Nightflying: The Entertainment Guide

---Doug Treadway
    How many times have we done this?
    Who cares?
        Last issue we shared some obscure departures, so why should we change course? Swedish soprano Elisabeth Soderstrom has left the stage at 82. And Haydn expert H. C. Robbins Landon has departed at 83 (he was also a fan of Mozart, which reminds me of a story: a youngster came to Mozart and asked how to compose a symphony and Mozart told him he should start by composing a ballad, whereupon the youngster protested that Mozart himself had written his first symphony when he was only 10, to which Mozart replied that he had indeed, but he did not have to ask how).
        Another New Orleans stalwart has folded up his instrument case and gone beyond. Preservation Hall clarinetist Ralph Johnson has passed of a heart ailment at 71. As with myriad talented musicians, he also played many other instruments, but his daddy gave him a clarinet when he was seven and it was his first and true love.
        Ever heard of Aaron Schroeder? Ah, but you have heard his songs, at least one for sure: “It’s Now Or Never” (he borrowed the melody from an opera). He was also a producer, credited with contributing to the early careers of Jimi Hendrix and Barry White. Oh yeah, he wrote the theme for Scooby-Doo too. He died recently at the age of 84.
        Musician, folklorist, anthropologist, teacher, film-maker Beth Lomax Hawes, whose maiden name should give you a clue as to her lineage, has passed at 88. She was a recipient of the National Medal of Arts, among many other accomplishments. Also leaving the stage recently was Jack Cooke, 72, a bass player with Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys.
        Another name that may not be familiar to you right off hand is Al Alberts. He hosted a television show produced in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that gave an early boost to the careers of such future stars as Sister Sledge and Teddy Pendergrass. I remember him as one of the founding members of the vocal group The Four Aces. Alberts was 87.
        Renowned actor and singer Gene Barry has died at 90. Despite a distinguished career as both a stage and movie star, he is probably best known for playing Bat Masterson on television. And another singer/actor star of stage and screen has also left us with memories mostly as a television personality: Alaina Reed-Amini is probably most familiar as a character on Sesame Street.
       Roy Disney, nephew of Uncle Walt, has also passed. He was instrumental in getting several music-filled movies made after taking control of the studio, including a couple that were Oscar nominated.
        Ever hear Big Brother & the Holding Company out of California in the hazy, lazy days of cheap thrills? James Gurley was the long long-haired lead guitarist for that psychedelic band, which introduced Janis Joplin. Gurley finger-picked his electric guitar, as opposed to using the more common plectrum. Big Brother fell apart when Janis went solo, but Gurley and singer / guitarist Sam Andrew tried to revive it; they even made a couple more albums before futility set in and they decided to hang it up. James Gurley died two days short of his 70th birthday.
        As I write this, it is still a bit before Christmas, but as you read it, Christmas is past and a new year approaches, or perhaps it is here already. 2010, a nice round number. And here I sit writing silly stuff like this while my deadline looms near. There are those who will tell you that nothing focuses the mind like a looming deadline and I suppose that is true; at least I know I do my best work under pressure (or so I have been told). [More like spreads his best manure – Ed.]

IRON MAN
Michael Burks
Alligator
    Michael Burks has come a long way from Camden. This is his third or fourth album and he just keeps getting stronger and stronger, an iron man. His guitar work is exquisite and his voice is so well suited to his genre that he could just mail it in, but no, he sits in with Bruce Iglauer to share producer credits. Burks may be only the latest blues star to rise from the fields of Arkansas, but listen to this and tell me he is not one of the greatest as well. Burks is as smooth on vocals as Little Milton and as scorching on his Flying V as any of those King fellows. He is supported here by some of the best sidemen in the biz: Wayne Sharp on keys; Don Garrett on bass; Chuck Louder on the steady and unobtrusive drumbeat, who comprise his road band. Burks wrote about half the songs on the album, which was recorded and mixed by Blaise Barton at Joyride Studios and mastered at Colossal Mastering, both in Chicago, Illinois. There is a long history of bluesmen going up the road to Chicago to make their fame and fortune. Is it not past time to make Little Rock a hub for that? I think so. Somebody step up here.

EVOLVE
NewJack and The Rippers
Indie
    Okay, I think to myself as I spin this disc and hear standard boilerplate country-rock bar band. Good but nothing remarkable … until they go into the fifth cut on the disc, a message song to pierce the soul and brought me to tears. I urge one and all to access this song, listen to it, absorb it, and attempt to adjust to a reality that is way beyond a few beers at your favorite watering hole. The song is called “If We Make It Out Alive” and the hook is “ain’t that a shame” and it is indeed. It is a mortal shame what we expose children to in this world. Jason Helms wrote all but one of the eight songs on this disc, which to me might be the ultimate party disc. It rocks; it rolls; it twangs; then all of a sudden it pulls at your heartstrings. Party like it’s 1999, but get ready for the realities of the 2000s. We are faced with disaster because we are so absorbed in our personal wants and needs. You must take care of yourself or you cannot take care of anyone else, but once you have seen to your own needs, look around you for those who hunger, who lack clothing or shelter or spirit-sustaining support, even the smallest gift of our recognition. These guys are good at what they do: John Marshall, lead guitar; Chris Stroud, bass guitar; Jimmy Akins, drums; and of course lead singer and songwriter Jason Helms, whose gritty voice is so perfectly in tune with this music and who also plays guitar (I should mention that Marshall and Akin also add some vocal talent and there is a guest shot by Wes Jeans). I have not heard many songs that moved me as much as the one I mentioned above and yet I do not wish to diminish the whole work as nothing compared to that one song. This is fine work and well worth listening to on a surface level, but dig deeper and you find something like a diamond in the rough, a gem beyond compare if only you take the time to look into it. The album was recorded at Over The Edge Studio in Texarkana, Texas. You can access the band online at newjackandtherippers.com.

NEW CALIFORNIA
Jeff Coleman
Indie
    Okay, yeah, I thought this was going to be from El Lay, but it turns out to be from WWT (White Water Tavern, for the uninitiated). Mostly this is a showcase for Jeff Coleman and his playing, singing, and songwriting abilities, and it works, with a little help from Barry Poynter and Jason Tedford and some others, such as Bart Holeman, who plays guitar and does backup vocal on one song, with Jimmy Young (bass) and Rod Hardaway (drums) on that same cut, and Mark Chiaro (guitar, vocals), Jerry Cordova (bass, vocals), and Stan James (drums) on another track. It all works out quite well, mostly mellow, folk-type stuff, stories told, like that, then the occasional foray into rock. Jeff Coleman can be contacted online at jeffcolemanonline@hotmail.com or found on myspace at jeffcolemanandthefeeders.

BETWEEN THE LINES
Allen Fredrick
Dognpony
    Fredrick wrote and played the words and music; plus produced, arranged, engineered, and mastered the product (at dognpony Studios in San Rafael, California). He has a distinctive, somewhat high voice and plays quite well (apparently both piano and guitar). As a matter of fact, at times he reminds me a bit of pre-Thriller Michael Jackson. E-mail allenfrederick1@yahoo.com or check his web page at www.allenfrederick.com.

SO FAR
Bryan Gorsira
Indie
    This is some very nice family-oriented folk music, thoughtful, introspective, well written and well played, but I have no information other than the music.

MEMPHIS LIVIN
Billy Lavender
I55
    Lavender wrote or co-wrote a lot of these songs that cover the gamut from introspective quiet to full-out party mode and even a nod to the noted philosopher Rodney King. Memphis soul is on display as well. There were way too many folk incorporated on this compilation to name them all, but I would like to acknowledge the harmonica playing by Blind Mississippi Morris and the excellent guitar work of Brad Webb and also the harp work by Vince Johnson and, oh hell, might as well go on and list them all: in addition to the aforementioned, you get Tony Adams on percussion and vocals, Dan Cochran on bass guitar, Maria Spence on backup vocals, Russell Wheeler on B-3, piano, and strings, Reba Russell (who also co-wrote one tune with Billy Lavender) on vocals, Ken Dinkins on vocals, Mike Stoker on bass guitar, and JoJo Jeffries on backup vocals. If I left anybody out, I apologize.

KEEP AN EYE ON ME
South Cry
Big Sky Rock
    Rock indeed. Here hard rock, there soft rock, all with a steady beat and churning guitar and even some string augmentation. Must be fun on that swing. Daltri Barros sings and plays some guitar; Guill Erthal plays lead guitar; Patrick Siliany plays bass; Victor Cunha is the drummer and they get help from a whole slew of guys with Brazilian and/or Hispanic names, so maybe when they say south, they mean way south, you know? Still sounds American.

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