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Showing posts with label american music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label american music. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Wednesday, March 08, 2017
By Jack Brummet, American Music Ed.
I am reading Mezz Mezzrow's autobiography, "Really The Blues." This Jewish kid fell in love with black culture, and in particular, the music. What a crazy life (at one point Mezz was a common slang word for reefer), from the reformatory to playing with and managing people like Sidney Bechet and Louis Armstrong. It's a highly idiomatic book, filled with heartbreaking tales of facing down Jim Crow (de jure in the south and de facto in the north) and most of all, stories of the great blues and jazz they made despite the law and prevailing racism.
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I am reading Mezz Mezzrow's autobiography, "Really The Blues." This Jewish kid fell in love with black culture, and in particular, the music. What a crazy life (at one point Mezz was a common slang word for reefer), from the reformatory to playing with and managing people like Sidney Bechet and Louis Armstrong. It's a highly idiomatic book, filled with heartbreaking tales of facing down Jim Crow (de jure in the south and de facto in the north) and most of all, stories of the great blues and jazz they made despite the law and prevailing racism.
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Saturday, October 22, 2016
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Friday, July 22, 2016
Faces 1491 - arm drawing/Dead & Co. show at The Gorge
Arm art by Jack Brummet
Photo by Eric Sanchez
Photo by Eric Sanchez
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Wednesday, July 06, 2016
Ann Coulter: I'm A Grateful Dead Fan For Life
By Jack Brummet, Grateful Dead Ed.
Is this a mindf***er or what? Ann Coulter is a serious DeadHead. Read her full piece in Billboard here. Among other observations, she names some of her favorite songs:
“Tennessee Jed, Althea, Stagger Lee, Eyes of the World, Loose Lucy, Franklin's Tower, Deal, Sugar Magnolia, Unbroken Chain, Cassidy, Pride of Cucamonga, Uncle John's Band, Ripple, Casey Jones, I Will Take You Home, Passenger, Mississippi Half-Step, Good Lovin' and of course, the famous Mickey Hart rap version of Fire on the Mountain. It breaks my heart that the band never played Pride of Cucamonga in concert.”
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Wednesday, October 09, 2013
ATIT Reheated: The Surf -n- Turf Circuit: Faded supernovas, one-hit wonders, and bands you've sort of heard of board their buses on the casino loop
By Mona Goldwater, American Life Ed.
[originally appeared on ATIT 2009]
Even people who can still sell out mid-sized venues like Bob Dylan (it hurts to type this), Cher, Jimmy Buffett and Shania Twain have hit the casinos.
Wayne Newton started out playing casinos, but now he's playing the really crappy ones. Danke Shoen, dude!
Jewel. I am really not a fan of her poetry, but I thought her first album was pretty good. She tried to become a pop tart and it didn't fly with the public, and now she too is on the Surf N Turf Circuit.
Creedence Clearwater Revisited. Yeah, Tom Fogerty is dead, and founder, singer, songwriter and guitarist John Fogerty won't go near them, but Stu Cook and Doug Clifford have been on the circuit the better part of the last two decades.
Journey. Actually, these guys can sell out ampitheatres, but they also work the casino circuit. The greatest part of the new (and Steve Perry-less) band is that they hired the spot-on singer of a Journey tribute band to front Journey.
[originally appeared on ATIT 2009]
Hearing that Jewel was playing the casino circuit now, I began wondering who else had been reduced to the casino loop. An unbelievable array of bands and singles are criss-crossing the country now, and may be nearly as big a draw as the $1.29 well drinks and the $9.99 all you can eat buffet.
Even people who can still sell out mid-sized venues like Bob Dylan (it hurts to type this), Cher, Jimmy Buffett and Shania Twain have hit the casinos.
The Century Casino in Edmonton, Alberta has recently hosted acts like Trooper, Herman’s Hermits (who in their prime often out-sold The Beatles), Air Supply, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, and Don McLean. They have also had arguably strong rockers appear like Joan Jett and Cheap Trick.
Wayne Newton started out playing casinos, but now he's playing the really crappy ones. Danke Shoen, dude!
Blind Melon, Vanilla Ice, Chilliwack, Soul Asylum, Kim Mitchell, The Cowsills, Glass Tiger, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Blue Oyster Cult have all recently played in a Calgary casino.
Three Dog Night, The Doobie Brothers, The Allman Brothers, Blondie, The Beach Boys (with none of the Wilson Brothers), The Oustsiders (Time won't let me...a great rock single), ? and the Mysterians, Eric Burdon of The Animals, Tommy James & The Shondells, Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere & The Raiders, Mitch Ryder of The Detroit Wheels, and Ron Dante of The Archies have all hit the circuit.
Air Supply also played the Stampede Casino. Kelly Doody (nice name) wrote in the Calgary Sun: "I asked one of the clean-up staff if it had been a sold-out performance. "Yeah," he told me emphatically while straightening back out the banquet chairs. "I'd say there were at least 200 people in here."
He's not a rocker, but the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut had a year long agreement with The Daily Show's Jon Stewart to appear.
Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, Californiahas brought in rockers, as well as people and bands like Bill Cosby, Jerry Seinfeld, Keith Sweat, Kool & the Gang, and even bands like Rascal Flatts, and Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20, that attract the under 50 set.
Three Dog Night, The Doobie Brothers, The Allman Brothers, Blondie, The Beach Boys (with none of the Wilson Brothers), The Oustsiders (Time won't let me...a great rock single), ? and the Mysterians, Eric Burdon of The Animals, Tommy James & The Shondells, Mark Lindsay of Paul Revere & The Raiders, Mitch Ryder of The Detroit Wheels, and Ron Dante of The Archies have all hit the circuit.
Air Supply also played the Stampede Casino. Kelly Doody (nice name) wrote in the Calgary Sun: "I asked one of the clean-up staff if it had been a sold-out performance. "Yeah," he told me emphatically while straightening back out the banquet chairs. "I'd say there were at least 200 people in here."
He's not a rocker, but the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut had a year long agreement with The Daily Show's Jon Stewart to appear.
Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, Californiahas brought in rockers, as well as people and bands like Bill Cosby, Jerry Seinfeld, Keith Sweat, Kool & the Gang, and even bands like Rascal Flatts, and Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20, that attract the under 50 set.
Jewel. I am really not a fan of her poetry, but I thought her first album was pretty good. She tried to become a pop tart and it didn't fly with the public, and now she too is on the Surf N Turf Circuit.
Creedence Clearwater Revisited. Yeah, Tom Fogerty is dead, and founder, singer, songwriter and guitarist John Fogerty won't go near them, but Stu Cook and Doug Clifford have been on the circuit the better part of the last two decades.
Journey. Actually, these guys can sell out ampitheatres, but they also work the casino circuit. The greatest part of the new (and Steve Perry-less) band is that they hired the spot-on singer of a Journey tribute band to front Journey.
Bret Michaels. The Poison lead singer parlayed success on VH1's Rock of Love into a tour, stopping mainly at the casinos.
Kansas tours with an orchestra, and sometimes charge up to $75 a seat.
Kansas tours with an orchestra, and sometimes charge up to $75 a seat.
And there are literally hundreds more bands you've heard out there, in the great American night, hurtling on buses to their next gig up the interstate.
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Thursday, August 08, 2013
The Maldives+Ken Stringfellow at Barboza (with openers Sons of Warren Oates)
By Jack Brummet, NW Music Ed.
The Maldives and Ken Stringfellow played last night at Barboza. Barboza is in the basement below Numoes, which also means there is sonic competition with the metal bands playing upstairs. This was a really fun, but poorly attended show. The Sons of Warren Oates opened and were an unknown to me (I'd heard their name before and loved it). They were one of the most listenable warmup bands I'd heard in ages...a trio with fiddle, guitar, and banjo. They played for about 40 minutes. The banjo player (Kevin?) joined KS and the Maldives for a couple of tunes on the accordion. Ken played a lot of his album Danzig and a few earlier nuggets from his album Touched. I bet there were never more than 60 people there, and at the end, maybe three dozen. Before the Maldives came out, Ken got off the stage and told us to gather around and he sang un-mic'd with his Telecaster. Then he played a tune on the piano and brought out the Maldives. I look forward to seeing The Maldives on their own sometime soon.
The Maldives and Ken Stringfellow played last night at Barboza. Barboza is in the basement below Numoes, which also means there is sonic competition with the metal bands playing upstairs. This was a really fun, but poorly attended show. The Sons of Warren Oates opened and were an unknown to me (I'd heard their name before and loved it). They were one of the most listenable warmup bands I'd heard in ages...a trio with fiddle, guitar, and banjo. They played for about 40 minutes. The banjo player (Kevin?) joined KS and the Maldives for a couple of tunes on the accordion. Ken played a lot of his album Danzig and a few earlier nuggets from his album Touched. I bet there were never more than 60 people there, and at the end, maybe three dozen. Before the Maldives came out, Ken got off the stage and told us to gather around and he sang un-mic'd with his Telecaster. Then he played a tune on the piano and brought out the Maldives. I look forward to seeing The Maldives on their own sometime soon. 
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Saturday, April 06, 2013
Neil Young's biography, "Waging Heavy Peace"
By Jack Brummet, Music Ed.
I just finished Neil Young's autobiography. Strange, idiosyncratic, amazingly heartfelt, prismatic, pained, hopeful, and passionate. One thing that really struck me is how, despite everything he has accomplished, Buffalo Springfield (even as briefly as they lasted) was maybe the core music experience of his life, and an experience he wants to relive. It always seemed like CSNY was a millstone around his neck (and God knows, they went through a lot of garbage) but he truly loves each one of those guys, and goes out of his way to show that. I go back and forth on his book when I compare it to other rock autobios, but it is utterly fascinating, and not surprisingly, he breaks the mold.
I like Buffalo Springfield too. But I'd rather Smell The Horse:
Or hear the fellas...
I just finished Neil Young's autobiography. Strange, idiosyncratic, amazingly heartfelt, prismatic, pained, hopeful, and passionate. One thing that really struck me is how, despite everything he has accomplished, Buffalo Springfield (even as briefly as they lasted) was maybe the core music experience of his life, and an experience he wants to relive. It always seemed like CSNY was a millstone around his neck (and God knows, they went through a lot of garbage) but he truly loves each one of those guys, and goes out of his way to show that. I go back and forth on his book when I compare it to other rock autobios, but it is utterly fascinating, and not surprisingly, he breaks the mold.
I like Buffalo Springfield too. But I'd rather Smell The Horse:
Or hear the fellas...
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Friday, March 15, 2013
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
The punk rock advent calendar (free)
By Mona Goldwater, Christmas Editor
This advent calendar is much like a regular advent calendar. You open a window and out pops a treat. Open the window, and instead of getting a piece of waxy milk chocolate, you get to download a free Christmas song. Of course, it's a mixed bag, but there are some gems in there. Check out the website here.
This advent calendar is much like a regular advent calendar. You open a window and out pops a treat. Open the window, and instead of getting a piece of waxy milk chocolate, you get to download a free Christmas song. Of course, it's a mixed bag, but there are some gems in there. Check out the website here.
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Thursday, September 13, 2012
New(ish?) Mark Knopfler song - Seattle
I've heard this is only available on a two CD import set from Europe. /jack
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Tuesday, August 21, 2012
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