Saturday, July 24, 2004

SANTA FE OPRY PLAY LIST

The Santa Fe Opry
Friday, July 23, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Now Webcasting:
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays MDT
Host: Steve Terrell
Guest Co-host: Thom "Ciskoe" Pike

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Eggs of Your Chickens/The Stars in Your Life by The Flatlanders
Lighting A Torch by Billy Joe Shaver
Where the Devil Don't Stay by The Drive-By Truckers
Guitar Man by Junior Brown
Worried Man Blues by George Jones
Red or Green by Lenny Roybal

Your Mind is on Vacation by Mose Allison
Mose Allison Played Here by Greg Brown
The Whiskey Makes You Sweeter by Amy Allison
Long Gone Dream by Greg Trooper
Hong Kong Boy by Tom Russell
The Eyes of Roberto Duran by Chris Gafney
Stepside by Eric Ambel
Exquisite Dead Guy by They Might Be Giants


Willie We Have Missed You by Grey DeLisle
Old Black Joe by Van Morrison & Linda Gail Lewis
American Hotel by Tom Russell
Nelly Was A Lady by Alvin Youngblood Hart
Ghost of Stephen Foster by Squirrel Nut Zippers
Old Kentucky Home by Randy Newman
Oh Susanna by Ronny Elliott
Don't Bet Money on the Shanghai by BR5-49

Snake Oil by Steve Earle
Propiniquity by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Red Dress by James McMurtry
I Don't Feel That Way by Jon Dee Graham
Can I Be Your June by Mary Alice Woods
The Man in the Bed by Dave Alvin
Love Make a Fool of Me by Big Al Anderson
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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


Friday, July 23, 2004

TERRELL'S TUNE-UP: WATERGATE-ERA FLATLANDERS

A version of this was s published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
July 23, 2004


To play on an old Flatlanders album title, back in 1972 Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely and Butch Hancock were more a band than a legend.

On June 8 of that year -- that’s nine days before the Watergate break-in for you history buffs -- the boys from Lubbock performed an acoustic set before a small crowd at an Austin bar called The One Knite. There were 15-20 people there to hear the music, which was considered a pretty good crowd for The Flatlanders back then.

(Historical irony: More than 20 years later, the building at 801 Red River St. that housed the One Knite would be reborn as Stubb’s Bar-B-Q, named for the rib joint operated by the late C.B. Stubblefield that for years was the spiritual center of the Lubbock music scene that spawned The Flatlanders.)

Little did the band know that the owner of the joint was recording them. In fact, according to the liner notes of the CD Live ‘72, the guys in the band didn’t realize such a tape existed until last year.

So now Santa Feans can hear the Nixon-era Flatlanders and see the Bush-era Flatlanders live when they play The Lensic Tuesday night.

Live ‘72 is a sweet joy for longtime fans of Gilmore, Ely and Hancock. Newcomers, however should start off with More a Legend Than a Band -- their early ‘70s album originally released only as an 8-track tape, or their recent CDs, Now Again and Wheels of Fortune (not to mention the plethora of Gilmore, Ely and Hancock solo from the late ‘70s on).

What we hear on Live ‘72 is a band that didn’t realize its members would mature into some of the finest singer-songwriters and roots-music performers of their generation.

They were already unique in one respect. The Flatlanders were one of the only bands of the day to include a musical saw, which, as one friend of mine has observed, gave a Plan 9 From Outer Space tinge to their West Texas sound. (Though Flatlanders sawyer Steve Wesson has made cameos on the band’s recent recordings, he hasn’t played with them the last couple of times I’ve seen them.)

But at that point The Flatlanders was a band not quite sure of itself, not quite ready to enter the same stratosphere as Willie and Waylon and the boys from Austin who were about to rearrange the atomic structure of country music.

Gilmore, who back then handled most of the vocals, was only starting to show hints that he indeed is a strange deity from the deep cosmos. Ely, who sang a few of the songs that night, showed little indication of the dynamic and charismatic performer he was destined to become.

By 1972 Hancock, the best songwriter of the bunch, probably was the most advanced in his craft. But only a couple of tunes of his -- “You‘ve Never Seen Me Cry,” and “The Stars in My Life” -- are on this album. And Hancock didn’t sing any leads that night.

Only three songs from the group’s 8-track appear on this CD -- Hancock’s numbers and “Jole Blonde,(aka “ the “Cajun national anthem.”) The rest are traditional folk and blues tunes (including Jesse Fuller’s “San Francisco Bay Blues,” which was practically mandatory for folkies of that era) plus songs by Hank Williams, Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt, their longtime pal Al Strehli and even Sam Cooke.

While that might seem amazing, you have to remember that The Flatlanders’ album -- now considered a classic in alternative country, Texas music or whatever -- received little notice or distribution. (8-track tapes were well on their way out by 1972.)

What you hear on this recording is a bunch of guys clearly in love with the timeless music they play. You hear it in the Everly-like harmonies on the old country song “Long Time Gone.” You hear it in Gilmore’s loving delivery of “Bring It On Home to Me,” which makes you realize that Sam Cooke and Hank Williams are probably pals in Heaven.

I bet this CD sounds a lot like Gilmore, Ely and Hancock did picking and jamming and singing around Lubbock living rooms. They’re more professional now, a little more polished, but that same free spirit marks their music still.

The Flatlanders will play at the Lensic Theater, 211 West San Francisco St., 8 p.m. Tuesday, Jul 27 2004. Ticket prices range from $24 to $34. For more information call 988-1234 or check the Fan Man Productions website.

My review of The Flatlanders' Wheels of Fortune can be found HERE

And what the heck, I haven't run my Butch Hancock rafting photo in four months or so.


Also Recommended:

Live in Aught-Three by James McMurty & The Heartless Bastards.
My favorite moment on this album is the spoken introduction of “Out Here in the Middle,” where McMurtry, in his laconic, deadpan drawl says, “Here’s another song off the last album which we have for sale up by the door for $15. I forgot to mention that last night and nobody bought a damn one of ‘em. I guess they already had ‘em, huh?” If that doesn’t sum up the struggles of a traveling recording artist who doesn’t sell zillions of CDs at the malls, I don’t know what does.

Live in Aught-Three is great for old McMurtry fans as well as newcomers to the cult. It’s got crisp, power-packed versions of my favorite McMurtry songs, “Too Long in the Wasteland,” “60 Acres,” and “Choctaw Bingo,“ McMurtry’s 8-minute-plus ode to the “north Texas/southern Oklahoma crystal methamphetamine industry.”

McMurtry and his Bastards are a rootsy power trio, sounding often like a less glitzy and more literate Z.Z. Top though there are some slow pretty tunes like “Out Here in the Middle” and McMurtry’s solo acoustic “Lights of Cheyenne.”

It’s definitely worth the $15 by the door.

Thursday, July 22, 2004

BLOG ROLLING

I got mentioned in Joe Monahan's New Mexico Politics Blog yesterday, along with other New Mexico press dogs going to Boston for the Democratic convention. Check his July 21 entry.

At least Joe said "grumbling" instead of "openly weeping" about missing the governor's clambake and lobster broil ...

ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: FULL DANCE CARD IN BOSTON

As published in The Santa Fe New Mexican, July 22, 2004

Gov. Bill Richardson isn't going to be the vice-presidential nominee, but as chairman of the Democratic National Convention in Boston next week, his proverbial dance card definitely will be full.


Richardson told local reporters Wednesday that he's been invited to more than 200 events by various state delegations and interest groups. He's the guest of honor at a dinner sponsored by Union Pacific Railroad and a luncheon for the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers.

Richardson said he's scheduled to speak at three breakfast meetings for individual state delegations each morning during the convention.

The Boston Globe this week ran a story about these breakfast meetings and who's in demand as speakers. Richardson was described as a "stock favorite." The article quoted a spokesman for the Texas Democratic Party as saying: "Bill Richardson is on our short list, and he already told us he'd come by."

But The Globe noted, "A safe bet for one state, though, is out of another's reach. " 'We can't seem to get on Bill Richardson's schedule,' Scott Sterling, chairman of the Alaska delegation, said ruefully. 'But we're working on Max Baucus,' referring to the senator from Montana."

Name your governor: Richardson was scheduled to fly to Boston Wednesday night, which means Lt. Gov. Diane Denish is the acting governor at the moment.

But Denish is scheduled to go to Boston on Friday, which means Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron will be acting governor this weekend and most of next week.

However, Vigil-Giron said Wednesday that she has a meeting with the Navajo Election Administration in Window Rock, Ariz., on Monday. "I should be out of the state for about four hours," she said. According to the state Constitution, this means Senate President Pro-tem Richard Romero will be acting governor during that time.

If for some reason Romero has to leave the state during those four hours, we could be in for a constitutional crisis. The next in line is the speaker of the House. But Ben Luján also is going to the convention, and the Constitution doesn't specify who would be in line after him.

Little-known convention fact: Richardson isn't the only New Mexico politician who is an officer of the Democratic convention. Speaker Luján, D-Nambé, is one of 11 vice chairpeople. The others holding this honorary position include the governors of Washington and Louisiana, former governors of New Hampshire and Oregon, five members of Congress and the mayor of Columbus, Ohio.

Luján jumped on the Kerry bandwagon months before it became a bandwagon, announcing his support for Kerry about a year ago.

Ambassador Adair: Sen. Rod Adair, R-Roswell, couldn't resist lampooning Richardson's well-publicized announcement early this month that he was taking himself out of consideration as Kerry's running mate.

In a recent edition of Adair's e-mail newsletter, the senator proclaimed he had informed President Bush that he wouldn't accept an appointment to the position of ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Quoting an alleged letter to Bush, Adair said: "I am honored and flattered that you are seriously considering me for this august and prestigious position. I must tell you, however, that I respectfully remove myself from the selection process and withdraw my name from consideration for the ambassadorial position. As you know, when I ran for state senator, I made a commitment to the people of Chaves and Lincoln Counties to serve a full term."

The "announcement" goes on to say that Adair "has said repeated for months that he was not interested in being the Ambassador to the Court of Saint James. Even though, as friends often said, 'he is of British heritage, and he speaks the language fluently.' "

Monday, July 19, 2004

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAY LIST

Sunday, July 18, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Now Webcasting
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays MDT
Host: Steve Terrell


OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Jenny I Read by Concrete Blonde
Don't Shake Me Lucifer by Roky Erickson
1880 or So by Television
Shame by P.J. Harvey
Gus the Polar Bear from Central Park by The Tragically Hip
Come Crash by A.C. Newman
Pigeon Heart by Marah
Spiderman by The Ramones

Afghan/Forklift by Stan Ridgway
Spiders by Wilco
The Day Industry Decided to Stop by The Three Johns
Never Say Never by Romeo Void
Green Fuz by Green Fuz
Somethin' Stupid by Frank & Nancy Sinatra

Tarzan of Harlem by Cab Calloway
Saturday Night Fish Fry by Louis Jordan
The Minor Drag by Fats Waller
Here Comes the Man With the Jive by Stuff Smith & His Onyx Club Boys
Bloodshot Eyes by Wynonie Harris
Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby by Joe Jackson
Wackey Dust by Chick Webb & His Orchestra with Ella Fitzgerald
There Ain't No Sweet Man Worth the Salt of My Tears by Geoff Muldaur's Futuristic Ensemble with Martha Wainwright

When Kingdoms Crawl by Bone Pilgrim
When the Fool Becomes the King by The Polyphonic Spree
Heaven by Eric Burdon
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

Sunday, July 18, 2004

DON'T ABUSE THE MUSE

My cyber friend and poetry man Mike Schiavo is included in a new anthology called Don't Abuse the Muse: The Middlefinger Press Mixed Tape of Fiction & Reality.

One hundred percent of the profits go to Parkinson's Disease research.

So check it out.

SANTA FE OPRY PLAY LIST

Here's Friday's S.F. Opry list from Tom

The Santa Fe Opry
Friday, July 16, 2004
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Guest Host: Tom Knoblauch

One Hundred Years From Now by The Byrds
Truck Drivin’ Man by The International Submarine Band
Blue Canadian Rockies by The Byrds
Hickory Wind by The Byrds
You Don’t Miss Your Water by The Byrds
Sweetheart of the Rodeo
Tonight I’ll Be Stayin Here With You/I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight by Bob Dylan
Wild Horses by The Flying Burrito Brothers
I Am A Lonesome Hobo by Bob Dylan
John Wesley Harding
The Train Song/Sing Me Back Home by The Flying Burrito Brothers
She by Gram Parsons
Older Guys by The Flying Burrito Brothers
In My Hour of Darkness by Gram Parsons
On the Banks of the Rio Grande by Blind James
Rio Grande by Dave Alvin
Rusty Old Red River/What’s It Take by Toni Price
Better Off Without a Wife/Warm Beer & Cold Women/Nighthawks at the Diner by Tom Waits
Cowboy Peyton Place by Doug Sahm
Beat Me Daddy Eight to the Bar/Truck Drivin’ Man/Too Much Fun by Commander Cody
Mikey Gave Up the Booze by Joe West
Have Your Way With Me by Hundred Year Flood
Next Time by TheMuseMeant
Hey Beautiful/Let’s Fall in Love Again Tonight by Hundred Year Flood
Rowdy’s Tune by Dickie Lee Erwin
Diggy Liggy Lo by John Fogarty

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

THROWBACK THURSDAY: Come for the Shame, Stay for the Scandal

  Earlier this week I saw Mississippi bluesman Cedrick Burnside play at the Tumbleroot here in Santa Fe. As I suspected, Burnsi...