Blurbex

Atlantic Records partner and famed producer Jerry Wexler, pictured right with Dusty Springfield, helmed many of my most beloved albums. He also provided me with a cherished memory and one of my proudest journalistic accomplishments — two things for which I will always be grateful.

I knew death had been looming for years but when I saw the news online late last night it saddened me greatly. Still does. It’s not like Wexler and I were ever friends but the hours we spent together, which I recall vividly, and the kindness he showed me, made me feel like we had connected in way that rarely occurs during an interview.

Read this post in its entirety, and the Jerry Wexler interview I did in 2003, at TampaCalling.com.

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Yeah, as you might have guessed, I’m a big fan of the Gonzo god. I’m also a big fan of William McKeen’s new biography Outlaw Journalist: The Life and Times of Hunter S. Thompson. Here’s an excerpt from my interview with McKeen:

McKeen’s bio smartly focuses on Thompson’s singular writing style, his mastery of invective and the lengths he went to make sense of a world gone wrong. McKeen adroitly dismantles the Raoul Duke persona exploited by uppity doodler Garry Trudeau, as well as Hollywood and Thompson himself. The book addresses the Gonzo journalist’s acts of brutality and self-destruction but keeps the emphasis on the writer and his ability to demonstrate the “power of language when used well.”

Click here to read the entire piece and for info regarding McKeen’s appearance at Inkwood Books in Tampa on Thursday. See ya there.

Cross-posted from TampaCalling.com.

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I’ve attended some lame shit over the years. Poorly planned house parties, disastrous dates, a live sex show in the French Quarter that didn’t feature any actual fucking. But few events have struck me as silly as the Red Bull Flugtag spectacle that took place Saturday at the Tampa Convention Center.

By this point, I’m sure you heard about it. Thirty-six teams built would-be flying machines and ran them off a 30-foot high pier into the notoriously dirty ass Hillsborough River. One or more person piloted the aircraft  and took the plunge. Teammates typically jumped in the brown water after their apparatus for shits and giggles. I stood in the sun, cooking, cringing and losing faith in humanity, myself included.

I kept thinking of that old parental saying about if everyone else jumped off a cliff, would you? In Tampa, apparently that’s the case. Organizers expected a crowd of 50,000 to witness people place themselves in a flimsy contraption and then be willingly hurled into a body of water deemed not fit for swimming. More than 100,000 suckers, myself included, attended.

One of those participants was my coworker, London, the woman pictured working on building an aircraft out of newspaper. Good gawd. Creative Loafing entered the competition as the Bread Winners. Countless hours went into building what they billed as the Flying Cuban Sandwich. “We are closing in on the big day,” reads a message from “The Captain” posted on the Bread Winners’ website July 14. “We still have some work to do in order to make everything originally envisioned a reality, but in another evening we should be all but done.

“The pilot [London] and I spent another night getting some finishing details knocked out after work with a couple of cold beers. We had a mock assembly of our flying Cuban and it was quite a site to behold.”

The damn thing didn’t even have wings. Well, kinda, but they were about as wide as oars. From where I was perched Saturday afternoon it looked like a giant coffin and had me seriously worried that London would not emerge from it, or if she did it would be with some kinda severe spinal or brain injury. Or with a limb missing.

“You know it’s not too late to back out,” I told her about 20 minutes before she took the fall.

“I can’t,” she said, more than a hint of fear in her voice.

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This morning the cardboard sign attached to the St. Petersburg Times  newspaper box I use at the corner of South Howard Ave. and Swan read: “50 cents every day …. Effective Monday, June 30.”

In Tampa, a Times used to cost 25 cents Monday through Saturday and 50 cents only on Sunday.

A 100 percent price jump? Really? Shouldn’t we have had a stopover at 35 cents?

Of course, you can still get tbt* for free, which is a great read, if you have an IQ of, say, 54.

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Former Flat Duo Jet (and one-time Venice, Fla., resident) Dexter Romweber, who I interviewed here, has inked a deal with the venerable cow punk label Bloodshot. St. Petersburg’s own Brett Steele of Steele Management (Mojo Gurus, Blind Buddy Moody, Some Dancing Skeleton), manages Romweber. The roots rock hero’s debut disc for the label will feature dutes with Cat Power’s Chan Marshall and Neko Case, among others.

Here’s the press release from Steele:

AMERICAN MUSIC LEGEND DEX ROMWEBER SIGNS MULTI-ALBUM DEAL WITH BLOODSHOT RECORDS NEW ALBUM FEATURES CAT POWER, NEKO CASE AND EXENE CERVENKA 

SUMMER TOUR ANNOUNCED!

Bloodshot Records and Dex Romweber announce the signing of a multi-album deal - a match made in heaven between two arbiters of the edgy side of rock, R&B and country. The first album, as yet untitled, will feature duets between Dex and Cat Power, Neko Case and Exene Cervenka. Recording commences in mid-August at Overdub Lane in Durham, NC; John Plymale (Meat Puppets, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Corrosion Of Conformity) is producing. Said Nan Warshaw, Bloodshot co-owner, “Dexter’s reputation as a musician’s musician is well-established and so deserved, but we here at Bloodshot are also in awe of the unbridled fury and raw soul he has unleashed for decades.”

 

The Dex Romweber Duo will stretch their legs prior to the recording with a tour that is bookended by two festival dates: Festival For The Eno July 6 in Durham, NC and the Deep Blues Festival July 19 in Lake Elmo, MN. All tour dates are listed below.

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Appears U.S. Sugar, aka Big Sugar, has lost its sweet tooth, which could be a very good thing for the Florida environment, particularly the everglades. Then again, how exactly is Florida going to pay Big Sugar $1.75 billion? It’s doubtful anything but crocodile alligator(?) tears will be shed for this bloated behemoth but let’s give U.S. Sugar a playlist anyway. Because, well, I’ve just been waiting too long to unleash my favorite songs about sugar and think this might be the closest I’ll come to a news peg.

Top 10: Songs about sugar

1. “Sugar on My Tongue,” Talking Heads

One of my all-time fave Talking Heads songs. Other than Zeppelin, this is the band I most want to see reunite … and play “Sugar On My Tongue.”

2. “Brown Sugar,” The Rolling Stones

Terrific song but this killer riff/sordid lyric lost its sex/danger appeal — and No. 1 ranking — when it was used to sell kahlua … and Pepsi. Mick, Keef, is nothing sacred?

3. “Sugar, Sugar,” The Archies

Fake band, I know, cheesy, I know, but I love this song.

4. “I Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl,” Nina Simone

Allison Moorer does a fine cover of this song on her latest album.

5. “Sugar Baby,” Dock Boggs

One of numerous gems from the legendary Harry Smith anthology.

6. “Sugar Baby,” Bob Dylan

No one steals from the public domain quite as effectively as Dylan. Click here to read my rather amateurish review of Dylan’s Love and Theft (the album includes “Sugar Baby”), which dropped on 9/11, while I was in college, writing/editing for the USF Oracle and freelancing for Weekly Planet. Yes, I was taking a polite swipe at the proverbial feeding hand. To this day, my esteemed editor Eric Snider and I differ on the merits of Dylan’s past three albums.

7. “Sugar and Spice,” The Cryan Shame

Good lawd, I love vintage garage rock.

8. “Brown Sugar,” ZZ Top

Not a Stones cover.

9. “Blood Sugar Sex Magik,” Red Hot Chili Peppers

Ah, yes, the title track from one of my favorite CDs of junior high (and beyond).

10. “Falling Sugar,” The Palace Guard

Good lawd, I love vintage garage rock.

WHAT DID I MISS?

Cross-posted from Tampa Calling.

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Like I predicted here, Boy George is having visa problems and it appears unlikely he’ll be able to make his July 27 date at Jannus Landing.

From Reuters:

“At the moment, Boy George cannot come to the United States of America because he has been refused permission to enter by the USA Administration,” read a statement from the artist’s management. “This is not in respect of anything he has done in the past but because he is facing a trial in November in London for something that happened in April last year.”

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Who: Herman Dune

Seven-word description: Highly emotive and quirky anti-folk from Paris.

Should appeal to fans of: Kimya Dawson, Jonathan Richman, Hamell on Trial
Wait, hasn’t Herman Dune been around for like 10 years? Yes, but this might be the year the Parisian duo finally expands its following Stateside. Herman Dune played a well-received set at SXSW in March, has toured with Juno soundtrack star Kimya Dawson and today released the bouncy, poignant, folky, poppy, excellent 5-song EP 1-2-3/Apple Tree.

Breakout CD: 1-2-3/Apple Tree

Release date/label: June 24/Everloving

Listen/watch official video: “1-2-3/Apple Tree”

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Creative Loafing cover girl and Tropical Heatwave star Amanda Shaw returns to Tampa Bay to play Skipper’s Smokehouse on August 8. If you saw the singer/songwriter/fiddler in May then you’re already excited about catching this roots rock/Cajun pop act return for a headlining gig. Click here for my review/photos of Shaw’s outstanding performance at Heatwave. Here’s the WMNF press release, which includes an extended excerpt of my review, and me requesting Shaw play Skipper’s in near future (photos by Wade Tatangelo):

Amanda Shaw and the Cute Guys, plus Sara Hickman

Friday Aug 08 08:00PM — Skipper’s Smokehouse

$12 advance, $15 door.

Louisiana teenage fiddle sensation Amanda Shaw returns after her triumphant set at Tropical Heatwave.

Heatwave review:
“Shaw’s poise, charisma, and chops belie her age. Then again, she’s been performing in public for a decade, and it showed Saturday. Shaw elated the crowd with her singular brand of Cajun-flavored roots rock. Boasting a strong and expressive voice colored with genuine twang and beat-the-devil fiddle skills, the diminutive frontwoman turned in a dynamic performance that included interestingly reworked blues (”Got My Mojo Workin’”), traditional zydeco (”Hot Tamale Baby”) and Cajun-spiced punk (The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go?”).

Shaw’s originals, mostly culled from her Rounder Records debut Pretty Runs Out, were equally varied and impressive, with the teenager revealing a knack for mature lyrics and catchy hooks that make her rustic sounds appealing to pop fans — without sounding too poppy. Could Shaw bring Cajun music to the masses? Perhaps. For now, I just hope she returns to play a local venue like Skipper’s in the near future.”
- Wade Tatangelo, Creative Loafing

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In honor of the late, great George Carlin, today’s Top 10 is dedicated to songs that contain one (or more) of the cusses included in the famed comic’s classic routine “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television.”

Top 10: Songs for George Carlin

1. “My Shit’s Fucked Up,” Warren Zevon

2. “Bitches Ain’t Shit,” Dr. Dre/Ben Folds

3. “Cocksucker Blues,” The Rolling Stones

4. “Fuck Me Pumps,” Amy Winehouse

5. “Little T & A,” The Rolling Stones

6. “Fuck the Police,” N.W.A.

7. “Piss and Vinegar,” Against Me!

8. “Still Don’t Give a Fuck,” Eminem

9. “Funk Shit,” The Prodigy

10. “Sure As Shit,” Kathleen Edwards

Cross-posted from Tampa Calling.

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Phish reunion? Phor real? Anybody give a phuck? (Actually, this is pretty exciting news, especially for a large chunk of Creative Loafing’s editorial department. Let’s just hope this doesn’t inspire a similar move from those jamband hacks String Cheese Incident.)

• Michael Jackson touring? For real? Anybody give a f—? (From MTV.com.)

• New Order finished? For real? Anybody give a f—? (From Pitchfork.com).

• CL Political Editor Wayne Garcia reports “Vicki Santa steps down at WMNF.”

• Blac Soap to open for Flo Rida June 28 at Club 360 in Ybor City. Look for my Blac Soap interview in the