Silent Sentinels to Walker's Injustice: Permits? WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' PERMITS!!!

A good friend and former colleague of mine sent me this editorial he wrote for the enemy state's widest circulation newspaper.  In a break from the  long standing policy of this site not to disseminate falsehoods or promote the bully tactics of the effete elite, I relent on this one occasion on the condition that I can add my editorial enhancements.  Plain Sense

 

 Capitol police are right (Police right? Yeah, right.)

Although I side with the Capitol rotunda sing-alongers' goals (With friends like you who needs Republicans?), I am forced to agree with conservatives that their means are self-centered, juvenile and, ultimately, ineffective.
As an attorney, (Look whose self-centered now, I mean come on , give me a break, at the rate we're going pretty soon everyone will be a flipping attorney.  Whoop tee doo.), it greatly frustrates me (if you think you're frustrated ...he's my friend remember)when my fellow citizens (Who is this guy, LBJ?)invoke constitutional rights that they do not fully understand. Time, manner and place restrictions on free speech rights have been in place for decades.
William Conley, the federal judge who upheld the permit requirement for groups over 20 people, is no puppet of Gov. Scott Walker. This is, after all, the same judge who granted a restraining order preventing implementation of Wisconsin's admitting privilege requirement restriction on abortion providers. Facts can be detestable little creatures (author a big Lady Gaga fan no doubt).
Although press members and mere witnesses should never be arrested, I cannot bring myself to even feign outrage that the very young, elderly, firefighters, politicians or others who actually participate without a valid permit are cited. Outrage would be appropriate if the Capitol police chose not to arrest certain classes of people based on age or profession.  (You miss the whole point my friend, Walker did not like the content of the message so he changed the rules by executive order to require a permit to assemble in the house of the people, the Wisconsin capitol.  When 22 instead of the maximum number of 20 assembled the Walker private Pinkerton army aka capitol security manhandled and used excessive force on 70 year old ladies who were doing nothing more than singing.}
But my chief complaint is that the sing-along seems to exist merely for its own sake. Name a policy that Walker has changed or backed down from due to these tone-deaf crooners. The off-key singing does nothing but distract from the larger social issues at hand.
In Minnesota, the DFL showed real organization and political leadership in legalizing gay marriage. This was accomplished by the people, through their elected representatives, not by court mandate. Information and ideas were spread door to door, over the telephone, via social media and, yes, through organized protests.
Protest if you can, sing if you must, but above all, be effective. The "Capitol Crooners" could learn a thing or two about the last bit from your neighbors to the west.

Shortly after Walker's version of the Tiananmen Square Massacre two Steve Earle fans conducted their own  protest:  

Silent Sentinels to Walker's Injustice:  Permits?  WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' PERMITS!!!

Drum World Misses A Beat: Joseph F. Pulice, Sr. May 19, 1928-August 18, 2013

If you play drums and grew up in Southeast Wisconsin during the 1970s or 1980s odds are pretty good you learned how to play from "Papa" Joe Pulice or at least had some lessons at his drum store, Pulice Music Unlimited in Racine.  A member of the Drum and Bugle Corps and Racine Music Halls of Fame, the beloved drum instructor and big band drummer passed away on Sunday, August 18, 2013, in Racine, following a brief illness. Joe Sr. was 85 years old.

Although a talented drummer who played part time professionally for over 60 years, Joe Sr. first love was teaching others to play the instrument he loved.  In an interview with the Racine Journal Times in December of 1999, Pulice reminisced about his music store:

"At one time, I had 11 teachers there and up to 90 drum students overall. Personally, I had 45 students per week at one time."

First and foremost among Pulice's talented and successful students are two of his three sons, Mark, long time drummer for Carmen McCrae and his youngest son, Joe who played in Woody Herman's Thundering Herd as well as  a veritable who’s who of music greats as one of the top on call drummers in the Twin Cities. 

Joe Sr.'s  other notable students include Victor  DeLorenzo of the Violent Femmes, Darrel Damrow of Dead Fly Boy and Level and Don Baldwin of Harry James and Frank Sinatra fame .

To read further about the life of Joseph Pulice Sr. along with quotes from his students and friends see Lee B. Roberts article in the Journal Times “Drummer remembered for his skill and his generosity”.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Saturday, August 24, 2013, at 11 a.m. at St. Rita Catholic Church, 4339 Douglas Ave.  Private interment with Full Military Honors will be held at the Southern Wisconsin Veterans' Memorial Cemetery, Town of Dover, at a later date.  Relatives and friends may meet with the family Friday at the funeral home from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. (Roma Lodge service at 6 p.m.) and Saturday at the church from 10 a.m. until time of Mass at 11 a.m.

Forget Manning, Snowden and NSA, Reuters Blows Lid Off of Secret DEA Program Aimed at Covering Up Source of Intelligence Used In Investigations of Americans

Reuters News Agency reporters John Schiffman and Kristina Cooke in a series of exclusive articles filed last week uncovered a secret program run by the Special Operations Division (SOD) of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) which had as its purpose the reverse engineering of probable cause trails in criminal and drug forfeiture cases to conceal the real origin of the intelligence information which initiated the investigation.

Through a process the government agents euphemistically referred to as "parallel construction", past and present members of the DEA admitted to retroactively creating parallel probable cause trails through the use of such things as pretextual stops of motor vehicles known to be transporting controlled substances.  After effectuating a stop of the vehicle by traffic units, drug sniffing dogs were then called to the scene who would alert on the vehicle thereby justifying a search.  While it may be somewhat common in drug cases to do these type things to confuse and mislead a defendant so that the defendant would think the investigation originated out of what appeared to be routine traffic stop and thereby protect confidential sources, where the program became an absolutely illegal conspiracy was when the DEA coached its and other government agencies' agents from agencies such as  the IRS, to continue the deception in official court filings or discovery submitted to defense counsel, prosecutors and judges.  These illegal actions had the effect of depriving American citizens of their constitutional rights including due process and right to a fair trial.

Perhaps most chilling of all was the fact that approximately half a dozen past and present members of  law enforcement and the DEA thought these actions were legal.  We have a real crisis here folks when members of the executive branch, those charged with defending the constitution and enforcing the law, cannot recognize something so blatantly unconstitutional and illegal.  My fellow citizens, forget Manning, Snowden and the NSA, and pay attention to these stories and write your elected officials.  This illegal conduct must not be ignored, overlooked or lost in the noise of the 12 hour news cycle.  The time is now America.  Stand up for your rights before out of control government agents euphemize them away.

Please take the time to read the following articles from Reuters destined to win their authors the Pulitzer Prize in Journalism:


Exclusive: U.S. directs agents to cover up program used to investigate Americans

 How DEA program differs from recent NSA revelations

 U.S. defense lawyers to seek access to DEA hidden intelligence evidence

The "Low Highway" Comes to Wisconsin with its Message of Truth, Hope & Solidarity

I wish I could of brought with me last night, August 3, 2013, to the Mastersons and Steve Earle & the Dukes show at the Barrymore Theater in Madison WI, anyone who had ever asked me "who is Steve Earle?" or more likely the feigned "Oh yeah, Steve Earle. What does he do again?" Better yet, if I had the dictatorial power of say, for instance, an overreaching Gov. Walker, I would have ordered my capitol security to forcibly deliver those cracker barrel bonobos on sites like ticketmaster.com which provide space for social media concert "reviews" whose users use the opportunity to spew their ridiculously ignorant invectives at artists like Earle (e.g. The review by a member of the Le Leche League or perhaps a fan of one of Steve's early side projects, The Supersuckers: "...steve earle sucked. was deeply disappointed...didnt stay for the whole thing...broke my heart with his suckiness" and apparently the review by a fashionista: "...I was shocked to see the way these guys dressed, like slobs actually..Steve Earle wore a hot denim long sleeve shirt and was sweating profusely by the end of the show. Maybe drop a few pounds would help. The rest of the band wore dirty tee shirts and jeans...".

"But what could Bozos like those have possibly learned?", I hear you say. Well for one thing, they would have learned that Steve and his band work long hours and that he is genuinely proud of being a 58 year old Dad to a beautiful 3 year old son named John Henry. They would have also learned that Steve is also very proud of his latest version of the Dukes, which gave him every reason to be proud last night.

Although some friends kid me that I some times lose perspective in my music reviews. That my friendship with an artist or band may affect my reviews. That I am more of a cheerleader than a critic sometimes... Oh Hell, I could accept all that were it not for those disturbing images of our former President in his prep school male cheerleader uniform looking, well, unleader like, to put it politely. I admit it. I may be influenced by the fact that Steve and the Dukes, despite having just performed some 3 plus hours (including the Mastersons masterly opening set, a set introduced by Steve himself, no less) waited in a friendly and patient, if not somewhat drained manner, to meet every last one of the couple hundred fans who had lined up to get something inscribed, take a photo or just share a word with one of their favorite hardcore troubadours. I know this for a fact because my son and I were the second to the last in that line and did not leave the theater until the early hours of the next day.

Before I forget, let me say this about the venue, the Barrymore Theater is the venerable funky matron of the Madison music scene. You can keep your "Majestic moments" because not only is the Barrymore one of Mr. Earle's favorite places to perform (you could tell by how comfortable he was and how much fun he was having by his performance, the best i have personally witnessed) but the Barrymore is truly the theater in Madison where things get real. My personal thanks to the incredibly cool staff that served my son pop long after the show and concession stand closed. This kept his incredibly dehydrated father from passing out after a very long day including extended sampling following our tour of the Capital Brewery in Middleton.


But whoa, I get way ahead of myself. To begin the beguine, the day did not get off to a very auspices start. Being somewhat of a considerate Dad myself, I did not want to subject my 18 year old son to riding bitch on the back of my bike for the four plus hour trip from Minneapolis to Madison. Not because of some ignorant sexist notion but rather because my son is a rider himself and I know from personal experience how awkward and uncomfortable it is when you are accustomed to being the operator. So I went onto one of those William Shatner sponsored websites to negotiate a deal on hotel and car rental. While the hotel part worked out nicely if not ironically, we got a very nice room in brand spanking new chain hotel in a quiet corporate office park about 4 miles from the gig, for $68. Although the price was right, the surroundings did seem somewhat hypocritical, being the "Low Highway" tour and all. It should come as no surprise to any of my fellow travelers on the "Low Highway" that corporate America would not settle being out negotiated and absolutely raped me on the rental car. In its continuing war on the lower classes, corporate America, specifically the rental car agencies have divined that if you use a debit card instead of a credit card to pay the security deposit the 3 day rate goes from not $77, not $124 but to $205. By comparison, the Japanese occupation of Nanking seems like just a bad date.

So after riding the light rail out to the airport to pick up my overpriced economy sized nerd mobile (in retrospect I should have taken my 1973 Boattail Riveria, which even at 8 mpg probably would have not cost much more than my Taj MaHertz rental car)it was off to the Home of the Jolly Green Giant to pick up my boy. My son seemed somewhat relieved that I was spiriting him out of his mother's adopted place of residence which was setting up for the "Giant Days" parade across the street. The fact that the local police chief (Wiggum) and next door neighbor had parked his ramshackle camper trailer in their driveway only added to the festivities. Before taking off, my son and I gathered in his mother's kitchen where I gave my customary pep talk that I give before all road trips: a mixture of John Belushi's road trip speech from Animal House mixed with some "physical" inspiration ala former Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes (i.e. breaking watch crystal on my forehead, ripping brim off baseball cap etc.) I ended with the customary taking a knee to deliver the Lord's er I mean Santorum's Prayer: "God grant me the strength to gain weight so that I don't blow away even in the most mild of breezes.." at which point we placed our hands over each others hands breaking with a raucous "Yea God!"

Before long we had cleared the state line and had successfully escaped to Wisconsin. After a couple of hours we relented to the Culver's Custard billboards which constantly bombard you on I94 for a couple of Butterburgers and banana malts. While eating lunch I took advantage of the free copy of the La Crosse newspaper only to be confronted by a very troubling story on the front page about the sentencing of a University of Wisconsin-La Crosse student on a ridiculously reduced charge. The troubling part was that the perp, a wrestling team member, got off with a hand slap for what in reality was a criminal sexual assault on a fellow male student using a lint roller. (Please fill in the double entendres yourselves.)

With enough saturated fat under our belts to clog the plumbing of...(e.g. UW-LaCrosse student?)it was off to Middleton home of the famous Club Tavern (subject of Alejandro Escovedo's song "Dear Head on the Wall") and home of the Capital Brewery, makers of one of this country's finest seasonal brews, the doppelbock Autumnal Fire, where we had reservations for the 3 pm tour. Arriving one-half hour early, (I know, I know, my work colleagues are reaching for their smelling salts to fight off their incredulity) we took advantage of the beautiful beer/hospitality garden and the wonderful weather. Following the tour and complimentary beer sampling I was able to finagle a couple of 4 packs of my favorite flavor which technically is impossible as sales of said doppelbock does not officially begin until September and ends in December.

Opening Act:  The Mastersons:  Chris Masterson and Eleanor Whitmore

The husband and wife duo who also comprise 1/2 of the Dukes.  Performed material from their debut cd "Birds Fly South".  Beautiful harmonies mixed with stellar playing.  Ms. Whitmore had me forgeting all about Lucinda on "You're Still Standing There" from Dukes set and Chris Masterson can do it all.  A nuanced, subtle monster on guitar.  Thoroughly enjoyable set by two very talented artists.  I am looking forward to their next disc.




Steve Earle & the Dukes Set List Barrymore Theater 8/3/2013

The Low Highway
21st Century Blues
Calico County
Taneytown
Hard-Core Troubadour
I Thought You Should Know
That All You Got?
 Love s Gonna Blow My Way
 After Mardi Gras
 Pocket Full Of Rain
 This City
 (Devil?)
 You're Still Standing There
 Invisible
 Burnin It Down
Guitar Town
Copperhead Road
Warren Hellman's Banjo
Freeman
Billie & Bonnie
(The Mountain ?)
The Galway Girl
Down the Road Pt II
Remember Me
City Of Immigrants
Harlan Man
Nobody But You / Continental Trailways Blues
The Revolution Starts Now


From the opening strains of "The Low Highway" to the closing roar of fuzz guitar on "The Revolution Starts Now" Steve and the Dukes came to play and were invested in their performance.  From the brilliant lyrics of "21st Century Blues" to the meth scourge of  "Calico County" there is little doubt that the mantle of most intelligent and relevant singer songwriter has been passed to Mr. Earle.  I don't think I have ever enjoyed myself at a concert as much as when they played "Hard-Core Troubadour" only to be followed with a mesmerizing a cappella incantation that is "I Thought You Should Know".  When Steve slammed his mike stand down at the end of "I Thought You Should Know" indicating he had nailed it, it was at this point that most in the audience realized they were in for something really special.

While the set list was clearly meant to showcase “The Low Highway” which in its low key but perceptive manner may be his most realized work yet, Steve and the the Dukes gave the appreciative audience a complete retrospective of his long and varied career. Most importantly, this was not just some hackneyed greatest hits medley but carefully chosen songs which delivered a message and performed, to a song, better than the originals.

It was fun too. When he was walking over to the piano to play “Pocketful of Rain”, one of the album’s quirky but charming sleepers, someone in the audience yelled out a song request to which Steve replied firmly, but with good nature “we’re only 20 minutes into the show I think I am still in control of my set list”. “Pocketful of Rain” is one of those unique little oddities on an album that for some strange reason really ties the album together and almost defines it by being off topic (Tom Waits comes to mind.) Steve made it even more memorable by telling a story about back in his drinking days, when he got really tight, he thought he could speak Spanish really well but he really couldn’t. Steve also observed that there is something about New Orleans that makes normally sane individuals think they are piano players. (Which brings up one of my pet peeves: Hugh Laurie, nuf said)

There were so many high points, so many moving moments when the artist truly connected with his audience, you just luxuriated in the moment. Steve’s expressed several times during the performance his admiration and support for the workers and people of one of his favorite places on Earth, Madison, Wisconsin and reminded everyone in attendance that we are living in historic times. While we might not win every battle it is important to fight the good fight and to be good to each other as we are all Americans.

I will never forget as long as I live when Steve introduced the song he wrote for his 3 year old son John Henry, entitled Remember Me. Hearing another father talk about facing something as personal as his child suffering from a disease for which there is currently no cure, Autism and which we know so little about was incredibly moving. But to be listening to this next to your healthy 18 year old son, who suffered as a young child from such severe and mysterious health problems that at one point they misdiagnosed him with cystic fibrosis,  this was life sending me a marker.

I wanted to tell Steve that story when I introduced him to my son later that night but due to the hour and sensing the condition of the people who had just spent the last 3 plus hours pouring everything they got out for us, for once I had the good sense to keep my big mouth shut.

I am pissed that I forgot to tell Steve that the whole time we were driving to the show, some four plus hours, I was working out an imaginary set list in my head. With God and my boy as witness, I said several times, my favorite song of Earle’s is an obscure classic called “Nothin’ But You” which was aptly covered by Mark Wenner and the Nighthawks way back in the mid 80’s but that I was unaware of Steve recording it .  (I now know it was originally on Steve’s 1982 EP Pink & Black on Epic.)   Well let me tell you, my son now knows what it must have been like to be at one of the early Beatles concerts the way I went nuts when he and the band launched into what else, Nobody But You / Continental Trailways Blues as the second to the last encore only to raise it up one more notch, if that was possible, ending with a full tilt version of “The Revolution Starts Now”.   Music with a Message Indeed!!!

My last unforgettable moment from that night came when August and I were walking up the aisle a good 10-15 minutes after the show had ended. Making eye contact with a couple of fans in one of the last rows of the main floor, still sitting in their seats, frozen in awe and mouthing at each other and us “Was that the best f____king concert you have ever seen!” We could only nod our heads in agreement.

Author's Note:  A truncated version of this review was selected as among the best reviews on No Depression and appears without author attribution at Steve Earle & the Dukes at their Apex: The “Low Highway” Comes to Wisconsin with its Message of Truth, Hope & Solidarity

"We Have to Deal with this In an Honest and Open Manner": Non Leader John Boehner's Attempt at Standup Comedy

Just when you thought that the obstructionist Republican House could not sink any lower comes House Speaker John Boehner's over the top appearance on CBS' Face the Nation.  Apparently oblivious to the harm their policies are causing the economy, an economy that would well be on the way to a full recovery be it not for their intentional sabotage for party gain at the detriment of the nation, Boehner's full throated, primary endorsement speech to the Fox News crowd was devoid of any semblance of reality or rationality.

It was clear from Boehner's performance, for that's what it was a performance, a kabuki dance to keep the far right, the birthers, tea baggers and Paulites of his party off his back.  The way Boehner refused to answer any of Bob Schieffer's substantive questions, talked around and flat out refused to address the questions posed was reminiscent of Hubert Humphrey, but unlike Humphrey, often called the “Happy Warrior”, the ill intent  and malevolence for his fellow Americans came through loud and  clear.

If you have not already figured it out America, the choice is clear.  This country is headed in only one of two diametrically opposed directions.  We can either act like grown-ups, take politics for what it is, the art of compromise and concessions where everyone gives up their perfect ideal or we are headed for a right wing oligarchy headed by the ultra-rich and the fundamentalist branch of Christianity  that worships materialism and self-aggrandizement over charity and helping the less fortunate.  

Demographics are in favor of the Democrats, moderates and pragmatists.  The only question is how much damage are the majority of Americans willing to allow the right wing ideologues to inflict upon this country as part of their scorched earth policy on their way out.

And the Winner Is: Steve Earle: The Warner Bros. Years

Several posts ago I wrote on how I had entered a contest to win a signed copy of  'Steve Earle: The Warner Bros. Years' box set courtesy of No Depression, the Americana, alt-country and roots music authority since 1995.  My entry was:

"Asking a Steve Earle fan to pick his favorite song is akin to asking a parent to pick their favorite child but what the hell here goes:   

I am partial to “I Feel Alright”. The opening verse of “…Now some of you would live through me Then lock me up and throw away the key Or just find a place to hide away And hope that I'll just go away Huh…” is autobiographical but also speaks to the generations of incarcerated  in this country for nothing more than a health problem aka drug addiction.  

I saw one of Steve’s last shows before he reported to prison (he warmed up for Los Lobos at First Ave in Mpls) and he was looking and sounding pretty rough and who could blame him.  Which is why Steve is an inspiration to me;  for taking control of his life, learning from his mistakes and for working for unpopular causes.  Truly a great  songwriter and musician but even a better man."

Truth be told, I had alot more to say, especially on the issue of the futility of controlled substance laws in the United States and the perversion and corruption of the criminal justice system by civil forfeiture laws.  For once, however, I listened to the little voice in my head that kept telling me to keep it concise.

Well they say a picture is worth a thousand words...

This is a beautiful box set consisting of 4 audio cds, a dvd of Steve and the Dukes performance at the Cold Creek Correctional Facility in 1996 as part of his probation on drug and weapons charges that sent him to prison for nearly a year.  The Shout Factory has done an excellent job in executing the final product and it is well worth its retail price, whether you are already a die-hard Steve Earle fan or as an excellent way of getting to know one of the most talented, provocative and intelligent singer songwriters of his generation.

The incredible liner notes by former Baltimore crime beat journalist and co-creator of "The Wire", David Simon,  made me glad I refrained from my standard epistle, as a criminal defense lawyer with 25 years experience in controlled substance defense, on this country's drug laws in my contest entry.  As someone who refuses to pay for cable television,  I became aware of Simon and his cable series first through print media reporting on the series, its excellent choice of soundtrack music (e.g. the Nighthawks, Steve Earle,  etc.) and later through his advocacy work on America's broken drug laws.  

Simon's wonderful liner notes gives you a real feel for Mr. Earle, not as some kind of American hero, but as a fallible human being, self taught intellectual and incongruously, a Texas-transplant Yankee fan.  Coming on the day that my Twins finally broke their 2013 losing streak versus the Yankees and the fact that Simon recalls the story of his attending a Twins-Orioles game at Camden Yards, a game the Twins won by the way, is sweet serendipity indeed.  Simon's liner notes, alone, are worth the price of admission.

Special thank you to Kyla at No Depression.

Travon Martin Verdict: Not Guilty, But Still Not Right

As a criminal defense attorney, the Travon Martin Case has a silver lining.  The jury system still works in this country.  From what I could follow from the media, the evidence was just not there.  There was reasonable doubt.   But this is a predictable outcome when you write a law that allows aggressors to execute their victims.

Whether you believe George Zimmerman was morally right in "standing his ground" and taking the life of an unarmed 17 year old young man or if you believe, like I do, that George Zimmerman was a cowardly, bigot of a punk ass loser who unnecessarily provoked a confrontation that did not have to happen, got his ass kicked by a kid who then used lethal force to extricate himself from the position he put himself into,  you have to respect the verdict, give appreciation to the six woman who honorably discharged their duty and question the wisdom of the Florida State Legislature.  This was a foreseeable outcome from an improvident, poorly crafted (by ALEC no doubt) rubber stamped piece of legislation.

Sadly it will take another latino or African American George Zimmerman and a white, middle or upper class version of  Travon Martin as a victim, to evoke sufficient empathy in the public, especially right wing Republicans, to howl like the cracker barrel bonobos they are and change the law.  Not because all of a sudden it became morally wrong, but because next time, and there will be a next time, it happened to one of their own.

Who Helped Bring Down the Berlin Wall: JFK, Lech Walesa, Pope John Paul II, Gorbachev, the German People and ...Springsteen!

Say What?  That's right all you Hip Hop Abs fans.  "Forget David Hasselhoff," says Erik Kirschbaum, author of Rocking the Wall, referring to the actor-singer whose single Looking for Freedom was No 1 in West Germany in the spring of 1989 – and who famously claimed he brought down the Berlin Wall. "Unlike Springsteen, Hasselhoff didn't go to East Berlin to perform...".   Despite what millions of Red State Americans have been spoon fed to believe, the role of a certain senile, but affable, Mommy fixated President has been grossly overestimated.  I mean, come on, do you really believe that Rotten Ronnie politely calling for the wall to come down a year before it happened was cause and effect:?  If so I have pieces of a certain bridge collapse er, I mean wall to sell to you.

"The highlight of Springsteen's four-hour concert, in which he played a total of 32 songs, was undoubtedly a passionate speech, delivered in a creaky but understandable German, that carried a subtle but clear political message. "I'm not here for any government. I've come to play rock'n'roll for you in the hope that one day all the barriers will be torn down," he said to a crowd that erupted, before he launched into Bob Dylan's Chimes of Freedom, whose lyrics – about the "city's melting furnace … with faces hidden while the walls were tightening" – could hardly have resonated more with his captive audience, many of whom the crowd waved homemade American flags."

To read more on the concert that helped change the world:

The night Bruce Springsteen played East Berlin – and the wall cracked

Bubba on the Big Ticket: Birthday Wishes to Bob Enos

July 4th is always a bittersweet holiday for me.  Sure I love the time of year, getting together with friends and family, music festivals, fireworks etc. However July 4th is also the birthday of Bob Enos, long time trumpet player in Roomful of Blues and countless sessions as a hired gun for the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughn, ZZ Top (unreleased), Pat Benatar, and Sugar Ray & the Bluetones just to name a few.

To be able to say "He Was a Friend of Mine" meant that you were indeed blessed; that your life was enriched not only musically but was made immensely more fun by the presence of Bubba.  Not that there wasn't a price to be paid:  your lungs were treated to the smoke of his constant cigar smoking and often you would have to witness the indignity of a good vodka being ruined by orange pop, but the balance sheet was always tipped in your favor to have had Bobby as your friend.

I have been blessed by the many friendships I have made over the years through Bob and I will always long for the magic that was one of their performances, the camaraderie that went on before during and after the shows and simply being able to hang with friends.  In an attempt to relive some of those moments I was cruising around the web today and came upon perhaps the best examples of one of music's best horn sections at their peak.  Backing Colin James, an under appreciated Canadian guitarist with impeccable taste in American music, as the Little Big Band is the Roomful Horns circa 1993 (Carl Querfurth, trombone; Rich Lataille, saxophone; Doug "Mr. Low" James, baritone, Greg Piccolo, tenor and Bob "Bubba" Enos) and Roomful's long time drummer, John Rossi.  To see the horn section that won so many W.C. Handy awards that they were retired from eligibility for the Blues most prestigious award, see the six part series:



Prt 1 COLIN JAMES and THE LITTLE BIG BAND on 'The Big Ticket' - TV SPECIAL 
Prt 2 - COLIN JAMES and THE LITTLE BIG BAND on 'The Big Ticket' - TV
Prt 3 - COLIN JAMES and THE LITTLE BIG BAND on 'The Big Ticket' - TV SPECIAL 1993
Prt 4 - COLIN JAMES and THE LITTLE BIG BAND on 'The Big Ticket' - TV 
Prt 5 - COLIN JAMES and THE LITTLE BIG BAND on 'The Big Ticket' - TV SPECIAL 1993
Prt 6 - COLIN JAMES and THE LITTLE BIG BAND on 'The Big Ticket' - TV SPECIAL 1993

R.I.P. Bobby "Blue" Bland: Plain Sense Reposts His Review of Bland's Last Show in Minneapolis 3 Years Ago This Month

• Posted by Plain Sense on June 25, 2013 at 4:50pm
• View Blog

It is with great sadness that I learned of the passing yesterday of one of the truly great talents in all of American music.  Bobby "Blue" Bland was a singer, composer, arranger and band leader.  More than all of that, he was a force of nature, a physical presence and musical influence of such immense proportions that he earned the respect of all those fortunate enough to have attended one of his concerts or listened in awe to one of his many classic LPs on the Duke label.  In honor of this great man, I repost my review of his concert at the Dakota in Minneapolis 3 years ago this month.  R.I.P. Bobby, you have earned it.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Bobby Blue Bland @ the Dakota: "I've Got You Covered, Baby."

Bobby Blue Bland @ the Dakota, March 31, 2010 (photo from somewhere in time).

The warm up act Divina and the Vagabonds: what at first blush is a pretty good Billie Holiday impression gets old quickly. Then again, maybe it wasn't a Billie Holiday impression at all just a bad overbite. Nice material and band, especially trumpet player kinda cool, like if Curtis A played trumpet.

Main Event:

The Man, old (80). The voice, still has it, but the legendary growl a little phlegmy. Incredible band including great 4 piece horn section, great rhythm section and killer guitarist. Bobby was assisted onstage where he performed seated. This put him at eye level with the rich white folks at the expensive tables. As soon as he turned on his mic, he transformed from a frail elderly man into what I call the Black Sinatra, except better band and better material. Talk about presence, and I don't mean the kind under the Christmas tree, he controlled the room, put down boisterous lady fans shouting "I love you Bobby!", to which he would reply in a Barry White baritone, "Bobby's got you covered". He did a little over an hour set hitting most of his big hits, which is saying alot but the best part of the evening is how he, good naturedly, at least outwardly, f**ked with the rich white folks. My peeps did not disappoint and rose to the level, making fools of themselves whether responding to Bobby's passive aggressive line of questioning: "Hey big fella, can you handle it?", "Are you married?" or "You ever get the blues?" or falling over from too many martinis like the rich corporate type sitting in front of me who rolled around on his back like a turtle, to his wife's horror, who quickly escorted the rich lite weight out before the end of the show.

Plain Sense Comments on No Depression Re: Favorite Steve Earle Song and Steve's New Box Set

      
Asking a Steve Earle fan to pick his favorite song is akin to asking a parent to pick their favorite child but what the hell here goes:   

I am partial to “I Feel Alright”. The opening verse of “…Now some of you would live through me Then lock me up and throw away the key Or just find a place to hide away And hope that I'll just go away Huh…” is autobiographical but also speaks to the generations of incarcerated  in this country for nothing more than a health problem aka drug addiction.  

I saw one of Steve’s last shows before he reported to prison (he warmed up for Los Lobos at First Ave in Mpls) and he was looking and sounding pretty rough and who could blame him.  Which is why Steve is an inspiration to me;  for taking control of his life, learning from his mistakes and for working for unpopular causes.  Truly a great  songwriter and musician but even a better man.

Enter to win a signed copy of 'Steve Earle: The Warner Bros. Years' box set courtesy of 

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Being Correct Does Not Make You Right, as Neither Being Right Does Not Make You Correct: How the Rejection of Outcome Determinism Makes for Very Strange Bedfellows

If someone were to  have told me that one day I would be an admirer of John Ashcroft or in agreement on anything with Anton Scalia, I would have not so politely suggested that you have your head examined.  Yet both those days have occurred and in some instances, on more than one occasion.  "But how can that be?", you may ask, "Plain Sense, our bastion of liberal virtue and defender of Constitutional Rights on the same side of issues with ultra right-wing, knuckle dragging ignoramus Neanderthals like Ashcroft and Scalia?"

"Well even a blind chicken can find a kernel of corn some days", you may be thinking to yourself, whether you are a supporter of the Ashcroft-Scalia crowd or an intellectual backer of truth, justice and the American way (i.e. Plain Sense supporter) and in either instance you would be wrong.  In this ever increasingly complicated world in which we live in (no as much as I would like  to, I am not going to break into the chorus of a James Bond movie theme from the Seventies) the Constitution sometimes makes for strange bedfellows.  That is if you stick to your beliefs and do not take the cowardly approach of Justice Breyer and run willy nilly hysterically down the road of outcome determinism.

The recent nomination of James Comey to be the next head of the FBI has caused me to again remember my great admiration for former Attorney General John Ashcroft when he called upon every last bit of strength left in his body to rebuke Cheney's henchmen who had invaded his ICU room at Georgetown University Hospital in an attempt to get him to countermand Comey's refusal to sign off on one of the greatest invasions of privacy ever to hit the American Public (i.e. Bush Administration's illegal interception of nearly all electronic communication).

Just yesterday I was again reminded, that as much as I sometimes abhor Justice Scalia's decisions on an individual issue, I grudgingly admire and respect his adherence to principle as he again demonstrated yesterday in the DNA case out of Maryland, albeit, sadly in the minority.  Which just goes to show you how the rejection of outcome determinism can make for very strange bedfellows. 

With that being said, you must excuse me now because I cannot resist in being something of a hypocrite:

When you were young and your heart was an open book
You used to say live and let live
(You know you did, you know you did you know you did)
But if this ever changing world in which we live in
Makes you give in and cry
Say live and let die
(Live and let die)
Live and let die
(Live and let die)
What does it matter to ya
When you got a job to do
You gotta do it well
You gotta give the other fellow hell
You used to say live and let live
(You know you did, you know you did you know you did)
But if this ever changing world in which we live in
Makes you give in and cry.