Tag Archives: Live Music

The Final Leg

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Two more sleeps at home before I hit the road for the last dates of my first regional tour.

The vision for this tour came together at the end of January. That’s when I first reached out to Happy Nomad Booking. I had an itinerary in mind that I hoped would take me to places that used to be solid indie rock stops: places like Morgantown, WV, then over to Pittsburgh, then back down through Virginia, before heading south.

Morgantown never materialized. I did play Harrisonburg, then Friday night was a great gig in Raleigh, aka, “indie rock city.” I sing about it on “Out of the Mainstream.”

Played a small dive bar near downtown called The Night Rider. Funky space and amazing sound (low ceilings always help). What was cool is that the original act, a power trio that wasn’t a good match for me, cancelled. Cooper Uglow ended up being a last minute replacement. He was perfect, playing solo, opening my show. Got to talk some inside baseball with him and Joe, the terrific bartender for the night. I rarely get to talk music with people who get my vibe.
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Loading Them Road Cases

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Since moving to Lynchburg, I’ve been making a musical transition. Oh, I’m still making and playing music, but my journey has diverged from the path where it began seven years go. Back then, I was just hanging on, struggling with the loss of a son, and my guitar became a means of finding some way forward after a devestating and seemingly senseless tragedy.

I initially thought I wanted to see if I could work-up a setlist that would allow me to get booked into clubs and other venues on the “cover circuit.” Every state and region has one.

What I learned is that if you have enough drive, and you can get on the phone and/or craft a compelling booking pitch, you can play regularly. Or, at least that was my experience in Maine. Before I knew it, I’d moved into playing some clubs in Boston, thanks to making a connection with a small booking agency. My first few years of playing live music, I’d play 60 to 70 gigs a year. That changed when COVID hit.

Then, my wife and I made a monumental decision. Real estate was at its peak in New England. We realized that this was our time for a new adventure and no more winters in the northeast. Off to points south of the Mason-Dixon line.

Lynchburg had affordable housing and it wasn’t a dump like some places that are affordable. But Lynchburg also has been a very hard nut to crack in terms of trying to book shows. I’m not going to belabor the reality that I was initially bitter and then, disappointed in the lack of places to play original music in the city and nearby.

Lynchburg, Virginia, USA downtown skyline.

What that initial experience provided, however, was the chance to really work on my songwriting craft. I’ve been putting out material on a regular basis. Then, putting it out on various streaming platforms, the central one being Spotify.

What has happened over the past two years is that my streams on Spotify have slowly ticked upward. Unlike many of the local musicians who get all the gigs, but have less than 100 monthly streams, my numbers have shot beyond 1,600 monthly streams and continue hitting upward. I attribute this to being willing to “feed the algorithm,” or the “Al Gore Rhythm,” as one of my songs on my new release, Some Singles+ talks about. Continue reading →

Playing Your Own Music

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I write my own songs. Not everyone does. I’d wager that it’s fair to say that many solo performers and bands that you’ll see at Maine’s various live entertainment venues this summer play mainly covers.

Don’t get me wrong, covers are fine. In order to fill a three-hour setlist, I play covers. Lots of people like to hear songs they’re familiar with. In fact, there’s a reason grounded in psychology for this and why covers are popular and often, necessary for gigging musicians to perform.

Petr Janata who is an associate professor of psychology at UC Davis’ Center for Mind and Brain indicates that the popularity of cover tunes is that when humans hear a familiar piece of music, it serves as “a soundtrack for a mental movie that starts playing in our head.” Janata states that songs can summon up “memories of a particular person or place, and you might all of a sudden see that person’s face in your mind’s eye.”

Is there a place for original music—certainly. Should I be playing all my own songs all night long? Probably not, at least not this year.

But, I do like coming up with my own songs.

Two weeks ago, I played the Kennebunk Farmers’ Market. My understanding was that it might lead to something semi-regular. Now, I’m not so sure.

I do know this. I got lots of $1 and $5 dollar tips. That tells me that people who heard me appreciated my music and they made a tangible show of their appreciation. I also wrote a new song just for that morning, about farmers’ markets in general.

I played it last week during a short video segment I call “Breakfast with Baumer.”

Here is “The Farmers’ Market Song.”

Launching Rock and Roll Church-Sunday Service

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New England-style Congregational Church (Maine Memory Network)

There was a time when salvation really mattered to me. Perhaps it still does—just in a different way than before.

Music has been something that has offered me a way forward following the tragic death of my son, Mark. Back in August 2018, I never thought I’d be sitting here, promoting a Facebook live event—especially not an event like Rock and Roll Church.

What do I hope to accomplish with a facsimile of a Sunday morning worship service, sans the usual spiritual trappings? Actually, music has a spiritual component that’s often overlooked. I mean, Larry Norman, the father of contemporary Christian music, did ask the question, “why should the devil have all the good music?” Really! Norman knew that music was a medium that could be used powerfully—in his case—to glorify the god who he believed in and exalted in his music.

With a new EP out and songs that I’ve been playing now for a few months, I thought the time was right to roll out a setlist made up of these songs and a few others. Also, as COVID has shut down regular opportunities to play each week via open mics and gigs at music venues, this is a good time to develop some momentum with regular streaming gigs.

I plan to play for an hour or so. I’ll blend a few covers and I’ll probably offer some between song banter, some thoughts on things going on in the world, and a bit of background about the songs I’ll be playing.

Come on down to the First Congregational Bunker Rock Church of Lo-Fi Salvation and join the JimBaumerMe/aka, Reverend Jimi as he shepherd rock lovers through a unique rock and roll experience.

Rock and Roll Church
Facebook Live
Sunday10am

Get Back to Rock and Roll!!

Death Don’t Have No Mercy

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Some friends have heard my Jorma Kaukonen story. It was years ago when I was much younger and less well-versed about the personal effects of one particular song he covered frequently (don’t remember if he played it that night, or not).

Kaukonen was an idol of mine, a member of a personal shortlist of musicians that I’ve never grown tired of listening to, reading about, or contemplating their body of work. And in Kaukonen’s case, I’ve had the privilege of hearing him live, too.

My story centers on Raoul’s Roadside Attraction, a small, intimate club on Forest Avenue, the kind of place that was a bit larger than your living room, but not so big that the music and performer got lost in the space. “Intimate” comes to mind as a descriptor. It was likely 1989. Continue reading →