This Saturday night, April 11, I'll be joined once again by my buddy Brian Wilkie (pictured here) for three sets of hard-swingin' jukebox favorites at Finley Dunne's Tavern. Brian is one of the finest guitarists/steel guitarists in Chicago, and it's always a treat for me to play with him.
Finley Dunne's is located at 3458 N. Lincoln Avenue, in Chicago's Roscoe Village neighborhood. Showtime is an extra-early 8:30 p.m. Finley Dunne's has great food, parking is plentiful, and there's no cover charge.
The temperature is supposed to climb to 50 degrees on this April Saturday night. Hope to see you at the tavern.
As we approach Inauguration Day, I keep thinking about one Chicagoan who passed away nine years ago. His timeless music certainly should -- but probably won't -- be filling the air at all the balls and parties on January 20.
Welcome to Chicago, Illinois -- a place long celebrated for its great pizza, beautiful lakefront, and wonderful music scene. It's surely just a matter of time before folks around the country figure out that our city and state are also noteworthy for the dead-fish stench of political corruption that has, for decades, filled the air here in the Land of Lincoln.
The Blue State Cowboys hit the studio last night to record their musical take on this political cesspool:
PAY TO PLAY (But Keep Love In Your Heart)
Matt Farmer
All my life I’ve been a workin’ man On Chicago’s northwest side Livin’ check to check, never gettin’ ahead No matter how hard I tried
I had an old friend from the neighborhood He grew up to do just fine He couldn’t read or write to save his life But I guess his boss didn’t mind
Now, I never quite knew what my old friend did To get that money rollin’ in But life, I guess, can be pretty good For a state committeeman
So, one night over beer at the local bar I said, “How’d you make your dough?” My friend just grinned a wicked grin And said “Here’s all you need to know”
CHORUS You’ve got to pay-to-play in this town If you wanna make that deal go down It’s who you know inside the Big Machine Just find the man that’s behind the man And put some money in his hand That’s how we try to keep our city green
VERSE Well, the liquor flowed and the stories flew And my old friend bared his soul About rigging bids and getting neighbor kids Good jobs on a ghost payroll
He said he’d be happy to help me out If there was anything he could do Like try to arrange a zoning change Or put me on a movie crew
Well, we talked and talked until last call And then I told him I was beat Then he climbed aboard his hired truck To see a man about a Senate seat
And late that night as I lay in bed You know I finally figured it out My friend didn’t need to read or write Cause he had himself some clout
CHORUS You’ve got to pay-to-play in this town If you wanna make that deal go down It’s who you know inside the Big Machine Just find the man that’s behind the man And put some money in his hand That’s how we try to keep our city green
CHORUS You’ve got to pay-to-play in this town If you wanna make that deal go down It’s who you know inside the Big Machine If you wanna standout You gotta know who gets the handout That’s how we try to keep our city green It’s a daily job to keep our city green
Thanks to Mouse and Fig over at Reelsounds Chicago for making time to get us into their wonderful recording studio on short notice. Extra special thanks to my music-making buddies for braving last night's Chicago snowstorm to join me on this project. You guys are the best.
Brian Wilkie works his steel guitar magic.
Peter Strand (bass) and Peter Manis (drums) hold down the bottom.
Stevie Doyle spanks the plank.
Annalee Koehn's harmonies can make even political corruption sound angelic.
Thom "Fig" Fiegle works the big board.
Since this is the holiday season, the BSC gang asks all of you to heed the words of our governor (recently channeling Elvis) and try to "keep love in your heart."
It ain't the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, but as far as holiday traditions go, I've had a good thing going for eight of the last ten years. I’ve managed -- with my wife's blessing, of course -- to kick off the long Thanksgiving weekend by playing an after-work gig in a Chicago tavern, and I've been lucky enough to have a lot of my musically-inclined friends sign on for the event.
One of the highlights, of course, has been the willingness of the St. Louis Horns, my music-making compadres from Missouri, to make the 300-mile trip to town for the near-annual November bash. This year, however, scheduling issues and a global economic meltdown have conspired against such a large-scale musical onslaught. So I've implemented Plan B -- which means adapting and getting back to the basics.
This year, be sure to jump-start your holiday weekend on Wednesday, November 26, by joining me and my guitar-pickin’ buddy Stevie Doyle (pictured above) as we knock out hours of jukebox favorites at McKellin’s Pub, 2800 W. Touhy (at the corner of California and Touhy), in Chicago’s West Rogers Park neighborhood. We’ll cover a lot of musical ground (e.g., Hank, Haggard, Prine, Kristofferson, Cash, Elvis, Jerry Lee, Buddy, and Carl) and we may even have some special guests.
Mr. Doyle -- an honorary Blue State Cowboy, whenever I can get him on a gig -- has been working his Telecaster magic for over twenty years with numerous Chicago bands, and some of you have probably learned a few things from him through his classes and private lessons at the Old Town School of Folk Music. Over the years he’s shared stages with folks like Pinetop Perkins, David Bromberg, Dale Watson, John Primer, and Smokey Smothers.
McKellin’s is a great neighborhood tavern, and there’s plenty of parking. It’s an early start time. We’ll play from 6:30 p.m. until about 9:30 p.m., and there is no cover charge. Hope to see you down the line.
A couple of days ago, while having my morning coffee, I e-mailed "Crawl Back To Crawford" -- my band's musical farewell to George W. Bush -- to Joe Nick Patoski, a guy I consider the dean of Texas music writers.
Now, I'd never met Joe Nick, but I've been reading his work for decades. (In fact, I highly recommend his recent biography of Willie Nelson -- a perfect gift for any Willie fan in your family.) Truth is, I sent Joe Nick the song on a lark, thinking it might be nice if someone in Texas dug it.
Turns out he dug it and quickly asked me if he could post the song on his blog. That was a no-brainer for me.
I don't know who visits Joe Nick's blog, but it did make my week to know that a writer whose work I've enjoyed for a long time wanted to post my tune (along with a very cool song -- "Do The Soul President" -- from some serious studio cats in Dallas) on his cyber-forum.
I was in musical heaven last Saturday night. Booker T. & the MGs hit Chicago, along with Mavis Staples and her fine band.
And my wife and I had third row seats.
Now, over the years, I've been lucky enough to see a lot of my musical heroes play live -- e.g., Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Bo Diddley, Albert King, B.B. King, Andres Segovia, Dan Penn, Kris Kristofferson, James Brown, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Eddie Palmieri, Gil Evans, The Temptations (w/ Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin), Jay McShann -- but I've never been able to catch a performance by Booker T. & the MGs. I don't think they've played a lot of Chicago dates during the last couple of decades.
The guys are obviously a little older and grayer than they were when they served as one of the greatest house bands ever (see clip below), but old age hasn't slowed them down on the bandstand. They still bring it.
As for Mavis Staples -- a fellow Chicagoan -- I have been fortunate enough to see her perform over the years, and she still sounds great. Her new record, which was recorded live at The Hideout in Chicago and released this week, captures the feel of the show I saw on Saturday. Her current band features a fine guitarist, Rick Holmstrom, who obviously absorbed a lot of Pops Staples's playing.
If I die tomorrow, I'll die having seen Booker T. & the MGs perform live. (And, yes, I'll look up Al Jackson, Jr. when I get there.) Pretty cool.
The Blue State Cowboys offer their musical farewell to George W. Bush.
CRAWL BACK TO CRAWFORD (Matt Farmer)
VERSE Well, for eight long years we’ve been payin’ your rent But now your lease done run And all our money’s been spent So pack up your bags And take a last look around At how you drove a great nation straight into the ground
CHORUS And don’t let the door Hit you in the ass on the way out Don’t bother with the goodbyes Just make sure that you stay out There ain’t no need to call No need to write We don’t even need you to turn out the light Just crawl back to Crawford, brother Promise that you’ll leave us alone
VERSE Every step of the way, your story’s been the same Just cruisin’ through the world On your daddy’s name You had the oilmen friends You had the Skull and Bones But it never would have happened if your name was Jones
REPEAT CHORUS
BRIDGE Slam dunk, privatize, deregulate Tax cuts, trickle down The politics of hate Flag pin, waterboard Intelligent design You were handed your throne by just five of the nine
REPEAT CHORUS ____________________________________________ Thanks to my friend Don Grayless (pictured below) for recording this song on short notice.
Thanks, too, to my music-making friends Brian Wilkie (guitar), Stevie Doyle (guitar), Peter Strand (bass), Peter Manis (Drums), Diana Laffey (background vocals), and Gerald McClendon (background vocals) for their work on this tune.
Unfortunately, we couldn't get The St. Louis Horns to town in time to record with us -- not that they would have even wanted to get involved with these partisan antics . . . .
When I started this blog, I decided that music would be its focus. That's why, for the past six months, I've avoided posting entries about sports, religion, sub-prime mortgages, or the joys of alpaca farming.
We are, howevever, counting down the hours until Election Day, and I remain a political junkie -- albeit one who has tried hard for twenty-five years to kick that particular habit. And, to date, I've successfully resisted the urge to write about presidential politics.
This blog entry is no exception. It's about music. Really. It's about a song I penned earlier this month. Granted, the song is my musical farewell to George W. Bush, and its current working title is "Crawl Back to Crawford," but this blog entry is about music - not politics.
So, musically speaking, I'm thrilled to announce that many of my all-star, music-making friends (Brian Wilkie and Stevie Doyle - guitars; Peter Strand - bass; Peter Manis - Drums; Diana Laffey and Gerald McClendon - background vocals) are going to join me in the recording studio on Monday night (October 27) to bring this little ditty to life. We hope to have it ready for your Election Day parties.
A couple of weeks ago, after the family had turned in for the evening, I wandered down the street to hear Jimmie Dale Gilmore perform a late night set. I've seen Jimmie Dale perform a number of times -- both on his own and with the Flatlanders -- so I knew what I was getting. Nice show, no surprises, the usual stream-of-consciousness rambling between songs.
The wild card for the evening was Jimmie Dale's opening act, Eilen Jewell. Being a music geek, I generally try to learn something about an act -- even an opening act -- before I walk into a club or theater. That night, however, I walked in a blank slate, not having done my usual due diligence. My tuned-in musician buddy Stevie Doyle, with whom I attended the show, hadn't heard of her either. Nevertheless, we were both impressed with what we heard.
The Boston-based singer-songwriter hit town with her crack band and played a tight set of intelligent, swinging music. Her relaxed, behind-the-beat phrasing evoked Willie Nelson, Gillian Welch, and even Billie Holiday. (After citing Lady Day as a big influence, Jewell and the band did their own take on "Fine and Mellow" -- and it worked well.)
I thought enough of Jewell and her band that I bought a copy of their most recent CD -- 2007's "Letters From Sinners and Strangers" (Signature Sounds) -- in the lobby after the show. The disc is excellent. I'm not sure how I missed out on hearing about this band last year.
Here's a clip of the band performing the opening cut from that CD:
"Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!" Howard Cosell's staccato delivery of those words during the 1973 Frazier-Foreman fight was one of my favorite TV moments as a kid. (I used to do a pretty fair Cosell impression back when Nixon was in the White House.)
That said, and with apologies to Howard's estate, down goes Dallas Frazier as one of my favorite country/soul songwriters. Never heard of him? Then check out "The R&B Sessions," the recent release (on Australia's great Raven reissue label) of some of Mr. Frazier's work from the mid-1960s. It'll be time well spent.
Dallas was the guy who penned "Mohair Sam" (Charlie Rich), "Elvira" (Rodney Crowell, The Oak Ridge Boys), "Alley Oop" (The Hollywood Argyles), "There Goes My Everything" (Jack Greene), "True Love Travels Down a Gravel Road" (co-writer) (Elvis Presley, Percy Sledge), and many other classics. (The last two tunes listed are not on this reissue.)
Although Mr. Frazier's career as a recording artist never really took off, this pair of albums from the mid-1960s is a great listen. It's a wonderful blend of country, soul, and gospel delivered in two- to three-minute doses. If you're a fan of Charlie Rich or Buddy Miller, give it a listen.
