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JJ Grey & Mofro Fansite OLD--AS IN NOT UP-TO-DATE--Message Board > Footsteps/Turpentine question
Footsteps/Turpentine question
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Sunshine
1833 posts
Jan 17, 2010
12:11 PM
1) Footsteps
Lyric: Don't you ? Don't you hear ? Footsteps a coming?
Question: whose footsteps are coming?

2) Turpentine
Lyric: Working that sticky gold ? flowing from a cat face
Question: what does flowing from a cat face mean?

Thanks in advance to whom ever answers my questions!
:o)
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"If you've never seen us before, don't be bashful - sing along from start to finish........and dance & feel good.....there's enough shit in the world, let it all out...........Brighter Daaaaays...."
Sunshine
1834 posts
Jan 17, 2010
12:39 PM
You are on the ball Stan, thanks. I thought sticky gold was the sap, but the "cat face" had me stumped.
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"If you've never seen us before, don't be bashful - sing along from start to finish........and dance & feel good.....there's enough shit in the world, let it all out...........Brighter Daaaaays...."
kcarmony
58 posts
Jan 17, 2010
2:09 PM
Good question! Nice to have an answer to something I haven't yet pondered, but now won't have to. Thanks.
Sunshine
1835 posts
Jan 17, 2010
2:14 PM
anytime :o)
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"If you've never seen us before, don't be bashful - sing along from start to finish........and dance & feel good.....there's enough shit in the world, let it all out...........Brighter Daaaaays...."
Richard
199 posts
Jan 17, 2010
4:53 PM
Hey Gang,
Since I lost the contest on the turpentine and sticky gold questions, allow me to defer all of my future answers to the one and only Cliff Clavin, that is unless some of you here are more on top of your game than he....or I.

Cliffy
"There are many theories as to why the Florida orange is far superior to it's California counterpart. I personally think it's the trace mineral elements in the Floridian water. That's obviously due to the frequency of typhoons in the nitrogen rich alligator guano. Furthermore, there's three points... "


(Bar patron: "Say, I just remembered I left my oven on, if I hurry I can stick my head in it")
skotdee
462 posts
Jan 17, 2010
6:13 PM
I don't know whose footsteps they are, but I think I remember hearing JJ tell the story somewhere, about him being a child, outside, and witnessing something otherworldly in the sky, ie; the heavens... like angels coming, or something to that effect.
mofrofans1
Admin
3097 posts
Jan 17, 2010
7:43 PM
I'm stumped (sorry--bad pun.) That's kind spooky skot. Whoever sees him next is in charge of asking him.

Richard, nobody can say it like Cliffy. You dig up some shit sometimes that just cracks me up. "...typhoons in the nitrogen rich alligator guano."

And oh, btw, Florida oranges ARE superior to Calif oranges!!
UHollis
271 posts
Jan 18, 2010
6:12 AM
stan nailed it.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/PostcardTurpentineWorkers1912.jpg

and Skotdee also.

i think the show was a bamboo room show, not positive. i know i was there. but like always JJ may have told the story more than once, though i dont recall so.

i am a little foggy, but i recall it much like SD. i'll need to find the show, but i do remember him harking a memory of out with dad or grandfather in the field. maybe. he talked about the florida panther, the bellow of a cat, and also a 'storm' on the horizon.

i always took the song to personify impending progress(whether good or bad), then juxtaposed against the oletimeyness of work in a turpentine camp.

deep it is.

Last Edited by on Jan 18, 2010 6:26 AM
Sunshine
1840 posts
Jan 18, 2010
6:21 AM
Y'all never fail to amaze me with your Mofro knowledge! You guys are great, thanks!

:o)
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"If you've never seen us before, don't be bashful - sing along from start to finish........and dance & feel good.....there's enough shit in the world, let it all out...........Brighter Daaaaays...."
Delerious Tyme
608 posts
Jan 18, 2010
6:43 AM
Skot and UHollis are pretty much dead on (of course) with Footsteps. I remember JJ talking about it as well on an archived show. From what I remember, he was on a bicycle and saw something he couldn't explain. It has to do with Angels as well. I will look for it as well.

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Delerious Tyme

Mofro for life in Arizona
The Rhythm Room is exactly that when the boys are kicking it here.
"Walking on Moonlight in the Day."

Last Edited by on Jan 18, 2010 6:48 AM
Delerious Tyme
609 posts
Jan 18, 2010
6:52 AM
Found it, Funk Box - Baltimore, MD 8/17/2004.

JJ was 5, on his bike (Flyer with training wheels), said he saw something he couldn't explain. Was 9:00 at night and he stopped and turned around and swore he heard angels singing. He said he saw mansions in the sky. He said the angels sounded like Mississippi Fred McDowell playing the guitar. Ever since then he's been hearing footsteps sneaking up behind him all the time.
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Delerious Tyme

Mofro for life in Arizona
The Rhythm Room is exactly that when the boys are kicking it here.
"Walking on Moonlight in the Day."
Delerious Tyme
610 posts
Jan 18, 2010
6:57 AM
and for Stan, it's a must listen as JJ rolls Footsteps over into Sad Days, Lonely Nights and calls it his favorite Blues song of all time. Junior Kimbrough. JJ should bring that back to the rotation.


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Delerious Tyme

Mofro for life in Arizona
The Rhythm Room is exactly that when the boys are kicking it here.
"Walking on Moonlight in the Day."
Sunshine
1841 posts
Jan 18, 2010
7:15 AM
Amazing work DT!

Now I will travel back in time to the Funk Box and have me a listen.

:o)
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"If you've never seen us before, don't be bashful - sing along from start to finish........and dance & feel good.....there's enough shit in the world, let it all out...........Brighter Daaaaays...."
UHollis
273 posts
Jan 18, 2010
7:25 AM
ive never heard that one DT. and the whole trike thing doesnt ring a single bell. cool.
UHollis
274 posts
Jan 18, 2010
8:06 AM
my best research shows that NYE 03/04 might have been the first footsteps.

on the archive, 10/25/03 - 2/5/03 is missing.

it shows up on 2/5, and not previous.

going through some old notes here, the mofrolistserve, and the tour archive leads us to only a handful of shows.

Dec 31 03 Freebird JACKSONVILLE FL
Dec 29 03 Ice Palace Sound Stage MIAMI FL
Dec 27 03 Tabernacle Atlanta GA
Nov 15 03 Side Bar GAINESVILLE FL
Nov 14 03 The Social ORLANDO FL
Nov 08 03 Culture Room Fort Lauderdale FL
Nov 07 03 Skippers Smokehouse TAMPA FL
Nov 06 03 Purdy Lounge MIAMI FL
Oct 31 03 Tipitina's NEW ORLEANS LA
Oct 30 03 Chelsea's BATON ROUGE LA

I was at 5 of those.

Looking at the setlists for the ones I missed, turpentine was not played, so the conclusion is....

MYE 03/04 was the first Footsteps, and my review from that night says it was "very Maggot Brain esque". Funny.

Our friend MO, noted in her review of the NYE 03/03 Footsteps, "sounding slow and sultry, thick and cool, easing us into the musical journey. The band was hittin’ it straight on for us. We were lead deep into the wilderness where primitive sounds, thoughts and feelings abound"

Last Edited by on Jan 18, 2010 9:34 AM
Sunshine
1842 posts
Jan 18, 2010
8:12 AM
what a dead on description there MO, thanks UHollis for your work in digging up these shows!
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"If you've never seen us before, don't be bashful - sing along from start to finish........and dance & feel good.....there's enough shit in the world, let it all out...........Brighter Daaaaays...."
mofrofans1
Admin
3107 posts
Jan 18, 2010
10:27 AM
I gotta jump in here real quick amongst my hectic day. This is a great thread. Thanks Sunny for asking something that many of us have wondered. And many, many thanks to DT and Hollis for all their digging and scratching. Great stuff guys!

I just did a quick check and this has been the most popular thread for the last 2 days. In the last 24 hours it's had about 150 people hit it up. So even tho there's just a handful of people here posting on the subject there's a whole lotta Mofro fans out there peeking in to see what y'all got to say.
Sunshine
1843 posts
Jan 18, 2010
10:42 AM
Cool! Hello awl you lurkers, post once in a while.....we would love to hear from y'all!!
:o)

now get back to work Mr. D!!
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"If you've never seen us before, don't be bashful - sing along from start to finish........and dance & feel good.....there's enough shit in the world, let it all out...........Brighter Daaaaays...."
swkelley
595 posts
Jan 18, 2010
11:18 AM
I sent the following email to JJ:

> JJ, There is a question on the Mofrofans site asking what the song Footsteps is about. Wanting to know whose "footsteps are coming"? I remember you telling a story one time about a black panther...some woman screaming late at night and you and your father going to see what all the ruckus was about and it was a black panther starring her down.....not sure if that is what the song is about, but thought perhaps it might be. Thanks for any clarification.


And here is JJ's answer:

Hey now, Footsteps was the past (when I believed that the past mattered).

The panther actually screamed and sounded like a woman screaming (there wasn't any lady involved). It was my grandfather that took me to our back field (here where I live) to look for it.


Hope that answers your questions, Sunshine.

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any groove is reason to move
Sunshine
1845 posts
Jan 18, 2010
11:37 AM
Stan you got an answer to my question directly from JJ.....I dew believe I owe you a drink my friend!

Thanks and thanks to JJ for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer my question - I owe you some BBQ!!

:o)
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"If you've never seen us before, don't be bashful - sing along from start to finish........and dance & feel good.....there's enough shit in the world, let it all out...........Brighter Daaaaays...."
UHollis
275 posts
Jan 18, 2010
11:39 AM
i wasnt that far off. my memory ain't all that gone.

grandfather/panther
swkelley
597 posts
Jan 18, 2010
12:07 PM
Nah, you do still have a few brain cells left, Hollis. I remembered the panther story too and thought that might have been what he was talking about.

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any groove is reason to move
Richard
200 posts
Jan 18, 2010
2:23 PM
Hot Damn... you people are amazing. Now I can't even come anywhere close to this kind of insight, history, or intellect, but if y'all want to know where the term 'Grave Yard Shift" came from.... oh was that a yes...supposedly, it came from our town, back in the day, when they did the Denny Regrade project. Two hills in Seattle, and when they carved away at one, in order to develope the area, they had to relocate a graveyard. Originally, doing so during the day time, was a it disturbing, seeing all of those caskets trekking accross town, with the occasional ones breaking apart and losing the load, it was decided to do the operation at night, so as to minumize the upset of the locals. Whew....now I feel almost a bit closer to being able to play in all of your's park. You kids rock !
KimberlyLeath
451 posts
Jan 18, 2010
5:31 PM
ok---- wait.....what? sw has JJ's email address?

and Clay-I bet you know how many times each of us have been on here and what thread we read..and what we are wearing while we're doing it...damn...

regarding the actual topic- I love that footsteps line- but it always gives me a scary feeling

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~Music is what feelings sound like~
Sunshine
1846 posts
Jan 18, 2010
5:40 PM
KL you are so funny.....
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"If you've never seen us before, don't be bashful - sing along from start to finish........and dance & feel good.....there's enough shit in the world, let it all out...........Brighter Daaaaays...."
mofrofans1
Admin
3119 posts
Jan 19, 2010
6:13 PM
Kimberly, no I can't see all that stuff. But I must say the tank top you've got on tonight is quite sexy. And I'm naked.
Sunshine
1856 posts
Jan 19, 2010
7:05 PM
...geez louise Mr. D - no wonder why you love to run this site.......lol!!

:o)
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"If you've never seen us before, don't be bashful - sing along from start to finish........and dance & feel good.....there's enough shit in the world, let it all out...........Brighter Daaaaays...."
mofrofans1
Admin
3123 posts
Jan 19, 2010
7:42 PM
Yup.

Still naked.
FireFly
1049 posts
Jan 19, 2010
8:02 PM
ha! funny ! good thing your computin' machine can't see far away into the galaxy..

love that intro. first slow and mysterious and than funky,
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"Those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music."
-Nietzsche

 


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