Clarence White: Lover Of The Bayou ... and other notorious brethren

Byrds - Lover Of The Bayou (1970) [purchase]

The live LP kicks off promisingly with one of the Gene Tryp numbers, "Lover Of The Bayou." This foreboding tale of a voodoo houngan man is swamp-mojo braggadocio in the great tradition of Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love." The music is threatening, and tense, like the rant of its witch-doctor narrator.
--Byrdwatcher on (Untitled)

It's been awhile since I tackled the Clarence White catalog, so let's dive back in with the song that turned me into a Clarence fan. I first heard "Lover" in 1994 when a friend bought a used copy of Untitled. At the time I was a very casual Byrds fan. I had the requisite Sweetheart Of The Rodeo LP, which I loved, and the Greatest Hits, Vol. 2, a hit-and-miss affair that I bought mainly because it had "Drug Store Truck Drivin' Man." I grew up in Southern California in the '70s and was inundated with the classic Byrds jingle-jangle and soft harmonies. I thought I knew all I really wanted to know about The Byrds. Wrong.

Within :20 of the needle dropping on Untitled, it was clear that 'soft' and 'jingle-jangle' were being touched inappropriately by hell-raising rock fury. Panned hard left, Clarence White announced his presence with an Eddie Hazel-esque wall of superfuzz. Nowhere in my synapses was I prepared for the heavy sludge being heaped upon me. And singing about the Lousiana bayou? Who did The Byrds think they were ... Creedence?!?!?! And it wasn't just White. Bassist Skip Battin was pistol-whipping his way through the low end, with drummer Gene Parsons locked right in, busy, but funky. Roger McGuinn, a guy I'd considered the rock 'n' roll equivalent of a turtleneck sweater, sang about cooking a bat in a gumbo pan and drinking blood from a rusty can ... and pulled it off! His voice was a raspy snarl, like he'd recently taken up smoking Camel non-filters, and his 12-string sound was equally surly. Inexplicably, everything worked.

It was Clarence, though, who pushed "Lover" into Vesuvian territory. His coiled intensity perfectly evoked the song's sinister mojo and, if anything, he underplays throughout. Battin and Parsons are moving around way more than CW. The B-Bender and distortion pedal ... variously described as a Fender Blender, Gibson Maestro, Valley Arts fuzz box, and Mosrite Fuzzrite ... were used to expert effect, but it was Clarence's safecracker's touch that made the difference. Tone ultimately comes from the fingers, not gear, and like all great guitarists, Clarence's fierce tone on "Lover" displayed brain-fingertip coordination not available to lesser players. I love his searing entry into the solo (1:25), but my favorite part is from 2:57 to the final gun, when it sounds like he and Gene are riffing off each other. What could've been a good, moody setpiece was elevated into one of the band's last outright classics. Needless to say, my journey with The Byrds was just beginning. Thank you, Clarence White.

GENE TRYP

"It's contemporary, like country-rock oriented. It's got hard rock; it's got country. They're going to do rear projection films and slides and tapes -- mixed media. (It's a) McLuhanistic musical idea with a pit orchestra -- cause you have to have that, the union says you have to have 26 pieces at least but we want that anyway. We have a cat who's going to orchestrate the whole score. I just wrote the tunes and he's going to put it to fiddles and celli and so on.
--Roger McGuinn discussing Gene Tryp in 1970 interview with Vincent Flanders [read full interview]

I'll discuss this more during my proper overview of Untitled, but I'll mention now that "Lover" was composed for the Broadway musical, Gene Tryp. Co-written with Jacques Levy ... later to be Dylan's foil on Desire ... Tryp was an unwieldy behemoth that never saw the light of day. But, McGuinn wasn't about to let these songs go to waste, so several ended up on Untitled. According to Flanders' interview, "Lover" was set in the bayou "where Gene Tryp, the main character, was selling guns to the Confederates and rum to the slaves. The slaves find out about it and Big Cat sings this song to Tryp to scare him." Put that in your gris-gris bag and smoke it.

IT WAS NOT LOST ON ME

Jayhawks - Waiting For The Sun (1992) [purchase]

One of the underlying factors in my sudden re-evaluation of The Byrds was my appreciation for The Jayhawks (pictured below). I got turned onto their 1992 album, Hollywood Town Hall, after seeing "Waiting For The Sun" on 120 Minutes. This was way back when MTV included 'M' as an essential part of their programming. Anyway, "Waiting" was manna from country-rock heaven. Great vocal harmonies, crunchy guitar sound, Nicky Hopkins on piano (there he is again), it should've been played to death on classic rock radio, what with it being, you know, both classic and rock.

What struck me on the day of my Untitled deflowering was how much "Lover Of The Bayou" sounded like a menacing precursor to "Waiting For The Sun." Given The Jayhawks' obvious appreciation for The Byrds, I realized the connection between the two songs went beyond their common Am-G-F chord progression. It was a passing of the bird band torch, if you will. You can probably extrapolate further and say that The Jayhawks picked up where both the late-period Byrds and early-period Eagles left off. Of course, inspiration goes both ways. "Lover" has the same chord structure as "All Along The Watchtower," with the live released version drawing on Hendrix's righteous cover, and the studio outtake featuring prominent harmonica like the Dylan original. Thus, in SAT form: The Byrds are to The Jayhawks as Bob Dylan is to The Byrds.

While Louris' phenomenal guitar playing probably owes more to Jimmy Page than it does to Clarence, the White influence is apparent in his use of string bends and tremolo bar to achieve steely textures. I think this is heard to brilliant effect in the ascending runs from 2:46-2:53, the deep bend at 3:05, and throughout the final half-minute. Like Clarence's playing on "Lover," it's not virtuosic, just a wondrous, gnarled guitar tone that makes the denizens of The Adios Lounge giddy like little schoolgirls.

ON ... KEEP MOVIN' ON

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Mary Jane's Last Dance (1993) [purchase]

As it turns out, there was a subplot to the subplot in the form of Tom Petty (pictured right with Mike Campbell). Petty, of course, owes a huge debt to The Byrds and perhaps a small, though significant debt to The Jayhawks. Or it could be coincidence. Either way, in late 1993, Petty released his gajillion-selling Greatest Hits CD, which included the new track, "Mary Jane's Last Dance." I think this album was given to all incoming college freshmen, delivery drivers, and any white person visiting 7/11 between November 1993-February 1995 because that shit was everywhere.

"Mary Jane" was the first single, the hit-in-waiting, and a pretty good song. But, from the first few notes, it sounded pretty clearly to me like a certain someone was ripping off a certain "Waiting For The Sun." Sure, the Byrds and Jayhawks (and Dylan) go Am-G-F, while Petty jukes us with the Am-G-D and a Dark Side Of The Moon chorus, but come on. It's not like I'm Manson with the White Album mad libs here. The song's main riff? Work with me here.

Before you think the peyote has finally driven me loco, please note that there is a connection between The Jayhawks and Tom Petty circa 1993. Rick Rubin. The Jayhawks were on Rubin's label, Def American, and he also happened to produce "Mary Jane's Last Dance." I'm pretty sure that if anyone were in a position to turn Tom Petty onto The Jayhawks, it would be Rubin. Perhaps not coincidentally, The Jayhawks toured with Tom Petty in 1995 and the results ... well, they were not good. The band typically played a perfunctory 45-minute set for an arena full of empty seats, after which Gary Louris (pictured above) would gather the group in the dressing room for their nightly cry. By the end of the year, Mark Olson was an ex-Jayhawk and Louris and Co. headed into more pop/less country waters.

Interestingly, since I began work on this post, news has arrived via carrier pigeon that The Jayhawks are reuniting for a series of summer shows. So, chin up Olson/Louris fans. Help is on the way.

MUDCRUTCH

Mudcrutch - Lover Of The Bayou (2008) [purchase]

I'm actually gonna let Tom Petty have the last word. While he may have lifted inspiration from The Jayhawks, guess what? That's how music works. Everyone's listening to everyone else and there all ripping each other off. Sometimes you get a hit, sometimes you get into massive debt and your band sweats out life in dive bars (most likely) or concert halls (it could be worse). Hell, Petty himself went through that racket with his first band, Mudcrutch. Luckily for him, success with The Heartbreakers allowed for the totally cool moment to arrive where he reconvened his former band for a one-off album and mini-tour in 2007-08. And wouldn't you know it? The Notorious Crutch Brothers were kind enough to bring us full circle by covering the band that done started this whole thing off. According to Petty, Mudcrutch used to cover "Lover Of The Bayou" when they first started. So, they decided to cover it again.

Here's the video, which as far as I'm concerned is Mike Campbell's show. You wanna talk about an all-timer guitarist who has totally absorbed Clarence White's style into his own playing, Campbell is the man. Tastefully badass, profoundly underrated, and in all likelihood sucked and weaned on chicken bile. Mike Campbell, this post is for you!

Welcome To Paradise, Texas

Doug Sahm says chill out, have a beer, and visit 'Groover's Paradise'.

Hey, if you've been wondering where The Adios Lounge was, I've been on special undercover blog detail. About a week ago, a few of us vintage-minded rock 'n' roll types started a new music site called Groover's Paradise, in honor of our patron saint, Doug Sahm (pictured above displaying Pearl superpowers). The blog's conceit is simple: We post some of our favorite songs from the 20th century and write about them in 100 words or less, drive-by style. You'll hear Bakersfield country, swampy funk, layered pop, post-punk, classic R&B, and, of course, Sir Doug himself. Anything that has deep roots, a little swagger to it, and a whole lotta soul. Click any of these links and get yer groove on, yo.

Speaking of Sahm, the Austin Chronicle ran a sweet cover of Doug for their March 20th issue. Apparently, SXSW had a Doug Sahm panel discussion, a couple tribute shows, fancypants artwork posted in a makeshift gallery, and The Adios Lounge wasn't invited to any of it. Jerks. See if I invite SXSW to my house ever again.

"I ain't proud of nothin', but it's better that way."

Meanwhile, over at Star Maker Machine, I put the finishing touches on a tribute to Twin/Tone Records, the Kirby Puckett of '80s indie rock. In terms of influence, let alone outright badassery, suffice to say that Twin/Tone is to The Adios Lounge as oxygen is to breathing. Trust me, I made a flow chart and everything. So, as an addendum to my SMM post, here's a couple bonus Twin/Tone tracks that almost made the cut.

Replacements - Favorite Thing [purchase]

This song, if not the entire Let It Be album, has to be responsible for spawning at least 57,000 garage bands in the Midwest alone. Chris Mars' spastic drum rolls going into the "Fave thing!" climax is one of the greatest moments in the Mats catalog. And by Mats catalog I mean rock history.

Soul Asylum - Passing Sad Daydream [purchase]

"Daydream" was the epic conclusion to While You Were Out, and indicated that maybe Soul Asylum wasn't simply Hüsker Jr. after all. While I admit that the production on their Twin/Tone albums is a bit dated, we have to keep in mind that it was the 1980s. If ever a decade requires a grading curve, the '80s is it.

"Just hit me one more time with that live wire"

Finally, my buddy Duck and I were "researching" YouTube last night and we couldn't decide which video gave us more reason to keep on living.

Was it this band firing on all cylinders and making other rhythm sections sound small and insignificant?



Or was it this band giving up so much funk that lesser bands sound like barbershop quartets by comparison?



Elvis and Bruce Thomas rocking the geek chic is impressive, but Lowell George displays ungodly amounts of soul while wearing a sweater tied around his neck. All else being equal, anyone who can take us to the chicken shack while dressed for Wimbledon has my vote. But, just barely.

Are Inlaws Really Outlaws?

Sir Douglas Quintet - Are Inlaws Really Outlaws [purchase]

So, that's my father-in-law, Mark Gault, posing with some of his favorite toys for a Q&A that appeared in yesterday's New York Times. Yes, that New York Times. How cool is that??? Read fancypants NYT profile.

He and his wife, Laura, are SXSW's über-hosts for international bands. They have a gigantic house, pool, hot tub, tennis court, basketball hoop, and backyard stage and musicians from all over the world get to spend a week thanking God they're not eating a stale cheeseburger in a Motel 6. One time at band camp, indeed.

This year's lucky band is the Dirty Epics, an Irish quartet whose heavy pop sound should appeal to Pixies fans. In fact, on Tuesday at B.D. Riley's, they covered Thin Lizzy's "Jailbreak" and The Stooges' "Search And Destroy." Yeah, that doesn't suck. Good people, good music, good times.

Check out the Dirty Epics showcasing tonight (Saturday, March 21) at 10pm at Soho Lounge on 6th Street.

The Adios Lounge at SXSW

Well, sort of. I'll be introducing Plain Meanness on Friday night at Sam's Town Point. They're playing with The Archibalds, so that should be a fun, Adios Lounge-friendly event. Other than that, though, I'm just another SX attendee.

Here's the AL agenda for Thursday and Friday. Saturday's still up in the air, but I've listed the day parties and showcases that are on my radar. First choices listed first, second second, etc. Hope to see you out and about.

THURSDAY, MARCH 19
(click venue for Google Maps)

Hole In The Wall
Almost There Records unofficial showcase
Free; no wristband needed (you read that right, flapjack)

7pm: The Pons
8pm: Gleeson
9pm: Will Johnson (of Centro-matic & South San Gabriel fame)
10pm: John Paul Keith & The One Four Fives
11pm: Mandible
12am: Mike Nicolai (w/Grand Champeen)
1am: Grand Champeen

****************************

FRIDAY, MARCH 20
(click venue for Google Maps)

Sam's Town Point
South By Sam's Town - unaffiliated festival
Free; no wristband needed

9pm: The Archibalds
10pm: Holy Liars
11pm: Plain Meanness (w/Adios Lounge intro)
12am: The Spooley Show (Ramsay Midwood, Randy Weeks, Mike Nicolai)

****************************

SATURDAY, MARCH 21
(click venue for Google Maps)

4pm: Leatherbag (Blu Café)
5:20pm: Thermals (Waterloo Park)
7-10pm: Mandible and The Tinys (Sam's Town Point)

Sam's Town times are still approximations, but both bands will definitely play. The Tinys are almost more legend than band at this point. Featuring Claude Bernard of The Gourds on vocals and guitar (pictured right), The Tinys rock def jams about World War III, the greatness of Sea Island Shrimp House, and shaving your mama's ass. Yes, as a matter of fact, they are available for kid's parties.

10pm: Harlan T Bobo (Red 7); Ha Ha Tonka (Red Eyed Fly)
11pm: Dexter Romweber Duo (Red Eyed Fly)
12am: Wayne Kramer (Maggie Mae's Gibson Room); The High Strung (Room 710); Justin Townes Earle (Red Eyed Fly)
1am: Jack Oblivian & The Tearjerkers (Red 7); Waco Brothers (Red Eyed Fly)

Going toe-to-toe with the Dexateens

"The mental game is probably three, maybe even four halfs of the game altogether."

Classic. Be sure to tattoo the date 'May 12' on your forehead because that's when The Dexateens enter the ring with their new album Singlewide. Sources at Dex Sports assure me that the red dust not only rises with this record, it sucker punches you in the solar plexus and takes your girl out for drinks. Fair warning, friends.

To read more about Tuscaloosa, Alabama's pride and joy, check out my profile from last month. Also, be sure to visit Saints Don't Bother for a great Q&A with John Smith, rock 'n' roll's finest pound-for-pound song whisperer/guitar strangler.

"It's just that demon life has got me in its sway."

L to R: Charlie Watts, Mick the Taylor, Mick the Jagger, Keef, Bill Wyman

Rolling Stones - Sway
Released April 23, 1971 on Sticky Fingers [purchase vintage LP]

My reimmersion into The Rolling Stones' back catalog has again ignited my obsession with "Sway," my favorite Stones song. It's nearly perfect, even without much input from Keith Richards. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

• Memorable riff.
  


• Glorious build. Kicks off with Jagger's languid 1-2-3-4 count-in, punches you in the face with said riff, and then slowly builds up to a cacophonous rockgasm, featuring strings, piano, and ...
  


• Mick the Taylor's sublimely awesomeriffic guitar work, first on bottleneck slide, then at 2:38, when he unleashes the high-tech weaponry and riddles our ear canals with rock shrapnel. I could listen to this sucker for hours. If there is a flaw in this song, it's that it fades out just as I'm ready to cannonball from my roof into the pool. OK, maybe that's a good thing.
  


• Fat drum sound. Jimmy Miller gets Charlie's thwack all up in our grill, which is where drums should be. Watts plays deftly behind the beat throughout, offering explosive counterpoint during Mick the Taylor's outro solo.
  


• Fat bass sound. Miller's emphasis on the rhythm section brought out the best in the Stones, but was really tailor-made for Watts and Bill Wyman. Wyman's bass kicks it up a notch at :45 and he periodically reappears with the kickass Mike Watt-esque low-end.
  


• Mick the Jagger howling his way back into the song after Taylor's bottleneck solo, "HEY! HEY! HEY NOW!!!" His singing is great during the entire song, but here in particular ... damn.
  


• Mick & Keith's harmonies. Duh.
  


• Nicky Hopkins. Lest we forget the "Session Man" (nod to The Kinks, thankyouverymuch), Hopkins' usual palette of dexterous ivory-tinkling is replaced here with a stabbing, percussive attack that leaps into the mix at 3:00.
  


• Paul Buckmaster's brilliant string arrangements, which function like a harmonic anchor. They enter subtly at :53 ("For all my friends out on the burial ground") and seamlessly blend into the mix, holding things together as the song builds to its frenetic climax. If you're gonna use strings in rock 'n' roll, and you're not Curtis Mayfield or Willie Mitchell, this song is textbook. Strings should support, not overwhelm.

"Hey, did someone say overwhelm?"

Overwhelming Colorfast - Sway
Released late 1994 on the Sourdough EP [purchase for less than $3!]

As a bonus, here's one of my favorite bands of the mid-'90s offering up their take on "Sway." Sure, it's not as good as the Stones version, but there's no shame in that. What I like about the Overwhelming Colorfast cover is their refusal to copycat the Stones. Instead, they marshall their post-punk stacks in a manner not unlike Flip Your Wig-era Hüsker Dü, with a healthy dollop of Sabbath-flavored sludge. You should've heard them do this live, where Bob Reed's face-melting SG riffage managed to approach the grandeur of the original. Oh well, this studio cut will have to do. Get yer rock on.

Video From The Vault: Sweet Virginia

How good were The Rolling Stones at the time of this Fort Worth gig? Consider that in the 4 years between May 1968 and May 1972, the Stones issued 61 songs thusly:

• 4 albums with producer and funk shaman, Jimmy Miller: Beggar's Banquet (1968), Let It Bleed(1969), Sticky Fingers (1971), and Exile On Main Street (1972)
• 1 (mostly) live album with the band's longtime engineer, Glyn Johns: Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out (1970)
• 3 singles not on LPs: "Jumpin' Jack Flash" b/w "Child Of The Moon"; the cowbell version of "Honky Tonk Women" (1969)
• 1 memo from Turner: "Memo From Turner," Performance soundtrack (1970)
  

61 songs in 4 hours 17 minutes and maybe 10 of those minutes are less than exemplary. "Jigsaw Puzzle" is probably too long, Jagger mushmouths his way through "Memo", and a few of these tunes are so ubiquitous they've long since lost their power. But taken together, these 61 songs are rock's equivalent of the Harry Smith Anthology, a full clout reimagining of American blues, soul, funk, R&B, gospel, country, and pop. It's Jagger/Richards in their songwriting prime, the lockdown Wyman-Richards-Watts rhythm section taking it to the next level, Mick Taylor on Gibson SG, Bobby Keys on sax, Jim Price on trumpet, Nicky Hopkins in the studio, and Jimmy Miller deep in the mud. Got to scrape that shit right off your shoes.

13 Songs: 1989 Reconsidered

Star Maker Machine recently spent a week profiling songs from 1989. I failed to contribute, despite the fact I had a song picked out, and fought for the theme. What can I say? My jackasseritis flared up. In fact, 1989 had a profound impact on me. That was the year I started DJing at KCSC, Chico State's campus radio station (see flyer below), and discovered so much greatness in the vast American rock 'n' roll underground. It was like seeing in color for the first time. Music didn't suck, popular music sucked. Worst. Drum. Sound. Ever. My arch-nemesis, the synthesizer. Always with the synthesizer. And that horribly compressed production style best described as Footloosey. Lies, damnedable lies.

KCSC showed me that living, breathing, cursing, laughing, traveling 400 miles to a gig rock 'n' roll was alive and well and possibly drunk in localized niches throughout the country. Our band could be your life. The unheard music. I got it and lots of other people got it, in lots of other niches, like a web, or perhaps a net of interconnectedness. It was 1989, the calm before the swarm. Life was good.

Joq Blox: A week when DJs spent an hour featuring a single band. Pretty eclectic list of artists. Impressive. (Click to enlarge.)

Chico was an underrated hub in the west coast's network of punk rock venues and college towns. Bands from Seattle and Portland could play to a good crowd in Chico on a Thursday, and then go to the Bay Area and/or Los Angeles for the weekend. We were a much better option than Sacramento (Excremento, ugh), and a half-day's drive from the Bay Area. The Burro Room (aka Hey Juan's, aka Juanita's) was Chico's premier venue ... and by "premier" I mean a pair of conjoined dives. One side served decent Mexican food and cheap beer, the other side had music, and the whole building is in the pantheon with The Chukker and Sam's Town Point. The constant influx of touring bands helped nurture Chico's music scene into a kind of "Athens West," led by bands like 28th Day, Vomit Launch, and The Downsiders.

Read Chico Rock City: The News & Review's look at 30 years of Chico music, from 1977-2007. Good stuff, accessible even to outsiders.

What follows are the 13 songs that best sum up my 1989. Experiencing a lot of this music at the grassroots level obviously made an impact. These were acts I played on the radio and were among my favorites to see live. If the list seems overwhelmingly young, male, and guitar-driven, I plead guilty. That's how 1989 sounded when I was young, male, and guitar-driven. For the record, the list is unranked and I didn't limit myself to 10. I thought having the songs flow together was more important than the ranking, which could change by day's end. Also, 1989 was too good a year to have only 10 cuts, and this way I get to make a clever segue to my first band.

PS - Songs will be available for a limited time. Enjoy and feel free to post your own list.

13 SONGS: 1989 RECONSIDERED

Fugazi - Waiting Room [purchase]

Technically, this first appeared in 1988 on Fugazi's self-titled debut EP. However, I didn't hear it until the following year when 13 Songs was released. Consider it a transition piece between 1988 and '89. The opening sequence is like the Jaws theme, mainly due to Joe Lally's Hall of Fame bassline. Fugazi's first song remained a kind of template for the rest of their career: Lurching, undulating rhythms, intense dynamics, and feather-sledgehammer vocal parts (Ian MacKaye's hammer leading the way here). Fucking epic.

Fugazi wiki

Fugazi on Dischord

Fugazi videos

Public Enemy - Fight The Power [purchase]

The Bomb Squad at the height of their powers. Brutal, abrasive, and cacophonous, and yet swings with that hard, late '60s James Brown funk. Seriously, does any hip-hop act have a better 4-year peak than PE from 1988-92? Doubtful.

PE wiki

PE website

PE videos

Operation Ivy - Unity [purchase]

It might help to be 20 years old, but I still love this. One of the few bands to master the perilous ska-punk freefall zone.

Op Ivy wiki

Op Ivy discography

Op Ivy videos

Beastie Boys - Johnny Ryall [purchase]

Of all the albums released 20 years ago, Paul's Boutique stands tallest. It's a tour de force of sampling, song construction, pop culture deconstruction, rope-a-dope imagination, and having more rhymes than JD's got Salinger. And it couldn't even be made today because of legal mumbo v. jumbo. All I'm saying is, any album that has me considering the $130 "20th Anniversary Commemorative Package" has to be top shelf.

Paul's Boutique merch

Paul's Boutique Samples and References List

Beastie Boys videos

Maria McKee - Drinkin' In My Sunday Dress [purchase for 1 cent!]

This is the Maria I want cloned and kept in a vault. The Voice, plus her spirited appreciation for roots music from Hank Williams to X, is a potent combination. Unfortunately, the woman who could've been the punk rock Patsy Cline was knee deep into her Stevie Nicks phase in '89. Thankfully, "Sunday Dress" escaped the industry's lacey, twirling subterfuge. It pays stylistic homage to the heady early days of Lone Justice and looks ahead to 1993's outstanding You Gotta Sin To Get Saved album.

Maria McKee wiki

'Sunday Dress' at Fleadh, 1990: Maria rocking out at 2:30 is like circa '84 Lone Justice, an all-time what-might-have-been at their absolute best.

'Sunday Dress' on European TV, 1991: Wonky vid, flawed band execution, but still conveys the power of Maria when she has a good song to tear up.

Elvis Costello - Deep Dark Truthful Mirror [purchase]

"I had encountered the Dirty Dozen Brass Band a couple of years before (Spike), and it was the first attempt to use people--to use horns on a record in other than a quite typical R&B pop way. They were a jazz ensemble that came out of the marching band tradition."
--Elvis in Jazz Times

The Dirty Dozen backup is inspired as Elvis channels Van Morrison channeling Sam Moore (from Sam & Dave). A soulful gem from an underrated album. If Spike was 11-12 songs instead of 15, it might be a classic.

Elvis Costello wiki

Elvis Costello videos

Flat Duo Jets - My Life, My Love [purchase for $40!]

God bless the Flat Duo Jets. Fans of rockabilly, surf music, punk rock (both the music and DIY philosophy), '50s music, Sun Records, lo-fi recordings, and The Cramps ... the line forms to the right.

Flat Duo Jets wiki

1998 Interview with Dexter Romweber

Flat Duo Jets videos

Thelonious Monster - For My Lover [purchase two-fer CD] [purchase LP]

In Tracy Chapman's hands, "For My Lover" was a haunting, cryptic love song. Under the Monster's supervision, "Lover" becomes a junkie's lament like a stowaway from Neil Young's Tonight's The Night. Two weeks in jail, $20,000 bail, metaphorical mountain climbing, psychoanalysis, and the things you won't do for love ... I'm looking at you, dope. Bob Forrest and Mike Martt share vocal duties, Martt coming in at, "Everyday I'm psychoanalyzed."

Thelonious Monster on MySpace

Bob Forrest home page

Nirvana - School [purchase]

Great riff, great vocal, great song, great excuse for wanton destruction. Am I crazy or do I hear, "You're in high school again," "You're on acid again," and "You're an addict again"?

Nirvana wiki

Nirvana's 1989 tour dates

Nirvana videos

Pixies - Debaser [purchase]

The leadoff track from Doolittle, the album many consider their masterpiece. I like Steve Albini's dryer, more abrasive production on Surfer Rosa, but Doolittle is a classic and almost a self-contained Greatest Hits.

Pixies wiki

Pixies videos

fIREHOSE - Some Things [purchase]

Archetypal fIREHOSE. Everyone gets time to shine musically, but the various moving parts all support Ed Crawford's great anthem. Like many of Ed's best tunes, the song is heavily tinged with nostalgia, which gives many of his songs their country-ish (or country-rock-ish) feel.

I've been thinking recently about how the fIREHOSE legacy seems undervalued They were a great band, a step down from The Minutemen, sure, but who can't you say that about??? Flyin The Flannel is a desert island disc, Ragin' Full On and fROMOHIO are filled with great songs, and the Live Totem Pole EP is an out-of-left-field treat. Great band, a near-flawless catalog, and almost uniformly brilliant (and fun) on stage. They deserve more love.

fIREHOSE wiki

'fIREHOSE's fROMOHIO Turns 20'

fIREHOSE videos

Mike Watt Hoot Page

Superchunk - Slack Motherfucker [purchase]

Superchunk in the way early days, with Chuck "Chunk" Garrison on drums and Jack McCook on guitar. "Slack Motherfucker" sounds like a young band doing an impression of Soul Asylum doing an impression of MC5. Awesome song from a band still about a year away from finding its sound and entering its prime.

Superchunk wiki

Superchunk website

Superchunk videos

Mudhoney - You Got It (Keep It Outta My Face) [purchase]

"You give it away like free samples,
But I don't want what anyone can have."

The forgotten band of the "Puget Sound," Mudhoney wrote dozens of anthems, toured seven galaxies, were instrumental in breaking Sub Pop in England (opening the floodgates to world domination), and were the legit heirs to both The Stooges and The Sonics, two pillars in the grunge exoskeleton. That said, I feel like they're little more than a historical footnote. Every good boy deserves Mudhoney. Let's make it happen ... for the children.

Mudhoney wiki

'Touch Me I'm Sick' video, 1989

Lamestain revisits 1989 Seattle

"Reality of being keeps the demon away from the threshold of our Eden."

Prescott Curlywolf - Dignity Of Action [purchase]

We return the mothership to the Curlywolves of Prescott, previously heralded around these parts in appropriately reverential tones. According to my buddy, Ducktaper, Rob Bernard said the lyrics to "Dignity" came from a book of poems written by inmates at an insane asylum. Weird enough for you? What if I told you these inmates were actually ... ZOMBIE CANNIBALS?!?!?!

Send more copsss!

Hear more Prescott.

Rebel Land, Alabam: The Dexateens & Archibalds

--Dexateens playing The Chukker, Tuscaloosa, 1999

Today's post is brought to you by Alabama. Not the band Alabama. The state of Alabama. Heart of Dixie. Birthplace of Hank Williams. The band ... hell, they're way too expensive for The Adios Lounge. Trust me, I've seen the rider and knowing the words to "High Cotton" will only get you so far. Even Randy Owen's goatee gets its own dressing room and NO BROWN M&MS!

So, let us pilot the Tardis to 1999, setting general course for Tuscaloosa, Alabama, specific coordinates for The Chukker. The Chukker, now defunct, was the shitty little bar that could, the kind of place where you'd get a contact high after 10 minutes on the back patio ... er, "beer garden" ... then walk back inside to see a dude with a table on his face. The only place residing in a more colorful parallel universe is Sam's Town Point (see below) in south Austin. Sam's is a doublewide/bar/venue/family compound and the only place I've ever been prompted to ask, "Hey, who's the hot one-armed chick?" True story. We're talking pantheon level quality.

On this particular night in May 1999, The Chukker was hosting two bands bringing the MC5-meets-Motorhead heavy ordnance: The Hellacopters and The Quadrajets. The Copters were touring behind their third album, Grande Rock, and The Quadrajets were proving that not everything coming out of Auburn sucked.

The opening band that night, the Dexateens, were locals whose drummer, "Sweet Dog" (aka "The Midnight Mayor of Tuscaloosa"), was a student of mine in American Studies. I think the picture at the top of the page is from this show, but that could be a false memory. I do remember thinking that this was a tough bill for a young band because the Hellacopters and Quadrajets circa '99 didn't fuck around. They brought the no-bullshit sledgehammer rock for three hours. I was impressed that the Dexateens didn't allow themselves to be intimidated by that, or at least didn't show it. They tried very hard to be very good, and fell short, but had fun and definitely didn't suck. You could see the quality in there, trying to get out.

"A lot of people don't realize what's really going on. They view life as a bunch of unconnected incidents and things. They don't realize that there's this, like, lattice of coincidence that lays on top of everything. Give you an example, show you what I mean. Suppose you're thinkin' about a plate of shrimp. Suddenly, someone'll say, like, "plate," or "shrimp," or "plate of shrimp," out of the blue, no explanation. No point in lookin' for one, either. It's all part of a cosmic unconsciousness."
--Tracey Walter as Miller in Repo Man

By coincidence, another student of mine was at that show, a likable young waif named Joey Thompson. He was friends with the Dexateens and starting to write songs and play out. In fact, a few years after this show, just before emigrating from Tuscaloosa to Austin ... the same trip I made the year after that Chukker show ... he recorded a batch of songs with Sweet Dog and Elliott McPherson, Dexateens' singer/guitarist. The session was with Robbie Kirk at T-Town's 600 Studios, the same producer and same room where the Dexateens cut their self-titled debut and its amazing follow-up, Red Dust Rising.

Maybe it was coincidence, but it was in this period, roughly 2004-07, that Thompson's songs, like those of Dexateen songwriters, McPherson (second from left) and John Smith (far left), began drawing inspiration from a life spent in Alabama. The state became both a geographic location and a narrative entity. Thompson, despite (and probably because of) living in Texas, named his new band, The Archibalds, in honor of Northport's slap-your-mama-good BBQ joint (pictured below right) and titled their first record, O Camellia, after Bama's state flower. Alabama looms large in several Dexateens' songs, including "Red Dust Rising" (duh), "Take Me To The Speedway" (which we'll get to), "Pine Belt Blues" (which we'll also get to), and "Freight Train."

Dexateens - Freight Train [purchase]

"How's the Crimson Tide gonna cleanse me, by and by?"

Is it coincidence that the Dexateens and Archibalds released two of my favorite albums from the past year, Lost And Found from the former, Easy Living from the latter? Fact is, I openly root for these bands because of our shared history. It's a connection to an era when Tuscaloosa could fall back on The Chukker, Vinyl Solution, and Shaun Alexander in The Swamp. Once you Roll Tide, you don't backslide.

Intersecting chronology aside, the Dexateens have developed into one of the flat-out best live bands in the country and are maybe a year away from entering the rarefied Uncle Tupelo, Faces, Replacements territory. It also doesn't hurt that you can download Lost And Found for free from their website. Of course, that works both ways. We should be living in a world where the Dexateens make money releasing every album on 180 gram vinyl and some combination of CDs and iTunes. L&F was free because there wasn't another financial option that made sense and that has to be a bitter pill.

The Archibalds haven't been around long enough to get bitter. In some ways, they remind me of the Dexateens circa 2003-04. Right on the cusp of the next level, discovering what works and what doesn't, and getting the band telepathy on lockdown. Easy Living is a great album, but it's only a beginning. Like the Dexateens, coincidentally, The Archibalds have yet to face down the long-term touring issue. That might be the final level for both bands, who knows?

The lattice of coincidence will strike you dumb, winding its way backwards to a seemingly insignificant night until finally revealing its wisdom. If nothing else, it proves my theory that everything you need to know about life you can learn from Repo Man. Just thinking about it makes me hungry. Plate of shrimp, anyone???

RAISE YOUR FIST UP TO OLD HANNAH

Archibalds - Sinking Ships [Download]

Austin Powell nails it in his Austin Chronicle review of Easy Living, comparing The Archibalds to "the Gourds and Beck's early slacker raps." I think that's pretty accurate. Thompson's songwriting occasionally ventures into the funky acoustic country-blues of One Foot In The Grave and Mellow Gold, and the band mines a folk-country-soul hybrid familiar to Gourds fans, detouring through everything from bluegrass to hip-hop.

"Sinking Ships" comes from The Archibalds' debut, O Camellia, an album of songs paying homage to Sulphur Creek, Elk River, boll weevils, and yes, high cotton. Musically, the song is zydekin to The Gourds' "County Orange," what with its accordion lead and acoustic guitar push-push. I like how the baritone sax and trumpet ride on top of the accordion, forming a counterpoint to the vocal harmonies. In fact, there's a great syncopation between the different harmonic elements, and the whole shootin' match is pulled along by Thompson's driving acoustic guitar. Unpretentious, white-buckled anarchy with a side of white barbecue sauce.

Archibalds - Hood Rats [purchase]

One of the best songs on Easy Living is weaponized by Seth Gibbs (pictured far right). His bass is the song's anchor point, especially when he starts walking the dog in the chorus. Who does he think he is, Paul McCartney on loan from 1969? Actually, Thompson (Mr. Fancypants in the mirrored shades) gives the song almost a Ray Davies vibe, in its steady lilt, understated, yet assured narrative voice, and even in the unexpected use of a flute to double the main riff.

Archibalds - The Choir [purchase]

"Gospel train caught in the rain,
Loaded down for 40 days,
While the choir's softly singing."

Soulful, churchgoing funk, "The Choir" would make Bobby Charles and Doug Sahm proud they'd written it ... and you're reading one of the biggest Sahm fans of all-time. It's carried along by a great melody and keyboard riff, the vocals and vocal harmonies are outstanding, Gibbs' bass sweeps all over the joint (in this case like Jimmy Smith of The Gourds), I love that killer overdriven harmonica solo, and though it would SO easy to overreach in any respect, the song maintains a simple dignity. I'm just sayin', it's a slippery slope to "I Want To Know What Love Is" and I'm glad to see The Archibalds display fundamentally sound defense.

Check out:
Archibalds on MySpace
Archibalds on YouTube

TAKE ME TO THE SPEEDWAY

"When I first met this band they wanted to record a record ... trouble was, I had already recorded that record with The Quadrajets. Don’t get me wrong, they did an amazing version of The Quadrajets, but they weren't being completely true to themselves and I think deep down, they knew it. 'Cardboard Hearts' was the first tune that showed something else was going on deeper here. It sounded sort of like what the Meat Puppets might have sounded like if they had come from the south and not the southwest. (The Dexateens) hadn't realized yet that being yourself IS and will always be COOL. I guess I just happened to be the one to come along at the right time to plant the seed. Country + punk + early ‘70s rock … well, If YOU like it, who cares what anybody else thinks?"
--Tim Kerr, testifying on the Dexateens website

Dexateens - Pine Belt Blues [purchase]

"Pine Belt" isn't simply James Gang awesome, it contains 27 separate levels of Alabama Whup Ass.

Dexateens - Take Me To The Speedway [purchase]

"Take me to the speedway,
Drive me through the red clay,
We'll just go in circles everyday."

The songwriting development of McPherson and Smith owes a lot to Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley of the Drive-By Truckers, whose own embrace of the redneck diaspora and the attendant Alabama mythology must've been an influence. The band even enlisted Hood as co-producer for their 2007 album, Hardwire Healing. All that said, "Take Me To The Speedway," from the Dexateens' breakthrough second album, Red Dust Rising, is fucking epic independent of its referent sources. Great build, huge cascading guitar parts, it's like John Fogerty getting "Cortez The Killer" in a headlock made of tequila shots. Other bands should fear this song.

Dexateens - Own Thing [purchase]

If I'm ever listening to a song and the words Exile On Main Street come into my head, an angel gets his wings. Little known fact. This tune sounds like something Rod Stewart should be singing with The Faces ... in 1971. I love how the drums come in at :50, set apart from the rest of the band, who apparently were recording in a bathysphere. Awesome effect.

Dexateens - Slender Thread [download for free!]

"Everyday people got to hustle some cover,
From the bombs that you're dropping out the aeroplane,
Folks will remember what you told 'em tomorrow,
And hold it up to what you told 'em yesterday."

This one also reminds me of the Stones, but from their underrated 1965-67 period with Brian Jones at his most focused (think "I'm Free" through Between The Buttons). Mostly written by Smith (pictured left), "Slender Thread" is damn near a pop song, but with a great electric guitar lead and scathing lyrical content.

Dexateens - Sweet Little Loser [download for free!]

Another Exile rip, it also reminds me of that first Izzy Stradlin album and all that I love about Hollywood Town Hall-era Jayhawks. Blissfully great harmonies, sweet guitar lead, what country music and rock music should sound like more often.

Lyrics, songwriting, and discussions of artistic growth aside, the Dexateens are first and foremost a balls-out monster live band and their greatness needs to be filtered through that fact. To wit:

DEXATEENS - NAKED GROUND



The Drive-By Truckers have had the Dexateens open many shows for many years. While The Truckers are bigger in the public consciousness, have established themselves as a viable road act, and can hold their own in the volume department, I'd hate to be anyone following the Dexateens right now. Pound-for-pound, I think they're the best rock 'n' roll band in the country and you better bring your A+ game if you expect to follow their tornadic activity. Supposedly, the Dexateens are on the road with Lucero. Poor Lucero. When that tour ends, you'll have to identify them by dental records.

Dexateens - Magdelene
(Recorded January 12, 2008 @ 40 Watt Club, Athens, GA)

While you can still hear echoes of the Meat Puppets, this track is right in The Neckbones' wheelhouse. You wanna talk about all-time great southern rock bands? You don't have to go very far down the list before you reach The Neckbones. In fact, consider them in the short queue for upcoming Adios Lounge topics. "Magdelene" doesn't simply bring the badass rock 'n' roll ninjitsu. What makes this track particularly memorable is the very ending, after the band finishes and the Dexateens unexpectedly rock the T-Town pride. Remember, this set was in Athens, home to the University of Georgia, a fairly staunch SEC rival. That's Smith teaching the Bulldogs to behave with the virtuoso crowd taunt. "ROOOOOOOLL TIDE, ROLL!!!" Awesome. I love how the crowd is momentarily stunned by the sheer heft of balls before heaping abuse on the band.

Roll Tide, bitches.

Check out:
Dexateens website
Dexateens on MySpace
Dexateens on YouTube