I'M GOING TO HAVE A BIT OF AN OUT AND OUT BOAST HERE FOR A MINUTE . . . . I HOPE Y'ALL CAN UNDERSTAND WHY AND FORGIVE MY GRATUITOUS BRAGGING . . . . BUT IT'S A GOODY !!!
In over twenty five years playing live music for a living [fuck, is that what it was ??] one of the enduring highlights was getting to hang out and sing three tunes in mine and my closest mates club, "The Doghouse Blues Bar and Grill", with the unbelievable Link Wray and his band when they toured Oz back in '96 . . . .
My first original band for five years from '81 - '85 was a psychobilly outfit and I was a huge fan of his and very aware of his special place in the world of rock+roll and guitar in particular, he'd also had a career revival on a couple of wicked albums with the very fucking cool, Robert Gordon, who I also totally got into . . .
Anyhow, in the aftermath of "Pulp Fiction", once again there was a surge of interest in this greatly under acknowledged man and his contribution to the music we take for granted today . . . we booked him to play at the Doghouse, spent all afternoon hanging out with him and his young Ramones like Dutch band, had dinner and some beers and got back in for the gig, at this stage Link must've been seventy years old !!
He came on stage to a packed house of about a thousand sweaty, amped and psyched punters and proceeds to crank out the most insane, ear bleedingly loud, blisteringly fast set that we were to see in nearly three years of live bands at the gig . . . the guy is fucking seventy something and going completely berzerk !!!
Then, just before the end of his manic set, he asks me up to join him for a number, well screw me sideways, what a thrill, I kid you not !!! We did a super fast version of "Walkin the Dog" followed by "Flyin Saucer Rock and Roll", then, as if that wasn't enough of a stoke for me, we ended up doing the best rendition of "Route 66" I've ever done in my life . . . totally mental !!!!
Link finished with an encore of the viciously distorted "Rumble" and an equally malevolent interpretation of, you guessed it, "Batman", then he retired to the band room where he sat on the floor, his back against the wall, covered by a towel, sweating bullets, completely and utterly spent . . . his wife stayed by his side for the next hour . . . . he had given so much that night he was simply all used up !!!
I fared him well later that night, thanked him for making my life and watched his limo vanish up the alleyway . . . a night I will always cherish !!!!
**** SO, NOW THE YARN IS OUT OF THE WAY, CLICK ON THE "LINK" BELOW, HA HA HA, TO SEE THE MAN, THE FATHER OF FUZZ GUITAR AND HEAVY METAL, LINK WRAY, TEARING IT UP WITH MR ROBERT GORDON ON THE WICKED BILLY LEE RILEY CLASSIC, "RED HOT" - DIG IT CATS !!!
Red Hot Robert Gordon Link Wray Rob Stoner Punk Rock1978 BillyLeeRiley 57 Billy The Kid Emerson 1954 - YouTube
In over twenty five years playing live music for a living [fuck, is that what it was ??] one of the enduring highlights was getting to hang out and sing three tunes in mine and my closest mates club, "The Doghouse Blues Bar and Grill", with the unbelievable Link Wray and his band when they toured Oz back in '96 . . . .
My first original band for five years from '81 - '85 was a psychobilly outfit and I was a huge fan of his and very aware of his special place in the world of rock+roll and guitar in particular, he'd also had a career revival on a couple of wicked albums with the very fucking cool, Robert Gordon, who I also totally got into . . .
Anyhow, in the aftermath of "Pulp Fiction", once again there was a surge of interest in this greatly under acknowledged man and his contribution to the music we take for granted today . . . we booked him to play at the Doghouse, spent all afternoon hanging out with him and his young Ramones like Dutch band, had dinner and some beers and got back in for the gig, at this stage Link must've been seventy years old !!
He came on stage to a packed house of about a thousand sweaty, amped and psyched punters and proceeds to crank out the most insane, ear bleedingly loud, blisteringly fast set that we were to see in nearly three years of live bands at the gig . . . the guy is fucking seventy something and going completely berzerk !!!
Then, just before the end of his manic set, he asks me up to join him for a number, well screw me sideways, what a thrill, I kid you not !!! We did a super fast version of "Walkin the Dog" followed by "Flyin Saucer Rock and Roll", then, as if that wasn't enough of a stoke for me, we ended up doing the best rendition of "Route 66" I've ever done in my life . . . totally mental !!!!
Link finished with an encore of the viciously distorted "Rumble" and an equally malevolent interpretation of, you guessed it, "Batman", then he retired to the band room where he sat on the floor, his back against the wall, covered by a towel, sweating bullets, completely and utterly spent . . . his wife stayed by his side for the next hour . . . . he had given so much that night he was simply all used up !!!
I fared him well later that night, thanked him for making my life and watched his limo vanish up the alleyway . . . a night I will always cherish !!!!
**** SO, NOW THE YARN IS OUT OF THE WAY, CLICK ON THE "LINK" BELOW, HA HA HA, TO SEE THE MAN, THE FATHER OF FUZZ GUITAR AND HEAVY METAL, LINK WRAY, TEARING IT UP WITH MR ROBERT GORDON ON THE WICKED BILLY LEE RILEY CLASSIC, "RED HOT" - DIG IT CATS !!!
Red Hot Robert Gordon Link Wray Rob Stoner Punk Rock1978 BillyLeeRiley 57 Billy The Kid Emerson 1954 - YouTube
No comments:
Post a Comment