A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican June 1, 2018
The Swiss singer/songwriter/trash rocker/record-company owner/philosopher/holy man known as Reverend Beat-Man was speaking for himself in an interview more than a decade ago. But he could have been talking for untold numbers of unsung, underpaid heroes of modern music when he said:
“I have to get up in the morning out of the bed, and I have to play guitar. I have to go to the office and put out records that nobody buys. I just have to do it. I don’t know why.”
Obviously Beat Zeller is possessed by a very demanding creative spirit that won’t let him live any other way. His new album, Blues Trash(Voodoo Rhythm Records), is testament to that. The title is similar — probably too similar — to that of the two-volume Surreal Folk Blues Gospel Trash, the good reverend’s solo project from 2007. But the new album is no rehash. Beat-Man’s sound is evolving.
On Blues Trash, he’s backed by a band dubbed the New Wave. Members include Bosnia-born accordion player Mario Batkovic, a couple of Bern homeboys (drummer Julian Sartorius and Resli Burri, who plays several instruments), and Los Angeles native Nicole Izobel Garcia, who in recent months has toured with Beat-Man as a drummer. On the album, she also plays organ and sings.
The first track, “I Have Enough,” sounds like classic Beat-Man. It’s a growling rocker built around a raunchy blues lick, the kind Howlin’ Wolf used to hear in his skull when he closed his eyes at night. This is followed by “I’m Not Gonna Tell You,” a tasty slice of garage-punk that would easily fit in with the crazed repertoire of Beat-Man’s longtime band The Monsters. As usual, Beat-Man’s vocals sound like Popeye auditioning for a German industrial band.
Beat-Man in Santa Fe, 2009
But then things start getting weird on the third track, “Today Is a Beautiful Day.” With a lilting beat, a sinister guitar, and what sounds like a tooting tuba, Beat-Man takes a cue from his pals the Dead Brothers, who have billed themselves as a “funeral orchestra.” (New Waver Burri has played with that band.) The Rev croons:
“Well, today is a beautiful day/Today is a wonderful day/’Cause today, baby, I feel like a newborn child/’Cause today, baby, I’m gonna die.”
The same morbidly fatalistic doomsday spirit returns a few tracks later with a song called “Then We All Gonna Die.” Here Beat-Man sings over a harmonium and ominous drums that eventually turn into a troubling rumble: “When I see the flowers laying on my grave/When I see the sky turn from blue to black/Then we’re all gonna die.”
Even spookier is a stark but alluring love song in Spanish featuring Garcia on lead vocals, with Beat-Man singing a gruff “But I love you” four times at the end of each verse. “But I Love You” has to be the prettiest song to ever appear on a Beat-Man album — or in the entire Voodoo Rhythm catalogue.
Accordion man Batkovic steps out into the spotlight on a couple of tracks. There’s the jaunty Balkan-sounding “I’ll Do It for You,” a dance tune, sung by Beat-Man, that would have fit in the Borat soundtrack.
Then, the final track, “Lass Uns Liebe Machen” (German for “Let’s Make Love”) sounds like a damaged relic from the Weimar Republic. With Beat-Man singing, Batkovic’s accordion is the main instrument, at least until the musical saw (I assume played by Burri) comes in.
But while I appreciate Beat-Man’s multicultural excursions, the best song on Blues Trash is a prime example of, well, blues trash. That’s “The White Wolf Is Back in Town.” It’s a slow-burning howler — literally. Beat-Man howls at the outset of every verse. He plays a steady, repetitive blues lick punctuated by scary sounds from Garcia’s organ and a screaming sax. We never find out who or what the White Wolf is. But I would guess the town has cause to be nervous.
So once again, Beat-Man has followed his compulsions and indulged his obsessions, releasing an album full of wild, unsettling music. And probably, like all its predecessors, not that many people will buy it. But for those of us who have heard the call of the White Wolf, it’s comforting just to know the good Reverend Beat-Man is still in the game.
Also recommended:
*Songs from the Lodge by Archie & The Bunkers. Sometimes I worry about the youth of the 21st century.
I don’t have any exact statistics, but there are a disturbing number of youngsters who don’t give a rip about rock ’n’ roll.
They’re into hip-hop or techno, and many, we’re told, don’t really give a rodent’s posterior about music in general, and will give you blank stares when you mention Little Richard, Bo Diddley, or The Ramones, assuming all that talk is nothing but geezer babble.
Fortunately, this is not completely true. Despite changing times and priorities, rock ’n’ roll is still a guiding light for millions of young people. And there are even some bands ready to carry the torch.
In fact, one of my favorite groups in recent months is Archie and the Bunkers, a pair of teenage brothers from Cleveland. Drummer Emmett and organ player Cullen O’Connor have a unique high-energy sound they call “hi-fi organ punk.”
Their new album is even more impressive than their debut, Mystery Lover. The opening tune, “Bill’s Bad Day,” sets an urgent tone that never lets up. Other highlights include “You’re My Pacemaker,” the frantic “Lost in Today” and “122 Hours of Fear,” which is a cover of a song by The Screamers, a California “techno-punk” band from the late ’70s.
Plus, The Bunkers give us not one, but two songs about Twin Peaks, “Fire Walk With Me” and “Laura.”
These boys not only have talent, they have taste! Let's see some videos:
Here's a song from Blues Trash
And here's a live song by Reverend Beat-Man, sung by Nicole Izobel Garcia
One hundred and twenty nine years ago the South Fork Dam near Johnstown, Pennsylvania broke. creating a flood that killed at least 2,200 people.
A little history from History.com: Johnstown is 60 miles east of Pittsburgh in a valley near the Allegheny, Little Conemaugh, and Stony Creek Rivers. It is located on a floodplain that has been subject to frequent disasters. Because of the area’s susceptibility to floods, a dam was built in 1840 on the Little Conemaugh River, 14 miles upstream from Johnstown. Nine hundred feet by 72 feet, it was the largest earth dam (made of dirt and rock, rather than steel and concrete) in the United States and it created the largest man-made lake of the time, Lake Conemaugh. The dam was part of an extensive canal system that became obsolete as the railroads replaced the canal as a means of transporting goods. As the canal system fell into disuse, maintenance on the dam was neglected. In 1889, Johnstown was home to 30,000 people, many of whom worked in the steel industry. On May 31, the residents were unaware of the danger that steady rain over the course of the previous day had caused. A spillway at the dam became clogged with debris that could not be dislodged. An engineer at the dam saw warning signs of an impending disaster and rode a horse to the village of South Fork to warn the residents. However, the telegraph lines were down and the warning did not reach Johnstown. At 3:10 p.m., the dam collapsed, causing a roar that could be heard for miles. All of the water from Lake Conemaugh rushed forward at 40 miles per hour, sweeping away everything in its path.
Floods this devastating frequently end up being the subject of folk songs and even pop songs. The website for the Johnstown Flood Museum lists three such songs that were written not long after the tragedy. These include "That Valley of Tears," composed by William Thomas, "My Last Message" by J.P. Skelly, and Joseph Flynn's "The Johnstown Flood," which possibly is the song Bruce Springsteen refers to in "Highway Patrolman." ("Takin' turns dancin' with Maria as the band played `Night of the Johnstown Flood' ,,,")
I searched but couldn't find any versions of these songs. However, on YouTube I did come across three Johnstown flood songs, all by artists I'd never heard of. But they sound pretty cool, so here they are.
I was at a medical appointment this morning when it occurred to med that I hadn't posted this week's Throwback Thursday. A couple of seconds later I realized I hadn't posted Wacky Wednesday either.
Maybe blame the medication?
Anywho, this week is kind of a sequel to a relative early Wacky Wednesday, in which I posted songs about ducks. Here's some equal time for chickens.
Let's start with the Louis Jordon classic :Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens."
Cab
This 1940 Cab Calloway tune has long been one of my favorites
Moving deep into the rock 'n' roll era here's "Psycho Chicken," a spoof of a Talking Heads song by a band called The Fools.
But nobody captured the essence of chickens better than the genius, Ray Stevens.
One hundred and four years ago this week -- May 22, 1914 -- Herman Poole "Sonny" Blount was born in Birmingham, Alabama. In the early 30s he began a career in music. Moving to Chicago in 1945, Sonny played piano with R&B shouter Wynonie Harris and jazz greats like Fletcher Henderson and Coleman Hawkins.
By the early 1950s, Sonny transformed into Sun Ra, a visionary emissary from the planet Saturn, sent to earth to preach a cosmic philosophy of peace and love.
Like Sonny Blount, Sun Ra was a great musician. He formed an amazing musical collective called the Arkestra that played with him, in various forms, for the next 40 years.
Here's what The New York Times said about Sun Ra in its 1993 obituary:
Sun Ra was jazz's most theatrical band leader. A performance of his would feature anything from large drum choirs and African-style chants to orchestral be-bop, free expressionism and swing pieces. He had singers, dancers and acrobats and sometimes film and light shows ... He and his band, usually called the Arkestra, dressed in a funny version 1950s intergalactica, with glittering hats (which, in fact, were spandax tank tops), robes and amulets that signified everything from Egyptology to outer space surrealism. Sun Ra made his performances a mixture of camp, pandemonium, seriousness and musical intelligence. Below are a couple of lengthy performances by Sun Ra and crew. The first includes two songs from a 1989 appearance on the syndicated Night Music.
And here is part of his set at the 1976 Montreux Jazz Festival
Finally here's a fun little tune from Sun Ra's Walt Disney tribute album, Second Star to the Right.
R.I.P Saturn man. May Mr. Bluebird always be on your shoulder.
Correction: The earlier version if this post said Sun Ra was born 114 years ago. Actually it's a mere 104 years. Thanks to Facebook friend Russ for pointing it out.
On this day 84 years ago a team of law enforcement officers led by the Bureau of Investigation (back before they were known as the FBI) killed Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Park in an ambush near Sailes, Bienville Parish, Louisiana.
Before dawn on May 23, 1934, a posse composed of police officers from Louisiana and Texas, including Texas Ranger Frank Hamer, concealed themselves in bushes along the highway near Sailes, Louisiana. In the early daylight, Bonnie and Clyde appeared in an automobile and when they attempted to drive away, the officers opened fire. Bonnie and Clyde were killed instantly.
And thus ended the bloody career of the armed and dangerous couple known as Bonnie & Clyde.
At least until they were reborn as Hollywood legends in the 1960s.
At the time they were killed in 1934, they were believed to have committed 13 murders and several robberies and burglaries. Barrow, for example, was suspected of murdering two police officers at Joplin, Missouri and kidnapping a man and a woman in rural Louisiana. He released them near Waldo, Texas. Numerous sightings followed, linking this pair with bank robberies and automobile thefts. Clyde allegedly murdered a man at Hillsboro, Texas; committed robberies at Lufkin and Dallas, Texas; murdered one sheriff and wounded another at Stringtown, Oklahoma; kidnaped a deputy at Carlsbad, New Mexico; stole an automobile at Victoria, Texas; attempted to murder a deputy at Wharton, Texas; committed murder and robbery at Abilene and Sherman, Texas; committed murder at Dallas, Texas; abducted a sheriff and the chief of police at Wellington, Texas; and committed murder at Joplin and Columbia, Missouri.
But like I said, Bonnie & Clyde staged a spectacular comeback in 1967.
Filmmaker Arthur Penn directed Bonnie & Clyde, starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty. It became a box office smash. There were questions about the movie's historical accuracy and controversy over what some saw as a glamorization of criminals. But soon after it's release, everyone knew who Bonnie and Clyde were.
Besides the movie, several musicians jumped on the Bonnie & Clyde bandwagon in 1967 and 1968. Here are some of them.
Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames had a big hit with "The Ballad of Bonnie & Clyde."
Merle Haggard wrote and performed "The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde."
Even Mel Torme couldn't resist. His song is called "A Day in the Life of Bonnie & Clyde."
Meanwhile, French pop star Serge Gainsbourg teamed up with the one and only Brigitte Bardot (!!!) on a song called "Bonnie & Clyde." This tune borrows heavily from the poem Bonnie Parker wrote about her exploits with Barrow.
Here's a musical tribute to one of my favorite actors, the late Dennis Hopper. His 82nd birthday would have been today.
Hopper was not a musician. But his greatest films were full of unforgettable music. Here are a few of the songs that helped make those movies resonate.
The 1969 hippie odyssey Easy Rider was full of great music from the heyday of the counter culture. While many tunes in the soundtrack had been big hits before Easy Rider, this one, by a group called The Fraternity of Man, became well-known because of the movie.
This tune by ex-Byrd Gene Clark was the theme song of a 1971 documentary about Dennis Hopper.
Hopper directed a 1988 movie called Colors, which dealt with the Los Angeles gang wars. The title song, by Ice T, is an early example of gangsta rap.
For my money, Hopper's greatest role was the evil Frank Booth in David Lynch's Blue Velvet. With the help of lip-syncher Dean Stockwell, Blue Velvet made a perfectly decent Roy Orbison song into something twisted and perverse.
The candy-colored clown returned with a vengeance in this subsequent scene.
