CONVENTION NOTEBOOK SUNDAY

DENVER — The Crowne Plaza hotel was a hotbed of New Mexico Democrat activity Sunday afternoon. Downstairs state Rep. Ernest Chavez, D-Albuquerque, a delegate was checking in. In the lobby bar you could spot Tom Udall’s campaign manager Amanda Cooper and political strategist Caroline Buerkle. Getting off the elevator were several members of Gov. Bill Richardson’s state police security detail, in plain clothes looking as if they were about to enjoy some time off. Party activist Bryon Paez was running around in a USMC T-shirt.

The Crowne Plaza is the official headquarters of the New Mexico delegation. The state party has an office up on the Sixth Floor. State Auditor Hector Balderas was there munching on grapes and pistachio nuts. Former state Attorney General Patricia Madrid and her husband Mike Messina was checking in. Madrid, who was a member of the DNC’s Platform Committee, showed a reporter a copy of Sunday’s Denver Post, which ran a photo of her and a short blurb highlighting her role as a “Behind the scenes” Democrat. Madrid is scheduled to speak at the convention when the platform is introduced 5 p.m. Monday.

Get your souvenirs: The Crowne Plaza is just a couple of blocks from Denver’s 16th Street Mall, which was crammed with convention goers, a few stray war protesters and an occasional street musician playing for the crowd.

And the place is crawling with reporters too. While doing some writing in the lobby of the Sheraton, I ran into Nathan Dinsdale, who used to work at The Santa Fe Reporter. On 16th Street I bumped into a former New Mexican colleague, Daniel Chacon, who now covers city hall for the Rocky Mountain News.

People filled sidewalk cafes and checked out the innumerable tables selling Obama buttons, T-shirt, bumper stickers and bobbleheads. Several storefront souvenir shops had large window displays of these items as well.

The Obama souvenir business stretched beyond the downtown area. At a convenience store parking lot on Speer Street west of I-25, a young man from Arizona named Josh Richmond was operating an Obama T-shirt stand under a tarp. He said he’d been working there since last Monday and business was good.

In addition to all the Obama items there were a few Hillary Clinton buttons. But Richmond, an Obama supporter, said he had sold very many of those.

There was some color sites in downtown Denver not as festive or pleasant as the T-shirt stands. Three large trucks could be seen in the area with huge photos of bloody fetuses. One had the printed message, “Abortion is Obama Nation.” Conventions bring out everyone.

Straight out of American Samoa: While writing this piece in a 16th Street Starbucks, I met a real live superdelegate. She was looking for directions to the Denver Convention Center.
Teri Hunkin is vice chair of the Democratic Party in American Samoa. Her brother-in-law is Faleomavaega Eni Hunkin, American Samoa’s longtime representative in Congress. As a territory, American Samoa has a non-voting representative in the House. Citizens there can’t vote in the presidential election either. Both Teri Hunkin and her brother-in-law are “huge Obama supporters.”

American Samoa has 13 delegates to the Democratic National Convention, though only four showed up, Teri Hunkin said. She said most were not able to attend because of the expense of travel. But some delegates pledged to Hillary Clinton chose not to go. Clinton won the American Samoan caucus by about a 60-40 margin.

The previous version had no photos.

DEMS DO DENVER

I found this place just a couple of blocks from the Crowne Plaza, where the New Mexico delegates are staying. No, I didn't see any of our delegates going in (and, no, I didn't go in either.)

Downtown Denver seemed bustling in anticipation of the convention. Lots of crammed sidewalk cafes, lots of folks with Dem credentials hanging from their necks wandering the streets looking like tourists. And hey, I caught a glimse of Wolf Blitzer crossing the street near CNN HQs.

I was going to park and look around for early bird New Mexicans. But instead, I decided to drive up Colfax to joint I discovered a couple of years ago -- Steve's Snappin' Dogs. I took a picture of the sign when I was here before (and it's the desktop photo of my work computer.) But it was closed when my son and I stopped in a couple of years ago, so tonight was the first time I actually ate there. Fine hotdog (I opted for the Rippin' Rockies Dog, which has green chile) but the best part was the fried green beans. What a treat!

And yes, that's the car I'm driving -- it's a New Mexican Circulation Dept. vehicle the company was nice enough to let me use. I'm so used to driving generic looking cars, it's a shock every time I see it. But at least there's no danger of me losing it.

Check back later and I'll post links to my convention preview stories in Sunday's New Mexican.

UPDATE: Here ya go ...
* Main story (What purpose do conventions serve and who pays for this party?) CLICK HERE
* A list of meals, receptions and parties for the New Mexico delegation CLICK HERE.
* The list of N.M. delegates. CLICK HERE.

IT'S BIDEN

Sometime during the last hour of The Santa Fe Opry, both The New York Times and The Washington Post -- and probably a lot of other media outlets -- reported that Obama has chosen Joe Biden as his running mate.

I'm kind of disappointed that the secret didn't hold until the text message went out. Damned reporters!

Speaking of which, I'm driving up to Denver today (Saturday) to cover the convention for The New Mexican. Watch the paper as well as this blog for news from the DNC.

THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, August 22, 2008
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM
Webcasting!
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org

OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Rubboard Playing Man by Cornell Hurd
Cold Shoulder by Ralph Stanley II
She's My Neighbor by Zeno Tornado & The Boney Google Brothers
Lonesome, On'ry & Mean by Waylon Jennings
Beer Scum by Mike Neal
Cluck Old Hen by Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs
I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart by The Pine Valley Cosmonauts with Kelly Hogan
LSD Made a Wreck Outta Me by T. Tex Edwards & Out on Parole

Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead by Warren Zevon
Denver/O'er the Waves by Carla Bozulich
Colorado by Chevy Chase
I'll Walk Out by Miss Leslie
Is Anybody Going to San Antone by The Sir Douglas Quintet
Show Me Something by Rosie Ledet
My Toot Toot by Fats Domino & Doug Kershaw

FROGVILLE SET
Hell or High Water by Hundred Year Flood
The Wicked Things by Boris McCutcheon & The Saltlicks
Radio the Station by Goshen
Wishful Thinking by Bill Hearne's Roadhouse Revue
Help Wanted by Nathan Moore
Wish You Were Beer by ThaMuseMeant
Trotsky's Blues by Joe West

Good Ship Venus by Loudon Wainwright III
Tinderbox by Fred Eaglesmith
Howard Hughes' Blues by Laura Cantrell
Do You Call That a Buddy by Martin, Bogan & Armstrong
Don't Tell My Wife by Johnny Paycheck
Down in Mississippi by Mavis Staples
It'll Be Me by Richard & Linda Thompson
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

RICHARDSON FOR VEEP?

Kate has the latest. (CLICK HERE and HERE)

Basically, Candy Crowley said on CNN that the gov was told in the past 48 hours that he hasn't been selected for Obama's running mate. Richardson's political spokesman won't comment.

Earlier in the day at a press conference in Albuquerque Kate attended, Richardson said, "I'm ready to shave and get on a plane to Springfield, but I haven't heard anything,"

I asked him last night if he had any plans for a trip to Springfield this weekend. He said, "No. No plans." (I also asked him how many houses he owns. He responded quickly. "Two. Both in Santa Fe.")

Meanwhile, the governor's office announced Richardson will sign a couple of bills at a news conference Monday, Aug. 25, at 10:30 a.m. in the Governor’s Cabinet Room. Guess he's not going to Denver until after that.

UPDATE:

Looks like the governor has other plans for Saturday morning. This just in from the Obama campaign:

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – Tomorrow morning New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson will open the second day of Hispanic Camp Obama. He will speak to Hispanic community leaders, activist and volunteers from across New Mexico

Richardson is supposed to speak at 9:30 a.m. Mountain Time. That's in Albuquerque, not Springfield.

R.I.P. DANNY ROY YOUNG

He was known as "The Mayour of South Austin." He owned the Texicalli Grille. But I knew him as Cornell Hurd's rubboard player.

Danny died on Wednesday. Below is a photo I took of him playing with Cornell last year. HERE is his obit.

TERRELL'S TUNE-UP: FROGFEST IS COMING

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
August 22, 2008




Frogfest didn't croak

After taking a year off, Frogfest, the local music festival that showcases acts signed by Santa Fe's Frogville label, returns to the Santa Fe Brewing Company on Saturday, Aug. 23, with a packed schedule.

Most of the Frogville musical family are slated to play the festival: Nathan Moore (you know him from ThaMuseMeant); Taarka (another ThaMuseMeant offshoot, featuring Dave Tiller and Enion Pelta-Tiller); Boris McCutcheon and the Saltlicks; Bill Hearne; Xoe Fitzgerald, the Time Traveling Transvestite (he and Joe West have never been seen together); Goshen; and, of course, Hundred Year Flood.

Frogville Records, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, has been responsible for some of the finest locally produced albums this century. The company is the baby of co-founder, CEO, and president-for-life John Treadwell, affectionately known as "Big Frog" by the musicians in his stable.

The first Frogfest took place in 2005 at the Santa Fe Brewing Company. This was followed the next year by a more ambitious festival, a two-day event at the Brewing Company that featured national headliner James McMurtry in addition to all the Frogville acts and other local bands.

It was a great time for those who attended. The only trouble was that, thanks to several factors, including rain, the crowd wasn't as big as expected. Sometimes it seemed as if the camera crews nearly outnumbered the audience. The Los Angeles Filmmakers' Cooperative was there, as was Santa Fe filmmaker Lexie Shabel, who shot the whole festival.

So Treadwell took a bath and Frogfest took a break for a year. This year the festival is scaled back to one day ("eight hours of love and music," the press release says) and no national acts.

A tale of the Flood: Frogfest 3 will be the first Hundred Year Flood performance since a very special concert on the Plaza last month — the group's Santa Fe Bandstand gig. While the opening band, Bone Orchard, was playing, HYF singer/guitarist Bill Palmer got a call informing him
that bass player Kendra Lauman had just given birth to a baby boy — Oak Lauman Palmer.

Kendra had gone into labor that morning, Bill said. Her husband, Jim Palmer, HYF's drummer (and Bill's brother), had warned the band that it had better find a substitute rhythm section for that night.

Bassist Susan Hyde Holmes (of the Santa Fe All-Stars; and the Saltlicks ) and drummer David Waldrop stepped up like pros. Neither had ever done a Flood gig before, but both play with Bill Palmer and Felecia Ford's country-western side project, The Cherry Pickers, so there was musical compatibility.

And as corny as it sounds, it was nothing short of a magical show. To get even cornier, Kendra and Jim definitely were there in spirit.

Kendra had long known that her due date was dangerously close to the Plaza show date, but she thought it would be cool to play when she was extremely pregnant. Well, she got close. She's expected to rejoin Flood at Frogfest 3.

Frogville never sleeps: The company plans to release three new albums — by Hundred Year Flood, Nathan Moore, and Boris McCutcheon — in the near future. I got my hands on an advance copy of one of them. Here's what I think:

* Bad Road, Good People by Boris McCutcheon and the Saltlicks. This is a worthy follow-up to Boris' last album, Cactusman vs the Blue Demon. Listeners know they're in for a treat from the opening notes on the first song, "The Ballad of Rusty Strange" — a little musical conversation between Brett Davis' tenor banjo and Kevin Zoernig's harmonium.

Although Boris and band make some sweet sounds, I usually prefer McCutcheon's darker songs. My favorite one here is "Waiting for the Demons to Die." It's a lilting, pretty song with some irresistible steel guitar by Davis, but the lyrics are delightfully twisted: "Frost on the window, blood on her cheeks/The days blur into weeks/I'm coughing up hair on the sunny stairs/Waiting for the demons to die."

Then there's "The Wicked Things," a minor-key waltz with a sinister accordion by Zoernig. The The song sounds as if it’s from some weird arthouse movie, perhaps a scene in a European back alley where someone's about to be murdered. "I sharpen my spade on a child's grave," Boris sings.

"I severed her head with one blow."

Gotta love those silly love songs.

The album ends with "I Long (Then I'm Gone)," which features a guest appearance by Taj Mahal on harmonica. It's a nice simple blues. And nobody loses his head.

Last year, when Taj Mahal was in town for a show, he was reportedly hijacked by Frogville henchmen (though no police report was filed) and taken to Treadwell's home studio, where he laid down some tracks for Boris and a new Hundred Year Flood song. He sounds great.

Frogfest 3 takes place from 4 p.m. to midnight at Santa Fe Brewing Company, 27 Fire Place. It'll cost you $10; humans 12 and under get in for free. Call 424-3333 or visit santafebrewing.com.

Frogville Radio: John Treadwell hosts this weekly radio show on KBAC-FM 98.1, starting at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays. I'll do an unauthorized Frogville Radio half hour on Friday night on The Santa Fe Opry on KSFR-FM 101.1 in honor of Frogfest. My show starts at 10 p.m. and the Frogfest segment will start at 11 p.m.

RASMUSSEN SHOWS NM SENATE RACE TIGHTENING

The latest Rasmussen poll shows Democrat Tom Udall still 10 points ahead of Republican Steve Pearce in the race for U.S. Senate in New Mexico.

But the numbers show an improvement for Pearce, who last month was 25 points behind, according to the same polling organization.

When "leaners" are including, there is only 8 points separating Udall and Pearce.

Meanwhile Democrat Barack Obama is still leading the GOP's John McCain in this state 47 percent to 41 percent, according to Rasmussen. This shows little change since last month.

One difference in the Senate race is that since the last poll is that Pearce began advertising on TV.

Udall, who has been running TV ads since June until recently had only "positive" commercials. Only recently has he begun hitting back.

In general, Pearce's ads depict Udall as a tool of "environmental extremists."

Udall portrays Pearce as being a puppet of "Big Oil."

ROUNDHOUSE ROUND-UP: MODESTLY SPEAKING

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
August 21, 2008

Is it just me, or did Gov. Bill Richardson seem rather detached from the special session that was so important for him to call?

He did have a party for legislators at the governor’s mansion Friday night, and he reportedly met with some lawmakers during the session.

But there was barely a peep from the Governor’s Office during the five-day session, at least not public peeps. Unlike past special sessions, there was no cajoling lawmakers, no threats to extend the session, no denouncing any special interests standing in the way of the legislation he wanted.

And there was no news conference at the end of the session, just a rather ho-hum e-mail statement in which the governor, apparently undaunted by the fact that the Legislature basically cut his proposals in half, said: “While the Legislature did not go as far as I would have liked to cover all children with health insurance, I believe modest, but solid gains were made toward that goal.”

He used the word modest three times in the statement. Has the roaring lion suddenly become modest mouse?

The question of why there was this huge need for a special session in August — a question frequently articulated by several legislators from both parties during the session — has never been answered.

Some lawmakers said the timing was somehow connected with the speech Richardson is scheduled to give next week in Denver at the Democratic National Convention.

On the first day of the session, Sen. John Grubesic, D-Santa Fe, a frequent Richardson critic, said the governor called the session so he would have “a couple of lines for a speech at the Democratic National Convention.” Others took up similar lines of attack, prompting a Richardson spokeswoman to release a statement Sunday saying Richardson doesn’t care about personal attacks.

“Rather, his focus, as it always has been, is on getting meaningful legislation passed to give 50 thousand uninsured children access to health care and provide relief to working families who are struggling because of high gas prices.”

Actually, Richardson seemed more focused Sunday on his old presidential rival Hillary Clinton. He appeared at a rally with her in Española and hosted fundraisers for Clinton in Santa Fe and Albuquerque that day. The next day, he seemed more focused on Barack Obama, with whom he met in Albuquerque before appearing with the presidential candidate at an Albuquerque rally.

But I don’t believe the special session did much to advance Richardson’s national political ambitions. If Obama happened to glance at any New Mexico papers during his stop Monday, he would have seen headlines about senators blasting Richardson.

And I seriously doubt the special session had much to do with Richardson’s convention speech. He’s bound to bring up some of his accomplishments as governor during the speech. But I doubt he mentions any of the “modest” bills that came out of this curious session.

Senate ad wars continue: The television rhetoric is heating up in the U.S. Senate race. The anti-tax Club for Growth — which was denounced during the Republican primary by both U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici and U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson for its ads attacking Wilson as a “liberal,” is now attacking Democratic candidate Tom Udall, who is running against CFG favorite Steve Pearce.

The new anti-Udall ad attacks Udall’s “strange views about property.” Udall believes, the ad claims, “If it’s private property, take it. If it dies, tax it. But if it’s American oil, leave it in the ground.”

Udall responded with his own ad calling the CFG “a Washington special interest” that “falsely attacked Heather Wilson.” But the ad is tougher on Pearce, blasting his votes against alternative energy and tying those votes to more than $600,000 in contributions from oil companies. Pearce has consistently denied his votes are connected to his campaign contributions.

Interestingly, Udall’s ad says he favors nuclear energy and “more domestic drilling, including some offshore” — as well as wind and solar energy. The Pearce campaign has attacked Udall for voting against offshore drilling in Congress.

Although Udall’s new ad doesn’t dwell on Club for Growth, recent e-mail from the Udall camp rips into the group, even quoting Republicans Domenici and Wilson.

The Club, Udall’s camp points out, has received funds from Houston home builder Robert Perry. Perry is one of the major funders of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which ran controversial ads in 2004 against Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry. Many Swift Boat charges against Kerry turned out to be false.

Perry also has been a major contributor to several New Mexico Republican candidates since 2002.

The Udall campaign turned the Club For Growth/Perry connection into a fundraising e-mail. But when I saw the subject line — "Despicable" — I wasn’t sure whether it was from Udall campaign manager Amanda Cooper or Daffy Duck.

Here's the Club for Growth ad followed by the Udall response:

BREAKFAST WITH T. BOONE

Check out my story on T. Boone Pickens hosting a breakfast for New Mexico's delegation at the convention in Denver next week. CLICK HERE.

Seems like only yesterday that Pickens was better known for swift boats than wind farms. But like Bob Wills would say, "Time changes everything."