Snatchin' And Grabbin'

Jumpin' From 6 To 6 is going from strength to strength, with interviews, reviews and articles about the modern Rockin' scene. When Jumpin' From 6 To 6 vol. 1 pdf came out there was an interview with Dave Stuckey of the Dave and Deke Combo which caught my eye. They've got a great sound, good pedigree and a sense of humour. Check out a couple of tracks and then go check out the other albums on their site, and you'll see what I mean.

Snatchin' And Grabbin' - Dave and Deke Combo
Right Behind Me - Dave and Deke Combo

I've permanently got a Proper Records Box on my wishlist these days, as they're are putting out some wonderful compilations. It took me a while to realise that Snatchin and Grabbin was an old Bob Wills Western Swing tune featuring Skeeter Elkin on piano, so hear for your listening pleasure, and educational excitement. I guess times haven't changed so much

Snatchin' And Grabbin' - Bob Wills


And you can get it on Proper Records Box 83, there are some great tracks on this, their second Western Swing Box

Once Upon A Time ... The End

Well here is the final instalment, and while a blog is not the best medium for a sequential cartoon, you can get the feel for it, Go find more!

The Hype Machine - Hooray!

Many thanks to Anthony of The Hype Machine for adding The Kingdom to his Listings. So now you can use my favourite Mp3 Blog Aggregator to check for new songs which means that you wouldn't have to come here at all unless you wanted to! And you can keep tabs on all the other MP3 Blogs out there. Even go surfing for random blogs on Hype's Blogroll of which The Kingdom is now a proud member (did I mention that?) Hype Hype Hooray!
There is, of course, more than Mp3s here, so you can use the XML feed button courtesy of Feedburner or, as if you needed more advice at this time of year, pop back and peek in every now and again.

Country Blues

I was down at my local independent record store today and they had a bunch of cheapo Country CDs. You could tell they were cheap coz the picture of the Carter Family was of four women. And the price (€4.99). I got A Lazy Farmer Boy in the Country Memories series (IECM20001/02) with tracks by Tennessee Ernie Ford, Gene Autry, Bob Wills (Brain Cloudy Blues), Hank Thompson (Humpty Dumpty Heart), Boots Woodall (Rattlesnakin' Daddy) amongst them but the thing that turned my ears around were the tracks by Kokomo Arnold, and Joe McCoy (with Memphis Minnie). Dang It! I thought this was a Hillbilly record.
So I looked more closely, Curley Weaver is in there on another volume. Excellent. This stuff doesn't turn up much in record fairs this side of the Atlantic. I'm gonna limit myself to one a week.

So hear for your delectation, and solace are a couple of great Country Blues tracks:

Kokomo Arnold - The Twelves
Pee Wee Hughes - Country Boy Blues

Not now - I'll tell you when .. Let's breakdown!

Once Upon A Time 4

Well you want the whole story, right?
One more to come ...

What do you want to be when you grow up?

My new favourite blog is The Celestial Monochord which i discovered in a haze of bliss brought on by reading and hearing Long Sought Home - What a great day!

The Chinese have a saying about having a dream for after you find your dream. I was reminded of this by a convoluted route.

Trick Two is going through the Door.
Trick One is finding the damned thing in the first place.

Long Sought Home has a link to The Ramblings Of The Bearded One who posted (follow the link) a witty Einstein Chalkboard pic, where Albert is seen addressing some of the fundamental problems of the Universe. Then Somehow I found the Old Negro Space Program which also has it's beginnings in the basic yearnings of folks to get a career, and a bit of privacy and erm, other stuff. This documentary Unearths a scandal of Astronomical proportions.

And just when I thought it was safe to relax, The Celestial Monochord hits again with this little vignette from Astronaut, Steve Robinson

... there is a guy with his eye on the bigger picture.

Don't forget to check the Einstein and Folkways Records Story too.

The Tiler - Acoustic Christmas

The Tiler has a selection of newly recorded Christmas Tunes played on that gorgeous guitar, Betsy, of his. So if your ears are aching for a oasis of tranquility then go check out his Music page. If in doubt then start with these two:

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear MP3

Emmanuel MP3

Keep The Coffee Coming: Zat You, Santa Claus: Louis Armstrong and the Commanders

We just got the Xmas records out today, and I remembered how much I love this Louis Armstrong track from 1953. Kat at Keep The Coffee Coming was way ahead of me.

A King's Ransome?

Back in 1951 a bunch of teenagers from Baltimore got a contract with King records and recorded four ballads. Today they are one of the best loved of all Vocal Groups. Their name? The Swallows They recorded 11 singles for King over two years that are now worth a small fortune (each). Eddie Rich has one of the sweetest voices, and they could cut it with heartbreaking ballads or contagious dance numbers, and they were popular but ... they were in a car accident which can shake anyone up, so maybe that had an effect because they split in 1953. The Swallows link above is a different site, now, which has more detail, and makes sense of what happened more clearly.


On another tack ... I have been reading the Swallows and Amazons books by Arthur Ransome, and was googling for details on the boats that they sailed, wondering how practical a dream it was to take my kids sailing. I found this excellent page by Stuart Wier which details the what, how and why of getting started in such a vessel.

This lead to Nancy Blackett Trust who had the intriguing story of Arthur Ransome, Spy or Double Agent?

The image of him smoking his pipe whilst crossing the No Man's Land between the Red Army and The Estonian Army to go and Convince Lenin to let him smuggle Lenin's Personal Secretary to England, heartland of Capitalist Society (not to mention a whole bunch of cousin's of the recently deposed Tsar). Well, he did have a way with words. Did i mention Arthur and Yvegna (the PA to Lenin), were waylaid by the enemy cavalry on the way back, but got away after a quick game of chess.

The thing that comes across in his books is the little people (kids) following dreams, adventuring, all in it together, persevering, and creating whatever they needed, sometimes in spite of the world around them (adults) but often with their help and respect. And, my son said tonight, as we finished "We didn't mean to go to sea", "something good always happens at the end".
Amen to that.

Oh! Here we are! To celebrate, from that first 1951 session,

The Swallows - Will You Be Mine MP3
The Swallows - Since You've Been Away MP3


Find them and more at Amazon

PS be very careful while googling for either Swallows, or Amazons.

Once Upon A Time 3

Mondegreens

All of us who have tried transcribing lyrics can probably relate to this one:

the first time I heard Lucille by Kenny Rogers I cracked up when I heard the chorus as "You picked a fine time to leave me Loose Heel" which many a gal on a Saturday night Pubcrawling up from the Quayside in Newcastle has taken for her anthem for the night, shoe in hand.

Anyone else got any favourites on this theme?

Over at Musical Traditions is a collection of such gems from the Folk World, called Mondegreens, as you'll find out. Don't Knock, just walk on in.

My Baby Caught The Train ...

It's pure coincidence of course, but it's a year since I first posted up a song - over at macidol.com (my other home) - it was for a competition and I had to download like mad to listen and vote on the other entries. I came 47th out of 51, but was I discouraged? No. (well yes actually) but folks were cool and there was a funny sense of cameraderie about the place so I hung around. It was fun, chatting about music and hearing songs being composed version by version or just being sprung up newborn.

So hear this one, just a few days old. Caught The Train MP3

Of course I don't sound like Howlin Wolf, but I think you might dig what happened!

I was messing round with a rhythm, and eventually got to hearing this Howlin Wolf type sound in my head. All my Wolf records are up in the attic, and no record player. So I'm working from a ten or twelve year old memory of Sam's Blues. A collection of recordings made by Sam Phillips (later to run Sun Records) of Howlin Wolf and Little Milton. Those first recordings of The Wolf had a warmth and freshness that knocked spots off some of his later Chess recordings. Willie Johnson on Guitar, and that voice, Yeaow! Go see Music You (Probably) Won't Hear Anywhere Else to hear a couple of those Wolf/Johnson tracks.

The MelTones

Well if you've got your Brain in Gear, this will hit you like a brick. A Montreal Surf Band. Authentic, short, sharp, and it wasn't til I heard this that I understood the constantly changing nature of The Wave. A 33 track CD with Great reviews from New Gandy Dancer at a really friendly price? Grab your Wet Suit, this is a moment to be savoured.

I bought mine from iTunes Surf Sensation or read the blurb at LoveCat Records

For a totally complementary view of Surf Go Find The Great Documentary/travelogue Thicker Than Water (at Amazon)This was a joy to watch and made me reminisce for those Sunsets on the Beach watching the last waves lapping and folks carrying their clothes up to the road. Wondering if anyone was actually going to Drive home in their wetsuit? (This ain't California, yet! When you've seen the Ireland segments of the Film you'll know what I mean - watch the lads trying to jump off the cliff and getting blown back up - kites don't last long, here)

Once Upon A Time 2

The continuing Saga of Levi the Patron Saint of Common Sense ...

Me and Boris The Bull

Nothing to do with 'Me', Officer - that's just the name of the 'band'

This guy has some beautiful songs - seemingly simple folk melodies that grow and build into something you felt once when you were at Peace wit the World - try these two for starters, and click on his name for the main course.



Me and Boris The Bull - A Day Away MP3

Me and Boris The Bull - Mr Robinson MP3

A Bakers Dozen from MacIDOL.com

Over at MacIdol.com there is a noisy revolution goin' on. Free Music. It's not the only place to hear free music by any means, I just love the Spirit there. They're a pretty mad bunch. Here is a selection of recent songs from the Forum regulars (and Joanna who's very busy). Finer hasn't posted a song for a while but he has started Podcasting, more about that and the other regular MacIdol Podcasts soon as.

B&Massa - Gravy TrainMP3

BananaKiller - UFO With Me MP3

James Bouchard - Rocks Up A Hill MP3 with Kelli King

Sp3ccylad - ESP MP3

Dave Jones - The Holly and The Ivy MP3

Joanna Sandsmark - Bees and Birds MP3

Frogmorton - Unseen Hand MP3

Maggie Osterberg - Insecurity 1 MP3

Bill Josey - Robota - Prologue MP3

Katie Uppuluri - I Will Be MP3

Slumbering - October MP3

Robert Andrews - My Hearts Defender (stream)

Paul Brazier - A Partial Pleasure 2


How many Doors d'you need to get to Heaven?

Don't Look Now ...

... but the RIAA are at it again. Doncha just love it.

Peel The The Onion.

Once Upon A Time

I have this Weird Book. The Book Of Leviathan by Peter Blegvad. It tells the tribulations and distractions of being a Fully Conscious (albeit somewhat inexperienced) Baby (hence the Inexperience). Leviathan (Our Hero) is assisted at all times by his Faithful Cat, Cat. A bit like Hobbes, but without the Tiggerishness.

Check Out The Archive at Peter's site.

Go Buy it and be Young. And if you hanker for more : Tell your Favourite Newspaper/Publisher/Blogger

77 el Deora

Late Breaking News here by The Door is that modern Country/Rockabilly outfit 77 el Deora have got their CD "Sirens" shipping anywhere you want.

I first heard My Old Address Book (it's got that stressed look), from Keith (who slaps the bass) over at Rockabilly Bass.com and have been hoping for the CD to be ready for weeks. This version of Address Book is a minute and a half sample, and you can hear samples of the rest of the album over on their music page. Check out their Shows page, too, for some eyecatching poster art. They have a great beat, driven by Keith Bahjat's Upright Bass and Maurice Tani's Telecaster, topped off with Fiddle and Drums. But it will be Jenn Courtney that turns your head. What a Voice ... don't take my word for it, though.

Through The Door you go ...

Update: 77 el Deora have a MySpace page
not for the faint hearted or those with bandwidth issues (I'm darn tired of dial-up) if God had meant us to wait around for hours He would have given us Patience. The rest of you have a Ball, y'hear.
Update on the update: ya four cool songs up on MySpace, including the awesome 'Address Book', thanks to my friendly neighbourhood Internet Bar.

Reeferbilly!

This has got to be one of the catchiest Dope Songs ever. Sean Reefer and the Resin Valley Boys. They have an album somewhere but I haven't been able to track it down, yet. Texas Hill Country. (THC - geddit?) Their site is out at the moment but I'm leaving the link up in the hopes that the Feds haven't closed 'em down. Find a couple of their shows at the Archive.org cornucopia of music

As I remember the story Sean Reefer is the Upright bass player, and along with the slide player from Hank Williams IIIs band, and a great fiddle player, they spent just long enough on the road to come up with a Hillbilly concept band, rooted in the great traditions of Old Time western music - the three F's - Farming, Fiddling, and Firing Up.

But here is the song in question from that Houston '04 show

Diggin In The Dirt

Check out songs like The Other Side (where the Bud is not a Beer) and Light It Don't Hide It

The Doorkeeper does not encourage the use of Narcotics. Herbs, on the other hand, are God's Gift to His Creation, and You must Make Up Your Own Mind.

RadioFree Sp3ccylad

Speaking, as I am, of Media Wench, she has a campaign going at the moment to bring the Music of the Great and Wonderul Sp3ccylad to our Ears. Check Out Radio Free Sp3ccylad for behind those shades ticks a Brain of formidable musical panache. I delved into my collection and listened to 'em all at once while the Smile on my Face grew bigger and my Eyes closed and i was Tranceported to a World of Bliss and Euphoria. Just through this Door here.

iFingers Tip

In The Beginning ... things were simple, and we knew what was what, when and with whom. Friends were friends forever, and the night lasted til the end of the following afternoon (or the beer ran out). Thunder arose out of the depths of a bad dream, and Music made sense of it all. So much to discover, a new surprise round any corner, eyes and ears straining at the leash, which brings me here.
Link Wray died last month (he's blessed, you know that already) and The Media Wench sent me to PCL Link Dump which told me that the definitive word would come from Reverend Frost. Looking Forward to that I thought. Then the world turned and the Good Reverend turned me on, lit me up and told me to Shimmie.
Go Forth and Blog.
Spread The Good Word. (he said). Amen. (I said).


Of course, as a new convert I'm uprighteously Devoted to You. And I want you to Hear This.
iFingers - Jerusalem Mourning MP3

iFingers by name and iFingers by nature, from the begining to the end, this is a Righteous Blues Groove. Get your free download here and I defy, DEFY I SAY, defy you to turn it off. Get away from that mouse! You want another one? Alright. Can You Hear The Silence?

Samples used in Jerusalem Mourning are from Polk Miller & his Old South Quartette in 1910 (and they were Old then!) Find it at the Uni of Santa Barbara Library Check it out.