The Stars Are Out....on March 24th...

Direct to you from the Sarah Borges website:

On March 24, 2009 Sugar Hill Records will release Sarah Borges & the Broken Singles second album for the label, ‘The Stars Are Out.’ The Paul Q. Kolderie (Radiohead, Lemonheads, Juliana Hatfield) produced album is a“fiery” (NY Times) ten song collection of five originals and five choice re-imaginations of Borges’ and Kolderie’s favorites including “Ride With Me” written by fellow Boston native Evan Dando.

The album opens with the honky-tonk infused punk rocker, “Do It For Free” showcasing Borges’ smoky, honeyed vocals and scorching guitar work. This driving ode to an old flame would be right at home on the Sunset Strip in 1978 -- Borges declares, “I never forget what my mama said to me, when it’s real love, you do it for free.”

Originals “Me and Your Ghost” and “Symphony” combine the band’s rockabilly, blues and rock and roll aesthetics and center on Borges’ trademark lead vocals and capture the band’s raucous and good time live act. She takes “Being With You” (most famously recorded by Smokey Robinson) and transforms it into a bittersweet lament accompanied by gospel like backing vocals when she pleads, “I don’t care about anything else but being with you.”

‘The Stars Are Out’ is a worthy follow up to 2007’s ‘Diamonds in the Dark’which drew praise across the board from the likes of The Boston Globe (“the playfully charismatic Borges truly shines”), Time Out New York (“irresistible”) and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (“just a whole lot of fun”). Known for their relentless touring, the band recently received raves in the New York Times for their “vivacious” live show and Borges was awarded ‘Local Female Vocalist of the Year’ at the 2008 Boston Music Awards this December.

Sarah (with VERY special guest in the background) at Cafe Nine on 8/15/08:

& Bonnie and Friends....

Rock songwriter Delaney Bramlett dies in LA at 69
LOS ANGELES – Singer-songwriter-producer Delaney Bramlett, who penned such classic rock songs as "Let it Rain" and worked with musicians George Harrison and Eric Clapton, has died. Born in Mississippi, Bramlett enjoyed a career in the music business that spanned 50 years. With his then-wife Bonnie Lynn, he created the Southern blues-rock band Delaney & Bonnie & Friends. The group opened for Blind Faith, which featured British guitarist Clapton, in 1969. - complete story -

YouTube of Delaney & Bonnie Comin' Home featuring George Harrison and Eric Clapton

The end is near...

Season finale vs. Steelers....we lose 31-0 (while not scoring an offensive TD in 25 consecutive quarters!)

Fire one! - article

The sounds of Christmas (god dammit, how could he think I'd like this crap!)...

It's difficult when you don't write this stuff down, but here goes my attempt to summarize the music exchanges at this year's McGowan/Kennedy/Iverson Christmas Eve family get together. Let's start with what I finally selected to give:

Al Green - Lay It Down It's always risky when an old favorite becomes the critics' darling again (is he/she really good or just back from being crappy for a long time), so I took a bit of a chance on Al Green for Peter. But he was on so many "best of" lists that I took the bait. And guess what, I got one too! I'm happy, but is Peter? YouTube

The Hold Steady - Stay Positive Johnnyk loves the Hold Steady (especially 2006's Boys and Girls in America), so he wanted to spread the gospel to Ron. But does Ron believe? YouTube

The Kooks - Konk We find our music in all kinds of places here at johnnykmusic, even trashy celebrity gossip shows! Some E! reporter asks a 90210 chick what she's listening to on her iPod - the Kooks. We investigate and like them very much. Kind of Strokes, La's. AMG LOVED their "rubbishy garage rock." But does Kay? YouTube

Aimee Mann - @#%&*! Smilers - After successfully recommending Feist and Duffy to Carolyn, can I keep the streak alive? You Tube

Johnny Rivers/Bo Diddley/(2)Ike & Tina Turner - I was searching for Take Me to the River: A Southern Soul Story 1961-1977, a wonderful 75-song set of music, for Peter, but couldn't find it anywhere (of course, I waited too long to get it from amazon.com). As I looked around in FYE at the mall, I happened upon a section of used music. Hmmm, I already got him the new Al Green, so how about a 4-pack of really good, cheap stuff! (Love Johnny Rivers, but that doesn't make me a bad person!)

Lou Reed - New York What to get JFK, our resident political punkster - Lou's best solo effort. You Tube

Susan Tedeschi - Back to the River For Andy, it was Susan's latest. Who the hell is she married to, anyway? No, Andy, it is NOT Sean Penn's brother, it's this guy. But you're forgiven, because you pulled off the GREAT GRAB BAG FAKE LOTTO TICKET CAPER! You Tube

Imagine I'm not dead...

One Laptop per Child (OLPC) is a non-profit founded to improve education and eradicate poverty for children in developing nations:
After weeks of hard work, here is our latest PSA - a message "from" John Lennon about the power each one of us has to change the word. None of this would have been possible without support from Yoko Ono, animation from TAXI New York, and a little video wizardry with the lips from an awesome group in California. Thank you!

The original Santa Baby takes the big sleigh ride...

Eartha Kitt, sultry `Santa Baby' singer, dies at 81
NEW YORK – Eartha Kitt, a sultry singer, dancer and actress who rose from South Carolina cotton fields to become an international symbol of elegance and sensuality, has died, a family spokesman said. She was 81. Andrew Freedman said Kitt, who was recently treated at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, died Thursday in Connecticut of colon cancer. Kitt, a self-proclaimed "sex kitten" famous for her catlike purr, was one of America's most versatile performers, winning two Emmys and nabbing a third nomination. She also was nominated for several Tonys and two Grammys.

HO, HO, HO!!!!

(No, the dedicated management and staff here at johnnykmusic are not calling you names, just wishing our readers the very best during the holiday season)

The Roches Hallelujah Chorus 1982

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!...

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, now...

G-man and I are sitting around the homestead tonight discussing what music to give (our) JFK for Christmas. Not an easy chore, for JFK has very narrowly defined tastes. We start talking up psychobilly as a possibility and I direct G to the site of one Michelle Terranova aka Go Kat Go Radio:

I am your host Michelle, and have been spinning the latest and greatest rockabilly and psychobilly each and every Tuesday from 8-10 pm on WNHU since May 2001. I have been actively involved in the local scene, and have been going to shows for over a decade now. My day to day life revolves around music…whether it’s at my regular day job at a commercial station, working on GKG! and the website, promoting bands, DJ’ing at local shows, or organizing shows, my life encompasses music. If I’m not doing any of those things, then I’m going to see a band play live. Wherever the shows of that week are, that’s where you’ll find me – CT, RI, MA, NY, NJ – the miles scare me not! I have no problem traveling for a good show…and at the end of the night, I always find myself saying, it was totally worth the ride…and it always is.

It just so happened that the December 16th show was dedicated to the memory of Bettie Page. Here is the show's playlist:
Artist / Song / Album / Label / * Request
Red Hot / Cruel Lovin’ / The Howlin’ Sessions Volume One / Razor Point Records
C. Rown & The Coronets / Red Cadillac And A Black Mustache / Western Parts / Self Released
Richie Copalello / Slippery Shoes / Rockabilly Boy / RJC Productions
Dulcie Younger And The Silencers / Make Me Mad / Kitty, Kitty…GROWL! / Golly Gee Records
The Belvadares / Long Drape Coat / Best Of Fury Rock N’ Roll / Fury Records
Memphis Rockabilly Band / The Man Who Can Do No Right / Roll, Rock & Rhythm / Big Beat Records
The West Coast Rollers / Me & My Chevrolet / Fifty More Miles / Cracked Piston Recordings
Rockin’ Ryan And The Real Goners / Woman Cry / Cry Of Midnight / Golly Gee Records
Rocket In A Pocket / Rocketride / …Kick It Over The Moon / Self Released
The Big Six / Dixie Peach / Billy Volume One / Hepcat Records
Marti Brom / Whiskey Six Years Old / Heartache Numbers / Goofin’ Records
Rocky Velvet / Can’t Stop / It Came From Cropseyville! / RVM Records
Slick Andrews And The Wild Hare Millionaires / She Drives Me Crazy / Let’s Beer It Up With… / Wild Hare Records
Sid King And The Five Strings / Gonna Shake This Shack Tonight / Shake The Shack Rockabilly Ball Volume 2 / KEXP Records
The Dixons / Please Baby Don’t Go / Still Your Fool / Cow Island Music
Frank Smith / My Chances Are Slim / Frank Smith / Smithville Records
The Doyle & Debbie Show / Grandma Flickertail / The Doyle & Debbie Show / Self Released
Johnny J. And The Hitmen / Lights Out / Louisiana Rockabillly / Blue Viper Records
Jerry King And The Falls City Boys / Long Haul Trucker / Ain’t Rocket Science 202 / Wild Hare Records
Brent Amaker And The Rodeo / Howdy Do / Howdy Do / Self Released / *
The Nighthawks featuring Buddy Holly / When Sin Stops / Rock, Rock, Rock! / Stardust Records
Gene Simmons / Chains Of Love / That’ll Flat Git It Volume 17 / Bear Family Records
Mac Curtis / Grandaddy’s Rockin’ / King-Federal Rockabilly / Gusto Records
Rose Maddox / Wild Wild Young Men / Whistle Bait! / Columbia Records / *
Tennessee Ernie Ford / Tailor Made Woman / 16 Tons Of Boogie / Rhino Records
Buddy Burke And The Canadian Meteors / That Big Old Moon / Ultra Rare Rockabilly’s Volume 3 / Chief Records
Rabble Rousers / Hold There / New Hard Times / Self Released
Sixgun Republic / Last Chance / Sixgun Republic / United Snakes Recordings
The BMW Rockers 57 / Gynaika Dithen / Avvo Eva Tatouaz… / Self Released
The Astrophonix / Suspended Time / Suspended Time / Thunderball Records
Sasquatch And The Sick-A-Billys / Apocalyptic Lipped / Storming The Gates / Analog Arkives
Amazombies / Riot In Cell Block #9 / Bitches And Stitches / Go Kart Records
The Sinsters / Dropped My Love / The Sinsters / Self Released
The Legendary Hucklebucks / Run Devil Run / Satan’s Teardrops-The Legendary Hucklebucks Split CD / Rock N’ Roll Purgatory Records
Cosmic Voodoo / Necroland / Vertigo / Kaiser Records
The Mansfields / Halfway To Memphis / Cramp Your Style / Gearhead Records
Evil Gnomes / Maniac Rockers From Hell / Sympathy For The Devil / Raucous Records
Mad Sin / Moonlight Shadows / Young, Dumb & Snotty / Cargo Music
Hellbats / Grandma Death / Dark ‘N’ Mighty / Hairball 8 Records
Phantom Rockers / Rumble Rock / Kicked Outta Purgatory / Hairball 8 Records

Yes, we play today. But is that a good thing?...

Down 14-0 to the Bengals at the half. Does it get any better than that?

And, hey, where are those Elvis duets you were going to send me, huh?

For my next song, I'd like to do "Christmas card from a hooker in Minneapolis."....

Hey Charley I'm pregnant, And living on 9th Street,
Right above a dirty bookstore, Off Euclid Avenue
And I stopped takin' dope, And I quit drinkin whiskey
And my old man plays the trombone, And works out at the track
Tom Waits
Ho-Ho-Ho, You're on stage ... at airport karaoke by Monica Rhor (AP)

HOUSTON – Tis the season for red-capped Santas and red-nosed reindeers. Sleigh bells ringing and snowflakes glistening. Stockings carefully hung and yuletide carols being sung ... in an airport terminal. With a karaoke machine. Ho-ho-ho, hold that flight. There's a holiday surprise for travelers — and aspiring performers — passing through Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport this month. There it is, just past the security checkpoint, set atop a small stage: a karaoke machine adorned with Christmas lights and stockings shaped like cowboy boots. There's even a team of Christmas elves — airport employees the rest of the year.

"A little holiday karaoke while you wait? It's fun and it's free," cooed Ashley Thompson. "You could be a star." This is the first year the airport has included holiday-themed karaoke among its array of seasonal musical entertainment, which includes school choirs and local bands. The karaoke booth is being set up five times around the airport this month. On a Thursday morning just after a rare snowfall had frosted Houston, the holiday spirit — or perhaps, the thrill of performing in front of strangers — was strong among airport employees and travelers with time to kill. One after another, crooners stepped up to the microphone and belted out holiday classics — each putting their own mark on the melodies.

Elvis wants to sing with YOU!...

Yeah, go figure. He must have heard you in the shower or something, but he's (actually, it's Sony BMG Music Entertainment's Commercial Music Group) set up a website singwiththeking.com where you can record your parts of Blue Christmas via telephone and send an ecard to someone you love (or despise). And it's all free.

Oh, go ahead, I DARE you! In fact, send one to Johnnyk at johnnykmusic@yahoo.com. Peace.

Thanks to Chris D!...

My late-night Toronto carousing buddy, Chris D (posting), forwards these "best of 2008" listings from the Boston Globe staff:

Sarah Rodman (article):

SHE & HIM, "Volume One" (Merge)

GUNS N' ROSES, "Chinese Democracy" (Geffen)

THE ROOTS, "Rising Down" (Def Jam)

SUGARLAND, "Love on the Inside" (Mercury)

VAMPIRE WEEKEND, "Vampire Weekend" (XL)

AL GREEN, "Lay It Down" (Blue Note/EMI)

JOE JACKSON, "Rain" (Rykodisc)

THE HOLD STEADY, "Stay Positive" (Vagrant)

RAPHAEL SAADIQ, "The Way I See It" (Columbia)

TV ON THE RADIO, "Dear Science" (DGC/Interscope)

Steve Greenlee (article):

BENNIE MAUPIN "Early Reflections" (Cryptogramophone)

HOUSTON PERSON WITH RON CARTER "Just Between Friends" (HighNote)

DAVE LIEBMAN "Negative Space" (Verve)

TODD SICKAFOOSE "Tiny Resistors" (Cryptogramophone)

DAVE DOUGLAS "Moonshine" (Greenleaf Music)

DONNY McCASLIN "Recommended Tools" (Greenleaf Music)

ADAM RUDOLPH'S MOVING PICTURES "Dream Garden" (Justin Time)

PETER BROTZMANN AND PEETER UUSKYLA "Born Broke" (Atavistic)

WADADA LEO SMITH'S GOLDEN QUARTET "Tabligh" (Cuneiform)

MARIO PAVONE "Trio Arc" (Playscape Recordings)

Others:
Scott Alarik- (article)
Siddhartha Mitter- (article)
Jonathan Perry- (article)
Christopher Muther- (article)
Joan Anderman- (article)
Jeremy Eichler- (article)
James Reed- (article)

Johnny Gumbo says - Jazz Fest lineups announced!!!.....

40th ANNIVERSARY
NEW ORLEANS JAZZ & HERITAGE FESTIVAL PRESENTED BY SHELL

APRIL 24 - 26 (1st WEEKEND)
Wynton Marsalis, Dave Matthews Band, James Taylor, Joe Cocker, Earth Wind & Fire, Wilco, Spoon, Erykah Badu, Irma Thomas, Orishas, Third World, Robert Cray,
Etta James & the Roots Band, Mavis Staples, Drive-By Truckers feat. Booker T. Jones, Johnny Winter, Pete Seeger, Hugh Masekela, Better Than Ezra, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, Galactic, Roy Haynes, Pete Fountain, Avett Brothers, Kinky, Roy Rogers, Del McCoury Band, Terence Blanchard, Marc Broussard, DJ Jubilee with 5th Ward Weebie and Ms. Tee, Buckwheat Zydeco’s 30th Anniversary feat. The Hitchhikers, Tab Benoit, Locos por Juana, Trombone Shorty, Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Yacub Addy and Odadaa of Ghana, Rebirth Brass Band Reunion with Kermit Ruffins, Ivan Neville & Dumpstaphunk, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Terrance Simien & the Zydeco Experience, Amanda Shaw & the Cute Guys, Donald Harrison, The Anointed Jackson Sisters, Tribute to Mahalia Jackson featuring Irma Thomas, Mavis Staples, and Pamela Landrum, Chris Smither, Henry Butler, Papa Grows Funk, Robert Mirabal, Harlem Blues & Jazz Band, Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr. & the Zydeco Twisters, Sonny Landreth, Benjy Davis Project, The Vettes, Mem Shannon & the Membership, Stephanie Jordan, Warren Storm, Willie Tee and Cypress feat. Tommy McLain and T K Hulin, Astral Project, Ladysmith Redlions of South Africa, Don Vappie & the Creole Jazz Serenaders, Amammereso Agofomma of Ghana, The Dixie Cups, Chubby Carrier & the Bayou Swamp Band, Germaine Bazzle, John Mooney & Bluesiana, Marlon Jordan, Tabby Thomas, Spencer Bohren, Savoy Music Center of Eunice Saturday Cajun Jam, Dew Drop Inn Revisited hosted by Deacon John feat. Wanda Rouzan, Eddie Bo, Allen Toussaint, Robert Parker, and Al “Carnival Time” Johnson, Paul Sanchez & the Rolling Road Show, Wayne Toups & Zydecajun, Leroy Jones presents the Fairview Brass Band Reunion Tribute to Danny Barker, Bruce Daigrepont, Vivaz!, Pfister Sisters’ 30th Anniversary, Gringo do Choro, Dr. Michael White & the Original Liberty Jazz Band, Thais Clark, Big Chief Monk Boudreaux & the Golden Eagles Mardi Gras Indians, Henry Gray & the Cats, Joe Krown, Walter “Wolfman” Washington & Russell Batiste, Jr., Lil’ Buck Sinegal Blues Band, EOE, Ebony Hillbillies, Crescent City Allstars feat. James Andrews, Hot 8 Brass Band, Schatzy, Jake Smith, 19th Street Red Blues Band, Brasilliance!, Mighty Chariots of Fire, Sharde Thomas & the Rising Star Fife & Drum Band, Chris Owens, Topsy Chapman, New Bumpers’ Revival Jazz Band of France, Zulu Male Ensemble, Jo “Cool” Davis, Leah Chase, Herlin Riley, Roderick Paulin, Mahogany Brass Band, Ingrid Lucia, MyNameisJonMichael, Texas Johnny Brown & the Quality Blues Band, Rockie Charles & the Stax of Love, AsheSon, Jim McCormick, Lil’ Malcolm & the House Rockers, Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers, Thomas “Big Hat” Fields & his Foot Stompin’ Zydeco Band, Guitar Slim, Jr., Storyville Stompers Brass Band, Willis Prudhomme & Zydeco Express, Lost Bayou Ramblers, Waterseed, Creole Wild West Mardi Gras Indians, DJ Hektik & the New Orleans Society of Dance with Freedia and Nobi, Tipsy Chicks, Jonno Frishberg & Bayou DeVille, Christian Serpas & Ghost Town, Kumbuka African Drum and Dance Collective, NewBirth Brass Band, High Ground Drifters Bluegrass Band, New Orleans Night Crawlers Brass Band, Hadley Castille & the Sharecropper Band, Carrollton Hunters and Cherokee Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Big Steppers, Furious Five, and Untouchables SAPCs, Patrice Fisher & Arpa feat. special guests from Brazil, Clive Wilson’s New Orleans Serenaders feat. Butch Thompson, Young Tuxedo Brass Band, Betty Winn & One A-Chord, McDonogh #35 High School Gospel Choir, Sophisticated Ladies feat. Barbara Shorts, Leslie Smith, Cindy Scott, and Judy Spellman, Golden Comanche and Seminoles Mardi Gras Indians, N.O.C.C.A. Jazz Ensemble, Real Untouchables Brass Band, Olympia Aid, New Look & First Division SAPCs, New Orleans Jazz Vipers, Tommy Sancton, Society Brass Band, Connie Jones, St. Joseph the Worker Music Ministry, UNO Jazz Combo, June Gardner & the Fellas, New Orleans Spiritualettes, Smitty Dee’s Brass Band, Kid Simmons’ Local International Allstars, Semolian Warriors, Comanche Hunters, and Golden Star Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble, Tyronne Foster & the Arc Singers, Loyola University Jazz Ensemble, Franklin Avenue B.C. Mass Choir, Small Souljas Brass Band, Val & the Love Alive Fellowship Choir, Single Ladies, Family Ties, Big Nine, and Keep N It Real SAPCs, Second Mount Carmel Gospel Choir, Xavier University Jazz Ensemble, Heritage School of Music Band, Gospel Soul Children, Nine Times Men, Single Men, Dumaine Gang, Divine Ladies, and Lady Jetsetters SAPCs, Red, White & Blue and Wild Mohican Mardi Gras Indians, Reverend Charles Jackson & the Jackson Travelers, Nineveh B.C. Mass Choir, Kid Simmon’s Local International Allstars, Voices of St. Peter Claver, David & Roselyn, Grayhawk, Washboard Leo, Red Hot Brass Band, Kayla Woodson & Louisiana Lightnin’….


APRIL 30 - MAY 3 (2nd WEEKEND)
Aretha Franklin, TBA, Sugarland, Ben Harper and Relentless7, Tony Bennett, Kings of Leon, The Neville Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, Common, Emmylou Harris, Dr. John, Buddy Guy, Los Lobos, The O’Jays, Toots & the Maytals, Allen Toussaint, John Mayall, Solomon Burke, Doc Watson, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly, The Whispers, Jakob Dylan, Chuck Brown, Meter Men: Zig, George, and Leo, Kurt Elling, Rance Allen, Cowboy Mouth, Guy Clark, Radiators Aaron Neville, Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials, Tab Benoit & the Wetland Allstars, Marcia Ball, Ellis Marsalis, Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Poncho Sanchez Latin Jazz Band, Jon Cleary & the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, Frankie Ford, BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet, Mississippi Mass Choir, Walter “Wolfman” Washington & the Roadmasters, Anders Osborne, the subdudes, Esperanza Spalding, Patty Griffin, Deacon John, Chris Thomas King, Kind of Blue @ 50 Tribute to Miles Davis feat. Jimmy Cobb, Wallace Roney, Larry Willis, and Buster Williams, John Scofield & the Piety Street Band, George Wein & the Newport Allstars feat. Randy Brecker, VaShawn Mitchell & Friends, Nicholas Payton, Linda Tillery & the Cultural Heritage Choir, Irvin Mayfield & the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, Bonerama, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, The Genius of Sidney Bechet: A Tribute feat. Bob Wilber, Dr. Michael White, and Brian “Breeze” Cayolle, Delfeayo Marsalis Quintet, Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ Boogie, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas, Theresa Andersson, Cedric Burnside & Lightnin’ Malcolm, Bobby Lounge feat. Sarah Quintana, Chieck Hamala Diabate of Mali, The Iguanas, Treme Brass Band, Lars Edegran & the New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra, Lionel Ferbos & the Palm Court Jazz Band, Fredy Omar con su Banda, Rosie Ledet & the Zydeco Playboys, Big Chief Bo Dollis & the Wild Magnolias, Soul Rebels, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, Luther Kent & Trickbag, Banu Gibson’s Hot Jazz with Bucky Pizzarelli, Mark Braud, Sunpie & the Louisiana Sunspots, Marva Wright & the BMWs, Kenny Bill Stinson & the Ark-LA-Mystics, Gregg Stafford’s Jazz Hounds’ Tribute to Danny Barker feat. Juanita Brooks, Eric Lindell, C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band, Rumba Buena, Roddie Romero & the Hub City Allstars, Charmaine Neville Band, Eddie Bo, Ori Danse Club of Benin, Crocodile Gumboot Dancers of South Africa, Rotary Downs, George French & the New Orleans Storyville Jazz Band, Walter Payton & Filé Gumbo, Dash Rip Rock, John Boutté, Sonny Bourg & the Bayou Blues Band, Johnny Sketch & the Dirty Notes, Sherman Robertson, Honey Island Swamp Band, The Revealers, I’Voire Spectacle feat. Seguenon Kone, Alex McMurray, 101 Runners, Midnite Disturbers, Paulin Brothers Brass Band, Big Chief Peppy & the Golden Arrows Mardi Gras Indians, D.L. Menard & the Louisiana Aces, James Rivers Movement, Otra, Tony Green’s Gypsy Jazz, New Orleans Klezmer Allstars, John Rankin, Betsy McGovern & the Poor Clares, Kenny Neal, Lil’ Brian & the Travelers, Jeremy Davenport, Keith Frank & the Soileau Zydeco Band, Jamal Batiste & the Jam-Allstars, Ensemble Fatien feat. Seguenon Kone, Dr. Michael White, and Jason Marsalis, Sharon Martin, St. Louis Slim, Bryan Lee & the Blues Power Band, TBC Brass Band, Lady Rollers, Original C.T.C., and Nine Times Ladies SAPCs, Feufollet, War Chief Juan & Young Fire and White Cloud Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, New Orleans Bingo! Show, David Egan, Kidd Jordan-Al Fielder & the IAQ, Drew Landry Band, Driskill Mountain Boys, Jumpin’ Johnny Sansone, Washboard Chaz, Bamboula 2000, Danza, Marisa y Mariachi Agave, J. Monque’D Blues Band, Cedric Watson, Twangorama, Higher Heights, Tim Laughlin, Elysian Fieldz, Percussion Inc., Pinettes Brass Band, Scene Boosters, Old N Nu Fellas, Secondline Jammers, and Ladies of Unity SAPCs, Little Freddie King Blues Band, Glen David Andrews, Po’ Henry & Tookie, Sherman Washington & the Zion Harmonizers, Culu Children’s Traditional African Dance Ensemble, Paky Saavedra’s Bandido, New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian Rhythm Section, Bob French & the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band, Shamarr Allen, Free Agents Brass Band, Jambalaya Cajun Band, Benny Grunch & the Bunch, Javier Tobar & Elegant Gypsy, Creole Zydeco Farmers, Bonsoir Catin, Corey Ledet, Gina Brown, Reggie Hall & the Twilighters feat. Lady Bee, Forgotten Souls Brass Band, Young Magnolias, Golden Sioux, and Black Feathers Mardi Gras Indians, New Leviathan Oriental Foxtrot Orchestra, Westbank Steppers, Valley of Silent Men, and Pigeon Town Steppers SAPCs, Doreen’s Jazz New Orleans, Truth Universal & Jimi Clever, Shades of Praise Gospel Singers, Brother Tyrone, Lazarus, Berard Family Band, New Orleans Jazz Ramblers, Courtney Bryan Trio, Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, DJ Captain Charles, Blodie’s Jazz Jam, New Orleans Helsinki Project, Original Last Straws, Chris Clifton, Panorama Jazz Band, Mario Abney, John Lee & the Heralds of Christ, Original Dixieland Jazz Band, Hot Club of New Orleans, The Moonshiners, Clarinet Woodshed feat. Evan Christopher and Gregory Agid, SUBR Jazz Ensemble, Michael Ward, DJ Soul Sister, The Johnson Extension, Black Eagles, Geronimo Hunters, Wild Tchoupitoulas, and Wild Apaches Mardi Gras Indians, Watson Memorial Teaching Ministries, Tulane University Jazz Ensemble, First Emmanuel Baptist Church Choir, Louis Ford & his New Orleans Flairs, Fi Yi Yi & the Mandingo Warriors, Red Hawk, and Black Seminoles Mardi Gras Indians, Leviticus Gospel Choir, Dillard University Jazz Ensemble, Bester Singers and the Dynamic Smooth Family Gospel Singers, Bon Temps Roulez, New Generation, and Undefeated Divas SAPCs, The Electrifying Crownseekers, Pinstripe Brass Band, Ebenezer Baptist Church Mass Choir, Trouble Nation and Ninth Ward Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Famous Rocks of Harmony, Highsteppers Brass Band, McMain High School Gospel Choir, Voices of Distinction, Gal Holiday, Lyle Henderson & Emmanuel, Coolie Family Gospel Singers, Original Big 7 and Original 4 SAPCs, Tornado Brass Band, Eddie “Chops” Paris, Golden Blade, Wild Red Flame, and Mohawk Hunters Mardi Gras Indians, Morning Star B.C. Mass Choir, New Wave Brass Band, Julio y Cesar Band, First Emmanuel Church Gospel Choir, Greater Antioch Full Gospel B.C. Mass Choir, Roderick Paulin, N’Kafu African Dance Ensemble, Original Prince of Wales and the Original Lady Buckjumpers SAPCs, Johnette Downing, Young Guardians of the Flame, Eric McAllister, N'Fungola Sibo West African Dance Company, Mt. Hermon B.C. Mass Choir ….

We didn't lose on Sunday, but...

We lose again: Eagles 30, Brownies 10

Good news: We finally scored our first TD in 4 games.
Not-so-good-news: It was a interception on their backup QB during garbage time.

Bill Cowher, where ARE you?

Listening to....

Saint Saens- Christmas Oratorio and Britten- A Ceremony of Carols
Dresden Kreuzchor, Dresden Philharmonic, Martin Flamig

The Hissing of Summer Lawns (Joni Mitchell)

Magic Potion (The Black Keys)

The La's (The La's)
As I online shop...

Ten lords a-leaping...

Previously on this journey:
Twelve drummers drummimg
Eleven pipers piping

This is a toughie!

1. Mary Lou Lord Saw her perform (posting) at Cafe Nine in 2006.
   
2. Jack Lord, a-leaping as they play the Hawaii Five-O theme
   
3. My Sweet Lord (George Harrison)
   
4. Thank the Lord for the Night Time (Neil Diamond)
   
5. Dear Lord (Thin Lizzy)
   
6. Lord Don't Slow Me Down (Oasis)
   
7. Work Me, Lord (Janis Joplin) see below
   
8. Lord, I'm Discouraged (The Hold Steady)
   
9. Presence Of The Lord (Blind Faith)
   
10. Lord Of The Flies (Iron Maiden)

From songfacts.com:
Janis performed this song at the Woodstock Music Festival of 1969. The studio version on Kozmic Blues did not quite crystallize for listeners of the album, but the live version was sung with strongervocals. Many avid fans believe the Woodstock version was one of her greatest live performances during her career.

AllMusic’s Favorite Blues Albums of 2008...

The 2008 AMG "best blues" list includes G-Man favorites, The Black Keys' Attack & Release and Holly Golightly & the Brokeoffs' Dirt Don't Hurt. I recommend Dr. John's City That Care Forgot. If you go to the site, you will find links to reviews of each album.

The Black Keys - Attack & Release
Robert Cray - Live at the BBC
Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup - Gonna Be Some Changes: 1946-54
Reverend Gary Davis - Manchester Free Trade Hall 1964
Dr. John and the Lower 911 - City That Care Forgot
Holly Golightly and the Brokeoffs - Dirt Don’t Hurt
Buddy Guy - Skin Deep
B.B. King - One Kind Favor
Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials - Full Tilt
leftLittle Caesar - Your On-The-Hour Man: Modern, Dolphin and Downey Recordings
Memphis Minnie - Hoodoo Lady
Eli “Paperboy” Reed & The True Loves - Roll with You
Duke Robillard - A Swingin Session with Duke Robillard
Byther Smith - Blues on the Moon, Live at the Rhythm Social Club
Mavis Staples - Live: Hope at the Hideout
Susan Tedeschi - Back to the River
Watermelon Slim & the Workers - No Paid Holidays
Various Artists - Blame It on the Dogg: The Swamp Dogg Anthology 1968-1978
Various Artists - Smithsonian Folkways: Classic African American Gospel
Various Artists - Son House & the Kings of the Delta Blues
Various Artists - Take Me to the River: A Southern Soul Story 1961-1977

Thanks for forwarding this, Jim Kane, Bristol's oldies guru!...

Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis and Fats Domino playing together backed by Paul Shaffer, Ron Wood and more!

Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis
Uploaded by Hanvak

What is hip? Tell me, tell me if you think you know....

Best wishes to Marcia V on hip replacement surgery today!
We were quite surprised because she had superior hipness already.

Nothing really matters....

Pretty cool. The group is U of California Men's Octet

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me- eleven pipers piping

1. Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull)
   
2. Jean-Pierre Rampal
   
3. James Galway (Irish)
   
4. Sarah Palin (beauty pageant contestant)
   
5. Herbie Mann (jazz)
   
6. Peter Gabriel (Genesis)
   
7. Rashaan Roland Kirk (jazz)
   
8. Burton Cummings (The Guess Who)
   
9. Hubert Laws
   
10. Yusef Lateef
    
11. Eric Dolphy (jazz)
    

Others- Tim Weisberg (pop), Bobbi Humphrey (jazz/fusion), Ray Thomas (Moody Blues), Chris Wood (Traffic), James Moody (jazz)

Boston Music Awards 2008 winners list...

Any comments from our Beantown readers?

Winners pics
Boston.com coverage
Act of the Year (National) – New Kids on the Block
Album of the Year (National) – Who Killed Amanda Palmer – Amanda Palmer
Song of the Year (National) – This Lonely Love – Juliana Hatfield
Act of the Year (Local) – Girls Guns and Glory
Album of the Year (Local) – Absolute Value – Akrobatik
Best New Act – The Low Anthem
Best Song of the Year (Local) – One and One – The Great Bandini
Female Vocalist of the Year (Local) – Sarah Borges
Female Vocalist of the Year (National) – Amanda Palmer
Male Vocalist of the Year (Local) – Eli "Paperboy" Reed
Male Vocalist of the Year (National) – Al Barr (Dropkick Murphys)
Outstanding Americana Act of the Year – Girls Guns and Glory
Outstanding Blues Act of the Year – David Maxwell
Outstanding DJ/Electronic Act of the Year – Baltimoroder
Outstanding Folk Artists of the Year – Miss Tess
Outstanding Hip–Hop Act – Termanology
Outstanding International Music Act of the Year – Zili Misik
Outstanding Jazz Act of the Year – Grace Kelly
Outstanding Live Act of the Year – The Camp
Outstanding Metal/Hardcore Act of the Year – Doomriders
Outstanding Pop/R&B Act of the Year – Jada
Outstanding Punk Act of the Year – Big D and the Kids Table
Outstanding Rock Act of the Year – Wild Light
Outstanding Singer/Songwriter of the Year – Marissa Nadler
Outstanding Tribute Act of the Year – Joshua Tree
Producer of the Year (Hip–Hop/R&B) – Matty Trump
Producer of the Year (Rock/Pop) – Ed Valauskas
College Band of the Year – Bearstronaut

Dusty Springfield - South Bank Show...

I found this program on the life of Dusty Springfield, one of my all time favorite singers. If you haven't revisited Dusty in Memphis recently, do it. You owe it to yourself. It is one of the best records ever.

A soul searching South Bank Show, on arguably Britain's greatest ever Pop Diva - Dusty Springfield. Original air date: Sunday 9th April 2006, ITV1 UK:

The iconic Dusty Springfield remains the "white lady of soul" and in this compelling South Bank Show, her moving and dramatic story is told in its entirety for the first time. An array of intimate friends, lovers and show business talents go on record to describe the intense highs and lows of Dusty's swinging life, before her untimely death in 1999.

Born Mary O'Brien in London as war began in 1939, in the 60's as Dusty Springfield, she came to represent renewed British optimism and modernity, epitomising swinging London. A plain convent educated girl, Dusty's transformation of herself into a blonde glamour icon was a remarkable act of will.

A lesbian with a great deal to lose and a great deal to hide, Dusty hid for many years behind the mask of the Girl Singer. The unique qualities of her voice attracted the crème de la crème of songwriters and producers; she had close relationships with Burt Bacharach, Carole King, and Gamble and Huff, the men who created the sound of Philadelphia Soul.
The show on YouTube:
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V

Love is kinda crazy with a spooky little girl like you....SPOOKY!

Former Classics IV singer Dennis Yost dies (AP)

CINCINNATI – Lead singer Dennis Yost of the 1960s soft rock group The Classics IV has died in an Ohio hospital. He was 65. Yost's friend and biographer Joe Glickman said the singer died Sunday at Fort Hamilton Hospital in Hamilton, about 30 miles northwest of Cincinnati. Hospital spokeswoman Marielou Vierling said Yost died of respiratory failure. The Classics IV's hits included "Spooky," "Stormy" and "Traces of Love." Glickman said Yost had been in nursing homes since suffering a brain injury sustained in a fall in 2005.

You'll never guess...we lost 28-9...

Courtesy of Keith: Cleveland Browns anthrax scare...
Cleveland Browns football practice was delayed nearly two hours Monday afternoon after a player reported finding an unknown white powdery substance on the practice field. Head coach Romeo Crennel immediately suspended practice while police and federal agents were called to investigate.

After a complete analysis, Ohio State Police forensic experts determined that the white substance, unknown to the players, was the goal line. Practice was resumed after the forensic experts decided the team was unlikely to encounter the substance again.

Sunday morning listening while reading the Sunday paper with The Reet...

Johnny K Has the Blues This Christmas (2001)

1. Please Come Home for Christmas (Aaron Neville)
   
2. Oh, Christmas Tree (Aretha Franklin)
   
3. Merry Christmas, Baby (Bonnie Raitt/Charles Brown)
   
4. Christmas Blues (Holly Cole Trio)
   
5. Christmas Soul & Blues (Lowell Fulson)
   
6. Hard Candy Christmas (Dolly Parton)
   
7. Christmas Ball Blues (Leon Redbone)
   
8. White Christmas (Roomful of Blues)
   
9. Please Come Home for Christmas (Etta James)
   
10. Soulful Christmas (James Brown)
    
11. Blues for Christmas (John Lee Hooker)
    
12. Christmas in Prison (John Prine)
    
13. The Christmas Song (Luther Vandross)
    
14. Christmas Time (Ray Charles)
    
15. Gee Whiz, It's Christmas (Carla Thomas)
    
16. Christmas Blues (Blues Traveler)
    
17. Christmas Time Blues (Jimmy Dawkins)
    
18. Faraway Christmas (Johnny Otis/Esther Phillips)
    
19. Christmas Turkey Blues (Arrogant Worms)
    
20. Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis (Tom Waits) This song was the most controversial on the album. It's absolutely my favorite, so sad, touching. Some told me they couldn't stand it, would skip over it every time. On this live clip from 1979, the audience doesn't get it.

I played my drum for Him, pa rum pum pum pum ...

Fun family get together last night at Sister Mary Agnes' house. The annual tree theme was The 12 Days of Christmas, which got us to thinking - who are the 12 drummers drumming? Possibilities:

1. Ringo Starr (Beatles)
   
2. Buddy Rich (jazz)
   
3. Keith Moon (The Who)
   
4. John Bonham (Led Zeppelin)
   
5. Roy Haynes (jazz)
   
6. Ginger Baker (Cream)
   
7. Phil Collins (Genesis)
   
8. Meg White (White Stripes)
   
9. Gene Krupa (jazz)
   
10. Sheila E (Prince & the Revolution)
    
11. Mick Fleetwood (Fleetwood Mac)
    
12. Don Henley (Eagles)

More:Spencer Dryden (Jefferson Airplane), Nigel Olsson (Elton John), Grady Tate (jazz), Jaimoe/Butch Trucks (Allman Brothers), Peter York (Monkees), Mickey Hart (Grateful Dead), Philly Joe Jones (jazz), Shelly Manne (jazz), John Densmore (Doors), Connie Kay (jazz), Tommy Lee (Motley Crue), Max Weinberg (E Street Band), Airto Moriera (jazz), Tito Puente (Latin), Max Roach (jazz), Alex Van Halen (Van Halen), Charlie Watts (Rolling Stones), Chick Webb (jazz), Lennie White (Chick Corea)

Next up, 11 pipers piping? After Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull), where does one go?

No, I won't be afraid....

From the award-winning documentary, "Playing For Change: Peace Through Music", comes the first of many "songs around the world" being released independently. Featured is a cover of the Ben E. King classic by musicians around the world adding their part to the song as it travelled the globe. This and other songs such as "One Love" will be released as digital downloads soon; followed by the film soundtrack and DVD early next year. - playingforchange.com

Tragedy strikes....

Landmark strip club in West Hollywood burns (AP)

A fire has erupted at the Body Shop, a landmark strip club in West Hollywood, Calif., included in the Motley Crue song "Girls, Girls, Girls." The Los Angeles County Fire Department says the blaze was reported at about 6:46 a.m. Thursday at the one-story club on Sunset Boulevard. Firefighters don't believe anyone was in the building at the time of the fire. Television helicopter footage shows flames flaring through the roof. About half a dozen fire engines and trucks were at the scene.

(The owners probably have insurance to cover their losses, but my heart goes out to the girls)

Speaking of Jazz Fest...

Well, not really, but a New Orleans story nonetheless:

Families move into homes that Pitt built (AP)

NEW ORLEANS – It was a bittersweet moment for Brad Pitt, walking through the Lower 9th Ward neighborhood where families were preparing to spend their first holidays since Hurricane Katrina. Those families are moving into the first six houses built through Pitt's Make It Right foundation. One home was already strewn with green garland, lights, wreaths and red bows.

Still, Pitt is restless. "I'm really happy for the families that are going to be here, but I can't help but think about the families that aren't," Pitt said Monday. "It's a push-pull for me. The excitement is that it's being proven, that it's working. The frustration is that we have a long way to go." Make It Right was launched by Pitt a year ago. The program calls for construction of 150 energy-efficient homes in a section of New Orleans washed away when Katrina broke levees Aug. 29, 2005.

So far, six homes have been built. Two more are under way, and construction on another 14 begins in early 2009. Pitt smiles, gets a little giddy even, when talking about where the project will be in another year. "You're going to see 100 homes here, mark my words," he said. "It's nice to see a few, but I'm anxious to see 100, 150, 1,000."

Pitt said that by December 2009, the Lower 9th Ward should be one of the nation's largest "green" neighborhoods. "It's amazing," he said. "This place that suffered such injustice and so much death can become one of the primary examples of a high-performance neighborhood. It really is amazing." Inez Converse, 71, isn't concerned about her area setting any records. She's just happy to be back in the neighborhood she lived in for more than 35 years before Katrina. And she said she was glad she had the chance to thank Pitt personally. "He didn't have to do this," she said. "I'm just grateful he is doing it." - complete story


The Pink House painting was commissioned by the Make it Right foundation and painted by New Orleans artist Lionel Milton. The tilted Classic French Pink House in the foreground of the painting with the all too familiar silhouette of the New Orleans skyline illustrates a part of the spirit of the city. - About Lionel Milton

Now the first of December was covered with snow,
And so was the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston...

Request for Sharie...

Urgent email from Keith:
Trying to make an oldies CD for Sharie. Trying to find two songs on iTunes. Can't find it under those artists on iTunes. Help!! K

First one: lyrics go "this guy's in love with you. yes i'm in love. who looks at you the way i do. etc etc. Any idea who the original artist is? Or the most popular version from the radio?
johnnyk response: Sounds like a Hal David/Burt Bacharach song made by Herb Alpert (sans Tijuana Brass). Here's a youtube clip of Alpert singing the song on The Carpenters' television show. -lyrics - songfacts.com

Second one: lyrics go "you make me so very happy. I'm so glad you came into my life.etc.etc. The Guess Who? Chicago??
johnnyk response: You're close on this one - it's "You've Made Me So Very Happy" by Blood, Sweat & Tears. (I've included a youtube clip of a 1971 performance of this song below) -lyrics. - songfacts.com

We lose again, 10-6 on a QB fumble returned for a TD...unbelievable!....

We suck, but we're on TV!!!!

We're ahead 6-3 at halftime! What an offense!!!!!!!

Bill Cowher, we want you...

Saturday morning soundtrack for trying to catch a kitchen mouse as The Reet goes fucking nuts...

Morning, everyone!

Ashgrove (Dave Alvin)

Live in Austin (Tony Joe White)

Read My Lips (Lou Ann Barton)

Annunciation (the subdudes)

Just a Little Lovin' (Shelby Lynne)

Imagine there's no heaven....

Tenor Placido Domingo sings poems by Pope John Paul

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Tenor Placido Domingo unveiled a new album of songs based on the poems of Pope John Paul II on Friday and said he was certain the late pontiff was a saintly man. In "Infinite Love," a CD he presented at the Vatican, the Spanish-born Domingo sings duets with Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli, Vanessa Williams and Katherine Jenkins as well as with his son, Placido Domingo Jr. The songs in English, Spanish and Italian are based on poems the Polish pope wrote before his election in 1978. - complete article

Unconfirmed poems/songs include:

Fridays were never for hotdogs

Pew up, y'all, it's Sunday

Incense is seriously groovy stuff

On being the deuce

Happy Thanksgiving to Y'all!
(including the heartless bastards!)

Great day at the compound, filled with Kennedys, McGowans, Flynns and Iversons eating, drinking, conversing - good family stuff. And these people know their music! Topics of the day included: Peter had been intrigued with a snippet of Fleet Foxes heard on NPR, so we investigated. Found the Seattle band to sound sort of Beach Boys circa Pet Sounds/Good Vibrations. We gave them a C-. ....Revisited Boston's Melvern Taylor, a Fabuloso 2007 Christmas gift from Kay. Overnight visitor Nate O (longtime friend of Garrett, but no relation to Barack O) liked it and grabbed a copy and, later, Ron did likewise.....The tasty dinner was matched with a soundtrack of the Bill Evans Trio Sunday at the Village Vanguard, Terrance Blanchard Let's Get Lost and the classic, six-song John Coltrane/Johnny Hartman. ....Big winners were the Heartless Bastards, the Ohio trio who opened for Lucinda Williams up at the Calvin Theater in Northampton a couple years ago (to whom we paid little attention until Garrett started to play them awhile ago). Here's a youtube clip of them... The new Pretenders CD, Break Up the Concrete, got good reviews. ....Throw in some vintage Clash/Joe Strummer (favs of Ron/Jonathan) and Ray Lamontagne and we've got a mighty fine day of music, don't you think?

Bette forwards this very interesting site which identifies for us "The #1 song in the U.S.A. on this date in history, according to Billboard magazine." joshhosler.biz

Turkey with gravy and cranberry; can't believe the Mets traded Darryl Strawberry...

The Adam Sandler Thanksiving song. Sing alongfolks...

Has cold turkey got YOU on the run?...

Wednesday morning at five o'clock as the day begins...

Mystery `Eleanor Rigby' document goes to auction (AP)
LONDON – Eleanor Rigby: fact or fiction? That question, which has bedeviled Beatles' fans for decades, may be answered in part by a 1911 hospital payroll sheet to be auctioned in London on Thursday. The document, sent by Paul McCartney in 1990 to the director of a music charity who had asked for funding, contains the signature of a scullery maid named "E. Rigby" who worked in a Liverpool hospital. The director of the company auctioning the document believes the woman who signed the payroll is the same Eleanor Rigby buried in 1939 in a Liverpool graveyard next to the church where McCartney met the young John Lennon. - complete article

We missed her at Cafe Nine Saturday night, but here's what they said about Sarah Borges' gig at B.B. King's in NYC...

Band Seeking Audience Willing to Leave Its Seats
By JON CARAMANICA (NY Times 11/24/08)

Should there be, sometime in the near future, a sock hop in need of a house band, Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles would like to apply for the position. Granted, clean-scrubbed, 1950s-influenced rock is but one part of this gleeful young band’s repertory, which also includes rockabilly, vintage country, moody ’90s indie rock and girl-group pop. Still, this group delivers even its sullen songs with velocity, so that when Ms. Borges looked out on the dinner crowd at B. B. King Blues Club & Grill on Sunday, she couldn’t quite mask her glumness: “You’re all sitting down. How are you going to dance?”

Ms. Borges and her Boston-based band were opening for the Blasters, the longtime punk-influenced rockabilly outfit that is also no friend to a seated audience. But the modesty and calm of the room turned into an opportunity for Ms. Borges and her brood. After a slow start, in which the band was stiff, and Ms. Borges’s vocals were mixed impossibly low, the chairs finally got some competition. In a sparkling black minidress and beat-up tan cowboy boots, Ms. Borges was a sharp frontwoman, with a warm, cheery voice that she wasn’t afraid to stretch, hissing some of her words on “Daniel Lee” and singing plaintively on “Stop and Think It Over.”

Released in 2007, “Diamonds in the Dark” (Sugar Hill), Ms. Borges’s second album and first with the Broken Singles, is fiery and charming, featuring an unlikely range of excellent covers of songs by Tom Waits, Canned Heat, X and Dolly Parton. They skipped those here, though, sticking largely to originals. The band — the guitarist Lyle Brewer, the bass player Binky and the drummer Rob Dulaney — was consistently rollicking, and Ms. Borges wielded her guitar in muscular fashion, especially on a ferocious version of NRBQ’s “It Comes to Me Naturally,” from the forthcoming album “The Stars Are Out,” due next year. Only in a couple of spots did this vivacious singer let the audience feel comfortable resting in its seats. “Modern Trick,” an airy, dry number about regret, was one of them. “I want to live my life in stereo,” Ms. Borges sighed, as Mr. Dulaney lightly tapped his snare with a pair of brushes:

When I want someone to turn me on
I can signal with my red light
When I want to, I can amplify
the parts of me you like the best
Just the same, I could equalize
the too-loud parts of the rest.

Now the first of December was covered with snow, And so was the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston...

So I'm driving to the post office mid-afternoon and the radio is tuned to WFAN 660's Mike Francesa (formerly Mike and the Mad Dog until Dog took the money and ran) show and I hear the big, fat, self-absorbed one chatting with a man relating his experiences with the Beatles and Apple Records. James Taylor! What gives? Well, it's some kind of fundraiser (Children's Miracle Network) with Taylor auctioning off a guitar and signed copies of his new cd, Covers (is anyone NOT doing a covers album these days?). They are still chatting as I arrive home, so I turn on the television just in time to hear very cool acoustic versions of Leonard Cohen's Suzanne as well as the Taylor classics Carolina in My Mind (written while he was in England recording at Apple Studios, hanging with the Beatles) and Sweet Baby James (written for older brother Alex's first-born named after James).

Wikipedia factoid (heads up, Toddy): James grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where his father, Isaac M. Taylor, was the dean of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine from 1964 to 1971. His family spent summers on Martha's Vineyard.

Endless sleep, indeed...

PALM DESERT, Calif. (AP) — Ralph Joseph Reynolds, known as Jody, the rockabilly singer and songwriter whose lone hit, “Endless Sleep,” ushered in a wave of tragic teenage pop songs in the 1950s, died here on Nov. 7. He was 75. Mr. Reynolds was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 1999. "Endless Sleep,” which sold more than a million copies in 1958, kicked off the melodramatic teenage-tragedy genre, including Mark Dinning’s “Teen Angel,” Ray Peterson’s “Tell Laura I Love Her,” Dickey Lee’s “Patches” and the Shangri-Las’ “Leader of the Pack.” - complete article

Infinity Music Hall & Bistro, Norfolk...

A friend alerted me to this new music venue up in northwest CT, the Infinity Music Hall & Bistro. A quick peek at its calendar reveals that former Fabulous Rhinestone Kal David is playing on Friday, followed by Sweet Baby James' brother Livingston Taylor on Saturday, followed by (big Johnnyk fav) Leon Russell on Sunday. Not bad. The bistro is slated to open early 2009.

Per YouTube: Welcome to Infinity Music Hall & Bistro - Connecticut's oldest new music venue in Norfolk, Connecticut. When Infinity Hall opens its doors in Fall 2008 it will host some of the best jazz, folk, classical and other music touring the United States today.

We suck soooo bad -Texans 16, Brownies 6...

Quinn's finger broken, but will play vs. Houston Texans. Kellen Winslow probably out with bad shoulder (but no staff infection - yet). Wonderful!

The scoop

Meanwhile, today's soundtrack: At Carnegie Hall (Thelonious Monk w/ John Coltrane) Let It Bleed (Rolling Stones) 100 Days, 100 Nights (Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings) Fabuloso (Melvern Taylor) The Last Real Texas Blues Band (Doug Sahm)

For music lovers everywhere...

Guitar Hero World Tour Heidi Klum Director's Cut, Directed by Brett Ratner

What I'm listening to on a Saturday as I watch Charlie Weis get his big fat ass kicked...

The Irish reached another low as Cameron Dantley, son of one of Notre Dame’s all-time basketball greats, threw an 11-yard TD pass with 42 seconds left to lead Syracuse to a 24-23 victory, one of the most surprising upsets in Fighting Irish history. AP story

Meanwhile, Saturday's soundtrack:

Working Man's Cafe (Ray Davies)

Humming by the Flowered Vine (Laura Cantrell)

UFOs OverBamako (Vieux Farka Toure)

Get Inside (Johnny A)

Groovebox (The Ahn Trio)

Flying Through (Naomi Sommers)

Diamonds in the Dark (Sarah Borges & the Broken Singles)

Out in California (Dave Alvin & the Guilty Men)

Broken Singles 'N Blasters at Cafe Nine tonight!...

Damn it, I had been really looking forward to Saturday night's Sarah Borges & the Broken Singles and the Blasters gig at Cafe Nine (the musicians' living room) for a number of reasons- a night out at a crowded, noisy bar with a bunch of good friends (it started with just me 'n Keith, Sharie joined in and got The Rick/Joann, which brought The Reet into the fold; Trish/George chimed in they're a go w/tickets; and we were working on Vin/Marcia); an always fun SB&BS show (SB promised to play Tom Waits' Blind Love this time around) with new guitarist Lyle Brewer and new songs from their to-be-released 3rd album; and a set from the legendary Blasters! But, alas, the best laid plans...I do expect several detailed reports from my gig-going buds!

Email announcement from SB:
We're over the moon about our three shows with the legendary Blasters this weekend. I'd be hot footing it out to this show even if we weren't on the bill! We're also flying solo Friday night at one of our favorite all-time venues, Club Helsinki, in Great Barrington, MA.

Thursday, November 20th, 8pm @Sellersville Theater
24 Temple Ave., Sellersville PA
w/The Blasters

Friday, November 21st, 9pm @Club Helsinki
284 Main St., Great Barrington MA
Price: $15

Saturday, November 22nd, 9pm @Cafe Nine
250 State St., New Haven CT
Price: $20 w/The Blasters

Sunday, November 23rd, 8pm @BB King's
237 West 42nd St., New York NY
w/The Blasters
Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles!

Sawtelles concert alert!...

Plantsville's own:

borders meriden tonite at 8

cafe nine new haven w/p drumming for Critelli (plus you get a dose of lasala and raebuck as well so go at 9p) later on tonite at 10

billy o's english pub rt 322 milldale near the truck stop/DQ w/HOUND saturday

j drumming for grimfacts at the edgewood park farmer's market, new haven/westville sunday at 12pm.

p drumming again for critelli up in boston sunday at 3pm.

then monday at the beatnik

One year ago...

Gumbo Across America - revisit the adventure

Random songfact to jumpstart your Friday...

Great little music resource- Songfacts.com:

Rosalita (Come Out Tonight) by Bruce Springsteen
Album: The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle Released: 1973

Songfacts about Rosalita:

This is Springsteen's musical autobiography. After touring relentlessly around the Jersey Shore, he finally signed a record deal and got some money.

Springsteen considers this the best love song he ever wrote. It's proof that a love song does not have to be slow or sappy.

This is Springsteen's most popular live song. It was the last song before the encore at most of his shows from 1973-1984.

This became very popular in England when British TV aired a clip of Springsteen performing this at a concert in Phoenix in 1978.

The live film clip of this is the closest thing Springsteen had to a music video until he started making them in 1984, starting with "Dancing In The Dark."

Springsteen: "A kiss-off to everybody who counted you out, put you down, or decided you weren't good enough."

This was one of the first songs to showcase Clarence Clemons on sax. With his bright suits and imposing size, he quickly became the most popular member of the E Street Band.

After appearing on the covers of Time and Newsweek in October,1975, he sometimes changed the words to "Tell your papa I ain't no freak, 'cause I got my picture on the cover of Time and Newsweek."

The audience always went crazy when Springsteen sang: "The record company, Rosie, just gave me a big advance." He got a $25,000 advance from Columbia Records when he signed his first record deal, proving to his father and others who doubted him that he did have a real job.

Springsteen never liked his nickname "The Boss," and sometimes sang: "You can call me Lieutenant, Rosie, but don't ever call me Boss."

Springsteen wrote this to be a live show-stopper. He was inspired by the Soul revues in the '60s where the artists would pour all their energy into their final song, and just when it seemed to be over, keep playing. He knew his audience would remember this when he played it.

Hartford Courant article about the Blasters (who appear at Cafe Nine Saturday night with Sarah Borges & the Broken Singles)....

Blasters' Phil Alvin Rejects Albums, Embraces Technology byy Kenneth Partridge

There are plenty of things Phil Alvin loves about the history of American music, but the record industry isn't one of them. It's not just that the longtime Blasters front man doesn't trust label execs, although he's been around long enough to know why he shouldn't. On a more fundamental level, he rejects the idea that music should be pressed onto pieces of plastic — records, cassettes, CDs — and sold by large corporations. "The album was an artificial imprint on music that didn't exist before [record labels]," Alvin says from California shortly before beginning a Blasters tour that stops Saturday in New Haven.

In a sense, it's strange to hear Alvin take such a nontraditional stance. Since he and his brother Dave formed the Blasters in 1979, the band has taken an almost scholarly approach to classic American sounds — rockabilly, most notably, but also R&B, country and blues. Alongside California contemporaries such as X and Los Lobos, the Blasters proved that roots music could be relevant in the age of punk, a genre that, to some, was bent on destroying all that had come before. complete article

Hop on the bus, Gus (the man knows his music)...

Got an email from erstwhile Westie Punk, Gus P., responding to my Marianne Faithfull and Signs postings:

former brave, now a bobcat

Thanks for the update on Ms Faithful. I had her second to Gracie Slick for awhile; then she dropped out (really dropped out, evidently). Then, again, after seeing Gracie in 'black-face' on the Smothers Brothers in '68 (I think), I had to reassess her elite spot as well. That 'sign' song was close to my most hated 'rock' song, so I would not click on the 'plug-in' for fear of actually having to hear it. Although I'm usually good about blocking out things I disdain, I think the group was 5 man electric band.

former chieftain, now a nighthawk

As tears go by.....

A favorite of mine through the years has been Marianne Faithfull, who seduced me as a teen with As Tears Go By (written by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Andrew Loog Oldham) before descending into drugs (in the early 1970s, after her break-up with Mick Jagger, she spent two years living on the streets in London's Soho, a drug addict and an anorexic), only to resurface in 1979 with her very fine Broken English album. Much like Ronnie Spector, Faithfull has the respect of other musicians, collaborating over the years with the likes of Pink Floyd, Garth Hudson, Dr. John, Daniel Lanois, Emmylou Harris, Joe Jackson, Blur, Beck, Billy Corgan, Dave Stewart and PJ Harvey. At 61, the voice is completely different, even an acquired taste, but I'm still a fan.

Well, according to the Canadian music site ChartAttack, after a recent battle with breast cancer, she's about to release Easy Come, Easy Go, her 22nd album. I had no idea!

Marianne Faithfull enlisted an impressive group of people to contribute to her 22nd album, a collection of wide-ranging covers titled Easy Come, Easy Go. The album, which will be released by Naive Records on Dec. 9, was recorded at New York City's Sear Sound by producer Hal Willner (Lou Reed, Lucinda Williams) last December. The band backing Faithfull featured Marc Ribot, Greg Cohen, Rob Burger, Barry Reynolds and the Dirty Three's Jim White. But Faithfull's vocal collaborators were even more impressive: Sean Lennon on Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's "Salvation" and Judee Sill's "The Phoenix," Chan Marshall and Lennon on Neko Case's "Hold On, Hold On," Nick Cave on The Decemberists' "The Crane Wife 3," Rufus Wainwright on Espers' "Children Of Stone," Teddy Thompson on Brian Eno's "How Many Worlds," Antony Hegarty on Smokey Robinson And The Miracles' "Ooh Baby Baby," Keith Richards on Merle Haggard's "Sing Me Back Home," Jarvis Cocker on Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's West Side Story tune, "Somewhere (A Place For Us)," and Kate and Anna McGarrigle on the traditional "Flandyke Shore." Here are the songs, with their original artists in parentheses, on Easy Come, Easy Go: Disc one: "Down From Dover" (Dolly Parton) "Hold On, Hold On" (Neko Case) "Solitude" (Billie Holiday) "The Crane Wife 3" (The Decemberists) "Easy Come, Easy Go" (Bessie Smith) "Children Of Stone" (Espers) "How Many Worlds" (Brian Eno) "In Germany Before The War" (Randy Newman) "Ooh Baby Baby" (Smokey Robinson And The Miracles) "Sing Me Back Home" (Merle Haggard) Disc two: "Salvation" (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club) "Black Coffee" (Sarah Vaughn) "The Phoenix" (Judee Sill) "Dear God Please Help Me" (Morrissey) "Kimbie" (Jackson C. Frank) "Many A Mile To Freedom" (Traffic) "Somewhere (A Place For Us)" (Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim) "Flandyke Shore" (traditional) "Children Of Stone," "Down From Dover" and "Ooh Baby Baby" can be previewed on Faithfull's MySpace page. - complete article