When the boys were babies, they grew up on Rock and roll Lullabies. Both Ashley and I would rock the boys to sleep… much against any child rearing wisdom that said..”lay them down and let them fuss their way to sleep.” I think our method was not so much for the boys as it was for us.
It was that moment out of a hectic day when that squirming bundle of arms nd legs settled down into a warm, irresistible child. We had a rocking chair I the bedroom. We would sit there, boy on arms, and sing song after song. Some nights, it went very quickly. A story book, or a made up tale, then the tunes. Ashley loved to sing Peter, paul and Mary’s “Puff the Magic Dragon” and “Eternal Flame” by the Bangles. Fletch would ask for “Close your eyes..” .. the first line of “Eternal Flame.”
Close your eyes, Momma! Close your eyes!” MY choices tended more toward the Beatles and the Monkees. I often sang “Mother nature’s Son,“ and “I Will” from the White Album. The Monkess were poured into their little brains with tunes like “I’m A Believer” and “What Am I Doping Hanging Round.” I also sang Todd Rundgren’s “A Dream Goes ON Forever.” Some nights, I would lay on the bed and listen as Ashley sang softly to either Fletch or Corwin. Patting their backs, bumping them up and down as the drifted away on the tunes of old songs until, at last, snoring softly, limp, they could be laid in the crib. As warm as freshly baked bread, and the smell of a just bathed baby, it was a good step toward sleep for us as well. I often wonder today, if the boys heard those songs, would they begin to doze? Would it be a good idea for a sleep aid on those sleepless nights, to hear the songs our mother or father sand g to us, to float us, reluctantly, from the busy world of awake on soft bed of rhythm? I know that my mother would sing to me, “Marianne”, a calypso song that was on the charts twice… once in 1946 and again the year after I was born. All day all night is Mary Ann,
Down by the seaside, sifting sand. Even little children love Mary Ann, Down by the seaside, sifting sand.
But, I guess even children can become music critics. As Corwin grew older, one evening as I started to sing, he put his little chubby hand to my mouth and said, “No Daddy. Don’t sing.” So much for my delusion that I sounded like Paul McCartney.
I always thought of the BJ Thomas song, “Rock and Roll Lullaby.” And she'd sing Sha-na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na It'll be all righ tSha-na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na Jus t Hold On Tight , Sing it to me, mama My, my, my, my, mama Sing it sweet and clear Oh mama, let me hear That old rock and roll lullaby “Rock and Roll Lullabye” BJ Thomas
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Is Susan Aphrodite?
This weekend, Susan Herndon is one of the many musicians playing at the 100th birthday anniversary of Woody Guthrie in Okemah, Oklahoma. I know Susan has played the Guthrie shows before and I think she currently lives in Okemah.
Susan is a very talented musician. She is someone I always hoped would get a shot at bigger things as a writer, musician and singer. She took the big leap, leaving a steady paying job to pursue her dream, playing music. It’s funny, because the first time I heard about Susan, she was a new teacher at Cascia Hall High School in Tulsa. She had been hired as a French teacher. My wife Ashley, also teacher at Cascia, called me during the day and said, “You should see this new teacher we have. She’s like Aphrodite. She’s gorgeous!”
Ash said she knew right away this was a woman she would get along with because one of the first things Susan asked her at Cascia was “Where’s a good place to take a shit here?”
Susan promoted her career early. She teamed up with other local artists, including Dee Dee Ralph and my wife, , Ashley to put on a poetry and music evening. They read their poetry and Susan played songs to a group of invited guests for an arts happening. At one event, Ashley sang along with Susan on a song
Susann composed music for Ashley’s poem, “Saturn Returns.” Susan, Dee Dee and Ashley are all very talented ladies. Each of them can turn and phrase and create a scene with their words and music.
Susan began to play the local restaurants and clubs. She often played solo, and sometimes began to mix with other musicians. She would mix in originals with a large catalog of covers. We would go to Rick’s American Bistro to hear Susan play. We chose the French hen for an anniversary dinner because Susan was playing that night. Susan has always been a free spirit. She did move to France at one point, living for a while at a Buddhist Monastery, spending time playing her guitar, perfecting her style. She wrote many of her songs in French. When she returned to the U.S. and Oklahoma, she took the teaching gig for a few years, but it did restrict her playing time.
One of my favorite stories about Susan took place in my back yard. Susan wanted to take some photos for new next CD cover. She bought an underwater camera, brought it to my house so Ashley could take underwater pictures of her for the “1000 Pies” cover. They went out to the pool; Susan stripped off her clothes and hopped in. Ash climbed in the water and began snapping shots.
After they finished, my mother, the song leader and Sunday school teacher at a Southern Baptist Church, wandered into the back yard since no one had answered to door bell to find a stranger, the naked Susan standing poolside.
Susan also penned an instrumental called “Grandma’s China.” It never made it on any of her CDs, but it was great. She had come to dinner at our house with my wife, me and Dee Dee Ralph. Ashley had pulled out old China inherited from her grandmother. Susan was inspired and in fact, played that song as part of the music she did at the wedding of another friend.
Susan is nothing if not versatile. She sand lead for a Jazz band. It was a bunch of much older musicians with the much younger Susan on vocals. We got to see them perform at the Philbrook. The led guitarist was the elderly writer of the song “Tequila.” She has played with more Red Dirt oriented musicians and even cranked out some rockin’ stuff with others. Susan has her groupies and dedicated followers. I try to see her play every time she is at Mayfest of local festivals. Her area of play has increased from the Tulsa bars and restaurants to stretch across Oklahoma and Texas.
Often, Susan’s songs will come up on my IPOD shuffle playlist, and they always make me smile. It always makes me think of the dinners, late nights hanging out at her house, Dee Dee’s or ours, For a while there, the 4 of us, Susan, Dee Dee, Ashley and I kept in close touch. It was nice, and life seemed to have a soundtrack with it.
Susan is a very talented musician. She is someone I always hoped would get a shot at bigger things as a writer, musician and singer. She took the big leap, leaving a steady paying job to pursue her dream, playing music. It’s funny, because the first time I heard about Susan, she was a new teacher at Cascia Hall High School in Tulsa. She had been hired as a French teacher. My wife Ashley, also teacher at Cascia, called me during the day and said, “You should see this new teacher we have. She’s like Aphrodite. She’s gorgeous!”
Ash said she knew right away this was a woman she would get along with because one of the first things Susan asked her at Cascia was “Where’s a good place to take a shit here?”
Susan promoted her career early. She teamed up with other local artists, including Dee Dee Ralph and my wife, , Ashley to put on a poetry and music evening. They read their poetry and Susan played songs to a group of invited guests for an arts happening. At one event, Ashley sang along with Susan on a song
Susann composed music for Ashley’s poem, “Saturn Returns.” Susan, Dee Dee and Ashley are all very talented ladies. Each of them can turn and phrase and create a scene with their words and music.
Susan began to play the local restaurants and clubs. She often played solo, and sometimes began to mix with other musicians. She would mix in originals with a large catalog of covers. We would go to Rick’s American Bistro to hear Susan play. We chose the French hen for an anniversary dinner because Susan was playing that night. Susan has always been a free spirit. She did move to France at one point, living for a while at a Buddhist Monastery, spending time playing her guitar, perfecting her style. She wrote many of her songs in French. When she returned to the U.S. and Oklahoma, she took the teaching gig for a few years, but it did restrict her playing time.
One of my favorite stories about Susan took place in my back yard. Susan wanted to take some photos for new next CD cover. She bought an underwater camera, brought it to my house so Ashley could take underwater pictures of her for the “1000 Pies” cover. They went out to the pool; Susan stripped off her clothes and hopped in. Ash climbed in the water and began snapping shots.
After they finished, my mother, the song leader and Sunday school teacher at a Southern Baptist Church, wandered into the back yard since no one had answered to door bell to find a stranger, the naked Susan standing poolside.
Susan also penned an instrumental called “Grandma’s China.” It never made it on any of her CDs, but it was great. She had come to dinner at our house with my wife, me and Dee Dee Ralph. Ashley had pulled out old China inherited from her grandmother. Susan was inspired and in fact, played that song as part of the music she did at the wedding of another friend.
Susan is nothing if not versatile. She sand lead for a Jazz band. It was a bunch of much older musicians with the much younger Susan on vocals. We got to see them perform at the Philbrook. The led guitarist was the elderly writer of the song “Tequila.” She has played with more Red Dirt oriented musicians and even cranked out some rockin’ stuff with others. Susan has her groupies and dedicated followers. I try to see her play every time she is at Mayfest of local festivals. Her area of play has increased from the Tulsa bars and restaurants to stretch across Oklahoma and Texas.
Often, Susan’s songs will come up on my IPOD shuffle playlist, and they always make me smile. It always makes me think of the dinners, late nights hanging out at her house, Dee Dee’s or ours, For a while there, the 4 of us, Susan, Dee Dee, Ashley and I kept in close touch. It was nice, and life seemed to have a soundtrack with it.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Admiral Twin on a hot July night
Tonight I sat with two friends in our foldout camp chairs in the July heat of an Oklahoma evening. Tonight was free concert night at Utica Square. The feature band was Admiral Twin. They are one of the more well known of the Tulsa grown bands with a long history that tattered on near stardom in 2000.
When I first saw the band, they were called the Melodramatic Wallflowers. I heard about them through an ex-student named Don Holman. Don was acquainted because he knew two of the saplupa guys in the band, Mark Carr and Steve Franzen. My wife and I followed them at a local Tulsa club called The Eclipse. Their music was creative and sometimes esoteric. It had a lot of instruments and sounds not typical to pop music. I bought their cassette from Don, and listened to it often in my car. We were fans.
Then something happened. Steve left the band. His parents lived just a few doors down from us in Sapulpa. I saw Steve a few times. He told me he was working on a few things, toying around with some music. The erst of the guys, now a quartet, carried on, but under a different name. Apparently, they heard threats from the Wallflowers, a band fronted by Bob Dylan’s son Jacob, that they must change their name. They decided to go with some local flavor and called themselves the Admiral Twin, Tulsa’s seminal and long enduring drive in theater. Apparently, Jacob Dylan was a little melodramatic about the whole thing, and although his band still exists in some shadowy place, they surely wouldn’t have been confused with something titled “melodramatic.”
The new Admiral Twin recorded their first CD in ’97. It was called “Unlucky.” It was a great power pop collection. The songs were good enough o get an invite to open form the Hansons who were experiencing their notoriety from the pop hit “mmm Bop.” Admiral Twin signed a record deal and recorded “Mock Heroic” which included new material and upgrades of “Unlucky” material. At this point, the band consisted of Mark Carr - vocals, bass, keyboards, Jarrod Gollihare - vocals, drums, keyboards, John Russell - vocals, guitar, keyboards and Brad Becker - vocals, guitar, keyboards. Mark was the other guy from Sapulpa.
Apparently the tour went well.. or so I was told, but soon there were problems with the record company. Mojo Records was dropped from their larger affiliate and Admiral Twin suffered as a result. Brad became disenchanted and left the band to pursue an employment opportunity out west. After several years of struggle and a near miss, he didn’t want to fight anymore. Mark, Jarrod and John carried on . They play everywhere, including clubs, casinos, festivals and events like the Utica Square free concert series. Their namesake burned down a short time ago, and after drives to rebuild the Tulsa monument, of which the band played a part, they will play at its rededication tomorrow night. You can’t keep a good thing down, or a good band down. The drive in and the band are a part of Tulsa. They are here to stay. Admiral Twin has continued to record and release original music.
On this hot, hot evening, as the relentless sun finally sank, and the band started their 2nd set to a crowd of renewed vigor, the people filled the front to dance to the covers and original music. My friends and I, max, and Michelle, snag along with the songs and clapped our appreciation as the sweat cooled in the late evening breeze. My beer was cold in my hand and the cool sounds of their last song, an original, “The In Crowd,” washed over a happy crowd. I know I will see them again, and also listen to their music on my IPOD. I only wish that such hard working musicians as these could enjoy the success that reflects the enjoyment and pleasure they have given me and so many others who sat in these chairs, casinos and clubs.
When I first saw the band, they were called the Melodramatic Wallflowers. I heard about them through an ex-student named Don Holman. Don was acquainted because he knew two of the saplupa guys in the band, Mark Carr and Steve Franzen. My wife and I followed them at a local Tulsa club called The Eclipse. Their music was creative and sometimes esoteric. It had a lot of instruments and sounds not typical to pop music. I bought their cassette from Don, and listened to it often in my car. We were fans.
Then something happened. Steve left the band. His parents lived just a few doors down from us in Sapulpa. I saw Steve a few times. He told me he was working on a few things, toying around with some music. The erst of the guys, now a quartet, carried on, but under a different name. Apparently, they heard threats from the Wallflowers, a band fronted by Bob Dylan’s son Jacob, that they must change their name. They decided to go with some local flavor and called themselves the Admiral Twin, Tulsa’s seminal and long enduring drive in theater. Apparently, Jacob Dylan was a little melodramatic about the whole thing, and although his band still exists in some shadowy place, they surely wouldn’t have been confused with something titled “melodramatic.”
The new Admiral Twin recorded their first CD in ’97. It was called “Unlucky.” It was a great power pop collection. The songs were good enough o get an invite to open form the Hansons who were experiencing their notoriety from the pop hit “mmm Bop.” Admiral Twin signed a record deal and recorded “Mock Heroic” which included new material and upgrades of “Unlucky” material. At this point, the band consisted of Mark Carr - vocals, bass, keyboards, Jarrod Gollihare - vocals, drums, keyboards, John Russell - vocals, guitar, keyboards and Brad Becker - vocals, guitar, keyboards. Mark was the other guy from Sapulpa.
Apparently the tour went well.. or so I was told, but soon there were problems with the record company. Mojo Records was dropped from their larger affiliate and Admiral Twin suffered as a result. Brad became disenchanted and left the band to pursue an employment opportunity out west. After several years of struggle and a near miss, he didn’t want to fight anymore. Mark, Jarrod and John carried on . They play everywhere, including clubs, casinos, festivals and events like the Utica Square free concert series. Their namesake burned down a short time ago, and after drives to rebuild the Tulsa monument, of which the band played a part, they will play at its rededication tomorrow night. You can’t keep a good thing down, or a good band down. The drive in and the band are a part of Tulsa. They are here to stay. Admiral Twin has continued to record and release original music.
On this hot, hot evening, as the relentless sun finally sank, and the band started their 2nd set to a crowd of renewed vigor, the people filled the front to dance to the covers and original music. My friends and I, max, and Michelle, snag along with the songs and clapped our appreciation as the sweat cooled in the late evening breeze. My beer was cold in my hand and the cool sounds of their last song, an original, “The In Crowd,” washed over a happy crowd. I know I will see them again, and also listen to their music on my IPOD. I only wish that such hard working musicians as these could enjoy the success that reflects the enjoyment and pleasure they have given me and so many others who sat in these chairs, casinos and clubs.
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