ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: ROCKING THE LOVE BOAT

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican

It's pretty clear that New Mexico Democrats love John Kerry and John Edwards.

But it's also clear that New Mexico Democrats don't always love each other.

Case in point, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish and Attorney General Patricia Madrid.

The two ran against each other in the lieutenant governor primary in 1994 (Madrid won, but she and Gov. Bruce King lost in the general election.) And both are generally thought to harbor the ambition of one day being elected as the first female governor of the state.

In an interview Tuesday, the day Kerry announced that Edwards would be his running mate on the national Democratic ticket, Denish was talking about Edwards would help Kerry in the state.

When asked why Edwards came in a distant fourth in the state Democratic caucus last February, she said that was because his organization in the state wasn't strong. "You didn't see much of an (Edwards) organization here, just a few people out front," Denish said.

And who was in charge of Edwards' organization in the state? Attorney General Patricia Madrid.

But neither side on Wednesday wanted to rock the Democratic love boat - especially not with Kerry and Edwards coming to the state on Friday.

Caroline Buerkle, a spokeswoman for Madrid - and herself a part of Edwards' New Mexico caucus campaign - disagreed that Edwards' state organization was weak. But she said Madrid didn't want to comment on Denish's remarks. "We'll take the high road on this one," she said.

Meanwhile, Lauran Cowdrey, a spokeswoman for Denish, said the lieutenant governor didn't mean her remarks to interpreted as "a slam" against anyone.

"She just meant that she just couldn't identify a big organization for Edwards, whereas Kerry did have a big organization," Cowdrey said. "It was intended as a compliment to the Kerry campaign."

The return of medical marijuana: It seems like a different epoch back when Gary Johnson was governor and it looked like there was a decent chance that the Legislature might pass a law allowing New Mexicans suffering from serious medical conditions to legally use marijuana to treat their symptoms.

But it was just three years ago in 2001 when both the House and Senate passed different medical-marijuana bills. But because neither bill made it through both Houses, neither could be signed into law.

Even though Gov. Bill Richardson has said he'd consider signing a medical-marijuana bill, he also made it clear that it wasn't one of his priorities. Richardson appointed John Denko, an outspoken foe of medical marijuana, as Public Safety secretary. And when such a bill came to a vote in the House in 2003, many lawmakers who'd voted for it before changed their minds. The bill went up in smoke.

Though the political climate has changed, Reena Szcepanski, director of the New Mexico Drug Policy Project, said Wednesday her group intends to make another go for medical marijuana.

Though there hasn't been much movement in New Mexico on the issue in the past couple of years, Vermont recently became the ninth state to pass a medical-marijuana bill, Szcepanski noted. And polls around the country still show widespread support for the concept.

Support for medical marijuana hasn't completely evaporated in the Legislature. The winners of all three contested Democratic legislative primaries last month - Rep. Jim Trujillo, Rep. Peter Wirth and Senate candidate John Grubesic - all are on record for supporting a medical marijuana bill. (Wirth and Grubesic have opponents in the general election.)

Starr Time!: He was a solicitor general of the United States. He served two years on the U.S. Court of Appeals. He's the future dean of Pepperdine University School of Law. But come on, admit it. You only know him as the guy who examined the blue dress that led to the impeachment of a president.

Ken Starr, the special prosecutor who never learned what Bill Clinton's definition of "is" is, will be speaking in Albuquerque next week to a civic group called The One Hundred Club of New Mexico.

Tickets to the event (noon, July 16 at the Albuquerque Country Club) cost $20 per person. For reservations call 243-3525 by Monday.

THE ELVIS CONSPIRACY

I always knew deep in my heart that the story of Elvis was much larger than the story of the rise and fall of an entertainer.

This confirms it.

CLICK HERE

LAST HOURS OF NIGHT

My KSFR buddy and accomplished radio ranter Chris Goldstein has revamped his web site for his Wednesday night show The Last Hours of Night CLICK HERE

The new site includes a well-deserved rant against the cynical sham of a Clear Channel outlet based in Santa Fe claiming to be a "community radio" station. Chris doesn't name the offender, but it's KBAC.

Listen to Chris' show 10 p.m. Wednesday night on KSFR, 90.7 FM REAL community radio.

DEWEY BEATS TRUMAN!

Sometimes nightmares come true.

Here's every newspaper person's nightmare.

Here's the original story published in The New York Post, CLICK HERE.

And here's a story from the journalism trade publication Editor & Publisher. CLICK HERE

TO SING AN AMERICAN TUNE ...

Last night when I played Paul Simon's "American Tune" to cap off the 4th of July Terrell's Sound World, I was trying to explain to my co-host Laurell what that song means to me. Probably didn't do a great job doing that.

But then I remembered something I'd written on the old AOL No Depression Music Board back in 1999, a ranting that later was published in No Depression magazine (Issue #22, July 1999).

Here's the significance of "American Tune":

It was the fall of 1973; I'd just turned 20 years old (that was actually in Columbia, Missouri, at a bar called the Loading Zone; I'd just learned of Gram Parsons’ death), and I was on my first great hitchhiking adventure across these United States. Somewhere outside of Madison, Wisconsin, I got picked up by three fools from Connecticut in a VW Bus they called Lightnin’. The Lightnin’ boys were like me: out on the road to glimpse Kerouac's vision before things started changing too much.

We traveled together several days, had a great time, got chased out of South Dakota from a little drugstore town. Back on that first night, traversing southern Minnesota at night, we had dinner at a truck stop and purchased two 8-track tapes: Rock 'n' roll Is Here To Stay by Sha Na Na, and There Goes Rhymin' Simon by Paul Simon.

Whenever I hear “American Tune”, my mind goes back to that bus called Lightnin': "We come on a ship they called the Mayflower/We come on a ship that sailed the moon…” But I just see this crowded VW bus, driver Bruce chugging bourbon while outmaneuvering the pursuing rednecks in South Dakota, or chugging up an impossible hill in Montana. I see Nixon in the White House, just starting to talk to the statues. Agnew was being prepared for the sacrifice... “We come in the age's most uncertain hour/To sing an American Tune…”

I recall us convincing the ranger at Mount Rushmore to turn on the lights even though it was way after hours, and all of us, maybe even the ranger, singing "America The Beautiful" when the faces were lit. Singing "Days Of ’49" in a campground restroom; hearing the Allman Brothers' "Ramblin' Man" in almost every other car that picked me up. And Sha Na Na: "If you don't like rock ’n’ roll, think what you've been missing…” I hear it all in "American Tune".

"Still tomorrow's gonna be another working day," Simon sang. Yeah, before we all knew it, just about every day would be another working day. But damn, the adventure was fun while it lasted.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAY LIST

Sunday, July 4, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Host: Steve Terrell
Guest Co-Host: Laurell Reynolds

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
America by Lou Reed
4th of July by X
Rockin' in the Free World by Neil Young
One Time One Night by Los Lobos
200 Years Old by Frank Zappa with Captain Beefheart
Something Broken in the Promised Land by Wayne Kramer

4th of July Asbury Park (Sandy) by Bruce Springsteen
U.S. Blues by The Grateful Dead
4th of July by Soundgarden
American Music by The Blasters
People Have the Power by Patti Smith
Gallent Men by Sen. Everett McKinley Dirksen

Bad Days by The Flaming Lips
Thats Not Really Funny by the Eels
Fighting For Strangers by Steeleye Span
I'm Gonna Miss You by Slim Harpo
Scratch My Back by the Flamin Groovies
The Messiah Will Come Again by Roy Buchanan
I Need Love by Little Richard

The Life and Death of Mr. Badmouth by PJ Harvey
Handshake Drugs by Wilco
The Great Event by Leonard Cohen
Can't Keep From Cryin' by Pentangle
Johnny Mathis' Feet by American Music Club
American Tune by Paul Simon
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

Strange Conversation

I had a very weird little exchange with Gov. Bill Richardson following a press conference Friday. I'm not sure what it means. Probably just a misunderstanding? Who knows? And it's true, he was trying to be nice, and I ended up being a smart ass. But I thought it was kind of funny.


Richardson: I read your music column today. You didn't like that guy, huh?

Me: No, I liked everyone I wrote about today. {Graham Parker, etc.}

Richardson: Well maybe it was last week.

Me: No, I think I wrote about Ray Charles last week. {Note: I was mistaken. Actually I wrote about Ray Charles two weeks ago}

Richardson: How's Ray Charles doing?

Me: Oh, he's still dead.

{Unfortunately this conversation wasn't taped. But I wrote it down immediately when I got back to my office in the Capitol after the press conference while it was still fresh in my head.}

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAY LIST

The Santa Fe Opry
Friday, July 2, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Fourth of July by Dave Alvin
American Trash by Betty Dylan
Warmed Over Kisses, Leftover Love by Dave Edmunds
Fairground by Graham Parker
Beyond Our Means by Dollar Store
River of No Return by Jon Rauhouse with Neko Case
Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got) by Leon Ashley
The Squid Jiggin' Ground by Peter Stampfel & The Bottle Caps

Future Mrs. Dave/F.M.D.R.I.P by Uncle Dave & The Waco Brothers
Dirty Drawers by Vassar Clements with Elvin Bishop
Move Along by The Lonesome Brothers
My Name is Jorge by The Gourds
I'm Gonna Take You Home and Make You Like Me by Robbie and Donna Fulks
Stupid Boy by The Gear Daddies
I'm Still in Love With Every Girl by Floyd Tillman with Justin Trevino

My Country Too by Kell Robertson
Trouble on the Line by Loretta Lynn
It'll Only End in Tears by Eric Ambel
You Are My Flower by Willie Nelson
Let's Flirt by Cornell Hurd with Conni Hancock
Festival Zydeco by Cyndi Lauper
Kindness by Eric Hisaw
Gail With The Golden Hair by The Handsome Family

You Don't Know Me by Susanna Van Tassel
On the Sea of Galilee by Emmylou Harris with the Peasall Sisters
I Wish by Marlee MacLeod
Something to Look Forward Too by Jon Dee Graham
You Got to Say by Michael Hurley
One of the Unsatisfied by Lacy J. Dalton
Going Where The Lonely Go by Merle Haggard
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

TERRELL'S TUNE-UP: THE OTHER GP

As published in The New Mexican

As if he hasn‘t already had problems with people mistaking his name for “Gram Parsons,” Graham Parker — the same Graham Parker, who for 30 years or so has played his own brand of soul music with a punk-rock heart — has made a “country” album.

But before Parker purists get cranky, the new album Your Country isn’t some kind of hokey genre exercise. Unlike some rockers who “go country,” Parker doesn’t sound like he’s auditioning for some Hee-Haw revival.

In other words, this album is closer in sound to Elvis Costello’s King of America than it is to Elvis Costello’s Almost Blue.

(Poor Parker — since the late ‘70s he’s had to endure comparisons with Elvis Costello — both arose from the British pub-rock scene and both used Nick Lowe as a producer in the early days. I suppose he’ll survive this comparison too.)

Your Country has a rockabilly take on “Crawling From the Wreckage,” an old Parker song best known for its version by Dave Edmunds. And most surprisingly, there’s a Grateful Dead cover, “Sugaree.” Robert Hunter’s lyrics sound natural coming from Parker’s mouth: “You thought you was the cool fool/ and never could do no wrong/Had everything sewed up tight/how come you lay awake all night long?”

But more importantly , there are some top-notch new songs here.
“Cruel Lips,” a duet with Lucinda Williams, is a wicked put-down song with a bittersweet melody that could have been written by that other GP.

“Tornado Alley,” a cool country-rocker, has even more brutal lyrics: “But when that twister rolled through Kentucky/And ripped up our trailer park/I saw your big butt flyin’ through the window/And the hound dogs started to bark.”

“Fairground” is full of acidic character sketches of carnies: “See that girl in the tattered dress/who runs the Octopus ride/She’s no more than fourteen/and already one inside/and every tattoo that’s tattooed/upon her hide/tells the story of her life/a life of pain and pride.”

My personal favorite is “Things I Never Said” is an emotional love ballad with a deceptively simple melody and a sweet steel by Ben Peeler. Though the title suggests regrets over a lost love, the situation is more complex and interesting. It’s about feeling lost and empty with a current lover.

Country or not, Your Country is full of that old Graham Parker spark.

Also Recommended:
*Jon Rauhouse’s Steel Guitar Rodeo. This is a good-time outing by one of Bloodshot Records' most dependable sidemen, steel guitar stud Rauhouse.

Here the Arizonan — who also picks a little banjo and guitar — teams up with a small army of musicians, including members of the Giant Sand/Calexico axis.

The most memorable tunes here are sung by Bloodshot’s bevy of bitchen babes: Kelly Hogan (who sings a sultry take on James Brown’s “Prisoner of Love” and a torch tune called “Smoke Rings”); Neko Case (who soars on a sweet but spooky “River of No Return,” a western movie theme previously recorded by Tennessee Ernie Ford, The Sons of the Pioneers and, I’m not kidding, Marilyn Monroe, who starred in the 1954 film); and Mekons songbird Sally Timms, who does a sweet, sexy “(There’ll Be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover,” a popular World War II song from England.

There’s some jaunty instrumentals here too, my favorite being the steel guitar take on the “Perry Mason Theme,” one of history’s greatest “crime-jazz” songs of all-time — written by Santa Fe resident Fred Steiner.

*9 Slices of My Midlife Crisis by Uncle Dave & The Waco Brothers. At ease, Waco Brothers fans. It’s been a couple of years since the last real Wacos album, New Deal and this doesn’t really count as a follow-up. Like Jon Langford’s All the Fame of Lofty Deeds and Dean Schlabowske’s recent side project, Dollar Store, this is something of a teaser.

Here the Wacos back up an old pal, New York songwriter Dave Herndon. Missing is the crazed country-style anarchy the Wacos are known for, not to mention Langford’s — and Schlabowske’s — songwriting.

But here’s some worthy tunes here, such as the slow, sweet “West Side Wind” (featuring some weeping steel from Mark Durante) and the rocking “I Love You Baby (And I Hate Myself)”

But my favorites are a pair of songs about the “Future Mrs. Dave.” In the song of that title, this unknown woman is Uncle Dave’s ideal, who’s “always looking’ good no matter what she wears” and stands by her Dave even when he’s drunk or unemployed or sulking or raving.

Then the last song “F.M.D.R.I.P.” starts out with the Wacos singing in a Druid/jungle chant “Future Mrs. Dave, Future Mrs. Dave, Future Mrs. Dave is dead …” Turns out that Uncle Dave has come to the sad realization that Future Mrs. Dave “existed only in my lonely head,” so he kills her off, metaphorically speaking.

*Dollar Store. Jon Langford is truly the high priest of The Waco Brothers, but Dean Schlabowske’s contributions shouldn’t be overlooked. With his hoarse Wisconsin drawl, he’s been out on some of the band’s best songs, including “Out There A Ways,” “Red Brick Wall,” and the anti-Bush tune from New Deal “The Lie.”

This album doesn‘t have any songs quite as memorable, but it’s a good solid album. The band includes Waco bassist Alan Doughty, and, on most tracks, Jon Rauhouse on steel and sometimes Hawaiian guitar and banjo.

“Beyond Our Means“ is a sad song about self-loathing. “Amazing Disgrace” (which features Dave Alvin on lead guitar) is a slow, burning put-down song, while “Little Autocrat” is a snarling Neil Young rocker.

And in the weird covers department, Dollar Store does a Cher song, “Believe.” This one’s becoming an alt country ironic fave. Fellow Bloodshot singer Robbie Fulks has been known to perform it in his live shows.

ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDHOUSE: ANOTHER MAVERICK REPUBLICAN

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican

There’s a tradition in New Mexico of maverick Republicans. Think of Gov. Gary Johnson driving about half his party crazy with his advocacy of drug-law reform. Think of Gov. “Lonesome Dave” Cargo driving his party crazy with just about everything he said and did.

The latest to join the state’s maverick Republican ranks is Al Lopez, who is running against incumbent Democrat Sen. Phil Griego for the District 39 Senate seat. Lopez is calling for Northern New Mexican Republican candidates to hold press conferences “outlining that our candidacies are not promoting the re-election of President Bush.”

Lopez said this week that Bush has a “terrible credibility gap” with voters in his district — which includes parts of Santa Fe, San Miguel, Mora, Los Alamos and Taos counties. “When I go out and talk to voters, the two main things they want to talk about are George Bush and Bill Richardson,” he said.

“I am doing very well in establishing good relations with Hispanic Democrats, but the cross I have to bear in carrying the Republican banner is justifying being a Republican and answering questions regarding the Iraq war,” Lopez said.

Lopez pointed out that District 39 is not only heavily Democratic (65 percent), it voted significantly in favor of Al Gore in 2000.

But Lopez hasn’t completely jumped ship. He hasn’t endorsed John Kerry. At least not yet, he said.

“When (voters) ask me about Bush,” Lopez said, “I just tell them to think, listen, evaluate and decide for yourself. I’d rather be talking about issues related to District 39 — why Mora and San Miguel are ranked so low (in per capita income), how we can help Hispanic kids in trouble.”

More ship-jumping

Last week the local Republican Party welcomed Santa Fe City Councilor David Pfeffer, a Democrat who endorsed Bush. However, up in Los Alamos, the GOP has lost a city councilor.
Mike Wismer, according to the online Majure Report, has announced he switched his party affiliation from Republican to independent last month.

Wismer, a Desert Storm veteran, said Thursday that the Iraq War was the main reason for his switch.

“I am troubled by the political passion of those on the extreme right who seem to claim divine wisdom on political as well as spiritual matters,” he said in the Majure Report. “On the other side of the spectrum, I am put off by patronizing liberals who claim to know what is best for society but devote little thought as to who will pay the bills.”

Battling chairmen

They’re not quite as much fun as John Dendahl and Jamie Koch were a couple of years ago when Dendahl was state GOP chairman and Koch was his Democratic counterpart. But the new guys in those jobs — Republican Allen Weh and Democrat John Wertheim — are showing some promise in terms of political entertainment.

Last week, Weh was milking the national story about an anti-Bush group called America Coming Together hiring some felons to do door-to-door canvassing in other states.
“ACT has admitted to sending felons convicted of sex crimes and assault to conduct voter registration efforts in as many as 17 states,” Weh wrote to Wertheim, a missive that was provided to the press, of course.

“Despite initial willingness to clarify their hiring process they now refuse to say whether they sent a murderer and a rapist door to door.”

Pointing out that New Mexico was “the last state in the country to pass a real Megan’s Law,” which he said has made the state “a haven for violent sexual predators,” Weh said to Wertheim: “I hope you will make clear that the Democratic Party of this state, under your direction, is not using similar tactics to register voters.”

This week, Wertheim shot back a letter to Weh — also sent to the press, of course — arguing that ACT isn’t part of the Democratic Party.

Wertheim also twisted the knife.

“Your objections to the employment of felons are belied by the candidacy of convicted felon John Ryan in New Mexico’s tenth Senate District,” he said.

“As you recall, Mr. Ryan pleaded guilty and was convicted for his participation in a burglary and extortion scheme in 1980.”

When Johnson was governor, he pardoned Ryan.

Finally Wertheim told Weh: “I know yours is a stressful job, and that sometimes we all need to get away for a little while and clear our heads. Movies can be helpful in this regard.

“For your enjoyment, I have enclosed two tickets for you and a friend to Fahrenheit 911. Enjoy.”

GOP Executive Director Greg Graves said Wednesday that Weh hasn’t received Wertheim’s letter — or the tickets.

“We weren’t asking (Wertheim) to be cute,” Graves said. “This is a very serious thing.”
He said Weh has no interest in seeing Michael Moore’s movie.