This blog spot is the home to my ramblings. I am a free lance writer. Most of my work goes on Associated Content. Sometimes I write what is on my mind, sometimes I plug some of my writing, and sometimes a combination of the two. So, sit back read, enjoy, and we will see where it goes.
"Let it Roll" by Little Feat. Sad news from Little Feat tonight guitarist Paul Barrere has passed away. You can read the band's statement here.
"Lost in the Sound" with Roger Cole
"If The Phone Don't Ring" Paul Barrere
Having seen this band at their peak of resurgence with my Mom on a New Year's Eve show, to interviewing and meeting one of the co-founders of Little Feat I have a connection to this band. Obviously I am a fan too.
Little Feat "Feats Don't Fail Me Know" a different year but the same venue I went to with my mom.
Robert Hunter the legendary lyricist best know for his songs written for the Grateful Dead passed away today. He wrote lyrics for others as well including Jerry Garcia, Bruce Hornsby, Little Feat, Bill Payne, David Nelson, Jim Lauderdale, and even collaborated with Bob Dylan. he has also written several books of poetry.
Robert's version of "Box of Rain"
The Grateful Dead "Ripple"
I interviewed Bill Payne one of the founders of Little Feat on songwriting with Robert Hunter:
"If Robert doesn’t like something he is going to tell me. If lyrically he sends me something I can’t sing then I need to see if we can do something a little differently. Then he goes, ‘BOOM! – try this!” It’s usually not only better but a lot better."
Here is a song they wrote together "Ragtop Down"
He wrote "Cyclone" for Bruce Hornsby
Bob Dylan "Silvio"
Fare thee well!
"Brokedown Palace"
Hunter is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Americana Music Awards presented him a lifetime achievement award, but his legacy is in the words of so many songs.
"Trouble" by Little Feat. My Mom has troubles, I have some and everyone does. I love this line in the song...
"Well I'll write a letter, and I'll send it away
And put all that trouble in it you had today."
In Lowell George's days those would have been old fashioned letters. I wish life would be so easy to put the troubles in the letter and send it away.
Now Lowell George died way before I new who Little Feat was. However in the late 80's early 90s they had a strong comeback without George. My mom and I caught Little Feat on New Year's Eve 1992 into 1993 at the recently reopened Warner Theatre in Washington, DC.
They didn't perform this song but that is the connection with my Mom.
Hopefully my 100th Battle of the Band was as fun for you as it was for me. Sometimes these battles are about exploring music, a theme, a tribute, or mixing things up. This time around it was the best reason for a Battle. That reason is simply a song I like from a band I like. Then add two great artists and you have a darn good recipe.
Bob Weir on the contest 5 to 3. He would be happy with the results. Bob still performs the song with his various side projects.
Here he is performing it in October with the Wolf Brothers...
Here Bob Weir joins Little Feat to perform "Tennessee Jed"
"Only A River" a song from his latest solo album..
I hope you enjoyed and I will be back with a new battle in a few days!
This is Battle of the Bands 100 for me so I thought it should be special for me and hopefully for my audience. It is no secret I l like Little Feat. I didn't get to see the band when Lowell George was around. Interviewing Little Feat's co-founder Bill Payne was amazing and then to meet him in person was pretty darn cool.
Well the song this go around comes from Little Feat called "Easy to Slip"
Contestant One: Sandy Denny
Contestant Two: Bob Weir
Two contestants who found fame in interesting groups. One from Fairport Convention and one from the Grateful Dead. Vote for the one you like best in the comments. I will count the votes and announce the winner in a week or so.
Another Monday is near! This Monday's Music Moves Me selection was chosen by The Sound of One Hand Typing. If you visit John's blog be sure to poke around. If you like fine music you may want to visit his site for a while. Song titles that start with each letter of your name is the same. So it would be four songs, one for M, one for I and so forth.
Mike is the name and rambling is my game!
"Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolf
"Iko, Iko" The Dixie Cups
"Knockin' on Heaven's Door" Bob Dylan
"Easy to Slip" Little Feat
Hope you enjoyed and stay tuned for a new post soon!
My Battle of the Bands featured a song recorded by John Sebastion. Sebastion is best known for bein a member of The Lovin' Spoonful. The song "The Face of Appalacia" was co-written by the late Lowell George (Little Feat).
Valerie Carter was best known as a backing vocalist for a who's who of musical giants James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Neil Diamond, Glen Frey, Don Henley and more. She even sang with her rival in this Battle.
She wrote songs for Judy Collins, Jackson Browne and Earth Wind & Fire. She has a Little Feat connection singing backup with them and Lowell produced a couple of albums for her. She passed away in March of 2017.
Here she is with "O-o-h Child"...
"Crazy"
Thanks for voting! I will be back soon with a new battle on May 15th.
I think I went away from everything I was ever advised to do on my last Battle of the Bands. Don't have the original band in the completion. I included them. Don't mix studio and live tracks. Phish was a live track. Limit the choices to two, I had three. Of course some of those where from the days when Battle of the Bands was bigger. I miss a lot of those bloggers.
It would be neat to have a Battle of the Bands reunion. I know some have probably left blogging all together. Oh I digress and ramble into other things. The results that is what you want. A three way tie.
Little Feat "Rock and Roll Doctor"
Phish "Lawn Boy"
Van Halen "Dreams"..
The Blue Angels are my neighbors and it features Sammy so it is a good pick for me.
I will be back on the 15th with a new battle. I have two weeks to think of something!
I heard it said somewhere "everything is political." I read all the comments on my blog. I don't reply back to most of them. However, I do quote some of them or give a shout out here and there. Sometimes they inspire my Battle of the Bands battles. I wing out the posts on my blog anyway so ideas are always welcomed.
A strange comment I received was "Unfortunately BOTB is all about politics, with is why it was no fun for me."
So in response my song this go around is "Apolitical Blues" by Little Feat...
Contestant One : Little Feat
Contestant Two: Van Halen
Contestant Three: Phish
Forget the rules! Vote for the one you like the best. You can vote for the original one. Wasn't my plan to have three but to keep it fair. I wanted to keep at least two studio versions. Phish was live, but it was the only fairly big name I could find.
So you have Little Feat, Van Halen and Phish. Enjoy and shake out who else is participating. The master list can be found here.
Starting out with a lovin' confession. The reason I picked the Grateful Dead version was because it featured the late great Lowell George on lead vocals. The battle was close to the anniversary of his death. Lowell George was the frontman for Little Feat.
Someone vote for The Rascals. Votes were slow to come in. The Battle was decided on the 11th by a vote from Birgit!
It was a close battle, the results were 3-2-1. The winner was Tommy James and the Shondells.
We celebrate winners so here we go...
"I Think We Are Alone Now"
"Mony, Mony"
"Hanky, Panky"
You can vote for my current Battle here! I will see you soon with a new post.
In this first episode of Battle of the Bands Overtime, I took a song that was featured in a previous Battle of the Bands battle that ended in a tie. The song was "Willin'" by Little Feat. I changed the contestants and this time I had a decisive victory. Linda Ronstadt beat Steve Earle 9 to 2.
Rocktober was fun! Now a new month is here. You might think I would be moving into something new, but no my Battle of the Bands has some unfinished business.
Back on September 15th, I paired The Back Crowes against The Byrds. The song was Little Feat's Willin' and the results were a tie.
Groovy live track for reference...
It's time to break the tie! It is overtime! First up we have a singer that has covered this song so well some people think it is her song. Second is perhaps the next best known cover of the song. The genres get blurred in this one..
Contestant One: Linda Ronsdstadt
Contestant Two: Steve Earle
The fun election is here so listen, choose and vote in the comments!
I was out of town due to a family emergency. So my last few posts have been done via the phone. I put my results on hold. I could cast a deciding vote, but I picked the songs. I like my audience to pick the winners.
The vote were down. Just a half dozen votes. So your vote really does matter here! Sometimes it can stop a shutout and sometimes it can decide the winner. I might revisit the song with different contenders to see if we can find a winner. However, October is my Rocktober so the songs might rock a bit more!
It was a bird fight in my Battle.
The Black Crowes had no remedy..
The Byrds sounded like they were Eight Miles High..
and no one was Willin' to be the winner..
Maybe I'll have a winner on my next battle in a couple of days!
Last week I went to the sold out Miranda Lambert concert and for the first song of her encore she covered Little Feat's Willin.' I was surprised to see her cover Little Feat! Can never get enough Little Feet. Well, I am a little late to the party but it is still the 15th in my neck of the woods and I'm still Willin' so come on listen and vote.
If you don't know the routine. Here it is I pick a song and share a video with the original artist or someone who made the song famous. Then I pick two contenders to battle it out to see whose cover is best. Who decides the winner? You do when you vote in the comments.
If you like these battles. Check out the other ones going on. This site has the most up to date list of Battles.
The Song Willin' by Little Feat
Contestant One: The Black Crowes
Contestant Two: The Byrds
I am glad you joined me on this Battle. Vote in the comments and we will see who wins. The Black Crowes or The Byrds. I'll be back on the 21st with results.
Lowell George passed away at the age of 34 from a heart attack in 1979. Lowell George was a guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for the group Little Feat. Remembering him today is a perfect excuse to share some music.
Here is a solo song "Twenty Million Things"
Probably the song he and perhaps Little Feat is best known for.."Willin'"
Of course there isa "Fat Man in the Bath Tub"
What's your favorite Little Feat song? Any Lowell George memories? Feel free to share
How about "Heartache" with Linda Ronstadt
I will be back soon with a new post enjoy the music!
Today, June 23, 2015 is Robert Hunter's birthday. In my opinion is one of the greatest lyricist on the planet. You may not know his name but if you listen to the Grateful Dead you have surely heard songs he has penned.
Here Robert Hunter performs "Ripple" at the Songwriters Hall of Fame honoring Jerry Garcia and himself..
His contribution to the Grateful Dead was so big he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the band as a non-performing member of the band.
Here is one Hunter's vintage solo songs called "Dry Dusty Road"...
He wrote the song "Silvio" and a few others for Bob Dylan..
He wrote this song with "Little Feat" for an album back in 2013..
I'll leave you with this classic "Brokedown Palace"
I hope you enjoy the music and I will be back soon!
Today I am joining in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Underrated Treasures Blogfest which I stumbled upon this morning.
Here is how this fest works:
Everyone has a favorite movie or band that no one else has ever heard about. For whatever reason, they remain undiscovered and underrated. Now is your chance to tell the world about this obscure treasure! Today, September 22, post about your favorite unknown – MOVIE – BAND/ARTIST – TV SHOW – BOOK Post about one or all four – dealer’s choice!
Here is a link to Alex's blog if you would like to sign up and blog along.
I will do two of the four categories Band/Artist and Book.
BOOK
More than likely I have blogged about this book before in the archives of this blog. This is the book which hooked me on the whole series, it is book one of five adventure filled mystery books. I am drawn to these tropical adventure style books from Hemingway, Peter Benchley, Jimmy Buffett and now Bob Morris. The adventure starts after the main character is released from prison in Florida and as one could guess it travels to the Bahamas. Murder, revenge, adventure,mystery and tropical locations it is all in this novel Bahamarama by Bob Morris.
BAND/ARTIST
So many and artists I could choose for this one. However, I will go with Billy Thompson who was a local artist living close to where I used to live. He had moved from California. The first time I heard him at a jam. My friend told me to check him out. I am blessed to have so many friends who can tell me who to check out musically. He didn't really grab me at the jam. However, he grabbed me the second time I heard him.
Here he is on stage with Billy Payne of Little Feat...
I didn't know how good he was until I found out he played with Bill Payne a co-fonder of Little Feat and some of the finest side musicians in the business like Mike Finnegan. When I discovered how much talent was when I saw him playing solo in this bookstore/bar.
Don't take my word for it listen to the music...
Here is a song called "Better Man"
Here he is doing some solo music...
If you like his music find out more at his website order his music, see if he is coming to your town, and share it with your friends. I'm looking forward to discovering some music that is new to me, so TV shows to watch for, movies I need to catch and books I should read through this blogfest.
Bill Payne is best known as a founder and keyboardist for the legendary band Little Feat and today is his birthday. Today's post will have a throwback Thursday feel to it as I revisit some memories, share some music and celebrate his birthday.
"Let it Roll"
The musical writing highlight of 2013 for me was getting the chance to interview Bill Payne. You can read my interview at DC Metro Theater Arts. Also four videos of music were added to the article by editor for your listening and viewing pleasure!
Below is a video from his solo tour with Gabe Ford performing "Gringo"
Here is my review of Bill Payne's tour stop at The Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia.
Below he performs with The Hooligans, a band whose latest release Bill produced..
We will end this post with some classic Little Feat...
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