Red Foley with his band, doing 'Freight Train Boogie'

I just can't resist sharing some of the great videos I find on YouTube. Thanks to all the great folks who find and post this stuff!
This one features Red Foley and his band playing the Delmore Brother's classic tune 'Freight Train Boogie', live on Red's TV show 'The Ozark Jubilee' in the early 50's. The guitar player is one of my absolute favorites, Grady Martin. Grady was the master of the boogie-style guitar fills and solos, and his simplicity and sense of swing is an inspiration to me when I get all uppity and play too many notes! His double-neck guitar btw was made by the brilliant machinist/woodworker/inventor/visionary Paul Bigsby, who many consider the inventor of the modern electric solid-body guitar. He built this guitar in his garage. Enjoy!

Hank Garland doing the Sugarfoot Rag

YouTube is such a great resource for old music -- this clip is no exception! The great Hank Garland performing his hit 'Sugarfoot Rag' live on TV, sometime in the 50's. The tune is based on an old fiddle tune (there's also supposedly a dance of the same name...) and Hank had huge, million-selling hit with this one at age 19 while playing with Red Foley. I remember years ago hearing Junior Brown live at the Aladdin Theater in Portland, and he used this tune as his encore piece which was just jaw dropping. A few years after this film clip, Hank was involved in a very serious automobile accident in which he suffered severe brain damage. That accident along with shock therapy he received in the hospital rendered him barely able to play the guitar, let alone walk. For those of you who enjoy jazz, you should check out his album 'Jazz winds From a New Direction' -- an all-time classic which features the incredible vibes playing of 17-year old Gary Burton. Hank was also known to have jammed with Charlie Parker, and was a very forward-thinking and inspiration musician. One of my patron saints.

Albums we like -- Jimmy Rivers and the Cherokees

This is one of the hidden gems out there, if you've never had the chance to hear it. Jimmy Rivers was a fantastic guitarist who led an 8-piece dance band based in Brisbane, California in the early sixties after stints backing guys like Ernest Tubb. This record is a compilation of informal recordings made by his steel player Vance Terry, one of the most inventive and fleet fingered steel guitarists of all time. These live recordings were made in a bar/restaurant called DeMarco's 23 Club, where Jimmy and the band played several nights a week.
The tunes are great -- from swing and hillbilly standards to Art Pepper bebop ('Surf Ride') and the band just kills. Jimmy had a very strong Charlie Christian influence in his playing (who you should check out if you've never had the chance --he played with Benny Goodman's band in the late 30s/real early 40s. A cornerstone of American music), so his lines are bop-like but melodic and swing like crazy.
What I love about these recordings are their informality. It's basically a document of a really hot band at the height of their powers playing their asses off a couple nights a week at a rowdy bar that serves buffalo burgers.
This record has influence a ton of guitarists over the years, not only the Playboys but guys like Jim Campilongo (one of our favorites). Find it. Listen to it!

Hot Damn.

Ladies and Gentlemen, for your enjoyment, Mr. Phil Baugh:

So you wanna learn to play the guitar?

Continuing along with the 'things we like' category, here's the best $35 you can spend if you or someone you know is trying to learn to play swing guitar. 'Chordination' by Whit Smith of the Hot Club of Cowtown is a new DVD which breaks down the harmonic side of playing over older style swing/fiddle tunes.
Now before I go on, I should mention that this DVD is probably not for beginners -- you'll need to have spent a bit of time thinking about and learning some basic moveable chord shapes and have played enough of these styles of music to see some of the basic re-occurring song forms. A good teacher can help you jump these hurdles.
So, on to the DVD. There's so much here to learn! Every time you watch, you'll pick up something new, some new way of thinking about chords and chord movement within a basic song structure. There's no TAB or chord charts -- you just watch and learn (this is a good thing). If you've ever watched a great guitar player play a tune you know well, and they're playing all these great-sounding moving chords to your one D7 that lasts for 4 bars and want to learn what they're doing, then this is your Rosetta Stone.
Whit's explanation of what he's doing is very clear, very logical and he also comes across as the humble, really funny guy that he is. This DVD is just honest, plain good work. It's available on via the Hot Club of Cowtown website (www.hotclubofcowtown), and needless to say Xmas is coming! (For those of you wondering what to get me since I already own a copy, an 40's Epiphone Triumph would be great (a blond one) -- thanks!)
Alright, I better get to practicing. Got a big gig tonight!
PK

Like Western Swing? Check this out...

What ever did we do before the internet? I guess we spoke directly to each other over coffee, wrote letters longhand and looked for the ubiquitous payphone. When I think back to touring with a band in the late 80's/early 90's I am amazed at the confluence of events that got me from Portland to, say, Albuquerque in the middle of winter and onto the stage of a punk rock club on the right day and at the right time, despite being unable to reach the booking agent via rest stop payphones along the way. That someone was there to meet us as well as direct us to a good parts place so we could patch up the Econoline was just icing on the cake, not to mention a good tip on where to get some great Mexican food (BTW, is that great restaurant in Albuquerque called Garcia's ?? The one with the amazing red sauce? Family joint...)
Anyways, back to my original point. The internets constantly amaze a technophobic Luddite like myself. Like for example, this blog:
http://westernswing78.blogspot.com
This truly amazing piece of work has so much rare, fantastic music (and is designed and run with such reverence and love) that it is truly inspirational (if you like this sort of stuff, like I do). Hundreds of recordings from the golden age of Western Swing by just about every obscure artist you can think of. Back in the day, it would have taken you years to hear/learn a quarter of this stuff. Bless 'em.

The Stolen Sweets with the Hot Club of Cowtown

Howdy All,
Last night the Stolen Sweets (the Portland Playboy's larger ensemble) had the honor and pleasure of playing a gig with perhaps our favorite band around, the Hot Club of Cowtown at the Aladdin Theater in Portland. Special thanks to Carrie Baldwin-Sayre for hauling our collective butts out of the fire.
What a show! We left the arctic chill outside and warmed up nicely, thanks to the Hot Club's greatest-hits filled set. That haven't visited the Rose City for a long time (too long), but the show was a smash hit and the band looked like they were having a ball. I personally enjoyed watching my band mate's jaws drop to the ground about mid-way through each of their tunes.
If you haven't had a chance to check them out, DO.
www.hotclubofcowtown.com is the website.
They have a bunch of CDs out, all of which are great (Xmas is coming, btw), but my favorites are their first Cd 'Swingin' Stampede' and the live disc 'Continental Stomp'.

But the real thrill was heading across town with David to play with Whit and Jake (from the Hot Club of Cowtown) at Whit's Dad's house earlier today! It's a very surreal experience to have a casual jam session with your musical heroes, believe me. What a pleasure, and what a bunch of nice folks as well.

OK... gotta get ready for the weekly Monday Night Swing Dance at the Maiden Bar!
Pete