Monday, January 31, 2011

Jamie Leaves Fan Man

Here's some news I never expected to report.

Jamie Lenfesty, who for all practical purposes is Fan Man Productions just sent this email:

To all my friends, colleagues, and supporters of live music in Northern NM;


I am writing you to let you know that today, Monday, Jan 31 is my last day at Fan Man Productions. I am NOT leaving Santa Fe, but I have accepted a position at a non profit here called the Heath Foundation as Director of Heath Concerts. My position there begins tomorrow, Feb. 1.


After nearly 20 years it is time for me to take this opportunity to pursue some of the many ideas I have had to do more for Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico's music scene; to become even more involved in community building, community events and music education. Fan Man had a great run but this move has in many ways been a long time coming as my vision of my role here has matured as to how I want to impact my community. I am truly excited to take all that I have learned and apply it working for Heath


I look forward to hearing from you at Heath Concerts and assure you all there are many exciting developments afoot with this move that will help Santa Fe's music scene grow going forward.

I don't know what this foundation is, but if starts to being good music here, more power to it.

Good luck Jamie.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, January 30, 2011
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

Webcasting!
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org


OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead by Warren Zevon
Bite of My Soul by The Fleshtones
Rip This Joint by The Rolling Stones
Hold Me Tight by The King Khan & BBQ Show
Same Old Train by T-Model Ford & GravelRoad
The Storm Within by Death  
New Kind of Kick by The Cramps
My True Story by The Jive 5

Hey You by Simon Stokes & The Heathen Angels
One Hit Wonder by Texas Terri Bomb
Sugar Snap Brain by Kilimanjaro Yak Attack 
Two Headed Demon by Urban Junior
Tonight Tonight by The Anabolics 
Petey Wheatstraw by Nat Dove & The Devils
Mama, Keep Your Big Mouth Shut by The Pretty Things
Comin' Around the Mountain by Hound Dog Taylor


AROUND THE WORLD IN A DAZE

Kai Tom Yum by Kawaw Siang Thong 
Katarina by Vartinna 
Sét Alamenem by Girma Béyéné 
Break the Spell by Gogol Bordello
Escape From Dragon House by Dengue Fever 
Wodka by Kult 
Lajtha Lassu by A Hawk & A Hacksaw
Pee Kow Pee Ork (Ghosts Come And Go)  by Chai Muansing


Cold Bologna by The Isley Brothers
Flat Foot Flewzy by NRBQ 
You Bug Me Baby by The Marathons 
Vikings by The Black Angels 
I Hear Voices by Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Dear Friend by Eleni Mandell

CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE


FOLK REMEDY PLAYLIST

Sunay, January 30, 2011
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sunday Mountain Time
Guest Host: Steve Terrell substituting for Laurell Reynolds

101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

I Wish I Was in Heaven Sitting Down by Mississippi Fred McDowell
Never Did No Wandering by The Folksmen
Tell it To Me by Grant Brothers & Their Music
Busted by Hazel Dickens
The Gayest Old Dude That's Out by Uncle Dave Macon
Dustbowl Refugees by James Talley
Philadelphia Lawyer by  The Maddox Brothers & Rose
New Year's Flood by Stan Ridgway 
Bufallo Skinners by Woody Guthrie
Fishing Blues by Henry Thomas

A Special Love by Rolf Cahn
Canned Heat Blues by Sloppy Henry
Bootlegger's Blues by The South Memphis String Band
Two Little Fishes by The Rev. Louis Overstreet
I'm the Man Who Rode the Mule Around the World by Loudon Wainwright III 
He Rambled by Charlie Poole
Railroad Bill by Hobart Smith
Hog Of The Forsaken by Michael Hurley

Do You Call That A Buddy by Martin, Bogan & Armstrong
My Crime Blues by Barefoot Bill
Come To The Water by Possessed By Paul James  
Country Blues by Dock Boggs
Find Blind Lemon (Part 2) by Geoff Muldaur
See That My Grave Is Kept Clean by Blind Lemon Jefferson 
Bow Wow Blues by The Allen Brothers 
Port of Amsterdam by Dave Van Ronk

Jug Band Set
Selling the Jelly by Noah Lewis Jug Band
Taint Nobody's Business If I Do by Hammie Nixon, Van Zula Hunt & The Beale Street Jug Band
What's That Taste Like Gravy by King David's Jug Band
Walkin' Cane Blues by The Kentucky Blues Band
She's in the Graveyard Now by Earl McDonald's Original Louisville Jug Band
Feather Bed by Cannon's Jug Stompers
Hoodoo Bash by Unholy Modal Rounders

Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE
Steve Terrell is proud to report to the monthly Freeform American Roots Radio list

Update: Thanks to Melissa for telling me about this documentary. Check out the trailer.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Hey Early Birds -- I'm Subbing For Folk Remedies Sunday

I'll be doing Laurell Reynolds' show Folk Remedies on KSFR starting at 8 a.m. Sunday morning.

Going to be playing a lot of old hillbilly and "race" records, field recordings and other Old Weird America stuff -- plus a few more modern "folkies" who don't make me cringe.

Then at 10 p.m. I'll be back for my usual craziness on Terrell's Sound World.

It's all on KSFR, 101.1 FM

Friday, January 28, 2011

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, January 28, 2011
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org


OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Can't Find the Doorknob by Jimmy & Johnny
Sadie Green by The Great Recession Orchestra
Haggard Like I've Never Been Before by Merle Haggard
Mascara Tears by Marti Brom
High Priced Chick by Yuichi & The Hilltone Boys

(I Want to Be a) Truckdriver's Sweetheart by Marcie Dickerson
Mind Your Own Business by Hank Williams
Get What's Comin' by The Defibulators
Ft. Wayne Zoo by Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
The Baltimore Incident by George Kent

I Don't Want Love by Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks
Hot Dog ! That Made Him Mad by Carolyn Mark & The Roommates
Old Mountain Dew by The Delmore Brothers
Your Friends Think I'm the Devil by The Imperial Rooster
Nashville Radio by Jon Langford
Guns, Guitars and Women by Kell Robertson
Weakness In A Man by Waylon Jennings
Foolish Questions by Johnny Cash

CHARLIE LOUVIN TRIBUTE
Cash on the Barrelhead/Satan is Real by The Louvin Brothers
The Christian Life by The Byrds
The Angels Rejoiced Last Night by Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris
I Don't Feel Like Dancing by Charlie Louvin
I'll Never Go Back by The Louvin Brothers
I Wish You Knew by Kathy Louvin
You Finally Said Something Good (When You Said Goodbye) by Charlie Louvin
Kentucky /Wish It Had Been A Dream by The Louvin Brothers
The Great Atomic Power by Charlie Louvin with Jeff Tweedy
Weapon of Prayer by The Louvin Brothers

Freight Train Boogie by The Louvin Brothers
Knoxville Girl by Angry Johnny & GTO
You're Learning by The Louvin Brothers
Why Must You Throw Dirt on My Face by Elvis Costello
If I Coulde Only Win Your Love by Emmylou Harris
When I Stop Dreaming by Charlie Louvin

CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets


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

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Terrell's Tuneup: Death Takes an Encore

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
January 28, 2011



With its new album, Spiritual Mental Physical, the Detroit proto-punk trio known in the mid-’70s as Death has a sequel to its unlikely debut CD, ... For the Whole World to See — which was postponed for about 35 years.

One of the saddest commentaries on the music of the ’70s is that about the only racially integrated bands that anyone remembers are Frank Zappa’s The Mothers of Invention and the Village People.

For all the great sounds that came out of the Me Decade, the ugly truth was that this was a period of segregation. For the most part, white people played “rock” — and awful singer-songwriter dreck — while black people played soul and funk — disco and rap coming later in the decade.

That’s why, in the early ’80s, a band like The BusBoys was refreshing — though it was telling that many considered the group a novelty. As The BusBoys sang in “Did You See Me”: “Bet you never heard music like this by spades.”

But, of course, there were exceptions. One was a band from Detroit called Death. No, you wouldn’t have heard the group on the radio, at least not back then. “We didn’t fit in at all,” bass player and singer Bobby Hackney said in an interview with NPR last year:

 “The rock bands that we identified with ... we didn’t hang out with those guys. We were in the inner city, on the east side, in the black community. Most of the bands were doing stuff like Al Green; Earth, Wind & Fire; The Isley Brothers. Being in the black community and having a rock band, people just looked at us like we was weird. After we got done with a song, instead of cheering and clapping, people would just be looking at us.” 

Death identified with Michigan groups and performers like The Stooges, The MC5, Alice Cooper (before he went on Hollywood Squares), and Bob Seeger’s groups (before he became “classic rock”).

Death, in its original incarnation, consisted of three Hackney brothers — Bobby, drummer Dannis, and the late David, who played guitar — and was called Rock Fire Funk Express (I have to admit, I like that name better). As Bobby tells it, there was a record company that was interested, but “the man with the big cigar” was put off by the morbid name the group went by at the time. The band refused to sell out and change its name again, so the record deal was off. The group broke up in 1977, and the Hackney brothers moved to Vermont.

But just a year ago, Bobby Hackney Jr. discovered dad’s old demo tapes and got the seven known Death demos released as an album called ... For the Whole World to See, on the Chicago independent label Drag City.

It didn’t become a big hit, but it got a great “underground” buzz. NPR did a feature, and Death was reborn with a new guitarist, Bobbie Duncan. The group played at South by Southwest in Austin last year. I was fortunate enough to see Death in New York last summer at a free show called The Detroit Breakdown. With a poster of David Hackney on the stage, the band was loud, proud, and rocking. (For videos of the show, check this out: CLICK HERE.)

My advice to those who haven’t been touched by Death: Before you get this album, definitely pick up the first. Like ... For the Whole World to See, Spiritual Mental Physical consists of demos. But they’re not as listener-ready as the ones on the first album. These sound more like home practice tapes — muddier, tinnier. Also, there are just more than 28 minutes of music here.

There are a few fun tunes. The album starts off strong with “Views,” a crazy rocker with falsetto vocals. Some songs are clearly derivative. “The Masks” plays upon the hook from The Beatles’ “Got to Get You Into My Life,” while “People Look Away” sounds suspiciously close to the teenage wasteland of The Who’s “Baba O’Reilly.”

There are noodling instrumentals such as “The Change,” as well as three solo spots — “David’s Dream,” “Bobby Bassing It,” and “Dannis on the Motor City Drums.” (Yes, it’s a drum solo. This is from the ’70s, remember.) The group redeems itself with “Can You Give Me a Thrill?” It’s the most Stoogey cut on the album. True, it goes on for nearly six minutes, but what the heck?

I’m pretty sure Drag City has scraped the bottom of the Death vaults by now. So I’m hoping that, for the next album — and I’m hoping there is a next album — the guys do some fresh recordings.

Also recommended:

* Like a Knife Through an Egg by Kilimanjaro Yak Attack. I normally don’t review CDs by kids of my friends or friends of my kids, but I’ve always gotten a real kick out of these young yaks. Even if Oscar Oswald (who sings, plays bass, and writes songs) weren’t the son of my brother in journalism Mark Oswald, I’d still like Yak Attack.


The band’s music is full of noisy punk spirit. But there’s also a clever, quirky undertone. Listening to the rubbery “Knabonga” from the new CD while driving down Cerrillos Road the other night, I almost thought I’d stumbled upon a long-lost song from the early days of The Talking Heads — back before David Byrne started taking himself too seriously.

These guys started out in Santa  Fe, but one of their members now lives in Portland, Oregon, and Oscar’s going to school in Nevada, so they’re scattered throughout the West. I hope they’ll play some gigs here this summer.

Among my favorites here are “Mummy,” which is basically a psychedelic freakout, and “Pocket Calculator,” which has a little Captain Beefheart in it, as well as a little Television.

Then the boys get a little folk-rocky with “Munkar & Nakir.”

I also like the fact that on their MySpace page they described their music as “healing & easy listening.” Yup, this is real “lifestyle” stuff.

(There are songs by Death as well as Kilimanjaro Yak Attack on the latest episode of The Big Enchilada.

New Fleshtones Album Coming -- Free Mp3!

Well, I'll be a dog. Just last Sunday on Terrell's Sound World I was saying saying it's about damn time for a new Fleshtones album, Lo and behold, the station got a news release from Yep Roc records announcing just that. Their upcoming record is called Brooklyn Sound Solution.

The hardest working garage rockers in the U.S., The Fleshtones return with its first long player since 2008’s Stocking Stuffer. Clocking in at just slightly more than 30 minutes, BSS is one part covers record, one part originals all mixed with an R&B chaser. It shows Peter Zaremba (vocals, harmonica and organ), Keith Streng (guitar and vocals), Bill Milhizer (drums and vocals) and Ken Fox (bass and vocals) in fine form, with 12 tracks, including a boozy surf-rock cover of The Beatles’ “Day Tripper,” a psychedelized version of B.B. Arnold’s “I Wish You Would” (made popular by The Yardbirds) and the tripped-out Zaremba-penned “Bite of My Soul.”
Lenny Kaye of The Patti Smith Smith Band sits in on all the tracks. The release date is March 15.

The last non-Christmas record by The Fleshtones was Take a Good Look from early 2008.

Courtesy of Yep-Roc, you can hear "Bite of My Soul" by clicking THIS or download it by clicking THIS.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

R.I.P. Charlie Louvin

Charlie Louvin, who was part of one of country music's greatest duos, The Louvin Brothers, has stopped dreaming. He died early this morning following a long bout with pancreatic cancer. He was 83.

The Louvin Brothers were responsible for so many classic country hits it would be impossible to list them all. Some of my personal favorites were "Cash on the Barrelhead," "When I Stop Dreaming," "Satan is Real," "The Christian Life," and "Must You Throw Dirt in My Face."

Charlie was preceded in death by his brother Ira, who died in a car wreck in 1965.

Charlie's New York Times obit is HERE.

I'll be playing a tribute to him this Friday night on The Santa Fe Opy, 10-midnight Mountain Time on KSFR, 101.1 Santa Fe. The show is webcast live HERE

UPDATE: Here's some videos





Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Crow With the Rooster


The Imperial Rooster is celebrating one year of Roosterhood on February 12 at Red's Steakhouse in Espanola. It's a free show (though I assume the steaks are extra.)

I'll be joining them for a few songs, as will Anthony Leon and Daniel Jaramillo (of Anthony Leon & The Chain) and a band called 40 Miles of Bad Road.

A note to the women: If you see The Devil at Red's Steakhouse that night don't dance with him!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, January 23, 2011
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell


Webcasting!

101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Jesus Built My Hotrod by Ministry with Gibby Haynes
Can You Give Me a Thrill by Death
I Wanna Come Back from the World of LSD by Fe-Fi-Four Plus 2
Fig by Old Time Relijun
Fat Bottom by Scat Rag Boosters
Pocket Calculator by Kilimanjaro Yak Attack

Take A Good Look by The Fleshtones
The Snake by Johnny Rivers
No Puedo Amar by Los Yorks
Cowboy by The Rockin' Guys
Lipstick Frenzy by LoveStruck
Justine by The Mummies
Agnes (The Teenage Russian Spy) by Mike Russo
The Witch by Stud Cole
New Rubbin' On The Darned Old Thing by Lovin' Sam Theard
Who Will Save Rock 'n' Roll by The Dictators

La Tren de la Costa by The Del Morrocos
Let's Get High by Rosco Gordon
Doggin' Me by Little Luther
Louisiana Twist by Junebug Bailey
Hey Thelma by Don & Dewy
I Can Tell by Andre Williams & Green Hornet
Wiggle it Baby by Crook, Jr.
Someone's Knocking on My Door by T-Model Ford & GravelRoad
Georgia Slop by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
I Need Your Lovin' by Wolfman Jack & The Wolfpack

Terrorized by Willie King & The Liberators
Ritzville by Mudhoney
Kkk by The Bus Boys
The Brotherhood by Los Peyotes
Bad Vibrations by The Black Angels
Don't Fuck Around With Love by The Blenders
I Feel Good by The Dirtbombs
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE

Slap Yourself Silly! Here's the New Big Enchilada Podcast!

THE BIG ENCHILADA



This is a busy time of year for me, but I managed to slap together an hour's worth of slap-happy rock 'n' roll for you, the listener. From New Mexico come bands like The Scrams and Kilimanjaro Yak Attack. Some of the bands I've gotten to know from The GaragePunk Hideout are here like Lovestruck, The Manxx and J.J. & The Real Jerks. Plus we take a trip into Indian Country with a segment featuring goofy novelty songs from the '50s and elsewhere, as well as some rocking tunes from Native American artists. You'll have to slap yourself to realize you're not dreaming.

Play it here:


DOWNLOAD | SUBSCRIBE| SUBSCRIBE TO ALL GARAGEPUNK NETWORK PODCASTS

Here's the playlist:
(Background Music: Slap It by Ronnie & His Twangy Little Fellow)
Bitch Slap Attack by Lovestuck
Chimp Necropsy by The Scrams
The Masks by Death
Omega Todd by Kilimanjaro Yak Attack
Cornfed Dames by The Cramps

(Background Music: Taos Pueblo by Impala)
Red Man by Slidin' Clyde Roulette
Indian Rock by The Musical Linn Twins
Big Chief Little Puss by The Olympics
Boppin' Wigwam Willie by Ray Scott
The Radical by Russell Means
Yata Hei by Keely Smith
Millennium Car by Keith Secola & His Wild Band of Indians

(Background Music: Geronimo by Link Wray)
Mustangs and Camaros by Stargunn
Where the Rio de Rosa Flows by '68 Comeback
Broke Yr Spell by The Manxx
Chicken Shack by Hellwood
Seersucker Suit by J.J. & The Real Jerks
(Background Music: Slappin' Rods and Leaky Oil by The Savoys)

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Friday, January 21, 2011

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, January 21, 2011 
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Party mad by The Rev. Horton Heat
Waco Express by The Waco Brothers
Lou's Got The Flu by Roger Miller 
Chug-A-Lug by Mojo Nixon And The World Famous Blue Jays
You're Bound to Look Like a Monkey by The Great Recession Orchestra
Frankie and Johnnie by Jerry Lee Lewis 
Just Rockin' and Rollin' by Ronnie Dawson
Things You Do To Me by Hank Williams III 
Hippie From Misissippi by Rusty Adams
Let's Go Through Menopause Together by Buddy 

Thunderball by Johnny Cash
Meat man by D.M. Bob & The Deficits
Bible, Candle And Skull by The Legendary Shack Shakers
Advice of the Ages by The Imperial Rooster
Lake of Fire by The Meat Puppets 
Mom and Dad Waltz by Tokyo Matsu 
Brother, It's All Lunch Meat to Me by Cornell Hurd
Railroad Shuffle by Jerry J. Nixon

Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly (Fond of Each Other) by Willie Nelson
Down by The Riverside by The Asylum Street Spankers
Wait'll You Get A Whiff Of My Aftershave Lotion by Al Hendrix
Drinkin' Daddy's Beer by Angry Johnny & GTO 
Shakin' the Blues by Robbie & Donna Fulks 
A Fool Such as I by Marti Brom 
Another Brick in the Wall by Luther Wright & The Wrongs 
Mike the Can Man by Joe West
Redbuds by The Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band
A Rejected Television Theme Song by Shooter Jennings 
Defibulator by The Defibulators

Child of the Falling Star by Stephen W. Terrell
Sweet Little Bird by Heavy Trash  
Baby Can I Crawl Back to You by Gurf Morlix 
New Year's Flood by Stan Ridgway 
The Needle by Harry Snyder 
Turn Around by Charlie Louvin
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE

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

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: XXX - It's Not Just For Porn Anymore

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
January 21, 2011



Country-rock singer Shooter Jennings (son of Waylon and Jessi Colter) and Ohio writer Adam Sheets, whom I know through the No Depression website, have come up with a fun little idea that has a lot of people talking — at least in the weirder edges of the online musical communities that I’m part of.
Shooter Jennings

Jennings and Sheets have created what they call a new “genre” for singers and bands whose music falls between the cracks of existing genres. “XXX” is what they call it. It comes from the labels seen on bottles of moonshine — at least, in cartoons. Triple X also a clever jab at the Triple A (Adult Album Alternative) radio format, which has been responsible for deadening spirits across the land for decades.

On his “Give Me My XXX” website, Jennings lambastes modern rock and modern country radio programming. He and Sheets want to create a haven for many of the artists they — and I, and hopefully many of you — love. Sheets recently wrote in his No Depression blog that Jennings had gotten in touch with him because he had decided “the hard-working people of America deserve better than Taylor Swift during their morning commute.”

So who are these “XXX” artists?

Those listed on the website include Hank Williams III, Southern Culture on the Skids, Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band, and Rev. Horton Heat.

There are alt-country titans from the ’90s like Wilco and Whiskeytown; blues artists like T-Model Ford, Ten Foot Polecats, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd; contemporary honky-tonkers such as Wayne Hancock and Dale Watson, psychobillies like Tiger Army; retro soul like Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears; psychedelic rangers like The Black Angels; a smattering of jam band favorites including Gov’t Mule, Robert Randolph, and Yonder Mountain String Band; and Dixie-fried metal like Alabama Thunderpussy.

Several acts I named on my 2010 Top 10 album list are there: Nick Curran & The Lowlifes, Legendary Shack Shakers, Drive-By Truckers, and Ray Wylie Hubbard. And most of the others probably ought to be there.

According to the Saving Country Music website, a handful of artists, besides Jennings, have endorsed the concept. These include Mojo Nixon, Scott H. Biram, Rhett Miller (of the Old 97s), Jason Isbell (former Drive-By Trucker), John Carter Cash (son of Johnny and June), and Riki Rachtman — yes, the former host of MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball.

It’s impossible to not get behind something that promotes so many musicians I like. Even so, I’ve got some quibbles. One is a semantic nitpick. It doesn’t seem that Jennings and Sheets are creating a new genre here.

As one of the participants at a recent “roundtable” podcast at Saving Country Music pointed out, T-Model Ford is still "blues," and Wayne Hancock is still "country." Nobody’s going to stop identifying them as such.

One guy at the roundtable, recalling the “grunge” genre, pointed out that Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden were all categorized as grunge but really didn’t sound much alike. I’d point out that one thing they all had in common was that none of them used the word "grunge" to describe themselves.

Maybe XXX could become a new radio “format.” But that’s pretty iffy, because it would be tough getting commercial radio stations to go along. Station owners tend to be conservative, and this economy isn’t conducive to experimental programming. Sorry to be so pessimistic, but the hardworking people of this land are probably doomed to endure Taylor Swift and the like — if indeed they choose to subject themselves to commercial radio.

The pioneer days of "Americana": I remember the birth of the “Americana” radio format in the ’90s. At first it seemed exciting that a radio station would focus on the music of Merle Haggard, Gram Parsons, Butch Hancock, Dave Alvin, and The Waco Brothers.

But the format never really caught on in the commercial radio world.

Some folks at a panel discussion I attended at the SXSW festival in Austin in the mid-’90s worried that the “Americana” genre might become diluted by including folk singers, singer-songwriters, and others who have little to do with actual country music. In retrospect, that turned out to be the case.

And unfortunately, Americana has evolved into what I call “responsible adult music.” If I get a promo CD of a little-known singer who says, “I play Americana,” nine out of 10 times, I’m in for some lame-ass shit.

As Sheets wrote for the No Depression site, today’s Americana is “being made by and for middle-class liberals ...  the rough edges are being sanded down to make it easier for the politically correct NPR listeners to swallow. This is about embracing those rough edges, bringing country and Southern rock back to its original intended audience who don’t want to hear polished roots music anymore than they want to hear polished Nashville pop.”

Like their brothers in grunge, few if any major Americana stars actually identify themselves as “Americana” artists. But as some in the Saving Country Music roundtable indicated, the label XXX might be problematic also — mainly because of its association with porn.

Where do we take it from here? So what’s going to be accomplished with XXX? Already there’s talk of some kind of XXX festival, probably in Nashville, this summer.

And even if it doesn’t catch on as a genre or radio format, if it encourages music journalists to discover and promote lesser-known gutbucket shouters and encourages independent DJs and podcasters to mix up wild and primitive music in interesting ways, then give me my XXX.

* Check out the  XXX YouTube channel..

Sunday, January 16, 2011

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, January 16, 2011
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

Webcasting!
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Stop That Train by Mother Earth
Views by Death
Rockin' in the Coconut by Barrence Whitfield & the Savages
Treat Her Right by Los Straitjackets with Mark Lindsay
Lizard Hunt by Gas Huffer
Monkey Trick by The Jesus Lizard
Greedy Awful People by The Stooges
Miniskirt Blues by Flower Children 
Rock the Boat by A-Bones 

Work Song by The Animals 
Forbidden Fruit by Oscar Brown Jr.  
My Human Gets Me Blues by Captain Beefheart 
Baby Dragon by Old Time Relijun
Mahkota Kotor by Arrington de Dionyso 
Sharkey's Night by Laurie Anderson
Sister Hell by Thinking Fellers Union Local 282
Worst Record Ever Made by Althea & The Memories

Little Red Rooster by T-Model Ford & GravelRoad
Mad Dog on My Trail by Paul "Wine" Jones 
Dig Me a Hole by Little Freddy King 
Miss Maybelle by Richard Johnston
Goin' Back to the Bridge by Asie Payton 
Come on In by R.L. Burnside 
You Better Run by Junior Kimbrough

You Talk I Listen by Ross Johsnon & Ron Franklin
The Other Side of This Life by Jefferson Airplane 
Frankie & Johnny by Kazik
San Francisco Fan by Cab Calloway
Good Old World (Waltz) by Tom Waits  
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE

Friday, January 14, 2011

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, January 14, 2011
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Dang Good Stuff by Kim Lenz & Her Jaguars
Sally's Got a Wooden Leg by Sons of the West
I'm Little But I'm Loud by Little Jimmy Dickens
Hot Tamale Pete by Bob Skyles & His Skyrockets
I'm the Mail She's Waiting For by Chuck Wood
The Devil, My Conscience & I by Billy Barton 
The Devil Has Thrown Him Down by Sister Rosetta Tharpe
How Cold Hearted Can You Get by Hank Thompson
The Old Man And The River by Johnny Paycheck 
Diggin' Holes by Angry Johnny & GTO 

The Baltimore Incident by George Kent
Jimmy Joe, The Hippybilly Boy by Ed Sanders and the Hemptones 
Out There Aways by The Waco Brothers 
Out of Control by The Last Mile Ramblers 
Storms Never Last by Waylon Jennings & Jessi Colter 
Move Over Buddy by Billy Jack Hale  
Sweet Desert Rose by The Bill Hearne Trio
Please Don't Go Topless Mother by Troy Hess  
30 Mil Libras by El JJ

You Oughta See Grandma Rock by Skeets McDonald
Boppin' Wigwam Willie by Ray Scott
Cherokee Maiden by The Maddox Brothers & Rose 
Mental Cruelty by Buck Owens & Rose Maddox 
Just a Queen for a Day by Wanda Jackson 
Ole Town Drunk by Clark Bentley 
If It Ain't Got Rhythm by The Reverend Horton Heat 
Your Friends Think I'm the Devil by The Imperial Rooster  
Big Legged Mamas is Back in Style by Taj Mahal 
In a Holler Over There by Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band 

I Just Dropped In To Say Goodbye Carl Smith 
The Lord Knows I'm Drinkin' by Cal Smith
Mexican Divorce by Ry Cooder
Cowboy Peyton Place by Doug Sahm
Cold Cold World by Gurf Morlix
Farther Along by Hayseed with Emmylou Harris
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: TALE-DRAGGIN' & NUTHOUSE NURSERY RHYMES

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
January 14, 2011



Junior Kimbrough is dead. R.L. Burnside is dead. Paul “Wine” Jones is dead. Robert Belfour is still alive as far as I know, but he hasn’t recorded anything in nearly a decade. It looks like the last man standing among Fat Possum’s old stable of Mississippi Hill Country blues giants is the mighty James Lewis Carter Ford, better known as T-Model Ford.

He’s about 90 years old, depending on which birth date you believe. He has a pacemaker. He’s had a stroke. But the former truck driver is still on the road, and he’s still recording, as his new album, Taledragger, attests.

Released on the Alive/Natural Sound label — somewhere along the line, Fat Possum ceased to be blues label — Taledragger teams T-Model with a young Seattle blues-rock trio called GravelRoad, which also appeared on T-Model’s previous record, The Ladies’ Man. (I bet The Black Keys would have walked over their grandmothers’ graves to get this gig.) The band is fortified on some tracks by a baritone sax, organ, and piano.

I predict that fans of T-Model’s Fat Possum albums may be a little disappointed with Taledragger. That is based on my own initial reaction to the album. T-Model was able to create more mayhem, aided on most cuts only by his drummer “Spam” (Tommy Lee Miles) on albums like Pee-Wee Get My Gun and You Better Keep Still.

But give it a second listen (and third and fourth). There’s plenty to like about Taledragger.
T-Model with Anton Terrell circa 1999

Guitarist Stefan Zilliloux gets psychedelic on the cover of Howlin’ Wolf’s “How Many More Years.” It reminds me of the basic sound of Muddy Waters’ controversial Electric Mud album all those years ago.

Another highlight is “Comin’ Back Home,” which is based on Hubert Sumlin’s guitar hook on Wolf’s “Smokestack Lightning.” Saxman Brian Olive (also a co-producer of the album) gives the tune noir textures.

It’s the same with whoever is playing the organ on “Someone’s Knocking on My Door.” This song sounds much like the crazy, chaotic version of “Long Distance Call” on The Super Super Blues Band, which featured Muddy, Wolf, and Bo Diddley. (It’s one of my favorite albums of all time.)

And if GravelRoad sounds a little too restrained on some tracks, the group cuts loose on a joyous eight-minute version of “Big-Legged Woman.” (The best version of this one, though, remains Jerry Lee Lewis’ leering romp.)

Many of the songs here are covers, and some are pretty close rewrites of blues standards. For instance “Same Old Train” sounds a lot like “Mystery Train,” even though T-Model starts out calling for his “big-leg woman.” “Red Dress” is basically a mutant cousin of Tommy Tucker’s “High Heel Sneakers.”

I’m not sure who wrote the most moving song on the record — “I Worn My Body for So Long.” T-Model makes it a personal testimony to his age and mortality. He sings it like a lonesome ghost, while the slide guitar evokes images of Mississippi graveyards. It reminds me of Kimbrough’s “Done Got Old.” But T-Model sounds more defiant.

Also recommended:
* In the Nuthouse Now by Angry Johnny & GTO. This allegedly is a children’s album. It’s perfect music for the Children of the Damned.

Angry Johnny, who used to play with a band called The Killbillies, first came to my attention in the ’90s with his album Hankenstein, a work distinguished by featuring not one but two songs about chain-saw murders. There are no chain saws here, but the title character of the song “Wendell” is pretty handy with a garbage disposal.

The Killbillies are apparently gone now. It’s a loss. It was a bashing little band. But one faithful Killbilly crony, GTO, aka Goatis T. Ovenrude, plays mandolin and banjo as well as doing a bizarre falsetto response to Johnny’s calls. (Under his real name, Paul Amos, GTO did the soundtrack to Gimme Skelter, a slasher flick shot in New Mexico a few years ago.)

Nuthouse is full of wicked tales of crazy violence, boozing, and other symptoms of degeneracy. But most of these are from a child’s eye view, so abuse and neglect are big themes.

In “Drinking Daddy’s Beer,” a kid explains, “Mommy’s at the bar and daddy’s in jail/So I’m drinking daddy’s beer so it don’t go stale.” The ditty “Diggin Holes” is about innocent childhood endeavors: “Settin’ snares in the woods, in the woods/Gonna catch me a tiger or a mountain biker.” Most disturbing is “Kittens,” a minor-key “folk” ballad about daddy drowning his son’s kittens — and other household residents.

You know a record is way out there when the most “normal” song on it is a fairly straight take on “Knoxville Girl,” a venerable murder ballad about a guy who kills his girlfriend, who pleads for her life. I’m just waiting for Angry to surprise us and do a “tribute” album of John Denver covers.

                                                              ****
KENNY DELGADO, SANTA FE'S PREMIER MUSIC FAN

Don't forget the benefit for Kenny "Canuto" Delgado Friday night at Milagro. Guitar Shorty, White Buffalo and Y Que will be there.

It was cool that City Councilor Miguel Chavez plugged the benefit at the City Council meeting Wednesday night. Thanks, Miguel.

More info HERE

Sunday, January 09, 2011

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, January 9, 2011
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

Webcasting!
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

This Show Is dedicated to Santa Fe's Number One Music Fan, Kenny "Canuto" Delgado
For Info on next Friday's Benefit for Kenny CLICK THIS 


OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Ways of a Man by Guitar Shorty
Jenny i Read by Concrete Blonde
I'm Now by Mudhoney
La Bamba by The Plugz
Tube Snake Boogie by ZZ Top
Heart Full of Soul by The Yardbirds
Burnin' Inside by King Khan & The Shrines
It's a Sunny Day by The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker



Go Ahead and Burn by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages 
Let's Get a Groove On by Lee Fields
Bitch, I Love You by Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears 
B.O.O.G.A.L.O.O. by The Diplomats of Solid Sound
Jukebox Boogie Woogie Chick by Snookum Russell 
Hot Skillet Mama by Yochanan
You Can't Judge a Book by Bo Diddley
Lonely Lonely Nights by Johnny "Guitar" Watson
Get Your Clothes and Let's Go by Crown Prince Waterford 
Red Dress by T-Model Ford & GravelRoad 

One Tin Soldier by The Dick Nixons
The Ex-President's Waltz by David Massengil
Ohio/Machine Gun by The Isley Brothers
Super Bird/Tricky Dick by Country Joe & The Fish
Something Broken in the Promised Land by Wayne Kramer

Ride On! by Carlos Rodriguez
Moanin' With Your Mama by Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper
Manhole Cover by Kilimanjaro Yak Attack
Fight Fire by The Golliwogs
El Piloto Suicida by Rango y Poder
27 Spanishes by Los Lobos
Lucky Day by Tom Waits
Pleng Yuk Owakard  by The Viking Combo Band
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE

Friday, January 07, 2011

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, January 7, 2011
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Back From the Shadows Again by The Firesign Theatre
Rainbow Stew by Merle Haggard
Sweet Desert Rose by Bill Hearne Trio
We're Gonna Bop by Alvadean Coker 
Some Rowdy Women by Shooter Jennings 
Girl Called Trouble by The Watzloves  
Thin Air by The Defibulators 
Evil Hearted Me by Jody Reynolds 
Let's Have a Party by Nancy Apple
Screamin' Mimi Jeannie by Mickey Hawks 
Comandante Bandido by Los Cuates de Sinaloa 

Quicksand Love by Macy Skipper 
The Widder Up the Street by Buddy
Invitation to the Blues by Roger Miller
Slips by Hymn for Her
Bell Clappin' Mama by Bill Carlisle 
Eatin' Fish and Drinkin' Sterno by The Imperial Rooster 
Grandma's Blues by Dr. West's Medicine Show & Junk Band 
Grandma Jones by Angry Johnny & GTO
Switchblade Sam by Jeff Daniels
Peewee Where Have You Gone? by Ukulele Man 


TWISTED TALES FROM THE VINYL WASTELAND set


Queen of Skid Row by Luke Gibbons
Strong Black Man by Hank Penny
The Love In by Ben Colder
UFO on Farm Road  318 by Sidney Ester
The Martian Band by  Scottie Stoneman
Drunk Drunk Again by Billy Brown
Teddy Bear by Hank Hill
California Hippie Murders by Red River Dave
Ed's Place by Horace Heller



Because I'm Crazy by Kell Robertson
Weakness in a Man by Waylon Jennings
We Come Up Shining by Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez
Hidden Shame by Johnny Cash
Moonlight Midnight by The Coal Porters
If I Could Only Fly by Gurf Morlix
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE

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

Benefit for Kenny



My pal and local music booster Kenny "Canuto" Delgado has done a lot for music in Santa Fe.
In recent years, he's been a member of the Santa Fe Bandstand committee, which brings music to the Plaza every weeknight during the summer.

New Year's Eve 2009!





He's been a contributor to KSFR fund drives. He's pledged money during my shows as well as other music shows he likes.

And most importantly he shows up to concerts and gigs. Even if Stan Ridgway yelled at him once to shut up during a song, Kenny supports music here.

Kenny's been ill lately with cardiac problems. Besides the poor health, there's also crazy medical bills he has to deal with.

Some friends of  his have organized a fundraiser for him. It's going to be 8 p.m. next Friday (January 14) at Milagro.

You'll get your money's worth. Guitar Shorty is the headliner. Also appearing at George Adelo's band White Buffalo and Y Que. It's $20 admission.

Guitar Shorty on New Year's Eve !

RADIO HURRICANE

Al Hurricane, the Godfather of New Mexico Music -- and who was featured in the latest New Mexico Blue Book -- will perform live at Albuquerque's KiMo theater, 8 p.m. Feb. 16.

And if you can't make it to the theater, you can listen to it live on the radio,  KANW 89.1.

You can read my 1998 profile of Al HERE (scroll down)

Thursday, January 06, 2011

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: TWISTED DELIGHTS

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
January 7, 2011


The cover says it all. Right beside a sepia photo of a kid in a cowboy outfit, there’s a list of subjects that are covered on the first volume of a strange series of musical compilations called Twisted Tales From the Vinyl Wastelands: 

“Cowboys. Indians. Prison. Alcohol. Children. Aliens. Midgets!” There’s also a warning: “Singing Children & Other Musical Crimes.”

Yep, my kind of music.

And indeed, in Twisted Tales you’ll find story songs, answer songs to popular hits of the day, and novelty songs. There are topical songs ripped from the headlines of the time and politically incorrect songs — some probably racist, or at least shockingly unenlightened. The tracks are full of sex.

But there are usually tragic consequences attached to lovemaking. It’s the same with liquor and drugs or being a hippie.

Each CD contains about 30 songs. The lion’s share of the artists are obscure — Dude Martin, Duke Mitchell, and Johnny Wildcard. However, there are a smattering of tunes by artists whose names you might recognize: Homer and Jethro, Faron Young, Benny Joy, Lee Hazlewood, and Freddie Hart — Spike Jones even makes an appearance on Volume 7.

Most of the tracks seem to come from the ’50s and ’60s, though some are from the ’70s and beyond.

You can’t find these at most places where CDs are sold. They are not on Amazon or iTunes or even eMusic. There’s no website for Trailer Park Records and no mailing address on the CDs themselves. But you can find them through the magic of eBay or on the British site  No Hits Records. Here’s a look at all eight:

*  Volume 1: Hog Tied & Country Fried. This is a wonderful introduction to the Twisted world. The promised aliens are here, starting with “The Martian Band” by Scottie Stoneman (Martians playing the autoharp?). There’s some sexist joy at the expense of women’s lib in Benny Johnson’s “Burn Your Bra,” while Kirk Hansard visits a “Nudist Colony.” Tommy Scott & Scotty Lee cast out devils with “Exorcism.” Hank Penny examines racism in “The Strong Black  Man” (which owes a debt to Jimmy Dean’s “Big Bad John”).

And yes, there are singing children: Duane Williams, who chirps a weird tune called “The Devil Made Me Do It,” and Bill Moss Jr., who recites “When Teddy Bear Took His Last Ride,” a maudlin answer song to Red Sovine’s even more maudlin truck-driver hit.


*  Volume 2: Demented Rock & Roll. These are long forgotten — if indeed ever known — records from rock’s infanthood. There are singing frogs and dancing pigs and even one for the Alamogordo chimps in “Missile Monkey.” There are also some questionable tunes about people from foreign lands, like “Tokyo Queen” by The Charlie Bop Trio and, even worse, “Chinese Rock ’n’ Roll” by Bobby Gregory. But at least one of the songs about Mexicans, “Pancho Rock,” is done by an actual Mexican American, the great Lalo Guerrero.

* Volume 3: Beatin’ on the Bars. Here we get crime songs and prison laments, a major subgenre of real country music. I’m not sure why executed California murderer Caryl Chessman struck such a chord with country musicians. He’s the title character of a song by a guy called “Country” Johnny Mathis and the inspiration for Jimmy Minor’s “Death Row.” But the most twisted tale here is Horace Heller’s “Ed’s Place,” a first-person confession of a double homicide of passion (“I didn’t mean to kill her. ... But I meant to kill him!”).


*  Volume 4: Hippie in a Blunder.
Hippies had a lot of the country worried in the late ’60s, with all their protesting, long hair, drugs, and love-ins. The title song by Johnny Bucket makes fun of hippies’ appearance and stupidity, but I prefer Smokey Harless’ “A Place for Them Called Hell,” because he’s not just bemused by the longhairs, he’s pig-bitin’ mad.

There are lots of drug songs on this collection — psychedelic cautionary tales, such as ”LSD” by Wendell Austin, and reefer- madness tunes like “Marijuana, the Devil’s Flower” by Johnny Price.

*  Volume 5: Last Kiss of the Drunken Driver. If you’re a fan of “Teen Angel,” “Tell Laura I Love Her,” and all those classic teenage-death songs of the ’50s and early ’60s, this volume is for you. It’s full of fiery car crashes and other tragedies. Most are unintentionally hilarious in their earnestness. But there’s black humor too, such as Jimmy Cross’ “I Want My Baby Back” and Louie Innis’ “Suicide.”


*   Volume 6: Strange Happenings in the Boonies. More from the hillbilly Bizarro World. The aliens are back with “Swamp Gas” by The Space Walkers. “The Devil, My Conscious, and I” by Billy Barton features the craziest devil voice you’ve ever heard. “Sitar-Pickin’ Man” by Bobby Zehm is about a Calcutta cowboy and features an electric sitar.

And “Teddy Bear” is back. There’s a cover of the original Sovine hit by Hank Hill — yes, that Hank Hill — and “Teddy Bear’s Epitaph” by John Texas Rocker. Sovine himself shows up with “The Hero,” a tearful tribute to John Wayne.

*  Volume 7: Elvis Reese’s Peanut Butter & Banana Creme. This one’s all over the place. Al Hendrix sings about his after-shave. Bad impersonators of U.S. Sens. Robert Kennedy and Everett Dirksen sing a duet on Donovan’s “Mellow Yellow.” Wendy Powers makes strange noises on “Auctioneer Lover.” Billy Ledbetter’s “Stealing Hubcaps” sounds like a juvenile-delinquent version of Amos & Andy.

There are more songs with Asian stereotypes here — “Rockin’ China Doll” by Gene Ross, “Japanese Skokiaan” by Spike Jones, and “Cholly Oop,” which is offensive to Chinese people as well as to cavemen.


*  Volume 8: Please Don’t Go Topless, Mother. The title song is by another kiddy singer, Troy Hess. He’s ashamed of his mom’s job as a topless go-go dancer. A singer called Filthy McNasty does “Ice Man,” full of dumb double- entendres. Russ “Big Daddy” Blackwell tells a bad-seed story of a killer kiddy in “The Little Monster.”

But the most disturbing song is Cousin Zeke’s “Lover Man Minus Sex Appeal.” Let’s just say he looses his sex appeal in a surprising way.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Twisted Enchilada: My latest episode of The Big Enchilada podcast includes a 20-minute sampler of songs from Twisted Tales From the Vinyl Wastelands. And I’ll play some Twisted songs Friday night on The Santa Fe Opry, KSFR-FM 101.1, starting at 10 p.m.

When First I Came to MTV

I'm not one for '80s nostalgia. And it's been decades since I actually sat down and watched anything on MTV. (I am aware that there's very little music on the Music Network anymore.)

But back in 1982 or '83, when I first got cable t.v., MTV was brand new and for awhile there I was addicted. I don't know how many hours I spent watching all those weird old videos with my daughter, who was just a toddler then. (The Greg Kihn video below used to scare the crap out of her!)

Most this music seems strange to me nowdays -- all those horrible synths and drum machines. Still, there's something blissfully dumb about that sound that brings back happy memories. I guess that is nostalgia.

I'm not sure what set me off on looking up all those old videos. Maybe it was hearing "White Wedding" on the radio a couple of nights ago. Maybe it was hearing The Floors do Kihn's "The Break Up Song" at Corazon Saturday night. Maybe I was blinded by science and didn't even know it.

Who knows, who cares? Here's my Top 10 Favorite MTV videos of the early '80s






















Monday, January 03, 2011

eMusic January

* New Hope for the Wretched/Metal Priestess by The Plasmatics. I recently rented a DVD of the late Tom Snyder's Tomorrow Show interviews with "punk and New Wave" groups -- which also includes the performances of the bands and musicians, In fact, it includes the entire shows. The Rev. Rex Humbard, the world's first televangelist  was a guest on the show the night that Wendy O. Williams and the boys blew up a car in the NBC studios while performing the song "Masterplan.". The good Rev.was surprisingly mellow about the band. Less tolerant preachers would have condemned them as porn-rock demons from Hell.

And, oh yeah, they played music -- basically a metal edged punk rock -- or punk-edged metal. Undoubtedly they were more impressive live -- with all their explosives and chainsaws and Wendy wearing nothing on her breasts but band-aids, etc.-- than in the studio.

Still, The Plasmatics are a lot of fun on record.   I like "Monkey Suit," which reminds me a little of "The Electric Prunes' "Get Me to the World on Time" and "Black Leather Monster." And this album, which includes their 1980 album and a 1981 EP (Metal Priestess)  includes several live tracks, including "Sex Junkie," "Squirm" and "Masterplan," which unfortunately isn't the Tomorrow Show version.

* '50s Rockabilly Hellraisers. Here's another impressive rockabilly obscurities bargain from a mysterious re-issue label called Rock-A-Billy. Just a few months ago, I got another one from eMusic -- 1950s Rock N' Roll & Rockabilly Rare Masters.

That one had 56 tracks. Hellraisers has 70, for a mere $5.99. Sure, I already had a handful of these, but still, what a bargain!

Some of my favorites here include "Switchblade Sam" by Jeff Daniels, which tells a tale tale involving Stagger Lee and Charlie Brown (The Coasters' hero not the Peanuts character. I assume); "Boppin' Wig Wam Willie" by Ray Scott (Are these cartoonish  1950s depictions of Native Americans actually racist or innocent fun. Talk amongst yourselves); "Move Over Buddy," a space travel novelty by Billy Jack Hale a no-wonder-you-never-hear-this-on-the-radio rocker, "Quicksand Love" by Macy Skipper, which features the immortal line, "I'm like an elevator, I'm goin' down all the time." YIKES!

There also are hree tunes by Mississippi rockabilly Andy Anderson, who lived a few years in New Mexico, including "Johnny Valentine," "Tough Tough, Tough," and "You Shake Me Up."



* The 31 tracks I didn't get last month from  A Night On The Town With The Rat Pack. The sound quality's not great, but that's easily overlooked by pure entertainment quality

Back when I was a kid in the '60s, I considered music like this to be somewhat of a guilty pleasure. This was your parent's music. So here's a lesson for today's youth: Wipe your nose, junior. Your parents probably are a lot hipper than you thought.


Plus:

* Nine tracks from Cameo Parkway 1957-1967. I heard The Dovells' "You Can't Sit Down" for the first time in years in a supermarket a few days ago and I was shocked and ashamed that it wasn't in my collection. I looked it up on eMusic and found this four-disc treasure trove.

Cameo-Parkway was a Philadelphia label best known for hitmakers Bobby Rydell and Chubby Checker -- neither of whom I'm particularly wild about. But they also were home to Dee Dee Sharpe and The Orlons, two acts that twisted my head off as a youngster. In fact, in the early '60s, before Motown dominated the soul-pop market, Cameo-Parkway was the true "sound of young America." (And by the mid '60s, it also was the home to ? & The Mysterians -- though I already have all three of the songs on this collection.)

The Orlons always created a musical party that sounded like a lot more fun than most parties I've ever been to. "So Much in Love" by The Tymes still is one of of the most soulful doo-wop songs I've ever heard. And Dee Dee's "Gravy on My Mashed Potatoes" sounds as if it's based on a double entendre that I still can't quite figure out.

Among the other tunes I picked up are selections by Screamin' Lord Sutch ("She's Fallen in Love With the Monster Man"), Johnny Maestro ("I'll Be True," apparently from that period between The Crests and The Brooklyn Bridge) and Don Covay ("The Popeye Waddle," apparently a dance craze that never quite caught on.) And there's a great R&B version of Hank Williams' "Hey Good Lookin'" by a group called Billy Abbott & The Jewels. I'll be coming back for more here.

* Three tracks from Soundway Records Presents The Sound of Siam : Leftfield Luk Thung, Jazz and Molam from Thailand 1964 - 1975. I'll write in detail about this next month when I pick up the rest of the tracks. Let's just say for now that this is a step or two beyond the wild and wonderful Thai Beat a Go-Go series, two volumes of which I downloaded on eMusic years ago. And, judging from what I've heard, it's worthy of Soundway's collections of African funk and psychedelia I've loved in recent years.

And for the holidaze ...

* "Christmas in Las Vegas" and "Jingle Bells" by Richard Cheese. (Both from Silent Nightclub) and "Christmas Lights" by Wild Billy Childish & The Musicians of the British Empire (from Christmas 1979 I'm slowly acquiring the whole album.)

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...