November 30, 1984

For thousands of fans who piled into The Summit in Houston to see Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band on Nov. 30, 1984 it was just another concert. However, for me, it was a night that changed my life. As soon as The Boss yelled “One, two, three, four” and went into a blistering version of “Born in the USA” I knew I wanted to be a singer in a rock and roll band.

The show was phenomenal. His energy was incredible. We heard everything that night; “Jungleland,” “Racing in the Street,” “Thunder Road,” “Johnny Bye Bye, “Cadillac Ranch,” you name any of his best songs and we saw them that night. I thought the roof was going to come off the building when they went into the “Detroit Medley.”  It was the best the concert I had ever seen.

The next day my brother and I were in the garage with a couple of other guys putting a band together. I was playing drums at the time, but one day I decided to try my hand at singing. The first song I sang in front of people was “Dancing in the Dark.” While it wasn’t even close to  great, it felt great. Since that time I have been in three different bands, and have been the lead singer for two. While I haven’t experienced 1/1,000,000th of the success of Mr. Springsteen, the experience of writing, recording, performing and singing has enriched my life in more ways than I can count. I thank Bruce for that night and for giving me the inspiration to do what I always knew I wanted to do, but never had the courage to try.

“Born in the USA” by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

“Dancing in the Dark” by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

Santa vs. Satan

REPOST: Another one we get requests for, believe it or not.

Santa Claus is an embodiment for Satan.  Have you noticed he is all about Desires?  Give up the desires of the flesh and repent of your sins!  Ha, ha, not really … I got that off a religious website.  What are these dudes smokin’?

Santa is not Satan – in fact, he’s the anti-Satan.  I know, because I saw this movie on TV once, Santa Claus, and it was made in Mexico.   Lucifer was pissed at Santa for some reason so he sent his emissary, Pitch … look at the clip below, that’s Pitch doing an interpretive Evil ballet.  He and those other devils dancing around, they look kind of … ah, flaming.  There were no masked wrestlers around to foil Lucifer’s Evil plan, so Santa had to do it.

Anyhow.  The thing is, even at a time like Christmas when we’re supposed to love or like (or pretend to like) each other, Satan’s in there doing his Evil work.  Always one to piss on a parade, Satan wants to ruin Christmas for everyone because he’s just so Evil.  Santa does his best, but he needs your help in stopping Satan’s mischief this year.  You gotta know where to look for Satan, because he’s a master of disguise.

Nine Years Out: George Harrison

Nine years ago today, George Harrison died of cancer.  It’s hard to believe he has been gone such a relatively short time – compared to John Lennon, who died in 1980 – but it seems his music has been with us forever.

Try to imagine being in a rock band with the two greatest songwriters of all.  The fact that George Harrison got his music onto Beatles records, and some of his songs are comparable to Lennon-McCartney’s, is a brilliant testimony to the man’s musical talent.   And like his former bandmates, his solo career had peaks and valleys – perhaps maybe a little higher and lower than the other Beatles.

December 8, the date of John Lennon’s murder, is burned onto our collective memories but let’s take a moment today to remember another great musician.

MP3: “Bangla Desh” (single)

MP3: “Ding Dong, Ding Dong” (mono)

MP3: “This Guitar (Can’t Keep From Crying)”

MP3: “My Sweet Lord” (early vocal take)

MP3: “Deep Blue”

MP3: “It Don’t Come Easy” (demo)

MP3: “This Song”

MP3: “Sour Milk Sea” (demo)

MP3: “When We Was Fab”

YouTube:  All Things Must Pass (30th anniversary re-release) electronic press kit

Live: Los Lonely Boys, Houston

I can’t think of a better way to kick off the holidays than with some live music, and Saturday’s casual in-store performance by Los Lonely Boys at Houston’s Cactus Music and Record Ranch fit the bill.  LLB, from San Angelo, have been kicking around since 1997 with a smooth blend of Tejano, country and soul, all topped with some fiery guitar work from elder brother Henry Garza.  When they hit the little stage on Saturday, the (free) beer from St. Arnold Brewing Company was flowing and so was the good will.

The Garza brothers, including Jojo on second acoustic guitar and vocals (he plays bass in a more conventional concert setting) and Ringo (drums) on shaker, welcomed the crowd like family and kicked with “Oye Mamacita” and “Crazy Dream.”  The strong suit here is the Boys’ harmony, showcased to perfection on a cover of the Beatles’ “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window.”   They brought it all home with a glittering acoustic version of their Top 20 hit “Heaven.”

One knock on the Boys is that they are slow workers – they haven’t released many albums since their big breakthrough in 2004 and were working on only their fourth studio album for release this fall when Jojo encountered vocal cord troubles.  But he sounded fine on Saturday, and let’s hope we can get more of their “Texican Rock and Roll” out into circulation soon.  Their latest album is a live affair, titled Keep On Giving: Acoustic Live! and it features a couple guest appearances by Texas favorites Alejandro Escovedo and Carrie Rodriguez.

MP3: “Heaven” (Live acoustic version)

MP3: “Feliz Navidad”

MP3: “Run Run Rudolph”

Los Lonely Boys official website

Willie Nelson busted for pot – again

On his way back from California, Willie Nelson was busted in West Texas last week for marijuana possession.  Nelson, who is 77 years old, was stopped near a Border Patrol checkpoint in El Paso; he paid $2,500 bail and went on his way.  We are all for law and order and everything, but why do they even bother?  I would think that if anyone should get a pass for blazin’ one now and then, it should be the Red Headed Stranger.  As Ian McLagan says, “If you want to put somebody in jail, Tom DeLay needs a vacation.”

News story: Willie Nelson Pot Bust

MP3: Stop Arresting Marijuana Smokers – PSA (Willie Nelson)

MP3: “I’m A Worried Man” by Willie Nelson w/Toots Hibbert

MP3: “I Am A Pilgrim” by Willie Nelson

MP3: “Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground” by Willie Nelson

MP3: “Darkness On The Face Of The Earth” by Willie Nelson

MP3: “Pick Up The Tempo” by Willie Nelson & Family

UPDATE: In the wake of his bust over the weekend, Willie Nelson has started a Facebook page for his Teapot party which has a mission of  “Tax it, regulate it and legalize it.”  Go Willie!

Christmas Already?

Guess so … yesterday we went over to the store to pick up a few groceries and came back with Christmas presents.  The sentiments of the season are a ways off, but the commercialization is already in progress.  Instead of raging against it, have some fun with the season – and be nice to everybody.  Meanwhile, let’s kick off Christmas with …

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Your Sister’s (Record) Rack: Comedy Albums! (NSFW alert)

The holiday season begins in a few days, and it’s going to be the same old blur of unnerving family members, unappetizing meals and unwanted gifts … and that’s just Black Friday!  There are a couple more holidays in there someplace, so today we’re going to give you something to share – excerpts from some of our favorite comedy albums of the late 1960s-early 1970s!  Now I can tell you these are fine to share with grandma and the kids, but I would be lying: in fact, these are EXTREMELY not safe for grandma, work or children.  You will be warned again!

In the 1960s, comedians reached their audiences in the night clubs but the bigger names were given recording contracts so they could cut albums of their material.  People like Allen Sherman, Bob Newhart, Bill Cosby and even Lenny Bruce and Woody Allen were all committed to vinyl, mostly performing the same stuff they did in stand-up.  But with the onset of freakiness in the mid-60s came new comedians, reflecting counterculture sensibilities and a sense of social outrage against racism, war and modern times.

The Firesign Theatre came out of Los Angeles in 1966, and their comedy was a free-form blend of Lewis Carroll, James Joyce and Samuel Beckett swirled through a prism of LSD and pop culture.  Their primary medium was the long-playing album, where the Firesigns’ could multi-track masterpieces of storytelling and comedy that hold up to repeated listenings.  One of those masterpieces was Everything You Know Is Wrong (1974), a spoof of UFO/aliens mania that swings everything from late-night TV to New Age nudists and even Nazis into its paranoid gunsights.

The Firesign Theatre (Phillip Proctor, Peter Bergman, David Ossman and Philip Austin) are certainly the American answer to Monty Python, but they dwarf their British counterparts in terms of surrealistic, stream-of-consciousness comedy.  Everything You Know Is Wrong is the comedy X-Files of its time: aliens walk among us, Nino Savant sends telepathic messages and daredevil Rebus Cannebus jumps into the sun in the center of the earth.  We piece the story together as channels flip past on the TV, and we catch fragments of a crazed paranoid fringe in between newscasts, ads for car lots and “Bear Whiz Beer.”

MP3: “Happy Hour News”

MP3: “Bear Whiz Beer”

MP3: “Army Training Film”

NOTE: NSFW material after the jump – proceed at your own risk!

Video of the Week(end): The Jim Jones Revue

“Shoot First” is a new video from one of our favorites, the Jim Jones Revue.  These rockers from England can really whip an audience into a frenzy, and their energy translates well to the band’s recordings.  Speaking of which, “Shoot First” from their new album Burning Your House Down.

The Jim Jones Revue official website

Two Texas legends get official markers

Lightnin' Hopkins and his official marker from the State of Texas

Two of Texas’ greatest musical legends have received permanent markers in their respective home towns, signs that share their legends with visitors.  Bluesman Sam “Lightnin'” Hopkins received an official Texas State Historical marker in Houston’s Third Ward, while legendary rock and roller Doug Sahm got a permanent marker atop the hill named after him in Austin.

The colorful marker now atop Doug Sahm Hill

Hopkins, who died in 1982, is only the second Texas blues great to get a marker – his mentor Blind Lemon Jefferson has one near the presumed site of his grave in Wortham, Texas.  Lightnin’ is of course the seminar guitar-playing bluesman who influenced such greats as Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan.  His marker weighs more than 75 pounds and stands about six feet tall.  It is located on the grounds of Project Row Houses in Houston’s Third Ward (near the intersection of Dowling and Francis streets), where “The King of Dowling Street” spent most of his time.

Meanwhile, friends and family of the late Sir Douglas Sahm gathered in Butler Park to unveil a permanent marker that resides atop Doug Sahm Hill.  Shawn Sahm of the Texas Tornados and Shandon Sahm, Sir Doug’s sons, were joined by Austin artist Kerry Awn, who designed the marker, and a large crowd to pay tribute to Doug Sahm, the singer/songwriter who died in 1999.  Sahm led the Sir Douglas Quintet in the mid-1960s, then had a fruitful solo career before organizing the Lone Star supergroup Texas Tornados around 1990.

Now that some of Texas’ legendary musicians have been honored in their home state (Stevie Ray Vaughan has a statue in Austin’s Auditorium Shores park), one can only wonder how long it will take these worthy musicians to find a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

MP3: “Mr. Charlie” (Part 1) by Lightnin’ Hopkins

MP3: “Mr. Charlie” (Part 2) by Lightnin’ Hopkins

MP3: “Houston Chicks” by Doug Sahm

MP3: “Little Bit Is Better Than Nada” by the Texas Tornados

YouTube: Lightnin’ Hopkins historical marker dedication

Video of the Week: “Nobody Gets Me But You,” Spoon

Are they from Austin, or Portland?  During the recent Austin City Limits festival, people were asking that question and the answer is … both.  The indie rock quartet was formed in Texas but moved its operations to Oregon a few years ago.   “Nobody Gets Me But You” is from the band’s most recent album, Transference, and the video was inspired by frontman Britt Daniel’s experience watching a band on a camera feed in New York City’s tiny venue the Cake Shop.

Spoon official website