Smokin' with Reet 'n (don't Bogart that joint) Sharie 'n Keith ....

Last minute Friday night thought to try Smokin' with Chris for the first time when all other available options failed (25 Center booked, AJ's last week, D'Amelios only in the bar, etc). That's not the best reason to go, but I was happy. SWC had been on my to-do list for over a year because it also features live music (began with Chris' jazz-singing daughter as the main performer and expanded from there). The ribs 'n other hurtin' grub is a tough sell to The Reet.

Featured entertainers Friday night were Susan Mazer and Megan Keith, an acoustic duo playing a tasty variety of pop/blues favorites, including ZZ Top's Sharp Dressed Man. No Lucinda, though.

Off to make the donuts and to get a report from MB of the D. Smith Blues Band at Legend's Sports Bar last night.

Freebird!!!!!!......

Longest concert record set in Japan
by HIROKO TABUCHI, AP writer

Japanese musicians overcame fatigue and a major earthquake to set the record for the world's longest concert on Saturday, playing 184 hours non-stop in a program that ranged from The Beatles' classics to Japanese traditional harp music. Over 900 musicians aged 6 to 89 took turns performing in the 9-day marathon — with breaks of no more than 5 minutes between acts — at a small railway station in Hikone city, western Japan, according to organizer Kuniko Teramura, 51. An official from the Guinness Book of World Records was on hand to certify the record at 10 a.m. Saturday, she said. "The longest concert by multiple artists was achieved by Kuniko Teramura and friends at Toriimoto Station ... from 23-31 March 2007," read a copy of the certificate obtained by The Associated Press. The previous record for longest concert was set in Canada five years ago and lasted 182 hours, according to the Guinness Web site. On Sunday, a magnitude 6.9 quake in northwestern Japan jolted the stage — but didn't stop a determined pianist from ploughing on with her tune, said Hiroshi Mizutani, 51, another organizer. A break in the performance would have ruined the challenge, because musicians were not allowed to stop playing less than two minutes into a song, said Mizutani, whose Oldies band played three times during the concert. "This pianist was amazing. The whole place was shaking quite badly but she went right on playing," Mizutani said. "Even an earthquake couldn't stop us."

Get some head.....

The SAWTELLES
Friday, March 30 @ NEW ENGLAND BREWERY
Selden Street, Woodbridge, CT

Five dollars lets you taste ALL of the beers they make there with musical accompaniment from US. What a bargain.
Music 6-9pm.
http://www.newenglandbrewing.com/

Daffodil Festival announces entertainment.....

The Meriden Daffodil Festival committee does a wonderful job lining up music entertainment for its annual festival with the exception of the headliners, going for the familiar name oldies acts for fear that no one will attend. The problem with that approach is a common one - the oldies acts, for the most part, are not the original cast. Last year I sat through a dreadful Vegas-type rendering of old Turtles material by Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan (a/k/a Flo and Eddie), but at least they were major players in the Turtles. In many cases, the current band members bear little, if any, resemblance to the original cast, a complete ripoff. That's the case with the Buckinghams, one of this year's headliners, which claims only the bass player and drummer from the original group. On the other hand, Gary U.S. Bonds is one and the same AND has continued to record original material over the years (with assistance from the Boss)to decent reviews by the music press. One only hopes that the Southington Apple Harvest Festival (under the direction of Johnny Gumbo) takes heed. The Fest is held on Saturday/Sunday April 28/29 at Hubbard Park.

2007 MUSICAL HEADLINERS

Gary US Bonds

The Buckinghams

Gary Burr

2007 LOCAL/REGIONAL

The Gonkus Brothers River City Slim & The Zydeco Hogs Mark Mulcahy The Reducers The Manchurians Frank Critelli Sean, Kelli & Wayne T.U.B. Groppo Sencationale F. B. I. Divisi Kitty Kitty Bang Bang I.N.I.T.Y. Plan B With Boulder Shawn Dharma Brown

Ryan Hartt & The Blue Hearts Rope Melissa Mulligan Band Shellye Valauskas Experience The Furors The Can Kickers The Paul Brockett Roadshow Band The Mountain Movers The RiverStreet Band Big Fat Combo Carlos & Roy Maloney High School Jazz Ensemble Paul Pender Bop Tweedie and the Days Michael Cleary Band

Say what?......

D. Smith Blues Band at Legends Sports Bar in Bristol (CT) on Friday night.

GDK & JFK off to find the punk mecca CBGB's this afternoon.

Trish emails that she was the envy of her peers (funny, she always claims she's peerless) for attending Lucinda Williams concert Sunday night in Northampton.

Peter going to see Ruthie Foster tonight at Johnny D's in Somerville and Sarah Borges Saturday night at the same venue. I am envious.

per DotMusic - Jack White is to appear in a new film as Elvis Presley, according to reports. The White Stripes/Raconteurs star will feature in a forthcoming parody of the 2005 Johnny Cash biopic Walk The Line. The movie is called Walk Hard, and is expected to focus on a fictional rockabilly musician in the vein of Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash, played by John C. Reilly. A spokesman for Jack, who has previously appeared in both Cold Mountain and Coffee And Cigarettes, yesterday confirmed he would play Elvis in the film. The new White Stripes album, Icky Thump, is due for release in June.

The PM report on Lucinda at the Orpheum on Saturday night...

D and I started in Chinatown, looking for a likely restaurant. Decided on Chow Chao...or maybe it's Chao Chow? (Whatever....I think it's Carolyn's favorite.) Highlight was the pea pod stems in garlic sauce...bright green as an Irish hillside and tasty. A little shopping for weird food in a Chinatown convenience store, then find a parking spot, only a five minute walk across the public garden to the Orpheum. Umbrella? Naah, we won't need it...and I don't feel like carrying it. Outside the Orpheum a couple of damsels are in distress...sitting on the curb looking a little frantic. Seems they have left the tickets at home. The tickets may very well be in this woman's purse, but panic is setting in and she will never, ever find them in there...until tomorrow morning. I offer them my two extras for $20...TOTAL...what a good guy. Digging in the purse finally produces a ten and a fistful of ones. Good deed done (or so I think), we head for our seats. The usher shows us the seats and says, do you have your other person? You have three tickets. Oh god....I only gave the ladies one! Head back to find them and immediately run into lady #2, who has figured out she knows where to find us. Good deed preserved.

Suffered through Suffering Bastards...too loud, too boring, etc

Lucinda comes on after a not too long wait. Right away you remember why she is the headliner. Sound level perfect, room to crank it up later on, and we can understand every word. (Of course the seats are worse than Fenway seats, but I think I will live without having to amputate.) Oh, and there's Jonathan about 15 feet away.

The show is great....but. I have never thought of Lucinda as a particularly good singer....I love her poetry and style and passion. But she sounded great...a rich and warm voice I've never heard before. And, by the way, don't think I hear on the CD, even on the same songs. She mixes up old and new....you heard some things in N'hampton I would have liked to hear...and builds a solid show. She seems genuinely relaxed and happy out there. And I did not find the cheat sheets distracting...just a little strange. She does have an enormous repertoire. But I think the West songs are too simple and repetitive. Earlier songs are much richer poetry, with complex, unusual perspectives and depth.....there's a whole story behind every loss, every yearned for lover. Anyway...

Out the door and of course it is snowing big wet cats and dogs....told ya we don't need no stinking umbrella. But what the hell, it's late, we're wet already, so why go home? The Cantab is the usual scene. We stay past one, dancing and meeting characters. The sexy young blonde doing major public affection with her boyfriend... and giving me the big eyes over his shoulder. We end up sharing a table and drinks with them before they stumble off into the night. D says they are history, based on what blondie whispered to her. Then the guy in the orange leisure suit with the big lapels and more bling than any white man can handle assures us that D is the most beautiful woman in the place. A perceptive dude. Good thing tomorrow is Sunday.

Not to be outdone, Joan Anderman of the Boston Globe opines here

JK note - I do agree that Lucinda's voice was the best I've heard, a very pleasant surprise after sensing a slow but steady deterioration in recent years.

Words fell...

But apparently Lucinda Williams' roadies picked them all up and put them in Cliff notes for her to look at during her concert Sunday night at the Calvin Theatre in Northampton. I love her to death, but, in addition to being VERY distracting to the audience, the cheating detracted from her cadence, her inflections seemingly not quite in synch with the lyrics. And I know just the reason for it all - she was so damn happy, if not downright perky! No angst in her ballads; no fury in her f-bomb laden Those Three Days. What's up with that, Lu, we need to feel your pain!

But despite the above, Lucinda was still great to hear, playing nearly two hours ("We had some curfew issues the last couple concerts, but we've got none tonight."), backed by the sensational Doug Pettibone and her new rhythm section. Mixing the new West material (Learning How to Live, Unsuffer Me, Rescue, Come On, Wrap My Head Around That) in with the old (Righteously, Joy, Those Three Days, Out of Touch), Williams sometimes seemed at a loss to choose the next offering, once pleading, "What should I play, that's the trouble when you've got all these songs." The guy in back of us wouldn't stop with his "Crescent City" yells. Jesus, buddy, enough! She doesn't want you. One other note: while I applaud her ventures into rap/speak, I don't like the new Wrap My Head Around That, which Lu said was influenced by Howlin' Wolf and other old blues guys, at all. The lyrics seem pedestrian and her performance didn't sell it. But I still love you, Lucinda!

The trio Heartless Bastards opened the show with some decent blues-based material, but when it's Sunday night you just kind of want the main course right away. Speaking of main courses, we had an enjoyable pre-concert meal (I opted for the chicken/shrimp jambalaya) at the Northampton Brewery, topped off with a wonderful dessert of Tarheel Humble Overtime Pie.


The Hartford Courant's Eric Danton had a slightly different spin on the show - here. The set list courtesy of Danton's piece:
1. Rescue
2. Ventura
3. Fruits of My Labor
4. Learning How to Live
5. Right in Time
6. Those Three Days
7. Out of Touch
8. Righteously
9. Essence
10. Real Live Bleeding Fingers and Broken Guitar Strings
11. Come On
12. Unsuffer Me
13. Sweet Side
14. Hard Time Killing Floor Blues
15. Joy
Encore
16. Everything Has Changed
17. Still I Long for Your Kiss
18. Wrap My Head Around That

Gonna go to Northampton and look for my joy....

Are you alright, all of a sudden you went away...

G, in from Brooklyn for the weekend, brings:

Super Hits (Janis Joplin)

Costello Music (The Fratellis)

We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (Modest Mouse)

Eye to the Telescope (KT Tunstall)

JFK in Beantown to see Lucinda, trumping us by a day.....we (Sharie, Keith, Trish, George, The Reet and I) will be venturing north to Northampton to the Calvin Theatre... we will be dining at the Northampton Brewery for some pre-concert libation and witty reparte (here's hoping Lu doesn't overdue her pre-concert libation)

Those who can't make the Lucinda Williams' gig on Sunday night should get themselves down to Cafe Nine for Ruthie Foster.

The more I listen, the more I like Ray Davies' latest album, Other People's Lives. Not a rocker by any means and hampered by Davies' deteriorating voice (not as bad as Bob's), it is nonetheless quite engaging with its intelligent lyrics and catchy melodies.

Start spreading the news...(from Daily Nuggets)

the Kennedy Brothas are starting a band...

...Johnny K is playing guitar and is getting mad at the instrument like it's doing something wrong...he calls it a sloppy note...I call it a punk rocker that needs to practice...not more, but period...he's gonna practice then go back to Fed Ex and they'll think he was at the crossroads...I feel an energy in this Brooklyn apartment...the Kennedy brothers are on their way toward recording their first album...before the first album comes through, we have to learn how to play the guitar though...so we purchased "The Complete Idiot's Guide - Playing the Guitar"...I recall being in the bookstore and also seeing "The Idiot's Guide To Forming Your Own Band"...talk about your American Idol influenced society -- first we're told who our idols are (Kelly Clarkson truly is mine) and now we have a guide on how to form your own band...Now - everyone that doesn't know how to play guitar, and needs a book to help out, isn't an idiot - complete article from Daily Nuggets

Girl put your records on......

In an indication of what the Wall Street Journal calls a "seismic shift" in the way people now acquire music, CD sales for Q1 2007 are 20% below what they were last year. Digital song sales, which were expected to salvage the industry, have risen 54% in 2007 from last year to 173.4 million, but that is not nearly enough to compensate for the 20% drop in CD sales to 81.5 million units. Overall music sales, both digital and physical, are down 10% this year. Adding insult to injury, one billion songs a month are traded on pirate networks. Eight hundred specialty music stores closed down last year, including Tower Records' 89 locations. The rampant success of Apple's iPod indicates that consumers are as interested as ever in acquiring music, but it also suggests they prefer to buy without either entering a store or handling a CD. If they must go to a store, they head for Wal-Mart or Best Buy, which offer CDs at deep discounts. Best Buy has been reducing the floor space allotted to CDs, and if Wal-Mart follows suit, the picture will grow even gloomier for music companies. Sources: Wall Street Journal

Concerts aplenty....

Lucinda Williams to perform Are You Alright? tonight on the David Letterman Show. We shall catch Ms. Bustedheart Sunday at the Calvin Theatre in Northampton, while jfk and friends (Peter also, I think) catch her the previous evening in Boston.

Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Ray Price released their new CD Last of the Breed today. “If country music were baseball, listening to the album Last of the Breed would be the equivalent of watching Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and Duke Snider play in the same outfield.”-New York Post. They (no, not Willie, Mick & the Duke) appear at Mohegan Sun Arena Wednesday night.

And finally, Keith, Sharie and Johnnyk look forward to James Hunter's return to the Iron Horse Music Hall on Monday, April 2.

Who is Jaymes Stevens?....oh, it's the other way 'round.....

Got an email from Daniela of Rex Morgan Records touting one Steven Jaymes, a transplanted New Zealander now in the Nutmeg state or New York, I couldn't tell which. So I listened to his four selections on his MySpace page....and liked them. Reminded me a little of Marc Cohn; what do you think?

Per his MySpace....."He has been compared to Jackson Browne, Don Henley, Leon Russell, Van Morrison and Joe Jackson. Some call it the best jazzy roots you will ever hear, others call him a folk rocker, and even a country rocker. But I think the more apt and "new" term is singer songwriter. While living in New York, Stevens 3rd album "Hemingway's Cats" was completed & Steven's feeling for that city comes through with such tracks as Manhattan, and the title track Hemingway’s cats written on a road trip between New York and Key West. The new Album is "Black 17" and is another side of the singer songwriter with the bluesy southern roots coming through. Steven seems to have a knack of collecting and combining amazing musicians from far flung places to create moments of magic."

Documenting The Demise Of Phil Spector's Musical Legacy (Alan Bisbort, Htfd Advocate)...

He’s a Rebel: Phil Spector, Rock & Roll’s Legendary Producer by Mark Ribowsky (Da Capo), $18.

To know him is to loathe him. Judging from this exhaustively researched biography, the mantra from everyone who has known him appears to have been, “Phil was very weird that night.” Inch per inch, pound per pound, Phil Spector has to rank as one of the world’s true blue bastards. Every one of Spector’s myriad devils is revealed in this gripping book: His parents were cousins; he’s manic depressive; he’s short of stature; he primps and preens more than Michael Jackson; he’s a mean drunk, vicious druggie, terrible father, and a shitty husband. His hero is Henry VIII. What’s not to loathe? complete article

I'm looking over a four-leaf clover.....

jfk ventured up to Boston this weekend to catch The Raveonettes on Thursday (just caught them at Southpaw in Brooklyn last Saturday) and Dropkick Murphys annual St. Patty's bash on Sunday with Chris and Dan.

Johnny Gumbo is planning to catch the St. Patrick's Day Parade with Timmy Gumbo (and possibly G-Man) in NYC.

Meanwhile, Notre Dame went down the shitter.

Johnny Gumbo says....

50 days to go....Can ya' feel it!!!!!!!!!!! - 2007 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

"Where's Gutowski, it wasn't my turn to watch him."

I'm the friendly stranger in the black sedan, won't you hop inside my car....

Per AMG - Chicago's Ides of March burst onto the national scene in 1970 with the million-selling single "Vehicle," a tune that bore more than a passing resemblance to the then mega-selling Blood, Sweat & Tears. But the band's pedigree went back further than BS&T's, and with a much different origin. Formed in the mid-1960s in the Windy City, founding member Jim Peterik put the original Ides together as a teen band, strong on original material and British pop harmonies. Soon the band was recording for London's Parrot Records subsidiary, releasing five singles between 1966 and 1967, including the local hit "You Wouldn't Listen." By the late 1960s, however, Peterik had reconfigured the band to include a full horn section, and a new sound and style for the band was born. Ever the crafty commercial songwriter, Peterik fashioned a new single, "Vehicle," to showcase this sound, which mirrored the success of horn rock bands like Chase and Blood, Sweat & Tears. The record was a huge hit, spawning the soundalike follow-up "Superman." The other chart hit for the group (and a complete about-face from the horn-dominated sound of "Vehicle") was the wistful "L.A. Goodbye." Personnel problems and a label shift to RCA-Victor spelled the end of the band as Peterik eased into the 1980s in the role of producer/songwriter, penning several hits for the likes of .38 Special and others. The group re-formed in 1993 to record an album of new material and recuts of their hits going all the way back to "You Wouldn't Listen," and Peterik remains quite active both as a tunesmith and producer. - Ides of March - Vehicle lyrics

A bummer....

Family: Delp's death was suicide by Katherine Webster, AP

CONCORD, N.H. - The family of Brad Delp, the lead singer for the band Boston, said his death was a suicide. "He was a man who gave all he had to give to everyone around him, whether family, friends, fans or strangers," the family said in a statement relayed by police Wednesday. "He gave as long as he could, as best he could, and he was very tired. We take comfort in knowing that he is now, at last, at peace." Delp, 55, died Friday at his Atkinson home. Toxicology tests by the state medical examiner's office showed that Delp committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning, said Lt. William Baldwin. Police said Delp had sealed himself inside a bathroom with two charcoal grills sometime between 11:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday afternoon, when he was found by fiancee Pamela Sullivan.

Delp also left two notes taped to a door and letters to his family and Sullivan. Baldwin said police do not know the contents of the letters. The family's statement said Sullivan, Delp's children and their mother, Delp's ex-wife Micki Delp, were grateful for the sympathy they had received. Delp joined Boston in the mid-1970s and sang two of its biggest hits, "More than a Feeling" and "Long Time." He had planned to marry Sullivan this summer during a break in a tour with Boston. A lifelong Beatles fan, Delp also played with the tribute band Beatle Juice.

Beatle Juice performed a benefit last year to help build a new public library in Atkinson, a small town of about 6,000 residents on the Massachusetts border. The family said last week it planned a private funeral followed by a public memorial to be scheduled later.

Faster than a speeding bullet....

Quick trip to Turn It Up yields:

Humming By the Flowered Vine (Laura Cantrell)

Lovers Speak (Joan Armatrading)

End of the Summer (Dar Williams)

Yeah, I know. It just worked out that way.

I've sprung forward, now what?....

I didn't make Holly Golightly at Cafe Nine last night.....couldn't, didn't go.

Sarah Borges' favorite mandolin player (mandolinist), Jimmy Ryan, gets a nice mention in today's NY Times (here) in a article about Charlie Louvin at the Gramercy Theater: "Laura Cantrell, who was born in Nashville but has long lived in New York City, opened the concert. With a serene, piping voice reminiscent of Emmylou Harris’s, Ms. Cantrell moves between thoughtful alt- country Americana and old-time country. She had a string band — including a left-handed mandolinist, Jimmy Ryan, who so impressed Mr. Louvin that he was invited to sit in."

Speaking of Ms. Borges (and her Broken Singles), the new album is called Diamonds in the Darkness and is due out on Sugar Hill Records June 12.

Winter forward, fall back???.....

Wasn't it, like, the week before last when we set the clocks back?

Never a huge Boston fan (band, not sox), but saw that lead singer, Brad Delp, met an 'untimely' death yesterday. A quick look at the band's website yields simply, "We've just lost the nicest guy in rock and roll." Curiously, he was involved recently with the band Beatle Juice, "A Super Band Whose Purpose Is to Keep the Spirit of the BEATLES Alive", and Peter stopped in to see them last night at Johnny D's, where he discovered the news. Johnny D's site posted the following: "We are deeply saddened to pass along that Brad Delp was found dead at his home today Mar. 9, and that this weekend's shows are cancelled here at Johnny D's. He was one of the most generous and congenial people we have ever known, a dear friend, and an absolutely huge talent! We will post more information as we know it." - Billboard article


The boyz going to see The Raveonettes tonight at the Southpaw in Brooklyn. They have their orders to report back with pics and narrative. We shall see if they obey their father (not sure why they would start at this late date).

Should I go or should I stay......

Holly Golightly plays tonight at Cafe Nine in New Haven, but I don't know if I have the stamina to stay up late enough to go. Should I ask The Reet to go? I've never seen Ms. Golightly; stopped at Cafe Nine last year to catch her, but was told she was stuck in traffic coming up from NYC and would be late......too late for me, so I had to go.

(New Haven Advocate story) - Roughly ten proper albums and several singles into a 12-year-long solo career, Holly Golightly unfairly remains slightly better known for her (frankly notable and cred-worthy) associations. To get that out of the way: Billy Childish, The Headcoatees, blah blah, White Stripes guest vocal, blah blah. But even in those collabos, her singular voice has stood out--Golightly is a real rock'n'roll chanteuse, casual and confident, one of the most enthralling vocalists of her time and idiom.

When she last played in New Haven, rolling through a set of old-school rhythm and blues, early rock'n'roll and soulful country, backed by a band with the chops to sound loose and pro at once, her relaxed coolness was such that some grumbled her performance was phoned-in, while others hung rapturously on every line and strum. In fact, Golightly's magic lies in a combination of the intangibility and intimacy the audience picked up on. She'll be back at Cafe Nine (250 State St., New Haven, 203-789-8281, cafenine.com) this Saturday, March 10.

John Mayer, who suffered through a childhood in the ghettos of Fairfield, CT, to play at Jazzfest.....

NEW ORLEANS - Grammy-winning singer John Mayer has been added to the lineup of the 2007 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Mayer, who will perform May 5, joins headliners Rod Stewart, Steely Dan, Norah Jones, ZZ Top, John Legend, Brad Paisley, Van Morrison and Ludacris for the festival that spans two weekends in April and May. As in previous years, a host of New Orleans native favorites will perform both weekends, including Harry Connick Jr., Irma Thomas, Branford Marsalis, Allen Toussaint, Better Than Ezra and the Rebirth Brass Band.

Connick will close the festival May 6. He is expected to perform selections from his "Oh, My Nola" album, which covers New Orleans standards linked with the likes of Toussaint, Dr. John and Louis Armstrong and includes original material. The festival runs April 27-29 and May 4-6 at the New Orleans Fair Grounds, a horse racing track that flooded and was seriously damaged by Hurricane Katrina. More than 80 percent of the performers are from Louisiana. This festival will be the second since Katrina hit on Aug. 29, 2005.

2007 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell

Friday, April 27
Dr. John, Van Morrison, Lucinda Williams, Soulive, Percy Sledge, T-Bone Burnett, Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers, James Carter, Lucky Peterson, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Ave., Subdudes, George Porter, Jr. & Runnin’ Pardners, Zachary Richard with Francis Cabrel, J.J. Grey & MOFRO, Bonerama, Les Amazones of Guinea, Eddie Bo, Astral Project, Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ Boogie, Heritage Hall Band with Jewel Brown, Kirk Joseph’s Backyard Groove, Dirty Jerdy, Bryan Lee & the Blues Power Band, Pine Leaf Boys, Guitar Summit feat. Lil’ Buck Sinegal and Rudy Richard, Lady Tambourine, Leroy Jones, Secondline til’ you Drop – the music of Paul Barbarin, Little Freddie King, Michael Ward, Big Al Carson, Phillip Manuel, Don Rich, Rob Wagner Trio, Lafayette Rhythm Devils, Happy Talk Band, Andrew Hall’s Society Brass Band, Henry Turner Jr. & Flavor, Jeff & Vida, Charles Jackson & the Jackson Travelers, Creole Wild West and Semolian Warriors Mardi Gras Indians, Grayson Capps & the Stumpknockers, McDonogh #35 Gospel Choir, AsheSon, Beyond Measure, SUBR Jazz Ensemble, Shades of Praise Choir, Monsieur No of France, David & Roselyn, Mari Watanabe, Leviticus Gospel Choir, Tulane Jazz Ensemble, Lyle Henderson & Emmanuel, Real Untouchables Brass Band, Wimberly Family, Some Like it Hot, Percussion Inc., Gray Hawk, Single Ladies, Big Nine and Bon Temps Roulez Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs (SAPCs), Smitty Dee’s Brass Band…

Saturday, April 28
Rebirth Brass Band, Rod Stewart, Norah Jones, Ludacris, Pharoah Sanders Quartet, Calexico, Johnny Rivers, Richie Havens, Mose Allison, Sonny Landreth, Bobby Charles, Henry Butler, Tab Benoit, Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, Davell Crawford, Terence Blanchard, Linda Hopkins, Bishop Paul S. Morton & the Greater St. Stephens Mass Choir, Charmaine Neville Band, Alexa Ray Joel, Rockin’ Dopsie Jr. & the Zydeco Twisters, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, Mem Shannon & the Membership, NewBirth Brass Band, New Orleans Klezmer Allstars, James Rivers Movement, The Crescent City Allstars featuring James Andrews, Shannon McNally, Burnside Exploration, The Electrifying Crown Seekers, George French, Jesse McBride & the Next Generation, Gregg Stafford & the Young Tuxedo Brass Band, Groove Academy, Reggie Hall & the Twilighters feat. Lady Bee, Rockie Charles, Les Amazones of Guinea, Kenny Bill Stinson & the Ark-LA-Mystics, Dukes of Dixieland, New Leviathan Oriental Foxtrot Orchestra, Bonsoir Catin, Panorama Jazz Band, Dartmouth College Gospel Choir, Ray Abshire, Big Chief Peppy & the Golden Arrows, Mahogany Brass Band, John Rankin, Patrice Fisher & Arpa feat. Marcelo Cotarelli and members of the Ilhabela Big Band of Brazil, Zulu Gospel Ensemble, Black Seminoles and Golden Comanche Mardi Gras Indians, Second Nazarine Gospel Choir, Xavier University Jazz Band, Kid Simmons’ Local International Allstars, The Johnson Extension, N.O.C.C.A. Jazz Ensemble, Red White & Blue and Yellow Jackets Mardi Gras Indians, Johnette Downing, McMain High School Gospel Choir, Nine Times Men, Popular Ladies and Dumaine Gang SAPCs, The RRAAMS Drum and Dance Troupe, Mount Pilgrim & Morning Star Youth Mass Choir, Ballet Nicaraguense Cosmapa, Lady Jetsetters SAPC…

Sunday, April 29
Irma Thomas, Brad Paisley, Bonnie Raitt, Jill Scott, Jerry Lee Lewis & the Killer Band, George Thorogood & the Destroyers, Banda el Recodo, Bobby Jones & the Nashville Super Choir, Pete Fountain, Marcia Ball, Arturo Sandoval, Gillian Welch, The New Orleans Social Club feat. Cyril Neville, Willie Tee and Leo Nocentelli, Clarence “Frogman” Henry, Irvin Mayfield & the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Ba Cissoko of Guinea, John Mooney & Bluesiana, Maggie Warwick & the Louisiana Hayride Band, C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux & the Golden Eagles, Rosie Ledet & the Zydeco Playboys, Theresa Andersson, Imagination Movers, Fredy Omar con su Banda, Bob French & the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band, Jean Knight & Knights’ of Rhythm, Bobby Lounge, Little Queenie, Robert Lowery & Virgil Thrasher, The Revealers, Topsy Chapman, Kidd Jordan & IAQ, Hot 8 Brass Band, Rufus “Rip” Wimberly & the Dreamers, Rocks of Harmony, Lars Edegran & the New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra, The New Orleans Bingo! Show, Bluerunners, The Bluebirds, Vivaz!, Guitar Slim Jr., Hot Club of New Orleans, Lil Neal Blues Band, Higher Dimensions of Praise, St. Joseph the Worker Music Ministry, Chris Clifton, Furious Five and Untouchables SAPCs, Julliard Jazz Ensemble, Val & Love Alive with the Dimensions of Faith, Betty Winn & One A-Chord, Jo “Cool” Davis, JD Hill & the Jammers, New Orleans Modified Drum Circle, Paulin Brothers Brass Band, Olympia Aid – YMO, New Look SAPC, Golden Star Hunters and Carrollton Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Basin Street Sheiks, Palmetto Puppet Theater, Colleen Salley, Cherokee Hunters Mardi Gras Indians…

Friday, May 4
Better Than Ezra, ZZ Top, George Benson, Counting Crows, Tony Joe White, Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, World Saxophone Group, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Danilo Perez, Chuck Leavell with the Randall Bramblett Band, Lil’ Band o’ Gold, Banu Gibson & New Orleans Hot Jazz, Walter “Wolfman” Washington & the Roadmasters, Ellis Marsalis, Gangbe Brass Band of Benin, Luther Kent & Trickbag, Sunpie & the Louisiana Sunspots with guest Al “Carnival Time” Johnson, Amanda Shaw & the Cute Guys, Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes, Benjy Davis Project, Judith Owen, John Boutté, Bob Wilber & A Tribute to Kenny Davern, Paulette Wright & Volume of Praise, Batiste Brothers Band, Tyronne Foster & the Arc Singers, Louis “Gearshift” Youngblood, Martha Redbone, Lost Bayou Ramblers, Coco Robicheaux & Spiritland, John Lee & the Heralds of Christ, Kevin Gordon, Lionel Ferbos & the Palm Court Jazz Band, Herman Jackson, D.L. Menard, Po’ Henry & Tookie, Lil Nathan & Zydeco Big Timers, Rumba Buena, Mark Braud, Creole Zydeco Farmers, June Gardner, Sharon Martin, Julio y Cesar Band, Gentilly Groovemasters, New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian Rhythm Section, Dynamic Smooth Family, Unstoppable Gospel Creators, Stooges Brass Band, Heigher Heights, Last Straws, Coolie Family, Mount Hermon BC Choir, Gospel Inspirations of Boutte, Fi Yi Yi & the Mandingo Warriors, Big Seven and Lady Sequence SAPCs, Kumbuka African Drum and Dance Collective, Heritage School of Music, Curtis Pierre the Samba Man, Lusher Charter Jazz Ensemble, Albert Wicker School Performers, David Sepulveda the Line King, TBC Brass Band…

Saturday, May 5
Cowboy Mouth, John Mayer, John Legend, Allman Brothers Band, Stephen Marley featuring Jr. Gong, Galactic, Roy Hargrove Big Band, Buckwheat Zydeco, Nicholas Payton, Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste, Darrell McFadden, Deacon John, Donald Harrison, Irma Thomas’ Tribute to Mahalia Jackson, The Dixie Cups, The Holmes Brothers, Snooks Eaglin, The Iguanas, Franz Jackson, Elder Baab & the Madison Bumble Bees of Winnsboro, Elysian Fieldz, Bruce Daigrepont Cajun Band, Dr. Michael White & the Original Liberty Jazz Band feat. Thais Clark, Twangorama, Treme Brass Band, New Orleans Jazz Vipers, Gangbe Brass Band of Benin, Danza feat. Evan Christopher and Tom McDermott, Clive Wilson’s New Orleans Serenaders feat. Butch Thompson, Leah Chase, Johnny Angel & the Swingin’ Demons, Henry Gray & the Cats, Pinstripe Brass Band, Morning 40 Federation, Brian Jack & the Zydeco Gamblers, Ernie Vincent, The Woodshed featuring Roland Guerin and James Singleton, Goldman Thibodeaux & the Lawtell Playboys, Willis Prudhomme & Zydeco Express, Rotary Downs, Jumpin’ Johnny Sansone, The Plowboys, Joe Krown Organ Combo, Franklin Avenue BC Mass Choir, Storyville Stompers Brass Band, Gov’t Majik – the Dirty South Afrobeat Arkestra, Beth Patterson & Kalafka, Melody Clouds, Michael Skinkus & Moyuba, Same Ol’ 2 Step & Guyland Leday, Stax Music Academy Revue with Stephen Foster, Voices of Distinction, Undefeated Divas, Westbank Steppers and New Generation SAPCs, Loyola University Jazz Ensemble, Providence BC Choir, Secondline Jammers and Valley of the Silent Men SAPCs, White Cloud Hunters and Comanche Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Kayla Woodson & Louisiana Lightning, Trouble Nation and Mohawk Hunters Mardi Gras Indians…

Sunday, May 6
Harry Connick Jr., Steely Dan, New Edition, Allen Toussaint, Joss Stone, Taj Mahal, Branford Marsalis, The Radiators, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Dottie Peoples, BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet, Anders Osborne, Frankie Ford, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Papa Grows Funk, Big Chief Bo Dollis & the Wild Magnolias, Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience, Marva Wright & the BMWs, Elder Baab & the Madison Bumble Bees of Winnsboro, Eric Lindell, Benny Grunch & the Bunch, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas, Sherman Washington & the Zion Harmonizers, Jeremy Davenport, Soul Rebels, Poncho Chavis & Boozoo’s Dog Hill Stompers, Maurice Brown, Ingrid Lucia, Savoy-Doucet Cajun Band, Wanda Rouzan & A Taste of New Orleans, Racines, Tim Laughlin, Don Vappie & the Creole Jazz Serenaders, Washboard Chaz Blues Trio, J. Monque’D Blues Band, 007, Dwayne “Dopsie” & the Zydeco Hellraisers, Watson Memorial Teaching Ministries, Germaine Bazzle, New Orleans Spiritualettes, Rick Trolsen & Gringo do Choro, Greater Antioch Full Gospel Choir, Louis Ford with guest Barbara Shorts, Betsy McGovern & the Poor Clares, Nouveau String Band, The UNO Louis Armstrong Jazz Quintet, Judy Spellman, Chris Burke, Bamboula 2000, Lady Rollers and Prince of Wales SAPCs, Wild Tchoupitoulas and Wild Apaches Mardi Gras Indians, Jonno & Cajun Experience, Tornado Brass Band, Lady Buckjumpers and Original CTC SAPCs, Guinoleros UAS of Culiacan Mexico, Chops Funky 7, The Jazz Jam, N’Kafu African Drum and Dance Ensemble, KidsmArt Performers, Golden Wings, Pinettes Brass Band, Young Magnolias and Black Eagles Mardi Gras Indians…

What the world needs now...is another list

A listing of the Definitive 200 albums and soundtracks has been compiled by a committee of music retailers co-sponsored by the US National Association of Recording Merchandisers and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Can you say marketing? Ok, you're curious, I can tell, so here they are (all your big cliches are included): - complete Definitive 200 listing It was twenty years ago today...

Bristol friends update from Jim Kane...

Hi Guys & Gals: Here is an update for this year's Bristol Friends Party. Our entertainment chairperson - Carole (Schiavone) Churchill, just announced that former WDRC Radio personality - Mike Holland , has been coaxed out of retirement to do the DJ honors for this year's party. Mike and his faithful companion - The Duke of Eoil , will be running the dancing part of the party - immediately following the sit down dinner. There will be games and prizes to go along with this portion of the evening. So a reminder - the date is Saturday June 30 at Marinellis Supper Club in Burlington. As always you may invite a guest. So mark your calendar - and we hope to see you June 30 !

Get the picture? Yes, we see.....

40 Years Between Records: A Shangri-La Returns by ANNA BLUMENTHAL (NY Times)

Mary Weiss was the lead singer of the Shangri-Las, whose hits included “Leader of the Pack.” She recently recorded an album that’s due out Tuesday. SHE still sucks lollipops and wears high-heel boots. Only now her pale blond hair, still worn in the same side part, is a few inches shorter, and wire-rimmed glasses often cover the sparkling brown eyes that look as if they’re guarding secrets. And for a long time they were. The secrets of a 40-year exile from the music she loved most. - complete article - Mary weiss MySpace

But will we hear some good music now?....

Stations agree on anti-payola settlement by JOHN DUNBAR, AP writer

WASHINGTON - Radio listeners weary of hearing the same songs over and over may have something to cheer about: Broadcasters have tentatively agreed to anti-payola settlements that could shake up music playlists at some of the nation's largest radio chains. Four major broadcast companies would pay the government $12.5 million and provide 8,400 half-hour segments of free airtime for independent record labels and local artists, The Associated Press has learned.

The agreement is aimed at curbing payola — generally defined as radio stations accepting cash or other consideration from record companies in exchange for airplay. The practice has been around as long as the radio industry and was made illegal after scandals in the late 1950s. - complete article

Vieux Farka Toure at Johnny D's with Peter...

Vieux Farka Toure is the son of West Africa's most famous singer, Ali Toure, who died last fall. Anyway, the son...I think he is about 23 or so....has gotten a lot of good PR, big article in the Boston Globe this week. He's on tour, first stop was at Wesleyan early in February...one of the guys in the band is an American and a Wes grad. When I got to Johnny D's around 10 there were about a hundred people in line, and they were only letting people in if someone left. So I took the path of least resistance and went to Redbones for a beer. When I went back the line was down to 20 and a lot of people were leaving as the first set ended, so it was easy in.

West African rock has a different style and feel. Metallic sounding guitars, high, haunting vocals, an incredibly infectious back beat that makes you want to dance, and long songs that go off on adventures and then come back to where they started ......the whole hour-long second set had a total of maybe four songs. The place was packed, the crowd enthusiastic, the music engaging. If you were in a club in Bamako or Dakar or Lagos, is this the kind of music you'd hear?

A disappointing affair....

Sometimes the anticipation of The Affair is the best part.....Friday night (or early Saturday morning) at Cafe Nine was not what I expected......perhaps it was me, up WAY past my bedtime, but instead of the Shangri Las with some edgy punk influence, I got uninspired, not-catchy-at-all STUFF..... and OUCH!!!! did the bass player just hit the lead singer in the head during one of his sweeping bass-guitar-guy moves? She's a trooper and carries right along. Hell of a high point, though.....I wanted to like them; my bad, I just didn't get it.

Liked the energy and humor of the first band, New Haven-based Tombstone Minds.....and they finished their very loud, but enjoyable set with Count Five's Psychotic Reaction .....I'm going to bed....

Monthly email happenings update from the Sawtelles....

MARCH MADNESS (I had to)

4 Sun- on the course of the WPLR shamrock road race. We’ll be set up at the fire marshals digs at the junction of Prospect and Edwards. 8:30am….

9 Fri- CJ Sparrow’s rt 10 in Cheshire for the 5- 8p Happy Hour. FREE!! Plenty to eat and drink.

11 Sun- Las Vetas Lounge, rt 1 main drag in Fairfield right near the train station. We’re there from 3-5pm. Funky coffee joint. FREE!! All-ages

17 Sat- Brass City Records, off the Bank Street exit of rt 84. 8pm start time w/us, Al fr. The Pist solo and hopefully some Holiday Rain action as well as guests from Boston , 28 Degrees Taurus.

24 Sat- Jitters Coffeehouse rt 10 Southington Plainville town line. 8:30pm. $5 to get in and tips for us.

30 Fri- New England Brewery, Selden Street Woodbridge/New Haven town line. $5 gets you in to taste ALL of the BEERS they produce there as well as us serenading you as you quench your thirst. 6pm!!

We have been working on our new record, Silver. It includes songs that P wrote for the songwriters circle we do every month. Titles include Kitchen, Present Tense and Forecast. Do you know we have THREE bands now that call myspace home? Do you have our discs yet?

The Sawtelles MySpace - School Safety Patrol MySpace - Sawtelles MySpace

Put me in, coach, I'm ready to play....

Oh, those silly ballplayers....

Racy new Mickey Mantle novel to be published - article

California Dreamin' - THE blond madam who ran a stable of high-priced hookers has Los Angeles in a lather because she's naming names in her new autobiography - among them, superstar Bruce Willis and former Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda. Now, in "Secrets of a Hollywood Super Madam," out today from Corona Books, Gibson names celebrities she says patronized her "California Dreamin' " service, which operated in 16 states and in Europe, employed porn stars and Playboy models, and charged customers as much as $3,000, according to trial testimony. - article - (The thought of Tommy Lasorda in that context is just too much over breakfast)