Frank Gutch Jr: Doug Sahm & The Search For The Perfect Taco… Plus Notes

‘At freaking Doug Sahm.  I thought I knew him, and I do know his music, but he was a lot more complicated than I’d ever heard.  Hell of a musician.  The epitome of crazy as hell.  Hellbent on glory.  And yet shied back from it whenever it showed itself.  If his life had been all stage, I think he would have been happier, but those times in between shows and rehearsals wore him down.  There are only so many shows in any one of us and Sahm had more than most.  A lot more.

I think I learned more about him watching the documentary Sir Doug and the Genuine Texas Cosmic Groove than I could have learned outside of following him since the sixties and the explosion of Texas music (and The Sir Douglas Quintet) all over the US of A.  There is a lot to learn and watching the film a few more times will more than likely fill in some holes, but man!  What a life!

Frank Gutch Jr: My Music Bubbleth Under

It should be no secret by now that when it comes to music I am drawn to the non-hits, the non-charters, and the obscure.  Some of the most beloved music of my past have consisted of  artists and songs only the most avant of the garde have treasured— the Little John & The Monks and the Cargoes and, until their fairly recent deification, the Big Stars.  It started innocently enough— the placement of Jimmy Bowen‘s By the Light of the Silv’ry Moon on radio station KEX‘s Barney Keep‘s playlist, but it was enough.

Frank Gutch Jr_ Gott In Himmel!!! Is It Christmas Already? (A Collection of Reasons I Have To Be Grateful); Drew Gibson’s Shot Across the Bow; Clips From the SF Underground; and just a bit more…..

I got a message!  Yep, I got a message from someone who was not trying to steal my identity or sell me penis enhancement medication!  I mean, this does not happen as much as you would think, even with my superior intellect and excellent writing skills.  I am sure most of you picture me at a desk overflowing with fan mail— buried in it, in fact.

Frank Gutch Jr: Tracy Nelson (Mother Earth) Talks Sixties San Francisco, The Music Biz, Racism and The Counterculture’s View Toward Women!!! Plus Notes…..

I’ll be a sonofabitch!  I was on page ten of this post when the goddamned computer decided to start a new document from that point, shredding the old one into etherdom.  For a minute, I was pissed, I tell you, because that was two days of work, but the couple of hours trying to retrieve said document made me realize how much I really don’t care.  It may be time and work lost, but this interview, graciously granted by Tracy Nelson, a monumentally talented vocalist, was lost to the ages (computer crash) until I came upon a hard copy I had printed for just that reason.  I cannot begin to tell you how happy I was to find it.