The Night They Drove Old Herman Down

Herman Cain is the name and I served on the Uncle Tom train
'Til lyin' white bitches came and tore up my good name
In the spring of '11, we were hungry, just barely leadin'
By November the tenth, my poll numbers had fell
It's a time I remember, oh so well

The night they drove old Herman down
And the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Herman down
And the women were singing
They went, "La, la, la"

Back with my wife in old Atlanta , when one day she called to me
"Herman, quick, come see, there go another of your affairees"
Now I don't mind sproutin' wood, and I don't care if the bitch's no good
Ya take what ya need and ya leave the rest
But they should never have taken the very best

The night they drove old Hermie down

And the bells were ringing
The night they drove spermin' Herman down
And all the women were singing
They went, "La, la, la"

Like my father before me, I will work the Man
And like a brother with no self-respect before me, I took a subservient stand
turned my back on my brothers and this great land
I swear by the lies that I continue to speak
You can't raise a Cain back up when he's in defeat

The night they drove old Herman down
And the bells were ringing
The night they drove old Herman down
And all the women were singing
They went, "Na, na, na"

The night they drove old Hermie down
And all the bells were ringing
The night they drove spermin' Herman down
And the women were singing
They went, "Na, na, na"

"Na, na, na"
"Na, na, na"
Hey hey Goodbye!

Ret. Sen Alan Simpson, Republican: Grover Norquist and His Extortionate No New Taxes Pledge the Root Cause of Country's Financial Crisis Impasse

Speaking to Ret. Sen Alan Simpson, Republican, Wyoming and co-chair of the Deficit Reduction Committee, Scott Simon host of NPR's Weekend Edition got a Republican to admit the obvious:

His own party, The Republicans, and their commitment to Grover Norquist's No New Taxes Pledge have placed party over Country and do not even deserve to be in Congress.


To read the transcript: http://www.npr.org/2011/11/26/142795941/after-supercommittee-fails-last-years-plan-gets-new-look


To listen to the interview: http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=142795941&m=142795914

Thoughts of Thanks

Having just hit one of life's major milestones, the big Five O, it causes one to seriously consider what he is thankful for. With very little thought going in, I am just going to wing it:

I am first and foremost thankful for my children, while not perfect, they put up with a very strange and peculiar father. Special thanks go out to my daughter for watching my "nasty little dog" who bit her, while I make my biannual pilgrimages to New Orleans and to my son for being the best hunting partner a guy could ask for, who never complains and gets along with his Dad's hunting companions who are just as strange and peculiar as his dear old Dad.

Speaking of which, I am thankful for my hunting companions, from Mick and his boys and Jay to Charlie, Jason, Cal and the boys at the farm, they make a difficult time of year fun to look forward to. I can never pay these friends back for the acceptance of my son and I to their group and for being such good role models to my son.

Although this may sound strange to some, I am so very thankful for work. Being a professional, ones work become their life, their alter ego, their self-esteem and their reason to exist. Having changed positions a few years back, I am so very grateful, not only just to have a job in this economy, but to have a job which is fun, challenging and filled with so many friends and good people as colleagues. For this I am truly blessed.

Lastly, to my friends away from work and family, I am so thankful you put up with such a difficult person like me and I apologize for being so hard on you all at times. I hope you know that although I may not show it, I cherish your friendship and love each and every one of you.

Occupy TCF Bank Stadium: "This Is Not What A Football Team Looks Like"

My patience has run out. It's time to Kill the messenger. The Joe Maturi experiment is over, the jury is in and Maturi is out. From the firing of Glen Mason to the hiring of Tim Brewster to the shores of Tripoli, Maturi has fought the Gopher Nation's battles like a gimp with cerebal palsey.

Deer Be Damned: Roomful of Blues Are Still the Kings of Swing

One of my favorite quotes in all the history of music reviews was a line in the Boston Globe many years ago which described my friend and guitar legend Jimmy Thackery as "... a four-hour performer. That's not how long he plays, but how long one should travel to see him." Well you can add another legendary band to the list of "four hour performers": the incomparable Roomful of Blues who were in town last night at Famous Dave's Blues Club in Uptown.

So what would make a die hard deer hunter pull up stakes on one of the most productive, (two eight points and a ten point buck), deer openers in recent memories and drive back to Minneapolis for an extended set of live music? Why that would be to see the best purveyors of traditional American Music, Providence, R.I.'s gift to the world, Roomful of Blues.

From T-Bone-esqe jump blues to New Orleans swing with a heavy dose of Earl King,to originals with the feel and authenticity of the great standards, Roomful of Blues are simply tops in their craft. Having just returned from the capitol of American music, New Orleans, a little more than a month ago where I witnessed some of the greatest music and musicians of all time, it is clear that Roomful of Blues are not only in the same league, hell that make the playoffs every year.

Like any organization that has spanned nearly four decades, occasionally one goes through the process of rebuilding. I am glad to say that the rebuilding process has been over for the current version of Roomful for a couple of years now and the band has profited from the new found stability in its line-up. Lead singer Phil Pemberton was such a great find and the perfect fit for this band. I just love listening to this guy sing. Not only does Mr. Pemberton have the right voice for this style of music, his phrasing, the subtleties he coaxes out of a song makes him fun and interesting to listen to all night long.

Just like you can't think of Herman Cain without thinking of harassment, one cannot think of Roomful of Blues without thinking horns and believe you me this band is as horny as Herman. Led by the legendary tenor player Ritch Lataille, the Roomful horns are back on top of the business but with a more laid back and more nuanced feel due in large part to its newest member Doug Woolverton who I gushed about the last time these guys were in town. My only comment this time is that at one point in the evening, I leaned over to my good friend Mike LeBeau, Roomful's longtime soundman and one of the best in the business and said flat out, "Am I being disloyal to Bubba when I say how much I love this guy's playing?" To which Mike responded: "Heck no, Bubba would be proud."

My highlights this time around were the numbers Roomful did with New Orleans icon Earl King on the great album "Glazed" and its progeny. Band co-leader Chris Vachon gets the greatest gut bucket excello records sound out of his guitar on these numbers and when mixed with the cool baritone horn honkings of the great "Top of the"Mark Early it produces a rich dark roux that makes the gumbo bubble up, jump and boil. Always a high note is that Monster from Austin, Travis (not Tritt) Colby (not Dolby) on keys and the classiest rhytym section in the business, gentleman John Turner and ever subtle and nuanced drumming of Ephraim Lowell.

All in all it was a highly enjoyable night of music by a group of "four hour performers".

Deer Opener 2011