Ribcast: The Shinyribs Podcast

We will shine no ribs until it is time

4.7 (3)
Music
Updated Monthly

Mr. Ribs makes mountains out of molehills, hay outta horse’s mouths, something outta nothing. Behind the scenes, long form tangents of uncommon grace and courage. Always a new song, unreleased song, outtakes from legendary recordings, etc shinyribs.substack.com

7h ago

In Memory Of Dan Nugent

This post has bonus content for paid subscribers. Upgrade to get full access. When life gives you dismal view of a rust belt city from your lonely hotel window, look beyond the devastation and realize you are gazing upon the Mississippi River. And if you focus on the slowness flowing Towards the Gulf of Mexico. And you contemplate all the waters that have come together to make this mighty river. And you think of its ancient history. And that time holds our memories. The reflection of the sky off of the Mississippi. The rippling of the waters are the tears of time. Where the ghosts of Mark Twain and Chuck Berry mingle with the memory of Dan Nugent. Love you, Dan. And we miss you. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shinyribs.substack.com/subscribe
1d ago

Ribsiliency

Sometimes in life feeling that something’s not there. And you go through life with that feeling of the absence of something that should be there. So what are you supposed to do with that? When you expected a comfy chair and a comfy chair should be there, you just have to make your own comfy chair. No big whoop. no matter your path in life, there will be obstacles to overcome When the adjustment lever of life’s office chair is broken find something to prompt it up—dats how ya do dat It’s been a difficult few days on the tour, forgotten gear, less than optimal production, which cause some flare ups in relationships. We are all exhausted but we keep playing great show after great show. This band is unstoppable by all but ourselves. Nothing is clean and neat around here. I’m a work in progress with still some flaws to work out This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shinyribs.substack.com/subscribe
Sep 15

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

1991 that makes 31 At the St. Rose of Lima out on Bayou Rd That’s where our story begins So sweetly to unfold Thru the tough times the crazy times Where does the time go tell me where does the Mississippi river flow After it reaches the Gulf of Mexico We shoulda stayed in our first house on laverne st in Algiers That was the coolest house shotgun beams and piers But we moved On to Mandeville and Meterie When Katrina chased us she couldn’t catch you and me Do still wanna go with me Over mountains to the sea Where we can feel the music flowing under our feet I still wanna go with you do you wanna go with me What happens next is gonna be magic what happens next was meant to be Tell me where does the Mississippi river flow After it reaches the Gulf of Mexico Do still wanna go with me To the mountains to the sea Where we can feel the music flowing under our feet I still wanna go with you do you wanna go with me What happens next is gonna be magic what happens next was meant to be Just like me and you and you and me I still wanna go with you…. I was sitting alone, one night working on this tune. I got a message from a fan, Leslie Roppolo, asking me if I could write a song for her and husband, Steve’s 31st wedding anniversary. The tune I was working on, this tune, I had no idea lyrically where I was going. It was orginally called Lake Of Fire. So I asked her to send me the basic story of their life from marriage until now. She sent back 4-5 snapshots of their milestones in life from their marriage at Saint Rose of Lima on Bayou Road in New Orleans, to their first house that they loved, but wasn’t big enough. As their family grew they moved out to the suburbs of Mandeville, then Metairie. When Katrina hit, like a lot of New Orleans evacuees they went to Houston, Texas, and never returned. The original version I gave to them had lyrics about their pets and their children. This version I edited those details out and it has become a universal meditation on old love and how that feels to look back at the journey while simultaneously looking ahead at the unknown. I like to think of this song as a love letter to my own life, career—To my wife and family—to friends and fans who have been in long relationships and to the great city of New Orleans, that I owe so much to, a city that we all love and cherish. To me the song feels cinematic, as if the credits are rolling at the end of a love story. But there is no end to this love. There is no end to the state of mind that is New Orleans. There is no end, there is only What Happens Next and I’m here for it! Join me, won’t you Here is the demo Lake Of Fire This post has bonus content for paid subscribers. Upgrade to get full access. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shinyribs.substack.com/subscribe
Sep 6

You Are Here

This is a video poem. An idea I had that I explored in some downtime in Northampton around the iron horse. Which was one of the best shows of this leg of our Real alligator rollout tour. I wrote this poem after I woke in the middle of the night in Norwich, New York. I can’t remember if it was the night before the show the night after. It doesn’t matter. The piece itself is not really finished. It’s a work in progress as many of my poems are. Hell as many of my songs are as well. As much as any of us are actually. Works in progress all of us? What’s interesting is shooting these lines from the poem as best I could remember them in the moment, thinking about audio, video, the shot and people wandering around, fans stopping me on the street while I’m shooting. It’s quite challenging to do. And then editing later something else, a different version of the poem. Anyway, here it is. enjoy. The full unedited poem is here as well, so you can see how things got edited from the original that woke me in the middle of the night. And I should say, though the poem reads as though there is someone in the room rubbing my belly in the middle of the night, it was a dream I had that Robin, my wife was rubbing my belly. That’s what woke me up in the middle of the night. And then this poem came to me as I laid there at four in the morning. Some have asked if I ever stop writing. And I think the answer is probably no I even write in my sleep…. Also, I should say a bit of this idea comes from listening to Alan Watts lecture. If you don’t know, Alan Watts, I would recommend listening to the podcast, called being in the way that’s curated by his son. It’s a bunch of his old lectures. And for reading sake, start with a book of his called, The Wisdom Of Insecurity. This is an important book to me in my growth as a person. Basically the idea is that life is inherently, insecure, dangerous, risky, and eventually will cause death. It’s not exactly Bobby McFerrin, Don’t worry be happy, but that’s the basic gist You think you are here Don’t put Descartes before The horse the divorce before the source It’s not that you are at all It’s that you think you are Is that You are in between The drudgery and the dream None of what you see is what you’ve seen If seeing is believing, to love is to fear It is what it is and it ain’t what it ain’t You just think you are here And if that’s not a hook I don’t know what it is They used to say ain’t ain’t a word But it is what it is to love is to fear If I think, therefore I am I’m a man I’m a ham I’m a wheel I feel her hand, caressing my belly In the still of the night The absence of light Let’s a beam or two sit and brood Around the window Of the blackout curtains Across the street I can see The church, 100 years old Under renovation this dismal little town Heart of darkness and still In the middle of the night Love over gold Lightning over the park Norwichers Norwichians norwichites Dancing in the rain Frolicking in the mud and the beer The frequency of feelings Lost somewhere between The singer and the song we are singing As deep as it is long It’s nothing really You just think you were here Love over loss Love over fear How clearly must I say it? For this machine to hear To write it down from the sound of my voice I must speak so perfectly and so clear You are not here because you think You just think you are here Love over fear Do not be afraid We’re always here On our way to nowhere Don’t think Just keep dancing in the mud Until the lightning says go home To your family and Sit down by the fire light Good night, Irene I’ll never let you go But I must Love over fear I think that I think You’re always near Confused, I stopped and looked At the simple map Where is it I was going? An arrow points to me and says You think you are here This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shinyribs.substack.com/subscribe
Aug 28

Good For Nothing

Real alligator tour roll on We got rained out in Norwich last night. We got an hour in. It was raining most of the time we were playing. But these folks didn’t care they were prepared with their rain gear and they were dancing in the mud. Onto Northampton mass tonight for a sold out show at the Iron Horse. Everyone is staying healthy, playing at a high level and enjoying the tour. I certainly am enjoying meeting all my great fans from all over. So many stories I am hearing from so many fans that have been listening to me for years, but had never had a chance to see me play. And that’s always special to me. To hear how people came across my music, even if it was just the algorithm to me that’s like magic. These are music lovers that hear my stuff and dig it. It’s not your average Music consumer who just likes whatever is popular at the time. These are people that know what they like when they hear it. One guy drunkenly bitching about his wife’s taste in music listening to. Nashville contemporary country flavored music. I can’t even really call it country music. It’s country flavored. And artificially country flavored at that. He good naturally talked about the shit he gives to his wife about her music taste. I told him stay on her man. Don’t let her get away with that shit. Lol. I kid I kid. But I don’t. Buffalo was a light crowd in a big giant venue, which is not ideal. But there were some really wonderful people there old old time old school fans going back to Gourds and early Shinyribs days. They were elated that I was playing Buffalo finally. We stayed in an Airbnb in Buffalo in a little neighborhood. Which was kind of fun. We were all very surprised at the number of spiders in Buffalo like everywhere. There were friggin spiders. There are tons of bugs as why there are lots of spiders. And there are a lot of bug bugs because they’re proximity to Lake Erie. I would imagine. But still I’ve been around other lakes that didn’t have that many spiders. Buffalo might be the spider capital of America. Some of my fans recommended since we were going to Niagara Falls on our day off the next day that we stop at a place called Kelly’s corner for lunch. For their beef on weck and their wings. It was a smallish place with most tables occupied when we got there and we were all a little bit Hangry. But one of the locals told me to just ask, and there was a big table in the back that they could come in. And sure enough it was like they reserved us the perfect table for all of us to sit together and eat. And we all agree the beef on whack is awesome very similar to the pit beef of Baltimore. And other classic beef sandwiches. But very good. The wings though! We all agree those were the best wings we’ve ever eaten in our life. And I don’t even really like wings I don’t understand them until now. Those were amazing and I’m still thinking about them. Like I might fly back to Buffalo just to eat those wings. Some other highlights were the House concert in Joplin. Just a little old house in a little neighborhood unsuspecting neighborhood. You wouldn’t even know there was a concert venue in this house. It looks like every other house on the block. But Geoff and Jaimee a couple there said after the tornado they had to do a lot of renovations to that house as it had been severely damaged. So Jeff said that moment he reevaluated his life and what he wanted from it. Got friends and family to help him turn the house into a concert venue. It was very cool very inspiring in a great way to begin the tour. All the Midwest shows were really great Newport, Kentucky, Cleveland, Indianapolis, St. Louis all of them we had good crowds and fun shows. And now we’re headed up to the north east finally to Massachusetts, where we will see Peter, Lily, Gregorio and maybe Anthony? Kathy and Steve, who else. I can’t wait. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shinyribs.substack.com/subscribe
Aug 22

Members Only Live

Here’s an epic jam from Domino Room in Bend Oregon—our live version of Members Only, a Bonny “Blue” Bland cover in which we also segue into Shotgun Willie by Willie Nelson and back again with a lot of cool ass solos from Eric and Cat and I even take one a little bit, I think. Have I said this is an epic jam yet? Color me impressed! With epic jams like this you can never be lonely and that’s all right. It’s members only tonight. Recorded & Mixed by Mark Creaney Video: Harrison McKinney Editing: Cap’n Gravy Boat This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shinyribs.substack.com/subscribe
Aug 19

Arkansas Mud Live

As our new single gathers momentum at Radio, I thought it’d be fun to share this video edit I did of a live performance from Bend, Oregon at the domino room. This was from our last West Coast tour, which is to promote the release of real alligator. The library version varies slightly from the recorded version and that me and Cat Clemons really lean into the guitar harmony or “Guitarmony.” I loved this from the beginning because of that Guitarmony potential. The Country and Southern rock overtones are quite delicious. Y’all may not know I was a big a southern rock guy. Skynyrd was my favorite, Molly hatchet, Blackfoot, Charlie Daniels, The Outlaws, Marshall Tucker, the Allman Brothers, of course and Doc Holiday if anybody remembers them? probably you don’t. Doc Holiday was to southern rock what Shinyribs is to Americana, lol. Recorded & Mixed by Mark Creaney Live performance video-Harrison McKinney Edited by-Ye Olde Cap’n Gravyboat This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shinyribs.substack.com/subscribe
Aug 17

Sunlight Is Starlight, Starlights Are Gold

This is made from 10 years of video, field recordings, found objects and forgotten gems. It may seem a bit odd or even disturbing, these layers of sonic bedlam and disjointed piles of video. But, I’ve long considered such works of density and comic chaos my raison d’être. Inspired by the likes of Revolution #9, Negativland and My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts I’ve decided to show y’all some weird shit. Negativland I find it entertaining in a noisy, banal way. Though little of it has seen the light of day for fear of harsh critics waiting in the wings, I intend to remedy this shirking of my artistic duty more and more as we go along. Love it, hate it, ambivalente, whatever, lemme know. These are the kind of weird ass things I do and have done over the years. It’s sound collage, essentially. And y’all know I love the collage. It’s like a massage for a mirage in my mind-the visage of a corsage before it was chosen to be given to the chooser as is custom among the girls and boys in some places I’ve been My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit shinyribs.substack.com/subscribe

4.7

out of 5

3 Ratings

Mr. Ribs makes mountains out of molehills, hay outta horse’s mouths, something outta nothing. Behind the scenes, long form tangents of uncommon grace and courage. Always a new song, unreleased song, outtakes from legendary recordings, etc shinyribs.substack.com

Creator

We will shine no ribs until it is time
Years Active

2022 - 2026
Episodes

83
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© Kevin P. Russell
Show Website

Ribcast: The Shinyribs Podcast

Comedy

Comedy

Updated Weekly