Music: Southern Fried Freight Train Fulla Boogie
Meant to post this yesterday but it took an extra day to recover. Lil' too much bourbon, not enough ice. We were blessed to catch a couple of the finest bands in the land on Friday night when North Mississippi Allstars and Hill Country Revue rolled through town. Modern Mississippi Hill Country 'lectric blues and rock & roll. If you haven't seen these ol' boys play live, you just ain't lived. Hill Country Revue started the show with Cody Dickinson - brother of Luther, son of Jim, and drummer for North Mississippi Allstars - slingin' an electrified washboard 'round his neck hooked up to some effects pedals. He proceeded to scratch out some wicked sonic vibrations like a whiskey-bent hillbilly Hendrix. With Chris "Big" Chew and Ed "Hot" Cleveland layin' down the funky gut-thumpin' foundation, the dual guitars of Kirk Smithhart and Cody Dickinson - yep, he does it all - soared in and out and settled into a head-noddin', ass-movin' groove that had the capacity crowd shakin' what their mama's gave 'em. Singer Daniel Coburn lit in with a sweet southern drawl, understated and perfectly fit to tie up the whole bundle. The Allman-esque jam "You Can Make It" had the hippies spinnin' and the rednecks grinnin' and the dirty, low-end crawl of "Lets Talk About Me And You" had everyone in a trance-like sway. Big brother Luther helped the boys out on a few songs showin' why he is one of the best guitarists walkin' this earth and why the Black Crowes are no dummies.
Then came time for North Mississippi Allstars to do their thing: whippin' everybody in the whole damn joint into a booty shakin' frenzy. There are few bands that can get a crowd movin' like these boys do. They don't just know their history, they own it and are doin' something brand new with it. Luther's slide is masterful. He makes the guitar smile and weep and sing. Magic freakin' fingers and a soul full of groove. While Chris "Big" Chew and Cody Dickinson supremely serve as the locomotive powering this southern fried freight train full of boogie. From start to finish, their set is a party - a southern summer porch gatherin' of friends, kickin' out hot, sweaty, foot-stompin' jams. There wasn't a person standin' still. Towards the end of their set the fellas from Hill Country Revue came back out to jam with everybody smilin', noddin' and having a good time. And Luther pulled out a homemade cigar box guitar with two strings and made that baby howl. That's right, a ceeeegar box! Here's a tease that my brother took. As I walked out of the venue, my face hurt. And I realized I had just smiled constantly for four hours, just from watchin' these boys play. Man. It's that kinda groove. It'll put a little warm southern sunshine in your soul and some shake in that ass.
Do yourself a favor and catch 'em when they come your way. You will be so glad you did. Here are their tour dates: NMA Hill Country Revue
And check out their pages: NMA Hill Country Revue
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Music: God Bless You Bo Diddley
Rock pioneer Bo Diddley dies at age 79
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Bo Diddley, a founding father of rock 'n' roll whose distinctive rhythm and innovative guitar effects inspired legions of other musicians, died Monday after months of ill health. He was 79. Diddley died of heart failure at his home in Archer, Fla., spokeswoman Susan Clary said. He had suffered a heart attack in August, three months after suffering a stroke while touring in Iowa. Doctors said the stroke affected his ability to speak, and he had returned to Florida to continue rehabilitation.
Wikipedia says:
Bo Diddley (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008) was an influential American rock and roll singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Often cited as a key figure in the transition from blues to rock and roll, he introduced more insistent, driving rhythms and a hard-edged guitar sound. He was also known for his characteristic rectangular guitar.
Born in McComb, Mississippi as Ellas Otha Bates, he was adopted and raised by his mother's cousin, Gussie McDaniel, whose surname he assumed, becoming Ellas McDaniel. The family moved to Chicago when he was seven. He took violin lessons as a youth, but was inspired to become a guitarist after seeing John Lee Hooker. He worked as a carpenter and mechanic, but also began a musical career playing on street corners with friends as a band called the Hipsters (later the Langley Avenue Jive Cats). In 1951, he landed a regular spot at the 708 Club on Chicago's South Side, with a repertoire influenced by Louis Jordan, John Lee Hooker, and Muddy Waters. He adopted the stage name, Bo Diddley, which is probably a southern black slang phrase meaning "nothing at all," as in "he ain't bo diddley." Another source says it was his nickname as a teenage Golden Gloves boxer. The nickname is also linked to the diddley bow, a two-stringed instrument that was used in the south by black musicians working in the fields.
In late 1954, he teamed up with harmonica player Billy Boy Arnold, drummer Clifton James and bass player Roosevelt Jackson, and recorded demos of "I'm A Man" and "Bo Diddley". They re-recorded the songs at Chess Studios with a backing ensemble comprising Otis Spann (piano), Lester Davenport (harmonica), Frank Kirkland (drums) and Jerome Green (maracas). The record was released in March 1955, and the A-side, "Bo Diddley", became a #1 R&B hit.
Bo Diddley is well known for the "Bo Diddley beat," a rumba-like beat, similar to "hambone", a style used by street performers who play out the beat by slapping and patting their arms, legs, chest, and cheeks while chanting rhymes. Occasionally (but incorrectly) referred to as a "shave and a haircut" beat, Diddley came across it while trying to play Gene Autry's "(I've Got Spurs That) Jingle, Jangle, Jingle". Three years before Bo's "Bo Diddley," a song that closely resembles it, "Hambone," was cut by Red Saunders' Orchestra with The Hambone Kids.
His songs (for example, "Hey Bo Diddley" and "Who Do You Love?") often have no chord changes; that is, the musicians play the same chord throughout the piece, so that excitement is created by the rhythm, rather than by harmonic tension and release. In his own recordings, Bo Diddley used a variety of rhythms, from straight back beat to pop ballad style, frequently with maracas by Jerome Green.
He also was an influential guitar player, with many special effects and other innovations in tone and attack. Bo Diddley's trademark instrument is the rectangular-bodied Gretsch, nicknamed "The Twang Machine" (although he had other similar-shaped guitars custom-made for him by other manufacturers), a guitar that he developed himself around 1958 and wielded in thousands of concerts over the years. In a 2005 interview on JJJ radio in Australia, Bo implied that the design was born from embarrassment. In an early gig, while jumping around on stage with a Gibson L5 guitar, he landed awkwardly hurting his groin. He then went about designing a smaller, less restrictive guitar so he could keep jumping around. He also played the violin, which is featured on his mournful instrumental "The Clock Strikes Twelve".
His lyrics were often witty and humorous adaptations of folk music themes. The song "Bo Diddley" was based on the lullaby "Hush Little Baby." Likewise, "Hey Bo Diddley" is based on the folk song "Old MacDonald". The rap-style boasting of "Who Do You Love", a wordplay on hoodoo, used many striking lyrics from the African-American tradition of toasts and boasts. His "Say Man" and "Say Man, Back Again" both share a strong connection to the insult game known as the dozens. For example: "You got the nerve to call somebody ugly, why you so ugly the stork that brought you into the world ought to be arrested".
On November 20, 1955, he appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show only to infuriate the host. "I did two songs and he got mad," Bo Diddley later recalled. "Ed Sullivan said that I was one of the first colored boys to ever double-cross him. Said that I wouldn't last six months". Bo Diddley was asked to sing Tennessee Ernie Ford's hit "Sixteen Tons", but when he appeared on stage, he sang "Bo Diddley." He was banned from further appearances. Continue Reading...
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Music: Live at Stubb’s BBQ - Alejandro Escovedo
Alejandro Escovedo smokin' at Stubb's during SXSW '08. His new album "Real Animal" is due out June 24. Check out his myspace page.
Here's what wiki's got to say:
Alejandro Escovedo is an American musician. His parents emigrated to Texas from Mexico. Escovedo is from a very musical family that has generated several professional musicians, including his brothers Coke Escovedo and Pete Escovedo, both percussionists, and longtime Prince collaborator Sheila E (who is Pete's daughter and Alejandro's niece). Escovedo began performing in the first-wave punk rock group The Nuns, with Delphine Neid, Jennifer Miro, and Jeff Olener, in San Francisco, California. After Escovedo's departure, The Nuns recorded an album on Posh Boy Records, but had little commercial success.
In the 1980s Escovedo moved to Austin, Texas, where he adapted a roots rock/alternative country style in the bands Rank and File (with Chip and Tony Kinman) and the True Believers (with his brother Javier and Jon Dee Graham). However, it was with the release of his first solo albums, "Gravity" in 1992 and "Thirteen Years" in 1994, and on through his sixth album, A Man Under the Influence (produced in 2001), that he found his true voice. Although he has yet to crossover to any type of mainstream audience, he has a huge underground following, and many popular artists cite Escovedo as a strong influence. In 1998 No Depression magazine named him Artist of the Decade. Alejandro was also involved in a side project that represents his hard rocking tastes. Buick MacKane released an album in 1997 "The Pawn Shop Years", hearkening back to his musical roots from the 70's.
In 2003, after having lived with Hepatitis-C for many years, Alejandro fell critically ill and nearly died. In his long road to recovery, he faced increasing medical bills. Without medical insurance, Escovedo could not pay the substantial medical bills. Friends and admirers around the country organized benefit shows to help the songwriter. This effort grew into the album Por Vida: A Tribute to the Songs of Alejandro Escovedo, a two-disc set whose proceeds benefit the Alejandro Escovedo Medical and Living Expense Fund. Contributing musicians included Steve Earle, Jon Dee Graham, Lucinda Williams, John Cale, Jennifer Warnes, Ian Hunter, The Jayhawks, and Son Volt, as well as family members Pete Escovedo, Javier Escovedo and niece Sheila E.
In 2005, Escovedo's song "Castanets" appeared on the iPod playlist of George W. Bush, prompting a self-imposed (temporary) ban on live performances of the song.
Read more about Alejandro on his site.
Check this out:
A Man Under the Influence [ CD - Amazon ]
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Music/Film: The Shape I’m In - The Band
From the best concert film of all time, Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz. The Band doin' "The Shape I'm In." In the lead-in they talk about playing in Jack Ruby's club in Dallas. Caught a great doc the other night on VH1 called "Classic Albums: The Band - The Band." Check out the New York Times review. Enjoy.
Check this out:
The Last Waltz (Remastered / Expanded) (4CD) [BOX SET]
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Music/Film: Gram Parsons - Fallen Angel
This is the trailer for the documentary Gram Parsons: Fallen Angel. The film provides a revealing account of Gram Parsons' life and retraces Parsons' early days as a musician and his rise as a country-rock icon to his tragic death at the age of 26. The documentary features music and performances from Parsons and interviews with family, friends and fellow musicians like Emmylou Harris, Keith Richards, Sid Griffin, and Chris Hillman among others.
(From Wikipedia:)
Gram Parsons (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. A solo artist as well as a member of the International Submarine Band, The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, he is best known for a series of recordings that anticipated the so-called country rock of the 1970s and the alt-country movement that began around 1990. Parsons described his records as "Cosmic American Music". He died of a drug overdose at the age of 26. In 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him #87 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
1946–1968
Parsons was born Ingram Cecil Connor III in Winter Haven, Florida, the grandson of citrus fruit magnate John A. Snively, with extensive properties both there and in Waycross, Georgia, where Parsons was raised. A sister, "Little" Avis, soon followed. His father, "Coon Dog" Connor, suffered mood swings and abruptly committed suicide two days before Christmas Day 1958. Parsons' mother, Avis, subsequently married Bob Parsons, whose surname was adopted by young Ingram, the elder Parsons going as far to have new birth certificates drawn up for his stepson and stepdaughter. Henceforth he would be known as Gram Parsons. Parsons attended the prestigious Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida. For a time, the family found a stability of sorts until Avis rapidly descended into alcoholism, leading to her death from cirrhosis. As his family disintegrated around him, Parsons developed strong musical interests, particularly after seeing Elvis Presley perform in concert in 1957. Five years later, while barely in his teens, he played in rock and roll cover bands such as the Pacers and the Legends, headlining in clubs owned by his stepfather in the Winter Haven/Polk County area. By the age of 16 he graduated to folk music, and in 1963 he teamed with his first professional outfit, the Shilos. Heavily influenced by the Kingston Trio and the Journeymen, the band played hootenannies, coffee houses and high school auditoriums. Forays into New York City's Greenwich Village included appearances at The Bitter End.
After the band folded he attended Harvard University, studying theology but departing after a semester. Despite being from the South, he became serious about country music during his time in Boston, Massachusetts after hearing Merle Haggard for the first time. In 1966, he and others from the Boston folk scene formed the International Submarine Band. The band relocated to Los Angeles the following year, and in 1968 released the album Safe at Home, which contains one of his best-known songs, "Luxury Liner", as well as an early version of "Do You Know How It Feels", which he would reprise on the first Flying Burrito Brothers album. But Parsons had already moved on to bigger things by the time of the album's release. Continue Reading...
Check this out:
Gram Parsons - Fallen Angel (DVD-2006)
Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel (itunes)
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