Derek St. Nugent?

What’s the first thing that pops in your head when you hear the name Ted Nugent? Rock star? Michigan militia? Right wing politics? Beef jerky? He’s a man of many parts.

I have an appreciation for his music. As for his politics, views on hunting/handguns, I could care less. Recently “The Motor City Madman” announced he tested positive for COVID-19 after insinuating the virus was a hoax. Apparently, it has has him in a “Stranglehold.”

All joking aside, I hope The Nuge pulls through this one. One thing I didn’t realize until recently is he had a singer named Derek St. Holmes in his band. That’s the guy who is singing the lead vocal on this one and others. In my defense, when the band is called “Ted Nugent” you tend to assume he’s doing the singing. Here’s a more recent version without Nugent.

If you have ever seen the mockumentary “This is Spinal Tap”, you should know St. Holmes’ name was the inspiration for the character David St. Hubbins. The truly dedicated already know this, but St. Hubbins was “the patron saint of quality footwear.” Maybe Ted Nugent should light a St. Hubbins votive candle just in case.

One thing I will say about Ted Nugent is he, apparently, has never been into drugs and/or alcohol. I think you have to give him some credit there. I’m sure many people see a guy with long hair playing guitar and assume that’s what he’s all about. Speaking of guitars, The Nuge is known for his association with the Gibson Byrdland. Now, THAT’S a beast of guitar.

Personally, I hope The Nuge recovers. Given the choice would you rather have a rock star who is into guns or drinking and drugs? Now that is a tough question. That’s one of the best things about America: freedom of choice.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Fogerty R & B

John Fogerty. It doesn’t get much better than that! Huge songwriting talent and a great singer. He will always be remembered as the driving force behind the mega-successful American Band Creedence Clearwater Revival. That association with CCR is probably a blessing and a curse for him. I remember visiting my preferred music store (Record Reunion) and they had his solo records in the CCR section. One day, I finally broke down and bought his self-titled second solo release. This turned me onto a couple of oldies or early R & B covers like “Sea Cruise.”

This song was written by Huey “Piano” Smith and popularized by Frankie Ford. I hadn’t heard this song until hearing the Fogerty version. Same thing goes for “Lonely Teardrops” — a song associated with Jackie Wilson.

Songwriting credits on this one go to Mr. Motown Berry Gordy, Gwendolyn Gordy, and Roquel “Billy” Davis. I love listening to these songs because I love old rock and roll and John Fogerty is damn good singer.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Random TX Blues Guitar

Music has an amazing way of bringing people together and “turning them on” to things you might not normally encounter in your day to day comfort zone. During my college days, the university allowed a non-student (“townie”) to do his own country music show on the campus radio station before I came on for my shift. I knew absolutely nothing about country music, but I remember talking with him about George Harrison’s “Chet Atkins Country Gentleman” model Gretsch electric guitar. Pretty random, right?

The same thing happened to me today while I was surfing YouTube for information on Texas blues guitarist Freddie King. King is probably best known for his instrumental called “Hideaway” and “I’m Tore Down.” Both songs were covered by Eric Clapton among others. King has some interesting covers out there including his take on the John Fogerty-penned “Lodi.” King called his version “Lowdown in Lodi.”

As I kept looking for other songs he’d covered, I found a familiar blues tune called “Yonder Wall.” I think the first time I heard this song was on a collection of slide guitarist Elmore James. As I kept digging, I found a version by The Steve Miller Band. (And, yes, Miller is a Texas guitarist.)

Apparently, Miller’s last two albums have been primarily blues covers, which is fine by me. I’m curious to hear more from the “Bingo!” album. It opens with a song written by fellow Texas blues guitarist Jimmie Vaughan.

Vaughan is the older brother of Mr. Texas Blues Guitar, Stevie Ray Vaughan. There are plenty of other blues-rock guitarists out of Texas like ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and the pioneering T-Bone Walker. I didn’t actively try to connect King, Miller, and the Vaughans so I’m not going to consciously try to connect any additional songs, songwriters, or Texas blues guitarists today.

Incidentally, I used to recruit college students in Texas and think I visited high schools attended by Miller and Vaughan. I wish I’d known that at the time, but it’s all random.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Some Girls

Where were you in 1978? That was the year The Rolling Stones released their “Some Girls” album. You can make the argument some of the songs on the album are in the “overplayed” classic rock radio category — “Beast of Burden” and “Miss You” come to mind. (Depending on where you live, “Shattered” might also fall into that category. ) However, there are some other gems on the record. It would be hard for me to pick one favorite cut, but the Keith Richards-penned “Before They Make Me Run” is a safe choice for me.

For me, the crunchy guitar and the harmony vocal really grabbed me the first time I heard it. It’s definitely not the only Stones song to mention drugs, but “booze and pills and powders – you have to choose your medicine” is pretty clear to me. Another song on the album makes reference to “heroin with the president”. That one, called “Respectable”, is an underrated Chuck Berry styled rocker.

This song might be a little too straightforward to some, but to my ears, this song has some great raggedy vibes to it. Somewhere along the way, there was a re-release of the album with unreleased cuts. About the only one of those I remember liking was their cover of “Tallahassee Lassie.”

Mick’s tongue-in-cheek country song “Faraway Eyes” and “When the Whip Comes Down” round out the album. Did I miss any? There’s a Temptations cover “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)” and a couple of others.

What else can you say about this late 70s Stones effort? Well, Ron Wood played on the record as the band’s newest band member. You can also hear the harmonica playing of Sugar Blue. “Some Girls” is not my favorite Stones album, but there is some great rock n roll on it. I always thought the album cover was kind of lame, but the Stones can always blame it on sex, drugs, and rock n roll.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Lemon Lizzy Pie

Question: What do these things have in common? The Arizona desert, a jail break, and Tennessee lemon pie.

Answer: Gary Tison. More specifically, the film called “Last Rampage.”

The film was directed by Dwight H. Little and stars Robert Patrick as convicted murderer Gary Tison. (Patrick is best known for his role as the T-1000 in Terminator II, but he’s been in any number of other films and even had a role in The X Files if memory serves me correctly.) The film starts as Tison’s three sons bring him lunch at the state pen, then pull out a small arsenal of weapons from the picnic basket to show the guards on duty who is the boss. Another inmate, Randy Greenawalt, tags along for the ride.

Tison is portrayed as the decisive, dominant, patriarchal type. His family, including Heather Graham as his wife, is portrayed as loyal, but definitely misguided. What I enjoyed most about the film is some of the power struggle-interactions between fellow lifer/escapee Randy Greenawalt (Chris Browning) and Tison’s son Donnie (Alex MacNicoll). I never watched the trailer before seeing this film, so instead I’m including Thin Lizzy’s “Jailbreak” in keeping with the macho vibe of this film.

The actual jailbreak happened in 1978 so Thin Lizzy may be appropriate. You’ll see some old cars and trucks in the film. (There’s a brown Maverick like our neighbor used to have, for example.) To me, here’s something about the desert that looks good on film so you get to see some nice scenery in between the scenes of bloodshed. Jailbreaks tend to get messy as this one did. In a random tribute to Tennessee lemon pie (his wife liked it in the film), I’m also including “The Lemon Song” by Led Zeppelin.

The film is based on a book written by James W. Clarke “Last Rampage: The Escape of Gary Tison.” Apparently there’s a 1983 made for TV movie called “A Killer in the Family” about Tison. I may have to check it out.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Love for Van Halen

“Guitar God” Eddie Van Halen recently passed away and it got me thinking about his talent as a guitarist and his band’s different eras. As much as I like Sammy Hagar, I’ve always been a fan of the “Old Van Halen.” Back in the day, Eddie Van Halen’s composition “Eruption” on the self-titled Van Halen album was THE guitar apex for many players. It sounded explosive…like something out of this world!

Here is the song in its entirety.

As far as guitarists go, you could say he was “the man” for his era. The fact that he married Valerie Bertinelli didn’t hurt his “street cred” either. I’ve often heard the term “Frankenstrat” applied to any sort of guitar-mutt assembled from several guitars, but Eddie’s guitar is often associated with the term’s origin. Kudos for his creativity! I won’t go into detail about all of the different parts, etc.

Recently I came across an interesting documentary about the band Van Halen’s early years.

I was more of a casual Van Halen fan, but they got a lot of play on radio and MTV. Eddie’s explosive guitar style really grabbed your attention. For me, “1984” was the album that really put them into mainstream.

Here’s another example of the Van Halen influence on my life. I was at some sort of dance when I was about fourteen years old. The cover band opened with “Unchained” and I still remember it to this day.

The lead singer ( a dude) also wore spandex and did the flying splits like David Lee Roth so I guess it left a lasting impression on me. What else can you say about Eddie Van Halen? He and Valerie have a son named Wolfgang Van Halen. Somewhere along the way, I read that Gene Simmons of KISS offered him Ace Frehley’s spot as lead guitarist, but I guess Eddie wanted to do his own thing. You have to respect that.

In conclusion, Eddie Van Halen was not only a talented guitarist, but a talented muscician (check out the song “1984” if you’re into synth/keyboards). His influence is still felt to this day.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Hard Eight

The cast alone is reason enough to check out the 1996 film “Hard Eight” — I’m talking about John C. Reilly, Samuel L. Jackson, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Phillip Baker Hall, and Gwyneth Something Paltrow. (By the way, it was written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.) I’d call the film a gritty drama with a gambling backdrop. I’ll never forget the opening scene where a buttoned-down older gentleman named Sydney (Hall) offers a cigarette and a cup of coffee to a down-and-out guy named John (Reilly). John reluctantly accepts and the two leave the greasy spoon to set out for a casino. Before long, they have a mentor-mentee relationship.

As their adventure unfolds they meet some other interesting characters like a waitress named Clementine (Paltrow). They also encounter a couple of cocky loudmouths played by the likes of Hoffman and Jackson. The contrast between the “old school” Sydney and younger cocky types make for some great scenes.

There’s more to the story, which makes “Hard Eight” an interesting character study. What makes Sydney such a low key type? Is he just like that or is there more to the story? Same thing could be said of John and the other characters. I think all of the characters are flawed in some way, which make them relatable and interesting.

From what I’ve read on The Internet Movie Database (imdb.com), the director wanted to call this film “Sydney.” It was also influenced by a French film called “Bob le Flambeur” (Bob the High Roller).

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Elijah & Nick Do Vegas

I’d never heard of the 2016 film called “The Trust” before I stumbled across it on one streaming network or another. However, when I saw the film starred Nicholas Cage and Elijah Wood, it piqued my curiosity. Cage and Wood play a couple of police officers who are anything but typical. I don’t mean Starsky and Hutch either. Cage plays a “wacky” officer named Stone. Ironically, Wood plays his subordinate officer who is a “stoner” named Waters.

As their workday unfolds, they hatch a plot to follow the money from a recent high dollar bail check. One thing leads to another and, before you know it, they are trying to put it all on the line. Their goal? To rob a drug dealer with deep pockets.

Why do I like and highly recommend this film? It’s funny and, dare I say, quirky. To my ears, the conversations between Cage and Wood as co-workers are believable. They capture every working person’s desire to dream big and escape the mundaneness of everyday life. It’s funny how they take big risks to hit “the big score,” while they fall deeper and deeper into quicksand. It has some of the excitement of Las Vegas heist films, but I wouldn’t say this film is ever predicable.

I normally don’t pay attention to popularity ratings for films. This is one that doesn’t score very high, but I disagree with those ratings. If you find Nicholas Cage mildly amusing, you HAVE TO SEE THIS FILM. If you need more reasons to watch this one, Jerry Lewis has a bit part as Woods’ (Cage’s) father and Ethan Suplee (Randy from “My Name is Earl”) plays a sadistic, unhinged cop.

In conclusion, this offbeat film is one I have seen more than once and recommend it.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Baker Street

I woke up with this song in my head recently. If you were around in the 70s, you definitely heard this one on the radio. “Baker Street” was written and recorded by Gerry Rafferty. To my ears, it’s a unique piece of music. The saxophone plays the main melody/riff, but there’s also a great guitar solo in it as well.

I would describe this song as “musically patient” — the song sort of cascades into the catchy main riff as opposed to the intro of most Ramones songs. I can appreciate both. If I were trying to describe the “vibe” of the 70s, I would use “Baker Street” as an example. I’ve looked at YouTube for various versions and discussions on this song which brings me to the Foo Fighters’ version.

One of the discussions pointed out the Dave Grohl & Co. version doesn’t feature the sax, but instead has the main riff played on electric guitar. The point being you could play this melody on your instrument of choice. Foo Fighters weren’t the first to do this.

When I was looking at some of the mechanics on how this song is played, I searched for acoustic versions and came across a version by… Waylon Jennings?

I love this version because it’s a seemingly odd coupling of song and performer. Other musicians who have covered “Baker Street” include everyone from Rick Springfield to Ann Wilson. Hopefully, you can find a version you like.

Incidentally, the sax riff was played by Raphael Ravenscroft and the guitar solo was played by Hugh Burns. As a side note, I used to frequent a store called Record Reunion which had a painting of Gerry Rafferty’s “City to City” album cover hanging on the wall. (I believe the album cover was painted by John Byrne.) I wonder if it’s still there?

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!

Terry Fox & Times Tables

When I was in 4th or 5th grade, class had just started, but I was sent on some sort of errand by a teacher. As I found myself walking down the now-empty hallway, this girl in my grade randomly walked up to me. The exchange went something like this:

Girl: Nine times six.

Author: Uhhh….what??

Girl: Nine times six.

Author: Ummm….

Girl: The teacher says you have to practice your times tables all of the time.

Author: Uhh…forty something?

Girl: Fifty-four.

Author: Yeah…so…I have to go the office to pick up something for this afternoon. (Maybe I’ll buy a calculator at the nurse’s office. ) I gotta go.

Basically, that unidentified girl is normally how I feel about “The Google Doodle.” You know, that random picture you see when you’re actually Googling something. However, there are exceptions. Today, said doodle is about a guy named Terry Fox.

Unlike many of the other doodles, I think Terry Fox is noteworthy. The short version is he had one of his legs amputated following a cancer diagnosis and this dude ran across six of his native-Canada’s provinces. He racked up like 26 miles per day for several months before the cancer put a halt to it. I’m speaking in generalities, but there is more info here:

https://terryfox.org/terrys-story/journal-map/

I could try to tell you more about where he started and was forced to finish, but I’m even worse geography than I am at math. (As an American, I’m lucky to be able to identify forty or more of the states. One time, when tested, I identified the entire state of Louisiana as “New Orleans” or “Baton Rouge”. I digress, but I will also say one of my buddies and fellow native Missourians asked if some of the puny East Coast areas should even count as states. “They’re too small. That doesn’t count.”)

Getting back to Terry Fox, this dude was tenacious. Prior to his cancer diagnosis, he was involved in numerous sports and he didn’t let cancer slow him down a bit. Apparently, he planned to become a P.E. teacher. He raised a lot of money for cancer research before and after his death by raising awareness. He also inspired Ian Thomas to write the song “Runner.”

The song was popularized by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band.

I had completely forgotten about this song prior to researching Terry Fox today. In conclusion, I’m grateful to the Google Doodle for today’s entry. I also give them credit for the interactive World Cup soccer game from a few years ago. Unfortunately, I can’t cloud my mind with a lot of their other things….who created the first vaccine for this or that, who was the first cartoonist of this sort, etc. To me, it’s just times tables and New Orleans.

Till next time, keep your Mojo on the Horizon!