Welcome To Paradise, Texas

Doug Sahm says chill out, have a beer, and visit 'Groover's Paradise'.

Hey, if you've been wondering where The Adios Lounge was, I've been on special undercover blog detail. About a week ago, a few of us vintage-minded rock 'n' roll types started a new music site called Groover's Paradise, in honor of our patron saint, Doug Sahm (pictured above displaying Pearl superpowers). The blog's conceit is simple: We post some of our favorite songs from the 20th century and write about them in 100 words or less, drive-by style. You'll hear Bakersfield country, swampy funk, layered pop, post-punk, classic R&B, and, of course, Sir Doug himself. Anything that has deep roots, a little swagger to it, and a whole lotta soul. Click any of these links and get yer groove on, yo.

Speaking of Sahm, the Austin Chronicle ran a sweet cover of Doug for their March 20th issue. Apparently, SXSW had a Doug Sahm panel discussion, a couple tribute shows, fancypants artwork posted in a makeshift gallery, and The Adios Lounge wasn't invited to any of it. Jerks. See if I invite SXSW to my house ever again.

"I ain't proud of nothin', but it's better that way."

Meanwhile, over at Star Maker Machine, I put the finishing touches on a tribute to Twin/Tone Records, the Kirby Puckett of '80s indie rock. In terms of influence, let alone outright badassery, suffice to say that Twin/Tone is to The Adios Lounge as oxygen is to breathing. Trust me, I made a flow chart and everything. So, as an addendum to my SMM post, here's a couple bonus Twin/Tone tracks that almost made the cut.

Replacements - Favorite Thing [purchase]

This song, if not the entire Let It Be album, has to be responsible for spawning at least 57,000 garage bands in the Midwest alone. Chris Mars' spastic drum rolls going into the "Fave thing!" climax is one of the greatest moments in the Mats catalog. And by Mats catalog I mean rock history.

Soul Asylum - Passing Sad Daydream [purchase]

"Daydream" was the epic conclusion to While You Were Out, and indicated that maybe Soul Asylum wasn't simply Hüsker Jr. after all. While I admit that the production on their Twin/Tone albums is a bit dated, we have to keep in mind that it was the 1980s. If ever a decade requires a grading curve, the '80s is it.

"Just hit me one more time with that live wire"

Finally, my buddy Duck and I were "researching" YouTube last night and we couldn't decide which video gave us more reason to keep on living.

Was it this band firing on all cylinders and making other rhythm sections sound small and insignificant?



Or was it this band giving up so much funk that lesser bands sound like barbershop quartets by comparison?



Elvis and Bruce Thomas rocking the geek chic is impressive, but Lowell George displays ungodly amounts of soul while wearing a sweater tied around his neck. All else being equal, anyone who can take us to the chicken shack while dressed for Wimbledon has my vote. But, just barely.

The Adios Lounge at SXSW

Well, sort of. I'll be introducing Plain Meanness on Friday night at Sam's Town Point. They're playing with The Archibalds, so that should be a fun, Adios Lounge-friendly event. Other than that, though, I'm just another SX attendee.

Here's the AL agenda for Thursday and Friday. Saturday's still up in the air, but I've listed the day parties and showcases that are on my radar. First choices listed first, second second, etc. Hope to see you out and about.

THURSDAY, MARCH 19
(click venue for Google Maps)

Hole In The Wall
Almost There Records unofficial showcase
Free; no wristband needed (you read that right, flapjack)

7pm: The Pons
8pm: Gleeson
9pm: Will Johnson (of Centro-matic & South San Gabriel fame)
10pm: John Paul Keith & The One Four Fives
11pm: Mandible
12am: Mike Nicolai (w/Grand Champeen)
1am: Grand Champeen

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FRIDAY, MARCH 20
(click venue for Google Maps)

Sam's Town Point
South By Sam's Town - unaffiliated festival
Free; no wristband needed

9pm: The Archibalds
10pm: Holy Liars
11pm: Plain Meanness (w/Adios Lounge intro)
12am: The Spooley Show (Ramsay Midwood, Randy Weeks, Mike Nicolai)

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SATURDAY, MARCH 21
(click venue for Google Maps)

4pm: Leatherbag (Blu Café)
5:20pm: Thermals (Waterloo Park)
7-10pm: Mandible and The Tinys (Sam's Town Point)

Sam's Town times are still approximations, but both bands will definitely play. The Tinys are almost more legend than band at this point. Featuring Claude Bernard of The Gourds on vocals and guitar (pictured right), The Tinys rock def jams about World War III, the greatness of Sea Island Shrimp House, and shaving your mama's ass. Yes, as a matter of fact, they are available for kid's parties.

10pm: Harlan T Bobo (Red 7); Ha Ha Tonka (Red Eyed Fly)
11pm: Dexter Romweber Duo (Red Eyed Fly)
12am: Wayne Kramer (Maggie Mae's Gibson Room); The High Strung (Room 710); Justin Townes Earle (Red Eyed Fly)
1am: Jack Oblivian & The Tearjerkers (Red 7); Waco Brothers (Red Eyed Fly)

Going toe-to-toe with the Dexateens

"The mental game is probably three, maybe even four halfs of the game altogether."

Classic. Be sure to tattoo the date 'May 12' on your forehead because that's when The Dexateens enter the ring with their new album Singlewide. Sources at Dex Sports assure me that the red dust not only rises with this record, it sucker punches you in the solar plexus and takes your girl out for drinks. Fair warning, friends.

To read more about Tuscaloosa, Alabama's pride and joy, check out my profile from last month. Also, be sure to visit Saints Don't Bother for a great Q&A with John Smith, rock 'n' roll's finest pound-for-pound song whisperer/guitar strangler.

"It's just that demon life has got me in its sway."

L to R: Charlie Watts, Mick the Taylor, Mick the Jagger, Keef, Bill Wyman

Rolling Stones - Sway
Released April 23, 1971 on Sticky Fingers [purchase vintage LP]

My reimmersion into The Rolling Stones' back catalog has again ignited my obsession with "Sway," my favorite Stones song. It's nearly perfect, even without much input from Keith Richards. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways:

• Memorable riff.
  


• Glorious build. Kicks off with Jagger's languid 1-2-3-4 count-in, punches you in the face with said riff, and then slowly builds up to a cacophonous rockgasm, featuring strings, piano, and ...
  


• Mick the Taylor's sublimely awesomeriffic guitar work, first on bottleneck slide, then at 2:38, when he unleashes the high-tech weaponry and riddles our ear canals with rock shrapnel. I could listen to this sucker for hours. If there is a flaw in this song, it's that it fades out just as I'm ready to cannonball from my roof into the pool. OK, maybe that's a good thing.
  


• Fat drum sound. Jimmy Miller gets Charlie's thwack all up in our grill, which is where drums should be. Watts plays deftly behind the beat throughout, offering explosive counterpoint during Mick the Taylor's outro solo.
  


• Fat bass sound. Miller's emphasis on the rhythm section brought out the best in the Stones, but was really tailor-made for Watts and Bill Wyman. Wyman's bass kicks it up a notch at :45 and he periodically reappears with the kickass Mike Watt-esque low-end.
  


• Mick the Jagger howling his way back into the song after Taylor's bottleneck solo, "HEY! HEY! HEY NOW!!!" His singing is great during the entire song, but here in particular ... damn.
  


• Mick & Keith's harmonies. Duh.
  


• Nicky Hopkins. Lest we forget the "Session Man" (nod to The Kinks, thankyouverymuch), Hopkins' usual palette of dexterous ivory-tinkling is replaced here with a stabbing, percussive attack that leaps into the mix at 3:00.
  


• Paul Buckmaster's brilliant string arrangements, which function like a harmonic anchor. They enter subtly at :53 ("For all my friends out on the burial ground") and seamlessly blend into the mix, holding things together as the song builds to its frenetic climax. If you're gonna use strings in rock 'n' roll, and you're not Curtis Mayfield or Willie Mitchell, this song is textbook. Strings should support, not overwhelm.

"Did someone say overwhelm?"

Overwhelming Colorfast - Sway
Released late 1994 on the Sourdough EP [purchase for less than $3!]

As a bonus, here's one of my favorite bands of the mid-'90s offering up their take on "Sway." Sure, it's not as good as the Stones version, but there's no shame in that. What I like about the Overwhelming Colorfast cover is their refusal to copycat the Stones. Instead, they marshall their post-punk stacks in a manner not unlike Flip Your Wig-era Hüsker Dü, with a healthy dollop of Sabbath-flavored sludge. You should've heard them do this live, where Bob Reed's face-melting SG riffage managed to approach the grandeur of the original. Oh well, this studio cut will have to do. Get yer rock on.

Video From The Vault: Sweet Virginia

How good were The Rolling Stones at the time of this Fort Worth gig? Consider that in the 4 years between May 1968 and May 1972, the Stones issued 61 songs thusly:

• 4 albums with producer and funk shaman, Jimmy Miller: Beggar's Banquet (1968), Let It Bleed(1969), Sticky Fingers (1971), and Exile On Main Street (1972)
• 1 (mostly) live album with the band's longtime engineer, Glyn Johns: Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out (1970)
• 3 singles not on LPs: "Jumpin' Jack Flash" b/w "Child Of The Moon"; the cowbell version of "Honky Tonk Women" (1969)
• 1 memo from Turner: "Memo From Turner," Performance soundtrack (1970)
  

61 songs in 4 hours 17 minutes and maybe 10 of those minutes are less than exemplary. "Jigsaw Puzzle" is probably too long, Jagger mushmouths his way through "Memo", and a few of these tunes are so ubiquitous they've long since lost their power. But taken together, these 61 songs are rock's equivalent of the Harry Smith Anthology, a full clout reimagining of American blues, soul, funk, R&B, gospel, country, and pop. It's Jagger/Richards in their songwriting prime, the lockdown Wyman-Richards-Watts rhythm section taking it to the next level, Mick Taylor on Gibson SG, Bobby Keys on sax, Jim Price on trumpet, Nicky Hopkins in the studio, and Jimmy Miller deep in the mud. Got to scrape that shit right off your shoes.