March 30, 2017
Three Chords and the Truth
By Ronnie Narmour ronnienarmour@gmail.com
Bluebonnets here I come… I got up on Sunday morning to attend to my usual ritual of setting up the stage for Mike Williams’ brunch show at Giggity’s. As I sat at Shorty’s drinking coffee and pondering my next move, I was overtaken by a force that pretty
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out of his mouth was, “Ronnie, I still have that little grey record player and I dig it out and play my 45’s on it every now and then, just to think about the old days.” And he invited me in for a glorious trip down memory lane. That must have been 1984 or so.
Coming this weekend…
Denny, Grady & Mathew… On this night in downtown Austin, there were maybe 20 people in the club and Denny was about to take the stage for the regular “Blue Monday” show. Except for the years that Denny went out to California to play with Bob
Mark McKinney played the Third Coast Theater last Friday in Port A. Photo by Woodie Lawson. Scattered shots… I’ve used up most of my room here, talking about the old days. Thanks for letting an old
The bluebonnets were blooming between Luling and Bastrop last week. much threw me and my dogs in the truck and headed north in search of something (anything) free of island drama. I hadn’t seen the fam in a while, so Bastrop here I come. The wildflowers were blooming and I just had to stop for a photo op somewhere between Luling and Bastrop when I saw a huge field of bluebonnets in front of a cool, old ranch house. Right then, I knew I had made the right move. I felt a wonderful calm come over me and the closer I got to home, the better I felt. And by the time Monday evening rolled around, I loaded up my brother-in-law Jim and headed into town to catch some music and see some old friends. For me, that meant a trip to my old stompin’ grounds, Antone’s Club, Austin’s Home of the Blues.
Antone’s, Austin Home of the Blues… We were greeted at the door by beautiful Ilse Haynes, a Scandinavian beauty who has been working the door at Antone’s since the days when such blues greats as Muddy Waters, Clifton Chinier, Eddie Taylor, Jimmy Reed and Junior Wells (etc) played. When we walked into the bar, the first one I ran into was a fellow I’ve known since the first days of Antone’s, back in the mid-70’s, guitarist Denny Freeman. Denny played in the house band, Paul Ray and the Cobras, with a young aspiring artist by the name of Stevie Va u g h a n . Denny and Stevie lived across the street from me on Jewell and Grady Pinkerton, Mathew Robinson and Ronnie back then, we Narmour at Antone’s saw each other on a daily basis. Nightclub in Austin last I remember Monday when Stevie turned 21, me and the other bartenders at Antone’s bought him a record player. It was one of those grey plastic jobs with a turntable that swung down and detachable speakers. I think we paid maybe $100 for it. When we gave it to Stevie, he was perplexed. “Why are y’all giving me this?” I told him, “Well Stevie, if anyone needs to be able to play music, it’s you… “, but actually the real reason was that Stevie had borrowed Denny’s record player and wouldn’t give it back, and we were tired of listening to Denny bitch about it. Years later, I went to see Stevie in his hotel room in Corpus, years when he was playing a show at the old Coliseum on Ocean Drive with Eric Johnson. He had gone double platinum by then and probably had a sound system you could hear on the other side of the planet… but when he opened the door and saw me, he welled up and the first thing
Denny Freeman and Grady Pinkerton played Antone’s Nightclub in Austin on Monday Dylan, he has been a stalwart every Monday at Antone’s, usually with Derek O’Brien or Johnny Moeller or a variety of other world class musicians that founder Clifford Antone had assembled. Understand, Antone’s has always been the clubhouse. Denny told me that he never ever called the club to see if he was playing that particular night… he’d just show up and play. That’s kind of what we all did. When Denny took the stage on Monday, he was joined by Grady Pinkerton (Lazy Lester) and Speedy Sparks (Fab T-Birds) because Derek has been called to Dallas a lot lately, to care for his mother. Jim and I got to the club in time to hear them play a half dozen tunes (mostly standards by the like of Dr. John, Jimmy Reed and Lazy Lester, etc). To say the least, I was in heaven. After these boys played, another old buddy of mine, Mathew Robinson, took the stage. Mathew is the fellow that gave me my nickname one night many years ago in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Needless to say, I go WAY WAY back with all these folks and this was the medicine I needed to get my mind right. Who knew? All it took was a short jaunt across the ditch and just don’t look back.
Todd Dorn & the Sea Drifters with Jay Springer, Dillon Stowe and Woodie Lawson played Giggity’s on Saturday. Photo by Julie Carfaker
Steve West played Shorty’s last Friday night. Photo by Woodie Lawson.
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Free Beer Band Mar. 30 Ulrich Ellison & Tribe Mar. 31 The Groove Apr. 01 Antone & the All Stars Apr. 02 Open Mic w/Selfie Apr. 03 Paul Taylor Band Apr. 04 Jim Dugan Apr. 05 722 Tarpon, Port Aransas, TX
Beach Stone Rise played the Back Porch on Friday. man ramble. I did make it out to see some shows in Port A last week with a few pics that Woodie Lawson helped me out with. Of all the shows I saw: Captain Legendary, Steve West, Todd Dorn, Preacher Keen and Woodie went to the Mark McKinney show, I was most impressed by the Stone Beach Rise show at the Back Porch. They have a sort of island beat meets Shark Radio. I absolutely loved the vibe they created. And the bevy of hot chicas they got wiggling on the dance floor didn’t suck too bad either.
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Thursday, March 30 Free Beer Band @ Giggity’s Somethin’ Silky @ Rockit’s Amplified Heat, Cathouse, Phat Kat, THC, Swedish Ropes @ House of Rock
Friday, March 31 Myndfields @ Back Porch Uel Jackson @ Shorty’s Richard Tondre (6-8), Jam Band @ 361 Bar Five Card Draw @ Brewster Street Ulrich Ellison @ Giggity’s Swagger @ Rockit’s Bright Light Social Hour, CAPYAC, Arcade Hustlers @ House of Rock Cruise Control @ South Texas Ice House Saturday, April 1 Scarecrow People @ Back Porch Selfie @ Shorty’s Uel Jackson @ Wild Horse Rockaholics @ 361 Bar The Groove @ Giggity’s Jarrod Birmingham @ Brewster Street Another Level @ Rockit’s Sunday, April 2 Antone & the All Stars
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Tuesday, April 4 Paul Taylor Band @ Giggity’s Bubba Flex @ 361 Bar Open Jam w/ Rev. Matt Martinex @ House of Rock
Uel Jackson Mar. 31 Selfie Apr. 01 Stevie Start Apr. 07 71st BIRTHDAY BASH! SATURDAY APR. 08 JAMES LITTLE, MATT HOLE, BILLY SNIPES MUSIC ALL DAY AND NIGHT, BBQ!
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Sunday, April 9 Art Fair w/ Eric Magnusson @ Shorty’s Antone & the All Stars @ Giggity’s
Tuesday, April 11 Paul Taylor Band @ Giggity’s Bubba Flex @ 361 Bar Open Jam w/ Rev. Matt Martinex @ House of Rock Wednesday, April 12 Okie Invasion w/ Joe Mack, Carter Sampson, Erik the Viking @ Giggity’s Bubba Flex @ 361 Bar
Friday, April 14 Okie Invasion w/ Joe Mack, Carter Sampson, Erik the Viking @ Shorty’s Laid Back Texas @ Back Porch Toman Brothers @ Giggity’s Richard Tondre (6-8) @ 361 Bar Bob Schneider @ Third Coast Theater Clay Walker @ Brewster Street Oddfellas @ Rockit’s Saturday, April 15 Out of Bounds @ Back Porch Red Giant @ Shorty’s Duke E. Brown @ Giggity’s Steve West @ 361 Bar Metal Shop @ Brewster Street Cruise Control @ Rockit’s Sunday, April 16 Antone & the All Stars @ Giggity’s Monday, April 17 Open Jam w/ Selfie @ Giggity’s Tuesday, April 18 Paul Taylor Band @ Giggity’s Bubba Flex @ 361 Bar Open Jam w/ Rev. Matt Martinex @ House of Rock
Friday, April 7 Ruben V @ Back Porch Stevie Start @ Shorty’s Hayes Carll @ Third Coast Theater Richard Tondre (6-8), Jul & Chrome Wheels @ 361 Bar Bad Buoys @ Giggity’s Spazmatics @ Brewster Street Clarissa Serna @ Rockit’s Saturday, April 8 Anniversary w/ James Little, Matt Hole, Billy Snipes @ Shortys Jul & the Chrome Wheels @ Back Porch Hayes Carll @ Third Coast Theater Aloha Dave @ Giggity’s Sing Along Piano Bar @ Brewster Street
Monday, April 10 Open Jam w/ Selfie @ Giggity’s
Thursday, April 13 Free Beer Band @ Giggity’s Somethin’ Silky @ Rockit’s
Monday, April 3 Open Jam w/ Selfie @ Giggity’s
Thursday, April 6 Free Beer Band @ Giggity’s Wade Bowen @ Brewster Street Oddfellas @ Rockit’s
Catering for any Occasion Closed Monday 222 Beach St. Port A (361) 749-0022
Briefly, DO NOT MISS Sean Hunter’s BIG b-day bash at Shorty’s on Friday with Uel Jackson. Uel will be at the Wild Horse on Saturday. Old school R&B, Myndfield, will be at the Porch on Friday and powerhouse blues rockers, Ulrich Ellison and Tribe, will be at Giggity’s. On Saturday, Police reincarnates, Scarecrow People, will be at the Back Porch, Selfie will be at Shorty’s and The Rockaholics will be at the 361 Bar.
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Wednesday, April 5 Jim Dugan @ Giggity’s Bubba Flex @ 361 Bar
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Ulrich Ellison and Tribe will play Giggity’s on Friday.
Wednesday, April 19 Billy Snipes @ Giggity’s Bubba Flex @ 361 Bar
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Thursday, April 20 Free Beer Band @ Giggity’s Selfie @ Shorty’s Stoney Larue @ Brewster Street Flatbroke @ Rockit’s Friday, April 21 Larry Joe Taylor @ Back Porch Ty Dietz @ Shorty’s Somethin’ Silky @ Treasure Island James Little @ Giggity’s Richard Tondre (6-8) @ 361 Bar APEX @ Brewster Street