Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Sun Arise!

If anyone was ever dumb enough to put me in charge of a radio station, I would mandate that every morning at sunrise we'd have to play this song.






"Sun Arise" appeared on Alice's greatest album Love it to Death in 1971, (following the creepy classic "The Ballad of Dwight Fry.") I actually like the album version best, but I couldn't resist posting this grainy, 40-year-old footage that gives the song a proper primordial feel.

The song was written by Australian novelty singer Rolf Harris, (most famous for "Tie Me Kangaroo Down"), but it's based on Aboriginal music.

(I used to have the album pictured below)



I can't help but think that everyone's day would go a little better if it started off with this song.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

An International Incident Waiting to Happen: A New Big Enchilada




All aboard the Big Enchilada, where this month, to borrow a phrase from the Three Stooges, we're going Around the World in a Daze, a whirlwind tour of the world's garages. It's an international incident waiting to happen.



Here's the playlist:

(Background Music: Sueno Sicodelico by Los Holys (Peru) )
We Rise Again by Gogol Bordello (Multi-national)
Yom Pha Barn Norn Pahwaa (Satan's Nightmare) by Paiboon (Thailand)
Bashana Haba'ah by Yidcore (Australia)
We're Laughing by The Psychedelic Aliens (Ghana)
Ljubav Kraj Izvora by 3 Mustaphas 3 (England)
Miedo by Los Explosivos (Mexico)
(Background Music: (On the Road Again by Istanbul Blues Kumpanyasi (Turkey) )


Los Nuggetz Set  
(All the songs in this set are from the new Rock Beat Records box set  Los Nuggetz: '60s Garage & Psych From Latin America, available on disc or download at all the usual places)

Bule Bule from Los Shains (Peru)
Me Reire by Los Shakers (Spain)
Colours by Kaleidoscope (Dominican Republic)
I Wanna Go by Los Mockers (Uruguay)
Peace of Mind by La Vida (Mexico)
Més Enllà (Milkcow Blues) by Els Xocs (Spain)
Te Olvidare by The Speakers (Columbia)

(Background Music: Juzno-Moravsko Kolo by Aca Novkovic Orchestra)
Fayt by Cankisou (Czech Republic)
Wait for Me by Roger Damawuzan (Benin or Togo)
Pissed Off by The Rodeo Carburettor (Japan)
Bye Bye by The Friends (Sweden)
Fever Fever Fever by Kult (Poland)

Play it here:




You like this international intrigue? Here's a link to my first Around the World in a Daze podcast, back in 2009. I also did a set of "Around the World in a Daze" on More Freeform Weirdo Podcasting. There's a set of Japanese punk and garage music on Forbidden Cavern Fandango and a set of African psychedelic rock on Felonious Funhouse.

Sunday, July 28, 2013

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

T
Terrell's Sound World Facebook BannerSunday, July 28, 2013 
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(at)ksfr.org

 OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Julie Oulie by Peach Kelli Pop
Hey Sailor by Detroit Cobras
The Return of Jackie and Judy by Tom Waits
69 Faces of Love by King Khan & The Shrines
Too Much Paranoias by Devo
White Collar Worker by The Mobbs
Devotion by Mission of Burma
Voices from the Inner Soul by The Confusions
Better Be Women by The Dwarves
Idle in Kangaroo Court by The Clash

Troubled Mind by The Buff Medways
Big Bad John by Big John Hamilton
Black Beard by The Universals
Bread by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
Rouse Yourself by JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound
We Rise Again by Gogol Bordello
Jimmy Collins' Wake by The Dropkick Murpheys
To Hell With the King by Black Irish Texas

Rock en Espanol Set: Los Nuggetz and Beyond
Colors by Kaliedoscope 
Hombre Secretor by The Plugz
I Wanna Go by Los Mockers
Garage o Morte by Los Peyotes
Este Bien Mamacita by El Vez
Puto by Davila 666
96 Lagrimas by Los Shains
El Microscopo Bikini by Los Straitjackets with Cesar Rosas
Volver Volver by Piñata Protest
Baby Doll by Horror Deluxe
Pronto un Doctor by Los Yorks

I Like the Things About Me by Mavis Staples
Just to Touch Her Cheek by Johnny Dowd
I Want You Back by The Plimsouls
Pirates by Pietra Wexstun & Hecate's Angels
Fayt by Cankisou
What Have My Chickens Done Now by The Residents
99 Luftbaloons by Richard Cheese
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

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Friday, July 26, 2013

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

P
Santa Fe Opry Facebook BannerFriday, July 26, 2013 
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM 
Webcasting! 
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time 
Host: Steve Terrell 
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
 OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Gone at Last by Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
When You're Hot You're Hot by Jerry Reed
Mama was a Trainwreck by Karen Hudson
In the Jailhouse by The Grievous Angels 
Raise the Moon by The Goddamn Gallows
Alcohol and Drugs by Anthony Leon & The Chain
Honky Tonk Swing by Bill Monroe
The Ballad of Charles Whitman by Kinky Friedman & The Texas Jewboys
Blazing Trailer of Love by Neil Mooney

Down in Mississippi by Ry Cooder
Jambalaya by Jerry Lee Lewis
I'm Ready If You're Willing by Mimi Roman
Hell Cat by Two Tons of Steel
Friday Night by Two Ton Strap
You Get to be My Age by Eddie Spaghetti 
I've Done It All my Merle Haggard
Your Wild Life's Gonna Get You Down by Carol S. Johnson
Lonesome Train on a Lonesome Track by Robert Gordon

Cajun Stripper by Doug Kershaw
Rocky Mountain Honky Tonk by Halden Wofford
Old McDonald Sold the Farm by Mark Newton & Steve Thomas
Blood in My Eyes by Rod Balch
Gypsy Davy by Eric Hisaw
Don't Get Above Your Raising by Ricky Skaggs with Elvis Costello
Don't Fall in Love With a Girl Like That by The Boxcars
Say You Love Me by Earl Poole Ball

Storms Never Last by Waylon Jennings & Jessi Colter
Old Faded Memory by Rachel Brooke with Lonesome Wyatt 
Don't Touch Me by Eleni Mandell 
I Believe in You by Don Williams
Softly and Tenderly by Hank Williams
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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Thursday, July 25, 2013

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: Viva Los Nuggetz!




A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 
July 26, 2013

At the same time that Hispanic Americans like Sam the Sham, Question Mark & The Mysterians, Cannibal & The Headhunters, Thee Midniters and – of course, Carlos Santana were making their individual marks on what later would be known as "garage rock," there were bands in Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and other Spanish-speaking lands who also got the rock ‘n’ roll juju.

Although groups like Los Pets (Venezuela), Los Ovnis (Mexico), Los Holys (Peru) and Kaleidoscope (Dominican Republic) never got well known far beyond their native regions, they rocked with abandoned.

And now, more than 40 years after most these bands hung it up, we can appreciate them here in the U.S. thanks to on a new four-disc 100-plus track collection from Rock Beat Records, Los Nuggetz: '60s Garage & Psych From Latin America. This compilation is a bonanza of rock en Espanol (and stray song or two in Portugese.)

And Los Nuggetz even has Spanish-language covers of Mexican-American garage classics like Sam the Sham’s “Wooly Bully” and Question Mark’s “96 Tears” (appearing here as “Bule Bule,” and “96 Lagrimas,” both by the Peruvian band Los Shains).

Some historical context: The basic story of 1960s rock 'n' roll is that British kids got fired up up on American blues, R&B and first generation rock 'n' roll and thus created the British Invasion bands we know and love. Americans reacted by forming unknown numbers of new bands, and thus was born garage-rock psychedelic music, proto-metal, proto-punk, etc.

And all of this spread across the world as rockers virtually everywhere adapted, mimicked and put their own stamp on the popular music coming out of the U.S. and the U.K. Many don’t realize how popular this decadent Western music was in unexpected corners of the world. And unless you're a fanatical record collector, chances are you've never heard or even heard of many 1960s rock 'n' roll groups from non-English-speaking nations.

In recent years there have been some CD compilations that have attempted to document garage rock and other raw pop sounds from around the world. In 2001 Rhino released a 4-disc collection called Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964-1969 -- though the lion’s share of these were from the United Kingdom and nearly all the songs were in English.

Then, to get a little obscure, there was the 11-volume World Beaters series, which sprang up early this century on a mysterious label called Krazy World. Now out of print, World Beaters featured garage rock from all over the world. Even Papua New Guinea was represented. It was the World Beaters CDs that first got me acquainted with Los Shakers, Los Shains, and Los Salvajes, who now appear on Los Nuggetz.

Geographical grumble: Despite the subtitle, a big number of the songs on Los Nuggrtz   technically are not from Latin America. Many are by groups from Spain, which isn’t part of America, Latin or otherwise.

But in the long run who cares? " Me Reire" by Los Shakers (not to be confused with the Argentine Los Shakers, also on Los Nuggetz), a song that sounds like a mutation of Them's "Mystic Eyes," as well as Los Salvajes' covers of "Paint it Black" and "19th Nervous Breakdown" are among the highlights of this collection, so I’ll just shut up about that.

Compiled by James Austin, a former producer at Rhino Records (remember back when Rhino was the coolest name in music reissues?), Los Nuggetz includes many tracks that have never seen reissue. And it comes in a very attractive package -- a 70-page full-color hardcover book featuring the images of a psychedelic skull sharing smoke with an Indian as well as a masked luchador!) And there are extensive liner notes by Randall Wood detailing each and every song.

But the music, of course, is the main draw. It’s definitely not as polished as the recordings of the American and British bands that inspired these groups. But most the tracks here capture the raw enthusiasm of the Nuggetz musicians – many of the players being teenagers when they went into the studio.

Many of the songs on this collection present a virtual alternate reality of ‘60s pop. You don’t have to speak Spanish to recognize a huge number of the songs here. There’s a plethora of covers made famous by rock and soul icons like James Brown, The Beatles, The Kinks, The Four Tops (not one, but two versions of “Reach Out, I’ll Be There”) and The Doors.

One of my favorite covers here is “See See Rider,” done by Los Pops (Spain) in an arrangement based on the version by The Animals. There are Spanish remakes of hits of the day including Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots are Made for Walking” (by Gloria Benevides of Chile); The Rivieras’ “California Sun,” reworked as “Tijuana Sun” by Javier Batiz & The Fabulous Finks; and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown’s “Fire,” as done by Los Sirex from Spain.

Los Nuggetz also features covers of classic garage hits like The Trogg’s “Wild Thing,” sung by Juan “El Matematico” Garza from Mexico under the title “Loco de Patina el Coco); Them’s “Gloria” performed by Columbia’s Los Young Beats; and a ferocious take on The Leaves’ “Hey Joe,” by Los Locos del Ritmo, (Mexico).

While covers dominate this album, among my favorites are originals. The best are “El Psicodelico” by Los Yorks of Peru, the even-more psychedelic “Colours by Kaleidoscope, and the Joe Meek/13th Floor Elevators-influenced instrumental “Sueno Sicodelico” by Los Holys.

While most, if not all of these bands broke up decades ago, there’s plenty of noise still rocking the garages of Latin America. If you like Los Nuggetz, I suggest you check out contemporary groups like Los Peyotes from Argentina, Los Vigilantes from Puerto Rico, Horror Deluxe from Brazil, Los Explosivos from Mexico – as well as Spanish bands like Wau y Los Arrrghs!!! and The Hollywood Sinners.

Here's a couple of songs from Los Nuggetz:




Friday, July 19, 2013

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST


Santa Fe Opry Facebook BannerFriday, July 19, 2013 
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM 
Webcasting! 
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time 
Host: Steve Terrell 
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
 OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Cover of the Rolling Stone by Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show
You Bet I Kissed Him by Myrna Lorrie
Rainbow Stew by Jason Ringenberg
Don't Want Me Too by James Hand
Museum of Love by The Meat Purveyors
Cowboy in Flames by the Waco Brothers
Pool Cue by Two Tons of Steel
Bullfrog Blues by Legendary Shack Shakers
You Make Me Feel More Like a Man by Mel Street

The Devil's at Red's by Anthony Leon & The Chain
Two Whoops and a Holler by Jean Shepard
Dreams of Clay by Dwight Yoakam
Act Like a Married Man by Robbie Fulks
Pretty Boy Floyd  by Halden Wofford & The Hi-Beams
Hey Joe by Carl Smith
Too Much Month at the End of the Money by Marty Stuart with Merle Haggard
California Hippie Murders by Red River Dave
I'm Movin' On by Charlie Feathers

Pass the Bottle by Black Eyed Vermillion
Dixie Fried by Carl Perkins 
Jesus in the Waiting Room by The Goddamn Gallows
Naco Jail by Mose McCormack
Cluck Old Hen by Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs
God Loves the Hickoids by The Grannies
Cowboys are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other by Willie Nelson
Big River by Earl Poole Ball
(Say) You're My Girl by Roy Orbison

One Tear Drop at a Time by Wanda Jackson
You Always Come Back to Hurting Me by Johnny Rodriguez
A Drunk Can't Be A Man by George Jones
House of Earth by Lucinda Williams
There's a Bright Side Somewhere by Ry Cooder
Shenandoah by Tom Waits & Keith Richard
Georgia Peach by Don Rich
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

All background music during my yacking tonight are from the newly released CDs That Fiddlin' Man by Don Rich and The Buckaroos Play Buck and Merle.

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TERRELL'S Tuneup: Fully-Loaded Country Rock

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 
July 19, 2013

There’s an old New Mexico legend about a bar and restaurant in Española that’s been closed for a couple of years or so. According to the tale, which has been told for decades, the devil himself was once spotted at Red’s Steakhouse dancing with an unsuspecting lass during Lent.

Satan reappears at Red’s in a song on Hell to Pay, the new album by country rockers Anthony Leon & The Chain. Actually, the first time I heard “The Devil’s at Red’s” was at a gig Leon did a few years ago with The Imperial Rooster at (you guessed it) Red’s Steakhouse. It became an instant favorite of mine.

But Leon’s song — which doesn’t identify Española as the location — isn’t about a poor girl who is shocked when she learns the true identity of the mysterious stranger with whom she shares a sinful Holy Season dance. It’s about an instant of insane jealous rage.

“Well, Mario pulled his gun, he had shot everyone/And there was Evangeline on the floor./Well, the devil said son, you can’t undo what you have done/And he smiled and walked right out the door.”

Indeed, Hell to Pay is not for the gun-shy. With several songs dealing with pistol-packing antiheroes, it’s almost like a more rocking version of Marty Robbins’ Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs.

“And I live with a six-gun by my side just trying to stay alive,” Leon sings in the song “Down in Lonely.” The narrator is a guy who flees a bad love after his woman pulls a gun on him, telling him, “You’re better off dead than alive.”

And “Aim to Please,” which has an equally pretty melody, starts out, “Hold me only ’fore I run/Baby, I got a gun/Walk away slowly, now run/Baby. I got a gun.”

“How the West Was Won” also deals with firearms. “Now there are laws in this town about where a man can hang around/And what he can and cannot do with his gun,” Leon starts out, speaking rather than singing. Naturally, the story is about an ill-fated caper.

No, the music doesn’t sound like the soundtrack of that 1962 Western with the same name, but it does have an epic feel. It’s got a nice long introduction with some fine heavy-handed jungle drums by Daniel Jaramillo. Later some harmonica by Freddy Lopez that sounds like an organ adds subtle drama to the sound.

And “The Sinner” also has an Old West feel. Leon sings, “Well I made my way with a six-gun and I made my way with an ace.” The guy’s in trouble and has to leave a wife and children behind. It’s not exactly clear what’s befallen him, but it’s apparent that he’s in a tight spot he can’t shoot his way out of.

Not all the songs on Hell to Pay earn a 100-percent NRA rating. There’s “Alcohol and Drugs,” long a favorite at The Chain’s live gigs. “Alcohol and drugs have kept me alive, when life was empty and I felt like I was dyin’,” Leon sings.

And after all this alcohol, tobacco, and firearms, the album ends with a rousing cover of Hank Williams’ “I Saw the Light,” played with a souped-up Johnny Cash-style chunka-chunka beat. (This track has harmonica man Lopez’s finest solo on the album.)

Leon and the band play at 8 p.m. Friday, July 19, at Taos Mesa Brewery (20 ABC Mesa Road, El Prado, 575-758-1900, $5 cover) and at 10 p.m. Saturday, July 20, at the Palace Restaurant and Saloon (142 W. Palace Ave., 428-0690, $5 cover).

These concerts and a Santa Fe Bandstand show last Tuesday are billed as the group’s “Final Showdown.” I hope this isn’t true. After hearing this fine album, I think Leon and the boys have a few shots left in them.


Also recommended:

* Unraveled by Two Tons of Steel. Unlike Anthony Leon’s most recent album, this new record by this San Antonio band has no gun songs.

But my favorite tune here is in fact about a weapon — the pool cue, which they call “the great equalizer/For the long-neck Budweiser wielded by some drunken fool … A long-range headbanger/A wild redneck tamer.”

The first song I ever heard by Two Tons of Steel, probably at least 10 years ago, was their honky-tonk cover of “I Wanna Be Sedated.” They did it in a way that both country fans and Ramones fans could get behind. (And I felt somewhat justified because years and years before, I once made an admittedly oddball comparison of Joey and the boys with Buck Owens & The Buckaroos.)

There’s nothing quite as remarkable as “I Wanna Be Sedated” on this album, but, as evidenced by “Pool Cue,” there are plenty of good-time country-rock tunes.

Unraveled was produced by Lubbock ace Lloyd Maines. One of the best tunes is “Hellcat,” a bluesy, boozy tom-tom-heavy romp about a woman who walks like a woman but fights like a man. Another is “Crazy Heart,” a simple but catchy country love song.

And there are a couple of good covers here. “One More Time” was written by Texas soul rocker Roy Head (“Treat Her Right” was his big hit), though I know this song mainly through Joe “King” Carrasco’s version from the early ’80s.

Two Tons also does an excellent take on “Busted,” written by Harlan Howard and covered by Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, and probably thousands of others. Here the band plays with the melody, throwing in some minor chords and making it their own.

UPDATE 7/21/13: I corrected the above text to clarify that there is no organ in Anthony Leon's "How the West Was Won." That was Freddy Lopez making his harmonica sound like an organ.

Enjoy some videos:







Tuesday, July 16, 2013

R.I.P. T-Model Ford

Mr. Ford with my son Anton August 1999
T-Model Ford died today. His age isn't certain. The Associated Press is reporting estimates between 89 and 93.

He played Santa Fe several times beginning in the mid '90s, including at least twice at The Thirsty Ear Festival.

Once back in the '90s he played with his drummer Spam at a backyard barbecue hosted by my friend Scott. After a couple of hours some neighbors, who somehow didn't appreciate authentic Mississippi blues on a hot summer's night -- called the police. We took the party inside, but not long after, the police were back again.

Some people ...

Here's my favorite part of the AP obit:


Ford had six wives and 26 children, (friend Roger) Stolle said. When Ford’s fifth wife left him, she gave him a guitar as a parting gift.

“He stayed up all night drinking white whiskey,” or moonshine, “and playing the guitar,” Stolle said. “He kind of went on from there.”

I hope they have a big rowdy funeral for him. And I hope nobody calls the cops.

Here's my review of his album Taledragger, which he recorded with the band GravelRoad.

And here's some videos of T-Model in action:





Monday, July 15, 2013

BAD CRAZINESS: Chambers Brother Attacked After Trayvon Remark

Lester Chambers, of the The Chambers Brothers was physically attacked by a woman at show in Hayward, Calif. Saturday night after he dedicated a song to the late Trayvon Martin.
Photo posted on Facebook by Chambers' son

Police arrested 43-year-old Dinalynn Andrews Potter of Barstow, who, witnesses yelled, "It's all your fault!" after Chambers dedicated the song "People Get Ready" to Martin. Andrews Potter allegedly jumped on the stage and shoved the 73-year-old Chambers. 

According to The Contra Costa Times:

Chambers was performing at the Hayward Russell City Blues Festival downtown when around 5:15 p.m. he dedicated Curtis Mayfield's hit "People Get Ready" to Martin, the 17-year-old shot and killed by George Zimmerman. 
A Florida jury acquitted Zimmerman on all charges Saturday. 
Chambers told the audience if Mayfield were around today, he'd change the lyrics "there's a train a comin'" to "there's a change a comin,'" his wife Lola Chambers told this newspaper Sunday.
Eyewitnesses and Hayward police said people on stage subdued Andrews Potter after she allegedly shoved Chambers. Though the police investigation into a motive continues, family members believe the attack was racially motivated and was a result of Chambers' mention of Martin. The family is pressing police to file hate crime charges.

Chambers, 73, was treated and released. "His son said Chambers had a `bruised rib muscle and nerve damage and he is sore all over.'," the newspaper said.

"People Get Ready," written by the late Curtis Mayfield, was a hit for Mayfield's group The Impressions in the mid '60s. But The Chambers Brothers also did a great version. Here's a live recording.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

O
Terrell's Sound World Facebook BannerSunday, July 14, 2013 
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(at)ksfr.org

 OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
One Track Mind by Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers
Dance Like a Monkey by New York Dolls
Teenage Maniac by The Spook Lights
The Devil Writhed in by The Mobbs
Rats in My Kitchen by The Fleshtones 
Shoot it Up, Baby Doll by The Terrorists
The Snake by Johnny Rivers
Oh No/Orange County Lumber Truck by The Mothers of Invention
Heart Attack and Vine by Tom Waits
El Dedo by El Compa Chuey

Good Night for a Heart Attack by Nashville Pussy
I Got a Right by Iggy Pop
Use It or Lose It by The Deadly Vibes
Jesus Christ Twist by Rev. Beat-Man
Crazy Country Hop by Johnny Otis
Saved by Lavern Baker

Intro/Vato Perron by Piñata Protest
The Boys Are Back by Dropkick Murphys
Hu Hayoshev  by Yidcore
Malandrino by Gogol Bordello
Who Stole the Kishka by The Polkaholics
If I Should Fall From the Grace of God by The Pogues
Looking for a Girl by Stinky Lou & The Goon Mat
Buke e Kripe ne VaterTone / Kalaxhojne by 3 Mustaphas 3
Horse Thief by Kulture Shock
La Cucaracha by Piñata Protest

Demon in Here by Fishbone
Whiskey Ghost by Buddy Guy
Wonderful Girl by Jack Mack & The Heart Attack
When the Boys Come Out to Play by Pietra Wexstun & Hecate's Angels
Johnny Mathis' Feet by American Music Club
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

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Friday, July 12, 2013

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST


Santa Fe Opry Facebook BannerFriday, July 12, 2013 
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM 
Webcasting! 
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time 
Host: Steve Terrell 
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
I'm Walking the Dog by Webb Pierce
Road to Ruin by Anthony Leon  & The Chain
No Way Pedro by Van Morrison & Linda Gail Lewis
Baby Baby Don't Tell Me That by James Hand
Thanks a Lot by Lucky Tubb & The Modern Day Troubadors
Busted by Two Tons of Steel
Uppers by Two Ton Strap
Alligator Man by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Old Dan Tucker by Bruce Springsteen

Life, Love, Death and The Meter Man by Angry Johnny & The Killbillies
Gorgeous George by Ronny Elliott
Be Not Afraid by The Dirt Daubers
Too Many Snakes by Trailer Bride
Stump Grinder by Sanctified Grumblers
Pigsville by The Waco Brothers
Old Devils by Jon Langford
Hillbilly Town by Mose McCormack

Nature of the Beast by The Goddamn Gallows
Shadow Fallin' Down My Face by The Dinosaur Truckers
Get What's Coming by The Defibulators 
So Long It's Been Good to Know Yuh by Del McCoury Band & Tim O'Brien
Soldier Boy Johnny by The Imperial Rooster
Take This Hammer byThe Howlin' Brothers
Wind's Gonna Blow You Away by Joe Ely & Joel Guzman

Evening Breeze by Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks
I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart by Lynn Anderson
Teacher's Pet by The Prairie Dogs
Peaceful Country by Michael Martin Murphey
Don't Let 'em Get You Down by Joe West  
Dust on Mother's Bible by Buck Owens
You Coulda Walked Around the World by Butch Hancock
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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TERRELL'S TUNEUP: Ethno Punk for the Soul & Spirit

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 
July 12, 2013

Punk rock started out as an irreverent poke in the eye — and ears — to most musical traditions (especially the bloated rock royalty and grandiose prog-rock of the ’70s). So it might seem odd that strains of punk that embrace various ethnic music traditions have arisen through the years.
Pinata Protest, March 2012

It started with The Pogues, I suppose, back in the mid-’80s. They took traditional Irish sounds, sped them up, and played mad jigs of drunkenness, decay, and despair.

No, they weren’t always reverent, but they could play the music — even at 90 mph. In their wake came a whole Mulligan’s stew of successors — The Men They Couldn’t Hang, Flogging Molly, The Tossers, Blood or Whiskey. The band Black 47 celebrated the whole scene and even name-checked some of those groups a few years ago in their song “Celtic Rocker.”

But ethno-punk isn’t just for the Irish. Right now I’m anxiously awaiting the upcoming release from Gogol Bordello, a band that coined the phrase “Gypsy punk.”

There was a Jewish punk band from Australia called Yidcore, whose EP The Great Chicken Soup Caper included a raucous version of “Vehi She’amda” and a 21-second take on “The Dreidel Song.”

There are all sorts of varieties of blues-punk (from The Gun Club to The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion to early White Stripes and lots in between). I’ve written about punk polka bands like the The Polkaholics and Polkacide in this column.

Here are a couple of (relatively) recent examples of this phenomenon.

* El Valiente by Piñata Protest. Here’s a hard-rocking quartet from San Antonio, led by singer Alvaro Del Norte, who also plays accordion and trumpet when the spirit says trumpet. Piñata Protest plays what the group calls “Norteno punk.”

Following up on the band’s 2010 debut album, Plethora, El Valiente (named for a masked luchador from Mexico) is actually an EP — nine songs, three of which clock in at less than a minute. The whole record is just over 15 minutes long, but some fine sounds are packed in this small package.

After a short introduction track in Spanish, El Valiente kicks off with a frantic tune called “Vato Perron.” Here Del Norte declares, “I’m in a gang, I also do voodoo.” The melody reminds me of The Pogues’ “Fiesta.” Another instant addition to Piñata Protest’s greatest hits is the hard-driving, minor-key “Life on the Border.”

There are two numbers that casual listeners of popular Mexican music should recognize. First there’s “Volver Volver,” a 1976 hit for Mexican crooner Vicente Fernandez. It’s been covered by American stars like Ry Cooder, Los Lobos, The Mavericks, and Linda Ronstadt. (One of my personal favorites is a live version in a medley with “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights” sung by the late Chris Gaffney with Billy Bacon & The Forbidden Pigs). Piñata Protest does a fairly straight version of “Volver Volver.” That is, until the last verse, when the musicians turn it into an insane slam dance.

And then there’s “La Cucaracha” — yes, the old Mexican corrido about that lovable weed-smoking cockroach. Lyrics: “La cucaracha, la cucaracha/Ya no puede caminar/Porque no tiene, porque le falta/Marijuana que fumar.” The Piñata boys attack this tune with blaring ferocity. It was one of the highlights when I saw them play the Española Plaza a couple of years ago.

(Humorous aside: In 2001, Cecil Adams in his column “The Straight Dope,” wrote of the song, noting that a Mexican restaurant in Minneapolis was called La Cucaracha, “Somebody really ought to clue these people in.” But I just Googled it. and the restaurant named for the cockroach is still going today.)

While El Valiente is a blast from start to finish, the EP ends too soon. Hopefully Del Norte and the guys will grace us with a full-length album pretty soon.

* Signed and Sealed in Blood by The Dropkick Murphys. This Boston band of wild Irish (-American) musicians has been around for nearly 20 years. Of all the current-day Celt-rockers, the Murphs are the best in my book — I’ve believed it since Shane McGowan, original vocalist for The Pogues, bestowed his blessing by singing “The Wild Rover” with Dropkick Murphys a few years ago. They’ve got the good-time, hard-drinking, loud-shouting, uilleann pipe-wailing, penny- whistle-blowing Irish singalong bit down pat.

And they’re also perfectly capable of playing slow, pretty tunes, as they prove here with “End of the Night.” No, I wouldn’t describe singer Al Barr’s weather-beaten tenor as pretty, any more than I would the voices of Tom Waits, Janis Joplin, or Bob Dylan. But the song itself, dealing with barroom denizens who don’t know what to do after last call, is quite touching.

Among the highlights are “Rose Tattoo,” a minor-key tune with a ringing mandolin. The narrator sings of the art permanently etched on his body: “This one’s for the mighty sea/Mischief, gold, and piracy/This one’s for the man that raised me/Taught me sacrifice and bravery/This one’s for our favorite game/Black and gold, we wave the flag/This one’s for my family name/With pride I wear it to the grave.”

While there are no traditional Irish songs, which the Murphs have been known to do, on this album, there is a song about a Boston Irish hero. “Jimmy Collins’ Wake” is about the former manager of the Red Sox (back when they were called the Boston Americans), who led the team to a World Series pennant in 1903.

And there’s even a wicked Christmas song. “Some families are messed up, while others are fine/If you think yours is crazy, well just look at mine. … My nephew’s a horrible wise little twit/He once gave me a nice gift/Box wrapped full of …”

In terms of songwriting, the Murphs are no match for The Pogues, or, to be more precise, McGowan. But they’re more fun than a barrel of Guinness on a St. Patrick’s night.

Ethno videos

Here's a live "Vato Perron" from Pinata Protest



I shot the one below in Espanola a couple of years ago. Look in the crowd and you'll spot various members of The Imperial Rooster, who opened that night.



And here's some Murphs

Sunday, July 07, 2013

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

O
Terrell's Sound World Facebook BannerSunday, July 7, 2013 
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(at)ksfr.org

 OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Mighty Lonesome Man by James Hand
James Hand Interview
Old Man Henry by James Hand
Hand Interview part 2
Mona Lisa by James Hand
Breathless by Jerry Lee Lewis
My Baby Left Me by Elvis Presley

We Kill Evil by The Pocket FisRmen
Slipping Away by Mudhoney 
Church Mouse by Nobunny
School Days by Paint Fumes
You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover by Bo Diddley
I Give Up by Figures of Light
Down on Me by Big Brother & The Holding Company
Let's Get the Baby High by The Dead Milkmen
Born With a Tail by The Supersuckers

Tomorrow Today by Piñata Protest
The Boys are Back by Dropkick Murphys
American Wedding by Gogol Bordello
To Life by Yidcore
Slow Death by Flamin' Groovies
Down on the Street by The Stooges
Life Sucking Voodoo Women by Flametrick Subs
Bong Song by The Butthole Surfers
Gargon's Disco Balls by Johnny Dowd

Bread by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
It's My Own Fault by Bobby "Blue" Bland & B.B. King
Houiou Djin Nan Zon Aklumon by Discafric Band
What Have You Done For Me Lately by Sharon Jones
Old Men by Mem Shannon
What Kind of Fool am I by Sammy Davis, Jr.
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

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Friday, July 05, 2013

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST


Santa Fe Opry Facebook BannerFriday, July 5, 2013 
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM 
Webcasting! 
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time 
Host: Steve Terrell 
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
 OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Fourth of July by Dave Alvin
The Devil's at Red's by Anthony Leon & The Chain
Sugar Baby by Legendary Shack Shakers
Sales Tax by Great Recession Orchestra
Ain't Mad About Nothin' by The Rustlers
Yvette by The Riptones
I Still Miss Someone by John Doe & The Sadies
Under the Jail by Mose McCormack
Oh Babe by Big Al Dowling & The Poe-Cats

Shadows Where the Magic Was / Favorite Fool by James Hand
Broke Down South of Dallas by Junior Brown
Something's Gonna Get Us All by Earl Poole Ball
Polly Put the Kettle On by The Clarksdale.Bluebeats
Nitty Gritty by Doug Sahm
Union Maid by Old Crow Medicine Show
Polly Put the Kettle On by The Clarksdale Bluebeats
Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor by Sleepy LaBeef
Snake Doctor Blues by Jelly Jaw Short

Mother Blues by Ray Wylie Hubbard
Freeborn Man by Jimmy Martin
Julia Belle Swain by The Howlin' Brothers
Skilly Bom Billy Flop by The Imperial Rooster
Hey People by The Dinosaur Truckers
Voodoo Cadillac by Southern Culture on the Skids
Polk Salad Annie by Tony Joe White
Amos Moses by Jerry Reed

Worried Mind by Johnny Dowd
Stupid Boy by The Gear Daddies
Lover of the Bayou by The Byrds
Mountain Storm by Michael Martin Murphey
Indoor Fireworks by Nick Lowe & His Cowboy Suit
No Good For Me by Waylon Jennings
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: Murph Settles Into Red River

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 
July 1, 2013

A lot of country singers do songs about being a cowboy. But Michael Martin Murphey doesn't just have the songs and the hat.

In a recent telephone interview, Murphey said he operates ranches in Colorado, Texas, and Wisconsin.

“They’re pretty much dedicated to horses. I’ve been involved with cattle, but I’ve decided to concentrate on horses,” said the man responsible for “Wildfire,” probably the most famous horse song of the 20th century this side of “Tennessee Stud.”

Murphey used to live in New Mexico. He moved to Taos around 1980 and stayed 20 years, he said. And now, he’s back, at least for a few months. Red River will be his base this summer. And he has a lot planned there — a series of shows plus the release of a new album, Red River Drifter.

First of all, there’s a show Saturday, July 6, at the Motherlode Saloon that he’s calling the Cosmic Cowboy Rebellion. The show also features Gary P. Nunn (most famous for writing “London Homesick Blues,” which was later used for the closing theme of PBS’s Austin City Limits), Bob Livingston, Craig Hillis, Herb Steiner, and Paul Pearcy.

“All those guys were in my Cosmic Cowboy band,” Murphey said, referring to the early and mid-1970s, when Murphey was a key figure in the progressive country scene in Austin. Murphey said the individual musicians will be playing their own solo sets as well as playing together like the old Cosmic Cowboy days.

He had a song called “Cosmic Cowboy, Part 1,” on his album Cosmic Cowboy Souvenir, which has the refrain “I just want to be your cosmic cowboy/I just want to ride and rope and hoot.” That fertile longhair redneck musical alliance included Jerry Jeff Walker, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Rust Weir, Steve Fromholz, and others. “I got sick for awhile, so the Cosmic Cowboy band started playing with Jerry Jeff and became the Lost Gonzo Band.”

Then there’s Murphey’s new amphitheater in Red River called the Rocking 3M Chuckwagon Stage. “Just three miles up Bitter Creek Road,” he explained. It’s a covered amphitheater near a small lake.

“A couple of years ago, my partner and I bought the old Lazy H Ranch, which was an old guest ranch where lots of musicians used to stay when they played Red River. Jerry Jeff Walker stayed there and Gary P. Nunn. I actually stayed there in the cabins back then.”
Murph in Placitas, May 2006

Murphey is doing a series of shows at the amphitheater beginning Friday, July 5, and he will be playing music spanning his career. “I’ll be doing my music, all my hits, a lot of cowboy songs.” And he’s not kidding about that chuck-wagon part. The concerts will feature chuck-wagon meals catered by Texas Reds Steakhouse.

Murphey said these shows will provide a real Western experience. But one thing that won’t be real — unless the drought gives us all a break later this summer — is the campfire. “It’ll be an artificial fire, unless they lift fire restrictions.”

Good idea — “Murphey sparks wildfire” would be far too tempting for newspaper headline writers across the country.

Flashback: The first time I met Murphey was in the summer of 1980 when he played a show at the Paolo Soleri Amphitheater that was great until his surprise guest Roger Miller, who had recently moved to Tesuque, came out on the stage.

Miller stepped up to the mike and said, “I live down the road apiece,” strummed a chord or two, and all of a sudden the clouds opened up. The rain refused to quit, and the show was stopped for fear of electrocution on the uncovered stage.

Miller must have been cursed. Next time he performed here — a big show with Barbara Mandrell at the Santa Fe Downs a couple of years later — it rained like crazy again.

All this and a new album too: Red River Drifter is released next week. It’s an all-acoustic album with bluegrass overtones — especially the upbeat “Peaceful Country,” which opens the CD. Like all Murphey albums in the past several years, it’s produced by his son Ryan Murphey, an accomplished songwriter and guitarist.

The best song here is a funny one, “Shake It Off,” which Murphey sings with Pauline Reese. It’s got one foot in bluegrass and one foot in the blues. It could almost be an old jug-band song from the 1920s.

“When the monkey’s on your back don’t you cut him any slack/ Buddy, won’t ya shake it off/ When the devil’s at your door, don’t you take it any more/ Buddy, won’t ya shake it off.”

“Faded Blues” is basically a western take on Thoreau’s adage, “Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes.” It tells of a poor kid whose girl leaves him for “a sharp-dressed dude, kind of a high-brow cat.” This tune has some tasty Mexican-style guitar that would make Marty Robbins proud.

Another favorite is “Mountain Storm,” a minor-key tune with some sweet fiddling and a melody that might remind you of “Poor Wayfaring Stranger.”

From the beginning, Red River Drifter is full of gorgeous melodies, the sweet, sentimental tune called “The Gathering” perhaps being the best example. It’s good to know that New Mexicans will have plenty of opportunities to hear those melodies up close this summer.

The Cosmic Cowboy Rebellion show is at 8 p.m. Saturday, July 6, at The Motherlode, 410 E. Main in Red River. Tickets are $42 (VIP tickets $60).

Murphey’s shows at the Rocking 3M Chuckwagon Stage are scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday, July 5; Tuesday, July 9; and Thursday, July 11; and continue through Aug. 31. The theater is at 178 Bitter Creek Road, Red River. Tickets are $58, $52 for seniors, and $29 for children.

Tickets for all the shows are available at www.tix.com and by calling 575-754-6280. 

UPDATE: 9:30 am Sunday The spelling of Steve Fromholz's name has been corrected.

MURPHEY VIDEO BONUS

Here's "Shake It Off" from the new album.



Here's Murph doing one of my favorite Marty Robbins gunfighter ballads




And below is a song Murph sang last year at the memorial service for our mutual friend Erik Ness. This one still chokes me up.




Thursday, July 04, 2013

HAPPY JULY 4 with the Alvin Brothers



I saw The Blasters with Phil Alvin do this song at the Hootenanny Festival near Irvine, Calif. in 2009 on July 4!

Here's Phil's brother Dave with The Blasters in 2010




And for more July 4 fun ...

Diego Mulligan's Memorial Service


The memorial service for KSFR's Diego Mulligan will be held 2 p.m. Saturday July 20, at The Commons, 2300 West Alameda.

Parking is  limited, so car pooling is encouraged.

Wednesday, July 03, 2013

James Hand Live on Terrell's Sound World

One of the coolest scores for Santa Fe Bandstand this year was James "Slim" Hand, an old-time Texas country singer whose album Mighty Lonesome Man I called "The best basic old-fashioned, honest-to-God heartache and honky-tonk country music of the year. Maybe in the last several years."

Hand is playing on the Plaza Monday, July 8 It's free, part of the annual Bandstand program. The music starts at 6 p.m. and Hand goes on at 7:15 p.m.

And the night before, he's playing on my Sunday night radio show, Terrell's Sound World on KSFR, Santa Fe Public Radio 101.1 FM. He'll be playing some tunes and talking about his life and music. That show starts at 10 p.m.
James Hand at The Moose Lodge in Austin Tx, March 2012

Hand's management just sent me a bunch of autographed copies of Mighty Lonesome Man CDs as well as autographed copies of his previous album Shadows Where the Magic Used to Be.

I'll be giving those away this weekend on Sound World as well as on my hillbilly music show, The Santa Fe Opry (Friday night, same time,same station)

In fact, I'm in a good mood, so I'll give away a few right now. I'll give an autographed CD to the first three people who email me at stephenwterrell (at) gmail.com . Make sure you give me your mailing address and which of the CDs you prefer. ( UPDATE: 3:23 pm. We have winners for those first three CDs, but tune in Friday and Sunday for chance to win the others)

Here's a video for a James Hand song used in a Breaking Bad episode:







Monday, July 01, 2013

The Latest Big Enchilada Podcast Episode Has Arrived!



Consider the Big Enchilada a roadside souvenir shop. Among the jackalope antlers, prickly pear candy, rattlesnake balls and authentic Indian headdresses made in China are some crazy musical curios for the easily excitable and the wild at heart.



Here's the playlist:

(Background Music: The Wild One by Shorty Rogers & His Orchestra)
Vato Peron by Pinata Protest
You Keep Around by The Copper Gamins
Scratch That Itch by The Go Wows
I'll Make You Happy by The Ugly Beats
Spittin' Fire by Sons of Hercules
Maze Fancier by Thee Oh Sees

(Background Music: Marianna by Fanfare Ciocarlia)
On The Run by The Gories
No Respect Rev. by The Fall
Living in Squalor by Chump
I am a Girlfriend by Nobunny
Call the Police by The Oblivians

(Background Music: Dum Maro Dum by What Cheer? Brigade)
I Want Money by Figures of Light
Mad Dog Blues by Don Covay & the Jefferson Lemon Band
Hangman's Token by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
One Hand Loose by Ray Condo
Pretty Boy by Johnny Dowd
Take it Away by Pietra Wexstun & Hecate's Angels

Play it below:

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...