20. Trip

Just back from a lovely holiday trip down to Florida to see the in-laws (who I love) and the extended side of that family. The weather was iffy, and our return flight was seriously delayed, but the overall vibe of the trip was great. My Mother-In-Law told me of the effects that my writings are having on her, and her interest in my musical musings was gratifying. Wendy’s cousin and I connected over a shared love of music. He feels much the same connection with music that I do - even though our tastes aren’t exactly the same, the vibe is right. He does a broadcast and streaming radio show on Sundays at 3:00 PM (est) on W-ERU Radio. Check it out! Tonight will be New Years Eve, and we’re going to see some of our oldest friends, with whom we’ve reconnected after nearly 20 years. It feels as if no time has passed.

Because I’ve just come off a trip, I’ve decided to wrap this entry's musings around a Christmas present given last year and a road trip taken last May - just before I was diagnosed. For Christmas Jonas gave me a Delta musical road trip. All we had to do was pick the dates and locations. We were going to try and hit the famed americana music triangle if possible. We changed it up a bit before it was done.

Flashback to 2016. I was running I.T., Teaching and doing Global Initiatives at a small all-girl’s school in Virginia. One day I decided that I wanted to learn the bass line to Born Under A Bad Sign by Albert King. While falling down a YouTube rabbit hole I discovered this version, (no longer on YouTube, so this is hosted on my Google Drive) which blew my proverbial socks off. I then dove further (a reader asked me recently how I discovered all the music I love - and this is one way that I do) and found this absolutely incendiary show. I’m now a die hard fan of the band All Them Witches - to the point where I consider them the best current American rock band. For listening today I grooved to that show while reminiscing about more recent times - on the road trip with Jonas. First of all, The ATW Brussels show remains an all time favorite by a band that has continued to evolve over time. They’ve changed, and then lost and then regained their keyboard player, who is integral to their sound. The drummer left the band, and they have a new one - and they haven’t released a new full album since the pandemic. They did a year’s worth of singles clocking in at almost two hours - but no new album. It’s time (and I’ve read it’s happening). They are a blues based psychedelic rock band, and the Brussels show was perfect with the lights this morning. As opposed to some of the previous things I’ve posted about, this stuff brings a heavy guitar based sound with heavy drums and flickering keyboards. Imagine if The Doors had continued on and gotten heavier. But then they heard Pink Floyd. They could sound like this. But they sound nothing like that. Or anything else for that matter. They have contemporaries, sure, but nobody holds a candle to these guys. As I said, the best currently playing American rock band by a landslide. The vocals are almost spoken, often with a spiritual bent of some sort. The bass counters the guitar - not just playing in time, but adding to the melody, and the electric piano, as mentioned, weaves around the song, offering little trills of brightness into an otherwise heavy affair. And what a guitar player. He just rips, whether it be power chords, glistening slidework or wah-wah infested solos. He’s right up there with the greats.

Back to the music trip - Jonas and I were trying to find a good date to go - we had narrowed it down to a week long sojourn, and we thought we’d hit New Orleans and Memphis. Getting to N.O. during Jazz Fest seemed like a good idea. There is so much happening in that town in the week between weekends that we’d have a plethora of choices. And one day I saw it. I texted J.: ATW is playing in Baton Rouge on May 1. Why don’t we start the trip there? Immediate reply: We are SO there! So, over time we planned out our days and booked our flights. Fly to Baton Rouge, take a bus to New Orleans, rent a car and drive to Memphis, fly home (separately) from Memphis. We’d skip a lot - no Nashville, Muscle Shoals or any of the smaller stops. We’d hit the big ones!

We met at the Airport in Baton Rouge and Ubered to our hotel. From there we had our first Cajun meal. (Let me add that I was smack in the middle of ultra high blood sugar readings at that point (which I’ve mentioned before, and is now completely under control) but despite that, there was copious and excellent eating and drinking done on this jaunt.) As night fell we headed on down to the club. Later on, I’ll write about the opening band - Rich Ruth, who were fantastic. Guitar, Bass, Drums, and Saxophone. A completely new sound. Ambient moments followed by pounding rhythms and unearthly baritone saxophone. Really good stuff.

Now, it wouldn’t be too far off to say that I was the oldest person in the crowd that night. And that there was some heavy drinking going on amongst our fellow revelers (in fact a young man did a drunken face plant directly in front of us), but we found a couple of perches on the side of the venue and were well outside of the chaos of the center stage scrum. From the moment the band hit the stage they were on fire. Two solid hours of musical mayhem. Stellar guitar work, the new drummer (enlisted just weeks before the show) held his own magnificently, bass/vocals were thunderous and on point, and the keyboard player, recently back in the fold after a hiatus, was excellent. All in all, a fantastic evening of thundering bluesy guitar driven jams. When it was over, we made our way back to the hotel for some much needed sleep before heading onwards to the Crescent City the next morning.

Happy New Year to all readers. Thanks for sticking with me!

We had gone back and forth a bit on whether or not to go see The North Mississippi Allstars at the Storied Tipitina’s in New Orleans. Frankly, while their last few studio albums have been really lacking, they’ve always torn it up live and that made it really tempting. One thing is for certain though. There are two uncontested living masters of the Slide Guitar. One of them is Derek Trucks, who will get his own feature here soon, (I’ll just say that I listened to one of his solos on a particularly beautiful song while I was on the treadmill at the gym very shortly after getting diagnosed, and I became so overwhelmed that I had to go sit outside and calm myself. He’s that great, and I was that much of a hot mess.) and Luther Dickinson who, along with his drummer brother Cody, makes up the Allstars. They are very different players, playing very different music, but they often play together if they’re in the same town. I’d love to see that someday.

So, I love the blues. Not the horn driven slick 12-bar blues of Chicago and B.B. King, but the nasty back porch moonshine infused blues of the Mississippi hill country. Guys like R.L. Burnside, Jr. Kimbrough, RL Boyce and Fred McDowell are the mentors and spiritual godfathers to the Dickinson brothers, who are the sons of famous Memphis producer and musician Jim Dickinson and thus grew up steeped in the music of the delta.

Today, the first day of what I am striving to make a far better year than last, I listened to the linked Boulder Colorado Allstars gig from 2008. The boys were on fire that night, and they were on fire again when Jonas and I made our way down to the corner of Napoleon Ave and Tchoupitoulas St to go to a club I’ve wanted to visit ever since hearing the great Neville Brothers live album recorded there. The album opens with a Fred McDowell song, Write Me A Few Lines. One quick comparison shows how reverently the Allstars update the classics of the blues and infuse them with their quirky brand of humor, power and stellar musicianship. Across this blazing hot album, along with great playing is the feeling that the Allstars are out there to have a great time. This is no solemn faced guitarist bathed in the glow of stage lights (which unfortunately Derek Trucks is, and that is one of the things that sets Luther and Derek apart), this is some guys having fun, and really enjoying playing music live. That was also evident at Tipitinas, as the smiles and infectious laughter rarely dissipated. It’s a joyous live album and was a joyous show. We were super glad we went.

We took a couple of nights off from concerts to explore the depravity of Bourbon Street and the rest of the quarter. Had great food (including, oddly, the best Soup Dumplings I’ve ever had - purchased at an inauspicious shop on a side street), went to the WWII War Museum (which was a really moving experience), browsed the quirky shops and bars and otherwise availed ourselves of the debauchery that New Orleans has to offer. (As an aside, I’m just reading about the horrific vehicular murders down there on New Years Eve and wondering how our species got so deeply corrupted.) On our last night in the city we went to a great retrospective concert featuring members of Lettuce, Neville progenies Dumpstaphunk, and, of course, The Meters along with other New Orleans luminaries performing the great songs that made the city the musical hub that it is today. Despite a two hour late start, the show was completely amazing and prompted my next morning’s listening.

It’s hard to fathom that the man who is most known for songs and videos like this actually gave us one of the slinkiest, greasiest, funkiest bits of blue eyed soul music of all time: 1974’s Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley. Robert Palmer’s debut album is steeped in the music of New Orleans, with backup musicians from The Meters and songs by the great Allen Toussaint, who has written at least half of all the songs you know! The addition of guitar parts recorded by Little Feat’s Lowell George (who, had he still been alive, would have certainly topped the list of greatest slide guitar players) makes this album a keeper for me for sure.

Starting with a trilogy of songs including Little Feat’s Sailin’ Shoes and Toussaint’s Sneakin’ Sally… the album establishes its groove right up front. The album ends with the one-two punch of the updated version of Toussaint’s From A Whisper To A Scream, which - with it’s laid back groove and slinky slide guitar - sucks you right in and keeps you there for the duration, and the cathartic 12 minute long Through It All There’s You which is a perfect example of how to build tension while keeping the head bopping. This track has backing from the great NYC band called Stuff, but with the addition of the incomparably funky Bernard "Pretty" Purdie on drums. This great album captivated the lights, and made for a great start to my day - which includes a concluding drive into Boston for my final trial MRI.

It’s hard to question the role that New Orleans has played in our musical, gastronomical, artistic and spiritual culture. However, if there was a city that should also be in consideration for that honor, it would be Memphis, which is where Jonas and I headed the next morning by rental car.

On arrival, to our riverside hotel, right off of the famed Beale St, we took a short rest. We then headed out to Beale St for the famed 3 B’s. That’s Beer, Blues and Barbeque for the uninitiated. As soon as we hit the strip we heard the sounds of a slide guitar playing a Duane Allman riff quite well. Impulsively, we decided to go right in. It was the B.B. King blues club, and it was a mistake! The barbeque was good and the beer was cold but the band, despite there being a cover charge, immediately went on break - and even when they came back on later, never hit the heights of what we heard from outside. Ah well.

The next day we went to the National Civil Rights Museum, which is situated in the motel that the Rev. Martin Luther King was killed in. Naturally, the Civil Rights Museum is a sobering place - but an essential part of our history. As a former educator I think that all students should be taken there. As we walked back to the hotel, I noticed a small distillery called The Old Dominik Distillery offering tastings and made a note to go back later. We explored around a bit and ended up back at the hotel for a rest. Later, we made our way to the Distillery, where we enjoyed the tour and various tastings. As we ponied up to the bar, we struck up a conversation with one of the guys about where to go to look for guitars, since the Gibson store had closed. He made a few recommendations, and we ordered a few more drinks. We asked where to get some dinner, and he said the Fried Chicken place across the street, Gus's, was great. To go only though. But he said we could order and eat at the bar since they were closing and only needed to clean up. And that’s what we did. And then back to the hotel to sleep.

The next day, we went to The Stax Museum of American Soul Music. The Stax label was a multi-racial (in deeply segregated times) record label that put out what, in my opinion, is the best soul music that America had to offer. Its main competitor for that honor would be Motown, out of Detroit. Motown was equally important in the grand scheme of things, and probably had much more commercial success, due to (again, only in my opinion) its far slicker commercial production. Stax and Motown were like the Beatles and Stones, or P-Funk and Earth Wind and Fire. Chances are you loved one more, while still recognizing the brilliance of the other. The Stax museum chronicles the great 30+ year history of the label, including the struggles they encountered by having multi racial bands. It also talks deeply about how the death of MLK changed the entire town of Memphis, and that it really has never recovered. It’s a wonderful and sad place.

This morning I listened to part of a playlist that Jonas put together the night we got back to the hotel. The songs were: Respect Yourself, by the Staple Singers, Soul Man, by Sam & Dave, Knock On Wood, by Eddie Floyd, Theme From Shaft, by Isaac Hayes, (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay by Otis Redding, Who's Making Love, by Johnnie Taylor, B-A-B-Y, by Carla Thomas, I Forgot To Be Your Lover, By William Bell, I'll Take You There, by the Staple Singers and What A Man, By Linda Lyndell. I probably haven’t had so much fun listening to 10 songs in a long while. (And I had no idea that the song Whatta Man, made very popular by Salt-N-Peppa and En Vogue in 1993 was a Stax tune from 1968.) I was happy, and my lights were happy too! Now get this.. Jonas’ playlist, made from photos of the “hit single” wall at the Stax Museum has 455 entries. I only listened to the first 10. Notice, if you will, that there are two songs by the Staple Singers. That’s simply because not to slight the memories of Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner and the other great soul singers of our time, I believe that there is, to paraphrase Frank Zappa, “...naught nor ought there be nothing so exalted on the face of god's grey earth as…” Mavis Staples. Wendy and I have been fortunate to see Mavis perform live twice, and both times it’s been a wonderful experience. Her loss, when it comes, will be a devastating blow to music, culture, civil rights and humanity in general. (For what it’s worth, Zappa is speaking about a muffin in the quote above…) To close out this topic, listen to this track, which is by Mavis and the North Mississippi Allstars, and taken from the movie Take Me To The River, which is a wonderful journey into the music of Memphis. There’s a sister movie about New Orleans called Take Me To The River - New Orleans. Both movies are essential watching, as is Respect Yourself - The Stax Documentary.

Our last night in Memphis, we went to a bar and heard a fantastic local band playing all sorts of music - blues, soul, funk, jazz and more. We ate more great food and drank more passable beer. It was a great trip with a great son, and I’m so glad I went, and get to share it with you on this blog.

I’ve decided that this is going to be a good year. Last year was crap. I can’t live like that, and neither can Wendy - so we’re going to be good. Hopefully there won’t be a need for more angsty blog posts, but there’ll be more posts about past and present fun. To quote the great James Brown, I feel good!

Thanks for reading,

Dy