Hillbilly in a Garage

One sub-genre that is quickly becoming one of my favorites, is country garage. The possibility that said genre actually exists is probably very unlikely. This 45 could be considered country garage. Nice honky-tonk vocals and silly country-oriented lyrics; coupled with a more rock band sound, fuzz guitar included! I love the guitar work on this tune!
Not much is known about Bob Withers, definitely a 60's release. Much has been documented on the legendary Nashville-based Bullet label, aside from a couple other labels; Bullet is one of my favorites. I love most of the stuff released on the label and I love the design of the actually label on the record! They released some great early 50's hillbilly bop, as well as some killer R & B/blues.
The 45 was more than likely recorded after Jim Bulleit sold the label to Red Wortham. Instead of writing out the entire label's history I will give you the link to their homepage http://www.bulletrecords.net/index.html

I've tried..............but failed

Very little info can be found on most of the records I post on here, this one is no exception. This 1968 garage 45 out of Indianapolis by the Early Mourning reeks of teenagers, garages and ineptness. When I first played this 45, which I grabbed from an antique shop a few towns away, my immediate reaction was to put it up for sale; but it ended up growing on me in a big way. It is probably my favorite and weirdest garage rock 45 that I own.
I love how the band sounds like they are barely hanging in there, and that a mistake can and probably did happen the first ten takes. The lack of a guitar solo, and the inability to keep time is proof of their ineptness. But, of course, that is the reason why I love the 45. This is proto-punk. It also sounds like it could have existed in any decade, from the sixties up till today. I bet one could throw it on a compilation of "early tracks," by Lou Reed/Velvet Underground, or Neil Young or (90's grunge group) Nirvana. It is, inadvertently, ahead of it's time. Here is a link on Indiana 45s/bands that I find very useful and fun: http://indiana-bands-60s.blogspot.com/

All your cryin' don't do no good.....

Well, it has been a great while since I have posted anything on here. Frankly, it has been a long while since I have been able to post anything on here. On the 21st of August, my wife and I tied the knot. I had to sell some big favorite 45s to help fund it, which kind of put me into a record-induced depression. The wedding was beautiful and stands as one of the greatest moments in my life, I quickly got over the loss of a hand full of records.July of last year, me and my wife's worst fear was brought to life. On November 4th 2010, our oldest son Ryman Lee Russell was diagnosed with Autism. In the month of July my wife called me ballin' her eyes out, she told me that the family doctor said that Ry was showing some red flags. July to November of last year proved to be the worst period of my life. We quickly saw the red flags that I and others (my wife had prior worries that he was showing signs) always thought were just quirky nuances. I thought that he was just like his dad, usually stuck in his own world and not that into people. In came a torrential downpour of emotions. We were forced to change our lives. We were lost, most importantly my son was lost.
We started doing research like crazy, I must have read 50 or so books, read articles, watched documentaries, and put my energy towards contacting the people who could help. Anyway, to make a long story short; my son is now making improvements, he is steeped in therapy and biomedical treatments. We are no longer lost, he is no longer lost. And for the first time in a long time, I feel as if I can give at least an iota of my energy to something besides Autism. So I am bringing this blog back to live.
Like most people do, I turned to music to help me deal with my emotions and feelings. I am a huge fan of Tom Waits, the man is a genius. I still shed a tear every time I hear Tom Waits' "Come on up to the House," the whole album is great. His songwriting is on par, if not better than Hank Williams. And this particular tune gives Blind Willie Johnson a run for his spiritual money. This song definitely got me through a really dark scary part of my life.

Bonfire!.....part 1

Here is a devastatingly bad record by a Mr. Ronny Kay on Band Box records out of Denver, Colorado. Number 289. This Band Box discography http://www.globaldogproductions.info/b/band-box.html
puts it in the early sixties, also shows some other 45s by him. This is basically all the info I was able to uncover on Ronny Kay and this 45. It is so bad, that it is so good. I just get this picture/story in my head every time I listen to this 45. I just picture Mr. Ronny Kay, probably a very odd-lookin' fellow, walk into a studio with a shitty drum set. He is goin' on about a new song called "Bonfire" where he just yells "bonfire!" and beats up the drums. I imagine men in suits going, "why, this guy is crazy, I can't believe we agreed to do this!" It probably did not go like that, but I am for sure there is probably a really great story behind Ronny Kay and this 45. I would love to hear it! Sandy Nelson step aside!!!

Junior Sollars and the Story of the Creepers

I'm pretty sure all of you are familiar with the legendary Creepers 45 on Rene called "Jammin' Granny." Well I happen to live in the same small Indiana town as Creepers guitarist Willard Sollars Jr. (known today as Junior Sollars). On a whim, I found his number, and called him. We hung out for a couple hours. He was really cool, and had no idea how much his 45 is admired. I am thinking about doing a biography/documentary on him and the Creepers, as well as Harry Weger (the country singer who produced the 45).
He has a huge shed full of memorabilia and a lot of cool info on the band. His father, whose pictures really intrigue me, was a hillbilly singer in the 30's and 40's named Willard Sollars (also known as Webb Sollars). Which I plan to learn more about and perhaps get some recordings of. Junior told me some cool facts about the Creepers; Jr. Sollars, a right-handed guitarist, has only two fingers on his left hand! He also said that in '65 they tried to pitch the 45 to Sam Phillips at Sun, he has some rare recordings of the Creepers live, as well as music from some of his post-Creepers bands, and he stated that the Creepers made two LPs.
This is a huge project that I am undertaking, I think it would be cool to bring a lot of this stuff to light, and to uncover the career of his father, whose pictures make him out to be the "Howlin' Wolf" of country music. I already took a bunch of pictures that are just awesome. Please let me know what you guys think about me doing this, because you guys are the people who really care, and are the fans of the Creepers and their sole 45. Please email me if anyone would like to see some pictures! Please give me feedback! Thanks!

Rock N Roll & Children

I took a few weeks off from most everything in order to have a child. My second son, Silas Wray Russell
was born on Friday, March 12th at 3:49 pm. Yes, he was named after Link Wray, in part. His mother's middle name
is Rae, so its kind of half and half. I can't think of a better middle name! So in tribute to my second son (and probably last) I give you Link Wray's "TV Baby." "TV Baby" is one of his earlier, more Hillbilly tracks. Great stuff!

Shock Rocker

You know a record is good, if the first few seconds of it are a declaration
of love screamed from the top of the lungs. Oh, and it helps too if Ike Turner is at the piano. Probably, or should be, a big hit with the Northern Soul crowd. This record, from 1961, is a prime example of that transitional phase from rockin' R&B to a more soul sound. Prior to this 45, Billy Gayles (guess he dropped the y) played with Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm. Great record, although it could definitely
use some bluesy guitar work. "I'm Hurting," by Billy Gales on Shock; great name for a record label!

Billy Gayles with Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm - I'm Tore Up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDfwQv367Qs