Here, for your consideration, we present a few get-down-on-it seasonally flavored numbers constructed in the Rockey home. You can click on any of the images below to be magically transported to a cornucopia of home-crafted vibes.

These are some things that i made. This is some stuff that we did. These are some thoughts that i had.
Here, for your consideration, we present a few get-down-on-it seasonally flavored numbers constructed in the Rockey home. You can click on any of the images below to be magically transported to a cornucopia of home-crafted vibes.


Running Time: 55:27 | File Size 64 MB
Download: .mp3
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Hector Laveta gets the Led out as he rambles through another hour of tasty cuts culled from our musical archives. By golly, if this ain’t the best way to begin an indulgent holiday weekend than what the heck? Savor the flavor.
1. Led Zeppelin “Ramble On”
2. Derek Webb “Jena & Jimmy”
3. Paul McCartney & Wings “Mrs. Vandebilt”
4. Nilsson “Gotta Get Up”
5. Fistful of Mercy “Father’s Son”
6. Bob Dylan “One More Night”
7. Bob Dylan “Country Pie”
8. Uncle Tupelo “Chickamauga”
9. Cat Power “Paths of Victory”
10. Great Lake Swimmers “Still”
11. The Tallest Man on Earth “Little River”
12. John Lennon “Hold On”
13. Spoon “Peace Like a River (Live)”
14. Jars of Clay “Mirrors & Smoke”
15. Arcade Fire “Deep Blue”
16. The New Pornographers “Hey, Snow White”

It’s been far too long, but not for lack of wanting. Only for lack of trying. Sometimes trying is hard. Anyhow, we’ve been busy with making things, singing songs, and tending to little ones. Speaking of the little one, i had the greatest of intentions to type words about our family’s Muppet-induced fascination with one Mr. Mac Davis. It began with the purchase of a dvd from Half Price which featured three episodes of The Muppet Show. As is the trend, Baby Jane decided that this was the only thing she cared to watch for a good month or so. Consequently, our 2-year-old daughter is now familiar with Mac Davis. Quite honestly, i’ve become much more familiar with Mr. Davis myself going so far as to purchase his album “Baby, Don’t Get Hooked on Me” for two quarters from the clearance vinyl during a return visit to Half Price. However, the crown jewel of this only-slightly-ironic Mac Davis obsession was a conversation Baby Jane and i had whilst on our way to enjoy a tasty hibachi meal. It was a conversation concerning our favorite Muppets and it went something like this:
Yours truly: “Who’s your favorite Muppet?”
Baby Jane: “Kermit the Frog. And Daddy’s favorite is Fozzie Bear.”
Yours truly: “Who’s Mommy’s favorite?”
Baby Jane: “Ummmmm… Mmmmm…”
Yours truly: “Who’s Mommy’s favorite Muppet?”
Baby Jane: “Ummm… MAC DAVIS!”
So there you go. To be fair, our only real context for who Mac Davis is involves his relationship with the Muppets. Anyways, how many 2-year-olds know the man’s name. I should think he would consider it an honour. By the way, check out those eyes. No wonder Mama Jane finds him “dreamy”.
Speaking of dreamy, them Jane Gals and myself ventured to the backwoods of Noblesville at the onset of November for a private show amongst the trees.
Here’s a shot by my pal Lyndsay…

Here are some highlights: Forgot the power chord for my PA, sang half a Blind Melon song with a drunk girl, Played for two hours without a break, Watched Baby Jane boogie, Free chili, Stared at this dude directly across from me the entire time…

A few more public appearances are coming up before 2010 retires, including this one here…

See ya real soon.
Sometimes, learning the system and playing along reaps delightful benefits. We’re kind of nominal fans of surfing Goodwill stores for so-so deals, screen-printable apparel, and the occasional LP score (swordfishtrombones? yes please). However, Goodwill’s pricing is often very questionable. Case in point, an in-the-box coffee maker with a $24.98 sticker being resold for $25. I get it. They are a business, but i’ll have to pass. But what to do when your microwave finally kicks the proverbial bucket? (is that an allusion to one hanging themself? that would be rather grim… i’ll do some research on that and probably NOT get back with you) Yes folks, microwave ovens apparently do indeed have a lifespan and that lifespan is apparently fourteen years. This particular ‘wave traces back through ten years of marriage and four years of college to Mama Jane’s high school graduation when she received it as a gift from family friends and employers. Good times. Au revoir, olde friend.Now let’s not get into a debate about whether or not a microwave oven is a necessity. We’ve already been through that and you know who’s going to win this one. Game, set, match. So, when you decide that you simply cannot live responsibly on this planet without a microwave oven, where do you go to acquire one… legally?
Retail? Come on. What would Mister Ramsey say about that?
Ask a friend? And become a charity case? (just kidding)
Craigslist? Good luck.
Goodwill? Perhaps. There are only a baker’s dozen in a five mile vicinity. Besides, while we’re there, maybe we can find a copy of John Wesley Harding only to be disappointed upon finding the vinyl riddled with scratches and marks. Alright, by golly, i’m in!
Well, after visiting four or five stores, we essentially found two microwaves. The first was the size of a television with a dial resembling a television dial and might have even had an antennae coming out of the back. No, i promise you, it was in fact a microwave not a television. It was also probably closing in on forty years and they wanted $25 for it. I thought the thing would have been amazing, but upon further consideration we figured it would probably use more energy heating a bowl of oatmeal than our electric oven would use heating our home. The second microwave was still in the box with a ding in the side, but priced at $48. Now, here’s where playing the game comes into play. You see, in the greater indianapolis area, Goodwill stores adhere to a weekly color code. In other words, every item in the store is assigned one of five(?) colors. Each week, starting on sunday, everything bearing a tag with the determined color sells for 50% of the sale price. Whether my explanation of any of this makes sense is of little consequence. What matters is that if we came back to the store three days later (sunday) and the color for that week matched that of the tag on the microwave oven box then it could be ours for a mere $24!
Now to bring this story to a screeching halt of a conclusion. Sunday morning, we are parked outside Goodwill waiting for the doors to open. Why yes, that was us who you were pointing out to the kids. Twenty minutes we waited while Baby Jane sobbed and sobbed, but you better believe Mama Jane was the first one through the gate when it opened. She made her way back to the far corner of the store where our little Sunbeam was waiting patiently for us to claim him as our own.
Also wearing a red tag: the rad chord organ pictured above. Also take a look at that shoe in the same photo. Baby Jane told me just this morning that my shoes were “broken” and that i needed to “throw them in the trash”. From the mouths of babes.
The moral of the story is this: Never pay retail for an appliance because there might be a chord organ in it for you.
Now enjoy this depiction of a papa lion nursing two abandoned gosling back to health.

Thank you, Fort Wayne Zoo, for your inspired interpretations of the circle of life using the under-appreciated medium of pumpkins.


The next in a long line of forthcoming double dippers from the joel rockey archives which were recently remined and remixed in The Mustard Room. Dig these delectables at our bandcamp page by clicking right here.
"Apparently, shark week is now globally recognized as a season of awareness and recognition of the many contributions of man's best fiend, the shark. Let's all raise a PBR to those cold-blooded toothy harbingers of doom! My, what a smooth, robust likeness of a fine Pilsner." -Hector Laveta, via FacebookA fine pilsner, indeed, sir.
Hmm... Not much to report, but minimal progress is progress none the less. Remember, the fragile emotions of young ladies everywhere are at stake here.
During a possibly narcotic-induced haircut, yours truly grabbed the electric sheers from the unsuspecting barberess and maniacally watched my face fall to the floor. I warned the astonished onlookers (most notably Mama Jane and Grandma) not to get too used to the new old look. I feel totally nude and, as pointed out by my coworker Ms. Chamberlain, the ladies are taking note. I have to regrow this force-field of sexually-repellent hair quickly, lest i strike smitten one too many naive ladies.
Well, by-freaking-golly, the time has come for another dose of audibles from the ARHC library. As mentioned in previous postings, we've been busting out some "dope tees" for peeps near and not quite as near. During the pseudo-monotonous procedure of printing dozens of t-shirts, we are never without more than a few generous portions of tasty vibes. The following collection is a selection of tracks taken from hot afternoons in the garage, slow rides home, and late night documentary viewing. So what are you waiting for? Stare deep into the sonic face of these delicious ditties. Dig.

In the grande olde tradition of the double-sided 45 rpm record, The Mustard Room has been making available unreleased songs from the Joel Rockey songbook via digital download. The second installment in the series features two songs recorded in the spring of 2003. New vocal, drum, bass guitar, and percussion tracks were recorded in The Mustard Room in june and early july of 2010. Download both tracks by clicking here for the low low price of free.
@hlaveta: Goodnight nobody.

What does one do at a quarter after one in the morning after watching the theatrical version of blade runner on netflix? Don't you dare ask me a question when we're both very aware of the obvious answer. The person in question - namely me - cues up the scott walker documentary, scott walker: 30 century man, of course."I've become the Orson Welles of the record industry. People want to take me to lunch, but nobody wants to finance the picture...I keep hoping that when I make a record, I'll be asked to make another one. I keep hoping that if I can make a series of three records, then I can progress and do different things each time. But when I have to get it up once every 10 years... it's a tough way to work." -Scott Walker, in an interview for The Independent, April 1995.