So… Greta is having fun with the Buffalo game. Which, frankly, is a cool game, but which I got to a bit late. My entry was “The New Vinton County Frogwhompers Marching, Singing, Strumming And Plucking Buffalo, Incorporated” (If you read Greta’s rules, you’ll understand).
The Frogwhompers (for short) were a “New-Grass” band–bluegrass, but with modern influences, from the Beatles to the Grateful Dead to The Monkees… I saw them in concert, and bought (and had autographed!) their album.
So… First off, the Frogwhompers– “Sweet Ohio”, by Jim McGaw (one of the Frogwhompers, so one of their original songs):
This was within a year of when I saw them, so these are the Frogwhompers I remember. Original songs, but also traditional and covers. I don’t know whether “Dark Hollow” counts as traditional or as cover, but the Grateful Dead did a version, and so did the Frogwhompers:
The Frogwhompers were fantastic… which musicians did you see locally, who could have (we won’t go into “should have”) made it big? I have another band I’ll save for the comments; I want to know yours.
Oh hell, there are so many. That’s the thing about playing in small time band for years, over and over you end up sharing a gig with folks who leave you gobsmaked with their talent, and then you never hear of them again. Why, it’s enough to make one cynical about the music biz! /sarcasm
The Minstrals on Speed. The sound dates them to a very particular time and the hook of the song “jacking deer” refers to the practice of shining a bright spot light to freeze deer in their tracks so they can be shot. It’s a practice that’s done the world over but I believe that phrase for it is a Canadian prairie thing. It was a good description if how I responded to their live shows too, especially when Kelly M, the female singer did her feature songs, the hair stood up on the back of my neck from the power of those tunes every fucking time despite having gigged with them dozens of times.
The Enigmas. Just a couple of years before my time as a performer. One of those bands that would leave you wrung out and dripping at the end of the set. Fantastically compelling live performers.
Jerry Jerry and the Sons of Rythmn Orchestra. Not the best video of them, but it features their drummer who has the dubious honour of having a song written about him by one of my bands. Broke a bone in my foot dancing at on of their gigs. Bought a shot of tequila, laced my boot up tight and dived back in, such was the mesmerising power of their twang.
Tupelo Chain Sex. From LA. Somehow the managed to fuse punk, reggae, blues and a whole kitchen sink full of genres and make it work. I saw a gig on this tour, it still rates as one of the best shoes I’ve ever seen. Mind you, some of that fondness comes from gleeful malice. A violinist I played with asked Sugarcane Harris about his instrument between sets. She happened to be a rather attractive woman and Harris was condescending in a “we both know you’re just using the violin as an excuse to get close to me” kinda way. Unfortunately for him she really was interested in the violin, and even more unfortunately she not only had perfect pitch, but damn near total recal when it came to music. She asked to try it and then played the last solo he’d done back at him, note for note. He snatched it out of her hands and stormed backstage. It remains to this day the best shutdown of unwanted pickup attempt I’ve ever witnessed.
Must stop now, I’m so far down memory lane that I’ll need a GPS, a sextant and a homing pigeon to find my way back.