Eddy Bear and the Cubs and Yosemite Slam at the Triple B, Thursday Jan 29, 2015

Hopefully, life is starting to calm down a little bit so that I can start getting out a bit more. Made it out on a work night to see Eddy Bear, though couldn't stay up long enough to see the headliner - such is life.

Opening the evening (well, actually, the first band of the night was an odd alt/new-wave combo that had nothing to do with the rest of the event) was Yosemite Slam, a three piece mixing a lot of different sounds together. With a hot rod/punk-rock drummer, a rootsy stand up bassist/lead singer and a modern heavy metal guitarist, they are working on a cow-punk feel, but the parts aren't quite blending together for me. And I like people who think outside the box and merge seemingly disparate ideas together. Maybe it was just the sound that night or something. They are solid players and had some good ideas, but...

Of course, I have gone on and on about local honky-tonk masterminds, Eddy Bear and the Cubs, though now they have added a fiddle player to expand the sound. Unfortunately, he was often a bit buried in the mix, but he would make appearances and give a cool, new twist to the trad country tunes that the Cubs perform.

They pulled out some of their standards, like "Little Sister", Wayne Hancock's "Thunderstorms and Neon Sign", "Long White Cadillac" (which gave guitarist Wade a platform for some searing licks), "Ooh Las Vegas" and "I'm the Bulge in Satan's Pants", with a new arrangement in 1/2 time. The gents pulled off some sweet harmonies, there were some nice multiple guitar interaction and the fiddle intertwined with everything and worked off of the others well.

So, I'm a fan obviously, but just cuz these cats are that damn good. Great players, great singers and a fine selection of songs. They play regularly so no excuse not to see them! They are on the build at the same venue next week with the Blasters - definitely a show to see!

recommended gigs

Thursday Jan 29 - the All Togethers at Velveteen Rabbit
Thursday Jan 29 - Doug C and the Blacklisted, Eddie Bear and the Cubs, Yosemite Slam at Triple B

Friday Jan 30 - the All Togethers at Boulder Dam Brewing

Saturday Jan 31 - the All Togethers with Whiskey Breath and Jackson Taylor at the Beauty Bar
Saturday Jan 31 - Jinxy Bear w/Hunter Beard and much more at Triple B
Saturday Jan 31 - the Delta Bombers, Whiskey Breath and Stagnetti's Cock at the Pioneer Saloon
Saturday Jan 31 - 3d6 with Lambs to Lion, GC&FB and Not For Sale at the Hard Hat

Wednesday Feb 4 - The Gentlemen of Four Outs at the Double Down

Thursday Feb 5 - the Blasters and the Yawpers at Triple B with the Delta Bombers and Eddie Bear and the Cubs

Friday Feb 6 - the Delta Bombers at Triple B
Friday Feb 6 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Bunkhouse
Friday Feb 6 - 3d6 at the Artistic Armory with lots more
Friday Feb 6 - The Toasters with the Scoundrels, Frank and Deans, Mustard Plug and Tiki Bandits at the Dive Bar

Saturday Feb 7 - the Swamp Gospel and Thee Swank Bastards at the Hard Hat

Saturday Feb 7 - the All Togethers at the Container Park
Saturday Feb 7 - Bow Wow Wow, Midnight Clover, Unwieldies, Water Landing - Adrenanline Sports Bar

Tuesday Feb 10 - Water Landing and Teach me Equals at Artifice

Friday Feb 13 - the Super Zeros at the Hard Hat
Friday Feb 13 - Paper Tigers, Silversage , Bravo Delta, Beau Hodges Band , Strange Mistress at House of Blues
Friday Feb 13 - Stagnetti's Cock, Swamp Pussy, Geesuz Cryst and Free Beer, 3d6 at the Double Down
Friday Feb 13 - Alan Six, Dreamkiller at the Dive Bar

Saturday Feb 14 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Tues Feb 17 - Piratefest at LV Country Saloon with the Time Crashers, Alestorm, Dreadcrew of Oddwood, Firewater Folklore, Caliban and the Witch

Friday Feb 20 - the All Togethers at Willow Creek Assisted Living

Wednesday Feb 25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Thursday Feb 26 - the All Togethers at Eye Candy Lounge at Mandalay Bay

Wednesday Mar 4 - the Sloths at the Bunkhouse

Friday March 6 - The Swamp Gospel with The All Togethers at the Huntridge Tavern
Friday March 6 - the Delta Bombers at Triple B with Big Sandy

Sunday Mar 15 - Anvil at Adrenaline Sports Bar

Sunday March 29 - Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band with the All Togethers and Ditch Diggers at the Beauty Bar

Thursday April 2 - the Delta Bombers at Viva Las Vegas

Sunday April 5 - the Sonics at Viva Las Vegas - Mardi Gras Ballroom

Friday April 10 - the Mapes and the Maxies - Atomic Liquors

Saturday April 11 - Haunted Garage, Time Crashers and tons more at the Artistic Armory

Saturday April 25 - the All Togethers at the Mormon Fort - 6:00pm

What have I forgotten? Lemme know!

recommended gigs

Thursday Jan 22 - Thee Swank Bastards with the Suicide Sirens - Brooklyn Bowl

Friday Jan 23 - the Unwieldies with Part Time Criminals and Sara Patterson at the Hard Hat
Friday Jan 23 - the New Waves at the Double Down

Saturday Jan 24 - the Delta Bombers at the Beauty Bar

Sunday Jan 25 - the Royal Hounds with Jeff Mix and the Biltmore Boys at the Beauty Bar

Wednesday Jan 28 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Thursday Jan 29 - the All Togethers at Velveteen Rabbit
Thursday Jan 29 - Doug C and the Blacklisted, Eddie Bear and the Cubs, Yosemite Slam at Triple B

Friday Jan 30 - the All Togethers at Boulder Dam Brewing

Saturday Jan 31 - the All Togethers with Whiskey Breath and Jackson Taylor at the Beauty Bar
Saturday Jan 31 - Jinxy Bear w/Hunter Beard and much more at Triple B
Saturday Jan 31 - the Delta Bombers, Whiskey Breath and Stagnetti's Cock at the Pioneer Saloon
Saturday Jan 31 - 3d6 with Lambs to Lion, GC&FB and Not For Sale at the Hard Hat

Wednesday Feb 4 - The Gentlemen of Four Outs at the Double Down

Thursday Feb 5 - the Blasters and the Yawpers at Triple B with the Delta Bombers and Eddie Bear and the Cubs

Friday Feb 6 - the Delta Bombers at Triple B
Friday Feb 6 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Bunkhouse
Friday Feb 6 - 3d6 at the Artistic Armory with lots more
Friday Feb 6 - The Toasters with the Scoundrels, Frank and Deans, Mustard Plug and Tiki Bandits at the Dive Bar

Saturday Feb 7 - the Swamp Gospel and Thee Swank Bastards at the Hard Hat

Saturday Feb 7 - the All Togethers at the Container Park
Saturday Feb 7 - Bow Wow Wow, Midnight Clover, Unwieldies, Water Landing - Adrenanline Sports Bar

Tuesday Feb 10 - Water Landing and Teach me Equals at Artifice

Friday Feb 13 - the Super Zeros at the Hard Hat
Friday Feb 13 - Paper Tigers, Silversage , Bravo Delta, Beau Hodges Band , Strange Mistress at House of Blues

Saturday Feb 14 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Tues Feb 17 - Piratefest at LV Country Saloon with the Time Crashers, Alestorm, Dreadcrew of Oddwood, Firewater Folklore, Caliban and the Witch

Friday Feb 20 - the All Togethers at Willow Creek Assisted Living

Wednesday Feb 25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Thursday Feb 26 - the All Togethers at Eye Candy Lounge at Mandalay Bay

Friday March 6 - The Swamp Gospel with The All Togethers at the Huntridge Tavern
Friday March 6 - the Delta Bombers at Triple B with Big Sandy

Sunday Mar 15 - Anvil at Adrenaline Sports Bar

Sunday March 29 - Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band with the All Togethers and Ditch Diggers at the Beauty Bar

Thursday April 2 - the Delta Bombers at Viva Las Vegas

Sunday April 5 - the Sonics at Viva Las Vegas - Mardi Gras Ballroom

Saturday April 11 - Haunted Garage, Time Crashers and tons more at the Artistic Armory

What have I forgotten? Lemme know!

Jimmy Rogers - Chicago Bound

Jimmy Rogers is best known as one of Muddy Waters' trusty guitar sidemen, though he also had own solo career, encouraged by the great Muddy, who played on many of Rogers' tracks. I already reviewed a Best Of his here, and there are some overlap with these two releases, of course, but this is well worth owning, as well.

I love Rogers' voice and guitar stylings, whether on his own or working with Waters and here he is also assisted by the genius of Little Walter, along with other Chicago stalwarts Otis Spann, Willie Dixon, Fred Below, Big Crawford, Elgin Evans and more. Everything here is high-quality Chicago blues, in the style of Muddy but with Rogers' personal touches, of course.

Everyone is top notch and damn, just hearing Little Walters' work is worth the price of admission by itself - listen to him blow on "Act Like You Love Me"! For some variety, there's some great piano/sax workouts in "Back Door Friend", doubled vocals on "Last Time", jumpin' jive in "Sloppy Drunk", hits like "That's All Right", the swingin' title cut and the great closer "Walking By Myself".

Another fantastic example of the best of Chicago blues by some of the best players in that city.

R. Crumb and His Cheap Suit Serenaders - Chasin' Rainbows

R. Crumb's love for the music of the 20's and thereabouts is well known to any fan of the artist, but I did not own any of his recordings until I got this great CD for Xmas (thanks honey!). Here Crumb (banjo/vocals) and his Serenaders (Allan Dodge - mandolin, violin, ukulele, vocals; Robert Armstrong - guitar, accordion, banjo, saw, vocals; Terry Zwigoff - cello) recreate these sounds with precision, talent and fluidity as well as humor and plenty of fun.

While the vocals are more energetic and enthusiastic than truly "good", the styling does fit the genre to good effect. I was not familiar with any of the songs previous to hearing this record, but everything here is fine stuff. Opening with the "Hail Hail the Gang's All Here" pep of "Alabama Jubilee" that has some nice slide guitar that continues into "Chasin' Rainbows" which also includes a terrific saw solo. An original that seems to have something to do with Crumb, "Fine Artiste Blues", is a peppy, fiddle howdown, followed by their "Hula Medley" that, naturally, features ukulele and slide guitar and "I Want a Little Girl" that includes a guest musician on bells! "Persian Rug" has some cool mid-eastern sounds mixed with the Serenaders' standard tones, with accordion, mandolin and saw giving it a taste of the exotic and then they create haunting cartoon music with "Mysterious Mose". There's an old-fashioned Rudy Vallee blues in "Crying My Blues Away", another peppy "The Gang's All Here" type tune in "She Lived Down By the Firehouse", semi-circus sounds in the instrumental "Diane", a bouncey "Make My Cot Where the Cot-Cot-Cotton Grows" and an appropriately titled finale "Moana March".

If you dig old-time sounds, then this is certainly one to get. Great material and great playing!

Kyle Gass Band / The Fremonts - The Bunkhouse Saturday Jan 17, 2014

I've been a fan of the inanely goofy Tenancious D since i first found out about them via their debut album (yes, I wasn't cool enough to see them in LA before then - I do remember laughing at their silly name when seeing it in the LA Weekly) but have never seen them live, but seeing that TD's Kyle Gass was playing revived local hangout, the Bunkhouse, for an early show, we decided to see what he was doing on his own. Unfortunately, it was early enough that we missed Big Like Texas due to Saturday errands, but got there in time for Kyle.

The Kyle Gass Band features Kyle, in all of his Ten D slovenliness - singing, playing acoustic guitar and r'n'r recorder - along with two electric lead guitarists - both looking like 70's trucker/lumberjacks - a very normal-looking (but quite talented bassist) and a young, clean-cut drummer. The group opened with Thin Lizzy's "Jailbreak" in all of its twin-guitar glory, giving a taste of what the set was to bring - tongue-in-cheek, 70's rock'n'roll played with lots of attitude and talent - everyone was top-of-the-line players and singers - plenty of 4 and 5 part harmonies, too. This was my first return to the Bunkhouse since it re-opened and I gotta say, the sound was pretty damn fine here.

It wasa bit odd to me that Kyle deferred a majority of the lead singing to the other members, especially the guitarist on our side of the stage (sorry - I didn't catch anyone's name - though it didn't help that Kyle would make obscure - to me - jokes about who they were, calling them by other musician's (?) names). He is a terrific vocalist, though, so it wasn't a problem, just surprising.

Quite a number of panties flew on stage during their set, as well - and Kyle would alternately wear them on his head, put them in his mouth or shoot them back into the audience. The drummer came out front to sing a Jackson 5/Michael Jackson medley (with the lead guitarist/singer taking his place on drums) and then Kyle sang Sugarloaf's "Green Eyed Lady" to the women in the crowd while walking among them, before returning to the stage for a guitar/recorder duel.

The guitarists donned druid robes for the final song of the set - a big production number - and then the encores were a mix of a number of songs, from "Walk on the Wild Side" to "I Wanna Kiss You All Over" to "Reeling in the Years" to Boston's "Rock'n'Roll Band" to a finale of "Vehicle"! Quite a show!

After the conclusion of the early show, the Bunkhouse hosted the Chicken Shack, this time featuring live music from The Fremonts, another one of Rob Ruckus' groups. This act is a mix of surf, 60's, country, Tom Waits and whatever else they feel like throwing in, with a preponderance of originals, though I believe that I recognized Tex Williams' "Smoke Smoke Smoke That Cigarette". All of the numbers were pretty slow-to-mid tempo, but each member is a strong player and kept it all entertaining. Unfortunately, their lead guitarist is moving, so this may be the last show of their career.

The Bunkhouse seems to be highlighting touring bands rather than local acts, overall, but this night was a good mix of both, so hope to see more of this type of show here.

RIP Kim Fowley

Kim Fowley, Legendary Record Producer, Dead at 75
 ---

recommended gigs

Thursday Jan 15 - the Astaires with Same Sex Mary and more at the Bunkhouse

Friday Jan 16 - Swamp Pussy at Babe's Gentlemen's Club
Friday Jan 16 - the All Togethers at the Beauty Bar
Friday Jan 16 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Saturday Jan 17 - the Delta Bombers at the Beauty Bar
Saturday Jan 17 - Kyle Gass Band (Kyle from Tenancious D) and Big Like Texas at the Bunkhouse
Saturday Jan 17 - The Fremonts at the Chicken Shack (10:00PM) at the Bunkhouse
Saturday Jan 17 - The Pluralses and Frank and Deans at the House of Blues

Sunday Jan 18 - the Psyatics at the Double Down

Wednesday Jan 21 - the All Togethers at the Griffin

Thursday Jan 22 - Thee Swank Bastards with the Suicide Sirens - Brooklyn Bowl

Friday Jan 23 - the Unwieldies with Part Time Criminals and Sara Patterson at the Hard Hat
Friday Jan 23 - the New Waves at the Double Down

Saturday Jan 24 - the Delta Bombers at the Beauty Bar

Sunday Jan 25 - the Royal Hounds with Jeff Mix and the Biltmore Boys at the Beauty Bar

Wednesday Jan 28 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Thursday Jan 29 - the All Togethers at Velveteen Rabbit
Thursday Jan 29 - Doug C and the Blacklisted, Eddie Bear and the Cubs, Yosemite Slam at Triple B

Friday Jan 30 - the All Togethers at Boulder Dam Brewing

Saturday Jan 31 - the All Togethers with Whiskey Breath and Jackson Taylor at the Beauty Bar
Saturday Jan 31 - Jinxy Bear w/Hunter Beard and much more at Triple B
Saturday Jan 31 - the Delta Bombers, Whiskey Breath and Stagnetti's Cock at the Pioneer Saloon
Saturday Jan 31 - 3d6 with Lambs to Lion, GC&FB and Not For Sale at the Hard Hat

Wednesday Feb 4 - The Gentlemen of Four Outs at the Double Down

Thursday Feb 5 - the Blasters and the Yawpers at Triple B with the Delta Bombers and Eddie Bear and the Cubs

Friday Feb 6 - the Delta Bombers at Triple B
Friday Feb 6 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Bunkhouse
Friday Feb 6 - 3d6 at the Artistic Armory with lots more
Friday Feb 6 - The Toasters with the Scoundrels, Frank and Deans, Mustard Plug and Tiki Bandits at the Dive Bar

Saturday Feb 7 - the Swamp Gospel and Thee Swank Bastards at the Hard Hat

Saturday Feb 7 - the All Togethers at the Container Park
Saturday Feb 7 - Bow Wow Wow, Midnight Clover, Unwieldies, Water Landing - Adrenanline Sports Bar

Tuesday Feb 10 - Water Landing and Teach me Equals at Artifice

Friday Feb 13 - the Super Zeros at the Hard Hat
Friday Feb 13 - Paper Tigers, Silversage , Bravo Delta, Beau Hodges Band , Strange Mistress at House of Blues

Saturday Feb 14 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Tues Feb 17 - Piratefest at LV Country Saloon with the Time Crashers, Alestorm, Dreadcrew of Oddwood, Firewater Folklore, Caliban and the Witch

Friday Feb 20 - the All Togethers at Willow Creek Assisted Living

Wednesday Feb 25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Thursday Feb 26 - the All Totgethers at Eye Candy Lounge at Mandalay Bay

Friday March 6 - the Delta Bombers at Triple B

Sunday Mar 15 - Anvil at Adrenaline Sports Bar

Sunday March 29 - Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band with the All Togethers and Ditch Diggers at the Beauty Bar

Thursday April 2 - the Delta Bombers at Viva Las Vegas

Sunday April 5 - the Sonics at Viva Las Vegas - Mardi Gras Ballroom

Saturday April 11 - Haunted Garage, Time Crashers and tons more at the Artistic Armory

What have I forgotten? Lemme know!

Salvation on Sand Mountain – Snake Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia By Dennis Covington

While this is not actually a music book, as the lead prophet in the Swamp Gospel, I am fascinated by the snake-handling, strychnine-drinking, talking-in-tongues religious folks and this book is a first-hand account of a man who became intimately involved in one such church (Church of Jesus Christ With Signs Following). And, of course, much of modern r'n'r came from similar, southern backgrounds.

Covington is a Southerner and a (very good) writer and his connection to this particular snake-handling church initiated when he decided to write a news story on the preacher’s attempted murder of his wife. The wife’s account of the crime shows the man to be vile and disgusting, violent and at least a little crazy. But, what else would you expect from a leader of a snake-handling cult?

Dennis is a religious man, and he had experiences with wild'n'sweaty preachers in his youth (but not the talking-in-tongues, strychnine-drinking, serpent-handling variety) and he grew up catching snakes of all varieties as pets, so his immersion in this culture is not quite as strange as if he were, say, a city-dwelling Catholic.

Still, the journey is an odd one, to say the least, and Covington becomes close with many handlers and, in fact, becomes one himself. In his epilogue he even says that he left out parts, such as his talking in tongues and strychnine drinking, which is a shame, as he describes many of his other experiences in great detail, though he felt that those events were more spiritual than evidential.

The writing is descriptive, the characters are fascinating and the story draws you in immediately, and, although he goes off on a couple of tangents that are not as compelling as the story itself, the book is strong all the way through. Well worth it as an intimate look into a world that many have no experience with in any way.

The Pirates - Out of Their Skulls

Johnny Kidd and the Pirates were, of course, the 60's band responsible for the huge hit "Shakin' All Over", and the group, especially the guitarist Mick Green, were incredibly influential on the early British r'n'b/r'n'r bands - the Who being an obvious example and Led Zep being another.

The group initially broke up after Kidd's untimely death, but the backing band - Green, Johnny Spence (bass, lead vocals), Frank Farley (drums) - reformed in the mid-70's, in time to latch onto the emerging pub rock and then punk rock scenes, making a name for themsevles yet again with their fantastic, stripped down sound.

Green was always known for making a big sound with just his single Telecaster and he continues to amaze here. Of course, the rhythm section makes quite an impression themselves, but Green's combination of rhythm and leads - sometimes simultaneously - makes the Pirates sound.

This was the first reunion LP and side one is a live show from the Nashville Rooms in April of '77 and is comprised mostly of reworkings of their old material, including "Please Don't Touch" (a number that Motorhead & Girlschool did together, giving it punk/metal cred, as if it needed it), "I Can Tell", "Peter Gunn" (when Farley's mic went out), a ferocious "Lonesome Train" (so good it gave me chills), their calling card number "Shakin' All Over" before ending with a frenzied and frenetic "Milk Cow Blues". Besides being a unbelievably powerful instrumental unit, Spence's voice, while a bit gruffer than Kidd's, fits right in and sounds terrific.

Side two is comprised of studio recordings, though this all sounds pretty damn live-in-the-studio to me, with everyone working together and Green absolutely on top of his game. "Drinkin' Wine Spo'De'O'D", gives Mick a couple of chances to show his stuff while Farley & Spence rock behind him. A take-off on "Walkin' the Dog" is "Do the Dog", a little less crazed, but solid and "Gibson Martin Fender" is a fine, fast-paced rocker. I assume that "Don't Munchen It" is about touring Germany, and it has a cool, chunky chord riff, though I could do without the overly effected guitar solo - kinda unnecessary for a talent like Green. A neat mixture of country and blues comes together for the mid-paced "That's the Way You Are" - well-written, interesting chord progressions and melodies. Of course, they can't quit on anything less than a fierce pounder, so "You Don't Own Me" comes out fighting, as one of their best, showing that they still have the spark needed to keep rockin'.

Great, great, rock'n'roll album! Glad that the punk scene gave some talent like this a new lease on life as people looked back to early, raw r'n'r for their influential touchstones.

The Count Bishops

The Count Bishops were, along with Eddie and the Hot Rods and Dr. Feelgood, standard bearers for

rhythm'n'blues in the punk world, and giving the genre a bit of punk energy, as well.

This self-titled debut, the first release ever for Chiswick, opens with a fierce, raw take on the Kinks' "I Need You" followed by their "Stay Free" that has an Eddie and the Hot Rods first-album-feel, with a smokin' groove, movin' bass line and some nice pop hooks. Willie Dixon's "Down in the Bottom" is an r'n'b masterpiece, here highlighting its somewhat off-kilter rhythms with the two guitars (Johnny Guitar and Zenon de Fleur) alternating the classic riff and some slick slide work. Bassist Steve Lewins' "Talk To You" could easily be a Slim Harpo outtake with its bluesy licks, though given a boost in the r'n'r rhythm and biting leads. They get a bit more authentic with "Shake Your Moneymaker" and classic slide guitar tones, though with a frantic beat that builds in intensity and must have brought the house down in live settings. The guitars really bring "Down the Road Apiece" to life, out Keith Richard-ing Keef in the Stones version, though Jools Holland's piano is a great addition, as well. Drummer Paul Balbi swings the meter here with Lewins giving some flowing bass lines and singer Dave Tice owning the tune.

They turn much poppier for "Baby You're Wrong" - damn near a power-pop classic and a big change of pace from the r'n'b leanings of side one. Nice, garagey solo here, though. They go back to their roots for the rhythm'n'swing of "Don't Start Crying Now" and mix the melodies and rock in "Someone's Got My Number". The Standells' "Good Guys Don't Wear White" is fairly straight-forward then they get kinda coarse'n'crude in "You're In My Way", with a kinda early Flamin' Groovie feel and some damn fine lead guitar playing. The guitars sound cool'n'old-fashioned in "Taste and Try", a stellar, swingin' groove of a tune with some more excellent guitar work that closes out the album in a danceable way.

This is a solid piece of work - gonna have to dust this one off more often!

Live Cream - Volume II

After watching the Ginger Baker documentary last night I felt like pulling out some Cream and what better way to really appreciate Ginger's madness than in a live setting?

"Deserted Cities of the Heart" is one of their most rockin', fast paced numbers and here all three go a little crazy, flailing away in wild abandon and still making it all work. Of course, "White Room" is a classic and the live treatment changes things enough to add plenty of interest to this already terrific tune. The monstrous riff-rocker "Politician" is again expanded a bit, but no power is lost here. Another one of their best known songs, "Tales of Brave Ulysses" is given the raw, heavy treatment here and becomes much more of a rocker and less of a psych song than on the studio take.

Flip over the vinyl and you get their smash hit, "Sunshine of Your Love", also lengthened and with everything overdriven to the max, things even get a bit outta tune, but no one cares as they all go their own ways, but still lock in, especially as they come together for the explosive choruses. They even jam out on the last note far beyond any reason or sanity and well past any expected conclusion - longer than some group's full songs - until they finally call it quits. Freddy King's instrumental "Hideaway" is, of course, a platform for Eric to wail'n'riff, but Jack and Ginger get their licks in around him, as well, and they do work as one - not simply jamming but cueing each other for starts'n'stops and playing off of each other and truly exploring dynamics.

This is not a record for those who only like short'n'simple punk rock tunes, but if you're interested in hearing three master musicians - the cream of the crop - work together and stretch out their sonic boundaries, this is a goodie.

Crawlspace - In the Gospel Zone

OK, I've decided to fuck off tonight and listen to vinyl instead of doing chores and lo and behold, I discover a Crawlspace LP I forgot that I had.This is an early version of the group with Eddie Flowers on vocals (natch), guitarists going by the names of Ven Bede and Doctor Butcher, along with Billy Ray, with Lenny from the Creamers on bass and Alien Rock on drums (several of which were members of the Lazy Cowgirls under aliases).

The LP opens with the fantastic "Devil Talks in Tongues" - a powerhouse song so damn catchy that even the Gizmos have taken to covering it! Following in the scriptural lyrics, next up is "Could You Walk On the Water" (actually a rejected Rolling Stones album title), here starting as a mid-tempo, melodic rocker that builds in intensity until it is a mass of ravin' rantin'. Guitars crash'n'slash in "Doomsday Xmas Bonfire" while Eddie is ready to "burn the churches to the ground" on Xmas. There some cool slide work augmenting the 70's punk of "Call Me By My Dream Name" and "One of Them" continues in the same musical vein and even similar imagery, though written by Dr. Butcher and not Eddie this time. The guys slow things down a little for the stompin', marchin' beat in "Deadly Moves" and then start to really move into the madness with "Devil in My Room", with more pounding drums backing Ven. Bede's crazed slide psychosis, giving it an acid-drenched trance-like groove.

Flip over the marbled vinyl and we get some power-noise in "Aeroplane", which, after the screeching opening, is almost a hard-rocker, except for the incessant guitars fighting for supremacy over the wild screaming/singing of Eddie and Billy Ray. I am not overly familiar with Can, whose "Little Star of Bethlehem" appears next, so can't compare it to the original here, but this is certainly not out of place with Crawlspace at the helm, with a cool groove and plenty of guitar noise (and Eddie eventually admitting "I don't know the words" and surrendering to some sweet guitar cacophony and glossolalla). This morphs into a jam titled "My Christ" and gives us even more caterwauling bedlam that continues until the vinyl runs out!

It's been way too long since I've pulled this out but this is a fine piece of turbulent clamor'n'roll, with tons of squawk'n'venom and some exceptional lyrics. Search it out - it is available online if nowhere else.

Beware of Mr. Baker

Opening with Ginger smashing a friend on the nose with a cane and then Johnny Rotten giving a tribute and then a writer talking about Baker's home and adventures in South Africa and then his discovery of Max Roach, you know right away that this is going to be an unusual story for a rock biography.

Ginger says that he always wanted to be a drummer and so he did - simple as that! Early on, British jazz drummer and personal hero, Phil Seaman, turned him onto smack, but the birth of his daughter convinced him that he should straighten up, though he says it took him 19 years to do so! Ginger angers quickly and threatens the interviewer more than once, showing his famous temper.

One of his first "known" bands, the Graham Bond Organization was with Jack Bruce, which started a long legacy between the two - though Baker initiated a fight with him, pulled a knife and fired him. He then formed Cream with Eric Clapton, who asked for Bruce as the bassist, against Baker's wishes, though he obviously acquiesces, for the greater good and for rock history.

(BTW, there's some great animation throughout the film for parts that they want to dramatize without using actors - really effective and creative and the caricatures of Baker are spot on.)

After Cream broke up due to conflicting egos, Blind Faith was next and was supposed to be Eric and Stevie Winwood's baby but Baker basically crashed the party, which seems to have helped with the quick demise of the group. This is followed by Ginger Baker's Air Force - a big band named after the junkie section (because they were "high") of a jazz band, and that was groovy and experimental, but not very commercial and was very costly for Ginger.

A lot happens throughout his story, including drum contests between him and great jazz drummers, in the hopes of being considered a jazz man himself. I think he proved himself to the people that were important to him, though I don't remember even hearing about these, so I don't know if the public perception of him as Cream's rock drummer ever changed.

He ends up going to Africa to explore the rhythms there that Phil Seaman turned him onto but eventually has to come back to England to try to work, but plays polo, goes bankrupt, leaves wife #1 for an 18 year old who he marries. He ends up back on junk, heads to LA, can't get work, marries wife #3, a California girl, and joins Masters of Reality. He doesn't care for the reception that he received in that band, quits, starts a jazz band, quits again and moves to Africa where wife #4 is a beautiful black woman with two kids. He is seemingly too ill to play drums any longer but then he defies all odds, sells everything and goes out on the road again!

The ups and downs are numerous but he and his story are never boring - even if he is not all that likable, overall. This should give you a new perspective on the man and his playing, though.

New York Dolls - Dolls Live Dallas '74

This is another unauthorized release that sounds like a standard 70's bootleg - not nearly as good

quality as the previous listing, but this is still listenable, although muddy.

Opening with "Pills", they group is rockin' things up in fine form, although the response is almost non-existent from the Texas crowd. There is an overly long pause - where sit-in bassist Peter Jordan plays a few runs - before they burst into a pretty fierce "Frankenstein", with hearty'n'ballsy guitars leading the way. David goes on a long, ramblin' monologue and then there's the supremely appropriate blues-rock of "Lone Star Queen". Their pacing is terrible here, unfortunately, with big breaks after each tune - giving the audience a chance to call for the opening (?) band - though it gives Johansen a chance to see how he can deal with a hostile crowd - which the band does by throwing out another power-blues with Sonny Boy Williamson's "Don't Start Me Talkin'". There's an edit and then a smokin' "Looking For a Kiss" - thankfully, even though the overall sound is a bit muffled, Thunders really stands out here in all his trashy glory.

Side two opens with some canned NYC street sounds, like the Heartbreakers did on their live record, and they come out blazin' with the "Courageous Cat Theme" morphing into "Personality Crisis" - a great one-two punch! Thunders' shrieking feedback is fabulous on "Vietnamese Baby", while the whole band is top notch - love the twin guitar lead breaks! Gathering their momentum, they move right into a fantastic "Bad Girl" and then the Shangri-La's "Great Big Kiss" (also done by Thunders on So Alone). There's a great, shambolic ending that closes the record, as well - fairly abruptly.

While the sound is iffy and the audience unappreciative, this record does show the power of the Dolls before their demise. Again, only for fans, but it has it's worthwhile moments.

New York Dolls - Red Patent Leather

I am always surprised by the bands that I have not written about on this blog - to the point that I sometimes wonder if the search function on Blogger works properly - but there are always more bands and I know that sometimes I have purposely avoided records that are too obvious - like the two Dolls studio albums. This one is slightly odder.

Recorded on May 2, 1975, this show was part of their Malcolm McClaren stage, with the band all dressed up in the title material while they performed in front of a hammer and sickle backdrop. The sound quality isn't bad for a 70's bootleg and there are some pretty darn good tunes here - several that would show up on different members' solo albums.

The title track open the record with some standard Dolls-y (re: Stones-y) swagger and nice harp work from Johansen. This and the following tune, "On Fire", were co-written by Johansen and Sylvain and have the Sylvain pop-edge, as opposed to the trashy rock on Thunders compositions - Syl is obviously the one playing the hooks here. Thunders is, in fact, fairly buried - his solo break is almost inaudible, but was probably pretty hip, combined with the licks that SS does. Drummer Nolan is solid as ever and he introduces their take on Eddie Cochran's "Something Else" - a tune that McClaren would later have Sid Vicious cover for Rock'n'Roll Swindle. This is a good one, but not super special - they don't make it their own as they did with other covers in the past. Thunders did a terrific "Daddy Rolling Stone" on his So Alone record and this one is almost as good - they are coming into their own by this time. Later to become a centerpiece of David's first solo LP, "Girls" is a cool 70's rocker co-written by Sylvain, who takes a trashy lead - the later studio version is crisper and cleaner, of course, and a bit faster, but this is still fun stuff. They do rock it up for "Ain't Got No Home"/"Dizzy Miss Lizzy" with Johnny singing and David on harp and they truly sound like they're having a good time here.

Sylvain takes up the electric piano for "Down, Down Downtown" (later simply "Downtown" in Thunders' hands), giving it a much bluesier feel than the So Alone take, with Johnny adding some nice licks - though, again, he's too buried and the piano is high in the mix. "Pirate Love" (later a Heartbreakers' song) has more piano on it, which is kinda cool, except that it almost overwhelms the entire tune. Funnily enough, one of the few songs in this set that actually appeared on a record of theirs is their cover of Bo Diddley's "Pills", which is a fun, high-energy romp before another Sylvain number, "Teenage News", which he would later put on his solo wax venture. The festivities come to a rousing climax with a medley of "Personality Crisis" and "Looking For a Kiss".

This is a good one for fans who are always looking for more than the two measly studio albums we were given in the 70's. Find it!

recommended gigs

Friday Jan 9 - Time Crashers, Super Zeroes, Dead Words at the Double Down
Friday Jan 9 - the Unwieldies at the Dillinger
Friday Jan 9 - Whiskey Breath at Whiskey Dick's

Saturday Jan 10, 2015 - the Psyatics and the Lucky Cheats with the Dictators NYC at LV Country Saloon
Saturday Jan 10 - Crazy Chief, Dime Runner, the Darlings at the Dive Bar
Saturday Jan 10 - Whiskey Breath at Adrenaline Sports Bar

Sunday Jan 11 - Alan Six, Eliza Battle and Ditch Diggers at the Bunkhouse

Thursday Jan 15 - the Astaires with Same Sex Mary and more at the Bunkhouse

Friday Jan 16 - Swamp Pussy at Babe's Gentlemen's Club
Friday Jan 16 - the All Togethers at the Beauty Bar
Friday Jan 16 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Saturday Jan 17 - the Delta Bombers at the Beauty Bar
Saturday Jan 17 - Kyle Gass Band (Kyle from Tenancious D) and Big Like Texas at the Bunkhouse
Saturday Jan 17 - The Fremonts at the Chicken Shack (10:00PM) at the Bunkhouse
Saturday Jan 17 - The Pluralses and Frank and Deans at the House of Blues

Wednesday Jan 21 - the All Togethers at the Griffin

Thursday Jan 22 - Thee Swank Bastards - Brooklyn Bowl

Friday Jan 23 - the Unwieldies with Part Time Criminals and Sara Patterson at the Hard Hat

Saturday Jan 24 - the Delta Bombers at the Beauty Bar

Wednesday Jan 28 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Thursday Jan 29 - the All Togethers at Velveteen Rabbit
Thursday Jan 29 - Doug C and the Blacklisted, Eddie Bear and the Cubs, Yosemite Slam at Triple B

Friday Jan 30 - the All Togethers at Boulder Dam Brewing

Saturday Jan 31 - the All Togethers with Whiskey Breath and Jackson Taylor at the Beauty Bar
Saturday Jan 31 - Jinxy Bear w/Hunter Beard and much more at Triple B

Thursday Feb 5 - the Blasters and the Yawpers at Triple B with the Delta Bombers and Eddie Bear and the Cubs

Friday Feb 6 - the Delta Bombers at Triple B
Friday Feb 6 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Bunkhouse
Friday Feb 6 - 3d6 at the Artistic Armory with lots more

Saturday Feb 7 - the Swamp Gospel and Thee Swank Bastards at the Hard Hat

Saturday Feb 7 - the All Togethers at the Container Park
Saturday Feb 7 - Bow Wow Wow, Midnight Clover, Unwieldies, Water Landing - Adrenanline Sports Bar

Friday Feb 13 - the Super Zeros at the Hard Hat
Friday Feb 13 - Paper Tigers, Silversage , Bravo Delta, Beau Hodges Band , Strange Mistress at House of Blues

Saturday Feb 14 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Tues Feb 17 - Piratefest at LV Country Saloon with the Time Crashers, Alestorm, Dreadcrew of Oddwood, Firewater Folklore, Caliban and the Witch

Friday Feb 20 - the All Togethers at Willow Creek Assisted Living

Wednesday Feb 25 - Thee Swank Bastards at the Double Down

Thursday Feb 26 - the All Totgethers at Eye Candy Lounge at Mandalay Bay

Friday March 6 - the Delta Bombers at Triple B

Sunday Mar 15 - Anvil at Adrenaline Sports Bar

Sunday March 29 - Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band with the All Togethers and Ditch Diggers at the Beauty Bar

Thursday April 2 - the Delta Bombers at Viva Las Vegas

Sunday April 5 - the Sonics at Viva Las Vegas - Mardi Gras Ballroom

Saturday April 11 - Haunted Garage, Time Crashers and tons more at the Artistic Armory

What have I forgotten? Lemme know!

Alice Cooper - Old School (1964-1974)

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a HUGE Alice Cooper Group fan - I love all of the records (well, maybe not Muscle of Love, which already has extra personnel, though I may need to revisit that) and have been knocked out by their live show since I first saw them on the first In Concert TV show. Unfortunately, I was never able to see the band live, much to my eternal regret. This compilation, though, is an incredible treasure trove of live takes, demos, ads and interviews, many of which were never heard before - at least, legitimately.

The first two CDs of this 4 CD set consists of the afore-mentioned demos, live cuts and ads - all extremely cool, though, naturally, of varying degrees of sound quality. Disc one opens with a track from the Spiders, "No Price Tag", though no other Spiders or Nazz tracks - presumably since they were released on the Life & Crimes of Alice Cooper box set. Demos include "Nobody Likes Me" (think that was only on a flexi previously), an early version of "Swing Low Sweet Cheerio" titled "On a Train Trip", "Reflected", "I'm Eighteen", "Be My Lover", "Killer", "Halo of Flies" and an embryonic "Desperado" called "Tornado Warning". Lots of terrific live stuff, as well, like a slower "Fields of Regret" that has some ferocious fuzz guitar, feedback and terrific leads from Glenn Buxton, "18" done quieter and slower, but building with intensity and more smokin' Buxton guitar, and "Mr. and Misdemeanor" with different instruments and lyrics, along with plenty more.

Disc two has a live jam on "School's Out", and truly fun "Kids' Session" for the same song (Alice is great with the kids), pre-production cuts of "Looney Tunes" and "My Stars", a great demo of "School's Out", an extended live "Under My Wheels" with Alice being lewd with the young girls, a bunch of Muscle of Love demos, some cool radio ads and a live "Muscle Of Love" from, I believe, their last show ever as a band.

Truthfully, I haven't listened to the interview disc yet, though I'm sure it is entertaining, but disc four is a complete (apparently) live show from 1971 from the Killer tour. A cool, very rockin' intro starts off a wild'n'heavy "Be My Lover", followed by one of my faves, "You Drive Me Nervous", with Glenn in stellar form - with some help from Michael Bruce - along with a fantastic "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah". They take a short breath before blasting into "I'm Eighteen", another powerful take with a somewhat extended ending, which leads into "Halo of Flies", showing off what a terrific two-guitar team Buxton and Bruce were, not to mention the amazing rhythm section of Dennis Dunaway and Neal Smith - both extraordinary players who still worked together to make an amazing rock'n'roll unit. "Is It My Body" is raw'n'rough and is expanded with a sultry, slithery, build-up ending that I've always loved from earlier bootlegs - in fact, the Tommyknockers used to do this version 20-some years ago - and this at least as good as anything I've seen/heard before - in fact, the quality on this whole show is pretty exceptional. Dunaway introduces "Dead Babies" which transitions into "Killer" with some live antics and drama, which, of course, culminates with Alice's hanging. They come back harder than ever with "Long Way To Go" before ending the proceedings with "Under My Wheels". This set is so exceptionally good that I wonder if there was some studio tweeking cuz even with a couple mishaps, this is some spectacular playing all around (and I've heard some shakey bootlegs)! Regardless, it's great!

This is a set for fans, for sure, but what a set - every fan should own it! And anyone else needs to pick up the first five studio albums ASAP, cuz you need those in your collection! Terrific!

The Delmore Brothers - Truth is Stranger Than Publicity - Alton Delmore

The Delmore Brothers were a country/bluegrass/blues duo popular in the 30's and 40's, in the vein of the Stanley Brothers, Louvin Brother, Monroe Brothers, etc. They were a hit act on the Grand Ole Opry and made a large number of recordings throughout the years and wrote songs for many other artists, as well. This autobiography of older brother, Alton, gives the reader an idea of what the industry was like in the formative years of the "hillbilly" genre.

Alton is not a great writer, although he did pen articles for magazines through his life, and this manuscript was unfinished by the time of his death - with 20+ years still to go when he left off. The editor, Charles Wolfe, gives us an overview of these years, based on Alton's outlines and other sources, including his son. Alton's stories are very home-spun and use (now) outdated colloquialisms and some clumsy sentence structures (something that I can identify with!) but he always gets his thoughts across and gives a lot of insight to the machinations of show business back in the day - from the types of places the bands would play to the way that bookings were secured to the work on radio stations to record contracts. There were lots of innocents taken advantage of (as there always are), and these Brothers are included in that sorry lot.

But Alton always shows his love for their music and lets us know a bit more about how they worked as well as their influence in the country/bluegrass/hillbilly genre. The read can be a bit difficult at times, but the story is worth it.

recommended gigs

Friday Jan 2 - the All Togethers at the Dive Bar

Saturday Jan 3 - the Time Crashers comic + EP release show with 3d6, Under 15 Seconds, Safewerd and more at the Artistic Armory
Saturday Jan 3 - the All Togethers at Dillingers
Saturday Jan 3 - the Astaires at the Beauty Bar with Chain and the Gang

Sunday Jan 4 - Midnight Clover at the Bunkhouse

Monday Jan 5 - Laissez Fairs at Boomers
Monday Jan 5 - Live Blues every Monday at the German-American Social Club of Nevada

Friday Jan 9 - Time Crashers, Super Zeroes, Dead Words at the Double Down
Friday Jan 9 - the Unwieldies at the Dillinger

Saturday Jan 10, 2015 - the Psyatics and the Lucky Cheats with the Dictators NYC at LV Country Saloon
Saturday Jan 10 - Crazy Chief, Dime Runner, the Darlings at the Dive Bar

Sunday Jan 11 - Alan Six, Eliza Battle and Ditch Diggers at the Bunkhouse

Friday Jan 16 - Swamp Pussy at Babe's Gentlemen's Club
Friday Jan 16 - the All Togethers at the Beauty Bar

Wednesday Jan 21 - the All Togethers at the Griffin

Friday Jan 23 - the Unwieldies with Part Time Criminals and Sara Patterson at the Hard Hat

Thursday Jan 29 - the All Togethers at Velveteen Rabbit
Thursday Jan 29 - Doug C and the Blacklisted, Eddie Bear and the Cubs, Yosemite Slam at Triple B

Friday Jan 30 - the All Togethers at Boulder Dam Brewing

Saturday Jan 31 - the All Togethers with Whiskey Breath and Jackson Taylor at the Beauty Bar
Saturday Jan 31 - Jinxy Bear w/Hunter Beard and much more at Triple B

Thursday Feb 5 - the Blasters and the Yawpers at Triple B

Saturday Feb 7 - the All Togethers at the Container Park
Saturday Feb 7 - Bow Wow Wow, Midnight Clover, Unwieldies, Water Landing - Adrenanline Sports Bar

Friday Feb 13 - the Super Zeros at the Hard Hat

Sunday Mar 15 - Anvil at Adrenaline Sports Bar

Sunday March 29 - Rev. Peyton's Big Damn Band with the All Togethers and Ditch Diggers at the Beauty Bar

Sunday April 5 - the Sonics at Viva Las Vegas - Mardi Gras Ballroom

Saturday April 11 - Haunted Garage, Time Crashers and tons more at the Artistic Armory

What have I forgotten? Lemme know!

2014

What a wild'n'crazy year! Lots of bad, lots of good and lots of insanity - here's a completely incomplete look back.

Best Live Gigs:

HopelessJack and the Handsome Devil – Dive Bar Feb 28 w/Fuzz Solow, Eddie Bear and Whiskey Breath

Nina Coyoteand Chico Tornado at the Huntridge Tavern Fri April 25

Rosalyns Dive Bar 5-21-14

JuniorBrown/Lucky Cheats 9-18-14 Triple B

Hexers – Café Bourbon, Columbus Ohio Halloween

Favorite Gigs played:

The Gizmos reunion at the Bishop, Bloomington In, 6-12-14 w/the Cowboys, Apache Dropout and Deezen

The Swamp Gospel with the Sonics at the Hard Rock on the Strip 8-14-14

The Swamp Gospel/Gentlemen of Four Outs/All Togethers – Double Down 12-20-14

The Gizmos at Gonerfest 11, Memphis

The Gizmos – Cleveland 11-1-14 – Cleveland Public Theater WCSB Halloween Masquerade Ball

Fave bands:

Chicken Snake (New Orleans)

ApacheDropout (Bloomington)

Deezen (Indianapolis)

Fave local bands:

Lucky Cheats

Eddie Bearand the Cubs

Psyatics

AllTogethers

Unwieldies

Fave Records that I got this year:
John Lee Hooker - Jack O'Diamonds
Hank Williams - the Ultimate Collection
Hopeless Jack and the Handsome Devil - two CDs
Mississippi Fred McDowell - Come and Found You Gone

Rosalyns - Hide and Seek EP
Nevermores - Now More than Never

Taken this year:
Pete Seeger

Phil Everly

Scott Asheton

Gary Burger (Monks)

Marty Thau

Dick Wagner

Johnny Winter

Tommy Ramone

Jack Bruce

Joe Cocker

Ian McLagan

Bobby Keys

I'm sure I'm forgetting important stuff, but that's life! Looking forward to LOTS more music in 2015!