'Sup Finals?

Wednesday, December 3, 2008 - You're Never Gonna Sleep Again!

At a time like finals week, a guy like me sure does question why people break their backs for a college degree. They sure don't make it easy ... ha. I'm not complaining, though. College has been the greatest time of my entire life. And to be honest, I wasn't particularly looking forward to driving to and from the studio after back-to-back-to-back-to-back sleepless nights, but as you do time and time again, you guys absolutely made it exciting to be there. As soon as I step in the studio, my cares, my stresses, and my responsibilities just vanish, even if only for that sweet, fleeting moment. We were on the phone during just about the whole show, it seemed like, and those calls made this one of my favorite nights to date. Thank you so much for the kind words, Hot'Lanta - they go miles and miles and miles. I swear, man, Johnny and I are living the dream - this job is awesome.

Here's the set:

Intro
Jimi Hendrix - Catfish Blues / Blues [Cliff's Pick: Super Special Belated Birthday Edition]
Neal Pattman - Momma Whoopin' Blues / Prison Blues
Tom Waits - Filipino Box Spring Hog / Mule Variations [for Uncle Milo]
Slim Fatz - Fly Away / Hard Time Ago
Magic Slim - Highway Is My Home / Highway Is My Home

First Break

Pink Anderson - Weeping Willow Blues / Carolina Bluesman, Vol. 1
T-Bone Walker - Stormy Monday / T-Bone Blues [for Chris]
Willie Hudson - It's You I'm Going To Miss / Meat and Gravy From Bea and Baby (V/A)
John Dee Holeman and Taj Mahal - Give Me Back My Wig / Bull Durham Blues
Howlin' Wolf - Smokestack Lightning / Smokestack Lightning
Jimmy Reed - Bright Lights, Big City / Tuesday's Just As Bad (V/A)
Willie King - Betty's Place / I Am the Blues

Second Break

Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis - Crying Won't Make Me Stay / Modern Chicago Blues (V/A)
Dinah Washington - Long John Blues / The Complete Dinah Washington On Mercury
Mississippi John Hurt - Nobody's Dirty Business / Avalon Blues: The Complete 1928 OKeh Recordings [for David]
Black Cat Bones - Death Valley Blues / Barbed Wire Sandwich
Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, and Junior Mance - Talkin' 'Bout Women Obviously / Buddy & the Juniors

Third Break

Lightnin' Slim - Hoodoo Blues (aka Voodoo Blues) / High and Low Down
Robert Wilkins - That's No Way To Get Along / The Original Rolling Stone
The Allman Brothers Band - It's Not My Cross To Bear / The Allman Brothers Band [for Pappy Mahan]
Lightnin' Hopkins - Bald Headed Woman / Texas Blues
The Sultans - Lemon Squeezing Daddy / Vocal Groups: Classic Doo Wop (V/A)
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Bad Boys Blues / Skynyrd Collectybles

I love this job as much or more than I did the very first time I sat down at the mic ... and you guys are a huge part of that. Until next week, stay positive.

Shoeless

Dancin' With the Devil

Wednesday, November 26, 2008 - Pleased To Meet You ... Won't You Guess My Name?

This past Saturday night I had the distinct privilege of sitting down with Eagles of Death Metal frontman (and boogie extraordinaire) Jesse "Boots Electric" Hughes. Now, this guy has a lot of nicknames - and a reputation that certainly precedes him ... look him up - but perhaps the most persistent one is "The Devil" (though for a guy with such an evil nickname, he sure is nice).



Mr. Hughes, whose earliest nickname in rock 'n roll was, in fact, "The Devil," offered phenomenal insight into the importance of the blues during the course of our interview. It was certainly a privilege to enjoy the company of a fellow bluesman, especially one who spreads the gospel at many a crossroads. He even went so far as to quip, when asked what he pictured himself doing in thirty years, that he intends to still be rockin' because he "hope[s] [he] made the right deal with the Devil." Rock 'n roll star or not, Jesse Hughes is either one of the genuinely nicest people I've ever met in my entire life or wears the finest dramatis personæ to which I have ever born witness. In addition, he and the boys in Eagles of Death Metal put on a tremendous, razor-sharp ninety minutes of rock 'n roll done right, stopping between songs only to laud the audience and lean down and kiss girls on the mouth, and even covering the Stones' "Brown Sugar" (which became funny during the interview, as Hughes, a self-admitted "Rolling Stones fanatic," detailed how he, when writing EoDM tunes, was "ripping off Keith Richards harder than Keith Richards"). The conversation went far beyond standard interview fare - we discussed politics, women, family, our mothers, his famous friends, the new Harvey Milk record, life on the road, Dixie, having kids, politics, and the illustrious Claremont Lounge, which he and his bandmates then went onward to frequent. He was charming, eloquent, energetic, and inviting, and I suggest you all go out and buy his new record Heart On because it rules. I'm not getting paid to say any of this, as a disclaimer - I'm a huge fan of the band and I even went so far as to get Jesse to sign my copy of their 2004 debut Peace Love Death Metal (a record from which we've played a number of tracks).

Well, in the spirit of all that electricity, and in spite of the holiday season being upon us, I decided to dedicate a whole show to perhaps the most notorious character in the history of music - the Devil. You know, that guy everyone loves to hate. Now don't get all "People v. Marilyn Manson (Circa 1997)" on me ... in no way do we condone Satanism. Don't call up the fine people at WRAS and tell them about the Satanist propaganda being blasted over the airwaves. Instead, try not being an idiot.

For those of you who actually enjoy just having a good time, here's the set:

Intro
[Jesse Hughes interview excerpt]
Dock Boggs - Sugar Baby [by request of Jesse Hughes]
Eagles of Death Metal - Kiss the Devil / Peace Love Death Metal
Skip James - Devil Got My Woman / Devil Got My Woman
Robert Johnson - Me and the Devil Blues / Robert Johnson: The Complete Recordings (Box Set)
Otis Spann - I'd Rather Be the Devil / Take Me Back Home
Charley Patton - Devil Sent the Rain Blues / Founder of the Delta Blues

First Break

Almanac Singers - Get Thee Behind Me, Satan / Which Side Are You On?
JD Duvall - Up Jumped the Devil / Bathe In the Light
John Lee Hooker and Canned Heat - Burning Hell / Hooker 'n Heat
Washboard Sam - She Belongs To the Devil / She Belongs To the Devil: An Anthology 1936-47
Sister Rosetta Tharpe - The Devil Has Thrown Him Down / The Complete Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Vol. 2 - 1942-1944
Bessie Smith - Blue Spirit Blues / Blue Spirit Blues
Junior Walker and the All-Stars - Satan's Blues / The Ultimate Collection
Fats Waller - There's Going To Be the Devil To Pay / Sugar Blues
Tom Waits - Everything Goes To Hell / Blood Money

Second Break

Buddy Guy - She Got the Devil In Her / Sweet Tea
Bo Carter - Old Devil / Bo Carter's Advice
Boo Boo Davis - We're In Hell / East St. Louis
Whitey Morgan and the Waycross Georgia Farmboys - Runnin' With the Devil / Sucking the 70's: Back In the Saddle Again (V/A)
Peetie Wheatstraw - Devil's Son-In-Law / The Devil's Son-In-Law
Sonny Boy Williamson (I) - I Have Been Dealing With the Devil / Sugar Mama
Mary James - Make the Devil Leave Me Alone / Field Recordings, Vol. 8: Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama (1934-1947) (V/A)

Third Break

Blind Willie Johnson - Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground / Dark Was the Night
Johnny Shines - Two Steps To Hell / Mr. Cover Shaker
Cactus - Evil / Restrictions
The Kansas City Six - Pagin' the Devil / Lester Young, Volume 1: 1937-1939
Powder River Jack and Kitty Lee - Tying a Knot In the Devil's Tail / Back In the Saddle Again: American Cowboy Songs (V/A)
Bo-Weavil Jackson - Devil & My Brown Blues / Bullfrog Blues (V/A)
Fleetwood Mac - Hellhound On My Trail / Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac
Maylene and the Sons of Disaster - Just Wanted To Make Mother Proud / Maylene and the Sons of Disaster

More great things coming your way in the future ... enjoy your Thanksgiving! Until next week ... stay positive.

Shoeless

Awwwwww ...

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - Loverboy's Blues

Man, am I really old enough for my friends to be getting married? A proposal this month, a wedding the next ... what's a guy to do? Listen to the blues? Sounds good to me. Here's the set:

Intro
The White Stripes - Ball & Biscuit / Elephant [for Collin and Marissa <3]
T-Model Ford - Jack Daniel Time / Jack Daniel Time [for Uncle Milo]
Roger "Hurricane" Wilson - After Hours / Exodus
Little Brother Montgomery - Mini Skirt Blues / At Home
Cephas & Wiggins - Dog Days of August / Richmond Blues
John Kosco and Lee Richards - Reefer Headed Woman / Unreleased [for Hunter]

First Break

Robert Nighthawk and Forrest City Joe - Sugar Papa / Robert Nighthawk and Forrest City Joe
Lightnin' Slim - That's All Right / That's All Right
Howlin' Wolf - Sittin' On Top of the World / The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions
Mick Jagger and the Red Devils - Still a Fool / The Famous Blues Session
Lurrie Bell - Honey Bee / 700 Blues
Ten Years After - I Woke Up This Morning / Ssssh.

Second Break

Big Joe Williams - Peach Orchard Mama / Piney Woods Blues [from Blind John to Laine]
Dinah Washington - Long John Blues / The Complete Dinah Washington On Mercury
Robert Cray - Too Many Cooks / Who's Been Talkin'?
Wilbert Jenkins - Married Woman Blues / Modern Chicago Blues
Southside Jukes - Atlanta Blues / Cool, Cool Place To Go
Leon Russell - Dixie Lullaby / Leon Live
Precious Bryant - You Can Have My Husband / The Truth
Moreland & Arbuckle - Wrong I Do / 1861

Third Break

Papa John Creach - Give Me An Hour In Your Garden (And I'll Show You How To Plant a Rose) / Filthy!
Alberta Hunter - Sweet Georgia Brown / Amtrak Blues
Jimi Hendrix - Jelly 292 / Blues
Burning Plague - She Went Riding / Burning Plague

Pleasure as always, guys! Until next week ... stay positive.

Shoeless