sxsw part 2

ooh wee! such fun posting at 1:30 in the morning after the last two long days and nights of sxsw. i'm sure the memories are going to be out of synch and more than a little blurry. just got back from red eye fly and saw the bloodshot showcase. at least most of it. the band we stayed for, the detroit cobras, had taken too much of whatever they're taking these days and just were not together. too bad, because we really had looked forward to them. we left about halfway through their set. the lead singer was comfortably numb and the rhythm guitarist was in a world of her own--just not our world. we also saw the deadstring brothers for the second time. we first saw them at yard dog on friday where they committed the cardinal sin of dissing the sound guy before the gig. most bands know better than to do it publicly. it would just be their luck that they get some big gig in the future and who's running sound? the guy they made look bad back in austin. not good. he must be an acquaintance, however, since he ran sound for them at red eye fly also. appears things aren't too copacetic in that band, either, as we noticed some testiness between certain band members during the set. not a bad set, though. the silos were very good with walter salas humara running through lots of songs from their new bloodshot release with jon dee graham sitting in on guitar. saw a nice opening set from john rauhouse as well. we also caught alejandro escovedo downtown during the afternoon at tresoros trading company doing his usual excellent set. he informed the crowd that the venue was to be torn down next year for a new hotel. odd that all the hispanic businesses seem to be affected by this new hotel... i dimly recall seeing part of the ponderosa stomp on friday. we got there late and thought we had missed rockabilly legend ray sharpe, but found he was still on stage, backed up by three members of the sir douglas quintet with charlie sexton on guitar. we were surprised to see he was black, having assumed he was a white southern rockabilly guy. a pleasant surprise, indeed. he played an excellent set showing off impressive blues licks on guitar. he was having so much fun, his set went over time. we also saw steel guitar legend herb remington who had played with such luminaries as bob wills and hank penny. caroline was jazzed to see darrell anger playing fiddle with him. we then headed over to downtown to see john hammond and his band do an excellent set of uptempo raw blues. two young girls standing next to me commented, "this is good lovemaking music." indeed it was. he has aged a bit, but the lines drop off and he looks twenty years younger once he starts to sing. we saw a bit of james mcmurtry at big red sun before we headed off to dinner at our favorite mexican gourmet restaurant, fonda san miguel. i'm not quite sure why all the bands we wanted to see were sequestered on 6th street this year. did the more respectable bars on west 6th street have some problem with sxsw, or what? normally we don't go over to east 6th street at all. who am i forgetting--ahh--graham parker at yard dog. a nice set of newer stuff from his latest album. very dylan-like lyrics--quite good. he also did "hotel chambermaid" per audience request. we kept hearing that pete townshend was showing up and jamming at various places in town, but we never got to see him, unfortunately. i'm sure i've missed something. i'll try and post more either tomorrow or when i get home. we'll do a sxsw show at some point soon on kkfi. i've got a pledge drive show to do when i get back with lonesome cowboy bill, then a surprise show on april fool's day, then maybe i get to do a new show. caroline and i will also fill in for jeanne jasperse on the 25th, by the way. be sure to pledge lots. she is sorry to miss the show, so let's make her feel good, ok?

SXSW

lack of access to a workable computer has delayed the postings, unfortunately. tuesday we got in late afternoon and got in some record shopping. we didn't start seeing folks until wednesday afternoon when we caught the last two songs by the waco brothers at yard dog. sally timms sat in for the last tune, sticking out her tongue at the bass player during the solo. after a meal at guero's we went to the parish bar to see charlie louvin. the country legend was in good form as he ran through new tunes from his most recent album as well as louvin brothers classics like "cash on the barrelhead" and "great atomic power." some snot-nosed punk writer in the chronicle dissed his set, but obviously the guy didn't know charlie's music and was back at the bar, not up close like us. we then went a couple of doors down and caught blackie and the rodeo kings, who are down to a threesome including canadian songwriter colin linden. they rocked the house, playing mostly acoustic and, at one point, playing unamplified out in the crowd. to this point, this was the best gig we'd seen. we then went over to central presbytarian church to catch a set by rosie thomas, who was quite charming and even a little giggly as she played songs from her new album, including a cover of fleetwood mac's "songbird" that came off well. the audience was attentive and supportive considering there were not many uptempo tunes in her set. after resting up quite nicely, we went to breakfast at the magnolia so caroline could indulge her favorite breakfast, the three alarm taco. we then headed over to jovita's a well known mexican restaurant out on 1st street, to catch the twangfest shows. we saw elizabeth cook, who was pretty good. did covers of the velvet underground's "sunday morning" as well as lone justice's "soap, soup and salvation." this was followed by an acoustic set by jim lauderdale, who was in a very good mood and told his usual round of funny stories and jokes as he went through his large catalog of songs, including "divide and conquer" and "whisper" as well as newer stuff from his "bluegrass" release. we also saw dolly varden and emma pollock from the delgados, who did not go over well with the twangfest crowd. we were puzzled as to why she was booked there as her music is not really country or rock. at 5:00 pm we got what we came for: los straitjackets featuring big sandy on vocals. they ran through a number of vintage rock and roll numbers sung in spanish, including "mother in law" and "good golly miss molly." there were also the usual instrumentals from los straightjackets including a long version of "tailspin." they rocked the house and apologized for not being up to snuff so early in the day, although they were the best thing we'd seen all day. after a gourmet dinner at the east side cafe, we went into town to see the norton records showcase at red 7. in a croweded, sweltering bar, we saw garage rockers the a-bones, as well as the classic cleveland band from the sixties, the alarm clocks, crank out vintage 60s rock and roll. they were followed by sam the sham, who was dressed in bright red with a big straw hat. his voice is still intact, although he only did about four songs, "little red riding hood," "wang dang do," "crossroads," and, following two songs by members of his band, who included charlie rich jr and speedy sparks, came back for the inevitable "wooly bully" with loud assistance from the crowd. we had intended to stay for reigning sound and mary weiss of the shangri-las, but the sweltering heat and drunken dancing fat boys, drove us out of the place back into the fresh air and home. more to report tomorrow, i hope, if the hotel computer is operational. we plan to catch the bloodshot party at yard dog, which includes the detroit cobras, graham parker, the waco brothers, and other guests. a long day, indeed.

Band Auction

First, sorry about the lack of a picture. For some reason, AOL would not let me post up a cool shot of Ray Wylie Hubbard. Second, this coming Sunday will be the KKFI band auction. I have three artists who will be on the show: Amy Sala, Brion Leftwitch, and a Lawrence band, Distance To Empty. If you'd like to hire a band or artist at discount prices for your block party, kegger, wedding party, whatever, here's your chance to call in and hire a band yourself--you don't even need an agent... The Sunday after that, the 18th, I'll be winding up SXSW in Austin, Texas, so Harry will be at the helm. Harry and I will both do a comedy show when I get back at some point. We have the fund drive the first Sunday I'm back, so remember that we need your support at that time, too. I will try and blog from SXSW and post up some photos when I get back. I'm sure Caroline will take out the ones I'd rather not show the public first.