When You've Been There Before...

 At our church, St. Patrick's, we have a St. Vincent de Paul Conference. Cathy and I volunteer there. if you don't know anything about SVDP it's an old charity ministry that begun in France a couple of hundred years ago to help the poor. SVDP finds it's place in communities with thrift stores, food distribution or as we do rental, transportation assistance utilities and more. We go on a home visit, listen, pray and help right then the best we are able. 

In the course of home visits I think I have been in every neighborhood, apartment complex, motel, trailer or RV park in town. I don't hardly need a GPS or directions to find a place and a few days ago I got a bit discombobulated on a home visit because I had been to the house before. 

I know the exact date I was at this particular house. I had loaded up with a couple of friends, Larry and Beamon and went there, which was where the drummer lived to jam on blues tunes. The date was March 10, 1989 and I do not recall the drummers name. I recall that date because it was written on the cassette tape that was recorded of the jam that night. 

It was mostly what you might expect. Guys playing too loud and long using low-fi equipment to record themselves. The instruments were Larry and Beamon on guitars, me on harp and bass and the unknown drummer. There was one song, written by my friend Larry that stood out and he called it "Cadillac Boogie."  

I guess the reason for my discombobulation was that I realized that out of the people on that tape that were together in the home I was visiting that long ago evening I am the only one left alive. Larry and Beamon are gone. I don't know but I bet the drummer is also. It's not like these were things I did not know it's just these are things I had not gathered in my thoughts the same way I did at the moment in time when I stood in that place again. 

We helped the folks living at the house with bill assistance. I mentioned music to them but it rang no bells. They had lived there several years but without any knowledge of previous residents. 

Here's some knowledge for you:

Click this link to hear Larry's song "Cadillac Boogie"  

The Hot 8 Brass Band at The Great Americian Brass Band Festival...

 We saw the Hot 8 Brass Band at the Great American Brass Band Festival in Danville, Ky. I think the last time I saw them was in New Orleans at a Frenchman Street club in 2018.  The tuba great Bennie Pete was still leading the band. Bennie passed away due to COVID in 2021 and their latest release is in his honor and remembrance and is called "Big Tuba." Naturally this release is my new favorite and I bought it as soon as it came out. The Hot 8 has always been one of my favorites and they do a great job of bringing all the elements of New Orleans culture that I love so much together in a rocking show. 

Of course I think the tuba player in this band (I couldn't find a list of band member names) is great but my favorite guy in the band is one of the trumpet players. He's the guy on the left in this photo. 

Last time we saw them in New Orleans he was stone cool onstage but he seems to have a more prominent role center stage singing, second line style dancing, sweating and soloing that really highlights the joys of New Orleans brass band street culture. It makes me feel happy watching him. 

That looks like a happy drum and tuba section right there.

Trumpet and trombone.

Big Tuba!

I guess if I would have headed over to the merch tent I could have met the guys and I'd had names and probably a new t shirt but the weather was iffy and the Hot 8 set was cut short by rain and lightening. Actually when lightening was reported the band said "they say lightening but we will play one more," but festival officials quickly said, "no you won't" and that was it. It was enough and I though a great set.

 Instead of heading to meet the band we headed for the parking lot in the rain and our car was the last one there.

In 2014 my family, or most of us as I remember (only two grand kids at the time) all went to New Orleans for some of the early season Mardi Gras. There were no big floats but mostly walking parades and low crowd numbers with many brass bands and tubas. I snapped this photo after a parade and I did not know who it was at the time but it's Mr. Big Tuba, Bennie Pete of the Hot 8 with family. I don't think we saw the Hot 8 as such that weekend but Bennie was just out sitting in on the parades and enjoying the community, culture and this photo shows what kind of guy he was. 

Join the family. Get some Hot 8 right now.

  

  

   

 

My Year End Music List...

 Every media source is pushing the best of, most listened to, most streamed, biggest fan and I'm sure there is some negative Ned or Nellie that has put out a worse of the year music list. I have news for you. If you used a streaming service they picked the music for you. They pushed on you like hard drugs. 

I picked my own music from this back room in my house. This is an old photo because it's not quite as neat as you see here. Seems like the drums are stacked a little higher along the right side of the room right now and there are piles of cds and longer record stacks on the floor but that just means I'm letting the grandkids run wild with instruments and I'm picking the music to suit my mood. Sometimes I don't put it up because I play it again.  

What usually happens is in the evening Cathy might be at the computer inputting some St. Vincent de Paul paperwork from the day while I cook and pick records. If I'm cooking French or Spanish or catfish the selection is appropriate. It gets more appropriate as the evening wears on.  

I did buy some new music this year. It was mostly by bands and artists I have seen and a few I might even know as knowing goes in the digital age and have met . There was a Christmas release by Eight Foot Manchild, a new Preservation Hall Jazz Band cd, an old Drums and Tuba album, (they give them away free but I paid them) a Cockaphonix , a Red Barrat, and an Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band. If that looks like it's heavy on the brass band thing I think I also bought singer songwriter James McMurtry's new one and the last album by the late Todd Snider.  

I did not keep count of the used records but there were not many since I am minorly worried about this back of the house room becoming unlevel and uncoupling from the rest of my home and falling into the backyard. I am close to the end but stuff has to last me. As a precaution I did give away about 20 records because I bought these. That Artie Shaw, a compilation released in 1956 is a gem. 

Don't let them push music or any content on you. Pick your own. It does not need to be the latest greatest. It could even be from me. 

   

 

Camping McKinney Falls and HonkTx!....

 For the third year in a row we camped at McKinney Falls State Park outside of Austin, Tx and used that as a base of operations for attending the HonkTx Street band Festival. HonkTx is one of those things I always yearned to attend when I was working and it seemed like that's what I was doing every time they scheduled it but now I'm free and the festival is like a band geek paradise if you want to dress up, dance around and fit in like you have never fitted in in your life because you were like this weird guy or girl that played a horn that no one else did. 

Water was a little cold but on hotter days Cathy and grandchildren have jumped off that rock she's standing on at the Lower Falls.      

One thing attending HonkTx re-enforces for me each year is that there is a place in the world for everyone.  

Our old friend Darwin, who lives in Austin stopped by our camp for a visit and some biking on the trails. 

Great park for bikes. Probably 40 years ago me and Darwin would have been scrambling down that cliff to get down and fish and swim in the creek below and would have done it carrying an ice chest full of beer. Now days I don't drink beer and while with the getting down part gravity would be your friend but getting back up might be a challenge as would taking the long way around looking for a short cut.   

HonkTx is a free festival. It's all kinds of music from everywhere and it's for everyone. If you were a band geek and never really quite fit in here is your chance to dress crazy, find a place for your music and dance wildly. It guess you could say it's woke and it feels good.     

I think I took some of the best photos of live music I have taken in some time and I was using an old kodak camera from several generations back after a couple of newer ones became causalities of rigorous outdoor use.   

I also met some internet friends, Dylan in purple on drums with Emperor Norton's Stationary Marching Band is in a Doom Brass Band I have been following called Eight Foot Manchild. It's distorted guitar and tuba with lots of effects pedals. ENSMB and Eight Foot Manchild share members and Dylan writes the music. I had on Eight Foot's tee shirt and I think I snapped this photo when Dylan saw my shirt.  

Looks like Alison, on tuba for both groups also saw my shirt and at the end of the day we all met and introduced ourselves.

The Kosmonauts from France. 

Many tubas. 

My friends think I have nice adventures and I tell them I just do free stuff like this festival. Of course they ask for donations to support it and the bands sell music and tee shirts which of course we bought but these are my people and it's good.   

 

A Great Show...

The Angelina Arts Alliance hosted a performance by Collision of Rhythm at Temple Theater last Friday night. It was a great performance, a cheap ticket ($11 adult), and being a multi instrumentalist myself and having had a couple of kids playing drums in band and percussion recitals similar to this show it really targeted my musical interests.    

 The duo had a great combination of drums and percussion, beatboxing, sax, flute, piano, singing and tap dancing. One member mentioned a long career of performing on Disney cruises and the other mentioned teaching. There were some serious chops, charisma and evidence of 10,000 hours of work on your instrument.  

I didn't take any photos as they encouraged you put down your phone and participate by singing and clapping. Thanks to the Lufkin Daily for this picture. They had apparently performed for a public school field trip for about 800 kids earlier in the day and though me and Cathy attended this show as a date night I should have brought any grandkid I thought could sit still. 

May 29th the musical STOMP!, another percussion show which I have seen a couple of times is on the schedule. I'll be there and take the kids. I didn't buy season tickets to the Alliance this year because I thought that even though they have safe favorites of the locals that have performed here before on the schedules the list is not as strong in the past but there are still several worthy acts. 

If you see an act you like support the Alliance. You will pay more in the big city to see these groups and it's great we have these things come here. 

 

 

Haiti and Pete Rose, More Alike Than You Think...

 If I get a chance I always go see Haitian music. There's a lot to unpack in that music and it beats standing at a show counting a 1, 2, 3, 4 rock beat. I don't go to baseball games as much as I would like to but I take in the Astros when I can and when in Chicago have been able to see the Cubs at Wrigley Field and since the PK are on the Sox side of town I've been there also. My dad took us to Astros games in the Dome and it's possible I saw Pete Rose play as a child but I really don't remember. With Haitians in the news and Pete's passing it occurred to me how much they are alike.

The Haitian Revolution, slaves rose up against rose up against French rule to free themselves 1791-1804. It was a terrible bloody time but the French and later the British and Spanish who all came to be involved in the conflict were pretty impressed with former enslaved people's initiative and organization and American slave owners were so scared by it that they banned anyone from Haiti (some slipped into New Orleans) and by 1808 had banned importation of Africans preferring homegrown enslaved people to anyone than might cause trouble. The war probably helped the USA in the fact that the horrible losses of troops suffered by the colonial powers blunted their ambitions in this hemisphere but Haiti was left destitute when in 1825 France sent warships to demand repatriations for those that owned land and slaves. Haiti was forced to take out loans which hurt prosperity and though paid off in 1947 the country has never recovered and is rife with gangs and occupied by U.N. police forces. 

That's the history of the Haitian Revolution in a nutshell as I read in Ned Sublette's books which pile many interesting tidbits on history, culture and music together. Apparently some are still taking it out on Haiti by claiming immigrants in the U.S. fleeing the current chaos eat household pets. That's a long grudge. 

Pete Rose, the all time hits leader in major league baseball bet on baseball and as a manager he bet on his own team. He admitted these things. Pete's nickname was Charlie Hustle and by all reports may not have been all that nice of a guy having led a controversial life and baseball seems to have it in for him by basically ignoring attempts at reinstatement (hind of like Haiti) while other people have been tarnished by betting without suspension and as long as I check the box that says I'll old enough I can download an app to bet on sports from my phone. Don't tell my wife about that as she's all in for Mahomes and I don't want her that far in.   

I think we can connect the dots pretty easily between Pete and Haiti. Both are on the outs with the powers that be. The question is how do you get back in? Do we summon Papa Legba? I may be asking this myself by the time the other hand, which we are never watching reads this blog. 

             

   

     

The Turning Point...

I must have just turned 19 years old and was living in the dorm at Stephen F. Austin State University in the spring of 1976 when the guy in the room next door, Quince, introduced me to the music of British bluesman John Mayall. Quince is still listening to good music and I know he has seen Mayall, who passed away today at 90 years old, in concert a number of times over the years.  

After hearing this news I checked the old record collection and found I had an even dozen John Mayall recordings. Most of these records I bought in the late 1970s but Mayall's recording goes back to the early 60s British Blues boom when roots American music and the people who played it were more appreciated in England than at home. Mayall's bands featured one of the most extensive who's who family trees of music with many British musicians getting their start honing chops in his groups such as Eric Clapton and members of Fleetwood Mac and the Rolling Stones. Recently Texas blues guitarist Carolyn Wonderland has been featured in the guitar chair for Mayall's music. 

At the time Mayall appealed to me, a horn player, because he used jazz horn players in big band type sections like one of my favorites trumpeter Blue Mitchell, and he released albums with unconventional lineups he called "blues without bashing' that featured flute, nylon fingerstyle guitar and violin. In these records there were no drums which was a departure from the style of blues Mayall had been playing.

For a musician to live to 90 years old and stay active as Mayall did only recently retiring is a good run. He's scheduled to soon be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He deserves it. 

 

 

   

 

Drum and Tuba 4th...

We made it a drum and tuba Christmas July 4th with patriotic tunes played for a picnic at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. Morgan was on drums for this gig with guest appearances by Parker, Cullen and Ezra.  

I am a patriot with love of my country and all things about it and people in it. I'm against a nationalist who exhibits devotion to one particular group or cause over all others. There's some of those running around so watch out. 

We played all the favorites, National Anthem, service hymns, Columbia Gem of the Ocean, America and more. 

I think the crowd was pleased. We even had a couple of bucks thrown in the tip jar. 

Thanks to Father Denzil for inviting us to play and being an energetic priest and Drum and Tuba supporter.

 

 

 

The Longest Day of the Year...

I'm a slide guitar player and once at a blues jam I covered an old tune by slide great Elmo James. Afterwards someone took me aside and explained I had not done the song like SRV did it. I'm an SRV fan seeing him many times back in the day up close and personal in small Texas roadhouses and I was not aware that he had cover that tune also. 

Another time we got a little band together for something and with a keyboard player we were going to cover a Beatles tune. In the course of rehearsal someone stopped the band and informed the drummer that Ringo had hit the high hat cymbal 4 times right there instead of the three times he had hit it. The keyboard player missed the gig for some reason so we never did the tune and I don't know if the drummer ever mastered the suggested changes.   

I spent yesterday on and off jamming with my grandkids. I played tuba and guitar. They grabbed up whatever was handy blowing and banging with uninhibited glee. It was everything I had ever wanted in a jam session. People were creating and making it all up as we went along. It happened to be the summer solstice and I would say there was a definite old soul primitive ancient mysterious celebration to the feel of these tunes.          

Later when browsing the events of the world on the internet I found this. It really resonated with me just as these tunes had resonated with this band of heathens. I've played on stages and concerts halls and done all kind of things but this sums up what it has really all been about for me. It's just been hard to find people that felt this way also.

 

 

We Have Merch...

Since I made a million buck on the Drum and Tuba Christmas thing money is not an issue here. All that was a DIY thing but now staff artist Miguel Aamora is on payroll designing these new Tuba Man Eclipse stickers.

If you would like one, these 3" x 3" peel off stickers are perfect for posting on city light poles, trash cans, in public restrooms or wherever hipsters hang out, message me your address cewallac@consolidated.net and venmo me what it's worth to you. If demand is high the cost of postage could set me back more than the cost of stickers not to mention the artist commission.

Unfortunately this sticker drop may get overshadowed by the new Taylor Swift Album and my gig on Sunday April 28th at 2:30pm in Temple Theater with the Angelina Civic Band (it's swing music) has to compete with the Rolling Stones Houston Concert so as indie artist we really appreciate your support.

Honk!Tx 2024...

Yes there were tubas. Lots of them as well as all other kind of instruments at the Austin Honk!Tx street band festival this past weekend.  It was our second year to attend and I love every minute. Though I do get plenty of opportunities to play music with good people all the time I do wish there was something like this in my home town with wacky dress up sensibilities which in many cases with these groups also combine with community purposes to make the world a better place. 

Here's the Honk!Tx Mission statement:

HONK!TX is a nonprofit, community-driven festival that brings street and brass bands from around the country to perform for free in the public spaces of Austin, Texas. Mobile and unamplified, HONK! bands transform everyday locations into spontaneous stages, dissolving the line between crowd and performers and inviting everyone to celebrate the joys of music and community. A range of genres will be represented: New Orleans second-line brass, European Klezmer and Balkan, Brazilian, West African and more. HONK! is a celebration of community, collaboration and creative expression. Join the revelry!

Above is pictured and you may guess their name, The Neon Brass Party from the clothing style. They come to the festival from Seattle, Wa. The traveling bands are put up in the homes of volunteers, preferably located on public transit or bike lanes. Food sponsors, Restaurants, Caterers and individuals feed everyone. 

9th Avenue Brass from Pensacola, Fl. One of my favorites. 

Bramaya West African Music and Dance from Austin.

Generally not real crowded for a free festival but I could not get real close to the Minor Mishap Marching Band. 

Black Sheep Ensemble from Atlanta.  

Greenbelt Honk! Situation from Greenbelt, Maryland. 

Cimarrona La Original from Santo Domingo Costa Rica. Great group, good drums and tuba. 

The Human Band from New Orleans. Not your typical New Orleans thing but a bit of Balkan and other stuff thrown in. 

I think a lot of Honk groups, many cities have Honk Festivals, meet in the park or other public space on a weekend afternoon, rehearse an hour and then perform an hour. I'd love to do something like that. Maybe I'm not too old to have this much energy I just wish I had the arranging skills to put it together. I'd certainty hold down the tuba line.  

 

When You Should Pick Up the Guitar But Don't....

 My resonator guitar was leaning on a stand in it's spot in the living room. Cathy's guitar also has a spot in the living room on a stand. The idea is that when creativity strikes instruments are handy and you grab one up and create. It's not always that smooth a process because I played a gig in October using this guitar and had not picked it up since. I played other guitars plenty. I played electric guitar in my room, bass guitar at church for services, a couple of funerals and weddings and of course tuba for a civic band concert, and several Drum and Tuba Christmas gigs. Yesterday I picked the resonator from it's stand, removed the stick on pickup and cord I use when needing to electrify it and said to myself, "self, you need to play something on this." I didn't and then that night I had this dream. 

In the dream I rode a bicycle on an East Texas farm road or isolated state highway shaded by tall pines. I turned on a dirt driveway and went through a cattle pasture gate and followed a rutted track to a small white frame house. I was expecting a party but there were no cars signaling the presence of people and I wondered where everyone was. I entered the house to find a room full of people sleeping on mattresses on the floor. Men and women slept together and some people slept on singles by themselves. I thought to leave but they invited me in and everyone rose from bed. They were all hippies, men with beards and shaggy hair, barefoot women with waist length straight hair, long dresses and plain cotton tops. 

As they got around neighbors, men, women and children from a house next door walked across an open field to join us. On a small rise of ground my late friend Gary, a bandana around his head sat playing his drums. As I think about it there may have been other deceased friends in the dream, all gone about the time cell phones began their rise to prominence and before Standley cups were such a thing.   

Here's Gary at the drums.       

In the living room of the old house people began setting up to play music. I expected Gary to bring in the drums but some other guy brought in a child sized set and put it up in a corner. While people were deciding who would stand where I sat down on my amp which had magically appeared but I did not have a guitar. I thought if I leave now on the bicycle I can go get my guitar and return by automobile but if I stay for the jam I'll be riding the bike home in the dark. 

This situation never concluded because I woke up to a windy storm. The power was out. I could hear high gusts of wind dancing the chimes on the porch. Those chimes are tuned to an E Major chord which is the very heart of rock and roll. Mother Nature played random never to be repeated arpeggios with the notes on the chimes and I though I heard snippets of "Rumble," "Smokestack Lightening," and "That's All Right Mama." Rain spattered across the metal roof of my house saying, "Wake Up Little Susie!" Get that guitar off the stand!  

  

Drum and Tuba Christmas at Posadas...

Mary worked last night. She's a night shift labor and delivery nurse for those of you thinking that Drum and Tuba Christmas is her day job. I had to find a sub and fortunately I did not look very far as her brother Morgan filled in on the drum chair to play the Posada celebration at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. Old Pop-Pop appreciates that he has two children to step up and back up his musical efforts. Actually have two more children and I'd liove to see what they could do backing me up but be ready for mixed results if it's on drums.    

If you aren't familiar with the 400 year old tradition of Posadas take some Aztec Winter Solstice celebrations, combine it with a dramatization and procession of Mary and Joseph's search of a place at the inn, prayer, songs, food, and a Piñata and you have Posadas. Since the seven points of the Pinata represent the seven deadly sins of lust, greed, gluttony, sloth, envy, pride, and wrath the blindfold represents faith and the stick is virtue to overcome sin and the goodies inside the Piñata are the riches of heaven one will receive when they overcome I think it's only that it's only natural we insert some Drum ad Tuba in there somewhere. 

Only problem was that when they served pizza and the piñata began I lost half the band. Fortunately we jammed a bit before it all started.             

This was our third drum and tuba show of the 2023 Christmas season. I'll probably have to send that suit to the cleaners.  

As long as you want the dynamics loud me and Parker are good at it. 

A video of us popped up on a Facebook page called Here I Am Lord to Do Your Will. That seems appropriate.  

Looks like a good time was had by all. 

Remember, there are 12 days of Christmas and when that finishes it's legal to eat King Cake and the Mardi Gras Season starts. Any part of that you can use a tuba, some drum, a piñata and pizza.