Narragansett Artist, Mama C, "In Da Tube"

Top Shots 2012 (Abmar)

Top Shots 2012 (Beer)

Top Shots 2012 (Island)

Top Shots 2012 (America)

Top Shots of 2012 (surf)

Turkey Nuggets!

Snagged this one just before I paddled out on Thanksgiving. Needless to say I was very thankful and hungry when I sat down with Abbe and the family for dinner. A special thanks to Swellinfo.com for posting this as a photo of the week, and Thanks to all for visiting my site.

Hells Angels

 

  

My Grandfather, John Clancy, pictured in the top two photos (on right), was a photographer for the "Hells Angels" 303rd Bombardment 358th Squadron stationed in England during WWII. These photos are from his scrapbooks that I found in an old oak box last year. Like many, my Grandfather never spoke of the war in front of us kids, and I'm not sure he really spoke of it at all, except perhaps to those he served with. When he returned home, he took a job as a custodian at Millis High School, and was an Honorary Police Officer for the town.

As a young child, I remember his happy demeanor, and how much he loved his family. Unfortunately he ended up suffering from Alzheimer's, which proved to be a slow and emotionally painful process. His stories and secrets vanished from his mind his mind, some I'm sure he was happy to see go, but part of the tale remained safe inside this box.

The Late Great, David "Honeyboy" Edwards. My first review for The Narragansett Times (Mid-October 2010). Rest In Peace Brother.

Last Saturday night, an intimate audience gathered at the historic and newly renovated Hale House in Matunuck to celebrate one of America’s most original and valued treasures, bluesman David “Honeyboy" Edwards.

Born in 1915 in Shaw, Mississippi, Edwards was the son of a sharecropper.  He left home at the age of 17 to play the blues.  As he walked past a cotton field on his way out of town a worker called to him, “boy you better put that guitar down or you’re gonna stave to death,” but Honeyboy kept on walking.  Seventy-eight years later the two-time Grammy award-winner, world traveler, and one of the last living legends from the original delta blues movement, shared the music that started it all to a captive audience at Hale House.

During sound check, Honeyboy tuned a few strings on his guitar–without a tuning pedal. He gave the microphone the old’, “1,2 check,” and said, “sounds good to me.”  Michael Frank, his longtime friend, guitarist, and President of Earwig Records told the soundman that Honeyboy’s Fender amp “has too much distortion and that it is not his sound.”  The soundman and Michael fussed with the amp for a bit as Honeyboy mumbled a few unhappy remarks  under his breath then looked to me and said, “don’t never let nobody mess with your tone.” 

Another friend of Honeyboy’s, Rocky Lawrence, opened the show.  Decked out in a black pin stripe suit with a matching hat, that included the obligatory red feather tucked in the brim, Lawrence stomped black and white wingtips into floor as he abused his acoustic and turned the Hale House living room and study into a virtual barnyard. Rocky ripped though some old blues numbers from the likes of Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson, and finished his set with “Mystery Train.” Meanwhile backstage, Honeyboy was itching to play. 

As Edwards took the stage, he was greeted with a standing ovation. Taking his seat, he rested his Gibson Les Paul in his lap, and shouted,  “Y’all ready for the blues!”  As the band kicked into a rousing version of “Meetin’ the Devil Blues” Honeyboy’s fingers slid up and down the fretboard like greased lightning.

During  “Walkin Side by Side” Honeyboy struck a chord so deep that it sounded like the whistle from the freight trains he used to jump to get from show to show coming right out of his guitar.  Suddenly he kicked his left leg forward and let out a bluesy howl into the microphone.  His voice was smoky with a deep southern drawl.  When Honeyboy sang, it felt like tapping into the very root of what music is.    

Edwards displayed his unique slide style during “Country Man” and kept it handy during “Sweet Home Chicago” which sent the crowd into an uproar. Honeyboy claimed to have written the tune that has since been credited to Robert Johnson. Rocky explained that Honeyboy also wrote “Every Day I Have the Blues” but stopped playing it when it was credited to Memphis Slim. Rocky also noted that Honeyboy began playing the tune again when B.B. King turned it into a number one hit in the 50’s because after that, “he really did have the blues everyday.” 

Later in the show, Honeyboy asked for his Martin acoustic guitar, which Rocky was nice enough to tune for him.  As Rocky did so, Honeyboy said that the blues are great because, “if you mess up, there’s a quick turnaround for you to jump right back in."  

During “Going Down Slow” and “Big Fat Mama” Honeyboy dug deep into the fretboard.  He held his guitar away from his body, tilted his head to the side, ripped a smooth run down the entirety of the neck, and smiled as if to say, “yeah I still got it.”  Honeyboy finished his set with “61 Highway” slicing through a solo so suculent that Rocky let out a big bluesy howl. 

It’s easy for folks to have the blues these days but, people like Honeyboy who truly know suffering and triumph, can help put your blues into perspective.  If you ask Honeyboy about the hard times we’ve been having lately, he’ll gladly tell you, “you ain’t seen nothing yet, you just gotta keep on playing.” During an interview before the show Honeyboy told me that after this tour he planned on settling down a bit and spending some time with his family in Chicago.  “I play music to live,” he told me, “and I live pretty good.  I’ve done everything I wanted to do, so the world don’t owe me nothin.”

As I shook his hand to say goodbye he looked me dead in the eyes and in a telling manner told me, “everything’s gonna be all right.”     

Legendary drummer Jai Johanny Johanson brings Jaimoe's Jasssz Band to South County. Preview Article for The Narragansett Times.

Jai Johanny “Jaimoe” Johanson is no stranger to evolution. A founding member of The Allman Brother’s Band, this Mississippi born drummer’s career spans decades and includes work with musical greats like Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and Lamar Williams. While some may consider that a lucky list of cohorts, Jaimoe knows that his time holding the sticks can be attributed to a whole lot more than luck. “When you practice your trade, it doesn’t matter if you’re a doctor, lawyer, mechanic, or whatever. When you practice your trade, you will get results. I’m living proof of that,” Jaimoe said in a recent interview.

Lately the hard working drummer has been putting in the effort with his newest group, Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band, and On Sat. Sept. 8^th the vibrant act will take their bluesy mix of jazz, rock, and American music to the Knickerbocker Café in Westerly in support of their first studio album Renaissance Man, which was released to critical acclaim last Dec.

It all started one night back in 2006 when Gregg Allman’s assistant told Jaimoe about a singer and guitar player named Junior Mack. After listening to some of Mack’s music, Jaimoe invited the artist to play a gig with his band. The set was recorded and later released as the band’s first album, Live At the Double Down Grill, which was followed up two years later with another live release, Ed Blackwell Memorial Concert.

“You have to look at the tunes you’re playing. How refreshing are they, or how refreshing are you playing them,” Jaimoe said. “When the whole band starts to play, that’s what makes the band sound good is that full sound. That’s what Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band is all about. It’s just American music, and American music is just improvised music, that what’s jazz is, all that splashy [stuff].”

Over the years the band’s chemistry evolved, along with their songwriting. They went from playing artful renditions of classic tunes like The Meters, “Cissy Strut” and Dizzy Gillespie’s “A Night In Tunisia” to trying their hand at some original tunes written by Mack and other members of the band. These new songs created the backbone of their first studio album, along with a couple hand picked covers like Sleepy John Estes’ blues heavy “Leaving Trunk” and Tony Joe White’s soulful ballad “A Rainy Night in Georgia.” 

“Dilemma” the opening track on the album showcases the band’s ability to blend multiple musical genres and pull it off with style. Jaimoe’s slick jazzy skins along with the thump of David Stoltz on bass guitar back Mack’s smooth smoky vocals and fiery guitar solos. The musicians’ varying styles are fused together by the Bruce Kats on keys, while the band’s triple threat horn section of Reggie Pittman, Paul Lieberman, and Kris Jensen, add an emotional punch to Mack’s heartfelt tune.  

The album is an easy listen, which one could leave in rotation for days on end. Its eclectic mix of tunes has a little something for everyone. From the ear tickling jazzy number “Drifting and Turning” to the B.B. King-esc “I Believe I’ll Make A Change” to the ballpark organ driven tune “Hippology” the songs are laid out with thoughtful progression that keep the listener tapping their foot and smiling throughout. The band’s instrumentation on a Bossa nova version of the Allman Brother’s “Melissa” gives the classic song fluid movement without deviating too far from what fans all know and love. 

Thinking back to the old days and what it took to get to where he is today Jaimoe recalled, “I had this book on odd time meters by Joe Morello, and I was at one of [Charles “Honeyboy” Otis’s] gigs one time and I showed it to him. He looked at it, turned a couple pages, closed it up and handed it back to me. He said, “Let me show you something man,” he said, “if you can play this, then man you can play anything.” So, he showed me this one beat, and that beat never left my brain man, it’s still in there. It must have taken me about a week and a half [to learn]. Everything I’ve ever done with the drums, I’ve had to work at. I see people who just pick the drums up, pick up sticks and do all kinds of stuff…not me. I have to work at it. I’ll tell you one thing about working at something to learn how to do it; you don’t forget it easily, or ever.”