Tag: country

Saturday Matinee – Feeling Through (short film), John Hiatt & the Jerry Douglas Band, Cowboy Jack Clement & Jerry Lee Lewis

A homeless teen meets a deaf blind man in Feeling Through.

John Hiatt & the Jerry Douglas Band 2021. Hiatt’s been around for a long time, glad to see he’s still recording.

Cowboy Jack Clement was one of those guys who seemed like he’d be around forever, but then one day he’s gone. He played with and produced for some of the biggest names in both rock n’ roll and country music, and reportedly “discovered” (and recorded) Jerry Lee Lewis while Sun Records founder Sam Phillips was on vacation.

Yep. That’s The Killer in his heyday, and he’s still going.

Running short on post time here, but we’ll see you tomorrow for something or other.

Saturday Matinee – Utopia, The Nicholas Brancker Band, Bernard “Pretty” Perdie & Co., and The Cleverlys

Utopia (2019) is a short by filmmaker Kosta Nikas. A man lives in a society where citizens police each other with their mobile phones. [Found here.]

The Nicholas Brancker Band plays 60’s-70s spouge, a style that was “Barbados’ answer to ska in Jamaica and calypso in Trinidad.” I’d heard before but never knew it had a name until recently (thanks to Queen H.). Jump to 01:10 for the music.

Tighten Up (Part 1) is a cover of the classic 1968 Archie Bell & the Drells hit. Music starts at 0:40. This all-star lineup features:

Bernard “Pretty” Perdie – drums
Chuck Rainey – bass
David T. Walker – guitar
Sonny Phillips – organ
Bill Bivens – tenor sax
Virgil Jones – trumpet
Pancho Morales – percussion
Lou Donaldson – alto sax

“If Earl Scruggs, Dolly Parton, and Spinal Tap spawned a litter of puppies, it would be the Cleverlys.” – NYT

As long as we’re doing covers, The Cleverlys‘ take on The Proclaimers‘ 1988 song is a good’un. A lot of the songs they cover are parodies of a sort (I expected to hear “pterodactyl” in the refrain) but they play I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) straight… mostly.

There’s a hunderd other things that I can think of to post, but I gotta wrap it up and ship it out. Have a great weekend, and you know what to do.

Saturday Matinee – A Banana, Бра́во, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones & Cam Cole

This banana comes with a cool Django Reinhardt vibe.
[Found here.]

Marty Robbins goes to Russia? Бра́во [Bravo] was founded in 1983 in Moscow, was one of the most popular underground acts.
Ветер знает [The Wind Knows] sounds just like the real deal. (There’s an English version here.)

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones‘ song intro has been stuck in my head for months and now that I’ve rediscovered it I can finally sleep at night. This live version is from 2011.

Cam Cole, busker, bluesman, rocker, recording artist, and “the most impressive one-man band you will ever see” nails the blues to your forehead and plugs it into your ears. This guy is definitely one to watch for.

Have a great weekend, something else will show up here tomorrow.

Saturday Matinee – Boston Dynamics, The Contours, RT n’ The 44s, Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys & Roomful of Blues

Our whole crew got together to celebrate the start of what we hope will be a happier year: Happy New Year from all of us at Boston Dynamics. http://www.BostonDynamics.com.

Over 18M views and 97K comments since 29 December, and you’ve probably seen it already. I wonder what The Contours think of it.

The Contours‘ chart-topping 1962 hit Do You Love Me became a major hit again in 1988. I bet it scores a third time.

RT n’ the 44s has a laid back retro vibe with a large dollop of Johnny Cash. They’ve been described as “a vintage country band with dark obsessions.”

Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys have been jammin’ it since 1988, and here’s their cover of Colin James‘ Jumpin’ From Six to Six.

One of the best big brass blues bands in the land is Roomful of Blues. More than 50 musicians have played in the band since its inception in 1967, and I’m not sure of this 2013 lineup.

Have a great weekend, folks, because there’s more on the way. See you tomorrow.

Saturday Matinee – Andre Antunes, The Cleverlys, Ricky Skaggs & The Whiskey Gentry

Hold onto your earflaps people. Andre Antunes has a hit on his plate, and he included the lyrics so everyone can sing along.

The Cleverlys Who’s That Knockin’ At My Door is pure gospel bluegrass. Awesome happens at 02:30 with Irl Hees on bass. He’s no longer with the band.

In November 2019, Mr. Hees was charged with felony domestic battery in the second degree and felony aggravated assault of a household member.

“Hees said the argument was over his communication with an ex-wife. He said at some point during the argument, Heather DuBroc walked into the kitchen, picked a pistol up off the kitchen table, and pointed the weapon at him.” [Source]

Ricky Skaggs is one of the greatest mandolin players to come out of the 1980s bluegrass revival, and Highway 40 Blues is one of my favorite early morning roadtrip songs. Skaggs continues performing at the Grand Ole Opry.

Another of my favorites is the ballad of Colly Davis, written by Steven F. Brines and Jim Smoak. I’ve heard a few versions, but this one by The Whiskey Gentry blew me away.

That should keep you rollin’ a while. Have a great weekend folks, and do whatever seems righteous. See you back here tomorrow for more things to click on.

Saturday Matinee – Andrea Motis & friends, Stéphane Grappelli w/ Bill Coleman, Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks

Spanish singer and Jazz trumpeter Andrea Motis does Dizzy.

On the Saturday afternoon of the 6th Jazzing Festival, September 2019, there was a concert at the Bar Colombia in Sant Andreu town centre (a district of Barcelona, Spain) with Joan Chamorro, Andrea Motis, Carla Motis and Josep Traver plus some of the Sant Andreu Jazz Band including Joan Marti, Alba Armengou, Elia Bastida, Alba Esteban, Pablo Ruiz and Anastasia Ivanova (their guest from Moscow) here performing ‘On the Sunny Side of the Street.’

Bill Coleman (1904-1981) & Stephane Grappelli (1908-1997) ca. 1976. Great stuff for early morning forty miles to East Jesus road trips, or just sitting on the back porch watching the world go by.

Dan Hicks & His Hot Licks (with the Acoustic Warriors) 1989 reunion concert on Austin City Limits. Hicks had a solid fan base, but he got into alcohol and drugs, pissed off a lot of people. Years passed before he cleaned up his act and started over. DH&HHL came onto my radar in 1978 with (what my ears heard as) “Crazy Cuzzie Iz.” Thought he was singing about a family member.

Let’s do something tomorrow. See you then.

Saturday Matinee – Poderosa AAINJALA, Rising Appalachia; Kitty, Daisy & Lewis; Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats

Poderosa AAINJALA – 150 Tambores

Roughly translated from the indigenous Wuayuunaiki language of Bogotá, Colombia, AAINJAA means “to do, to elaborate, to manufacture, and to build.” More about this popular massive ensemble here.

Rising Appalachia plays roots-based music righteously. Leah Smith (aka Leah Song) plays banjo, bodhran; Chloe Smith plays guitar, fiddle, and banjo. Name of the song is Greasy Coat.

Kitty, Daisy and Lewis Durham perform Polly Put The Kettle On live at the 2012 Pickathon Pumphouse Sessions in Portland, Oregon. Kind of a quirky family group with an unknown surname from London, but they’ve got an aura of cool retro going – more about them here. This song’s a cover (written by A. Miller) but dang if I can find the original artist.

[Update: Sonny Boy Williamson recorded it as Polly Put Your Kettle On in 1947, and is credited as the writer on RCA Victor 29-2521-B.]

Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats are awesome, even if some of their song patterns are a bit familiar. Wasting Time fits my mood these days.

See you tomorrow, rain or shine, and maybe we’ll do something.

Saturday Matinee – The Birds, The Ramones, The Lovell Sisters & The Reverend Horton Heat

The 2nd vid provides the soundtrack for the 1st. View the 1st while listening to the 2nd.

 

The flocking grackles(?) were recorded in a Walmart parking lot somewhere in Texas.

The Ramones covered the Trashmen righteously.
The latter took their name from a 1961 song by Kai Ray (aka Ray Caire) “Trashman’s Blues.”

The Lovell Sisters play roots-country/bluegrass, and that vid is from 2009. 2/3rds of The Lovell Sisters comprise Larkin Poe, and they just released their 5th studio album.

The first recorded (and published) version of “Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed” was by Blind Willie Johnson in 1927, but the origins of the hymn are unknown – it may date to 1600s England.

Apparently the Reverend Horton Heat got a Whole New Life in 2018, two full years ahead of the rest of us.

Have a great weekend folks, now that our keepers have generously returned a bit of freedom. I’m gonna get a haircut and eat cheeseburgers, and I dare anyone to stop me. See you back here tomorrow unless the apocalypse is expedited.

Saturday Matinee – Chet Atkins w/ Jerry Reed, Creedence, and Les Paul w/ Dickey Betts

Last week I erroneously (and embarrassingly) confused Nena Kerner with Nina Hagen. I lost a lot of karma for that blowzit, so I’ll try to make up for it.

Chet Atkins & Jerry Reed play Bob Dylan. Not sure of date / place.
(Long intro, jump to 02:00.)

Creedence Clearwater Revival, 1970 Oakland California.

Video caption: The audio track is from the CD commemorating the concert and while I had to make some adjustments in speed to match the video, it sounds a hell of a lot better.

Les Paul with Dickey Betts on a Les Paul from 2001.
(Jump to 02:00 to bypass banter.)

Hope that absolves me somewhat. Have a great weekend, folks, and take a moment to remember what Memorial Day is all about.

Saturday Matinee – Strandbeest, Elvin Bishop & The Wailers

Awesome mechanics.

Glad to see Elvin Bishop is still rockin’.
He won me over years ago when he shouted out a recipe for carp. [Dedicated to Retired Geezer.]

The Wailers‘ “Stir It Up” (1967) is possibly the best Reggae groove ever. This might be the 2nd best. Here’s the 10th best.

Have a great weekend, folks. See you back here tomorrow for more aftershocks.