Calexico “Tulsa Telephone Book”

Hitting random on the iTunes playlist . . .

It’s not that musicians are necessarily the coolest people on earth. But there is something about musicians, that causes the average person suddenly become not-so-cool.

Maybe it’s because you’re trying so hard to be cool, that you become decidedly uncool.

I had a chance to go see Calexico, at a little hole in the wall club in Nashville. And I even got to be there for Sound Check.

It’s a pretty wonderful experience, if you’re not a musician, to be in an empty club, just you and the band and a few bar workers, as the band sets up and warms up. Without the distraction of a crowd, I was able to really tune in to the songs.

After Sound Check, I wanted to show the band that I was really hooked in to what they were doing.

“I love that new one, the Telephone Book song!” I enthused.

“Yeah, that’s a Tom T Hall song . . .” (And in parenthesis, ‘it’s the one song of that whole set, that isn’t ours’)

Buy the Tom T Hall tribute album, featuring Calexico's version of "Tulsa Telephone Book."