Thursday, August 28, 2008

He Ain't Nuthing But A Hound Dog!

"When I die, they'll say 'he couldn't play shit, but he sure made it sound good!' " -Hound Dog Taylor

I don't know what got me into a Hound Dog mood, so, well, here I am. Hound Dog didn't get as big as the other Chicago Bluesmen, as far as I can tell , he preferred rocking house parties and playing in the nastiest, dirtiest, realist, blues clubs in Chicago. He was accompanied by a drummer- Ted Harvey and a guitarist- Brewer Phillips. HD and Phillips traded the rhythm and bass line so that the other could play lead. They were a throwback band so to speak, back in the day, before the electric bass, folks played the bass/rhythm lines on a second guitar. I had the opportunity to listen first hand, from David Myers (of Little Walter fame), about how this was accomplished. But that's a story for another time.

There was nothing beautiful about Hound Dog, he played on cheap equipment, had an unpolished voice, and lived a hard life. He was tall, slim, and had a big goofy smile. He also told nearly incomprehensible jokes that only he found funny and didn't mind laughing hysterically and putting his hands up to cover his face. His music was so raw and unpretentious. This wasn't music to be dissected and studied, it was to be enjoyed. It was fun, he was having fun, the people were having fun. And that's what makes him most beautiful to me, what you see, what you hear, it's honest. There's nothing more beautiful than the truth.


I guess what I'm getting at is that the blues is about doing. You do sex, you don't perform it. You do love, you don't perform it. You do life, you don't perform it. Hound Dog did the blues and it was genuine.

HD cut about 4 records before he died, towards the end he and his band started to pick up a following. His was the first album released on Alligator records because other labels didn't want to record him, so his manager started up a label just for him. Alligator is still around by the way.
oh yeah, Hound Dog didn't just cut records, he also cut an extra digit off of one of his hands. You see, Hound Dog had six digits on each hand, and as the story goes, he got drunk one night and amputated one of them himself with a broken bottle.

This is a guy I really would have liked to see play, he died in the 70's though, but not before he was recorded on film or tape. Thanks to Youtube, some of his live performances live on.

So I've got some Dog for you, sit back, turn it way up, and let those PC speakers distort and if you feel it, yell out "Sho nuff" one time loud enough for the Dog to hear you.


Friday, August 15, 2008

I loves/hates my internets!

What I both love and hate about the internet. Somehow, exactly how I don’t know, these phenomena have made the internet a better but shittier place.

**not quite finished- too bad soo sad!

1. elitterit kats
2. MyFaceNing
3. blogs, vlogs, wiki’s
4. OMG! TMZ WTF
5. del.icio.us, rss, digg
6. Nigerian Scams
7. Memes and Swedes
8. Craig’s Ebay list
9. Flikr, Resizr, Stupidr
10. Google it!

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Guess What?

Los Lobos have just been announced as the secret guest band that will close out the festival on Sunday night, Aug. 24. Sure it's a Sunday night and we have to work the next day, and yes, it's a free festival so there will be a ton of people, but what the hell...WE ARE THERE!

oh yeah!


Cesar and Conrad playing in the background.

Saturday, August 09, 2008

First Take


I started the garden late this year, but here are the first fruits of my labor!

Thursday, August 07, 2008

La Pistola y el Corazon

Good Morning Aztlan

In Two Days...


The Gloworm and yours truly will be in Indy jamming out to two great bands. Of course, I'm mostly going for the Lobos, but I've read some concert reviews and I'm excited to see the two bands interact and perform on each other's songs. Rock On!

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Random thoughts at 8:20 pm on a Wednesday

-I think that, after some discussion with a coworker we'll refer to as "Naire", I'll begin writing urban vampire romance novels under the pen name January August.

-When parents are hotter than their kids, do the kids grow up with more self esteem issues or less?

-Babies are way funny when they're just learning to walk and they wave their little arms over their gigantic heads trying not to fall down and then they fall anyway.

-In Spanish, handcuffs are "esposas" which can also mean wives. And hunt is "cazar" which if just said and not read means to wed.

-Sometimes, during a storm, I think it'd be great to be hit by lighting and become a superhero.

-A couple in a parking lot the other day were discussing this and suddenly Jerry Springer made sense : "you've hit me in the face before, yes you have, yes you have, you've hit me in the face before, don't lie, yes you have, yes you have" she said with a smile on her face as she gets in the truck with her man.

-I'd like to "appear" on NPRs this I believe and say "This I believe" and just sit there in silence, my breathing being the only audible sound

-And Twins!!!

Check out this site

So little brother decided to join the online world, check out his site here. What you'll see here is his exploration of digital art. Some of you who were at my Dia de los Muertos party last year saw some of is traditional work on my walls, work that I'm "storing" for him (I hope he forgets it's here!). If he's smart, he'll have his slides tranferred and post those images on his site also. Also, if you've ever driven past Alonzo Watson park on Western Ave and Chapin, that colorful shelter is his doing. Enjoy!

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

9 Years!!



Gloria and I have been married 9 years as of today, it's gone by faster than I thought it would. Time flies and all that...