The Oppenheimer Report 9/26/16

Last night, I travelled down to Bracebridge for a party to kick off the renovation of The Muskoka Foundry. Construction begins shortly to renovate the approximately 30,000 square foot high bay industrial facility, which an ambitious entrepreneur intends to convert into mixed use commercial and retail space. I was there as one of several representatives of Hunters Bay Radio, because when the project is complete, our little community radio station will have a satellite operation broadcasting out of this location. We do have a location in Bracebridge presently, but this new site will be a substantial improvement. A glassed-in HBR broadcast booth, centrally located in this prestigious commercial facility, will increase our exposure considerably. There were several musicians and bands featured at the event, including Kearney’s own Douglas McLean, playing some of his original songs, along with his wife Arlene. One of the scheduled acts was unable to perform, and Doug asked me if I would get up and play a few of my songs to fill in. I tried to weasel out of it, using the excuse that I did not have an instrument, but Doug smiled wryly at me and said, “No problem, you can use my guitar!” My throat closed up and I got that feeling one gets climbing the first rise of a roller coaster, but I did get up and play. Do one thing every day that scares you, and try to say “no” as little as possible. Unrehearsed, I got up in front of 200+ people and performed.

 

One of the good things about playing music to a bunch of people at a gathering such as this Foundry debut, is that very few guests are actually listening. Oftentimes professional musicians play venues and parties, where liquor is served, and more often than not, the crowd is talking and not really paying attention. If you’re a cover band playing crowd favorites, like “Sweet Home Alabama” you might get a rise out of the audience, but I am anything but that. My originals are not toe-tappers, and I am always aware of the audience to which I am playing. Long story short, I got up and did a short set of my songs, to an audience that would probably have preferred to hear Michael Jackson covers. I think I did ok for an impromptu performance; at least no one threw anything at me. Thanks to Hunters Bay Radio, there are a few people in the local community who may recognize the songs I played. The timing was good, because this Wednesday I officially release the “Imposters Game” CD live on air at HBR. I left the stage shaking, but exhilarated. The end of this rather self-indulgent story is that, after my set, Johnny Fay, the drummer for “The Tragically Hip” came up to me and shook my hand! He happened to be playing after me, drumming for the country band Grant Tingey and Hired Hand. I realize he was probably just being respectful and polite to a visibly nervous fellow performer, but that handshake meant the world to me. I was genuinely touched by this kind gesture, and it made me feel like a fellow musician.

 

On the subject of original performances, I read an interesting interview with one of my Canadian songwriting idols Jon Brooks, and in it Jon lamented the eroding respect much of the listening public shows for original singer songwriters. He talked about playing a gig one night, maybe in downtown Toronto, and after he did his sound check he went outside the club for a breath of fresh air. Keep in mind, Jon is an award winning songwriter who regularly sells out venues all over the world. A group of young men walked by the venue and one of them asked who was playing. Another looked inside, saw the stage set up with a couple of acoustic guitars, and sniffed, “It’s just some guy with a guitar.” I used to be one of those guys, and I never went to the acoustic singer songwriter shows. Unfortunately, some people assume that a stripped down performance will suck. The more I learn about the craft of songwriting, the more I appreciate the power of a simple acoustic performance. In a bare bones performance, there is nothing to hide the success or failure of a song. A strong song, presented without an elaborate arrangement, can be remarkably powerful. The day after tomorrow, I release the first CD I have ever made in the 35 years since I began to write songs. All I have ever done is compose on an acoustic guitar, but I have been listening and learning from the artists I admire. This album is not perfect, but it is an honest translation, recorded by a gifted musician and arranger, of the songs I have only ever before performed on an acoustic guitar. I am so happy to have finally done this, after so many years of dreaming about it. If you have the opportunity, tune into Hunters Bay Radio (huntersbayradio.com) and listen live on Tuesday night from 6-7PM as I release my first album of songs to the public. If you’re local, stop in and join me!

                        - Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c2016 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Oppenheimer Report - 9/19/16

One of the many things I love about doing a radio show dealing with songwriters is that it puts me back in touch with some people with whom I have not spoken in decades. Several of my high school classmates listen to the show on the internet occasionally, and each one of them has distinctive tastes in music. From time to time they give me suggestions for what to play on my show. One classmate, who now lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico just sent me a list of his 400 favorite songs. When I consult that list it brings back a lot of fond memories. Many of the songs on his hit list were tunes I listened to a long time ago and have not heard since. I’m sure some of those songs will end up in my show. Everyone knows someone who wrote an original song, and whether or not it’s a strong song, there is a story behind it. I have had many conversations with relative strangers about their song writing experiences. There is no better way to learn more about the craft than to examine the tastes of many different people. I’ve met some very interesting songwriters and learned something about the craft from my interviews. The show has always been about my quest to learn more about songwriting, and I love hearing the stories about the who, what, where, and when of a song. Last week, I played an old Yardbirds tune that I’d always assumed was written by the members of the band. One of their biggest hits, “For Your Love” and it has been covered by countless other bands, but was in fact written by another songwriter, Graham Gouldman. A founding member of the band 10CC,  Gouldman wrote or co-wrote a lot of hits from the 60's and 70's, including the famous Hollies hit “Bus Stop”. When I read these stories, I realize that a lot of people are probably like me, and don’t know who actually wrote these songs. Some of my fellow musicians are now telling me that there are not a lot of radio shows that focus on the actual songwriters. Perhaps I have found my niche.

 

Speaking of songwriting, last Thursday I received a shipment containing 300 CDs of my first album Imposters Game. I am apprehensive about releasing it to the public, but the die is cast. While recognition is the brass ring, now that I am actually putting my songs out there for anyone to hear, I am apprehensive. I suppose it’s silly to even worry about this, as the number of people interested in my work can probably be counted on two hands. Still, I have written in a vacuum for 35 years and am just now releasing my first set of songs to the general public. I feels strange. A week Wednesday, I will go on air at Hunters Bay Radio, with my producer Juan Barbosa, and talk a little bit about the process of making Imposters Game. There will be no official CD release, just this radio show. After the show, the album will be available at the radio station, all proceeds from its sale going to the station, and I can move on to my next project. I never thought I’d release a CD of my songs that merits attention, but I am proud to have made this album. I hope a lot of people find the time to listen to it. Arrogant to imagine, but I dream that the release of this album could somehow bring some much deserved recognition to Hunters Bay Radio, which has helped so many artists like me blossom. Dare to dream.

The fifteenth anniversary of 9-11 snuck up on me. It wasn’t until the six o’clock news came on that I realized what day it was. Later that night, we watched that famous documentary released after 9-11, intended to be about the newbie at a lower Manhattan FDNY fire hall, which included all that remarkable footage from the day. I’d forgotten that the cameraman had filmed the falling of the second tower from Ground Zero! I still bristle when I see those towers fall. That was the Pearl Harbor of my generation, but it was a different kind of enemy. And finally, there was a story on the news the other night about the growing pet health industry. Last year, North Americans spent $60 billion on pet health, up 75% from the year 2000. There are pet spas springing up in larger North American cities and people are paying big bucks to enlist their pets in elaborate fitness programs. There is pet yoga, pet hydrotherapy, and designer pet clothing, but the silliest thing I watched was some gourmet pet food caterer offering beautifully presented plates of dog food, that look like something you might see in a five star restaurant. Everyone knows that the dogs don’t care about presentation and that they are just going to hoover down the food in three gulps. Clearly this is for the owner’s benefit. Nouvelle cuisine for pooches; have we all gone mad?

                          - Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c2016 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Oppenheimer Report 9/12/16

As I’ve said many times in this report, I never cease to be impressed by the improvement I observe in local songwriters. A few weeks ago, we attended a concert at the Algonquin Theatre in Huntsville for the release of Clayton Earl’s first CD and DVD entitled Now You Know Me. Clayton is a relative newcomer to the local songwriter scene, and the first time I saw him perform several years ago was perhaps his first real public performance as a songwriter. That first night, his stage presence was a little stiff, but there was something about his songs that resonated in me. I’ve seen him perform a few times since, and he has improved with each show. At the CD release performance, he brought in several ringers from the local musician pool, and coupled with his improved stage presence, the concert was really good. Decidedly, what moved me most was the message of the documentary.

The show began with the debut screening of a documentary, produced by Mark Boucher, entitled “Now You Know Me” and it features interviews with Clayton about what until then had been his secret. What none of us in the audience knew, including Clayton’s own father, was that Clayton suffers from severe depression, and has more than once come very close to ending his own life. He discusses it unabashedly in the video, and leaves us with the message that suicidal tendencies are not something to be ignored. Tragically, this is a well-kept secret, and suicides are on the rise, especially among young people. In fact, I  was shocked by the numbers. The problem is that sufferers feel shame and self-loathing, and often successfully hide their feeling from their friends and families. His message is directed to the sufferers: I have this, and I found a way out; you can too. I know Clayton will save lives with this video. Maybe he already has.

 

Clayton hit a raw nerve in me, because I too suffer from depression and, albeit not as severe as his, mine has been at times paralyzing. He talks about how songwriting became a cathartic therapy for him, and exorcised some of the dark thoughts in his head. I relate to that, because it has been the same for me. Some of my songs are pretty dark, but once out of me, the toxic thoughts are externalized, and I feel relief.  Of course not all songs are going to be interesting to or fit for the general public, but for me, it is the songs that explore inner turmoil that most interest me. If you suffer from depression, you know what a prison it can be. Sometimes it’s as simple as a chemical imbalance, and can be modified with drugs, or even better nutrition, but one needs to recognize the illness before one can address it. This is what is so sad, many do not, and many kill themselves as a result of their feelings of hopelessness. How many creative souls have succumbed to the ravages of drugs and/or alcohol because of their inability to cope? We watch the celebrity train wrecks and shake our heads wondering how someone successful could fail so catastrophically. I’m not a celebrity, but I know what it is like to have everything a man could want, but to still feel worthless. The reasons I quit drinking in 2013 are manifold, but to be honest, a good part of it was the realization that alcohol contributed to my self-loathing. Now that I no longer drink, my self-esteem has improved inestimably. Not usually one to play the evangelical, sober alcoholic, I will say this. I could never have hosted a radio show, or performed my original songs live on air, or finally created that ever-elusive CD of my songs, had I still been under the control of the bottle.

    

Last Thursday night, I performed live on air at Hunters Bay Radio for about an hour, and a video of the performance was recorded on Periscope. I don’t do a lot of live performances, but if you want to see what that looks like, consult the Hunters Bay Radio Facebook page. I’m on there somewhere. I can see improvement in my performance, and I am proud of myself for having improved. To me, that is my Juno, or Grammy. To all the people out there, and especially to those who are creative but feel detached from the general public, you are not alone. Many of us have feelings of low self-esteem. Clayton has done a brave thing here. He inspires the rest of us in his community to wake up to the problem, and to get the help some of us sorely need. Nice work Clayton, we need more people in the community like you.

 

  - Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c2016 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The Oppenheimer Report 9/5/16

 

To follow is a report I wrote just about 20 years ago, and I think it is worthy of a repost, especially considering that it is likely  only 12 people read it the first time around ...

 

The Oppenheimer Report - 9/14/96

 

The other night, I was surfing the tube, looking for something to watch for half an hour that wasn’t completely depressing, and I was rewarded with a documentary on Barbie ... the doll, that is. Of course I had to watch.

 

Forget that Saddam Hussein is very close to provoking a war with the United States, forget about the increasing use of heroin among young American adults, as reported by Dan Rather ... we have some really important news here. Barbie has big boobs ... and Ken is a rich, apathetic twit without a pecker.

 

When I first started watching this program, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Admittedly, I came in about a third of the way through the show, but I think I caught the drift. Basically, it was a commentary by several so-called Barbie experts about what Barbie has “done” through the ages;  what she was feeling, whether sex was on her mind (tough call, because  Ken doesn’t have any genitalia), and who she “became” as time went on.  Is she a gum-chewing, licentious, conniving (albeit well-dressed) she-devil, or a sensitive, intelligent wonder woman, preoccupied with helping others? Does she get depressed? People were actually discussing these “issues” with a straight face.

 

They even went so far as to cover interviews with women who sought to be Barbie. That was frightening... that they have Barbie look alike contests...with real women choosing to compete in them!  I recalled seeing a show about some woman who had had multiple plastic surgeries in order to make herself look like Barbie. I don’t know how any of my readers feel about this, but I think what we have here are some people with way way too much time on their hands. Surely, Barbie has provided hours of fun and entertainment for her billions of adoring young (and old) fans. Still, at the end of the day, is not Barbie a plastic doll, with detachable limbs, painted eyes, and synthetic hair punched neatly  into her empty plastic head? I don’t get it. Does Barbie worry about world peace? I think not. Is she an insult to the feminist movement in America and abroad, because she represents everything that is shallow and superficial about women? I haven’t given it much thought, but what kind of person would? Does she “do” Ken? My goodness, is NOTHING sacred??  Besides, I always thought Barbie was saving herself for marriage.     

 

There are all sorts of Barbie Dolls, and Barbie has changed over the years  to reflect the times.  I have a few suggestions for Barbies that I think would  typify these turbulent 90's ...

Since everyone is so serious about attaching real feelings and emotions to this doll, how about  ...  “ Pregnant Teen Barbie”, “Crack Whore Barbie”, “Single Mother on Welfare with Six Kids Barbie”, “Dominatrix Barbie”, “Wasted Rock Star on Heroin Carrying the Ashes of Her Dead Husband  Around in a Backpack  Barbie” ... you get the idea.

 

At one point during this  programming gem, it was suggested that Barbie might one day be responsible for world peace, and I do think this is possible ... in fact I have a suggestion. Why don’t they paint Barbie onto all the missiles they’re about to lob at Saddam and his unfortunate  countrymen. Then she can make her small contribution to world peace ... but Mother Teresa she will never be. -Written by Jamie Oppenheimer

 

 

This Thursday night from 6-7PM, and before my weekly radio show Lyrical Workers (8-11PM), I will be playing a live set on air at Hunters Bay Radio. For those of you out-of-towners who might be interested in listening, the performance will be available online by clicking on one of the following links: http://www.muskokaonline.com/, http://www.huntersbayradio.com, http://tunein.com/radio/Hunters-Bay-Radio-887-s223886/, and http://74.119.88.66/test.htm