TERRELL'S TUNE-UP:SXSW RECAP

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 
March 21, 2014

Note to loyal blog readers: This column is based on the blogging I did at SXSW last week (and early this week). 

For all of my fabulous snapshots of SXSW and other musical shows I saw in Texas last week CLICK HERE

I had just sat down to blog about what a fun evening of rock ’n’ roll I’d had on the opening day of the South by Southwest music festival on March 12 — all the great music I heard, all the cool people I saw, and all the friends I got to hang out with — when I got a Facebook message from my brother in Santa Fe. He had news of a bizarre tragedy at SXSW and wanted to know if I was OK.

It seems that a car that was the subject of a police pursuit plowed into a crowd in front of The Mohawk near 9th and Red River Streets. At that point, two people had died and five more were critically injured. By Monday morning, one of those five had died from injuries she’d sustained in the incident. A couple of dozen people injured by that driver were transported to hospitals that night.

I’ve heard grumbling for years about how the festival has grown too big and how the streets of Austin can’t handle the traffic, the crowds, and the insanity. You can’t blame the festival organizers for the alleged actions of the defendant, Rashad Owens, an aspiring rapper and music producer, who reportedly had a gig on the festival’s last night. According to police he was fleeing from a DWI checkpoint, may have been intoxicated, and had outstanding arrest warrants.

But this is a music column, not an op-ed piece, and I did hear lots of great music at the festival and at the unofficial events that surrounded SXSW.

Lucinda

There were a couple of singers I hadn’t planned on seeing who I saw at my very first SXSW in 1995. One was Lucinda Williams, who played a brief set at the Austin Music Awards. Accompanied by her own guitar and a lead guitarist, Williams played mostly old songs like “Passionate Kisses,” “Lake Charles,” and “Drunken Angel.” She was wonderful.

Another unexpected pleasure was Howe Gelb, who I’d caught two or three times before with his old group Giant Sand. I stumbled into the Continental Club, where he was playing with a trio. On his quieter songs, he sounded like Marty Robbins after a three-week peyote trip. But Gelb can also tear loose on electric guitar with the same weird vision and fire that made me love Giant Sand to begin with.

And of course, I didn’t miss The Waco Brothers playing at the annual Bloodshot Records party at the Yard Dog Gallery. The original “insurgent country” band did some of my favorites, including “See Willie Fly By” and “Plenty Tuff Union Made.” They also did their covers of Johnny Cash’s “Big River” (which Jon Langford introduced as “Hotel California” by The Eagles), “I Fought the Law,” and a rousing (and I suspect spontaneous) “Hey! Bo Diddley.”

Smitty of The Hickoids gets ready for
his next dental appointment

I caught the classic Texas cowpunk crazies, The Hickoids (which includes longtime Santa Fe musician Tom Trusnovic), twice this year — at an east Austin joint called The White Horse, right after they were inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame, and later at the Triple Crown, a bar in San Marcos. As usual, they lean on the punk much heavier than the cow, but their raunchy tunes never fail to delight.

Barrence Whitfield and the Savages performed a set at C-Boy’s Heart & Soul that was sheer intensity. Playing lots of stuff from his latest, Dig Thy Savage Soul, Whitfield raised the energy level several notches. Guitarist (and Taos resident) Peter Greenberg’s fingers were bleeding well before he left the stage.

Possessed by Paul James, the musical superhero whose secret identity is mild-mannered teacher Konrad Wert, played at the off-the-beaten-track Austin Moose Lodge, at a showcase by the small but impressive Hillgrass Bluebilly Records. Wert was in his one-man-band mode, playing a small arsenal of stringed instruments and using his trademark stomp-box — which is basically a wooden board that is miked — as percussion. All that, and his voice. When Wert gets to wailing, sometimes it seems as if he really is possessed.

Bobby Patterson

Veteran Dallas soul man Bobby Patterson, who was celebrating his 70th birthday that night, performed at C-Boy’s. Never very famous as a performer, Patterson is known mainly as a producer and a DJ. He produced records for Little Johnny Taylor, Fontella Bass, and Chuck Jackson. He was backed by a band that included a horn section, and at one point he was joined onstage by Whitfield.

I first latched onto The Grannies two years ago at SXSW. Appearing in colorful wigs, horrible frocks, and muumuus, the band just tore up the Triple Crown. They attacked the music with humor as much as fury. Singer Wizard Sleeves was wearing some kind of flesh-colored body suit, and guitarist Sluggo ended his set with a classic-rock guitar smashing demonstration.

Sluggo of The Grannies

Playing at the Moose Lodge show were several bands new to me, including The Pine Hill Haints, an acoustic group (with a washtub bass) from Alabama who describe their sound as “Alabama ghost music.” Peewee Moore, a Tennessee-born songwriter, also played with an acoustic band, though his honky-tonk sound would work with a full country band — fiddle, steel, drums etc. (Apparently Moore has played the Cowgirl BBQ in Santa Fe. I hope he comes back so I can catch him again.) The Rock Bottom String Band is a gaggle of countrified hippie kids who play a variety of instruments and sing with so much enthusiasm it was impossible not to get into the spirit.

Left Lane Cruiser has a raw slide-guitar-based sound you might call “damaged blues.” The group’s bass player also made crazy noises on a bizarre homemade instrument fashioned from an old skateboard and a beer bottle on a couple of songs. It’s a type of diddley bow he calls “skidley bow.” Playing harmonica on the band’s first song was  J.D. Wilkes from The Legendary Shack Shakers. Wilkes made a similar cameo earlier in the evening with The Pine Hill Haints.

Col. Wilkes with Pine Hill Haints at The Moose Lodge

The Woggles, who played at C-Boy’s, is a neo-garage band that’s been around several years. You can hear a little Count Five in The Woggles’ guitar and see a little Paul Revere & The Raiders in their moves. But mostly I heard echoes of Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels in The Woggles’ music.

A Pony Named Olga, who played at the Triple Crown, is a high-energy psychobilly trio from Berlin (they call themselves “country-punk and polkabilly”), featuring an electric guitarist/singer, a doghouse bassist, and a drummer. They have the basics of psychobilly down pat, but they also have a few unusual melodies and chord changes that bring a twist to that sound.

And then there are The Beaumonts, a tight little honky-tonk band from Lubbock led by singer Troy Wayne Delco. They play sweet country music with foul-mouthed lyrics about sex, drugs, getting drunk, and more sex. But that’s not all. They also have a song called “Toby Keith,” in which they declare that the jingoistic country star is the “ugliest woman I swear I’ve ever seen.”

SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST DAY 4: Mayhem in San Marcos

The Grannies: Such a sweet group of old ladies

It was about 6:30 p.m. Saturday and I was teetering on exhaustion. I'd had perhaps 10 hours of sleep over the previous three nights -- which is fairly typical for me during SXSW. (Those of you who have read the typo-laden gibberish of my previous SXSW posts probably suspected as much.) I was coming down with some kind of cold. And the thought of driving back to Austin was filling me with dread. You see, I screwed up this year and made my motel reservations late. By the time I started looking there were no rooms left in Austin for less than hundreds of dollars a night.

The Hickoids' Davy Jones buys his suits
at a thrift store in another dimension

So I ended up in San Marcos, in a cheap motel 30 miles away. At that point, the way I was feeling, 30 miles might as well have been 300.

And even worse, I wasn't even sure what I wanted to go see. Cheetah Chrome was playing on what looked like a decent bill at The Saxon Pub, but that's a pretty small place and I was afraid of driving all the way there only to get spurned at the door.

But looking at Facebook, I noticed a show I'd forgotten about: : The Hickoids, The Grannies, A Pony Named Olga and The Beaumonts at a bar I'd never been to called the Triple Crown. And I almost shed tears of joy when I saw it was in San Marcos. A five minute drive from my motel! Suddenly, I was re-energized and ready to rock 'n' roll.

I'd seen The Hickoids earlier in the week over at The White Horse on Austin's east side, right after they got inducted into The Austin Music Hall of Fame.

The Grannies: This guitar isn't long for this world.

But while the set they played in San Marcos wasn't completely different than the one they did at the White Horse, the group's repertoire is so big there were several tunes I hadn't heard at the earlier gig, including "If Drinkin' Don't Kill Me, Kill Me" and "Talking Hot Pants Blues" from their latest album, Hairy Chaffin' Ape Suit and their cover of "Brontosaurus" ( originally done by The Move). Plus, Jeff Smith's lengthy shaggy-dog spoken-word part of the despicably obscene and always enjoyable "Stop It, You're Killing Me" was a completely different story than the one on the record and past live versions I've seen. My only complaint is that they didn't do my favorite "Cool Arrow" at either of the shows I saw. But the band played something like nine shows during SXSW, so for all I know, they played it at all their other gigs.

While it was fun hanging out backstage with The Hickoids at the Austin Music Awards Wednesday (and yes, I did enjoy seeing Lucinda Williams perform there), I was disappointed that I missed The Grannies when they played the White Horse right before The Hickoids set. I'd seen these San Francisco punk vets my previous SXSW trip in 2012.

A Pony Named Olga

Appearing in full Granny regalia -- colorful wigs, horrible frocks and muumuus -- the band just tore up the joint. They attack the music with humor as much as fury. Singer Wizard Sleeves was wearing some kind of flesh-colored body suit, with elongated drooping breasts, which the audience discovered when he took off his dress, and came out into the crowd twirling his fake mammaries. And guitarist Sluggo ended his set with a classic-rock guitar smashing demonstration.

The other acts were a lot of fun too. A Pony Named Olga is a high-energy psychobilly (they call themselves "country-punk and polkabilly") trio from Berlin, featuring an electric guitarist/singer, a doghouse bass and drummer. They have basics of the genre down pat, but they also have a few unusual melodies and chord changes that bring a twist to that basic sound.

And then there's The Beaumonts, a tight little honky-tonk band from Lubbock led by singer Trow Wayne Delco that plays sweet country music with foul-mouthed lyrics about sex and drugs and getting drunk and more sex. But that's not all. They also have a song called "Toby Keith," in which they declare that the jingoistic country star is the "ugliest woman I swear I've ever seen" and compares him with a muskrat in a mini-skirt. Apparently Delco is still riled -- and rightfully so -- about the way Keith treated Natalie Maines, a fllow Lubbockite -- after she denounced President Bush at the outsewt of the Iraq war.

This show was the perfect way to cap off a great week of music.

RIP Sluggo's guitar

.

SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST DAY 3: Call of the Moose

J.D. Wilkes of Legendary Shack Shakers (right) joins Left Lane Cruiser
at Austin Moose Lodge for Hillgrass Bluebilly showcase

Two years ago, my favorite new venue discovery during SXSW was Austin's Moose Lodge -- yes, the actual Moose Lodge ! -- on the city's east side. That was the place where Hillgrass Bluebilly Records held its showcase (that year, with the Muddy Roots Festival and Saving County Music). I loved the venue, not to mention the musical lineup, which included James Hand and The Calamity.

I went back to the Moose Lodge last night for this year's Hillgrass Bluebilly show for another fantastic show. If anything, the music was even better this year. I really do like this place. I like the crowds I've seen both years, which were big enough to provide a good springboard for a performance, but not enough to make you feel claustrophobic.

Possessed by Paul James gets all possessed

Possessed by Paul James, the musical superhero whose secret identity is mild-mannered teacher Konrad Wert, was one of the main reasons I went to the Moose Lodge this year. For those of you not familiar with his music (and who didn't read my recent review of his excellent album There Will Be Nights When I'm Lonely).

Although that album found Wert working with backup musicians on some songs, last night he was in his one-man band mode, playing a small arsenal of stringed instruments and using his trademark stomp-box -- which basically is a board that is miked -- as percussion.

All that, and his voice. I'm certainly not the first to note this, but when Wert gets to wailing, sometimes it seems as if he really is possessed. Before he started his set, he said he was having some trouble with his throat. But when he got going, I didn't notice many problems. Possible there were one or two scratchy moments, but that just added some character.

The Skidley Bow.

The other main attraction was Left Lane Cruiser, which plays a raw slide-guitar-based sound you might
 call "damaged blues." They are billed as duo --singer/guitarist Frederick Joe Evans IV and drummer/ harmonica player Brenn Beck, both from Indiana --  in recent press material.

But last night, they had a bass player who also made crazy noises on a bizarre homemade instrument fashioned from an old skateboard and a beer bottle. I asked him whether it was a type of diddley bow. He said he calls it a "Skidley Bow."

And on the first song LLC was joined by a fourth player -- Col. J.D. Wilkes from The Legendary Shack Shakers. He played harmonica on an instrumental and the crowd went nuts. Wilkes, whose other band, The Dirt Daubers is in Austin for SXSW, made a similar cameo earlier in the evening with The Pine Hill Haints.

Peewee Moore (center)

I was completely unfamiliar with the rest acts I saw at the Moose Lodge last night, but I liked every one of them. There was the Pine Hill Haints, who began playing a few moments after I walked in. They're a group from Alabama who describe their sound as "Alabama Ghost Music." In addition to stringed instruments, they also have a drummer playing just a snare, a washtub bass, an accordion and -- on their first song, at least, a musical saw.

Pee Wee More, a Tennessee-born songwriter also played with his band -- a lead guitarist and a mandolin player -- who like Moore, sport long Z.Z. Top/Duck Dynasty beards. He writes good honky-tonk tunes that work fine with his acoustic lineup. Buut I'd like to hear him sings these with a full country band -- fiddle, steel, drums etc. Apparently Moore has played at the Cowgirl in Santa Fe before. I hope he comes back so I can catch him again.

And unannounced was a group from nearby San Marcos, Texas called The Rock Bottom String Band. This is a group of countrified hippie kids who play a variety of instruments and sing with so much enthusiasm it was impossible not to get into the spirit. One lady played a bunch of homemade percussion instruments including washboard, spoons and a large plastic water bottle, which she beat the hell out of.

How Gelb

Before I went over to the Moose Lodge, I stumbled into the Continental Club just in time to catch former Giant Sand mastermind Howe Gelb. Seeing him just made me extremely happy. I saw Giant Sand over at the (long defunct) Electric Lounge in 1995, my first South by Southwest. I saw Giant Sand once or twice after that, but it's been years.

Gelb's act was a little lower-key than his Sandy heyday. He was backed by a bass player and a second guitarist who doubled on drums. Some of his quieter songs sound like Marty Robbins after a three-week peyote trip, And on one song, he played an electric cocktail-lounge piano, tickling the ivories (or the plastic) with a subtle insanity that seemed like he could break out and pounce on the audience at any time. But my favorite songs were the ones where Gelb tore lose on electric guitar. He's still got weird vision and fire that made us love Giant Sand to begin with.

And, as I've written so many times before, it wouldn't be SXSW without seeing The Waco Brothers at Bloodshot Records' annual party at Yard Dog Gallery. I was lucky to find a decent parking space and make it just in time for the first song.

Viva Los Wacos!

They did some of my favorites such as "See Willie Fly By," "Plenty Tuff and Union Made" and, the Lonesome Bob tune "Do You Think About Me," which I hadn't heard them perform in years. They also did their covers of Johnny Cash's "Big River," (which Jon Langford introduced as "Hotel California" by The Eagles), "I Fought the Law (and the Law Won)," and a rousing (and I suspect spontaneous) "Hey Bo Diddley."

But I have to play grumpy old man here. As much as I love The Wacos, I couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic for the old Yard Dog Parties of yore, when the size of the crowd squeezing into that back yard of the gallery were smaller and easier to navigate. Back in those golden days of yore (late '90s, basically) I never had any problem finding a space on the front row. The past couple of times I was lucky to even get near the stage.

O.K., back to be being a rock 'n' roller and not an old fart. It's Saturday night already!

SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST DAY 2: The Show Must Go On

Barrence goes Savage at C-Boys

Although the city of Austin was still reeling from the shocking police chase that ended with two people dead on Red River Street the night before, the band played on -- in fact, hundreds, if not thousands bands played on Thursday night here in "The Live Music Capitol of the World."

I spent the evening (and early-morning hours) at one of the countless un-official shows that pop up during the festival. This was C-Boys Heart & Soul on South Congress Avenue, where I saw some inspired sets by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages, Bobby Patterson, and The Woggles.

Actually, earlier in ehe night I'd tried to get into The Continental Club down the street for some official, sanctioned sets by Tony Joe White and Dave & Phil Alvin. However, those with badges outrank those of us who only have wrist-bands in the SXSW pecking order at official shows. And there were so many badge holders, lowly wristband folks were left standing outside on Congress Avenue.

The Mighty Manfred of The Woggles

So I went up to C-Boys, where you don't need no stinkin' badges. And about 30 seconds into The Woggles, I'm glad I did. This is a latter-day garage band from Atlanta, which has been together since the early '90s.

Playing mostly, if not all original tunes, you can hear a little Count Five in The Woggles' guitar and aee a little Paul Revere & The Raiders in their moves. But mostly I hear echoes of Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels in The Woggles' music. The foundation is upbeat soul.

I'd actually heard the singer of this band, who calls himself "The Mighty Manfred," a couple of days before on Sirius-XM Radio. He's got his own show on the Little Steven's Underground Garage channel, and, not surprisingly, he's got great music taste.

Next up was a veteran Dallas soul man, Bobby Patterson, who was celebrating his 70th birthday Thursday.

Patterson never was very famous as a performer. He was known mainly as a producer and a DJ. He produced records for Little Johnny Taylor, Fontella Bass and Chuck Jackson and he co-wrote a tune recorded by Albert King ("That's What the Blues Is All About.")

But his set, backed by a band that included a horn section, was lots of fun. At one  point he was joined onstage by Whitfield for a song I think is called "Upside the Head."

Speaking of Whitfield, his set was sheer intensity. Playing a set relying on his latest album Dig Thy Savage Soul, he raised the energy level several notches. Guitarist (and Taos resident) Peter Greenberg's fingers literally were bleeding.

I'd caught the tail end of Whitfield's set at Antone's Records on Wednesday, and of course, I'd seen him when he played Santa Fe in 2010. But his C-Boys set was nothing like I've ever seen. Whitfield is one of those performers who benefits immeasurably from a large, charged audience. And that's what he had last night. I just hope the shows I see tonight are anywhere near as fine.

SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST DAY 1: Tragedy in the Streets of Austin

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I had just sat down to blog about what a fine evening of rock 'n' roll I'd had -- all the great music I heard, all the cool people I saw, all the friends I got to hang out with -- on the opening day of the South by Southwest Music Festival.

But then I got a Facebook message from my brother back in Santa Fe. He had news of a bizarre tragedy at SXSW and wanted to know if I was OK.

It seems that a car that was the subject of a police pursuit plowed into a crowd in front of The Mohawk near 9th Street and Red River. At this writing, two people have died, although five more were said to have been injured critically. Police say they transferred 23 people to the hospital.

I've been to The Mohawk many times, including once, a few years ago, with my daughter and son. And I'd considered going there tonight. Among those playing were X, The Black Angels and Les Claypool. A friend of a friend was telling us that he was going there to see X. I don't really know the guy, but I hope he's OK.

I've heard grumbling for years about how the festival has grown to big, how the streets of Austin can't handle the traffic, the crowds, the insanity.

I flashed back to Santa Fe -- the gang-related Fiesta shooting in the '90s, and how that murder on the Plaza dampened the Fiesta spirit for years. (They still burn Zozobra on Thursday instead of Friday because of that killing.) I'm afraid this could have a similar effect on SXSW.

The Hickoids get inducted

And, dammit, I did have a lot of fun Wednesday. I got to see the last few songs of Barrence Whitfield & The Savages' late afternoon gig at Antone's Records. My Santa Fe crony Tom Trusnovic invited me to join him and his band The Hickoids who were getting inducted into the Austin Music Hall of Fame during the Austin Music Awards. I got to see Lucinda Williams perform several songs at the awards show, bringing back fond memories of when I first saw her during my very first SXSW back in '95. I got to shake hands with the great Augie Meyers backstage at that show. And I got to see The Hickoids tear up honky tonk at The White Horse just an hour after their induction.

It was a great day -- not even to mention the time I got to spend with my daughter, her husband and my grandsons earlier.

But right now I'm just feeling shocked and sad.

UPDATE: 9 a.m. Find more details about the vehicular homicides at The Austin Statesman American.

Watch This Space For SXSW Coverage

One of my all-time favorite SXSW performers, 6th Street 2006

I'm just south of Austin now, a little tired from the drive to Santa Fe, but eager to hit the South by Southwest Music Festival Wednesday night.

The Waco Brothers always are a highlight

I'll be blogging at least once a day. Figuring how to balance sleep and blogging is a constant problem during the festival. But it's a good problem to have.

I've got a long history with SXSW. The first time I attended was in 1995. It basically was a spur of the moment decision following a conversation with the late Alex Magosci, a coworker who had a band called Junk, which he fondly referred to as "Santa Fe's most dysfunctional band." He convinced me to travel with junk, which at that point was just a duo, Alex and his girlfriend Virginia Plain (but everyone knew her as "Sandy"), in their convertred school bus, lovingly dubbed The Junk Heap.

Junk rocks Brazos Street, 1995

No, they didn't have an actual slot at the festival, but Alex thought he had lined up a few non-affiliated gigs. So I got my press credentials (which was so much easier back then) and talked my editor into giving me time off to go to Austin for a big Sunday spread. She even got me a little walking around money for the trip. (That was so much easier back then too.)

It was a wild trip. The Junk Heap, which we all thought was parked safely, started rolling unmanned and nearly hit a gas pump in Santa Rosa. The the damned thing broke down in Clovis. It was obvious the bus would never get to Austin. My editor was expecting a big feature on the festival, so I ditched Alex and Sandy and took a plane from Lubbock.

The Hickoids 2012

I felt bad for them, but a couple of days later, who did I run into but Alex and Sandy. The Junk Heap had come through. Of course, all the gigs Alex thought he had lined up fizzled one by one. They tried to set up in various spots along Sixth Street only to get get thwarted one by one. Finally Alex found a friendly shopkeep on Brazos who let him plug into the store's electrical outlet. They started playing right after an Irma Thomas outdoor show about a block away, so they got an instant crowd. They played an inspired handful of songs, which was cut short once again by the Austin police. But they sold about $200 worth of their cassette tapes.

I joined them for the drive back. The Junk Heap broke down again, this time in Fort Stockton, Texas. I barely made it to work Monday afternoon.

Too much fun at the Moose Lodge, 2012

I attended the next five festivals. Then, when I started covering the Legislature in 2001, I had to cut back to every other year because the session is 60 days every odd-numbered year. And the last week always falls during SXSW.

My daughter moved to Austin a few years ago, so these days when I come to Austin for SXSW I usually spend the days with her and her husband and my grandsons -- and prowl for music at night.

So I'm back again. Watch this space, and tell your friends. 

And if you're really hard up for reading material, check out some of my old SXSW coverage HERE.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Y
Sunday, March 9, 2014 
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(at)ksfr.org

 OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
What's This Thing by Mudhoney

Block Up by Demented Are Go

I Killed the Minister of Finance by Kult

Sugar on Top by The Dirtbombs

I'm Walkin' by Beatpack

Into the Primitive by The Future Primitives

Squat With Me Baby. By The A-Bones with The Great Gaylord
La Nen La Bambele by The Pussywarmers 

Jack Pepsi by TAD

Night of the Vampire by Roky Erikson

Frankenstein Conquers the World by Daniel Johnston & Jad Fair

25th Floor by Patti Smith

Burn Baby Burn by Stud Cole

Weird by Dex Romweber Duo

Bad Man by T-Model Ford
I Love to Rock 'n' Roll by Eddie Bo

Closing Time by King Automatic

Hipster Heaven by The Fleshtones

Bruiseology by The Waitresses
Buy Before You Die by Figures of Light

What's For Dinner by King Khan & BBQ
Inside Looking Out by Chesterfield Kings

Took Out the Trash and Never Came Back by Mojo Nixon
No Monkeys on This Train/ Rollin' and Tumblin'  by R.L. Burnside

My Roommate by The Village People

Creeping Away by Swamp Dogg

Golden Rule by John the Conquerer

The Freedom Under Certain Conditions by Charlie Whitehead

Early in. The Morning by Z.Z. Hill

Day Up in the Sun by Stan Ridgway 

Lucky Day by Tom Waits 
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

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THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, March 7, 2014 
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM 
Webcasting! 
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time 
Host: Steve Terrell 
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
 OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Bless Your Heart by Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs

Honky Tonk Stardust Cowboy by Bill Hearne
Turn it On, Turn It On, Turn it On by Tom T. Hall

Mamma Hated Diesels by Commander Cody & The Lost a Planet Airmen

Ants on the Melon by The Gourds
Don't Let Me Rock You, Daddy-o by Crane's Skiffle Group

Nervous Guy by The Old 97s
Me and Billy the Kid by Joe Ely

Union Maid by Old Crow Medicine Show

We Shall Be Free by Woody Guthrie & Leadbelly

So Long It's Been Good to Know Yuh by Del McCoury Band with Tim O'Brien

Face the Music and Dance by Willie Nelson 

The Sinner by Anthony Leon & The Chain

Wishin' For You by The Flatlanders

Funky Tonk by Moby Grape

Shit Shots Count by Drive-By Truckers

Jezebel by Steve Train & His Bad Habits

The Big Time by Bobby Bare Jr.

The Top 10 Commandments by Kinky Friedman 

Please Don't Go Topless Mother by Troy Hess

SLC by Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs

Three Piece Chicken Dinner by Neil Hamburger

Trouble on the Mainline by Mose McCormack 

Smokin' Dope and Snortin' Coke by Todd Andrews

One Sided Love Affair by Dex Romweber Duo

All the Pretty Horses by Kern Richards

Best of Worst Intentions by Stevie Tombstone 

Before We Come to Our Senses by Brennen Leigh & Noel McKay

Touch Taven by Elizabeth LaPrelle & Jadoo

A Fool Such as I by John Doe & The Sadies

CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

TERRELL'S TUNE-UP: More Rompin', Stompin' Fun with Holly & Dave

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 
March.. , 2014

 For the past several years, British-born singer Holly Golightly and her partner, "Lawyer Dave" Drake, have quietly cranked out some of the most enjoyable country-soaked, devil-fearing blues-inspired rock 'n' roll records you'll find anywhere. 

Does that sound familiar? For rabid readers of this column it ought to. It's almost word-for-word the same thing I wrote just a little more than a year ago when reviewing Sunday Run Me Over, the previous album by Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs. And their new album All Her Fault continues in that Brokeoff tradition. 

Since her garage-punk days as a Billy Childish collaborator, (though she's better known for her one-off collaboration with The White Stripes on a throwaway song called "It's True We Love One Another" more than a decade ago) Golightly hooked up with Drake, moved to a farm in Georgia and evolved into this more rootsy, farm-fresh sound.

There are no major surprises, no major changes on the new record. "I’m not looking to achieve something that hasn’t been achieved before,” Golightly said in the press bio for this album. “We just what we do. The songs are really all that changes.” And that's all right by me. To be sure, there are certain differences on All Her Fault. I think I'm hearing a little more vocals from Lawyer Dave in the mix. And there definitely is more piano. But no radical makeover. After all, when you make music this righteous (in their wickedly irreverent way), this spot-on enjoyable, why feel compelled to reinvent yourself? 

The album kicks off with "SLC," an enthusiastic putdown of the capitol of Utah. "Why you wanna go out to Salt Lake City? ... You ain't gonna have a good time." It only makes me wonder who wanted to go to Salt Lake City in the first place ... And why? You might even argue that someone who plays slide guitar as well as Lawyer Dave does on this tune probably could have fun anywhere.

And this album is nothing if not fun. They make fun of phony Nashville cowboys in "Bless Your Heart" and praise an eccentric neighbor in "King Lee."

"1234" sounds like an otherworldly gospel stomp, with Holly and Dave singing in unison over a sinister sounding carnival organ. This is followed by " Don't Shed Your Light," which with a melody and arrangement that would fit in perfectly on one of Levon Helm's last few albums, is one of the couple's trademark gospel-for-unbelievers tunes. It's not as obvious as when they sang a song with the refrain "We need a lot Less of Jesus and a lot more rock and roll" on Sunday Run Me Over, but it's coming from the same sardonic spirit.

Come to think of it, Holly Golightly might just be the Queen of Sardonica as evidenced in at least a couple of songs here. 

"The Best" is a sweet country waltz, but the lyrics tell of a love gone well beyond sour. "I am empty and broken, that's what you said ... There is no happy ending, you know I speak the truth / This is the best I can be ..." 

And there's "No Business," which, if you're not paying attention to the lyrics, sounds like a good upbeat honky tonk song. But if you are paying attention, you realize that it starts out "Just you try and tell me, I'll rip out your tongue / Won't be whispering sweet nothings in my ear ... Just you try and touch me, I'll chop off your hands ..."

But the duo also shines when they get sincere. They prove that on "Pistol Pete," a song about a rescue horse that the couple adopted. "They thought that they could break him, but he broke them all instead / And anyone who tried him wound up crippled, blind or dead. ... He was troubled and they called him Pistol Pete."

There are fewer cover songs on All Her Fault than on the last album. In fact, the only non-original song on the new one is the blues classic, "Trouble in Mind" -- which was written in 1924 by Richard Jones and first recorded by a singer named Thelma La Vizzo, and later by Louis Armstrong with Bertha "Chippie" Hill, Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Sam Cooke, Johnny Cash, Nina Simone, Marianne Faithful (for a 1985 movie of the same name). 

I don't think the Brokeoff's take on it ranks up there with these. But Holly and Dave make a good stab at it. And I do believe that the sun's going to shine on their back door someday.

Also recommended:

* Somewhere Else by Lydia Loveless. In the first song on her new album, ("I Really Want to See You Again") Loveless finds herself coked up at some party and calling an ex-boyfriend who now is married. She admits that sometimes she was "such a bitch" and "so insensitive" (as if calling a married guy is "sensitive") but now she just really wants to see him and tell him all the things she should have said back then. 

Ah, young love! 

It's not a healthy situation, but it sounds disturbingly real. And, in her short career, being disturbingly real has been Loveless' strong point. Her mostly first-person songs indeed are confessional. But her spitfire voice and rocking little band -- sounding less country, despite that steel guitar on the title song, than her previous full-length album Indestructible Machine -- not to mention her blunt, sometimes profane lyrics, prevent her from sounding like some generic annoying neo-Joni Mitchell female singer-songwriter. 

 In "Verlaine Shot Rimbaud" she longs for love so crazy and intense that it leads to gunfire. In "Chris Isaak" she sings about an old boyfriend: " When I was 17 I followed you around with my head jammed way up your ass / Oh , what I wouldn't give to still be able to conjure energy like that ... " 

And in "Head," let's just say she reveals the best way to get to her heart.

But perhaps the most gut-wrenching song here is "Everything's Gone," which is about her family moving out of the home she grew up in. If I ever get back to where I live ... I'll find a rich man's house and I'll burn it down."

As good as she is now, it's sometimes hard to fathom that Loveless is only in her early 20s. Somehow I think she's got years of great songs ahead of her. 

Video time!

Here's a Holly Golightlightly & The Brokeoffs live performance from a few years ago:





And here's Lydia Loveless singing "Chris Isaak."

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, March 2, 2014 
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(at)ksfr.org

 OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Act Naturally by Buck Owens
New Age by The Velvet Underground

Tinsel Town Rebellion by Frank Zappa

Celluloid Heroes by The Kinks

What You're Talking About by The Fleshtones 

Cover of The Rolling Stone by Black Francis & Joey Santiago

Blow Um Mau Mau by The Monsters

Tres Cabezas by Wau y Los Arrrghs !!!

Blackout by Hank Haint

Without a Feeling by The New Primitives

Roll On by Dex Romweber Duo

Rita by Gaunga Dyns

Streets of Rain by Figures of Light

The Snake by Johnny Rivers

Bottle and Can Retirement Plan by J.J. & The Real Jerks

Everything's Wrong if My Hair is Wrong by The Waitresses

Sound World Mardi Gras

Go to the Mardi Gras by Professor Longhair

Indian Red (Wild Man Memorial) by Mardi Gras Indians

Iko Iko by The Dixie Cups

Skokiaan by Kermit Ruffins & The Barbecue Swinge

Injuns Here They Come by Bo Dollis & The Wild Magnolias

In the Morning (Jokomo) by Big Chief Monk Boudreux

Mardi Gras Mambo by The Hawketts
Treme Song by John Boutte

Hey Pocky A Way by The Wild Tchoupitoulas

We Come to Party by The Rebirth Brass Band 

When The Saints Go Marching In by Eddie Bo

Ooo Poo Pa Doo by Trombone Shorty & James Andrews

Basin Street Blues by Louis Prima

La Danse de Mardi Gras by Steve Riley & The Mamou Playboys

Junco Partner by Dirty Dozen Brass Band

My Indian Red by Dr. John
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

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THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, Feb. 28, 2014 
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM 
Webcasting! 
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time 
Host: Steve Terrell 
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
 OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
That's What She Said Last Night by Billy Joe Shaver

Lost in the Ozone Again by Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen
Crucifix Jewelry by Rick Broussard & Two Hoots and a Holler

Diesel Smoke Dangerous Curves by The Last Mile Ramblers  

Jack of Diamonds by Scott H. Biram

Wake Up Sinners by The Dirt Daubers

SLC by Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs

Single Girl,Married Girl by Levon Helm
The Ballad of Forty Dollars by Tom T. Hall

Between the Two of Us One of Us Has The Answer by Tim Timebomb 

Primer Coat by Drive By Truckers

Head by Lydia Loveless

Flash of Fire by Hoyt Axton

Way Down the River Road by John Hartford
Battle of New Orleans by Les Claypool's Duo de Twang

Alien Baby by DM Bob & The Deficits

Hillbilly Town by Mose McCormack 

I've Got the Blues for Rampart Street by Luke Winslow King

Soba Song by 3 Mustaphas 3

Please Ask That Clown to Stop Crying by Neil Hamburger
Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor by Sleepy LaBeef

Down Among the Dead Man by Steve Train & His Bad Habits 

Mama It's Just My Medicine by Shooter Jennings

Prison Town by Kern Richards
Good Old Mountain Dew by Hezekiah Goode

Dragons by Possessed by Paul James

Believe It's True by Goshen

Uranium Mole by The Imperial Rooster
Royal Street Blues by Country Blues Revue

The Mermaid Song by Jorma Kaukonen

This City by Steve Earle 

CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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TERRELL'S TUNE-UP: Fleshtones With Strings Attached

Having an adventurous spirit, when I get promo CDs from artists I’ve never heard of at KSFR-FM, if it looks interesting, I’ll consider playing a track on my radio show without listening to it first. But before I do this, I always check the credits to make sure there are no cellos. Seriously, with few exceptions, few instruments sap the rock ’n’ roll out of a song faster than a dreary cello.

So imagine my surprise when I popped Wheel of Talent, the new CD by The Fleshtones, into my car stereo only to strings — a cello and a violin, to be exact — on the very first song.

Nooooooo!

Actually, the strings on “Available,” which pop up later in the album on “How to Say Goodbye,” turned out to be more of a slight misstep, perhaps a jarring texture, than a deal-breaker. Wheel of Talent, produced by Detroit’s Jim Diamond, shouldn’t be seen as The Fleshtones’ attempt to channel Mantovani.

Elsewhere on the album you’ll find a ton of The Fleshtones’ trademark garage-forged “Super Rock.” It’s a high-octane noise that they’ve been pounding out for decades. Queens natives Peter Zaremba (vocals, keyboards, harmonica) and Keith Streng (vocals, guitar) formed the band in 1976, playing a pumped-up hybrid of garage rock, punk, New Wave, and soul.

Despite Zaremba’s stint hosting an alt-rock show on MTV in the ’80s, Super Rock never got to be super famous. As they sing on the frantic, autobiographical “It Is as It Was” on this album, “We didn’t have a whole a lot of money/But we did what we wanted to.”

I love the classic Fleshtones sound, so my favorites here are hard-driving tunes like “What You’re Talking About,” “Roofarama,” and “Veo La Luz,” in which The Fleshtones go bilingual — it’s got a fuzz-heavy guitar (with a riff right out of The Yardbirds’ “Heart Full of Soul”) and Spanish lyrics. I wouldn’t be surprised if this were an outtake from their 2012 EP en Español, Quatro x Quatro.

(This song has apparently been in the band’s repertoire for a long time. Fooling around on YouTube recently, I stumbled across a 1988 live performance of the Fleshtones performing the English-language version, “I See the Light,” originally done in the ’60s by The Music Explosion.)

“Hipster Heaven” is a good-natured, fast-rocking poke at one of The Fleshtones’ favorite targets in recent years, the contemporary hipster (this one’s got “a new tattoo and money from home”). There’s even a decent tribute to The Ramones here with “Remember the Ramones.” (“You don’t know what it means/To hit the Bowery and make the Scene/For a rock ’n’ roller and a kid from Queens.”)

But, getting back to those cello songs, it’s obvious on Wheel of Talent that The Fleshtones are trying to stretch beyond their garage/punk roots. Recorded in Spain by renowned Spanish garage-punk producer Jorge Explosion, the strings on “Available” and “How to Say Goodbye” give those tunes a definite retro pop sheen. The former sounds like a rocking Fleshtones tune with some weird strings joining in, but the latter sounds like something that might have appeared on AM radio in the late ’70s (though it also reminds me a little of The Decemberists).

There are other tracks that also seem to be aiming for richer textures. For instance, on the classy “For a Smile,” guest vocalist Mary Huff (from Southern Culture on the Skids) sounds a little like Jackie De Shannon. “Tear for Tear” is a slightly jittery stab at the greasy early ’60 teen-pop sound. It made me think of Gene McDaniels’ “Tower of Strength.” And surprisingly good is the horn-fortified, soulful “What I’ve Done Before,” on which The Fleshtones sound closer to Van Morrison than they’ve ever come before.

Once I got (almost) used to the idea of The Fleshtones with strings and came to an uneasy peace with those songs, the only other track that bothered me was “The Right Girl,” which is sung in a phony British accent. If you’d told me that David Bowie was doing guest vocals here, I’d probably buy that story. Instead, I suspect this is some kind of in-joke among the band. But I don’t get it.

All in all, Wheel of Talent is a good album with a few bugs in it. It’s good to see The Fleshtones still willing to experiment. But next time, I hope they forget the fake English accents and the cello.

Also Recommended:

* Todo Roto by Wau y Los Arrrghs!!! Listening to The Fleshtones singing “Veo La Luz” made me hungry for some of the real stuff. Fortunately, the premier Spanish-language garage rockers of this era, Wau y Los Arrrghs!!!, released a new album not too many months ago. It’s produced by Jorge Explosion, who also produced The Fleshtones’ sessions in Spain. But no, Mr. Explosion didn’t bring in a string section for Todo Roto.

Led by singer Juanito Wau, this is a fuzz ’n’ Farfisa band (or it that a Vox organ?) that never lets up. Each song, it seems, rocks harder than the last one. Even the ones that start off slow tunes like “No Me Veras Caer” are permanently scarred by Wau’s crazy screams.

While Wau, naturally, is the focus of most of the tunes, his Arrrghs are a tight little unit. On the instrumental “Rescate Griego” they prove they could even be a pretty exciting surf band on their own.

* Records to Ruin Any Party Vol. 4 by various Voodoo Rhythm artists. I first heard Wau y Los Cantan en Español, which was released on my favorite Swiss label — and in fact, one of my favorite labels anywhere, Voodoo Rhythm.
Arrrghs!!! on their first album,

How can you describe a Voodoo Rhythm collection to someone unfamiliar with the artists? Here, verbatim, is how label owner “Beat-Man” Zellar (better known as “Rev. Beat-Man”) explains it in his promo one-sheet. “This compilation may contains Dirty Words and way too Loud Guitars Trash Blues Garage Punk, overdriven Boogie Blues Folk and Weimer Republic 1920s Jazz Cajun and Pure Snotty One Man Band Trash Punk.”

Got that? The English is broken but the spirit is clear.

The sampler features label stalwarts like those German blues punks The Juke Joint Pimps, the Swiss garageman Roy and The Devil’s Motorcycle, New Zealand songwriter Delaney Davidson, and not one but two bands — The Monsters and Die Zorros — involving Beat-Man himself.

Among the artists on this collection that I’d never heard of before were Becky Lee and Drunkfoot, a one-woman band from Arizona that performs a slow, sad, pretty love song called “Old Fashioned Man”; The New Primitives, a South African garage band; and Heart Attack Alley, a New Zealand group whose sound might be described as neo-skiffle.

Voodoo Rhythm proves once again to be a virtual United Nations of trash rock. Which is why I love them.

Blog Bonus: Here's some videos:

First, a recent live clip from The Fleshtones



Here's that old clip of "I See the Light" in English



Here's a live clip of Wau y Los Arrrghs!!!



And here's Becky Lee & Drunkfoot

SWT on SF Music Alliance Radio Show

I'll be appearing on the Santa Fe Music Alliance Radio Show Thursday night with hosts (and Santa Fe musicians) Busy McCarroll and Johnny Broomdust.

We'll be talking about music, radio and all sorts of fun stuff. And rumor is they're going to let me play some of my own cheesy recordings.

This great moment in broadcasting will be on KVSF, the Voice of Santa Fe, at 101.5 FM or online at www.santafe.com/the-voice

The hour-long show starts at 6 p.m. Listen up!

UPDATE: 2-27-14 7:40 pm The podcast of the show is HERE

How Narcocorridos Are Born

Less than a full day after the capture of reputed Sinoloa drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the narcocorridos are already starting to appear on Youtube.

Los Angeles Times reporter Sam Quinones blogged about the one below.



Quinones provided what he calls a "rough translation" of parts of the song.

“When I heard the news that they’d grabbed Chapo Guzman …

I said it can’t be that the rooster is asleep.

He was the most wanted of the baddest guys in the world,

Captured in Mazatlan, by a corrupt government.

On the news we saw he wasn’t that concerned.

With the capture of Chapo, things won’t change.

Let’s see if he doesn’t surprise them, and he takes off again. …

Although I’ll be behind bars, he says, I’ll remain the king. …

Only he knows what he’s thinking.

But I assure you all that he has a lot of intelligence. …

I don’t know him, but it’s my opinion.

They say he helps people and has a big heart.

Although people may say something different, they know I’m right.

Many people are on his side and they won’t forget him.

The chain is long and this won’t be the end.

Arriba my Sinaloa and arriba Chapo Guzman.

From this song it looks as if Chapo is going to be portrayed in Corrido Land as a Robin Hood who "helps people and has a big heart" and an enemy of a "corrupt government." It's not surprising. That's how he's been portrayed in corridos for years.

Here's one from a few years ago called "El Regreso del Chapo" by Los Tucanes de Tijuana.




It's called the folk process, gentle readers. Where do you think Stagger Lee and Frankie & Johnny came from?

Then there's this one from the New York Times. (Here's THE LINK. I couldn't get it to embed on my blog.)

Thanks and a tip of the hat to my New Mexican colleague Uriel Garcia, who pointed the new songs out on his Twtter feed Monday morning.

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

YT
Sunday, Feb. 23 , 2014 
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(at)ksfr.org

 OPENING THEME: Let it Out (Let it All Hang Out) by The Hombres
Where the Flavor Is by Mudhoney 

The Winter of Our Discontent by Figures of Light

Dress it Up by Lovestruck

In the Alleyway by J.J. & The Real Jerks

Got No Proof by New Bomb Turks
What I've Done Before by The Fleshtones

Mysterious Mystery by Persian Claws

Turn Your Damper Down by Barrence Whitfield & The Savages

Phantoms in a Lesser Crystalline Sphere by The Dirtbombs  
Jeepster by T. Rex


Leave the Capitol by The Fall

Don't Want to Listen by Dex Romweber Duo

Shackin' Up by Daddy Longlegs

Blackout by Hank Haint

Wynonna's Big Brown Beaver by Les Claypool's Duo de Twang

Get on the Plane by Purple Merkins

Loose Nut by Black Flag

Sound World Polka Party

Hosa Dyna by Brave Combo

Polka Polka by Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper

Anselma by Los Lobos

Ecstasy of the Martyr by The Romaniacs

The in One by Crow Hang

Who'd You Like to Love You by Li'l Wally

Mountaineer Polka by Norm Dombrowski's Happy Notes

The Happy Wanderer by The Polkaholics 

Owl Polka byThe Clete Bellin Orchestra

Wiener Dog Polka by Polkacide

You Are What You Is by Frank Zappa

Numb by Sons of Hercules

Not to Touch the Earth by The Doors

Muscle Man by Ty Segal Band

Blabber n Smoke by Captain Beefheart

Psycho by Mojo Juju

CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

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THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

IY
Friday, Feb. 21, 2014 
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM 
Webcasting! 
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time 
Host: Steve Terrell 
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
 OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos
Tear Stained Letter by Jo-el Sonier

Truckin' by Dwight Yoakam

I'm a Ding Dong Daddy from Dumas by Jim Atkins

Trucker from Tennessee by Link Davis

Gutter Queen by Soda Gardocki

TJ by Hickoids
16 Tons by Tennessee Ernie Ford

Bloody Mary Morning by Supersuckers

Chris Isaak by Lydia Loveless

Poor Little Critter on the Road by Trailer Bride

Muswell Hillbilly by Southern Culture on the Skids 

The Best by Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs

Monkey Rag by Asylum Street Spankers

I Want a Tall Skinny Papa by Marcia Ball

Amos Moses by Jerry Reed

Too Many Parties and Too Many Pals by Hank Williams

10 More Miles by Kern Richards 

Time Bomb by The Old 97s

Til I Find You by The Howlin' Brothers

Blacksmith by Boris McCutcheon & The Saltlicks

Back to the Simple Things by Don Williams

Gotta Get to Heaven by Scott H. Biram

Down on the Corner of Love by Buck Owens

Hand of the Almighty by John Butler

Fruit of the Vine by Nancy Apple

Arlene by The Handsome Family

Pills Beneath Her Pillow by Possessed by Paul James

Where I Fell by Robbie Fulks

Your Doggin' Fool by D.B. Reilly

I've Just Destroyed the World by Willie Nelson

Down Here Where I Am by Blaze Foley

Weakness in a Man by Waylon Jennings
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

TERRELL'S SOUND WORLD PLAYLIST

Sunday, Feb. 16 , 2014 
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(at)ksfr.org

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

Amnesia by The Mekons
All Black and Hairy by The Fuzztones

Long Battle Coming by Dex Romweber Duo

Rescate Griego by Wau y Los Arrrghs!!!

Roofarama by The Fleshtones 

Julie Oulie by Peach Kelli Pop
Hey Seniorita by The Beat Pack

Girl Like You by The Future Primitives

Shake a Tail Feather by Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels

Prison Habbits by The Malarians

Eyes by El Pathos

Mailman by The Count Five

King Roland's Prayer by Juke Joint Pimps

Honky Tonk Biscuit Queen by The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black

Don't Mess with My Baby by Black Lips
Body in Plastic by Glambilly 
The Lover's Curse by The A-Bones

Who's Been Driving My Little Yellow Taxicab? by Lincoln Street Exit

Swollen Colon Lament by Figures of Light

Rock of Gibraltar by Sons of Hercules

Out of My Means by JJ & The Real Jerks

I Wanna Get in Your Pants by The Cramps
Over the Edge by Dead Moon

Rat's Nest by The Gories
Sugar Farm by T-Model Ford

Bang Bang by Gaunga Dyns

Eye Patch/ Bitties at the BK Lounge by De La Soul

St. James infirmary by Bobby Blue Bland

She Be Your Wife by Irma Thomas
That's Where It's At by Ray Charles & Lou Rawls

This Old Town by Charlie Whitehead

Goodbye So Long by Chuck E. Weiss
CLOSING THEME: Over the Rainbow by Jerry Lee Lewis

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THE SANTA FE OPRY PLAYLIST

Friday, Feb. 14, 2014 
KSFR, Santa Fe, NM 
Webcasting! 
10 p.m. to midnight Fridays Mountain Time 
Host: Steve Terrell 
101.1 FM
email me during the show! terrel(at)ksfr.org
 OPENING THEME: Buckaroo by Buck Owens & The Buckaroos

Keep on Truckin' by Hot Tuna

Have You Ever Spent the Night in Jail by T. Tex Edwards
Daddy Was A Preacher, Mama Was A Go-Go Girl by Southern Culture on the Skids

Waco Express by The Waco Brothers
Trouble in Mind by Holly Golightly & The Brokeoffs

Falling by The Dad Horse Experience
I'm Troubled by Scott H. Biram

Valentine by The Gourds

Truck Drivin'. Son of a Gun by Dave Dudley

The Writing is on the Wall by Country Blues Revue

Battle of Love by Mose McCormack
Son Don't Shine by Jason Ringenberg & Paul Burch

Saint Valentine by Joe Ely
You and Your Damn Dream by Pat Todd & The Rank Outsiders

Satellite of Love. By DM Bob & The Deficits

Get Rhythm by James Hand

Far From Any Road by The Handsome Family

I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am by Brian & The Haggards with Eugene Chadbourne 

Hate and Whiskey by Black Vermillion

The Ballad of Speedy Atkins by Legendary Shack Shakers
Hot Rod Lincoln by Bill Kirchen

Movie Mag by Carl Perkins
Everything's Okay by Hank Williams

Hearts on Fire by Gram. Parsons & Emmylou Harris

Everything's Gone by Lydia Loveless
Flesh and Dream by Boris McCutcheon & The Saltlicks

Cool and Dark Inside by Kell Robertson
Where Does All the Time Go by Possessed by Paul James

Talk is Cheap by Don Williams
Valentine's Day by Steve Earle
CLOSING THEME: Comin' Down by The Meat Puppets

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

TERRELL'S TUNEUP: Beatle Bones

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican 
Feb. 14, 2014

Many people tell me I remind them a lot of John Lennon. The three major reasons are: (1) Like Lennon, my uncompromising idealism and sharp wit often get me in trouble; (2) I think I’m bigger than Jesus; and (3) I began my career entertaining sailors onstage with a toilet seat around my neck.

No, not really. In real life, nobody ever tells me I remind them of John Lennon. Not even Ringo. Truth is, I just wanted to start this column with a joke instead of melancholy, nostalgia, and reverence — which is what I felt when I was driving last Sunday and heard a radio report about the 50th anniversary of The Beatles appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show.

I’m far from the first to observe this, but it’s true that The Beatles arrived at a perfect time for America — less than three months after the assassination of President Kennedy. In a spiritual sense, the moment Paul McCartney opened his mouth to sing “Close your eyes and I’ll kiss you, tomorrow I’ll miss you” was the moment the national mourning for JFK ended. And a new era began.

I’m an old baby boomer, but I’m not one of those old baby boomers who wistfully thinks The Beatles were the alpha and the omega of popular music. Even back then, as the British Invasion unfolded, I loved The Beatles, but I loved The Animals even more. (I thought Eric Burdon and crew were even uglier than The Rolling Stones, and to an ugly kid, that was important.)

And I was disappointed the week after the Sullivan show when “I Want to Hold Your Hand” knocked The Trashmen’s “Surfin’ Bird” off the No. 1 spot on my local radio station’s Top 50. The Trashmen were robbed, just like poor Fred Kaps, the hapless Dutch magician who followed The Beatles on Sullivan’s show that week with a card-trick act.

The Fab 5 in Hamburg circa 1961

But it’s hard to underestimate the significance of the rush of optimism and joy we felt in this country on the night the four lovable mop tops performed on television. The Beatles, during their (mercifully short) Maharishi period, would help make “mantra” a household word in the West, but that night in 1964, America had a common mantra: “Yeah, yeah yeah.” And it was far more cosmic than anything the Maharishi ever gave us.

Historical flashback: On the morning of Nov. 22, 1963, CBS Morning News aired a short feature from its London bureau about a band called The Beatles that was driving the kids wild over there. It had footage of the group singing “She Loves You,” complete with screaming girls. Newsman Alexander Kendrick said in the report, “Besides being merely the latest objects of adolescent adulation and culturally the modern manifestation of compulsive tribal singing and dancing, The Beatles are said by sociologists to have a deeper meaning. Some say they are the authentic voice of the proletariat.” Kendrick’s report was supposed to air that night on the evening news as well. But it was preempted by news of a certain murder in Dallas that occurred that afternoon.

Some say that Feb. 9, 1964, was the night that “youth culture” was born. Maybe so, but the first thing I thought of while listening to that radio report Sunday was my grandfather. He was there with us that night watching Ed Sullivan. I’m not sure whether Papa actually liked The Beatles’ music, but he sure got a kick out of them. For months afterward, anytime a friend would come over to the house, he’d ask, “What do you think of those long-haired boys from England?” (He was 60 years old then. I’m 60 now, and here I am talking about those long-haired boys from England.)

Not surprisingly, back in those crew-cut days, The Beatles’ hair seemed to fascinate a lot of people. But watching them that night, my biggest surprise wasn’t the long hair; it was their white faces. The radio had been playing “I Saw Her Standing There” — still one of my favorite Beatles songs — and “I Want to Hold Your Hand” — still one of my least favorites — in the days leading up to Sullivan’s show, and I just assumed The Beatles were a black R & B band.

One thing The Beatles had going for them is that virtually everyone back then watched Sullivan’s show — at least that night. Only three major networks were on TV. (Any old-timers out there remember what was showing on NBC and ABC that night?) Today there are dozens of networks — and surprisingly little music on any of them. (“57 Channels and Nothing On,” as Bruce Springsteen sang.) Meanwhile, music fans are fragmented into hundreds of little tribes.

Since the murder of John Lennon in 1980, I rarely listen to The Beatles. The songs are all so etched in my mind that it’s almost as if I don’t need to listen anymore. I didn’t go nuts when they first released The Beatles on CD or when the corporate hacks who own their music these days finally released their material on iTunes. I thought those “lost” Beatles songs “Free as a Bird” and “Real Love,” released in the 1990s, should have stayed lost.

I did, however, buy the DVD set The Four Complete Historic Ed Sullivan Shows Featuring the Beatles about 10 years ago. As soon as I get done writing this, I think I’ll watch it again, if only to try to figure out how Kaps worked those cards.

As you can surely tell, the anniversary opened a floodgate of memories for this old rocker. While music groups are routinely hyped today with an intensity that makes Brian Epstein and even Col. Tom Parker look like amateurs, no other rock ’n’ roll band and no other pop singer has had the cultural impact The Beatles did. Plenty of good music is still being made, but nobody has come close to The Beatles’ stature in their heyday. I hope someone eventually proves me wrong, but I don’t think anyone ever will.

Here's that first report by CBS, originally aired Nov. 22, 1963