Friday, July 14, 2017 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
Clown Collector by The Cactus Brothers
Heartbroke by Sunny Sweeney
I've Always Been Crazy by Carlene Carter
Forget About Tomorrow Today by Dale Watson & Ray Benson
One Last Question by Jason & The Scorchers
Fixin' to Die by Steve Earle
Done Gone Crazy by Ray Condo & The Ricochets
Drinkin' with My Friends by Honky Tonk Hustlas
King Kong vs. Godzilla by Boris McCutcheon
Two Weeks Late by Ashley Monroe
I Think I'll Just Sit Here and Drink by Merle Haggard
High Class Girl from the Country by Zephaniah Ohora
Mean Mama Blues by Ernest Tubb
Mournin' Blues by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Stealin' Stealin' by Rapheal Saadiq
You're the Reason by Nancy Apple
Last One Standing by Ronny Elliott BILLY THE KID SET
Billy the Kid by Woody Guthrie
Billy 1 by Los Lobos
Me and Billy the Kid by Joe Ely
Billy the Kid by Charlie Daniels
Dancing With the Ghost of William Bonney by Bone Orchard
Billy the Kid by Chris LeDoux
Billy the Kid by Riders in the Sky
Billy the Kid by Ry Cooder
Billy 7 by Bob Dylan
Watching th River Go By by John Hartford
Up to No Good Livin' by Chris Stapleton
Please Don't by Lauria
The Future's Not What It Used to Be by Gary Heffern
Here Comes That Rainbow Again by Leo Kottke CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets
Like the Santa Fe Opry Facebook page Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE Steve Terrell is proud to report to the monthly Freeform American Roots Radio list
A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican July 14, 2017 Singer-songwriterBoris McCutcheon is one of the original members of the local legion of superheroes who make up the Frogville Records stable. He was born in Massachusetts, but he’s lasted many winters in Northern New Mexico. In fact, he’s the only musician I know who’s ever been a mayordomo of an acequia.
But the important thing is that McCutcheon just keeps growing as a songwriter. His new album — I’m Here. Let Me In. — is his first since 2013’s Might Crash, and there’s not a dud on this record. It’s my favorite since 2005’s Cactusman Versus the Blue Demon. Most of McCutcheon’s albums in recent years have been credited to Boris & The Salt Licks. But this one, McCutcheon says, is a solo project, even though The Salt Licks appear on a couple of live songs and individual Salt Licks play on other songs, as do various Santa Fe stalwarts.
Among the best tracks are the upbeat “It’s Her Turn Now,” featuring the fabulous Salt Licks (guitarist Brett Davis, bassist Susan Hyde Holmes, Kevin Zoernig on keyboards, and Paul Groetzinger on drums). And this is followed by a pretty country song called “A Week Before the Fourth of July.” I think I was hooked in the first verse, when McCutcheon sings of eating tacos on the open road.
Another standout is the bluesy “Lazy With You,” in which Boris praises the virtues of sloth. A strong harmonica by Greg Williams and banjo by Alex McMahon give the song a Tom Waits feel. Meanwhile, the slow dirge-like “Poor Tired Hands” is a stark portrait of a guy who might benefit from a little laziness.
In a slow hillbilly waltz called “Godzilla vs. King Kong,” McCutcheon sings of domestic strife. As you might assume by the title, the lyrics are full of humor, but it’s bittersweet humor. With the deceptively pretty melody, you can’t help but feel for the unhappy couple. One verse goes, “Oh how did I wind up with a warrior princess?/She knows how to fight and kick my ass/There’s a storm in her eyes and she don’t know what she wants/She’s askin’ questions and getting’ no response.”
Keep listening to this album and you could end up with a storm in your ears.
Boris McCutcheon’s CD release party for I’m Here. Let Me In. is 8 p.m. Friday, July 14, at Meow Wolf, 1352 Rufina St. Tickets are $12 at the door ($10 in advance from www.meowwolf.com). The opening act is none other than Tony Gilkyson, a former local yokel who went on to play in such groups as X, Lone Justice, and Chuck E. Weiss’ God Damn Liars.
Also recommended:
* Countryachi by John Wagner. Wagner is not only known as a country singer and songwriter, but he has also owned and operated an Albuquerque recording studio for many years. As the title implies, the songs on this album are country songs, sung by Wagner, with added mariachi horns and strings. A couple of groups — Mariachi Tenampa (an Albuquerque group that has recorded at least one album of their own at Wagner’s studio) and Mariachi Los Vaqueros — lend their talents to the project.
The idea isn’t completely new. After all, back in the early ’60s, one of Johnny Cash’s biggest hits, “Ring of Fire,” featured mariachi horns. Basically, the horns and strings, when added tastefully, provide a tangy embellishment on a good three-chord song.
The songs on this album include two early classics by Belen-based country singer Mose McCormack, a long-time Wagner crony. If New Mexico had a songwriter hall of fame, McCormack’s “Beans and Make Believe” (the title song of Moses’ 1976 debut album) and “New Mexico Blues” would both deserve a prominent place there. Wagner also includes a couple of mariachi’d-up songs by the late great Lewie Wickham, who was half of an Albuquerque duet with his recently deceased brother Hank Wickham (“Border Town Blues” and “Yesterday Took Wings”), along with several originals, including “He’s Sorry” (which contains a Kristofferson-worthy first line: “He said he was sorry this morning for his sorry excuses last night”) and my favorite, “It’s Not Right,” a sad (like-to-be) cheatin’ song.
* When I’m an Angel by Lauria. It was 20 years ago when long, tall Laurianne Fiorentino, then fairly new to Santa Fe, released her first album, The Match, a set of 15 songs recorded live at the Santuario de Guadalupe. Two decades and several albums later, Fiorentino — now recording under the name of Lauria — still possesses her rich, sultry alto and songwriting chops, as this new record shows.
Lauria is at her best on bluesy, jazzy songs like the opening track, “Homeland,” which features a cool mandolin by Tristan Scroggins as well as Asher Barreras on bass; “Please Don’t,” with trumpet by JQ Whitcomb; and “Simple as the Sun,” a song that originally appeared on The Match. The melody is similar to a song I used to sing back in my Methodist Youth Fellowship days: “They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love.”
Also worthy is “All Night Rain,” an aching seven-minute country song that doesn’t actually have a steel guitar in it, though it’s easy to imagine one. And defying genre pigeonholing is the song “Drop,” a spoken-word piece in which Lauria, reciting lines like “I’m a melted drop of matter, a tear that never fell/When darkness comes to get me, you can find me in the well,” is backed only by drummer Joel Fadness, some uncredited voice, and her own harmonica honking.
* Songs for Donald by Jim Terr. Failing parodist songwriter from Las Vegas, N.M. attacks the president of the United States of America — who won the election in a landslide — with unfunny, unfair, unpatriotic songs. #sad
I’m trying to help you here, Jim. If you could get Trump to attack you on Twitter, that would boost your GoFundMe project for this album (www.gofundme.com/DonnieTrunkCD) and sell a jillion copies.
Video Time
Here's Boris McCutcheon doing "Poor Tired Hands."
John Wagner plays "New Mexico Blues" with Mariachi Tenampa and special guest appearance by Mose McCormack
You're going to run to the rock, the rock was a meltin' Run to the sea, the sea was a boilin' Run to the moon, the moon was a bleedin' Run to the Lord, Lord won't you hide me?
It's one of the most frightening spirituals ever sung on American soil: "Sinner Man."
It's about a sinner trying to escape from the hands of an angry God. "Oh, sinner man, where you gonna run to /
All on that day?" But everywhere he goes, everything is -- literally, I guess -- going to Hell.
I suppose the song is ancient. Certainly the terrifying theology behind it is.
The earliest version I can find is a song included in a 1911 collection of songs,The Most Popular Plantation Songs, compiled by Gilbert Clifford Noble (co-founder of Barnes & Noble. The lyrics are somewhat different, but the same idea is there:
Oh! sinner, Oh! sinner man... Oh! sinner, Oh! which way are you going? Oh! come back, sinner, and don't go there, Which way are you going? For hell is deep and dark despair, Oh! which way are you going?
The theme of a sinner running from the wrath of God has appeared in many songs. In 1954, a gospel group called The Sensational Nightingales recorded a tune called "On the Judgement Day," which basically is "Sinner Man," and apparently has been renamed "Sinner Man" in later releases.
A couple of years later, swing man Les Baxter recorded his take on "Sinner Man" (with vocals by Will Holt.)
The Weavers introduced "Sinner Man" to the folk music world.
Down in Jamaica in 1966 The Wailers recorded a proto-reggae version of "Sinner Man." A decade later, Wailer Peter Tosh turned the song into "Downpresser Man."
But it was Nina Simone who, in the early '60s, brought new fire into "Sinner Man" in a 10-minute, piano-driven version.
Here are a couple of 21st Century "Sinner Man" takes. In 2002, The Colorado goth-country 16 Horsepower put their own peculiar stamp on the song.
And Black Diamond Heavies recorded a powerful version in 2008.
But my favorite "Sinner Man" is the two-part romp recorded by R&B mutant Esquerita in the mid '60s but not released until 2012. It's definitely based on the Nina Simone version, though it's even wilder. Here's Part Two. Hang on and run to the rock!
In the past several days I've seen the following video -- Donny & Marie
Osmond performing Steely Dan's "Reelin' in the Years" in 1978 on their old TV
show -- posted on two or three friends' Facebook pages. (I saw yours first,
Tommy T, so you're responsible for this.)
Behold:
Did you make it all the way through the ice-skating sequence?
But Donny & Marie weren't the only Top 40 pop stars to have their own TV
variety shows in the Me Decade. The airwaves were crawling with them.
Below are some memorable musical moments from some of these tacky shows.
Here's The Captain & Tennile backing up poet/spaceman Leonard Nimoy.
Former New Mexico Music Commissioner Tony Orlando with his back-up singers
collectively known as Dawn, had their own show between 1974 and 1976. Watch
'em boogie!
So you want some rock 'n' roll? In 1973 on their variety show, Sonny &
Cher did this medley featuring Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, The Four Seasons
and ... Bobby Vinton?????!!!??
The golden age of crappy TV variety shows is long gone. But a couple of
decades later on their short-lived syndicated TV talk show, Donny & Marie
outdid themselves with a big production where they attempted to lead the
children in to the dark world of the occult with this song from a movie about
a cross-dressing, multi-sexual vampire.
Sunday, July 9, 2017 KSFR, Santa Fe, NM Webcasting! 10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time Host: Steve Terrell 101.1 FM
Email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
Here's my playlist :
OPENING THEME: Let It Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Keep Movin' by Freddy Cannon & The Gears
You're My Pacemaker by Archie & The Bunkers
Sheena's in a Goth Gang by The Cramps
Machine Born to Think by The Bonnesvilles
Don't Slander Me by Roky Erickson
Tin Foil Hat by Casy Jones Dead
One Night of Sin by Simon Stokes
Big Cluckin' Mistake by MFC Chicken
Lucid Nightmare by The Black Lips
Wreck My Flow by The Dirtbombs
The Trough by The Molting Vultures
Dirty Lil' Dog by Pussycat & The Dirty Johnsons
Don't Try to Tell Me by Thee Vicars
Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine by Country Joe & The Fish
She's a Woman by The Beatles
Remember by The Mekons
Crying in the Chapel by The Orioles
The Box by Gregg Turner
96 Tears by Aretha Franklin
Psychotic Reaction by Brenton Wood
The Train Kept a-Rollin' by The Yardbirds
Madhouse by Evan Johns
Home is Where the Hate Is by Mary's Kids
What Once Was Dead by Laino & The Broken Seeds
The Point is Overflowing by Left-Lane Cruiser
Tar Paper by The Blind Shake
Hold Me by The Angel Babies
Drop by Lauria
I Put My Trust in Thee by Marie Knight
Up in Flames by Julee Cruise CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Friday, July 7, 2017 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
Walkin' in L.A. by Steve Earle
Skip a Rope by The Kentucky Headhunters
Nothing at All by The Waco Brothers
Sappy by Iron Horse
I Got Stoned and Missed It by Shel Silverstein
Down in Sinaloa by Panama Red
No Glory by The Eagle Rock Gospel Singers
Dirty Little Blues by The Whiskey Charmers
Daddy Was a Preacher, Mama Was a Go-Go Girl by Miss DeLois & The Music Men
Don't Leave it a Lie by Shinyribs
Ladies in the Know by Slim Cessna's Auto Club
Brand New Heartache by Chris & Herb
Don't Take Your Guns to Town by Johnny Cash
I'm Coming Home by Johnny Horton
There's Two People Here Not Talkin by Miss Leslie
I Do Believe I've Had Enough by Zephaniah Ohora
Your Wife by Audrey Auld
We're All Gonna Die Someday by Kasey Chambers
Uneasy Rider by Charlie Daniels
Who Shot Sam by George Jones
Little Pink Mack by Kay Adams
She Got the House by Evan Johns
Trooper's Holler by Hank 3
Please Don't Take the Baby to the Liquor Store by The Reverend Horton Heat
Can You Blame the Colored Man by South Memphis String Band
Pay Day by Laino & Broken Seeds
Them Stems by Chris Stapleton
Stems and Seeds by Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen
Tomi Tomi by The Hawaiians
Shadows Where the Magic Was by James Hand
Silver Tongue by Modern Mal
Mississippi by The Cactus Blossoms
Last Drop by Chris Mars CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets
Like the Santa Fe Opry Facebook page Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE Steve Terrell is proud to report to the monthly Freeform American Roots Radio list
