Hard to believe it’s been a quarter century since Stevie Ray Vaughan died tragically in a helicopter crash at the age of 35. The music world and his fans still miss him every day. I had the privilege of seeing SRV multiple times in concert, and he always was absolutely transcendent.
Paste Magazine compiled a great list of videos that showcase not just Stevie’s guitar virtuosity and soulful voice, but the breadth of his influence. Please spend some time with them today.
In an interview with Rolling Stone shortly after Stevie Ray and his great band Double Trouble (Tommy Shannon on bass, Chris “Whipper” Layton on drums and Reese Wynans on keyboards) were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year, Stevie Ray’s big brother Jimmie Vaughan talked about what a great guy SRV was. Here’s an excerpt:
When you were up there you said it was important to talk about Stevie Ray the person. Why was it important to talk about that aspect of his life?
Because most people know he was an incredible guitar player and a great musician and a singer and he wrote songs and he was a great performer. Everybody knows all that, which is absolutely amazing. But what they may not know is that he was a sweet guy and he would do anything for you, and that was just the way he always was.
The National is a fine band that happens to be from Cincinnati, although they didn’t really hit it big until they all moved to New York. 2 sets of brothers (one pair of twins) and lead singer Matt Berninger, who is a very interesting dude.
Right now, Matt has a side project with Brent Knopf from Menomena, the band is called El Vy. The first single includes lyrics about Cincinnati landmarks Eden Park and the Serpentine Wall. So naturally as a Cincinnatian I’m duty-bound to like it. But you’ll like it too.
The second song on El Vy’s new album also references two Cincinnati neighborhood, Delhi and Over-the-Rhine. But that song has dirty words in it, so Cincinnatians probably won’t like it as much. But Matt shows off some fancy dance moves in the video.
Here are the thoughts that flash through my feeble yet trivia-packed 50-year-old mind when I see this album cover:
The “parted-in-the-middle mullet” needs to make a comeback.
Most folks think of Kenny Rogers as a country artist, and forget that he started out as a psychedelic freak.
3. “Six Pack” was a fine movie. (co-starring Diane Lane, Erin Gray, Barry Corbin and Anthony Michael Hall, y’all!)
4. Kenny rocked the facial hair long before craft-beer-swilling hipsters made it “ironic.”
5. I miss the corn muffins from Kenny Rogers Roasters restaurants. Mighty tasty.
(Apparently I could still get those corn muffins if I visit Malaysia.)
6. Nobody does duets like Kenny did. Dolly. Sheena Easton. Kim Carnes. Dottie West… You could pair Kenny with a parrot and get a #1 hit.
6. I’m sure it was cathartic for Tommy to beat up the Gatlin boys (“and there was three of them”) but a better course of action would’ve been for Becky to file charges.
7. In the early days of the interwebs, one of my favorite websites was MenWhoLookLikeKennyRogers.com. The concept was so simple yet wacky: find a silver-haired, bearded fella who resembled Kenny, take his photo (surreptitiously if necessary) and post it to the site. Pure genius in the days before piano-playing cats took over. Just look at a single page of photos and try not to laugh. It’s impossible.
Music has the power to heal. Friends are a blessing. And when you put them together, it can be magical.
On Friday night I went to the heart of downtown Cincinnati, Fountain Square (as seen in the “WKRP in Cincinnati” opening credits) for a free indie rock show. Wussy — proclaimed by Robert Christgau as “the best band in America” — was the headliner, and they lived up to that billing, albeit a bit raggedly. Prior to Wussy, another excellent band called Pike 27 played. Their usual drummer is my friend Dave, who is currently being treated for his second bout with lymphoma. I worked with Dave’s wife Jacqui at an ad agency long ago, and I’ve shared a few of Jacqui’s poignant posts about their journey on her “Nashville or Bust” blog.
Yesterday morning I went on a 9-mile run with my wife, who is training for the New York Marathon, and we saw Jacqui running the other way with another running group. I’m guessing her runs are a bit more meditative and therapeutic than mine.
Last night we went to a fundraiser for Music Resource Center and I met Pike 27’s frontman (also named Dave) and his wife Amy. Dave is friends with my friend Jennifer from my radio days. And Amy is good friends with one of my current co-workers. Amy also had played a key role in Friday night’s concert – iPhone cameraperson. Turns out they were able to broadcast (narrowcast actually) the gig to Jacqui and Dave at their home.
This was our Friday night. And it was pretty spectacular.
You’ve heard me mention Dave’s band, Pike 27, from time to time. They are incredible musicians. They are incredible people. They are part of our family.
And last night — the night of the very much anticipated show on Fountain Square as part of Cincinnati’s MidPoin Indie Summer series — they made sure that Dave didn’t miss out.
It was a last minute idea and probably the most hillbilly way to ‘live cam’ — but we did it! Thanks to iPhones, FaceTime, iCloud and Facebook, we patched in from the dining room table.
Dave had no clue that we were doing this. In fact, he was a bit annoyed when he heard me fussing at my computer and told him to, “get over here — you have to see this!” I think he thought I was watching cat videos or something.
I really wished I had a video camera rolling on him when he saw Amy on my computer screen, waving and smiling, and figured out that she was on Fountain Square. Live. Like there at the show.
The plan was really to watch one or two songs. We didn’t want to burden Amy (who was fighting bronchitis) to wear out her arm holding her phone up all night. But others jumped in and kept the feed going. Then there were the message pictures and the selfies and wow… so much love.
We are humbled by and grateful to all the folks that are Pike 27 and for the local music scene who continue to send love and support. It was incredible to see Dave so happy — so alive! And yes, he was singing his ‘girl part’ high harmonies and keeping time with his feet. Would you expect any less? ~Jacqui
My son’s band played a few songs at the fundraiser last night. If they keep playing music, I hope they always remember that it’s not about fame, fortune or glory, it’s about the friendships you form and the love you share.
I’m a blues fan, but must admit that my interest has waned since Stevie Ray Vaughan died. Seeing some youngsters play the blues like old souls last night gave me new hope for the next generation of the blues.
Full disclosure: Joe Tellmann is the 15-year-old son of my good friend Dave, with whom I had the pleasure of working at 97X in Oxford, OH two decades ago. He also happens to be a preternaturally gifted guitarist who loves nothing more than practicing for several hours every day.
Erin Coburn is even younger than Joe, she’s only 13. She looks like she should be playing with American Girl dolls instead of playing guitar, but when she plays and sings she’s Bessie Smith, Koko Taylor, Bonnie Raitt and Susan Tedeschi all rolled into one.
Both Joe and Erin attended the Pinetop Perkins Foundation Camp in Clarksdale, Mississippi this summer. According to Dave, it was an incredibly rewarding week. Last night’s gig was a fundraiser for the foundation.
The Pinetop Perkins Foundation is a tax exempt non-profit organization. It’s mission is to provide encouragement and support for youth and young people at the beginning of their musical career; and help provide care and safety for elderly musicians at the twilight of their career.
Columbia House – the mail-order record club that would suck(er) you in with their magazine ads (“get 12 cassettes for a penny!”) has gone belly up. I’ll miss them because they helped me stock my cassette – and later CD – library with some gems. But I won’t miss worrying that I’d forget to mail back the “I don’t want this month’s selection” card in time, and getting charged $20 for a crappy album.
I’ll also miss making up some nice aliases so I could get more albums for a penny.
Kevin Sullivan on Life advice from a man who lived it: “A good one Damian. Bring our lens into focus after the long weekend or our long life journey.” Jul 7, 09:38
Thomas Kuhl on We’re alive, because nothing happened.: “That is why we should celebrate every day when our feet hit the floor. Another to enjoy and share with…” Jun 25, 04:33
Thomas Kuhl on We’re alive, because nothing happened.: “This simply explains why we should celebrate every day our feet hit the floor. Another day to enjoy and share…” Jun 25, 04:31
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