Honky Tonk Highway

Take a good look at this vehicle . . .












. . . is there anything about it that makes it stand out from other vehicles of a similar type? Does it possess some hidden (to me) values which make it totally desirable to people other than its legal owner?

I'm actually looking for some justification as to why the van has been stolen twice in two months! The first time, in February, it was taken from outside my premises in Petersham and found five days later at Auburn with no damage and everything still intact (I mean EVERYTHING - including tools, camping gear, CDs and various odds and ends). Bloody joyrider-type who was too lazy to get a bus or train but who gets a tiny bit of appreciation from me for not torching it or trashing the gear inside. A $220 towing/safe recovery fee taught me to ALWAYS put the clublock on the steering wheel to detur all but the most insistent of car thieves. That is until . . .

. . . last Thursday I went to Bunnings hardware supermarket at Mascot and spent all of five minutes inside and came out to find my van had been stolen from their carpark!! Noticed the security cameras installed all over the place and promptly went to the store management to see if I could view the footage. Not connected!! - I was informed. Have a feeling I won't be so fortunate in getting the van back this time and I'll never have another opportunity to impose a more strict ruling on the use of the clublock or to re-set my previous strict rule to NEVER leave anything of any value visible in the car.

Anyways if you see her passing by . . . call the cops!! It's a 1991 Toyota Lite Ace with number plate UTA 164.

Edit Saturday 11.00 am - As a correction to some other guides, the slated Sunday (23rd) gig for Rob Luckey and the Luckey Bastards at the Cooks River Motor Boat Club has been moved to a date to be announced and, for the Murray Hillbillies, Jeff Mercer is the steel guitarist filling in for the ill Gary Brown at tonight's (22cnd) Bald Face Stag gig.

Enough things to poke a bloody great stick at this coming weekend.

Friday night (April 21) over at the Balmain Bowling Club (BBC), Rob Luckey and the Lucky Bastards will be upholding the honky tonk tradition from 8 till 11-ish.

Left: a pic from Tamworth 2006 - Rob and sidekick pedal steel ace, Nick Summers.






Saturday night (22cnd) will see a return to the Gladstone Hotel in Dulwich Hill by Mark Lucas and the Dead Setters. Lucas is (dead set!!) one of the undersestimated country singer/songwriters going around and this is an ideal opportunity to see this outfit close-up at the Gladdy. This venue is on the edge of extinction for country music if they don't get some solid support, so get on over and have a country music "experience".

Also playing Saturday night are The Murray Hillbillies at the late-night Leichhardt venue, the Bald Faced Stag from 9.30 - 1.30. The shot below is from their last gig down there a month ago with Jeff Mercer filling in for Gary Brown who hasn't been in good health of late. Get well soon, mate!! Jeff more than made up for Gary's absence with some spine tingling solos on his lap steel, almost all with a tinge of mischievousness thrown in (Jeff seems to love keeping the audience and the band in suspense as his runs unfold!) Also in the picture and playing bass is none other than "Boppin'" Bronnie Stephens who played a couple/three numbers in place of Rod Coe. Not sure if Gary's back this week or not but rest assured if he's not, their replacement steel players are THE best - Michelle Rose and Jeff Mercer fer-instance!
















OK - I know it's a big ask but try an early Sunday brekky and then head on over to East Balmain for the all-day Acoustica festival. If you can't read the flyer too well, read on further below where you can get a full run-down on what's happening in a more detailed flyer.


ACOUSTICA

BALMAIN'S URBAN FOLK AND ACOUSTIC FESTIVAL RETURNS TO THE PENINSULAR THIS SUNDAY.

Just back from Byron East Coast Blues Festival and want more? Too little time or money to go traipsing off around the country to experience the excitement and fun of a world-class music festival? Don't worry, the festival has come to you and it's free!
On next Sunday, April 23 2006, the Balmain Acoustica festival will once again take place at Birchgrove Oval in Sydney's inner west suburb of Balmain.
After the knock out success of last year's Balmain Acoustica Festival, this year's event promises to be better than ever! Along with a strong line-up of favourites such as the nationally acclaimed Backsliders, Big Wheel, The National Junk Band, master of the ukulele, Azo Bell and Kate McLurkin, this year's festival will also showcase the talents of highly respected Australian musicians such as Charlie McMahon (Gondwana), Jimmy Little and internationally respected world music exponents Mara. Singer songwriters Mitch Granger and Tamlin Tregonning will show just what the new crop of 'Balmain Boys' can do.
Like any great music festival, it's not only about the music. The ambience provided by a wonderful waterside location at Birchgrove oval, fabulous food stalls, carnival rides, roving performers provided by Circus Unique, jugglers and fire-eaters makes this a fun day for people of all ages.

So bring a picnic rug and settle in to enjoy one of the most exciting musical events to hit the peninsula.

WHERE : Birchgrove Oval, off Grove Street, Birchgrove
WHEN: Sunday 23 April, 12.00 pm to 9pm
COST: FREE
HOW TO GET THERE: Birchgrove Oval overlooks Snail Bay & is next to Grove Street, Birchgrove. The 441 & 432 buses travel from the city to Grove Street & ferries from Circular Quay travel to Snail Bay Wharf. Also the 465 bus from Canterbury (via Leichhardt) will get you to the ferry wharf.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
ACOUSTICA EXPANDS TO INCLUDE 2 ADDITIONAL NIGHTS IN BALMAIN

Following on from the tremendous success of last year's festival it was felt that one day wasn't enough! So this year Acoustica will host 2 additional nights as part of the Festivities.

George Washingmachine pre-show
Friday April 21st Unity Hall Hotel, Darling Street, Rozelle, 7.30 PM (FREE ENTRY)
The famous & extraordinary musician who plays a knuckle busting Jazz violin, George Washingmachine should not be missed as a key part of the Acoustica Festival.

Alessandra Belloni
Saturday April 22nd Balmain Town Hall, Darling Street Rozelle, 7.30 PM ($25.00)
International Italian Percussionist and pioneer of the resurgence of traditional Italian music and dance of the pizzica Tarantata, Alessandra Belloni's theatre and dance Ensemble; "I Giullari Di Piazza" are Artists-in-Residence at the Cathedral of St John the Devine in New York City. This special performance as part of the Acoustica Festival will be her only Solo concert in Australia. Tickets available at Leichhardt Council Chambers and the Unity Hall Hotel, Balmain. For more information regarding tickets, please contact Shane McCardle at Leichhardt council ph 02 9367 9351 .

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE FESTIVAL, INCLUDING PHOTOS, MAPS, PUBLIC TRANSPORT OPTIONS, MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE ARTISTS AND MUSIC SAMPLES GO TO www.acousticafestival.com.au or call 02 9544 1537

. . . and last but certainly not least . . .

Cletis Carr is playing the Merton Estate Hotel in Rozelle on Sunday evening from 5pm if you'd like a good sit down and some good music from himself and this week's guests, Stewart Peters and Snez Dalcheska.

Merle Haggard has never been one to take a step backwards when it comes to social issues and in an interview with a John Boyd in the San Angelos Standard Times just a couple of days ago the Hag gave George Bush a double serve on his administration of the US as a whole. Haggard has even considered moving to another country to back up his "talk". Wonder if he'd consider Sydney if we could promise him a couple of gigs each week?

Also an interesting side note on the protests by the "illegal" immigrants in the US last week. Here's a link (it's a yousendit thingy - you have to download it and play it in iTunes or your preferred MP3 player) to an MP3 of a song Merle picked up and recorded over 20 years ago. It has a cool country lilt not dissimilar to some of the early Jimmy Buffet style but with a definite Merle Haggard label. Unknown author. (The recording is off an old tape and suffers a little in quality but it's only 1.26MB so you don't have much to lose):

The Immigrant (As sung by Merle Haggard)

American Ranching consists of a mansion
Where illegal immigrants do much of the labor by hand
They sneak em thru customs Till time comes to bust em
Then haul em back over the border to their own native land
With a ragged Sombrero and not much Dinero
They'll be back again When the Rio Grande's way down low
So Border Patroller don't stop the stroller
Cause the Illegal Immigrant is helping America grow

Chorus
Viva La Mexico Go where they let you go
And do what you can for the land
Take home Dinero And buy new Sombrero
And come back again when you can
(Music)

What makes a gringo Your smart aleck lingo
When you stole this land from the Indian way back when
Don't he remember the big money lender
That put him a lien where his pencil had been
The almighty peso That gives him the say so
To dry up the River Whenever there's crops to bring in
Such a good neighbor To take all his Labor
And take him back over the border
Till they need him again
(Chorus)

. . . this Saturday night (April 8) and they've also scored the Easter Saturday gig the following weekend (April 15). This is one of the fun bands of the Inner West with fine renditions of popular country and rockabilly classics from the 50s and 60s. There's always plenty of dancing and almost always a few guests artists.

Following the poor attendance at the Murray Hillbillies' gig last Saturday (no fault of theirs - that venue apparently doesn't believe in advertising their entertainment at all! Do they have an Amish-style bent towards getting their message out?) HTH is determined to do its bit to make sure this venue stays alive for the sake of country/hillbilly/rockabilly music in Sydney's Inner West. Please spread the word about The Cartwrights gigs the next two Saturdays and watch THAT space (a chalkboard, a big sign or at least something on the outside of the pub which could be read by some of the millions of eyes passing that venue each day). Whatever! Just make sure you get down there for the next couple of Saturdays!

WHERE? The Bald Face Stag Hotel on the corner of Parramatta and Balmain Roads, Leichhardt - opposite the Comedy Club Hotel and Crystal Street. After 9pm. Just do it!!

The last of the Toe Suckers . . .?

It'd be a cryin shame if it's true but all good things come to an end and change can sometimes be a sign of something bigger and better further down the road. The Toe Sucking Cowgirls have been a delightful and breezy addition to the country music scene all around Australia for at least five years. Sometimes as a duo, sometimes with a sparse rhythm section and sometimes with a small "big" band, Tracey Bunn and Glenyss Rae have garnered a loyal following in Sydney and are playing what could be their last Sydney gig as the Cowgirls this coming Sunday at the Botany View Hotel in King Street Newtown. If you're too lazy to click on the link to their website, here's the relevant bit about their future plans:


. . . on Sunday night we'll be heading back to one of our favourite haunts in Sydney, the Botany View Hotel from 6.30 - 9.30pm. Michael Vidale will be joining us on bass and Paul Dunn on drums, two guys that were there at the very beginning of the Cowgirls. We don't know when we'll be back in Sydney again, and as Gleny has decided to call it quits and move onto greener pastures, it could very well be our last gig ever. Unless, of course, I can find someone to fill her extremely large (and smelly) boots, though I must say, female accordion/fiddle players with an oversize personality and a great voice are a little thin on the ground. So get out there and spread the word and dust of your hats and boots and come down and join us for a big weekend! Hope you're all still giving it all you got. Keep on sucking . . .

The girls are also playing the Hawkesbury Fiddle Festival up at Clarendon Showgrounds this weekend if you happen to be out on a drive or checkin' the country garage sales!!

Fri 7pm - 8pm
Sat 1pm - 2pm
Sun 12pm -1pm














Just get on over . . .


Meanwhile . . .

. . . if you find yourself stuck on the Rozelle side of town on Sunday arvo, you could do worse than drop in after 5 for some music and mayhem at the Merton Estate Hotel on Victoria Road (just around the s-bends after the old White Bay pub and vicki vercki the other way) where Cletis Carr holds down a Sunday residency. This week's guests are Valdi Gray and his drummer-in-arms, Justin. If you want to subscribe to the weekly flyer Cletis sends out, you can work it out here. Check it out!

Thanks for the memories Gene . . .













Pitney in the 60s (above) and 2005 (right). Link

It's now official. The Balmain Bowling Club has canned the Hunter & Suzy Owens Band from their fortnightly Friday gig! In their weird wisdom, the club was offering fewer gigs and less money which, when you have five top-class musicians playing, is not a viable option. Here's the notice Hunter & Suzy sent out via email:

Hello to all of our supporters out there. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we will not be performing at the BBC this coming Friday 31st March. In fact, we will not be appearing there any time in the foreseeable future. The BBC Club committee, in all their wisdom, has decided that our nights are not profitable enough, so they don't want to pay our fee and don't want us on a regular fortnightly basis...in fact, the club has canned other entertainment ventures there, such as Sunday nights, as well...what an exciting venue it will be!

If you have become a club member in the time you have been supporting us, you will have received notice of an extra-ordinary committee meeting sometime soon. If you wish, you could use this as an opportunity to express any misgivings you may have regarding their recent decisions.

Thank you all for your ongoing support.

Regards and Best Wishes,
Hunter & Suzy

This band has been shunted all over the Balmain/Rozelle area and deserves better treatment but while you have amateurs running these venues, there's going to be setbacks like this. The band will arise again, somewhere, sometime so keep an ear out for them. Not sure if this is also affecting Rob Luckey's gig (the tone of H & S's email suggests it will) but they are still listed at their web page and in Smithy's last flyer.