The Year of the Legislature?

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican

During his state of the state address last month, Gov. Bill Richardson told lawmakers, "Last year, many people thought it was the year of the governor. This year, let's make it the year of the Legislature."

With the Legislature passing its halfway point this week, it looks as if some legislators took the governor seriously -- though perhaps not the way Richardson wanted.

In contrast with the lovefest that was Richardson's first legislative session last year, this year there have been several instances of public tension between the governor and the Legislature.

Among those:
* The House voted 66-0 to override Richardson's line-item veto of the Legislative Finance Committee budget. (The governor was able to avoid an override by convincing Senate Democrats last week to go along with a compromise.)

* House Speaker Ben Luján, D-Nambé, last week accused Richardson of taking "cheap shots" at the House with the governor's criticisms of the House-approved budget.

*Sen. Tim Jennings, D-Roswell, last week accused Richardson of being abusive at meetings with lobbyists and others working on Medicaid-related bills. Several members of the House on Friday -- mainly Republicans but a handful of Democrats also -- wore orange ribbons to show solidarity with Jennings and protest Richardson's alleged behavior.

* Looming in the shadows is the specter of redistricting. Although Richardson frequently speaks about achieving bipartisan cooperation with the Legislature, this week he opened the possibility of losing any remaining goodwill with Republicans by considering redrawing the congressional district map. Richardson said his gut instinct is to not allow redistricting on the agenda, though he did meet Friday with redistricting expert Brian Sanderoff.

Some say that not too much should be made over the eruptions between the governor and the legislators.

And nobody's saying the tensions have boiled over into overt hostilities. Just two days after Luján's comments about Richardson's "cheap shots," the House Speaker appeared at the governor's side to announce a bill Luján is sponsoring to eliminate the tax on most grocery items.

Last week, Richardson's chief of staff, Dave Contarino, downplayed the criticisms.

"A lot of this is lost on the people of New Mexico," Contarino said. "They're focused on the governor and the Legislature working arm in arm."

Talking about the Jennings incident, Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, said, "I think it just shows what can happen when so much is packed into a 30-day session. Tempers are real challenged. I'm not overly alarmed. We'll work through it."

House Democratic Whip James Taylor of Albuquerque agrees that the pressures of a 30-day session leads to frustration and skirmishes.

But he also says the Legislature is showing more independence. However he said he thinks this trend started almost two years ago, during the final months of Gov. Gary Johnson's administration.

"When Gov. Johnson vetoed the budget and we called ourselves into extraordinary session to override, that act in itself showed the Legislature does indeed have constitutional rights as a branch of government and the tools to do what we have to do."

When Richardson took office in 2003, Taylor said, the Legislature "gave him quite a bit of leeway" to push his agenda.

Taylor said poor communications with the governor and his staff, plus a "my-way-or-the-highway" attitude coming from the fourth floor has made legislators reassert themselves.

"This type of communication could lead to the same type of gridlock we had with Gov. Johnson," Taylor said.

Of Richardson, Taylor said, "He's tough, he's my kind of politician."

But he added, "My job is listening to the wishes of my constituents, not the wishes of the governor."

Taylor said he's optimistic relations between the two branches of government will improve. "It's a learning process," he said.

The Santa Fe Opry Play List

The Santa Fe Opry
Friday, Feb. 6, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
That's How I Got to Memhis by Buddy Miller
Too Long in the Wasteland by James McMurtry
The Unrepentant by Steve Earle
Ridin' WIth O'Hanlon by R.B. Morris
Thrice All American by Neko Case
Light in the Window by Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks

There Stands the Glass by Ted Hawkins
Broken Glass by Hazeldine
A Little Bit Lonesome by Kasey Chambers
Well Laid Plans by Joe West
Back Street Affair by John Prine & Patty Loveless
Cocaine Blues by Hank Thompson
Ginko & Tofu by Jim Terr
Child of God by Julien Aklei
Start Me Up by The Folksmen

The Sign of Judgement by The Winegrass Sacred Harp Singers
Idumea by Sacred Harp Singers at Liberty Church
Ridin' the Midnight Train by Ralph Stanley & Iris DeMent
On the Other Side by Leftover Salmon
Walkin' Through the Dark by Mary & Mars
Ruby With the Eyes That Sparkle by Stuart Duncan & Dirk Powell
The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest by Jerry Garcia & David Grisman
Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home by Patsy Cline

After the Fall by Terry Allen
Just a Wave by Jimmie Dale Gilmore
When Rita Leaves by Bill Hearne
Sitting Bull in Venice by Tom Russell
Curves and Things by Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez
I'm Gonna Leave You by Marlee MacLeod
Jacob's Ladder by Greg Brown with Iris DeMent
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: The Mekons Sweat to Their Own Oldies

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican, Feb. 6, 2004

One of the most nefarious tricks of the nefarious record industry is having veteran artists go back and re-record their best known songs to sell as tacky “greatest hits” packages.

Hint: Whenever you see “best of” CDs or tapes in the bargain bin by, say, Roy Orbison or Louis Jordan or Little Richard, beware. These might not be the original recordings, but second-rate re-makes done years or even decades later.

But ever so often there’s a different kind of re-recording project that the musicians themselves, rather than their vile corporate masters instigate. Bob Dylan, for instance on his various live albums frequently tries to ensure that his old songs are busy being born so they’re not busy dying.

And then there are the fabulous Mekons.

The latest CD by this band of Brits (many of whom have immigrated to the U.S.) is a collection of new versions of 15 songs from the band’s early history -- late ‘70s, early ‘80s.

Simply titled Punk Rock, the project was inspired by the band’s 25th anniversary tour a couple of years ago, when the group reached back into their vast catalogue, digging up tunes that hadn’t been aired out in decades and discovering there was still power in some of those old rants and sonic slugfests.

Who’d have thought that of all those bands of that heady era, The Mekons would be the one to survive and re-tell the story in the 21st Century. Never mind the periodic Sex Pistols reunions. They’ve become a virtual casino nostalgia act on par with reconstituted groups like Three Dog Night and Gary Puckett & The Union Gap.

A word on Mekon history: The Mekons rose out of the industrial city of Leeds, U.K. during a period of high unemployment and general cynicism. (That’s what launched punk rock in the beginning, kiddies, not the desire to have your songs used on car commercials.)

The basic Mekon lineup that’s been active the past decade or so only has two members of the original band -- Jon Langford (who started out as a drummer eventually switching to guitar) and Tom Greenhalgh, the two main male singers of today’s Mekons.

But I suspect most Mekon fans -- myself included -- arrived much later. Some saw the light with 1985’s Fear and Whiskey, which was alternative country before there was a word for it, while even more were baptized with 1989’s Mekons Rock and Roll, perhaps their most accessible album, but also perhaps their greatest.

Thus many Mekon fans think of the band in terms of singer Sally Timms and fiddler Suzie Honeyman, both of whom enlisted as Mekons in the mid ‘80s. That’s only natural. Timms’ alluring alto truly is one of the band’s greatest strengths. And Honeyman’s fiddle (along with Rico Bell’s accordion and Lu Edmonds’ arsenal of stringed instruments) give the Mekons their unique Salvation-Army-Band-gone-to-seed sound.

The cuts I like best on Punk Rock are the ones that showcase The Mekons’ unusual instrumentation. On the opening cut “Teeth” the fiddle and the accordion are as hard driving as the grating guitars.

And, as usual, some of my favorite cuts are the Sally songs. On “Corporal Chalkie” she sounds like a sexier Patti Smith (and there’s a definite Lenny Kaye influence on the guitar solo.). Then on “Chopper Squad,” she’s backed mainly by a banjo (Bell’s accordion coming in later)

If there’s such thing as a “punk ballad,” the song “Lonely and Wet” would qualify. It‘s by Langford over pounding minor-key guitar chords (with the fiddle and accordion contributing to the general cacophony.)

Some of the songs here -- “Never Been to a Riot,” “I‘m So Happy,” “Fight the Cuts” and “Dan Dare” -- are basically high-spirited punk stomp recreations of their older versions. But the rage as well as the underlying love sounds undiminished, especially on “Fight the Cuts,” a cry against an uncaring government.

It’s true I probably would have preferred an album of new material from The Mekons. But Punk Rock shows that nostalgia doesn’t have to be sappy.

Roundhouse Round-up: In Praise of Singing Politicians

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican,

Gov. Bill Richardson promised the New Mexico presidential caucus would be fun. And he was right. Even though the candidates didn't spend as much time in this state as they did in New Hampshire and Iowa, and even though we did have to share our moment in the spotlight with six other states, New Mexico got to see a lot more of the presidential contenders than we would have had we stuck with our virtually irrelevant June presidential primary.

If I had to choose a favorite moment of the campaign, it would have to be last Friday at the Inn at Loretto, waiting for Wesley Clark.

The general was an hour and a half late, which, in his defense, seems to be typical of all the candidates. Actor Ted Danson filled some of the time by talking about Clark and taking questions from the audience.

But the Clark supporter who had the best idea on how to keep the crowd at the hotel was former Lt. Gov. Roberto Mondragon. After just a few short words, Mondragon decided to do what many people say he does best. He turned to the mariachi band that had played at the beginning of the rally and began leading the crowd in a rousing version of the local favorite "Decolores."

Mondragon and the mariachis then proceeded to sing three or four other tunes. He even got Mayor Larry Delgado to help him out in The Fiesta Song. Delgado, former Gov. Jerry Apodaca and state Sen. Mary Jane Garcia swayed along with the music, playing The Pips to Mondragon's Gladys Knight.

I'm not sure whether any national television cameras were there, but it would have been a great CNN moment showing a unique side of New Mexico politics.

(Earlier one of the mariachis had fainted on stage and had to be taken to the hospital, but that's another story.)

Mondragon of course is no stranger to music. He sang in the final scene of the 1988 movie The Milagro Beanfield War. And he has recorded at least one album. I know because he gave me a copy of the LP the first time I interviewed him back in 1980 when he was lieutenant governor.

In that interview, Mondragon said he got so tired of people asking him "Hey, Bob, where's your guitar?" that he started bringing his instrument to work. Then when someone asked, he'd say, "It's down in my truck. Want to hear a song?"

I don't mean to sound like an idealistic airhead and imply the world would be a much better place if there were more singing politicians. But, as Mondragon knows, sometimes a song is more effective than a speech.

For the record: The big-name candidates you've heard about on TV aren't the only ones to get votes here Tuesday. Political unknown and flying-car enthusiast Fern Penna received 77 votes state wide, while Uncommitted received 460.

Signs, signs, everywhere signs: The governor looked surprised on KNME's Stateline New Mexico last week when reporter Dan Vukelich asked him about a report that the governor's chief of staff, Dave Contarino, had a "Clark for President" sign in his yard.

Not so, said Richardson, who remained neutral for the caucus season. If that was the case, he said, Contarino wouldn't be his chief of staff for long.

Contarino still has his job, but apparently a Clark sign had been in his yard.

For the record, Contarino said, his wife was a honcho in the local Clark campaign. But Contarino was neutral, he said.

Terrell's Sound World Play List

Terrell's Sound World
Sunday, February 1, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Drop Kick Me Jesus by Bobby Bare
Treat Her Right by Los Straitjackets with Mark Lindsay
Train Kept a Rollin' by The Yardbirds
All Black and Hairy by Screaming Lord Sutch
Rest in Peace by Johnny Dowd
Horace by Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks
South Street by The Orlons
The Body Says No by The New Pornographers
Naked Pictures of Your Mother by The Electric Six
The Letter by The Box Tops

What by The Mekons
Louie Louie by Iggy Pop
Fabrique by Stuurbaard Bakkebaard
Honey by The Soul of John Black
Pass the Peas by Fred Wesley & The JBs
Me and Mrs. Jones by Billy Paul
Poleman by Julien Aklei

Rat Race by Bob Marley
Know Your Rights by The Clash
Standard Oil Trust by The Living Things
I Wanna Grow Up to Be a Politician by The Byrds
Country at War by X
For God's Sake Give Power to the People by The Chi-Lites
Something Broken in the Promised Land by Wayne Kramer
People Have the Power by Patti Smith

Light and Day/Reach For the Sun by The Polyphonic Spree
Lessons Learned From Rocky 1 to Rocky 3 by Cornershop
Waitin' For Waits by Richie Cole
Who Are You by Tom Waits
Letters From the 9th Ward/Walk Away Renee by Ricki Lee Jones
I Know Sometimes a Man is Wrong by David Byrne
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

Benefit For Bonnie

Friends of Bill & Bonnie Hearne are planning a great night of music with an impressive line-up of local musicians as a benefit for Bonnie, who has been suffering some poor health lately. The show is being billed as a "benefit concert/dance/jam/lovefest."

The benefit -- scheduled for March 7 at the Paramount -- includes of New Mexico's finest. Among them:

Frank Rekard
John Egenes
Steve Lindsay
Baird Banner
Busy McCarroll
Susan Hyde Holmes
The Buckerettes
David Toland
Joe West and Friends
Jim Terr
Mary and Mars
Jimmy Stadler
Mark Clark
Lydia Clark
George Adelo
Don and Victoria Armstrong
South by Southwest
Bill Hearne -- and Bonnie if she's feeling good enough to play.

Also, tantalizingly listed, are "MYSTERY GUESTS."

Tickets are $20 and proceeds will go to help pay for Bonnie's medical expenses.
Watch this blog for more info.

Also worth mentioning is a CD release party for Bill's solo CD, From Santa Fe to Las Cruces (reviewed below, just a couple of posts down), which will be Thursday Feb. 19 at La Fonda.

I first saw Bill & Bonnie play more than 30 years ago at the late, lamented Bourbon & Blues here in Santa Fe. This was years before they even moved to New Mexico. A few years ago I was their neighbor, living in the same apartment building as them. Through the years Bill & Bonnie have given this town some wonderful music. I love them both.

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

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.

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.