Kentucky is a state that’s been on a hot streak producing ground-breaking Americana/rock artists lately: Sturgill Simpson, possibly the best musician to make popular music in the second half of the 2010’s onward, Chris Stapleton, who is making some of the best traditional blues you’ll hear, Tyler Childers, whose work may be best described as traditional country that’s set in a contemporary world, and many others. Now comes Jeremy Pinnell.
All hail from the Bluegrass State.
All are exceptional.
Pinnell has previously released two honky tonk albums that were well-received, but here, he covers Concrete Blonde’s 1989 “Joey” with a lonesome, wrenching solo rendition. 2020 being 2020, he recorded it on his phone in his home and released the results on YouTube. I’d say he did a damn fine job and his version captured the tone and tenor of its time perfectly.And as I always say: there’s a lot of great new music out there, it’s just harder to find than ever.
Personally, some of the best nights in my life were spent in the Village Subway, in Cameron Village, Raleigh, NC US of A. We were sure we were all almost famous, and funny thing, that’s exactly what some of us became. I personally didn’t, but I damn sure had a good time in my early 1920’s.
Imagine a 2,500 square foot club, hot and sweaty, packed to the gills; so tightly that dancing was basically jumping straight up and down. At any given times, there might be three, perhaps four other people pressing up against you, and undoubtedly you were doing the same to someone else. And, oh, the B-52’s playing on a tiny stage ten feet in front of you.
It was just another night at the Café Deja Vu, in beautiful Raleighwood North Carolina in the 1980’s.
I truly believe that The B-52’s have been underrated by a lot of rock historians. They were new, quirky, they were different, and they were silly a lot of the time, but they were also incredibly talented and incredibly fun. Seeing them once was enough to make someone be see them every time they came through town and listen to their records in between.
Without trying to sound like someone waxing about their lost youth, it was always a good time. So were the after-hours parties with Fred Schneider holding court, or maybe my roommate, Berklee graduate David Matos of The Snap showing off his ability to play anything by ear after hearing it once, and by play, I mean every single instrument.
I haven’t spoken to Fred or David in 30+ years now, and I doubt he remembers me, but I do enjoy knowing that my friend Neilan Tyree (whom I met through my wife Maggie) and Fred are good friends. For his part, David did a turn on Broadway as the lead guitarist in Motown The Musical, among many other things. He’s always had a solid career, and still does so far as I know They are all really good people, and it was fun knowing them, however slightly, before they got really famous.
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