Friday, November 5, 2010
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
Billy Richardson's Last Ride by Grandpa Jones
Keep on Truckin' by Hot Tuna
Move It On Over by The Maddox Brothers & Rose
Finders Keepers by Marti Brom
Tear Up the Honkey Tonk by Suzette Lawrence & The Neon Angels
Kiss and Tell Baby by Kim Lenz & Her Jaguars
Wrecking Ball by Angry Johnny & The Killbillies
Get What's Coming by The Defibulators
Juke Box Boogie by Big Jeff & The Radio Playboys
Oh! Susana by Don Charles & The Singing Dogs
Oh! Susana by Ronny Elliott
As Long As You Still Got a Song by Kell Robertson
Corn Liquor Made a Fool Out of Me by Bad Livers
Fiddling Man by Michael Martin Murphey
Flyin' Blind by Nick Curran & The Lowlifes with Phil Alvin
Long White Cadillac by The Blasters
Moonlight Midnight by The Coal Porters with Peter Rowan
Horny Hound by Roy D. Mercer
Don't She Look Like a Rodeo Star by Kris Hollis Key
Artificial Flowers by Cornell Hurd Band
Danny Diamond by The Squirrel Nut Zippers
Collegiana by Fred Waring & The Pennsylvanians
Why Me Lord by Ray Charles with Johnny Cash
Busy Road by Southern Culture on The Skids
Cathead Biscuits and Gravy by Nancy Apple by Rob McNurlin
Bootleggers Blues by South Memphis String Band
Taint Nobody's Business If I Do by Hammie Nixon, Van Zula Hunt & The Beale Street Jug Band
Play It Again Sam by Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez
She's Acting Single, I'm Drinking Doubles by Gary Stewart
Husbands and Wives by Bill Kirchen with Chris O'Connell
Be My Love by NRBQ
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets
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A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
November 5, 2010
Kill City is hardly Iggy Pop’s greatest album — not by a long shot. But this relatively obscure record, rereleased in October and credited to Iggy and his collaborator James Williamson, has a brand new mix and represents a point at which Iggy was desperately clawing his way out of the abyss.
Few bands in the history of the known universe disintegrated as spectacularly as The Stooges did.
The story’s been told a jillion times — how, following the release of the David Bowie-produced Raw Power, the drugs, music-industry frustrations, internal conflicts, and the craziness of life on the road caught up with the band, which went down in a blaze of inglorious glory, as documented on the live album/crime-scene document Metallic K.O.
In the immediate aftermath of The Stooges, Iggy Pop ended up in a Los Angeles mental hospital, the Neuropsychiatric Institute in Westwood. There, according to his 2007 biography Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed by Paul Trynka, he was diagnosed with “hypomania, a bipolar disorder characterized by episodes of euphoric or overexcited and irrational behavior succeeded by depression.”
However, Trynka points out that Iggy’s doctor now says this diagnosis, which reads like a review of a mid-’70s Stooges show, might not be accurate. Iggy’s mental problems back then might have just been a temporary condition brought on by all the drugs.
Whatever the case, in 1975 Iggy was at a low point. He was in the funny farm, his career was in shambles, and most of his bridges were burned. But not all of them.
Before checking into the hospital, Iggy had been hanging out and writing songs with Williamson, who had been the lead guitarist in the Raw Power-era Stooges. Williamson arranged for some recording sessions at the home studio of Jimmy Webb — yes, the man who wrote “MacArthur Park” and “By the Time I Get to Phoenix.” Webb’s brother Gary engineered the recordings. According to Open Up and Bleed, Webb’s buddy Art Garfunkel showed up to the studio one night and watched one of the sessions.
Now there’s a Marvel Team-Up for you: Iggy & Garfunkel.
According to Ben Edmonds, a former Creem editor who was involved with the project, Iggy wanted to maintain the spirit of The Stooges, “but show people The Stooges could make something that resembled music.”
But by 1975 very few in the music industry were interested. Remember the state of the music industry at this point. True, The New York Dolls were making some noise on the East Coast and Patti Smith was riding her Horses to weird unimaginable places. But most of the “rock” you heard on the radio at the time was happy, poppy California soft-rock sounds like those of Fleetwood Mac and The Steve Miller Band.
Who wanted to hear some junkie mental patient bellowing harsh and ugly craziness like, “I live here in Kill City where the debris meets the sea/It’s a playground to the rich, but it’s a loaded gun to me. ... The scene is fascination man and everything’s for free/Until you wind up in some bathroom overdosed and on your knees ...”
So Kill City was shelved for two years. In the meantime, Iggy persevered and, with the help of his pal Bowie, achieved his big comeback with The Idiot and Lust for Life, both released in 1977. It was only after this that the independent Bomp Records released Kill City — on green-colored vinyl. The sound was terrible — “muddy” being an adjective frequently applied to it. That problem, after more than 30 years, has finally largely been solved on the new version through the magic of modern technology.
But still, Kill City doesn’t have the punch, the raw power of Raw Power — much less the fun of Funhouse. A lot of it is dark and pensive, perhaps a harbinger of the introspective moodiness of The Idiot. Garfunkel would have fit in on the mellow “No Sense of Crime.”
But there’s some inspired Stoogey craziness here. “Johanna” is a rocker The Stooges had performed. Here, it’s driven by John Harden’s sax madness. “I’ve been a dreamer, I’ve been a screamer,” Iggy shouts. And even better is the title cut, which is charged with Williamson’s stinging guitar and a chorus of “Give it up, turn the boy loose.” And Iggy proves he’s still a menace, declaring “I’m sick of keeping quiet and I am the wild boy/But if I have to die here, first I’m gonna make some noise.”
“I Got Nothin’,” another final-daze Stooges tune, is an angry cry of defiance from someone at the bottom. I think my favorite here, though, is “Lucky Monkeys.” It’s a put-down of L.A. scenesters trying to look like Bowie and be “as sick as Mick.” It starts off slow, like a lion sizing up a stray zebra. But then Iggy takes aim at himself and ends by shouting, “I was born dead in prison, in prison born dead.”
While this isn’t an essential effort, fans of The Stooges and or Mr. Pop shouldn’t pass it by.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell Webcasting! 101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org
THE 2010 STEVE TERRELL RADIO SPOOKTACULAR
Spooktacular 2010 Podcast Intro
Halloween Hootenanny by Zacherle
It's Halloween by The Shaggs
Night of The Vampire by The Fuzztones
I Walked With the Zombie by Roky Erikson
I'm a Mummy by The Fall
Werewolf by Southern Culture on the Skids
Macon County Morgue by Captain Clegg And The Night Creatures
Panic in Georgia by Deadbolt
Halloween by Mudhoney
Frankenstein Meets The Beatles by Dickie Goodman
Monster Party by The Powerknobs
Monster by Fred Schneider
Evil Hoodoo by The Seeds
It's Monster Surfing Time by The Deadly Ones
Hoodoo Man Blues by Junior Wells
Scream and Scream by Screamin' Lord Sutch
Voodoo Queen Marie by The Du-Tells
Haunted House by Jumpin' Gene Simmons
Ghost Busters by Ray Parker, Jr.
Orgies: A Tool of Witchcraft by Louise Heubner
Witchcraft by The Spiders
Bloodletting (The Vampire Song) by Concrete Blonde
I'm Your Witch Doctor by The Chants
Feast of The Mau Mau by Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Carne Voodoo by Rocket From the Crypt
Halloween She Got So Mean by Rob Zombie with The Ghastly Ones
Haitian Voodoo Baby by The X-Rays
Big Black Witchcraft Rock by The Cramps
Ghoul a Go Go by The Tex Reys
Brand New Girl by Angry Johnny & The Killbillies
With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm by Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees
'Taint No Sin by Tom Waits with William Burroughs
Monster Blues by Dexter Romweber
Witchdoctor's Curse by The Frantic Flattops
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE
Hopefully by now you have partaken of the ghoulish delights of my latest Big Enchilada Podcast, Spooktacular 2010. If not it's HERE.
But I'm not the only GaragePunk podcaster to work the spooky side of the street in recent days. For the ultimate in rock 'n' roll Halloween sounds, bob for some of these razor-laden apples:
* Uncle Yah-Yah has risen from his swampy grave and blessed us with a brand new "Haunted Shack Theater" Halloween Special. Of course all of his episodes are appropriate for this most wonderful time of the year.
* The Mal Thursday Show from Austin, Texas gives us two hours of classic spook rock on his latest episode "Halloween Special."
* While it's not an "official" GaragePunk Network podcast, Radio Free Bakersfield always is a hoot and this week on Episode 203 Ted Pilgrim of Satan's Pilgrim is the guest host, spinning Halloween rock.
And of course, you can still get my own previous Halloween podcasts Big Enchilada 15 CLICK HERE Big Enchilada 1 CLICK HERE
Friday, October 29, 2010
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
Ghost of a Texas Ladies' Man by Concrete Blonde
Yo Soy Tejana by Suzzette Lawrence & The Neon Angels
Forbidden Fruit by Marti Brom
Monster's Holiday by The Plainsmen
Down on the Farm by Big Al Dowling
Hillbilly Monster by James Richard Oliver
Voodoo Woman by Nancy Apple
Taint No Sin (To Take Off Your Skin) by Fred Hall
The Ex-President's Waltz by David Massengil
El Chupacabra by The Cedarsqueezers
Wasp's Nest by Ray Wylie Hubbard
West L.A. Getaway by Los Lobos
Marie Laveau by Bobby Bare
Wild Wild Young Men by Rose Maddox
Brownie's Stomp by Milton Brown & His Musical Brownies
Go Go Truck by The Defibulators
Bad Boys by Southern Culture on the Skids
Nothin' But Tough by Kip Tyler & The Flips
Ghost In The Graveyard by Prairie Ramblers
Mr. Pain by Halden Wofford & The Hi Beams
Mind Your Own Business by Hank Williams
No Shoes by Hasil Adkins
Hoodoo Bash by Michael Hurley, Unholy Modal Rounders, Jeffrey Frederick & The Clamtones
Dear Abby by John Prine
Night of the Wolves by Gary Heffern
Deep Blue Sea by South Memphis String Band
From This Outlaw To You by Simon Stokes
Canadian Whiskey by Doug Jeffords
My Morphine by Gillian Welch
She Still Comes Around (To Love What's Left of Me) by Jerry Lee Lewis
Perfect Stranger by Eleni Mandell
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE
A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican October 29, 2010
In the weeks preceding Halloween, the average American, according to statistics I just made up, will hear “The Monster Mash” by Bobby “Boris” Pickett 17.3 times.
That novelty hit from 1962 (trivia note: Leon Russell played piano on the record) seems omnipresent, but it’s hardly the only tacky rock ’n’ roll monster song. They’re everywhere — full of shrieks, wolf howls, cackling witch laughs, bad horror puns, and even worse Boris and Bela impersonations — if you know where to look for them.
From personal experience, I can truthfully say that monsters and rock ’n’ roll were two major cultural obsessions of American boys, and probably some girls, who grew up in the early ’60s. So it’s natural that those two realms would cross-pollinate.
Recently, I was reminded of a really stupid horror-rock album I had as a kid. The track that stuck in my memory was called “Frankenstein Meets The Beatles.” I had looked for that online more than a couple of times in past years without any luck. In fact, I was beginning to wonder if the memory was just a hallucination caused by smelling too much airplane glue while putting together plastic models of The Wolfman and The Mummy.
But one midnight dreary, I decided to look again. Lo and behold, I found it. A legal version, even! It was on a record called The Monster Album by none other than Dickie Goodman, most famous for his “break-in” songs, like “The Flying Saucer” and “Mr. Jaws,” set up as newscasts in which the reporter is answered by short samples of current pop hits.
Besides “Frankenstein Meets The Beatles,” the album had songs with such titles as “Ghoul From Ipanema” and “Mambo Mummy.”
A word of caution: While the cover looks the same and that song about The Beatles is there, the version of The Monster Album I found on eMusic and Amazon is not the same album I had in 1965. In fact the only other tune from the original that appears to be on this is “Dracula Drag” (which refers to hot-rod racing, not his manner of dress).
Bags of candy: If you’re looking for a good Internet source for crazy old Halloween music, it’s hard to beat WFMU’s Rock ’n’ Soul Ichiban! blog . In fact it’s hard to beat that blog, a project of a great public radio station in New Jersey, for crazy old music of any sort.
Its recent Halloween posts include “the swingin’est version of the Alfred Hitchcock theme you will ever hear” (by Stanley Wilson & His Orchestra); some videos set to songs from a proto-Elvira from Portland, Oregon, named “Tarantula Ghoul”; and a link to an impressive 60-track collection of spooky instrumentals, spiced up with several audio clips from horror-movie trailers.
The collection is from J.R. Williams, an Ichiban contributor and comics artist from Oregon who frequently posts links to amazing mp3 compilations on his Flickr page.
Halloween Instrumentals: Ghost Guitars features a fine variety of sounds. There are a few artists you should recognize — The Ventures (“The Bat,” “Fear,” and “He Never Came Back”), Duane Eddy (“The Trembler”), The Champs (most famous for “Tequila,” but here they do Henry Mancini’s “Experiment in Terror”), and Merv Griffin — yes that Merv Griffin — doing a faux-Lugosi intro to a rocking little thriller called “House of Horrors.”
There are also a number of bands I suspect were one-offs — Frankie Stein & His Ghouls, The Gravestone Four, and Tony & The Monstrosities, etc.
While there’s lots of “surf” music and strip-club sax here, this collection also includes moody tremolo twang like “Innersanctum” by Jim Wolfe & The T-Towners, which reminds me of The Viscounts’ “Harlem Nocturne” and even a little funk in “The Exorcist” by The Devils. You can find this collection HERE. But, hurry. Williams frequently removes links to the downloads.
Even more goblin rock is on a blog called Spread the Good Word!. The host, who calls himself Reverend Frost, has 16 compilations of Halloween tunes waiting for you to download. (These aren’t separate tracks like Williams’ compilations. They’re all on hour-long mp3s.) I downloaded the latest.
A favorite here is “Mummy’s Ball” by The Verdicts. Rockabilly ace Ronnie Dawson does his version of “Rockin’ Bones,” later covered by The Cramps. There are also some more recent songs by groups like the Fuzztones (“I’m The Wolfman”) and goth-rockers Alien Sex Fiend (”Now I’m Feeling Zombified”).
And yes, there’s a Dickie Goodman tune from The Monster Album: “My Baby Loves Monster Movies.”
The world’s scariest band: That’s the title claimed by Deadbolt, a San Diego surf/pyschobilly/SpaghettiOs-Western trash-rock combo that’s been around for more than 20 years and makes music perfect for this time of year.
Its latest self-released album, Voodoo Moonshiner, touches on many time-honored Deadbolt themes — criminal activity, violence, and the supernatural.
It’s no rock opera, but some of the songs — “Voodoo Moonshine” and “Panic in Georgia” — deal with a strange brew of mountain dew that turns God-fearing hillbillies into flesh-eating zombies.
One of my favorites is “Buy a Gun (Get a Free Guitar).” It’s a song about a possessed pawn-shop guitar that transforms its owner into a great musician — and a crazed killer.
Then there’s “The Mocker,” a series of short skits about a haunted recording studio in which a singer is taunted and trapped by a mysterious ghostly voice.
The funniest part is hearing tough-guy Deadbolt singer Harley Davidson crooning dreary little singer-songwriter ditties that seem to attract and fuel The Mocker.
Warning: this CD is difficult to find. When I last checked, Amazon had one copy. On your mark, get set ...
My own Halloween rock contributions:
My latest Big Enchilada podcast, Spooktacular 2010, is up and ready to creep into your computer. It's RIGHT HERE
The live radio version of Spooktacular broadcasts 10 p.m. Sunday — Halloween night! — on KSFR-FM 101.1 and streaming HERE.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
KSFR, Santa Fe, N.M.
10 p.m. to midnight Sundays Mountain Time
Host: Steve Terrell Webcasting! 101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrell@ksfr.org
OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Mr. Kicks by Oscar Brown, Jr.
Grim by Ass Ponies
Ride Helldorados by Deadbolt
Sophisticated Boom Boom by Kid Congo Powers with The Knoxville Girls
Goat Throat by The Scrams
Too Much Junkie Business by Johnny Thunders
Woman Cops by Ding Dongs
Bandstand by The Tandoori Knights
99 Beef Steaks by Willie White
Hodad Makin' the Scene with a Six Pack by The Silly Surfers
Nutbush City Limits by Ike & Tina Turner
Jackie Chan Does Kung Fu by Thee Headcoatees
Sorry Somehow by Husker Du
Black by The Monsters
Let's Go Nutz by Joe "King Carrasco" & The Crowns
Big Sur, Bear Mountain, Ciro's, Flip Side, Protest Song by Kim Fowley
Bellringer Blues by Grinderman
Ikebukuro Tiger by Guitar Wolf
Heebie Jeebies by Little Richard
Bloody Hammer by Roky Erikson & The Resurectionists
Nothing Can Bring Me Down by Mondo Topless
Crumble by Dinosaur Jr.
Trash Truck by Tad
Fix That Broken Halo by The Ruiners
Yellow Elevator #2 by The Black Angels
That's a Lie by Too Much Joy
Somebody Stop Me by The Dynamites Featuring Charles Walker
B.O.O.G.A.L.O.O. by Diplomats of Solid Sound
Get It Together by JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound
Mama Don't Like My Man by Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings
Ode To Billie Joe/Hip Hug-Her by Wiley And The Checkmates
You've Got My Mind Messed Up by James Carr
Heaven by Little Jimmy Scott
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE
Fe fe, fi fi, fo fo fum, it's a Monster's Holiday! Halloween is here again and it's the second anniversary of The Big Enchilada! Sit back with a cold glass of your favorite blood type and enjoy the ghoulish sounds of Stud Cole, Roky Erikson, Johnny Dowd, Deadbolt, The Monsters, The Fuzztones, The Scrams, Electricoolade, The Electric Mess, The Hydeouts, Marshmallow Overcoat and so many more. Rock your rockin' bones!
(Background Music: Spooks-a-Poppin' Theme by The A-Bones)
Don't Shake Me Lucifer by Roky Erickson & The Resurectionists
I'm the Wolfman by The Fuzztones
Coffin Nails by Coffin Nails
The Zombie Stomp by Danny Ware
Breathing With the Dead by Organs
I Got the Creeps by Big John Bates
Frankenstein Meets The Beatles by Dickie Goodman
Friday, October 22, 2010
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
Bloody Mary Morning by Willie Nelson
Haunted House Boogie by Happy Williams
Jukebox Fever by Jerry Lee Merritt
One Hour Mama by Maria Muldaur
I Just Fall by Reckless Kelly
Sheriff Jodie Pickins by Deadbolt
Rebel Within by Hank III
My Neighbor Burns Trash by Southern Culture on the Skids
Something I Said by Ray Condo & The Hardrock Goners
Two Bottles Of Wine by Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band
You Got a Long Way to Go by Ronnie Dawson
Hoboes Are My Heroes by Th' Legendary Shack Shakers
When Dorey's Behind the Door by Al Duvall
Xmas Ornament/Your Hearty Laugh by The Defibulators
This Haunted House by Eilen Jewell
Bennie Hess Boogie by Bennie Hess & His Nation Playboys
I'm Comin' Home by Johnny Horton
Hound Dog by Billy Starr
Broken Down by Joe Cassady & His West End Sound
That's When Your Heartaches Begin by Elvis Presley with The Million Dollar Quartet
Rainy Day Woman by Waylon Jennings
Hot Tamale Pete by Bob Skyles & His Skyrockets
Mohair Sam by Charlie Rich
Who Walks In When I Walk Out by Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
Miss Maybelle by Richard Johnston
Gloomy Sunday by Singing Sadie with Al Duvall
Barroom Girls by Doug Jeffords
This Orchid Means Goodbye by Carl Smith
Don't Take Your Love to Town by Johnny Cash
Cherokee Fiddle by Michael Martin Murphey
Walk You Home by Marlee MacLeod
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets
Subscribe to The Big Enchilada Podcast! CLICK HERE
After all, for more than 20 years, the musicians have cultivated a goofy faux-hillbilly image — wearing funny hats, cheap sunglasses, backwoods/thrift-shop clothes — and singer/bassist Mary Huff sports a beehive that would frighten most bees. And they sing lots of funny songs about fried chicken, banana pudding, strippers, stock cars, Little Debbie pastries, tacky tiki bars, moonshine, and white-trash cultural affairs. I don’t know whether they still do this, but for a while, they were known for throwing pieces of fried chicken at their audience at live shows.
The only thing is, while they’re very funny, these North Carolinians are real musicians. As a trio (most of the time), SCOTS is a tight little outfit, playing a distinctive blend of country, rockabilly, surf, swampy R & B, garage, occasionally bluegrass, and exotica.
Huff has a voice as big as her hair (I always hope for more songs where she sings lead), and Rick Miller is a fine rock ’n’ roll guitarist. The only time I saw them live (at the late and lamented Paramount in 2001), I realized that they were playing surf music better than a lot of so-called surf bands out there.
Southern Culture’s latest effort, The Kudzu Ranch (named for the recording studio where they make the magic), is something of a return to form for the band. Their previous album, Countrypolitan Favorites, spotlighted their country side. (In fact, it was an homage to the Nashville sound of the late ’50s and early ’60s. Kudzu is far more varied.)
The opener, “Bone Dry Dirt,” is a pounding rocker with Miller playing Creedence-worthy guitar licks and drummer Dave Hartman knocking the snot out of his trap kit. One of SCOTS’ best-known songs is “Too Much Pork for Just One Fork.” They return to their own private hog heaven with the next song “Pig Pickin’,” a jumpy little rocker.
Huff sings it nice and pretty on “Highlife,” which almost sounds like a folk-rock tune. But her big moment on this record is “Bad Boys,” a lusty tribute to tattooed love boys who “need a good spanking.” Sings Huff, “I gotta get one of those!” It’s not quite as powerful as her signature song, Joanna Neel’s “Daddy Was a Preacher, But Mama Was a Go-Go Girl,” but it’s pretty snazzy.
They get mysterioso with a smoky little charmer called “Montague’s Mystery Theme.” They do a full rollicking SCOTS treatment of Neil Young’s “Are You Ready for the Country.” “Busy Road,” which concerns civilization encroaching on a backwoods home (“Lost two dogs about a month ago”), has an irresistible Bo Diddley beat. And Miller breaks out the banjo for “My Neighbor Burns Trash” (“Says I got a pack of matches and a pile of leaves/Three bags of garbage and some gasoline/Got a plastic jug and some cellophane/Burn anything that can’t run away”).
As always, there are plenty of fascinating instrumentals. “Slinky Spring Milt” sounds like a lost Duane Eddy twanger. “Jack’s Tune,” which closes the album, is slow and wistful. But the one that SCOTS fans will love the most is a surfy medley of Nirvana’s “Come as You Are” and an obscure Pink Floyd song called “Lucifer Sam.”
Is Southern Culture on the Skids a novelty act? If so, who cares? Life needs novelty. This is trash rock you won’t want to burn.
When visiting SCOTS' website, don't miss the “Home Cooking” section for some delicious recipes. Those turtle burgers look like a treat that city folks will never know.
Also recommended:
* Corn Money by The Defibulators. Before I start in on this fine debut album from this crazed country band from New York City (New York City?), brace yourself, Bridget, they’re coming to Santa Fe next week — to the Cowgirl BBQ on Wednesday, Oct. 27, to be exact. Judging by this album and a couple of videos I’ve seen, it should be a good evening.
Let me be straight. Though I’m a hillbilly fanatic, most contemporary alt-country bands bore me to tears. But I knew after hearing just a couple of tracks on The Defibs’ website that I was going to love this band.
In fact, Corn Money — which was actually released last year — is the best alt-country effort I’ve heard in years. Come to think about it, I like it even better than the Southern Culture on the Skids album reviewed above.
The Defibulators, a seven-member group, have fiddles, banjos, guitars, drums, a jew’s-harp, honking harmonicas, an upright bass, and a washboard player named Metalbelly.
Singer Erin Bru’s laconic vocals, especially on the song “Get What’s Coming,” remind me a little bit of Trailer Bride’s Melissa Swingle.
I hear a lot of various influences — or at least what I think might be influences — here. There’s a little SCOTS in the song “Go-Go Truck” and some Legendary Shack Shakers madness and a little Hank III raucousness on nearly every tune — maybe even some Reverend Peyton. The song “Xmas Ornament,” which I don’t think has anything to do with Christmas, sounds like some Handsome Family tune interpreted by the Asylum Street Spankers.
Almost every male-female vocal duo in every third-rate alt-country band in this land gets a Gram Parsons-Emmylou Harris comparison at some point by lazy writers and cheesy publicists. So I almost hesitate to use it here. But frontman Bug Jennings and Bru sound so purdy on “Your Hearty Laugh,” it reminds me of “The New Soft Shoe” by none other than Gram & Emmylou.
Check them out at the Cowgirl, 319 S. Guadalupe St., at 9 p.m. on Wednesday. The cover charge is an incredible $3.
