Thursday, August 19, 2010

My Sorrow - Chico Magnetic Band, 1973.

The Meters. Look-Ka-Py Py/Jungle Man. 1974.



Wait a second. Dr. John had a TV show?

Sure 'nuff 'n Yes I do - Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band, 1968.



Knee deep in Beefheart Through The Eyes of Magic, John "Drumbo" French's amazingly detailed account of the entire Magic Band history including a deep, deep dive into the pre-pre-history of most of the players and the entire Antelope Valley scene in the late 50's / early 60's.

These dudes are no slouches. I'd be hard pressed to find another pack of musicians as talented and dedicated as these.

It blows me away, what we've done to our children's creativity and work ethic, by providing our kids with every gimmick and knick-knack they should have a whim for. It seems like the impetus for every one of these guys was "We lived in a town that was 7 blocks long in the middle of the desert, 90 miles, there was nothing interesting other than what we created for ourselves."

Fuck all you parents and your soccer practices, Nick Jr. and cellphone-leeching tweeners. You're neutering your ofspring and killing this country.

I'm gonna Grow Fins.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Jeff Beck. She's a Woman. 1974.



For my money, Jeff Beck is second only to Hendrix in "best axe slinger ever" hierarchy. That's a bold statement, made by a stone-cold serious Superbeast.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Johnny Guitar Watson. Mister Magic. 1977.



Here's a little Grover Washington diddy from one of the most underrated of the blues/funk players. He's also the dude who was rumored to be a real life pimp, and the guy who hooked Sly and Rick James on freebase.

I prefer to reference the good times though. This dude had been a Gangster of Love since the mid-50's. He didn't play with a pick, and his jams were always stuck in a stone cold groove.

From Wikipedia:

In a 1994 interview with David Ritz for liner notes to The Funk Anthology, Watson was asked if his 1980 song "Telephone Bill" anticipated rap music. "Anticipated?" Watson replied. "I damn well invented it!... And I wasn't the only one. Talking rhyming lyrics to a groove is something you'd hear in the clubs everywhere from Macon to Memphis. Man, talking has always been the name of the game. When I sing, I'm talking in melody. When I play, I'm talking with my guitar. I may be talking trash, baby, but I'm talking".