ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: ETHICS -- THINGS ARE BAD ALL OVER

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
January 31, 2008

Although neither the governor nor lawmakers seem to be fired up about ethics legislation this session, according to a national study released this week, there are deep misgivings about ethics in state governments all over the country — by state employees themselves.

The Washington, D.C.-based Ethics Resource Center, “a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to the study and promotion of ethical behavior in organizations worldwide,” released its annual National Government Ethics Survey. The results weren’t pretty.

Fifty-seven percent of state workers surveyed reported observing at least one kind of misconduct over the past year. More than 80 percent of those reported seeing multiple instances of misconduct.

Only 7 percent of state workers reported a “strong ethical culture” in their workplaces.
And yes, gentle readers, it’s not just New Mexico.

“There is a strong risk of losing the public trust that is essential for any government to maintain,” ERC President Patricia Harned said in a news release accompanying the report. “Voters must believe that elected officials, political appointees and career government employees act in their best interest. Eroded trust hinders government’s effectiveness.”

The study doesn’t have a state-by-state breakdown, so it’s impossible to see if New Mexico ranks higher or lower than the national average.

The most common form of misconduct reported was conflicts of interest. Nearly one-third of state employees said they’d observed this, though none of the conflicts were specified. This was followed by lying to employees (28 percent) and abusive behavior (26 percent).

“A quarter of state government employees work in environments conducive to misconduct,” the report says. “In environments conducive to misconduct, employees are introduced to situations directly inviting misconduct, and/or they feel pressured to cut corners to do their jobs. Further, employees may feel that work values conflict with personal values.”

“Top management may be unaware of the misconduct problem,” the report said. Twenty-nine percent of state employees who observed misconduct did not report it.

“Because government sets many rules to assure ethical practices in business, it is vital that government set a high standard of its own,” Harned said. “A world where almost one-third of local government workers don’t report ethics violations when they see them does not set a high standard.”

Most disturbing is the finding that 18 percent of state government employees who reported their observations of misconduct have experienced retaliation. More than a third who observed misconduct chose not to report it fearing retaliation from management, while 30 percent didn’t report misconduct because they feared retaliation from co-workers.

State government has a bigger “ethics risk” factor than federal or local governments, the study says. This is because of the high rate of observing misconduct coupled with the low rate of reporting it.

For the study, 3,452 randomly selected state employees were interviewed between June 25 and Aug. 15 last year. Again, we don’t know how many, if any, were from New Mexico.

Memorialize this: In past legislative sessions, I’ve jokingly called for a study on Legislature-mandated studies. Other Roundhouse wags have suggested a task force on task forces.

In that spirit, an Albuquerque Republican lawmaker said Wednesday that later this week she’s introducing a resolution on memorials and resolutions.

Rep. Justine Fox-Young is proposing the House change its rules that would restrict memorials to “an official expression of condolence or acknowledgment of achievement for public officials past or present or those who ‘made extraordinary contributions’ to the state.”

Her resolution would restrict resolutions to proposed state constitutional amendments, ratifying amendments to the U.S. Constitution, petitioning Congress under Congressional rules, “expressing the approval of the Legislature where legislative approval is required by statute or (the state constitution)” or adopting new or repealing or amending rules of the House.

As used now, there are memorials and resolutions for every which thing. There are memorials or joint memorials declaring it Cowboy Day, Farm Workers Day, Stealth Fighter Day, FFA & 4H Day, New Mexico Mesa Day, School Nutrition Day and UNM vs. NMSU Football Rivalry Week. There are memorials calling for new studies and task forces.

Perhaps coincidentally, Fox-Young showed her resolution to reporters on the same day that Gov. Bill Richardson told reporters at a news conference, “I’m sick of studies! I’m sick of task forces!” (He was discussing his health care legislation.)

“I really hate memorials,” Fox-Young said. “I never introduce them.”

Someone is bound to suggest a task force to study her resolution.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, January 27, 2008
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
Now Simulcasting 90.7 FM, and our new, stronger signal, 101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Chatterbox by The New York Dolls
No Feelings by The Sex Pistols
Get Over You by The Undertones
Period by Mission of Burma
Teenage Head by The Flamin' Groovies
Caught in a Dream by Alice Cooper
Bigger Hole to Fill by The Hives
Do You Know What I Idi Amin by Chuck E. Weiss with Tom Waits
Twinkle Toes by The Neanderthals

Girls For Single Men by Sausage
Ride Away by The Fall
Brand New Special and Unique by Stan Ridgway
Gimme Dat Harp, Boy by Captain Beefheart
She's Not There by The Zombies
Love Me With Your Mind by The Shams
Sportin' Life Blues by Champion Jack Dupree

Tiger Phone Card by Dengue Fever
Chet Boghassa by Tinariwen
Professor Jay from Delhi by Anandji Shah & Katyanji Shah
Frankie and Johnny by Kazik Staszewski
Hit the Road Jack by Cat
I Would Never Wanna Be Young Again by Gogol Bordello
Sezegerely Soul Stew by 3 Mustaphas 3
Aijo by Varttina

Hello Sunshine by Bettye LaVette with Hank Ballard
Jon E. Edwards is in Love by Jon E. Edwards & The Internationals
Boilin' Water by Tony Bowens & The Soul Choppers
Search For Delicious by Panda Bear
Unsolved Mysteries by Animal Collective
Long Way Home by Tom Waits
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, January 25, 2008
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

Now Simulcasting 90.7 FM, and our new, stronger signal, 101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org


OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Cowboy in Flames by The Waco Brothers
Georgia on a Fast Train by Billy Joe Shaver
Man Overboard by Libby Bosworth & Toni Price
Farewell Jack by Donna Jean & The Tricksters
Lisa's Birthday by Drive-By Truckers
The Great Medical Menagerist by Harmonica Frank Floyd
Scoodle Um Skoo by Papa Charlie Jackson
Let's Duet by John C. Reilly & Angela Correa
Rancho Grande by Carolina Cotton

I Paint a Design by Michael Hurley
If She Wasn't on Blocks by The New Duncan Imperials
You Don't Know Me by Say Zuzu
I'm Not a Communist by Grandpa Jones
Big Swamp Land by Johnny Paycheck
St. Petersberg Jail by Ronny Elliott
Who Do You Love by Ronnie Hawkins & The Band
Pistol Pete and The Ringo Kid by Acie Cargill
That's the Way Love Goes by The Harmony Sisters

Rotweiller Blues by Warren Zevon
The Collector by The Everly Brothers
Kingdom of Cold by Hundred Year Flood
El Presidente by Goshen
Old Friends by Roger Miller, Willie Nelson & Ray Price
I'm Feelin' Sorry by Jerry Lee Lewis
Dirty Business by New Riders of the Purple Sage

You Must Unload by Larry Groce
The Train Carrying Jimmie Rodgers Home by Iris DeMent
Wave by Calexico
Beautiful Mistake by Grey DeLisle
Say It's Not You by George Jones with Keith Richards
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

TERRELL'S TUNE-UP: OH DONNA!

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
January 25, 2008

Donna Jean & the Tricksters is a decent but not a great album. It won’t be on anyone’s top 10 at the end of the year — except maybe Relix magazine’s. To be honest, I probably won’t play it all that much on my radio shows. It’s above-average Grateful Dead-influenced jam-band fare with a hearty blues edge.

But I’m glad this record is around — it’s like getting a handwritten letter from an old friend. It’s good to hear from Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay, whose voice graced the albums of the Grateful Dead for most of the 1970s.

Ever since she and her late husband, keyboardist Keith Godchaux, were asked to leave the Dead in 1979, Donna Jean basically has been missing in action. She’s done an occasional solo record, and every now and then you hear about her singing a couple of songs at a show with Bob Weir’s Ratdog or some other Dead offshoot. But largely she’s unjustly been forgotten, except by scholarly Deadheads — or by fans with long memories.

Donna Jean was a striking figure when she was in the band. She was the hippie earth-mama goddess surrounded by a bunch of hairy weirded beardos. She looked sweet with her flowing brown locks, and she provided the band with a little female energy. But she was a belter — not as over-the-top as Janis Joplin or as searing as Grace Slick, but she infused the cosmic California sound of the Grateful Dead with some down-to-earth Southern soul.

Had she never even been with the Dead, Donna Jean still would have a respectable musical résumé. She’s an Alabama girl who cut her musical teeth as a teenager at Muscle Shoals studios. Singing with a female group called Southern Comfort, Donna Jean provided background vocals on some true American classics — including “When a Man Loves a Woman” by Percy Sledge and “Suspicious Minds” by Elvis Presley.

The story of how the Godchaux couple got to be in the Grateful Dead is a testament to Donna Jean’s audacity — as well to the less-formal, human-scale nature of rock in the pre-corporate days.

In a 1998 radio interview in Philadelphia, Donna Jean told Dead chronicler David Gans how she and Keith approached the group about joining — neither of them knew anyone in the Dead. (She had moved from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to the Bay area, where she hooked up with Keith.) They made their move at a Jerry Garcia/Merle Saunders concert at the Keystone Korner club in San Francisco. Actually Donna Jean made the move. She approached Garcia during a break.

“I said, ‘My husband and I have something we need to talk to you about,’” she told Gans. “Jerry said, ‘OK, well, come on backstage.’ And Keith and I were too scared. We didn’t know what to do, and we didn’t go backstage. This is when they took a break.

“A few minutes later, Garcia came out in the audience and sat down next to us. And at that angle, Keith couldn’t see Jerry; he was on the other side of him. And I said, ‘Um, Keith, I think Garcia’s hinting that he wants to talk to us. He’s sitting right next to you.’ Keith just put his head down on the table, and he turned around to Garcia and he goes, ‘You’ll have to talk to my wife. I can’t talk to you right now.’

“So I said, ‘Jerry, now —.’ Gosh, if I had known that everybody doesthis to him, I would have never had the nerve. And I said, ‘Uh, Keith is — I just know he’s your new piano player. ... So, we’re gonna need your telephone number so that we can call you.’ ... So Jerry gave us his home phone number!”

The couple didn’t know it then, but the Dead’s original keyboardist, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, was dying, and the band was auditioning replacements. In a matter of days, Keith Godchaux was in the band. Donna Jean didn’t officially join until later. But her voice started popping up on Dead albums like Europe ’72 and on side projects like Weir’s first solo album, Ace.

This was an incredibly fertile and creative period for the Dead. Two of my favorite Dead albums — From the Mars Hotel and Blues for Allah — came out of the “Keith and Donna” era. Donna Jean’s contribution was mainly her background vocals, especially on the studio albums.

But if you think it was an all-American hippie fairy tale to walk up to Jerry Garcia in a nightclub one day and become a member of the Grateful Dead by the end of the week, think again. As the Me Decade drew to a close, the dream was becoming a nightmare.

In his 2002 book, A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead, former Dead publicist Dennis McNally describes the end of the Godchaux era. Keith was basically was a junkie. Donna Jean, as she admitted to McNally, was a raging alcoholic. It sounds as if she was second only to Keith Moon as a destroyer of hotel rooms, and she once even put her husband’s arm in a sling. Finally, in 1979, it came to an end. The couple was asked to leave the Dead, but according to Donna Jean, she and Keith had decided to leave before that.

Within a year, Keith would be killed in a car wreck. Donna Jean would find religion, remarry (to David MacKay, formerly of the San Francisco band the Tazmanian Devils), and drift so far out of the limelight that some younger Deadheads barely know who she is.

Now, nearly 30 years after leaving the Dead, Donna Jean’s brown hair has turned to silver. Her voice has mellowed; it’s more restrained than in the old days.

She sings lead on just a handful of songs on the new album. The best of these is a gospelish workout called “No Better Way,” with overtones of Eat a Peach-era Allman Brothers.

But, like her work with the Dead, Elvis, and Percy Sledge, her background vocals are a delight, her work on the upbeat country-rocker “A Prisoner Says His Piece,” being a standout. Audio appearances can be deceiving, but she sounds happy.

All I know is that it’s good to hear from Donna Jean.

ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: A TOOTHLESS CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION BILL?

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
January 24, 2008

Ethics-reform advocates were disappointed last week when Gov. Bill Richardson gave the issue about 20 seconds in his State of the State address. They were even more disappointed with the only bill to emerge so far, one that deals with limits on campaign contributions.

“We’re not supporting that bill as it stands,” said Steven Allen, director of Common Cause New Mexico, a watchdog group that for several years has been pushing for ethics and political reforms.

He was referring to Senate Bill 264, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen — a bill Allen called weak and toothless.

Richardson told reporters Wednesday that he’d like to see a stronger bill, one closer to what his Ethics Task Force has recommended.

SB 264, in its current form, calls for a limit of $2,300 on contributions from an individual to any candidate for state office. Actually the limit would be $4,600 — $2,300 for the primary election, $2,300 for the general.

That’s the same as the federal limits for candidates for president or Congress. There’s a mechanism in the bill to adjust the maximum contribution amount by linking it to the Consumer Price Index.

Allen and other reformers aren’t quibbling with the amount of the limit in the bill.

But Allen said the bill covers only individual contributions to candidates. “It should cover contributions from corporations, unions and (political) parties as well.” he said, noting this would be more in line with the Ethics Task Force recommendation.

In New Mexico politics, it’s often the corporations and unions that provide the lion’s share of money.

For instance, in Richardson’s 2006 re-election effort (at $13.3 million, the most expensive campaign in state history), only two of Richardson’s top 10 contributors were individuals (racetrack owner Paul Blanchard, who gave $120,000, and Univision chief executive Jerry Perenchio, who gave $102,443). Of the other donors, four were companies (Cap II Properties, Gulfstream Lomas, Controlled Recovery and Forest City Covington, each of which gave $100,000 or more); three were labor organizations (Federation of Teachers; American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; and Laborers International Union of North America, each of which gave $100,000); and one political action committee, Richardson’s own Moving America Forward — which received contributions from individuals, corporations and unions. The campaign reported $487,000 from that PAC.

But changes apparently are afoot for the contribution bill.

Sanchez couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday, but Stuart Bluestone of the state Attorney General’s Office confirmed the majority leader had told him he had made some changes to SB 264 and wanted Bluestone to go over them.

“I haven’t seen (the changes) yet, so I don’t know what they are,” said Bluestone, who served on the Ethics Task Force for two years.

But if the bill doesn’t change in the Senate, House Speaker Ben Luján, D-Nambé, said Wednesday that he’s considering introducing a bill of his own that would include PACs and the other contributors.

Public finance of campaigns: So far nobody has introduced any bills to expand public financing of campaigns. Some were worried the Richardson administration had become lukewarm to the idea — even though in the final days of his presidential bid, as he campaigned in Iowa and New Hampshire, the governor almost always called for public financing, saying that might have given him a better shot to compete with U.S. Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois, each of whom dwarfed Richardson in campaign spending.

But Richardson on Wednesday told reporters he’s still behind the idea. He said to expect him to issue a message by today that would allow a public-financing bill to be considered in the current session. Some kind of bill should be released shortly thereafter.

The state currently makes public funds available to state judiciary and Public Regulation Commission candidates who agree to campaign spending limits.

Ethics report card: After the legislative session ends next month, New Mexico Common Cause will publish a report card scoring lawmakers on how they vote on ethics bills, Allen said. He said the report card will include committee votes as well as floor votes, which is appropriate because many bills die in committee.

The report card could become fodder for political campaigns in a year in which all legislators are up for re-election.

Just one problem though. In recent years only a fraction of senators or House members face any opponents when they run for re-election.

In 2004, the last time state senators were elected, 25 of the 42 seats had only one candidate running in the general election.

In 2006, when all House members were up for re-election, only 29 out of 70 House seats were contested in the general election.

Vote on your own time: The state Personnel Office last week distributed a memo reminding state workers they do not get time off to participate in the Feb. 5 Democratic presidential caucus.

Unlike the state primaries and general elections, which are operated and paid for by the state and thus covered by the state election code, the presidential caucus is completely the responsibility of the Democratic Party.

Arcie Baca, the local head of AFSCME, at first was concerned about this policy. But, after thinking about it, he said, there might be privacy issues if employees got time off to caucus. “Everyone would know you’re a Democrat,” he said.

“I just wish the Republicans would have (their caucus) at the same time,” Baca said. The state GOP chose not to have a caucus Feb. 5 and will instead vote for Republican presidential candidates in the June primary.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, January 20, 2008
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
Now Simulcasting 90.7 FM, and our new, stronger signal, 101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
We Are Normal and We Want Our Freedom by Bonzo Dog Band
Night Train to Spokane by Gas Huffer
Puzzlin' Evidence by The Talking Heads
Thunderball by Davie Allan & The Arrows
Showgirl by Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
The Hump by Heavy Trash
Bad Kids by The Black Lips
The Crusher by The Cramps
Happy Happy Christians by The Click Kids

The Cutester Patrol by The Grandmothers
They Don't Want Me by Wall of Voodoo
Insult Song by The Fall
Legend of Hillbilly John by Half Japanese
Changing Colors by The Bell-Rays
I'm Through With White Girls by The Dirt Bombs
Push Up Man by The Fleshtones
New Spark by Johnny Powers & The A-Bones

Mr. Big Stuff by Jean Knight
Say It Loud, I'm Black and Proud by The Dynamites featuring Charles Walker
Nutbush City Limits by Ike & Tina Turner
I'm a Millionaire by Lee Fields
Across 110th Street by Bobby Womack
Raw Spitt by Swamp Dogg
The Collection Song by Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
Funky Like Don King by Jon E. Edwards

Bro by Panda Bear
What Have My Chickens Done Now by The Residents
Yard by The Birthday Party
Murder's Crossed My Mind by Desdemona Finch
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

eMUSIC JANUARY

* Jukebox Explosion by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. I've missed Spencer in all his get-down gonzo glory. Heavy Trash, Spencer's latest rockabilly duo with Matt Verta-Ray is kind of fun, but it's just a light snack compared with the all-you-can-eat, Hound Dog Taylor-on-angel-dust banquet that was the Blues Explosion.

The JSBE seemed to be everywhere in the mid 90s. (They once opened for The Breeders at a Sweeney Center show here in Santa Fe.) The trio has released a couple of albums early this century, but none since 2004.

This is a collection of old singles that before now had been available only on 7-inch vinyl, which means only serious collectors had ever heard this stuff before. Fans won't be disappointed. All 18 tracks are joyful and noisy with Spencer howling like a soulman caught in a subway wreck.

* The Missing Link by Harmonica Frank Floyd. The first time I ever heard of Haronica Frank was in Greil Marcus' epic Mystery Train, in which he was the subject of the first chapter. Floyd was an archetypal American ramblin' trickster, picker and grinner, traveling the South in medicine shows and street corner concerts. He also was a true rock 'n' pioneer, recording for Sun Records in the early '50s -- even before Elvis.

This was recorded live (in Memphis schools) and in the studio in 1979, a couple of years after Mystery Train was published and a few years before his death. He sounds like a geezer here, (he was in his early 70s) almost like a cross between Hasil Adkins and Doc Watson. Frank and Hasil could have had a lot of fun together on "Shoop-a-Boop-a-Doodler."

The between-song patter is nearly as much fun. You learn Frank loves all kinds of music -- except that granda opera. He just hates it. And don't miss the wild bird calls in the track called "Without My Teeth."

* Hello by Half Japanese. This is a band, led by geek savaant jad Fair that I've been slowly discovering (over the past 15 years or so). This is a 2001 release featuring a good tight band with The Sadies' Dallas Good on guitar.

It's not quite as loosey goosey joyful as Sing No Evil, the last Half Japanese album I downloaded from eMusic (which I just realized is no longer available on eMusic!). But it's worthwhile. And "Mississippi," an electric organ and drum-driven dragstrip instrumental, is such a blast it's a wonder that Quintin Tarantino's never used it in a soundtrack.



* A Glint of The Kindling and Songs of Love and Parting by Robin Williamson . Some sheer Pagan joy by Williamson, who was half of The Incredible String Band. Glint was recorded with The Merry Band, which included harpist Sylvia Woods, while Parting was a solo album. Some of these tunes will take you back to the time when Druids roamed the Earth, a pastoral time when people expected their political leaders to be poets and singers. (Them was the days!) This is British folk-style music, yet little of this material sounds musty or academic.

Perhaps for nostalgic reasons, I just downloaded the original albums here, skipping, at least for now, the spoken word Five Bardic Mysteries bundled with the former or Selected Writings 1980-83 tacked onto the latter album. Both these albums made up a cassette tape my friend Parris made me, a tape that turned out to be one of my most played in the 1980s.

*Blues Masters Vol. 6 by Champion Jack Dupree. You might notice I'm posting this fairly late in the month. I've been so busy this past few weeks -- Christmas, my campaign-trail travels, the start of the Legislature -- that I haven't been downloading much from eMusic and in fact came within hours of losing 17 tracks. (As I've explained before, you have to download all your monthly allotment before your account refreshes, or you lose what you've got left over) Usually I get my 90 downloads within a couple of weeks.

So I was looking at new stuff available in eMusic's blues question and came across this. Bingo! Just a few nights ago I heard BC play a Champion Jack tune on KSFR's Blue Monday and liked it so much I thought I should check to see if eMusic had any good Dupree material. Double bingo! This abum has exactly 17 tracks.

New Orleans-born Champion Jack (1909-1992) was an ex-boxer who punched the keyboard like a sparring partner. His percussive barrelhouse style is unique but pure New Orleans. This album is full of standards -- "Sportin' Life," "CC Rider," "In the Evening," "Rock Me, Mama," "Tomorrow Night." But sometimes, such as his solo on "Careless Love," he makes an old song sound like something completely new.

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, January 18, 2008
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

Now Simulcasting 90.7 FM, and our new, stronger signal, 101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org


OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Big Iron by Mike Ness
Honky Tonk Hell by Webb Wilder
Okie Boogie by The Maddox Brothers & Rose
Hamburgers and Popcorn by Boozoo Chavis
Zydeco Road by Nathan & The Zydeco Cha Chas
Drinkin' on the Weekend by Big Al Anderson
Call of the Wreckin' Ball by John Doe
There'll Be No Distinction There by Bare Bones
When It's Springtime in Alaska by Johnny Horton

The Man I Shot/The Purgatory Line/Checkout Time in Vegas by The Drive-By Truckers
When Garlits Raced Malone by Ronny Elliott
The Snake by Johnny Rivers
The Times They Are a Changin' by Del McCoury Band
The Hucklebuck by The Riptones

Don't Go by Hundred Year Flood
River Ohio by Goshen
Big Balls in Cowtown by Don Walser
We've Got to Get Ourselves Together by The Flying Burrito Brothers Minglewood Blues by John Sebastian & The J Band with Geoff Muldaur
White House Blues by Earl Taylor & The Stoney Mountain Boys
When the Good and tne Bad Get Ugly by Butch Hancock
Mental Cruelty by Buck Owens & Rose Maddox
Rub-a-Dub-Dub by Hank Thompson

Perfidia by Sally Timms & Jon Rauhouse
Down Where the Drunkards Roll by Richard & Linda Thompson
Dream Operator by The Talking Heads
When the Circus Comes to Town by Los Lobos
Take Me by George Jones & Tammy Wynette
I Do Believe by Waylon Jennings with The Highwaymen
I Wish I Was in New Orleans by Tom Waits
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: TRUCKING THROUGH CREATION

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
January 18, 2008

If anyone was wondering whether the Drive-By Truckers was a band in decline, fear not. It’s true that their last album, A Blessing and a Curse was mediocre by Trucker standards. And it’s true that they lost guitarist/songwriter Jason Isbell. But their new album, Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, scheduled for release on Tuesday, Jan. 22, shows the Truckers at full-fighting strength.

The DBTs are sounding more country than they have in years. Part of that is due to the recent return of John Neff, original Trucker and pedal-steel player. His dreamy playing on “The Opening Act” sounds as if he’s been listening to Jerry Garcia’s first solo album.

It probably should have been apparent from last year’s “The Dirt Underneath” unplugged tour (which included a show at the Lensic) that the Truckers would be aiming for a more acoustic sound emphasizing melody. Perhaps there are too many slow ones here and not enough of the crazy rockers that the Truckers built their reputation on. But mellow doesn’t have to equal weak, as this album proves.

Also contributing mightily to the sound of this album is Muscle Shoals deity Spooner Oldham, who is basically an honorary Trucker, having played a major role in the Dirt Underneath tour.

Brighter Than Creation’s Dark shows the emergence of Shonna Tucker, the band’s bassist, as a singer and songwriter.

When I heard her first song on the album, “I’m Sorry Houston,” I had to check the credits to make sure that Neko Case wasn’t guesting. Tucker’s got a sweet, husky voice and a sexy Southern accent. She only has three songs here, the other two being “Home Field Advantage,” an all-out rocker that ends in a Yardbirds/Count Five guitar explosion, and a truly lovely tune called “The Purgatory Line.”

Among the highlights here are “Goode’s Field Road,” a song by Trucker-in-chief Patterson Hood that displays the dark bluesy sensibilities heard on Bettye LaVette’s The Scene of the Crime, on which the DBTs served as the backup band.

On “Checkout Time in Vegas,” a somber little tune with Neff’s steel playing off Oldham’s electric piano, Mike Cooley sings, “Bloody nose, empty pockets, a rented car, trunk full of guns.” It’s a loser’s lullaby in which you never quite find out what’s going on. You just know it’s a bad situation.

Another cool Cooley song is “Lisa’s Birthday,” an outright honky-tonker that almost sounds like some long-lost Willie Nelson song. “Lisa’s had more birthdays than there are sad country songs,” he sings.

The effect the Iraq war on those who fight it is the subject of two Hood songs. “The Home Front,” a slow, steady tune, is the story of a woman whose husband is killed in the war.

But far more powerful is “That Man I Shot,” which is a classic hard-edged Trucker rocker. “That man I shot was trying to kill me. ... That man I shot, I was in his homeland, I was there to help him, he didn’t want me there/I did not hate him/I still don’t hate him/He was trying to kill me/I had to take him down.”

Hood’s “Monument Valley” closes the album. It’s a slow, sad, contemplative tune, sweetened by Neff’s steel and referencing two John Ford/John Wayne movies (The Searchers and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance). “When the dust all settles and the story is told/history is made by the side of the road/by the men and women who can persevere/and rage through the storm no matter how severe.”

Brighter Than Creation’s Dark is a long album. There are 19 songs totaling more than 70 minutes. In fact, my major problem with this work is its length. At this point, however, I’m not sure which tunes I’d eliminate.

Also recommended:

* Jalopypaint by Ronny Elliott. Here’s another ace album by one of the free world’s most unjustly overlooked songwriters. As usual, this Tampa, Florida, roots-rocker fills the disc with wonderful story songs dealing with his heroes, a few villains, and objects of his lust. There’s lots of history, a little politics, and plenty of brooding about his life and career.

The album starts off with “Red Rumor Blues,” a meditation on the McCarthy era. The song ends with Elliott listing American icons who ended up on the blacklist — including some surprising names. Edward G. Robinson? Artie Shaw? Gypsy Rose Lee, for crying out loud?

There’s a cool Jesse James song here, “Great Train Robbery.” But that’s not as much fun as “When Garlits Raced Malone,” a rowdy little tune about Tampa drag-racing hero Don “Big Daddy” Garlits driving a dragster called Swamp Rat and taking on rival Art Malone in 1963. Elliott apparently saw the race when he was 16, but he was so caught up in the excitement he confesses, “I don’t remember who won that day when Garlits raced Malone.” (For the record, according to the National Hot Rod Association Web site, “Garlits defeated Malone with an 8.26 e.t. at 186 mph.”)

“Modern History” is a reminiscence of early sexual encounters. “Staring hard through my X-ray spex/I was desperate for romance, she was peddling sex.” The song also pays homage to Marilyn Monroe. “She slept with the brothers, they just had to kill her.”
As always, Elliott’s back-up band (they used to be called “The Nationals,” but they’re not credited as that on this album) is tight and masterful. On “St. Petersburg Jail,” Alex Spoto’s fiddle and Elliott’s mandolin bounce off Harry Hayward’s martial drums.

If you’ve never had the pleasure of hearing Ronny Elliott, this album is a good one to start with. But like the opium he sings about in “Brothels in China,” it is addictive.




Groundhog Day Special: The Flood is returning! Hundred Year Flood and Goshen are playing at the Santa Fe Brewing Company on Feb. 2. It’s $10 at the door, but check HYF’s MySpace page for info on $5 tickets.

ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDUP: TO BOLDLY GO

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
January 17, 2008

You must be bold to throw the word bold around as much as Bill Richardson does. He has used it liberally both at home and on the campaign trail during his recently concluded presidential run.

In his State of the State address on Tuesday, he used it five times.

“In this budget session, my agenda is focused and bold.”

“It’s been said that the future doesn’t belong to the faint of heart. It belongs to the brave and it belongs to the bold.”

“No one can question we’ve taken bold initiatives.”

“My agenda is bold and focused.”

“Now is no time to retreat from bold action.”

No question. The governor is focused on being known for being bold.

Bold Web site: Though Richardson dropped his presidential quest and returned to the best job in the world, he’s not officially seeking the vice presidency, but not ruling it out, if anyone invites him to that dance.

However, a Washington state Democratic activist and Richardson supporter has taken it upon himself to push for such an invitation.

Ken Camp, who helped run an independent “Washington for Richardson” blog (not affiliated to the campaign), last week started a “draft Richardson” blog.

“I whole-heartedly support Governor Bill Richardson, but I will delete this blog and the corresponding petition if asked to by Governor Richardson or any of his senior staff,” Camp wrote in his initial post. “I know the Governor has said he isn’t interested in being Vice-President, and if asked to cease my activities, I will.”

However, on Wednesday Camp said he hadn’t heard from Richardson or any of his staff so far, despite some buzz about his project in New Mexico blogdom.

There’s a link on the blog to an online petition Camp started. It touts Richardson’s experience and says: “We call on the Democratic nominee for President to make Bill Richardson his or her Vice-President.”

Camp said he’d collected “42 signatures as of a minute ago. Many of them are names I recognize as grass-roots supporters of Governor Richardson.”

Former Richardson campaign manager Dave Contarino, asked Wednesday about Camp’s Web said, “You can’t stop the people.”

Adair vindicated: The American Civil Liberties Union has dropped a lawsuit against state Sen. Rod Adair, R-Roswell.

Last year, the ACLU filed the suit on behalf of Virgil Beagles — a Roswell man who has written letters to newspapers criticizing Adair — who claimed he was barred from a legislative committee meeting last year. (Click HERE and scroll down for my original report on the lawsuit.)

As part of the settlement, the ACLU released a statement saying, “The parties acknowledge each other’s First Amendment Rights, including the right to comment upon the lawsuit and settlement. The ACLU of New Mexico acknowledges that Senator Rod Adair is a strong supporter of the U.S. and N.M. Constitutions. The parties mutually release each other from any and all claims arising from lawsuit.”

Adair reacted with typical humility (and perhaps slightly tongue-in-cheek), issuing a news release reporting he’d “won a historic victory.”

The release stated: “Adair acknowledged the clear and total victory in the case. ‘The statement they released concerning my well-known commitment to civil rights for everyone contradicts, word-for-word, the frivolous complaint they had filed,’ he said. ‘I cannot imagine a more complete surrender by anyone in any case in New Mexico history.’ ”

Adair’s original settlement offer demanded the ACLU donate $10,000 to the Boy Scouts in Roswell, but that didn’t happen.

“They clearly indicated that would be a humiliation that would embarrass them nationally,” Adair wrote. “Observers believed that given the ACLU’s fanatical opposition to the Boy Scouts, they would bring in perhaps up to a dozen more lawyers from around the country to fight that provision of the settlement. ‘My counsel indicated that it might be best for the taxpayers in the long run to accept the ACLU’s offer of unconditional surrender as it was.’ "

The ACLU has opposed government funding for the Boy Scouts because the organization does not allow gays.

State ACLU spokeswoman Whitney Porter, asked to comment on the Adair statement, said, “The ACLU feels the point was made that all citizens have the right under the First Amendment to access the legislative process.”

UPDATE: (Friday, Jan. 18, 2008) I changed the Richardson petition link, which, as Ken Camp informed me, has been combined with two other independent "draft Richardson" petitions that sprang up last week.