Crazy Joe Kickin' Out the Jams Behind Deke the Geek's Guitar Collection at VLV 14

The Silver Minx summed it up by calling Viva Las Vegas an ADD delight.  Lack of cloning technology prevented everyone from attending all the concurrent shows and events they wanted to see, and it was challenging to walk from one place to another without running into someone to talk about going someplace else.  Growth in attendance, bands and events did nothing to diminish VLV #14; growth only made things better as those who packed the Burlesque Competition, Tiki Pool Party, the main stage area and other events can confirm.

The B Stars, Midnight Trio, Stompy Jones, Thee Merry Widows and Jinx Jones and the Kingtones were on hand to hold up the Bay Area’s end, but of course the surprises for Bay Area twang fans came from bands that don’t usually play here.

Li'l Mo & the Dynaflos Doo-Wop on the Main Stage

Li’L Mo and the Dynaflos opened the first evening on the main stage and bowled everyone over.  Hopefully Tanoa “Samoa Boy” can get this LA combo into the Verdi Club.  Here’s a quick taste of the doo-wop bop that had people still hanging around for CDs and autographs an hour after their show.
Video: Li\’l Mo and the Dynaflos – \”Juanita\”

Pachuco Jose's Zoot Suit Riot

Li’l Mo should have been a tough act to follow, but that didn’t bother the dynamic stage show by LA’s Pachuco Jose y los Diamantes.
Video: Pachuco Jose Bailando con las Piernas Locas

Getting back to Rockabilly, Hi Q’s from LA were really on it with Carl Sonny Layland sitting in on keys.  Their YT vids range from old to lo-fi, neither of which do them justice, but this one’s got some nice production with vintage road-worthy illustrations.
Video: Hi Q\’s – \”Speed Limit\”

Redline Rockets on Brendan's Stage

The Redline Rockets where a very pleasant surprise hitting the Brendan’s stage with strong songs and a no-frills delivery.  Their video catalog is a bit shaky, but even the wobbly camera work on “Marie, Marie” can’t hide their rockin’ creds.
Video: Redline Rockets – \”Marie, Marie\”

The Twangshifters from Portland, Oregon backed their strong stage performance with some hot chops and Bayou Bettie gettin’ naked, which, mercifully, was not to prop up their performance, but to enliven it.  Listen to Sara Barry get soulful, sultry and growl on “Chain of Fools”.

Sara Barry Frontwoman for the Twangshifters

Video: The Twangshifters – \”Chain of Fools\”

Sound quality, which hung in there at all stages, was another very pleasant surprise at VLV 14.  Oh, how we remember walking the main room at VLVs of yore searching for the few islands where the sound was bearable.  VLV14 sound was only a little rough at the back of the Bienview room, and when Big Sandy with Los Straightjackets, packed that room the sound got so muffled that he blew his voice out.  Joining Deke Dickerson at Deke’s Guitar Geek extravaganza the following day, Big Sandy could hardly croak out a tune, but by Sunday he was on the mend.

They've Been Coming to Vivas Since They Were Embryos

Kids, though not many of them, were another pleasant feature of VLV 14.  Indeed, some of them had been coming to Viva since they were embryos, so getting with the program was no problem for them.

Blues bands, which were completely absent in earlier incarnations, turned out to be another fine addition to the mix, particularly as they ripped it up all Friday and Saturday night in Brendan’s Pub.  At least one couple, videographers Larry and Nikki who live in Vegas, rented a room at the Orleans just so they could hang with the all-night blues parties.

For more, find 40 captioned VLV 14 pictures in Jose Segue’s (public) Facebook album, and read the next HWS article, (pre-VLV) in case you missed it.

NEW BANDS

MSP's Mighty Tighty Whities

There have been several attempts to derail the Mighty Slim Pickins, usually in the form of personnel changes, but lead singer Leigh Crow says this time it’s over for sure, as in really, really.

Three other bands have sprung from the MSP’s ashes. The Patsychords’ name gives them away; Roxanne Chick1, the MSP’s bassist before Lala, is a ‘Chord.  The Rumble Strippers are also new and Eden Heartattack, the MSP’s drummer, is now a Rumble Stripper. These bands will be twangin’ thar’ thang on the El Rio‘s patio on Sunday 3/12 along with Dolorata and Sassy, benefiting the SF AIDS Foundation.

The band to be named later is something Leigh Crow and MSP’s other lead singer, Nettie Hammar, have yet to brew up, but brew it they will. Daughter of MSP is only its working name.

Kitty Rose had been a regular at El Rio’s Cowgirlpalooza, at Dolores Park Cafe and assorted venues between SF and her home north in Ukiah. But Kitty and Katharine Cole, currently in The Battlin’ Bluebirds, are a persona and a person sharing the same hominid enclosure, so to speak. So if Kate killed Kit, it was nobody’s business but her own. Kitty Rose had put out three strong CD’s which was all she needed to do. Katharine Cole is on to newer things including a possible move back to SF, and a CD so dark it will make Marianne Faithfull‘s Broken English seem like a tanning salon.

PIRATE CAT RADIO SOAP OPERA

The loonies really have taken over the asylum at Pirate Cat Radio.

By way of background, Pirate Cat was founded 14 years ago by Monkey (his legal name) to broadcast at 87.9 FM and stream over the web. The Federal Communications Commission shut down the broadcast side in 2010, about the same time that Monkey acquired a licensed NPR station, KPDO, in Pescadero, north of Santa Cruz.

Apparently an 80% interest in Pirate Cat had been sold to SF resident Raymond Chen, but Monkey maintains that Chen only bought 80% of the Pirate Cat Cafe which shares space with the station.  However, Monkey also told the DJs, who pay monthly dues to fund Pirate Cat, to pay Chen, then a month later told them to pay into what appears to be a personal account of Monkey’s. Monkey maintains that Pirate Cat, a non-profit itself, had been rolled into KPDO, hence the reason for the change of accounts.  The DJ’s rebelled and set up their own account. The Golden Rule of Capitalism is that he who has the gold makes the rules.  Pirate Cat Radio (a.k.a., the asylum) had been pirated by it’s DJs (a.k.a., the loonies), but not for long.  The station and site have both been down for weeks.

Monkey appears to have fled to Europe. He’s not taking calls or answering emails though he has been sending out press releases, which nobody believes, to “clarify” things. Meanwhile, PCR defections, notably to FCCFreeRadio, have been brisk.  Talk about a radio drama.  Monkey, however true a visionary, seems to have been napping during his leadership development courses.

HAIGHT STREET HOP

The Haight Street Hop plans to become a fixture on first Fridays. Handsome Hank Valentine hosts the event at Milk Bar, across from Amnesia Records. It’s a vintage record hop featuring rotating DJs, burlesque, a pin-up contest, the Wak Shack doing hair, and a free dance lesson at 9:00.

The first of its kind was held on March 4th and was such a success that there was hardly room to dance. The crowd came dressed for success and DJs Okie Oran and Samoa Boy dipped into their wonderful 45 collections to keep ‘em jumpin’.  It’ll be free before 10pm too!

KUSF SOLD LIKE A FULTON STREET TART

"For whom the bell tolls KUSF, if not for thee?"

The skull and crossed microphones are no more.  The University of San Francisco sold its station, KUSF at 90.3 FM, in a $3.75 million secret deal to the University of Southern California which was nothing more than a front for the station’s transfer to giant Entercom Communications, owner of classical KDFC.

A haven for non-commercial music and non-English language programs, KUSF went silent with no notice to its staff, students or listeners.  The station, whose frequency was donated to USF in 1973, now broadcasts classical music as KDFC.

Protest of the sale was swift and emphatic.  USF President Stephen Privett led a meeting that packed a 500-seat auditorium, but, like a contrite bishop explaining a pedophilia scandal, he adopted a demeanor of heartfelt concern to mask a familiar message, “The Church of Rome does what it wants when it wants.  Deal with it.”  SF’s Board of Supervisors will issue a non-binding resolution that “decries the loss of the cultural and community asset,” to provide the cover they need even as Privett feeds their resolution into his shredder.  Pray, pay and obey, y’all.

And a measly $3.75M for an urban FM station!  Whazzup wid dat?

Naturally, this is going to put pressure on the greater Bay Area’s six remaining college FM stations as provosts, presidents and deans weigh educational and community responsibility against cash on the barrelhead, son.  Enjoy them while they last.  www.saveKUSF.org

KZSC, 88.1, UC, Santa Cruz
KFJC, 89.7, Foothill College
KZSU, 90.1, Stanford University
KALX, 90.7, UC, Berkeley
KCSM, 91.1, College of San Mateo
KSCU, 103.3, Santa Clara University

SAN FRANCISCO BLUEGRASS AND OLD-TIME MUSIC FESTIVAL

San Francisco’s bluegrass and old-time music festival hits venues throughout the Bay Area from February 11^th to 20th.  The festival, an 11-year-old production of the Northern California Bluegrass Association, is known for a rich assortment of West Coast and Bay Area acoustic Americana bands, though the event branched into electric, minimally, years ago.  Emily Bonn & The Vivants, The Good Luck Thrift Shore Outfit, Hang Jones, Gayle Lynn and the Hired Hands, Misisipi Rider and the Pine Box Boys, none of which come close to trad bluegrass, are among the stars that SFBOT will showcase.  The Stairwell Sisters, Dry Branch Fire Squad and 60 others will be keeping it true to its acoustic roots.   Schedule.

NEW CD RELEASES FROM BAY AREA BANDS

Four new CDs dotted the January twangscape.  Jon-Emery and the Dry County Drinkers, an edgy honky-tonk outfit from Sonoma County, has released one.   This Jon-Emery is not to be confused with the Jon Emery Band from Austin.  Here’s Sonoma County Jon-Emery’s video.

Don Burnham, the fearless leader of the western swing big band Lost Weekend, has released a solo CD, I Dreamed Count Basie Was A Cowboy.  He did it with his Lost Weekend pals and it is western swing, but why it isn’t a Lost Weekend CD is a secret.

The East Bay’s 77 el Deora has cut its third, “The Crown and the Crow’s Confession”; and Marin’s Blue Diamond Fillups have given birth to their first.  Their “Drive Like Lightening, Crash Like Thunder” video remains a HWS favorite.

VINYL JUNKIES SHARE THEIR SECRETS

The Bay Area’s record collectors keep providing us with new surprises.  The latest is Joe Goldmark’s new site VinylBeat.com, which also links to his new blog on Amoeba.com.   It has four sections, one of which is an LP Label Guide with pictures of over a thousand labels and information on when the styles changed.  This is handy when trying to figure out if you have an original pressing.  Another section features “five high-end price guides that are more in tune with the market than any previous guide.”  Goldmark, who moonlights as the Fearless Leader of The Seducers, also manages Amoeba SF, so he’s got the vinyl value thing under control, unlike the many vinyl price guides that are rated “R” for ridiculous.

Other vinyl junkies have been spinning old school Friday R&B session, first at the Jay ‘n’ Bee Club, and recently at ReTox on 20^th near 3^rd in Dogpatch.  DJ’s Samoa Boy, Okie Oran, Sergio Iglesias and Rockin’ Raul are moving on.  Stay tuned.

NEW VENUES THAT TWANG

The 50 Mason Social House is one of the newest venues for roots Americana.  They’re still working out their sound system, yet it’s nice to know they’re alive and booking.  It’s also hecka easy to get to being one block away from Powell Street Station.

The Presidio Yacht Club has got to be the diviest, blue collar yacht club north of SF’s Bayview Boat Club.  The Lonestar Retrobates play there every first Thursday.  It’s located just northeast of the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge, at the east end of Horseshoe Cove in Fort Baker.  You reach the back of it’s building it’s by driving through a dirt parking lot with potholes deep enough to swallow a Smart Car.  The road then continues to the left, darkly, until the club and its parking lot appear.

Beer and food are affordable, Maria behind the counter is friendly, no one is wearing a Commodore’s hat or smoking a meerschaum pipe, and it’s view is spectacular.

49 SPECIAL: 49 Special (self)
THE B STARS: Behind the Barn (N/A)
BROTHERS COMATOSE: Songs From the Stoop (self)
BIG B AND HIS SNAKEOIL SAVIORS: Big B And His Snakeoil Saviors (A’Okay)
DALTON MOUNTAIN GANG: Dalton Mountain Gang (self)
DAN HICKS: Crazy f0r Christmas (Surf Dog)
DARK HOLLOW: We’ll Meet Again Sweetheart (demo – self)
DAVE CRIMMEN: Full Circle (self)
DOUG ADAMZ: Bernardo’s Seranade (Magi Productions)
DOUG BLUMER: Sounds Like This (Ethic)
DR. ELMO: Bluegrass Christmas (Time-Life)
EARL BROTHERS: Earl Brothers (Big Hen)
ERIC THOMPSON: Kleptograss (Herringbone)
EVIE LADIN: Float Downstream (self)
THE FANCY DAN BAND: Sing to Survive (self)
FRANCESCA NAGEL: Everything Must Change (self)
FRANK SOLIVAN & DIRTY KITCHEN: Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen (Fiddlemon)
GOLDDIGGERS: GoldDiggers (Self)
HI-RHYTHM HUSTLERS: Across the Dial (self)
JERRY GARCIA ACOUSTIC BAND: Ragged But Right, Almost Acoustic (jerrygarcia.com)
JINX JONES: Rip and Run (Home Brand Records)
JODY STECHER & KATE BRISLIN: Return (self)
KATHY KALLICK BAND: Between the Hollow & the High-Rise (Live Oak)
KITCHEN HELP: Kitchen Help (self)
KNUCKLE KNOCKERS: The Knuckle Knockers (Yodel-ay-hee)
LARIATS OF FIRE: Jack Jenkins’ Last Ride (self)
LUKE ABBOTT: Take Me Home (Tone Way)
MARIA MULDAR: Christmas At The Oasis (Stony Plain?)
THE MEN OF LA MANCHA: Misisipi Rider Presents… (self)
THE MISSION THREE: Big Time (self)
NELL ROBINSON: Nell Robinson in… Loango (Red Level Records)
OAK GROVE:  Family Bluegrass Band (self)OMGG: Obviously Minor Guys and a Girl (self)
PETER ROWAN BLUEGRASS BAND: Legacy (Compass)
PLAIN HIGH DRIFTERS: Plain High Drifters (self)
PURVIS & THE STRAY DOGS: Rock the Dog Park (Special Projects)
RAGTIME SKEDADDLERS: Ragtime Skedaddlers (Mandophone)
RED MEAT: Live at the World’s Smallest Honky Tonk (Ranchero Records)
SUZY THOMPSON & DEL RAY: Hen Party (Hobemian)
TAMARA LITTLE: Coming Up For Air (Magic Wheel)
TUTTLES with A.J. LEE: Introducing … (Back Studio)
WEST COAST RAMBLERS: West Coast Ramblers EP (self)
WHISKY RICHARDS: No. 1 (self)
WRONGLERS: Jamming For Faint Praise (self)

Plus two more honorable mentions from the not-so-Bay-Area town of Oakdale due east:

GOOD LUCK THRIFT STORE OUTFIT: The Ghost of Good Manners (Heckabad)
TOM VANDENAVOND WITH LARRY AND HIS FLASK: You Outta Know by Now (Hillgrass Bluebilly)

2010 was a good year for swing and jump blues, but not so good for rockabilly bands as their shows tended to fade from the clubs.  Arguably, the local car clubs hosted more rockabilly in 2010 than the nightclubs.  Some rockabilly bands like Texas Steve and the Git Gone Trio just faded away while others like the Blue Diamond Fillups talked their way onto swing venues and others like the Mighty Slim Pickins and the RevTones took time to retool their line-ups.

The coming of age of the Hi-Rhythm Hustlers, Slim Jenkins and Lost Dog Found has breathed new life into the swing and bop scene.  Kat’s Corner, the regular Wednesday night lesson and dance event at Savannah Lounge continued to prosper under Nathan Diaz who didn’t miss a beat after Kat herself moved to the Caribbean.  The Rockit Room (formerly the Last Day Saloon) in SF’s Inner Sunset neighborhood started offering swing dancing and lessons every Sunday, and the Burrit Room at SF’s Crescent Hotel is now booking dance-oriented swing and country bands including the newest western swing kids on the block, the West Coast Ramblers.  Le Colonial on Cosmo Alley in SF’s Tender Nob has been swinging with The Martini Brothers every Thursday and now they’ve added the new and very boppin’ Cosmo Alley Cats on Wednesday nights.

New George’s in San Rafael is another new/old club that’s back on the radar.  Fourth Street Tavern used to book a band or two from the HWS Bands page each month, but that disappeared in 2010.  Nearby New George’s stopped booking bands in ’03 when it became a restaurant, but now it has a new owner who has remade it as a 1940′s era establishment with live music four nights/week.

The SF anti-fun police shut down the regular Friday night all-vinyl old-school R&B record hop at the Jay ‘n’ Bee Club because that venue didn’t have an entertainment license.  After a few months of silence, this event found new life at ReTox on 20th near 3rd in Dogpatch.  El Rio in SF became the new home for Swing Goth, an edgy lesson and DJed dance event that had been going, somewhat irregularly, at other locations in recent years.  It’s unusual in that the mix is mainly alt-rock and, yes, goth with little if any actual swing music, yet people continue to fill this niche that few imagined existed.

Hicks with Sticks expanded its radio presence with Meaty Paws on KALX‘s Why Baby, Why where we’ll be on every month that has a fifth Tuesday; the next will be announced this March.  And finally, Hicks with Sticks celebrated its 11th anniversary in November 2010.  Who would have imagined that back in 1999?

HWS ON KALW: PETER THOMPSON'S "BLUEGRASS SIGNAL" 11-27-2010

HWS ON KALX WITH MEATY PAWS ON "WHY BABY, WHY" 11-30-2010

Find more about most of these bands including links to sites, videos and more on the HWS Bands page.

Big Vic of Mandatory Merle

Mandatory Merle features Big Vic Estrella (Big Mistake, SF Cattle Co.) who, like some exotic species of accordion-playing cicada, emerges every three years with a new band.  There’s no site, as Haggard would have wanted it, but look for their first show, which has been threatened for months, on the HWS calendar.

Plain High Smelley

Smelley Kelley’s Plain High Drifters is another band that recycles itself, usually every six years or so.  They date back to the ’90s, when they were the East Bay Drifters with different personnel yet with Smelley, who most know from Red Meat, at the helm.  These guys have been wood-shedding and playing “secret” shows for six-months.  They played their breakout gig at Ireland’s 32 on 11/14 with Les James, also from Red Meat, on drums; and two former Burning Embers, Eric Embry on rhythm guitar and banjo, and Tom Armstrong on electric bass.  Dave Janusco, who was in the previous PHDs, plays lead and rhythm guitars.  They’ve also come out of the box with a 15-song CD.  PHD Site.

The Switchbacks

The Switchbacks played the Make-Out Room a few months ago.  They’ve got a honky-tonkin’ sound but little has been heard from them lately.  Find their songs and videos, but no calendar, on their MySpace page.

The Deadicated Maniacs have that California easy-listening sound inspired by the Grateful Dead and New Riders of the Purple Sage, and they are not afraid to play stages with tie-die backwalls. Find inner peace at their site.

Jenny Lynn and her Real Gone Daddies is a new rockabilly band that’s thin in the website department.  They’ve been playing in “Where the hell is ‘Elmira’,” up by Vacaville. Jenny’s granpaw apparently recorded with Rose Maddox.  The video on “Bang, Bang” is jumpy, but its audio is in good shape and well worth a listen.

Purvis and the Stray Dogs is another Internet-averse rockabilly outfit, but they do have a write-up with song samples here.  Steeped in the R&R of the ’50s, their song samples suggest an approach similar to BlueNoteCats or The Dave Crimmen Band.

The Dave Crimmen Band

Veteran Crimmen himself has a new CD and a new book about his wayward youth in the Broadmoor Village neighborhood of  Daly City.  The book release is Wed. Nov. 17th @ Daly City Doelger Center, 101 Lake Merced Blvd. Daly City @ 7:00, free.  The release party for Full Circle is two days later on the Friday, 19th @ Abby Tavern, 4100 Geary Blvd., SF, 9:30 , also free.   Site link.

The Fancy Dan Band released its second CD, Sing to Survive.  Their first was produced in Nashville and their latest seems more home-grown, both in location and production.  This band needs a strong producer and Sing to Survive sounds like independent ears weren’t in the budget. And where are the threads?  Has the recession cut into their clothing budget too?

Valerie Jay

Valerie Jay has been low on the radar for four years while making time for her two new daughters.  She’s scaled the band down from a seven-piece to a trio with a sound reminiscent of Margo Timmins and early Cowboy Junkies.

Sonoma County’s Twang Ditty is alive and well with a new guitarist brightening up their honky-tonk standards.  It was an adventure to find them playing the Druids Hall in Santa Rosa. The Druids are a community outfit, like Rotary, Elks or Moose.  The median age of the dancers and this regular Friday night event, which features various bands, was about 75.

Also in Sonoma County news, the Black Cat, a dive in Penngrove just northeast of Petaluma, has changed hands again.  This comes on the heels of some discouraging reports of bands making less than gas money to play there.  The bar muddled along for the past few years as a wimmen’s club house, but Penngrove just isn’t big enough for identity politics.  Hopefully the new owners will get the message.  Meanwhile, live music is thriving at Penngrove’s other club, the Twin Oaks.  This joint keeps its doors open to Americana and closed to the Internet.  It takes a genuine old-fashioned telephone call to book your band or find out who is playing there.

Bluegrassers Homespun Rowdy played Amnesia one Monday every month for eight years. Now they’ve moved on as life has placed other responsibilities on the band members.  Shorter lived L’il Anne and the Tune Wranglers faded away when it became more work than fun for front woman Anne Arnheim.

The first of two DJed events is the revival of the Rockabilly Fridays in SF with a rotation of DJs Samoa Boy, Rockin’ Raul, Okie Oran and Sergio Inglesias spinning ancient R&B on vinyl at ReTox on 20^th Street just off 3^rd in SF.  This is a revival of the popular Jay ‘n’ Bee Fridays that the Grinch at City Hall ended for lack of a cabaret license.  The other features Dr. Scott and Miss Cherry Bomb playing old school R&R, surf, R&B and country on third Thursdays at Forbidden Island in Alameda.

Hicks with Sticks is gearing up for two radio shows at the end of this month featuring the latest from twangin’ local bands.  Peter Thompson’s Bluegrass Signal will host HWS on Saturday the 27^th from 6:30-8:00 PM on KALW.

KALX

Three evenings later, Meaty Paws and Jose Segue will be at it again on KALX‘s Why Baby, Why during Tuesday November 30^th at midnight, which is technically very early on Wednesday December 1^st for those who are counting.  Both are on the Internet for listening beyond each station’s broadcast range.

And there may even be a night of honky-tonkin’ vinyl, good beer and classy weenies at Rosamoude in the Mission.  Stay tuned.

Updated Post 9-3-10
This felt like the best show Meaty Paws and I have done.  After four or five of them we’re getting our groove down.  Here’s the playlist:

HWS on KALX, 8-31-10

The first group through Kathy Kallick’s “New White House Blues” are all new releases, with Red Meat’s live CD being played four days since its release party.  Next are 2009 and early 2010 releases from Bay Area bands except for the last four tracks which were played to introduce lesser known bands that have toured the Bay Area.

Hicks with Sticks is working on getting a podcast going for these shows.  Stay tuned.

Original Post 8-31-10
Hicks with Sticks will be a guest on KALX‘s Why Baby, Why at midnight tonight.  Follow the link and tune in over the airwaves or via the Internet to hear the latest from Red Meat, The Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit, The Whiskey Richards, The Famous, The GoldDiggers, Chop Tops, The Mission Three and Kathy Kallick.  We’ll also play 2009 favorites from Bay Area Bands plus a set of music from bands that toured the Bay Area recently, were easy to miss, yet are bands you need to know (’cause they’ll be back) like the Lucky Stars, Ten Foot Tall & 80 Proof, David Serby and Pine Leaf Boys.

KALX DJ Meaty Paws is has his own show and is one of the rotating DJs for Why Baby Why.  He’s started booking HWS onto Why Baby Why every time there’s a fifth Tuesday in a month.  Our last show was at the end of June, the next will be in November, but for now tonight’s the night.

Stay Away Joes

New bands form and others fade away.  Uphill Both Ways is one of the new bands with a smooth, sometimes rocking, sound and samples that can be heard here…   The Stay Away Joes are a new rockabilly group with song samples on their MySpace page…  Small Gas Engine, which has the heart of a counrty band, wants you to listen to their songs and explain to them what kind of band they are…  The Mighty Slim Pickens will be taking a break following the departure of bassist Roxanne Chicoine.  If anyone knows a female stand-up bassist who likes to slap it around, get in touch…  Lady A and her Heel Draggers have at least one more show scheduled, but we hear that it may be followed by an extended break which would be regrettable as this band seemed to be hitting a stride…  Li’l Anne and the Tune Wranglers may be on extended hiatus as well. This band emerged from the Sweet ‘n’ Lo’s and was on a roll until the departure of Danny Santos. Belle Monroe, who plays guitar with her own Brewglass Boys, stepped in to play stand-up bass and sing, but she’s one busy gal.  Meanwhile, Li’l Anne, who has been at it steadily since the S & L’s, is thinking maybe she needs to take a break from the music biz…  It looks like the Shut-Ins are going the way of the Bootcuts as a band that can abide and endure for decades by playing rarely.  Mike Roper (uke, vox) has been devoting more time to Cheetahs on the Moon and Gayle Lynn and the Hired Hands, while John Poultney (guitar, vox) has become inspired to do original material.  Let’s hope these boys still have a few more Riptide Xmas specials in them.  Theirs is the only Hicks with Sticks-approved Xmas special on the planet.

Hobo Gobbelins

Larry Bob Roberts has been presiding over the first Tuesdays Americana shows at El Rio for about two years and presented his last one this month.  Roberts’ strength was in finding bands that are somewhere on the Americana spectrum but not necessarily in country, rockabilly of any other easily identifiable niche.  The Hobo Gobbelins who closed the run are a case in point, consisting of an uncertain mix of Americana, klezmer, Irish, old-tyme, Slim Cessna, sea shanty, and any other inspiration that comes in over their transom.

The 52 Week Club is the brainchild of Willie Tea (The Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit) and Tom VandenAvond that challenges its members to write a song every week for a year.  It’s free to join and about as simple as them picking the topic and you writing the song.  The line up so far is: Week 1: The Scout, Week 2: Sandpaper, Week 3: Baked Treats, Week 4: Them Travelers, and Week 5: Basking in the Cold Concrete.  You can catch up by writing one song about a scout who was sandpapering his baked treats while traveling and tanning over cold concrete.

Whisky Richards Debut EP

Chase Christie, braintrust for the Whisky Richards, gets to have it both ways.   He wants the band to sound good and have fun, and their self-titled EP/CD does just that.

Kicking off with a country-rockin’ working man’s anthem, “Steel Drivin’ Man,” the band fires on all of its six cylinders — drums, bass, rhythm, lead guitar, harmonica and fiddle — to remind us that the workin’ man “don’t get no breakfast in bed.”  Things slow down for “Kentucky Don’t You Know,” an idealized snapshot of the Bluegrass State, then they pick right back up with the easy-rollin’, self-explanatory “Hard Drinking without You,” followed by the instrumental “Curley’s Dream,” and closing with the fifth and final song, another drinkin’ tune called “Bottle Gone Dry.”

This is everything a first EP should be.  It showcases the band’s bopping country side while providing space for a ballad, instrumental and opening rocker.  They can be proud of this calling card.

“Hard Drinking without You” video.

There are 67 bands listed representing western swing, honky-tonk, alt-country and rockabilly, and almost all are within the Sonoma, East Bay, Santa Cruz triangle.  The greater SF Bay Area is second only to Austin in the number of these bands.

Updating the Bands page is never done, and there are still a few more links and bands to add, and to delete since a few of these bands haven’t been playing nor have they officially broken up.  In future we’ll add HWS reviews of their CDs and links to the bands’ Facebook pages.  Fortunately, we got around a bug that had been preventing the Bands page from being updated, but unfortunately we had to get to work and actually update it.  Now band browsing fans can burn some hours getting to know who’s who.