Tenderizor- Touch the Sword

A video made up of GIF images deserves a review composed from snippets of movie dialogue. I added words here and there to allow for continuity, otherwise these are lines from the scripts of several movies: American Psycho, High Fidelity, Empire Records, Almost Famous and many more.

                                      Touch the Sword - Tenderizor from Brian Fejer on Vimeo.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to violence, the word and the act. The dream is always the same,
we were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. 

Tenderizor was playing, something horrible was happening and yet I couldn't figure out why; I couldn't put my finger on it. I feel lethal, on the verge of frenzy. I think my mask of sanity is about to slip. I try and focus on the music, "Touch the Sword" It's a hit. we've got a hit. I can feel it. The song is extremely uplifting. The lyrics are as positive and affirmative as, uh, anything I've heard in rock. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument, it's not just about the pleasures of conformity, and the importance of trends, it's also a personal statement about the band itself. 

There are people who want to write sanctimonious stories about the genius of the rock stars, and they will ruin rock and roll and strangle everything we love about it. Great art is about guilt and longing and, you know, love disguised as sex, and sex disguised as love. It's like pissing in the wind, you have to ask yourself, Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music? Am I happy? Well, I don't know. I'm happy as the next man, I guess. 

You still don't get it, do you?" I need Tenderizor to, shock me, shock me, shock me with that deviant behavior!  Shock me with your ever growing collection of flesh mutilating silver appendages and  brand new hipster-Nazi boot camp makeovers. Is it in fact unfair to criticize a formerly great artist for his latter day sins... (Bob Dylan for instance) If you don't wanna hear old sad bastard music anymore, if you just want something you can ignore, something you can love and hate with equal abandon, something that jumps on your back and tries to violate you...then this will do quite nicely.

That Dirt City Sound Episode 15

       

   
   
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Live and alternative recordings from You Tube and other sources. Fast Heart Mart's beautiful version of My Sister's Tiny Hands, makes you wish Martin and Robin still made music together.  Also included is The Handsome Family's original version, just for comparison. Cheap and Sunny, recorded live on the streets of Austin,Tx. and Mayan Prophecy, recorded on the sidewalk in front of UNM, complete with traffic noises, are my favorites. 


"This music is the glue of the world, It's what holds it all together. Without this, life would be meaningless"

Mexico Rawks

Radio waves travel in both directions, while the Mexican border blasters were broadcasting country, Jesus and hillbilly blues north, U.S. stations were beaming a steady flow of rock and roll music into Mexico.

The first wave of Mexican rockeros were pretty lame, with few exceptions they were little more than Latino versions of Pat Boone and Ricky Nelson. The music was a steadfast formula of American cover songs, with lyrics that were sometimes straight translations or that reworked the originals. In Mexico, rock and roll was not about rebellion, it was pre-fab, and safe as mother's milk. The Mexican government's influence on most media outlets including major labels and recording studios, meant that everybody played it safe. Nonetheless, movie stars and teenagers alike twisted the night away.

Beatlemania had as big an impact in Mexico as it did in The U.S.  Mexican garage bands caught on quick, covering The Beatles, Stones, Yardbirds & Kinks, not with reckless abandon but with cool precision. The system that produced pop stars in Mexico back then wasn't all that different from the one in England.  Record Producers & Talent Agents sought out talent, groomed and hyped them, and then took their payment in cash and flesh. Just how sick and twisted, the star making process was in Mexico would come to light during the Sergio Andrade, Gloria Trevi scandal in the late 1990's.

Rock and Roll was progressing naturally in Mexico, however, there was social and political dissension brewing that would cause major changes in the music. In 1968, turmoil and student protests surrounding the staging of the Olympic Games swept the country. This led to a brutal government clamp down on protestors, that would culminate with the Tlatelolco massacre at the Plaza de las Tres Culturas. With the death toll rising and student leaders being rounded-up, rock music became a unifying force for the counterculture movement, now it was about rebellion. 

The short lived protest movement's death knell came in the form of a three day rock festival held at Avandaro in 1971. Often referred to as "Mexico's Woodstock" it was far closer to Altamont, in both mood and impact. Festival attendees incurred the wrath of the government for a number of reasons (drugs,sex,nudity) But what really drew the ire of  the establishment was the large number of American flags present. Rock music was now public enemy number one, and all musicians connected to student unrest and the counterculture, found themselves blacklisted from government controlled airwaves.  

Los Apson   "No Soy Nada, sin tus besos"

Los Apson started out in 1959, put together by two brothers, Arturo & Francisco Durazo. Raul "El Cubano" Cota, Jose Luis "Lichy" Garcia and Gil Maldonado would round out the group. The name was an acronym for their hometown (Ap, Aguaprieta) and their home state (son, Sonora)  After recording an instrumental rock album, they added Frankie Gamez as vocalist and guitarist. Soon after that, they relocated to the Pacific coast city of Culiacan. They scored a regular gig at The Bonfire Bar and that's where they met Leopoldo "Polo"Sanchez who was the lead singer for Los Sluggers. It wasn't long before they convinced him to join Los Apson, giving them a unique line-up featuring two lead singers.

The band was a human jukebox, capable of playing any song in any style. With Raul Cota writing Spanish lyrics, they covered The Drifters, Roy Orbison,The Tokens, Chuck Berry and even Larry Verne. Then with the influx of British Invasion bands, Los Apson found another source of music to plunder. Their hit streak continued: Suzi Q, Satisfaction (Satisfaccion) Cottonfields (Cuando era un Jovencito) and Michael Row the Boat Ashore (Aleluya) Mr. Moonlight (Triste Luna)    The dynamic of having two lead singers had worked to the band's advantage. But, Frankie and Polo did not like one another, and neither wanted to share the spotlight. In 1964 the tension between them came to a head, with Polo leaving to launch his solo career.

"dame amor sin condicion, dame un poco de satisfaccion "

In 1965 Los Apson earned their first gold record, the future was so bright they had to wear shades (to hide their bloodshot eyes) Arturo Durazo hooked up with iconic ranchera singer Lucha Villa, their torrid love affair became fodder for tabloids.  The entire band was living the dream, mingling with movie stars and partying hard, before long they became known as the bad boys of Mexican rock. The group's reputation preceded them, several of their concert ended in riots with concertgoers wrecking arenas and fighting with police. 

                         

Few Mexican garage bands stuck with rock music long enough to ween themselves of American and British cover songs. Almost without exception they transitioned to other styles in search of a larger audience. Los Apson were moving away from cover songs and rock towards a mature mainstream style. This was reflected by songs like: No Hay Amor and De Hoy en Ocho, both boleros, which has nothing to do with Ravel or classical music. It's a ballad style favored in Mexico where the singer pours out his heart to the girl of his dreams. Fuiste a Acapulco, was pop tropical, a style popular along the Pacific coast and would become the band's best known song. Por Eso Estamos Como Estamos followed the same formula and also topped the charts.

   

"dime que es mentira tu partida y que me quieres todavia "

It was a rosy jack world, so it seemed, but the thin fabric holding them together was coming undone. Having fickle Frankie as front man proved to be problematic. Gamez, demanded that the band be billed as Frankie Gamez y Los Apson, his band mates rejected his demand. By the end of 1966, Frankie also left to form his own group. The hits quickly dried up, they continued to record for Peerless Records until 1969, but they never had another hit after Frankie Gamez left the group.

                          

In 1966 while hosting a popular television show based in Monterrey, Polo Sanchez scored a huge hit with a cover version of J.Frank Wilson's Last Kiss, called Ultimo Beso. When the show was cancelled after a four year run, he joined El Tribu, a band that mixed hard rock with Chicago style horns. Polo drowned in boating accident in 1974, cutting short his attempt at a comeback.

Frankie Gamez formed his own group Frankie y Los Matadores and enjoyed a run of success, albeit, nothing like that of Los Apson. Their first album featured a very nice cover of The Troggs, With A Girl Like You, and an ill advised version of Whiter Shade of Pale. However, everything they recorded after that was grupero music, a style that would never be mistaken for rock and roll.  

Years of hard drinking and carousing caught up to Arturo Durazo who died from a massive heart attack. His legacy beside having founded one of the top rock bands in Mexico, includes pioneering an oldies circuit that features Mexican rock & roll acts from the 1950's and 60's. This allowed several long forgotten bands to reconnect with their old fans, while introducing their music to a younger generation.

"sin ti, no soy nada, no soy nada"

Fast Heart Mart

Martin reflects on being alone and on the road, as he busks in North Carolina.  He bares his soul, talking about career choices, the future and a nest egg to retire on. Very touching video blog from one of our best local musicians.

Fast Heart Mart

Fast Heart Mart  travels through Southern New Mexico, east to west, with a swing south into Texas. The songs include:  Desert Dessert "The heat doesn't bother me it's an excuse to move slow through this world" and Van Life  "I'm a full grown man I love living in my van"  Martin Stamper lives the way we all wish we could...free.

The Land of the Free 'zine

Gratuitous plug  in...one...two...three seconds: The latest issue of Wig Wam Bam is out!, get your copy today.... it'll change your life.  http://wigwambamzine.wordpress.com/

Since 1998, Capt America has at his own risk (and seemingly at his own expense, since the 'zine is free) ventured into the dimly lit dives of Albuquerque to review local concerts. He's also a contributor to The Weekly Alibi, giving that publication some badly needed street cred. However, I come not to kiss his ass, but to praise him. There's only so many hours in a day, so I'm amazed every time he puts out another issue.

In his own words: " Wig Wam Bam (by Captain America) is finally reviewing shows you may have seen a year ago  (which, lucky for me, you can’t recall so I can make up facts with impunity)"  Yep! all truth is subject to interpretation, nobody knows anymore than anybody else.

Recently, I sent a link to our beloved Capt., it was a rock band either named Capt. America or playing a song called Capt. America, anyhow, he explained that people send him all types of Capt. America related stuff. With this in mind, I dug up this old photo from the archives at Klaus Kinski Kronikles. "I bet he doesn't have this one!" There's some history & trivia behind it:

Taking a cue from the American propaganda machine, the Third Reich responded to Capt. America with their own Capt. Aryan. "Our asses will not be kicked across the pages of cartoon picture books" exclaimed Joseph Goebbels "We will have our own super hero" To go with the comic book, a casting call was held for a real life version. The part went to a young Wehrmacht soldier named Nikolaus Karl Günther Nakszyński, but we'll just call him Klaus Kinski. Though born in Poland and only half German, his incredible acting skills earned him the role and as Goebbels explained "The mask will hide most of his ugly face" to which Kinski replied "I fear that it will hide what is most repulsive on the outside, but not on the inside" Capt Aryan schlepped across the Deutschland, kissing blonde babies, handing out knockwurst and visiting concentration camps to cheer up the guards. Alas, the good Captain had a character flaw, he was crazy as fuck. Trouble and scandal just seemed to follow him, finally an SS officer caught him putting his noodle in the strudel of the wrong Fraulein and shot him in the buttocks. After his recovery, Kinski was stripped of his rank and shipped off to the front. Any mention of Capt. Aryan was verboten, he was soon forgotten. With the tide of war turning against them, Germans had other things on their minds.

We Salute You! Capt. America, thank you for keeping Democracy totally American and publishing a bitchin' fanzine.

 http://thewigwambam.com/

Review$

On construction sites,  upon spotting this man someone would always declare: "There's a man with a job worse than mine.".. That poor sap was the guy who pumped out the portable toilets.  Though, once I found out how much he got paid I didn't feel sorry for him...still it was a shitty job.

I like CD Baby, I don't mean "I like them" although, they're o.k. I like them on Facebook, so every now and then I'll get their adverts on my sidebar. The one I got recently really piqued my interest, it was an ad, probably meant for musicians or bands and not smart ass bloggers.  

CD Baby has a service where they review your latest recordings (albums, cd's) For a set price they will produce a written document declaring your music worthy of anything. You can then post it on My Space Music, Facebook or pass it along to local promoters, talent agents etc.

Here's how it works: you put your money down and CD Baby's spin masters give you a glowing review of your album. What if your music really blows, would they tell you?  Of course not! you're paying them to say nice things about you. Everyday is a sunny day at CD Baby.

And now we meet the man who has a job worse than the shit pumper, the review writer at CD Baby. Can you imagine, everyday the boss plops down cd's on his desk and tells him "Bro, I got a good feeling you're really going to like these."  Those nervous ticks the guy suffers are from suppressing his true feelings.

I admit that CD Baby is one of my favorite whipping boys, their in-house writers will blow any amount of smoke up your ass, if it helps move product. It's a tough business, because who the hell buys cd's anymore? Recent figures show vinyl sales making a resurgence while cd sales continue to plummet.

Why pay them, when others will do it for free? for instance the fine folks at Klaus Kinski Kronikles sent this one along, although, I'm afraid something got lost in the translation. Feel free to use it, there's no charge and it works with any genre.. Guten Tag!

                                   Musik $chreiben 

Never judge, in order not to be judged, never submit in order not to be forced into submission. You would better be hot or at least cold, but you are just lukewarm. I spit on your ambitions, your talent is thin and dried up like a weed in the Sahara, which you will now water with your tears of rejection. My heart beats violently in my chest , yet I cannot express how much I detest this collection of noise and aggravation. I am at odds...this music makes me want to kill myself, yet I must live long enough to tell you how much I hate it. Then I must continue to live, in order to see your reaction to my remarks. Schwein! your evil knows no end, I piss on your pile of hammered little songs, so vile and crass like a Hamburg prostitute..........Thine own soul knows and thine own heart feels the pain and the horror!. I am impressed only by your futility, my urgency knows no bounds, your music sours my stomach, putting me in need of immediate release. Mischling!  you want the spotlight, you crave attention, Nein! you are denied such pleasures, you disgust me...you are not worthy of my kritik...Scheissgesindel!

Recommended for those who like: Kraftwerk and Die Krupps
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Woodstock '99

Sticky Pistil- Hi Fi Superfly

Can an average white band play that funky music? Sticky Pistil, a funk/rock band from Taos, N.M.
said it loud and proud, Yes we can!  Some rock groups like The Red Hot Chili Peppers injected just enough funk influences to blur the line, without actually crossing over. That's where Sticky Pistil was different, they didn't just dab on a little Eau de Funk, they bathed in it. Sticky Pistil came together in 1997, evolving from The Never Never band (which included Mark Hershiser and Shawn Perry) With his dark clothing and gangly appearance, SoCal native Hershiser resembled a ghoulish undertaker. You can almost see him standing in the mortuary doorway saying: "Oh Yes!, we have something very nice for you in mahogany." For his new role as funkmaster he took to calling himself  Uzi, which sounds very gangsta. Shawn Perry or Freakboy, also originated from SoCal, he favored the longhaired skate punk look popularized by Dexter Holland of The Offspring. Scott Kesson grew up in Denver, Co. he was just your average bland white guy, until he was re-born as PANick! (yes, that's his preferred spelling) same dull guy, but with a new name. Drummer Mike Caron (Emc) rounded out the group, Caron prefers to sport the mangy longhaired, shirtless look favored by goat fuckers around Taos since 1969. He seemed to fit right in with a certain element of Taoseños, described by PANick as, "those dirty hippies who panhandle in front of the supermarket, wearing patchouli to try and hide their b.o." ouch! that's a hurtful remark.

By 1999 their future was sunnyside up, first the band's debut album "Hi-Fi Superfly" was released and then they were selected to perform on the emerging artists stage at Woodstock '99.  From the start, Sticky Pistil had proven themselves very internet savvy. The group's homepage featured audio and rather crude (by current standards) special effects, at its peak it registered tens of thousands of hits monthly. The band also did the unthinkable and made their entire album available for streaming and downloading. In fact their appearance at Woodstock '99 came about due to the band's prominent web presence. Hershiser, entered the band in AMP3.com's Woodstock competition, in which 12 bands from that music sharing site were selected to perform at the upstate New York festival. Sticky Pistil's reward for all their hard work was a chance to wallow in the mud and human waste, but they did set a trend of bands using internet social networks to obtain a spot at music festivals and on national tours. Woodstock '99 is best remembered for the deteriorating conditions and unruly crowd behavior. Anyone who was hoping to revive the Flower Power vibe of the original got a rude awakening. To quote Limp Bizkit lead singer Fred Durst "This is 1999, motherfuckers - stick those Birkenstocks up your ass."  MTV which had been providing live coverage, withdrew it's crew and equipment, MTV host Kurt Loder told it like it was "There were just waves of hatred bouncing around the place, It was clear we had to get out of there.... It was like a concentration camp." By the time law enforcement brought the show to an abrupt end, reports of violence, looting, rape and arson had surfaced.

However, as the old saying goes: "The world doesn't want to hear about labor pains, it only wants to see the baby."  For Sticky Pistil that bouncing baby boy was "Hi-Fi Superfly"  It was a pastiche of rap samples and hip hop beats, a counterfeit world of P-Funk imagery. Half of the album's 20 tracks are throwaway snippets and interludes, while the rest suffer from the band's myopic take on the political climate of the day. "Whatcha Waitin' For" talks about how "The horrible hillbilly present is drowning out our voices" but that's ok because "Maybe you’re just waitin on Jesus to come and kick their asses." ultimately, I'm just waiting for this fucking song to end. "Fundamental Thang" is a good song, because the band steers clear of the soapbox politics and just has fun with it. "Gonna take a little trip and leave it all behind, it's hi-fi superfly"  Their political songs, like "Contact" are simply not believable, Scott Kesson's lyrics sound like they belong on a teleprompter at Fox news. Coming up at eleven "Hurricane aftermath, drive by bloodbath and sexual misconduct in the presidential suite" don't touch that dial. All this uncertainty leaves Kesson "Feelin like an isolated, paranoid intimidated, media manipulated chump" and this was before 9-11, just imagine how fucked up he is today. "Stick-up" is a wacked attempt at humor "This is a stick up - ain't nothin funny please don't nothin move but the money" this p.s.a. is brought to you by Uzi "I'm gettin desperate, my kids are hungry so I gotta do something" the kids then chime in "daddy I’m hungry" those cheeky bastards, let them eat cake, I say. 

"Different Route" is Freakboy's moment to shine: "My name is Shawnie P and when I get on down, I like to get buck wild, and when I get on down, I get on down with style" I'm just askin'  but in this case what the fuck does different route imply?  "Cowboy Funk" features these great lyrics: "Wanna be a cowboy, a bareback mare rider, take ya out ridin', put my pistol in your holster" it took all four band members to write this?  Over the course of the entire album they bombard us with their chickenshit politics and then they decide it's time to chase the cat?  Man...tie these motherfuckers to Greg Allman's whipping post and let Lady Gaga and Snooki have a go at them. Although the Jersey gal prefers juicehead gorillas and these boys are kinda scrawny. Unless Mark, Shawn & Scotty were flying out to L.A. on a regular basis to soak in the urban street experience, how can they validate any of their lyrics.  Yes, it's amazing how big and scary the world seems from your safe secluded Taos hacienda (mobile home)...Silly rabbits... rappers and funketeers don't come from Taos, what the fuck were they thinking. The tacky tale of Sticky Pistil didn't have a happy ending, they were unable to parlay their Woodstock experience into lasting success. Within two years the band found itself buried in debt, without any prospect of a bail-out. Hershiser who had been bankrolling the group with money from his Native Essence Herb Co. would soon have problems of his own to deal with. The Sticky Pistil Funkinmental Experience came to a screeching halt in 2001.

Mark Hershiser still lives in Taos, as does Kesson, Shawnie P. now plays the part of  Anthony Kiedis in a Red Hot Chili Peppers tribute band and Mike Caron is occasionally spotted running shirtless through the hills around El Prado. Mark Hershiser is keeping the band's legacy alive, in 2010 he released "Have you Forgotten" an album of previously unreleased material. The band's web page is still online, it's a time capsule of sorts, since it's never been updated. Scott Kesson recorded an instrumental guitar album and now doodles in electronic music and whatnot. He's still political, but his focus has changed:  "I'm involved in the struggle, put forth by generous souls, to keep the World Wide Web from becoming the World Wide Wal-Mart" oh sure...fight the good fight my brother, donations are accepted. Mark on the other hand had a real fight on his hands. The Federal Trade Commission, took him and his company Native Essence Herb to court for violating a provision of the Federal Trade Commission Act. It appears that some of the claims that Native Essence Herb Co. made about their products were unsubstantiated or downright false. Mark and his wife Marianne then filed a lawsuit in federal court, claiming that their right to free speech was being impeded by The Man. The FTC maintained that claims based on historical or traditional herbal use should be substantiated by scientific evidence. The case is still pending,  but if found guilty everyone involved with Native Essence Herb Co. should be whipped by Lady Gaga and Snooki, at Greg Allman's house...where he has a whipping post...that's Greg...Allman.

Rocket Man, Elton John, Donohoe & Grimes Acoustic Cover

Trilobite- Tin Trombone

Mark Ray Lewis- Trilobite

Mark Ray Lewis describes Albuquerque as "The opposite end of the old Santa Fe Trail" from where he was raised in Hannibal,Mo. His father was a Southern Baptist preacher, which led to Baptist church camps in Glorieta, Lewis' first introduction to the Land of Enchantment. Mark's father had a natural ear for music and his mother was a talented vocalist, Mark however chose to pursue writing. As a young man, while living and working in New Mexico and writing in his spare time, he was offered a Wallace Stegner Fellowship at Stanford University. This is a two-year creative writing fellowship that honors the American novelist known as "The Dean of Western Writers". His writing also made him the recipient of  the Pushcart Prize, a literary prize that honors "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot."  Upon his return to New Mexico in 2003, Lewis assembled Trilobite, his vehicle for musical expression. Mark Ray Lewis builds music of immense depth with the most basic of ingredients: mandolin, guitar, fiddle, banjo, drums, low brass, theremin and pedal steel. It's new folk infused with Midwestern sensibilities, energetically quirky, yet Gothic and dark. He has a keen eye for human frailty, deviations from the norm and a photographic memory for details. Mark also seems at odds with religion, as he comes to terms, not with a loss of faith but with a restructuring of his beliefs. He is, as an interviewer remarked "Christ-haunted"  a remark that Lewis explores, "Christ is a beautiful dreamer, but the word "God" I associate with the uncaring universe."

Like a blind man describing an elephant by touch, putting a tag on Trilobite's music can be hit and miss. I would say it's in the same style  as Kaleidoscope, David Lindley, Townes Van Zandt or The Handsome Family (who are Mark Ray's Albuquerque neighbors)  Trilobite maintains a line-up that includes: Jason Aspeslet (drums) Jessica Billey (fiddle) Mark Weaver (low brass) Michelle Collins (vocals) Dave Gutierrez, Michael Grimes and Brett Davis (banjo) together or in various combinations they create an eclectic strain of music with stylishly sublime lyrics and inventive melodies. Mark Ray sings with resignation, his easy vocals are Midwestern flat, melancholy is his mood of choice.   Each song reads like a short story, as repeated listens reveal new textures and lyrical subtleties. By now we can surmise that Lewis' upbringing and literary standing makes him anything but ordinary, he is a rare talent and a singer-songwriter with few equals.  Mark Ray Lewis describes his pulling away from his Southern Baptist roots as "losing my religion" it's a theme that crops up both in his writing and his music. On "Lucky Toe" Mark sings that "God has a plan for me, he loves me like lightning loves a tree." Which is to say that his compulsive nature makes him a magnet for trouble and despair. This inner struggle for peace of mind and purpose resulted in the memoir "Long Sad River" published in 2009. It tells the tale of of a young man caught up in an unhealthy relationship fed by compulsion and obsession.  With one simple line Mark sums up what ails so many men: "Before I knew her, I was all boy" as males, we are but children, until we meet the right woman. It's that desire and need that will drive us to the edge of madness, but it does make us  men in the process. For Mark it takes him to the very brink, Faun the girl of his dreams, suffers from a fractured soul, the result of being orphaned in Germany and then adopted by her American parents. Overly protective of her, they disapprove of Mark and forbid them to see one another, which is the opening salvo of a long drawn out and nasty war of wills. Mark and Faun are caught up in a frenzy of sexual activity and emotional dependence "The weather was either sublimely gorgeous or it was hailing frozen blue fire and we failed to notice." 

For Mark, the outcome is prolonged, he can't win and ultimately he survives simply by not self destructing.  Many men have their "Fauns" but not many can channel the experience into something as vivid and touching. The author's description of the book is always the best: "It was written when I was on the cusp of becoming both a motherless child and a father.  It’s the true story of how I got started down the good path of disbelief, which, like all the best catastrophes, began by falling in love." Mark Ray Lewis has released two albums as Trilobite, the self titled debut, released in 2006 and Silver Skin which came out in 2008. Both albums stand alone as examples of Lewis' creative genius, but they also fit in with the Balkan/Folk movement that has taken root in Albuquerque. (best exemplified by Zach Condon & Beirut, The Zoltan Orkestar, A Hawk and A Hacksaw and Eva Ave) To me, Albuquerque has always seemed more Midwestern than Southwestern. It's only natural that Mark Ray Lewis would make his home here, and we are enriched by his choice.   Love...a man would do good to live his life free of it, to cast it aside like a fleeting thought, but that man would have to do the impossible and that is to live without being loved.

That Dirt City Sound Episode 6 (redux)

       

   
   
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Music so tastefully done that I can actually taste it, ristras, banjos and guitars the sounds of New Mexico. I originally posted this as Episode Six of That Dirt City Sound, but in order to share it with a larger audience I'm publishing the playlist again. Disclaimer: Any artist or band that objects to having their music included on episodes of That Dirt City Sound, should contact me.  All objections shall be dealt with accordingly.