Wayne "The Train" Hancock at the Tip Top

Wayne Hancock looks and sounds like he wears a throw-back jersey with a GPS in the pocket. That's how in touch he is with the tradition of yesteryear and the vibe of today. He can tell what it feels like to get sweat and dirt in your eye at the same time. Feeling overwhelmed with life? Hancock's got just the thing for that. Call it caring the country & western sort of way. To get yourself on the road to recovery grab your wig-hat and find a live set of Hancock’s signature hillbilly jazz sound; then pick out a spot on the adjacent dance floor. Now you've got it. Let it move you by the soul. “Dancing is the best expression to release that bad energy,” Hancock said. Just what the folks have been grooving to, in particular, for the past 17 years is Hancock’s version of Texas dance hall and jump blues. “Whether it was the hand clapping or what, the originals played jump blues so people could dance,” Hancock said on his way to a sold out gig Urbana, IL. “I like it upbeat. If you can swing your blues then you’re there.” Ever the humanitarian Hancock has everybody's interest in mind but his own. “When people leave my shows I want them to feel like they got a leg up on some of their worst times.” Wayne Hancock, appearing at the Tip Top on Oct 9, presents a roots music experience as it was first intended. He cites Bob Wills as a contributor of some of the best blues he’s heard. “He conveyed the down side of how he was feeling,” Hancock said. “But he put a swing to his music that made it seem like that no matter how bad things got, you still had the upper hand.” He writes the lyrics of a laborer but delivers with a vocal style that's more uppity big city. Hancock admits to an affinity for vocalists like Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra. He has a penchant for gems from the American song book. Thus he records a version of “Midnight, the Stars, and You” (Ray Noble) on his disc Viper of Melody (2009). “My parents were born in the 1920s," Hancock said. "I grew up listening to “Stardust” and Hoagy Carmichael. No matter what they had on the radio I never was happy with it.” He says he thinks the blues ain’t nothing you need to be afraid of. “Blues are expressions of life,” Hancock said. “They’re like feeling good and having sex. It’s just another emotion.” The hillbilly portion of hillbilly jazz is all Jimmie Rodgers and Hank Williams, perhaps Hancock's most handy comparison. Hancock is putting out new disc in early 2013 called Ride. Songs topics are expected to include a new found love of riding motorcycles and the ever trusty murder ballad. Hancock recently hired a manager after many years without one. He is reported to be very pleased so far with a new booking agency. If things are looking up for Wayne The Train then the rest of us might have a chance. “I’ve gone through some changes in the past two years,” Hancock said. “But now I feel like I’ve got my yodel back.” 

Wayne "The Train" Hancock wsg The True Falsettos at the Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill tonight. Show at 8 pm.  

Ticket information at:  

http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=3118264&pl=tiptop



Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys at the Tip Top

Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys core rockabilly sound is full of truthfulness.  Attendees for any show are likely to feel transported back in time as if witnessing the evolution of country boogie into rock-n-roll. Some might feel as though they’re listening to guitar-driven surf from a beach movie on the TCM channel. Their brand of authentic western swing has few equivalents. The Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill welcomes for the first time a genuine Rockabilly Hall of Fame inductee in Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys on Sept 30. As accomplished and identifiable as their sound has been for 25 years now, the act wouldn’t be the same without Big Sandy’s front man presence. There are only so many ways to describe the onstage chutzpah of Big Sandy (aka Robert Williams). One of them is to say that Big Sandy the entertainer looks to invigorate a fading show biz tradition every night: the one where laughs are earned the old fashioned way with lively stage banter and wit. “I do like the entertainment aspect,” Big Sandy said. “Some artists just play as in ‘we let the music do the talking.’ I like the entertainment side of the business and the way you present it. It’s kind of a lost art, the whole show business part of it.” Here’s the tip to that success: he got jokes. A little wit in between songs can go a long way. Improvisation helps makes songs sound fresh a little longer; Big Sandy says he tries to keep it interesting by mixing up the set list and doing songs just a little bit different from night to night. Between the music and the stage show it’s safe to say Big Sandy is left to carry on tradition to the unwashed masses. “It becomes second nature after all these years,” Big Sandy said. “We try not to think too hard about it. We don’t want it to be just an old fashioned retro thing but still relevant to now.” Early next year in celebration of their 25th anniversary in show business Big Sandy plans on releasing a new album. “We’ve just finished recording it and we’ll be mixing it when we get back home,” Big Sandy said. “We’ve taken songs off of each our albums and reworked some of them with acoustic versions.” If they were ever to bestow a Country Boogie Entertainer of the Year, Big Sandy  would be a favorite to win. Although currently on tour with Los Straitjackets, BS&FRB Grand Rapids show is theirs to mess up all alone. “This will be first show on this trip without Los Straitjackets,” Big Sandy said. “That’s not the good part. It just means we’ll get to play a little longer.”

 

Big Sandy & His Fly-Rite Boys wsg Delilah DeWlyde & the Lost Boys at the Tip Top Deluxe Bar & Grill in Grand Rapids today at 6:00pm.

 

Ticket information at http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=4811895&pl=tiptop

 

 

TMGR Publisher Wins Award

Taste Makers Grand Rapids publisher Chet Eagleman Jr. was recently recognized for work in multimedia journalism. The news slideshow "Art Prize 2011," featured on the website of The Collegiate newspaper at GRCC, won a MCCPA award for reporting.

Interview with Doug Deming: Remembering Gary Primich

When jump blues guitarist Doug Deming's band was hired in 2006 to back up harmonica master Gary Primich, Deming was already an admirer of Primich's music. "I liked his approach," Deming said. "We shared a musical vision. It was a pleasure to meet him and an honor to play with him." After that it didn't take long for Deming to become an equally ardent fan of the man himself. "He was one of the guys. It wasn't about any ego or star time. Gary was about getting the job done." Continuing a longstanding connection to Primich and his music Doug Deming and his band the Jewel Tones take part in the First Annual Grand Rapids Harmonica Summit, a Tribute to Gary Primich, on Sept 6 in Grand Rapids. Deming will play the original songs of  Primich and then back some of the brightest names in the blues harmonica world today. The harp players expected to descend on the St Cecilia Music Society for this one day event include Dennis Gruenling, Peter Madcat Ruth, and Hank Mowery. Deming and Primich shared a musical camaraderie before they ever met. Deming's buoyant, bouncy hollow-body guitar turned into a perfect match for the Tiny Grimes side of Primich, who passed away in 2007. Deming's dart tip emotion-loaded solid body guitar had pinpoint accuracy on the slow blues. "Within the blues genre Gary did a real variety of traditional styles," Deming said on the way to a tour stop in Springfield IL. "That's kind of where I live as well. I'm a fan of all the early American music which is largely blues based. It has a jump blues feel and we throw in a little jazz with a touch of rockabilly. It all filters into to a style we've developed." Deming, who ended up being the last guitar player for Gary Primich, has fond memories of their time together. "I was his last guitar player for his last few tours. We did a Midwest tour up into Canada in the spring before he passed. He was a great guy, always fun to be around. He liked nothing more than to hang out, listen or play some good music, and watch a football game." 

The First Annual Grand Rapids Harmonica Summit, Sept 6, St. Cecilia Music Society, 7 pm. $10 at the door.

Conversation with Nathan Kalish

Nathan Kalish just wants everyone to have good start to the school year. It doesn't matter to him if you're done with school or you've just signed up for classes, Kalish and his band the Wildfire look to return rested and tan for a show at the Pyramid Scheme on August 31. This particular back-to-school special, featuring up-and-comers Gunnar & The Grizzly Boys, is one that Kalish hopes will appeal to the professional student in all of us. "We wanted to do a back to school show for the college kids," Kalish said en route to a recording session. "Our music fits real well with Gunnar's. Each band has a similar fan base so this should be a good ticket." Furthermore Kalish (pictured third from left) can sense the potential of the evening by the relevant musical styles of these two bands. "Both of our bands are guitar driven," Kalish said. "Gunnar comes from the modern country side with some pop rock sound thrown in. The Wildfire is outlaw country with pop sensibilities." The show at the Pyramid Scheme, along with the Legal Immigrants, marks the return of Nathan Kalish the promoter. "I promoted all our home shows here in the past seven years," Kalish said. "It can be kind of stressful to say the least. Gunnar is such a powerful band live it makes more sense for us to open up for them. Fans of this guitar forward kind of sound might take this opportunity to see Kalish and company perform before he embarks on a 2 1/2 month long tour with Nashville's Deadstring Brothers. "I'm going to be the opening act for them," Kalish said. "I'll be solo playing my originals. I've toured with them before as a guitar player and a bass player."

Gunnar & The Grizzly Boys wsg Nathan Kalish and the Wildfire and Legal Immigrants, Friday, Aug 31, Pyramid Scheme, Grand Rapids. Doors 9:00pm, show 10. More information at Pyramid Scheme dot com.

Interview with Dave Alvin: Survivor of the Fittest

Photo by Beth Herzhaft

Dave Alvin is the first to admit he's not the most prolific of songwriters. He is still, however, a highly regarded writer of life-scape songs. It seems the hectic time-oriented pace of a traveling musician doesn't always allow for quiet corner time.  "There just isn't a lot of time for critical, creative, or any kind of thinking," Alvin said with a gruff little chuckle. "The way I tour it's very hard to write on the road; I've been touring the same way for 30 years." Despite the rigors of this work situation Alvin's songs have been covered by Dwight Yoakam, James McMurtry, and Alejandro Escovedo. Alvin's on-the-go writing process changed slightly in 2009 when he toured with the Guilty Women. "At full force it was an eight piece band," Alvin said. This time around the extra drivers got him out of some wheel duty. "I love to drive one of the vehicles and it's relaxing for me," Alvin said. "But now I could say, 'Here, you drive for a while. I'm going to sit and write some songs.'" The reprieve granted him much needed space to write. Soon after he was bringing in tunes from the road and making things happen once he got home. "I'd have a week or two off back home in California. I'd call up some friends, go in the recording studio, and cut a song. Then I'd go back out on the road." These recordings became the basis for his esteemed Eleven Eleven release. But there is something more to learn about Alvin in that he's something of survivor. So other than having former Blaster saxophonist Lee Allen as an early adviser in the music scene, he seems all right. "Lee taught a lot of us guys life survival techniques," Alvin said. "He showed us how to survive bad times and good times. Both have their pitfalls and perils. He said, try to show up on time--all those little things," Alvin said with a laugh. He says the importance of going into the music business with a sound frame of mind cannot be understated. "It's a weird surreal life sometimes," he admits. "When you're around long term survivors of this lifestyle it will either send you running toward the exits or into more of a full blown embrace of trying to make a living doing this," Alvin said. "Musically it affects you one way but when you know guys personally it affects you another way. The thing Lee taught me and Steve Berlin (Alvin's former band mate in Blasters) of Los Lobos is how to still love doing this." Alvin, with a career spanning thirty-plus years, knows how rough it is out there. "Something you learn from survivors is how to pack up all your blues and troubles and keep moving ahead," Alvin noted. "Whether there's hope or not you have to keep telling yourself there is or you're not getting out of bed in the morning." To his credit Dave Alvin has done several albums of acoustic music and several electric rock releases. He says that in concert, just like Richard Thompson, he tries to negotiate the heady rapids between the two presentations. "It's all the same to me," Alvin said of the songs performed each night. "They are the same notes on the guitar whether they're loud or quiet. But it boils down to what the song wants. I know that sounds crazy but it's the truth. A lot of good songs can be played anyway you want to play them. Night and Day by Cole Porter can be played in a variety of formats. You can do it as a rock-n-roll song or a polka," Alvin said. After all that does he still plan on turning it up in Grand Rapids on March 6? "They'll be some quiet moments but otherwise it will be rocking," Alvin said with a slight laugh. "You better bring your earplugs just in case." 

Dave Alvin and the Guilty Ones at Tip Top Deluxe Bar and Grill on March 6. Doors at 7:00 pm, show at 8.
More info at Dave Alvin's website.

Interview with Anders Osborne

Photo credit: John McCusker/The Times-Picayune

When you're at sea sometimes it feels like the sun never sets. This was the apparent case for blues musician Anders Osborne, fresh off a jam band cruise from the previous week, as he continued to soak up the musical sunshine.

"They had this boat going in the Caribbean with a bunch of people playing and another big slew of people dancing," Anders said with a laugh from his home in New Orleans.

To know the very essence of Osborne is to know the cruise must have been a spectacle of styles. The Osborne view of the jam band scene on the boat included funk, roots rock, and electronica.

"It was quite the hodge-podge," Osborne said of the various bands. "But mostly it's the after-life of the Grateful Dead following. Only now the new generation is jumping on board. I got into playing those crowds in the early 90s with folks like Joan Osborne, Rusted Root, and The Radiators." 

If there was one musician of the hundreds aboard the jam band cruise befitting the Artist at Large title--as he was known on the boat--it's Osborne. 

"People get to invite me to be a special guest on their shows," Osborne said. "This time I played with Toots & the Maytals and Bruce Hornsby. I was featured in George Porter's band (original bassist with the Meters). I also got up there with Bill Kreutzmann's (Grateful Dead drummer) band called 7 Walkers."

For artists like Anders Osborne defining oneself in the crowded jam band landscape can be tricky. When you talk stylistic presentation, Osborne likes the combination of improvisational music skills and a wallop of showmanship.

"People respond to my improvisation when I do my full band," Osborne said. "We rock and create on the spot. I grew up around a lot of jazz. But at the same time I came up with Neil Young and the hard driving rock and roll shows of the day."  


A good song knows no boundary. Not to be content with singular musical scene credit, Osborne is known for his original compositions across multiple genres.

"I've always tried to spend a little time on the songs and craft them to the best of my ability," Osborne said. "From time to time you get a little recognition for what you do and that's cool." 

One form of respect he wakes up to everyday is the diversity of artists who recorded his songs: Tim McGraw, Tab Benoit, Kim Carnes. What is it about Osborne's compositions that make them so worthy?

"I have never directly heard any comments from these people who have cut them," Anders said. "The decision to record is a very personal one. It varies. If you're not a songwriter you receive a bunch of songs and you go through them with your producer. The timing of everything just has to work out. You have to be in a certain place, maybe going through a divorce or something. Songs relating to that are more natural to sing. I don't think there's a method to this madness. Sometimes as a writer I get lucky."

Originally from Sweden, Anders Osborne says he was sixteen years old "full of energy and displeased with my position in life" when he left home. Osborne started to hitchhike, and--over the course of about three years--ended up in Northern Africa and Egypt.

"I met someone from New Orleans on the way and eventually made it down here," Osborne said from his home of twenty-seven years on The Ridge (original high point above sea level) in New Orleans. "It felt like home so I decided to stay here."

On this current tour with Keb' Mo' which makes a stop in Grand Rapids on Jan 21 at the Intersection, Osborne plans on performing an acoustic guitar set. 

"I haven't done it in a while but hopefully I'll be up to speed with it," Osborne said with a chuckle. "I think I'm going to try to stick with an acoustic. Other times I'll sit down with my amp and play an electric (guitar). What I'm trying to do this time is to find a specific tone for my performance and stick with that. The idea for me is more of a complete show. It starts with me and goes into Keb' so that there are no fuzzy lines. I want the audience to go from one thing to the next and feel that it was a nice transition for their entertainment."

Keb' Mo' and his band with Anders Osborne, 7pm, Saturday at the Intersection. 

More information at sectionlive.com