Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Who's your daddy?....

No 'Ike Turner Day' in St. Louis (AP)

Music legend Ike Turner said he holds nothing against St. Louis' mayor for a decision not to issue a City Hall proclamation in his honor. Mayor Francis Slay has turned down a request from organizers of the Big Muddy Blues Festival to make Sept. 2 "Ike Turner Day." Turner, 75, is scheduled to perform that day at the blues festival in St. Louis. Turner says he never asked for the honor. He notes he already has a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame, and said he doesn't worry about whether he's given those honors. "I just care about making people happy in the audience," he said.

Turner's past troubles include a 17-month stint in jail on a 1990 drug conviction. He was depicted as an abusive husband in "What's Love Got to Do With It," a 1993 movie about ex-wife Tina Turner's life. Ike Turner admitted in his autobiography that he had hit his former wife, but said the movie depiction is what hurt his career. "All I can say, and I would say this only to her, is `I'm sorry,'" he told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch in Sunday's edition. "But I can't undo yesterday. I don't owe anybody else that." The mayor suggested, through a spokesman, that Ike Turner could visit a St. Louis center that provides services to domestic violence victims to call attention to the issue.

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Is this town big enough for Lucinda and Sarah?...

We are leaving for home on Sunday, so we will not be forced to pick between seeing Sarah Borges & the Broken Singles (appearing as a WTMD Emerging Artist at the Creative Alliance at the Patterson) on Eastern Avenue and Lucinda Williams (appearing at the Ram's Head Live) at Power Plant Live, Market Place. Opened in December 2004, Rams Head® Live! features national acts in it's 26,000 square foot entertainment venue, featuring a 160 seat signature Rams Head Tavern, 5 bars, 3 food stations and 44 monitors and screens for watching. We will be seeing Sarah and the boys on September 21 at Cafe Nine in New Haven and Lucinda at Town Hall in NYC on October 4.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Yankees suck, Yankees suck, Yankees suck!...

Perhaps they do, Orioles fans, but we don't need you yelling reminders at us all the time. In Baltimore for a few days to catch the Yankees/Orioles at Camden Yards, but haven't gotten tickets for Saturday night's game yet. Working hard on it. Ate lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe in the Inner Harbor yesterday. Why, you say? Bad food, tacky atmosphere - bad choice. In the meantime, saw Joe Torre (with trainer Steve Donahue) at Barnes & Noble in the Inner Harbor area around noon today. Reet/Kathy would rather have had a Jeter sighting.




We are dining pre-game tonight at Amicci's (thanks to the headsup from Kyle/Jen) in the Little Italy section of Baltimore. Visited it earlier in the day on our informal Heritage Walk. Photo here is of the setup across the street from Amicci's for the weekly neighborhood movie. American Graffiti was tonight's offering.




G-Man favorite Talib Kweli appears tonight at Sonar on E. Saratoga.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Etta James hospitalized in Los Angeles (AP)....

Etta James was in stable condition Thursday after being hospitalized for complications from abdominal surgery she had last month, her manager said. The 69-year-old blues singer was being treated at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. "Her condition is stabilized" but she had to cancel upcoming tour dates with B.B. King and Al Green, her manager, Lupe De Leon, said in an e-mail. De Leon did not indicate when James was admitted but said the hospitalization was caused by "post-op complications" from her mid-June surgery. The complications and the nature of the surgery were not specified.

The Grammy Award-winning singer was "extremely disappointed" at having to cancel appearances, De Leon said. "If it had been left solely up to her, she would have checked herself out of the hospital and started the tour regardless of her delicate health," De Leon said. "However, her doctor advised that were she to do so, it would put her at very great risk." "We feel confident (that) by postponing her participation until Aug. 23, she will be in good shape to put on the kind of performance that Etta James' fans know and love," De Leon said.

During her 50-year career, James has scored a string of hits that include "At Last," "Trust in Me" and "A Sunday Kind of Love."

Monday, July 23, 2007

Bristol oldies guru Jim Kane demands your input.....

The old farts at "Rusty Records" have been commissioned to make a 4 CD set entitled "High School Dances". The songs will be from the Golden era of Rock N Roll music. I need your help in choosing the songs. Please send me your top 5 all time songs from 1955-1965. There will be 120 songs on this set. To top it off I will be able to get you this set for below wholesale. The set will be selling in the stores and the internet for $60.00 plus shipping. I will be able to get this set for $20.00 plus shipping. So - help me out - please send me your top "5" all time songs, from your high school dances , during 1955-1965. I'll let you know when the set will be available. So put on those thinking caps, and send me your top 5!!!!! Thanks, Jim - email

Okay, Johnnyk was a keen sideline observer at said high school dances, only occasionally daring a silent slow dance. Here are my five from 1960-64 (I won't say best, rather memorable for various frivolous reasons):
  • Louie, Louie (Kingsmen)
  • Fingertips Pt II (Little Stevie Wonder)
  • Cathy's Clown (Everly Brothers)
  • Shop Around (Miracles)
  • Tossin' and Turnin' (Bobby Lewis)
    Another 5:
  • Sugar Shack (Jimmy Gilmer & the Fireballs)
  • It's My Party (Leslie Gore)
  • Another Saturday Night (Sam Cooke)
  • Baby, It's You (Shirelles)
  • Maybe (Chantels)
  • Can't trust that day...

    Gator's got your granny: Tony Joe White, who put on my favorite show at JazzFest this year, turns 64 today....Band Southern Culture On The Skids pays tribute to White in their 1996 song "Voodoo Cadillac" (arguably the best listening song ever recorded for cruising, with your baby of course, in a 2002 Champagne DeVille) with the first stanza lyric: "Come on baby, take a ride with me / Up the Mississippi, down to New Orleans / Tuck and roll, FM stereo / Got some Tony Joe White on my radio". Here's a youtube video of TJW at JazzFest this year:

    The Paul Brown Monday Night Jazz Series continues tonight at Bushnell Park in Hartford with the Kelly Sheppard Quintet opening at 6pm followed by the Paul West Quintet at 7:30pm.

    Sunday, July 22, 2007

    Book her, Johnny.....

    UPDATE: Just booked orchestra seats for the 10/4 show at Town Hall, NYC for the Lucinda Williams album (Keith's favorite) concert. This album produced three hits for other artists:
  • Passionate Kisses (Mary Chapin Carpenter)
  • Crescent City (Emmylou Harris)
  • Changed the Locks (Tom Petty)

    Really cool!
  • Saturday, July 21, 2007

    Oh, that crazy Lucinda!...

    Lucinda Williams' unique concert plan (Newsday.com)
    Lucinda Williams on Friday unveiled plans for an unusual string of shows in New York and Los Angeles this fall. The Grammy winner will play five concerts -- Irving Plaza on Sept. 29 and 30 and Town Hall on Oct. 2, 3 and 4 – in New York, focusing on a different one of her first five studio albums each night. After she performs the album in its entirety, she will play a second set of material taken mainly from her latest album "West" (Lost Highway) as well as the rest of her career.

    The NYC breakdown:
    9/29 NYC (Irving Plaza) - "World Without Tears"
    9/30 NYC (Irving Plaza) - "Essence"
    10/2 NYC (Town Hall) - "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road"
    10/3 NYC (Town Hall) - "Sweet Old World"
    10/4 NYC (Town Hall) - "Lucinda Williams"

    Ticket info from her website:
    Tickets for all Los Angeles shows at the El Rey are $35 and will go on sale on Saturday, July 21 at 10am PST. Tickets for the New York City shows on September 29 & 30 at Irving Plaza are $50. Tickets for the October 2, 3 & 4 shows at Town Hall are $65 and $45. NYC tickets will go one sale on July 21 at 1pm EDT. All tickets will be available through Ticketmaster and tickermaster.com.

    Concert review: Attitude, talent enthrall crowd (Jeff Spevak, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle)
    (July 20, 2007) — Lucinda Williams crept in on cat paws, slow and languid, in the heat of the Main Street Armory. Three songs into the show, 20 seconds into the lovely and passive "Lonely Girls," she suddenly stopped. Three thousand, two hundred people were chattering away, creating that aquarium-like mall sound that had made Charlie Louvin's set a half-hour earlier sound like he was the opening act for a cattle auction.

    "Lonely Girls" was forgotten. Set list was tossed aside. "This reminds me of growing up in the Delta," the Louisiana native said of the sweaty room, and she and the band leaped into a rocking version of her suicide epic "Pineola," which she hadn't planned on playing. Then the pining lover of "Those Three Days" — both of those songs drop a snarling f-bomb — and she had the attention of the cavernous room. - complete review

    Some live Lucinda:

    Thursday, July 19, 2007

    Hartford Festival of Jazz this weekend....


    Friday - Festival Website
    MAIN STAGE
  • 6:00pm Opening ceremonies
  • 6:15pm Jimmy Greene
  • 8:00pm Steve Davis, with the premiere of "The Hartford Suite"

    Saturday
    FRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL'S ARCH STAGE
  • 1:00pm Paul Fuller Group
  • 2:00pm Jerrod Cattey Trio
  • 3:00pm Dana Lauren
  • 10:30pm Jazz Dance Party
    MAIN STAGE
  • 4:30pm Bradley Leighton
  • 6:00pm Joyce Cooling
  • 7:30pm Pamela Williams
  • 9:00pm Gerald Albright

    Sunday
    CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL, 45 Church St.
  • 10:00am Jazz Mass, Ross Tucker's Hot Cat Jazz Band
    FRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL'S ARCH STAGE
  • 1:00pm Theresa Wright
  • 2:00pm Jovon Alexandre
  • 3:00pm Doug Maher
    MAIN STAGE
  • 4:30pm Esteban Arrufatt
  • 6:00pm Barbara Fowler
  • 7:30pm Kevin Mahogany and the Kansas City Review
  • Wednesday, July 18, 2007

    Martha, My Dear.....

    Martha's neighbor writes protest song (AP)

    KATONAH, N.Y. - Like many wars before it, the one between Martha Stewart and some of her Westchester County neighbors has inspired a protest song. Written by Katonah resident Marc Black, the song takes aim at Stewart's attempt to trademark the village's name for use on a line of furniture and home products. That idea has outraged many residents, who say that no one should own the name "Katonah," and some American Indians, who say the name is taken from a beloved 17th-century tribal chief. "The bottom line is, I'm just hoping, I think we all are, that Martha will hear the song," Black said in a video posted on The Journal News Web site. - complete article

    Tuesday, July 17, 2007

    July is sawtelle birthday month....

    End of month email info from The Sawtelles:

  • Sat 21st: javapalooza w/ the awesome duo Zoo Front (they now have a myspace page so check them out!) music starts at 7pm with us kicking things off. we'll trade off sets til 10pm....free and all-ages and plenty of stuff there for sale to put in your mouth. bring some tip money if you've got some extra coins rolling around in your car.

  • Fri 27th: Hope out loud coffeehouse in hartford at la paloma. donation at the door to benefit the CT coalition for peace and justice. Things kick off at 8pm with open mic and featured performers.

  • Sat 28th: BIG BIG BIG BIG show at La Hacienda corner of water/olive in new haven. 8pm and last month it was free. see starting at 8pm: Sawtelles/poptelles then Victoria's Secret Sauce (big al howard's fab project) and ending the nite will be the Presidential Targets!!! The show really starts at 8 because the dance party starts at 11 and they want us indie pop freaks finished up by then.

  • Sun 29th: Edgewood park farmer's market. 12pm. free. All sorts of veggies/flowers/meats and other goodies to buy from local vendors. Edgewood park is over in the westville section of new haven.

    Check our myspace sites for updated gig listings and listen to our new projects if you haven't heard them yet. myspace.com/thesawtelles/poptelles/schoolsafetypatrol/primatenemistnightmare/sawtelles
  • Monday, July 16, 2007

    Monday night at Bushnell Park....


    With the Yankees' playoff fate in the capable hands of The Reet (beware Kei Igawa), I cruised the 15 minutes to Hartford on a perfect Summer evening for the Paul Brown Monday Night Jazz Series in Bushnell Park. No problem parking, found an on-street spot opposite the Capital Avenue exit and it is a short climb over the hill to the park. The concerts are held at the western end of Bushnell Park on the lawn that tumbles down the hill from the State Capitol building. A wonderful venue. A permanent bandshell has been constructed for concerts, a far cry from the makeshift stages of the New England Fiddle Contests of yore, which were held over at the east end of the park near the skating pond. The annual Blackeyed & Blues Festival is also held here each June sponsored by, you guessed it, Blackeyed Sally's BBQ & Blues

    I arrive after the Lummie Spann Quartet's opening set, so I stake my space on the hill with my everyone's-got-one-of-these foldup chair and amble down to the stage to snoop around. The weather is magnificent, the setting sun blinding. Pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi's Quartet featuring Lew Tabackin is the headliner this evening (interestingly, on the Berkeley Agency website the ensemble is the Toshiko Akiyoshi-Lew Tabackin Quartet). They are married. I catch the members hanging out on the south side of the stage as the announcements are made. Wellness Center, CDs for sale, sponsor Prudential Financial, tee shirts, upcoming concerts. Showtime.

    A jazz lover, not a critic, I will spare you the minutiae, but the husband-wife duo intermittently trade solos, she precise and darting, he more free-form, a very enjoyable listen when mixed with their rhythm section of bass/drums. Loved Tabackin's bluesy tenor on Akiyoshi's tribute to Charles Mingus. Monday night jazz, treat yourself. Bring a friend, a picnic, a bottle of wine, good conversation, a book. See you there. - Hartford Courant review

    The Toshiko Akiyoshi Quartet featuring Lew Tabackin.


    View from the north end of the stage back up the hill toward the Capitol.


    Ms. Akiyoshi being interviewed between sets on WWUH radio,
    which broadcasts the Monday night series live at 91.3 FM.

    Saturday, July 14, 2007

    Zero Tolerance...and that means YOU!.....

    It's a band and it's a principle. The band Zero Tolerance will be playing at the Downtown Cafe in Bristol, CT on Saturday, August 4. Your absence will NOT be tolerated. I'm trying to post a pic of the band, but can't get any off of their MySpace page, so the hell with them!

    0T is Jon Savage, Terrance Woodrow Williams, Jim Peproni, Billy the Kid, Troy Claypool and cite Randy Rhodes, Randy Jackson, Randy Johnson, Randy Travis, Randy Randy, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, Rick James Bitch!, My left foot, Adam Viniteri, Matt Lane, Gavin Rossdale, Ice-T, Mickey Mouse, Calvin Klien, & Blossom Russo as influences.

    In an exclusive interview at the annual Baseball League of America summer meetings, lead singer Jon Savage admitted that, although his bandmates are "good peeps," he's slumming a bit creatively. Savage would like 0T to tap his deep reservoir of original material, but the others opt for "covers crap." He quipped, "I am the straw that stirs the 0T drink."

    The Intolerance Tour will take them to the Farmington Avenue Restaurant in Kensington on September 8.

    Friday, July 13, 2007

    Sounds like a Lucinda Williams song....

    Culpepper’s rings true with Louisiana palates by NATHANIEL GLEN (THE GAZETTE)

    The owners of Culpepper’s Louisiana Kitchen are so legitimately Louisiana that their backstory sounds like a Lucinda Williams song: born in Lake Charles, raised in a small Cajun town, met up in Baton Rouge on the road to New Orleans, settled down on the shore of Pontchartrain. The food has that same Williams flavor: sassy, smart, Southern, sometimes sweet, sometimes fiery and always more than you’d expect. In a word, it’s great.

    But to put it to a real test, you need more than a critic who’s about as Southern as maple syrup. So I called some friends, Jeanne and her daughter Crystal, who were born and raised in New Orleans and planned to stay there, until Hurricane Katrina put 8 feet of water in their living room and they got on a bus to Colorado Springs. “Oh, mama, look, they got po’ boys! I haven’t had a po’ boy since we left,” Crystal said when we sat down in one of the booths at the modern but homey stripmall dining room. - complete article

    Thursday, July 12, 2007

    Live music abounds.....

    Dr. John at Meadowbrook Park in Hamden on Friday night.

    Some truly great free jazz at Bushnell Park this Monday night. Pianist Toshiko Akiyoshi's Quartet featuring tenor saxophonist Lew Tabackin as part of Paul Brown's Monday Night Jazz Series. Apparently Prudential Financial has provided some life-saving backing for the long-running summer program.

    An email heads up for some good music from Trish (The Dish) friend Steve G:
    Couple of musical head’s ups. Next Friday (July 20) at Café Nine I am going to try and go see Eilen Jewell who I mentioned before. She’s great and worth seeing. I’ve seen her before there. If you go to her website you get a quick musical introduction to her sound.

    Next day actually up in Greenfield Mass is a very nice music festival called Green River Festival. Details on their website. I went to this last year. Impressive. I am also thinking of going to this as well but plans for both this and Eilen are still uncertain. Thought you and Johnny K would be interested.

    One show I’m definitely going to (a whole group of my friends as well) is Alejandro Escovedo up at the Iron Horse on August 4.

    JK note: James Hunter appearing at Greenfield Fest

    Wednesday, July 11, 2007

    Monday, July 09, 2007

    Powerful Cat....

    Johnnyk (the younger) and friend Tall Dan ventured over to the Avalon Ballroom in Boston to see Cat Power (Charlyn "Chan" Marshall) with Dirty Delta Blues Sunday night and reports a wonderful performance by The Fidgety One. JFK says that she started the performance with The Greatest, from her addictive, same-titled album, but then ventured off to other, eclectic material, some of which possibly came from her previous recordings which include Dear Sir,1995/ Myra Lee,1996/ What Would the Community Think,1996/ moon Pix, 1998/ The Covers Record,2000/ You Are Free,2003). JFK is not so familiar with Cat's catalog that he can identify the evening's playlist, however. During band solos, Ms. Power, according to Tall Dan, sneaked offstage to pet her dogs. (ed. note: I procrastinated sufficiently to miss tonight's show at the Pearl Street in Northampton)

    REVIEW- Boston Herald
    Feral Cat Power shows off her soulful side by Christopher John Treacy/ Music Review

    Known for strumming deceptively simple compositions as a one-gal show, Cat Power (Chan Marshall) wowed listeners last year with "The Greatest," an unexpected, striking set of Memphis soul originals. After an interim trek with the 11-piece Memphis Rhythm Band, she’s now working with a new quartet, Dirty Delta Blues, and the smaller setting allows room for her limited but expressive pipes to flourish. In tight jeans, pink T and fingerless gloves, Power bounded onto Avalon’s stage Sunday night with a massive iced coffee and a giddy look of wonderment, launching into the disc’s woozily seductive title track. Gleefully swishing from side to side, she wove tracks from "The Greatest" between an oddball shuffle of unlikely covers, revealing her musical personality best with idiosyncratic interpretations of the latter.

    Fueled by organist Gregg Foreman, Power zapped Sinatra’s familiar "New York, New York" of any Broadway glory, morphing it into something sly, shady and sinister: It slapped a whole new slant on the line about wanting to "wake up in the city that never sleeps." Her bluesy whisper gave Billie Holiday’s "Don’t Explain" necessary gravity, while her Dirty Delta ensemble pumped barroom humidity into Kitty Wells’ "Making Believe" and Otis Redding’s "I’ve Been Loving You Too Long."

    Flat Duo Jets vet Dexter Romweber opened with a set of his signature punkabilly, bolstered by his sister’s fantastic drumming.

    Busy artist!...

    Prince plays 3 shows in his hometown (AP)

    Prince thrilled his hometown fans with three shows over 12 hours, only stopping when police shut him down early Sunday. The Minneapolis native first performed Saturday at a department store to promote his new cologne, cramming nine songs into a 45-minute set. He then played that night at the Target Center arena. He capped the night with a return to First Avenue, the club he made famous in the movie "Purple Rain."

    "Minneapolis, I am home," the Purple One declared after the first song at the department store. Minnesota's governor and the Minneapolis mayor issued proclamations honoring Prince, and fans flew in from all over the country to see the performer. After the Target Center, Prince waited until nearly 2:45 a.m. before starting the First Avenue show, the first time he had played at the club since 1987. The city lets music play until 4 a.m.

    He was 15 songs and 70 minutes into a 24-song set when he announced from the stage: "The authorities say we gotta go. We always listen to the authorities. I promise I'll be back."

    Friday, July 06, 2007

    300 and counting down!


    Johnny Gumbo emails us a reminder that we have but 300 days 'til JazzFest 2008!

    While you're pondering that, here's Amy Winehouse doing an acoustic version of You Know I'm No Good. - click

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY, George W, Sly Stallone & Johnnyk....



    Oh, and I thought they were. Thanks, Georgie.

    Also born on July 6:
    1747 - John Paul Jones
    1921 - Nancy Reagan
    1925 - Bill Haley
    1935 - Dalai Lama
    1976 - 50 Cent

    Thursday, July 05, 2007

    Dr. John coming to Meadowbrook (where Gool got his only hole in one!).....

    Hamden Arts Commission in partnership with Quinnipiac University presents its 2007 free summer concert series. The series will include concerts on five consecutive Fridays at Town Center Park at Meadowbrook Park, 2761 Dixwell Avenue. Concerts begin at 7:30 pm. Families are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets and pack a picnic. This year’s exciting lineup is as follows:
  • Friday, July 6: Herb Reed and The Platters and The Five Satins
  • Friday, July 13: Dr. John
  • Friday, July 20: Jay Black (of Jay & the Americans)
  • Friday, July 27: Original Family Stone (where's Sly?)
  • Friday, August 3: The Glenn Miller Orchestra
  • Look what turned up...

    Since I was in Northampton on business, I dared a quick luncheon trip to Turn It Up. The cache:
  • Anything Can Happen (Leon Russell)
  • Soul of the Tango (Yo Yo Ma)
  • Mingus (Joni Mitchell)
  • Heroes Are Hard To Find (Fleetwood Mac)
  • Into the Blues (Joan Armatrading)
  • Greatest Hits (Johnny Rivers)
  • Get Inside (Johnny A)
  • Wednesday, July 04, 2007

    Email from Ryan: Says Sarah needs your help....

    Hey folks!

    First, an introduction - my name is Ryan, and over the next few months I'll be getting in touch with you with updates as Sarah Borges makes her way around the country in support of her new album, Diamonds in the Dark. If I'm not mistaken, each of you, at some point in your life, signed up for Sarah's mailing list... and I have been given the responsibility and honor to keep y'all up to date on things. I look forward to hearing from you guys as well!

    As you all may know, Sarah just released her second album, and her first with Sugar Hill Records. If you haven't had a chance to pick one up yet, you can do so here (it's also on iTunes of course). It's been getting rave reviews from Americana-type outlets and magazines, and her live performances are getting more and more hype as she moves across the country. I hope that some of you have been able to catch up with Sarah and the band -- or are planning on seeing them sometime soon. If you've seen them before, you won't argue with me when I tell you that it is quite an experience.

    The people getting this email are, no doubt, Sarah's greatest and most loyal fans... and she and the boys need you. Throughout the coming months, the band will be performing in areas that have not yet been plowed over by the Broken Singles freight train. We really want to pack these venues to capacity, which requires a joint effort between all of us at Sugar Hill and all of you enlightened souls around the country. Over the next months, I will be shamelessly begging you guys for help in turning people onto Sarah as she comes to perform in your area. Now, now, don't hit that "unsubscribe" link just yet -- I will keep it to a respectfully low number of emails, probably one every 4 to 6 weeks.

    "Help" in this case means a couple of things -- first and foremost, attending the show, and bringing friends. For each tour stop, we'd also love to have a couple of motivated superfans who would be willing to put up some posters around town and distribute some fliers to your favorite local establishments. In most cases, this "boots on the ground" aka "grunt-work" aka "free labor" will earn you a coveted guest list spot for the show, as well as the satisfaction of purveying the crowd at the packed concert with the knowledge that "I made this happen."

    Now, the dates. Here is the upcoming tour leg, through mid-August. We really need helpers for the tour stops listed in bold:

    7/3/2007 - Seattle, WA - Tractor Tavern
    7/5/2007 - Salt Lake City, UT - Twilight Concert Series
    7/6/2007 - Seattle, WA - Westlake Park
    7/7/2007 - Courtenay BC, CAN - Vancouver Island Musicfest
    7/8/2007 - Courtenay BC, CAN - Vancouver Island Musicfest
    7/10/2007 - Portland, OR - Dante's
    7/11/2007 - San Francisco, CA - 12 Galaxies
    7/13/2007 - Reno, NV - Rollin' on the River
    7/14/2007 - Santa Cruz, CA - Catalyst
    7/15/2007 - Los Angeles, CA - The Mint
    7/18/2007 - Denver, CO - Soiled Dove
    7/22/2007 - Nashville, TN - 3rd and Lindsley
    7/25/2007 - Pittsburgh, PA - Club Café

    7/26/2007 - Rochester, NY - Big City Summerfest
    7/27/2007 - Rochester, NY - Big City Summerfest
    7/28/2007 - New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
    7/29/2007 - Baltimore, MD - Creative Alliance at the Patterson
    8/2/2007 - Manchester, NH - Thursday Night Live
    8/10/2007 - Arlington, VA - Iota Club and Café
    8/11/2007 - Piermont, NY - Turning Point
    8/12/2007 - Fall River, MA - Fall River Celebrates America


    As you can see, she's performing a number of dates between now and the 14th, but it's a bit too late to arrange posters and fliers for those -- however, word-of-mouth grassroots turnout is still definitely essential for every show on this list. Let's do everything we can for Sarah during this important tour! Just drop me a line at ryanb@sugarhillrecords.com if you're interested. I shall look forward to hearing from each and every one of you!

    In other news, you can still enter the fabulous contest that Sugar Hill is offering -- your own personal house party with Sarah and the Broken Singles providing the musical entertainment! The winner is to be chosen at random on 9/28/07. For more details, and to enter the contest, check the Sugar Hill Website.

    Well, folks, thanks for reading that whole thing. That's enough out of me, for now...

    Keep cool everyone!

    Ryan Baker, Sugar Hill Publicity Coordinator

    I think it was the 4th of July....

    Tuesday, July 03, 2007

    A history of metal icons: The Rick Cheney Experience...


    Rising from the bowels of Washington, DC, The Rick Cheney Experience exploded onto the metal scene in 1988 with their debut album, Some call me Richard, but I'm really a Dick. The band's latest album, I'll fool you dumb bastards as long as I want to, layers Rick Cheney's larger-than-life snarls with biting guitar solos to cook up a disc overflowing with spine-tingling classics. With standout tracks like "Cheney's got a gun," the music of The Rick Cheney Experience appeals to metal fans and non-metal fans alike.

    Courtesy of Bumbershoot Band Bio Generator - try it!

    Yakety sax, don't talk back....

    Sax player Boots Randolph dead at 80 by Joe edwards (AP)

    NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Boots Randolph, a saxophone player best known for the 1963 hit "Yakety Sax," died Tuesday. He was 80. Randolph suffered a cerebral hemorrhage June 25 and had been hospitalized in a coma. He was taken off a respirator earlier Tuesday, said Betty Hofer, a publicist and spokeswoman for the family. Randolph played regularly in Nashville nightclubs for 30 years, becoming a tourist draw for the city much like Wayne Newton in Las Vegas and Pete Fountain in New Orleans.

    He recorded more than 40 albums and spent 15 years touring with the Festival of Music, teaming with fellow instrumentalists Chet Atkins and Floyd Cramer. As a session musician, he played on Elvis Presley's "Return to Sender," Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman," Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Round the Christmas Tree" and "I'm Sorry," REO Speedwagon's "Little Queenie," Al Hirt's "Java" and other songs including ones by Buddy Holly and Johnny Cash.

    He had his biggest solo hit with "Yakety Sax," which he wrote. "'Yakety Sax' will be my trademark," Randolph said in a 1990 interview with The Associated Press. "I'll hang my hat on it. It's kept me alive. Every sax player in the world has tried to play it. Some are good, some are awful." "Yakety Sax" was used on the TV program "The Benny Hill Show" more than two decades after the tune was on the charts.

    "It rejuvenated the song," Randolph said in 1990. "So many people know it from the show." He also was part of the Million Dollar Band on the TV show "Hee Haw." Randolph was born Homer Louis Randolph in Paducah, Ky., and grew up in the rural community of Cadiz, Ky., where he learned to play music with his family's band. He said he didn't know where or why he got the nickname "Boots," although his Web site at the time of his death suggested it was to avoid confusion because he and his father shared the same first name.

    Randolph began playing the ukulele and then the trombone, but switched to the tenor sax when his father unexpectedly brought one home. He graduated from high school in Evansville, Ind., then joined the Army and became a member of the Army Band. After his discharge, he played primarily jazz at nightclubs for $60 a week. He finally landed a recording contract with RCA in Nashville in 1958 and also was hired as a musician for recording sessions.

    Randolph had his own nightclub in Nashville's Printer's Alley for 17 years, closing it in 1994 because of declining business and to spend more time with his family. He played regularly at other nightclubs before and after that. He had lived in Nashville since 1961. Randolph charted 13 albums on the pop charts from 1963 to 1972. His other single hits included "Hey, Mr. Sax Man" in 1964 and "Temptation" in 1967. "Every time I pick the horn up, it's more intriguing to me," he said in 1990. "It satisfies my desire to do whatever I do."

    "I think I probably get better because I work so much," he said at the time. "You get to a point where you can be lackadaisical or nonchalant. But I'm not like that. I worry if I play a tune bad or my horn is not working right." Survivors include his wife, a son, a daughter and four grandchildren.

    Sunday, July 01, 2007

    TV listings of note....

    7/2 Mon - Arctic Monkeys on Conan O'Brien
    7/3 Tue - Lucinda Williams on Leno
    7/6 Fri - Tom Waits on Conan O'Brien

    Friday, June 29, 2007

    No particular reason, I love Cat Power....

    'Telles alert.....




    The latest incarnation of the Sawtelles, the Poptelles, will be performing at Books and Company on Whitney Avenue, Hamden tonight at 7pm. They plan to rework some old classics to fit the new and will unveil "...the last instrument P says he's EVER going to buy, resophonic uke."

    Thursday, June 28, 2007

    Music Royalty Comes Together To Pay Tribute To Fats Domino On New CD: 'Goin' Home'...

    Landmark recording to benefit Tipitina's Foundation mission of saving the musical culture of New Orleans; Vanguard Records to release double disc set on September 25th. The line-up includes (subject to change):

    John Lennon -- Ain't That A Shame
    Dr. John -- Don't Leave Me This Way·
    Paul McCartney -- I Want to Walk You Home·
    Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers -- I'm Walkin'·
    Elton John -- Blueberry Hill·
    Randy Newman -- Blue Monday·
    Dr. John -- Don't Leave Me This Way·
    Toots and the Maytals -- Let the Four Winds Blow·
    Olu Dara with Donald Harrison -- When I See You·
    Lenny Kravitz with the Rebirth Brass Band, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis and Maceo Parker -- Whole Lotta Lovin'·
    Bonnie Raitt & John Cleary -- I'm in Love Again & All by Myself·
    Robert Plant with the Lil' Band O' Gold -- It Keeps Rainin' ·
    BB King with Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk -- Goin' Home ·
    Taj Mahal with The New Orleans Social Club -- My Girl Josephine·
    Art Neville -- Please Don't Leave Me ·
    Willie Nelson -- I Hear You Knockin' ·
    Irma Thomas and Marcia Ball -- I Just Can't Get New Orleans Off My Mind ·
    Herbie Hancock with George Porter Jr., Zigaboo Modeliste and Renard Poche -- I'm Gonna Be A Wheel·
    Corinne Bailey Rae -- One Night (Of Sin)·
    Bruce Hornsby -- Don't Blame it on Me·
    Lucinda Williams -- I Live My Life·
    Preservation Hall Jazz Band with Walter Wolfman Washington and Theresa Andersson -- When The Saints Go Marching In·
    Joss Stone, Buddy Guy and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band -- Every Night About This Time·
    Marc Broussard featuring Sam Bush -- Rising Sun·
    Allen Toussaint -- Go Fats Domino·
    Ben Harper with the Skatalites -- Be My Guest·
    Norah Jones -- My Blue Heaven· Soweto Gospel Choir & Robert Plant -- Valley of Tears·
    Neil Young -- Walkin' to New Orleans

    Article

    Kinda cool, wouldn't you say?....

    Paul McCartney thrills fans with 'secret' L.A. record store show Lyndsey Parker

    Hollywood music emporium Amoeba Records has long been considered one of America's coolest record stores, but it got even cooler when it was paid a visit on Wednesday, June 27 by none other than Sir Paul McCartney.

    The legendary former Beatle made a rare appearance at the shop to play an intimate live gig that was by far Amoeba's biggest event yet. Diehard Macca-maniacs camped out on Sunset Boulevard for three days and flew in from as far away as Japan to attend the free "secret" show, and the legendary former Beatle rewarded their devotion with 90 minutes of Fab Four classics, songs off his hot-selling new Memory Almost Full album, and plenty of amusing stage banter and audience interaction to make this a truly special treat for his fans.

    After Amoeba shut its doors to the public at 4pm and McCartney warmed up his band with a little freeform piano jamming, the fans who'd been patiently waiting for days were finally allowed inside, and they filed in whooping, cheering, brandishing cardboard signs, and in some cases wearing Beatle-branded clothing from head to toe. "Yes, we're all very excited," announced one Amoeba employee as he tried to keep the audience under control. "If you cut us, we'd shoot rainbows out!"

    The excitement grew even more when McCartney's former bandmate Ringo Starr entered the building and walked through the crowd, prompting many shrieking lookie-loos to climb up on the record bins to get a closer look and snap photos. And then, at 8:15pm, McCartney and his band appeared on Amoeba's tiny stage and tore into "Drive My Car," and the store exploded like it was the scene of the Beatles' JFK airport landing four decades ago. McCartney seemed equally elated to be there, cracking jokes throughout the show and frequently making comments about how bizarre it felt to be playing such a small venue. - complete article

    Tuesday, June 26, 2007

    Tuesday afternoon, I'm just beginning to see, now I'm on my way....

    Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr with Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison on Larry King Live (he's dreadful) celebrating the one-year anniversary of Cirque du Soleil's Love in Las Vegas.

    Sarah Borges & the Broken Singles have a return date to Cafe Nine in New Haven on Friday, September 21.

    Saturday, June 23, 2007

    Stop and think it over......

    Interesting contrasts in the performances of this song found on Sarah Borges' new album, Diamonds in the Dark:

    Reigning Sound (writer Greg Cartwright's) version, live @ Empty Bottle March 4, 2007 in Chicago, IL - here
    Sarah Borges & the Broken Singles' version, live at Johnny D's in Somerville, MA - here
    Mary Weiss' (lead singer of the Shangra Las) version, live on Conan O'Brien with the Reigning Sound backing - here
    The Hives' version, very lame unreleased song performed at Rock am Ring / Germany in 2003 - here

    Opera give you a woody? No, it's the other way 'round!...

    Woody Allen to Direct LA Opera (AP)

    LOS ANGELES -- Woody Allen, directing an opera? In Los Angeles? It will happen in September 2008, according to Placido Domingo, general director of the Los Angeles Opera. The New York filmmaker will make his operatic directorial debut with the opening event of the LA Opera's 2008-09 season. "I have no idea what I am doing," Allen said in a statement Thursday. "But incompetence has never prevented me from plunging in with enthusiasm." Allen is scheduled to direct "Gianni Schicchi," part of Puccini's "Il Trittico," a trio of one-act operas. The two other operas, "Il Tabarro" and "Suor Angelica," will also have a movie director, William Friedkin ("The Exorcist," "The French Connection").

    Domingo stated that he has often pursued movie directors to try their hand at opera. It took him four years, his longest such pursuit, to get Allen to say yes. "Gianni Schicchi," set in medieval Florence, is Puccini's only comedy. "To have Woody Allen direct 'Gianni Schicchi' is a match made in heaven," Friedkin said in a statement.

    Thursday, June 21, 2007

    I smell sleepover!!!!!!!

    In celebration of Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles debut Sugar Hill Records release Diamonds in the Dark, we are giving one lucky fan the chance to host the ultimate house party! We'll provide Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles to fly to your home and play for you and your friends.

    * Open to US Residents only in the continental US.
    * Winner to be chosen at random on 9/28/07
    * Date and time of House Party TBD

    5 Runners-Up receive a Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles fan pack:
    - (1) Autographed CD
    - (1) Poster
    - (1) Sticker
    - (1) Button

    Enter HERE! and be sure to invite me to the party!

    It's Summertime, Summertime, Sum, Sum, Summertime!!!!......

    Not necessarily the best, the hippest, but here are some great Ridin' in My Car songs for the Summertime:
  • Ridin' In My Car (NRBQ)
  • All Summer Long (Beach Boys)
  • Stop And Think It Over (Sarah Borges & the Broken Singles)
  • Hot Fun In the Summertime (Sly & the Family Stone)
  • Summertime, Summertime (Jamies)
  • In the Summertime (Mungo Jerry)
  • Summer in the City (Lovin' Spoonful)
  • Rockaway Beach (Ramones)
  • Summertime (Will Smith & DJ Jazzy Jeff)

    I'll be adding to this. Got any???

    Jim Kane, Bristol's Oldies Guru, demands that I add these:
  • Summertime (Billy Stewart)
  • Here Comes Summer (Jerry Keller)
  • One Summer Night (The Danleers)
  • Summer Song (Chad & Jeremy)
  • Summer's Gone (Paul Anka)
  • Summertime Blues (Eddie Cochran)
  • Summer Rain (Johnny Rivers)
  • My Summer Love (Ruby & The Romantics)
  • Theme From a Summer Place (The Lettermen)
  • Wednesday, June 20, 2007

    Icky Thumped.....

    G-Man got word of the 'secret' White Stripes concert to be at the Fillmore on Tuesday, June 19, so he set his alarm to early Saturday morning and zoomed into Manhattan to get his tickets. Five hundred were to be sold, two max per customer. He was reassured by the guy behind him, a self-proclaimed veteran of these things ( he must have done Paul McCartney at the Hillside last Wednesday), that they were in- no prob. But no go. About 75 people short. Daily Nuggets includes a YouTube video of "the line." Also, here is a concert review and some cellphone pics from The Modern Age.

    A truly exquisite review of the concert was posted on Brooklyn Vegan by someone named Bliss (or else that was his signoff):

    Fuck Paul McCartney
    Fuck Interpol
    Fuck Franz Ferdinand
    Fuck every other show

    This was the show of the year so far.

    This show had everything
    Nasty Guitar licks
    Beautiful Heartfelt Blues
    Meg's Amazing Breasts flapping to and fro
    An absolutely horrible opening group
    Stupid Record Company people
    Hipsters galore
    Moron Lugheads(specifcally fat guy in red shirt, imbicile in white shirt and jerkoff in the fireman t-shirt of which 2 were thrown out)
    Your requiste celebs(Drea Demateo, Shooter Jennings, Rufus Wainwright, Jim Jarmusch, Aziz from Human Giant, One of the guys from 30 Rock,Danny Masterson
    And finally what amazing show would not be complete without shout outs to Yonkers.

    Bliss

    This week's Rolling Stone has both an interview (Inside Icky Thump, where Jack White "tells the stories behind the tunes on the White Stripes' heavy, eclectic new disc.") and a review (3.5 of 5 stars - high praise, but dissing his songwriting, saying he is a 'sonic architect')

    Sunday, June 17, 2007

    Sarah Borges & the Broken Singles at Joe's Pub on a Wednesday night in NYC...

    Southington, CT to Bay Ridge, Brooklyn in two hours. Not too shabby, glad I decided to leave before noon. G-Man and I decided to go immediately into Manhattan for the afternoon. Chatted with Binky hanging out front of the Public Theatre a few hours before the show before we strolled around, grabbed some jambalaya 'n brews over on St. Mark's and then settled in at the Bleeker Street Bar to watch the Yankees take care of the D'Backs before heading back to Joe's Pub for the 9:30 show (there were three separate-admission shows that night- 7:30/9:30/11:30). Great venue, great show featuring some of the new material. Picked up a few cd's from the "grittily brilliant" (see review below) Ms. Borges post-concert.

    AMG gives Diamonds in the Dark very nice review (4 stars):
    Review by Rick Anderson
    The Sugar Hill label made its name releasing top-notch bluegrass and folk records, but it has also carved a nifty little niche for itself in the roots rock genre, putting out the occasional gem of tightly crafted, often country-tinged pop music by the likes of Don Dixon and James McMurtry. Its latest acquisition is the grittily brilliant Boston-based singer/songwriter Sarah Borges, whose second album (and first for Sugar Hill) pulls in influences as diverse as X, Dolly Parton, Wanda Jackson, 1960s bubblegum pop, and the entire state of Texas. The album's opening track is a brilliantly rollicking piece of modern rockabilly, and is quickly followed by a relatively obscure X cover ("Come Back to Me"), which is itself followed by a hand-clapping, finger-snapping love ditty by Greg Cartwright titled "Stop and Think It Over." Elsewhere she delivers a rather standard-issue country weeper (for which she really doesn't have quite the right kind of voice), a sharp and nasty roadhouse blues ("Open Up Your Back Door"), the briskly rocking "Diablito," and a tender and spooky arrangement of Tom Waits' "Blind Love." Very, very nice.

    Interesting note: Greg Cartwright's Stop And Think It Over, covered on Diamonds In the Dark, is also covered on Mary Weiss' new album, Dangerous Game.


    Joe's Pub at the Public Theatre on Lafayette


    Joey Ramone Place near the old CBGB site.

    Kathy turns 60 (the new 40) years old today!

    The lovely and talented Kathy LaBella was the guest of honor at a surprise 60th birthday/retirement party yesterday. One of the event's highlights was a performance by the legendary minstrel, Chris Dubose (below), who offered a newly-penned composition just for her. The performance was captured on video.



    A history of folk icons: Chris Dubose

    Hailing from the Daily Grind coffee house in Medway, MA, Chris Dubose rose to the top of the folk scene in 2000 with his debut album, Speak English, Talk Smack. The troubador's latest album, Retired 'N Confused, merges Chris Dubose's hushed hooks with countrified piano flourishes to somehow churn out simply beautiful music. With standout tracks like "Kath's on the Run," look for Chris Dubose to be a major force in the folk landscape for years to come.

    Friday, June 15, 2007

    Not sure about the sex 'n drugs, but...

    Singing seniors redefine rock songs by JAKE COYLE, AP Entertainment Writer

    NORTHAMPTON, Mass. - Fred Knittle wears his belt up high. His nose is tethered to an oxygen tank, and on stage he's confined to a folding chair. From this unlikely perch, he's turning rock 'n' roll on its head. Singing Coldplay's "Fix You," Knittle transforms the song into a powerful ballad about a grandfather's healing wisdom. It means something different coming from an 80-year-old retiree suffering from congestive heart failure. Knittle is a singer for the Young at Heart Chorus, whose members range from 73 to 92 years old. Singing songs they shouldn't even know, at an age when they're expected to be sitting quietly somewhere, they subvert all accepted notions of old and young.

    Songs by bands like the Radiohead, OutKast and Nirvana take on a new dimension when performed by these 23 foot-stomping senior citizens. "Fix You" or the Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go" become about life and death. - complete article

    Tuesday, June 12, 2007

    New music from Dubya...

    A history of pop icons: George W.

    Hailing from the various youth centers and high school auditoriums of New Haven, CT, but growing up in Texas, George W. shot to the top of the pop scene in 2000 with their debut album, Thanks Again, Dad!. The band's latest album, I'm Not Smart, But I'm Lazy, merges Dubya's syrupy arrangements with punchy strumming to construct a solid record chock full of sugar-coated ditties. With standout tracks like Who Was That You Can't Fool?, don't be surprised if you find George W. at the top of the pop charts and beyond.

    Thanks to Bumbershoot.org

    Email from Sarah (or her peeps)...

    TODAY, June 12, the new release by Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles "Diamonds In The Dark" hits record stores and online outlets!!! To celebrate the new record, you can listen to us today on WBOS Live At Noon (92.9 FM Boston), or online at wbos.com, when we'll play a couple of songs in the studio and chat with Dana Marshall.

    Tomorrow, 6/13, we'll head down to New York for a show at Joe's Pub (9:30PM show) for the first show of the record release extravaganza. Hometown record release shows will happen this weekend, the first is at the Narrows Center For The Arts this FRIDAY, June 15. Jimmy Ryan and his awesome band Hayride open.

    Or you can join us in our own backyard at Johhny D's in Davis Square, Somerville this SATURDAY, June 16. We'll have new merchandise for sale and lots of surprises - a show you won't want to miss... After that we're off across the USA and Canada, and there's sure to be an SB and the BS show near you. Go to www.sarahborges.com/calendar.html for a complete tour schedule, and be sure to pick up your copy of 'Diamonds in the Dark' today!!!

    Review- timeout NY - Listen to USA Pop Candy

    NOTE: G-Man and I will catch Sarah & the Singles at Joe's Pub Wednesday night. Will have a report (perhaps). Sarah will, however, have some competition - Paul McCartney will be performing Wednesday evening at the Highline - story

    Farm Aid crossplanting hoes with ho's for the family farmer....

    New York City to host Farm Aid (AP)

    The Farm Aid benefit concert is planting itself in New York City later this year, organizers said Monday. The show will be held at Randalls Island on September 9. Farm Aid co-founders Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp made the announcement with Mayor Michael Bloomberg at Union Square, which has a renowned fresh-produce market. The trio took a quick walk through one of the booths and munched snap peas for the cameras before holding a news conference about this year's concert.

    The lineup will include Nelson, Mellencamp, Neil Young and Dave Matthews. Farm Aid concerts have been raising money for farmers since 1985. The organization's mission includes supporting family farms, changing the system of industrial agriculture, advocating fair prices and encouraging people to buy locally grown food that is organic and humanely produced. It has raised more than $30 million since it began. Last year's concert was in Camden, N.J., and the year before was in Chicago.

    "We're so happy that y'all have invited us, Farm Aid, to New York City," Nelson said. "More people eat probably around here than anywhere in the world." Ticketmaster will begin selling tickets Saturday at 10 a.m.

    Monday, June 11, 2007

    Because I knew you were doing nothing important and had some time to waste....

    Lyrics for: American Pie by Don McLean

    Songfacts - video from youtube

    A long, long time ago...
    I can still remember how that music used to make me smile.
    And I knew if I had my chance,
    That I could make those people dance
    And maybe they'd be happy for awhile.
    But February made me shiver with every paper I'd deliver,
    Bad news on the doorstep; I couldn't take one more step.
    I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride,
    But something touched me deep inside, the day the music died.

    So, bye bye Miss American Pie,
    Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry.
    Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye,
    Singing, "This will be the day that I die.
    This will be the day that I die."

    Did you write the book of love,
    And do you have faith in god above,
    If the bible tells you so?
    Now do you believe in rock and roll?
    Can music save your mortal soul?
    And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

    Well, I know that you're in love with him,
    'Cause I saw you dancing in the gym,
    You both kicked off your shoes,
    And I dig those rhythmic blues,
    I was a lonely teenaged bronking buck,
    With a pink carnation and a pickup truck,
    But I knew I was out of luck, the day the music died.

    I started singing, bye bye Miss American Pie,
    Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry.
    Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye,
    Singing, "This will be the day that I die.
    This will be the day that I die."

    Now, for ten years, we've been on our own,
    And moss grows fat on our rolling stone,
    But that's not how it used to be,
    When the jester sang for the king and queen,
    In a coat he borrowed from James Dean,
    And a voice that came from you and me,

    Oh and while the king was looking down,
    The jester stole his thorny crown,
    The courtroom was adjourned;
    No verdict was returned.
    And while Lennon read a book on Marx,
    The quartet practiced in the park,
    And we sang dirges in the dark, the day the music died.

    They were singing, bye bye Miss American Pie,
    Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry.
    Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye,
    Singing, "This will be the day that I die.
    This will be the day that I die."

    Helter skelter in a summer swelter.
    The Byrds flew off for the fallout shelter,
    Eight miles high and falling fast.
    It landed foul on the grass.
    The players tried for a forward pass,
    With the jester on the sidelines in a cast.

    Now the halftime air was sweet perfume,
    While sergeants played a marching tune,
    We all got up to dance,
    Oh, but we never got the chance
    `Cause the players tried to take the field;
    The marching band refused to yield.
    Do you recall what was revealed, the day the music died?

    We started singing, bye bye Miss American Pie,
    Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry.
    Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye,
    Singing, "This will be the day that I die.
    This will be the day that I die."

    Oh, and there we were all in one place,
    A generation lost in space,
    With no time left to start again.
    So, come on; jack be nimble, jack be quick,
    Jack flash sat on a candlestick,
    'Cause fire is the devil's only friend.

    Oh, and as I watched him on the stage
    My hands were clenched in fists of rage.
    No angel born in hell
    Could break that satan's spell.
    And as the flames climbed high into the night
    To light the sacrificial rite,
    I saw satan laughing with delight
    The day the music died.

    He was singing, bye bye Miss American Pie,
    Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry.
    Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye,
    Singing, "This will be the day that I die.
    This will be the day that I die."

    I met a girl who sang the blues
    And I asked her for some happy news,
    But she just smiled and turned away.
    I went down to the sacred store
    Where I'd heard the music years before,
    But the man there said the music wouldn't play.

    And in the streets, the children screamed,
    The lovers cried, and the poets dreamed.
    But not a word was spoken;
    The church bells all were broken.
    And the three men I admire most:
    The father, son, and the holy ghost,
    They caught the last train for the coast,
    The day the music died.

    And they were singing....
    Bye bye Miss American Pie,
    Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry.
    Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye,
    Singing, "This will be the day that I die.
    This will be the day that I die."

    They were singing....
    Bye bye Miss American Pie,
    Drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry.
    Them good ole boys were drinking whiskey and rye,
    Singing, "This will be the day that I die."

    Will you still feed me, will you still need me....

    Writer John Colapinto interviews Paul McCartney in the June 11 issue of the New Yorker. Listen to Colapinto speak about the experience here.

    Starting at slide guitar....

    Ben Harper to perform the National Anthem Tuesday on slide guitar prior to Game 3 of the NBA finals in Cleveland. The performance will be televised. Game starts at 9:00PM EDT on Tuesday, June 12 on ABC. National Anthem performed about 8:50 PM EDT during the pre-game show. Maybe Ben can suit up and help the Cavaliers.

    Harper then plays a sold out show that night at the House of Blues- Cleveland with the Nightwatchman.

    Friday, June 08, 2007

    Gumbo Fever....

    A history of modern global icons: Johnny Gumbo Band
    Somewhere out in the barrios of the Left Coast, the Johnny Gumbo Band found themselves at the top of the modern global scene in 1988 with their debut album, Live at the Brass Guitar. The band's latest album, Last of the Red Hot Gumbos, juxtaposes John Ryan's bossa-nova melodies with a native steel drum ensemble to turn out politically aware hits. With standout tracks like "Crashin'," dominating radio airwaves far and wide, Johnny Gumbo Band is an essential addition to any music lover's library.

    A history of metal icons: Gutowski
    Rising from the pits of who knows where, Gutowski burst onto the metal scene in 1982 with their debut album, Tall, But Sensitively So. The band's latest album, Man of the Minute, joins Markie Gee's haunting lyrics with biting drum solos to cook up a disc overflowing with sludgy anthems. With standout tracks like "How the hell did the Johnnys kick our asses?," look for Gutowski to be a major member in the metal landscape for years to come.

    A history of pop icons: Reet 'N Judi
    Emerging from the garages of the Maple Hood, Reet 'N Judi climbed to the top of the pop scene in 1985 with their debut album, Nasty Girls. The band's latest album, Coupla Broads Chillin', melds Judi's bouncy hooks and Reet's smokey harmonies with clean singalongs to construct a record boiling over with uber-memorable tunes. With standout tracks like "Isn't Cozie Cute!," already certified platinum in Europe, Reet 'N Judi can count on loads of future success.

    Thanks to bumbershoot.org's bio-generator. Try it!

    Early Jimmy Buffett (circa 1974) on Wolfgang's Vault....

    Get it here

    Introduction0:14
    The Wino And I Know4:12
    Pencil Thin Mustache7:17
    They Don't Dance Like Carmen No Mor...4:36
    Trying To Reason With The Hurricane...6:10
    Saxophones5:05
    Door Number Three5:46
    Livingston's Gone To Texas5:00
    Railroad Lady4:44
    Dallas5:31
    Pirate Looks At Forty5:13
    Peanut Butter Conspiracy5:11
    The Coral Reefer Band
    Jimmy Buffett - guitar, vocals
    Tommy Cogbill - bass
    Sammy Creason - drums
    Lanny Fiel - guitar
    Greg "Fingers" Taylor - harmonica
    Mike Utley - keyboards
    Reggie Young - guitar

    Jimmy Buffett has got to be the only artist in contemporary music to take a novelty “Top 10 hit” and turn it into a bona fide entertainment empire. In 1977, after releasing the laidback leisure anthem, "Margaritaville,” and embarking on his humor-filled summer tours, Buffett quickly began developing a core fan base to rival only that of the Grateful Dead. Called “Parrotheads,” these hardcore Buffett fans have made his fun-filled live shows a full fledged entertainment experience. Buffett took what he saw as a growing empire and rolled it into a full-service corporation that included restaurants, bars, clothing-lines and record labels, all tied around his “cocktails and good times” mentality.

    Originally emerging from Nashville (where he migrated in the late 1960s) Buffett tried his hand at both folk and country music. He was signed to the CBS division, Barnaby Records, and released two albums that quickly went nowhere. By the early 1970s, he had moved to Key West, Florida, where he realized life was moving considerably slower than the rest of the world. Beaches, tropical drinks, and loud Hawaiian shirts seemed to be the order of the day, and Buffett was not only inspired lyrically by the lifestyle, but also turned it into a huge musical franchise.

    This recording comes after the release of his second ABC/Universal album, Living and Dying in 3/4 Time in 1974. By now, he had formed the Coral Reefer Band, and had adapted the happy drunk musical persona. This is a very loose and early look into the musical legend Buffett would eventually become – for Parrotheads, this recording could be the Holy Grail. Recorded in Sausalito, California at the Record Plant as part of KSAN-FM’s acclaimed radio concert series, Buffett used this exposure to introduce a whole new audience to his way of blending humor, music and a carefree lifestyle.

    Although many of his early songs were still too risqué for FM radio (“Let’s Get Drunk and Screw” comes to mind) there were still many funny and interesting ditties, among them “The Wino and I Know,” “Pencil Thin Mustache,” “They Don’t Dance Like Carmen Miranda No More,” “Trying To Reason With Hurricane Season,” “Saxophones,” “Door Number Three,” and “A Pirate Looks At Forty,” which was the beginning of the Parrott persona. On “Railroad Lady” he is joined by Jerry Jeff Walker and members of his group, the Lost Gonzo Band, who aided in writing the song when the two acts toured together.

    It has been over 30 years since Jimmy Buffett made music like this and was living hand-to-mouth, wondering if his next record would be the last one his label would tolerate. Although his recording career and LP sales have been up and down, he has been able to maintain his status as one of America’s most beloved touring performers. That alone has kept him at the forefront of the music scene.