'Twas a month before Christmas
And all through Nashville
Not a creature was stirring
Not even Vince Gill

He was resting, not testing
His fine tenor throat
As he thought of his riches
And tried not to bloat

When from the next room
There arose such a fit
He instantly knew 'twas
The Southpaw Jones Starter Kit

He leapt from his bed
To find sweet Amy Grant
Saying "I tried to stop playing it,
But I can't!  I just can't!"

"I thought I'd spin carols
Like a gospel girl should
But this quirky folk rock
Is just too scrumpin' good!"

Oh, yeah, that's the way poetry should be!  Rhymin', rhythmic, and scandalous.  It's me, Chuck "Southpaw" Jones here with the final mailing list update before the big CD release this weekend.  I now have the compact discs in my possession; I will continue to use them as coasters, straight edges, and frisbees around the house until I sell each and every one.  The frenzy and my performance starts Friday, 8 p.m., Dec. 3 at Sam and Zoe's Coffeehouse.

Actually, since you guys are on the mailing list, I guess I can give you the breakdown of the show.  I'm planning to play 2 sets, one at 8 and another at 9 with a short break in between.  That way, people who so desire can leave to peruse the CD or pursue other interests, while those who come late may be able to snag a deserted chair.  Of course, plans sometimes go sour (I sound like a grizzled veteran.) so I'll just say this:  If you show up between 8 and 10, you'll be able to purchase a CD for $10 and catch a bit of my free performance.

Let me take a paragraph to thank Sam and Zoe's for providing free shelter for the release celebration.  It's a small place, sure, but the atmosphere and the people have always been good to me.  When I first started planning The Southpaw Jones Starter Kit, I knew I wanted to have the release there.  You can thank them along with me by bringing along extra cash to buy some of their killer non-corporate coffee and snacks.  That way, they'll be as happy to host my shows as I am to play there.

By the way, if you need directions or additional info about Sam & Zoe's, their web site is located at http://www.samandzoes.com (no longer functioning).

I suppose I don't have much else to say.  I could continue to babble on and on about the CD and how great I think it is, but you can find all that self-serving stuff on my web site, http://www.southpawjones.com.  Instead, I will attach the
first official review of The Southpaw Jones Starter Kit.  This comes from Ryan Gates, who publishes the ever expanding e-mail zine The Lipscomb Underground:

"Some of you have heard about this, but for those of you who haven't, Chuck Jones' new CD, The Southpaw Jones Starter Kit is being released this Friday, Dec. 3.  He was kind enough to give me an advance copy and, honestly speaking, it's a great album.  If you're a Chuck Jones fan at all then you've heard songs such as "Communist Girlfriend" and "White Boy Blues" (my two personal favorites) as well as "Soup du Jour" (remixed from it's original release on the Writer's Night album) and "Her Heart's in Alabama."  This is your chance to have these songs, and many others (over an hour of great music in all), to listen to forever and ever.  It's also at a nice, cost-effective, way-better-than-Sam-Goody price of $10.  It's no doubt that one of the qualities that draws us to Chuck's music is that no one else has ever dared to go where he has gone. . .this CD is one that cannot be matched.  We here at the LU are partial to Chuck slightly because he's a Lipscomb graduate and largely because he's a LUer."

I couldn't have asked for a kinder plug, and I thank Ryan for his willingness to taint the pages of the LU with mention of yours truly.  If you have any knowledge of Lipscomb University, my alma (but-I-never-got-the-paper-degree-so-it's-not-official) mater, you will definitely enjoy checking out the LU archives at http://lipscombunderground.tripod.com. Wow, so many web sites, so little time.

Ok, pair me up with Brooks, I'm dunn.  The big release is Friday, Friday, Friday.  Don't miss it, or any of the many shows that will follow.  Finally, that gleam in my eye that says "I've got some product to push" has returned.  And so begins the second quarter-hour of my A&E Biography.

Stay warm,
Chuck "Southpaw" Jones