Old John Smokey: Difference between revisions
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[[Category:People|John Smokey, Old]] | [[Category:People|John Smokey, Old]] | ||
[[Category:NSFW Guests|John Smokey, Old]] | [[Category:NSFW Guests|John Smokey, Old]] | ||
'''Old John Smokey''' is a blues musician from Elmira, New York who is best known for playing the spoons. He briefly appeared during the "[[Slower and Creepier]]" episode of [[NSFW]] where he was to be the musical guest for the episode, but was ultimately bumped due to time. After sitting through most of the episode waiting to make his Internet debut, he ended up throwing his spoons on the ground in frustration and walked off camera. However, he did have a single spoon moving to the beat during the ending theme. | '''Old John Smokey''' is a blues musician from Elmira, New York who is best known for playing the spoons. He briefly appeared during the "[[Slower and Creepier]]" episode of [[NSFW]] where he was to be the musical guest for the episode, but was ultimately bumped due to time. After sitting through most of the episode waiting to make his Internet debut, he ended up throwing his spoons on the ground in frustration, got up, and walked off camera. However, he did have a single spoon moving to the beat during the ending theme. | ||
After being told he could not play on the show, he [http://twitter.com/#!/OldJohnSmokey/status/83374360383078401 tweeted], "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!" | After being told he could not play on the show, he [http://twitter.com/#!/OldJohnSmokey/status/83374360383078401 tweeted], "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!" | ||
[[Justin]] and [[Brian]] claimed that Old John Smokey had to be bumped because he was booked as a guest on [[NSFW]] and they had reached their time limit for that show and contractually had to move on to the [[after show]]. [[Chatrealm]] didn't buy it. | |||
==Music== | ==Music== | ||
Old John Smokey's upcoming album, which he apparently has or plans to use a Kickstarter to get funded, is named "Train Time Blues". Not many other details are known, but John had tweeted on July 6th that he would be able to post a free song soon. He has previously promised video or audio recordings, but none have surfaced to date. It would seem that John has to rely on friends or family to record and post these for him. He has [http://twitter.com/#!/OldJohnSmokey/status/86575248161505280 expressed interest] in getting his songs on iTunes. | Old John Smokey's upcoming album, which he apparently has or plans to use a Kickstarter to get funded, is named "Train Time Blues". Not many other details are known, but John had tweeted on July 6th that he would be able to post a free song soon. He has previously promised video or audio recordings, but none have surfaced to date. It would seem that John has to rely on friends or family to record and post these for him. On August 1st, [http://twitter.com/#!/OldJohnSmokey/status/98068565059571712 he revealed] that his nephew does the album artwork for him. He has also [http://twitter.com/#!/OldJohnSmokey/status/86575248161505280 expressed interest] in getting his songs on iTunes. | ||
From what he has said on Twitter, he apparently likes to play around town including his local [http://twitter.com/#!/OldJohnSmokey/status/84123049640734721 Denny's], some sort of [http://twitter.com/#!/OldJohnSmokey/status/84599614086447104 event with a stage] (possibly [http://twitter.com/#!/OldJohnSmokey/status/84996873148039169 a hotel]), and [http://twitter.com/#!/OldJohnSmokey/status/88011263229181952 his town square on July 4th]. For his 4th of July performance, he raised $32.43 and said he would donate it to local veterans. On one occasion, [http://twitter.com/#!/OldJohnSmokey/status/85747282510749696 a waitress asked him to stop]. | From what he has said on Twitter, he apparently likes to play around town including his local [http://twitter.com/#!/OldJohnSmokey/status/84123049640734721 Denny's], some sort of [http://twitter.com/#!/OldJohnSmokey/status/84599614086447104 event with a stage] (possibly [http://twitter.com/#!/OldJohnSmokey/status/84996873148039169 a hotel]), and [http://twitter.com/#!/OldJohnSmokey/status/88011263229181952 his town square on July 4th]. For his 4th of July performance, he raised $32.43 and said he would donate it to local veterans. On one occasion, [http://twitter.com/#!/OldJohnSmokey/status/85747282510749696 a waitress asked him to stop]. | ||
===Train Time Blues=== | |||
In promoting him on NSFW, [[Justin]] said his upcoming album was named "Train Time Blues". This was confirmed when Old John Smokey released a single from that album, "Rock Island", which said it was from "Train Time Blues" in the album artwork. | |||
====Rock Island==== | |||
[[File:RockIsland.jpg|thumb|Rock Island cover art]] | |||
"Rock Island" is the first known song to be released by Old John Smokey. The song is a cover of an old prison song. On July 13, 2011, 200 free copies were [http://twitter.com/#!/OldJohnSmokey/status/91351229761994752 announced] as available via Bandcamp. Since Old John Smokey was unable to perform on NSFW, this was the first time most of [[Chatrealm]] had heard him. | |||
The Bandcamp page gives history of the song: | |||
:''John A. Lomax recorded this song at the Cumins State Prison farm in Gould, Arkansas, in 1934 from its convict composer, Kelly Pace. The Negro singer, Leadbelly, heard it, rearranged it in his own style, and made commercial phonograph recordings of it in the forties. One of these recordings was studied and imitated phrase by phrase, by Lonnie Donegan, who subsequently recorded it for an English company. The verses tell a humorous story about a train operator who smuggled pig iron through a toll gate by claiming all he had on board was livestock.'' | |||
:''The actual Rock Island Line was also known as the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad.'' | |||
====Papa Didn't Raise No Weasel==== | |||
No recording of "Papa Didn't Raise No Weasel" has turned up, but it was promoted by [[Justin]] during [[NSFW]] as being a song on Old John Smokey's upcoming "Train Time Blues" album. | |||
==Twitter== | ==Twitter== | ||
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In the weeks since, Old John Smokey has continued to tweet. Some have noticed that he has sent tweets while Tom has been in the middle of [[Tech News Today]] or [[Frame Rate]] or when he has been visible on screen and could not have typed them. According to Twitter, Old John Smokey has posted using either the Twitter web site or Echofon. Tom has also been known to tweet using the Twitter web site, but uses different Twitter clients on his iPhone and iPad. | In the weeks since, Old John Smokey has continued to tweet. Some have noticed that he has sent tweets while Tom has been in the middle of [[Tech News Today]] or [[Frame Rate]] or when he has been visible on screen and could not have typed them. According to Twitter, Old John Smokey has posted using either the Twitter web site or Echofon. Tom has also been known to tweet using the Twitter web site, but uses different Twitter clients on his iPhone and iPad. | ||
The release of the "Rock Island" song has provided further evidence that Tom is not Old John Smokey due to the difference in voices. However, some members of [[Chatrealm]] still believe that Tom Merritt is Old John Smokey despite repeated denials by both Tom and Old John Smokey. | |||
==Fun Facts== | |||
* When [[Rhett and Link]] appeared on ''Conan'', the act following them was also bumped. It seems it's bad luck to be scheduled after them. | |||
* Old John Smokey loves the Chemung County Fair and was looking forward to getting [http://twitter.com/#!/OldJohnSmokey/status/91936029619126272 a soft pretzel and funnel cake]. | |||
==Links== | ==Links== | ||
Revision as of 09:48, 2 August 2011
Old John Smokey is a blues musician from Elmira, New York who is best known for playing the spoons. He briefly appeared during the "Slower and Creepier" episode of NSFW where he was to be the musical guest for the episode, but was ultimately bumped due to time. After sitting through most of the episode waiting to make his Internet debut, he ended up throwing his spoons on the ground in frustration, got up, and walked off camera. However, he did have a single spoon moving to the beat during the ending theme.
After being told he could not play on the show, he tweeted, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!"
Justin and Brian claimed that Old John Smokey had to be bumped because he was booked as a guest on NSFW and they had reached their time limit for that show and contractually had to move on to the after show. Chatrealm didn't buy it.
Music
Old John Smokey's upcoming album, which he apparently has or plans to use a Kickstarter to get funded, is named "Train Time Blues". Not many other details are known, but John had tweeted on July 6th that he would be able to post a free song soon. He has previously promised video or audio recordings, but none have surfaced to date. It would seem that John has to rely on friends or family to record and post these for him. On August 1st, he revealed that his nephew does the album artwork for him. He has also expressed interest in getting his songs on iTunes.
From what he has said on Twitter, he apparently likes to play around town including his local Denny's, some sort of event with a stage (possibly a hotel), and his town square on July 4th. For his 4th of July performance, he raised $32.43 and said he would donate it to local veterans. On one occasion, a waitress asked him to stop.
Train Time Blues
In promoting him on NSFW, Justin said his upcoming album was named "Train Time Blues". This was confirmed when Old John Smokey released a single from that album, "Rock Island", which said it was from "Train Time Blues" in the album artwork.
Rock Island
"Rock Island" is the first known song to be released by Old John Smokey. The song is a cover of an old prison song. On July 13, 2011, 200 free copies were announced as available via Bandcamp. Since Old John Smokey was unable to perform on NSFW, this was the first time most of Chatrealm had heard him.
The Bandcamp page gives history of the song:
- John A. Lomax recorded this song at the Cumins State Prison farm in Gould, Arkansas, in 1934 from its convict composer, Kelly Pace. The Negro singer, Leadbelly, heard it, rearranged it in his own style, and made commercial phonograph recordings of it in the forties. One of these recordings was studied and imitated phrase by phrase, by Lonnie Donegan, who subsequently recorded it for an English company. The verses tell a humorous story about a train operator who smuggled pig iron through a toll gate by claiming all he had on board was livestock.
- The actual Rock Island Line was also known as the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad.
Papa Didn't Raise No Weasel
No recording of "Papa Didn't Raise No Weasel" has turned up, but it was promoted by Justin during NSFW as being a song on Old John Smokey's upcoming "Train Time Blues" album.
Old John Smokey joined Twitter shortly before the Slower and Creepier episode at the request of Justin and Brian. According to John's first tweet, "I'm very excited to be on the Nsfw Show tonight on Twit. The guys told me they would plug my tweeter. Here it tis!"
John is clearly new to Twitter. His first replies to people had their names without a preceding @ until Drewshipper corrected him. His capitalization and punctuation comes and goes and he routinely attempts to type more than Twitter's 140 character limit.
Mistaken Identity
Old John Smokey was only seen on screen briefly. Since he was wearing a hat and had a beard, people have assumed that it was Tom Merritt in disguise (because Tom likes hats and is apparently the only person in the world with a beard.) After the show, a number of people sent tweets to Tom and he tuned in later to find out what was going on. Tom said he had been out by the pool and hadn't seen the show.
In the weeks since, Old John Smokey has continued to tweet. Some have noticed that he has sent tweets while Tom has been in the middle of Tech News Today or Frame Rate or when he has been visible on screen and could not have typed them. According to Twitter, Old John Smokey has posted using either the Twitter web site or Echofon. Tom has also been known to tweet using the Twitter web site, but uses different Twitter clients on his iPhone and iPad.
The release of the "Rock Island" song has provided further evidence that Tom is not Old John Smokey due to the difference in voices. However, some members of Chatrealm still believe that Tom Merritt is Old John Smokey despite repeated denials by both Tom and Old John Smokey.
Fun Facts
- When Rhett and Link appeared on Conan, the act following them was also bumped. It seems it's bad luck to be scheduled after them.
- Old John Smokey loves the Chemung County Fair and was looking forward to getting a soft pretzel and funnel cake.