Mike June- Exile on Wilson Street

Can't even express how much I like "Exile on Wilson Street" by Mike June.

I'm gonna make this town a hotbed of Mike June enthusiasts somehow- how can you be THIS good and not be better known? Dang.

Living in Exile- Mike June

Brush With Greatness: David Hood (Redux)

I saw the Scott Boyer and The Decoys today at Birmingham's coolest annual event, the Garage Cafe's anniversary party. This time I had the opportunity to get my photograph taken with the man who is arguably the most influential Bassist in R&B and Rock History. He was part of some really memorable tracks, with his most famous lick probably on The Staple's "I'll Take You There" (find and click the link below to hear it)

(this was my earlier post about him)
David Hood is a bassist from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. I met him backstage at the Scott Boyer Benefit in Birmingham, and have had the rare joy of seeing him play Bass with the Decoys a couple of times at the annual Garage Cafe anniversary party.

Click Here to get an idea why David Hood is a legend among Bass Players. Stay for the solo!!!

The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, also known as The Swampers, are a group of American soul, R&B, and country studio musicians based in the Alabama town of Muscle Shoals.

These musicians, one of the best-known groups of session musicians, crafted the "Muscle Shoals Sound."

Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records brought artists like Wilson Pickett and Aretha Franklin to record with the all Caucasian group of Southern musicians after their success with Arthur Alexander and most notably on Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman". They originally worked at Rick Hall's FAME Studios in Florence, AL. In 1969, Beckett, Hawkins, Hood, and Johnson left Fame and started the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio.

In the 1970s, the Memphis, TN based Stax Records also began bringing artists down to Alabama. Johnnie Taylor had a long run of R&B hits with the group, and The Staple Singers had their greatest crossover successes with songs like "I'll Take You There" and "Respect Yourself". Later, they were the sound behind Bob Seger hits such as Old Time Rock and Roll. Other artists who recorded with the Swampers include Rod Stewart, Elkie Brooks, The Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Joe Cocker, Glenn Frey, Jim Capaldi, Julian Lennon, Delbert McClinton, J.J. Cale, John Prine, Alice in Chains, Joe Tex, Bobby Blue Bland, Eddie Floyd, Clarence Carter, Little Milton, Sawyer Brown, Tony Joe White, The Oak Ridge Boys, The Staple Singers, and many more.

David's son, Patterson Hood is the frontman and one of three songwriters for Drive-By Truckers. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As a session bassist and a member of the famous Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (with Barry Beckett, Roger Hawkins, and Jimmy Johnson), David Hood is widely admired for his craftsmanship and versatility working with an astounding range of musicians in his 40-year career. Born on September 21, 1943, in Sheffield, AL, Hood played trombone in high school, becoming proficient on bass and guitar as well.

In 1969 the Fame house band began freelancing with producer Jerry Wexler at Atlantic's New York studio, cutting sides with Aretha Franklin, King Curtis, Wilson Pickett, Solomon Burke, and James Carr. With that promising track record the rhythm section left Fame that same year opening Muscle Shoals Sound in Sheffield as co-owners. Their move formally began the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section era. Dubbed "the Swampers" by Shelter Records' producer Denny Cordell and given public recognition as such in Lynyrd Skynrd's "Sweet Home Alabama," the MSRS was soon backing up a diverse range of artists at the new studio, including Cher, Laura Nyro, Linda Rondstadt, Lulu, Boz Scaggs, and Sam & Dave, and even working in some jazz time with Herbie Mann and future Bee Gees producer Arif Mardin on his Atlantic Records set Glass Onion (1970). Through the mid-'70s the rhythm section worked constantly, backing Rod Stewart, J.J. Cale, Bonnie Bramlett, Jimmy Cliff, Joe Cocker, Leon Russell and Wendy Waldman. Hood also played bass on dozens of Stax recordings between 1970 and 1977, like the Staple Singers' "I'll Take You There". The rhythm section joined Steve Winwood's re-formed Traffic in 1973, appearing on Shoot Out at the Fantasy Factory and the live set On the Road. Paul Simon recorded There Goes Rhymin' Simon with the MSRS, and their collaboration on Still Crazy After All These Years earned Simon two Grammy Awards in 1975.

Muscle Shoals Sound was relocated to a larger facility in 1978, where during the 1980s Hood anchored tracks by James Brown, Glenn Frey, Levon Helm, Dr. Hook, Joan Baez, Jerry Jeff Walker, Carlos Santana, Lou Ann Barton, and Julian Lennon. In the late 1970s, Hood played on several Bob Seger albums, including Stranger in Town and Against the Wind. Delbert McClinton and the MSRS recorded his classic LP The Jealous Kind at MSS.

Hood has kept busy as a session bassist, working with Dan Penn, Gregg Allman, Jimmy Buffett, and many others through the 1990s. He joined The Decoys (fronted by Scott Boyer) in 1996, appearing on Shot From the Saddle; concurrently, Hood worked with Russell Smith (Amazing Rhythm Aces) on The End is Not In Sight. In 2005 he collaborated with Memphis producer Jim Dickinson at Sun Studios recording John Hiatt's album Master of Disaster. ~ Peter B. Olson & Steve Leggett, All Music Guide

Brush with Greatness: Kevin Welch

I met Kevin Welch and his lovely daughter Savannah at Threadgill's in Austin when Savannah's band "The Trishas" was opening for Willis Alan Ramsay.

Kevin Welch is our friends favorite singer and will be performing at the new Moonlight Music Cafe- "Moonlight on the Mountain" (just a few blocks from my house in Bluff Park) on April 8th 2010. (corrected-I initially said the 7th)

See Kevin Welch website HERE


Take time to watch this video, amazingly good!

Kevin Welch grew up in Oklahoma. He already toured as a teenager with several bands, before he moved to Nashville in 1978 to work as a songwriter. Singers like Ricky Skaggs, Waylon Jennings and Don Williams were using his material. At the same time he was very active in local clubs with his band - The Overtones. His popularity grew and in 1988 he signed a record contract with Warner Brothers.

In 1990 the album Kevin Welch was recorded and 2 years later Western Beat. Both albums received rave reviews, but did not sell very well. Warner Brothers discharged Welch from the contract.

In 1994 he founded with his partner Kieran Kane and Tammy Rogers, Mike Henderson and Harry Stinson the record label Dead Reckoning Records. The following year Life Down Here on Earth was published and in 1999 Beneath My Wheels. The majority of songs are Welch's originals. In 2002 the album Millionaire was recorded with several Danish musicians.

In Europe he is known mainly for his hit "Something About You" (contained in Western Beat) which was used as background music in Tuborg's commercials.

In 2004 Welch teamed up with fellow Dead Reckoning artists Kieran Kane and Fats Kaplin to produce You Can't Save Everybody. The trio followed this up with Lost John Dean in 2006, to general acclaim. Lost John Dean reached number one on the Americana charts, and resulted in nominations for several awards including Duo/Group of the year at the 2006 Americana Honors and Awards. (WIKI)



Savannah Welch is very nice young lady and a multi-talented singer, actress and model.

NOTE NOTE NOTE! see below-It appears Kevin Welch commented on my humble, sketchy little blog.

Brush With Greatness: James House

I met songwriter and vastly underrated performer James House at a "Small Stages" event in a private home in Mountain Brook this week.


He was very, very good. Talented, funny, charming and totally at ease.

(Sometimes I don't want to meet people I admire, because it can be really disappointing to discover what a jackass they are- James House is a genuinely nice guy..)

James House was very, very nice. I remain a fan for life.

 

In this photo, James House is pointing out that I'm an idiot.

 

Click to watch a Music Video-embedding is disabled James House Video

About James House
Co-Writer of Grammy and CMA Nominated Songs of the year "A Broken Wing" Martina McBride and "Ain't That Lonely Yet" Dwight Yoakam. Along with Diamond Rio's number one smash "In A Week or Two. James House songs have been recorded by Rod Stewart, Sara Evans, Kylie Minogue, Steve Holy, The Mavericks, Craig Morgan, The Warren Brothers, Tina Turner and Steve Azar to name a few. His CD "Days Gone By" on Epic records established him as an artist and produced his own Billboard Top 5 single "This Is Me Missing You" As a recording artist James has toured and performed with: The Beach Boys, Neil Young, Trisha Yearwood, Randy Travis and many others, and has appeared on The David Letterman Show, The Grand Ol' Opry and toured throughout the US and Europe. His voice and songs can also be heard on several successful tv and movie soundtracks.

Brush With Greatness: Gumby

My son and I ran into a legend today, though he appears to have fallen on hard times.

Gumby was beside Hwy 31 near the I-65 interchange in Hoover dancing erratically in front of a Halloween Costume store.

Though gracious, he had very little to say and it appears even his faithful little talking horse has abandoned him.

Pitiful.

 

Gumby is a green clay humanoid figure who was the subject of a 233-episode series of American television which spanned over a 35-year period. He was animated using stop motion clay animation.Gumby's principal sidekick is Pokey and his nemeses are the Blockheads, a pair of humanoid, red-colored figures with block-shaped heads, who wreak mischief and havoc at all times.

Gumby was inspired by a suggestion from Clokey's wife Ruth that he base his character on the Gingerbread man. Gumby was green simply because that was Clokey's favorite color. Gumby's legs and feet were made wide for pragmatic reasons: they ensured the clay character would stand up during stop-motion filming. The famous slanted shape of Gumby's head was based on the hair style of Clokey's father in an old photograph.(wiki)

Brush With Greatness: Willis Alan Ramsey

"I learned every song off his record. I went to see him everytime he played, got tennis shoes like his. I wanted to be Willis Alan Ramsey." -- Lyle Lovett

 

Willis Alan Ramsey (born 1951) is an American singer/songwriter, a cult legend among fans of Americana and Texas country. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama and raised in Dallas, Texas.


I couldn't believe my good fortune when I got to Austin and found that Willis Alan Ramsey was scheduled to perform at Threadgill's (the site of the legendary venue "Armadillo World Headquarters) while we were in town.

All I had to do was blow off the Wedding rehearsal dinner in order to attend.

 

 

 

Brush with Greatness: Rick Danko

 

This poster is one of our most treasured possesions, inscribed by Rick Danko to Leanna on September 11, 1993 when he came to Birmingham to play a solo show at "Louie Louie".

He was a terrific gregarious guy, and is often described as having an infectious personality.

He is one of my true heroes and couldn't have been nicer. RIP and God Bless Rick Danko.

 

Rick Danko was -- and will forever be known as -- one of the three singing members of the Band, as well as


their bassist. Their principal lead singer on the first album, he was second of the members to join the group back in its days backing Ronnie Hawkins, and the second of its members to pass away.


He was born Richard Clare Danko on December 29, 1942, in Greens Corner, Ontario, Canada, near the town of Simcoe. The latter is in a part of Ontario populated by a large number of families descended from expatriate Southerners from the United States, and the echoes of Southern culture ran through the music and language in the area, with a special emphasis on country music. Danko's whole family played or sang, and he was playing banjo for his classmates as early as the first grade. As a boy, he listened to Hank Williams, among other country artists of the late '40s and early '50s, in addition to gospel and R&B, with Sam Cooke and Fats Domino both strong influences during his teen years. He gave up school to go into music full-time when he was in his mid-teens, and made the jump to the big time -- relatively speaking -- by joining Hawkins' backing band, the Hawks, at age 17. Guitarist Robbie Robertson was already a member of a couple of years' standing at that point, and Danko was initially the group's rhythm guitarist, but he soon learned to play bass and switched to the four-string instrument. He not only mastered the electric bass but also the upright acoustic bass, and became an amazingly accomplished player on both instruments at a very young age.

Brush With Greatness: Phil Kaufman

I didn't actually meet Phil Kaufman, but we exchanged a couple of emails trying to arrange a meeting while on my way to Nashville. I'd heard a rumor that he occaisonally tends bar there, and thought it would be a good opportunity to pick up a copy of his book, get it inscribed and have my photo taken with him.

It's not every day you get to meet someone who served time in Terminal Island with Charles Manson in the early sixties, stole the corpse of a Rock icon, and Rolled with the Stones.

I didn't get to meet him as he had to accompany Nanci Griffith to a show in Texas the weekend I was there. Maybe next time.



Phil "Mangler" Kaufman, the man who and stole and cremated the body of country-rock icon Gram Parsons, and who has been described as the entertainment industry's"executive nanny" by Mick Jagger, tells it all. The Rolling Stones, Frank Zappa, Joe Cocker, Etta James, Emmylou Harris, Elizabeth Ashley, Rosanne Cash, the Byrds, the Everly Brothers.

(Before his death Parsons had said that he wanted to be cremated at Joshua Tree and have his ashes spread over Cap Rock, a prominent natural feature there. But after his death his stepfather arranged to have the body shipped home for a private funeral, to which none of his low-life music buddies were invited. Said buddies would have none of it. Fortified by beer and vodka, they decided to steal Parsons's body and conduct their own last rites.

Having ferreted out the shipping arrangements, Phil Kaufman (Parsons's road manager) and another man drove out to the airport in a borrowed hearse, fed the poor schmuck in charge of the body a load of baloney about a last-minute change of plans, signed the release "Jeremy Nobody," and made off with Parsons's remains. They bought five gallons of gas, drove 150 miles to Joshua Tree, and dragged the coffin as close to Cap Rock as they could by moonlight. Kaufman pried open the lid to reveal Parsons's naked cadaver, poured in the gas, and tossed in a match. A massive fireball erupted. The authorities gave chase but, as one account puts it, "were encumbered by sobriety," and the desperadoes escaped.

The men were tracked down a few days later, but there was no law against stealing a body, so they were charged with stealing the coffin or, as one cop put it, "Gram Theft Parsons." (Cops are such a riot.) Convicted, they were ordered to pay $750, the cost of the coffin. What was left of Parsons was buried in New Orleans.)




The movie "Grand Theft Parsons" is a fictionalized version of the Gram Parsons body-burning episode described in "Road Mangler Deluxe." Here is what the two principal actors have to say about the book:

"Phil Kaufman is an amazing character. I mean, just the basic [Gram Parsons] story is amazing. . . . I read Phil Kaufman's book called "Road Mangler Deluxe" and he's lived five lifetimes--his whole life should be a movie made out of it, much less these two days."
Johnny Knoxville
(plays Phil Kaufman in "Grand Theft Parsons")


"His book is pretty phenomenal. . . It's so great. It's like a fly on the wall of his thoughts and all of the escapades he got himself into."
Christina Applegate
(plays the fictitious Barbara Mansfield in"Grand Theft Parsons")

Brush With Greatness: Bonnie Bramlett

I didn't actually MEET Bonnie at the Scott Boyer benefit, but I did sit directly in front of her in the "artists and families" section. (This because the crew filming the event had taken my seat in the mezzanine)



Bonnie Bramlett (born Bonnie Lynn O'Farrell on 8 November 1944, Alton, Illinois), is an American singer and sometime actress known for her distinctive vocals in rock and pop music. Bramlett started her musical career at the age of thirteen as a backup singer for blues acts such as Fontella Bass, Albert King, and Little Milton.

She made history as the first Caucasian female to sing with Ike and Tina Turner as one of the "Ikettes". She eventually moved to Los Angeles, where she met fellow singer Delaney Bramlett in 1967 at a bowling alley gig for his band, The Shindogs. They were married within the week and are the parents of singer Bekka Bramlett, who was briefly a member of Fleetwood Mac in the 1990s.

The duo signed with Stax Records and became known as Delaney & Bonnie, becoming the first white artists among R&B artists such as Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, Sam & Dave, John Lee Hooker, and Booker T. and the MGs. They soon toured Europe with British rock legend Eric Clapton. With frequent drop-in performances by other noted musicians like Duane Allman, George Harrison, and Dave Mason, the group became known as Delaney & Bonnie & Friends.

Delaney & Bonnie first met Eric Clapton when the pair served as Blind Faith's opening act.



[url=http://www.divshare.com/download/6200450-ea6]DivShare File - 02 Come On In My Kitchen.mp3[/url]

Brush With Greatness: Seth Green

We ran into Seth Green at LAX when we were returning from a trip to Encinitas, CA.

He posed for a photo with my son (left) and a friend.

Brush With Greatness: Stevie Nicks

I had a memorable experience at a Fleetwood Mac concert at the BJCC in 1978 (I think).


I had made my way up through the crowd (that's another story), and was pressed up against a speaker on the far right side of the stage. I was enjoying getting a close look at them. Stevie was in her "most desirable woman on earth" phase so it was hard to take my eyes off of her. Anyway, she was spinning and dancing in a white gauze dress, with white stockings and ballet-type slippers, and as one of the songs was ending, she headed directly over to where I was.
The stage was about 5 ft high and I was jammed hard against the speaker. She came up, propped an elbow on it, looked directly at me, then executed a high kick to punctuate the last note of the song.

(What I later realized, she was measuring the distance that she could extend her knee for her kick)

When her foot went up, It whooshed right past my nose and I found myself (almost) alone for a long moment in a beautiful gauze parachute.


It was quite a moment, and probably a significant contributor to my white stocking fetish... bless you Stevie.

Brush With Greatness: Chris Farlowe

We met English Pop/Soul legend Chris Farlowe on a night train returning to London Waterloo Station from seeing Van Morrison at the 2004 Hampton Court Festival.

He was a very interesting, gregarious guy, not at all put off by the fact that we had never heard of him. We recognized him only as the singer who had warmed up the crowd with Van's band.

He was the first artist to have a hit with the classic "Handbags And Gladrags", and posseses a big, legendary voice. A little online research shows that he is all over British music history. In fact, if you believe the internet, Paul McCartney offered him an early version of "Yesterday" which Mr. Farlowe declined to record.




This is what he looked like when we met him, complete with the garish shirt.







This is the Stereophonics version of "Handbags And Gladrags". It's the best recording available, and the 3rd time it has been a hit after Chris Farlowe then Rod Stewart versions. Also, this was the version used as the theme song for the UK version of The Office TV series

(I don't know if it's cool to like the Stereophonics, I'm not really familiar with them but they seem a little bit pretty and intense here)

Brush With Greatness: Brock Peters

I was once on an airplane with Brock Peters and his family. Of course, I didn't know his name, but recognized him as "bust up a chiffarobe" guy from "To Kill A Mockingbird".

He was multi-talented. He sang background vocals on "The Banana Boat Song" (Day-O) by Harry Belafonte. (You may remember the song from Beetlejuice)
I remember that his wife was wearing traditional clothing, like a Dashiki. He died in 2005.