NEWSLETTERS

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Hendrix November 05 GoatNotes
 
"A camel is a mammal with a hump on its back
A duck has a bill that goes quackity quack
You’ve gotta laugh at the neck of the giraffe
And celebrate the difference."

"Celebrate the Difference" — Terri Hendrix

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Beginning a GoatNotes newsletter is always the hardest part for me. That's when my doubts and insecurities about being able to write anything worthwhile at all bubble to the surface of my coffee cup. I never know how to start a GoatNotes. I wish I could brag of artistic brilliance, but alas, I can't. As my coffee grows cold, I must admit that, for me, writing has always been a struggle. I live my life with one hand extended into the clouds to lasso the right word, sentence or lyric (all one and the same, eh?), and the other on the steering wheel of life attempting to "pay attention" to what's around me as I drive from one day to the next.
 
Though some may beg to differ, I always pay attention. Sure, most days I keep my head in the clouds (that's where the words live), but had I not paid attention, I never would have ended up doing a record for kids. I listened to what people who came to my concerts told me about my music and how it related to their kids, or I heard what their kids had to say themselves. I wanted the lyrics to embrace what I'd heard, along with the philosophies I live by: Owning your own universe; getting your "goat" on; stepping up to the plate and playing ball; and above all, celebrating what makes us all unique. I've dreamed of having a positive influence on kids, and this record's my chance to do so. Here are the songs on the album and how they came to be recorded.

About the songs:

"Peggy the Goat"
I've often been asked: "Why the goat?" Since my time on Wilory Farm, with Marion Williamson (not the author), I have used her beloved pets as inspiration. Peggy, named after the late great jazz singer Peggy Lee, was a goat that pooped, in defiance, in her milk bucket every time I tried to milk her. In a funny way, I had to respect her for that. In my life and career, I often find myself "pegging" people as being either "sheep" or "goats." The sheep follow the herd (for better or worse), and the goats do their own thing (for better or worse). I root for the goats. On a side note, Peggy's face is part of my label's logo, and it's on my CDs, shirts and hats.
 
"Celebrate the Difference"
Anita Donatto was a student at a workshop Lloyd and I were teaching. She's an incredibly gifted writer and ventured into playing guitar that weekend in spite of her physical limitations. Her lyrics about "you gotta laugh at the neck of the giraffe" inspired not only this song, but this record.
 
"Play Ball"
I wrote part of this song in 1996. I finished it on the way to play "Mountain Stage." I had a touch of performance anxiety prior to hitting the stage. To ready myself for the show, I shouted in the car (and in Lloyd's ear), "Even if you get the jitters, be a hitter not a quitter, step up to the plate and play ball!"
 
"Get Your Goat On"
There's something delightfully naughty about being a "folk" singer and mixing drum loops, kick drum and a thumping bass with a bluegrass section. When you "get your goat on," you are ready to dance, laugh, and hopefully, not poop in a milk bucket.
 
"First Place"
When I was a kid, I ran track. I made the Varsity track team my freshman year of high school. At a state meet, full from a breakfast of donuts, I ran the slowest quarter I'd ever run, thus putting my team in last place in the mile relay. I quickly realized my mistake and learned a valuable lesson about running laps on the "track of the human race."
 
"I Want to be Your Friend"
I wrote this on Labor Day. I'd had a slumber party at my house the night prior. I thought about my friends and how lucky I was that we'd all managed to get together. I'd been lonely for them and wrote this song from that perspective.
 
"Invisible Friend"
This is an offshoot of "Invisible Girl," from "Places in Between." So many kids gravitate towards that particular song, that I thought I'd do an, err, "kid-friendly" version. I never had an invisible friend, but I played with Barbies. I had them talk to one another — and to me — and was always embarrassed when I got caught. To me, they were real friends.
 
"Car Car"
I can't sing this ol' Woody Guthrie song without smiling, and that's exactly why I recorded it.
 
"Nerves"
A few years back, a CD was sent to a concert promoter that also hosts an "eclectic" bluegrass radio show. She sent an email to us stating, "We do NOT play any music besides bluegrass." She was later sent a CD by accident, in consideration for her festival. She sent an email to us shouting, "We ONLY book contemporary singer-songwriters in the pop and/or Americana genre. You are too bluegrass!" In part, she inspired this song. It's Julie Andrews meets Marilyn Manson. Hey kids, why not?
 
"A Place in the Choir"
I have a pretty large CD collection. It took the better part of a day to dig out a CD by the Massachusetts duo, Chuck and Mudd, that had this Bill Stains song on it. I knew I had to record it the minute I heard "All God's critters have a place in the choir. Some sing low. Some sing higher. Some sing out loud on the telephone wire. Some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they got now."
 
"Lluvia de Estrellas (Rain of Stars)"
I wrote this song years ago, and it was first recorded in 1998 for my "Wilory Farm" CD. It remains one of my most requested songs. But, there's always been something I've missed on it. So, at long last, I recorded a new version with kids joining me on the chorus. On "Lluvia de Estrellas" and throughout the rest of the record on various songs, I was joined by Lloyd's grandkids, Declan Maguire and Slade Pasdar (he paid them a dollar a piece), along with fellow kids (goats) Danielle Meador, Jacy Meador, Rainey Tsukifuji, Carolene Tsukifuji and Lily Remmert.
 
"Yeah Yeah Yeah"
We'd wrapped up a show for KXCI, in Tucson, Arizona. After the show, while catching a breath of fresh air before we hit the road, I commented on how bright the stars were. Someone made the comment that their city had an ordinance for local businesses to turn their lights off so as not to interfere with the town's view of the stars. I thought about what a wonderful message that was sending out to their children — and the next generation of politicians — and put it into song.
 
"Walkin’ on the Moon"
When Taylor Pie and Herb McCullough wrote this song, I think they secretly read my heart. When I heard this song for the first time, I pushed replay on my stereo over and over until my hand cramped. As a kid, there were monsters under my bed. Being tall when you feel small is big enough challenge as an adult. For a kid, without help, sometimes it's all but impossible. 
 

November is the month honoring thankfulness, so it's befitting that I should close this month's GoatNotes crediting and giving thanks to Lloyd Maines for his production skills on "Celebrate the Difference." There's always a few goals we aspire to achieve when we begin a project. I told Lloyd, "I paid attention to what folks have told me regarding a kids record. They want to drive to it, dance to it, laugh to it, and create memories that will live long past the music on it." Lloyd took what I said and ran with it. As I struggled through new harmonica parts and threatened to poop in the milk bucket, Lloyd persisted until the project was completed. "Is this what you wanted?" he asked me when I listened to the final note of the last song just prior to sending it off for duplication. "You paid attention," I replied. 
 

Happy Thanksgiving!
Warm regards,
Terri Hendrix

(C)(P) THM Music November 2005

www.terrihendrix.com
Terri Hendrix
Wilory Records
PO BOX 2340
San Marcos, TX 78667
phone 512-353-2536
fax 512-353-0994
 
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