Wednesday, September 30, 2015

WACKY WEDNESDAY: Happy Blasphemy Day




Today, in case you didn't know, is International Blasphemy Rights Day.

And my boss still wants me to go to work.

But this is serious. This little-known holiday is a tradition that goes back all the way to 2009. It originated with the Center for Inquiry's Campaign for Free Expression. According to the group's website, the day was created "to show solidarity with those who challenge oppressive laws and social prohibitions against free expression, to support the right to challenge prevailing religious beliefs without fear of violence, arrest, or persecution."

Blasphemy Rights Day is observed every September 30, the website says, "to commemorate the publishing of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons, which angered religious believers around the world, many of whom expressed their disapproval with violent protests, riots, and in some cases, murder."

Yes in many parts of the world you can be jailed, executed or disappeared just by expressing ideas the ruling religion deems blasphemous.

Places ruled by Islamic fundamentalists is one example. And just a few years ago, Pussy Riot showed that blasphemy can land you in prison in Russia.



So I'm proud to be an American, to live in a land where you can blaspheme til you're blue and, even though you'll probably piss off a lot of believers, and maybe even get beat up by righteously outraged, usually your life and liberty won't be threatened.

In honor of the day here are three of my favorite examples of good old American blasphemy.

And, no, John Lennon's "Imagine" isn't one of them. First of all, he technically wasn't an American. But most of all, to commit a kind of blasphemy myself, the song just sucks. So many times I've heard it sung or quoted so solemnly by self-righteous hippies, I'd rather listen to Jonathan Edwards' "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." 

Actually, I'd rather listen to these tunes.

Let's start with Cab Calloway. Back in the mid '60s, when I was in grade school in Oklahoma City, I saw Cab Calloway in person. He played with a small combo during the half time at a Harlem Globetrotters game. I had no idea who he was, but my grandmother, who took me to the game, was hep to that Hi-Di-Ho jive. I loved it, but I was stunned when Cab sang "It Ain't Necessarily So," a song from Porgy & Bess.It basically twisted my youthful Okie head off.

I didn't come from a religious family. We were not churchgoers. My grandmother used to delight in pointing out contradictions in the Bible. The extent of my grandfather's religious teachings was that Jesus loved the little children.

But in conservative Oklahoma most of my friends did go to church, and religion seemed to be everywhere. So when this crazy dude in a zoot suit sang "the things you are liable to read in the Bible, it ain't necessarily so ..." and poked fun at various Bible stories, it opened my eyes. And when Calloway went into his crazy scat singing, it sounded like wild demonic chants beckoning the listeners to follow him into an exciting and probably dangerous new world.

Here's a version of an older Calloway blaspheming away.



Sometimes I think Randy Newman in his prime was the closest thing to Mark Twain that My Generation ever had. That was because of wickedly subversive songs like this.



And here is Robbie Fulks exploring similar terrain. To me he never sounded like he was mocking any religious ideas with this song. He's always sung it with a certain sadness in his voice. And the melody is so pretty, it sounds like the Devil himself wrote it to lead good Christians to the fires.




So have a blasph on Blasphemy Day.

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

A Devine, Bovine New Hillbilly Episode of The Big Enchilada Podcast


THE BIG ENCHILADA


It's a new hillbilly episode of the Big Enchilada and we're bringing it all back home (on the range) featuring backwoods moans from Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band, Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs, The Fabulous Alvin Brothers, Legendary Shack Shakers, Audrey Auld and a special set by New Mexico musicians including Slackeye Slim, Imperial Rooster, Mose McCormack and more. Let the music moooooove you!


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Here's the playlist:

(Background Music: Cowbell Polka by Spade Cooley)
Let's Jump a Train by The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
Caca de Vaca by Joe "King" Carrasco & The Crowns
Jump in the River by Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs
Marijuana, the Devil's Flower by Mr. Sunshine
Pappa's on the Housetop by Dave & Phil Alvin
Fuck Off by Audrey Auld
(Background Music: Buckaroo by The Byrds)

New Mexico set
April by The Imperial Rooster
It Wasn't You by Slackeye Slim
$2,000 Navajo Rug by Joe West & The Sinners
Hillbilly Town by Mose McCormack
Falling Off the World by Chipper Thompson
Looking for Someone to Kill by Kell Robertson

(Background Music: Osage City by Milo de Venus)
My Favorite Record by Asylum Street Spankers
Christ Almighty by Legendary Shack Shakers
Slippin' and Slidin' and Fightin' by Joey Delton
Hotrod Shotgun Boogie by Tillman Franks & His Rainbow Boys
If I Could Only Win Your Love by Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersen
Cow Cow Boogie by Wayne Hancock


Play it here:


Sunday, September 27, 2015

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

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Sunday, September 27, 2015
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

Here's the playlist

OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres

New Blue Mercedes by Drywall

American Wedding by Gogol Bordello

The Lowlife by Nick Curran & The Lowlifes

Hanged Man by Churchwood

Love Comes in Spurts by Richard Hell & The Voidoids

In Your Grave by King Khan & The Shrines

Happy Hodaddy by The Astronauts

Dames, Booze, Chains and Boots by The Cramps

Bad Little Woman by The Shadows of Night

 

Empty Space by Holly Golightly

House of the Rising Sun by Nina Simone

Psychedelic Afro Shop by Orlando Julius

Oya Ka Jojo by Les Volcans de La Capitol

 

96 Tears by Big Maybelle

Too Many Bills, Not Enough Thrills by Figures of Light

52 Girls by The B52s

Here's a Heart by Lyres with Stiv Bators

Run Shithead, Run by Mudhoney

Black September by Dead Moon

Icecream for Crow by Captain Beefheart

Pornography Part 1 by Mike Edison & The Rocket Train Delta Science Arkestra

 

Hold My Hips by Dengue Fever

Get Get It by Alex Maiorano & The Black Tales

Black Isn't Black by The Black Angels

Blackheart Man by Bunny Wailer

The Blues Don't Knock by Don Covay & The Jefferson Lemon Blues Band

That Feel by Tom Waits with Keith Richards

CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

 

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Friday, September 25, 2015

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

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Friday, September 25, 2015
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

Here's my playlist :

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens

Two Hoops and a Holler by Jean Shepard

Hillbilly Truckdrivin' Man by Bill Kirchen

Big Lotsa Love by The Bottle Rockets

Marijuana the Devil's Flower by Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs

Marijuana the Devil Flower by Johnny Price

Cold by Legendary Shack Shakers

In New Orleans (Rising Sun Blues) by Dave & Phil Alvin

2 Drinks on an Empty Stomach by Lonesome Bob

Love Bug Crawl by Jimmy Edwards

Insane by Katie Lee

 

Pistol Packin' Mama by Red Allen & Frank Wakefield

Alcohol and Pills by Fred Eaglesmith

Still Sober After All These Beers by The Banditos

You're the Reason by Nancy Apple

Mona Lisa by James Hand

From Hell to Paradise by The Mavericks

The Ballad of Maverick by Geoege Thorogood & The Destroyers

3 Coyotes Howlin' by Joe Ely

 

I Want Some Lovin' Baby by Jimmy & Duane

Daddy Was a Preacher But Mama Was a Go Go Girl by Southern Culture on the Skids

Truck Drivin' Son of a Gun by Dave Dudley

Drinking Problem by Audrey Auld

Funky Tonk by Moby Grape

I Washed My Hands in Muddy Water by Buck Owens

Invisible Stripes by Eddie Noak

Boys Will Be Boys by The Gear Daddies

Pot Roast and Kisses by Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band

He Calls That Religion by Maria Muldaur

Gone Back to Whorin' by Roger Alan Wade

 

Whispering Pines by Johnny Horton

Funny Face by Kate Campbell

The Selfishness in Man by George Jones

Am I That Easy to Forget by Bobby Bare

I Know You Are There by The Handsome Family

Come Fly Away by Jimmie Dale Gilmore

CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets


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Thursday, September 24, 2015

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: Double Shot of Holly Golightly

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 
September 25, 2015


The original Holly Golightly was created by Truman Capote. She was the protagonist of his 1958 novel Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Capote described her as “an American geisha.”

But the Holly Golightly I’m writing about is neither a geisha nor an American — though for the past several years she’s been living in the U.S. of A. This Holly Golightly is a singer who comes from England. And, yes, that is her real name, at least two-thirds of her real name. She was born Holly Golightly Smith in 1966. Her mother reportedly was reading Breakfast at Tiffany’s around the time of Holly’s birth and liked the name.

This Holly Golightly happens to be one of the most underrated rock ’n’ roll singers currently plying the trade. And she’s got not one but two new albums – Slowtown Now!, a solo album, and Coulda Shoulda Woulda, under the banner of Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs. Both are solid musical delights full of tasty tunes and Golightly’s wicked wit and attitude.

A little Holly history: In the early ’90s, Golightly’s boyfriend was the drummer of Thee Headcoats, which was the musical vehicle of British garage poet/rock crank Billy Childish. She became an original member of Thee Headcoatees, a garage-rock girl group originally formed to back the boys, but which grew into a force of its own, recording several albums full of spunk and fire.

Golightly remained a member of the band until around 1999. But a few years before that, she started recording her own solo albums. Golightly moved to the U.S. not long after she shifted musical gears in 2007 and began recording bare-boned funky-clunky country bluesy records with her partner “Lawyer Dave” Drake under the name Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs. While a few steps removed from Thee Headcoatees’ garage sound, those rootsy albums represent some of her finest work. All of her albums since then have been Brokeoffs albums, until Slowtown Now!


For Slowtown, her first solo album in 11 years, Golightly went back to London to record. And she recorded it for her old label Damaged Goods (which has released a major chunk of Childish’s catalog) with an actual band assembled for the album, featuring a couple of guitarists, a drummer, and a standup bassist. The overall sound draws from the various influences that have propelled Golightly — rockabilly, ’60s girl-group sounds, blues, smoky jazz, and more.

It starts off with a slow-burning swamp-a-billy tune called “Seven Wonders” with a seductive voodoo beat and sweet, grating guitar. This is followed by “Fool Fool Fool (Look in the Mirror),” featuring a retro fuzz-guitar hook. The only tune here that’s not a Golightly original, this song was done in the mid-’60s by a Chicago soul singer named Barbara Acklin (who probably is best known for co-writing The Chi-Lite’s hit “Have You Seen Her”). With its soft trombone and sexy, understated vocals by Golightly, “Frozen in Time” could almost pass as an old Burt Bacharach production, something you might hear in an Austin Powers movie soundtrack.

Golightly hasn’t forgotten how to rock. The sassy “As You Go Down” (featuring some fine bass from Matt Radford) is rooted in rockabilly and, of all the songs here, probably sounds closest to her pre-Brokeoffs albums. That’s followed by the downright garagey “You Stopped My Heart” with some more snazzy fuzztone guitar. “Forevermore” reminded me of the recent Deke Dickerson/Los Straitjackets collaboration (Deke Dickerson Sings the Great Instrumental Hits) because the melody is so similar to the old surf hit “Apache.”

While there is so much to admire on Slowtown Now!, both in the performance and the production, between Golighty’s new albums, I have to say I like the raucous new Brokeoffs’ effort the best.

Coulda Shoulda Woulda, which is scheduled for release on Oct. 16, is a big sloppy homemade American mess. Of course, I mean that in the best possible way. From the opening cut, “Heaven Buy and Buy,” a rocking faux-gospel indictment of religious hypocrisy (including an invitation to the devil to perform an obscene act), this album is packed with crazy fun.

The rootsy tango “Apartment 34” is a character sketch of some bad white-trash neighbors who “do their cooking in the bathtub” and have a thing for old Camaros; “Lonesome Grave” is a spooky, fire-and-brimstone fiddle-and-banjo workout; “Little Mule” has some nice nasty guitar hooks; “Karate” is a funky dance song, though fans of Thee Headcoatees will surely see the link to “My Boyfriend’s Learning Karate”; and “Jump in the River” is Lawyer Dave’s big moment, taking Leadbelly’s great notion and turning it into a sardonic declaration of salvation.

Holly and Dave always come up with great cockeyed cover songs. Their best remains Mac Davis’ “Hard to Be Humble” (from their 2012 album Sunday Run Me Over). But in the same demented stratosphere is this album’s “Marijuana, the Devil’s Flower,” a vintage country-western anti-drug song by someone called Mr. Sunshine. The chorus goes “Marijuana, the devil’s flower, if you use it, You’ll be a slave/Marijuana’s gonna bring you sorrow/It will send you to your grave.”

(By the way, there were at least two country songs with a similar title. Another, which I found on a volume of the fabulous Twisted Tales From the Vinyl Wastelands series, was “Marijuana, the Devil Flower” by a Johnny Cash copycat named Johnny Price.)

Coulda Shoulda Woulda ends with a Christmas song — actually, an anti-Christmas song — called “Christmas Is a Lie.” This won’t be played at any big stores while you do your Yuletide shopping. But it would be cool if it were.

God bless us every one, Holly Golightly!

Videos!

Here's an official one from Slowtown Now!



And here is a live Brokeoffs classic from a few years ago

THROWBACK THURSDAY: A House in New Orleans

The House of the Rising Sun
There is a house in New Orleans they call the Rising Sun.

And it's a bed and breakfast in Algiers Point.

No kidding. And according to the website of The Rising Sun, owners Kevin Herridge and Wendy Portier, who have operated the business since 1999, aren't shy about promoting their B&B with the famous song that started out as a lament about a whore house ... unless it was a lament about some correctional facility.

Herridge and Portier acknowledge that their business is not the original House of the Rising Sun. And it probably hasn't been the ruin of many a poor girl. (Or boy.)

"There is a house on St. Louis Street ... in the French Quarter, whose owners claim to be the original House of the Rising Sun brothel, purportedly ran by a Madam named Marianne LeSoleil LEVANT (French for Rising Sun) between 1862 and 1874." the site says.

Also there was a Rising Sun Hotel on Conti Street, but it burned down in 1822. But various other businesses called "Rising Sun" in the French Quarter subsequently rose and fell in the 1800s. There's a good chance that none of these were the "real" House of the Rising Sun. It easily could be a fictitious place.

"Rising Sun has been performed by a huge variety of folk, blues, hillbilly, rock 'n' roll and who knows-what-else artists for more than 80 years, and undoubtedly longer. Here are a few:

Like most people my age, I came to the song via the huge hit by The Animals in 1964. Just a couple of years before, Bob Dylan sang an acoustic version on his first album. He'd learned it from Dave Van Ronk.

Alan Lomax recorded a young girl named Georgia Turner in eastern Kentucky singing it in 1937.



Only problem is, Clarence Ashley and Gwen Foster recorded a commercial version three years before.



Nina Simone did an wild gospel-fired version. (An earlier version of this post mistakenly said this version is on her 1962 Nina at the Village Gate album. It's not.)



In 1970 a Detroit band had a hit with a psychedelic version.



The most recent version to grab my attention is a jaunty little number called "In New Orleans (Rising Sun Blues)" on Dave & Phil Alvin's new album Lost Time.



So if you want to spend some time in sin and misery, check out my Spotify playlist below. It includes versions from Joan Baez to Jello Biafra, not to mention covers by Billy Lee Riley, Lead Belly, Roy Acuff, a garage-rock version by The Barbarians, a doo-wop take by Jerry Lawson, some funky Chambers Brothers, and more Enjoy.





For more deep dives into songs, check out The Stephen W. Terrell Web Log Songbook

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

WACKY WEDNESDAY: Musical Chimps

Ain't got that much for you this Wacky Wednesday.

Except a bunch of musical chimps.

Let's start with a classic early TV ad for Red Rose Tea starring The Marquis Chimps

 

This Post cereal commercial isn't nearly as cool as "Red Rose Tea." But it's still chimps.



In the '70s, Lancelot Link & The Evolution Revolution was the hippest chimp band going.



But let's go back to an earlier era of tlevision when the Nairobi Trio played The Ernie Kovacs Show. Technically, they were gorillas, but I think they fit in here.






Sunday, September 20, 2015

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

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Sunday, September 20, 2015
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

Here's the playlist

OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres

Little War Child by the Oblivions

Testify by The BellRays

Turned Out Light by Thee Oh Sees

The Sky is a Poisonous Garden by Concrete Blonde

Brightness by The Malarians

Sookie Sookie by Steppenwolf

Devil Dance by The A-Bones

Cool Arrow (EP version) by The Hickoids

Hell Hound on My Trail by The Slow Poisoner

 

Mr. Kicks by Oscar Brown, Jr.

Please Please Please by David & Phil Alvin

Empty Space by Holly Golightly

I Wonder Why People Don't Like Me by Thee Headcoats

Lost Avenue by Johnny Dowd

Crackpot Baby by L7

Betty vs The NYPD by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

Funplex by The B-52s

Down on Me by Big Brother & The Holding Company

 

They Lie by Mind Spiders

Psycho Train by Sinister Six

15 Degrees Capricorn Asc. by Sam Samudio

Full Moon in the Daylight Sky by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages

Before the Next Teardrop Falls by Big John Hamilton

Bob George by Prince

I Got Your Number by The Sonics

Shout by Question Mark & The Mysterians


Speedway by Alan Vega

So Glad You're Mine by Junior Wells

Since I Met YouBaby by Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

I Don't Think So by Dinosaur Jr

What You Gonna Do 'Bout Me by Proffessor Charles Taylor & The Taylor Singers

Love is All Around by The Troggs

What Kind of Fool Am I by Sammy Davis, Jr

CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

 

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Friday, September 18, 2015

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

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Friday, September 18, 2015
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
Here's my playlist :
OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens
Crazy Arms by Van Morrison & Linda Gail Lewis
Honky Tonk Merry Go Round by The Stumbleweeds
A-Town Blues by Wayne Hancock
Henry by New Riders of the Purple Sage
Mean Mean Man by Wanda Jackson
Feudin' and Fightin' by Marti Brom with the Cornell Hurd Band
Dirty Mouth Flo by Robbie Fulks
Hello Walls by The Malpass Brothers
Whose Gonna Take Your Garbage Out by Rosie Flores & The Pine Valley Cosmonauts
When the Whiskey Turns to Tears by Cornell Hurd
Southern Eyes by Joe Ely

Five Brothers by Marty Robbins
Don't Remember Me by The Misery Jackals
Out on the Highway by Mose McCormack
Meet You Down South by The Reverse Cowgirls
MisAmerica by Legendary Shack Shakers
The Wheels Fell Off the Wagon by Johnny Paycheck
John Law Burned Down the Liquor Sto' by Chris Thomas King
Front Porch Trained by Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band

Madness, Murder, Mayhem Set
Psycho by Jack Kittell
Pardon Me I've Got Someone to Kill by Lonesome Bob
Dolores by T. Tex Edwards & Out on Parole
The Rubber Room by Porter Wagoner
Postcard from Jack by Ronny Elliott
Knoxville Girl by The Louvin Brothers
I'm a Nut by Leroy Pullens
Crazy by Willie Nelson

Something Stupid by The Mavericks with Trish Yearwood
I Never Go Around Mirrors by Lefty Frizzell
Your Hearty Laugh by The Defibulators
Ballad of Terri McGovern by Joe West & The Sinners
Never Cold Again by The Imperial Rooster
Between a Rock and Heartache by Rex Hobart & The Misery Boys
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

Joe Ely and The Mavericks Live on The Plaza Saturday

Joe Ely playing with The Flatlanders
Thirsty Ear Festival, Santa Fe 2007
Just in case you haven't heard (because you live in a cave and only read this blog), there's a free show on The Santa Fe Plaza Saturday night (tomorrow! Sept. 19) featuring Joe Ely and The Mavericks.

And yes, I said FREE.

The show starts with Ely's set at 6:30 p.m. The Mavericks come on at 8 p.m.

This event is part of  St Vincent’s Hospital Foundation's 150th Anniversary. Hey, it's better than a night in the hsopital (and lots cheaper).

Also Saturday night, don't forget The Sons of Royalty are playing right down the street at Skylight, 139 W. San Francisco St. starting at 7 p.m. I wrote about this in last week's Terrell's Tuneup. Tickets are $20 and it's a benefit for  La Luz de Santa Fe Family Shelter.

Here's a video of Ely doing a Robert Earl Keen song on Austin City Limits.


Thursday, September 17, 2015

THROWBACK THURSDAY: "... it was Roy Acuff, then God."

One hundred twelve years (and two days) ago in the tiny town of Maynardville, Tennessee, the Great Speckled Bird delivered a baby boy named Roy Acuff, who would grow up to become virtually synonymous with The Grand Ol' Opry ... and Hell, synonymous with country music itself for many years.

Of Acuff, Hank Williams was quoted saying,  "He's the biggest singer this music ever knew. You booked him and you didn't worry about crowds. For drawing power in the South, it was Roy Acuff, then God."

I bet even God didn't mind playing second fiddle to Roy Acuff.

Here is a video tribute to Roy, who, with his band, The Smokey Mountain Boys, helped make a great music even greater.

Let's start with one of his best known songs, "The Wabash Cannonball."



"Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour." (Jeremiah 12:9)



I'm more familiar with Little Jimmy Dickens' version of this next one. But Roy's version is nice too.



Here's a team-up with Red Foley on another Acuff classic.



Roy frequently turned his stage over to band members, who sometimes called themselves "Roy Acuff's Jug Band."



Finally, here's a weird musical connection: In the early days of the Acuff Jug Band, a young black kid played the jugs and spoons with the group. That might have been a goofy gig, but the kid, a Nashville native named Bobby Hebb, grew up to be a serious singer who had a huge hit in 1966 with a wonderful song called "Sunny." In the '70s Hebb cut a rocking soul version of Acuff's "Night Train to Memphis."



Hat tip to T. Tex Edwards for alerting me to Roy Acuff's birthday via a Google Plus post.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

WACKY WEDNESDAY: In Praise of The Dead Milkmen

Yesterday I saw an item on the Dangerous Minds blog about a "feud" between The Ramones and Sha Na Na. That in itself would make a good Wacky Wednesday. But they had it first.

While reading the post I couldn't help but notice an air of condensation on the part of writer Christopher Bickel toward Bowzer and the boys.

And the first thing to cross my mind was I know a band who would disagree ...

 That of course is The Dead Milkman, whose song "In Praise of Sha Na Na" has been a favorite of mine since I first heard it 25 years ago.

Sha Na Na were the kings of Woodstock
You know, it's true deep in your heart
Greasy guys in gold lame
If only Hendrix had been so smart

And remember ...

You can move to Montana

And listen to Santana

But you still won't be

As cool as Sha Na Na

So take that, Dangerous Minds

Of course this got me thinking about what an under-appreciated band The Dead Milkmen is.

The Dead Milkmen can wear my fez ...
These Philadelphia group got together in the early '80s, playing a light-hearted, if often fierce brand of punk rock. They rose, they thrived for awhile, and they even played the old TAC Club in Santa Fe sometime in the mid '80s. (Another storied local show I missed!) They broke up in 1995 but reformed, with three of the four original members, back in 2007 or '08.

 Here's a song that actually got played a lot on MTV in the late '80s. (I still think it's cool rhyming "punk rock girl" with "Minnie Pearl," but it took me a couple of years to learn to overlook the fact that "California Dreamin' " is not a Beach Boys song.)

 Here is another early Milkmen classic

Here's one from their latest album, Pretty Music for Pretty People. In case you don't know who the Black Dahlia is, get thee to an Ellroy novel!

 And , oh yeah, here's that song about Sha Na Na ...

 

Monday, September 14, 2015

OK, I'll Play: My Perfect 10 Songs for a 90's Alt Rock Cover Band

True story: This cover got TAD sued and they
had to replace it with something less interesting
One day last week while eating lunch and wasting time reading strange stuff on my iPhone, I clicked on this recent list called "What would make the perfect 10 song set list for a 90's alt rock cover band." 

The early '90s grungequake  remains one of my favorite periods of rock 'n' roll. Sure there was a ton of crap, and yes "Alternative Rock Radio" quickly became as pathetic as Top 40 pop or Hot New Country.

But still, it was a time of many great bands and exciting albums. And that was the period that inspired me to want to do my own radio shows.

To be honest, I wasn't all that impressed with the list by Julie Anne Exter. Too many useless bands like Bush and Stone Temple Pilots and too many obvious choices like "Jeremy" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

You know me I usually shoot for more obscure and more obnoxious sounds.

But Exter's piece got me thinking ... So here, in no particular order, are the top 10 songs I would choose for this theoretical '90s Alt Rock cover band. I'd definitely pay the cover charge to see any band that did decent versions of the following;

1 "Man in the Box" by Alice in Chains. This is the only song that Exter and I have in common. It's the first Alice in Chains song I ever heard and for my money, the best thing they ever did.



2 "Jack Pepsi" by TAD. As stated above, the original cover of 8-Way Santa got TAD sued. And this song, the best track from that fine album (and, in fact, the greatest of TAD's career) got the group a nice cease and desist from Pepsi Cola because they decided to use a version of the soft drink's logo when they released the song as a single.



3 "Jesus Christ Pose" by Soundgarden. I know "Black Hole Sun" was their big hit. But that dreary dirge sounded better by Steve & Eydie.  This was Soundgarden at their fiercest.




4 "Jesus Built My Hotrod" by Ministry (with Gibby Haynes) Another song for the Lord ...



5 "Andres" by L7. This was Suzi Gardner's greatest moment with this band. I always wanted to know what exactly the "problem" was with long-haired Andres.



6 "Papa Won't Leave You, Henry" by Nick Cave. This is like a grim update of Bob Dylan's "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall." But it makes Dylan's tune seem like a quaint little political morality play by comparison. There is no "Ban the Bomb" message here. It's a young man cast into a world of "lynch mobs, death squads, babies being born without brains ..." The bittersweet refrain of "Papa won't leave you, Henry" seems like nothing more than a broken promise remembered in bitter nostalgia. But the damned kid keeps going on down that road.



7 "The Wagon" by Dinosaur Jr. When this band was rocking, they sounded like an explosion that never stopped.




8 "My Name is Mud" by Primus. Les Claypool's bass-centric band created rock 'n' roll's answer to Deliverance.



9 "Buckskin Stallion Blues" by Mudhoney & Jimmie Dale Gilmore. A couple of years before anyone was talking about "alternative country," Mudhoney teamed up with Texas singer Jimmie Dale Gilmore for a split EP with Mudhoney doing a Gilmore song, Gilmore doing a Mudhoney song and the two acts teaming up on this old Townes Van Zandt tune. Made me proud to be an American.



10 "Serve the Servants" by Nirvana 'Teenage angst has paid off well. Now I'm bored and old ..." When I first heard these lyrics, the first line of the first song from In Utero -- Nirvana's much anticipated follow to Nevermind -- I though Kurt Cobain had weathered whatever psychic typhoons he'd had to endure with grace and humor .

A few months later he killed himself.





Sunday, September 13, 2015

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

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Sunday, September 13, 2015
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

Here's the playlist

OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres

We Live Dangerous The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band

Heavy Honey by Left Lane Cruiser

Heebie Jeebies by The Gun Club

Flesh Eating Cocaine Blues by Daddy Long Legs

Rattle Snakin' Daddy Dave & Phil Alvin

Mississippi Drinkin' by John The Conqueror

I'm Cryin' by The Animals

I'm Insane by T-Model Ford

Don't Save it Too Long by Julia Lee & Her Boyfriends

 

Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White by The Standells

Chillidos de la Noche by Los Eskeletos

A Question of Temperature by Balloon Farm

Lesson of Crime by YVY

Johnny Gillette by Simon Stokes

Strychnine by The Fall

Livin' in Chaos by The Sonics

Used to Be Cool by Sons of Hercules

I Couldn't Spell !!*@! by Roy Loney & The Young Fresh Fellows

 

I'll Be Alright by Terrence Trent D'Arby

Psychologically Overcast by Fishbone

2 Nigs United 4 West Compton by Prince

Three Hairs and You're Mine by King Khan & The Shrines

Incarceration Casserole by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages

Man With Soul by Alex Maiorano & The Black Tales

Everybody Wanna Get Rich Rite Away by Dr. John

 

Meth of a Rockette's Kick by Mercury Rev

Me and Max by Harry "The Hipster" Gibson

Widow's Grove by Tom Waits

CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

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Friday, September 11, 2015

TERRELL'S TUNE-UP: British Blues Royalty plus Tonight's Rev. Peyton/Imperial Rooster Show

UPDATED: I corrected the date of the Sons of Royalty show!

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 
September 11, 2015


Bobby Tench, Papa George, Pete Rees of Sons of Royalty
A ragtag band of British bikers on holiday are tearing through the West — from San Francisco to Santa Fe — while trying to live some crazy rock ’n’ roll dream. The tour features The Sons of Royalty, a grizzled group of rockers whose members have backed an amazing array of famous acts.

How can we stop this hog-riding menace?

Don’t stop ’em. Join ’em.

For one thing, even though they’re bound to raise some hell, they’re also raising money for charity. The Sons of Royalty will be hitting Skylight in Santa Fe next Saturday, (Sept. 19), for a night of blues-rock and good times.

The British bikers (and participants who choose to travel by car) who are taking part in the tour have agreed to pledge at least 1,000 pounds to the ChildLine Rocks program, which is a free, confidential helpline  for children and teenagers in the United Kingdom, part of Great Britain’s National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. In Santa Fe,  proceeds from ticket sales will go to La Luz de Santa Fe Family Shelter.

According to the Sons’ website:

“This year is the fifth Great British Invasion and sees the event head to the west of America for more Harley-based japes involving incredible rides and, quite possibly, the firing of guns (legally, of course). You’ll fly into San Francisco in mid-September and from there it’s an 11-day exploration on two wheels, taking in Yosemite, Death Valley, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Route 66, the Sandia Mountains, and New Mexico (Breaking Bad country).”

The trip has been dubbed “Standing on the Corner: In the Footsteps of Bobby Troup.” If you don’t get the reference, he’s the guy who wrote the song “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66.”

Last year, the invasion was a trip through the South, including stops at Sun Studios in Memphis and actor Morgan Freeman’s Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Freeman himself appeared at that event, and the Sons of Royalty website implies that he might show up this year, telling potential travelers to bring extra cash for “all the drinks you’ll want to buy Morgan Freeman.”

I dunno.

You might not be familiar with the names of the individual Sons of Royalty, who have also played together under the name the Barnes Blues Band. But they have backed several big-time stars.

Mama Royalty's baby boys
Guitarist and singer Bobby Tench, for example, has been a member of the Jeff Beck Group and he has recorded with the late Texas blues great Freddie King, Van Morrison (he played lead guitar on the Wavelength album), Eric Burdon, Humble Pie, reggae singer Junior Marvin (best known for his Clash-covered song “Police and Thieves”), and too many others to count. But having just recently seen the documentary Beware of Mr. Baker, I’m most impressed with the fact that Tench played, under the name Bobby Gass, on a 1972 Ginger Baker album (Stratavarious) with Nigerian wizard Fela Ransome-Kuti.

Keyboardist Tim Hinkley has earned a reputation as an ace studio musician, appearing on the Rolling Stones’ Some Girls album, the Who’s Quadrophenia film soundtrack, and records by R & B great Esther Phillips, Thin Lizzy, Humble Pie, Bad Company, and Alvin Lee. Hinkley also once backed Tom Waits on a British television special.

The other Sons aren’t slouches either.

The second guitarist/singer in the group, Papa George, has built a cult following as a blues artist. He started playing as a teenager at a Knightsbridge restaurant called the Borshtch ’n’ Tears. (Now that’s the blues!) And here is a local connection: In 2004 the guitarist played on the soundtrack of a movie called World Without Waves, which won the Best Southwest Film award at the Santa Fe  Film Festival that year.

Sons bassist Pete Rees was a member of British bluesman (and former Thin Lizzy guitarist) Gary Moore’s band for 13 years, while drummer Darby Todd has backed the likes of Robert Plant, Ronnie Wood, and founding Animal Alan Price on stage.

The Sons of Royalty will be hitting Skylight (139 W. San Francisco St.) 7 pm  Sept. 19,  Tickets are $20.

Another cool show: Sorry I didn’t give you more warning on this one, but down in Albuquerque on Friday, Sept. 11, The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band is playing, and the pride of Española, The Imperial Rooster, is opening. The show is at  9 p.m. at Low Spirits (2823 Second St. NW), and tickets are $10.

Early this year, guitarist Josh Peyton and his band (wife Breezy Peyton on washboard and vocals and Ben Bussell on drums) unleashed their latest album, So Delicious, on the reconstituted Yazoo label. (The original Yazoo, which started in the 1960s, specialized in compiling old blues, hillbilly, and early jazz 78s.)

That seems appropriate for the Peyton crew. While the musicians are from Indiana, their heart is in the Mississippi Delta, and their sound harks back to those earthy sounds that came out of that region 80 years ago.

Rev. Peyton in Santa Fe a few years ago
So Delicious continues the basic sound the Big Damn Band is known for, kicking off with the chunka-chunka rhythm of “Let’s Jump a Train,” which has a guitar hook similar to that of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Green River.” There is some (so) delicious slide guitar on “Raise a Little Hell,” while “Pot Roast and Kisses” continues Peyton’s tradition of linking romance and food. (See “Mama’s Fried Potatoes” from their 2008 album Whole Fam Damnily.)

Strangely, the most mellow song on the new album is called “Scream at the Night.” It’s downright pretty.

So Delicious is a fine album, and I’m hoping that at the Albuquerque show, the Reverend reaches back and does what I still consider the group’s greatest song: “Your Cousin’s on Cops,” which, yes, is about realizing the bad boy being busted on the TV show is a relative.

xxxx

As for The Imperial Rooster, word is the Rev. Peyton gig will be their last one for some time. They've been playing only occasionally for the last year or so.

Another thing: I just found out last night -- way after I filed the print version of this column -- that none other than Slackeye Slim will be sitting in with the Rooster -- on music saw!

Video time!

Here is The Sons of Royalty's Tench and Papa George in action a couple of years ago.



Here's some Pot Roast and Kisses by Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Bad



And here's our beloved Rooster playing at last year's Muddy Roots Festival

Thursday, September 10, 2015

THROWBACK THURSDAY: The Blind Leading the Blind

This month marks the 122nd anniversary of the birth of Blind Lemon Jefferson (Sept. 24) and the 70th anniversary of the death of Blind Willie Johnson (Sept. 18).

Sounds like a good time to celebrate the music of blind American country bluesmen.

There have been blind musicians basically every since there has been music. But in the American South in the early part of the last century there arose a tradition in which visually-impaired blues singers proudly proclaimed their disability and added "blind" to their names.

Or at least their record companies did.

I'm not sure whether being known as "Blind" Blake or "Blind"
Willie McTell actually helped record sales in those days. But these singers and the others below created some mighty fine tunes and American music would have been much poorer without them.

Let's start with Mr. Jefferson (1893 to 1929), a Texan who, yes, was really named "Lemon." He sang gospel as well as the blues. He began recording in 1925. This one comes from 1926



Blind Blake, aka Arthur Blake (1896-1934), came from Florida or virginia, depending who you believe. He recorded about 80 tracks for Paramount in the 20s and early 30s. Here he's singing a song that's been covered by lots of blues, jazz, jugband and country singers.



Blind Willie Johnson (1897-1945) also came from Texas. Most of his songs were religious but his slide guitar was pure blues.



The other Blind Willie probably is better known, Bob Dylan said it best: "I know no one can sing the blues / Like Blind Willie McTell." McTell (1898 to 1959) hailed from Georgia. He was known for picking a 12-string guitar. Here's a snappy little murder ballad that's best known for its versions by Johnny Cash.



Blind Boy Fuller (1907-1941) was a North Carolina bluesman whose real name was Fulton Allen. He wasn't born blind, but began to lose his eyesight as a teenager. He became known for his "hokum" numbers -- i.e. dirty songs. And he was good at it. Here is one of my favorites.



My token Caucasian here, Blind Alfred Reed, (188--1956), was an influential hillbilly singer from West Virginia. This next song has been covered by Ry Cooder and The Del Lords among others. It's a true anthem of the Great Depression.



Besides blind singers, in the realm of gospel music there also have been blind vocal groups. The most famous is The Five Blind Boys of Alabama. Leader Clarence Fountain still has an active group by that name. But my favorite is Archie Brownlee & The Original Five Blind Boys of Mississippi. Brownlee was born in 1925 and died in 1960. He was discovered by Alan Lomax singing with other students at Mississippi Blind School for Negroes, which was part of Piney Woods School near Jackson, Miss. Lomax recorded them in 1937. Heres a Blind Boys classic.






Wednesday, September 09, 2015

WACKY WEDNESDAY: Salute to Chic-a-Go-Go


Lil' Ratso and Miss Mia
If you live in Chicago and you love rock 'n' roll, chances are you're well acquainted with a cable access show called Chic-a-Go-Go. The show bills itself as "Chicago's Dance Show for Kids of All Ages."

From the website:

Drawing from legendary dance programs like Soul Train and American Bandstand, as well as Chicago's own 1960s shows Kiddie-A-Go-Go and Red Hot and Blues, CHIC-A-GO-GO combines classic TV entertainment with an original, quirky style. And unlike its dance show ancestors, CHIC-A-GO-GO takes advantage of its non-commercial home on the Chicago Access Network to create a diverse TV world that does not have to focus on a single demographic. People of all ages, colors, and backgrounds, linked by their love of music, dance together in harmony on the CHIC-A-GO-GO set. The dancers, who range in age from newborns to youthful seniors, move to the latest Hip Hop music, as well as classic R&B, Rock & Roll, Punk, Funk, and all points in between.
Nobunny does it for the children

The show was the brainchild of Roctober magazine's Jake Austen after writing an article on Kiddie-A-Go-Go.

I'm not sure whether Chic-a-Go-Go is still a going concern, Neither its website nor Roctober's has been updated in more than a year.

But YouTube gives al things a measure of immortality, so on this Wacky Wednesday enjoy some of my favorite clips from Chic-a-Go-Go.

First, there's the ever delightful Nobunny who urges the kids to "Bang a gong to the Son of Sam ..." The kids here seem a little apprehensive -- except the little girl wants to squeeze his snoot.




Hunx & His Punx have played on the show many times



Neil Hamburger does his best to depress the kiddies with one of his sad country songs.



There also are interview segments with an obnoxious puppet named Lil' Ratso. Here, in this 2008 clip, Ratso meets The Cramps.



Here's an interview by Lil' Ratso with Pere Ubu's David Thompson. Thomas warns the children to stay away from musicians, and don't become a musician: "Self expression should be left to the professionals. We're the only ones who can deal with the disappointment."

Then, watch the kids dance to a song by Pere Ubu. Later there's an appearance by a band called Zolar X that sounds pretty cool




Monday, September 07, 2015

Manson Murdered the '60s

Shortly before I left my house to go do Terrell's Sound World at KSFR last night, I stumbled upon a two-part article by Steven L. Jones on the ever-bitchen Murder Ballad Monday blog: "How Charles Manson Murdered the '60s."

I've been a fan of that blog since earlier this year when I was writing about a bloody old murder ballad for a Throwback Thursday.

Murder Ballad Monday is part of The Sing Out website. Sing Out is a decades-old folk music publication, and indeed, most of the murder ballads covered there are traditional folk tunes. But not all of them.

Part one of the Manson story I found last night started out talking about an old Sonic Youth tune, "Death Valley '69" from their Bad Moon Rising album. (I got this vision of a frantic Pete Seeger having a Newport flashback and trying to unplug Sonic Youth with an ax.)

You can read read Part One HERE and Part Two HERE.

And hey, I just noticed that the first comment on Part One was none other than Rennie Sparks of The Handsome Family! (She's a fellow New Mexican too.)

Anywho, Jones' Manson pieces inspired me to slap together a set for my radio show last night, using some of the songs he talked about plus some other tunes. I just posted that set on Mixcloud.



Sunday, September 06, 2015

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

UPDATED! You can hear the Charlie Manson set on the music player at the bottom of this post



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Sunday, September 6, 2015
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


Here's the playlist
OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Let's Jump a Train by The Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band
Lonesome Town by Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater with Los Straitjackets
Treat Her Right by Los Straitjackets with Mark Lindsay
Mister Kicks by Dave & Phil Alvin
Down and Out by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
The Chase by Paul Preston
Adjunct Street by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages
Let's Get Wild by Rudy Grayzell
Bless You by The Devil Dogs

El Preso by Al Hurricane
Saved by The Woggles
Spin That Girl by Lovestruck
Too Much of You by Thee Fine Lines
Lemonade Man by The Electric Mess
Rickshaw Rattletrap by Churchwood
Corner of Fuck and You by The Grannies
Hawkeye the Gnu by The Bonzo Dog Band
Mother Loves Her Children by Leo Welch

Charlie Manson Murdered the 60s
Death Valley 69 by Sonic Youth with Lydia Lunch
Revolution Blues by Neil Young
Never Learn Not to Love by The Beach Boys
Cease to Exist by Charles Manson
Charles Manson Blues by The Flaming Lips
Helter Skelter by The Beatles
Rock 'n' Roll Murder by The Leaving Trains

White Light/White Heat by Lou Reed
Boom Boom/Strange Brew by Buddy Guy
Red Head Walking by Beat Happening
Psychedelic Baby by Rodd & The Librettos
Wish That I Was Dead by The Dwarves
I Want You by David Lynch
When I Wake by Holly Golightly
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

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Friday, September 04, 2015

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

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Friday, Sept. 4, 2015
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

Here's my playlist :

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens

Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash

Fiesta by ThaMuseMeant

The One That Got Away by Legendary Shack Shakers

Granny Panties by Broomdust Caravan

Marijuana the Devil's Flower by Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs

Marijuana the Devil Flower by Johnny Price

LSD by T. Tex Edwards & Out on Parole

A Fool Such as I by Marti Brom

Honky Tonk Man by Johnny Horton

The Night That Porter Wagner Came to Town by Tabby Crabbe

 

Do You Know Thee Enemy by Slim Cessna's Auto Club

Drinking With My Friends by Honky Tonk Hustlas

One Sided Love Affair by Dex Romweber Duo

Cowboy Song by Slackeye Slim

Rings / Pamela Brown by Leo Kottke

I Am Not What I Have Done by Audrey Auld

Life, Love, Death and The Meter Man by Angry Johnny & The Killbillies

 

Raise a Little Hell by Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band

I Like the Way by The Imperial Rooster

Jenna the Cab Driver by Joe West & The Sinners

Don't Knock What You Don't Understand by Steve Train & His Bad Habits

No Expectations by Waylon Jennings

Playboy by Buck Owens

 

In New Orleans (Rising Sun Blues) by Dave & Phil Alvin

Old and In the Way by Old and In the Way

Smile by The Bottle Rockets

This Old Road by Kris Kristofferson

Love Reunited by Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersen

Mudhole by Philip Bradatsch

Big Old Fool of the Year by George Jones

CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets


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Thursday, September 03, 2015

TERRELL'S TUNE-UP: In Memory of Miss Audrey

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 
September 4, 2015


The late Audrey Auld talks to inmates about songwriting
A few months before she died, Tasmanian-born country singer Audrey Auld emailed DJs who play independent and alternative country music with information on her new album, Hey Warden. It contained the following message for media folks: “My hard truth is that I’m paying huge medical bills and am unable to mail out promo copies of the CD. … Thanks for your understanding.” She included a link to her Dropbox with songs, MP3s, photos, etc.

Huge medical bills. That was the first time I realized she’d been ill. Last month Auld died from cancer in California, where she’d lived for the past year or so. She was fifty-one. Her last album, only eight songs, is one of her best. And I’m not just being sentimental. Hey Warden is a unique work, one that’s truly worthy to remember her by.


It’s a prison album. Several musicians have recorded albums at correctional facilities. The two best known are Johnny Cash — whose At San Quentin and At Folsom Prison are among his best records — and B.B. King, whose Live in Cook County Jail was my introduction to the bluesman some 45 years ago.


Auld’s album was recorded in a studio, not a prison. But five of its songs were co-written by San Quentin inmates. After playing a show in the prison several years ago, Auld was inspired to begin teaching songwriting workshops for inmates there. 


According to the press release for Hey Warden, “Participants would include those who had never written creatively or shared their writing with anyone, to experienced musicians who wrote and played in a band within the prison’s walls. Audrey would initiate the writing session with a song swap, and then propose an idea or a title to explore in writing.” 



After each session Auld gathered song lyrics from prisoners who offered them to her. At home, she’d edit the inmates’ work and add melodies. The inmates’ names are on the songwriter credits (and I assume they get royalties).


The results are pretty impressive. The title song was the first song to come out of the workshops. “I hadn’t hosted a songwriting workshop before so I decided to give them the first line of each verse over a simple blues structure and see what happened.” Like the best of blues songs, the lyrics use wry humor to cope with grim realities. 


“Hey hey warden, can I borrow the keys?/Open up this old cellblock/Where the screws feed rats their cheese/Then I’ll head down to San Antone/Eat my Mama’s black-eyed peas.”


There isn’t much humor in “I Am Not What I Have Done.” Accompanied by just an acoustic guitar, Auld sings the tale of an inmate who knows he’s done wrong. “Drugs filled the void and crazy filled my head/I lost all my faith, I wanted her dead.” But he still tries to keep some sense of dignity. “Now I’m a killer, not a man/I’m a convict, not a son/I’m a felon, the bad guy, outcast/I am not what I have done.”


One of the most gut-wrenching tunes is “Poor Joe.” In the press release, Auld wrote that it was inspired by a letter from one of her workshop participants who was “on the precipice of taking [his] own life.” 


Poor Joe apparently had some unrealistic fantasies about his songwriting teacher. ‘But Joe, I have a husband dear/Joe, I am a wife/He’s the one who shares my songs/It’s he who holds me tight.” In the song, Auld encourages Joe to take his “darkest pain and turn it into light.”


Another song here is “Bread and Roses.” No, it’s not that great old labor song; it’s one Auld wrote herself, inspired by the Bread and Roses organization through which she did her prison songwriting classes. 


She got the idea for the song from the prison’s list of dos and don’ts she received when she started the program. These included a rule that she couldn’t bring any gifts for the inmates.


 “If I could bring you anything, I’d bring a banquet for a king ... I’d have made you a cake, but the hacksaw didn’t fit the pan ... But all I could bring was my guitar and my songs/Bread and roses for the wayward/Been hungry so long.”

Auld kept bringing that gift to the inmates even as her cancer advanced. 


She managed to perform again at San Quentin twice more this year since the album came out, once in March, when she did a show in the prison’s Catholic chapel, playing new songs and showing the video for “I Am Not What I Have Done” for a small audience; then in April, when she did a concert in the prison yard along with other performers for San Quentin’s annual Day of Peace celebration.


With this album, all her fans can share her gift. If you ask me, Audrey Auld was a Tasmanian angel. 


Video time! 


Here are some of Audrey's tunes, starting with the official one for "I AM Not What I Have Done." 




Here is a live version of "Hey Warden" performed with Felix Lucero, one of the inmates who'd help write it. This was Lucero's first gig as a free man. 



And here is an older tune with a special message from the heart.


TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

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