High Noon

Diggin' Through The Archives

I have several pieces that I've written in the past that I would like to share with you. Some of these have been published--others have not.

Here's a bio I wrote for Goofin' Records when they released Shaun Young's "Wiggle Walk".

(Austin, Texas)--Shaun Young is best known for his work with the highly acclaimed rockabilly trio, High Noon. But when guitarist Sean Mencher decided to move away from Austin in 1996, Shaun was left wondering what he would do next. He didn’t have to wonder long when brothers Bobby and Billy Horton moved from Beaumont, Texas, to the capital of the lone star state. “Bobby, Billy and I have played together almost as much as I’ve played with Sean and Kevin (Smith) in High Noon,” says Shaun. “It gets to be like riding a bike with those two.”

The original band name was Shaun Young and the Texas Trio—and included the Horton Brothers along with drummer Alberto Telo. This configuration of the band played around locally until Alberto had to move back to Italy in the early part of 1997. Over the next couple of years they continued to play shows occasionally but didn’t really hit their stride until 1999. That was the year that drummer Buck Johnson, teenage piano prodigy T Jarrod Bonta, and guitarist Dave LeRoy Biller came on board. T and LeRoy play with the band whenever they’re available. (T oft times subbing for LeRoy if he can’t make it.) “I’m really the luckiest guy in the world to work with these players,” notes Shaun. “Every one is a world class musician and make my job as a singer and front man too easy. Plus they are all great people and I’m proud to count them among my closest friends.” The diversity of these musicians allows them to easily transition from traditional rockabilly to a country shuffle. And it’s this band that can be found backing Shaun on his latest recording, Wiggle Walk (Goofin’ Records).

“Making Wiggle Walk was one of the best times I’ve had in the studio,” claims Shaun. The recording took place over several laid back sessions at Fort Horton Studios. “Bobby and I got together and had basic arrangements of most of the tunes but a lot of them weren’t worked out completely. It made the session feel very creative.”

An example of that creative process can be found on “I’ve Found What I’m Looking For”. As Shaun explains, “Billy called me the day of one of the sessions starting later that same night. He says ‘man, I think we need a ballad for this album.’ I said ‘yeah, you’re right. Let me see what I can come up with.’” After hanging up the phone, Shaun wrote the song and it was recorded at the session that evening!

Shaun calls upright bassist/producer Billy Horton the “perfect sounding board for ideas because he’s so brutally honest. Basically, he’ll tell you what works or sounds good—and what doesn’t—and will suggest what would work better musically.” He adds “that’s why he is such a great producer and engineer in the studio.”

Shaun Young and his band can be found around Austin, Texas, playing at their favorite bars and honky tonks such as the Continental Club and Ginny’s Little Longhorn. They have also played at the Rockin’ 50’s Fest in Green Bay, WI, and the High Rockabilly Festival in Calafell, Spain.

Wiggle Walk is the follow up to 1996’s Red Hot Daddy (also on Goofin’ Records).

Happy Holidays

...from Mickey & Sylvia!

Thinkin' About Little Willie John

Barbara Lynn & Huey Meaux

This is a great snapshot of Barbara Lynn and Heuy Meaux getting off an airplane.

If you haven't already picked it up, go out and get the double disc they just put out titled "The Jamie Singles Collection, 1962-1965". It contains 32 top-notch tracks and includes her biggest hit, "You'll Lose a Good Thing".

Smoking Is Cool!

Remember when smoking was cool? Yeah, me neither. But I'll tell you what is cool--this tobacco ad featuring a pipe-smoking Faron Young! Hey, the proof is in the puffing.

Saturday, November 15th!

RIP Earl Palmer

The great Earl Palmer passed away at his home on Friday after struggling with an illness for quite some time. Everybody knows Earl Palmer--even if you didn't know him by name. That's him drumming on Sam Cooke's "Twistin' the Night Away". He also kicked off Little Richard's "Keep A'Knockin'" which was later lifted by Led Zeppelin. He laid the ground work for the rock 'n' roll sound--first in New Orleans and later in Los Angeles.

I had the pleasure of meeting Earl on a couple of occassions. Once at his weekly jazz gig in LA and again when Deke Dickerson hired him to play on his CD. Deke asked me to film some of the session so I got to sit right next to Earl in the studio while they were cutting the tracks. And--let me tell you--he was incredible. The rhythmic feel he had was amazing. I couldn't believe I was sitting five feet away from greatness.

You will be missed, Earl.

"Somewhere Over The Rainbow"

Here's my version of Eddie Peabody's version of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow". Check out his version if you get a chance because it's fantastic. He played it on the banjolene--sort of a cross between a banjo and an electric guitar.

Gig Announcements

Here are a couple of shows that we have coming up this weekend.


On Friday, September 12th, we will be backing up Miss Lauren Marie at Ginny's Little Longhorn on Burnet Rd. here in Austin. Nick Curran will also be playing guitar with us on this show.

Then Saturday night--barring that we still have power after Hurrican Ike--we'll be over at Waterloo Icehouse. Dave Biller will be pickin' with us that night. It's been awhile since Dave's played with us and we're really looking forward havin' him along.

PS--If you like either of the posters, I designed them.

***Whoops!!! Thanks to Lauren Marie for pointing out my mistake--I mispelled "brothers" and didn't even notice. Weird...***

Rules and Etiquette When Hiring A Band

I found this--it was written by an anonymous Austin musician whom I tend to agree with quite often.

There are certain things that shouldn't need to be written about but, obviously, they do. So here are a few rules and basic etiquette to follow when hiring a band.

Beer
This one is very important. It's what makes us play gooder. Trust me on this one. Provide the band with decent beer and a good time will be had by all. And I'm not talking about the crappy beer either. No Budweiser, Miller, Coors, or "light" version--or any other variety from any of those beer groups. We don't like that stuff. Oh, and don't try to charge us "import" prices for Shiner Bock. Pull out a map--it's in Texas, stupid. Shiner, Texas--ever heard of it? And--to be honest--you shouldn't be charging us to drink. It's part of the deal.

Attendance
Don't act like it's up to us to pack your place out. If you run a bar that doesn't have enough appeal to bring in a dozen or so people, then maybe you should invest in something like a Ms. Pac Man arcade game or a mechanical bull. And don't give us grief about the attendance if you're located in a city other than Austin. I don't live in (insert name of town here) so you can't really expect me to promote the show. I'll put up a few posts about it on MySpace but I won't be hanging up posters and handing out flyers.

Pay
If you own a club in Austin, this is probably a foreign concept to most of you. But, yeah, believe it or not, we like to be compensated for our time. I put more effort into a gig than I put into my day job. Well, I mean, I don't have to haul in a bunch of musical gear to my job. Quit offering some sort of percentage of the bar. There are way too many what-if's and it usually ends up with me saying "what if we just say no"? If you figure out what you're willing to pay and it works out to less than minimum wage per hour per band member--don't insult us. With that being said, it's really a sliding scale when it comes to pay. And it has a lot to do with the level of difficulty. If we're going to have a great time, drink lots of beer, get a meal out of it, and you're providing a working PA--we'll work for cheap. (Note: if you're a restaraunt, two things: 1. just pay the band--you're making money on food and drinks and 2. feed the band...seriously...we get hungry, too.) If we have to load all of our gear, drive to another city (usually in rush hour, right after working all day), bring our own PA, get charged import prices for domestic beer, and pay for parking--then it's gonna cost a whole lot more. I'm sure I don't even have to draw attention to the price of gas these days. But--yeah, that all gets considered when booking a show.

Blues for Benny

Sorry I haven't written here in awhile. We were busy touring the west coast with Mike Ness (Social Distortion) for three weeks.

I guess I should start this entry with a bit of a back-story. We had been gearing up for this trip for about six weeks prior to our departure. Benny Peters (Benny & the Fly-By-Niters) had signed on to pick guitar with us. He had done his homework and was good to go on all the material.

Then he decided to help me move.

The Saturday before we were to leave, Benny and his wife, Cindy, volunteered to help me move. Bear also offered his services. So--after we got the U-Haul loaded--we went to the new house. Benny was getting ready to take the first thing off the truck when he stepped back where there was no step. Down he went...hard. He broke his leg (both bones), his left forearm (both bones), and completely shattered his left elbow. And all he could do is tell me how he was sorry he wouldn't be able to go on tour with us.

My brother and I thought we should give it 24 hours because--who knows?--maybe he can pull it together enough to still do the tour. After four hours in surgery the following day, we realized that we were in need of another guitarist for our tour.

I made a round of phone calls the next day and finally connected with Eddie Biebel. He had just left Wayne Hancock's band and, thankfully, was up for the task of learning all the material in about two days.

I'm happy to report that Benny is on the mend and has been getting around without the aid of a wheelchair lately. He's even picking up the guitar and playing for as long as he can. We hope he's back out there playing and singing soon.

This is a video of Benny from 2000.

Nat King Cole "Calypso Blues"

The first version I heard of "Calypso Blues" was by Zilla Mays on her fantastic LP, "The Men I Love (And The Songs They Sang)". Her version is fabulous. I tracked down Nat's version (on the Proper box set) and dug that as well.

Now here's a live version that features bongo great Jack Costanzo (who also played on the studio version).

The Bonebrake Syncopators "That Da Da Strain"

Fred "Virgil" Turgis' Jim Flora-inspired cover for the debut CD by LA's the Bonebrake Syncopators is the perfect gateway to the music waiting inside.

The combo features the unique combination of vibes (DJ Bonebrake), steel guitar (Jeremy 'JW' Wakefield), and guitar (TK Smith), anchored down by Dave Stuckey on drums (and vocals!) and Wally Hersom on bass.

There's a nice mix of instrumentals and vocal numbers. The vocals are handled by JW ("Porter's Love Song", "Three Little Words") and Stuckey ("Baby Won't You Please Come Home", "China Boy", "Limehouse Blues") with the balance of the songs showcasing the instrumental talents of TK, DJ, and JW.

One of the standout instrumental moments occurs about three and half minutes into "Sequence In Bb" when DJ Bonebrake launches into what can only be described as "mallet madness". He is a truly gifted percussionist as evidenced in this recording.

The arrangements are tight throughout the recording; oft-times employing all three soloists to play intricate lines together.

The Bonebrake Syncopators don't tour so be sure to pick up this CD by clicking here or drop by one of their shows when you're in the LA area.

Here they are performing "Swedish Pastry" live:

Fender Tone Volume Pedal Reissued

***UPDATE***

Ok, the pedal showed up--one day after we left for our west coast tour. Boo!! But I picked it up the day after we got back and finally had a chance to plug it in last night. It sounds fantastic! I haven't popped it open yet to see how it's set up but the tone pot sounds really good. The left to right is a bit stiff but I'm sure it will loosen up after playing it for a little while.

So if you can grab one of these pedals I highly recommend it.

Fender has decided to reissue a lot of its old pedals--including the tone/volume pedal popular with steel guitarists. I'm pretty stoked about this--especially since the new ones are cheaper than the vintage one I bought on Ebay years ago. (Tip: Don't pay the $119 asking price that you see on some websites. That's the actual manufacturer's suggested retail price--who pays that? You should be able to get it for considerably less than that.)

The new pedals are made in Korea so I'm interested to see if the workmanship is any good. But I'll have to wait for a bit. Fender underestimated the interest in these pedals so they've been on back order since January. The one I ordered isn't due in until early June.

I should mention that there's a notable difference between this new pedal and the vintage ones. The old ones had the input and the output on the right side of the pedal. And that makes a lot of since for the steel guitar. The new ones have the input on one side and the output on the other. Hope this doesn't cause too many issues. There's nothing I hate more than stepping on guitar cables. But--since I'm not playing pedal steel--it shouldn't be that big of an issue.

I'll report back once I've had the opportunity to try this thing out.