Antone's 47th Anniversary Shows Finale: Betty Harris, W.C. Clark

 July 16, 2022

Running Bear the Wisconsin Way: Send In the Hounds

August 2021

 It is 4 a.m. on the first Sunday morning in August in the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic, 2021.  It has been a long, hot summer in Minneapolis with very little rain and I need to get the Fuck out of Dodge.  I finish loading my car with the provisions I require for a daytrip, (black licorice, sesame covered cashews, dark chocolate and a six pack of Castle Danger Cream Ale), throw my 4 year old Anatolian Shepherd a couple of doggie treats to distract her and make my escape out the door.  

Finally freed from the confines of my residential prison and its daily grind of re-employment search activity, internet surfing and Netflix, I am greatly looking forward to running bear with hounds over in Wisconsin and reconnecting with my old friend Joe Trumble.  Up until a phone call I made to him about a week earlier, I had not seen or talked to Joe in nearly 20 years.  Why now was it "Trumble time"?  My inner voice spoke to me out of the blue and said to call Joe Trumble and I try and follow my inner voice.  As usual it was right.

I always admired Trumble, and for many reasons.  Not just because he is an avid outdoorsman, expert hunter and widely regarded as the best shot in Western Wisconsin, rifle or shotgun (and that was even before he had all the plaques and trophies to prove it).  I know this would greatly embarrass him  for me to say, (which in itself is another reason I admire him), but Joe always struck me as a guy who had it pretty much figured out.   By "it", of course, I mean life.  No, Joe is not some kind of life coach, a guru or whatever new age moniker you want to put on such nonsense. Trumble isn't the kind of guy to ever tell you how smart he is or to presume to tell others how to live their lives.  But if you are ever lucky enough to spend some time around him and just observe, you'll know exactly what I am talking about.  Low key, self-deprecating to a fault but with a wry sense of humor.  A raconteur of the woodlands.

I also admire Joe for being a patriot in the truest meaning of the word.  Joe knows that we are all incredibly blessed to be American citizens.  But with citizenship comes responsibility.  I am of the personal belief that with all the benefits that come with American citizenship is the duty to answer your nation's call to service.  I am also proud to live in a country where people have the right to disagree with our nation's foreign policy.  Joe, like my good friend Al Avelsgard, my cousin Phil and hundreds of thousands young Americans answered the nation's call to serve in Viet Nam.  We owed them our respect and support whether or not we agreed with the war or the foreign policy du jour.  Unfortunately, we as a nation failed them miserably.   To Joe and all the Viet Nam vets out there our country owes you an apology, should beg your forgiveness and give a heartfelt "Thank you for your service".

A wonderful father and grandfather and one of the few people I know still married after 50 years.  (In truth,  I suppose that speaks more of the virtues of his wife, Sylvia, than anything Trumble could, or would, take credit for.)  Joe not only understands the importance of family to one's happiness in life, but is one of the few men I know that  acts on his understanding.  

After a successful morning of running the hounds culminating in treeing a cub up a large ash tree approximately 650 yards into boggy wetlands in the Crex Meadows public hunting grounds, Joe informed his A-team of bear hunting compatriots that he would not be joining them on their afternoon hunt.  You see Sundays were for gathering the children and grandchildren for dinner.  A tradition he inherited from his parents and grandparents and I have no doubt will be continued by his daughters and grandchildren.  Like I said, Trumble's got it figured out.  

Eat your heart out Jerry Burton!

David Bromberg Turns Concert into Moving Tribute to His Friend and Collaborator, Paul Siebel (September 19, 1937 – April 5, 2022)

The David Bromberg Quintet's covid delayed Big Road tour rolled into Minneapolis for two nights, (April 5th and 6th, 2022) at the Dakota Jazz Club in downtown Minneapolis. David was proud and excited to finally be able to premier his latest project, Big Road, before live audiences after he and his band worked really hard to complete it back in 2020 only to have it get delayed by wave after wave of covid. Although I did not attend the first night on April 5th, word was that David and his band were in good spirits and fine form.

It was not until after his opening number on the second night, (the crowd favorite, Sharon), did a somber Bromberg announce the sad news, the passing of his friend and long time collaborator, Paul Siebel, the gifted singer-songwriter (probably best known to Minnesotans as composer of Louise, which was covered and popularized by Leo Kottke).  Siebel had worked with Bromberg for over 50 years including a live album recorded at McCabe's Guitars in LA back in 1978. Bromberg told the audience that if his band looked a little disorganized between songs it is because they don't operate from a set list. While he tries, if at all possible, not to play the same song two nights in a row, he would be making an exception this night to feature some of his favorites written by Siebel. Highlights included "The Ballad of Honest Sam", Siebel's commentary on Nixon and which David said also bears relevance to a recent administration and David's poignant version of "Any Day Woman".

It was at this point that things took a rather unfortunate turn.  An overly enthusiastic fan who apparently missed David's introduction to the Siebel material kept requesting his Bromberg favorites, much to David's consternation.  Below are three videos I took of the encounter:

THE NIGHTHAWKS "Established 1972": A Fitting Testament to Mark Wenner's Music Legacy

Mark Wenner is no dummy. He earned a bachelor's in English from Columbia. He has taken rusty frames and buckets of nuts and bolts and restored them to vintage American motorcycle glory. But Mark Wenner's greatest legacy is his quiet but persistent leadership and guidance of an American music collective known as the Nighthawks. Part of Wenner's genius is that he has always recognized that the Nighthawks are a collective of the talents of its individual members, whose sum is greater than the parts. Despite numerous changes in personnel over the years, Wenner has shown great agility and adapted yet always stayed true to the integrity of his musical vision. 

 Not to be pigeon holed as a blues band, the Nighthawks have always exemplified the musical influences from which they came. The D.C. area has always been one of the great confluences of American music influences. Living in the D.C. area you are exposed to Bluegrass from Virginia, Country Western and Rockabilly from Maryland and jazz, blues and funk from D.C. and Baltimore.With such a wide range of musical influences, it is no wonder why so many greats call this area home. Duke Ellington, Roy Buchanan, Danny Gatton, Nils Lofgren, Robert Gordon, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and the Seldom Scene are just some of the artists that come to mind. But no group embodies the diverse influences of the D.C. area better than the Nighthawks.

 

 Established in 1972 by Wenner and co-founder Jimmy Thackery, the band started its meteoric rise a few years later after solidifying it's foundation with the addition of the rhythym section of Pete Ragusa on drums and Jan Zukowski on bass. Over the next ten years the band earned its well deserved reputation among fans, critics and fellow musicians alike, playing as many as 200 gigs or more some years, across the U.S., Canada, Europe and Japan. 

 Admirers included Muddy Waters and his Legendary Blues Band, with whom the Nighthawks earned a grammy nomination for their excellent Jacks and Kings volumes and Gregg Allman, who loved them so much he was ready to join the group and booked an East Coast tour.  Unfortunately, the tour was aborted after only one show due to Gregg's personal struggles. I was in line waiting to get into the Bayou in D.C. for the second night of the tour when the bouncer came out and announced to the crowd, which stretched around the block, that the show had been cancelled. The bootleg of the first show at the Scorpion in Happy Valley, PA the night before with special guest Billy Price is legendary, with many people thinking that the stripped down versions of Allman originals are among the best and truest treatments ever recorded.

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The only thing the band lacked was a hit single and the heavy rotation airplay that comes with it to crack the ceiling into the next level. Part of the problem, in my personal opinion, was the commercial radio industry which still suffered from the lingering corruption of the payola system. 

 By 1986 cracks between Wenner and Thackery had developed into fissures and eventually the writing on the wall was becoming apparent.  But not before a tour of the Mid and South West that I was fortunate to follow on my motorcycle. A few months later, in August of 1986, I made the trip back to D.C. for their regrettably-named "Farewell" show at the Carter Baron Amphitheater where they were joined by many fellow travelers and friends. Gregg Allman, John Hammond, Jr., Toru Oki, Pinetop Perkins, Luther  "Guitar Junior" Johnson and Bob Margolin were just some of the luminaries who came out to show their gratitude and respect.

Fast forward 36 years and its 2022 and the Hawks have released "Established 1972" their new studio album on the VizzTone Label Group celebrating the band's 50th Anniversary. Produced by the band and long time collaborator David Earl and the album was recorded at Earl's legendary Severn Sound Studios in Maryland.  The 2022 version of the Nighthawks has Wenner at the helm of course,  the ever lovable Mark Stutso on drums and vocals and the newer members, Don Hovey on guitar and Paul Pisciotta on bass.  Everyone contributes with vocals and songwriting credits.

The album kicks off with Wenner doing a rousing version of Garaint Walker's "Nobody" followed by the record's strongest original composition, Hovey's excellent "You Seem Distant", one of four tracks he contributes.  Stutso takes over lead vocal duties on a solid cover of Eddie Hinton's arrangement of Sam Cooke's "I'll Come Running Back" popularized by his old bandmate Jimmy Thackery.  Stutso is also featured on "Coming and Going" as well as his funky and greasy original contribution "Gas Station Chicken".  You cannot mention chicken without thinking Memphis, which the band does quite nicely on Raiford Starke's "West Memphis".  Hovey's straight ahead rock version of the reggae standard "Johnny Too Bad" works surprisingly well as does the humorous cover of the Coaster's "Run Red Run".  Hell, even the co-producer, Mr. Earl, cannot resist adding some Eddie Taylor inspired guitar licks to the Jimmy Reed classic "Take It Easy".  Always keeping their ears open to good material and wonderful arrangements the Hawks remind us of their great taste in covering John Hammond's version of Mose Allison's "Ask Me Nice",  a perfect fit for Wenner.  

All in all, "Established 1972" is a remarkable product for a band that keeps putting out first class performances of music covering a wide range of genres.  The injection of new blood and strong original contributions, especially from Hovey, show that the Nighthawks are not ready to pull in their wings and nest.