TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, June 18, 2006
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres

FATHERS DAY SET
Just Like My Dad by ThaMuseMeant
Pappa Won't Leave You, Henry by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Pappa Was a Steel-Headed Man by Robbie Fulks
Dad, I'm In Jail by Was (Not Was)
Drunk Daddy by Cherry-Poppin' Daddies
Adam Raised a Cain by Bruce Springsteen

A Father and a Son by Loudon Wainwright III
My Old Man's a Fatso by The Angry Samoans
Bow Tie Daddy by The Mothers of Invention
The Farmer's Daughter by Merle Haggard
Our Patriarch by The Gourds
I Want You to Hurt Like I Do by Randy Newman
My Old Man by Jerry Jeff Walker
Last Ship Leaving by Elvis Costello


Get on the Boat by Prince
Everybody is a Star by Sly & The Family Stone with The Roots
Cloud 9 by The Temptations
Why Can't We Be Friends by War
Bunzu Sounds by Zinabu
I Like the Things About Me by The Staples Singers
St. James Infirmary by Chris Thomas King

Bad Treatment by Rev. Beat Man & The Church of Herpes
Bucket of Juice by Big Ugly Guys
Nancy Reagan's Head by Mission of Burma
Japanese Rhumba by Petty Booka
I-Yah-Hoy by Shoukichi Kina
Golden Shore by Frank Black
I Love Her, She Loves Me by NRBQ
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

ENTER DENDAHL

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
June 18, 2006


ALBUQUERQUE — Following the abrupt withdrawal of Republican gubernatorial candidate J.R. Damron from the race, GOP leaders meeting behind closed doors Saturday named former state party chairman John Dendahl to run against incumbent Gov. Bill Richardson.

Dendahl described the nomination by the state Republican Central Committee as a “wonderful homecoming.” Three years ago, the committee ousted Dendahl as state chairman in a bitter contest.

Dendahl was nominated by acclamation, state GOP chairman Allen Weh told reporters following the meeting. He noted that many present who voted for Dendahl on Saturday had voted against him in 2003. “This party is very, very unified,” Weh said.

Damron, a Santa Fe physician and political novice, mailed a letter Friday to the secretary of state officially withdrawing from the race, Weh told reporters.

Damron, who left the meeting before reporters were allowed in, didn’t explain exactly why he decided to quit the race. One campaign staffer said the move was “100 percent voluntary.”

In recent weeks, some Republicans have complained privately that the Damron campaign had not been aggressive enough in the race against Richardson, whose poll numbers remain high and whose money-raising ability has dwarfed Damron’s.

By the first of June, the incumbent reported about $5.7 million in the bank. Damron had just over $43,000 and campaign debts totaling $120,000.

“I’ve got to start at scratch,” Dendahl said Saturday. “We have to find out whether there’s serious Republicans in this state and out of state who will help finance this campaign.”

But Dendahl said he doesn’t have to match Richardson “dollar for dollar” to run a credible campaign.

Dendahl has written a political column for The New Mexican and other newspapers in recent years. “I’m able to make terse, clear statements to clearly and concisely articulate why Bill Richardson’s approach is so bad for our state,” he said.

Dendahl, 67, headed what was then the Tourism and Economic Development Department in the 1980s under the Gov. Garrey Carruthers. He ran for the GOP nomination for governor in 1994, losing to Gary Johnson in the primary.

While Dendahl has never been afraid to take off the gloves with any political opponent, Democrats on Saturday didn’t hesitate to attack Dendahl’s nomination.

“For the Republicans to nominate a negative-campaigning partisan in a last-minute political deal strikes me as an act of desperation,” said Dave Contarino, Richardson’s chief political adviser. “A lot of right-thinking Republicans are going to scratch their heads. Dendahl has been divisive in his own party.”

One Republican at the meeting was less than enthusiastic about Dendahl. “We couldn’t have chosen a more divisive candidate,” said former Gov. David Cargo, long known as a party maverick.

In an e-mail statement, state Democratic Party chairman John Wertheim called Dendahl, “a venomous and divisive radical.”

Both Contarino and Wertheim immediately seized upon an issue that got Dendahl in trouble with his own party: drug-law reform. During the last term of Gov. Johnson’s administration, Dendahl strongly backed Johnson’s efforts to decriminalize marijuana.

On Saturday, Dendahl said he’d told state party leaders that his gubernatorial campaign would not “have the luxury of pioneering new policies” because he’ll be too focused on pointing out flaws in Richardson’s policies.

Polls in New Mexico show strong support for at least one of the ideas Dendahl backed — making marijuana legal for treating certain serious illnesses. Richardson this year endorsed a bill that would have established a state medical-marijuana program.

Though Contarino said Richardson is looking forward to “a public debate” over the issues during the campaign, he said it’s too early to say whether the governor would debate Dendahl one-on-one.

Dendahl said he first heard about Damron’s decision to withdraw early last week. Lieutenant governor candidate Sue Beffort Wilson said she only learned about it Friday.

Damron’s withdrawal comes only two weeks after he won the Republican primary. He only had a write-in opponent in the primary.

Also about two weeks ago, Damron announced he was closing his medical practice in Santa Fe. He is president of Santa Fe Radiology.

Though Damron was considered a political unknown, he’d been active in county Republican politics, serving as treasurer of the Santa Fe County GOP.

He started out the year aggressively campaigning against Richardson. Shortly after Richardson’s state-of-the-state address on the first day of the state Legislature’s session in January, Damron came to the Capitol Rotunda and gave a response, blasting Richardson for traveling too much and for increasing the governor’s staff as well as for transportation proposals including the planned spaceport and passenger-rail system.

In May, he made a speech blasting Richardson for running “the most corrupt administration in our state’s history.”

At least one of his attacks proved untrue, however. Damron recently claimed Richardson had convinced the Legislature to increase the number of days the governor could travel out of state. No such legislation ever passed.

Damron’s campaign manager Greg Graves quit in April, and no one was hired to replace him.

There appeared to be personal animosity between Damron and Richardson.

In April, Damron’s wife, Barbara, said she had been “pressured” to resign from the St. Vincent Regional Medical Center’s governing board by hospital officials who feared retribution from Richardson.

According to Barbara Damron, hospital president Alex Valdez told her that her presence on the board might jeopardize state funds for St. Vincent. When asked about that statement, Valdez said, “I don’t respond to rumors.” A Richardson spokesman denied the governor forced Barbara Damron off the board.

Prior to J.R. Damron’s announcement, Graves, a former executive director of the state Republican Party, said before he left the Damron campaign in April, he advised the candidate to “think very strongly if he really wanted to do this or not.” J.R. Damron at the time said he wanted to go through with the campaign, Graves said.

Also on Saturday, the GOP chose another candidate for the state auditor’s race. Albuquerque accountant Lorenzo Garcia will replace Daniel Alvarez, who withdrew his candidacy. Garcia is up against Democrat Jeff Armijo in the general election.

XXXX

John Dendahl


Age: 67

Residence: Santa Fe

Education: Bachelor’s degree, electrical engineering, business administration, University of Colorado, 1961

Past government experience: Secretary of Economic Development and Tourism, 1988-90

Past political experience: Chairman of New Mexico Republican Party, 1995-2003; sought GOP nomination for governor, 1994

Other work: Newspaper columnist; property manager; president First National Bank of Santa Fe; real-estate developer; former chief executive officer of Eberline Instrument Co., a Santa Fe firm now known as Thermo, that manufactures radiation-measuring equipment

Civic: Former chairman of the St. John’s College board; former member of Santa Fe Opera board

Personal: Wife, Jackie Dendahl; five children, two stepchildren, nine grandchildren. Dendahl was a member of the 1960 Olympic Cross Country Ski team. His father grew up on the land where the present state Capitol now stands.

DAMRON OUT/DENDAHL IN

In an abrupt move, Republican Dr. J.R. Damron dropped out of the race for governor. The state GOP Central Committee chose former state party chairman John Dendahl to take his place.

Here's the wire story

Here's Republican blogger Whitney Cheshire's post.

Here's the official press release from the Republicans:

ALBUQUERQUE - Members of the New Mexico Republican State Central Committee voted unanimously this morning to place John Dendahl on the ballot in the race for New Mexico Governor.

At the meeting - which had been previously scheduled to deal with the withdrawal of GOP State Auditor Candidate Dan Alvarez - party activists were notified by candidate JR Damron that he was withdrawing from the race for Governor. Following Damron's announcement, John Dendahl was nominated by a member of the State Central Committee to fill newly created vacancy in this year's gubernatorial contest.

Dendahl's nomination was seconded by GOP 2nd Vice Chair Ceil Levatino from Las Cruces, New Mexico. GOP Lieutenant Governor candidate Sue Wilson Beffort also spoke in support of the nomination.

John Dendahl is a former State GOP Chairman, Secretary of Economic Development and was a candidate for Governor in 1994.

Lorenzo Garcia was nominated and approved unanimously by the State Central Committee as the replacement for withdrawn State Auditor candidate Dan Alvarez.

Here's the response from the office of Democratic incumbent Bill Richardson:

“It looks like the Republican Party has chosen a candidate who embraces division and negativity, and who is completely out of touch with what matters to most New Mexicans.” said Pahl Shipley, Communications Director for Governor Richardson. “We welcome the opportunity to hear John Dendahl explain his pro-drug legalization plan throughout the campaign."

I'll have more in Sunday's New Mexican.

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, June 16, 2006
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
I'm Ragged but I'm Right by George Jones
Slash From Guns 'n' Roses by I See Hawks in L.A.
The Night Miss Nancy's Ann's Hotel For Single Girls Burned Down by Hank Thompson
Cry Like a Baby by Hacienda Brothers
Helium Heart by Lonesome Brothers
Down on the Riverbed by Dave Alvin
Mohave High by Tony Gilkyson
Red Neck, Blue Collar by James Luther Dickinson

Long Gone by The Rivet Gang
It's Surprising What the Lord Can Do by The Del McCoury Band
To Ramona by The Flying Burrito Brothers
The Dolphins by Panama Red
Travelin' Man by David Bromberg
Sputnik 57 by The Minus Five
Old and In the Way by Hazel Dickens

Expose by Guy Clark
Ohoopee River Bottomland by Larry Jon Wilson
Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes by Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Mr. President (Have Pity on the Working Man) by Sam Bush
Cookville Kid by Porter Wagoner
I Love You So Much It Hurts Me by Floyd Tillman with Connie Smith
Blind by The Bottle Rockets
Beautiful William by The Handsome Family
Pappa's Jumpin' by Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys

Sign on the Wall by Fred Eaglesmith
Help Me Make it Through the Night by Bruce Robinson & Kelly Willis
Honeychild by Susan Cowsill
Holes by Jon Dee Graham
A Teardrop on a Rose by Hank Williams
Wings of a Dove by Lucinda Williams & Nanci Griffith
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: HIS NAME IS PRINCE, HE IS STILL FUNKY

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
June 16, 2006


Here’s the deal on Prince: I’ve liked just about every Prince album I’ve ever heard. (I confess, I’ve heard very little from the decade or so between Emancipation and Musicology.)


But I haven’t loved a Prince album since his Batman soundtrack back in 1989. I’ll argue that that’s his most unjustly underrated work, and I’m surprised that more artists haven’t sampled Jack Nicholson, as The Joker, proclaiming, “This town needs an enema!”

As for Prince’s latest, 3121, I can’t say I love it. But I do like it, and I like it a little more with each listening. Like Musicology, which immediately preceded it, 3121 is a fine showcase of everything that makes Prince the Prince he is: wild funk workouts, sultry soul ballads, unbridled weirdness, unabashed self-indulgence and sly, self-effacing humor.

The title song starts off like some twisted, midperiod Talking Heads groove. Prince, aided by a chorus of altered funk-Munchkin voices (his own, of course), sings about a place that’s magically hedonistic. “Take your pick from the Japanese robes and sandals/Drink champagne from a glass with chocolate handles/Don’t you wanna come? 3121.”

So what exactly is 3121? Don’t ask me. It sounds like an address, but knowing Prince, there’s probably some esoteric numerology going on here. My favorite guess is one I found on a Prince fan site that quotes the New Living Translation of the Bible’s Psalm 31:21. “Praise the Lord, for he has shown me his unfailing love. He kept me safe when my city was under attack.” But someone else there guesses it’s a PIN for an ATM.

The next song is downright hilarious. “Lolita” deals with the ever-present rock ’n’ roll danger of jail bait. But here Prince takes the moral high ground, refusing Lolita’s advances, surprising himself in the process. “Cool together, yes I must admit/Long time ago, we’d be the shhh ... uh oh.” The funniest part is the call-and-response section, when Prince asks the “fellas” just “How bad is this girl?” Then he asks Lolita herself: “Then what you wanna do?/(Anything you want?)/Then come on, let’s dance/(Dance?!)” The girl (actually Prince, again in altered voice) is dismayed.

So this is the same guy who inspired Tipper Gore’s children’s crusade against raunch in rock 20 years ago? Don’t worry; he hasn’t become a complete prude. He gets downright prurient in “Black Sweat,” bragging, “You’ll be screaming like a white lady when I count to three.” And in the next song, he’s seducing a woman in “a room of incense and candles.”

The final cut, “Get on the Boat,” is nothing short of irresistible. It sounds almost like salsa, but it’s got gospel overtones — an old-fashioned joyful call for loving one another and unity: “Get on the boat now/We got room for a hundred more,” Prince sings. Instead of sounding corny, the song is so high-energy it’s exhilarating.

And it’s an impressive little band Prince has assembled. James Brown’s sax man Maceo Parker blows here, as does Dutch sax princess Candy Dulfer. Longtime Prince cohort Sheila E. does her trademark Latin percussion assault. And Prince’s own piano solo sounds like he’s auditioning for the Afro-Cuban All Stars.

Unfortunately not all the songs reach this level. There are too many slow ones, like the MOR religious statement called “Beautiful, Loved and Blessed.” And then there’s “Te Amo Corazón,” which sounds like Prince is trying to get a foothold in the “romantico” Latin radio format.

But don’t be too quick with the skip button. Prince is still capable of surprising his listeners and rescuing a weak song. For instance, “The Dance” starts out like an overblown, mediocre ballad. But by the end, the singer works himself into an inspired emotional tizzy, alternately pleading with and threatening his lover, and the monologue melts into delicious self-parody: “Oh baby, I can find another just like you anywhere/Oh baby, they might not have your hips girl/Or all that pretty hair/But at least they won’t spend all day in the mirror.”

I don’t know what boat Prince is on, but it’s great to see he’s still afloat.

Also recommended:

* Different Strokes by Different Folks by Sly & The Family Stone (and different folks). When I first played this CD, I thought it was a tribute album. There are all these different singers and rappers doing Sly songs — though you keep hearing familiar voices and instrumentals by Sly and his old band.

But no, it’s not a tribute album in the usual sense of the word. These are actually “14 Sly and the Family Stone classics reimagined by today’s hottest stars.” In other words, those great old songs like “Dance to the Music,”“I Want to Take You Higher,” and “Family Affair” have been remixed and regurgitated.

For years I’ve had a bizarre fantasy of “reimagining” the song “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before,” adding my voice to those of Willie and Julio, as if I were one of their pals.

Actually, the idea’s not new. Years ago a character who called himself “Orion,” with the help of producer/con man Shelby Singleton, “reimagined” hits by Elvis and other Sun Records giants. Then there were those musical séances in which Hank Williams Jr. and Natalie Cole performed “duets” with their long-dead fathers.

In the case of Different Strokes, however, Sly himself produced this tampering with his landmark recordings. And I’m surprised I like them as much as I do. How could you not like a team-up of Public Enemy’s Chuck D with soul demiurge Isaac Hayes (and younger singer D’Angelo) on “Sing a Simple Song”?

While rappers and contemporary R & B artists dominate this project, there are exceptions. “I Want to Take You Higher” features Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler and sacred-steel jam-bander Robert Randolph, both of whom do the tune justice. And “You Can Make It If You Try” has bluesman Buddy Guy and John Mayer turning the song into a snazzy little guitar pull.

No, these new versions never will take the place of the old Sly hits. But most of them are a lot of fun.