As I pulled into Johnson City, I saw a
sign for the Gray Fossil Site and Museum. Never the sort to walk away
from dinosaurs, I followed the brown signs to a giant building with a
“closed” sign. My insatiable lust for sites of minor regional
historical significance unabated, I followed the next brown sign I
saw. Rocky Mount Historical Site it promised. Closed again. Are there
no tourist attractions open at 3 in the afternoon on a Sunday in
Johnson City, Tennessee? Undeterred by the gate across the front and
with a few hours to kill, I pulled off and walked it. I had been
promised a Rocky Mount, and a Rocky Mount I would have. It turns out
Rocky Mount is the site of a former Governor of Tennessee's house?
Andrew Jackson mailed a letter there once, a plaque proudly
proclaimed. Yet another crucial historical detail missing from Alex
Timbers' deeply flawed play. Tisk tisk. As I wandered around the
grounds, I felt the eyes of a small cadre of shaggy sheep trailing
me. This is not hyperbole. They seemed absolutely captivated by this
strange colorful bipedal mammal holding up a small fuzzy bird in one
hand and a tiny gray box in the other and followed me at every turn.
It would have been creepy with the right underscoring. Instead it was
sort of adorable. This is Pen Pen and the only thing to see on a
Sunday afternoon in Johnson City apparently.
I played the Acoustic Coffeehouse back
in 2010, and keep trying to come back. The folks there are good
people. Johnson City's conclave of artists, radicals, eccentrics, and
weirdos. My people. The barista Carla asked if she could sit in on
mandolin for a few songs. Who am I to say no to a mandolin player?
There were no other acts so I ended up playing most of the evening
with Carla joining in on the 2nd half. She killed it. To
the point where I'm pretty sure I need a mandolin player in my band.
(sadly she turned down my offer to come on tour with me and then move
to Brooklyn “blah blah work blah blah I live here...”) It turned
into a kind of amazing night. Hopefully it wont be 2 years before I
come back. Hopefully May? Way to be awesome, Johnson City. This is
Pen Pen sticking it to the man in the least significant possible way.
This is a song I wrote one time. You
should download it and share it with your friends.
Saw you at the Acoustic Coffeehouse. Like the song you wrote about writting letters to your landlord. I also like the pictures of your stuffed penguin.
ReplyDeleteHey! It was nice meeting you!! I'm gonna try to come back in May! You play too right? Maybe we should make a night!
DeleteYeah, I also play, and will be playing there around July 4th. Unfortuantly, I live in Baltimore, but let me know if you come through Baltimore/DC/mid-atlantic region.
ReplyDelete