Self-Loathing Friday #5: A Plumber's Handkerchief

I look like ten miles of bad road

And I smell like a plumber's handkerchief 

This is Otis Gibbs, an Americana singer who might well have a serious inferiority complex...

I got a stiff leg and a slow walk

I'm as graceful as a tank of shit

Well, I know how you feel, Otis.

Despite, or perhaps because of, his self-image problems, Otis has a lot going for him. He's made some great records and hosts his own thoughtful and entertaining podcast about rock history and songwriting. His songs tell some amazing and often heartbreaking stories, like the one about the vagrant murdered for $3.65, the one about the legendary black boxer who fought against segregation,  and the one about the man who builds his own Harley Davidson out of spare parts. But is that enough to make a living for a jobbing musician these days? 

I was hanging with fans and shaking hands

At the merch table after the show

Trying to raise enough cash to buy a tank of gas

So I could make it through to Buffalo

It's hard to sell a CD when they can stream it for free

I might need a new line of work

You might think it's a blast, but you know you wouldn't last

Ten minutes on this tour

After I heard that one, I went straight to Otis's website and ordered a couple of his CDs. He posted them himself, from the States, with a thank you note.