Posted by timexx on Sat, Dec 17, 2011, at 5:21 AM:
Ok this is not your normal SE Missourian post, but I'm not normal and I'm tired of reading about typical political rhetoric. I wanted to share with you information about some great music I've recently become aware of. As a child of the 80s I missed out on a lot of great records that came before Motley Crue. Recently I was given a copy of Elvin Bishop's record LIVE! RAISIN HELL. This 2 set live album is amazing. I've never heard white boys funk like that. The band just flat out jams. I was blown away by the bassist who jumps into the pocket righ away and never comes out. Sold bass riffs that mix a cool country style with a fat funk twist. Mickey Thomas is one of the best singers I've ever heard, full of soul, and blues, with a voice that ranges into the heavens. The backup singers, who I thought were black soul girls, turned out to be some wailing white chicks, set off the album like a bottle rocket in gasoline. Then to top it off Melvin Seals of The Schwag on keysboards. This album came out in 1977 but funks like a monster all the way into 2012 mama. If I can't play music like this, then I just wont sing anymore. If you love soul music, blues and a little hell rasin rock n roll. Then rush out righ now and get Elvin Bishop Live! As Charlie said "he aint good lookin but he sure can play". It seems Mr. Daniels knows exactly what he was talkin about.
Replies (29)
I had that one on vinyl back way back when. I agree, great album and Elvin Bishop is a very under-rated artist. I bought it right after seeing Bishop's band with The Sanford-Towsend Band opening in Murray Ky back around 1977. Great concert! Bishop was marketed as Southern Rock back in the 70's but he actually plays a funky Southern style mix of R & B, country and rock. At sixty-nine years of age he's still out there rockin' on the blues circuit and still VERY much worth seeing!
-- Posted by Data48 on Sat, Dec 17, 2011, at 8:29 AM
BTW Timexx. If you like rock bands from that era that can get funky check out the live album by Little Feat called "Waiting For Columbus." Very funky!
-- Posted by Data48 on Sat, Dec 17, 2011, at 8:36 AM
"Dixie Chicken." Little Feat at their funky best circa 1977!
-- Posted by Data48 on Sat, Dec 17, 2011, at 9:37 AM
Thanks Data. I've never really heard any Little Feat but I hear about them a lot. I'll cehck that one out.
I just saw a youtube video of Elvin and Mickey back together for one song rocking out on "Fooled Around And Fell In Love". They both still sounded great.
I'll admit when I put the LP on I expected Southern Rock and blues. But was shocked when the record took off and was all R&B and Funk. NOT wwhat I thought I was going to hear. I rushed out and picked up several more of his LPs right away.
In fact at this point I think, if I cant play music like that, then I'm just not going to sing at all anymore. Yep I officially disbanded DRIvIN RAIN after hearing this record. (You read it here on SE MISSOURIAN online first.)
-- Posted by timexx on Sat, Dec 17, 2011, at 2:33 PM
timexx;
What other E.B. albums did you get? I recommend you try some of his very early stuff when he was lead guitar player for The Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Their seminal 1967 album "The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw" is the beginning of the sound and personae Bishop perfected as a solo artist.
-- Posted by Data48 on Sat, Dec 17, 2011, at 3:03 PM
Rick.- Yhea man, I love to play my old records. I have a wall of them. And I buy new ones all the time. I even have these new LPs that are a lot thicker then the old ones and sounds like a cd. I recently got the new Guns N Roses album and play it all the time also. It's like the saying in Almost Famous, "...whenever your lonely, you just have to pull out some records and visit some old friends".
Data- Again a band I've heard of but never really listen too. Thanks again man! As for Elvin Bishop I have the "Live Rasin Hell" , plus "Hometown Boy Makes Good", "Struttin My Stuff" and "Hog Heaven". I like Melvin Seals keys on these albums, funny that he recorded this stuff in 1977 and in 2011 he's jammin here at Pitters.
I've also been playing a lot of HEAD EAST, John Schlett's vocals are similar to Mickey Thomas. Their Head East LIVE record mixes well with Elvin Bishops live record. That would have been a great concert to see. I wonder if they ever did shows together?
-- Posted by timexx on Sat, Dec 17, 2011, at 3:43 PM
timexx,
careful dude 'thieves among us'
-- Posted by ncis on Sat, Dec 17, 2011, at 4:16 PM
ncis- Thanks for the advice, but I'm almost always home, I almost never sleep, I have guns and totally believe in shooting someone in the head if they break in. (And in Missouri that's legal!) But thanks for the tip mate!
Rick- I've been friends with keyboardist Roger Boyd (founder of HEAD EAST) for years now. I first met them at Riverfest when they played downtown. I went out to the old Hoilday Inn (where Wal-Mart is now) and partied all night. DRIvIN RAIN later did several opening shows for them over the years. I've met several ex-members over the years, includding original singer John who has been in PETRA since the late 80s. One of their singers Dan Odum is a police officer in Mt. Vernon now. I met him when we were getting too loud in our hotel room. He was very cool, and kind of just over looked all that smoke in the air. I think he was just kind of happy I knew who he was!
-- Posted by timexx on Sat, Dec 17, 2011, at 6:27 PM
This my favorite Elvin Bishop tune. Always play it on my road trips. Love the horns. This is a short version but it is still great. I saw Elvin Bishop play at the old Armadillo World Headquarters here in Austin a couple of times back in the mid 70's. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLFCK-C_tO0&feature=related
-- Posted by Thought Criminal on Sun, Dec 18, 2011, at 12:55 AM
Rick. No that was a cover band that was useing our name. We ended up haveing our record labels Nashville Attorney send them a letter and made them stop useing the name. Then we got them kicked off facebook and Myspace. They've since changed their name. Here are some video of the DRIvIN RAIN I'm talking about.
-- Posted by timexx on Sun, Dec 18, 2011, at 2:05 AM
AND just for show, here is a video of another band I was singing for called HERMAN ZE GERMAN featuring ex-Scorpions drummer Herman Rarebell and members of St. Louis Strikeforce. This was filmed at Rocklahoma!
-- Posted by timexx on Sun, Dec 18, 2011, at 2:14 AM
Nice one Rick. Love that band. You lived in St. Louis, so do you remember a band called Momma's Pride? I know they were from Missouri and I believe St. Louis. I saw them in Dallas back in the mid 70's
Timexx I had no idea you were that good. Do you ever come to Austin?
-- Posted by Thought Criminal on Sun, Dec 18, 2011, at 9:55 AM
Thought Criminal- Havent been to Austin yet, but we play in San Antonio at South Texas Rock Fest sometimes. I LOVE Texas! Great crowds and very fun folks. People down there LOVE music and live shows. And they know how to throw a party! I've heard soooo much about Austin, I really want to play there someday. Thanks for the kind words my friend. Sometimes I feel like just giving it all up.
Rick- Thank you too mate. You can find some more footage on Youtube of DRIvIN RAIN and HERMAN ZE GERMAN. And DRIvIN RAIN have several CDs out, both disc (besides the two EPs) have 13 original songs each. It's just old school hard rock. Kind of a cross between Jackyl and Guns N Roses. Thanks again man, I've been feeling very old, and depressed this last several months. I've really been wondering if I was anygood at all, or if it was all just in my head. SO REALLY Thank you.
-- Posted by timexx on Sun, Dec 18, 2011, at 3:30 PM
Sometimes I feel like just giving it all up.
-- Posted by timexx on Sun, Dec 18, 2011, at 3:30 PM
I can't see you doing that. Music is more addictive that Heroin. I had to slow down and then started jamming with friends, then just playing in the basement. Now once in a blue moom I will jam. But I did by a piano to goof around on.
Playing gigs were the best days of my life and would love to go back but my wife says if I do she's gone. I thought about it........
-- Posted by We Regret To Inform U on Sun, Dec 18, 2011, at 6:31 PM
We Regret To Inform U- Thanks man! It looks like I'll be doing a US tour in Sept 2012 with Herman Rarebell. Guess I'll think about quiting after that! Thanks again.
-- Posted by timexx on Mon, Dec 19, 2011, at 12:08 AM
"You lived in St. Louis, so do you remember a band called Momma's Pride?"
Posted by Thought Criminal on Sun, Dec 18, 2011, at 9:55 AM
That's Mama's Pride, not Momma. They are from St. Louis and they still play an occasional show. They do an annual Christmas show at the Pageant every year. It just took place Dec. 3rd.
-- Posted by Data48 on Mon, Dec 19, 2011, at 5:29 AM
I think Michael McDonald was a member of Steely Dan also
-- Posted by Joe Dirte on Mon, Dec 19, 2011, at 10:30 AM
Rick.- Thanks man, Michael McDonald was the second singer in The Doobie Brothers before going solo. He had several hits with that band, he went solo when the Doobies brought back the original singer.
-- Posted by timexx on Mon, Dec 19, 2011, at 2:20 PM
Another great Missouri band that made good in the 70s was Kansas City's SHOOTING STAR. They had several hits before kind of dissaparring till the mid-80s and back again in the late 90s. They had hits with "Last Chance", "Hang On For Your Life Tonight", and "Hollywood". They put out a very good live dvd afew years ago. And I saw them at POPS around 2004. Another great band with solid songs and killer vocals.
-- Posted by timexx on Mon, Dec 19, 2011, at 2:26 PM
Members of SHOOTING STAR were also originally in the band MISSOURI ("And The Road Goes On"). Also was a very good band that didnt last long.
-- Posted by timexx on Mon, Dec 19, 2011, at 2:28 PM
Just listened to the Sanford Townsend Band CD last week: speakin of funk, they did a decent job on "Shake". Replaced Sanford Townsend with T Rex: Jeepster, Mambo Sun, and his bong is all banged out...
-- Posted by Hugh M Bean on Mon, Dec 19, 2011, at 2:57 PM
I think Michael McDonald was a member of Steely Dan also
-- Posted by Joe Dirte on Mon, Dec 19, 2011, at 10:30 AM
But yes, Michael McDonald, was with the Doobie Brothers, he wrote, performed and delieverd the majority of their hits. The Doobie Brothers, "Live", Carbondale IL, SIU Arena, May 1976. One of the greatest shows i have ever seen. They had two drummers playing on stage at the same time. A Big time band!
-- Posted by cadillacman on Mon, Dec 19, 2011, at 10:23 AM
Joe Dirte;
Steely Dan was never really a band with regular members but rather a studio project using various musicians and led by Fagen and Becker. McDonald did appear on some of their work and toured once with them.
cadillacman;
I have to respectfully disagree that McDonald is responsible for "a majority" of The Doobie Brothers hits. He joined the band in 1976 and was on three albums which did produce several hits but nowhere near what you would call "a majority" of them. In fact, older fans of the band, like me, hate what he did to their sound by turning them from a rock n roll machine into a wimpy pop band. I was at that 1976 show at SIU. Pretty good but not even one of the top 50, much less best, concerts I've ever seen. It would have been a lot better without Michael "Mushmouth" McDonald ruining their sound!
-- Posted by Data48 on Mon, Dec 19, 2011, at 3:55 PM
-- Posted by Data48 on Mon, Dec 19, 2011, at 4:28 PM
Cadillac Man it is so refreshing that many of us can lay politics aside time to time and discuss topics of which we mostly agree. Great music is a a common bond and I salute you for your taste in music.
I totally agree with you about the "feel" of playing LPs instead of CD's. I have argued with many people that LPs played on a quality turn table have much better fidelity, especially on the higher end of frequency response. I can deal with some crackles and pops on an LP versus a CD when it means a fuller sound experience.
There were albums that I heard dozens of times on my old LPs that didn't sound as crisp and clear on the same CDs when they came out.
-- Posted by Thought Criminal on Mon, Dec 19, 2011, at 10:17 PM
We Regret To Inform U- Thanks man! It looks like I'll be doing a US tour in Sept 2012 with Herman Rarebell. Guess I'll think about quiting after that! Thanks again.
-- Posted by timexx on Mon, Dec 19, 2011, at 12:08 AM
Good for you!!!! Checked out Herman's Wiki and you are on his page. The link to your Wiki is being deleted so you might want to update it. I envy you. Have fun and don't look back!
BTW you will never quit unless you are married to "she that can ruin your life with a snap of her fingers" girl. I have one of those.
-- Posted by We Regret To Inform U on Wed, Dec 21, 2011, at 12:53 AM
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Ok this is not your normal SE Missourian post, but I'm not normal and I'm tired of reading about typical political rhetoric. I wanted to share with you information about some great music I've recently become aware of. As a child of the 80s I missed out on a lot of great records that came before Motley Crue. Recently I was given a copy of Elvin Bishop's record LIVE! RAISIN HELL. This 2 set live album is amazing. I've never heard white boys funk like that. The band just flat out jams. I was blown away by the bassist who jumps into the pocket righ away and never comes out. Sold bass riffs that mix a cool country style with a fat funk twist. Mickey Thomas is one of the best singers I've ever heard, full of soul, and blues, with a voice that ranges into the heavens. The backup singers, who I thought were black soul girls, turned out to be some wailing white chicks, set off the album like a bottle rocket in gasoline. Then to top it off Melvin Seals of The Schwag on keysboards. This album came out in 1977 but funks like a monster all the way into 2012 mama. If I can't play music like this, then I just wont sing anymore. If you love soul music, blues and a little hell rasin rock n roll. Then rush out righ now and get Elvin Bishop Live! As Charlie said "he aint good lookin but he sure can play". It seems Mr. Daniels knows exactly what he was talkin about.
Replies (29)