Owed to Ed

  So now that I have completed my first Variety Show as Host, Director and Producer, I have to say I owe Ed Sullivan, Smothers Brothers , Carol Burnett, Johnny Cash and many more a major “Wow!”. That is no easy task, my friend. A one hour show went by in five minutes and I would run on stage, talk to you for a minute or two; then walk off, run to the other side of the stage via behind screen to tell my son Carson Taylor or Caspian Roberts something that needed to happen. And then I would run back to the other side and walk out and interview the band. Now do not get me wrong, I had a blast and would do it 420 more times and be just as involved each show. But Ed Sullivan did it every week with a cast and crew on national television. Live! I understand he had a larger support group or team than SNL; I mean Show #1 was Clayton Roberts and I with a ton of help from the Saenger Theatre’s all around guru Stacey Grenshaw, and mine and Clayton’s kids and their friends totaling 8 people. So maybe a large difference in labor; but when it was show-time, Ed was on his game, and I give what's owed to Ed.

 

Show Me Variety!

  The definition of a true of a  variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts (hence the name), especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère (master of ceremonies) or host. So where have they gone? In the 1960's and 70's variety shows were blowing up the TV station as Reality TV of today. Of course we only had 3 channels. But shows like The Johnny Cash Show, Laugh-In, Hee Haw and The Midnight Special had America's attention. But it seems that we as a country are moving so fast with technology and get it and go-go-go. Imagine a Beautiful Historic Theatre and a packed house, with a diversity of music and Skit Comedy. Throw in Dance and Interviews and you have a show that highlights so many in the arts and community. Do it on a Friday Night, and you may have the makings of an amazing event that folks from all areas can come and enjoy and be exposed to music that they may have never looked for. That is what a true variety show is supposed to do. So saying all of that I actually know of a show being built right here in Mobile, Alabama that will take place on Friday Night in the Beautiful Historic Saenger Theatre. The show is Saenger Night Live and it is YOUR Show! Shows will be June 21st, July 5th and 19^th, and August 2nd. You can visit the website at www.saengernite live.com or facebook at https://www.facebook.com/#/saengernitelive   Come be a Part of the COMMUNITY!

JAZZ IS DEAD?

    I am sure when most folks saw the title they thought, "What in the heck is he talking about?" Well I will tell you what I mean and how the Jam Scene was created by some kids in San Francisco. Back in the early 60's, a Band named The Warlocks were doing gigs around the Bay Area. No one really could define the music: long improvised Jams to Rock, Blues and even Jazz. Some of the songs would go for fifteen to even twenty minutes without lyrics or a defined ending in site. The Grateful Dead was born and with them, a new way to bring music to the masses. If you look at the Jerry Garcia's and other Jam Band Musicians of the 60's and 70's you would see they all list John Coltrane as a major influence  as well as Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk and so on. Jazz is Dead and Widespread Panic and Phish and so on. And every show they will perform some sort of Jazzy Jam that will take them to doors they never opened. Point being is that the gentlemen of the jam started out just wanting to take a song and see what wonderful journey it would take them on from note to note.  Jazz is Dead? Nope! I say it is alive and well everyday in the bands that tour for a living and jam for sanity. So keep on Jamming to Jazz and Jam!

"Classic American Music"

  What does it mean to you when someone says they listen to Classic American Music? My thoughts go to a time of wax hits and managers selling records out of the backs of their cars. Or maybe it is a family dinner or The Ed Sullivan Show. To me it is all about us understanding where our musical roots came from, and how did we get here to this? I enjoyed the times of my Grandmother talking about listening to her favorite show on the family radio on Saturday Night. What a great and innocent time in America. We were building this country and the music was the soundtrack of our lives. And I am talking about Bluegrass, Gospel, Classic Country, Swing, Big Band, Blues, Jazz and Dixieland to name a few; all the styles that shape us as Americans and as individuals. What happened to the days of Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley all pilled in a ‘56 Chevy driving from town to town? Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of hard working musicians out there driving form one town to the next for a gig and a room. But the Music is different, we are different, and I think this Country is different. So I like to take a step back in time to the days of American Band Stand with Dick Clark or listening to the Saturday Night Prairie Club. I want to feel what my grandparents felt when they heard James Brown for the first time or saw Elvis shaking on TV. That is the Classic American Music I am talking about, the type that makes us a country that was growing and building toward a new tomorrow; and Aretha Franklin was part of it. So if you are searching for a sound of yesterday and need to feel like you did at the age of 8 hearing Big Joe Turner for the first time, then check out my show MUSIC 101 on www.jamsplus.com.  It is "Classic American Music" that is good and educational for the whole family and will give you a taste of real American Pie.        

 

What Makes the Jam Fan?

    Last summer Bear and I took my daughter to her first Phish show, and after the show she was talking about bringing a friend to their first Phish show. Her concern was: how does she find the right person for the show? She explained that none of her friends were Phish fans or even Jam Band fans. So I started thinking about what makes the Jam Fan? When I was a young child growing into a musical identity we never even heard the term Jam Band. But as I told my up and coming Music Freak Daughter, you do not need a Phish fan or a Jam Band fan. What you need to go on this new musical adventure is a friend that is just a music fan. That is it. Just find a friend who loves music more than just back ground noise or something they play when they have a party. As my children are finding out, it takes a passion and love for the sound of sanctuary. If my daughter picks a friend that loves music then Phish will do the rest. That is what Jam Bands do; they just need you to come in. And am I saying that all music fans will become Jam Fans and tour the world to see the same act countless times? No. But I am saying that person will leave that type of show a totally different person. So what makes the Jam Fan? A Jam Fan is a music fan with a need for more than the norm.    

 

Music & Mw BFF's Part IV

     When we last heard from Music & Me we were coming back from the west and all of its Grateful ways. After a few years and a few moves throughout the southeast I ended up back in Mobile in 2000 after a short run with Phish that ended in Big Cypress for New Year’s Eve. Music & Me found a job with 92.1 WZEW as a sales representative, which was great for us since we have been fans of the station for years. But that turned a musical page for us, when at-the-time General Manager Ed Pappie asked during a conversation about music, if I would be interested in doing a show after Uncle Tim's Blues Cruise on Sundays. Absolutely!! Music & Me have been prepping for this our whole life. From the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville to my time hanging with friend Taylor Hicks in the plains, this is what I knew Music & Me were born to do. Play music for everyone so they could have the same friendship that we have had for all these years. And now with jamsplus.com we can give it to the world. What a great feeling to be able to share my friend Music with You. And who knows what the future will hold for Music & Me.

Music & Me BFF's Part III

     When we last heard from Music & Me we were about to take a trip and never leave the yard...So as Me & Music grew from a child in Nashville to a teenager in Mobile, it was time to spread my wings and fly away.  Me & Music have seen many concerts and music events, but where the sounds take us now will be west, young man. I had decided after I graduated from High School to take my friend Music to Wyoming, Montana, and Colorado.  We took a job at Yellowstone National Park, where we met folks from all over the nation.  But the one thing we all had in common was Music.  I remember when I was approached to attend a Grateful Dead show in Mile High Stadium in Denver. Santana was opening and I thought what the heck!  So on June 28, 1991, Me & Music's life would be changed forever. Now, they had always said if you remember a Grateful Dead show, you were not there.  What I do remember is the way the kind folks in the Lot would love to help you lose your mind, and what a long strange trip Me & Music had together.  And 20 plus Dead Shows later, I am still trying to find my mind.  But one thing I did find was that Me & Music have a new love for each other which we never had before.  Passion, Compassion, Loyalty and Deadication. And for us the next page was going to bring Music & Me's love to radio air waves right here at home. Find out the final piece of the story of Music & Me BFF's next month right here.

 

Music & Me BFF's Part II

When you last read about Music and Me we were about to encounter girls...                                                         

Ah what a wonderful time Music and Me had as young children, playing and singing all day long. But I remember when I first saw a video for Rod Stewart's "Hot Legs" in the summer of 1978, and wondered why Music and me started to tingle and sweat. What wonderful pleasures could Music and Me find out in the school yards and hallways? By the time we moved to Mobile it was the summer of 1980 and Music was about to make a major TV debut. I mean, growing up with Music, I could always hear it, but to see it on TV was another story. Music and Me had now stepped over into a whole new world that was going to test my every moral fiber. Music TV was a new sexy way to entice the soul and hormones.  Music was always able to set the tone for me going through high school as I dated and experimented with the opposite sex. It’s easy to say that Music and Me had a lot of fun in my school days. But Underground, Punk, and New Wave were taking over a rebellious youth, and a strange type simply named, Prince. What a mixture Music and Me had in our teen years. But my roots were still strong, remembering my grandparents’ Grand Ole Opry days and my dad and Roy Orbison. But I took those years as kids of the 50's did and watched them transpire from pop to psychedelic. And Music and Me are about to get into some of our strangest years yet. But how will Music and Me handle this strange trip? Find out in Part III of Music and Me. 

Music & Me, BFF's Part I

 Music and me have been best friends forever. The earliest memory I have of us meeting would probably be "Sesame Street". In the early and mid 1970’s the PBS Children's Show would not only have some great songs and dances to various letters and words or phrases, but also would have some great guest musicians. Some I remember best were Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, Nina Simone, B.B. King, Lou Rawls to name a few. So mix that with ABC's Saturday morning "School House Rock", and my first meeting with Music was very positive.  Music and me were always meant to meet, even as I was a young child in Nashville Tennessee. My grandparents met Music when they owned the State Liquor Store across the street from the Original Grand Ole Opry where Hank Senior, Chet Atkins and others would come to get their jump juice before or after the show. And my own mother remembers helping June Carter get dressed in the back room of the store before she had to run across Union Street to the Ryman Auditorium to perform. My Dad brought Music home with him every day, as a musician who in the early 1960's toured as Roy Orbison's lead guitarist and still continues to play studios and gigs throughout Nashville. My dad passed on stacks of his 45's to me, and with a record player I remember Music and Me doing Top 10 countdowns and playing DJ all day long. Yes, it is easy to say that the first time Music and I met, it was pretty special. But what will Music and Me do with girls and puberty? Find out in Part II of Music & Me. 

 

@JERRYGARCIA?

I wonder… if Jerry Garcia was alive today, would he have a twitter account? I mean, look at how much technology has changed since 1995.  It makes me think about going to a concert in the 80's and early 90's. I remember going to my first Grateful Dead show. It was the summer of '89 out west in Colorado, and at the time we didn't even have a CD player in the car. So we listened to Dead bootlegs on audio cassettes, boys and girls. That is a small reel to reel that would pop in your car stereo and play music. Sorry, if that sounds patronizing, just wanted to catch up the younger generations. So we would listen to our shows on a cassette that was recorded on a small tape recorder. To change the pace for you a bit, I went to Phish this past Summer; and before I left the hotel for the next show, I had the Pelham Alabama show downloaded in an audio mp3 format and able to burn it down on a CD.  Shoot! After the Dead shows we would have to constantly switch tapes out of the tape player to listen to any of the songs that we heard the night before. At that time many folks were always trying to be the tapers’ best friends. Back before the .com wave, we would have to write our setlists down and keep them on paper so we could look back after the show and remember what they played. Back to the Future… We can now follow the band on twitter and facebook, and even see up to date photos of the show. I remember when I saw my first Phish show in Tennessee in '99. We would have to find a friend that might have been brave enough to sneak in a video recorder so we could watch the show again later. Now you can take your phone in to the show, with video and camera apps. And by the time you get back home there are all types of videos on youtube. And hey guess what? If you go to a show with nothing but a jump drive, the guy next to you can throw it in his apple ipad and load up the show as y'all talk about the weather. Obviously we have watched technology change right in front of us in our concert going lives. But again, I wonder if Jerry Garcia was alive today, would he have a twitter account? @JERRYGARCIA?

 

What Would Jimi Do?

What would Jimi Hendrix do if he was alive today?  What would Music be if Jimi still played to the masses and recorded in the studios?  First we must look at the direction he was going before his sudden death on September 18th 1970.  Jimi was on a path that I believe would have changed modern music forever.  Do not get me wrong, the man had already done so much to change music in the late 60's and early 70's.  He was a pioneer for the face of music and a leader for change and diversity.  Can we say diversity, when so many say that Jimi's songs all had the same feel?   But really, did they?  Look at the differences from "Purple Haze" to "Little Wing", and from "Third Stone from the Sun" to "Spanish Castle Magic".  They all had a growth from one to the next, and they all increased in difficulty.  Jimi Hendrix was a Rock God!  

But we are trying to see where Jimi was going if he saw 1971, 1972, 1982, 1992 and 2002.  “What Would Jimi Do?” is the question.  He had so many great albums, so many great recordings and so many pages of his musical career that were too short for our pleading ears.  We were pleading for more sounds that were like no other when we first heard them.  See, I was 11 the first time I heard Jimi; and would I tell you that my first experience was any different than an 11 year old kid in 1969?  I say No!  Jimi is Jimi, and whenever young children’s ears him for the first time in 2069, I believe they will feel the same emotion that you and I would now.  

So when we talk about the (by most definitions) Greatest Guitar player ever, It is very easy to go off in a crazy direction, as he did so many times in his short career.  But we are here to see what Jimi would be today.  And my personal opinion is that Jimi would have redirected the Music world as we know it.  The guy was chilling with Miles Davis and Buddy Guy and influenced by guys like Wes Montgomery, Mingus, Coltrane, Muddy, and the Wolf.  Just listen to the album Electric Ladyland and the track "Rainy Day, Dream Away".  The band is grooving with a JAZZY groove that is laid down under with a blues beat.  And "Jammin" from the BBC Sessions had so many chord changes and it is Jammin'.  So if you ask this old music fan, I will have to say that Jimi would have been 25 years ahead of time by mixing, sampling, exploring the sounds of Jazz, Blues, Swing and a Mix of Rock.  The truth is that if Jimi was still alive, he would have paved the musical road continually, and it would have been Jimi's road to rule. All of the greatest musicians would have either tried to be better, and I do think some would have caught his attention and impressed, or they would have stood and watched the true Pied Piper who carried an AX.  So what would music be today?  And I say, "What Would Jimi Do?" 

 

Over a Decade and Still Jamming

   A little history lesson for you:  Jams Plus was started as a show on local radio air waves 92.1 WZEW.  It actually ran for over 7 years as one of the top shows at its time slot on Sunday afternoons.  It entertained and educated listeners of Jam Bands Plus their Influences, hence the name Jams Plus.  When I first started the show back in May 2001 the request was, since it was following Uncle Tim's Blues Cruise (Tim Hallmark), that the show needed to stay with the Blues format.  No problem!  So I played The Grateful Dead, Phish, and Widespread Panic doing classic blues tunes and added Muddy Waters, Bill Withers and The Rolling Stones to the mix, but all LIVE cuts.  The show took off like a rocket.  I mean, where else on the Gulf Coast were you getting to hear Jam Bands covering classic Blues Artist, if even at all?  Eventually, after 7 years of fun and musical exploration, the show was pulled.  But the love and passion of the show allowed me and my business partner Clayton Roberts to create www.jamsplus.com.  The initial vision included just one radio show and maybe some CD reviews.  Well kids, let me tell you that we are about to celebrate our 2 year anniversary and now house 6 radio shows, a live concert series, and photos and reviews of some of the finest shows in America.  Jams Plus has now turned into Jams Plus Media, and we added Chaos Theory hosted by Flynn Pritchett, The Open Door hosted by business partner Clayton Roberts, Omega Waves hosted by Chief Editor and all around music freak Rosemary Roberts, Music 101 "Classic American Music" hosted by myself, and our own mix master DJ Trey Stein, plus we have my good friend Tim Hallmark with Uncle Tim's Blues Cruise.  We have an amazing team that has been built up to include a strong Media team lead by Photographer and magic man Tarver Shelton.  So with our 2 year birthday bash upon us, you know we are excited about this major event coming up.  We have New Orleans’ very own Billy Iuso and the Restless Natives performing live and all night long.  There will be food brought in to feed the munchies, and amazing prizes such as Phish Tickets to Oak Mountain and Atlanta and a Widespread Panic poster autographed by the entire band.  The Good Hike to benefit Conscious Alliance is involved with some great prizes for a silent auction, plus plenty of great friends and music family to boot.  And it all goes down at Noell Broughton's Brickyard Music Hall.  This is set to be a real fine party on Saturday August 18^th, starting at 7pm.  So tell your friends, family and enemies to come celebrate a dream that started over 10 years ago and will continue as long as fine music fans such as you keep the vibe alive.  See you at the Celebration.                

 

All Hail the King?

  I grew up listening to Elvis and even can admit to playing air guitar to many Elvis songs. Man! Even just the other day! But I come to you today with a strong question. Is Elvis Presley the King of Rock-n-Roll? I mean in the 50's there is no question. Being born in '69 in Nashville, Tennessee I can remember Elvis very well, I can even remember exactly where I was when I heard he died. But in the year 2012, can we still call him the King of all Rock-n-Roll? Well let us look at some of the artists before, during and after The King. Actually, let us look at what Rock-n-Roll really is and what we today consider real American Rock. By definition, Rock-n-Roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s,  primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz and gospel music. Though elements of rock and roll can be heard in country records of the 1930s, and in blues records from the 1920s, rock and roll did not acquire its name until the 1950s. Well, it was in the '50's that Elvis came to us like a freight train at night. For the Blues, B.B. King gets a lot of praise and he does have King in his name; but Robert Johnson is probably the true King of the Blues based on his style of playing and deep wicked lyrics, which today are still such a strong part of rock music. In the world of Country Music most would have to say Hank Williams reigns. That would be Hank Williams Senior, kids, not Junior or the third. Today we would all agree that Johnny Cash made an impact not only on Country, but also Rock and Gospel.  Now for the King of Jazz there was a 1930 film called "King of Jazz" that featured Paul Whiteman, a man that Duke Ellington declared as the true King of Jazz; and no one to date has carried that torch with such class and dignity. From Jazz and Blues we cruise to Gospel and I know most would say the true King of Gospel is The King himself, but we will stay with those who have recorded those great tunes. We have The Blind Boys of Alabama, The Carter Family, The Watson Family, Bill Monroe and Ray Allen to name a few. And many of your sinners of the 50's and 60's always turned to the Gospel tunes to save their souls. But let us stay focused on the question at hand: who is the King of Rock-n-Roll today? Let us not forget Sir Jimi Hendrix, who shredded us through 7 wonderful years of super solid guitar riffs, and Old Neil Young who wrote lyrics that made us feel like we were dying too. There’s also Gene Simmons, who told us we were all going to "Rock-n-Roll All Night".  And don't forget Bruce Springsteen made us proud to be "Born in the U.S.A." Honestly, I believe Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) is the main reason Rock-n-Roll is alive and well in America today. And he did play drums for what is considered one of the greatest Grunge Rock Bands of all time. So after all of that, do we agree that Elvis Aaron Presley is the true King of Rock-n-Roll through decades of great artists, or has time turned the tables?   

 

"Music Fest in America"

 So we are now in Festival Season, the time for music fans to travel across America to hear their favorite bands and some they have never heard of.  It has made me think about the history of Music Festivals and how times have changed the face of the Fest, and which really came first.  Many people travel to Music Festivals throughout the year from coast to coast.  But who really kicked it off for us crazy seekers of sound?  Many say it was Woodstock Music and Art Festival outside of New York in Woodstock.  Famed by the outrageous "Hippie" generation, this three day Music Fest hit the second week of August 1969, and is probably the most famous of all Fests to date.  But was it the first?  Actually two years earlier in Monterey, California in the month of June, a Festival was put on with many of the same artists who played Woodstock.  Monterey Pop Festival was also famed for bringing a soul artist by the name of Otis Redding to a primarily white audience.  The fine festival only had a one year life span.  But again, was it the first American based festival?  

Some folks give major credit to the band Phish and their management due to the well-organized NYE 2000 Big Cypress Festival.  Now understand that Phish was the only band there; but what they did for organization, planning, and preparing went way beyond what anyone had done in the past.  But Phish did not start the festival-style scene.  In 2002 Super Fly Production blew it out of the water with a Music Fest to set the standard for all who come after, called Bonnaroo.  This fine fest in the middle of beautiful Tennessee in the farming town of Manchester allowed for camping, shopping, music, and great food.  Some may consider it to be the best, but no, it was not the first.  Let's take a trip back to Newport, Rhode Island back in 1954.  The Newport Jazz and Heritage Festival started at the location of the Newport Casino until it moved to New York in 1972.  This long time Fest has now become a two location party between New York and back to its original location in Newport.  Now I know we in the south have one of the greatest Festivals of all time with New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival (est. 1970); and now we also boast an ever-growing Festival that created a new way of doing things.  The Hangout Festival in Gulf Shores Alabama has created a new way to party with your peeps.  A Festival on the Beach?  Who would have ever thought of that?  So if you look at the surge of Festivals in America and our rich history we know one thing for sure.  Festivals are here to stay, and we are glad to pay for a weekend of great music.   

 

MAY 2012

Where I-10 Meets I-65

Living here in The Port City, I think of the Music in Mobile Alabama and the styles that flourish here.  Think about it: did I-65 bring music here or did we deliver it North?  This Interstate is numbered the odd digit of 65 due to the fact that Interstates running North and South are odd, and East and West are even.  Now trust me, I understand that before Dwight D. Eisenhower championed its formation in 1956, Music traveled the highways and county roads.  When you look at the path of I-65, we run from Hank Country of Montgomery Alabama to The Music City of Nashville Tennessee that houses Blues, Bluegrass, Country, and now Jazz, Rock and Gospel.  Then the path takes us through The Bluegrass State into Rocking Indy, and just North is the Blues Capital of Chicago.  Think about that journey and all the different styles of music that you pass on that trip.  But now let's look at I-10 and the path East that gives us all the Sunny Sound from Florida, and the path West through The Delta Blues of Mississippi into New Orleans and the sounds of Dixieland Jazz.  Once we pass through the sounds of Dixie we will stretch the sounds and bend the bow and eat crawfish with Mister Zydeco all the way to the Big State and big sounds of Texas.  From Houston to San Antonio and even near Austin and their City Limits, this path will continue out in the West Texas town of El Paso where I fell in love with a Mexican Girl.  The long and winding road will flow to Phoenix and on through to Los Angeles where Jim Morrison walked on down the hall.  So again the question is:  with all of these music styles here in the Mystical town of Mobile, did everyone come through here on their way to another music stop and leave a little sound for us to mix in our pot?  Or are we all stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues again?