Saturday: Closing out the Week with Little Ricky Skaggs
Ricky Skaggs and I have one thing in common. We both met Lester Flatt when we were kids!
Here are two great performances captured from the 50's. Ricky Skaggs is 7 years old in this appearance with Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. This first one, Foggy Mountain Special, really gets good at about 1:18.
Secondly.... Ricky performing "Ruby". Dead on. What an incredible kid!
This is an awesome, true country song originally written and performed by the Carter Family. Here, it's masterfully performed by Roy Acuff and the Smokey Mountain Boys. I love Roy Acuff, this is confidence personified - he owns the stage.
Have I ever mentioned that I met Lester Flatt when I was about 5? I still remember it pretty clearly for a memory at that age. I remember being backstage at Alpine Valley and I was wearing one of my pinafore-style dresses. He leaned over to talk to me, and I don't remember everything he said but I do remember this: his presence felt very confident, gentlemanly, and southern. He was the personality and presence of a quintessential Bluegrass master. I remember his hat, I remember that he was wearing a suit just like he wore here in this video.
Without further adoing from Ms. Jones, here are Earl and Lester performing "Hey Hey Hey " and "Flint Hill Special". Just leave 'em on while you go about your blog reading, it's good stuff.
Go see the Uptown Savages, and while you're at it, see Tim Cook and the Riverwesterners.
Last night, fellow blogger Ally and I headed out to see their show at Linneman's in Riverwest. If you haven't been able to see either band I'd highly recommend it. I've seen the Uptown Savages (jump swing) a few times now, and they're always good. Personally, I think they're at their best when they play Cafe Lulu in Bay View, because it's a little bigger and they seem to cut loose a little more when they play there. I had never seen local Honky Tonk legend Tim Cook, so that was a real treat. Last night's show was a great time, us girls were all out on the dance floor showing off our "We're dancing the best we can" moves.
Because you know, Rockabilly and Honky Tonkers know their steps.
I had the chance to get my pinup look on. My whole 40's thing is very different from the more Betty Page, punkabilly look. My look comes from the inside and if I tried to fit in, it just would look awkward.
Speaking of awkward. Once the Uptown Savages got to a slower song, the legend himself, Tim Cook, came over by me and asked me to dance. I took his hand and looked right at him and said, "I don't know how to dance, just lead me". And he did. It was real and it was spectacular. For those four minutes, I was dancing with the closest I've ever been to something of an idealized late 40's man. His slicked back pompadour hair, retro western outfit, and his demeanor all come together to create something that took me out of the present time and to something that somewhere, I miss.
I have my photos up on Flickr from the 2007 Cheaters Car show which was held at the Nite Owl on Layton. Many of you enjoyed the photos from 2006, so I thought I'd bring it all to your attention yet again.
(Preface: I'm trying to switch over to Amazon for my audio links. We'll see how it goes. The music links should open in new windows.)
If you have an appreciation for the craft of music and the craft of heartfelt songwriting and true talent, then you would have no problem enjoying a Wayne Hancock show. This is real Honky Tonk, Juke Joint Swing. Not that boring crap you remember on the radio in the 70's. He's been covered numerous times, and has had a long, successful music career on his own terms instead of looking for his 15 minutes.
The first time I heard Wayne's music was when Hank III (Hank Williams III) covered "Thunderstorms and Neon Signs". Wayne's been here many times in the past few years, but unfortunately I've waited to find someone to go see him with. Heck with that...as you can see.
I met Wayne on his way in to Shank Hall for the show on Friday night He asked me what I'd like to hear. I was totally starstruck of course, and I said, "I'd love it if you could play "No Lovin' Tonight." He played it right after the opening song. Wayne is just a little shorter than me, slightly shy, and smiles a lot. He has a very thick Texas drawl. He came over to talk with me at the break too, to see how I was enjoying the show. I really like southern manners and charm, and Wayne brings that with him. Wayne played a little over two hours. He has a very strong three piece band in Eddie Biebel on guitar and the young but legendary Jake Erwin on standup bass. It's hard for me to put exactly how good Wayne's show is into words. He's funny, he's humble, he talks to the audience, and he takes you along for a Honky Tonk, Western Swing ride that nobody else can.
I took some live footage, but YouTube of course, has some of better quality:
Here is the title track from his new album, Tulsa
And another high quality clip: Gonna Be Flyin' Tonight
Humor of the night...emphasis mine..
"Talked sh*t about mahself one time. Almost got my aaass whuuped."
After the show I told him I couldn't wait for him to come back and play again, and that I would see him next time. That's how good his show is, and how close you can get to him.
Or better yet, Phel meets one of her idols, if she ever had one. Or pinup meets pinup :)
Last night I had the most amazing time - I finally got to see Wanda Jackson live. Wanda is very appropriately called "the Queen of Rockabilly". Back in the mid 50's when Elvis, Buddy, Jerry Lee and Johnny were hitting the scene, Wanda was right there next to them. In fact when you listen closely enough to her work, you wonder which of the above might have been influenced by this petite firecracker. And that's really who she is - smart, classy, sharp, and above all, a true Lady.
I wasn't sure what I could expect out of a live performance. She's 70. She performed mostly gospel music and for many years had stopped playing the music that made her famous. With each song she performed I was happily surprised that she could still hit the notes and sing them almost exactly as she used to. In the 50's she'd really hit some notes, and she had a uniquely characteristic growl as you can hear in "Fujiyama Mama". She can still do all of that, even pop her voice in a manner that you would associate with Jerry Lee Lewis' style. She didn't shy away from any of the songs that would challenge a singer of her age. But that's what's so magical about her.
That magic was there the entire evening, and you could feel it in the room. She can almost channel the mid 50's. I think I might have felt that in the days before the show, because when I decided I would see her, I did just as a woman might have in those days...I "made myself a pretty dress" for the occasion.
After the show, I of course was able to meet her. She held my hand as I talked with her and as an empath I can tell you she is full of electricity. You can't help but feel the energy radiating from her when you're in her presence. She complimented me on my dress, and I couldn't hold back, I told her I made it myself. It was dorky, but I knew she of all people could appreciate my thought process.
If you have two minutes, check out this video on Youtube. It pretty much sums up who she is.
Any dress I make gets its own name. This one will always be a Dress Called Wanda And my very, very wonderful souvenir of the evening and my conversation with Wanda Jackson...
I can't close this post without giving major props to the band that is playing the gigs with her: the Luster Kings. I was able to chat with the lead singer and also spent time talking with the very interesting Marshall Scott Warner, who plays out with the Luster Kings and also with his own bands, The Mercury Four (themercuryfour.com) and many others. He makes me wish I had more rockabilly friends.
It's going to be a super summer with all the upcoming gigs :)
