Wednesday, August 09, 2006

DEVELOPERS CONTRIBUTED TO LYONS CAMPAIGN

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
August 9, 2006


Developers who contracted with the State Land Office to prepare more than 400 acres for sale have contributed to the re-election campaign of incumbent Land Commissioner Pat Lyons.

The land in Rio Rancho includes 216 acres where The University of New Mexico wants to build a west-side campus. Some UNM regents have criticized the business lease with the developers — which was awarded without going through a bid process — as a “sweetheart deal.”

The State Land Office contracted with a team of developers consisting of West Wood Realty of Albuquerque, GSL Properties Inc. of Portland, Ore., and Gregory Campbell of Rio Rancho, who works as a broker for West Wood.

According to state campaign-finance records, the Lyons campaign has received $500 from West Wood, $500 from West Wood manager John Black; $500 from Campbell and $500 from Walter Grodahl III, the chief executive officer of GSL.

Lyons on Tuesday denied the contributions had anything to do with the developers getting the contract.

But Democrat Jim Baca, who is running against Republican Lyons, said, “I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”

Lyons also denied the contract for the Rio Rancho land involved preferential treatment. “It’s no sweetheart deal,” he said. “There’s a business risk. They could lose money.”

Lyons said it’s standard procedure to approve such leases to develop trust land, and bidding is not required for leases of five years or less.

But, he said Tuesday, “maybe next time we’ll put ’em out to bid, and we’ll see what happens.”

Baca said the Rio Rancho contract and other no-bid development contracts with the State Land Office shows the need for an independent board to oversee the office’s transactions.

UNM regents expressed interest in buying the 439 acres of state trust land from the State Land Office when it was appraised for $16,500 an acre. About half would be used for the proposed new campus and the other half for commercial development to provide income for the school and to help cover the cost of the new campus.

Lyons said state law requires him to sell the land at fair market value, which currently is $32,000 an acre. Even though UNM is a beneficiary of money made on state trust lands, a spokeswoman for Lyons said that particular parcel is earmarked to benefit elementary and secondary public schools.

The property borders an area where Rio Rancho’s city hall is to be built and an arena is scheduled to open in October.

The lease charges the developers $5,000 a year and requires them to do master planning and engineering and design work to prepare the land for sale.

The developers would receive 40 percent of the land’s increase in value above a base figure of about $15,000 an acre. In addition, they get reimbursed for the money they spend on the project.

The Associated Press was used in this report.

Monday, August 07, 2006

BUSK A MOVE


I had a nice chat with Michael Combs of the Santa Fe Buskers last night. He told me that on Wednesday the City Council will consider his group's proposal to allow musicians to play for tips on downtown Santa Fe streets.

He told me that local government first got interested in restricting street entertainment back in the 1800s. Something about Mexican acrobats performing downtown. (Sounds like an insurance nightmare.)

I first met Michael about 20 years ago when I was covering City hall for the Journal North and he was leading a one-man fight for his right to pick his tunes downtown. His opponents were downtown merchants who seemed to be in great fear that street musicians would somehow scare away affluent tourists. "Gee I'd like to buy that $15,000 sculpture, but I just gave my last buck to a guy singing Bob Dylan songs up the street ..."

Combs lost that battle in the 80s. But he didn't give up. (And indeed, some of his opponents blew out of town long ago. I assume they managed to go broke without the help of street singers.)

I think it's obvious where my sympathies lie. Here's what the S.F. Buskers argue:

1. Santa Fe prides itself and markets itself on its orientation to the arts and culture. Busking is another wonderful artistic, cultural outlet and phenomenon that is an integral part of many great cities.

2. Busking will enliven the streets of downtown Santa Fe and help draw locals and tourists alike to the downtown area. This builds community.

3. Local musicians benefit from an additional source of income, and Santa Fe benefits in turn by having a better music scene.


I just snapped the above picture of a busker in Boulder, Colorado's Pearl Street Mall last week. This guy didn't seem to be driving away commerce there. Take a deep breath, Santa Fe shopkeeps. The empire won't crumble over a few guys with a few bucks in their guitar cases.

So check out the web site for Santa Fe Buskers . Note the proposed code of conduct and see exactly what Combs and crew are asking for.

And if you can, show up at City Hall about 7 p.m. Wednesday.

SNAKES!


I got a personal messager from Samuel L. Jackson this morning.

I guess my friend Dana told him about me.

CLICK HERE

(For some more surreal fun go HERE or HERE or HERE)

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, August 6, 2006
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell


OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Broken Boy Soldiers by The Raconteurs
You'll Be Mine by Mark Pickerel & His Praying Hands
The Interpretor by Roky Erikson
Going South by Dead Moon
Big New Prinz by The Fall
Hurdy Gurdy Man by The Butthole Surfers
Sunshine Superman by Husker Du
Tony's Theme by The Pixies

Powderburns by The Twilight Singers
The Temple by The Afghan Whigs
Pussywillow by Greg Dulli
Is This Where by Mission of Burma
The Number by Pretty Girls Make Graves
Joey by Concrete Blonde
Columbian Necktie by Big Black
Needles and Pins by The Ramones

The Likes of You Again by Flogging Molly
Captain Kelly's Kitchen by Dropkick Murphys
Danny Boy by Black 47
The Whole Thing Stinks by Rico Bell
The Ghosts of Belfast by Bap Kennedy
Donegal Express by Shane MacGowan
Whiskey in a Jar by Thin Lizzie

Assembly of Dog by Hundred Year Flood
Junco Partner by The Clash
Advanced Romance by Frank Zappa, Capt. Beefheart & The Mothers of Invention
Only You and Your Ghost Will Know by The Mekons
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

Sunday, August 06, 2006

RICHARDSON ON NEW HAMPSHIRE

I didn't cover Gov. Bill Richardson's latest trip to New Hampshire like I did on one of his trips last year. For one thing I was on vacation this time. For another, it doesn't sound like he said much new up there this time.

The governor, just like in June 2005, went there not to campaign for president (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) but to help fellow New Hampshire's Democratic Gov. John Lynch (yeah, that's the ticket ...)

Once again he made headlines by stoutly defending New Hampshire's right to have the earliest primary. A year ago I quoted him at a Manchester breakfast saying, "Besides the fact that it’s your birthright, you are the grass-roots state."

"Being from New Mexico, I believe very strongly in a Western primary. People from the West should have a say in who is chosen for president. The people of Keene should have the same right as the people of Manchester, " he joked that day. (Read my original report HERE )

Late last year, in an interview with Time magazine, Richardson spoke of the "divine right" of early primary states. (I had fun with that one in my Dec. 8 column.)

By the way, if anyone's keeping count, last week was Richardson's fourth trip -- at least -- to New Hampshire since becoming governor of New Mexico.

UPDATE: According to the Journal's Mike Coleman, there was one difference between this summer's trip to New Hampshire and last summer's.

No speeding.

Richardson joked (or was he serious?) that his driver didn't speed because New Hampshire's two-lane highways are congested, and a reporter tailed behind them in a rental car everywhere they went.

Or maybe he just had bad memories of this column last year. CLICK HERE

Friday, August 04, 2006

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: IT'S TWILIGHT TIME

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
August 4, 2006


I liked the Afghan Whigs the first time I heard their song "Retarded" on the Sub Pop compilation The Grunge Years back in 1991. But a year later on their album Congregation, the Whigs covered "The Temple" from Jesus Christ Superstar (a guilty pleasure of mine for about 35 years now). That's when I realized I was going to be a fan of this band and its singer, Greg Dulli, for the long haul.

Sometimes Dulli is the wrathful god ready to take the whip to the money changers. But more often, he's the thief in the temple -- his eye on the jewel in the idol's eye, his hands on the virgins.

The Afghan Whigs folded around the end of the decade, but Dulli raged on with The Twilight Singers, an ever-changing ensemble coloring Dulli's musical visions with 40 shades of dark. Powder Burns is the latest Twilight Singers outing, and it's a mighty one.

After a short, simmering instrumental, Dulli bursts upon the stage with the hard-crunching "I'm Ready," declaring his intentions by the end of the first verse: "I hope I see you out tonight, and I hope we get it on."

Like most of the songs to follow, the sound is big -- guitars, keyboards, and drums work into crescendos. Likewise, Dulli works his voice into inspired frenzies. Sometimes, you don't notice he's been screaming until the song starts to fade.

"Bonnie Brae" is reportedly an autobiographical song about drug abuse. "If she's your master/then get down on your knees and beg for more/I'm not saying it's easier/to live your life like a little whore."

Dulli is at his most evil on "Forty Dollars." With his altered voice harsh and mockingly nasal, he takes the guise of a white street pimp. "Buy your love for $40," he sneers. "I've got love for sale/come on get some before it gets stale." By the end of the tune, he has sardonically quoted two Beatles songs, "All You Need Is Love" and "She Loves You." Dulli actually sings the refrain of the latter, which he also used for the title of a previous Twilight Singers album.

Those aren't the only Beatles references on Powder Burns. During its quieter moments, "There's Been an Accident" features some subtle sounds reminiscent of the East Indian stringed instruments on "Within You, Without You."

Powder Burns has some quieter moments. "Candy Cane Crawl" features background vocals from Ani DiFranco, and "The Conversation" has slide guitar and a string section.

But these serve mainly as apprehensive lulls before the next explosions. After "The Conversation," the album's title song starts out with a sinister guitar riff that might remind Nirvana fans of "Rape Me." This song features strings as well. Almost like a movie soundtrack, the song is easy to imagine as a James Bond theme.

Powder Burns ends with the dreamlike "I Wish I Was," a meandering tune with a muted trumpet, a sad Dixieland trombone, and what sounds like short blasts of radio static.

From the outset, Dulli proclaimed his love for classic soul music. He never stooped to imitative retro shtick, but those with ears to hear always knew his music was flavored by Percy Sledge as much as Iggy Pop, Little Anthony as much as Lou Reed. Powder Burns is packed with Dulli's peculiar brand of soul. It's a not-so-quiet storm that won't let up.

Also recommended:

* The Obliterati
by Mission of Burma. "Are those pterodactyls flying above? I thought those suckers were extinct ... "

That's how a lot of longtime fans of Mission of Burma must feel with this new album by the classic Boston group that rose and fell in the '80s. A couple of years ago MOB did a respectable "comeback" album, OnOffOn, which was a nice surprise.

But with The Obliterati, Mission of Burma -- with three of its four original members -- appears to have really come back. The group sounds as strong as it did in its glory days. This is fresh and vital music. MOB won't be ready for the '80s-nostalgia casino circuit anytime soon.

The band, led by singer/guitarist Roger Miller (no, not that Roger Miller), still does the basic guitar rage -- sometimes discordsometimes almost melodic. The band MOB reminds me of the most is Hüsker Dü.

My favorite cut here is the five-and-a-half minute "Donna Sumeria," which starts out with ominous guitar noodling and a steady stomp of a beat and ends with a feedback-powered instrumental passage that reminds me of Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride."

Nearly as psychedelic is "1001 Pleasant Dreams," which sounds like a distant, harder-edged cousin of The Amboy Dukes' "Journey to the Center of the Mind." (It sounds great on headphones.)

The Obliterati ends with a strange little tune called "Nancy Reagan's Head," which isn't as much political commentary as it is inspired nonsense.

Actually, in those aforementioned glory days, this band only released one proper studio album, Vs. To quote Carly Simon, maybe these are the good old days for Mission of Burma.

* Élan Vital by Pretty Girls Make Graves. This group, fronted by singer Andrea Zollo, is fast, loud, and tuneful, making music that sounds urgent with a hint of playfulness. It's an ambitious album that combines post punk, progressive rock, dub, and psychedelia, a little girl-group sound, and a dab of New Wave. (At times I hear The Waitresses in there.)

Though guitar-centric, keyboards (by Leona Marrs and sometimes multi-instrumentalist J. Clark) give an unforgettable zing. "Domino," for instance, starts out with an electric piano riff that will remind old-timers of "Money (That's What I Want)." Then a Doors-like organ creeps in, as do quick flashes of Wall of Voodoo/Devo electric percussion.

Then there are strange touches like the minute-long "The Magic Hour," with a restless trumpet that sounds like an elephant contemplating stampeding at a circus. This serves as a precursor for the psycho cacophony that begins and ends the final track, "Bullet Charm," a virtual odyssey in which Pretty Girls pulls out all the stops.

Pretty Girls Make Graves reminds me of the Bob Dylan line, "I've got a head full of ideas that are driving me insane." Hope they stick it out.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

GREETINGS FROM DENVER


Workaholism is a terrible disease.

Here I am, up in Denver on location supposed to be relaxing for election season becomes completely insane ... then last night I had this dream ...

In the dream I was, as in real life, off work for the week. But for some reason, I go by the office. Then I find myself in a certain government office where I run into a certain politician. (I won't mention any names because it's only a dream and if somehow it came true, Bob Mayer would have write a book about me.)

So I start talking to this politician about some new controversial change to the tax code that would make it virtually impossible to have live music in Santa Fe. It turns out this politician is for this Draconian change. After discussing it back and forth, she finally admits she's behind it, "to keep drugs away from the kids." (In real life, this politician has nothing to do with either tax policy or public safety issues.)

I'm outraged at this blatant pandering and I storm back to the newsroom demanding to write a story -- even though I know I'm on vacation. (In real life, such pandering is so common, it would hardly be considered hot news.) I see Bill Waters and tell him "I should be physically restrained from coming in here on my vacation."

Luckily I wake up before I start writing.

(Speaking of not writing, there will be no Roundhouse Roundup this week. I did do an advance Terrell's Tuneup though, so watch this space.)

XXXXX

We saw the Rockies lose to the Brewers last night, The game was remarkably similar to the Isotopes game we saw Saturday. Going into the 9th, the Rockies were down 1-0. The game was completely scoreless until the 7th inning, so it had been a fairly boring game.

But excitment grew when the bases got loaded. Unfortunately the Rockies couldn't seal the deal.



Oh well, I'm writing too much. I should be physically refrained from my laptop.

Check out my latest vacation pictures on FLICKR.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

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