Music Review
solo mono
Dirk Hamilton

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Denny

solo_mono_cvr I’ve never seen Dirk Hamilton in person with a band. I’ve seen him twice with another guitarist and twice with no one else on stage period. Conversely, I’ve never listened to him without a band. OK, maybe “never” is a stretch but a bold print seldom sure isn’t. I own just about everything Dirk has released and it’s the rare track that doesn’t have at least a few top notch musicians backing him up. That’s not a bad thing. The tunes are served well by the added layers and the folks Dirk chooses to play with always add something to the mix. But listening to solo mono is kind of like a “being there” I can relate to.

Depending on who is counting and how they do it, this could be Dirk’s eighteenth release or maybe “only” his fifteenth or maybe something else. Counting solo studio albums is a lot easier. This is it. Dirk is an excellent performer and a darn good front man but his song writing is what has captured most of his fans. solo mono contains thirteen new songs though they’re not all entirely new to me. The album, released in June of 2012, contains several tunes I’d seen Dirk perform the previous October. I put off ordering solo mono thinking that our paths might cross again in the fall of 2012 and I’d buy it at a show. That didn’t work out so I finally did the mail order thing a few weeks ago and not long after I popped the CD into the player I was struck with “that’s just the way I remember it” thoughts.

As with just about any collection of Dirk Hamilton tunes, the lyrics range from insightful to comical with Hamiltonian wit and romanticism everywhere. At this point I intended to quote examples of wit and insight and the rest but I found myself going around in circles trying to make my selections. Instead, I’m going to cheat big time and just point to the lyrics for the entire album. They’re here. All of Dirks lyrics are on his website; From the “First off let me say that I get sick and I get bored” that opened his first album in 1976 through the “Tommy gun placed on a polka dot gown” that opens this one. I’ve always appreciated the fact that, almost from the moment he and the internet found each other, Dirk has made his lyrics available online. With packageless downloads steadily increasing, that is ever more important and something I wish more artists would do

There is Dirk style social/political commentary — usually oblique and sometimes cryptic — in songs like “Delete Deletions” and “Slow Suicide” and there are genuinely fun songs like “Nobody I Know” and “Jan Jan Janet”. Smack dab in the middle there is a five line splash of silliness in “The Pygmy Forest”. And there are love songs; Several love songs. I don’t like love songs but I like Dirk’s. I don’t know the inspirations behind “She Calls Me Bello”, “Our Sweet Love”, “Unreachable”, and “Kalea” though I’d bet they are real. Dirk’s heart writes quite a few songs for him.

The only instruments on the album are Dirk’s guitar, harmonica, and voice and I confess to having lower expectations because of that. I shouldn’t have because I know, from seeing him live and alone, that many of his tunes work just as well without layers of sound as with. And there is, of course, a certain advantage to having less between ears and lyrics.

It is always a treat to hear new Dirk Hamilton material in any form. I know there will be more stuff with a band (a CD with the Italian boys is already in the works) and I hope there will be more stuff like solo mono.

You can order the CD here or purchase its contents here. You can watch Dirk and Don Evans do a song from the album here and Dirk do a song not from the album (it’s from 1978’s Meet Me at the Crux) at that October, 2011, concert here.

Video Review
Going My Way
Chuck Land

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Denny

Going My Way cover I am even less qualified to review DVDs than I am to review CDs and books. That won’t stop me of course. I just thought you should know. Going My Way is Chuck Land’s take on the story of Larry and Tim Goshorn’s musical adventures. Chuck Land is the guy behind Landman Productions, The Chuck Land Show, and, as often as possible, a Hammond B3. Larry & Tim are the guitar playing siblings who have powered a few decades of music in Cincinnati and carried a lot of Cincinnati music a long long way from home. Those album covers on the DVD jacket represent music from the 1960’s Sacred Mushroom, through Pure Prairie League and the Goshorn Brothers Band, to their most recent duo recording Acoustic. In case you didn’t notice, those album covers are posed along the center line of a two lane highway.

This is a Cincinnati story. The brothers have been back in Cincinnati for many years now and so has Chuck. He and the Goshorns are close friends these days but much of the brothers’ story is outside of Chuck’s personal experience. Those bits he covers through period photos and interviews with people who were there. Recent parts of the story include Landman Production performance footage.

The documentary opens with Sacred Mushroom bassist Joe Stewart praising his former bandmate. Joe appears in the video several more times and talks about making music with Larry long before the Mushroom even existed as well as filling in some of the Sacred Mushroom story. Other persons interviewed include concert promoter and former Cincinnati Vice-Mayor Jim Tarbell and retired radio personality Gary Burbank. Tim and Larry are recorded talking about themselves, each other, and individuals they’ve performed with over the years. Other musicians and fans are also interviewed but, somewhat curiously, Rick “Bam” Powell is the only Goshorn Brothers Band member, other than the brothers, to talk to the camera. More understandable is the fact that no other members of Pure Prairie League are interviewed, either.

The DVD is packaged with a CD containing eight songs from throughout the Goshorns’ careers. The Pure Prairie League years are well represented with songs penned by Tim or Larry and first released by PPL but presented here in post-PPL versions. It’s a nice sampler.

No matter where you live, it’s all but certain that you have heard some Goshorn music. If you’ve lived around Cincinnati, there is also a darned good chance that you have seen one or both Goshorns perform at a club, concert, or festival. Going My Way offers a look on the other side of the speakers and serves up a lot of history on this pair of talented and significant Cincinnati music makers. Find it here.

Book Review
Indiana Cars
Dennis & Terri Horvath

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Denny

Indiana Cars cover Yes, I am late to the party. This book on Indiana’s automotive history was published in 2002 but, since it’s about old cars, none of the history has changed and the cars have only gotten older.

I learned of and purchased the book when one of its authors performed guide duty on a tour that was part of the Lincoln Highway Centennial Kickoff in Indianapolis. On that tour, Dennis Horvath took us to many of the city’s automotive landmarks and this book contains all of those and more. Though few might consider Indiana Cars light reading, it is certainly interesting reading. Dennis knows automotive history. And he really knows Indiana automotive history.

There is a tremendous amount of it. At one time second only to Michigan in automobile production, Indiana has been home to more than 400 vehicle brands. Some are still widely recognized — Stutz, Studebaker, Duesenberg. Other, such as Lexington, Flandermobile, and Empire, are pretty much forgotten outside of hardcore automotive circles and the pages of this book. Similarly, Indiana had plenty of automobile pioneers. Louis Chevrolet, Harry Stutz, and Eddie Rickenbacker are fairly well known; Guys like Elwood Haynes, Charles Black, and Louis Schwitzer not so much. They’re all there in Indiana Cars.

There is an introduction and “A General Overview by Decade” to get things started. That overview begins in the 1890s. It talks of the overall automotive industry and Indiana’s role in it. There are lots of numbers. It was this I had most in mind when I said that some folks would not consider the book light reading. Statistics are necessary, of course, in showing growth and relationships. The Horvaths do a good job of presenting them but they are still numbers. Numbers don’t make for exciting reading but they make for a good reference book and that’s a role Indiana Cars plays quite well.

Indiana Cars sample Once the background is set, the book moves onto the various manufacturers. Not every mark ever built in the state is covered but there are sizable sections on what the Horvaths consider “Significant Automobiles”. The reading isn’t so dry now. There are fairly lengthy articles on the likes of Duesenberg and Studebaker and shorter ones on others. The book is well illustrated with photographs and clippings from period literature. Facts are seasoned with entertaining anecdotes. Joe Cole got his first car running and took off without installing the brakes. Lack of fuel finally stopped it after many laps around Monument Circle in Indianapolis. In 1891, Charley Black’s six-block drive in a Benz included crashing into both a surrey and a shop window. Those were the good old days.

Trucks built in Indiana have a section as do military vehicles. Many of those pioneering Hoosiers who put Indiana near the front of the early automotive development are covered, too. Appendices include listings of all Indiana cars, major milestones, and other items.

Indiana Cars excels as a source of information The book most likely contains the answer to whatever questions you may have about the automotive industry in Indiana. Car nuts will find it entertaining. They and history buffs will find it educational. Those in neither group may find it a wee bit dry.

Indiana Cars: A History of the Automobile in Indiana, Dennis E. Horvath and Terri Horvath, Hoosier Auto Show & Swap Meet Inc. (printed by Jackson Press), 2002, hardback, 8.8 x 11.2 inches, 198 pages, ISBN 978-0964436459
Available through Amazon.

Music Review
Not of Seasons
Mississippi Charles Bevel

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Denny

Not of Seasons - cover I went to see Hank Williams: Lost Highway last week. The first sound that came from the stage wasn’t the voice of Hank or his mother or the cry of a pedal steel guitar. When the lights dimmed and the play began, it was the pure voice of Mississippi Charles Bevel that came unfaltering from the darkness. Bevel plays Tee-Tot, Williams’ mentor. The CD that this post claims to review is not new. It’s a dozen years old and I don’t recall ever hearing of it or Charles Bevel before last Wednesday.

I was quite sincere in writing that I’d never before heard of Charles Bevel but there’s a strong possibility that it’s not entirely true. I’ve not seen the Broadway show It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues but I’ve certainly heard of it. Bevel co-wrote that and starred in it so there’s a decent chance that I’ve seen his name somewhere before. On Wednesday, though, I knew nothing of Bevel’s history and was simply wowed by his voice. He wasn’t the star of the show in any normal sense but he was the cast member who impressed me the most musically and there were some fine musicians in that cast.

I made two wishes during the show and both came true. One, some of those CDs I’d seen for sale on the way in were Bevel’s and, two, he was among the cast members in the lobby collecting money for charities. Better yet, my cheap seat made me one of the last to exit and the crowd was thinning as I headed out. My reward was an autograph and a short conversation. “All the words are in there,” the singer said as he returned the signed CD, “so you can sing along.” That was my first hint that there was more to this CD and this man than just another pretty voice.

I listened to a Hank Williams CD on the drive home. When I finally listened to my new purchase a couple of days later, it was immediately obvious that this guy had some heavy-duty musicians backing him up. And with each song it became more and more apparent that he was working with some heavy-duty material, too. By the time I checked the credits, I was simply verifying what had become more than a suspicion. Behind that Wednesday night hint was the fact that Mississippi Charles Bevel had written every tune.

A closer looked at the credits revealed even more of my ignorance. More than twenty musicians appear in the credits and I didn’t recognize a one. These are not unknown musicians. They were simply unknown to me. Toss some of the names in a search engine and you’ll discover folks who have played with the likes of John Denver, Delaney & Bonnie Bramlett, The Commodores, Nora Jones, and on and on. Every performance on Not of Seasons is top-notch and maybe it’s natural to wonder how can all these people I’ve never heard of make such great music but I’m kind of used to it. There are a lot of great musicians whose names I recognize but I also know there are plenty more that I’ve so far completely missed.

It’s a big group with multiple saxophones, trumpet, trombone, and a small choir that delivers “I’m a Lover”, the upbeat opening track. Bevel actually co-wrote this song — with James Mabone — for the Staple Singers. I know it’s the saxophone that does it but Bevel’s version sounds rather Springsteenesque to me. The next tune, “Dreams”, is a little slower and just slightly exotic sounding. It made me think of early Terence Trent D’Arby and I found myself thinking of D’Arby at various other points in the CD. I don’t believe any other track equals the opener in troop size but several come close. That choir returns for three more songs and horns, various keyboards, and guitars abound. One cut has a sousaphone; Another a cello. None are gimmicks. They are there because they belong.

Bevel’s strong voice sounds great backed by a room full of musicians but it may be easier to appreciate with pared down backing. “Woman” is just him and a piano. Other tracks include little more than a guitar and/or piano.

Back in the 1970s Bevel recorded a CD for A&M but even before the big promotional tour he realized that wasn’t what he wanted. He essentially walked away to be what he wanted to be and that’s exactly what he is. And the songs on Not of Seasons are what he wants to write and what he wants to sing. Calling it blues isn’t incorrect but it’s also gospel, soul, funk, pop, and folk. The lyrics are as strong as his voice. They can be insightful.

I heard a voice speak to me
Say, come over here to the land of the free
Land of the free and the home of the brave
But I see cowards and I smell slaves

And some might make your mind swivel unexpectedly.

Lord, Jesus and sex are both friends of mine

Some are just fun.

Making love, it ain’t magic
If you don’t know what to do it can be tragic

All are delightful.

There’s a two-man live version of the title track here. The album can be found here but Mississippi Charles Bevel spends a lot of time acting these days and it’s a lot more fun to buy it first hand after a performance.

Book Review
Route 66 Encyclopedia
Jim Hinckley

Posted on December 12, 2012 by Denny

Route 66 Encyclopedia - cover E-N-C-Y-C-L-O-P-E-D-I-A
I can’t look at this book without hearing Jiminy Cricket singing. I’ve never read an entire encyclopedia (Including this one — yet) but thanks to Pinocchio’s little bitty buddy, I can spell the word.

I’ll confess to being a little leery every time I hear of a new Route 66 book. How many books does one road need? I think I was doubly leery of this ambitious project because, as Jiminy says, an encyclopedia contains “everything from A clear down through Z” and that’s a tall order. Well, Jiminy… I mean Jim seems to have done a pretty good job covering the alphabet and I’ve once again discovered that Route 66 needed at least one more book.

The encyclopedia made a good impression before I ever read a word. It’s a fairly large hardback with full color glossy pages. The book’s first page folds out to present a three panel map of the entire road lined with photos and images from postcards, maps, and brochures. It is well illustrated throughout with modern photographs from Jim and wife Judy and lots of historic images from collectors Joe Sonderman, Steve Rider, and Mike Ward. It looks like Rider, at least, also contributed some modern photos. I probably ought to mention that I personally know all those guys and Jim, too, but I don’t believe I owe any of them money.

As might be expected, the entries are in alphabetical order and the starting page of each letter can be determined from the table of contents. Only ‘X’ is a no-show. ‘Q’ and ‘Z’ get one page each and ‘C’ gets thirty. The rest get something in between. There is a large letter at the outer top corner of each page to further help with locating topics. There is also an index but it is a bit unusual, at least in my experience. Rather than a single alphabetical list, there are sub-lists for people, places (further divided by state), other, and publications. It’s quite usable but it seems like it could get awkward if there were many more divisions or longer lists.

I expected to encounter some new stuff here and I certainly did. The book starts and ends with things I’d not heard of: Missouri’s Abbylee Motel and New Mexico’s Zuzax trading post. There are plenty more in between. Among the many entries that weren’t at all familiar to me are quite a few defunct businesses such as Drumm’s Auto Court in Arizona and the Premiere Motel in New Mexico, several vanished communities including Des Peres, MO, Lela, TX, and Siberia, CA, and at least a few humans. I don’t recall ever hearing of businessman Arthur Nelson and, while it seems like I must have at least read about “father of the good roads movement” Horatio Earle, I sure didn’t recognize the name. On the other hand, a couple searches for folks I did know of came up empty but I believe that, too, is to be expected. It really isn’t possible to include absolutely everything and choices must be made. Every “Best Beatles Songs” list I’ve ever seen has left off at least one of my favs.

Route 66 Encyclopedia - sample 1 This is not my first exposure to Hinckley’s work and, as I’ve said before, the man does his homework. Of course, everybody knows about the Gemini Giant and it’s not too tough to learn that it was made by International Fiberglass. But learning how many cowboys the company made for Phillips Petroleum and how they managed to make some giants with beards and some without and that the company’s founder once set a world record in sailing? That takes some digging. And practically any book with 66 on the cover will tell you how Cyrus Avery was instrumental in getting the pair of sixes for the route after the desired Highway 60 designation was assigned elsewhere. Hinckley does that and also tells us quite a bit about some of his other activities such as his prior role in creation of the Albert Pike Highway and his subsequent role in helping form the U.S. 66 Highway Association. Incidentally, although I have not read every article in the encyclopedia, that is the only mention of the U.S. 66 Highway Association I found. Its post-WWII spark plug, Jack Cutberth, was one of the names I thought I might see in the book but didn’t.

Route 66 Encyclopedia - sample 2 Even without Cutberth, the Route 66 Encyclopedia includes an impressive number and range of articles and many of those articles go into significant depth. The writing isn’t flowery but neither is it terse. It’s lean and efficient. The goal is to get as much factual information between the covers as possible and keep it readable. Hinckley does that rather well. Moreover, I think you’d probably still get your money’s worth if you decided to forgo the text altogether and just look at the pictures.

Encyclopedia Britannica always had yearbooks. (To my surprise, I just learned they still do.) The Route 66 Encyclopedia has updates here. They can also be accessed through a QR code on the back of the book.

The Route 66 Encyclopedia, Jim Hinckley, Voyageur Press, 2012, hardback, 11.1 x 8.7 inches, 288 pages, ISBN 978-0760340417
Available through Amazon.

Book Review
Ten Million Steps on Route 6
Joe Hurley & Travis Lindhorst

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Denny

Ten Million Steps - cover “It’s not the destination but the journey.”
“Life begins at the off ramp.”
“Getting there is half the fun.”
Most people who visit this website are probably familiar with those and similar quotes. How about “Friends don’t let friends walk the interstate”?

I and a lot of folk I know preach about taking back roads and slowing down. Joe Hurley took that idea a few million steps further and not only stopped to smell the roses, he saw them get watered and watched them grow if only a smidgen. Starting at the east end of the longest US highway that ever existed, Joe spent about eight months walking its full length. He didn’t really count each step or measure each mile but 10,000,000 of one and 3600 of the other are believable round number estimates. While Joe was walking, Travis Lindhorst, his camera wielding partner, was driving. Joe was within hailing range of sixty and Travis was twenty-seven. Perhaps that saying about wisdom coming with age is not universally true.

This is not a guide book. There are some maps but they are not of a scale suitable for navigation. They’ll show you that US 6 goes through the north part of Indiana and the south part of Nebraska but that’s pretty much the limit of their detail. And Joe does occasionally mention where he slept or ate but the mentions are neither regular nor recommendations. The book resembles a collection of newspaper columns. Some bits that now appear in the book were, in fact, published as stand alone articles during the trip to help finance it but many were composed well after the walk was over.

Hurley retired as a columnist for a Danbury, Connecticut, newspaper shortly before starting his 2004 cross country walk so it is natural that this book is a compilation of column-like articles. As I read Ten Million Steps…, I was reminded of collections I’ve read from another newspaperman, Ernie Pyle. For several years before the start of World War II, Pyle was a popular travel writer. He posted his personal human interest style observations from wherever he happened to be. Joe Hurley’s observations seem a lot like Pyles although they are 70+ years newer and organized in a single line rather than a wild scatter pattern. As presented in this book there is another big difference. Ernie Pyle didn’t have Travis Lindhorst beside him.

Ten Million Steps - sample Sometimes Lindhorst’s photos are coordinated tightly with Hurley’s text and sometimes they just represent the general area. Either way they are always wonderful additions to the story. Some would be right at home in a super-wide hardback coffee table book but then I probably couldn’t afford it. The fairly large format paperback with glossy pages serves the photos well in an affordable package.

Route 6 goes through big cities like Cleveland and Chicago and Hurley neither bypasses them or ignores them in his writing but most of the stories come from the small towns and open spaces in between. He talks with the manager of a bookstore in Yarmouthport, MA, an auctioneer in Foster, RI, and the manager of a tiny theater in Newtown, CT. He stops by the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in New York and a little league game in Pennsylvania. In Galton, PA, he talks with a women who tells him “I spent 16 years scrimping and saving to get out of here then I spent the next 16 years scrimping and saving to get back.” Out west Hurley looks over the remains of Topaz, a WWII Japanese interment camp and walks through a snow storm while covering the all but empty 160 miles between Ely and Tonopah, NV. In between were a lot more towns, a lot more people, and a lot more country. Two locations that Joe counted among his favorites are the Rialto Theater in the not-all-that-small town of Joiet, IL, and Glenwood Canyon in Colorado. Of the latter, Joe says, “I’ve traveled across the United States and nothing has beguiled me more than Glenwood Canyon.”

Joe and Travis and Route 6 and the Geo Metro that Travis used to drop off and pick up Joe each day all made it to California. Only Joe and Travis made it to the coast. In 1964, Route 6 was truncated and Bishop, CA, became its western terminus. Joe and Travis said goodbye to the work-horse Geo when the brakes pretty much vanished during a side trip to Death Valley. To meet their now firm end date, they left the ten year old car with a junkyard mechanic who promised to repair the car and give it to an elderly gal in need of transportation. After the run of its life, the red Geo just might be fetching groceries at the edge of Death Valley.

The current US Highway 6 may officially end just over the California line but the pavement it once followed west is still there and Joe kept right on walking until he reached the Pacific Ocean at Long Beach. West of Bishop, the former US 6 now goes by names like CA 395 and CA 14.

Back on Cape Cod, the traveling odd couple had dipped their hands in the Atlantic. At the end of the Pine Street Pier, they dipped them in the Pacific then Joe and his wife spent a couple of nights on the Queen Mary. I’m guessing that Joe spent a significant amount of his shipboard time with his feet propped up.

Route 6 is a great road. The few sections I’ve driven (MA, PA, UT) have gone through some mighty pretty country and I’m very glad that Hurley chose it for his walk. But I’ll still risk saying that this book could have been written in large degree on several roads other than US 6. Route 6 took Joe across the whole country and gave him a bigger than average sample size but the the book is not about directions and turns. It’s about people and places and steps and stories and it’s a darned good read. More information at route6walk.com.

Ten Million Steps on Route 6, Joe Hurley and Travis Lindhorst, Arkett Publishing, 2012, paperback, 8.5 x 11 inches, 240 pages, ISBN 978-0981678165

Music Review
Raise Your Hands
Long Tall Deb

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Denny

Solid! That word entered my head the instant I heard the snare drum snap that starts of the first track of Raise Your Hands and it stuck with me throughout that first listen. It comes back on every repeat listen and sometimes when I just think about this album. Yep, I’m pretty sure solid is the right word to describe Deb Landolt’s second studio effort.

Thanks to my minor support of the Kickstarter project that helped birth this CD, I got to listen to the finished product a little ahead of its official release. An email arrived on Thanksgiving eve with a link to the MP3 files. The next morning, I took them with me on the drive to a holiday feast with friends. I hit play as I settled onto I-71 and got slapped by that snare before I could set the cruise control. The bass punch came half a second later and we were rolling.

And we kept rolling. There are twelve tracks on the CD; All but two written by Deb and a collaborator or three. When the last one finished, I realized, with a certain amount of surprise, that I had not mentally noted a weak spot. I almost always listen to a new CD straight through but it seems that more often than not a track or two will register as something I just may skip during replays. That didn’t happen here and subsequent listens verified that I had not just slept through a dud. All the tunes are keepers and they offer plenty of the “soul, gospel and swamp” that Long Tall Deb is known for. They’re rarely sharply separated but are, instead, deliciously stirred together. The title track is a bit swampy, tastes a lot like gospel, and is filled with soul. The wonderful “To Find His Home” is gospel of the highest order but even it takes a little stroll through the swamp as it gets cooking. The two covers are well chosen. The closing track is Tom Waits’ “New Coat of Paint”. The other cover, “Muddy Jesus”, is an very cool tune by Austin based guitarist Ian Moore.

There is a solid set of talent to go with that solid set of material. In addition to Deb, I counted twenty-five musicians listed in the credits. Drummer Jan Roll and bassist Melvin Powe provided the snap and punch that got my attention at start up and they form the rhythm section for all original tunes. Guitarists David Clo and Sean Carney also appear on all the originals as does keyboardist John Popivich.

I’ve mentioned just five names which means another twenty of Deb’s friends make guest appearances on Raise Your Hands. Names that I recognized include Colin John, Damon Fowler, Jimmy Thackery, & Reese Wynans and I probably should have recognized a lot more. In the Kickstarter updates that Deb occasionally sent as recording progressed, it was apparent that she was working hard but having fun, too. One look at the list of musicians she shared the studio with makes it obvious that having fun was practically unavoidable.

But it is Deb’s voice that drives the album. It is, of course, like everything else here, solid. It is also powerful. I’ve seen her voice described as powerful but not overpowering. Good description. You never get the feeling that she’s holding back but you always have the feeling that there’s more available. Same with emotion. The celebration of “Train to Tucson” and the relief of “Finally Forgot Your Name” come from different ends of the emotion scale and Deb gets them both just right. I think that’s called soulful.

I’m pretty bummed that I won’t be able to attend the Columbus CD release party on December 8. That should be quite a party. The CD (both real and downloadable) is to be available on December 4 (wrong – see below) at CDBaby, iTunes, and Amazon. You will be able to listen to some samples at those sites or you can listen to it blast out of my car windows as I head up I-71 again this weekend.

UPDATE: November 30, 2012 – Had I waited just a bit, I would have learned that a national release in December is not to be. Distribution negotiations are ongoing and look as if they will lead to general availability around mid-March. The December 8 release party in Columbus is for real and copies of the CD will be available there as well as at other live appearances. It will likely also be available at LongTallDeb.com well in advance of the spring time release. Sorry about the false start.

Book Review
Stay on Route 6
Malerie Yolen-Cohen

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Denny

Much like the subject highway, my opinion of Stay on Route 6 has gone “coast to coast”. In the end, I settled slightly inland on the positive side.

I was pretty excited when I first learned that an established travel writer had published a book on US 6. My excitement faded as I read the introduction and it was replaced with disappointment after I’d read a few pages of the “guide” portion. I paused then took a look at the blog the author had launched as she prepared for the cross-country trip that would become this book. This somehow allowed me to let go of my preconceptions and accept the book for what it is. It is not a guide to the bypassed twists and turns of a historic highway. It is a guide to food, lodging, and attractions along the current path of a highway with history.

The seeds for recognizing my preconceptions were planted as I read the book’s introduction. That’s where Yolen-Cohen tells readers that Route 6 is not Route 66 and details some of the differences. The need to do this may be irritating but it is a fact. For many people, the only roads they know of are the interstates, some local streets that lead to jobs and shopping, and a mythic Route 66. It is a wonderful thing that Route 66 has the recognition that it does but it sometimes blurs people’s perception of other roadways. I am quite familiar with the phenomenon. I have had several conversations with folks who expected the Lincoln Highway, the National Road, or the Dixie Highway to be just another Route 66 and were disappointed that they are not. It turns out I was guilty of something similar. I don’t believe it was anything in the actual blog that did it but as I read some of the early entries I realized that my disappointment in the book wasn’t very different from that of those travelers. I wasn’t disappointed in the book because it was a bad guide but because it was not like the guides I was familiar with for Route 66 and other historic highways.

So once I got my own expectations adjusted, I found that the book was pretty good at doing what Yolen-Cohen intended. It covers the entire route, offers some casual commentary on the country along the way, and describes most cities and towns it passes through. Sleeping and eating establishments are noted with a distribution that should ensure no one using this guide goes hungry or has to sleep in their car. The emphasis is on locally owned businesses and the owners are typically identified right along with their bistro or B&B. Yolen-Cohen met these people on her 2011 drive so her recommendations have a personal touch. Nearby attractions are also identified and I very much appreciate the effort to visit and describe local museums. I like local museums. Contact information including, where possible, address, phone number, and website, is included for each restaurant, lodging, and attraction.

I can’t swear to there not being other travel guides created as this one was but I don’t know of any. Guides like the ones I mentioned for faded historic routes are typically put together by someone intimately familiar with the road through years of exploration. On the other hand, my impression is that many dining and lodging guides are put together by someone sitting at a desk using a phone and computer to gather recommendations from chambers of commerce and other boosters. Yolen-Cohen certainly did some recommendation gathering but she did it specifically for her trip. She selected and scheduled almost all of her stops before leaving home then colored things in with a single cross country run.

I like that. I like the idea of a single road trip — even one meticulously planned — giving birth to a travel guide. Yolen-Cohen describes this as a lifelong dream. A little innocence even shines through the possibly jaded view of the experienced travel writer. At least it does in the blog. The blog (stayonroute6.blogspot.com) is part of the whole. The book contains some low-resolution maps and some black-and-white photos. The maps help with mentally placing general locations but a traveler is expected to follow the route with posted signs and modern maps. Similarly, the photos help us understand some of what Yolen-Cohen saw on her trip but little more. This is a black-and-white paperback guidebook, not a full-color photo book. It belongs on a car seat, not on a coffee table. But Yolen-Cohen did take color photos and video, too. Both appear on the blog and are worth checking out.

There are few turn-by-turn directions in the book. They are not needed since it is following an active and signed US highway. That is until it isn’t. US 6 was once truly coast-to-coast and ran from the tip of Massachusetts to Long Beach, California. In 1964 the western end was truncated to Bishop, California. Yolen-Cohen carries on, however, and does provide turn-by-turn instructions for following the former US 6 to the coast.

I don’t know of any significant errors in the book but I do know of two insignificant ones. At least they should be insignificant. It’s even possible they would have gone unnoticed if the author hadn’t gone out of her way to draw attention to them. The first one is in the introduction and is partly responsible for me almost giving up on this book early. Calling an “association” a “society” sets the stage for Yolen-Cohen’s joke about the “unfortunately acronym’d ASSHO”. I’m sure this was a legitimate mistake but the fourteen months between the goof’s appearance in the blog and the book’s publication seems ample time to realize that the organization in question is the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO).

The second is when the author berates a Joliet, Illinois, museum that touts US 66 for not also touting US 6. This seems a little off-key since the differences between a historic decommissioned Route 66 and a living breathing Route 6 have been duly stressed. But it turns even more sour with the realization that, despite claims that the museum “occupies the corner of Route 66 and Route 6”. US 6, according to all maps I’ve checked, never gets within half a mile of the museum. A living breathing US 30 does pass by the museum. There isn’t a US 30 section in the museum, either, but a Lincoln Highway (US 30’s predecessor in these parts) display has just been added.

But, even though these errors are quite annoying to me personally, they do not make the book less useful. Anyone looking for a place to eat or sleep anywhere along this long highway can certainly benefit from Stay on Route 6 and the number of museums and other attractions included makes it valuable for sightseeing, too. It’s kind of refreshing to see a guide for a highway that hasn’t been declared dead by someone.

Stay on Route 6, Malerie Yolen-Cohen, CreateSpace, May 2012, paperback, 5.5 x 8.5 inches, 257 pages, ISBN 978-1468049398
Available through Amazon.

Music Review
Prelude
Ronstadt Generations

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Denny

I’ve intended to review Prelude, the latest from Ronstadt Generations, ever since it came out in July. But almost immediately, a Route 66 road trip got in the way then the quick appearance and disappearance of a related opportunity caused me to push it way to the side. It took doing a review of a newer album to remind me that this was on deck.

Technically, Ronstadt Generations is Michael J. Ronstadt and his two sons, Michael G. and Petie, but there are so many musicians in their world that it seems the trio rarely performs or records entirely alone. This recording benefits from some fellows that the Ronstadts often perform with in their home town of Tuscon, Arizona. When they aren’t touring, the Ronstadts perform each Monday at the Chicago Bar. They have taken to referring to the informal group that has been accompanying them and holding down the stage during their absences as Los Tucsonenses. Los Tucsonenses turn Ronstadt Generations into a full band and really flesh out Prelude.

At some point in that Route 66 trip, I realized that there was a good chance the return leg would put me near Tucson on a Monday. This was the fleeting opportunity I referred to in the opening paragraph. I was excited at the possibility of seeing Ronstadt Generations y Los Tucsonenses performing together. The excitement peaked when my Monday in Tuscon looked certain and faded when I learned that the Ronstadts would be touring in Ireland while I was in Arizona. I did go to the Chicago Bar and saw members of Los Tusconenses with other vocalists and under another name. The fact that they were great took the edge off of my disappointment at missing the Ronstadts but it didn’t eliminate it. I think that maybe it was almost seeing Ronstadt Generations y Los Tucsonenses that made me forget about reviewing Prelude for so long.

The Ronstadt Generations website features the slogan “History Through Music”. Packaging for their first CD, Lulo, tells us that “Ronstadt Generations exists to explore the music traditions of a family through time by keeping alive what was and exploring what is to come.” Those sentiments are evident in Prelude. “What was” is addressed by several tunes from the last century and the one (at least) before that. The source of two songs, both sung in Spanish by Michael J, is “Traditional”. A total of seven tracks are covers. “What is to come” gets essentially equal attention with six tunes penned by the Ronstadts.

All three sing, play multiple instruments, and write. Each contributed songs to Prelude. Perhaps in the interest of fairness, each writer has two tunes on the CD. Their writing styles do differ. Songs from Michael G, the classically trained cellist, contain a touch of complexity with slightly cryptic lyrics. Michael J’s songs tell stories and are usually fairly straightforward in doing it. They, and their writer, might seem pretty much at home around an Arizona campfire. Petie’s stuff is somewhere in the middle.

As part of the core trio, Michael G’s cello does set Ronstadt Generations somewhat apart. Sometimes it’s in front leading the song but it also floats in the background adding depth and smoothness. On this CD, the always impressive guitar work of Petie and Michael J gets some help from Johnny Blommer and the saxophone of Alex Flores adds that something extra to several tracks. Bassist Sam Eagon and drummer Aaron Emery provide a firm foundation for everybody else though Emery’s tasteful fills frequently shine through.

Each Ronsadt takes the vocal lead on songs they’ve written and each sounds good. But a real “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts” element kicks in when the three voices are joined. This happens a bunch but might happen a little more readily on the covers than on songs whose “owner” is present. The harmonies on Stephen Stills’ For What It’s Worth are impressive; Those on Stills’ Find The Cost of Freedom even more so. Here the voices are accompanied only by Pitz Quattrone’s didgeridoo. Beautiful.

Find The Cost of Freedom fades seamlessly into Joe Glazer’s The Mill was Made of Marble which flows directly into Petie Ronstadt’s Like a River for a CD ending medley that showcases everything that makes this recording so listenable; Nicely layered voices and instruments on ear catching songs old and new. The three Ronstadts are accomplished solo artists. Together, they form a polished “family band”. Prelude is a nice example of what they can do with a little help from their friends.

Music Review
Modern Vintage
The Newbees

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Denny

Modern Vintage is the name of the latest Newbees’ CD. This post is ostensibly a review of that CD but there’s some concert/venue/band/radio in the mix, too.

Over the last few years, WNKU has pretty much replaced another local NPR station in my heart and in my ears. I made it official a while back by donating a few bucks and becoming a “member”. Among other things, that put me on a mailing list that includes invitations to be part of the studio audience for their Monday night broadcast-live Studio 89 concerts. I finally got around to asking for a seat for the fourth concert of the current series. I made the cut.

The performers at that October 8 concert would be the Newbees. I’d heard of the band but didn’t really know much about them. Before sending in my request, I spent a little time on the internet learning that this was a group I’d almost certainly like. Online videos include things like the quintet doing a bunch of Beatles tunes backed by a high school orchestra plus plenty of performances of original material. This was not your run of the mill garage band.

The setting for the Studio 89 concerts is inside a room called the Griffin Hall Digitorium. I believe digitorium translates to “really cool and intimate state-of-the-art place for concerts”. Counting the attendees would have been easy but I never got around to it. I was part of the group occupying three rows of theater style seats facing the stage. Each row has maybe 10-15 seats. Between the seats and the stage are some tables where host Pam Temple and a few VIPs sit. That space is also home to video cameras and other gear. I have no idea how or when the multi-camera video is used.

And now, at last, some words about the CD. It makes me smile.

A Modern Vintage CD release party had been planned for Saturday, October 6, during the grand opening weekend of a new/relocated venue, Southgate House Revival. Last minute construction issues caused that to be cancelled on Friday so the Studio 89 appearance was something of an introduction for the CD and very much a disappointment reducer for the band. The five core members were psyched and ready and so were the half dozen (3 horns, 3 strings) backing musicians. I’d heard one cut on the radio and a couple on the internet but I heard more of the CD’s songs for the first time as they were broadcast live from the Digitorium. They sounded great and, with a CD obtained after the concert, I could later verify that they sounded “just like the record”.

The CD’s title is a good one. I said that it makes me smile and part of the reason is the music’s “vintage” aspects. It’s more of a vintage feel than a vintage sound. The songs are new. The sound is “modern”. Some of the tunes do remind me a bit of stuff that came from my AM radio “when I wore a younger man’s clothes”. They’re not the same songs. They’re not knockoffs of those songs. They don’t even sound quite like the songs from my youth. But they do feel like them.

All five Newbees write. Visit the Bio page of their website and you’ll see them distinguished by their primary instruments; two guitars, bass, drums, keys. Then they are all tagged with “Vocals” and “Songwriter”. The packaging doesn’t identify who wrote individual songs on the CD but there is no doubt that everyone contributed. It really does seem like a musical team.

Tracks range from dance-able rockers like Up All Night and Don’t Knock It (‘Til You Try It) to sway-able stuff like Nevermore and Goodbye Sun. Some are really “sticky”. In the last week, I’ve frequently heard Medicine Show, Nobody to Blame, and others playing inside my head. Though some pretty serious topics appear (Medicine Show immediately comes to mind), the entire CD has a fun feel. I’ve often said that nothing helps me like music more than knowing the folks producing it are having fun. I saw the Newbees having fun on stage and I can hear them having fun on this CD. That is, of course, another reason it makes me smile.

It is almost impossible to write about the Newbees without bringing in the Beatles. Over the years, the group has put a lot of time and energy into faithfully reproducing Beatle tunes and they’ve impressed crowds at nostalgia fueled events like Abbey Road on the River. They even included some Beatles in the off the air conclusion of the Studio 89 concert. This aspect of the band was in my mind as I listened to Modern Vintage for the first time. I guess I was actually listening for the Beatles but I didn’t quite hear them. I heard songs the the Beatles could have done and some that I told myself could have fit on this or that specific album. I did not hear copies or knockoffs. By the second or third listening I was hearing the Eagles, Leon Russell, Paul Simon, and probably every other musician who, along with the Beatles, influenced the members of the Newbees. I’m pretty sure that Find, the CD’s final cut, could have been covered by Peter, Paul & Mary. The Newbees are indeed a great Beatles cover/tribute band but they are so very much more.

Things came together at Southgate House Revival and the “Rescheduled Album Release Shindig” is, according to the Newbees site, set for November 21 though it’s not yet shown on the Southgate House Revival site. Hope they catch up soon so I can order my ticket.

UPDATE: 27-Oct-2012 – The Southgate House Revival site did catch up and tickets are available here. However, just as I was about to place my order, an email arrived telling me that Cincinnati legend Larry Goshorn would be playing a retirement gig that same night. I’d love to catch the Southgate party but Larry’s “farewell” wins this conflict. Good luck, Newbees, with the CD release. I know I’ll see you in the future.

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