are the one who started it with the spreads. If you want to do it without spreads we can do it that way. You just want to beat me.

Me: Yup. No, we will keep doing it with the spreads. 

Jeff: Sounds good. Its more unpredictable that way.

Me: Aggghhhh... stupid rules. Alright, let's pick our next two teams. I pick Houston to win over Miami by 7 and Detroit to beat Kansas City by 4. What are your two choices?

Jeff: I am confident that the Jets will beat Jacksonville by a touchdown. Tampa Bay will beat Minnesota by a field goal.

Me: Thanks so much, Jeff. I will have you back next Sunday to talk football again. Take care.

Today's guest was last on the Phile on January 9th, 2009 as the lead singer of the band The Alice Rose. Now he has a great new solo album out called "October House" that is available on iTunes. Please welcome to the Phile... JoDee Purkeypile.

Me: JoDee, welcome back to the Phile. I am a big fan so it's cool you are back. How have you been?

JoDee: Thank you very much! I'm glad to be back. I've been just fine.

Me: Okay, I have to ask, last time you were here you were in a band called The Alice Rose and now you're here with a solo CD... did The Alice Rose break up?

JoDee: No, not at all. In fact, we're working on new material and a new record at the moment. We took time off in late 2009 after our second album kinda stalled, and concentrated on some side projects. There's Planet Rye Co, which is psychedelic garage-rock with songs about Halloween and demons and ghosts and stuff, and also The Battlemen, which I like to call "Medieval Rock". We wear wigs and tunics and sing about castles and witches and wizards and shit like that. It was fun for us to get back to just playing music for the hell of it, and remembering why we enjoy playing music together in the first place. It's also nice because the other guys all switch up instruments and contribute songs to those bands, and that's something I can't wait to bring into The Alice Rose on our next record.

Me: What do the other guys in The Alice Rose think of your new album "October House"?

JoDee: They've all been very supportive. I love them dearly for that. Lovely mates.

Me: Also last time you were here I commented on your unusual name, my friend. What is the origin of Purkeypile? Did anybody in school ever pick on you because of your name? People picked on my because of Peverett. I still get called Pervert to this day.

JoDee: I believe it's German, probably with some Dutch, as well. I've heard there's a village somewhere in Germany called Burkenbiel, and supposedly it originates from that. I know there's a Purkeypile Airport in Alaska, but it's like a little filling station for short-range planes. I didn't get picked on too much for my name, more because I was pretty spotty and had long greasy hair. There's all the usual jokes- Porkupine, Turkeypile, Pumpkinpile. I just say, "Oh, wow... how fucking original, man."

Me: You should go on tour with Jo Dee Messina, what do you think of that idea?

JoDee: Hmm, don't know about that. She's good, but I don't reckon our music would work well together, but you never know.

Me: JoDee, you're from Austin, Texas, right? Do you still live there?

JoDee: Yes, sir. I was born in Lubbock, though. I moved to Austin when I was 4 or 5.

Me: Let's talk about your new album. I love the album "October House". Is October House a real place?

JoDee: Thank you, friend. October House is a real house, in fact.

Me: What is the story behind the album title?

JoDee: Well, in England you'll often see house with little name plaques on them, like Redwoods, or Heath House, stuff like. 

Me: Yeah, our house in England was called Meadow Barn.

JoDee: There's a house in Market Drayton, where my girlfriend Lisa, who designed the cover, is from called October House. It looks nothing like the cover, but I just liked the name. October has always been my favorite month. My mom and her twin sister were born on Halloween, so growing up the house was always a kind of October house. It tied in with my childhood, I suppose.

Me: The album was recorded in England, right? Whereabouts?

JoDee: No, I recorded it all in Austin at my home studio. I just wrote most of the songs there in England, in Market Drayton when I stayed there with Lisa last summer.

Me: My son Logan has a question for you, JoDee. 

Logan: You sound like John Lennon on the album, are you a fan of John Lennon or the Beatles?

JoDee: Oh yeah, of course. He's one of my biggest influences, for sure. Thank you, Logan. That's not a bad one to be compared to.

Me: You do sound very much like Lennon, JoDee. You are really into music from England, as we mentioned before. Any new bands you're into? 

JoDee: I grew up listening to mostly English groups, like The Beatles and The Who and The Kinks, so it was bound to seep into my songwriting. I like alot of what I hear that's new, but I won't go into any names. I don't really go out and buy new music. I might just hear a song on the radio by some indie band, or whatever, and go home and write something in that style, not necessarily copying it, but using it as inspiration. There's alot of interesting production ideas I hear, as well. I listen to alot of blues players. Lightnin' Hopkins is one of my favorites. I learned alot about guitar playing from him. Also Stacy Sutherland, guitarist of the 13th Floor Elevators, is another big one.

Logan: Did you burp at the beginning of "Company Man"? Why did you?

JoDee: Yep, I sure did. It was a colon-cleanser. I just tacked it onto the beginning. When I'm messing around with ideas for songs, I always record them onto a little tape recorder to get them down. The burp and the bells and footsteps at the end of "Rise" where both recorded in Market Drayton. They're the only things that were actually recorded in England on the album. "Company Man" is about Lisa's boss at a little tea house there. I was mighty hungover one morning when I went down the road to visit her at work, and get me free tea and delicious sandwiches, so I thought the burp was appropriate. She would bring me loads of biscuits, like little wafers, and these old men who would always come in and talk about books and swords got jealous. That's why in the middle of the song you hear me saying, "Bring us more biscuits!", in honor of them, the well-read guild.

Me: Are you playing all the instruments on the album, JoDee?

JoDee: Yes. I've been doing demos like that for years. I started making them when I was 14 or 15 on a little 4-track.

Me: Thanks so much for being back on the Phile. What's next for you, and when your new album comes out, can you come back?

JoDee: Thank you, friend. At the moment, The Alice Rose is working on a new set of material, which we'll debut on September 30th at the Beauty Bar in Austin. A good friend of our's, David Bash, is holding the first International Pop-Overthrow Festival in Austin, and was kind enough to think of us. He's been holding them all over the country for years. We played one in Chicago years back, but this is the first one in Austin. It's gonna be a great show. We're really excited to get going on the new stuff. I'd love to come back, any time! Thanks for having me again.

Me: Go ahead and plug your website and I wish you lots of luck, my friend. Take care, and come to Orlando to play.

JoDee: We've launched a new website, Emerald Wood Records, emeraldwoodrecords.com, which was set up by our friend, videographer, and photograper, Jeannie Yamakawa. "October House" is available there, along with all the Rose stuff and side projects. "October House" is also available on Cdbaby (cdbaby.com/cd/jodeepurkeypile) and on iTunes. You can always find me on Facebook (facebook.com/pages/JoDee-Purkeypile/196740767006894), as well. I'd love to make it out to Florida, hopefully soon! Thanks again, friend.

Well, that about does it for another entry. Thanks to my guests Jeff Trelewicz who writes his own blog which you can check out at entertainmentgurunews.blogspot.com. And of course thanks to JoDee Purkeypile and Logan. The Phile will be back tomorrow with James Nee from the band We Are Trees. Then next Sunday it's the Phile's 400th entry with guitarist and a real good friend Bryan Bassett from a band I might've mentioned a few times on the Phile... Foghat. So, spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye.