Pheaturing Morgan Geer from Drunken Prayer

Hey, kids, welcome to an extra Wednesday of the Phile. How are you?  Mark Zuckerberg announced he will not sell his 440 million shares of Facebook stock for at least a year. And then, if he does sell, he'll use the money from the sale of the stock to maybe see a movie or take his wife out for a bite to eat. The economy is so bad, I saw Mitt Romney at the supermarket buying Lobster Helper. The economy is so bad, Clint Eastwood talked to a chair while going through the cushions looking for spare change. There was an earthquake the other night in Beverly Hills. The second one in a week. They didn't even have time to pick up all the broken pieces of Cher from the last one. As people in Beverly Hills were running out of their homes, everyone was yelling the same thing. Oscar and Emmy winners out first. There was a big shakeup on "American Idol." There is still a vacant judge's seat. The producers are in a great hurry to fill the empty seat before Clint Eastwood shows up and starts yelling at it.  Last week was the 40th anniversary of "The Price Is Right." The big anniversary special was on Tuesday and Bob says he wasn't asked to be part of it. Apparently, "The Price Is Right" said to its fans, "Come on down... but not you, Bob Barker. You stay right there."  I just read that The Situation from "Jersey Shore" is suing a nightclub in Vegas for failing to pay him 60 thousand dollars for two appearances. The case is being handled by his lawyer... The Litigation.  A man in Pennsylvania was arrested for planting marijuana on the property of a church. People could tell something was up because instead of communion wafers, the priest was just handing out Barbeque Pringles. After confession, the priest had people do four Hail Marys and five Willie Nelsons.  TLC is coming out with a new reality show about a group of Amish people who move to New York City. It’s called “Here Comes Honey Jebediah Jebediah.”  So, tonight the TV show "The X-Factor" comes back on with Demi Lavato and Britney Spears, so I'll be watching. For the show Simon Cowell chose a crazy woman who cut off her all her and another crazy women who sliced her wrists. At least they're both hot. Both women were once pop stars, and I was so excited when someone released a pop star inspirational poster.

Today Apple announced the iPhone 5. That was not the only thing they announced.

Yes, the iSweater. That's so dumb.  Have you seen the new Gerber baby food flavor that just came out?

So, Jason Mraz Tweeted today and his Tweet mentioned Foghat. I thought I would share it here. Take a look.

Go to his Twitter page and see the picture. It's not the best picture, my dad is not in it. Go to his... hell, I will show it.

And now for the latest new pheature on the Phile. It's time for another...

If you see it e-mail me at thepeverettphile@gmail.com.

Okay, on Monday's entry I mentioned Bill Clinton might be here. Well, he couldn't make it, but I do have another politician here. Please welcome back to the Phile, our good friend Campaign Manager for Obama For America... Jim Messina.  

Jim: Well, I'll be damned, Jason.

Me: Hello, Jim, welcome back to the Phile. What's up?

Jim: I have HUGE news.

Me: What?

Jim: We finally closed the gap.

Me: The store? Just kidding? What gap?

Jim: We outraised Mitt Romney and the Republicans $114 million to $111 million in August. 

Jason: That's great, I take fall credit. LOL.

Jim: It's unbelievable.

Me: Yeah, after three straight months of getting beat. So, how did it happen?

Jason: Yes, and not by a small margin more than 1,170,000 supporters made a donation to close the gap.

Me: Now you can take a breather.

Jim: No, we can't let up for one second. These August numbers don't reflect outside group fundraising or spending... and in that category we're still getting thrashed.

Me: So, this happened after the conventions I take it.

Jim: Right before the conventions, we were being outspent by super PACs alone in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Me: What was those margins?

Jim: Those margin was more than 2 to 1 in Florida, Iowa, and North Carolina.

Me: So, this grassroots thing helped, right, Jim?

Jim: Yes, already, more than 3 million grassroots donors have stepped up to make sure they can't drown us out.

Me: Great.

Jim: I read something about Karl Rove is up to something, Jim. What is he up to?

Jim: We recently learned Karl Rove is rounding up the most powerful Republican donors to give all they've got to beat Barack Obama. And it's clear the Romney campaign has been building up a cash advantage that would allow them to blanket the airwaves with negative ads even if we did close the gap.

Me: What did one of the Republican people say about their ad campaigns last week? Something about daisies?

Jim: A Romney-Ryan official compared their latest ad campaign to the "daisy cutter" bombs used in the Iraq War.

Me: That's clever. Any other great comments like that?

Jim: Another adviser to the campaign said their goal from now to Election Day is to "carpet bomb" President Obama and Vice President Biden.

Me: What do you say about this, Jim?

Jim: After all our hard work over the past 17 months, I'll be damned if the Romney campaign, Karl Rove, the Koch brothers, and a handful of anonymous billionaires "carpet bomb" the President and end up deciding this election for millions of Americans in the last 57 days.

Me: Well, you just proved we can go head to head with Romney and the Republicans and win.

Jim: That can't stop now. This will be a tight race to the end.

Me: Yeah, time is ticking down. Jim, do you have any last comments to say?

Jim: Together we're proving that ordinary Americans... not special interests or super PACs... will decide this election.

Me: Jim, you must be really proud to be part of this campaign.

Jim: And even more determined to make sure our hard work translates into a win for President Obama in November. I hope you feel the same way. Thanks for all you're doing.

Me: Thanks, Jim. Come back soon.

Jim: Thanks, Jason.



Alright, so we are going into the second week of the NFL so here once again it's time for...

Me: Hello, Jeff, welcome back... so, lets hear you make fun... the Giants lost to the Cowboys. What did you think of that game? Were you laughing at me?

Jeff: I can't make fun of the Giants for losing since Pittsburgh lost too. Steelers seem to be losing offensive line like Amanda Bynes is having car crashes.

Me: Fair enough. So, what is the big football news after week one?

Jeff: The big news is the successful game that Robert Griffth III had, and how the number one overall pick Andrew Luck struggled. Plus the Saints lost, starting what can only be described as the beginning of a very tumultuous season for them.

Me: Okay, lets get to it... how did we do in the first week, Jeff?

Jeff: After one week, we both won 2 games and lost one. Both the Steelers and Giants lost week one so we are tied with four points.

Me: A tie with four after the first week isn't bad. Okay, with this week's picks... The first pick is the Cardinals will beat the Patriots by 13. My second pick is the Vikings will loose to the Colts by just one point and my third pick is Denver will beat Altanta by three. And I think the Giants will beat Tampa, but that's not an official pick. What do you pick, Jeff?

Jeff: I'm going with Washington over the Rams by 7, 49ers over Lions by 3 and Houston by 10 over Jacksonville.

Me: Okay, come back next week for week 3. Have a good week, Jeff. Thanks again.

Jeff: See you next week!


Jeff Trelewicz, everybody. Okay, so, you might've heard that Moragn Freeman had passed away. I spent hours trying to come up with a witty Freeman Someone Phamous Has Died blurb until I found out it was a hoax. Damn internet. Anyway, I tried to contact Morgan Freeman to the Phile to prove he's alive, but I couldn't get him. I did however get the next best thing. Please welcome to the Phile for the first time...

Me: Hello, Morgan, so give us some Morgan Phreeman wisdom.

Morgan: I don't play God. Playing is for kids.

Me: Ummm... Morgan, you never played God. Morgan Freeman played God, but not you.

Morgan: Oh. Well, if I die, go to heaven, and Morgan Freeman isn't God, I'm gonna be pissed.

The 24th artist to be pheatured in the P.P.A.G. is Stephen "Zomboy" Harris, and this some of his work.

I couldn't figure out what the fifth one down is... I think it's the cast from "Breaking Bad". Anyway, there's gonna extra entry next Wednesday and Stephen will be the guest.

Today's pheatured guest is the lead singer and man behind the band Drunken Prayer whose fantastic new album "Into the Missionfield" is available on iTunes. They'll be next appearing tomorrow at Broadway's in Asheville, North Carolina. Please welcome to the Phile... Morgan Geer.

       

Me: Hello, Morgan, welcome to the Phile. How are you? 

Morgan: Hi there, thanks for having me. 

Me: You're based in Oregon, right? Whereabouts? Are you originally from there? 

Morgan: I’ve lived in Portland now for about 6 years. I grew up in Western North Carolina, but we moved a lot as a child. 

Me: Okay, I have to ask you... has anybody ever told you you look like writer Alan Moore or producer Rick Rubin? 

Morgan: Ha ha ha... no, but that’s great. Probably not so much now... I like to re-arrange the furniture... but I’m taking that as a compliment. I guess I’m in good company. 

Me: Over the years I interviewed quite a few solo artists who go by a band name... which I could never figure out why. Why did you choose to go as Drunken Prayer and not your own name? 

Morgan: Several reasons, the most practical being that the name is more memorable and striking when browsing through a list of shows in a calendar. Personally though, Drunken Prayer is what I consider the name of the project; whether I’m collaborating with other musicians or not doesn’t change that. It describes the kind of music I’m making. If I start playing Kraut Rock, I’ll call that something else. 

Me: Where did the Drunken Prayer come from? 

Morgan: It describes the subject matter and music history that is the make-up of the music- Saturday night sin and Sunday morning regret and redemption. 

Me: I purchased all your music off iTunes, Morgan, and love everything I heard. Do you write all your music? 

Morgan: For the most part, yeah, the exception being the handful of Public Domain traditionals I like to throw in there. Most of those have been radically re-structured though. 

Me: Didn't you record a version of "Bring the Noise"? That wasn't as Drunken Prayer I don't think, was it? 

Morgan: No that was a group I had back in Asheville, North Carolina called The Unholy Trio. Bloodshot Records got a hold of our cover of Public Enemy’s "Bring the Noise" and put it on a compilation. The song was a result of having a few leftover studio minutes to burn, I never expected anyone to hear it. The other two guys in The Unholy Trio, David Wayne Gay from Freakwater and Lance Wille, are now the rhythm section for The Reigning Sound, one of the best bands going. 

Me: I read that you got into the music business after having a meeting with Tom Waits. How in hell did that happen, and how was he? I sent a request out to interview him but never heard anything. 

Morgan: Not exactly. I was working at a small bookstore in Sebastopol, California near where he lives. I sold him a book on rats and we struck up a friendship. Talking with him got me started thinking about the concept of this whole Spiritual Americana thing I’m doing. 

Me: What bands or singers do you listen to, Morgan? I am guessing you are a fan of the blues. 

Morgan: Yeah, well, the blues falls down like rain. In my musical life, it’s everywhere. I go through phases, for the past year or so I’ve been really into the Eels. The stand-bys never get old though: The Staple Singers, George Jones, Everly Brothers, Dylan/Beatles/Stones. I devoured that Keith Richards biography. 

Me: You opened for and played with a few cool bands. Southern Culture on the Skids and Victoria Williams who I am a big fan of. That's so cool! Who have you opened for that you were excited to play with? 

Morgan: Hands down that would be my favorite: Willis Alan Ramsey. His voice coupled with his straight forward lyrics and delivery just knock me out. He doesn’t play that often and has so far only put one album out. Getting to see him at all, much less opening the show, was a dream come true. A real sweet guy too. 

Me: Speaking of playing with, you have shared the stage with some cool musicians backing you up. The Eels being one of the bands, is that right? 

Morgan: Well, not E himself, but his bass player, Al Hunter, played with me at SXSW a couple of years ago. Eels have a few Portland connections. 

Me: When you play with a band do you choose who you wanna play with or do they approach you? 

Morgan: A little of both. It usually boils down to chemistry. I tend to gravitate toward a more soulful collaborator. I’m lucky that most of the folks I play with are really intuitive musicians. 

Me: Your mother was a singer, right? What kinda music did she sing? She must of been proud of you becoming a singer as well. My dad was a singer, Morgan. 

Morgan: Yeah, she taught me guitar and still plays too. She was influenced by early Bob Dylan and the ‘70s Austin singer/songwriter scene with a healthy dose of New Orleans blues and Jazz. She came up to Portland a few weeks ago and recorded some of her newer songs, I’m in the process of sweetening up those recordings. 

Me: Let's get back to your music. Your last album you released was called "Drunken Prayer... With Sam Henry." Who is Sam Henry? 

Morgan: Sam Henry is a force to be reckoned with; a furious jazz drummer from the Buddy Rich school of bad-assery. He’s probably most famous for his work with The Wipers. 

Me: Your new album is "Into the Missionfield"... what can you tell us about it?

Morgan: It has about 12 songs, opening up on the themes from the debut. This one’s shaping up to have a deeper Soul influence. 

Me: Morgan, thanks so much for being on the Phile. Will you come back when the next album comes out? I am looking forward to more music from you. 

Morgan: I’d be honored. Thanks for listening. 

Me: Go ahead and plug your website and anything else you want. I wish you lots of luck, sir. You gotta come play in Florida sometime. Thanks for coming on the Phile. Take care, okay? 

Morgan: DrunkenPrayer.com will get you anywhere you need to go. You can of course find Drunken Prayer on Facebook and MySpace. Any correspondence will most likely go directly to me. I miss Florida and look forward to coming back. I used to work summers on Captiva and Sanibel Islands in the harbor. Thanks!

Well, that about does it for this entry. Thanks to Jeff Trelewicz, Jim Messina and Morgan Geer. The Phile will be back on Sunday with Kate Taylor from Dead Fingers. Then on Monday it's jazz singer Kat Parra and next Wednesday artist Stephen "Zomboy" Harris. Now, I have to say something... yesterday as you know was 9/11 and on Monday's entry I selfishly put up a picture of me in the ocean. The guest was Anna Coogan who has an album out called "The Wasted Ocean", so I thought it would fit. Anyway, what I should of done was posted a picture I took at Ground Zero back when I went to New York in 2010. So, today I will. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye.