Monday, October 31, 2005

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, October 30, 2005
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell


THE STEVE TERRELL SPOOKTACULAR!
Halloween Hootenanny by Zacherle
Monster by Fred Schneider
Haunted House by Sam the Sham & The Pharoahs
Monster Rock by Screaming Lord Sutch
Zomby Woof by Frank Zappa
Werewolf by Southern Culture on the Skids
Pet Semetary by The Ramones
You Must Be a Witch by The Lollipop Shoppe
Voodoo Voodoo by LaVern Baker
New Mexico (from John Carpenter's Vampires)
The Blob by The Five Blobs

King Henry by Steeleye Span
Demonoid Phenomenon by Rob Zombie
Everyday is Halloween by Ministry
Monsters of the ID by Mose Allison
Lonesome Undertaker by The Ghastly Ones
(I Lost My Baby to a) Satan Cult by Stephen W. Terrell

Graveyard by Trailer Bride
Night of the Vampire by Roky Erickson
Rockin' Bones by The Cramps
Brand New Girl by Angry Johnny & The Killbillies
Bloodletting (The Vampire Song) by Concrete Blonde
The Man with the Candy by The Frogs

Feast of the Mau Mau by Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Loop Garoo by Dr. John
Am I Demon? by Danzig
Welcome to My Nightmare by Alice Cooper
Night of the Wolves by Gary Heffern
Wound by Stan Ridgway & Pietra Wexstum
Heebie-Jeebies by Little Richard
Happy Halloween by Zacherle

Sunday, October 30, 2005

IT'S SPOOKALICIOUS!

Just a reminder that the 200th Annual Steve Terrell Spooktacular is tonight on KSFR, 90.7 FM, starting at 10 p.m. Mountain Standard Time, going on to the witching hour.

Those from out of town can listen on the web.

Dance and romance to beloved fright songs by Roky Erickson, The Cramps, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Rob Zombie, The Cramps, Screaming Lord Sutch and more.

Friday, October 28, 2005

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: SWEET SOUL MUSIC

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
October 28, 2005

Southern soul music of the 1960s -- which for my money was one of the major pinnacles of American music -- represented not only a joyful triumph of Black culture but provided a vibrant example of the possibilities of integration.

The music that came out of Memphis and Muscle Shoals -- which was rawer and grittier than the more polished pop of Motown -- featured amazing Black singers. The Stax/Volt galaxy, for instance -- Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas and Percy Sledge. But you can’t overlook the contributions of certain talented Caucasians to this glorious sound.


Guitarist Steve Cropper and bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn -- members of Booker T & The MGs who performed on countless classic soul records -- are high on this list. So are songwriter/producer Dan Penn and keyboardist/songwriter Spooner Oldham. These guys are living proof that soul knows no color line.

This duo is responsible for the recently released Moments From This Theatre: Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham Live, recorded from various concert performances in the British Isles while touring with Nick Lowe in 1998.

Unlike the countless hits that bear the mark of Penn and/or Oldham, this CD isn’t a high-charged, sweaty, Dionysian strut. Instead, it’s low-key, a little moody, full of quiet intensity. These still waters indeed run deep. The soul’s so thick, you might break the knife if you tried to cut it.

Penn strums an unassuming guitar, singing lead (on all but one song) with his mournful drawl. Oldham’s gospel-drenched Wurlitzer piano sounds almost otherworldly.

The duo leads us through some of their best-known material, starting out with “I’m Your Puppet,” originally a hit for James and Bobby Purify.

There’s “Sweet Inspiration,” a faux gospel tune that was a minor hit and signature song for a girl group appropriately called The Sweet Inspirations (who later would become backup singers for Elvis Presley’s touring ensemble); “Cry Like a Baby,” a hit for a young Alex Chilton with his ‘60s band The Box Tops; a lesser known and unjustly overlooked Percy Sledge hit “Out of Left Field”; and “A Woman Left Lonely,” best known for its version by Janis Joplin.

Probably the best-known -- and probably the best period -- Penn songs -- “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man” and “Dark End of the Street” are both here. These songs, both high in gospel influence, are like emotional bookends. The former is a sturdy declaration of everlasting fidelity, sung not from a starry-eyed, giddy, “I’m-in-love-I’ll- promise-anything” perspective, but as a hard-won, well thought out piece of wisdom. It’s a pledge of respect and a demand for respect.

The latter is a confession of shame and weakness, but a nonetheless sincere cry of devotion to an illicit romance. While “Do Right” implies that some kind of moral crisis has been vanquished or averted, the narrator of “Dark End” is sinking fast and isn’t even sure if he wants to be pulled out.

My personal introduction to both of these songs, which were co-written with Chips Moman -- were on Gilded Palace of Sin, the first album by The Flying Burrito Brothers.

“Do Right Woman” first was recorded by Aretha Franklin. Between her 1967 record and the Burritos’ 1969 version, the song was covered by William Bell, Joe Tex, Cher and Delaney & Bonnie.

“Dark End of the Street” has been around the block even more. It’s been covered by Aretha, Percy, Joe Tex, Dolly Parton, Gary Stewart, Ry Cooder, Gregg Allman, Lazy Lester, Richard & Linda Thompson, Porter Wagoner, Elvis Costello The Afghan Whigs, and most recently, Frank Black (on his latest album Honeycomb, which features performances by Penn and Oldham).

“Everybody keeps asking me what’s my favorite version of `Dark End of the Street,’” Penn says, introducing the song here. “As if there was any others but James Carr’s.” Carr was the first to record it in 1966.

There are several lesser known tunes here too, “I Met Her in Church” (an obscure Box Tops song) and the funny country funk of “Memphis Women and Chicken” standing out.

Penn and Oldham did their most important work in the shadows of more famous singers. But this short excursion into the spotlight only enhances their invaluable contributions.

(The Web site for Proper Records has no information on this CD at this writing. If you can’t find it in local stores, just Google the title and you’ll find several online vendors who have it.)

*If You Didn’t Laugh, You’d Cry by Marah. Like the best work of this Philadelphia band, this new album is raucous and rootsy.

Brothers David and Serge Bielanko, who make up the core of the band, do little to discourage comparisons to Springsteen and Gasoline Alley-era Rod Stewart.

But don’t assume Marah is some kind of classic-rock revivalist band. The more records they put out, the more distinct they sound.

One of my favorite songs here is “The Hustle,” in which Dave sings of leaving the maddening pace of the city (“Claim me a country hill and a woman with which to grow old …”), though the frantic rhythm and the pounding guitar paints a picture of a crazed but seductive urban world to which you know he’ll always go back.

“The End” (no, not The Doors’ song) starts out with a gentle dobro riff over a shuffling beat. The song goes quiet for several seconds before coming back with an urgent melody that Lindsey Buckingham would have killed to have written.

But the high point of this record is “The Dishwasher’s Dream,” a Dylanesque (harmonica and all) nightmare of working class angst, blood and suicide and Cheetos and dope. The melody sounds like some Irish outlaw ballad.

No, If You Didn’t Laugh, You’d Cry doesn’t measure up to Marah’s greatest album Kids in Philly. But it’s a worthwhile listen.

The Steve Terrell Spook-tacular: A Santa Fe Halloween tradition for the past 200 years. Tune into Terrell’s Sound World, 10 p.m. to midnight Sunday, 90.7 FM or web casting at www.ksfr.org.

Laurell Reynolds will be filling in for me tonight on The Santa Fe Opry, 10-12 on KSFR

Thursday, October 27, 2005

THE VIGIL RESIGNATION


Here's the link to my story on State Treasurer Robert Vigil's resignation.

Here's a quick glance at Vigil's political career.

Here's where you'll find Quicktime versions of videos of conversations between Vigil and investment adviser/FBI informant Kent Nelson.

Here's something on my new Capitol Bureau partner Dave Miles. (Hey, what the Hell? They didn't do this for me when I came over from The Albuquerque Journal 18 years ago ...)

ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: MORE POLITICAL CHATTER FROM VIGIL TRANSCRIPTS

A version of this stroy was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
October 27, 2005

Federal prosecutors and defense lawyers are arguing about the significance of certain conversations between indicted former state Treasurer Robert Vigil and a “cooperating witnesses,” surreptitiously captured on video and audio tape.


But one thing that comes out clearly in transcripts is Vigil’s view of state politics and some fellow New Mexico politicians.

Vigil, who resigned Wednesday and faces 21 federal felony counts primarily involving extortion, visited the Downs at Albuquerque racetrack Aug. 24 with California-based investment adviser Kent Nelson.

Political fundraising was prominent in Vigil’s mind that day. At one point he told Nelson, “I spend most of my time trying to keep my job.”

Vigil spoke to Nelson about Paul Blanchard, who is a co-owner of the Albuquerque track, state Board of Finance member and huge financial contributor to Gov. Bill Richardson. The treasurer told the California consultant that Richardson “just gave (Blanchard) another racetrack down south.”

Blanchard was in the partnership to which the state Racing Commission awarded a license to build the track and casino in Hobbs now known as Zia Park.

After gossiping a bit about Blanchard’s wealth, Vigil said, “So, you know, our business is small, is small compared to …” He didn’t finish his sentence.

“I've been asking this Paul Blanchard to do a fundraiser for me,” Vigil said. But, Vigil he said he’d had no luck.

“So why don’t you get with the governor and just tell the governor to put a fundraiser on for ya?” Nelson asked.

“ I could, I could, but I don’t like to be indebted too much, you know,” Vigil said. “I help him out; I do; me and the governor sorta have the same, you know, I agree with a lot of things he does, so I help him out, but I’ve never really asked him for favors.”

Earlier in the conversation, Vigil, speaking about a businessman and his company, had bragged, “he knows that I have a lot of influence with the governor, so now they treat me good.”

After Vigil’s arrest last month, Richardson repeatedly and publicly urged Vigil to resign.

Everybody’s smoking it: Later in the afternoon, Vigil talked about another state official who recently has been in legal trouble and controversy: Public Regulation Commissioner E. Shirley Baca.

Talking about a possible candidate for Baca’s seat, Vigil said, “There’s an incumbent in that office, but she was caught; she was caught with marijuana, but then she, but then she was cleared, you know.”

Baca was arrested in December on a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge at the Albuquerque International Sunport. The charge eventually was dropped.

“You know and most people, I guess, smoke marijuana, so it’s gonna be interesting if they hold that against her or no,” Vigil said.

The treasurer offered an interesting insight — that Baca’s re-election campaign could turn out to be a de facto referendum on drug-law reform.

“I think it's important for her to be on the ballots to see where people are with that issue,” Vigil said. “Cause, you know, most people I guess smoke it, so … that’s what they say, you know.

Somebody’s gotta smoke it. When they bring it over in truck loads, I mean, I don’t smoke it, so somebody else must, right?”

The next month, when the FBI searched the homes of Vigil and former Treasurer Michael Montoya, who also was indicted on federal extortion charges, agents seized an unspecified amount of marijuana from Montoya’s home. While the FBI took financial records, computers and a book on ethics from Vigil’s property, they didn’t report finding any pot.

Gubernatorial parodies: Earlier this year Gov. Bill Richardson was parodied on Saturday Night Live by comic Horatio Sanz.

Now another national humor outlet has aimed its slapstick at our governor. But this time the humor was of the dark variety.

In last week’s issue of The Onion, an online newspaper parody, the headline was “Six Dead In Gubernatorial Suicide Pact.” Among the six was You-Know-Who.

Supposedly the governors drank poisoned liquor in the Ohio statehouse and died with their bodies arranged in a circular pattern on the floor.

“Although the reasons behind the suicide pact remain unknown, many of the country's surviving 44 state chief executives said they are not surprised by the tragedy,” The Onion said. “The governors were all known in their home states for their penchants for dark suits, their similar hairstyles, and their ‘fuck everything’ attitudes.”

The story has a fake quote from another governor saying he had seen signs of the coming tragedy: “Bill (Richardson) had developed this habit of slashing at his arms and chest with his New Mexico flag lapel pin.”

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

THE WHITE GUY WHO HAD TO STAND

Thank you Miss Rosa, you are the spark,
You started our freedom movement
Thank you Sister Rosa Parks.

The Neville Brothers
No doubt that the late Rosa Parks was a heroine. Last night on CNN when Aaron Brown referred to her as the mother of the Civil Rights Movement, Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia went a step further called her one of the mothers of Modern America.

But when considering heroes, I like to consider villains too.

I'm not talking about the obvious villains of the Civil Rights era -- Wallace, Maddox, Bull Connor, the Ku Klux Kretins who committed bombings and lynchings and midnight terrorism.

I'm talking about someone who has fallen through the cracks of history: The white man on that bus in Montgomery in 1955 who wanted Rosa Parks' seat.

By all the accounts I've read, it was the bus driver, not this anonymous white passenger who caused the uproar -- ordering Parks to stand up or be arrested, then actually calling the police.

But I want to know how that white passenger felt that day.

Was he just another Alabama bigot, angry at the uppity nigger who was sitting in the seat that rightfully belonged to him?

Was he less than a hater, just a passive participant in the Jim Crow laws, quietly accepting segregation as the natural order of things? Did Parks' refusal confuse him? Did he really care about getting a seat all that much? Was he embarassed when the bus driver made a scene? Or was it he who reported Parks to the driver?

Did this guy's views of Civil Rights change through the years? Did he curse the sit-ins and freedom marches? Did he vote for George Wallace? Was he one of those who drove Parks and her husband out of Montgomery by making threatening phone calls?

Did he ever come to feel shame about that day on the bus? Did he ever feel less than manly about trying to oust a middle-aged woman from a seat on a bus?

Did he ever get to know Rosa Parks? Did he ever apologize? Did he ever realize that her act that day actually made him more free?

Is he dead or alive? Who is this guy? I believe the story of Rosa Parks is incomplete until we know.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

AS LONG AS THEY DON'T ARREST FAKE OZZIE

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
October 25, 2005

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Elmo, the red and cuddly Muppet from the Sesame Street television series, has learned a new lesson: 'H' is for handcuffs.

A man dressed as the character was one of three impersonators arrested last week for allegedly harassing tourists for tips after posing for photos on Hollywood Boulevard. Booked with him were people impersonating superhero Mr. Incredible and the dark-hooded character from the horror movie "Scream."

The impersonators said they were taken into custody at gunpoint, handcuffed and paraded on the Hollywood Walk of Fame before stunned tourists and other impersonators. They were charged with misdemeanor "aggressive begging," police said.

"With all of the crime in Los Angeles they pick on us?" said Elmo impersonator Donn Harper, 45, who makes up to $400 a day in tips.

Tourists have complained that the costumed characters harass them for not tipping after posing for photos in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater and the Kodak Theater. Merchants say some of the costumed characters are scaring tourists.


(Anton with Ozzie impersonator near Grauman's Chinese Theater last August. Darth Maul, above, hissed at me when I didn't tip him.)

Monday, October 24, 2005

MONEY, POLITICS AND ROCK 'N' ROLL

Remember this 1992 campaign speech by the first President Bush?:
"(Bill Clinton)was in Hollywood, seeking foreign policy advice from the rock group U2. Now, understand, I have nothing against U2. You may not know this, but they tried to call me at the White House every night during their concert. But the next time we face a foreign policy crisis, I will work with John Major and Boris Yeltsin. And Bill Clinton can consult Boy George. I'll stay with the experts."
It looks like the former president's boy, George has a different idea.

And while Bush 43 is lunching with Bono in the White House, some of his fellow Republicans -- as well as some Democrats -- are using U2 concerts as a fund-raising device.
"The Irish rock band U2 is doing its best to disassociate itself from members of Congress’s plans to use the group’s 2005 world tour to raise money, but the band remains a political cash cow.

"Debt AIDs Trade Africa (DATA), an advocacy group founded by U2’s lead singer, Bono, issued a statement last week separating the band from any political activity that might take place at its concerts after some media outlets continued misreporting a story that Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and U2 had teamed up for a $1,000-a-seat concert in Philadelphia on Sunday. The stories reported that Santorum and others were buying private skyboxes and selling the seats to donors
."
I dunno. I kind of liked it better when conservative politicians used to trip all over themselves to denounce the evils of rock 'n' roll.


Oh well, apparently Rush Limbaugh, whose loathing of "long-haired, dope-smoking, maggot-infested rock stars" is well articulated, hasn't jumped on the U2 bandwagon. (Of course my favorite Rush rock criticism was back in 2002. In a fine example of synchronicity, I was driving to work having just written my review of the late Joey Ramone's solo album. I turned on the radio and Rush was in a froth because The Ramones had been inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and the Moody Blues hadn't.)

All I can say is where have you gone, Frank Zappa? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you!

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, October 23, 2005
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell



OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Headlights On by The Dirtbombs
Communist Moon by The (International) Noise Conspiracy
Little Girl by The Syndicate of Sound
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead by Warren Zevon
The Fox by Sleater-Kinney
Just Can't Please You by Detroit Cobras
Cool. Calm, Collected by The Rolling Stones
Rock and Roll by The Velvet Underground
Don't Touch Me There by The Tubes

Bo Diddley is Crazy by Bo Diddley
TV Eye by Iggy Pop
In This House That I Call Home by X
Dumb All Over by Frank Zappa
Bucket of Juice by BigUglyGuys
Moulty by The Barbarians

Karate King by Kevin Coyne & The Pine Valley Cosmonauts
Deserted Cities of the Heart by Cream
She Is Suffering by Manic Street Preachers
Cheeseburger by Gang of 4
The River of Water by Yo La Tengo
Bold Marauder by Drywall
Voodoo Priestess by Screamin' Jay Hawkins

Summer's Almost Gone by The Doors
Don't Send Me No Flowers, I Ain't Dead Yet by The Reigning Sound
Port of Amsterdam by David Bowie
Just Like Greta by Van Morrison
The Green Fields of France by Dropkick Murphys
What Kind of Fool Am I? by Grandpaboy
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

Sunday, October 23, 2005

JOHNSON BREAKS HIS BACK AGAIN

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
October 23, 2004

Former Gov. Gary Johnson, known for his athletic ability and attraction to both traditional and “extreme” sports, is bed bound for the next six months after breaking his back in a paragliding accident.

In a telephone interview Saturday, Johnson said he suffered his injury Oct. 13 on the island of Maui in Hawaii.

“I feel fine and I’m going to be all right,” Johnson said.

This is the second time the 52-year-old governor has broken his back. In January 2001, while still governor, he slipped on a patch of ice during a morning jog.

However, Johnson noted that injury was not as serious as his recent one. “I think I was up running again about six weeks that time,” he said. Now he is expected to be bedridden until April.

Despite his injury, Johnson said he feels lucky. The late actor Christopher Reeve, who was thrown from a horse, was paralyzed from a fall of only six feet, Johnson on noted.

Paragliding involves a free-flying, foot-launched aircraft with a self-inflating wing. The structure is similar to a hang glider, though it’s lighter and larger. Paragliders jump off hillsides to launch.

Johnson said he was with about 10 other paragliders the morning of his accident. He had been paragliding from the same spot for about two weeks, he said.

He was the first in the group to take off. “There was no wind, really,” he said. “There was no lift on take-off.”

Johnson found himself heading toward a tree. “My harnass caught in the tree and the wing, if you can imagine this, acted as a slingshot, hurling me into the ground.”

Johnson said he landed on his tailbone. “The main thing I remember is just how hard the impact was he said.

He tried to stand up but his knee gave out, Johnson said.

As it turned out, he suffered a burst fracture of his T12 vertebrae, a broken rib and a knee injury, which Johnson said, will require minor surgery.

Johnson said a helicopter had to be called to airlift him to the hospital in Maui. He returned to New Mexico on Monday.

Johnson said he’s able to walk. “I can get up and go to the bathroom,” he said. He said he can ride in a car, though he realizes that even a minor accident could be devastating to his back.

It’s been a tough year for the former governor. In September, shortly before leaving for Hawaii, he was involved in a minor car crash on I-25 north of Albuquerque. And earlier in the year he and his wife of 28 years, Dee Johnson, divorced.

“That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Johnson said Saturday.

During his eight years as governor (1995 -2002), Johnson was known his athletic pursuits and thrill seeking.

At the end of his term he told reporters that his best day in office was a time he got to go hang gliding. He is a frequent competitor in the Iron Man triathlon in Hawaii. He enjoys skiing, motorcycling, bicycling, kayaking and ballooning.

He also has been known to suffer some physical mishaps. Not long after his 2001 back injury from jogging, he took a spill on a motorcycle on N.M. 14. He wasn’t injured.

A month after leaving office, Johnson broke a leg in a ski accident. However that barely slowed him down. Three months later he scaled Mount Everest.

Johnson said Saturday that he will paraglide again. “Oh yeah,” he said. “Life is live and learn.”

Saturday, October 22, 2005

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, October 21, 2005
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell


OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
So What If We're Out of Tune with the Rest of the World by Marah
Lucille by Nancy Apple & Rob McNurlin
Lonesome, On'ry & Mean by Waylon Jennings

STEVE YOUNG SET
(Live in the Studio)
Little Birdie
Silverlake
Long Way to Hollywood
You're Right, I'm Left, She's Gone
Ramblin' Man

Not Another Beautiful Day by Jubal Lee Young
Oklahoma Bound by Steve Young

Dolly Parton Set
(All songs by Dolly except where noted)
Seven Bridges Road
Those Were the Days
Dumb Blonde
Silver Threads and Golden Needles by Dolly, Tammy Wynette & Loretta Lynn
Old Flames Don't Hold a Candle to You by Sally Timms
Love's Like a Butterfly
The Pain of Loving You by Dolly, Emmylou Harris & Linda Rondstadt
The Cruel War
My Tennessee Mountain Home by Maria Muldaur

Jamie II by Joe West
Some Humans Ain't Human by John Prine
Memphis Women and Chicken By Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham
In God's Eyes by Willie Nelson
If I Could Only Fly by Blaze Foley
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

Friday, October 21, 2005

THOSE ADORABLE LITTLE NAZIS


Checking out my Statcounter numbers this morning I realized that quite a few visitors to this blog in the last day or so had done searches for Prussian Blue -- that 13-year-old twin duo that sings songs of "White Power," struggling against the "Darker Races" and promoting the National Socialist agenda -- who I blogged about a few months ago.

Several more visitors came from other blogs that linked to my original Prussian Blue post.

That post received more comments than anything else I've ever blogged. Many of the comments were from the Nazi community, defending Prussian Blue as a refreshing alternative to the "degenerate Black music" fouling the morals of today's youth.

They're out there, people. They're out there.

(Unfortunately the stupid comment service I used to use here zapped all my old comments.)

But why the sudden resurge in interest in these loveable little hatemongers? Looks like ABC News just did a feature on them.

So welcome new readers. Stick around and read some of my stuff on degenerate music too.

JOE WEST IN UK

British and Scottish audiences are in for a treat. Santa Fe's Joe West is heading their way, on what he calls "A mission to spread Santa Fe poetry and country music across the world."

Says Joe, "If you have any friends in England or Scotland, please let them know of the Santa Feans that are bringing green chili to their neihborhood."

Here's the tour schedule, as sent by Joe:

Oct 24 London -The Borderline (with Chris Mills and The Havenots)

Oct 25 London -The Borderline (with Sarah Lee Guthrie/Johnny Irion and The Barker Band)

Oct 27 Southampton- Talking Heads (Note from SWT: I think that's the name of the venue, not the opening act.)

Oct 28 West Hoathly/Ardingly -The White Hart

Oct 29 Lewes -The Lansdowne Arms

Oct 30 Brighton -The Greys

Nov 2 Leicester- The Musician

Nov 3 Berwick -The Barrels Ale House

Nov 4 Aberdeen BBC Radio Scotland (2:30 show time)

Nov 4 Glasgow -The Liquid Ship-8:00PM (with Donny O'Rourke)

Nov 5 Ullapool Medicine Show Loch Broom FM 1pm

Nov 5 Ullapool -The Arch Inn

Nov 6 Inverness -Hootananny's(The Listening Room )

Nov 7 Gateshead -The Sage Arena (with Jon Dee Graham) (Note from SWT: This is one I'd love to see.)

Nov 8 Nottingham -The Maze (Forest Tavern)

Nov 9 Manchester -14 Lloyd Street

Nov 10 Swindon -The Bee-hive


If you can't make it to any of these shows, you can at least watch a fascinating video by this guy who calls himself "Dancing Butterflies."

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: STILL IN DOLLYWOOD

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
October 21, 2005

Dolly Parton’s Those Were the Days probably is the closest thing to an anti-war protest album you’re going to see coming from a bonafide country music icon, at least this year.

Basically this is a collection of tunes from the late ‘60s and early ‘70s -- mainly easily recognizable folk or folk-rock hits -- in which Dolly is joined by some of the the songwriters or the singers who made the songs famous as well as other guest stars. (The happy news: Most of it’s not as bad as such a project sounds like it would be.)

Many tunes here -- and I’m assuming it’s no coincidence -- are anti-war anthems. Apparently back in the ‘60s Dolly was listening Peter, Paul & Mary as well as Porter, Possum & Merle.

This wouldn’t seem so radical except for the fact that the only musical commentary on war and peace that you hear on commercial country radio is from the Toby Keith/Hank Williams Jr. blind-patriotism/America-kicks-butt variety.

There’s no way the County Music Industrial Complex is going to embrace Dolly’s peace-and-love tunes any more than they did Merle Haggard’s biting Iraq commentary “That’s the News” or Willie Nelson’s “Whatever Happened to Peace on Earth” a couple of years ago. Or any more than they embraced Earl Scruggs in the late ‘60s when he began playing anti-war rallies.

Of course, Dolly, and for that matter, Haggard and Nelson aren’t exactly tied down by the surly bonds of the C&W establishment these days. Country radio ignores them, while these entertainers continue to make fine music below Nashville radar.

Most of the anti-war tunes Dolly performs here still have power and relevance in light of the war in Iraq.

There’s Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind,” done here in a bluegrass/pop style with the band Nickel Creek. There’s a beautiful take on “Where Have All the Flowers Gone,” featuring Dolly’s sweet harmonizing with Norah Jones and Lee Ann Womack.

She does a heartfelt, banjo-driven version of “Turn, Turn, Turn,” (Roger McGuinn’s somewhere in the mix.)

The only one that seems rather strange is “The Cruel War.” With vocal harmonies from Alison Krauss and Dan Tyminski and guitar by Tony Rice, the song sounds heavenly. But the whole concept of the song is questionable. And I’m not even talking about the corny happy ending Dolly tacks on.

This song, which some say dates back to the American Civil War, seemed antiquated even back in the mid ‘60s when Peter, Paul & Mary had a hit with it.

“The Cruel War” is the story of a young woman who so hates the idea of her Johnny going off to war, she offers to disguise herself as a man to go with him.

“I’ll tie back my hair, men’s clothing I’ll put on/I’ll pass as your comrade as we march along … ”

Such a scheme seemed unlikely in the ‘60s. And now in the Iraq war, where some of the most famous soldiers -- from Jessica Lynch to Lynndie England -- are female, it’s irrelevant.

And, considering Dolly’s celebrated figure, it seems rather ridiculous. As one Dolly fan blogger, commenting on Dolly disguising herself as a man, put it, “Honey, you're gonna need a truck load of duct tape!!”

Not all the songs here deal with issues of war and peace.

Parton’s version of “Me and Bobby McGee,” done here with the songwriter, Kris Kristofferson, sounds so natural it‘s a wonder she’s never recorded it before. Same with the surprisingly vibrant take on the old chestnut “If I Were a Carpenter.” (Both writer Tim Hardin and singer Bobby Darrin are dead, so Dolly duets with Joe Nichols.)

While I never envisioned Tommy James & The Shondells’ psychedelic relic “Crimson and Clover” as a country song, Dolly makes it work with a fiddle/banjo/dobro/mandolin arrangement. Tommy James himself is along for this ride, making sure the song’s trademark tremolo guitar stays intact.

But my favorite track here is the title song. Dolly sings with Mary Hopkin , the Welsch waif who had the original hit with the song in 1968. There’s also an impressive chorus that includes Porter Wagoner, George Jones, Brenda Lee, Pam Tillis and country Cajun star Jimmie C. Newman, and instrumentalists including Sam Bush on mandolin, Ilya Toshinsky of the Russian bluegrass group Bering Strait, and a snippet of the Moscow Circus, recorded live in Dollywood.

It’s as much fun as it sounds.

On most guest-star heavy albums, the main star often is overwhelmed by the famous friends. Not so here. Overshadowing Dolly Parton is no easy task.

True, there are a couple of clunkers here. I’ve never liked John Lennon’s sappy “Imagine” and Dolly does nothing with it to change my mind. (As Elvis Costello once observed, “Wasn’t it a millionaire who said `Imagine no possessions’ …”) And as far as Yusef Islam/Cat Stevens’ “Where Do the Children Play?” goes, isn’t it time we declared a fatwa on ‘70s singer/songwriter wimps?

For the most part though, Those Were the Days, proves that these days are pretty good days for Dolly Parton.

Also Recommended:
*The Essential Dolly Parton:
This two-disc set is a good retrospect for one of the most influential singers, songwriters and personalities of country music. It’s got Dolly’s greatest songs -- “Coat of Many Colors“ “Jolene,” “I Will Always Love You,” -- some amazing lesser-known early 80s hits -- “Single Women” and “Old Flames Can’t Hold a Candle to You” -- and some guilty-pleasure pop sclock -- “Here You Come Again,” “Islands in the Stream” (When you talk of country kitsch, Kenny Rogers’ still the king.)

But my favorite tunes here are a pair of 1967 tracks, “Dumb Blonde” and “Just Because I’m A Woman” plus a 1969 obscurity, “My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy.” How could anyone have heard these and not realized that Dolly was soon to be a giant?

Thursday, October 20, 2005

ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: DELAY vs VIGIL

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
October 20, 2005


The campaign is still very young, but by the campaign rhetoric already arising from the Heather Wilson/Patricia Madrid showdown, one might think that the 2006 First Congressional District race is a battle between Tom DeLay and Robert Vigil.

Republican DeLay stepped down as U.S. House majority leader after being indicted in his native Texas on felony charges of money laundering and conspiracy.

Democrat Vigil was indicted in federal court on 21 charges of extortion. He has refused to step down from his post, although his lawyer told the Associated Press Wednesday that Vigil “continues to weigh his options” whether he will resign because he feels the ongoing House impeachment proceedings against him are unfair.

In declaring her candidacy last week, Madrid issued a statement that spoke of “culture of incompetence, corruption and cronyism.”

“The marriage of special interest politics and the Republican leadership of George Bush and Tom DeLay and the complicity of Heather Wilson have failed New Mexicans,” Madrid said.

Even before Madrid got into the race, state Democrats were criticizing Wilson for taking nearly $47,000 from DeLay’s political action committee Americans for a Republican Majority. Wilson has returned the $10,000 she collected from DeLay’s PAC in June, but not the $36,959 she received from the PAC between 1998 and 2003.

But Republican leaders say the corruption issue could backfire on Madrid.

Enter Robert Vigil.

Last week on the eve of Madrid’s announcement, Marta Kramer, executive director of the state Republican Party, said the kickback scandal at the state Treasurer’s Office could bode ill for the entire Democratic ticket, but particularly Madrid.

Kramer recalled a scathing 1999 audit report on Vigil’s tenure as state auditor, which, according to the state police chief, showed “strong patterns of public corruption” at the auditor’s office during Vigil’s tenure there.

Madrid later said that the audit was “not unbiased” because of the long-standing political feud between Vigil and his successor as state auditor, Domingo Martinez. No state legal action was ever taken in the 1999 audit.

“Madrid turned a blind eye to the biggest corruption scandal in the state's history by refusing to investigate the state treasurer when called upon to do so by Gov. Gary Johnson in 1999,” Kramer said. “Madrid should first work toward ending corruption and promoting accountability in New Mexico before pointing fingers at Republican elected officials in D.C.”

Political Chatter: Some of Vigil’s thoughts about state politics were captured on tape by the FBI in conversations between the treasurer and San Diego investment counselor Kent Nelson — who was wearing a wire.

In May, while driving from the Albuquerque airport to The Quarters barbecue restaurant on Yale, campaign contributions were on Vigil’s mind. The deadline for reporting contributions was only four days away.

You’ve got to report at least some of your contributions, Vigil told Nelson, “so it'll scare some of your opponents away.”

“They gonna be scared?” Nelson asked.

“No, not that scared,” Vigil said, “but I mean it's at least it makes them think twice if you don't report anything.”

Vigil explained that it was too early at that point for opponents for the 2006 race to be coming out of the woodwork, “but if you don't have any money man, you'll get 'em lined up like hot cakes. They see a report and they see you don't have any money . . . the Governor's gotta report 2.6 million.”

He was close. Richardson actually reported $2.9 million in the May campaign finance reports a few days later.

In talking about big campaign coffers frightening off potential challengers, Nelson noted that Vigil didn’t have any Republican opponent in 2002. Vigil had a theory about that.

“Well that's because they thought I wasn't gonna win,” Vigil said. “Jan Goodwin, my opponent was being supported by the Republicans thinking she was gonna win.”

Three days later Vigil filed a campaign finance report with the Secretary of State that showed he’d collected $26,205 since the last report and had a total of $127,732 in his campaign treasury.

Something tells me that if Vigil stays in the race, this amount won’t be enough to scare off opponents.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

WOULD YOU CARE TO COMMENT?

If anyone gives a hoot, I've just changed the "comments" feature of this blog.

My old comments service, Haloscan recently removed all the comments odler than, I think, three months. Didn't delete them, mind you. I could get them all back if I upgrade to their paid service.

But freeloader that I am, I decided to switch to Blogger's inhouse comments feature. (THis prompted a paranoid thought: Are Blogger and the other free blog services just getting all of us us blog junkies hooked before they lower the boom and start charging us? Will there be a crime wave of bloggers ripping off car stereos to support their habits?)

The only drawback is that all the recent posts you fine readers left are now gone. So you'll just have to make more comments from this point on.

Warning: I've been plagued recently with some of those pesky SPAM comments. ("Your blog is fantastic. Check my (stupid commerical site) at (link)") So far it hasn't been difficult just to delete 'em when I see 'em. But if it gets worse I might go to the system where comment-posters have to fill in the annoying "word verification" secret code before posting. Such is the price of freedom.

Now leave me some damn comments!

UPDATE: Since changing over this morning, I've gotten several of those accursed SPAM automated comments. I'm not talking about NewMexiKen, whose blog I encourage all to visit. I'm talking about geeks from Herbalife, free video web hosting services and other stupid advertisers. Sneaky bastards tend to post their crap on older posts in your blog, so there might be some I missed. (Please report to me any you come across. And for the love of Christ, don't click on their links or buy any of their products.)

Anywho, I've made good on my threat to use "word verification." Please don't hestitiate to use it.

MESSING WITH TEXAS

Former New Mexico journalist Walt Howerton has been exiled in Austin for a few years now.

By the looks of his new blog, apparently it's starting to get to him:

Says Walt:
"I live in Texas. I came here with my wife a few years ago because she needed to be here. I love my wife, I like my house, I like the weather, I like the music. But I do not like Texans."
So there you go ...

It should be noted that Walt loves The Drive-by Truckers and Kings of Leon as much as I do.

By the way, nice hat.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

STEVE YOUNG ON SANTA FE OPRY


Songwriter Steve Young will play live on The Santa Fe Opry shortly after 10 p.m. Friday. That's on 90.7 FM. (It'll be Webcast live HERE.)
KSFR,

Steve is best known for his song "Seven Bridges Road," which has been recorded by The Eagles, Dolly Parton and a zillion others. But my personal favorite is "Lonesome, On'ry and Mean," made famous by Waylon Jennings.

Mr. Young is in town for a house concert in Santa Fe the next night, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, October 22. That'll cost you $15.00 at the door.

Please Call 466-2209 for reservations.

There's also a Steve Young house concert -- actually a gallery concert -- at The Donkey Gallery, 1415 4th Street SW, Albuquerque on Oct. 27. $10 at the door.

Monday, October 17, 2005

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, October 16, 2005
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell


OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Hey Gyp by The Animals
Rock and Roll by Lou Reed
Your Love Belongs Under a Rock by The Dirtbombs
Yo! Beanhead by BigUglyGuys
Scene of the Crime by Kevin Coyne & The Pine Valley Cosmonauts
Death Sound Blues by Country Joe & The Fish
The Godfather by Satan's Pilgrims
Yakety Yack by The Coasters

Everybody's Going Wild by The Detroit Cobras
I See the Light by The Five Americans
Johny Hit and Run Paulene by X
Sing Me Spanish Techno by New Pornographers
Steppin' Out by Paul Revere & The Raiders
Jailbait by The Flamin' Groovies
Walk Idiot Walk by The Hives
Night Time by The Stangeloves
Baby Bitch by Ween

Wild Rover by Dropkick Murphys with Shane McGowan
Fourty Deuce by Black 47
Grace Cathedral Hill by The Decemberists
Brutal by The Mekons
Truck Stop Cheii by James Bilacody & The Cremains
The Story of Jazz by Yo La Tengo
Dead End Street by Lou Rawls

Find Me Now by The Reigning Sound
Little Hands by Alexander Spence
The Boys of Mutton Street by Richard Thompson
Have You Seen the Stars Tonight by Paul Kantner & The Jefferson Starship
Maricela by Los Lobos
The Foggy Dew by The Chieftains with Sinead O'Connor
Danny Boy by Frank Parker
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

Saturday, October 15, 2005

HATE FACTORY


A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
October 15, 2005


A horrifying book about the most horrifying bloodbath in modern New Mexico history is back in print.

The Hate Factory by Georgelle Hirliman is an unbridled and frequently graphic account of the February 1980 Penitentiary of New Mexico riot, which left 33 inmates dead and many other inmates and guards scarred for life.

Hirliman will read passages from the book and sign copies 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. today at Borders, 3513 Zafarano Drive.

Originally published in 1982, the book has been off the shelves since the mid 1980s. “But it’s become a cult classic,” Hirliman said, pointing out that on some used book Web sites such as Abebooks.com, original copies of The Hate Factory sell for as much as $144.99.

She decided to self-publish the book after a former-inmate Oakland-based filmmaker, Sean Wilson bought the movie rights last year. Wilson in January told The New Mexican, the film “will make a great story of survival and heroism amongst some of the most brutal, inhumane acts ever documented.”

The Hate Factory was written by Hirliman based on interviews with a veteran prison inmate who was back in the joint on a parole violation, and scheduled for release several weeks after the riot.

In the book, this inmate is known by the pseudonym “W.G. Stone.” In an interview Friday Hirliman said her collaborator’s real name was W.G. Gannons.

“He died in 1985 in prison of cirrhoses of the liver,” she said.

Hirliman became involved in prison issues when she was a radio reporter in the 1970s for the long-defunct KAFE-AM in Santa Fe and KUNM in Albuquerque.

(Ironically the book tells how an early riot plot involved inmates taking hostages during a planned live KUNM broadcast from the prison in December 1979. This plan, according to the book, was thwarted when prison authorities got word of it and canceled the show.)

“I got to know the prison system and I hated it,” Hirliman said.

Hirliman covered the infamous Vagos case — in which four California bikers were convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of a college student in Albuquerque and later exonerated when the real killer confessed. She eventually married one of the bikers, who has since died.

“I wrote a book about that case, which was supposed to be published by Easyriders magazine,” she said. (She hopes to revise and publish the Vagos book in the near future.)

But then the riot happened.

Through her prison sources, she met Gannons, who had been in and out of prison since the 1960s.

The Hate Factory describes in grim detail the brutal deaths of several inmates — including mutilations, a beheading and torture with acetylene torch — and the beatings and rapes of corrections officers.

But it also deals with the severe conditions in the prison that led to the uprising. There was the prison psychologist who “treated” inmates by putting them in plaster casts from neck to ankles (with appropriate holes for body functions) and the dreaded “Dungeon Hole” where problem inmates were stripped naked and left for days in darkness with a hole in the floor as a toilet.

The Hate Factory deals with the politics of corrections and the cliques that ran the prison.

The revised version of the book has a new introduction that begins with the 2004 shooting of the Adam Sandler/Chris Rock comedy The Longest Yard at the site of the old main facility, which hasn’t been used to house inmates since 1998.

“New Mexico’s Film Commission and Tourism Department will be happy to take you on a tour of the empty old prison,” Hirliman waxes sarcastically. “Perhaps they will even point out the hatchet marks permanently cut into the floor where Paulina Paul’s head was so agonizingly severed, or where the one-armed man nearly lost the other to the blade of a berserk biker.”

In the introduction, Hirliman writes about many of the state corrections controversies that have occurred in more recent years — privatization of prisons, the 1999 murder of Corrections Officer Ralph Garcia at the private prison in Santa Rosa, the policy of non-contact video visits (halted two years ago), and even former Corrections Secretary Lane McCotter’s involvement in the planning of the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

“We have to start doing something else besides prisons,” she said. “Punishment just doesn’t work. We’ve proved that over and over.”

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, October 14, 2005
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell


OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Hot Dog by Rosie Flores
Mama Tried by Old 97s
6 String Belief by Son Volt
Fat Boy by Marah
Raining in Port Arthur by The Gourds
If I'd Shot Her When I Met Her, I'd Be Out of Jail By Now by Diesel Doug & The Long Haul Truckers
The Crawdad Song by The Meat Purveyors
I'm a Nut by Leroy Pullens
Psycho by Jack Kittel

I Hung it Up by Junior Brown
Alone at a Table For 2 by Marti Brom
I Met Her in Church by Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham
My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy by Dolly Parton
Maybe Mexico by Jerry Jeff Walker
The Combines are Comin' by Joe West

Kinky Friedman Set
All songs by Kinky except where noted

We Reserve the Right to Refuse Service to You
Wild Man of Borneo by Guy Clark
Men's Room L.A.
Western Union Wire
Before All Hell Breaks Loose by Asleep at the Wheel
Highway Cafe
Ride 'em Jewboy

Bringing Mary Home by Mac Wiseman
Silver Wings by Earl Scruggs with Linda Rondstadt
A Few More Years by Tim O'Brien
As Victims Would by Will Johnson
Entella Hotel by Peter Case with David Perales
With His Old Gray Beard a Shinin' by Clothesline Revival featuring Pearl Brewer
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

Friday, October 14, 2005

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: RIDE 'EM, KINKY!

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
October 14, 2005


I don’t often get to review music by people running for political office. To be honest, I don’t often want to. For instance I wasn’t really interested last year in reviewing The Electras, John Kerry’s band from the ‘60s.

But Kinky Friedman is Kinky Friedman. And though I view him first as a musician, it seems somehow natural that he’s Mayhem Aforethought, a recently unearthed live recording with his original Texas Jewboys in a 1973 radio concert, will seem so refreshing in contrast to the safe, sanitized, focus-group-tested rhetoric of the “serious” politicians it will propel the Kinkster to victory.

Could it be possible that in a couple of years Kinky Friedman will be posing for photo ops beside Bill Richardson at governors conferences and pardoning singing Texas murderers in hopes of finding the next Leadbelly.

A long shot for certain, but stranger things have happened in politics.

(Full disclosure time: Twice in the 1990s, I opened for Kinky Friedman in concerts at the El Rey Theater in Albuquerque. I got paid money for my performance and Kinky autographed my Sold American CD “Steve, God luv you.” Otherwise there’s no personal, financial or political connection between us.)

Basically Mayhem Aforethought contains the core of Kinky’s notorious repertoire that has carried his reputation for decades.

There’s “The Ballad of Charles Whitman,” a black-humor, happy stomp ode to the infamous Texas Tower sniper. (Check this story by Marlee MacLeod.)

Even more controversial at the time was “Get Your Biscuits in the Oven and Your Buns in the Bed,” (“You uppity women, I don’t understand why you have to go and act like a man … You’d better occupy the kitchen, liberate the sink …”), which sparked countless debates between those who thought Kinky was an evil sexist and those who argued that he was just making fun of sexism. Needless to say, large numbers of feminists in the 1970s failed to see the humor in the song.

While songs like these and “They Ain’t Making Jews Like Jesus Any More,” (not included in this CD) made Friedman a national phenomenon, unfortunately they drew attention away from the seriously beautiful country songs he also was writing.

Friedman had a knack for writing sad tunes about washed-up, broken down singers. “Nashville Casualty & Life” is about an old banjo player getting arrested at Nashville’s Union Station. “They busted him for loitering when he was making memories rhyme.”

Even more poignant is “Sold American,” the title song of his first album, which has been covered by Billy Joe Shaver and Glen Campbell.

“Writing down your memoirs on some window in the frost/ Roulette eyes reflecting another morning lost/ Hauled in by the metro for killing time and pain/ With a singing brakeman screaming through your veins.”

One of the strangest but loveliest songs Friedman’s ever written is “Ride ’em Jewboy.” Despite the title, which sounds like the song’s going to be one of the funny ones, Over a mournful cowboy melody, “Jewboy” mixes imagery from the range with what seems like oblique references to the Holocaust -- “smoke from the camps,” “helpless creatures” being led to slaughter, “dead limbs play with ringless fingers.”

It indeed is a heavy song, and it’s to Friedman’s credit that he can pull it off so gracefully in the context of so many sardonic tunes and wicked stage banter.

Friedman gets away with saying things most musicians -- let alone politicians -- wouldn’t even attempt these days.

Introducing bassist Willie Fong Young, Friedman says, “We got a little Chinese boy in the band.” At another point he announces, “we’ve been in Nashville, Tenn. for the past few months at the Glaser Sound Studios workin’ on a Tampon jingle …”

But the Jewboys were a fine musical unit -- unless you include Kinky‘s crony Jeff “Little Jewford” Shelby and his kazoo, which mars this version of “Biscuits.”

Featured in the band is guitar man Billy Swan, just a year before his big country/pop hit “I Can Help.” He gets a solo spot on this CD on his song “Lover Please,” a hit in the ’60s for Clyde McPhatter.

Take my word for it: Mayhem Aforethought is a lot more fun than almost any political speech.

Also Recommended:
* The Austin Experience by Junior Brown. While all of his studio albums are enjoyable, what Brown’s fans say is true: The best way to appreciate this former Santa Fe musical stalwart. Known for his flashy picking and geological baritone, is live.

In Santa Fe we’re lucky. The artist formerly known as “Jamie Brown” plays here pretty often. But if you haven’t had a chance to see him in person performing miracles on his magic guit-steel (a combination electric guitar/steel guitar Brown invented) this CD, recorded live at Austin’s Continental Club in April, is your next best bet.

(More disclosure: I went to Mid High and Santa Fe High School with Brown circa 1968 -70. We even shared a locker until he dropped out of high school. I haven‘t seen him in a few years.)

Most of Brown’s best loved songs are on this album -- “My Wife Thinks You’re Dead,” “Highway Patrol,” and “I Hung It Up,” done here as an eight-minute blues jam.

Brown makes a surprisingly effect stab at Tex-Mex music with “uan Charasquado,” aided by Flaco Jimenez on accordion, though my favorite duet here is the sweet stomper “I Want to Live and Love Always,” which he sings with his wife Tanya Rae Brown.

And no Junior album would be complete with a so-dumb-it’s-inspired tune. Here’s we’ve got “Lifeguard Larry,” an original beach-blanket boot-scooter about a lifeguard who loves the mouth-to-mouth.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

POLITICAL TIDBITS

I have to admit, my goat was gotten this week when the Associated Press ran a story -- that ran in about a zillion papers -- about governors switching to hybrid vehicles that started off like this:
When gasoline prices soared after Hurricane Katrina, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson looked at the Lincoln Navigator that ferries him around his home state and thought about the message he was sending.

The large sport utility vehicle doesn't get the best gasoline mileage -- about 15 miles per gallon. So the former U.S. energy secretary decided to switch to a Ford Escape hybrid, which combines gasoline and electric power.
I don't want to blow my own horn, (in fact, my former colleague Ben Neary is responsible for this) but I truly believe it was more likely that Richardson came to this decision not after looking at his Lincoln Navigator, but after looking at my Sept. 22 Roundhouse Round-up:

Gov. Bill Richardson held a press conference at a Santa Fe gas station Tuesday to announce he’s calling a special legislative session. He wants a rebate program for taxpayers to cover higher oil and gas prices.

“The nation is in a continuing energy emergency because we’re over dependent on oil and gas,” the governor told reporters. “It’s a reflection of weak, shortsighted national energy policy.”

Richardson drove to the press conference in a Lincoln Navigator, his preferred ride since he stopped tooling around in a Cadillac Escalade. According to the Web site www.fueleconomy.gov, Lincoln’s behemoth SUV gets about 13 mpg in the city while the Caddy was good for a whopping 14 mpg.

XXXXXXXX

It looks like the push by Richardson and Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman for an early Western presidential primary is gaining some momentum.

Come in Idaho!

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

For my analysis of the recently departed special session, CLICK HERE. (Looks like Monahan and I might have a common "alligator" here.)

WHERE'S PATSY?

Joe Monahan quotes some alligators today saying that Attorney General Patricia Madrid is once again a likely contender to run against incumbent Republican Rep. Heather Wilson for Congress.

This goes along with a story this week in Roll Call, a Washington D.C. paper specializing in coverage of the U.S. Congress, by Josh Kurtz, a Santa Fe Reporter alumn who is now Roll Call's political editor.

Unfortunately you need a subscription to read the whole story.

But here's how it starts out:

"If Democrats fall short in their efforts to recruit New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid into the race against Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) next year, they may have to blame their failure on the political trajectory of the state's governor, Bill Richardson (D).

"In the Land of Enchantment, most Democrats are convinced that if a Democrat retakes the White House in 2008, Richardson will either be the next president, vice president or secretary of state.

"So the question of who serves as his lieutenant governor has become a topic of intense discussion -- something that may explain why Madrid is contemplating running for that post in 2006 instead of for Congress, even though there already is a Democratic incumbent in the No. 2 slot.

"Nevertheless, Democrats in Washington, D.C., are becoming increasingly optimistic that the heavily recruited Madrid ultimately will choose to challenge Wilson. And a key Madrid political lieutenant hints that an announcement could come as soon as this week."
I can't vouch for Josh's claim that most Democrats here think Richardson will be on the national ticket or get a cabinet position in 2008. (Remember, the Democrats have to win for the latter to come true.) But I do think most everybody here believes Richardson will try.

Here's another notable section:

Madrid ... has prided herself on her independence from Richardson, and is the rare Democrat in New Mexico who has not shown complete fealty to the powerful governor. Madrid, in fact, is close to a potential rival to Richardson in the next presidential race, former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), though that is just one source of the tension between her and the governor.

Richardson has been mum on the prospects of a bloody primary fight between Madrid and Denish. But his formidable political team is likely to aid Madrid if she challenges Wilson - in part for the political bounce Richardson would get if he helped knock off a perennial (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) target.

Of course Richardson's formidable political team wasn't enough to carry New Mexico for John Kerry last year ...

The story even mentions the Vigil/Montoya scandal and how it might affect a madrid campaign:

"... Republicans in New Mexico, who are unlikely to find viable challengers to Richardson or Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) next year, now have one new factor going for them: the twin indictments late last month of the current Democratic state treasurer and his predecessor for allegedly taking kickbacks from investment firms seeking to do business with the state. ...

"Roxanne Rivera, a spokeswoman for the New Mexico GOP, said Republicans cannot believe that Madrid did not know about the corruption in the treasurer's office. She predicted that voters would punish Democrats up and down the ballot in 2006.

"This scandal is more far-reaching than anyone realizes," she said.

"But a top Democratic strategist in New Mexico said the party has a ready response for anyone who attempts to tie Vigil's woes to other leading Democrats.

"At the same time you have Vigil, you have Tom DeLay," the strategist said ..."

ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: WHEN WE GET BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
October 13, 2004

Nobody is doubting former Supreme Court Justice Paul Kennedy’s qualifications to serve as special counsel to the legislative panel considering the possible impeachment of indicted state Treasurer Robert Vigil.

But Bob Johnson, director of New Mexico Foundation for Open Government said Kennedy is dead wrong about the state Open Meetings Act.

Earlier this week the House impeachment subcommittee held one session in closed-door executive session — which Johnson said was a violation of the act.

Johnson pointed out that the only situation that allows an executive session is to discuss pending or threatened litigation.

Kennedy told reporters that the pending litigation involved was the federal criminal case against Vigil — which grew even more serious Wednesday when a grand jury brought 19 new extortion counts against him.

When Kennedy’s answer was printed, Johnson called me to explain that the exact wording of that part of the act is, “Meetings subject to the attorney-client privilege pertaining to threatened or pending litigation in which the public body is or may become a participant.”

“Unless the Legislature is going to become part of the criminal case, this is a violation of the Open Meetings Act,” Johnson said.

House Majority Leader Kenny Martinez, D-Grants, a member of the panel, told me Wednesday that any executive sessions will be kept to the minimum.

Another member, Rep. Joe Cervantes, D-Las Cruces told me that not all the panel members support having closed-door meetings.

Anonymous calls: Sinister new implications related to secret testimony in the impeachment proceedings arose last week when I received a call from a guy who didn’t want to give his name but wanted to share some gossip, or “word on the street” about the Vigil case.

I’m not sure which street this came from, but the word there, according to the caller, is that Vigil intends to bring up dirt on lawmakers during any impeachment hearings.

Perhaps this rumor was sparked by the fact that Vigil’s lawyer subpoenaed campaign finance reports from several politicians, including legislators.

But the thought crossed my mind: Could this be the reason for taking Vigil’s deposition outside the view of the public?

Certainly there’s no evidence that this is the reason for all the talk about making all the evidence available to House members — but nobody else.

I’d like to believe Kennedy and panel members when they say their only concerns are tainting potential witnesses and potential jurors in the criminal case.

But if these sessions are held behind closed doors and the testimony kept from reporters and interested public members, that suspicion will be out there.

Philadelphia story: During the impeachment panel’s first meeting last week, Rep. Larry Larranaga, R-Albuquerque, spoke about court documents implicating Vigil in an alleged kickback scheme. “You don’t have to be a Philadelphia lawyer to understand this,” Larranaga said.

The next day, the subcommittee hired Kennedy, who happens to have been born in Philadelphia. A sheepish Larranaga told me that he was just using a figure of speech.

(For new developments in the Treasurer scandal CLICK HERE and HERE.)

One of our 50 (state capitols) is missing: It was surprising to read an article in The Salt Lake City Tribune about Gov. Bill Richardson and Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman’s joint announcement of their proposed early Western-state presidential primary.

“On Tuesday, Utah's Republican and Democratic legislative leaders, chairmen from both major parties and the governor and several staffers flew to Albuquerque for a news conference,” the story said.

I was there. But I could have sworn I was in Santa Fe.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

"THERE'S NO STOPPING PAT ..."


Looks like the special session of the Legislature is about to shut down. I've got way too much to do to pay any attention to music biz press releases. But this is disturbing enough that I have to share in its entirety:

PAT BOONE CELEBRATES HIS 50TH YEAR IN SHOW BUSINESS WITH MULTIPLE-GENRE ALBUM RELEASES PLANNED


Legendary crooner Pat Boone celebrates 50 years in music in 2005 and 2006 with releases planned in multiple genres ranging from country to gospel to R&B to Latin to Celtic. In 2005 alone, Mr. Boone has released and album of patriotic songs, American Glory, a collection of country tunes, Ready to Rock, and a soon-to-be classic gospel album, Glory Train: The Lost Tapes, released in September to qualify for Grammy and Gospel Music Association consideration.

Given his youthful appearance and demeanor, it's hard to believe that Pat first topped the charts back in 1955 with a cover of Fats Domino's "Ain't That A Shame." Over the years, Pat maintained his pop icon status by continually surprising people with his innovative and original take on covers (remember 1997's In a Metal Mood?) and original tunes.

Pat is still knocking 'em dead at radio (and video), as well. The singles "NASCAR Time" and "Thank You, Billy Graham," are accumulating impressive airplay at stations and outlets around the country while his song "Still Waters Run Deep" has been a smash with the 'stepping' crowd in Chicago. "NASCAR Time," the lead track from his upcoming country album, Ready to Rock, is Pat's tribute to America's favorite pastime and all its major racetracks, at which Pat has made several appearances this year alone.

"Thank You, Billy Graham." is a star-studded homage to America's pastor, Billy Graham. The video, which is included with every copy of Pat's gospel album, Glory Train: The Lost Tapes, features contributions from Bono, Leann Rimes, Michael McDonald, Andre Crouch, and tv talk-show host Larry King.

There's no stopping Pat as he rolls into his 51st year of performing. 2006 heralds the release of a love song collection entitled Hopeless Romantic. The ballad-heavy album will feature "Waltz for the Lonely," a song he wrote with guitar great Chet Atkins that includes Atkins' last recorded performance before his death. Hopeless Romantic also includes "You Make My Life a Song", co-written with Paul Williams as Pat's 50th anniversary present to Pat's beloved wife, Shirley. The first single "Still Waters Run Deep" is already a radio hit at AC and Urban formats.

His Spring 2006 release, We Are Family, will be a twist on the Frank Sinatra "Duets" concept featuring covers of R&B classics recorded with their original performers. Included are performances by Smokey Robinson ("Tears of a Clown"), the Four Tops ("I Can't Help Myself"), Kool & the Gang ("Celebration"), KC & the Sunshine Band ("Get Down Tonight"), Sam Moore ("Soul Man"), Sister Sledge (on the title tune), Earth, Wind & Fire ("That's the Way of the World"), Ray Parker Jr. ("A Woman Needs Love") and what Boone calls the piece de resistance, with James Brown doing "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag." Lest he not touch a genre with his talent, Pat also penned a rap song he performs with rap legend, Kool Moe Dee.

Boone's calling this effort "my big finale, a musical fireworks display," and insists he intends to stop touring next year - though he knows better than to say "never." "If something comes up that I need to do after that, of course I can do it," he says. "But I do consider this just a giant thanks and farewell."

Monday, October 10, 2005

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, October 9, 2005
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
I Wanna Hotdog For My Roll by Butterbeans & Susie
Hotdog (Watch Me Eat) by The Detroit Cobras
Stop Breaking Down by The White Stripes
Rich by The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
No Regrets by The Von Bondies
Baby Let Me Take You Home by The Animals
Your Momma by BigUglyGuys
Nutbush City Limits by Nashville Pussy
Hanky Panky by Tommy James & The Shondells

Chariot Wheels by Nancy Apple & Rob McNulty
Tied Up by Cordell Jackson
Red Hot by Sam the Sham & The Pharoahs
Livin' For the City by The Dirtbombs
Captain Kelly's Kitchen by Dropkick Murphys
Mississippi Boll Weevil by North Mississippi Allstars
The Saga of Jesse Jane by Alice Cooper
The Bucket by Kings of Leon
Incense & Peppermints by The Strawberry Alarm Clock

The Chain by Fleetwood Mac
Dreams by Yo La Tengo
What Makes You Think You're the One by Twilight Singers
Silver Spring by Fleetwood Mac
Landslide by Smashing Pumpkins
Tusk by Fleetwood Mac

Laughin' and Clownin' by Sam Cooke
Stranded by Van Morrison
City in the Sky by The Staples Singers
Find Me Now by The Reigning Sound
Star Bodies by The New Pornographers
Won't You Try/Saturday Afternoon by The Jefferson Starship
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

Sunday, October 09, 2005

I DO NOT CRUISE FOR TRANSVESTITES IN AN EXPENSIVE SPORTS CAR

My friend Dana sent me the link to this amazing E-Bay auction.

Indeed, sometimes the stories behind the auction are better than the actual product being auctioned.

(This one's not going to be up for long so you'd better CHECK IT OUT FAST)

Saturday, October 08, 2005

NO OPRY PLAYLIST

As I mentioned earlier, I didn't do The Santa Fe Opry last night. I was being held hostage in this big round building.

I did escape my captors in time to hear most of the show, hosted last night by the ever capable Laurell Reynolds.

She did a great job as usual, though she played a couple of songs that I almost certainly wouldn't have -- "Cook Yer Enchiladas" and "Brother to the Bear" by Steve Terrell. I'm not sure, but this might be the first time "Brother to the Bear" -- based on a story an inmate serving a life sentence told me 20-some years ago -- has ever been played on the radio.

Anywho, you can find what kept me from my radio show -- my recent contributions to the ongoing Robert Vigil saga -- HERE and HERE.

I'll be back at KSFR for Terrell's Sound World 10 p.m. Sunday.

Now go give some money to the KSFR fund drive!

Friday, October 07, 2005

IMPEACHMENT PROCESS STARTS, HANG ON TO YOUR PENS

You can find a lovely photo of me chewing on a pen with my story about the new House panel looking at the possible impeachment of State Treasurer Robert Vigil in today's New Mexican.

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: WHEN COBRAS STRIKE

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
October 7, 2005


Back at the turn of the century (this century) the phrase “garage rock” was thrown around a lot to describe basically any guitar-based, indie-spawned band. Although the label sounded cooler than say “punk” or “alternative,” few of the groups that fell under this umbrella actually sounded like a garage band as I remember them from my misspent youth in the 1960s.

However, one of the neo-garage bands that actually sounds like real garage music is a female-led group The Detroit Cobras whose sex-charged, slightly retro but never campy sound is a high-voltage joy.

Like their previous efforts, The Cobras’ latest CD Baby is full of covers of mostly obscure R&B and ‘60s rock tunes -- and, on this CD, even a gospel tune. It’s a great trick -- pick songs most people haven’t heard and bring them back to life in your own style. Among the songwriters drawn from here are Pops Staples, Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham, Allen Toussaint, Hank Ballard and Bobby Womack.

There is one original song here, though “Hot Dog (Watch Me Eat)” has historical antecedents -- Butterbeans & Susie’s “I Want a Hot Dog For My Roll,” Bessie Smith’s “I Need A Little Sugar In My Bowl" (she also needed a little hot dog for her roll), and Buck Owens’ “Hot Dog.” Still, hearing Rachel Nagy sing, “It takes a lot of dogs to satisfy a girl like me,” makes the whole concept sound fresh, at least for a moment.

Indeed, The Cobras’ greatest asset is front woman Nagy, whose sultry, husky voice sounds like Chrissy Hynde before she became a vegetarian nag. She can sound rough and raunchy, but she can sound sweet in a soulful way, such as her admirable take on Naomi Neville’s “It’s Raining.”

Just about every cut on Baby is a load of fun, from the goofy “My Baby Loves The Secret Agent,” (Those of My Generation have to remember the mid-’60s secret-agent craze) to the intense “I Wanna Holler (But the Town’s Too Small),” which was a minor hit by Gary U.S. Bonds.

And yes, for all the lust in her heart and bedroom in her voice, Nagy sounds fine singing gospel. “You Don’t Knock” is an irrestible stomper.

Two slight quibbles.

“Cha Cha Twist” was included on The Cobra’s early album Mink Rat or Rabbit. The new version on Baby doesn’t add anything.

Secondly, I’m biased because I so love the original version of “Insane Asylum” by Koko Taylor and Willie Dixon. The Cobras do an OK job on the song, but they don’t come anywhere near the original.

Then again, I’m impressed with a band that would event want to cover “Insane Asylum.”

Also Recommended:

*Dirty Diamonds by Alice Cooper. Auntie Alice has been making me laugh for nearly 35 years now. “I’m a killer and I’m a clown,“ he crooned on an early record. I still chuckle when I think of “The Ballad of Dwight Frye,” where Cooper, in the guise of a mental patient sings about stealing toys from his children, working himself into a frenzy until he finally screams, “Don’t touch me!”

Cooper’s latest album isn’t a great one. With the possible exception of the pensive crime-jazz intro to the title song, He doesn’t break any new ground. Cooper seems a little too comfortable in his lite-metal mode, though “Pretty Ballerina” shows he didn’t get the wimp rock out of his system with “Only Women Bleed” all those years ago.

But the jaded old sap can still make me laugh. First time I popped this CD into my car stereo, I chuckled all the way down Cerrillos Road at the “shock-rock Romeo’s” lyrics like, “The first time I saw her, she said she want to date me/The next time I come back she tried to castrate me ...”

Then there’s “The Saga of Jesse Jane” about a cross-dressing truck driver who gets arrested in Texas. “I drive a truck all night long/Listening to Judy Garland songs ... ” It gets worse from there.

In “Perfect,” he mocks a would-be pop star who thinks she sounds great in the shower, but falls apart at the karaoke bar. Then there’s the middle-age angst of the guy whose “heart is pumping bacon” and drinks “enough coffee to wake the dead” in “Your Own Worst Enemy.”

Cooper might not be cutting edge like he was back in the early ’70s. But if you need a good cheap laff, you can still go ask Alice.


*Driftin’by BigUglyGuysThis is pure, visceral, independent Kansas City biker rock. Chief ugly guy Rio DeGennaro is over 60, but he rocks like a crazed teenager. Backed by a basic guitar/bass/drums unit colored by a greasy sax, DeGennaro sings of boozing, biking and lusting for young girls and their moms like a true believer.

Most of the tunes are just plain fun, but the Uglys get serious on a couple of tunes. “Dreamin’ Part 2” is about a soldier in Iraq missing his lover and afraid he won’t come home. Likewise, “Life Blues” is the song of a man who’s separated from his wife and kids. He misses them and he misses the comfort of his childhood home and the love between his parents.

But DeGenero doesn’t dwell on such misery too. Long the album ends with “Yo Beanhead,” a highly-caffeineated ode to a good cuppa joe.

Thursday, October 06, 2005

ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: GOODBYE GAS GUZZLER

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
October 6, 2005


A governor should lead by example, Gov. Bill Richardson told reporters Wednesday. Therefore, in this energy-conscious time in which the high cost of gasoline is on the minds of most citizens, Richardson has decided it’s time to trade in his gas-guzzling sports utility vehicle for something more fuel-efficient.

“We’ve been talking about a hybrid vehicle or a natural-gas vehicle,” Richardson said at a news conference when asked about the SUV he uses for state business.

Two weeks ago, this column pointed out that the governor showed up in his huge Lincoln Navigator — which gets about 13 mpg — for a press conference to talk about the country’s over-dependence on gas and oil.

Richardson’s decision to trade in his Lincoln comes a couple of months after U.S. Rep. Tom Udall bought a Toyota Prius to use in his travels around his northern New Mexico Congressional District.

“He seems to like it a lot,” Udall spokesman Glen Loveland said Wednesday. “It saves a lot on gasoline costs.” The gas-electric hybrid gets 60 mpg in the city, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

“The Prius is for use in New Mexico,” Loveland said. In Washington, D.C. Udall usually walks from his home to the Capitol, Loveland said.

Richardson, however, said he probably won’t buy a Prius. “I’ll stick with American companies,” Richardson said. A spokesman later told the Associated Press that Ricahrdson is considering a Ford Escape, a hybrid SUV that gets about 36 miles per gallon.

Richardson said that state police, who are charged with protecting the governor, will have a say in what type of vehicle he eventually buys. “Security is a concern,” he said.

Beam me up: Don’t call her “Gail Beam” any more. The nine-year state House member announced Wednesday that she has legally changed her name to the one she was given at birth: Gail Chasey. The next part of her name will remain “D-Albuquerque.”

Chasey, a member of the House Judiciary Committee said the fact that she just started law school at the University of New Mexico had something to do with changing her name.

“This is a time of new beginnings for me,” she said in an e-mail “Going to law school has been a longtime goal of mine. I also feel that the time is right for me to reclaim my birth name, Chasey. Making both changes now seemed like an appropriate synergy in my life.”

She said her name changes honors her mother, who worked for many years at UNM, and her father, an Air Force B-29 pilot in World War II, who died earlier this year.
Chasey is married to former state Attorney General David Norvell.

Gavel me down: When Lt. Gov. Diane Denish calls the state Senate to order for the special session today, she will have one less gavel to chose from which to chose for the task.

Denish gave one of her four gavels to Sonya Carrasco-Trujillo, her former deputy chief of staff who recently became acting Santa Fe municipal judge while the state Judicial Standards Commission investigates suspended Judge Fran Gallegos.

Let’s just hope Denish doesn’t need four gavels during the special session.

Remembering the ‘90s gas wars: Last week in this column, Sen. John Grubesic talked about how state lawyers are no match for high-price oil company lawyers — with their “alligator briefcases” and “private jets” — in trying to prove price gouging.

He recalled how as a rookie lawyer for the state Attorney General’s Office was promptly humiliated in court by a small army of Houston lawyers in the early ‘90s.

This was when then-Attorney General Tom Udall was looking into allegations of price fixing by petroleum companies in Santa Fe.

“The industry had strategically filed three separate suits in New Mexico to quash our investigatory subpoenas, and all of them were in oil-and-gas country,” Grubesic said.

Jerry Marshak, an assistant attorney general who was with the office back then, has different memories. The oil companies had filed 35 to 40 cases to stop the attorney general’s subpoenas, Marshak said in an interview last week.

Marshak said he got “roped in” to handle the subpoena cases after Grubesic’s courtroom loss in Carlsbad. Marshak said he convinced the courts to consolidate all the remaining cases, and eventually the courts ruled in his favor.

“The suits and jets lost,” Marshak said.

The battle maybe, but not the war.

While the state got the documents they were seeking, the state never took any legal action concerning gas price fixing.

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

ODE TO BILLIE JOE


The main thing that struck me about last night's Green Day concert was how much the band has grown in pure showmanship since last time I saw them, 11 years ago. Their set at the 1994 Lollapalooza was just a short 45-minute set, and all I remember really is that Billie Joe flashed his weenie (which for a second or two I thought he was going to do last night) and got some white kid with dreadlocks from the audience -- who Billie Joe joked was "the guy from Counting Crows" -- up on stage to dance around.

Back in 1994 they were a rising band with incredible buzz. When I saw them it was just a few days after their performance at Woodstock '94, where they were the most talked-about band. Dookie was a big hit at the time. But I never figured them for much more than a flash in a pan. In early 2004 that assessment would have been correct. But then came American Idiot. I would have loved to have been in the room with the band when they were informed that this album had become a major hit. It must have been like the scene in This Is Spinal Tap where, after a long, frustrating slide Nigil returns to inform them that the group had a big hit record in Japan.

When I talk about showmanship, I'm not talking about the pyrotechnics (which I thought were over used, though the kids loved them) or the funny hats they wore during "King For a Day." I'm not even talking about the pink Easter Bunny who opened the show by dancing to The Village People's "YMCA." I'm talking about stage presence and the way Billie Joe Armstrong engages the crowd.

They don't seem to have lost that crazy energy of the mid '90s (even though they've added a second guitarist, which means Billie Joe doesn't have to carry that load all the time). But they realize they've come way beyond the old punk rock days of small clubs, tiny crowds and sleeping on floors -- and there's no going back.

Among my favorite moments was a shtick where they get audience members to come up to "form a new band," taking over on drums, bass and guitar. Both the drummer and bassist chosen fit right in barely missing a beat. But the first guitarist, a girl who looked like a high schooler, choked terribly. I felt sorry for the poor kid, as apparently did Billie Joe. When the number was over, he called her back on stage and handed her his guitar again. "You keep this," he said. "No go practice!"

I also liked the fact that they covered The Isley Brothers' "Shout," done as a medley with Ben E. King's "Stand By Me" (which they performed with Billie Joe and other band members lying down.) This number included a horn section, which only played on a few tunes. I actually would have liked to have seen more of these guys. There are very few tunes that don't benefit from a good sax.

I still love their old hit "Basket Case." I probably humiliated my son as I sang along with the chorus "Sometimes I give myself the creeps/Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me ..." (Actually Anton looked like he was in Rock 'n' Roll Heaven throughout the whole show. I decided not to embarrass him by asking "You got anything with Herman's Hermits?" when we hit the T-shirt stand.)

But my favorite song was one of which I don't even know the title. It's a wild stomp that has serious Irish overtones. With the piano player/trumpeter playing accordion It almost sounded like a Pogues tune. (If anyone knows the song I'm talking about, please post it in the comments section.)

My only complaint about the whole night is the damned traffic situation. It took us well over an hour to get from I-25 around the Cesar Chavez exit to the parking lot. I've only been to two previous shows at the Clear Channel-operated Journal Pavilion. Neither the Jackson Browne/Steve Earle/Keb Mo show or last year's Styx concert attracted the huge crowd that went to Green Day last night.

We missed the entire opening act Jimmy Eat World. (But I did get to hear Joe Monahan on the radio talking about the Albuquerque city elections. We pulled into a parking space right after Joe and friends announced the results from the very first ballot box reporting.) Supposedly the new road to Journal Pavilion will be ready late next year.

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...