Tag Archives: Live Recordings

Brand New Song, First Time Live

fromNewRedCedarBlues

Country Blues walks in Zen Time. Is the musical past impacting the musical present? Of course! So it can be said that the past is here in the present. And of course the present is here in the present. And is the musical present impacting the musical future? Of course! So it may be said that the future is here as well. Thus, the musical past, present, and future are all here now. Country Blues walks in Zen Time.

If you happened to have read the post from December 8th, you would have read of—and perhaps even listened to— my performances of a suite of songs written a century ago. And if you read this post—and perhaps even give a listen to the recording below—you’ll discover a song written in the last week. Past, present, future. Country Blues Zen Time!

Before continuing, may I just say, if you DID read that post, or listen to those songs, and/or if you DO read this post, or listen to this song, thank you!

So, here ’tis. A brand-new song, performed for the first time (just click the song title/link below to stream the live recording). And I should say, whoever “Roger” is, you’re now immortalized in this recording! (listen through to the end, and you’ll see what I mean!). And note, this is a guerrilla-raw live recording:

New Red Cedar Blues (click title to stream)

off the banks where the rapids flow
learn a lil’ somethin’ ‘bout what i know
raccoon is as raccoon does
learn a lil’ somethin’ bout what i was

and the good witch of the river
from deep down in the water
asks for you to give her
your wish upon a quarter
flashin’ silver that you feed her
oh, if you get lost …
dip & swing to red cedar

the thunder sends the lightnin’ first
after that, the cloud bursts
its buckshot through the shadows
to the water’s black staccato

and the good witch of the river
from deep down in the water
asks for you to give her
your wish upon a quarter
flashin’ silver that you feed her
oh, if you get lost …
dip & swing to red cedar

oh my darlin’, oh my darlin’
oh my darlin’, look behind you
in a cavern, in a canyon
if you get lost, i’m gon’ find you
oh, if you get lost …

we left the lake to greet the sun
and got some walkin’ done
follow the leader
back to red cedar

and the good witch of the river
from deep down in the water
asks for you to give her
your wish upon a quarter
flashin’ silver that you feed her
oh, if you get lost …
dip & swing to red cedar

oh my darlin’, oh my darlin’
oh my darlin’, look behind you
in a cavern, in a canyon
if you get lost, i’m gon’ find you
oh, if you get lost …

 


You Gonna Need Me Some Ol’ Cold Winter Day

ASBBQ

Boots to the floor, national in my hands, and my good friend Dr. Virgil Thrasher on my right side. That’s how the night began, and that’s how the evenin’ ended…

And I put the slide to brass, I said I put the slide to brass, and Virgil put them reeds to lips, and Virgil put them reeds to lips and that’s how the night began, and that’s how the evenin’ ended…

Some nights you work your favorites, try and turn ’em inside out, upside down, shake ’em out, to see what secrets they might hold for you that evenin…

Other nights you pull deep into the fedora, see what’s down there in that cavern, see what songs are rattlin’ roundin your sonic sound spelunk for that evenin’

This night was one of the latter sort of evenin’… lots a songs was rattlin’ round the caverns…

So here’s some fresh, raw recordin’ of some live tracks from the evenin… this was Thursday, three September, at the ‘Q…  Aptos St BBQ, that is…

First up, a lil’ somethin’ called:

Cornbread (never yet been released: lyrics at the conclusion of this post)

Then, quite the lil’ rarity for a Preacher Boy set, an arrangement of:

Cold Winter Day (learned from a recording by Blind Willie McTell)

followed by a fine performance from Virgil on a poppin lil’ rendo of There Go John

And finally, a new live performance of a never been released PB song that actually was debuted at ASBBQ back in September of 2014, a lil’ thing called:

Blister & A Bottle Cap (never yet been released)

~

Here’s them lyrics I promised ya:

CORNBREAD

peggie sat cross-legged in her tri-cornered hat
with a barbie and a gi joe, playin ball and jacks
and the sun went from touchin’ ground to straddlin’ north and south
to settlin’ on the roof of mr. beckman’s house

and when the sun went down, janie’s mother put her hands
in the shape of a megaphone and she yelled hard as she can

she yelled “come on honey, come home now, i got a big surprise
there’s fresh butter from the dairy, and the cornbread’s on the rise

now, maxwell ran lap after lap around the ol back-stop
with a baseball glove in one hand, in the other soda pop
autumn sunshine and moonlight shared a dusky place
and there were shadows and a tan competin over maxwell’s face

and when the clock hit seven maxwells papa pulled his pipe
from tween his yella teeth so he could holler into the night

he hollered “come on sonny, come home now, i got a big surprise
there’s fresh butter from the dairy, and the cornbread’s on the rise

i like a little bit of butter, on my cornbread…

jake drew orphan jenny motorcycle pictures everyday
and he passed em to her during class when the teacher turned away
at recess and after school and all the week-end long
they’d sit up together on the beckman’s fence and pretend they was ridin on

and jake’s ma would come around to fetch her son for supper
and she’d tell that orphan jenny she was welcome to come over

she’d say “come on honey, come home now, i got a big surprise
there’s fresh butter from the dairy, and the cornbread’s on the rise

I like a lil’ bit of butter, on my cornbread…


Live & Raw: Preacher Boy & The National Blues at JJ’s

Need Mo’ Blues & Dead, Boy. Nasty …

Preacher Boy & The National Blues_2

 

From left to right: Jonathan “Captain Ahab” Dryden on the keys, Zack “The Olsen Twin” Olsen on the drums, Ben “Gentle Ben” Herod on the Baritone Saxophone, Virgil “Dr. V” Thrasher on the Harp, and yours truly on National and Vox. This was us at The Pocket (i.e. in the pic above), and this was the very same line-up we took over the hill to JJ’s one July 3rd in America.

~

cue: “I’m Goin’ Over The Hill” by Mississippi Fred McDowell

https://rd.io/i/Rl7WwEErHV2Q/

~

I’ve been very privileged to have assembled some of the nastiest, funkiest, grooviest, zennist ensembles imaginable over the years, but I’m hard put to recall one more spontaneously dangerous than this one … it’s a strange one, to be sure: keys, bari sax, harmonica, national, no bass … but damn, it grooves, and it’s just very, very, very nasty … diseasedly subversively mojo’d … It’s like Tony Joe White meets Morphine meets 16 Horsepower meets Bukka White meets Motorhead meets Captain Beefheart meets Blind Willie Johnson meets Joe Cocker meets … Whistleman.

So we took to JJ’s recently, and dropped down 2+ hours of completely raw swamp … and I invite you to bend an ear to it, if you would. Mind you, these are unmixed, unmastered, unedited … they’s just straight from the stage into yer ears … but I hope you dig!

First up, just a downright sleazed and brutal take on “Dead, Boy” and I mean wicked. Just 9 minutes of asphalt:

Preacher Boy & The National Blues: Dead, Boy, live from JJ’s
(
just click to dig the stream)

Hear a bit of squall & wail weavin’ in there? That’s Ryan “The Home Town Hero” Acosta on some git …

And fer yer second course, the National takes a ride on the Crybaby Train as the ensemble burns up a workout of Sleepy John Estes’ “Need Mo’ Blues.” Check it out:

Preacher Boy & The National Blues: Need Mo’ Blues, live from JJ’s
(just click to dig the stream)

I hope you dig, man! Let me know what ya think …

And for any of y’all that go WAY back, tell me the first time an iteration of Preacher Boy & Co recorded a live version of “Need Mo’ Blues.” Get it right, and I’ll buy you a bike!

PreacherBoy_JJs_FacebookPoster

 


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