Doobie-isms

“Your act is about as fresh as a Foghat concert.” I remember that line from the 1996 Farrelly Brothers film called “Kingpin.” The implication is your act isn’t fresh in any way, shape, or form. I think you could apply that same sentiment to The Doobie Brothers. Back in the day, their hits were ALL OVER the radio — “Black Water”, “China Grove”, and more. They sold A TON of vinyl records during the 70s. However, one of their tunes I hadn’t heard until the past 10 years or so, is called “Dark Eyed Cajun Woman.”

I think this song has a jazzy feel to it. I really like the catchy guitar riff in it, and it has some interesting changes and harmony in it, too. There’s no hurry in this song at all. It was part of the 1973 album “The Captain and Me.” You could call me an album-cut-guy and I wouldn’t argue with you. Another song of theirs I really like is called “Eyes of Silver.”

I would call this song a little “funkier” than the first one. You can hear elements of “Black Water” in this tune. It came out a year later on the album ” What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits.” Apparently, Peter Frampton cited The Doobies as an influence in the tune “Doobie Wah.” Then again, there’s always “Jesus is Just Alright.”

By the way, that’s not an original DB composition. It was written by Arthur Reid Reynolds and also recorded by The Byrds. Plus, the TV show “Freaks and Geeks” is one of, if not THE, best TV shows ever. Separate blog entry TBA.

The Doobies also had their Michael McDonald period as well and scored some more hits with the St. Louis, MO native in the band. I’ve never been a diehard fan of The Doobie Brothers, but I do have an appreciation for their music. Yes, I like them and definitely appreciate their songwriting. “Black Water” is kind of a rock n roll Huck Finn story.

I went to see The Doobie Brothers at an outdoor show along with The Steve Miller Band (who I’d seen twice already.) My buddy and I had $10 lawn seats and it poured down rain on us. I made the executive decision to bolt after The Doobies set. How’s that for Black Water?

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Nilsson Schmilsson

I was watching the EIGHT PART series on Netflix called “The Serpent” when a song in the background made my ears perk up. It took a little research, but I found out the 1972 song written and recorded by Harry Nilsson is entitled “Jump into the Fire.”

I am no expert on Nilsson, but I remember reading he was one of John Lennon’s drinking buddies in the 70s. How would you describe this Nilsson track? Funky, manic, raw? Maybe all of the above. It’s definitely percussive as well.

Maybe the most interesting thing about it is who played on the recording. Obviously, Harry Nilsson is one of the folks, but another Lennon-Beatles associate Klaus Voorman also played on it along with bassist Herbie Flowers. I wonder how much input drummer Jim Gordon had as well? Gordon played on the Derek and the Dominos “Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs” album, apparently developed some serious mental health issues, then was institutionalized after his role in a murder.

Getting back to “Jump into the Fire”, I found a handful of covers on YouTube including studio and live versions by Chris Cornell.

Others who have recorded this song include LaVern Baker, Cheap Trick’s Robin Zander, and Alice Cooper’s project called Hollywood Vampires. For whatever reason, this song has been featured in a few different films including Goodfellas and others. I’m not sure if if “The Serpent” series will prove to be blog-worthy. I have only watched five episodes so far and still have three to go.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

The Red Rocker

Recently, Sammy Hagar has been on my mind. A lot of folks may think of him as the “I Can’t Drive 55” guy or the “Cabo Wabo” guy. I grew up in suburban St. Louis — a city which had always been his number one market for music. I think that started with rock station KSHE-95. They used to play some of his songs from his early band Montrose like “Bad Motor Scooter” so he has a well-established history in the Gateway City. One of his solo tunes I have always liked is “Three Lock Box.”

Apparently, that was the title cut to the album of the same name. The video is “very 80s” to me. As for the meaning of the song, it’s open to interpretation, but there are a couple of references to the Holy Trinity in it. It’s a catchy tune to me. The “one-two-three lockbox” in particular is easy to remember and sing along with it. Then there are the echoes of “threeeee lock box” towards the end of the song.

Later in the 80s, Hagar went on to replace David Lee Roth in Van Halen, toured with them, and recorded three VH albums if I’m not mistaken. Some folks called it Van Hagar. Another solo song of Hagar’s I’ve always liked is “High Hopes.” This one was released on his “Unboxed” collection (which also includes “Three Lock Box.”) During that time period, boxed sets were all of the rage.

Sammy Hagar has recorded a lot of music as both a solo rocker and in different bands like Van Halen, Montrose, Chickenfoot, and supergroup H-S-A-S (Hagar, Schon, Aaronsen, Shrieve). The only “HSAS” album seemed to be available on cassette everywhere back in the day. They covered Procol Harum’s “Whiter Shade of Pale” on it. Viva, Sammy!

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Stream of Canadian-ness

For whatever reason…beating the summer heat, boredom, or both, I have found myself watching a couple of interesting Canadian TV programs recently. Thank you, Streaming TV! I always thought cable TV was a ripoff. In any event, watching these programs has turned me onto at least one song by a Canadian musician who is completely new to me. His name is Joel Plaskett. This song, in particular, is by Joel Plaskett Emergency.

The guitar in this song “Lightning Bolt” really grabbed my ears. It rocks! For guitar nerds, I believe this tune is in Drop D or Dropped D tuning. (The low E string is tuned down to D. I had to explain this to an associate of mine years ago. He thought it was from the “Dropdy” region of Bora Bora or something like that.) I really feel the vocals in this song, too. “Let me get particular” is probably my favorite lyric. Apparently, Joel Plaskett’s father is a Canadian folk musician. By the way, Joel opened for none other than Paul McCartney on a 2009 concert in The Great White North.

I heard a clip of this song while watching a Canadian TV series called “Little Dog.” Basically, the series is about an aging boxer and his politically incorrect family. Dad is in jail, Mom is in the choir, Sis is an aspiring self-help guru and single mother. His older brother got the lion’s share of everything growing up. On the other hand, Tommy “Little Dog” Ross is a world-weary fighter who is just trying to survive. Aren’t we all? Every time he turns around, Tommy also has to deal with the local media who seem to be following his every move and other shady characters like his manager. “Little Dog” was written by Joel Thomas Hynes, who also plays the main character. Boxing may be the sport which conveys an individual’s day-to-day Me vs. The World struggle better than any other because it’s true.

A couple of other Canadian TV shows I like include “Northern Mysteries” and “72 Hours: True Crime.” I’m no expert on Canada. “I’ve never been there, but the brochure looks nice.” (Sheryl Crow).

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Lemon Squeezed Blues

Led Zeppelin. Four English dudes who could really play, but also got their hands caught in the blues- songwriting-plagiarism cookie jar. Despite that, I am a fan. I would say LZ is the one band which really made me realize I like, if not love, blues music. Personally, their first two albums (self-titled, and the cleverly titled Led Zeppelin II) are my favorites.

If you are into the blues and/or Led Zeppelin, I would recommend the band’s BBC Sessions recording. Somewhere in the P.G.E. (Post Grunge Era), I snagged the double cassette version of this one and was not disappointed. When it was released in 1997, classic rock radio picked up on their cover of Robert Johnson’s “Travelling Riverside Blues” and it got plenty of airplay.

While I think our radio friends tried to run this one into the ground back in the day, I actually enjoyed listening to it today. The song starts with a sort of excuse-me slide guitar intro by Jimmy Page then legendary drummer John Bonham and the others lock into the groove. I could be wrong….maybe it’s the mix, but it sounds like Bonham’s drums are sort of in the background on this one. LZ’s lyrics are completely different than the original, but around the 3:30 mark you hear Robert Plant throw in several references to the mysterious, influential, epic blues dude Robert Johnson.

“Why don’t you come into my kitchen
She’s a kindhearted lady. She studies evil all the time
She’s a kindhearted woman. She studies evil all the time

Squeeze my lemon ’til the juice runs down my leg
Squeeze it so hard, I’ll fall right out of bed
Squeeze my lemon, ’til the juice runs down my leg”

Here is the original/inspiration.

There’s also “The Lemon Song” on Led Zeppelin II, but I digress. My other bluesy favorites on BBC Sessions are the ten-minute version of the Willie Dixon/J.B. Lenoir tune “You Shook Me”, which was originally recorded by Muddy Waters if I’m not mistaken. Not only that, but there are two versions of the Willie Dixon-penned “I Can’t Quit You, Baby.”

There are other oddities (“The Girl I Love She Got Long Black Wavy Hair”, “Sunshine Woman”) and choices on BBC Sessions including live versions of “Stairway to Heaven” and “The Immigrant Song”, but the bluesy stuff works best for me. Some blues purists may not like The Mighty Balloon, but I do. Call it blues rock if it makes you feel better…then go squeeze a Led Lemon.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

The Great Checkout Divide

I should preface this with an observation from one of my co-workers years ago. She told me, “You don’t do stupid very well.” During today’s lunchtime run to the big box department store, I proved her right – again. I rushed through the store to grab a few of the essentials — 2 boxes of decongestant, a large Rice Krispies treat, and a couple of Mountain Dews. (By the way, what’s the difference between Diet Mountain Dew and Zero Sugar Mountain Dew??)

I should mention that my cubicle-intensive job allows me an illustrious 30 minute lunch break. Also, I park in a garage which takes 5 minutes on the front end and 5 minutes on the back end of every lunch break so it’s a fairly tight deadline. In any event, I had several items and little time to spare. Then came that all-so-important decision: which checkout lane do I choose? Sometimes you can get a good read on how the lines are moving. Today, the self-scan was packed and I thought I’d be better off with an actual cashier. I was wrong.

The woman in line ahead of me had several items so I plopped down the divider onto the conveyor belt separating her items from mine. I glanced at my cell phone for a second, and then I heard the cashier’s voice. The exchange went something like this:

Cashier: OK,…so…now which of these are hers and which of these are yours?

Author: The stuff behind THIS (grabbing the divider) is mine.

Holy Shit! I felt like Elaine Benes explaining what The Big Salad is. “It’s a salad, only bigger, with lots of stuff in it.” Does anyone wonder WHY we have self-scan checkout? I mean the questions then become, “Are the big box stores training cashiers on divider etiquette? Should they really have to do that?” It seems pretty cut and dry to me, but, apparently, it isn’t. In honor of today’s cashier, I am including the Kate Wolf tune “Across the Great Divide.”

Perhaps the plastic or wooden divider just doesn’t come out and “say” divider to her. Here’s a suggestion to remedy the situation. Why don’t the big box stores consider implementing models of historically significant walls and borders to increase awareness about the whole “divide” thing? The Great Wall of China, The Berlin Wall, Hadrian’s Wall. Collect ’em all!! Davy Knowles says “Tear Down the Walls.”

I also thought about a scene from the original “Planet of the Apes” movie where viewers see makeshift scarecrows guarding an area called “the forbidden zone.” Maybe those would make good conveyer belt dividers?

One final suggestion. The big box stores should fasten together a couple of the dividers with a chain in the middle. During training, anyone who fails to get the general idea of the divider concept will have to run a gauntlet of makeshift nunchakus (nunchucks). That or a funoodle. I would apply for the training job in a heartbeat.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Vampires of Santa Carla

I recently watched a big 1980s film for the first time in I don’t know how long. What’s the best way to describe “The Lost Boys“? Peter Pan meets The Munsters with a healthy dose of Jim Morrison and a bit of Edgar Allan Poe? That’s how I see it. There are lots of familiar faces in this 1987 film including Jason Patric, Kiefer Sutherland, Jami Gertz, and even the most excellent dude Bill (Alex Winter). There are a few others I’ll mention later. Basically, the storyline involves a divorced mom with two boys who move to Santa Carla, CA to live with her dad/their grandad. Shortly thereafter, they find the local group of teenage bad boys are, in fact, vampires.

I remember the soundtrack was “kind of a big deal” back in the day. There’s a cover of The Doors’ “People Are Strange” by Echo & the Bunnymen. When I watched the film this time around, I had the subtitles on and could actually understand some of the Ten Commendments-gospel-ish lyrics in “Cry Little Sister.”

I’ve always been slightly annoyed by the children’s chorus singing “Thou shalt not…this” and “Thou shalt not that” only because I couldn’t understand the lyrics. Does the soundtrack get weirder? Well, Roger Daltrey sings Elton John’s “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” for some reason. There’s an INXS song or two and even Lou Gramm makes an appearance.

Getting back to the film, I found it visually interesting to watch. The grandfather’s house has an over the top funky vibe which makes an interesting backdrop. The only thing I found really dated was Corey Haim’s neon-bordering-radioactive wardrobe. The vampires dress in a very 80s, super-hip, metrosexual kind of way. The only thing is, I don’t think I ever saw anyone actually dressed that way in the 80s outside of this film. The best part of the film for me is the characters of both Grandpa (Barnard Hughes) and The Frog Brothers (Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander). Feldman, in particular, plays a satirical 80s action star brilliantly.

Apparently, there are a couple of sequels, which I haven’t watched.

Till next time keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Birdnest of Blues

During the 90s, I first heard the version of “Birdnest on the Ground” recorded by Doyle Bramhall — a drummer with a strong Texas Blues resume — he played with both Jimmie Vaughan and Stevie Ray Vaughan. If I close my eyes, I would probably have guessed SRV as the singer of this tune, but it’s Bramhall.

It turns out this one was originally recorded by Muddy Waters in 1967.

Apparently, finding a bird nest on the ground is supposed to be a great thing. To me, this song has a certain funky feel to it. Maybe it’s the mixture of the weird lyrics and the bluesy guitar. (The guitar part actually reminds me of Hubert Sumlin’s playing style. Sumlin is best known for his contributions to Howlin Wolf’s band and recordings.) I also found a harmonica driven take on this one recorded by James Cotton.

There aren’t tons of other versions of this song out there, but Jimmy Vivino (from Conan O’Brien’s house band) is a fan of it. He has some live versions you can find. Hopefully, this funky song keeps being recorded.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Mysterious Murder of Mona

Who killed Mona Dearly? That’s the question asked and answered in the 2000 film “Drowning Mona.” This is one of those movies that caught my eye while channel surfing — most likely due to the cast. It stars everyone from Bette Midler to Jamie Lee Curtis, Neve Campbell, and more. A blonde-headed Casey Affleck runs a lawn mowing service with his idiotic partner, hilariously played by Marcus Thomas. The film is set in the hamlet of Verplanck, New York. Viewers are in for a wild ride as the Yugo driven by the ubiquitously-hated Mona goes off a cliff and into the river. On a completely unrelated note, I feel obligated to mention how great the Bo Diddley song “Mona” is.

(There’s also a good video clip of Bo joining Tom Petty onstage for this one.) Getting back to the movie, it’s up to local law enforcement (Danny DeVito) to narrow the list of suspects down in Verplanck. Drowning Mona is not the best movie you’ll ever see, but I never pass up an opportunity to watch it and it always makes me laugh. Off the wall is probably the best way to describe this somewhat obscure film. It was directed by Nick Gomez. You’ll also see some familiar faces in the supporting cast like Will Ferrell, Melissa McCarthy, William Fichtner, and more. Kathleen Wilhoite has a hilarious scene where she sings a murder ballad about the whole thing.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Scarface: 80s Excess & Montages

“Over the top” seems to be one of the best descriptions of Al Pacino’s performance as legendary cinema gangster Tony Montana and maybe the 1983 film itself. Surely, you have seen the Cuban rags to riches drug-thug story at this point, right? For me, cable TV was most likely the medium that exposed me to this film. I can remember seeing mansions filled with luxurious furniture and ornate décor. That, and, hearing the “F- word” almost every minute as well. (Apparently it’s used over 200 times.) Call it “80s excess”, but there were also beautiful women (Michelle Pfeiffer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) and piles and piles of cocaine.

I recently saw “Scarface” on Netflix again and a couple of things jumped out at me. First of all, there is a montage with a “totally 80s” song to go along with it. Thank you, Paul Engemann for “Push it to the Limit.”

After watching this scene, it reminded me of the hilarious song “Montage” from Team America: World Police.” Thank you, Trey Parker.

Getting back to Scarface, here are some other random observations. Comedian/actor Richard Belzer appears in a night club scene right before they break out the machine guns. Also, I kept hearing a familiar voice during the opening police interrogation scene and found out Dennis Franz did the uncredited voiceover. If you watch it, you’ll see the interrogator is not Franz. Kinda weird. Scarface’s sidekick Manny is the played by the dude who plays another drug lord in both “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul” (Steven Bauer). So much for typecasting.

I took one film course in college and we watched “Scarface” as an exploration of the gangster genre. We might have watched the original 1932 Scarface as well, but I can’t remember. Some will say the 80s film is overrated or put it in the “cult” status. If you don’t like violence and profanity, it’s not a film for you. If you do, you could be wildly entertained. The screenplay was written by none other than Oliver Stone and the film was directed by Brian DePalma.

Not much left to say except “say (goodbye) to my little friend” and keep your Mojo on the Horizon!