Diary Of Amy Rigby

Glad to be working a little, just a little glad to be working.

Includes a snippet of a difficult song I'm trying to learn. It may take a while!

Thanks for listening.

A visit from a toddler. Learning life skills never stops - and where did those waffle irons go?

This episode includes a bit of a rough demo for a song I wrote called Kid Again.

Thanks for listening!

The benefits of sticking to it...

A good time in Florida

No extra music this time - I am really trying to get the second draft of my book finished so a little pushed!

Hope you enjoy this episode.

Internal monologue as I get ready to fly down to Florida. Lucky to be going! 

Trying to make the most of this thing called life. 

I include a song I wrote on the plane three years ago flying back home....

Dressing for the long game. I try to find clothes for Eric's daughter's wedding and realize that as the years add up we're just lucky to be around for the celebrations.

Musical bit here in tribute to a recently departed genius of song...

A short tale about keeping the fantasy alive.

Includes a demo of a new song Gimme Bangs

Thanks for listening!

Wanting to be real, and good - and maybe to hug a tree...with the great Stevie Nicks as guide.

Songs in this episode: Invisible & a snippet of Sorcerer (Stevie cover)

Dad, and dealing with dementia. Writing and music are the only ways I can make sense of any of this right now. Hope maybe this helps someone else to deal.

Music inspiration from Mississippi John Hurt

"...and I think my spaceship knows which way to go." Sometimes a trip to Manhattan and some good old classic rock is what it takes to make it through.

Traffic, and Traffic. Music in this episode - you get one guess.

Dropping some of the heavy weight of stuff I've been carrying around forever. Should be easy to get rid of most of it...right?

Heard this JJ Cale song when I was thinking about archives and career ephemera and it felt just perfect.

Vanity, tragedy and everything in between. Prayers to St. Anthony. Worked in a new song demo (spot the Spinal Tap reference). Shout out to my invisible friends Kim and Jenn at Everything is Fine podcast.

England, NYC, upstate...a little bit of this and that because sometimes the big things are just too big.

Apologies to Dr. Hook...

Looking for self-knowledge isn't the escape it used to be. Virtual appointments remind me of the old days when therapy meant furniture that didn't come off the street.

Music in this episode: 

• So You Know Now from Little Fugitive
• Invisible from Middlescence

Going out west to visit my grown up daughter Hazel, I think about travel and getting older. How good it feels to see your kid doing good, how much I love Southern California. A fellow passenger's question on the way home gives me pause.

With a bit of music inspired by Joni Mitchell's This Flight Tonight, which thanks to Hazel I found out was a hit for Nazareth? Never knew that. There's forever so much to learn.

It's the one year anniversary of the Diary podcast! Thanks for listening.

Funny how the mundane experiences inspire and remind us who and what we love. UK travel, tea and biscuits.

• Music in this episode: Invisible from Middlescence and Do You Remember That from A Working Museum by Wreckless Eric & Amy Rigby

Low-key holiday joy, music and a day at the bookstore/bar.

Music in this episode:

• Invisible
• Shopping Around
• Waters of March by Susannah McCorkle 

I was hoping a pair of overalls would lead me in a new direction, but old ways are hard to shake, especially in challenging times.

Tracks in this episode:

Invisible

Some of Shelly's Blues - Mike Nesmith cover

I wrote and recorded the first half of this post/episode back in August, but it felt too effortfully "light" so I decided to shelve it.

The second half came to me two weeks ago at a writing workshop in Michigan where I was instructor and student of some great poets and novelists.  I recorded a cover song to go with it.

When places we don't even like become an important part of our lives, we realize we did like them after all, at least a little bit.

Songs in this episode

• Invisible from Middlescence 
• Only A Broken Heart (cover of a song from Tom Petty's Wildflowers)

A hose is a hose is a hose...

As promised, a more lighthearted episode. 

Sometimes it's all a little too much. Covid burnout, post-Ida angst; vertigo and...Dad.

Working hard or hardly working; a return to some kind of normal. Journey, George and the old broom knows all the corners.

Dads and daughters; driveway moments and riding with Warren Zevon

Pandemic wedding anniversary; ghosts of past tours...burgers and ancient amplifiers - these are the things memories are made of.

Trying to keep up with the way we do things now can wear a person out...

Music in this episode

• Invisible from Middlescence
• The Old Guys from The Old Guys

Elizabeth and Amy talk about assumptions. 

Tonight we're going to party on the Looking For The Magic podcast - Amy and 
@paranoiacs Elizabeth Nelson will discuss the weird magic of birthday shows, wedding gigs gone wrong...join us live at 6:30 pm, working on your birthday is proof you're alive.

Happy Birthday Amy! 

Elizabeth and Amy discuss firsts. First studio recording sessions, first tours and more! 

Looking For the Magic stream live on Youtube Wednesday's at 6:30pm EST on the LFTM youtube.  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcVrR6LQ_mBP3ae1IOBs56Q 

Elizabeth and Amy discuss the unfolding insurrection in Washington D.C. and talk about protest songs. 

Good riddance to 2020, the shittiest year. Sharing stories of worst gigs, stage outfits, venues and performances by other bands. Also things we thought might be crap that turned out to be good.

Referenced in this episode:

The Center Of Nowhere - documentary about Springfield MO music scene
Bobby Keys documentary: Every Night's A Saturday Night
Glenfarg
Philly
Business suits on stage
"The jacket"
Replacements at the Ritz
Luton on LSD
Love for NRBQ
Rod Stewart's autobiography

Elizabeth and Amy brave a December snow storm Wednesday night. It doesn't take a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.

Bee Gees doc
Luc Sante's Maybe The People Would Be The Times
Alright Alright Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater's Dazed & Confused
Braving the elements
Jimmy Page's argyle vest; Kurt Cobain's sweater
Yo La Tengo's Hanukkah shows & Do You Remember That
Sex Pistols Pittsburgh show that never happened

We share memories of first live shows, last live shows, best nights ever and hope for future gigs.

Peter Murphy at Roseland
Sonny & Cher 
The late David Olney
Drive-By Truckers
Wussy
Fave music venues

https://youtu.be/PwXQpT7Vkqk

Looking For The Magic gets off to a start with a discussion of current reads, brushes with greatness and things you shouldn't say to your heroes.

Discussed in this episode:

Peter Frampton's memoir Do You Feel Like I Do
Chris Frantz's book - Remain In Love
Pittsburgh
Richard Thompson
Shants
Interviewing NRBQ; Terry Adams
Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys
Touring with Warren Zevon
Jill Sobule
Tom Petty
Joe Strummer; The Clash
Beethoven; Theme from St. Elmo's Fire
Herb Alpert - Whipped Cream & Other Delights
All the greens from all the (pressing) plants

Recorded live here https://youtu.be/cVm_5Sr6Vno