Getting Wet In Harrison:
Warm weather should bring out the folks...
---Joe Harless Well, spring has sprung upon us in the far North, I’m talking Boone County. Or at least it feels that way. All the birds and bugs are starting to rattle, hum, chirp, croak and caw. It’s free music if you care to listen. Actually I was sent a quite amazing CD last year. It was recorded by a fellow in W. Virginia who did field recordings of birds. He sampled the sounds of waterfalls, creek riffles, trees creaking, bugs buzzing, bull frogs for bass and spring peepers. He orchestrated and mixed all the sounds around nature’s rhythms and produced a natural work of art. When crediting the performers he just said, “Critters”. As for what’s happening, it’s as follows: Live music is growing by leaps and bounds, or maybe I should say, skips and hops. But it’s going forward. Crawdad Days is Harrison’s biggest music shin-dig of the year and it’s a butt kickin’ good time. This will be a Friday night and a full Saturday of music featuring national touring bands and the best regional and local talent. This year a local radio station, 102.9, the Z, is handling the music end and so far they’ve nailed a great headliner, a guitar/slinger singer from Texas, Mr. Casey James. He was one of the finalists, three years ago on American Idol, I believe. I listened to his stuff and called some people I know, where he’s played on tour, and everybody I know gives him and his show a big “Oh Yeah”! This guys a bona fide crowd pleaser, so it will be worth your time to schedule a road trip up to Harrison for the 2013 Crawdad Days. This event will take place at the Lake Harrison Park, right next to downtown on May 17th and 18th. All the bands are good, the women pretty and the beers cold. Admission is free. Call 1-870-741-2659 for more info. After the festival is over, you can go to one of the other live venues in and around town, and party on, if you want. There’s a local VFW and Ugo’s Pizzeria, Opie’s Roadhouse, the Brick Oven Pizza Company and Roosters Barbeque. Who knows, might something else open up before May 18th, this is Boone County, man! A new watering hole just opened up. Opie’s is just north of Harrison a few miles on the scenic route 7 as you’re heading up to the North Arkansas Peninsula, where I live. Remember the old Patrick Swayze movie, Roadhouse? Well that’s kind of what this bar Opie’s reminds me of. Not as violent or big, but it has such an awesome vibe, the real deal; pool tables, a corner stage, ice cold you know what, and finger lickin’ food. Opie’s is between Bergman and Harrison, you come around the bend and see the hand painted sign on the left. They’re booking in some of the hottest bands in Boone County: The Ground Rattlers, the Dirt Road Dogs, the House Burners, and the Downtown Strangers. This is one rockin’ fun club. Tell them Shakey Joe sent you! Last week on Saturday night, the Three Story Trio played at Ugo’s Pizzaria in downtown Harrison. The Trio brought it on. The sound was excellent, there’s plenty of seating, and the pizza was two times good. This Trio could best be described as Peter, Paul and Mary with attitude. From Patsy Cline to Hendrix, Van Halen to Edie Brickell, good music to eat pizza and drink beer by, or an ice cold Coke. It’s amazing how many people love to join in and sing along with John Cougar songs. This restaurant is only a short walk from where the Crawdad Days will be held. I’m pretty sure they’ll have some good and greasy Blues & Boogie going on during and after the festival, so stroll on over. Up here in Diamond City, we’re having a really cool event on April 13th, from 10 AM to 3 PM called The Ozark Byways High Flying Kite Day. It will be held at the Lead Hill Corp of Engineer Park in Diamond City. Sounds kind of convoluted huh? We live in Diamond City but our address reads Lead Hill. Our park is the Lead Hill Park, but it’s in Diamond City. That’s why I refer to this whole area as the North Arkansas Peninsula because both towns are only three miles apart. Once you get here, you’ll find wherever you’re going. It’s a peninsula; it sticks out into Bull Shoals Lake. If you go too far in any direction, you run into the water, right? Kite flying is a good thing. It’s healthy, it’s outdoors, kids love it and so do grownups. You’re all welcome and it’s free! Bring your fishing poles and cameras. This is the first year for this annual event, come and join in. The fiddlers are having their big ta-do over at the south campus of North Arkansas College from March 21st thru the 24th. It’s great old time fiddle music played by the people who love it. Last but not least; I have to throw this in. American Idol is one of those shows if someone says, “Did you see so and so? You feel obligated to say, “I don’t watch that stuff!”, but you know you do. So do I and Arkansas has had two singers all the way up until this week, to the final 10. Sadly they were eliminated, but I’m so proud of both of them, everyone in Arkansas probably is. The girl was fantastic, she could front any band I’ve ever been in and the dude was rock on righteous, a true entertainer and he has no doubt MUCHO GANTIC BALLS... ---Shakey Joe
Gene Autry “Roundup” Guitar
Sears, Roebuck & Company introduced the Gene Autry “Roundup” guitar in the autumn of 1932. At the time, households across America were fond of listening to the radio and this guitar was named after the up-and-coming radio performer, Gene Autry. Gene could be heard singing his cowboy songs live on radio station WLS out of Chicago, a station owned by Sears (call letters W.L.S. stood for “World’s Largest Store”). Sears also owned the Harmony Guitar Factory where the Gene Autry guitars were built. The Gene Autry guitar was fairly small in size, but was a perfect fit for the younger fans of cowboy lore. The front of the guitar was stencil-painted with artwork showing a cowboy riding in a cattle roundup while swinging a lariat above his head. The “Gene Autry” signature was painted at the bottom of the scene, and the model name “Round-up” was painted up on the peghead. Sears was using the house brand name of “Supertone” on all of its guitars, and inside the sound hole was a Supertone label which read: “This instrument is guaranteed to be free from defects and flaws and to comprise the best materials and workmanship and tone that is possible for the price.” The 1932 Roundup was in fact a high quality guitar made with a solid spruce top and solid mahogany back and sides, and at a price of only $9.75. Gene Autry, the “Singing Cowboy,” went on to become hugely popular and had an unprecedented career in entertainment spanning three decades. He recorded more than three hundred records and was on radio and television, but is best remembered for being a movie star. Gene starred in ninety-three movies. Of course, he sang and played guitar in these “picture shows,” but more importantly was how each movie contained a good moral to the story. Gene Autry always made a stand for what was right and morally correct, and his fans were well aware of his cowboy code of ethics: 1. The cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage. 2. He must never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him. 3. He must always tell the truth. 4. He must be gentle with children, the elderly, and animals. 5. He must not advocate or possess racially or intolerant ideas. 6. He must help people in distress. 7. He must be a good worker. 8. He must keep himself clean in thought, speech, action, and personal habits. 9. He must respect women, parents, and his nation’s laws. 10. The cowboy is a patriot. Gene Autry was an excellent role model for our “Greatest Generation.” While Gene’s young fans were absorbing his cowboy code, they were formulating their own code of ethics. If these youngsters were to be like their hero, they too would fight for what is right. Tens of thousands of those same fans became young men in the early 1940’s and went on to be real-life heroes as soldiers fighting in WWII, many giving their lives to protect America and the folks back home. The Gene Autry guitar was produced from 1932 through 1955 and went through several changes in specifications such as measurements, types of wood, and color of finishes. These changes were described in the Sears catalogs every year or two and may have occurred to make the prospective buyer feel like the model was new and improved over the previous year. When you find a Gene Autry guitar today, it will definitely have a few wood cracks, and will need luthier work to bring the string action back down for comfortable playing, but this is typical for any 70-year-old acoustic guitar. Most guitar collectors won’t go to the trouble or expense of restoring old cowboy guitars, but instead keep them as they find them, rusty strings and all, and hang them on the wall as art. As collector’s items, Gene Autry guitars are pretty affordable. The most valuable is a first year production Roundup with “F-32” date stamp (fall of 1932), worth around $500, while a 1940’s Gene Autry “Melody Ranch” can be found on eBay for as low as $100. In other words you can purchase 150 cowboy guitars for the same investment as one 1964 Fender Stratocaster. A short video demonstration of a 1932 Gene Autry “Roundup” guitar can be seen on www.YouTube. com by using search words Nightflying Gene Autry Guitar.
Gene Autry starred in 93 movies and was an excellent role model for his young fans 1932 Gene Autry “Roundup” guitar, made by Harmony and sold though Sears. Photo by Steve Evans
NIGHTFLYING.COM • MARCH HARE • 2013
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