In this episode, Jeff reads his latest post, "The Rise of N'Elvis" — episode 32 of his ongoing memoir. After walking away from Frustrated Housewives, Jeff bounces through a Mailboxes Etc near one of San Antonio's wealthiest zip codes (with a few unexpected celebrity run-ins), a rough stretch at an insurance call center, and finally a dream tech support job at GlobalSCAPE Software. A resurging itch to make music, sparked by a Tom Jones show and, of all things, a ski machine, gives birth to a comedy persona called N'Elvis, right before a move to Dallas shelves the whole idea.

Jeff Elder Isn't Real is a Substack by writer and musician Jeff Elder, a place where the curtain is half open. Part memoir, part creative process, part cultural observation. Warm, honest, and a little strange. Just like life. In this episode, Jeff reads his latest post, "Wide Open Spaces" — episode 31 of his ongoing memoir. Jeff settles into a small cottage in the San Antonio hill country, chases thrill rides and free beer at Six Flags and Sea World, and puts together a maxi single called Boys Like Me, complete with a music video concept that never made it off the ground. A guest DJ gig makes it clear the local scene, and the electronic scene at large, is moving on without him, and in 2003 he finally calls it on Frustrated Housewives. The episode closes with an announcement of a new EP, One Halloween, out October 9th. Audio credits: Intro - Wide Open Spaces by the Dixie Chicks, Outro - I Know What Boys Like by Frustrated Housewives. Listen to the "What Was That Song?" playlist, featuring music mentioned on the show: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/27yv0JrQRs2FhUfmfutxw3?si=e117d429bc37407e Subscribe to Jeff Elder Isn't Real on Substack for new posts every week, including audio versions of most every essay.

Jeff Elder Isn't Real is a Substack by writer and musician Jeff Elder, a place where the curtain is half open. Part memoir, part creative process, part cultural observation. Warm, honest, and a little strange. Just like life.

In this episode, Jeff reads his latest post, "Turning Thirty in Arkansas" — episode 30 of his ongoing memoir. Jeff picks up the move to Fort Smith, Arkansas: a "guaranteed placement" business school scam, tech support at the local ISP, an unlikely friendship with a coworker named Alex, and the Frustrated Housewives release Deconstructing Dreamland, all leading into the Friday night ritual that would shape the next couple of decades. The episode closes with a tribute to Dolly Parton and Tim Curry.

Audio credits: Intro - Midtown Matinee by Frustrated Housewives, Outro - Dreamland by Frustrated Housewives.

Listen to the "What Was That Song?" playlist, featuring music mentioned on the show: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/27yv0JrQRs2FhUfmfutxw3?si=e117d429bc37407e

Subscribe to Jeff Elder Isn't Real on Substack for new posts every week, including audio versions of most every essay.

Jeff Elder Isn't Real is a Substack by writer and musician Jeff Elder, a place where the curtain is half open. Part memoir, part creative process, part cultural observation. Warm, honest, and a little strange. Just like life.

In this episode, Jeff reads his latest post, "Enter La Baumba" — episode 29 of his ongoing memoir. Jeff picks up the Frustrated Housewives story in the late 90s: a rough-sounding demo CD sold for beer money, teaching himself web design to build the band's first website, a scrappy live lineup full of stage schtick, and the reinvention that brought stage names like Adam Baum into the fold right before a move to Arkansas changed everything.

Audio credits: Intro - La Bamba by Los Lobos, Outro - You Dropped a Bomb on Me by The Gap Band.

Listen to the "What Was That Song?" playlist, featuring music mentioned on the show: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/27yv0JrQRs2FhUfmfutxw3?si=e117d429bc37407e

Subscribe to Jeff Elder Isn't Real on Substack for new posts every week, including audio versions of most every essay.

Jeff Elder Isn't Real is a Substack by writer and musician Jeff Elder, a place where the curtain is half open. Part memoir, part creative process, part cultural observation. Warm, honest, and a little strange. Just like life.

In this episode, Jeff reads his latest post, "The Dream" — episode 28 of his ongoing memoir. Jeff walks through a brutal stretch of loss in the mid-90s — an uncle, a grandmother, his father — and the wrongful death lawsuit, the home studio, and the song that broke his dying father down every time he heard it.

Audio credits: Intro/Outro music: "The Dream" by Frustrated Housewives.

Listen to the "What Was That Song?" playlist, featuring music mentioned on the show: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/27yv0JrQRs2FhUfmfutxw3?si=e117d429bc37407e

Subscribe to Jeff Elder Isn't Real on Substack for new posts every week, including audio versions of most every essay.

Jeff Elder Isn't Real is a Substack by writer and musician Jeff Elder, a place where the curtain is half open. Part memoir, part creative process, part cultural observation. Warm, honest, and a little strange. Just like life.

In this episode, Jeff reads his latest post, "Frustrated" — episode 27 of his ongoing memoir. Jeff traces the accidental birth of his band Frustrated Housewives, from a party he almost skipped to the phrase that gave the band its name, to the moment both bandmates left and he decided to keep going alone.

Audio credits: Intro/Outro music: Intro - Perfect Day by Duran Duran, Outro - Broken Glass by Frustrated Housewives.

Listen to the "What Was That Song?" playlist, featuring music mentioned on the show: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/27yv0JrQRs2FhUfmfutxw3?si=e117d429bc37407e

Subscribe to Jeff Elder Isn't Real on Substack for new posts every week, including audio versions of most every essay.

Jeff Elder Isn't Real is a Substack by writer and musician Jeff Elder, a place where the curtain is half open. Part memoir, part creative process, part cultural observation. Warm, honest, and a little strange. Just like life.

In this episode, Jeff reads his latest post, "Who's That?" — episode 26 of his ongoing memoir. A few months after John's death, Jeff meets the man he's still with today, thanks to a friend who wasn't afraid to walk across a bar. He also revisits the party where he met his next bandmate, Devin, and the start of what became Frustrated Housewives.

Audio credits: Intro/Outro music: Intro: Emotional Rescue by The Rolling Stones, Outro: Success by Duran Duran.

Listen to the "What Was That Song?" playlist, featuring music mentioned on the show: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/27yv0JrQRs2FhUfmfutxw3?si=e117d429bc37407e

Subscribe to Jeff Elder Isn't Real on Substack for new posts every week, including audio versions of most every essay.

Jeff Elder Isn't Real is a Substack by writer and musician Jeff Elder, a place where the curtain is half open. Part memoir, part creative process, part cultural observation. Warm, honest, and a little strange. Just like life.

In this episode, Jeff reads his latest post, "A Little Salt Air Never Hurt Anybody" — episode 25 of his ongoing memoir. Jeff heads back to Rhode Island for the first time in fifteen years for a friend's celebration of life, and finds himself unexpectedly homesick for a place he hasn't let himself miss. Between a pub gig on the Newport docks and a real Dunkin' Donuts run, he starts asking himself a question he never expected to ask: what if he moved back?

Audio credits: Intro/Outro music: Intro: Dirty Water by The Standells, Outro: Southern Cross (live) by Jimmy Buffett.

Subscribe to Jeff Elder Isn't Real on Substack for new posts every week, including audio versions of most every essay.