My all-time favorite writers' night was Thurday nights at Douglas Corner Cafe.
They had a chart band ("The First Take Band"). Studio guys. Nashville Number charts.
If you were good at writing charts, you could get (hear) exactly what you wanted from the band.
The Nashville Number system is fairly simple to learn - and provides for all the band dynamics in very simple notation. It's quite cool...
Sort of like BIAB, but with live players, first take...

Steve and I were sitting there one night, discussing what a great education it was.
How your charts evolved (got better and better)...how we got to hear a full band production of your newly written songs... How we got to hear a seemingly endless stream of writers - from as-good-as-it-gets to very bad...

Steve said "It's like a honky tonk of higher learning!"
We immediately knew that was a song.
He wrote the title on a napkin and handed it to me.
I wrote this the next morning.
The following Thursday, it debuted - with a full band, of course.
Steve sang harmonies (he was an experienced demo singer - so one listen in the parking lot beforehand was all he needed).

Here is what it sounds like with my new band.

Style is _BOOGNO1.STY (NewOrleans Boogie Quartet[165RS])

RealTracks in style: 2149:Bass, Electric, NewOrleansBoogie Ev 165
RealTracks in style: 2150:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm NewOrleansBoogie Ev 165
MIDI SuperTracks in song: 2153:Piano, Rhythm NewOrleansBoogieKevin Ev 165
MIDI SuperTracks in song: 2154:Piano, Soloist NewOrleansBoogieKevin Ev 165
RealTracks in song: 658:Guitar, Electric, Rhythm TexasRockChop Ev 120 (A:sync)
RealTracks in song: 1733:Guitar, Electric, Soloist TexasBluesRockNRollBrent Ev 165
RealDrums in style: NewOrleansBoogie^01-a:Snare, HiHat , b:Snare, Ride

HONKY TONK OF HIGHER LEARNING

just because i don't have a fancy diploma
just because i never went to college
doesn't mean i can't make my way in this world
i've gained the necessary knowledge
me and the boys still worry about
the grades we might be earning
hanging out here in the hallowed halls
of the honky tonk of higher learning

floyd's learning how it feels to flunk out
with phyliss over by the jukebox
hannah's teaching harry how she breaks hearts
here in this school of hard knocks
rachel's reading randy the rules of rejection
it seldom seems to concern him
he's still hanging out here in the hallowed halls
of the honky tonk of higher learning

   this is where we learn the real lessons of life
   keep the midnight oil burning
   sink or swim get your studies in
   the honky tonk of higher learning

saturday nights it's social studies
your history comes back to haunt you
you think you've got some chemistry going with the waitress
statistics say she won't want you
do a little math, figure up your tab
the wheels of knowledge just keep turning
hanging out here in the hallowed halls
of the honky tonk of higher learning

we're continuing our education
keep those neon beer signs burning
hanging out here in the hallowed halls
of the honky tonk of higher learning

ain't never graduating from these hallowed halls
the honky tonk of higher learning

©steve vincent and floyd jane


Have a beer.
Keep working toward that diploma!
floyd

150+ Songs produced using BIAB RealTracks
And 50 more...
and some more...