Come On Got To Be!

My ‘pologies for not posting anything in a long long while, there’s been a bunch happening here lately.

First, the Junior Kimbrough/OGM CD release party last year was an absolute success and as time passes it seems to be achieving legendary status, and for those couple hundred of yall who were there: yes it was that hot, yes it was that fun. By the way, talking with David and Kinney Kimbrough, even they say they’d never played a hotter gig where the walls were sweating, the building moving, and folks were making babies in the parking lot.

Second, the new album was recorded in Como, MS at Jimbo Mathus’ Delta Recording Services with Kinney Kimbrough on drums. We recorded 10 songs in 1 hour and 50 minutes with 2 breaks…and all but two songs are first takes. I feel that “40 Nickels For A Bag Of Chips” is a damn good example of feeling and initial gut reaction to music. Kinney hadn’t heard ANY of the songs before we recorded them. We played Issaquena once through as a warm up and then recorded the song 2 minutes later, and that was the only song Kinney had a “preview” of. For the rest of the tunes I’d say something like “slinky groove” or “think Cottonpatch Disco” or “I was listening to Paul Wine Jones when I wrote this” and that was it. I’d start playing and he would laser beam onto the groove and just get it in there deep. It was a natural fit, and the most fun I’ve ever had playing music with someone for the first time. The man is an ABSOLUTE pro. Looking at an early summer release…say, in late May or early June. Here is a vid clip of the warm up song:

Third, I’ve got another record in the works with CW Ayon on drums and vocals. Got to say I’ve been surprised as hell at the response to my singing at the last few gigs…so dammit I’m singing a song or two on this album. We’re doing some recording near the end of July, and hoping for a fall release in October/November. Here is a sneak peak at one of the new tunes called “Back In The Day”. This is live at Sparky’s BBQ in Hatch, New Mexico and it is the first time we ever played it in public…and the third time we’d played it EVER. CW had the lyrics written on his snare! I wrote this tune in tribute to T Model Ford and we were fortunate enough to debut it in front of T Model that night! That’s Jesse Gutierrez of Blues Messiah, Jame Theory, and 8 other bands sitting in with us on bass!

And lastly, I sure appreciate yall who are coming out to the shows, and your response to the new stuff makes my day. Can’t wait to see yall again!

Well Well Well

Gotta say thanks to y’all for making the Junior Kimbrough birthday and our CD release party such a damn success! Between gate receipts and a headcount out in the parking lot, about 275 of y’all came to TC’s on what had to have been their biggest sweatiest night in for dang near ever. The Kimbroughs went home happy, CW Ayon went home happy, the Black Squeeze went home happy and I KNOW we did. Sure hope y’all did too. Here are some pics from the big night as well as one of our live tracks.

Issaquena Stomp

We’ll try and arrange the pics more or less chronologically for y’all:

Before the STORM!

More and more folks kept coming in:

First up we had CW Ayon come on at 8 and by the time he started most of the seats were taken. He played a killer set with some old tunes, some new ones since we’d last seen him on the Clarksdale Juke Joint fest trip, and some he played with Joe. First time I’d ever seen him play with a drummer and it KICKED ACE! You could tell he was rested and fired up to play…hell even Big Red the guy at the door bought one of CW’s shirts!

Next were the Black Squeeze, America’s only Black Keys tribute band. They came on around 9 and started out with some BK’s, a Robert Pete Williams cover, then played the Chulahoma album all the way through. Jason Roberts stood in with them for their whole set playing second guitar or bass, whichever was needed. Joel asked me to play bass with them during “Meet Me In The City” and it was all great. Folks enjoyed these fellas.

Then it was our turn. By the time we got started it was hotter than Satan’s privates the day he decided to wear wool under-roos. I mean DAMN! Joel from the Black Squeeze told me he figured he’s lost 20 pounds during their set, and I for one believe him. Just as we were about to start playing, our good friend Orange Jefferson came in…he’d just finished playing over at Victory Grill, so after a quick conference Joe decided to grab a drink while Orange and I played his tune “Hey Warden”. He had the place SILENT, it was cool as hell…and when he was done he got some hellacious applause.

All the seats were taken, most of the standing room was too, and everybody was having a good time. There were beer bottles covering every table, empty water bottles on most flat surfaces, and a pile of people out in the parking lot breathing some cooler un-sweat laced air.

(Bet y’all didn’t know we had the great James Brown sangin backups!)

Once we’d played about half our set we had Mississippi Gabe Carter come up and sing “River’s Up Y’all” with us. Then we played one of his tunes, “It’s Raining Outside”.

Don’t know what we’re all looking at, but this pic wasn’t posed!

Anyhow, we finish up and it was time for the Main Event! The Kimbroughs came on and owned the joint until 2:40! TC’s was SUPPOSED TO CLOSE AT 1!!! They played great music, told some stories about their dad, the Chulahoma Juke, and just flat entertained folks ALL NIGHT LONG!

Here are a couple vid clips of exactly what I’m talking about:

One from Friday night:

At TC’s

David Kimbrough Jr

Kent “Kinney” Kimbrough

Heather Bishop standing in near the end of the night singing with Stacy Mackey

JOE FALCO GOES TO CHURCH!

It was a great night, a legendary party and we all appreciate you!

CD RELEASE PARTY!!!

Our Junior Kimbrough 80th birthday and CD Release Party will be held at TC’s Lounge!!!!!!!!!!

For those of y’all that don’t know about this place, it’s Austin’s last TRUE Juke!

That’s RIGHT! The HOME of he blues in Austin. Say what you want about other venues in A-town, TC’s is the real damn deal.

This is where we’ll be playing that heavy blues with David Kimbrough Jr, award winning New Mexican Bluesman CW Ayon, and our new friends The Black Squeeze.  So come on out to live through the closest thing you’ll find to a true North Mississippi Hill Country Juke House Night in Austin, TX!

MEET ME IN THE CITY! – ALL NIGHT LONG! – DONE GOT OLD! – LORD HAVE MERCY ON ME!

Our ‘pologies on the lack of activity lately!

We’ve been working our proverbial asses off…PROMISE!

So, now that you’re here, we have a quorum…first order of business:

ALBUM LAUNCH!  We’re throwing a combination album launch and Junior Kimbrough birthday party on July 31st. Junior’s 80th birthday would have been this July 28th, and his oldest son David Kimbrough Jr will be coming down to headline the celebrations, we’ll of course be playing as well as our good buddy CW Ayon, and some new friends The Black Squeeze. The Black Squeeze are a Black Keys tribute band and they will be playing the BK’s album “Chulahoma” in it’s entirety. I would imagine IT WILL BE A DAMNED HOOT! Only hiccup so far is the venue, we’ve had some flaky folks pull some flaky sh*t on us but now it’s looking like it’ll happen at either Victory Grill or TC’s Lounge up in Austin. Ought to have it NAILED DOWN by the end of this weekend. GOD WILLING!

(Clears throat, takes sip of delicious water) Second order of business:

NEXT ALBUM: “40 Nickels For A Bag Of Chips”. Joe and I have been dusting off some of the old tunes that we didn’t record for “Sound Like Somethin Fell Off The House” as well as working up the new’uns. I have a feeling the 40 Nickel album will have a “Damned Stompy” feel to it. “Shakin The House Here Boss!” as they might say in Cool Hand Luke. We’ve taken some of the improvised music from the Juke Joint Fest gig and structuralized it a bit so it’ll resemble actual songs instead of a 5 hour jam!

Once the CD is officially released we are going to start gigging aggressively again, playing whenever and where ever we can/want to. So hope to see y’all on the 31st, bring your stompin shoes, party likker, and impure thoughts! In the meantime, please enjoy the tune we did with Watermelon Slim at the Juke Joint Festival (click the link below). Sure appreciate y’all!

Old Gray Mule & Watermelon Slim @ Club 2000, Juke Joint Festival 2010

Juke Joint Festival 2010

Y’all……….Y’all………….Y’all.  This festival couldn’t have gone better for us if Lawrence Welk himself had pushed the button on the bubble machine, kicked the orchestra into a fast tempo number, looked over his shoulder at us and said, “And now friends, it’s time for some Foot Stompin Magic Boogie Shit!”

It’s all thanks to beer, and that’s the truth. We went looking for a beer around 12 or 1 and found a couple places that had $8 beer and $18 hamburgers, and were full to brimming with tourists, wanna be bikers, and other folks who could afford a $26 lunch minus tip. Well, we were playing the festival for less money than we spent on gas, so we went to the other side of the tracks where the BBQ grills were lining the street and there wasn’t but one live music tent out front of the New Roxy.

Well, we found the coldest beer in The Fine State of Mississippi, right next to one of the best hamburgers and catfish sandwiches we’d ever eaten, cooked by some of the nicest folks it’s been my pleasure to meet in a long assed while. We’d found Club 2000 on Issaquena Ave. Since we were the only people in the whole place, we spent an hour or so talking and come to find out T Model Ford was playing that night at 9. One thing leads to another and as we head for the door I ask if we could have a shot opening for T Model.  ”Why not?” They says.

Well we’re energized now! I immediately start pimping CW Ayon (who traveled with us to Clarksdale in hopes of finding a gig) and they say, bring him. So I go fetch him, get him introduced around and he starts playing out front while we go get ready to play our “official” Juke Joint Festival gig at the Train Depot. A couple hours later, we get back to Club 2000 and CW has the place JUMPING! Even the little kids are getting down!

Once he gets finished, we set up and start playing. In 3-4 songs we have cleared the place out…everybody trickled out and was GONE! I was thinking, “OK, when we get out of here…I’m going by that pawn shop and selling my gear” Later Joe told me the same thing. THEN a MIRACLE happened. We were playing “River’s Up”…folks started trickling back in…a couple guys started doing that slow motion juke joint dancing strut. Next thing you know a guy walks in and asks “Uh….hey…uh…I play some harp, can I sit in with y’all”

“Hell yeah man, there’s the mic”

That was Pat “Rockadaddy” Murphy. Later we heard that he hadn’t done anything like that in 20 years. He told me he’d been sitting in the vacant lot across the street watching his grandkids, heard our music and had to check us out. Well, we improvised tunes for him for the next 3 hours or so…the place was jam packed with locals GETTING DOWN. We had folks dancing, trying to steal our tip money, laughing, grabbin for my spare guitar, smoking, dancing, pointing their voodoo stink fingers at us…I don’t even know what all was happening, except folks were enjoying themselves.

Then somebody must have told the city because the next thing we know everybody is getting run out of that place for not having the $10 wristbands…so we quit playing and start using our tip money to buy wristbands for them. Don’t remember how many we bought but we got some of those folks back in, including Pat. So we get back to playing and the next thing you see is a line of tourists in wristbands coming in. So we filled Club 2000 TWICE…first time with locals, second time with tourists. Pat finally has had enough, we get him a beer and he goes outside to enjoy some well deserved cool unsweaty air. CW Ayon sits in with us and sings two RL Burnside tunes with us that KILLED!

At that point DJ Undertaker…the guy who booked us to play that night walks up and says, “mlkjasdhaiuwieufjef….plays harp” It was so loud in there I couldn’t hear what he’d said so i just said, “He wants to play with us?”

“Yeah.”

“Hell yeah, there’s the mic”

That guy was Watermelon Slim. He came up, was getting settled with the mic and chair, while I kicked off a slow eerie jam. Joe came in, then Slim and we got everyone but folks walking in to be SILENT. It was the coolest tune I’ve ever been a part of. About 2/3 through the song T Model Ford walks in, so it was our last tune of the night. We had the place FULL, but when T Model started playing (through my amps, sitting in my chair, singing through CW’s mic and PA…with Stud playing Joe’s drums) he got enough folks in there that there was NO place for us to stand except the sound booth…or out on the street.

After an hour and half or so Stud (T Model’s 13 year old grandson) got tired and Joe played drums for him the rest of the night. Later on Joe started getting tired so he figured he’d play louder and faster to wear T Model out…well…didn’t have any effect other than it woke him up! We didn’t get out of there until after 2:30. We are invited back for next year and CAN’T WAIT!!!!

Gooooooooooooooooood Morning Adelaide!

We are pleased as hell to announce that our first album “Sound Like Somethin’ Fell Off The House” will be released on Stobie Sounds, an independent record label based in Torrensville, South Australia…which over here would be “Torrensville, part of the Greater Adelaide Metroplex”.  Look at the picture and orientate yourselves!

Gotta say that I think the word “organic” is as overused today as “extreme” and “alternative” were in the 90′s, but these guys down under have a very organic approach to record making…from using recycled cardboard sleeves to hand carving wood blocks for printing graphics. Not only that but they also hit the wineries and take old wine bottles to make custom slides for guitarists world-wide. Check out their website for all your bottle neck slide and roots music needs!

http://www.stobiesounds.com

Man O Man

We were busier than a one legged man in an all day ass kicking contest during SXSW week!

Mixing continues on “Sound Like Something Fell Off The House”. I’d say we’re about halfway through if not just a bit closer to the finish than the starting line. “River’s Up Y’all” is up north in Chicago getting the Mississippi Gabe Carter treatment, and we can’t wait to hear what he’s done with it. Guaran-damn-tee that song will be a highlight! We’re already lining up some vocal talent for the next album which ought to get recorded during the summer, and we’re excited as hell that these folks are willing to share their time and talent with us…more on that later. As of now we’re looking at the Juke Joint Festival in Clarksdale Mississippi as our “Cd release party”. We realize that not many of the home folks will be able to make it, but we’re planning on having another one here in Texas as well. Will keep y’all posted.

JC Stobie of Stobie Sounds down in Australia has contacted us about selling the CD when we finally have some to sell. He runs an indie record label/record shop/custom bottleneck slide/blog business down near Adelaide, Australia. Also he’s expressed some interest in reviewing it for us as well. Gotta tell y’all that if you like Old Gray Mule, you’ll dig the fellas he has on his label! Sweet Baby James & Rob Eyers, and Kirk Special both have CD’s out on Stobie Sounds. They are available for digital download as well as the traditional CD. One day maybe even vinyl! Check them all out at:

http://www.stobieandco.com/stobiesounds/

We played 4 sets this last week. Kicked off  Armadillo-fest at Armadillo Hall in Taylor, TX and made it on the evening news. Went back Saturday and played 2 more sets. Met some good folks, and had our first guy moshing! Mississippi Cold Shot had this guy moshing and helicoptering, was surprising to see our music had that effect but it’s greatly appreciated! Our version of Poor Black Mattie seemed to knock quite a few folks back as well. But the HIGHLIGHT of the festival in my opinion was when I was guarding my equipment backstage and the guitar player from Swedish southern rock band “Perry and the Travelers” came over and rubbed my beat up ugly assed Fender Twin for good luck. After our first set the Swedes all came over to talk with us and I felt like a stump in the forest! Not one of them sumbitches was shorter than 6′ 2″ and there I was at 5′ 6″! I’m thinking I need to change the name of my amp to “Swedish Buddha”.

Thursday evening I had the pleasure of acting as chauffeur for 80 year old Austin music hall of famer and blues legend Hosea Hargrove. Guy was an absolute hoot to talk with. I brought him to and from the Dialtone Records showcase where Rev KM Williams from up in Dallas was playing as well so it was great to finally get to meet him. When I took Hosea back home he graciously signed my Tele. So that sucker is now branded with Hosea Hargrove, Cedric Burnside, and Lightnin Malcolm’s signatures…will get more in Clarksdale! Meant to get KM to sign it but didn’t bring it into the venue with me, will hit him up in Clarksdale where he’s playing the Train Depot Saturday at 2PM. Saw Hosea again at the close of Armadillo fest and he played a great set with his regular backing band knocking over the previous two blues bands. Note to self: Don’t Open For Hosea Hargrove!

All BS aside though, the most important thing that happened was WE FINALLY STOPPED PLAYING LONG ENOUGH FOR ME TO GET MY TELE FIXED! Finally!!! From talking with other bands in town, the average Austin band seems to play 1-2 times a month. We’ve played 6 shows this month AND started it all off recording an album. For a band that hasn’t toured, I am TIRED and can’t wait to get the Tele out of the shop with it’s myriad tuning problems CURED.  FINALLY!! I had a BAD experience with a shop on North Loop just prior to our recording session where not only did it take 45 minutes to an hour to explain what I wanted done, but they sat on my guitar for 2 and half weeks and when I called them 2 days prior to picking it up…they assured me it would be ready. When I arrived they HADN’T EVEN STARTED WORKING ON IT! So I am happy as hell that South Austin Music has my #1 guitar in their loving hands getting it set up and ready for next weekend. Couldn’t appreciate them more.

Our Magic Boogie Shit is POWERFUL!

I still can’t get my head around the gig we played last night. We were invited to play the after party at the International Guitar Festival at Festival Hill in Round Top, Texas. Got all set up in the crypt under the 1880′s German/Lithuanian church and then went over to the concert hall to catch the end of the last concert of the festival. A Turkish classical guitar player is doing his thing on stage…Sonata in A. So after awhile we mosy on back to our juke joint in the catacombs and wait for the folks to arrive.

Next thing we know we’ve got 70-100 people down in this tomb, we are kicking out the boogie like an Old Gray Mule and we have people bouncing, wiggling, dancing, and one guy screaming uncontrollably…and LOUD. He was screaming “Haw Haw Haw Haw” over and over again like a drunk, sweaty, John Lee Hooker at a tent revival. It was unreal. Then he says, “Thanks for playing ZZ Top” I about shit my pants man. So I said, “Uh…that was our version of Boom Boom by John Lee Hooker” He looked at me like I was about to blow my nose on his wife’s dress and said “Yeah I guess he did it first” We started playing and his ass started getting rowdy again…awkward moment passed.

Once I’d had enough it was pretty late and Thomas Liberty stuck around to BS with us and got our hat sizes several sizes larger with compliments on our playing and interest in what we were doing. Folks seem to enjoy what we do and damn isn’t that nice? The mission statement of Old Gray Mule is:

EVERYONE GOES HOME TIRED!

Developments, Developments, Developments!

Man we’ve had a hell of a week!

Firstly, the 1964 Gibson Falcon amplifier I found by the curb on heavy trash day in Lockhart, TX has been RESURRECTED! I picked it up from the folks at Austin Amplifier and finally got to play it today at rehearsal. Man I can’t say enough good things about that shop! Cameron, Daryl and the fellas are the finest bunch of musical tech folk I have met in 26 years of playing guitar. Not even ONE arrogant jackass have I come across at that shop!!! Anyhow, the transformer was blown, and it needed a cap job, but everything else worked…even the reverb and tremelo! The tubes had 1964 dates on them and were made by RCA and they all checked good! Played my hollowbody Ibanez through it today with the Loudness set at 7, Tone all the way up, Reverberation about 12 o’clock, and Tremelo Depth at 4…Speed at 2 and that amp made sound I cannot describe. It was warm, full, luscious, and if it’a had legs, I’d a bought it a steak dinner.

Secondly, while I was there I was talking with the fellas about this’un and that’un. They got a black face Super Reverb I was eyeing with much covetliness. When I mentioned that I would like to have Albert Collins’ tone on a song or two, they pointed me to a Fender Quad Reverb sitting in the corner. Turns out…it IS Albert Collins’ amp! Eric Johnson got it from Gwen Collins after Albert passed, and they got it from Eric Johnson….or something like that, I was too excited at that point to listen very well. Couldn’t stop touching it either, kept trying to soak up some juju from that amp through osmosis. SO anyway, they are letting me rent it next weekend while we’re recording. So we have Albert Collins’ amp on Old Gray Mule’s first album “Sound Like Something Fell Off the House”.

Thirdly, we played my version of “Poor Black Mattie” today and it will be an absolute barn burner! I mean DAMN! That is going to be a powerful song whether we have 5 people at the gig or 555. Can’t wait to let that sucker loose.

Fourthly, we’re recording next weekend at Festival Hill in Round Top, TX.

Next Generation of Blues/Recipe

It’s weird man, but it seems like every 20-30 year old blues player I’ve seen for the last way too many years is doing one of two things, either they’re doing the whole Stevie Ray Vaughn/Kenny Wayne Shepherd/John Mayer guitar hero thing, or they’re doing the greasy haired hipster lounge blues soul patch thing. Can’t tell you what a relief it has been to watch Cedric Burnside and Lightnin Malcolm, Richard Johnston, C.W. Ayon, and Mississippi Gabe Carter play their music. It reaffirms my belief in the boogie.

A good while back I came up with a formula that seemed likely to spell success for any band playing the bar scene, the clubs, frat mixers, or house parties and BBQs. Here it goes:

1. If they ain’t moving, they ain’t sweating

2. If they ain’t sweating, they ain’t drinking

3. If they ain’t drinking, we ain’t getting invited back!

So all that to say, the next generation of blues seems to be committed to helping folks GET ON UP WITH THE GETTIN ON DOWN! That magic boogie shit gets folks movin and groovin and thinking impure thoughts and damn we’re proud as hell to be a part of that!