Hypno-Pretty-Diddley-Thing

Bo Diddley: the dude who had his own beat named after him. Willie Dixon: perhaps the greatest blues songwriter of all time (in my humble opinion). In the mid-fifties, these two teamed up to write a song called “Pretty Thing” which has been playing on repeat in my car for weeks now. The version that I’ve been digging is by John Hammond Jr. and The Nighthawks.

I’m not exactly stumped as to why I love this version, but it’s easier said than explained. Obviously, the Bo Diddley Beat is a big part of this song. Somewhere along the way, I learned that I like songs with good percussion in them and this has to qualify as one of them. I saw an interview where Bo Diddley’s guitar style was described as “percussive.” He approaches it more like a drummer might, but I think there are also some surf elements to his playing.

Diddley’s original version also features maracas (played by his right hand man Jerome Green) and harmonica as well. Apparently, Pretty Thing was the “A” side of the original Bo Diddley single with “Road Runner” on the “B” side. A few other versions I’ve encountered include ones by Social Distortion and The Steve Miller Band. There’s also a British group who named themselves (The Pretty Things) after this song.

On an unrelated note, perhaps the greatest high school black comedy of all time “Heathers” features this quote: “Who does that guy in the coat think he is, anyways, Bo Diddley?”

Till next time keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Guitar Envy

So many guitars….so little time. Yes, I am an aspiring guitar player. I’d like to think I’m at the intermediate level. Of course that doesn’t stop me from daydreaming about having a sort of Excalibur moment — you know, pulling THE guitar for me from a stone, anvil, or maybe even a backwoods swamp somewhere. One guitar which has always piqued my interest is the Michael Kelly Hybrid. (There’s also a Hybrid Special.)

I remember walking into a locally owned guitar shop in my area and thinking, “Wow, I have never seen a guitar that looks like this one.” The first one I saw had a natural almost creamy finish to it and it looked LUSCIOUS. Kudos to whoever designed this one. It looks the way it sounds.

So what is a hybrid guitar? Basically, it’s like a 2 for 1. You can get acoustic sounds and electric sounds from the same guitar. You can also blend the two sounds as well. If you are slightly indecisive (like me), you are covered either way. Michael Kelly still manufactures the Hybrid Special, which costs a bit more than the Hybrid. Unfortunately, the same exact creamy finish is no longer available and spalted maple doesn’t do it for me. Oh well, it just adds to the Moby Dick-like quality of the creamy one.

I’ve seen used Michael Kelly Hybrids priced around $400. Considering it’s really like getting two guitars in one, that is pretty reasonable.

Another guitar concept I’ve thought about a lot is the visually reactive one. There are lots of variations on this theme: thermochromic paint (reacts to temperature), LED pickups, LED guitar necks, Firefly guitar picks, etc. There is a company called Visionary Instruments which offers several different electric guitars along these lines.

I haven’t priced any of their custom instruments, but I don’t think I’ll be buying one soon. Still, the idea is fascinating. Will there ever be one guitar to rule them all? I doubt it. I could go on and on about preferred brands, necks, etc. I think part of the fun is seeing what other design and sound ideas can be developed.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Stop! Hammersly Time!

Recently I was scanning my favorite free streaming network (Tubi) and came across this Australian TV drama. I have to say I’m into the third season of Sea Patrol and enjoy watching it. The show centers around the crew of the HMAS Hammersly of the Royal Australian Navy and their adventures on the ocean blue: rescues, pirates, snakes, gun runners, smugglers, even tattoo parlors. (In case I haven’t mentioned it, I have a theory about TV shows and movies set in prison or on the high seas. I think they are both naturally dramatic settings, which makes it harder to make a bad show/movie in either setting.)

In any event, I like the show’s theme song which is kind of a high energy fanfare meets Miami Vice type of thing. It was composed by Les Gock.

Man, they really zip through the cast listings…not that I really knew any of them before watching this series. One cool thing about watching a series like this one is it’s kind of foreign, but it’s kind of familiar — I watch it in subtitles so I can understand some of the Aussie accents.

The first couple of episodes they kept calling one of the main characters “Buffer” or “BUFF-FAHH” in Australian accent. That threw me a bit. According to Wikipedia, “Buffer is the colloquial title for the senior seaman sailor.” Some of the other main characters include “X” (short for executive officer), “Spider” or “SPY DUH” (a Seaman named Webb), “Nav” (the navigator), “RO” (radio operator), and “Charge” or “CHAA jjhh” (the chief engineer). They also add a new chef to the HMAS Hammersly named “Bomber” or “BOM MUH” during Season Two.

Another part, I like about “high seas” entertainment is some of the lingo and phrases you hear throughout the series: “Hands to boarding stations”, “Avast”, “Stop or heave to, I intend to board you.” (The last one is a real thing and not just uttered during shore leave! In one of my favorite films The Bounty, an officer tells a crew member, “You shall kiss the gunner’s daughter.” Then he’s bent over a canon while he was hit with a knotted rope. Good stuff!)

The ensemble cast of Sea Patrol offers a wide variety of storylines from show to show and season to season. I recommend it. Oi!

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Halloween Battle Royal

Do you have a Halloween tradition that doesn’t include getting your kid’s candy X-rayed at the hospital? It’s a holiday that seems to have had its ups and downs over the years. Personally, I’m not really into horror or slasher films, but I do have a Halloween film recommendation. “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” is a pretty safe bet. Apparently Universal Studio had the comedy duo under contract along with many classic monster-actors like Bela Lugosi (Dracula), Lon Chaney, Jr. (Wolfman), and more. I watched it recently and have to say Lou Costello’s comedic timing was pretty amazing.

While surfing YouTube, I also happened to find two 1970s TV specials involving the band KISS. The first was “The Paul Lynde Halloween Special”, which was your classic variety show format — plus, a pretty talented cast including Tin Conway, Florence Henderson, Margaret Hamilton (The Wicked Witch of the West), and the gal who played Pinky Tuscadero on Happy Days. Even Donnie and Marie Osmond showed up for this thing.

The second was the 1978 cult classic “KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park.” Words won’t really to this cheesy thing justice. It’s basically like a hard rock band in a Scooby-Doo plot. Naturally, it’s set in an amusement park. There are fights with robots, fights with KISS doppelgangers, and plenty of 70s styled special effects. Oh yeah, there’s also some music in it, too.

Do you have a favorite Halloween TV show? Which memorable Halloween costume was your favorite? One year I wore a Boston Bruins hockey jersey (AKA sweater), blacked out my front teeth, and carried a hockey stick as I went trick or treating with my buddy and his little brother. One guy actually identified me as Bobby Orr. (I guess it was open to interpretation.)

So what about next Halloween? There are some other shows and films I’ve got on my list. This year I found out there is one called “Halloween Is Grinch Night.” Somehow that seems appropriate. The most important question…of all the celebrities I mentioned. …who would win in a wrestling battle royal? I’d put my money on Ace Frehley.

Till next time, Keep Your Mojo on the Horizon.

Barf-A-Geddon

Remember way back when…in the Eighties and Nineties… when Hollywood blockbusters weren’t necessarily ALL super-hero related? Sure, they had their action hero types doing completely unrealistic feats to save the world, but the films were entertaining, right? I mean pre-Netflix you actually had to go to a movie theatre to watch brand new films. (New releases at Blockbuster usually took awhile to appear there.) Film soundtracks seemed to become part of the whole marketing package somewhere along the way, too. This brings me to the 1998 movie called “Armageddon.”

It is one of those save the known-world in a couple of hours type of films. I remember walking out of the theatre feeling pumped after viewing it with a good friend of mine. (At the time, I was working at my first full-time radio job as an overnight guy in a small town. More on that later.) However, I also remember having to listen to the schlocky power ballad by Aerosmith called “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.”

When I started this blog, I wanted to keep it positive and keep the libel and slander to a minimum, but we all have our breaking points. I, for one, have always DESPISED this song. I think it was like Top 40 radio’s Flavor of the Month when Armageddon was showing. That was Strike One for me. I have never had a desire to keep up with what’s popular — in fact, it’s usually the opposite. Strike Two was the traumatic scene featuring Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler enjoying their animal cracker lovefest while her father (Steven Tyler) belted out the vocal cheese in the background. Can you say, “Ewwww”? I think I should sue for damages because I STILL feel permanently scarred. The question is should you gouge out your eyes while your eardrums bleed simultaneously?

Strike Three was when country recording artist Mark Chesnutt not only recorded another version of the song, but even titled his entire album after it. I think I actually changed jobs around this time and this song followed me from one country station to another.

If this song wasn’t everywhere before the country version, it sure was at that point. So what is my problem with the song? I think it’s the strings for one thing. I mean “Elanor Rigby” is one thing, but this is another. The whole thing is just a bit much for me.

I suppose ALL THREE: the songwriter (not going to name her), Aerosmith, and Chesnutt (that’s two T’s at the end and one S.) are still laughing their way to the bank. This song has been recorded over 90 times.

As for the film Armageddon, I actually enjoyed it. The plot is some oil rig roughnecks are sent into space to blow up a huge meteor that’s headed for Earth. They probably took their barf bags for one reason. I took them for another.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

BW LZ

When the idea of “colorizing” old black and white movies came out, I hated it. To date, I can’t say my opinion has really changed much about it. I know there are some WW II programs on Netflix which offer the same kind of thing. I really don’t see the need for it. Call me old fashioned, but I have no problem with black and white. This leads me to Led Zeppelin’s first TV appearance in 1969.

I have always gotten a kick out of watching this performance — Is it because Robert Plant looks extremely young in it or because of the romance of black and white footage? Either way, I think “How Many More Times” is an underrated track from the Led Zeppelin “I” album.

It’s hard for me to pick my favorite elements of this song, but I’ll try. Whether listening to the album version or this live one, John Bonham’s drumming always catches my ear. (This is a good one to search YouTube for drum covers.) I love the Wah effect Jimmy Page uses on the intro as well. I’ve never been an enormous fan of the whole violin bow thing, but I think it produces some unique sounds.

In my mind, Page looks pretty cool with that Telecaster. (By the way there’s a video about it on the Fender website for the true guitar nerds.) I really enjoy the interplay between Robert Plant’s jazzy-bluesy vocals and Page’s guitar, too. You hear a foreshadowing of the middle vocals of “Whole Lotta Love”, and there’s also a snippet of “The Hunter” by Albert King (one of the first songs I deemed blog-worthy).

Maybe I just like the black and white because it keeps with theme of their first album cover.

Viva, Zeppelin! Viva, Black & White!

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Farmer John’s Daughter?

No, this isn’t a country song or even a country-rock song. This is a GARAGE rock song. The first time I heard “Farmer John” was on the 1990 album “Ragged Glory” by Neil Young and Crazy Horse. Ironically, this song is not a Neil Young composition, but it is probably my favorite on the album. I don’t ever remember seeing the video for this one on MTV, but, apparently, one exists.

“Farmer John” was actually written by Don Harris and Dewey Terry and released in the late 50s with little to no avail. A few years later, a band called The Premiers (or is it The Premieres…check out the bass drum) gave it a new life and even got the chance to play it on American Bandstand!

I guess the song does “have a good beat and is easy to dance to.” In any event, the lyric about “Champagne eyes” always stuck with me. I’m biased towards the Neil Young version and recommend Ragged Glory if you’re into distorted garage rock. As hard as Neil’s version rocks, it has a kind of a unique, lumbering feel to it.

The reach of this song is an interesting thing. It was recorded by lots of 60s garage rock bands. I like the version by a Michigan band called Tidal Waves. (I guess they were named after all of the surfing they did on Lake Superior? ) Their version is rated “R” for Rowdy — as it should be. Other artists to record this song include Los Lobos and Roomful of Blues. There’s even a version by The White Stripes out there, too.

To cap it off, a Swedish rock band called Hep Stars also had a hit with it in their country. Apparently, some future members of ABBA were involved — I’m not kidding.

Till next time keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Thin Twin Blues

When most people think of an electric guitar, they get a specific image of a Gibson Les Paul ( a sunburst most likely) or a Fender Stratocaster (Eric Clapton’s “Blackie” for example). There’s also Keith Richard’s Butterscotch Blonde Telecaster and Eddie Van Halen’s Frankenstrat. You get the idea, right?

One electric guitar which may be a little under the radar to the general public is the Kay Thin Twin, which is associated with the often-underrated Jimmy Reed. (Some even call the K-161 “The Jimmy Reed Guitar.“) When I think of Reed, the image I get is the black and white publicity photo of him holding this particular guitar with his harmonica in a neck rack and huge smile on his face. You can easily recognize the formula of Reed’s songs like “Caress Me Baby.”

Reed, however, wasn’t the only one to play this particular model. I recently saw a documentary on Howlin’ Wolf (Chester Burnett) and they showed a similar P.R. photo of a young, clean-cut looking Wolf holding a Thin Twin model guitar as well. (By the way, other guitarists associated with Reed and Wolf include Eddie Taylor and Hubert Sumlin — both are underrated in my book.)

So why is it called the Thin Twin? The thin part refers to the guitar’s thin body and the twin part refers to its two pickups. Pretty catchy name…I wonder who coined the phrase? Apparently, they were only in production for about 3-4 years. I don’t recall ever seeing one of these guitars (or reissues) in the real world, but I would welcome the opportunity to play one. They don’t come cheap.

Has it reached iconic status? For me, it definitely has. Not only is it associated with some great music and the musicians who made it, but it’s pretty easy on the eyes. Some recent players include T-Bone Burnett, Jimmy Vivino, and even Bob Dylan.

Reed played the “blonde” model with tortoise shell pickguard as opposed a black and white version. Yes, it has a vintage vibe to it and I’m good with that.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Le Pacte des Loups

It’s hard for me to believe it’s been over 20 years since the French film “Brotherhood of the Wolf” (2001) was released, but is has been. This is a film which is hard to put into a single category. On the one hand, it’s a cryptozoology/monster movie. On the other, it’s an adventure/quest/epic saga kind of thing, too. What initially piqued my curiosity in the film was the appearance of martial arts Badass (with a capital B) Mark Dacascos. More on his character later.

The main storyline is one of those truth is stranger than fiction things: The Beast of Gévaudan. Apparently, The Beast was blamed for mauling hundreds of people throughout certain regions of France around the year 1764. To this day, the debate on what EXACTLY The Beast was remains a mystery. Many think it was a wolf or a pack of wolves. Others hypothesize it was a striped hyena.

In reality, and in the film, King Louis XV intervened and sent some his posse to deal with the beast. Wolf hunts were organized and wolves were killed (some even stuffed). Who knows if they really got the culprit?

Getting back to the film, it’s a period piece and has some stunning visuals including the French countryside and some cool costumes. Towards the beginning, there is an intense fight scene in the rain featuring Mark Dacascos’ character (a mysterious Native American named Mani). That is probably the most memorable scene of the movie to me. I think what makes this fight scene and the others so powerful is the character Mani has very few lines of dialogue, but the message of “you messed with the wrong guy” is easily expressed.

The bad guy in the film (played by Vincent Cassal) is some dude who acts like he only has one arm. I don’t think I ever understood that one. Oh, and there’s also a brothel and even a cult somewhere along the way.

Brotherhood of the Wolf is a long one — two hours and thirty two minutes. It’s a unique film based on a fascinating tale. The film was directed by Christophe Gans. He shares a writing credit with Stéphane Cabel. If you have the slightest bit of interest in martial arts, cryptozoology, or French period pieces, it is a must see.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Trouble is Knocking…

Okay, the official name of the song is NOT “Trouble is Knocking.” It’s actually called “Tell Me.” The song I deem blog-worthy is a blues tune originally done by Howlin’ Wolf, but I heard this song for the first time via Stevie Ray Vaughan. I loved it the first time I heard it.

You could call this a basic 12 bar-blues-shuffle-type-of-thing and you’d be right. What I really like is the personification of Trouble as a character walking around knocking on your door. I think it’s clever and I think you have to give credit to Howlin’ Wolf for recording it in the first place.

It’s funny how Howlin’ Wolf’s version seems tame compared to the SRV one. I can only imagine how “raucous” the HW version must have been labelled when it was released. SRV has versions on both the “Texas Flood” studio release as well as “Live at the El Mocambo.” I searched for others, but none really did it for me. For me, I really get a feeling when I listen to the SRV version. When he sings, “Trouble is knocking” on the outro, I feel what he’s singing.

In any event, Trouble does have a tendency to knock on my door from time to time. Must be why I’m a blues fan. I could say more, but you either get it or you don’t.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!