Country singer Porter Wagoner died Sunday in Nashville at 80. Mr. Wagoner died from lung cancer.
If you don't know his work, I recommend his 2007 release, Wagonmaster.
Here's Mr. Wagoner with Dolly Parton from 1973.
And here is Mr. Wagoner on Letterman performing a tune from his recent album.
The back-up band is Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superlatives
Today's question: Where are these people and what on earth are they up to? I blackened out the little sign that would have given it away, but I think somebody will come up with this one fairly quickly.
I'm off to play Go tonight, but I'll check in tomorrow to see who guessed correctly.
Tuffy P. bought me a Hallowe'en mask at the Dollarama. BOO! (don't you think the glasses are a nice touch?)
I'm writin' this on 10/27/07 around 9:04 p.m. about the Riviera (aka "da Riv") last nite. "Da Riv" had Gov't Mule with The Nocturnals opening sponsoered by MGD and 93fmWXRT. My great friend JLB of RLB spoke the truth with the radio sponsorship should be in question since they almost never play either band on XRT. The Nocturnals were very good. A solid rock act, very professional. The drummer has his own style, the bass player was good, the guitarist had many guitars and :flew" on a couple of songs. The more than pretty lead Nocturnal lead singer played two keyboards, sometimes rockin' guitar & a little of tamborine. The Nocturnals all out jam on the drum kit was uplifting. After a break-Gov't Mule came out (& as usual) came out to rock! Now I've seen Mule many times & am a big fan. Their most recent album is reworked earlier material and B-sides-recreated with a dub feeling. Many people judge Gov't Mule as a "jam band". The Mule does stretch out & blend a bit, but they are all good musicians and keep it fresh a lot of times-so for those reasons many people are fooled into label-n them. I've read that they try to keep track of their songs they play in ech place to keep it fresh for the hardcore. fans (as well) in each tour stop. The music was good. Mule's material is their own so I can only describe the show by their covers. Awesome Bob Marley all instrumental drop ins occured. A great version of Neil Young's Southern Man uplifted the crowd. A surprise cover of Tom Wait's refernces slipped in with Known Karate & Voo Doo Too. Gov't Mule also worked with respect to Soundgarden's (with Pearl Jam flare) of I'm Going Hungry!!! The light show was good. The drum solo was wild.The bass and keyboard moments were very enlightening. The slide work & lead guitar work just kept giving for a great time. I think I can tear away the false jam band label of Gov't Mule with the fact of many hard livin' bikers there. To those who think otherwise-need to rethink-because it's all about the music with the great Gov't Mule.
STAGG
DL Menard is also known for making rocking chairs. This is his most popular song, My Back Door.
I wish I knew more about the brass band tradition in New Orleans. I'll have to get around to doing some serious listening and reading one of these days.
Once upon a time, before I began living in the archive, when I was much younger I lived in a farming area.
One of the farmers always had great crops of watermelons and they were a great attraction for those of the younger generation. We were always careful and only took a few watermelons.
We were not worried about the saltpeter charges in his shot-gun because he was a terrible shot and we could see him coming from way across the field.
What did turn us off one year was the sign he put up.
ONE OF THESE WATERMELONS CONTAINS CYANIDE.
We watched that field for several weeks trying to work out which one had been poisoned.
In the end we gave up and put up a sign of our own.
NOW THERE ARE TWO!
Vibrandoneon
Fernwood Tonite
quality meats in toronto stike
angola prison rodeo
HOHNER POKERWORK
Giant Armadillo
mister softee ice cream mission
3D
friendly giant recording
cabbage rolls reheat
accordion song in eastern promises
drawing bud
buying okra
oops photo
pork cabbage roll image photo
That pretty much covers it, eh?
Tuffy P.'s aunt is moving and can't take Cappy. We're providing some foster care until her new family moves into their new place. The rest of our pride is pretty relaxed about her, but Cappy is making all sorts of noise around the place, after finding herself in a different house, and one full of cats.
I picked up my new Guerrini today. We were getting to know each other when Tuffy P took this shot.
This is Junior Martin's accordions in Lafayette. On the morning we walked by, it was so humid, I couldn't stop my camera lens from misting over.
This band really shone at the International Accordion Festival! I didn't shoot any video - this one I grabbed from youtube. It is a good introduction to what this group is all about. Yves Lambert is playing a two-row box in Irish tuning. For those not familiar with this, the two rows of buttons on the right side are tuned to arrangements of notes that are a half-tone apart, making a de facto chromatic instrument. The seated fiddle-player is using his feet as percussion instruments. In a workshop he said the sound was to be like the galloping of a horse.
On our roadtrip through parts of Texas and Louisiana, we had the pleasure of visiting the town of Eunice, Louisiana. A thunderstorm hit as we drove into town, and it rained so hard, I could hardly see to drive. We stopped into the Savoy Music Centre, and had a chance to chat for a short while with accordionist and accordion-maker Marc Savoy.
I found these videos on Youtube - they serve up a taste of the kind of traditional music Mr. Savoy and his family and other players in Eunice and surrounding communities play. Cajun music styles were passed on from generation to generation throughout the rural communities in Southwest Louisiana. Things have changed though. Communities like Eunice are now instantly connected to the rest of America and the world by television and the internet. I wonder how many families will teach their kids the old songs? I sure hope there are enough young players out there to keep the songs and styles vital.
This is at Goode Company BBQ in Houston. Very, very good BBQ.
Our short side-trip to NASA turned out to take much of the day. After, we ate at Frenchie's, where, we were told, many of the astronauts go for dinner the night before a mission.
The little village here was levelled by Hurricane Rita. Ready for the next one, the new buildings are mostly on stilts.
I bought a button accordion today, a triple row, made by Guerrini, a very beautiful instrument. I'll be picking it up on Saturday, and you'll see pictures then.
Meanwhile, I have more pictures from our trip, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow. Pictures of NASA in Houston next. Tuffy P is making pralines, and I'm going downstairs to take on the role of quality control expert.
Ed Poullard was to have played with the legendary Bois Sec Ardoin at the festival in San Antoinio this year. Mr. Ardoin, who died in May at 91, was part of the first generation of recorded Creole musicians. Bois Sec's son, Lawrence, came out of retirement to join Mr. Poullard for some festival gigs. Lawrence Ardoin is the father of Zydeco aces Chris and Sean Ardoin - what a family tradition of great music!
I also took a shot from the back of the Arneson River theatre to show what a spectacular venue this was. The San Antonio Riverwalk area is beautiful, and the theatre is set up so the stage is on one side of the river with the amphitheater on the other, with lots of room for dancing alongside the river.
This Quebec group was one of the highlights of the festival. We managed to see them play 3 times, including a workshop. If these guys come to your town, go see them - they are a fabulous band.
Here is the description provided by the International Accordion Festival: "Southern Scratch is a Native American band from the Tohono O'odham Nation in southern Arizona. They play a form of dance music called waila, or "chicken scratch". Their repertoire consists of waltzes, two-steps, polkas and rancheras and traditionally is played by a band consisting of button accordion, alto saxophone, electric guitar, bass, and drums". This is a fabulous dance band. I would describe the music as Tex-Mex, except the instrumentation is a little different with the alto sax / accordion combination.
Also in the Tex-Mex groove, we saw Los Texmaniacs, a great conjunto group featuring Max Baca on bajo, Speedy Villanueva on bass, and David Farias on accordion - we were too busy dancing to take photos though!
This band is a lot of fun. They're a good-time band who revel in playing a variety of pop and rock tunes - as well as plenty of polkas - on multiple accordions.
For the triple-row diatonic player, this is where some of the best instruments can be found. This booth was set up near the Maverick stage at the International Accordion Festival in San Antonio.
Yuri Yunakov is Bulgaria's most famous, and possibly best, saxophonist. He has lived in the New York City area since 1994 and is currently touring with his ensemble, which appeared at the International Accordion Festival for the second year - because his Bulgarian Wedding Music features accordion as well as clarinet and keyboard and percussion - as well as Yuri's intense saxophone playing. They play improvisational Gypsy-fusion music in weird time signatures and at a break-neck pace. This band was one of the highlights of the excellent International Accordion Festival.
Hey, there's Candy Minx with a water hyacinth picked for her by our guide, Bryan Champagne.
These pictures are from a swamp tour we took near Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. I know Mr. Four Dinners wanted me to stand in the swamp and play the accordion, but there was this little matter of alligators.....
I enjoyed my first Muffuletta at Central Grocery. It was an excellent sandwich! The band is The Hot 8 Brass Band, keeping an old New Orleans tradition thriving. These guys have a huge amount of spirit. The other two shots are on Bourbon Street, an oasis of incredible party excess. Even with many fewer visitors than before Katrina, the street was rocking.
The shot with all the people is the class we took at the New Orleans School of Cooking. I recommend their classes to anyone who visits New Orleans. As well as learning to make Shrimp and Artichoke Soup, Crawfish Etouffee, Bread Pudding and Pralines, we learned a lot about the history of Louisiana and the various influences on the cuisine. Plus, we got to enjoy what was cooked for lunch, along with a cold beer - all for under 30 Americanos each.
That's Tuffy P. in the bottom shot.
