sagittarius moon and other delights
as we slip into sagittarius and the run-up to the solstice, we enter that time of year when we celebrate our brother, Paul, the original van Gogh Brother, a maestro and a mensch. the van Gogh Brothers would not be what they are without Paul, and Paul has been my personal musical foil for almost 30 years. his influence informs everything i write and, with Clay, determines what we record. within a few short years of my return to music in 1992, i was introduced to Paul by drummer and percussionist Jim Treacy, by way of my childhood bandmate, supporter and imprimatur, Mark Zamcheck (another maestro). it was very clear very fast that Paul and i were simpatico, with identical musical lexicons, influences and leanings. Paul leaned heavier while i lived in myriad genres. we found our common language and it thickened over time. today this bond, borne of common love and respect, defines the centrality of our sound. join us as we celebrate Paul on December 9 at Vincent’s Worcester, home of the van Gogh Brothers.
sinner girl
can you imagine being swept away by a flying demon to a mountainous lair somewhere in the sky? can you imagine this demon coming on to you while you try to hide your disgust and fear? were you even a little bit tempted? can you imagine this demon saying, “you’re my sinner girl”? well, this is “sinner girl,” our latest track, which was inspired by a dream a good friend recently shared with me. she told me about this part of the dream and the eerie story leading into it, and i just couldn’t shake the words and images. i walked around thinking about it for days until i finally expelled the whole business in a song. and then it came back. as i was mixing the original track with producer David Minehan, i started hearing a rap, a la “walk this way” by aerosmith and run-dmc. so we tracked down RAL in Washington, DC, and he delivered in spades. we took this new pile of sonic madness and sent it out to Anthony J. Resta in LA who added his sci fi mambo lab-ness to it and produced “sinner girl (feat. RAL)”
Coast to Coast Diving
I’m beginning to see a trend in my travels as I discover one cool dive bar after another… It’s not the boozing— I’m not much of a drinker anymore— it’s the gestalt of the dive. The right kind of dive. The real, and the surreal. Some bars try to be dive bars and they’re not. You can always tell. They have the accoutrements of dive bars- the cool barback, the wooden tables and chairs, maybe a tin ceiling— but they lack the authenticity. The deep, unexplainable intangible vibe of 100,000 drinks at the bar by crazy, cool, lonely, beautiful, offbeat loners, losers, lovers, writers, ravers, would-be politicians, traveling salesmen, and artists. And the crazed, first-thing-in-the-morning, dyed-in-the-wool alcoholics. These characters are the most important. Each scratch on the floor, the bar, the doors- evidence the presence of the holy.
How I Found My Way Back to Songwriting
It was August 16, 1992 that I rejoined my muse after a lonely 13-year hiatus. I remember the day very clearly. I was on the 3-season porch of my grandmother’s house in Newton and I picked up my guitar and wrote my first song after so many years away. It took about ½ an hour. I didn’t title it. I dated it 8/16 and that became the name of the song. I still don’t title my songs. I just date them, and title them later. I’m not sure what exactly inspired me to start writing again. It might have been the heartbreak of leaving my first entrepreneurial venture behind, or maybe the realization that all that glitters is not gold, but I turned back to the bright light of music that was always, and always would be, there for me.
all that jazz
the 2023 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival marked my first as a part-time resident, and it was special indeed! the karma kicked in from the minute i got to the airport in boston, and the new-to-NoLa spell got broken with new friends, high times, and the return of synchronicity. old pal tom hambridge popped up on the jumbotron, drumming with buddy guy on the mainstage, the highlight of the weekend, and i got to hang out with family and friends like a local. i got a few more sticks of furniture and picked up my new Guild D-25, and started writing. the new pad started to feel like home. after i returned to boston, i got connected with one of NoLa’s top guitarists, cranston clements, (annie’s dad), and i’m looking forward to hanging out with cranston when i get back to town in june for my son’s birthday. life’s next chapter is unfolding.
billy boy and sinner girl
in what didn’t strike me as unusual at the time, the boy/girl song couplet of billy boy and sinner girl came pretty much back-to-back as a package this late winter/early spring. as i was mulling over the latest material for our new record today, the boy/girl billy boy and sinner girl parity hit me. these two writings represent a bit of a turn toward “dark folk,” or “modern blues.” as is often the case, the songs came calling- they weren’t invited. my friend abed wrote about billy boy this morning from Palestine, “It’s absolutely brilliant! And I LOVE the darkness of it, did not expect that! Sooo good.” but please judge for yourself here!
home
we hope you like the van gogh brothers’ new home. after 20+ years of johncate.com we finally got vangoghbrothers.com. as those of you who have followed us over the years know, the band has coalesced over time, especially since I returned from California a few years back. i feel like we’re firing on all cylinders now and we’ve got some cool ideas that we’ll share with you in the months ahead.
timeless
there’s a certain timelessness to life. we mark the passing months and years in increments, but we view the world from the collective time we’ve been alive. the “new” time gets added to the “old” time and a continuum is created— we view the sunset from the point of view of both our current and former self. for me, this is life’s great romance and mystery. from our mind’s eye, we are timeless.
simplicity
my father was an ardent fan of simplicity. “it’s hardest to be simple” he used to say. i somehow absorbed his passion and my quest for simplicity has found its way into most parts of my life. when donna suggested i get a christmas tree for the cottage, i hesitated until she shared her vision of a tree outside the windows next to the marsh. then it made perfect, simple sense. the end result of the lighted tree overlooking the acres of marshland is that i’ve created a beacon of hope. its presence has given me a sense of peace that i’ve never experienced. it actually feels like christmas this year. my father would have loved it.
the bare trees of november
november is one of my favorite months. there are still occasional warm thermal drifts of summer, but the hollow cold takes over by month’s end. it’s a traveling month. bare trees in the northeast stand like silver sentries pointing to warmer climes in the south and west. the pacific stays warm almost until month end, and the surf beckons to wrap itself around you for a few last days. it’s a dying month. the old dies away for the winter, making way for the new. that’s exciting news. there’s an anticipation in november— the promise of better things to come.