Monday, March 29, 2004

KSFR Fundraiser Plea and Terrell's Sound World Play List

Hey folks, the KSFR Spring fundraiser starts today. Please make your pledge!

Click that link or call (505)428-1393 or, if outside Santa Fe, 1-866-907-5737 (toll free)

Pledge what you can and be sure to ask when KSFR's webcasting will begin. Without your help, these wonderful play lists will wither and die!

Terrell's Sound World
Sunday, March 14, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Host: Steve Terrell


OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Bits and Pieces by Joan Jett
The Subversive Sound by The International Noise Conspiracy
Love Buzz by Nirvana
Been Swank by The Von Bondies
The Police Are Just Doing Their Jobs by The Goblins
Sailor the Puppet by The Baby Robots
Grease Box by TAD
Crackpot Baby by L7
Talk About Love by The Emeralds

Dirty Boulevard by Lou Reed
You Got That Thing by Holly Golightly
What Are We Waiting For by The Yayhoos
Millionaire by The Mekons
Do Right in Your Eyes by Grandpaboy
Don't Step on the Grass Sam by Steppenwolf

Ain't That Good News by Sam Cooke
I Need Love by Little Richard
The Neighborhood by Los Lobos
They Don't Rob the Trains Anymore by Ronny Elliott
The Sky is a Poisonous Garden by Concrete Blonde
American Music by The Violent Femmes
Rest in Peace by Johnny Dowd
Cut the Mullet by Wesley Willis

Theme Song by Too Much Joy
Phil and Jerry by Mylab
Wobliczu Konca by Kazik
Follow You Down by The Twilight Singers
Killer Killer, Radio Thriller by Ai Phoenix
Beeswing by Richard Thompson
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

Saturday, March 27, 2004

Tune-up Note & The Santa Fe Opry Play List

Note for those of you looking for this week's Terrell's Tune-up: What was published in Friday's Santa Fe New Mexican was just a condensed version of the little reviews of South by Southwest performances that first appeared in this very blog. Rather than having me regurgitate the recap, I invite you go scroll down and read the original posts from Austin last week, in all their full-strength typo-ed glory.

Before I go on, I want to plug the revamped KSFR website. We're not streaming over the internet quite yet, but the site sure is looking good.

Here's my play list from last night.

The Santa Fe Opry
Friday, March 26, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
We're Going to Texas by How's Your News
Born to Be Wild by Petty Booka
More Man by The Meat Purveyors
Over the Cliff by Jon Langford
Sometimes Lovers by Joe West
I Play With Girls My Own Age by Cornell Hurd
Go to Sleep Alone by The Flatlanders
Divorce Myself by Mary Alice Woods
Don't Make Me Pregnant by Tammy Faye Starlite

Red Sun by Jerry J. Nixon
You Got a Long Way to Go by Ronnie Dawson
I Want You, I Need You, I Love You by Elvis Presley
Fools Fall in Love by Jim Stringer
Buena by Joe "King" Carrasco
Another Great Dream of You by Eric Hisaw
Living the Wrong Way by Emily Kaitz
Country Trash by Johnny Cash
Wish I Could by Marlee MacLeod

Present Joys by Alabama Sacred Harp Singers
Are You Afraid to Die by Ricky Skaggs with Rev. Billy Graham
Drifting Too Far From the Shore by The Stanley Brothers
Fame Apart from God's Approval by Norman & Nancy Blake
It's Mighty Dark to Travel by Bill Monroe
When Jesus Passed By by Tammy & Jerry Sullivan
Waiting For the Times to Get Better by Mary and Mars
Silver Thread by Furnace Mountain

Sweetheart of Waco by Chrissy Flatt
Central Avenue Romance by Nels Andrews
The Jewell of Abilene by Grey DeIsle
Baghdad by Ed Pettersen
Time to Cry by Paul Burch
Prisoner of Love by Jon Rauhouse by Kelly Hogan
Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends by Kris Kristofferson
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

Steve Terrell is proud to report to the monthly Freeform American Roots Radio list

Thursday, March 25, 2004

ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: SGT. RICHARDSON's LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
(Devout readers of this blog will recognize this column had its roots in here.)

I thought I was on vacation last week in Austin attending the South by Southwest Music Festival. But last Thursday morning, while walking around the SXSW trade show, I learned that even in Texas, the eyes of Bill Richardson are upon you.

One of the first booths I stumbled upon at the trade show -- right there among others hawking guitar strings, record labels, music software and rock 'n' roll magazines -- was one manned by Jon Hendry and Mike Stauffer from the New Mexico Tourism Department. And on a colorful cardboard poster behind them was the smiling face of the omnipresent governor.

Hendry and Stauffer were in the Live Music Capital of the World extolling the virtues of the Land of Enchantment's musical attractions. They also attended the SXSW film and interactive-media festivals, which preceded the music shindig.

"All our new surveys show an increased interest by visitors in new experiences, including music and food," Hendry said Wednesday. A recent Tourism Department focus group in New York showed potential visitors are interested in what New Mexico has to offer in terms of night life, Hendry said.

"We passed out a lot of tourist guides and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival posters," Hendry said of SXSW.

Also, the two were giving out a poster titled "New Mexico Musical Enchantment," featuring a Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band-like collage with the Roundhouse in the background and the state seal on a bass drum in the center of a whole gaggle of musicians and other famous folks with some connection to the state.

Among them are John Denver (he was born in Alamogordo), Glen Campbell (he played in an Albuquerque country band with his uncle Dick Bills), Michael Martin Murphey, Randy Travis, Roy Rogers, María Benítez, the Manzanares Brothers, Eliza Gilkyson, Paris Hilton (her grandfather Conrad was born in San Antonio, N.M.), former Sen. Harrison Schmitt in full astronaut regalia and -- you guessed it -- Bill Richardson, in a Cab Calloway-type white jacket.

What? No Buddy Holly, who recorded his greatest work in Clovis in the 1950s?

No Jim Morrison, who lived in Albuquerque as a child and who, according to his own legend, was possessed by the spirit of an Indian road-construction worker who died in a car wreck north of the Duke City?

No Roger Miller or Al Hurricane or Robert Mirabal or Terry Allen?

This poster, Hendry said, is a "work in progress." He said New Mexico musicians are welcome to send in head shots to be included on its next version.

Hendry has other ideas for promoting New Mexico music.

He wants to set up a program in which musicians from the state can have Web sites on the Tourism Department's site. There, he said, musicians could promote themselves and sell their music.

He wants to start an Internet database where event organizers in the state could find musical entertainment appropriate for their events.

He also said he wants to work with the city of Santa Fe to start concerts on the Plaza every night during the summer.

As for the South by Southwest Music Festival, Hendry said next year he'd like for the state to host a New Mexico Night in one of the area's downtown bars during the festival, which includes several themed showcases such as Japan Night or Australia Night.

He also said he'd like to produce a compact disc of original music by New Mexican artists that the Tourism Department could hand out at events such as SXSW.

Interested musicians should e-mail Hendry at jon@newmexico.org

Wednesday, March 24, 2004

TAMMY & ME

As promised, here's the photo that Marlee MacLeod took of Tammy Faye Starlite and me during Tammy's performance of "Don't Make Me Pregnant" last Saturday at South by Southwest.

Monday, March 22, 2004

And here's Sean's Sound World List ...

Terrell's Sound World
Sunday, March 21, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Guest Host: Sean Conlon


OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Jim Dickinson/Chuck Prophet - Money Talks
Steinski & Mass Media - It's Up To You
Marianne Faithfull - Broken English
Sally Timms - Seminole Wind
Bob Marley - Simmer Down
The Clash - Police & Thieves

Lee Dorsey - Holy Cow
Only Ones - Special View
Willie Tee - Thank You John
Janis Martin - Teen Street
Pere Ubu - Heaven
Patti Smith - Redondo Beach
The Lion - Ba Boo La La

Mekons - Flitcraft
Kisumu String Band - Wanyanga Jaraha
Harmonica Frank - Knothole Blues
Holy Modal Rounders - Rompin' Through the Swamp
Mud Boy & the Neutrons - Shake Your Moneymaker
Maddox Brothers - Shimmy Shakin' Daddy
Jimmy McCracklin - Georgia Slop
Richard & Linda Thompson - It'll Be Me
Pogues - Jesse James

Sid Selvidge - The River
Garnett Mimms & the Enchanters - Baby Don't You Weep
Dionne Warwick - Don't Make Me Over
Guitar Slim - Sufferin' Mind
Smiley Lewis - Tee Nah Nah
Jerry Lee Lewis - I Can't Stop Loving You
The Bobettes - Baby You Belong To Me

Clear Channel Buys KSFR Set:
Raincoats - Lola
Lorette Velvette - Boys Keep Swinging
Pop-O-Pies - The Slow Version (Truckin')

Mekons - Powers & Horror

Catching Up

First I'll post the play list for Friday's Santa Fe Opry from substitute host Sean Conlon. (Hopefully he'll send his Terrell's Sound World list too.)

Following will be last week's Terrell's Tune-up.

The Santa Fe Opry
Friday, March 19, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Guest Host: Sean Conlon


OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Mekons - Oblivion
Kitty Wells - It wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels
Dinah Washington - Cold, Cold Heart
Jerry Lee Lewis - Since I Met You Baby
Linda Gail Lewis & Van Morrison - Crazy Arms
Ray Price - You Done Me Wrong
Jeffrey Fredrick & the Clamtones - Weep Weep Weep
Alex Chilton - Waltz Across Texas
Mary & Mars - King of Pain

Waco Brothers- The Lie
Lorette Velvette - Happy Xmas (War is Over)
Eugene Chadbourne - Universal Soldier
Johnny Cash - Man in Black
The Byrds - 100 Years From Now
Ted Hawkins - Long As I Can See The Light

Sid King & The 5 Strings - 1955 Broadcast
That's All Right
Rock My Soul
Maybelline
Wildwood Flower
There She Goes
Making Believe
Flip, Flop & Fly
Five String Hoedown
George Jones - 1956 Louisiana Hayride
You Gotta Be My Baby
Color of the Blues

Carl Perkins - Let The Jukebox Keep On Playin'
Emmett Miller - I Ain't Got Nobody
The Knitters - Poor Little Critter in the Road
Patsy Cline - Lovesick Blues
Janis Martin - Drugstore Rock & Roll
The Collins Kids - Hot Rod
Hank Snow - The Golden Rocket
Niu Abdominaux Dangereux - Ghosts
Modern Mountaineers - Everybody's Truckin'
Speedy West & Jimmy Bryant - Stratosphere Boogie

Johnny Bond & His River Valley Boys - Mean Mama Boogie
Spade Cooley & His Orchestra - Yodeling Polka
Leon McCauliffe & His Western Swing Band - Blue Guitar Stomp

Terrell's Tune-up
As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican, March 10, 2004

From South Dakota to Tofu Ridge

The more I listen to the music of Joe West, the more I’m convinced that Santa Fe has a world-class songwriter/performer walking among us. His latest CD, South Dakota Hairdo, reinforces that notion.

Like all of West‘s efforts, Hairdo is collection of fascinating songs. Weird enough to keep things fun but real enough to pack a punch. Many, maybe most of West’s songs display a sardonic sense of humor, sometimes poking fun at life in Santa Fe (People not from here might actually think “Tofu Ridge” is a real geographical location if they only know the City Different from Joe’s songs.)

But they aren’t novelty songs by any means. Take the final track, “Video Taping Our Love.” In lesser hands, a tune with this title would be a dirty joke. And indeed it kind of starts off that way (“If you got issues and you’re camera shy/Paranoid and you don’t know why/Come on baby, come on with me … “) But the slow, sad, minor key melody (in which West is backed by singer Aimee Curl) avoids the easy Dr. Demento path, instead becoming a lament of insecurity and the urge to hang on to fleeting moments.

And by the last verse, it becomes an ode to “Jamie,” West’s mythical lost-love muse, a flawed goddess who has survived domestic violence, alcoholism and untold stupid love affairs in I’m not sure how many West songs.

Jamie’s all over South Dakota Hairdo. She’s the star of “Jamie III” (here, she wants to move to the suburbs.) She drops hints of bisexuality in “More than You’ll Ever Know.”

And she’s also the subject of the best song on the album, “Reprimand.”

“People talk about Jamie like she was some kind of whore/But the truth of the matter is I ain’t never loved a girl like her before.”

The melody of the verse is similar to Bob Dylan’s “Desolation Row,” though “Reprimand”’s rhythm is upbeat. Like Dylan’s “Shelter from the Storm,” there’s the image of soldiers gambling for the clothes of the crucified Christ.

The song is a declaration of love despite what seems like overwhelming odds against it. When his bandmates join him -- sometimes singing in unison rather than harmonies -- West sounds like he’s ready to defiantly march into Hell for the mysterious Jamie, and he‘s taking his band down with him.

The South Dakota Hairdo production team, headed by Bill Palmer and Nathan Moore (ThaMuseMeant), wisely keeps the emphasis on West’s vocals (a pleasant drawl in which I detect trace evidence of James McMurtry, David Bromberg and Lou Reed).

But also they let West’s band (I think they’re called The South Dakota Hairdo here, though he’s been playing some gigs lately billed as Joe West and The Sinners) show their stuff. The band includes lead guitarist Derek Zelenko, bassist Jennifer West (I’m not sure what teh relation is), drummer Paul Groetzinger and, on various cuts, keyboardist Kevin Zoernig and all three members of Mary and Mars. (More on them below.)

Whatever you want to call this group, it’s a very solid ensemble that’s loose enough to sound roadhouse funky but precise enough to strengthen each song.

South Dakota Hairdo doesn’t replace Jamie Was a Boozer as my favorite West album. Still, Hairdo only reinforces my appreciation of young Joe‘s talents as a songwriter and performer.

Also recommended:
*Live at the Old Blinking Light by Mary and Mars.
When Martian Josh Martin gave me a review copy of this CD a couple of weeks ago, he said, “It’s mainly just covers” -- almost apologetically.

Well, it’s true that most the tunes here were written and recorded by others. But the diversity of sources -- including songs not normally associated with bluegrass by the likes of Burt Bacharach, Beck, Tom Petty, Bob Marley and Sting -- is pretty impressive in itself.

And the performances live up to the promise. I especially enjoy Bacharach’s “Say a Little Prayer,” sung by mandolin demon Sharon Gilchrist. (This isn’t the first time this song’s gone bluegrass. Jerry Douglas recorded a version in 1979.)

Also notable is “Ready For the Times to Get Better,” a forgotten Crystal Gayle hit sung by Gilchrist.

My favorite Mary and Mars Dylan cover, “Maggie’s Farm” isn’t on this one. But they do a righteous job on their speeded up version of “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue.”

For the record, the trio plays “regular” bluegrass tunes quite well also. They prove it here on “Pretty Polly” (over covered yes, but the harmonies as well as the picking make this version worth it) and Jim & Jesse‘s “Hard Hearted.”

And there are a couple of originals -- Martin’s “Deck of Cards,” and guitarist Ben Wright’s instrumental “Stillwater Breakdown.”

SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST: Day 4, A DAY LATE

I wrote the gibberish below early Sunday morning only to have technical difficulty with my laptop. The problem didn't clear up in the morning. But once I got back to Santa Fe, it seemed to work.

As a newsman, it occurred to me that someone reading this blog who also has been reading national news reports coming out of Austin (like this one) might wonder whether I'm attending the same festival.

Basically what happened early Thursday morning, shortly after I was rocking out to Joan Jett at Stubb's, there was a confrontation between Austin police and fans of the band Ozomatli, who led their fans in a conga line out of the Exodus Club and onto the street. I'm not completely sure what happened, but the conga line ended badly with pepper gas being sprayed and three of the Ozomatli crew getting arrested on assault charges.

So here I am writing about all this great music while there's violence in the streets -- a near conga riot! If I were officially on duty and covering SXSW as a news story, I'd surely be working it. But give me a break, I'm on vacation. So allow me to blather on about my Joan Jett and Mekons and indulge in all the barbecue and Mexican food and explore all those great antique stores and folk-art galleries on South Congress.

A couple of nights later, my friend Alec ran into the band's drummer Jiro Yamaguchi, who was one of the arrestees. He gave Alec a T-shirt that says "Free the Ozo Three." Alec offered to pay, but Jiro said, "You can have it for free if you wear it." I spotted several folks wearing the shirt Saturday night.

For the record, my first thought, without knowing the details is that
the cops probably over reacted.

My second thought was, damn, a band can't buy publicity like that!

By the way, I just noticed the lawyer for Ozomatli is one Bobby Earl Smith, who is a fine country singer himself. I've played his music before on The Santa Fe Opry. Small world.

But getting back to music geekery, here's a rundown on the music I saw Saturday night and early Sunday morning:

Jon Langford's Ship and Pilot: After his inspirational performance with the sainted Mekons Friday, Langford returned to Austin's famed blues barn Antone's to play music from his solo career, including his latest, All the Fame of Lofty Deeds. With a band that included two stray Waco Brothers and former Pere Ubu bassist Tony Maimone, Langford showed why his talents can't be contained by one, or even two bands.

Paul Burch: Had this guy been born 30 years earlier, I'm convinced he would have been a Nashville star. He's got a voice similar to Jimmie Dale Gilmore's and his steel-heavy music is deep and soulful, with melodies meandering along often surprising chord structures. Burch deserves far more attention.

Tammy Faye Starlite: Oh Lord! My old friend Miss Starlite ("That's l.i.t.e., just like the adjective.") played at Coyote Ugly -- a truly loathsome chain joint with gyrating waitresses climbing up to the bar to shake their stuff, making Hooters look tasteful.

Tammy treated her devotees to blasphemous beatitudes, hard-rock anthems altered into Jesus songs, a version of "Stand By Your Man" that devolves into a graphic description about being raped by truckdrivers in Amarillo, and at least the beginnings of an evangelical strip tease.

And she even brought me into the act. When she began the song "Don't Make Me Pregnant" (written for her by Marshall Chapman) the Little Tart of Bethlehem called upon a guy she correctly described as resembling "the ghost of Stevie Ray's grandfather" to lift her into his arms. There she sang the first verse or so, before she instructed him to hand her to me.

He did.

There I was, Tammy's boy toy. Then she asked me to dance during the instrumental. And our mutual friend, singer Marlee MacLeod, took pictures to prove it. And no, I didn't make Tammy pregnant.

Petty Booka: After Tammy Faye, these Japanese sweethearts seemed pretty tame, even though their band consisted mainly of members of the raucous Meat Purveyors. But their take on bluegrass music, including country classics as well as songs like "Material Girl" and "Born to Be Wild," is irresistible.

Los Lobos: I knew this was going to be good Lobos show when I spotted Beatle Bob. For the uninitiated, BB is a St. Louis guy with a fab moptop whose life centers around musical events. He shows up in his snazzy '60s era sportscoat and dances his cool jerk and wild wahtusi near the front of the stage (often on the stage, if Jon Langford is playing.) I consider Beatle Bob to be something of a rock 'n' roll Koshare, a ritual clown whose presence is a blessing. Though usually I run into him several times during SXSW this was my first and only Beatle Bob sighting at the festival this year.

And his magic worked. Los Lobos played one of the strongest sets I've
ever seen, including a breathtaking spookhouse blues version of "The
Neighborhood," taken to dark dimensions by Steve Berlin's sax. They performed several tunes from their upcoming album The Ride.

For the last two songs their old L.A. pal Dave Alvin joined them to help sing a new song he co-wrote with David Hidalgo. Both singers muffed some of the lyrics, but that's the beauty of this festival. You can sometimes hear songs that are still in their early phases. Alvin and Los Lobos finished the evening -- and capped the festival for me -- with a rocking version of The Blasters' "Marie Marie."

Back to Santa Fe!

And here I am ... It was a long drive back, what it was fun week.

Saturday, March 20, 2004

SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST: DAY 3

An incident at breakfast Friday morning illustrates a lot about the community that is drawn to SXSW.

My cronies Alec and Chuck and I were eating the famous love migas at the Magnolia Cafe. We were discussing The Bottle Rockets and how their latest album has been getting a rough ride from critics. A woman in the booth behind us joined in the conversation, saying that some of the criticism is unfair. We got to talking and it turned out the woman was singer Mary Alice Wood, an artist I have played on the Santa Fe Opry.

That was impressive in itself, but there were three other things that impressed me:

1) We were in a place where people actually know bands like The Bottle Rockets.

2) We were in a place where people actually have points of view about bands like The Bottle Rockets.

3) We were in a place where strangers feel free to join in on conversations related to music.

Another cool tidbit: Rosie Flores was eating breakfast at a nearby booth.

Friday was a very good day for music.

First of all there was Marah. A few years ago their album Kids in Philly was my number one album of whatever year that was. However their next album (dang, I can't even remember the title) was such a blah disappointment, I had just about given up hope for Marah.

Before they went on at an afternoon party at the Gingerman, I told a friend that Marah was going to win me back.

They did.

If their Gingerman performance is any indication, Marah has gotten away from the generic classic rock sound they showed on their last album.

But they still rock. It helped that they played several songs from Kids in Philly including my favorite, "Round Eye Blues." (How could kids this young write such a great song about the Vietnam war?)

It also helped that Robyn Hitchcock joined the band on stage for a song.

But Marah sounded so strong it made me anxious to hear their upcoming album, which hopefully will be released in the not distant future.

The Mekons, who played Antone's were even better than I expected. Joyful, anarchistic, irreverent ... this is the curse of The Mekons.

They concentrated on songs from their latest album Punk Rock. But they managed to sneak in one of my obscure favorites, "I Love a Millionaire," one of Sally Timms' sexiest tunes.

(I spoke with Jon Langford earlier in the day. He explained why The Waco Brothers, who have played this festival every year since 1996, didn't play at SXSW this year. He said mandolin player Tracy Dear's wife recently gave birth prematurely to twins. Going to Austin was out of the question for Tracy, who Langford normally calls "The World's Greatest Living Englishman.")

Other music I heard Friday:

The Flatlanders: Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock are great artists on their own. Together they are Texas' finest.

Graham Parker: He's just released a country album on Bloodshot Records. Today at the annual Bloodshot party at the Yard Dog Gallery, Parker played an acoustic guitar backed by a stand-up bassist. Among the songs he did was a version of Jerry Garcia's "Sugaree" and a hillbilly take on "Crawling from the Wreckage."

Mary and Mars: Santa Fe's contribution to SXSW. The bluegrass trio, led by mandolinist Sharon Gilchrist played some fine songs, including their cover of Burt Bacharach's "I Say a Little Prayer," which is on their recent live album. Former 27 Devils Joking frontman Brian Curley, who now lives in Austin, created a cool quasi-psychedelic poster for the group.

The Black Keys: I finally figured out who this guitar-drums electric blues duo remind me of: Blue Cheer!

Ed Pettersen: This Nashville singer/songwriter/producer, who, along with his wonderful wife Jane organized the Gingerman party, played a new song called "Baghdad" about the war, as well as a very moving song he wrote after Sept. 11. Turns out Ed's younger sister is a New York City cop who was working at one of the twin towers the day of the attack. (She survived.) Ed had a band that featured Austin guitar stud Jim Stringer, who played a rocking little set at Cheapo Records the day before.

Before I get to bed I have a mea culpa. Yesterday I described the group Cake as an Austin band. My friend Jim pointed out that Cake actually claims Sacramento, Calif. for a hometown.

My apologies to the good people of Sacramento.

Friday, March 19, 2004

SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST DAY 2 (The Morning After)

Yikes, I haven't slept this late in a long time.

I thought I was on vacation this week, but Thursday morning walking around the SXSW trade show, whose smiling face did I see staring at me from a poster at a booth but Gov. Bill Richardson.

Jon Hendry and Mike Stauffer from the state Tourism Department were here in Austin extolling the virtues of the Land of Enchantment -- right there among other boothes pimping guitar strings, record labels, music software and rock 'n' roll magazines .

And they were giving out a poster featuring a Sgt. Pepper-like collage of famous folks with some connection to NM -- John Denver, Glen Campbell, Michael Martin Murphey ... and Bill Richardson. (What, no Buddy Holly, who recorded his greatest work in Clovis? No Jim Morrison, who as a boy was possessed by the spirit of an Indian worker who died in a car wreck near Albuquerque?)

Hendry told me about an idea in the works to start having music on Santa Fe's Plaza every night during the summer. More on that later, hopefully.

I saw a boatload of music yesterday in addition to Little Richard and Ronny Elliott. Here's some of it:

Sharde Thomas & The Rising Star Fife and Drum Band: Sharde is the granddaughter of the late Otha Turner, who was the best-known keeper of the flame of Mississippi fife and drum music, an ancient style with roots in Africa, as documented in Martin Scorsese's recent documentary on the blues. Sharde is just a kid -- looks about 10-12 years old -- but she does a great job on the fife, backed up by a bass drum and two snares. And on a couple of tunes she switched to electric organ for some stripped down basic organ and drum blues.

The Freeform American Roots radio party at Threadgill's: Part of Third Coast Music publisher John Conquest's "Not SXSW" festivities, this show featured short acoustic sets by singer songwriters. Among those I caught were Graham Lindsey, Colin Gilmore, John Lilly and Chrissy Flatt, back on guitar by Eric Hisaw, who I've had as a guest on my radio shows several times.

The Meat Purveyors: This is bluegrass music without the guilt. Or to use bluegrass terminology, all Saturday night, no Sunday morning. This female-led band of able pickers sing hopped up odes to sex, whiskey and general debauchery. You can't help but love them.

Cake: How have I missed this group these past few years. An Austin band, Cake is a unique blend of rock, funk, and even some latin sounds. They've got a keyboard player who doubles on trumpet, a singer who plays an acoustic guitar that sounds as if it were tuned by Son House on Mars and they do a moving version of the trash disco standard "I Will Survive."

The Yayhoos: My ears still ring! This is good, loud guitar rock with nods to Chuck Berry, Keith Richards and who knows who else (Mountain?) Led by ex-Georgia Satellite Dan Baird and ex-Del Lord Eric "Roscoe" Ambel, The Yahoos roar. My only disappointment: They didn't do "Dancing Queen." But they did a great version of "Love Train" and their take on "Roam" eased the pain of missing the B-52s, who were playing across town.

The Mekons tonight!

SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST: DAY 2

So who needs to drink when you can indulge in the natural high of sleep deprivation? I honestly intended to come back to the motel and take a nap Thursday afternoon, but somehow as one party melted into another, that never happened.

Ronny Elliott, Tampa, Fla.'s greatest living rock 'n' roller, summed up the true spirit of SXSW better than just about anyone today. At his solo acoustic gig at the Cactus Cafe tonight, Ronny noted that the conference originally had scheduled some industry hotshot as the keynote speaker. Not very inspiring. But somehow that plan fell by the wayside and instead they got Little Richard.

This, Ronny said, shows that SXSW is more about music than the music business.

Of course, he was talking about these things when introducing his song "South by So What," which makes pointed fun of the festival.

But indeed Little Richard was a superior choice for a keynote speaker. His "speech" was set up as an interview with veteran rock journalist Dave Marsh. But one Little Richard got going, Dave barely got a word in edgewise.

Little Richard had some practical advice for young musicians: "Sign your checks." In other words, don't leave your financial affairs in the hands of anyone but yourself. "I wish someone would have told me that," said the star, who, like most other 50s rock icons, was mercilessly exploited.

Of course, Little Richard's performance at the Austin Music Hall Thursday night was the most inspiring. Backed by a cooking 9-piece band (two drummers, two bassists!), he ripped it up. And it seemed like he truly didn't want to leave the stage. Surely to the horror of the SXSW stage managers who usually strictly enforce the set times for performers, the Georgia Peach kept going and going and going long after he first told the crowd "We've got to go." He played short versions of songs -- "Chain of Fools," "Downhome Blues" and a version of The Rolling Stones' "It's only Rock and Roll" in which he repeated the refrain, leaving out the verses. I bet he could have stretched it out for another hour.

I saw lots of music on Thursday. And I even found agents of the New Mexico state government at the Convention Center. But that sleep thing is catching up with me. I'll continue this in a few hours.

Thursday, March 18, 2004

SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST: DAY 1

Greetings from Austin, Texas, Live Music Capitol of the World.

Ever since I started going to the South by Southwest Music Festival nine years ago I've heard people complain about how big the festival has gotten. The general line is that back in the good old days it was a human-scale event in which unsigned, mainly local, bands showed off their stuff to grateful, mainly local, audiences and maybe a few music bizzer types. It was quaint and good and everyone had a great time.

But then it got ruined by people like me -- a decent local festival grew into Spring Break for the Industry with Austin becoming a hill country Fort Lauderdale with hoardes of unworthy outsiders clogging the streets; musicians corrupted by visions of greed kissing up to the music biz creeps with their cell phones and pony tails; long lines and high prices; another good thing done gone.

Normally I ignore such sentimental blather. But after a day of traffic jams all around Austin (much of which, in fairness, can't be pinned on SXSW), an oppressively long line to pick up the official SXSW badge, the huge crowds at most the venues and the throngs of revelers out on the downtown streets, I began to wonder if perhaps this thing hasn't grown out of hand, exploding beyond repair.

Or maybe I've just gotten old and feel like it's my turn to gripe about the passing of the good old days.

But even with the problems that come with what seem to be the bigger crowds, the basic pleasures that draw me back to Austin and SXSW -- the music, the food, and seeing old friends -- are still pleasurable.

My little entourage kicked off the festival with our usual ritual -- Frito Pies at the The Texas Chili Parlor, made famous in Guy Clark's "Dublin Blues." No Mad Dog Margaritas for me this year though. In fact this is my first SXSW since I gave up drinking. (Maybe that's why the long lines and big crowds seem worse to me.)

Wednesday nights are traditionally lighter than subsequent nights on big national talent. This gives festival goers a chance to check out new, unknown bands.

Last time I came here we started out seeing a local group called The Girl Robots, an artsy New Wavey band that was lots of fun. This year we decided to stick with the robot theme and check out The Baby Robots. They sound a lot like Sonic Youth, doing weird things with screeching feedback and odd guitar tunings. But they've also got a good garage sensibility and are well acquainted with the "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone" chord pattern. You can even hear a little Talking Heads in the Baby Robots. And just like people used to say the Talking Heads looked like Young Republicans, the Baby Robots are freshfaced youngsters who look like the kind of kids you'd trust to babysit your children.

We also checked out a few songs by a band from Mexico called Vaquero. These guys epitomize the concept of "crossover dreams." All their new songs seem to be in English. Basically a guitar band, who employ some elements of Flaming Lips syntho psychedelia in some songs, Vaquero creates some extremely beautiful and catchy melodies. One of my favorites was an instrumental in which the singer played a melodica. It sounded like the theme from an imaginary French movie.

I tried to check out Los Lonely Boys at the Austin Music Awards show at the Austin Music Hall. But the staff wouldn't let me in with my camera. I was sincere when I told them I wouldn't take any pictures. But that didn't get very far with these by-the-book volunteers. Can't really blame them for not buying my sincerity. After all, they have to deal with music industry folks all week.

So I headed east towards Stubbs BBQ, where unfortunately I was too late for the Von Bondies. However I was just in time for The International Noise Conspiracy. This is a politically-minded high-energy guitar-based band from Sweeden. They have black leather jackets like The Ramones, but their sound is colored by an electric organ that sounds right out of Steppenwolf.

At one point the singer told the crowd that he knows that Americans don't like Swedes coming over here and preaching to them about politics. "But what you do in America affects the whole world," he said. "So fuck you if you're going to vote for George Bush again!"

The crowd -- who I assume to be mostly American -- applauded wildly. (However, Bush might have the last laugh. If statistics hold up, only a fraction of the young people who were cheering will even bother to vote.)

Capping off the evening was an old favorite rocker, Joan Jett, who concentrated mainly on enthusiastic takes on her hits of yore -- "Bad Reputation," "I Hate Myself For Loving You" and, of course "I Love Rock 'n' Roll."

Queen Joan has a knack for choosing perfect cover songs -- Tommy James' "Crimson and Clover," Sly & The Family Stones' "Everyday People," The Replacements' "Androgenous." Her strangest one last night though was a rousing "Love is All Around" -- the theme from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. There is a Texas rock 'n' roll connection here though. It was written by Sonny Curtis, a Buddy Holly crony and sometimes Cricket. Curtis' other well-known song is "I Fought the Law (and The Law Won)."

Gotta hit the hay. Little Richard is giving the SXSW keynote address Thursday morning ....

Monday, March 15, 2004

SXSW Here I Come!

I'll be leaving for Austin tomorrow from beautiful Santa Fe. I just secured a lap top from The New Mexican, which I'm using now, so I'll be posting nightly (or rather, early morningly, from my motel room on all the bitchen rock 'n' roll action, from Little Richard's keynote address to the last showcase early Sunday morning.

There should be a link from the New Mexican web site.

Please, as always, feel free to leave your comments.

There will be no Roundhouse Round-up this week. And Terrell's Tune-up might be late getting posted here. But there will be lots more music.

Terrell's Sound World Play List

Terrell's Sound World
Sunday, March 14, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Host: Steve Terrell


OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Sunshine by The Red Elvises
Bikini Girls With Machine Guns by The Cramps
Head Held High by The Velvet Underground
Broken Man by The Von Blondies
Berlin by Dickie B. Hardy
Garden of Delight by Johnny Dowd
Lady Wendy by Mummy the Peepshow
Fukin Huge Crisis by Chopper Sick Balls
Little Annie Fanny by The Kingsmen

The Workaholic Song by Mylab
Gilman Report by Pedal Steel Transmission
Everyone Comes to the Freak Show by The Residents
Chords of Fame by Jad Fair & Daniel Johnston
Downfall by Stuurbaard bakkebaard
Philosophy of the World by The Shaggs
You Got That Thing by Holly Golightly

Function at the Junction by Little Richard
Hello It's Me by The Isley Brothers
Let Me Down Easy by Bettye Lavette
If You Don't Know Me By Now by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes

Women Help to Create the Kind of Men They Despise by Lambchop
The Comedians by Roy Orbison
We Are Never Talking by Roky Erickson
Somebdy's Watching by X
Innocent When You Dream by Kazik Staszewski
Lucky Day by Tom Waits
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

Saturday, March 13, 2004

The Santa Fe Opry Play List

The Santa Fe Opry
Friday, March 12, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Host: Steve Terrell


OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Pussy, Pussy, Pussy by The Light Crust Doughboys
Reprimand by Joe West
Say a Little Prayer by Mary and Mars
Indian Cowboy by The Flatlanders
Play Some George Jones Songs by The Last Mile Ramblers
The Race is On by George Jones
One Has My Name by Jerry Lee Lewis
If I Needed You by The Holmes Brothers

Precious Memories (Is a Song I Used to Hear) by Norman & Nancy Blake
Sputnik 57 by Jon Langford
Cowboy Peyton Place by Doug Sahm
Country's All I'll Ever Be by Poodle Lynn
Let Me Play With Your Poodle by Tampa Red
Last Days of Tampa Red by Ronny Elliott
Payday Blues by Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks
New Country by Dollar Store

Maintenance Nightmare by Emily Kaitz
Why Are You Always Cheatin' on Me by Nancy Apple
Don't You Want Me by Moonshine Willie
River of No Return by Jon Rauhouse's Steel Guitar Rodeo with Neko Case
Someone to Give My Love To by Johnny Paycheck
Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again) by Kris Kristofferson
Strange Things Happening Every Day by Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Lonesome Road Blues by W. Lee O'Daniel & His Hillbilly Boys
The Marriage Song by The Stumbleweeds

Trying to Get to You by Elvis Presley
He'll Have to Go by Ry Cooder
The Last Word in Lonesome is Me by Roger Miller
Li'l Wallet Picture by Richard Buckner
Alone and Forsaken by Hank Williams
Blue Distance by Peter Case
Little Bird by Furnace Mountain
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

Steve Terrell is proud to report to the monthly Freeform American Roots Radio list

Friday, March 12, 2004

Terrell's Tuneup: Mylab, Ai Phoenix, Pedal Steel Transmission

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican, March 12, 2004

One thing that most serious musicians hate is when people try to pigeonhole music into neat categories. It’s true that all these genres and subgenres are mainly for the benefit of marketers -- not to mention being a shorthand for lazy critics or a framework for academic types.

It’s truly refreshing therefore to hear a work of music that scrambles all sorts of disparate styles and genres into a seamless whole. Such is the case of Mylab, the musical brainchild of Seattle musicians Tucker Martine and Wayne Horvitz, If I owned a record store, I wouldn’t be able to decide whether this mostly instrumental CD should be filed under jazz, trip hop, funk, avant garde or worldbeat. And even if I settled on one of those, how would you explain the pronounced bluegrass element, those eerie fiddles and banjos on several of the tracks?

Martine, who has mainly earned his reputation as a recording engineer, and keyboardist Horvitz, started the music that would become Mylab by sampling and looping musty, crusty old folk recordings from the early 1900s. The duo, aided by a gaggle of Seattle musicians -- including guitarist Bill Frisell, Bad Livers banjo madman Danny Barnes (who also plays dobro on some cuts) and singer Robin Holcomb (Horvitz’s missus) -- fleshed out the sound. Unlike projects like, say Moby’s Play, where the folk stuff was at the forefront, by the time the Mylab duo finished, most of the old samples had been replaced by the work of living musicians or altered beyond recognition.

The album starts off with “Pop Client,” a funky little number with James Brown-style horn riffs, mad-scientist piano and what sounds like an upright bass.

On the next track, the music sounds like it’s coming from some third world street. The song’s called “Master Korean Musicians of Canada,” but the guitar loop suggests some lost strain of African music.

The next song, “Land Trust Picnic” starts of with what could be a ‘60s garage-band lick. Then a church organ comes in, which turns jazzy. Then comes Barnes on banjo, as if to let everyone know that this picnic is in the country.

The grass turns even bluer on “Varmit,” which is based upon a spooky fiddle riff (Orville Johnson) backed by Barnes’ dobro and some creepy ooo-ooo-whos by Barnes and Holcomb. The sinister atmosphere is sealed by the lunatic-is-in-my-head laughter in the background.

Mylab never lets up. There‘s tracks like “Earthbound,” built around a monotonously repetitive bass line, with crime-jazz saxes playing off otherworldly electronic effects; the vaguely African-sounding “Phil and Jerry“; the intense “Not in My House” that somehow mutates from guitar-trumpet interplay into drums and electonic rumbling; the sax, synth and percussion madness of “Ask Mickey.”

The wonder of Mylab is that it never becomes predictable.


Also Recommended:

*The Driver is Dead by Ai Phoenix.
What was I saying a couple of weeks ago about my newfound love of European art rock? The good people of Scandinavia have been enjoying this low and slow CD by this band from Norway for three or four years but it only got released here a few months ago. Sometimes good things just take time.

Don’t get this mixed up with the high-energy 21st Century punk rock of their Swedish cousins, The Hives. What we have here is smoky, narcoleptic guitar rock with sweet melodies and foreboding undertones.

When sandy-throated singer Mona Mork gets breathy, Ai Phoenix sounds like The Red House Painters fronted by Claudine Longet. I also hear echoes of Mazzy Star (that psychedelic organ, which won’t let go of your ears), Lisa Germano, and even a stripped-down Polyphonic Spree (add about 20 singers, a French horn and some robes and “This is Close” could pass for a Spree melody).

All in all, this is fine dark-night-of-the-soul music. I hope some more recent Ai Phoenix music finds its way to these shores.

*Angel of the Squared Circle by Pedal Steel Transmission. Fans of Wilco and fans of the Mexi-noir sounds of Calexico should give a listen to this Chicago band.

Despite the name of the group, it’s not the steel, but the good old fashioned electric guitar that’s in the forefront of this album. An excellent overview of the PST sound is in the opening 10-minute song “Waiting.” It starts out as a slow tango, but builds up into pure guitar rage.

Some songs are fairly close to country, such as “Amy” (no, not the Pure Prairie League hit), which features prominent pedal steel and Buffalo Springfield guitar licks.

But the best songs are bittersweet and surreal, such as “I Saved the Last High Style for You,” a dreamlike, minor-key melody that is built around a one-finger piano riff. This is followed by a lo-fi piano-based instrumental called “In Mourning,” which sounds as sad as its title.

My favorite tunes here tend to be the long, drawn out jams like the 6-minute“Editene,” which, with its hallucinogenic organ, shows PST could play on the same bill with Ai Phoenix or Wilco; and the shambling ending track, “Baionette.” Try to listen to the first five or six minutes of that one and not think of The Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Nothings” -- though it builds up to a screaming crescendo.

Thursday, March 11, 2004

ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: ROYAL RUMBLE IN DISTRICT 25

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican

You always have to wonder about coincidences in politics.

But the day the news broke about the bad blood between family members of longtime incumbent Sen. Roman Maes and his challenger Letitia Montoya -- a strange saga involving restraining orders and a Sunday morning confrontation involving mutual allegations of the use of profanity and the throwing of fingers -- two other candidates surfaced for the District 25 Senate seat in Santa Fe.

Both John Grubesic and Geraldine Salazar are making their first runs for political office. Though political novices, both have state-government experience.

In fairness, Grubesic didn't plan on announcing the day after the Maes/Montoya squabble was reported. I contacted him, after hearing that he's been busy getting petition signatures.

Grubesic, a 38-year-old lawyer, is a Santa Fe native who has spent most of his career working for the state Attorney General's Office. He started there under then-Attorney General Tom Udall in 1992, left about three years later and returned to work for Attorney General Patricia Madrid about four years ago.

Grubesic also worked as a prosecutor for District Attorney Henry Valdez in the 1990s and for a short time in private practice.

He's a 1983 graduate of St. Michael's High School, where he was on the all-state football team.

Also joining the race Wednesday is Salazar, 50, who is a former director of the Behavioral Health Services Division in the state Department of Health during the last Bruce King administration, and as the outreach coordinator for the Santa Fe Rape Crisis Center.

Salazar also has worked as director of Pojoaque Pueblo's Early Childhood Center.

Neither Salazar nor Grubesic have filed any restraining orders against other candidates -- or had any filed against them.

But the race is still young.

District 25, which includes most of the city of Santa, plus outlying areas including Tesuque and Eldorado, is attracting lots of candidates. In addition to the four Democrats, there's a contested Green primary with longtime party activist Rick Lass and newcomer Joseph Niesley. An independent named Robb Hirsh is trying to get on the November general election ballot.

From Bill to Max: Several folks, inside and outside the Roundhouse expressed surprise that Gov. Bill Richardson had nothing but a pointed "no comment" about Max Coll's decision last week to leave the Legislature. That was the word from not one but two of the governor's press aides.

But apparently Richardson had a change of heart over the weekend. At a Monday morning press conference the governor publicly thanked Coll for his 32 years of service and wished him well in his retirement.

Asked afterward why he couldn't have said that on Friday, Richardson replied, "I was traveling." Indeed he was in Española and Taos signing bills.

Then again, House Speaker Ben Lujan was traveling with the governor also. But somehow, the Speaker and his staff managed to release a page-and-a-half written statement praising Coll.

From George to Barbara: The national Republican Party isn't letting off New Mexico's First Lady Barbara Richardson.

Last year this column revealed that Mrs. Richardson got a letter from the Republican National Committee calling her a "strong grassroots Republican" and saying "... President Bush and Republicans can win only if GOP activists like you give our candidates the support they need to compete."

In reality, Barbara Richardson, like her husband, is a Democrat. She sent them back a good-natured letter explaining that fact last year.

But that didn't stop the Republicans in their effort to woo her. Recently she received a letter signed by -- well, it looks like it was signed by -- George W. Bush himself asking her to contribute $25 or $50 to his campaign.

"Thank you for your friendship and may God continue to bless America," the president's letter said.

But this time the letter didn't identify Barbara as a Republican.

Tuesday, March 09, 2004

Critiquing Music Critics.

A lot of people are saying the internet is making us rock critics obsolete. Still others say Bevis and Butthead killed the critic 10 years ago.

Here's a thoughtful piece by Gemma Tarlach of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

What's my take on my role as a critic? Hell, I just like mouthing off about music and sometimes turning folks on to a singer or band they've never heard of. If people want to read it, fine. If they want to argue, even better. (My e-mail link's always on the right side of this blog and there's a comment feature right below every post. Don't be afraid to use either.)

Monday, March 08, 2004

Hey! There's a Terrell's Sound World List After All.

Sean Conlon, who substituted on my show last night, just sent me his play list.

You night owls be sure to catch Sean's Graveyard Shift midnight to 2 a.m. Thursdays.

Slim Gaillard – Sukiyaki Cha Cha
Shoukichi Kina – Haisai Oji San
David Moss – My Favorite Things
Radley Gourzang & Group – The Devil’s Dream
Raincoats – Fairytale in the Supermarket
Robert Cage – Instrumental #5
Louis & Bebe Barron – Theme from Forbidden Planet
Ayalew Mesfin – Hasabe
Bob Dylan – Tombstone Blues

Modern Lovers – Roadrunner (Beserkly Chartbusters version)
Kleenex – Split
Janis Martin – Cracker Jack
The Continental Cousins – Kana Kapila
Ramones – Let’s Dance
Holy Modal Rounders – Sail Away Ladies (Too Much Fun version)
Jerry Lee Lewis – Wild One
Elmo Williams & Hezekiah Early – Blue Jumped the Rabbit

Mekons – The Building (original version)
Bascom Lamar Lunsford – I Wish I was a Mole in the Ground
Fugs – Carpe Diem
Blind Willie Johnson – God Don’t Ever Change
Sonny Sharrock – Black Bottom
Pere Ubu – Blow Daddy O
Jimmy Reed – Odds & Ends
James Blood Ulmer – Are You Glad to be in America?
Michael Hurley – Hog of the Forsaken (Wolfways version)

101 Strings – Flame Out
Dorothy Ashby – Soul Vibrations
Sound of Silverstones – Tabu
Du-Tels – Teletubbies Say Eh-Oh
Sister Irma Mae Littlejohn – Go Devil Go
Waco Brothers – Them Bones
Blind Bogus Ben Covington – You Rascal You
NY Dolls – Don’t Mess With Cupid
Toots & the Maytals - Alidina

Bill & Bonnie Fest

It was a great time and a HUGE turnout at the Paramount last night for the Bill & Bonnie Fest. Bonnie looked so cool when she took the stage wearing a queen's crown.

Thanks to Margaret Burke for organizing everything. Getting that many crazy musicians involve has to be like herding cats, but everything went smoothly. My buddy George Adello had something to do with managing the stage too. But his greatest contribution was playing a high energy "Rancho Grande."

I was going to debut a new song last night, but I chickened out. I was still stumbling over the lyrics right before the show. Plus there was no time to teach it to the backup musicians. So for my tune I chose Johnny Horton's "North to Alaska."

I don't know how much money ended up getting raised, but I would imagine a lot.

I hadn't heard Bill & Bonnie in several months, so that was a treat. It was also a treat seeing all those pickers in one place. We should do it more often, guys and gals!

No Sound World play list this week. Sean Conlon of KSFR's GRAVEYARD SHIFT (early Thursday mornings, midnight to 2 a.m.) filled in for me so I could go to the Bill & Bonnie show. I heard most of the last hour or so, and Sean was properly weird and diverse. He'll be filling in for me on both Sound World and Santa Fe Opry when I'm at South by Southwest in a couple of weeks.

Saturday, March 06, 2004

Goodbye Max!

Anyone with even the slightest interest in New Mexico politics should chcek out my stories about Rep. Max Coll's decision to not seek re-election to the state Legislature.

Here's one story

Here's the other.

Personal note: I first met Max Coll when I was in high school school (circa 1970) when we were both Republicans and he spoke at the state convention of Teen Age Republicans. (I'm registered "declined to state" these days, and of course Max is a Democrat.)

The Santa Fe Opry Play List

The Santa Fe Opry
Friday, March 5, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Host: Steve Terrell


OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Crazy Old World by Ukulele Man
Diamond Joe by Bob Dylan
Don't Get Above Your Raisin' by Flatt & Scruggs
Squeeze Box by Poodle Lynn
Ropin' the Goat by Jon Rauhouse's Steel Guitar Radio
Opportunity to Cry by The Holmes Brothers
My Last Match by Paul Burch
I Knew Jesus (Before He Was a Superstar) by Tammy Faye Starlite
One More Time by Bill Hearne

American Farmer by Charlie Daniels
Nashville Radio by Jon Langford
Orleans Parish Prison by Johnny Cash
Waiting by Pedal Steel Transmission
More Than You'll Ever Know by Joe West
Poor Ellen Smith by Acie Cargill
The Bible's True by Uncle Dave Macon

Lubbock Mafia Set
Go to Sleep Alone by The Flatlanders
The Wind's Dominion by Butch Hancock
Braver Newer World by Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Ranches and Rivers by Joe Ely
Four Corners by Terry Allen
Every Tear by Colin Gilmore
Once Followed by The Wind by The Flatlanders

Naked Light of Day by Jesse Taylor with The Flatlanders
Jesus Silverstein by Cary Swinney
Boomtown Boggie by Butch Hancock, Terry Allen, Jo Carol Pierce & Joe Ely
Firewater Seeks Its Own Level by Butch Hancock & Jimmie Dale Gilmore
One Road More by The Flatlanders
What of Alicia by Terry Allen
See the Way by The Flatlanders
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

Steve Terrell is proud to report to the monthly Freeform American Roots Radio list

Friday, March 05, 2004

Terrell's Tuneup: Lubbock On Just About Everything

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican, March 5, 2004

Two years ago Texas singers Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock reunited and produced the first album in 30 years by their more-a-legend-than-a-band, The Flatlanders. Now Again was the first official Flatlanders album since 1972's much revered debut (originally released on 8-track tape only), but it wasn't really a reunion. All three of these Lubbock guys had been hanging out with each other and singing each other's songs all those years in between. Still, Now Again was a sweet triumph, a testament to friendship and musical camaraderie -- not to mention a great sounding record full of finely crafted songs by three pros.

I said at the time I hoped the trio wouldn't wait another 30 years for a new Flatlanders record. Now, lo and behold, comes Wheels of Fortune, which is another good album, even though, as a sequel to a "reunion," it hasn't been greeted with the same enthusiasm as Now Again.

Although there are obvious similarities between the new album and its predecessor, there also are important differences. For one thing, on Now Again it seemed that there was more verse-swapping and sharing of vocal duties within the individual songs. But on Wheels, most the songs are solo efforts by the individual singers -- except on the last number, the gorgeous "See the Way." I'd like to have more of this on the new album.

On Now Again all but a couple of the songs were three-way collaborations between Hancock, Gilmore and Ely. On Wheels, however, except for one Hancock and Gilmore collaboration (that lovely creature, See the Way), the songwriting was done by the individual members, (and one, a rocker called "Whistle Blues," by longtime Flatlander crony Al Stehli.)

Good news for Hancock partisans -- and I know you're out there: Butch wrote five of the 14 songs on his own. These include two of the best ones, the wistful "Baby Do You Love Me Still," (which asks that age-old musical question, "Is it androids or elephants that never forget?") and "Eggs of Your Chickens," an upbeat, catchy, if slightly goofy tune with the magic dobro of Lloyd Maines, an appearance of original Flatlanders musical-saw player Steve Wesson and classic Hancock agri-imagery: "I've stayed on your farm as long as I'm going to stay/I've seen the eggs of your chickens roll away."

Although Gilmore's solo career has been built around a sweet, ethereal country style, on this record his most striking moments are on tough rockers, "Whistle Blues," and the Ely-penned "Back to My Old Molehole."

Meanwhile, Ely's best tunes here are story songs. There's an original Nashville Babylon song called "Neon of Nashville." And then there's the more humorous "I'm Gonna Strangle You, Shorty," a song that Ely first sang on All the Kings Men, an obscure 1997 album by Elvis' sidemen Scotty Moore and D.J. Fontana.

While Wheels of Fortune doesn't quite measure up to Now Again, if you like the music of Ely, Gilmore and/or Hancock, or if you just like good old Texas-fried country-rock in general, you'll like this one too.

Also Recommended:
*Juarez by Terry Allen.
This is a reissue of Terry's first album, originally released back in 1975. Juarez was never as acclaimed as his second album, the lighter-hearted Lubbock on Everything (which was his first team-up with Lloyd Maines and The Panhandle Mystery Band). But Allen, a Lubbock native though a Santa Fe resident for 15 years or so, is fond of these Juarez songs. Some of them -- "There Ought to Be A Law Against Sunny California," "Cortez Sail," "What of Alicia" -- have been re-recorded for subsequent albums.

Recorded with sparse accompaniment -- Terry's piano, sometimes backed with a mandolin or guitar -- Juarez tells a wild, violent, desperate, tragic story. It's a breathtaking tour of the underbelly of the Southwest, the barrooms, the whore houses, the trailer parks lovablehighways by hard-bitten and not entirely loveable characters.

The term "outlaw country: was bandied about a lot during the '70s. But with all due respect to Waylon and Willie and the boys, no country music was as "outlaw" as Juarez.
"Sunny California" may be the best example of Juarez's manic spirit: "Then I stopped off at the liquor store/Made everyone lie down on then floor/Then I took their whiskey and I took their bread/Shot out their lights before I fled/Yeah I leave a few people dead/But I got an open road ahead."

This reissue has a couple of new songs -- an instrumental and one called "El Camino" -- tacked on the end. These don't distract from the original body of songs, but they really weren't necessary. Their main strength is the Mexican-style accordion by Allen's son Bukka on "El Camino."

We should all thank Sugar Hill Records for reissuing Terry's old albums like this one and the obscure masterpiece Amerasia last year. That being said, I hope Terry's working on an album of new songs.

*The Day the World Stopped and Spun the Other Way by Colin Gilmore. This album could almost be subtitled "The Lubbock Mafia: The Next Generation." Colin is Jimmie Dale Gilmore's boy and his band includes Bukka Allen on accordion and organ. And one of the two cover songs here is Terry Allen's "The Beautiful Waitress." (The other being "White Man in Hammersmith Palais" by The Clash.)

You can hear Jimmie Dale's distinctive nasal vocal style in Colin's voice. But the son's music is punchier and less spacey, and less country, though you can still hear the Texas plains in the music.

Those who love Jimmie Dale's music consider it a revelation, and that's not the case with Colin's tunes. But it's a good listen and promising start for the young singer.

Hey Santa Fe listeners: You didn't think I'd NOT play a decent, long Flatlanders/Lubbock Mafia set on The Santa Fe Opry tonight did you? The show starts at 10 p.m. MST on KSFR, 90.7 FM and I'll probably start the Lubbock set right after 11.

And this is as good an opportunity as ever to repost my favorite Butch Hancock rafting photo. This is from my 1995 trip down the Rio Grande with Butch and some other cool folks. I'm the one that looks like a walrus.

Thursday, March 04, 2004

ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: BLOW UP THE TV

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican

New Mexicans who hate political advertising on TV should consider buying a TiVo or taking John Prine's advice and "blow up the TV." Otherwise, it's going to be a long, long eight months.

Television commercials by the George W. Bush campaign as well as the anti-Bush Moveon.org Voter Fund are expected to start today in New Mexico.

Bush regional spokesman Danny Diaz said Wednesday that the president's re-election campaign has purchased ad time on national cable networks and in local markets. He wouldn't confirm whether New Mexico is one of those.

However, national political columnist Charlie Cook, in his "Off to the Races" column this week, reported that the local stations where Bush will advertise are in nine states that Al Gore narrowly carried in 2000 -- including New Mexico -- and eight close states that Bush won.

The Moveon.org ads will air in 17 states, including ours.

Campaign strategists and pundits from all over the political map have identified this Enchanted Land as one of 17 "battleground" states in the presidential race, based on the 2000 election results.

Cook, in a recent column, narrowed it down further, referring to the "Big 10" states in the "toss-up category." These are New Mexico, Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oregon and Wisconsin.

"The amount of money, candidate time and media attention that these 10 states will get knows no bounds," Cook warns.

The vast right-wing conspiracy: Local radio station KTRC-1260 AM took a sharp turn to the right this week. Left-wing talk-show host Mike Malloy was replaced with conservative Michael Reagan at night, while New Age-y Maryanne Williamson has been replaced with Clinton/Kerry-bashing, Bush-loving "Worldnet Daily Radio Active." Other liberal programs once heard on KTRC have been replaced by right-wing shows.

The station has received dozens of calls -- some of them downright nasty and some of them claiming the station is the victim of some kind of Republican coup.

Truth is, employees say, the I.E. America network -- the home for Malloy, Thom Hartmann and other liberal talkers -- went belly up and stopped broadcasting last week. Hartmann, who is on the air weekday afternoons, hopped onto another network, so he's still on KTRC. Malloy and others, however, are in limbo. It's possible that they could return to KTRC in a month or so if they join a network the station can get.

But KTRC remains the refuge for former judges. Former Municipal Judge Tom Fiorina still does his late-afternoon talk show on the weekends. And now retired District Judge Art Encinias does an oldies-music show Sunday afternoons.

Speaking of left-wing radio, former I.E. America host Peter Werbe, who got canned last year when the network's financial problems started snowballing, is scheduled to be interviewed on the Camp Lovewave show, 9 a.m. Saturday on KSFR-90.7 FM.

More veep chatter: The Bulletin, a Washington, D.C., political publication, recently polled 100 members of the Democratic National Committee about who would make the best running mate for John Kerry. The first choice was North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, with 36 percent. In second place was New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson,
who got 22 percent. In a distant third-place tie with 1 percent each were Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York, Bob Graham of Florida and Evan Bayh of Indiana.

However, this week, political pundit Larry Sabato of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia said, "Bayh is one of only two or three Democrats in the country with the political strength to turn a Bush red state into a Democratic blue state (though, granted, it won't be easy)."

According to Sabato, Richardson is now the third-best choice for veep, behind Bayh and former Georgia Sen. Max Cleland. Just a few weeks ago, when Howard Dean was the front-runner, Sabato rated our governor the No. 1 contender.

Monday, March 01, 2004

Terrell's Sound World Play List

Terrell's Sound World
Sunday, Feb. 29, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Host: Steve Terrell


OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Poor Dog (Who Can't Wag Its Own Tail) by Little Richard
Them Bones by Alice in Chains
Sookie Sookie by Steppenwolf
Mojo Men From Mars by The Cramps
Trouble by Danzig
Spook Show Baby by Rob Zombie
Headlock on my Heart by The Fleshtones
A Million Miles Away by The Flamin' Groovies


Here Comes the Judge by Pigmeat Markham
Send Me to the Electric Chair by David Bromberg
Good Morning Judge by Wynonie Harris
Murder in My Heart For the Judge by Moby Grape
Odor in the Court by Doodoo Wah
Judge Dread by Prince Buster
Judge, I'm Not Sorry by Jorma Kaukonen
Funky Judge by J. Geils Band


PIGMEAT MARKHAM

Women in Cages by Julien Aklei
Jet Lady by Tangela Tricoli
The Moon Men by John Muir
Sodom and Gomorah by New Creation
Painful Memories by The Shaggs
Zoo Man by Harry Perry
Like a Monkey in the Zoo by Daniel Johnston
True Love by Tiny Tim & Miss Sue

Mater Korean Musicians of Canada by Mylab
It's a Wonderful Life by Sparklehorse
Brown by Stuurbaard Bakkebaard
Snow and Light by Ai Phoenix
One More Cup of Coffee by Sertab Erener
Undertow by Mark Lannegan
I'll be Seeing You by Mark Eitzel
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis


TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

  Sunday, March 17, 2024 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM, 101.1 FM  Webcasting! 10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time Host: Steve Te...