it's alive!!!!! friends... good... dusk devils don't die

 -> we've been in shock dealing w/news that phil & his family were MOVING!!! we were gonna record a CD w/art fein producing called "dusk devils die," but the prospect was just too depressing, so we didn't... what to do? at our last show, brian paxton, dusk devils' original guitarist, spelled the phil for a set, & i thank him for that, & phil performed that day/ eve w/the reliability; melodic, blistering playing; good humor; & tons of wonderful traits he's always given the band... it was tough to play, knowing he'd be leaving soon, but what a swell final show it was. :)
-> we sure miss phil, but have to be done blubbering over it & know that if he ever comes back & wants to join up again, dusk devils will be a two-guitar band!!!

the other greatest rocknroll video ever made

the wonders of the internet! used to be this was a rarity purchasable only from target video via snail mail... i like the above pt best, but here's a link to the entire video! the cramps at napa state mental hospital! the other greatest video (actually a tv show): go here to posting called "a posting for jim b" -- don't knock the rock!

dusk devils liner in LA weekly & a really cool flyer!!

what great artwork! we got a little liner in the LA Weekly, too: "female fronted rave-ups, bakersfield style." short & sweet... like us! (except phil. he's tall.) if you can't read the address, go to www.myspace.com/theduskdevils or www.myspace.com/rrpizza

kicks!

-> listen to manuel's cholo-rocking christmas tune "santa claus" (farmer john) here! :) :) :) -> http://www.crackedpistonrecordings.com/music-53.html
-> we got to take the train to hanford yesterday w/47 great friendly folks & sat w/the funnest couple, dan & marylou, who spun ideas for inventions & movie scripts (lately have thought it'd be fun to do a film short)... like if i were gonna make a movie, it might come out something like this poster (gene v, esquerita, & sputnik m would appear only in ghost form)(& i dropped the library-murder scheme dan suggested, tho librarians'd probably laugh w/great satisfaction at it)... they really fired my imagination. philbert suggested a storyline wherein we go town to town playing music, then i lure people in & he kills them by hitting them w/his guitar & we all split to the next gig (once again, i realize philbert & i are more alike than it appears) & dan & brian concluded the movie should be strange, shocking, nerdy, kitschy, noirish, funny, innocent, yet redemptive. good lord! what a task! so i'll just make a poster for now & call it good... still, i know so many folks w/really good character mugs & great personalities. it'd be so fun to see them on the b&w big (or small) screen; then if anyone saw it & enjoyed, that'd be the lagniappe!
-> ... mebbe i'll try to do this. only the great eggnog knows...
-> am still recovering this a.m. from the ice cream sundae we had in hanford at superior dairy (AFTER dinner! it was somewhat obscene!): banana & maple nut ice cream w/walnuts & marshmellow. if i lived in hanford, i would be sideshow-big bc of this wonderful place -- was slurring my words after just a few bites: it was that sugar-overloaded delicious... now it's time for a little penance, a nice run, my 1st in near-2 wks cause i'm finally getting well!!! then philbert & marko come over & i will give them new songs to sing. so what a nice day, & best to you who might read this... feliz navidad, prospero ano y felicidad....

mwahahahahahaha!!! dusk devils this friday night halloween at narducci's & this wk on RFB!!!!

here are some flyers for friday night, which we just found is NOT for charity... but will be a rockin' good time on all hallow's eve! :) ... latest news: ddevils are on RFB again this wk: go to http://radiofreebakersfield.com/ & look for show #103; "big manny" is a real rocknroller, yet is teaching me musical variety & subtlety & has not one mean bone in his body (spent 5 hrs recording yesterday in e.la); got turned on to a swell just-off-the-101 h-wood breakfast joint by AF; driving home into bako is much nicer when slurping down a milkshake & listening to full-blast cumbia radio; we did a little interview this p.m. w/a nice young gal from the cal & debuted "rockin' bones" for the halloween show -- it's gonna be fun!!; on halloween, fox theatre is showing horror movies (not free) on the big-screen all day & night, culminating w/DOTD at 4:15 a.m. on 11/1!! must call greg goodsell asap!!!; the arizona cafe has the greatest atmosphere & chile verde in bakersfield; & tomorrow, happy happy bd to big b!!! :)

yes, this is quite premature...

...but manuel called & really liked the cover i made. so here it is. :) the other guys are john palmer of mac curtis, ronnie dawson, lisa finnie, cadillac angels & more fame, & leo valenzuela (i'm sorry, leo, i can't remember your western swing band's name). like john, leo plays in many bands. but both are very lucky to play with manuel, i think. :) and i shore am, too. :)
this record will not be available til fall. but it will be a fun one, i gear-ron-tee. enough dialect from me. happy eve!!

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

for more fantastic videos, check out dusk devils favorites at http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=duskdevils... youtube's a treasure! i could add 100s more, if there were time!!! (ps - if you love gene taylor's piano playing, check www.gene-taylor.com - gene now lives in belgium, but will be in the socal & bay area in dec to play shows w/dave alvin, bazz & bateman! these will be don't-miss events! :) whoops - gotta run...

so long, don't know where i'm going, but so long

So long, don't where I'm going
But so long, you know you done me wrong
So long, because I know I'm not the one

Goodbye, please tell me why
Goodbye, you always make me cry
Oh why, why are you never satisfied

So long, I'm all packed up and on my way
So long, you'll need me some ol' sunny day
So long, yes I'm, I'm going to stay



http://www.tous-arts.net/fats7.html <- here's a "newer" version of this song, with its so-sad, so simple, so beautiful solo, not ruined by even one wheedle-wheedle of show-off guitar -- i think it's just perfect, the aural equivalent of a huge shuddering cry, like the end of that saul bellow novella i mentioned below... these kinds of songs aren't knock-offs or throw-aways or "simple" to me at all. they're all heart & soul sincerity, & give me hope & make me want to live & love another day.

rockin' 50s III - what happened!!!!!! (pix below)

(i'm gonna try to do this art fein style, for brevity's sake. ha!)
day 1: we arrived in green bay, befriending janet of bomp records' invisible eyes. we took her to her hotel & went to ours: the wingate is a stone's throw from both the oneida casino, where the fest took place, & austin-straubel airport - convenient. got dressed, got wristbands, got up to the stage for little richard's set. the crowd quickly stuffed the giant oneida ballroom. richard's bandleader came out & said "absolutely no pictures" - a collective groan of protest ensued, but most people complied. (i remember one time taking pic after pic of richard from about 15 ft away altho i could tell the flash was blinding him... yes, best not to take pix so he can concentrate on performing...) richard came out bejeweled & beglittered, pancaked, bewigged, famous ferocious smile flashing, & on crutches. when his brother passed away, his sciatica started acting up - hence the crutches. he still stood between songs to bless & mess with the crowd. he danced at the piano bench. his black eyes flashed, playful, crazy-dangerous. his set was long & loud, with extended breaks for patter & reflection. little richard seems to be feeling his mortality, actually threw into the audience the shiny watch he usually taunts with, talked about old people, going to heaven, introduced his bass player - his son! we'd never seen him do that. two drummers, three sax players, a back-up pianist... 74 yrs old, little richard does what he can to put on the greatest show possible. no pictures, but we were grateful to again get to see the living legend!
(i've already exceeded art's word count, so i'll just go on...) watched a bit of the uptown savages, got the lay of the land for the fest (vendors, purcell lounge, casino stage, where slim jim phantom - with keith richards junkie glamour: greasy pomp, black-ringed eyes, sash around his neck - held nightly jam sessions). we were blown away by the 5 keys, backed by deke dickerson, the horton bros., others... the singer closest to us (stage left - i don't know his name!!!!!) had eyes full of "pain and love and so much emotion," brian later told him. the harmony singing & true emotion had me near sobbing (especially with the first incredible notes of "my saddest hour"!!!), but it was too early for that, so i sucked it up. the studied & rather stoic young(ish) acolytes who backed the 5 keys were a curious contrast to the raw emotion & warmth of the band members themselves: throughout the weekend, the older performers in general were friendlier, warmer, more approachable, with less airs - grateful to be in this place where they were treated with such love & support? old musicians, like old people in general in america, can be ignored, dismissed, even scoffed. at rockin' 50s, all were adored.
we wandered in a daze after that, then called it a night.
day 2: we ran into the 5 keys & brian heartily complimented them. we headed to the "tiki brunch," where the masterful & gentlemanly carl sonny leyland played. this fellow knows his piano!! he ripped through 2 sets of perfect stomps, shuffles, boogie-woogies, strides, sang with a pleasant, unaffected blues voice reminding me of gene taylor a bit, & was very friendly after the set. he backed up at least 8 other acts we saw over the week, & knocked my socks off again when, after all the boogie & rock&roll, he switched into top-notch honky-tonk, too! carl knows all the styles & never misses a lick, providing the backbone of every band he plays with, grinning shyly when a frontman didn't properly cue the band. he never was anything less than perfect & humble. carl sonny leyland rules!!!! also on the day's bill were sonny burgess & rosie flores, billy lee riley, the crickets... we took a break & had dumpling soup, pb&j, & a pineapple malt made with wisconsin ice cream at our favorite dark smoke-filled lounge-restaurant, kroll’s east, on e. main in town… then we returned to the oneida for the performance by carl's alter-ego, incredible, maniacal jason d williams.
i saw jason open for buck owens many many moons ago... at that time, he was downright strange, this skinny, red-headed kid aping jerry lee lewis to the point of obsession. he seemed to play piano even better than the killer, but the considerable talent was placed second to impersonating his idol. now jason's just as skinny, & when you see him play, you'll know why: this is the most athletic, hellfire-&-brimstone kind of pure rock&roll act around - jason runs across stage, leaps atop the piano, stands on it & shakes, lays on it to play upside down, plays mostly standing or crouched on the ground, howls & wails & sings in a strong southern rock&roll yell that rattles your bones, laughs & leers & whoops, flashing his eyes like woody woodpecker on whites... different than the killer is that jason comes off like a crazy but nice southern boy, with the lascivious sneer being fun & buoyant rather than scary. you don't have to fear jason d. - but you'll stand in awe of his talent & energy. at the beginning of jason's set, there were two rows of (mostly) gray haired folks lining the stage, but few of the "hip" kinda rockabillies; 15 mins into his insanely fevered set, i turned & saw an ocean of bobbing & nodding heads - the rockabillies outside the lounge had heard jason williams & ran in for more!! providing perfect foil to jason the mad-rabbit was his calmly handsome, dignified, cash-esque guitarist jimmy davis, who plays also with sleepy labeef. rounding out the band were a bassist & guitarist who kept pedal to metal: i think these guys must lose about 5 lbs at every show! commented brian, "this is why they tried to outlaw rock & roll in the 50s!" watching jason d. williams is the closest a person could come, i think, to knowing what it was like to see jerry lee lewis or little richard in their prime. what an amazing experience!!! (www.rockinjasondwilliams.com)... it actually was hard to watch anyone else for a while after seeing jason d. williams, but we wandered to the casino lounge, where eddie angel's new act, surf-garage rock band the neanderthals played.
that day, too, we watched ferlin husky with leona williams, doing wonderful bakersfield-texas honky-tonk; chicago-style blues from rubber-faced englishman big joe louis & his blues kings (smooth & accomplished jimmy sutton on upright); dawn shipley & the sharp shooters, fronted by dawn's nostalgic voice & girlish comeliness; conny, a rockabilly devotee from japan; & the stars of the 50s show - lew williams, eddie bond, hayden thompson (in strong voice), & glen glenn. i met miriam linna & billy miller of norton records & the a-bones - they were really nice!!!! robert gorden & chris spedding, mike sanchez, dave stucky, the lonesome spurs, the list of amazing acts goes on & on. we had to make choices, tho, so we picked big jay mcneely, who made his entrance by strutting through the crowd all bent over his bass saxophone, in a loud sequined vest. i ran over to try to peek as he pushed his way through, then up to stage right, where i stayed to watch carl play. suddenly, big jay was coming our way! he stopped right in front of me & his eyes bulged: next thing i knew, he'd locked my arm in his, &, still honking on the sax, started strutting up onto the stage. aaaaaah!!!! the crowd cheered as we got center stage & i concentrated on watching him play, then, knowing i was supposed to dance or whoop it up like a carefree 50s gal or seasoned seductress would do, but being a music nerd instead, i lost my nerve & beat it, laughing. big jay is 80 yrs old; brian was right when he said, "he just wanted a pretty girl to go up onstage with." not that i'm so pretty, but i'm sure it's true that he always grabs whatever gal he notices near the stage to go up with him, being the ladies' man that he seems to be… later in his set, he started singing to a group of japanese girls front & center, who screamed like they were watching the beatles. he actually laid down on his 80 yr old belly to croon sweet-nothings to one of the girls, who beamed ecstatically. what fun. :)
that night i returned to the hotel & crashed and burned. too much excitement.
day 3: absolutely blown out, we drove to door county, “the cape cod of the midwest.” saw bright green pastures, jersey cows, old barns, raised wood houses with basements, lake michigan. had an ice cream made with door county cherries. listened to ipod marty robbins. back in green bay’s old downtown, at a place that’s loud smoky bar on one side, clean & cozy, quiet eatery on the other, had the most deliciously fresh beer-battered walla-walla with potato pancakes (corner of howard & broadway). we got mellowed out, replenished to face more craziness & excitement.
on the bill were sid king, frankie ford (in the casino, i heard fats domino! what’s fats domino doing here? i wondered, running for the casino lounge… it was frankie ford, sounding dead-on like the fat man.), the penguins, the lucky stars, the hollywood combo, the justices (crash & rory) and (dang it! i can’t believe i missed them!) the members of high noon doing the day-time jam session. we caught sleepy labeef, “the human jukebox,” who during the stars of the 50s set, ably filled the time slot when two other performers couldn’t show due to illness.
the vincent black shadows, a relatively new chicago 8-piece band fronted by black-haired gabrielle & her two back-up singers, were really fun. sounding like ronettes meet link wray meet wanda jackson, the cramps and a-bones, the vbs’s rocked! gabrielle’s voice was strong & adaptable – she sounded like wanda, like candye, like ronnie spector. this was a hard-rocking, fun-loving act – wow! i really liked their version of “skinny minnie,” here called “skinny jimmy.” they also did some ronnie dawson tunes, and when we left & entered the main ballroom, ray sharpe was doing “monkey’s uncle”! after ray sharpe came barbara lynn, who looked healthy & happy compared to some of the frail old male performers. she kicked off with “good thing going,” then did “please please please”! after this was the head cat, featuring lemmy from motorhead. i noticed a crowd shift as the head cat readied to get onstage – more punks, more metal-looking people, more veiled aggression. the head cat look fantastic – danny b harvey’s shy, blond rockabilly gentleman look contrasting slim jim phantom & rough-looking lemmy, who, with skin-tight pants, “indian” tats, & greasy long-hair & fu-manchu, is bad-biker monstrously ugly & cool. lemmy scream-sings, & plays a washburn bass like a rhythm guitar! picture the origin of this "high concept": “let’s start a rockabilly band fronted by LEMMY!!” danny b harvey actually told us this band’s been together 6 yrs: again, i'm hip to nothing! the head cat’s version of “somethin’ else” definitely was fun, & the novelty kept you wanting to hear more, despite the threat of deafness, – but we truly didn’t want to burst our eardrums, so we called it a night.
day 4: i called art fein to see if he’d gotten to the show. art got hurt! he was stuck in a room in chicago, immobilized, sounding like crap. we also found out bo diddley had had a stroke & wouldn’t be performing at all. what a time for bo & art! bo diddley’s recovering as of this writing, & art is too, tho still not home… charlie gracie, roy head, the clovers, carl mann, levi dexter, jimmy sutton’s 4 charms, 3 bad jacks, charlie thompson, the ecco-fonics, etc. etc. – the music kept coming!... we watched a few minutes of roddy jackson, james intveldt, & got a salad in the lounge, where we saw carl sonny leyland, noshing away at a nearby table with big joe louis & a gal named gail. i think she was the only woman there with her “natural” (silvery-gray, not rollered & pomaded) hair – she was striking for it, with her olive skin & pretty smile. the legends of the 50s hour featured mac curtis, show-stealer ray campi, strong-voiced johnny powers, & joe clay. joe clay, slim & spry as a teen, in pink satin jacket, was greeted with absolute adulation. his songs were not huge-sellers, but were such great ones, they’ve gathered him a strong & adoring following amongst rare record lovers – cracker jack, get on the right track, duck tail, jellybean, 16 chicks… joe kept 'em coming, skipping & dancing around the stage, playing the left hand at carl’s piano, the upright bass, even replacing the drummer for a tune.
then came the act we’d been waiting for – the collins kids. what can i say about them? look at the pictures below to get an idea of the life, grace, & good cheer they radiate. brother & sister larry & lorrie make you feel just wonderful, so happy to be in their presence. (and if not, i don't wanna know it!) larry’s guitar playing is still up to snuff – amazing to see this handsome, easy-going fellow & think of the hyper, hyper-talented little pipsqueak he was! he & deke harmonized & traded off lightning speed solos & duets on double-necked mosrites (made in bakersfield originally, you know). i wondered about how a prodigy makes it to adulthood – so many do not, their own premature brilliance snuffing them out. how does one transition from child savant into well-adjusted adulthood? larry seems to have done it. regarding larry’s older sister, lorrie's youthful talent was singing, & she doesn’t sing at all like she did, but her beautiful smile & shining eyes give her such a lovely & loving presence, it just doesn’t matter... backed by deke dickerson initially, the collins kids were also joined by dave stucky, who jumped out onstage with an acoustic, obviously beside himself with happiness to be with his heroes. the capper was after the encore, when larry & lorrie brought out the one & only legend herself, wanda jackson!!! this was tremendous – we were gonna miss wanda’s sunday show because we had to go home. but there she was, tiny little apple-shaped wanda with her big black hair & red-painted smile & that unchanged voice, sounding kittenish, girly, knowing & naughty… the collins kids, WITH the dave & deke combo (“we’re the only one who can get them to speak!” larry commented), WITH wanda jackson… this was the end-all for our amazing week at rockin' 50s. it was time to come home; we'd've died if we'd seen any more.
what a wonderful & unforgettable experience rockin’ 50s III was. it was definitely worth the trip cross-country, the fatigue, the eye & sinus infection i got from airplanes & allergies & who knows what. no one died, except with happiness at all the great music. in a way these kindsa things are a little like being reborn, revivified, shocked back alive by the thrilling & inspiring force called rocknroll. (check links at right for more information).

a posting for jim b

here's a clip from my all-time favorite TV event, recorded by granada television (uk) in 1964. you can order it from www.videobeat.com w/keywords "Don't Knock the Rock" granada & some of the artist names below... jl lewis is a bulky & seductive musical harry powell-elmer gantry kinda powerful-perverty figure here, & the wild rock&roll frenzy is (in a good way) a crazy-making thrill. (forgive the lazy writing; the happy fellowship of this wkend's drunk convention salved my physical ills, but was draining)... the other footage, esp of gene vincent & little richard, is absolutely amazing!! - follow the youtube clip below to watch more - one guy posted most of the show there in snippets for now.

romance of lonely love gone south soul hankerings

the sadness of life can bring such lonely pleasure; does anyone relate? i wrote a song long ago about driving long distances at night: "i got that happy lonesome feeling..." solitude, especially when coupled with action (walking, driving, music-playing) puts a soul closer to something ineffable & everlasting & beautiful, something that's calling & we're all gonna see it, and the lonely times give just a little glimpse...
i know this line of thinking isn't one bit original, so here are some more tunes. taking a small breather from school & messing again with the free audacity mini-mixing program, i know these tunes still sound rough as a badger's behind, but i don't care (obviously). the process is so pleasing, & maybe someone else'll try this. why not? :) ... i still've got that problem of tweaking the dials too high & it all comes out kinda squacky, messy, rough, lame, corny, embarrassing, but with those moments of pretty & exciting & even cool, like life, you know (haha - i can justify anything!) ... ok, time to go to the doctor now. :)

SADIEBROWN the exg...

REDLIGHT jennyange...