Bill Kirchen Update

Last year, I posted this piece which included some information on the recording of Bill Kirchen's latest CD. Earlier this year, that CD, Word to the Wise, was released and Kirchen has been playing shows and giving interviews in support of the it. A few weeks back, a friend of mine from the Sunset Grille sent me links to two these interviews. The first was Bill's appearance on NPR's All Things Considered. You can hear that interview here. The second appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle and can be read here. I find the picture of Bill that accompanies the Chronicle piece a little scary, but not as scary as the picture below which was taken in January at the Sunset Grille.





Back in January, Kirchen played a Sunday evening show at the Sunset Grille in Annandale, Va. Kirchen had held court at the Grille most Thursday nights for years, until he left the D.C. area for Austin in 2004. (Kirchen has since moved back to the D.C. area.) But in the few months leading up to Kirchen's January appearance, the Grille had fallen on hard times. Out of loyalty to the Grille and its patrons, Kirchen agreed to play the show with proceeds going to keep the Grille afloat. During the show, Kirchen decided to relive some the old days at the Grille and stuck is guitar in the ceiling over the stage while playing it. Shortly thereafter, part of the ceiling came falling down, severely cutting Kirchen's head. Kirchen refused to leave the Grille to get stitched up and instead kept playing. The picture shown above was taken by a friend of mine as Kirchen soldiered on. Thankfully both Bill and the Sunset Grille survived the night. Let's hope they're both around for years to come.

Drinking With Dale Watson

Dale Watson brought his 2010 winter tour to Iota in Arlington this past Monday (1/25). The club was reaching capacity when Watson came on stage around 9:15 and started the show with "Truckstop in La Grange" from his 1996 CD Blessed or Damned. Before wrapping up the opening song, he briefly morphed it into Z.Z. Top's "La Grange".

After thanking the crowd for coming out, Watson made the first of his many pitches for Lone Star Beer. (When I saw Watson perform at the Continental Club in Austin is September, Watson made several Lone Star pitches. At the time, I thought it was something he only did at his regular gigs in Texas.) Iota doesn't serve Lone Star, but the club does have another Texas favorite, Shiner, on tap. A member of the audience was quick to point this out. Of course, Watson argued Shiner just wasn't the same and went on with his Lone Star pitch with his right hand curved as to say "someone put a beer in my hand".

(Dale Watson on stage at the 2008 Richmond Folk Festival)

Seeing Watson wouldn't settle for the Shiner alternative, it wasn't long before members of the audience presented Watson an option he could live with, a steady stream of whiskey shots. After throwing back the first shot, Watson settled into a pattern of performing a song or two, making a pitch for Lone Star and/or telling a story, throwing back a shot, and then taking a request. Many of Watson's shows revolve around audience requests, which seems to work well for him because most audience members know his material and the classic country artists whose material he likes to cover. But, occasionally some dumbass in the audience will begin to yell for something totally absurd. This time around someone in the back of the club began yelling for Watson to sing something by Mojo Nixon. Watson played it off well, saying Nixon was friend of his.

After being on stage for an hour so, Watson had knocked out a few requests, including his own "Wine, Wine, Wine" and Ray Price's "Bright Lights and Blonde Haired Women". At that point, Watson had also knocked back a few shots and a few beers. The between song Lone Star pitches were replaced with drinking stories about bad experiences with different types of liquor. For better or worse, these stories just inspired the audience to supply shots of the liquor the stories centered around. Soon, Watson found himself trying to knock back a shot of Southern Comfort. During the song that followed, Watson showed a little facial contortion. After the song was over, he admitted to throwing up "a little" in his mouth. Lucky for him, the Peppermint Schnapps shot that followed went down a little more smoothly.

During Watson's second hour on stage, and for obvious reasons, the pace of the show slowed somewhat. Watson did perform his version of "Fox On the Run", a song brought into the country & bluegrass world by groundbreaking D.C. bluegrass band The Country Gentlemen. (A mention of the Gents would have been nice, but maybe Watson learned the song from the Tom T. Hall version?!?!) Fiddler Don Raby was featured on "Orange Blossom Special", with the kicker being the band playing a portion slow motion, as opposed to kicking the song into hyperdrive as many bluegrass bands do. And, Watson played two of his odes to Ginny's Little Longhorn in Austin, "Honkiest Tonkiest Beer Joint" and "No Fussin', No Cussin'".

Around the two mark, Watson broke into one of his anti-Nashville establishment songs, "Country My Ass". The song has a slightly awkward meter to it to begin with, but with the number of shots Watson had put down at that point, the song became somewhat of a trainwreck. But, Watson did quickly comeback with a nice version of Merle Haggard's "Silver Wings", which Watson said would be his last slow song of the evening.

After two and half hours on stage, at least eight shots and with Watson working the Del McCoury squint, he had outlasted me. I headed for the exit as the clock neared midnight, but Watson was showing no signs of leaving the stage. I'll readily admit the show was well worth the $15 cover and I'm sure the folks who stuck around until Watson wrapped up the show more than agreed with me.

(A short postscript. "J.D." attended Watson's show in Richmond the following night and reported that Watson showed no ill effects from Monday night's show. "J.D." also reported Watson continued with the Lone Star pitches. So much so, "J.D." thought Watson was on retainer for the brewery.)

What Do Drummers and Banjo Players Have In Common?

The answer...nothing really. I just have a snipet about each one I want to share here.

First, a friend of mine who is a drummer in Austin sent me this post from Craigslist in Nashville...

Looking for someone special who would kill my drummer for $100.00. Do not fear any negative consequences for this act. Any self respecting law enforcement agency would gladly turn the other cheek once they hear this guy "play." I am tired of hearing his '70s-style fills put in the wrong spot and ending one half beat early or late depending on how much he's had to smoke. I am tired of him standing up behind his drums between songs and ripping his shirt off and flexing his muscles at wedding receptions where we were hired to play Air Supply, Carpenters , and Ann Murray songs because "chicks dig the pecs, dude." I am tired of him showing up 20 minutes late for rehearsals then pouting until someone helps him load in his drums, then taking 30 minutes to set them up and needing a smoke break every 15 minutes, and then wanting to leave early because "this chick is so fine, I can't say no, and she knows record people dude, so it's for the band." I am totally done with him calling me up at midnight to play me some damned jazz fusion album from 1981, crying and saying how we shouldn't have sold out to "the man" and asking if I know anyone who can get him some weed knowing full well I smoked twice in '69 and never touched it after that. I am sick of him farting on stage where the drum mics pick it up and thinking this shit is funny. I am tired of kicking off slow ballads at well under 80 bpm only to have them morph into the methamphetimine version of flight of the bumble bee, because that's the tempo he "feels" it at. I am tired of having to carry jumper cables to the gig because "I must have left the dome light on again, dude," instead of admitting his '84 astro van is a worn out piece of crap. I am tired of him asking when he's gonna get a drum solo. I am tired of paying his tab at restaurants because "that chick must have stole my wallet man, but it was worth it 'cause she was a phreak." I will not move my amp again so he can put another new cymbal on the stage, because "when we learn some fusion I'll need this sound." Please, somebody kill this motherf*cker. I can't do it because he's my brother and mom would be so pissed off even though she thinks the band would probably sound better too. Besides, if you are good at killing drummers, you could probably make a lot of money in this town.

A while back, "J.D." sent me this piece of news regarding an assault in Colorado....

ASPEN, Colo. (AP) - A banjo player accused of assaulting another man with his instrument will get to keep pickin' while awaiting his trial. Thirty-three-year-old Joseph Stancato of Denver faces second-degree assault charges after allegedly hitting another man upside the head with his banjo on New Year's Eve. Authorities say Stancato got into an argument with two men at a bus stop. District Judge James Boyd on Monday approved Stancato's request to be allowed on the road to tour with a band while awaiting his next court date Feb. 6. The banjo is considered "a deadly weapon" under Colorado law, so Stancato could face prison time, the Aspen Daily News reported.

There are plenty of jokes that could be made about that one!

A Flashback to the Dead Reckoners, Part 1

Most Sunday mornings, I tune into CBS Sunday Morning right when it comes on the air to see what features are being run that week. One Sunday a couple of months back, the feature story on the program was on "country" superstar Keith Urban. I'm in no way a fan of Urban, or his music. But, I do find these sort of profiles interesting in most cases because I usually learn a little something more about music, even if I dislike the performer being profiled.

The Urban story was your typical rags to riches story, with the slight twist of Urban making his way to Nashville from Australia. Of course, the story included drug and alcohol abuse and the happily ever after (for now) ending with Urban marrying Nicole Kidman. Watching the Urban profile reminded that I once saw Keith Urban perform. He and his band at the time, the Ranch, opened for a very talented group of singers-songwriters-musicians known as the Dead Reckoners.

If I remember properly, the show was in late 1995 or early 1996. It was one of the last concerts I saw at the Birchmere's second location, just prior to its move to its current location in 1996. The Ranch's opening set was nothing special. I don't think anyone in the small crowd of 100 people or so left thinking Urban would be the superstar he is today. I definitely was ready for some music I liked by the time the Dead Reckoners came on stage.

After this Keith Urban bashing and by this time, you're probably wondering just who were the Dead Reckoners and why was I so interested in seeing them. The Dead Reckoners were Mike Henderson, Keiran Kane, Tammy Rogers, Harry Stinson and Kevin Welch. In the couple of years prior to this concert, this group of individuals came together to found their own record label, Dead Reckoning, in an attempt to get their music out to the public without the assistance (or hinderance) of one of Nashville's major labels. Henderson, Welch and Kane (as part of the O'Kanes) had all had major label deals in the years prior to Dead Reckoning, with varying amounts of success. But at this point in their careers, all five Dead Reckoners were more concerned about doing things their own way and performing the music they wanted to perform than pursuing stardom through the Nashville meat grinder system.

Each of the five Dead Reckoners brought a unique skill set to the label and the band. Henderson was a crack Nashville session guitarist and solid songwriter. (At the time, Henderson and Stuert Smith were the only two Nashville session guitarists who had tones that were instantly identifiable among the dozens of guitar players playing country sessions.) Keiran Kane had teamed up with fellow songwriter Jamie O'Hara as the O'Kanes. The O'Kanes had a few hits in the late 80s, before going their separate ways. Rogers got her start playing fiddle in a bluegrass band that included another future "country" superstar, Kenny Chesney. After that, she toured as part of both Patty Loveless' and Trisha Yearwood's bands. Harry Stinson played drums on the road with Steve Earle and Lyle Lovett prior to becoming one of Nashville's most in demand session drummers and harmony singers. Kevin Welch had his songs recorded by artists such as Conway Twitty, Waylon Jennings and Reba McIntire before recording two CDs for Warner Brothers in the early 90s.


By the time of this show at the Birchmere, all the Dead Reckoning artists/owners, other than Stinson had released at least one CD, if not more, on the label and the group was touring as a band in support of their collabrative CD A Night of Reckoning.

(to be continued)

A Nighthawk Says Goodnight

Seeing I've been held hostage by SiriusXM radio for the greater part of 2010, I missed the recent announcement that longtime Nighthawk drummer Pete Ragusa is retiring from the band. Last week, a friend sent me this link to John Kelly's Washington Post blog which has an interview with Ragusa. Ragusa had been with the Nighthawks for over 35 years. That's a hell of lot time to be anchoring the rhythm section in any band, let alone one that was considered by many to be the world's best bar band for many years.

Although I've seen the 'Hawks numerous times, I'm a little too young to have seen them play in the rip roaring days of the 70s and early 80s when their "classic" lineup of Ragusa, Mark Wenner, Jimmy Thackery and Jan Zukowski was playing up to 300 nights a year. And, to be honest, I never comprehended how much of a national band they were until 1994, the first year I attended Jazz Fest in New Orleans. I didn't see the Nighthawks play in New Orleans in 1994. They weren't even in town. But, not long after setting foot in Jimmy's for a Delbert McCllinton show, I noticed several Hatch Show Print posters for past shows at Jimmy's that featured the Nighthawks. Some of the aged posters listed the 'Hawks as the headliners, while others had them opening for acts like Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. To this day, it always makes me feel good to see something old school D.C. when I'm traveling in other parts of the country.

Since I missed out on those wild 'Hawks shows back in the day, I'll share a story my friend "Mr. B." shared with me via email last year as we were discussing potential D.C. music posts here on Shedd's Spot.

I do remember the first time I saw the Nighthawks, though. It was the fall of '79 down at William & Mary in a large gym-like building. Admission was like a dollar or 2 and included unlimited beer courtesy of the student activity fund or something. Wenner had hurt his back and seemed to be paralyzed from about the chest down. A couple of roadies carried him on stage and propped him up against a stool or something. I didn't know anything about the blues and had likely never heard of the Nighthawks, but free beer? Hell yes. What I remember is that they jammed and jammed and jammed. I remember them totally rocking, playing for hours and just not stopping. Thackery playing behind his head, duck-walking, teeth, the whole thing. Finally at like 2:30 AM or something the authorities turned on the lights and the band took the hint and quit at the end of that song. We wandered off and threw a shopping cart off the roof of Billy's dorm or something. Anyway, great show and I saw them many times over the next several years.

After sharing that story, I guess the only way to wrap up this post is to say the Nighthawks, including Ragusa, have just released Last Train to Bluesville, an all accoustic CD recorded at, of all places, the SiriusXM studios in D.C.

A Tribute to the King

On this day last year, I posted this entry as a tribute to Elvis Presley (and Esau Smith) on what would have been his 74th birthday. This year's tribute to the King revolves around this Vanity Fair article recently emailed to me by my friend, and Shedd's Spot's west coast bureau chief, "M.K.". After all, the King deserves a classy tribute on what would have been his 75th birthday.

The Vanity Fair piece actually details the period of time in mid-1956 when photographer Alfred Wertheimer shadowed Elvis and took hundreds of photographs of Elvis in the recording studio during the "Hound Dog"/"Don't Be Cruel" sessions, at the Steve Allen Show in New York, at a concert in Richmond, Virginia, and during a long train ride back to Memphis. One very strange fact brought to light in the piece is that Wertheimer had no idea who Elvis was prior to taking the photography assignment from RCA Records. A short slide show of 13 of Wertheimer's photographs of Elvis accompanies the article and can be seen here. The photos are also part of a travelling exhibit, Elvis at 21, which opens today at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.

Wertheimer published a book of these photographs, Elvis at 21 New York to Memphis, in 2006. The book also includes a narrative by Wertheimer that details the days he spent with Presley in July 1956. The book is a must own for anyone who is more than a passing Elvis fan, although the list price of $65 may put it beyond the range of some fans.

To wrap up this tribute to Elvis, here is the King performing one of the songs he recorded during the days Wertheimer shadowed him in 1956.

Quickies

First up, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts has reached a settlement with Fairfax County in a lawsuit in which the County claimed grease from a Krispy Kreme location in Lorton was clogging local sewer lines. To me this sounds like something that would happen in The Simpsons with a Krusty Burger location. And, just think what those doughnuts are doing to customers' inner plumbing if they're clogging up the sewer lines that much. Read The Washington Post story here.

And secondly, songwriter Aaron Schroeder died last week. Schroeder was known primarily for his songwriting, but he was also was a producer and artist manager. Schroeder had a string of hits recorded by Elvis Presley in the late 1950s and early 1960s that included "A Big Hunk o' Love", "Good Luck Charm", and "It's Now or Never". But, the list of other artists who recorded his songs is quite impressive. You can read about some of them and see a photo of Schroeder in a great Hugh Heffner style outfit here.

Midweek Time Killers: Women Country Singers

Country Standard Time recently posted interviews with Patty Loveless and Rosie Flores. Seeing those pieces on the CST website made me think I should post several items relating to women in country music. Both Loveless and Flores have new CDs out. You can read the Loveless interview here and the Flores interview here. Rosie Flores performed as part of a benefit concert I attended at the Continental Club in Austin back in Sept. One of these days I'll post a blog entry of some type posted about that show.

Last year, Loretta Lynn gave this interview to Country Stars Central. The site has both the text and a podcast of the interview. If you can, listen to the podcast. I love the fact Lynn is still inviting the interviewer down to her house when Lynn's people tell her the interview time is over.

Earlier this year, My Kind of Country featured this interview with Connie Smith. Quite a few female country singers, Dolly Parton included, have said in interviews that Connie Smith is their favorite singer.

And finally, a few weeks back, I flipped my SiriusXM radio onto Johnny Knoxville's show. That week's theme was "Country Crooners With Big Cranks". Somehow Bea Arthur's version "If I Can't Sell It, I'll Keep Sittin' On It" made the show. Go figure. You can hear that "masterpiece" here.

Friday Frolics, Volume 33: El Vez

In honor of El Vez's upcoming appearance at the 930 Club......

Thanksgiving Time Killers: The West Va. Music Hall of Fame

(Shedd's spot has been on hiatus again because of work. I hope I can get things cranked back up and keep it going.)

During past visits to West Virginia, I've made posts that jump all over the place. So, I think I'll keep this on one subject, the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.

A couple of weeks back, the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame inducted its third class of honorees. Among the class were country pioneers the Bailes Brothers and country singer Hawkshaw Hawkins. Over the years, there were four Bailes brothers who performed at different times, in different combinations as the Bailes Brothers. Of the four, only Homer Bailes, age 87, is alive today. At the time this Charleston Gazette piece was written, Homer Bailes was en route from his home in Louisiana back to West Virginia for the Hall of Fame ceremony. So, most of the article's quotes on the Bailes Brothers came from Bailes' daughter. Here is my favorite quote from the daughter:

They were all ornery. They were whoremongers and alcoholics, but they loved each other, and they loved the music.

It won't probably surprise you Homer Bailes became a preacher later on in his life. Those sort of things happen a lot in country music.

I posted this Shedd's Spot piece back in March that features a video of Hawkshaw Hawkins performing "Car Hoppin' Mama" and you can read more about Hawkins in this recent Charleston Gazette article.

You can read more about the Bailes Brothers, Hawkins and the rest of 2009 class here.

One final note about the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame. You shouldn't believe all the inductees were/are country performers. The Hall has also inducted Polka King Frank Yankovic and Chuck Berry's long time pianist Johnnie Johnson.

Quickies

This post will be all over the place. No theme, nothing tying it together, no nothing, period. So, strap yourself in.

First off, one night last week I was flipping around when I stopped on a program about the JFK assassination. It surprised the hell out of me to find out the famous Zapruder film of the assassination was shown publicly for the first time on a show hosted by Geraldo Rivera in 1975.

HBO's East Bound and Down is about to air for the first time in the U.K. Here's a brief BBC interview with the show's star and co-creator Danny McBride.

Commander Cody, minus the Lost Planet Airmen of course, has a new CD on the way. It's titled Dopers, Drunks, and Everyday Losers. Considering the Commander customizes "Smoke, Smoke, Smoke (That Cigarette)" to his own tastes with references to things like Thai sticks, the title of the new CD doesn't surprise me.

Unfortunately, Garth Brooks is coming out retirement. Here's a quote from his announcement:

We need to take back the music," Brooks said. "We don't realize how powerful we are. (Former CEO of Capitol Records Nashville) Jimmy Bowen told me that once, and he was absolutely right.

No ego in that quote, huh? This Country Standard Time blog post tells a little more about the annoucement, including Brooks adamant statement about his music not being available on iTunes anytime soon.

Midweek Time Killers: Ralph Stanley Then and Now

Tomorrow, October 15th, Ralph Stanley's autobiography, Man of Constant Sorrow: My Life and Times will be released. Ralph Stanley wrote the book with Eddie Dean, who I often, and with much respect, refer to as the King of White Trash Writers. Today, the New York Times ran this review of the book.

Back before Stanley broke out to a widespread, non-bluegrass audience thanks to his version of "Oh Death" being featured in the Coen brothers film, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Stanley was still just a founding father of bluegrass. That was Stanley's status in 1995 when Rebel Records released Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys 1971-1973, a four CD box set which chronicled some of Stanley's most productive years as a recording artist after his brother Carter's death in 1966. In December 1995, The Washington City Paper ran this review and brief Stanley bio which was also written by Eddie Dean. If you're not planning on reading the new Stanley autobiography, and most of you probably aren't, you should at least take a few minutes to read Dean's City Paper piece for an interesting look at an American legend.

Midweek Time Killers: Austin, Texas

This post if full of reading & video material on places in and around Austin that I didn't get to visit during my recent trip to Austin. In some cases, I visited these places during previous trips to Austin. With others, I've only heard or read about them.

First up, this piece tells the story of the weekly Chicken Shit Bingo sessions at Ginny's Little Longhorn. I've been to Ginny's several times in the past because some of my musician friends used to play there quite often, but I never made to a Sunday bingo session.

Back in August, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame named Austin City Limits a historic rock and roll site. You can read it about here.

Finally, Broken Spoke owner James White talks about his Austin dance hall.

Quickies

First off, and on a serious note, singer/songwriter/fiddle player Amy Farris was found dead in L.A. last week. Farris had recently been touring with Dave Alvin as part of his all woman band, The Guilty Women. An obituary from The L.A.Times can be found here.

Second, yesterday (Oct. 4) marked the 42nd anniversary of the debut of Leave it to Beaver on CBS. Have you ever wondered how in the hell in little Theodore Cleaver got the nickname "Beaver"? Me too. And, now since I mentioned the Beaver, I'm going to have the Kinky Friedman song "There's Something Wrong With the Beaver" stuck in my head all day.

Finally, the International Bluegrass Music Association Awards were given out last week. Although Dailey & Vincent won the big awards of Entertainer of the Year andVocal Group of the Year, the big winners were Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper. Cleveland won Fiddle Player of the Year, while bandmembers Marshall Wilborn and Jesse Brock won the awards for Bass Player of the Year and Mandolin Player of the Year, respectively. The group also won Instrumental Group of the Year and Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year for their recording of Bill Monroe's "Jerusalem Ridge". A full list of winners can be found here and a video clip of the band's recent appearance on the Katey Daly show follows.

Friday Frolics, Volume 29: SCOTS

In honor of Southern Culture on the Skids' appearance today at the Roots 'N Blues 'N BBQ Festival, here's a SCOTS video from way back when.

Midweek Time Killers from the Midwest

Greetings from Kansas City. Seeing that I'm in the Midwest, I thought I'd post a few pieces on things out this way.

First off, today's USA Today has this article on federal flight subsidies that keep airline service to rural destinations afloat. Most of airports served through the program are in the midwest, although...go figure...four of the airports are in West Virginia. (Big Daddy Byrd at it again.)

Second, Kansas City was home to one of the great franchises in baseball history, the Negro League's Kansas City Monarchs. This MLB.com piece details the Monarchs 1942 championship. While reading the piece, take note of the different locations that hosted games in the championship series and the Homestead Grays attempted use of ringers.

Finally, this excerpt, from the book that accompanied the Ken Burns PBS series on the history of Jazz, explains a little about how the 1920s and 1930s were a wide open time in Kansas City.

Quickies...Well Not Really

Today's Quickies post comes to you from Austin, Texas, where yesterday, I started my 2nd Annual Beer, BBQ & Tunes vacation. With the vacation comes my 2nd Annual You Could Win a Prize at My Expense Contest where my friends take guesses at how much weight I'll gain or lose on my trip. All the proceeds go to benefit the Good Sports of Arlington scholarship Fund.

I'm beginning to think someone is trying to send me some sort of message during this trip. Yesterday morning, I was picked up by for my ride to the airport by a cab driver of Middle Eastern descent who blasting Christian rock in his cab. Then, when I opened the back cover AmericanWay, the American Airlines in flight magazine, to see a map of American's Dallas terminal, I found this article first. It's a story on the New Zion Missionary Baptist Church Barbecue in Huntsville, Texas, and the Barbecue's founder, Annie Mae Ward. Finally, as a long day was winding down last night at the Mean Eyed Cat in Austin, I noticed the stone in the picture above in the floor of the bar. There's nothing like drinking a PBR in bar named after a Johnny Cash song that was built on the site of a church.

In between a large lunch at the County Line BBQ and that last PBR at the Mean Eyed Cat, was a lot live music and Shiner at the Continental Club. The show featured several bands. (The poster in the picture shows the line up.) Closing act Rick Broussard and Two Hoots and a Holler put on a great set mixing some classic country shuffles with original rockers and country shuffles of their own.

It's time to wrap up this post and head south to Lockhart for some more 'Q. Photos from Day 1 can be found here.

Friday Frolics, Volume 27: Everybody's Doin' It

This week's frolic comes courtesy of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen featuring, among others, Billy C. Farlow on vocals, Bill Kirchen on lead guitar, Andy Stein on sax and the Commander himself on piano.

Quickies

Truly, this will be a quick post.

First, a Facebook "friend" of mine from college recently posted a link to this story on his Facebook page. I think I've been friended by far too many "The Let-Me-Tell-You-Every-Detail-of-My-Day Bore" types.

Second, according to USA Today, the NFL wants enact these rules to cut down on binge drinking and its related side effects at games. Right.......

Finally, this clip posted on YouTube has some great photos from this past Saturday's unveiling of Chuck Brown Way in D.C.

Midweek Time Killers: Elvis, Billy Lee and the Beach

First off, how could I let the 32nd anniversary of Elvis Presley's death go unmentioned this week? Of course, whoever wrote this wants you to believe The King of Rock and Roll is still very much alive. And, I thought the story about Elvis' long lost twin brother still being alive that I mention in this travel blog post was a little out there.

Second, rockabilly pioneer and overall wild man, Billy Lee Riley, died a couple of weeks back (August 2nd). I'm hoping to do a post on him in the near future, but in the meantime this lengthy interview with him covers most all of his career.

Third, it seems every year some local media outlet runs a story on the supposed debauchery that takes place in Dewey Beach and the locals' effort to stop it. The latest installment comes in this Washington City Paper article.

Finally, if you are really bored at work, you can check out the happnenings on the Ocean City, Maryland boardwalk on this Boardwalk Beach Cam.