HUSKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mush, you Huskies!...

Andy, did you ever listen to the Big Star cd I gave you for Christmas?...

Big Star's third album finally gets star treatment

NEW YORK (Reuters) – It was supposed to be a celebration.  Big Star, mostly unheralded in the 1970s but now revered by generations of younger bands, was scheduled to perform in Austin, Texas in March, last year.  Three days before the show, Chris Stamey, founding member of the dB's and Big Star acolyte, was planning to fly in and pitch a new project to the band: a series of performances of its legendary third album -- alternately called "Third" or "Sister Lovers" -- that included a full string ensemble.  That morning, before Stamey left, Big Star frontman Alex Chilton died of a heart attack at age 59. But instead of derailing the project, Chilton's death gave it momentum.  "There was a greater sense of purpose for this now," Big Star drummer Jody Stephens said of Stamey's project.  So, Stamey has assembled a group that includes Stephens, Michael Stipe and Mike Mills from R.E.M., Mitch Easter from Let's Active and Matthew Sweet, and they are slated to perform the album the way on Saturday at New York City's Mason Hall.  If you don't know Big Star, you are not alone, but you may have heard their work. Their song "In the Street" was the theme for TV's "That '70s Show," performed by Cheap Trick. And if that song is unfamiliar, many of rock's biggest acts of the '80s and '90s performing alt-rock, grunge rock and even today's power pop songs, owe some debt to the band. (more)

Dan forwards a belated, but tasty, fav three...

Wondering where the lions are (Bruce Cockburn)

In your eyes (Peter Gabriel)

Seven bridges road (The Eagles)

Newport Jazz Festival announces 2011 schedule...

The Newport Jazz Festival features Michael Feinstein "Come Fly with Me" with Special Guest Joe Negri plus Wynton Marsalis on Friday, August 5, 8:00 pm at the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino. 

On Saturday, August 6, 11:30 am - 7:00 pm at Fort Adams State Park on Harrison Avenue, catch Wynton Marsalis; Esperanza Spalding & Friends I; Eddie Palmieri Latin Jazz Band; Al Di Meola World Sinfonia; Michel Camilo "Mano a Mano" with Giovanni Hidalgo and Charles Flores; Hiromi; Mujeres De Agua by Javier Limon featuring Buika; Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue; Regina Carter's Reverse Thread; Steve Coleman and Five Elements; Joey DeFrancesco Trio; Grace Kelly with Special Guest Phil Woods; Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet; Mostly Other People Do the Killing; and New Black Eagle Jazz Band.

The Festival continues at Fort Adams State Park on Sunday, August 7, 11:30 - 7:00 pm, with Esperanza Spalding & Friends II; Angelique Kidjo; James Farm with Joshua Redman, Aaron Parks, Matt Penman & Eric Harland; Hiromi: The Trio Project; Charles Lloyd with Guest Zakir Hussain; Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue; Mingus Big Band; Ravi Coltrane Quartet; Randy Weston's African Rhythms Trio; Miguel Zenon's Alma Adentro with Conductor/Arranger Guillermo Klein; John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble with Guest Uri Caine; Avishai Cohen's Triveni with Guest Anat Cohen; Apex: Rudresh Mahanthappa & Bunky Green; and Brubeck Brothers.

All Tickets are available online, by phone and by mail. For general information, craft vendor information or to leave a message for festival staff, call the festival hotline at (401) 848-5055. (article)

(Bruce) Pearl Jammed...

I'm still alive, but I don't have a job.  Anyone want to come to my BBQ?  (story)

Monday morning reality...

Brackets are in ruins.  UConn/San Diego State game is slated for 7:15 pm on Thursday.  Ruthie loses out.  Anyone want tickets?

Jimmy Kimmel, left, and Billy Gibbons, right, join Rachael Ray at her Feedback 
side party during the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas 
on Saturday, March 19, 2011. Photo: Jack Plunkett / AP

Ruthie Foster causing domestic problems...

Good news:  UConn Huskies beat Cincinnati to advance to Sweet Sixteen next Thursday.

Good news:  Ruthie Foster concert coming up this week in Fairfield.

Not so good news:  Same night.  The Reet is on a rampage, adamantly refusing to go, but I'm holding out to see if we can pull off this very tricky daily double.  Go Huskies!  Go Ruthie!

I was disappointed to hear Reece Davis say (once again) that the quest had just begun for the Capital One Cup.  I was hoping it had ended.  Who gives a shit? 

Nice review of The Sawtelles' new CD, Tryptych, in the New Haven Advocate (read here).  You can purchase the CD at thesawtelles.com

I heard the (Sawtelles) news today, oh boy....

Plantsville duo featured in the Southington Observer (2/14/11)

The Sawtelles offer up a “Tryptych” to their fans

Peter and Julie, the Plantsville hardworking duo known as the Sawtelles, have a new album out, called “Tryptych.” And The Observer caught up with the twosome via email to see what’s new and different in their nerve rock world. 

OBSERVER: First of all, how does the new album differ from your previous efforts? 

SAWTELLES: Everything for “Tryptych” was done at home so that we didn’t have to block out/ run out of time/ money. Everything was set up and left so that we could record at any time.

Q: Did you keep it DIY?

A: Totally DIY. If we rolled out of bed and wanted to do some recording in our pajamas that’s what we did. (There was) no packing gear in the car, driving some place, unloading, setting up and then finally getting to putting sounds down.  Plenty of musicians want no part of recording themselves, hate the decision-making of what to do/ how to sound. But we love it. Peter is the guy behind the board. I’ll give some input but I totally

trust his judgment. I’ve gone off to dance class and come home and he’s whipped up some fabulous sounds (like on “Ghost of Johnny Cash”).

O:What makes you most proud of the album?

S: Thus far we seem to be getting a positive reaction to the songs. Also being able to turn knobs ourselves and not directing anyone else to get the sounds we heard in our heads

O: I noticed a lot more harmonies now, or more noticeable harmonies.  How did that come about?

S: Playing some of the songs live at our shows (83 this year alone!) let the songs evolve on to more complex harmonies.  Once the first backgrounds have been part of the song, adding other layers is very easy. - (more 1) (more 2)

Johnnykmusic comment:  You can catch  Pete and Julie on the 1st Friday of each month at Typhoon Restaurant, Main Street, Middletown.  Bring your own beer/wine, taste some great Thai cuisine and listen to the Sawtelles.  Sounds like a winner!

Yeah, Louisville to win it all was a brilliant pick!...

No miracle needed tonight for the Huskies, though.

Top o' the morning to you!...

A virtual St. Paddy's Day hello from the Gumbo! 
No, ney, never no more, will he play the Wild Rover (yeah, right!)

(From The Gumbo) - "Will be “quaffing” a few today at O’Malley’s Pub. Designated driver will be along. My son’s in NOLA today thru the weekend. He and his buddies go somewhere every year (last year Las Vegas) to party and watch the opening rounds of the tourney. Have directed them to frequent Lucy’s and stay away from that dump restaurant on the corner of Tchp and Poydras."

  

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Did ESPN (part of the GO network?) take Joe Lunardi out to the woodshed?....

We're all set and excited for Ruthie Foster next Thursday night at Stage One in Fairfield.  Keith/Sharie are doing a cooking class in New Haven and Rant On has a retirement party in Hartford, but we've got Vinnie/Marcia and Maureen/Mark (aka The Big Me) set to go.  Mark's Pool Hall Stud partner Barry D is undecided.

As a public service, Johnnykmusic offers the following tips for those who are still on the social networking prowl: 

• Attn: Cambridge/Somerville - Top 10 cities to date a nerd - article
• Just a heads-up (sorta):  Oral sex is leading cause of increasing U.S. cancer rates - article

How about a little Esperanza Spaulding? 

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

(Wikipedia)- The Ides of March (Latin: Idus Martii) is the name of 15 March in the Roman calendar, probably referring to the day of the full moon. The term ides was used for the 15th day of the months of March, May, July, and October, and the 13th day of the other months.  The Ides of March was a festive day dedicated to the god Mars and a military parade was usually held. In modern times, the term Ides of March is best known as the date that Julius Caesar was killed in 44 B.C. Julius Caesar was stabbed (23 times) to death in the Roman Senate led by Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus and 60 other co-conspirators. On his way to the Theatre of Pompey (where he would be assassinated), Caesar visited with a seer who had foretold that harm would come to him not later than the Ides of March. Caesar joked, "Well, the Ides of March have come", to which the seer replied "Ay, they have come, but they are not gone."  This meeting is famously dramatized in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar, when Caesar is warned to "beware the Ides of March".

Leon 'N Mac, a coupla funky fuckers....

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announces the artists who will induct this year’s honorees. 

Alice Cooper will be inducted by Rob Zombie 

Neil Diamond will be inducted by Paul Simon 

Dr. John will be inducted by John Legend 

Darlene Love will be inducted by Bette Midler 

Tom Waits will be inducted by Neil Young 

Leon Russell will be inducted by Elton John 

NEW YORK – New Orleans piano maestro Dr. John wore a bright purple suit for his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday, leading a class with Neil Diamond, Alice Cooper and Tom Waits. Singer Darlene Love, whose voice cut through Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound," called her induction into the Hall her best 70th birthday present.  Pianist Leon Russell also was to be inducted at a black-tie dinner at The Waldorf-Astoria hotel in Manhattan. A tape of the ceremony is to air March 20 on Fuse.  Dr. John said he felt "like I'm blessed to be singing, to be breathing."  He was inducted by singer John Legend, who recalled meeting him at a benefit for Hurricane Katrina relief. Legend said the new Hall of Fame member has been a leading global ambassador for New Orleans and its special musical gumbo.  "He has never stopped flying the flag of funk," Legend said. "Tonight, he is definitely in the right place at the right time."  That was a reference to one of Dr. John's best-known songs, "Right Place, Wrong Time," with Allen Toussaint and the Meters. (more)

 

Just how BAD was the CBS selection show!!!!!!....

Dreadful, amateurish, unprepared.  Chuck Barkley had no clue about any of the teams, frantically looking through his notes to name-check SOMEONE!  Kenny (The Jet) Smith was awful as well.  NBA guys thrown in without proper knowledge of the subject.

Over on ESPN (still part of the GO Network?), Dickie V not only threw his alma mater, Seton Hall, under the bus ("I didn't get to go to one of those good schools, I went to Seton Hall..."), but then compared VCU v. Colorado by stating that "It's like dragging up Rosanne Barr against Scarlett Johansson, baby!"  Nice.

Sunday morning sprung forward (already?) mix...

Ring of Flame (Christine Ohlman) Wicked Time

Maybe I'm Amazed (Bettye LaVette) Interpretations

Echoes (Joann Brackeen) Invitation

The Woofy Girl Stroll (Corky Siegel) Corky Siegel's Traveling

Travelin' Band (Jerry Lee Lewis) Last Man Standing

Cantata BWV 63 (The Bach Choir of Bet) Dorian Sampler

Tornadoes (Drive-By Truckers) The Dirty South

Streets of Baltimore (The Little Willies) The Little Willies

Doubt (The Corin Tucker Band) 1,000 Years

Prove Your Love (Fleetwood Mac) Heroes Are Hard To Find

The Sudden Stop (Lou Ann Barton) Old Enough

Sinister Kid (The Black Keys) Brothers

I Fall In Love Too Easily (Sarah Vaughn) The Roulette Years

TV Mama (Taj Mahal) Maestro

Big Noise From Speonk (Lovin' Spoonful) Daydream

You Don't Know (Doug Sahm) Day Dreaming at Midnight

Shake A Hand (Lou Ann Barton) Read My Lips

Sunday morning, comin' down...

You know, this guy is pretty good.

Isn't Pat Haden the AD (and former QB) at USC? Oh, THAT Haydn....

Peter, fresh from trashing Lu, heaps praise

Friday night in Worcester for Haydn's The Creation, and there is no trouble getting a parking spot right across the street from Mechanics Hall ( www.mechanicshall.org), self described "acoustical masterpiece" and "one of the world's great concert halls." Sort of "most beloved".....

Pre-show talk cancelled, so I have time to kill and walk down Main Street to Armsby Abbey ( www.armsbyabbey.com) for a Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye. Nice dark old timey bar with good beer and usually good locavore food. Sit at the bar next to two academic sounding guys who I figure will be at The Creation (they are).

Mechanics Hall is indeed impressive, especially the main hall, which really is gorgeous...the rest of the presentation of the building could use some energy.

The performance is terrific. Professional/academic soloists imported from Oberlin, Harvard, BU, local (I assume amateur) orchestra and chorus. The choral director and conductor's bio sounds like he is an Aussy, but also CT, Hart BA, Yale MA, and a stint at the Greater Middletown Chorus! Stage full, lots of horsepower for a big piece of music that I have been listening to for a couple of months. The big choral pieces by Haydn, Handel, Beethoven are incredibly powerful, and enjoyable to listen to.

After the performance the orchestra and chorus people .... mostly middle aged men and women.... come down into the audience in their tuxes and black dresses and pearls for hugs from family and friends. It must be tremendously satisfying to be able to keep up with music all your life and at a high level. I think maybe a lot like being able to keep playing a sport at a satisfying level as you get older. I'm impressed.

Johnnyk comments:

Good morning.  You've had a busy music week!  I gave Lucinda another spin and I think I like it.  Sounds more understated, hearkening back to her earlier albums where she didn't try to be so trashy rock (except for Buttercup, which has a good sound, but awful lyrics).  Give her another try.  I'll see her live at Jazz Fest this year.   

A couple weeks ago, when Garrett and Yvette came up, I tried to get the crew down to Sprague Hall (I think) for a lecture/chamber music event, but couldn't convince them that it was a really cool thing.  Oh well. 

Great day of hoops yesterday.  Worked until 2, then down to Payne-Whitney (they call it something else now, maybe because Payne & Whitney can't contribute anymore!) for the Harvard-Princeton game with Chris, Tommy & Kathy (Jan was sick).  Great atmosphere!  That's a great place.  I remember my father taking me to see Yale v Holy Cross (with Jack 'The Shot' Foley) as a kid and we played our HS semi-final there (well, I sat the bench) my junior year.  One of the highlights was a student's 'scoreboard' showing Harvard leading with U.S. Presidents 8-2 (can you name them?), while also "winning" the 'In New Jersey' category 0-1.  I wish I could remember some of the others.  

Finished the day with dinner with Tommy/Kathy at Gianni's in Meriden, then watched the Huskies (bastards version) beat the Celtics' franchise destroyer, Rick Pitino, and his Louisville Cardinals for the Big East title.  I wonder if he reserved another post-closing table for two after the game.  "Sir, would you like a glass of Chianti with that dish?"   Do you want in on Keith Anderson's NCAA pool this year?

Professional driver, closed course....

Peter bitchslaps Lucinda's new Blessed; likes her better live at HOB...

Peter M's exclusive review of Lucinda Williams' concert Wednesday night at the Boston House of Blues:

Peter not feeling Blessed

Tuesday afternoon at my CD store got a couple of Mahler symphonies and a Mozart opera....and got Blessed.

Wednesday driving in to meet up for the show put the CD in. I had liked what I heard on Youtube. Hmmmm.....this Buttercup doesn't shine too good. She sounds AWFUL! More cuts, more of the same. This CD SUCKS! She better listen to Willy Nelson's advice and pick up the tempo, or this night is going to be a bummer.

After driving around looking for parking for too long and then walking too far in the cold around America's most beloved ballpark (still wrapped in tarps after another winter of improvements), finally got to our meeting spot, The Citizen Pub. (There are very few un-pretentious bars in Boston...this not one of them, but it was fine.) Kay was already there just off a plane from a couple of days in DC, my friend Caryn arrived shortly,  and then Carolyn off the T. Couple of drinks and snacks and we're off, hoofing it down to House of Blues in the shadow of the Green Monster.

Great timing...the opening act is wrapping up, and Lucinda comes out after a few minutes. Whew...relief as soon as she opens her mouth and sings  "just want to see you so bad" and sounds great. Not the cracking-voiced old lady, Edith Piaf imitation on the CD. Get another Sierra Nevada, this is going to be fun.  Good show, mix of familiar and new. I still don't love the Blessed stuff, but it was way better live than on CD. Lucinda sounded great, strong and clear.

We were entertained through most of the show by a young dancing couple, a pretty, slim girl in fashiony leggings and shawls and her skinny boyfriend in grubby hoody, jeans, ball cap, and scruffy beard. She's dancing sinuously and sexily, sometimes solo, sometimes wrapped around Butch, and sometimes with a drink balanced on top of her head! In a plastic cup! No kidding. She left fairly early....I suspect the corps de ballet goes to work early. Inexplicably, Butch comes back, but is soon escorted off by STAFF. Too sexy for HOB? Caryn says she got a whiff of weed.   Kay and Carolyn leave a little early, and we stay for a couple more songs, but when she starts another Blessed number we call it a night. 

Johnnykmusic comment:  Yikes, I kinda liked Blessed, although I admit that Buttercup is embarrassingly bad. I'm encouraged that she sounded strong and clear last night, for I was despairing that the voice I once adored had been going the way of one Bobby Zimmerman.  (By the way, what were you doing near Wrigley Field?) 
Boston Globe review

It don't get no smoother, Son....

Jazz and Strings does 'Trane & Hartman (Owen McNally)

Despite a messy snow storm the day before and wintry weather on the day of its premiere concert in March 2009, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra's "Jazz and Strings" series drew a packed, enthusiastic house at a Hartford church.  The series, with its fusion of jazz and classical, got off to a high-flying start musically. Two years later, its level hasn't faltered as it prepares for its fifth presentation this weekend, an homage to the 1963 album, "John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman."  The series, which has paid homage to famous jazz albums by giants ranging from Charlie Parker to Ella Fitzgerald, has once again cast excellent performers to fill the roles of the original immortals for its concert Friday at 8 p.m. at the Theater for the Performing Arts at the Learning Corridor, in Hartford. Giacomo Gates, one of today's few authentic male jazz singers (a highly endangered species in 2011), is cast as Hartman, performing four selections from the famous, gorgeous ballad album, plus other material associated with Coltrane.  Wayne Escoffery, the rising tenor saxophonist and onetime Jackie McLean protégé, is, in an exceptional piece of casting, set to play Coltrane. He'll perform selections from the album plus additional Coltrane-related material, perhaps even including Mongo Santamaria's "Afro Blue," a signature Trane track and guaranteed show-stopper. - (more)

Johnnykmusic: John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman is one of my favorite albums of ALL time and it is being performed Friday night in Hartford featuring vocalist Giacomo Gates and saxophonist Wayne Escoffery.  However, because of Kemba's buzzer-beater, I will be in front of the big screen watching Huskies/Orange.

HAPPY FAT TUESDAY!

Alas, no Mardi Gras Night at AJ's this year. 

Thai-ing one on Friday night with the Sawtelles...

Just back on Sunday afternoon with more hoops disappointment- the Quinnipiac Bobcats are beaten 64-62 in the NEC semi-finals by Robert Morris at the TD Bank Sportscenter in Hamden.  No trip to Brooklyn on Wednesday for the finals.  No NCAAs again this year, finishing 22-9 (recap).

On the bright side, we dined at Typhoon on Middletown's "Restaurant Row" Friday night while enjoying the ever tasty music of The Sawtelles, who have just penned  "we hope you took a disc with you friday nite!  thanks for dragging out your posse to typhoon and perhaps they'll want more abuse in the future."  We did (I grabbed Dime Museum) and we will be back!

Sunday mourning (damn Huskies) mix...

Everybody Loves To Cha Cha Cha (Sam Cooke) The Best of...

Cigarettes And Coffee (Otis Redding) The Very Best of...

You Must Believe In Spring (Freddy Cole) Always

Feeling Music Brings (Susan Tedeschi) Wait For Me

Across the Great Divide (The Band) Rock of Ages

Country John (Allen Toussaint) The Allen Toussaint Collection

Louis Riel (Amos Garrett/Doug Sahm) The Return of the Formerly Brothers

It's a Long Lonely Highway (Ingrid Lucia) Don't Stop

Alison (Elvis Costello) My Aim Is True

Cold Nights (The Subdudes) Annunciation

A House In the Country (The Pretty Things) Get a Buzz

Life Floats By (The Jayhawlks) Smile

Wild Wild Life (Talking Heads) Best of...

Guantanamera (Celia Cruz) Mambo Kings

You Are My Sunshine (Erroll Garner) Contrasts

Since I've been reading Life by fellow CT resident Keith Richards, this incident involving his fashion model daughter caught my eye...

Keith Richards' daughter Theodora arrested - It is not one of their big hits, but the Rolling Stones song “Little T & A” from “Tattoo You,” sung by Keith Richards, seems to have worked its way into one fan’s consciousness.  Now, three decades after the album hit the airwaves, Theodora Richards, the 25-year-old daughter of Mr. Richards, has been arrested on charges of leaving a graffiti tag on a building in Lower Manhattan.  The tag appears that it might be, among other things, a reference to the song Ms. Richards’s father sang: it consists of a T, a symbol for a heart, and an A, according to a law enforcement official. - (compete story)

 

Just when you thought today's music is crap, a talented new artist like this comes along...

Keeping up with The Gumbo....

Word out of the Great NorthLeft is that Johnny Gumbo, lead singer/sax player of The Johnny Gumbo Party Band, is vacationing in Mexico while writing songs for his upcoming album, Dodge Balls.  His previous album, Western Horizons, went plastic.

You just kinda wasted my precious time, so don't think twice, it's alright...

Suze Rotolo, Muse and Former Girlfriend to Bob Dylan, Dies as Age 67

Nicole Barron Suze Rotolo, who was most known as Bob Dylan’s muse and girlfriend in the 1960s, died at the age of 67 on Thursday. The New York Times reported that Rotolo died in her Manhattan home. She died of lung cancer, according to her husband, Enzo Bartoccioli. Rotolo was known as the girl who Dylan walked arm-in-arm with on the cover of his 1963 album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. Full Story »

I know it don't thrill you, I hope it don't kill you...

Tim Gunn...gotta love him!....

Sad news, Brooklyn...

In the 1950s, the three best centerfielders in baseball played in New York - Mickey Mantle for the NY Yankees, Willie Mays for the NY Giants and Duke Snider for the Brooklyn Dodgers.  Duke Snider died today at age 84.

Snider was a Dodger fan's answer to the question, who's the best centerfielder in New York -- a debate involving fellow greats Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle that long outlasted their rivalry of the 1950s.  After they retired, this holy trinity of New York centerfielders -- all in the Hall of Fame -- appeared together on sports talk shows to discuss the rivalry among their World Series-winning teams, their fondest moments on the field, and to kid one another about their enduring association.  A popular song "Talkin' Baseball" by Terry Cashman in 1981 made the exploits of "Willie, Mickey and the Duke" even more legendary. (complete story)

Sorry, I can't find the original "Talkin' Baseball" by Terry Cashman.

Sunday morning pre-Huskies mix...

Good news:  Huskies finally suck it up.
Sad news:  RIP "The Duke" Touch 'em all. (video)

Through the Night (Matt Maarantz) Jazziz Oct 2004

Jeru (Gerry Mulligan) Re-birth of the Cool

Someone To Watch Over Me (Sonny Rollins) Silver City

In the Night (Professor Longhair) Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues

Shuckin' & Jivin' (Jimmy McGriff) Jazziz On Disc

Rock House (Brian Setzer) Rockabily Riot, Vol I

When the Saints Go Marching In (Dr. John) N'awlinz: Dis, Dat or D'otha

Woman Walk Out the Door (Rosie Flores) A Honky Tonk Reprise

Sometimes I Dream Of Willie Mays (The Baseball Project) Vol I: Frozen Ropes & Dying Quails

Trust (The Sawtelles) Tryptych

What a Little Moonlight Can Do (Billie Holiday) Billie's Blues

If I Should Lose You (Tal Farlow) Trinity

Motherless Child (John Scofield) Piety Street

Candy Man (Roy Orison) A Black And White Night

Jimmy Calhoun - "I'm Sorry."

The show's in, like, five minutes, and you're an hour away, but would you like them?...

Got a call from Pool Hall Stud Marky G late today.  He whined that he copped a last-minute weekend Key West gig with the lovely and talented Maureen and offered up a couple of hot Radiators tix for tonight's Farewell Tour concert at the Stage One in Fairfield.  Apparently, after he went down his list of possibilities and, just after the drunken child molester on the corner turned them down, his gave me a holla.  The Reet just got back from her annual week-long Hall Pass with Bette, so we had to, with regrets, turn them down.  I saw those venerable old Radiators for the first time in New Orleans back in 1989 at Tipitina's.  I had no idea who the Radiators were at the time and I was pissed that the Neville Brothers weren't playing that night.  But while sipping on a couple of ice cold Dixies, I soon became a huge fan.  They usually close Jazz Fest opposite the Nevilles; gotta catch them for the last time this Spring.  Suck the head, squeeze the tip, y'all:

UConn lays an egg, Celtics trade Perk, it's not a good day...

Troubadour Chris D back from Cayamo music cruise...

The mate was a mighty sailing man,
The skipper brave and sure.
Five passengers set sail that day
For a three hour tour, a three hour tour.

Email from Chris:

I'm attaching a photo of a show on the Cayamo cruise:  Allison Moorer's show and it's Steve Earle (her husband) sitting in on harmony on this song.  I thought Allison Moorer was the best performer on the boat, better than Patty Griffin.  Lots of great shows.  Brandi Carlisle was a big hit and she works hard in her show.  Shawn Mullins (Lullabye and Shimmer) was a great act too.  He has a strong, deep, resonant voice, and he sang harmony with a lot of different people, including Indigo Girls and Patty Griffin.

Johnnyk note:  Allison Moorer is the kid sister of the very fine Shelby Lynne.  Here is a live clip of Allison:

New Carolina Chocolate Drops lineup...

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

Get your red-hot Sawtelles here:

• Friday Feb 25 at the Funky Monkey in Cheshire
• Monday Feb 28 at the Red Cafe at Wesleyan University in Middletown 
• Friday Mar 4 at Typhoon Restaurant in Middletown 

 Jimmy Calhoun, naughty boy!

An Emmylou Harris Sunday morn'....

Two albums on my iPod:

• A Cowgirl's Prayer (1993) featuring the best version of Lucinda Williams' Crescent City I've heard
• Elite Hotel (1975) featuring some great Gram Parsons, Rodney Crowell, Hank Williams songs

Possibilities for a cold, crisp Sunday:

• Bassist Matt Dwonszwk leads his group at 3 pm in the free Baby Grand Jazz Series at the Hartford Public Library
• Vista: A Fresh Look at Chamber Music - Free at 4 pm, Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Memorial Hall, Yale University - (information)

Sunday thought of the day:  Aretha Franklin says she's back at 150%.  Yikes, that would put her in the 750 LB neighborhood, wouldn't it?

Hockey Night In (East) Hartford.....

Saturday afternoon post- Huskies beatdown mix...

Spanish Harlem (Mamas & Papas) California Dreamin'

A Bone Through the Nose (Richard Thompson) Daring Adventures

He Who Lives in Fear (Herbie Hancock) The Prisoner

Somebody Help Me (The Iguanas) Nuevo Boogaloo

Time For Livin' (Sly & the Family Stone) The Essential...

Just To Be With You (The Passions) 20 Great Love Songs

Kansas City (Freddie Cannon) EP Collection

Too Late (Angela Strehli) Deja Blue

I've Got to See You Again (Norah Jones) Come Away With Me

Wish I Could Fly Like Superman (The Kinks) Low Budget

You're Gonna Lose Your Gal (Ella Fitzgerald) The Early Years

Nadine (Dion) Son of Skip James

Like Someone in Love (John Coltrane) Lush Life

Mister Midnight (Johnny Ray) A Proper Introduction to...

Struggle (Keith Richards) Talk Is Cheap

Upchucky.com jukebox...

It's a Juke Box!

Click on any year and a Juke Box pops up with 20 hits of that year!

40's JuKeBoX

1955 JuKeBoX

1956 JuKeBoX

1957 JuKeBoX

1958 JuKeBoX

1959 JuKeBoX

1960 JuKeBoX

1961 JuKeBoX

1962 JuKeBoX

1963 JuKeBoX

1964 JuKeBoX

1965 JuKeBoX

1966 JuKeBoX

1967 JuKeBoX

1968 JuKeBoX

1969 JuKeBoX

1970 JuKeBoX

1971 JuKeBoX

1972 JuKeBoX

1973 JuKeBoX

1974 JuKeBoX

1975 JuKeBoX

1976 JuKeBoX

1977 JuKeBoX

1978 JuKeBoX

1979 JuKeBoX 

Bristol bands from long, long ago...

Tommy and the Bel-Aires (Bob Montgomery, Bristol Press)

I’ve been waiting for this e-mail from Tom Zagryn who has outlined some ‘cool’ information on Bristol rock bands from the past, the most active topic recently in this column. It goes as follows:

“A friend of mine told me of a piece you did recently for The Bristol Press on a Bristol band called the Rogues (later Squires). I was personally very active in band work in Bristol starting in 1958. Our band, Tommy and The Bel-Aires, was arguably the first Bristol rock band playing locally at very well-attended dances and shows.  All of this was documented in Bristol Press advertisements and stories.  “I saved those clippings, including on the Aug. 7-9, 1959 Muzzy Field appearance ad where my band appeared with Gene Pitney (act was Jamie and Jane on Decca Records). Incredibly, and also documented in the Bristol Press promo for this same show was upstart actor Mr. Steve McQueen pitching his ‘Wanted Dead Or Alive’ western show. Yes, he was there too. Original band photo and Bristol Press clippings are included here-in. The members of my band were: Marty Chandler, Stan Kulasenski, Tommy Zagryn, Eddie Monahan (deceased brother of WBIS and Channel 30’s Tom Monahan), and Dave Casineri. - (more)

For your Thirsty Thursday, a couple of grizzled vets singing beautifully....

Since they are both going to be at Jazz Fest at the same time this year, perhaps.....

And, since I'm currently grinding my way through Keith Richards' Life, Here are Keith and Willie!

Sarah knocked up, but not out...

The life of a touring musician is rough, as Sarah Borges can attest. The lagging economy makes things difficult, as does the extended time away from home. Plus, "You're only alone when you go to a rest-stop bathroom. It's crazy," she says with a laugh.  Since Borges released her first album in 2005, she and her three bandmates in the Broken Singles (including guitarist and husband Lyle Brewer) have been on the road. Their shows are renowned for Borges' exuberant stage presence and the band's energetic, rowdy, punk-cum-country tunes. But despite their success, which includes two additional studio albums and a live collection, the band is taking a long hiatus and Borges will perform solo, just as she did a decade ago when she first started playing.

"We were on tour for almost eight years and everyone in the band is getting a little bit older. I'm actually expecting my first child this summer," she says.  The Broken Singles' hiatus and her concurrent pregnancy "wasn't something that we planned, in terms of having a hiatus for our baby, but it worked out well and other band members had wanted to do the same. It's not something you can do when you're away from home so much of the time." (more)

If you ambled through the French Quarter in the mid-60’s you might have come upon an engaging longhaired college student from Poplarville, Mississippi with a beat-up guitar, a few chords and an old Ford. If you dropped some coins in his cigar box, you may have helped shape his sound. As Jimmy recalls it:

"On weekends I was out of Poplarville as fast as my Ford Falcon would take me. In those days, folk music was happening in New Orleans… New Orleans competed on the world stage at all levels… The Bayou Room was smack-dab in the heart of the Bourbon Street strip joints… The people who taught me as much about being a performer as anybody performed on that little stage… After the last show at the Bayou Room, I would make my way to Jackson Square with my gig bag and set up shop on the corner of Chartres and Conti. I will never, ever forget the first time someone actually dropped money into my cigar box and told me I was good. I would bang away till the wee hours of the morning, until my cuticles bled or there was no one listening. Then I would count my money, close up shop, and relax at the Morning Call with a cup of café au lait and an order of beignets…” (more)

Just wondering if you, like I, can picture First Lady Hilary Clinton singing like this...

Happy St. Valentine's Day, People!...

From the Grammys, Best New Artist - Esperanza Spaulding

Jazz pianist George Shearing dies at 91

Sir George Shearing, the ebullient jazz pianist who wrote the standard "Lullaby of Birdland" and had a string of hits both with and without his quintet, has died. He was 91.  Shearing, blind since birth, died early Monday morning in Manhattan of congestive heart failure, his longtime manager Dale Sheets said.  "He was a totally one-of-a-kind performer," said Sheets. "It was something wonderful to see, to watch him work."  Shearing had been a superstar of the jazz world since a couple of years after he arrived in the United States in 1947 from his native England, where he was already hugely popular. The George Shearing Quintet's first big hit came in 1949 with a version of songwriter Harry Warren's "September in the Rain." (more)

Here's a nod to Johnny Gumbo, currently spending a couple weeks of rest 'n relaxation in Mexico...

"I smuggles some smokes and folks from Mexico, baked by the sun, every time i go to Mexico"

Then one night in the lobby of the Commodore Hotel.....

They don't make 'em like Lowell George anymore, seen here on the Midnight Special with Jesse Winchester (see you at Jazz Fest, Jesse), Bonnie Raitt & a very young Emmylou Harris.

And THIS is why we fell in love with Bonnie!