Fancy Birdhouse

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My father used to have this really cool shirt that I borrowed pretty much every time it went through the laundry - it was kind of orangey-red with a blue-and-green paisley pattern all over it - I wore it until either I lost it or my father just hid it, I don,t know which. I miss that shirt. It went with everything, it went with nothing, and it took a long time to get over its loss. So imagine my surprise when I flipped through the liner notes of 'Fancy Birdhouse' and saw what appeared to be the exact same shirt in question being worn by some guy in one of the interior photographs. Now, I'm not saying that this person stole my dad's shirt or anything, but the concept that my favorite shirt has a twin out there, or maybe a whole litter of siblings, is almost too much to reconcile with. Actually, I prefer to think that famous musicians sneak into my house to steal my clothing for use in promo shots - I don't get a lot of verification in my life that I am Cool anymore, and this would definitely be a sign that I haven't lost It. But hey, there's a whole lot more to this CD than my dad's kidnapped wardrobe. Ex-Camper Van Beethoven violinist Jonathan Segel is a major player in this folk-rock trio, happily throwing his acerbic wit into songs titled "I've Seen a Goat" and "I'm an Idiot". I like the vocals on this a lot, both male and female - this is another band that's got the jamming-in-your-living-room feel to it, very relaxed and friendly sounding -although after listening to the old Charles Manson demo tapes of his jam sessions, I'm not sure I'm such a good judge of the happy friendly band sound anymore.