Saturday, January 31, 2004

The Santa Fe Opry Play List

The Santa Fe Opry
Friday, Jan. 30, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Host: Steve Terrell


OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Choctaw Bingo by James McMurtry
The Long Cut by Uncle Tupelo
My Mother's Husband by Lonesome Bob
Down to the Well by Kevin Gordon & Lucinda Williams
Videotaping Our Love by Joe West
The Times They Are a Changin' by Bob Dylan

Do Not Forsake Me/Mad Cow Boogy by The Hudson Shad
Madonna on the Billboard by Kell Robertson
Wild Bill Jones by Bad Livers
Poor Wayfarin' Stranger by Jack White
Drink Up and Go Home by Jerry Garcia & David Grisman
The Beautiful Waitress by Colin Gilmore
You Ain't Gonna Have Old Buck to Kick Around No More by Buck Owens

Iowa City by Eleni Mandell
Second Cup of Coffee by Bill Hearne
Hey Hey by Graham Lindsey
Big Wide World by The Sundowners
I've Got a Lot of Living to Do by Cornell Hurd
You're Lookin' at Country by Loretta Lynn
Across the Borderline by Ry Cooder with Freddy Fender
When People Find Out by Steve Earle
The Lie by The Waco Brothers

Family Tradition by Cracker
I Don't Want Your Millions Mister by Greg Brown
Scrapyard Lullaby by Chris Whitley
Border Radio/Goodnight My Love by Dave Alvin
Abilene by Po' Girl
Lonesome Blues by The Be Good Tanyas
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

Friday, January 30, 2004

Terrell's Tuneup: A Little Country

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican, Jan. 30, 2004

Good country music is timeless. That’s my justification for including some of the following CDs in this column -- the ones that were released several months ago that I somehow didn’t get around to writing about until now.

With that weasely introduction, here’s a bunch of fine country albums.

*Country For True Lovers by Eleni Mandell. This L.A. honky-tonkin’ punk rock girl has perhaps the most subtly seductive and soulful voice I’ve heard in country music in years. Unlike the countless latter-day Patsys and would-be Lorettas out there among rock gals turned country songbirds, there’s not a trace of campiness here. Mandell’s sultry alto rips into your gut before you know what hit you.
Producer (and former Santa Fean) Tony Gilkyson wisely keeps the emphasis on Mandell’s voice, despite some fine instrumentalists here. (Greg Leisz plays on a few cuts and Dave Pearlman plays some heartbreaking steel.)
There’s a few covers here -- Naomi Neville’s “It’s Raining” (fans of the movie Down by Law should remember this one) Merle Haggard’s “I’ve Got a Tender Heart” and a devastating version of Hank Cochran’s “Don’t Touch Me.”
But most impressive are Mandell’s originals. You don’t get a chance to get over the ache of the opening cut “Another Lonely Heart” before she assaults you with the nearly as powerful “Don’t Say You You Care.”
Mandell’s web site says a new jazz album will be released early this year. I bet it’ll be good, but I wouldn’t mind if she stuck around country for awhile.
*Chicago Country Legends by The Sundowners. Want to know what a real-life urban honky tonk sounded like 35 or 40 years ago? This compilation of Chicago’s best known journeymen country band is an enjoyable little document, capturing The Sundowners in their element.
Guitarists Bob Boyd and Don Walls and bassist Curt Delaney were known for their lonesome cowboy harmonies and their huge repertoire of songs. The trio mainly sang country hits, but they also tried their hand at pop oddities like “Clementine” (as in “oh my darlin’,” though The Sundowners covered a weird Bobby Darin novelty version), commercial folk ( The Kingston Trio‘s “Tom Dooley”) and even The Beatles (a shuffling “Something” is included here.)
The fi ain’t high, but if you listen closely you can hear the beer bottles clink and the neon buzz.
*Famous Anonymous Wilderness by Graham Lindsey. If you want to get picky, this one’s closer to folk than country. Lindsey, a former punk rocker who once was a member of Old Skull, an infamous band of pre-teens, sounds pretty close to early ‘60s Freewheelin’ Bob. This is especially true on the near-5-minute “My Museum Blues” and the near-7-minute “Dead Man’s Waltz,” which resembles “To Ramona” with a steel guitar.
This might be off-putting to a casual listener. But some folks said the same thing about Butch Hancock when he started out, and Butch is one of the coolest songwriters alive.
Besides some of Lindsay’s tunes like “Hey Hey” are so addictively catchy you don’t care if it’s Lindsey, Dylan or Fred Flintstone.
Overall I prefer the songs where he uses a full band instead of the guitar-harmonica template. “Emma Rumble” is a brand new murder ballad, while “Viola” sounds like last-call at some backwoods dance.
*From Santa Fe to Las Cruces by Bill Hearne. O.K. Here’s a brand new CD.
Bill and Bonnie Hearne have played together for well over 30 years, most of that time based out of Santa Fe. Although Bonnie released a solo album a few years ago (Saturday Night Girl), this is Bill’s first solo project.
And it’s a mighty good one. Produced by local bass goddess Susan Hyde Holmes (she’s played with Bill & Bonnie for years, as well as the bands Milo de Venus and The Buckerettes), it’s a showcase for Hearnes’ impeccable flat picking, his raspy drawl and his fine taste in songwriters.
There’s three (!) Gordon Lightfoot songs, only one of which I was already familiar with, two by Delbert McClinton, plus tunes penned by Mickey Newbury, Jerry Jeff Walker, Lyle Lovette, Ian Tyson and Guy Clark.
My favorite though -- as is usually the case with Bill & Bonnie albums -- my favorites is an outright honky tonk stomper, “One More Time,” a Mel Tillis song featuring steel guitar (Carmen Acciaoli) and fiddle (Ron Knuth).
From Santa Fe to Las Cruces is available at Borders in Sanbusco, at Clint Mortenson's Silver & Saddles on Rodeo Road, the La Fonda Newstand, at Bill's gigs and online.
*Cold Mountain: Music from the Motion Picture by Various Artists. This compilation won’t set the woods on fire anywhere near the level as producer T. Bone Burnett’s landmark soundtrack of O Brother Where Art Thou? did a few years ago.
Nothing here is as loveable as Harry McClintock‘s “Big Rock Candy Mountain” or as earth-movingly majestic as Alison Krauss’ “River to Pray.” And why did Burnett feel obligated to include the orchestrated incidental music by Gabriel Yared?
Still, there’s some great traditional and traditional-sounding music here. White Stripes honcho Jack White -- who has never hidden his love for country bluesmen like Blind Willie McTell and Charlie Patton -- impressively pulls off hillbilly music, backed by the likes of Norman and Nancy Blake, Dirk Powell and fiddler Stuart Duncan.
Also impressive are the two “sacred harp” songs here. Recorded at Liberty Baptist Church at Henagar, Alabama, this foreign-sounding but very American style of gospel music is strong medicine.
Krauss has a couple of gorgeous tunes here, the best being “The Scarlet Tide,” which sounds like it might be some forgotten Civil War-era song, though it was written by Burnett and Elvis Costello.

Thursday, January 29, 2004

Hog Waller


My old friend Ray Dozier from Oklahoma City recently e-mailed me a link to a web site that brought back many childhood memories.

Click here, then check out Episodes 15-17 (over on the left side of the page.) You'll learn about my favorite television and radio stations of my childhood, (both called WKY), as told by Chuck Dunaway, aka Hog Waller.

CORRECTION
In the Roundhouse Round-up below, Sen. Ted Kennedy actually will be in Espanola Saturday, not Santa Fe on Friday.


(In photo: Foreman Scotty, left in cowboy hat; Hog Waller, center, sitting)

UPDATE 6-28-06: The above link to Chuck Dunaway's biography has been changed.

Roundhouse Round-up: Caucus Countdown

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican, Jan. 29, 2004

It's only five days until New Mexico's Democratic presidential vote.

Do you know where your candidate is?

Watching CNN after the New Hampshire primary late Tuesday night I almost felt like I was reading New Mexico Magazine's "One of Our 50 is Missing."

The news channel ran reports about the Feb. 3 contests in Missouri, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Arizona and even Delaware. But nothing about this Enchanted Land.

Hey! We've got more delegates than Delaware!

New Mexico did get mentioned a few times in the post-primary pundit fest. In most of those instances the talking heads listed us after Arizona as the only states where Howard Dean still has a chance of winning.

Here they come: But all the campaigns insist their candidates haven't forgotten New Mexico.

The only confirmed Santa Fe visit by an actual candidate at this writing is retired Gen. Wesley Clark, who is scheduled to give a speech at the Inn at Loretto at 5:30 p.m. Friday. Last time Clark was in town he lost his voice somewhere between a press conference and an appearance at a food bank.

The general's son, Wesley Clark Jr., will be campaigning in Northern New Mexico this week. He'll be at Taos Pueblo to meet with the governor, the war chief and other tribal officials today at 4 p.m. and at Los Niños Kindergarten in Española 9:30 a.m. Friday.

No word on any Santa Fe visits from newly crowned front-runner John Kerry. But some of his surrogates have Santa Fe on their itineraries. Henry Cisneros, the former Housing and Urban Development secretary and former San Antonio mayor, was in town Thursday for a breakfast with potential Kerry backers in the state Legislature.

And on Friday, Ted Kennedy will be in town to campaign for his fellow Massachusetts senator. I suspect the Kennedy name still has some magic here for longtime Democrats. Retired Judge Art Encinias used to tell stories about going into homes in Rio Arriba County with pictures of three people on their walls -- Jesus Christ, John F. Kennedy and former state Sen. Emilio Naranjo.

Speaking of Naranjo, the state Kerry campaign announced Wednesday that the old Rio Arriba political lion has endorsed the Massachusetts senator.

Kerry said in a phone interview Tuesday that he'd like to make a stop in Santa Fe this week. But that's what they all say. Kerry's only verified New Mexico stops so far are in Albuquerque. On Sunday he'll root for the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl at the home of a supporter. The next day he'll appear at a "breakfast town hall" before heading to Arizona.

Other whistlestops: John Edward's wife, Elizabeth Edwards, plans to be in Santa Fe on Sunday for a party hosted by County Commissioner Mike Anaya and Patrice Chavez. Before that, the candidate's spouse will phone bank with volunteers in Santa Fe. Later that night she'll attend a party in Española hosted by Rio Arriba Probate Judge Marlo Martinez.

Edwards himself will be in Albuquerque the day before.

Howard Dean is scheduled for an appearance Friday night in Albuquerque, his state campaign announced Wednesday.

The most fun campaign event before the caucus sounds like an Albuquerque concert for longshot contender Dennis Kucinich.

The show will feature Michelle Shocked and Santa Fe resident (and Dave Matthews Band crony) Tim Reynolds. It's 7:30 p.m. Sunday at The University of New Mexico's Woodward Hall. The candidate also will speak at the show.

Back Door politics: My nomination for the best name for a caucus site is Rick's Back Door in Los Lunas.

Although the name might sound like a good cocktail lounge, according to Brandy Slagel of the Valencia County News-Bulletin, it's just a banquet hall that people rent out.

Tuesday, January 27, 2004

TOM RIDGE WANTS YOUR BANK ACCOUNT!!!!!

Not really. That's just the gist of a new e-mail scam going around.

A colleague in the Capitol press room yesterday got an e-mail that began:

"In cooperation with the Department Of Homeland Security, Federal, State and Local Governments your account has been denied insurance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation due to suspected violations of the Patriot Act. While we have only a limited amount of evidence gathered on your account at this time it is enough to suspect that currency violations may have occurred in your account and due to this activity we have withdrawn Federal Deposit Insurance on your account until we verify that your account has not been used in a violation of the Patriot Act."

To correct this impending unjust financial ruin, all you have to do is follow the link at the bottom of the e-mail.

However, according to the good folks at Snopes.com (which tracks urban legends, internet rumors, scams, etc.) the link doesn't lead to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation site as it says, but to a phony site --- in Pakistan.

Don't go there, friends.

But do check out Snopes.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

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