Is Kelly Willis just chompin’ at the bit to get back into the National
Enquirer? If so, she put in her best shot at her bachelorette party last
Thursday. She and a dozen gals were seen resplendent in boas and frilly dresses
at Doyle Bramhall II’s performance at Stubb’s that night (prompting queries as
to whether they were there to mock Bramhall, who was also sporting a boa). It
was afterwards, however, when the group piled into their Sixties-era bus that
they proved they were no Partridge Family.
According to a source within the group, they all managed to get into the packed
Merle Haggard show at Hang ‘Em High, where one of the gals — an ex-stripper
who now fronts her own band — dropped her top, raised her bottom, and began
doing a table dance for Willis. Though the source describes the dance as “not
lewd, just provocative,” the Hang ‘Em High bouncers didn’t take too kindly to
the display of flesh (this is TABC sting month, don’t forget!), and escorted
the partiers out. On their way out, our source says most men in the club
couldn’t resist asking the musical question: “So, where are you gals going
next?”
Discover Canada!
I can tell you where that gal Sue Foley is going next — at least eventually.With a baby on the way, the local guitarist is planing a trip back to her
native Ottawa so that her offspring will be a Canadian citizen like mom. Foley
says the move “might be temporary,” but of course that statement implies that
it might not. Cary Baker at Discovery, the label that along with Antone’s
issued Foley’s recent album, Walk in the Sun, sounded noticably nervous
about the timing of the move and the baby, saying. “We’d like her on the
road… we thought this could be the record…” He didn’t quite finish his
thought, but the implication was clear: this album, with strong touring, could
be the one that really breaks Foley nationally.
Here Comes the New Boss
…but he’s not like the old boss, according to sources at KUT radio. TheUniversity of Texas has finally named a new General Manager to the station, a
gentleman by name of Phil Corriveau, who comes to the station from KXPR/KXJZ in
Sacramento, California, where he held the same post at California State
University. The question of credentials, however, was never the focus of the
buzz at KUT while a decision was being awaited. Given the recent history of
grumblings between the management and airstaff, the question was one of
compatibility. KUT’s Jay Trachtenberg is happy to announce that he forsees no
such battles in the future. “Everyone across the board feels positive about
Corriveau,” he says, relieved.
Chicago By Night
You’re gonna need to keep that Chicago House Hotline number handy (444-0777)since things there are pretty random these days. Between the Austin Film
Society and various roadshows, the new ChiHouse, in its Austin Music Hall home,
has had only a few nights available for shows lately. “It’s gonna vary for
awhile, says owner Peg Miller, “and then I could have seven days in a row in
November.” Right now she’s plugging a big, multi-act night October 30 with
Stevenson Ford, Diana Jones, ThaMusement, and Kevin Gant. And, adds Miller, now
that she’s in a place with a late-night license, “There’s no reason I can’t
have early shows with sensitive singer-songwriters and [later] shows with
multiple bands.”
CDs, Records and Tapes
Whew! New stuff, not so new stuff, and stuff so new it’s not even out has beenpiling up again. Here’s a few things I’ve managed to dig up out of the piles:
Radio Jihad’s CD has been out for a few months now, actually, and though I
really don’t think phone pranks (in this case to Christian radio stations)
generally merit CD release, this is a pretty funny batch of collar-looseners.
Especially amusing is a pair of calls to Eric Blumberg (so the Jihad went
secular for a bit — so did Amy Grant!) that cracked me up when I first heard
them live on the air… Michael Nesmith may not be seen much in these parts
anymore, but he’s been keeping busy defending the new Monkees album,
Justus, all over the place. His best line so far comes from a response
to a savage Entertainment Weekly review wherein he finally asks, “What
do you mean, or does anybody mean for that matter, `Play their own
instruments’? Whose instruments do you suggest we play?” For the record,
Justus is just that; Nesmith, Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones, and Peter Tork
writing, playing, and producing a whole album unassisted. And yes, they do a
couple of grunge songs!… Wammo’s Fat Headed Stranger comes out this
week on Mercury’s spoken word imprint, Mouth Almighty. The big question so far
is, “Did they make you overdo the accent or were you just feeling
extra-Texan during the sessions?”… Frank Kozik sent along another batch of
pretty, colored-vinyl discs in fancy packages from his Man’s Ruin label. Among
’em are some new stuff from Brutal Juice and Helios Creed. (What? No Daddy
Longhead yet?)… A couple other discs I haven’t mentioned yet: Some former
Deep Ellum types now living in Austin as Twin Freaks have a Kyle
Ellison-produced 7-inch out on Mind and Eye Records. Also, Yuckmouth’s CD is
out on Sick Sick Sick Songs, Phil Pritchett’s Philworld CD is out on
Spitune Records, and Denton’s Brave Combo have two new releases, Mood
Swing Music and a collaboration with Lauren Agnelli called Kiss of
Fire. Chris Wall’s Any Saturday Night in Texas hits stores next
week, Breedlove have a new one coming out on November 8, and the soundtrack to
Trees Lounge is out with that Craig Ross song on it. Which reminds me,
the Butthole Surfers have a song on the upcoming soundtrack to Romeo and
Juliet, and you can read more about that in this week’s music feature,
“Pascal’s Wager.”
Mixed Notes
Tuesday night’s big NARAS shindig at the Four Seasons in honor of Lyle Lovettfound more than 500 music industry big wigs paying tribute to the big-haired
Texan (though his ‘do was looked positively deflated) and enjoying short sets
by Lisa Loeb, David Ball, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Asleep at the Wheel, and Willie
Nelson (Lovett joined in for a song or two). Emcee Ann Richards, however, stole
the show with between-set jokes, though we here at the Chronicle were
more amused by the fact that the ex-Governor agreed to Margaret Moser’s
suggestion that she review the new Chuck D album, since the two seemed to hit
it off so well on Bill Maher’s “Politically Incorrect”…
First everyone said
they were ripping off Beck, now the Butthole Surfers are on the receiving end
of a purported scam as MCI has a commercial running that clearly “borrows” its
theme from “Pepper.” What’s next? A feminine hygiene spray ad using their
classic “Lady Sniff”?…
One World Music, the vintage instrument store on South
Congress, is starting up its own label by the name World Records. They’ll be
doing their first recordings live at the Voodoo Lounge, November 3 where Hanger
18 will be playing. Among the familiar faces you’ll see in that group are
members of Danny & the Hurricanes, Apaches of Paris, and Mojo Nixon’s
Toadliquors. That’s not the only recording going on this week, of course. Loose
Diamonds will be shooting a video November 2-3 and are looking for people to be
in the shoot. They need to get casting, so you might want to call King Winter
Productions at 474-1688 if you wanna get in on that action…
Other video works
in progress come from El Flaco, who shot some footage at Emo’s last week for
various promotional uses, and Ian Moore, whose full-length concert video, I’m
told, is just about ready to send to the reproducers…
The Country Music
Association of Texas had its annual awards show and supper Wednesday at the
Broken Spoke. Usual suspects Don Walser, Dale Watson, the Derailers and
Christine Albert were all winners of the CMAT’s Lone Star Spirit Award.
Congratulations, folks…
It looks like Margaret Moser’s replacement on
Check This Action will be KVRX/101X’s Jenn Garrison…
File this one
under “Nixed Notes”. The owner of the Mini Disc Walkman referred to in last
week’s column sent this picture of what happened when he tried to record
Michelle Shocked at Liberty Lunch last week:
Yow! I’ll leave it to you readers to make your own decision whether the
unauthorized taper or the over-reactive manager was the bad guy, but damn! That
thing looks like the black box out of a plane wreck!…
Kacy Crowley is
currently recording a one-off for Carpe Diem with the intention of shopping it
to majors. Look for that after the first of the year. Meanwhile, Dog
Run, the flick that won the feature film prize at the Heart of Texas film
festival, prominently features her song “Fire Engine Man”…
It may not really
fall into the “live, original music” category, but take note of another closing
in the Sixth Street area; piano bar Jellyrolls…
Doug Sahm’s appearance at
Hole in the Wall Monday was a notable for its enthusiastic crowd, but I wish
I’d heard the latest Texas Tornados rumor before that show and not after, so I
could’ve asked Doug about it: We’re pretty sure he was pulling her leg, but
Warner Bros. VP Bill Bentley told Margaret Moser in Portland at the NXNW
conference that Freddy Fender is out of the band and Roy Head is in. All that
stands in the way of this being a done deal is a few Spanish lessons. C’mon,
everybody sing along! “You’re gonna get a reputation as el hombre del
amor, if you Treat Her Right!”)…
— Contributors: Raoul Hernandez, Andy Langer, Margaret Moser.
This article appears in October 25 • 1996 and October 25 • 1996 (Cover).