Posts filed under ‘Local Music’
Miss Emily’s JukeJoint 5/21/12: New CDs and A Benefit for Furry Friends
Greetings all-
This coming Saturday May 26th, Dan’s Silverleaf will host a benefit entitled “The Big One-Five: A Benefit for The Denton Animal Shelter Foundation” starting at 9pm and costing $8.00. Chris Flemmons of The Baptist Generals dog Brunswick is the birthday boy. Entertainment/jamz will be provided by The Heelers, The Holler Time and Kelly Upshaw. Please see the event’s Facebook page and the poster posted right below. We will be getting Holler Time and Heelers CDs at the DPL in the very near future. I beseech thee to support this event: its what little d iz all about!
The Big One
New titles at the Emily Fower Library are as follows:
The Muppets – A Green and Red Christmas
Bowerbirds – The Clearing
Men – Open Your Hearts
Sent By Ravens – Mean What You Say
Black Bananas – Rad Times xpress IV
Dinnerstein, Simone – Something Almost Being Said
Now Thats What I Call Music 42
Dr. John – Locked Down
Williams, John – A Tribute To
Jones, Norah – Little Broken Hearts
Underwood, Carrie – Blown Away
Cappa, Adam – The RescueThe Jakeys – No Second Spring
Jesse and Joy- A Con Quien Se Queda ElMany Hands
Miss Emily’s JukeJoint 5/8/12: Pops
As many of you have already heard, Denton’s long-time blues emissary and character, Pops Carter passed away a couple weeks back at age 93. Much has been written about him over the years and it doesn’t take long to find some of it so I won’t recount his life here. You might want to check out his Facebook page and communicate with them, perhaps. I do, however, want to tell a couple personal stories and share some of Alec Williams’ pictures from the Fry Street book he and we published last year.
One of my first live music experiences in Denton was in the Fall of 1987 when my then-roommate in Bruce Hall, John Rylander, got a gig for a night playing bass with Pop’s band at the Char Hut (later the site of Jackson’s Pizza and Texas Jive- now demolished). I went to hear them and wished I could’ve been playing with them but what I remember most is how wiped out John was when he got back to our dorm room. He wasn’t a regular gigging musician at the time and was concentrating on his music composition studies, so playing several hours was a workout. Never let anyone tell you that playing blues is “easy”.
Pops at The Depot, 1983
Pops also sat in with my band on at least two occaisons- there may have been more but that was a while back. I bet most if not all musicians around here who had Pops sit in would to a man or woman tell you how his presence lit up the joint. And, if your gig was dying, as some of mine surely did, he made you feel good about what you played and could make the people like you for at least as long as he was onstage. Well, that was my experience, at least. Thanks, Pops.
Miss Emily’s JukeJoint, 12.8.11: Herschel Evans
In the late 1930′s, the Count Basie Orchestra featured two tenor saxophonists: Lester Young and Herschel Evans of Denton. Books, movies and thousands of words have, rightfully, been dedicated to the former. Only a true jazz geek knows of the latter. Herschel was born in Denton on March 9, 1909, and is found at our Ancestry.com database in the 1930 Census where he appears to be living with an aunt in Bexar County, Texas (San Antonio) while working in the Troy Floyd Orchestra. Click on image below for larger size:
Herschel in San Antone, 1930
In the census record you can see three important pieces of information that prove this is the same Mr. Evans: 21 years of age, Negro, and musician employed in an orchestra. Here is an early recording with Floyd from 1929, Dreamland Blues. His solo starts @ 1:58.
Lady Hersch
There is a storied Texas Tenor saxophonist tradition going back to Herschel and on through to Buddy Tate, Illinois Jacquet, Arnett Cobb, David “Fathead” Newman, King Curtis, Donald Wilkerson, Booker Ervin, James Clay, Marchel Ivery, on up to UNT alum Shelley Carrol who performs regularly in Dallas. The thread that runs through all of them is a full-bodied tone that always has a blues flavor.
By the mid-’30s, he was working in Kansas City and landed a seat in the Count Basie Orchestra when they expanded their size after being signed to Decca Records in 1936. In the Basie band, he finally achieved fame through the following recordings (with time his solos start): One O’ Clock Jump 00:45, Doggin’ Around 00:40, Texas Shuffle 1:56 and his most famous solo performance, Blue and Sentimental.
In the Basie reed section
Herschel on left with fellow Basie-ite, Buck Clayton
Herschel died at age 29 in 1939 of a heart attack and was replaced in the Basie band by fellow Texan, Buddy Tate. It was said that Lester mourned his section mate, paid his funeral expenses, and Evans’ passing may have helped precipitate his leaving Basie the next year. Here is footage of the Count Basie Orchestra at Randall’s Island in New York City in 1938. The music on the video is overdubbed but, at 1:41, you can see him sitting down with his sax to the right of singer Jimmy Rushing who is standing.
posted by Chuck.
Miss Emily’s JukeJoint, 9.22.11: Puppets Rock & an Historic Marker for the Texas International Pop Fest
As was proven this past Sunday nite @ Dan’s Silverleaf, puppets and rock (or at least a rocking style of folk music) do mix. For those who haven’t heard about the Sunday residency of Hares on the Mountain at Dan’s (are there any of you left?), consider this your wake up call.
Ryan Becker and Friend
George Neal Rocks It.
Of course, Jim Henson knew about the power of puppets…
——————————————-
On Saturday October 1st, a new historic marker will be dedicated at the Hebron Station of the DCTA A Train in Lewisville commemorating the 1969 Texas International Pop Festival that featured acts such as Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, B.B. King and many others. Go to the link to learn more about the dedication. Led Zeppelin and Santana tribute bands will perform and the event is free.
Pop Fest Poster
Personally, I’d love to see more historic markers that deal with cultural events such as this one does. Don’t get me wrong, I love old buildings and history in general but it seems like cultural events may get lost in shuffle. How does one commemorate something ephemeral like creativity?
Miss Emily’s JukeJoint, 8/3/11: A windfall of New Music CDs/Denton Blues Festival
Greetings JukeJointers. On Sept 18 and 19th, the 13th Annual Denton Blues Festival comes to Quakertown Park in Denton. Perusing the website I see that one of my favorite DJs on Soul 73 KKDA, Bobby Patterson, is performing on Sunday! KKDA is an old-school AM R&B station out of Dallas that has actual R&B performers/legends as DJs. You remember them, right? I’ve heard some of the best music I’ll ever hear on that station-too bad they are lousy at naming who the artists are that they put on the air…
Bobby in the Booth
Young Bob
Lots of new CDs in. Here we go…
Killer Mike- Pl3dge
Jadakiss- I love You
Beginners- Soundtrack
Moonshine Bandits-Whiskey and Women
Aventura-14 + 14
Sondre Lerche- Sondre Lerche
Tech N9ne- All 6s and 7s
Jolie Holland- Pint of Blood
Trin I Tee 5:7- Angel & Chanelle
Youssou NDour- Dakar Kingston
Kasey Chambers- Little Bird
Matt Nathanson- Modern Love
Chloe Hanslip- Chloe
Ema- Past Life Martyred Saints
Grayson Capps-The Lost Cause Minstrels
Ben Allison- Action Refraction
JIll Andrews- The Mirror
Stephen Marley- Revelation Part 1
Los Tigres Del Norte- MTV Unplugged
King Creosote- Diamond Mine
Yael Naim- She Was A Boy
Dinastia De Tuzantla Mich- Te Seguire
Mynabirds- What We Lose In The Fire We Gain
David Bazan- Strange Negotiations
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.- Its A Corporate World
Curren$y- Weekend At Burnie’s
Bobby-Bobby
City and Colour- Little Hell
DJ Kazzanova- Reggaeton Mix
Jorge Santacruz- La Supermacia
Eleanor Friedberger- Last Summer
Random Axe-Random Axe
Shabazz Palaces- Black Up
Miss Emily’s JukeJoint, 7.2.11: Pleasant Surroundings
Lets visit some late and/or lamented eateries in Denton and propose musical accompaniment for dining at each…
Back in the late ’50s-early ’60s, NTSU alum/pop star Pat Boone opened a restaurant @ 1009 Highway 24/Decatur Drive/University Drive/US 380 called “The Pat Boone Country Inn“. You can see the current location here. Below is an ad from a 1958 issue of “Denton Doings”, a short-lived magazine from that era we have here in Fowler Special Collections:
Pleasant
I love the cowhide seat covers. May I suggest some easy listening along the lines of Harry Belafonte or old rock and roll a la The Coasters.
The Star Restaurant @ 1201 W. Hickory was named for the Star of David and for its movie-themed decor. Library employee Leslie Couture: “I couldn’t wait to go there because they had a Yoda statue and light sabers. When you are a kid out to eat with your parents, you have to listen to boring parent talk but, at The Star, there was a lot of cool posters and things that you could walk around and look at.”
Star
Seems like Indian music and the Grateful Dead would be nice to have while you down a cold one at the Star.
I still miss Steve’s BBQ at 403 E. Hickory. Let me try and describe it to you because the memories of it are still very vivid, as I used to work across the street at The Greater Denton Arts Council and would frequently get some of Steve’s rockin’ BBQ. You opened the screen door to a smoky, dank room with a couple booths and yellowing newspaper articles on the walls. I swear it seemed like there was a layer of grease over everything. Near the front door was an old jukebox with late-60s, early-70s soul 45s that I guess didn’t work because I never heard it play and it was surrounded by discarded boxes and “junk”. What a playlist, though! Al Green, ZZ Hill, Little Milton, etc. And the BBQ? I’ve never had better. Spicy, hot and righteous.
BBQ Heaven
Maybe not the best photo but it does show the old Harpool complex, long since demolished. Obviously, one wants to hear what was on the jukebox. Miss Emily’s JukeJoint takes you there.
Honorable mention goes to TC’s Catfish on McKinney St. You had to have tried that catfish and tartar sauce. So goooood.
posted by Chuck
Miss Emily’s JukeJoint, 6.13.11; Louise Tobin’s Blues
One of the great things about this job is that we get to meet interesting people, learn things from them and then pass it on to you! About two months ago I received a request from a researcher in California looking for any local information about a nonagenarian female jazz singer from Aubrey, Texas. Naturally, being a jazz junkie, my ears perked up. Texas has been the home and genesis of many greats but this one had me intrigued. It didn’t take me long to find alot of information about Mary Louise Tobin and her website.
The Newspaper Archives database available from our Special Collections/Genealogy page has the Denton Record-Chronicle from 1909-1977 searchable by keyword. You can read her biography at her homepage linked above and there are other articles here and here. But, for those who want to dig a little deeper, she shows up frequently in the DRC in the early-to-mid ’30s:
She was on the honor roll for the North Ward School in January of 1931 (DRC, 1/30/31).
Sang “Nobody Cares If I’m Blue” at a Junior High fundraiser (DRC, 4/28/31).
Recovering from an attack of diptheria (!) (DRC 2/29/32).
Elected officer of the 1934 Denton High School “Justimere” (?) Club (DRC, 1/29/34).
Performed as part of a dance program at DHS in Feb. 1934 (DRC, 2/13/34).
etc., etc….
But, finally we see when she makes the jump from semi-pro to professional (and eventually drops “Mary” from her name)-
Mary Louise Goes To The Dallas Palace
One of the most fascinating, perhaps even startling, things to read was that she was described as a “blues singer” when she began her professional career. Pretty cool for a 16-17 year old. In fact, when she resumed her career in the late 1950′s, noted jazz critic Whitney Balliett compared her to Billie Holliday and Ella Fitzgerald. YouTube goodness here.
Mary Louise and Benny, San Francisco 1939
Ah, the joys of reading a small town newspaper where everyone knew everyone else’s business, and then published it!
Miss Emily’s JukeJoint, 5.13.11: Von Erich/Von Ehric
Sometimes history and popular culture and current events all collide like a piledriver . Last week’s Denton Record Chronicle Denton Time section featured the Von Ehrics. Earlier in the week, I was browsing the Denton Collection of books in the Emily Fowler Public Library’s Special Collection department and found this title: The Von Erich Family Album by patriarch Fritz Von Erich. Pure coincidence. Two different spellings with a certain aesthetic in common. And, yes, the band was named after the famous/tragic wrestling family.
Famous Brothers
When I was a teen in Dallas back in the ’80s, even though I personally didn’t follow professional wrestling, I had several friends who did and the Von Erichs were (are still?) considered folk heroes; their names ever-present in local news. I didn’t realize until today that they had lived at times in Denton County.
The book mentioned above cannot be checked out, but you *can* read it, do research, and make copies if you need. Same as the other titles in Special Collections.
And, as an example of the Von Erich’s hold, so to speak, on GenX, check out Corn Mo’s performance of his tribute “Shine On Golden Warrior” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5WerFQ-86E
Corn Mo lived in Denton for a while back in the ’90s before moving to Brooklyn, N.Y.
Shine ON!
posted by Chuck, 5.16.11
Miss Emily’s JukeJoint 3.9.11: 35 Conferette-related and some New Items
Been a while since I posted here-been very busy at the Emily Fowler Library. Mea culpa and, with that out of the way, lets dig in. As many of you may already know, this weekend, March 10-13th, is the annual 35 Conferette held in historic downtown Denton. Previously known as NX35, don’t let the name change fool ya’-its still the most fantabulous assemblage of local, regional and national acts that can be gathered in such a short time frame and is really putting us on the musical map. Find out more here.
Conferette Logo
We have CDs from many of the acts. Such as: Birds and Batteries , Doug Burr , Lo-Fi- Chorus , etc, and on and on. And, if you aren’t busy on Sunday afternoon, yours truly will be performing with Thom Anderson and Baby Lemonade at Dan’s Silverleaf as part of the Words and Music program from 2:45- 3:15. Ok, enough of my commercial…
Here are our new CDs:
Duelo: Corridos Y Canciones Por Una
Marsalis, Delfeayo: Sweet Thunder
Ung, Chinary: Luminous Spirals
Montanez, Andy: De Andy Montanez Al Combo
The Swans: My Father Will Guide Me
Ardillitas: Paseo En Trineo, Vol. 1
posted by Chuck.
Miss Emily’s JukeJoint, 1.6.11. PineUverBoxBarnes
Well, a cool weekend coming up musically here in the Little D: Pinebox Serenade will be playing at Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios on Friday nite, UVER aka Fritz Schwalm solo will be at A Creative Art Studio. Both are local and both are featured in today’s Denton Record Chronicle Denton Time supplement. You could catch Fritz early and then mosey over to RGRS after. Just sayin’…
Youtubing Uver http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDObAlmHqtU and Pinebox http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faeLNKG3i0o
UVERman
pinebox
Danny goggled. Not googled.
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