L-R: Ralph Mooney and Wynn Stewart, West Coast Playboys, late 1950s
Ralph Mooney died last Sunday and calling him a pedal steel pioneer seems woefully inadequate. He was the crucial link between Bakersfield country and Texas outlaw country, the two most significant reactions to the Nashville Sound between 1955-80. Think about this. Moon played for Wynn Stewart at Wynn's peak (1950s-'60s), played for Waylon Jennings at Waylon's peak (1970-80s), and in between helped Buck Owens and Merle Haggard reinvent country music. And though he wasn't really known as a songwriter, he co-authored "Crazy Arms" with Chuck Seals in 1956, all but creating the Texas shuffle. In the "Less is More" Hall of Fame there's a statue of Ralph Mooney ... or, there would be, but the statue is pretty much implied. Why show off?
"I guess I did the best I could. Had lots of fun, inventing licks and stuff. Me and Roy Nichols, between shows, we would stay up there and learn new licks, share licks, and steal licks. We worked together a long time. He was the greatest. He was supposed to record the Corn Pickin' and Slick Slidin' album with me, but he got sick. Ken Nelson got (James) Burton to do it and it turned out pretty good. We had lot of fun, me and Burton. We'd go over to his house every night and figure up four songs for the next day. It was a lot easier that way. We did twelve, I think. It was a relaxed session." --Ralph Mooney, 2003
The only album featuring a marquee Moon, Corn Pickin' and Slick Slidin' is an astute pairing because Burton and Mooney followed similar career paths. They were important sidemen for a pair of well-known artists (Burton with Ricky Nelson and Elvis) and both of their stints sandwiched unheralded, badass session work. Unique among those sessions was this album, recorded in November 1967, and released in 1968. God only knows how great this album would've been with Roy Nichols, but James Burton is a helluva backup plan.
Burton kills it on guitar and dobro with monster riff after monster riff, but Moon effortlessly holds his own. He had a wonderful sense of rhythm, floating on top of the beat one moment, subtly pulling against it the next, and always with a zen-like sense of economy. But really, Ralph Mooney's genius was that until he came along no one sounded like him, and then after he came along everyone sounded like him, or at least knew his licks. He used the steel to invent his own language and it immediately become a fundamental part of the country music vocabulary ... and God bless him for that. RIP Moon.
March 17, 2011 2115 Allred Rd Austin, TX, 78748 3:00-midnight No cover
Sam's Town Point in Austin launched SXSTP ... get it??? ... 3-4 years ago as an alternative to SXSW. And while that is certainly true, Sam's is an alternative to pretty much everything, including reality. I've written about Sam's before (both here and here) and trust me, the legends probably understate STP's many charms.
Wally Grossman bills his establishment as"the friendliest little bar in Texas," but that's not entirely accurate. Really, it's the friendliest little bar in a gateway portal between south Austin and a parallel universe featuring bounty hunters and space wizards. Don't believe me? The picture below was taken at last year's SXSTP.
photo: John "Ducktaper" Smith
Thursday's slate of bands introduces a geographical bipolarity that's also become a SXSTP tradition. All of the bands playing on Thursday night are either from Austin or somewhere in the Deep South. Basically, it's Southeast x Southwest x STP. This makes sense considering that the bill was put together by Alabama native, but current San Marcos resident, Joey Thompson of The Archibalds.
It's worth noting that Joey put together this bill under the stern visage of Ramsay Midwood, taskmaster to the stars. If you're wandering around Austin during SXSW and see a man who appears to be both homeless and a transvestite, it's probably Leslie. However, if he's wearing an eyepatch and carrying what appears to be a musket, that's definitely Ramsay.
A brief description of each band follows, but first the unofficial Sam's Town Point theme song as played by Ramsay Midwood (lead vocals/guitar), Joey Thompson (bass), and Randy Weeks (guitar/backup vocals).
I like my women just a little on the trashy side When they wear their clothes too tight and their hair is dyed Too much lipstick, too much rouge Gets me excited, leaves me feeling confused And I like my women just a little on the trashy side. --Chris Wall, "Trashy Side"
Longtime friend of the Lounge, Randy Reynolds (aka Leatherbag), brings Chuck Prophet snarl and New York Dolls choruses to this track from 2010's Hey Day album [buy]. Not to be selfish, but I'd like to request more of this sound, please.
5:00 Brother Machine Austin, TX
I haven't actually heard these guys, but this is Seth Gibbs' side project to The Archibalds. In the 'Balds he plays bass, but he can play like a dozen instruments, so don't be surprised if you get trombone riffs at STP. Check out BM's MySpace page and I think you'll agree that "The Right Side" has more hooks than a tackle box.
I don't know what's more impressive, the fact that the group seems to have written their own "Take Me To The Speedway" (Dexateens anthem) or that Steve Albini recorded their Days Of Echo EP [buy], the recent release that concludes with "Crown Vic." I love this song, with its coiled tension, angry build, and stinging guitar. Here's hoping the Brohannons use this as a sonic template in the future.
Duquette is the architect of the GC Killers, but the star of this demo is Janet Simpson, who taps into that sultry Chrissie Hynde thing ... or maybe Lucinda Williams, except Janet can actually sing. HAY-OOOO!!! Live ammo here, folks. When I saw Gum Creek at Wigginstock, I remember thinking they kinda had a Basement Tapes/New Morning vibe, albeit with a male/female dynamic.
This is how Joey described "Sorry For Your Loss" in an email a couple years ago:
"'Sorry For Your Loss' is the title of a 'sculpture' piece, a Confederate battle flag Kleenex box cover, by my good friend Justin Crosby, known in the art world as Jerstin Crosby (pictured right). We both have big Alabama/Southern chips on our shoulders. You know, we can critique it til' the cows come home, but no dang outsiders better touch it. The song grew out of my love for this funny and poignant piece of art and personal mixed feelings about the South I was clumsily trying to express."
Walking across the battlefield Through the land that never healed In my veins was that Old South pollution The sons and daughters of the wrong revolution
They got suckered in by some sugary myth of a lost time Now it's bumper to bumper and they're waving their flag over the baptized
9:00 - Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires Birmingham, AL
I don't have any Glory Fires, so my LBIII offering comes from his previous band, Arkadelphia. And by previous, I mean, aside from the Dexateens. It's kind of classically southern rock, but it helps that it does, in fact, rock your face off with bad intentions. Big guitars, big drums, a funky, swinging pocket (the secret key to most southern music worth a damn), and a pileup of riffs and swagger. Frankly, I'll be shocked if Bains doesn't win the STP crowd over. You don't get to be named one of Birmingham's most beautiful people and not know a thing or two about audience control.
10:00 - Vulture Whale Birmingham, AL
At this point, some of you may be saying to yourself that you already saw Vulture Whale and Glossary on Tuesday and what about your badge or wristband? So, what about it? Did you come all the way to Austin just to eat one taco??? Think about it. Do I have to mention the alternate universe part again?
I'm not even remotely objective when I say this is some of the greatest songwriting I've ever heard. While it's obviously a rock song, Joey Kneiser's subject matter is far closer in spirit to country music, it being literally rooted in southern soil. As we saw earlier with The Archibalds, the wedding of identity and place is a distinctively southern characteristic.
Songwriters write about Los Angeles invariably to disparage it. However, southern songwriters writing about the south generally have more complicated emotions. Whatever the critique, there's an abiding sense of loyalty to not just family, but geography as well. Make no mistake, "Little Caney" is as southern as sweet tea ("corn in our bread"), but I like that it doesn't openly advertise that fact. It takes a little work for the images to sink in and I think that's its genius.
The image of Caney crying in the graveyard while being comforted by his/her daddy ... and the child's gender ambiguity adds to the song, really ... is pantheonic. Dad is comforting Caney not by denying death, but by embracing it as part of life. "We all got to die someday." If anything, death represents the continuity of familial tradition, a reunion without the "hurt that living brings." So much soul, indeed. Wherever you are, pour out a little for your dead homiez.
Hold my hand and walk the ground softly We don't want to wake the dead Just want a little corn in our bread and settle down Come on Little Caney you know the sun is sinking now And we got to make it on out to where your branches lay
Marked by stones and covered by wildflowers Is family you've never known Rotten old clothes lying in boxes of bones I wish you could've been there when they all had souls So much soul
Don't get lost in the tall, tall grass That's grown as high as you I can see the graveyard peeking through the trees And the scattered monuments of your kin Reunited in the dirt Only absent the hurt that living brings
Marked by stones and covered by wildflowers Is family you've never known Rotten old clothes lying in boxes of bones I wish you could've been there when they all had souls So much soul
Looky here Little Caney, honey, don't you cry 'Cause you know we all going to die someday And the hand of another you'll be holding tight When you walk out to the site where I lay
Marked by stones and covered by wildflowers Is family you've never known Rotten old clothes lying in boxes of bones I wish you could've been there when they all had souls So much soul Where did it go?
Hole In The Wall Pre-SXSW Fiesta Tuesday, March 15, 2011 2538 Guadalupe St. Austin, TX, 78705 8:00-close No cover
If you're in Austin this week you're gonna smell a lot of smoke. Some from cigarettes and pot, plenty from BBQ, and a shit-ton from hipster d-nozzles blowin' smoke up your ass about their favorite crappy buzz band. Granted, there'll be hidden gems galore. That's how SXSW works. However, with champeenship rock 'n' roll out of vogue these days, a handful of those gems will be hidden in plain sight on Tuesday at the Hole In The Wall, one of Austin's diviest, rockinest bars. And woe be to you if you choose to miss it. Let's take a look at the principals, with my best approximation of set times and sample songs included.
8:00 Bremen Riot (Mike Nicolai fronting Grand Champeen)
DO NOT FUCKING MISS THIS SET!!!!
Grand Champeen has pretty much been my favorite rock band since first hearing them in 2001 and Mike Nicolai (pictured right) is a lyrical genius who serves as the Bremen Riot's frontman. Back in the day (early-to-mid 2000s), I saw Mike play a half-dozen solo gigs where the room kinda swallowed him up. However, a curious thing happened after first hooking up with Champeen in 2003. Maybe it was the luxury of having Austin's best band backing him up, but the combo brought out his inner David Lee Roth. I haven't had a chance to hear the new tunes they've worked up, but I can't imagine it being anything less than badass. Seriously, don't miss this set or you will forever be hipster sploosh.
Haven't heard these guys, but they're from Minneapolis (like Nicolai) and have drawn comparisons to Ryan Adams, Wilco, and Van Morrison (because the lead dude is from Ireland). So there ya go. 9:00 Militant Babies*
Militant Babies are an Austin band who didn't play out all that much, even in their mid-'00s prime. Their sound is angular, kind of in the spirit of the Minutemen, and when his fires are properly stoked, Geoff Lasch is a treat to watch play guitar. Besides, any band who'd write a song in honor of longtime St. Louis Cardinals southpaw, Al "The Mad Hungarian" Hrabosky, has my vote.
The Lick are a Milwaukee punk band whose heyday was the late '80s and early '90s. Co-founder Dan Franke moved to Austin in 2005 and apparently convinced his old homeboys to come down to Austin for some merrymaking. This should be the point of the evening where the cheap Lone Star pitchers start taking effect.
* FYI, I've seen lineups with Militant Babies playing first and others with Mighty Deerlick first. I guess you'll find out when you get there. 10:00 Li'l Cap'n Travis
The Cap'n (pictured right) is a longtime Adios Lounge fave who bring their lazy, hazy pop harmonies to the Hole. I said of them in August 2009 (and see no reason to change this opinion), "In an odd way, they remind me of a pop-friendly Neil Young with The Stray Gators, especially in their wobbly harmonies and keening steel sound. However, instead of being fueled by heroin, tequila, and wailing dissonance, the Cap'n vibe is more Brill Building, Brian Wilson, and 'Hey bro, pass me a fish taco.'"
These Birmingham, Alabamians blew me away after hearing the first notes on their buzzsaw 2009 album, Vulture Whale. For the record, this is different from their other self-titled album, released in 2007. I expect them to bring swaggering rock, with hints of nuevo wavo, culminating in the mighty "Land It." When this epic set-closer goes down, if you aren't bro-hugging your homiez and downing tequila shots, you're doing it wrong.
It's been a few years since Grand Champeen was bringing the rock on a regular basis, but if you think this show will be a paint-by-numbers affair, then you don't know the 'Peen. I'm seriously bummed I can't be in Austin for this set alone. You scientists with your "teleportation devices" and "collapsing wormholes" disappoint me. But, if you buy the band some shots and say they're from LD, then it'll be like I'm front and center where I should be. I give you the "Adios Lounge Rock Your Face Off Guarantee" and Glossary, who's set to close, better bring their A game. Otherwise, this show could end in fisticuffs and police activity ... and that's just the women!
My love for Champeen aside, Glossary has really come into their own as rock 'n' roll heavyweights and they deserve to close this gig. Feral Fire was one of the best albums of 2010, The Better Angels Of Our Nature was one of the best albums of 2007, and oh by the way, Joey Kneiser's solo dealio, The All-Night Bedroom Revival, was quietly one of the best releases of both 2009 and 2010. Glossary is legit. There'll be times you're reminded of Thin Lizzy, other times of Neil Young, and if you're not in love with Kelly Kneiser by the end of their set ... and this holds true for men and women ... your only excuse is that you're passed out in the bathroom in a puddle of your own shame. For a week that is really and truly rock 'n' roll boot camp, this show will be an early test of your mettle. Your heavy mettle, that is. Word.
Bob Forrest Documentary Premiere Date: Sunday, March 13 Time: 5:30pm - 8:30pm Location: Alamo Drafthouse Cinema - South Lamar 1120 South Lamar St, Austin, 78701 Director: Keirda Bahruth
If you're in Austin this Sunday, either for the Film Fest or on deck for rock 'n' roll boot camp, you need to get your ass to the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar. Bob And The Monster is making its official premiere at 5:30, after which Bob Forrest and filmmaker Keirda Bahruth take in a little Q&A.
I haven't seen the movie, so I'm jealous of anyone with the opportunity to go. Bob was my first musical hero who was someone I could actually talk to. He was charismatic, hilarious, a total pain in the ass, an occasional prima donna, almost always in great voice ... basically the perfect frontman.
One thing about Bob's songwriting that always impressed me was his self-awareness. This is actually the hook in "Walk On Water. "What an asshole I must be, think I can walk on water." He knows he's being an asshole, but he's being compared to John Doe and Paul Westerberg. Writers and label suits wouldn't say that if it weren't true, would they? Uh yeaaah, about that.
Shaker Films Synopsis
Six years in the making, this documentary film follows outspoken indie-rock hero Bob Forrest, through his life-threatening struggle with addiction, to his transformation into one of the most influential and controversial drug counselors in the US today. Bob And The Monster crafts contemporary footage, animation and compelling interviews with archival performances and personal videos from Bob's past to reveal the complex layers of this troubled, but hopeful soul. Testimony from his peers, including Courtney Love, Anthony Kiedis and Flea add texture, but it's the depth of Bob's music, interwoven throughout the film, that illuminates this unforgettable and inspirational story.
"One of the things Bob (Wills) used to say was 'get it,' which meant to come on as strong as you could. Junior Barnard had the ability to turn it on and keep it there. He had an aggressive, hard-swinging style that was like rock 'n' roll for its time. Junior was a great guitarist." --Jimmy Wyble, Texas Playboys guitarist
"Ugly! YEAH!!!" --Bob Wills
Bob Wills was the king of western swing from the late 1930s through the late '40s, and was still a decent draw into the early '50s. However, his creative and commercial peak was the immediate postwar era and during that fertile period, Bob's Epiphonic minister of lowdown and dirty was the guitarist born Lester Robert Bernard. Bob occasionally called him "Fat Boy," but most people just called him Junior.
Hard to believe this was recorded in 1946. Outside of Sister Rosetta Tharpe and maybe Bob Dunn (Milton Brown's Musical Brownies) on steel, guitarists didn't typically gouge out huge chunks of gnarled lead guitar. Texas Playboys guitarists Eldon Shamblin and Jimmy Wyble were uniquely gifted, but more or less extended Charlie Christian's ideas, offering solos with CC's clean fluidity and horn-like phrasing. Barnard was different. You can hear that he liked bop, but he mixed it with a dirty blues feel that anticipates Chuck BerryandCarl Perkins, and his liberal use of distortion and "ugly" chord voicings cuts a beeline straight to the guitar heroes of the late '60s.
Tell me this isn't rock 'n' roll, a full decade before that term gained a cultural foothold. The song opens with Barnard and Tiny Moore (on electric mandolin) riffing in harmony, a twin lead style that Wills invented in 1945-46 when he couldn't afford a horn section. So, he used Shamblin, Barnard, Wyble, Moore, and whoever was playing steel (usually Noel Boggs or Herb Remington) as his horn section. This innovation bore fruit 25 years later when Duane Allman and Dickey Betts (pictured above) made twin guitar leads a signature sound of the Allman Brothers Band, both men openly acknowledging the Bob Wills influence.
The intro gives way to a staccato piano/guitar trade off that sounds suspiciously like it escaped from "Great Balls Of Fire," despite the fact Jerry Lee Lewis wouldn't record the song for another 11 years. Barnard then takes off on a solo that again sounds like Chuck Berry was paying close attention. All this in a mere :42.
Tommy Duncan (pictured left singing with Bob) totally nails it when he calls Junior's licks "coal mine choruses" because they're "low down and dirty." Amen brother. And they're dirty in a way that suggests Hubert Sumlin and Ike Turner, not just rockabillies like Scotty Moore and Perkins. This is the genius of Junior Barnard. His appeal transcends genre, race, and taste.
Listening to this song, I'm reminded of what Buddy McPeters wrote in the Sept 1983 issue of Guitar Player: "Junior was a go-for-broke soloist whose incredible technique featured startling runs, rapid hammer-ons and pull-offs, and even contrapuntal lines. Barnard was such an exciting soloist because he rarely played things safe. If he would get lost during a chorus, Bob would tease him by saying, 'Junior's pony throwed him. You're meeting yourself comin' back.'"
Here's the only existing footage of Barnard playing with Bob Wills, at least to my knowledge. He throws down the raunch from 1:05-1:20, a chunky microcosm of the JB sound. And yes, I apologize in advance for the annoyingly loud logo splash at the end of the video.
Sadly, the Junior Barnard story ends in tragedy. On April 15, 1951, while scouting for places to play in Riverdale, California (south Fresno County), Barnard and his brother-in-law, Billie Earl Fitzgerald were killed in an automobile accident when their car collided with six members of the Cal Poly (San Luis Obispo) track team. Fitzgerald died instantly and Barnard died five hours later at Fresno County Hospital. He was 30 years old.
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About The Adios Lounge
The Adios Lounge began in April 2008 when an old-school record collector came to terms with these new-school webs and tubes. The blog name comes from a Thelonious Monster song. If you don't know who that is, stick around and you'll find out. Some other faves include Sam Cooke, Clarence White, Grand Champeen, Superchunk, Doug Sahm, Uncle Tupelo, Funkadelic, Minutemen, Roger Miller, and Richard Pryor. But hey, enough of my yakkin'. Whaddaya say? Let's boogie.
Contact Me
Please direct any questions, complaints, offers of valuable cash prizes, and critical plaudits to Lance Davis at: pantsfucious@gmail.com.
The only album featuring a marquee Moon, Corn Pickin' and Slick Slidin' is an astute pairing because Burton and Mooney followed similar career paths. They were important sidemen for a pair of well-known artists (Burton with Ricky Nelson and Elvis) and both of their stints sandwiched unheralded, badass session work. Unique among those sessions was this album, recorded in November 1967, and released in 1968. God only knows how great this album would've been with Roy Nichols, but James Burton is a helluva backup plan.
