Category Archives: Uncategorized

October 17, 2019 · 5:24 AM

Musical palate cleanser, the lady plays edition

I confess to knowing little about Beverly Watkins, which is a shame.

Beverly Watkins, a rare woman among blues guitarists, who cleaned homes when music did not pay her enough and did not record her first solo album until she was 60, died on Oct. 1 in Atlanta. She was 80.

Her son and only immediate survivor, Stanley Watkins, said the cause was a heart attack that had been preceded by a stroke.

Ms. Watkins called her music lowdown, stomping blues and complemented it with crowd-pleasing antics into her 70s — playing her electric guitar on her back and behind her head, sliding across the stage. When she sang, it was often with a growl.

“She’d been doing all that since the late 1950s, but she wasn’t a star because she’d been a sideman most of her career, playing with bands that didn’t have hits,” Brett J. Bonner, editor of Living Blues magazine, said by phone. “She was a fabulous guitar player.”

Judging by this clip, she sure was.

You gotta love it. RIP, Ms. Watkins.

“I feel it is best we go in different directions.”

This is one helluva story.

Pierce College is investigating a situation in which football coach Carlos Woods reportedly forced 30 players to live in a three-bedroom apartment, according to the school’s student newspaper The Roundup News.

The report also suggests that four additional students lived in the team’s locker room. The situation allegedly arose because of Woods’ promises to recruits before the fall semester in 2018. Those promises included housing for his new players, which the coach never actually secured…

Former player Jose Cordova described the situation, saying Woods originally told four or five players they would share a three-bedroom apartment and spilt all of the bills.

“Coach Woods told me that I was valid to move to L.A. from Orlando, Florida, and that my housing would be set up with other players coming in and returning athletes,” Cordova said. “Woods told me that it would be four to five players in a three bedroom, and we would all split the bills and each pay $350 for rent – everything included.”

“He promised actual living space, and it ended up being like a camp/jail with how many people were living in that house,” Cordova added. “Lines Woods had crossed would be 30 guys in a three-bedroom and almost half of his recruits wouldn’t pay rent and bills wouldn’t be paid.”

Cordova also admitted that eviction notices began to pop up. The money that Woods collected from the team for rent was not being used for that purpose. [Emphasis added.]

That’s the first time I’ve seen coaching college kids as a straight out grift. Eh, but you can’t blame the school, right? I mean, how could they know Woods was a scumba…

At a previous post as the football coach at Gavilan College, Woods and another coach were placed on administrative leave after recruiting and benefits violations occurred in 2017, according to the SanBenito.com.

Oh. I’m guessing a search firm wasn’t involved in his hire.

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October 1, 2019 · 6:19 AM

Musical palate cleanser, in the end edition

This past week turned out to be Reissue Christmas (Hanukkah?) for me. Today, you get a little taste of Giles Martin’s rework of Abbey Road.

It’s on a level with his other Beatles reissue work. Ringo benefits the most from it (and to think there are folks who don’t appreciate his virtuosity), but there is noticeably more air around all of the instruments, particularly acoustic guitar.

There are also plenty of outtakes to feast on. I’ll be honest and admit I could have lived with one or two less examples of “Sun King”, but you ought to hear a five-minute version of “The End” where the band just rocks out with guitar exchanges.

In other words, if you love this album, highly recommended.

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September 16, 2019 · 5:28 AM

Musical palate cleanser, another one gone edition

Mortality blows.

Ric Ocasek, the songwriter, rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the Cars, was found dead on Sunday afternoon at his townhouse in Manhattan, according to the New York Police Department. No cause of death was available on Sunday night.

It is unclear what age Mr. Ocasek (pronounced oh-CASS-ek) was. According to some public records and previous articles, he was 70, other reporting suggests that he may have been 75.

From 1978 to 1988, Ocasek and the Cars merged a vision of romance, danger and nocturnal intrigue and the concision of new wave with the sonic depth and ingenuity of radio-friendly rock. The Cars managed to please both punk-rock fans and a far broader pop audience, reaching into rock history while devising fresh, lush extensions of it.

Always liked these guys. My favorite: