The Reverend Slick returned to Kennett last night to infuse new life into my good friend Viretta.
The Creation of Viretta
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Category Archives: Music
Slick Ballinger
I’m not ready to give up on the video from Slick Ballinger’s recent Kennett appearance. In the meantime, you can download and listen to the audio. The first four songs are from the first set and (I think) the sound is better. The last five are from the second set and it sounds like the PA was little hot. This was recorded on my video camera so it basically sucks. But if you’ve never heard His Slickness… you might not even notice. I’d like to think they were recording this out of the sound system but have no way of knowing.
Sorry I can’t provide the names of the songs but I’m hoping one of Slick’s Rangers will ID them and I’ll update this post. Mother Sexton insists there are not a lot of good recordings of Slick online, which is difficult to imagine, but she would know. One more thing… it was difficult to cut the End Zone sets into individual songs. Reverend Slick and the Soul Blues Boyz slid seamlessly from one tune to the next. If I guessed wrong, let me know and I’ll repost.
Song# 1 [6 meg – 14 min]
Song #2 [7 meg – 17 min]
Song #3 [6 meg – 16 min]
Song #4 [5 meg – 11 min]
Song #5 [2 meg – 6 min]
Song #6 [4 meg – 10 min]
Song #7 [4 meg – 10 min]
Song #8 [4 meg – 10 min]
Song #9 [3 meg – 7 min]
Daniel “Slick” Ballinger
Daniel “Slick” Ballinger’s story is literally the stuff of movies. Young white boy travels to the Mississippi Delta to live with –and learn from– aging blues legend. Barb and I drove to Kennett this weekend to hear him play. He and two sidemen (Terry “Harmonica” Bean and drummer Kenny Kimbrough) did two one-hour sets at a local bar called The End Zone. I grew up in Kennett and don’t ever remember paying a ten dollar cover charge but The End Zone was packed. The back story on Slick is worth a read and the best place to start is Tweed’s Blues. Tweed maintains the semi-official Slick Ballinger page there. (Be sure to read the Como Chronicles.)
I won’t waste a lot of words trying to capture the Slick Ballinger Experience. Like all such moments, you had to be there. If you pressed me for a word to describe Slick’s performance, I’d have to go with “intense.” I shot some video under what has to be the worst conditions imaginable. Check back in a couple of days. If I got anything usable, I’ll post it.
I don’t know how Slick learned to play a guitar like that in less than twenty years. And I can’t imagine where that kind of passion comes from in one so young. Uber-fan Viretta says some of the old timers back in Mississippi think Slick is the reincarnation of Robert Johnson (doesn’t the screenplay practically write itself?).
We ran into Slick, Kenney and Terry the next morning at McCormick’s. They were fueling up on biscuits and gravy before hitting the road to Chicago where they’re performing at a Sara Lee corporate function. Slick doesn’t have a record deal and apparently doesn’t want one. Sounds like all of his bookings are word of mouth. After watching him perform, it’s hard not believe I’ll see him again…with a Grammy in his hand. But that won’t make his music any better. And those who know him say it won’t make him any happier. If you’ll give me one more word to describe Daniel “Slick” Ballinger, I’ll go with “authentic.”
[Note to Viretta and Nancy: You were right.]
Bob London and the Rolling Trolls
I got the impression Bob London is not his real name. He did sound British and mentioned that he was heading back to London soon. In mid-February (2004) he was performing on a street corner in Key West. Duvall Street was jammed and his plastic bucket was filling up with bills. Bob’s shtick seemed to be “One Man Band.”
He has an assortment of instruments and…stuff, strapped to his back. He plays the drum (and rotates the Troll Dolls) with a cord that attaches to one shoe. He’s got a harmonica, pipes, some kind of kazoo instrument. It’s one of those “you have to see it” things. I bought one of his CD’s and hope he doesn’t mind if I share one his songs (AUDIO: All Along the Watchtower mp3).
Scandal: The World’s Greatest Bar Band
The Shilo was a honky-tonk. Like a dozen other in Kennett at the time. But when Don Akers brought his band (Scandal?) back to Kennett and became the “house band,” The Shilo was something more. It was Hot & Nasty and The Disco King. It was Foosball. And when Don and Suzy and the band took the stage… it just rocked.
Religious sites devoted to Elvis
“The number of religious sites devoted to the King is just staggering: Church of Elvis, The Eighth Day Transfigurist Cult, Elvis Sance, The Elvis Shrine, The First Church of Jesus Christ, Elvis, The Gospel of Elvis, Little Shrine to the King, and Oracle of the Plywood Elvis, and of course, The First Presleyterian Church of Elvis the Divine.”
The review above was written by Kimberly Villalba Wright. I’m pretty sure I don’t know Kimberly but according to the credits on the review, she “was born in Hollywood, Florida, and has spent most of her life in Mobile, Alabama. She earned a BA in English at the University of South Alabama in 1997. Her poetry has appeared in the Epiphany, Arrowsmith, Doggerel, Dicat Libre, El Locofoco, as well as Poetry Caf. This fall, Wright will begin working toward an MFA in creative Writing at the University of Memphis. Wright currently resides in Kennett, Missouri.”
Kimberly… I’ll be in town Christmas Eve. Let’s hook up, pound some Buds and remember The King.
Sons of the Western Boohteel
“In August of 1990, I received a call from the organizers of the Hornersville Sesquicentennial Celebration. They were looking for cheap entertainment and wanted my barbershop quartet. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view), that quartet was defunct. What about cowboy songs instead?, I asked. Cowboy songs would be just fine.”
From The Secret Origins of The Sons of the Western Bootheel. I’ve created a little “fan page” although I’m not sure one performance qualifies me as a fan. Download and listen to some of the songs. The guys are pretty good and there’s a real honesty to thier music.
Music Radio
The following thoughts on radio are by Bob Lefsetz. I searched –unsuccessfully– for the article or a website to which I could link.
“The only people who still believe in music radio are the conglomerates with monopolies and the major record labels. All the LISTENERS, the POTENTIAL listeners, think it’s a JOKE! If you’re listening to music radio, you’re the lowest common denominator. You don’t have a CD player in your car. Like everybody with any MONEY! And, unlike the sixties, almost NO ONE listens to music on the radio at home. Really. Pay attention. When do people listen to the radio at home. In the morning. It’s PERFECT. While you’re walking around the house, getting your shit together. And, is there any MUSIC in the morning? Almost none. Because the music being purveyed SUCKS! Music radio is a giant sinkhole. I can understand the majors wanting to reduce indie promo costs, but what I CAN’T understand is their reluctance to explore new avenues of exploitation. Look at the statistics. Music radio listenership keeps going DOWN! Kids especially don’t listen.”
Honky Tonk Woman
Last night the Rolling Stones did a live HBO concert from Madison Square Garden. About half way through the two hour show they launched into Honky Tonk Women and out struts Sheryl Crow looking like ten million bucks. (Watch on YouTube)
It’s always difficult to tell if Jagger and Richards are leering but they both seemed delighted to have Crow join them and Mick couldn’t keep his hands off her. Crow –the only “special guest” to appear– was just a baby (one or two) when the Stones hit the charts in the U.S. but there she was, on stage in Madison Square Garden, before a world-wide TV audience. I kept asking myself, “What’s bigger than this? What’s ‘up’ from here?” The concert will be rebroadcast at 8 p.m., Monday on HBO2 and 9 p.m., Thursday on HBO.
Dan Landrum
I heard from a couple of Kennett expatriates this week. Dan Landrum worked with me at KBOA back in the 70’s. He stayed in radio for a while but gave it up to pursue a career in music. On his website he describes himself as “a hammer dulcimer enthusiast and musician, based in Signal Mountain, Tennessee.” He must be pretty good because he’s rehearsing “for an upcoming world tour with Yanni.” That’s pretty cool. Or bizarre. Or both.