Volume 7, November 2020

Buenos Dias, buckaroos and buckarettes!

I'm Bob. You may know me from the band Big Medicine Head or daytime television.  This monthly missive from the land of tumbleweeds and the lonesome six string guitar features news from the frontier, music and prose.  Each issue will have a downloadable track and lyrics, along with the backstory of the song. For the duration of the pandemic we'll also feature live songs from the bunker. Call me crazy, but I'm giving all this away for free.

Oh, before I forget, this is the official Tales of the Western Hemisphere
Election Issue
, so...VOTE! It's not that hard, really. Do this, and I'll be your pal forever.

If you'd like to revisit past issues of Tales of the Western Hemisphere you can find them at bobgemmell.com


S O N G  o f  t h e  M O N T H

Sit back and relax as we explore the Bob Gemmell and Big Medicine Head song catalog. The download instructions are at the bottom of this message.

America, After the War

Here's how the pandemic started for me: 

I was in Alpine, outside of San Diego. Me and the boys from the Dirt Preachers Union (JD Devros, Johnny McGuire, and Charlie Ramsey) were all going to meet in Austin, Texas for Joepalooza and gigs during South by Southwest. I had my VW bus loaded with instruments and I was ready to head east on Highway 8. My route would have skirted the southern border and traced an asphalt line through California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. We had all been monitoring news of this crazy virus that had gotten out of its cage. We were unsure of what to do. Would we be able to go forward with our activities?

The news got scarier and scarier until we reached a go/no-go decision point. The concern was that if we got to Texas we may end up quarantined there. Crestfallen, we pulled the plug. I wandered back up Interstate 5 to my home, and that's where Lea and I have been for the better part of the crappiest year ever. 

So, I started writing, and I was thinking about what my road trip would have been like were it not for the biological doom that had descended upon us. What would have happened on my Texas adventure?

I was holding that thought when I walked by a framed photograph in the hallway. It appeared on the cover of Life Magazine in the 1940's. The poster has always haunted me. What was life like on that day in the American southwest? What was life like the day before, and the day after? What happened to the people in the photo, such as the guy hitchhiking by the Texaco station? What happened to the photographer?

I pondered this. My curiosity bubbled up into two imperatives: find a way to write my way into that photograph with a song, and find a way to craft a message that captures this moment we're in as a country. I don't know if I succeeded on either count - I'll leave it to you to decide.

Before you wander off to listen to America, After the War, we must note the soaring voice of the amazing Maddie McGuire. She took the song to a whole new place. When Lea heard her voice leaping out of the mix for the first time, she cried. 

The boys from Big Medicine Head all had a piece of the song, as well. Johnny McGuire plays rhythm guitar, JeffyD plays drums and is on the production team of Sterno Bums International, Jared Williams provided the Jared Williams King Hell Destroyer audio chain, Bruce Rockwell lent an assist with Photoshop to help me "write my way into" the shot (see if you can find me in the photo above) and JD Devros provided the Republic Resonator that provides a unique signature for this piece. Also, Lea Nelson Gemmell handled photography, and Lee Takasugi saved the song from the scrap keep with her keen critique.

If this song resonates during this election season, that's probably not an accident. 

Okay - ready? Just click the photo below (or visit bobgemmell.com). If you'd like to own this song for your library, follow the download instructions at the bottom of this message.

I hope you dig it!

- Bob

 

America, After the War

I'm standing in this photograph
In America, after the war
from the camera of an immigrant
In America, after the war
I recall the night that we said goodbye
there were fireworks in the Texas sky
and the world was heading to war

She slipped a note in my coat
she wrote 
"the world's getting colder
find me when it's over
come find me
after the war"

I'm standing in this Texaco
In America, after the war
hitching west with my new friend Joe
In America, after the war
he's a dirt preacher with a union card
he tried to find Jesus but he looked too hard
In America, after the war

She slipped a note in my coat
she wrote 
"the world's getting colder
we'll dance when it's over
come find me
after the war"

Arizona road
take me home...

So this is where the pavement ends
In America, after the war
may I make it back to you, my friend
In America, after the war
when trouble comes to settle the score
may you guide it past like a matador
may we meet again if just once more
may we meet again if just once more
In America, after the war

She slipped a note in my coat
she wrote 
"the world's getting colder
find me when it's over
come find me
after the war
the world's getting colder
we'll dance when it's over
come find me
after the war"
 


S O N G  f r o m  t h e  B U N K E R

Each month we spin up a new song from the foxhole we find ourselves in. This month we'll reprise the July offering. This is the live version of America, After the War with zero production. Just me and the guitar I wrote it on.

As I mentioned above, the song is based on a photograph - a 1947 shot by Andreas Feineger that appeared on the cover of LIFE magazine. The image describes a stretch of Route 66 in Arizona when the world was clean and wide open. I first came across this photo as wall art in the men's room of a Borders book store in Monterey, California. I made the manager of the store promise me that when they were done with it they would sell it to me, or give it to me, or whatever. When the store went out of business I waited for a call that never came.

As I previously mentioned, the picture has haunted me for years, and I can't say why. A few people, a few cars and a bus going somewhere. Do the people in the photo know they're immortalized? Are they still alive? Did they have happy lives? 

This version of America, After the War is recorded with a single Shure mic in the bunker. It's the kind of song you come up with when the world is on fire. Let me know what you think after you've listened to both versions. Just click here to listen, or anywhere on the photo of me and Rex!

Me and Rex