It had been many years since I had been to the Canal Club and I decided to attend a show I wasn’t familiar with but I thought the subject matter would be interesting to review. At the time the only act I knew was performing that night was Unknown Hinson. I had never had the pleasure of attending any of Mr. Hinson’s shows, but many of my friends never miss him when he is in town so I decided to find out what all the fuss was about. Much to my surprise, when I walked in the door I heard familiar music and saw familiar faces on the stage during sound check. “Unknown” to me, my friends Gorgeous were opening for Unknown Hinson and suddenly the overpriced $16.50 tickets weren’t so offensive.
Gorgeous, former members of Chrome Daddy Disco, has always been in my opinion the best rockabilly/psychobilly band in Richmond, or anywhere for that matter. I have been going to their shows for well over ten years and still can’t sit still when I hear them play. Sean McClain is in my opinion the best front man on a stage. If you are looking for entertainment, look no further. Sean delivers his cocky one liners and rants along with the most passionate covers, “King Creole”, “Muleskinner Blues”, and the best of the best, “Viva Las Vegas”, plus original songs like “Bloody Valentine”, that cannot be duplicated. Many bands have tried but failed. This band is the real deal down to Jim’s pink paisley James Burton style guitar, to the solid bass and drums that pull everything together and creates the “Sonic Sound” that is the infectious Gorgeous groove. Gorgeous doesn’t play out very often, so seeing them was a real treat and I’m always looking forward to their next show. Thanks guys for giving Elvistra another chance to shake, rattle and roll!
Band Members for Gorgeous: Sean McClain: vocals, ranting
Jim Wark: Guitar
Greg Wetherford: Drums
Kyle Christian: Bass
The main act, Unknown Hinson, the King of the Country Western Troubadours from Charlotte, NC, was not the honky tonk guitar picker I assumed he was. His music is described as country/western/metal/psychobilly/cow punk. What I heard was a very talented blues oriented guitar player with quirky original songs like “Lingerie”, BarbieQ”, and “Alkyhol Withdrawl” which gives him his unique persona, and incredible covers by Hendrix and even Alice Cooper., which won me over immediately.
Unknown Hinson is not just a weird guy with a scary face, although I still can’t figure out how none of his makeup melted during the show. The man barely broke a sweat, very cool indeed. The crowd loved him and it was clear Unknown Hinson has a strong fan base in Richmond, and now I understand why. After the show Mr. Hinson greeted his fans, signed autographs and took pictures with them. He clearly appreciates his followers and treats them well.
In conclusion, the night was filled with the “Unknown”, but it was a top notch show that should’ve had a much bigger crowd to bear witness.
Be sure to check out Unknown Hinson’s CD “Target Practice”
Band website: www.unknownhinson.com
Members of Unknown Hinson: Unknown Hinson: vocals, guitar
Roger “Tiny” Kohrs: Bass
Frank “The Tank” Sorrell: Percussion
_________________
KISSES AND SPANKS, ELVISTRA THE JOURNALISTA
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Elvistra / Blog
CASH BASH 2009 REVIEW
Cash Bash , the Johnny Cash tribute festival was held in Winston-Salem at the Garage. It was a two evening event with performances by thirteen bands. This was my first time going to an out of town music festival (I know, it’s shameful!) and I was eager to see the bands and the fans. Being from out of town I actually saw quite a few friends there. These festivals are well known in Richmond and many people go religiously every year. The band hosting the festival this year was The Bo-Stevens from Winston-Salem, NC. They played the first night of shows. I was fortunate to have met them earlier last month when they played Richmond. The Johnny Cash part of Cash Bash happens when each band is required to perform two Johnny Cash songs in their set. They are welcome to put their personal touches on the songs, and there were quite a few memorable versions of “Folsom Prison Blues and “One Piece at a Time”. The bands were mostly country oriented with a little rockabilly mixed in. All in all the bands were very entertaining, although I wasn’t able to see them all, I was impressed with the 11 out of 13 that I was able to see. It was worth the four hour drive, and that’s considering it rained and/or snowed coming and going to the event. I highly recommend attending next year. It’s a great way to ease yourself into these massive festivals that happen each year. This one is more contained. It’s held in one bar with one stage for two nights. No muss no fuss. Just a great crowd and fun bands. To read more go to: http://tinyurl.com/dkk6yj
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INTERVIEW WITH PLAN 9 MUSIC
Plan 9 Music is a full service, independent retailer with more than 25 years in the music reatailing business. At present there are several locations in the Central Virginia area but we are focusing on the first and still thriving Carytown location where we all go for our vinyl and obscure band fix. Dave “Sully” Sullivan has taken a moment to be my seventh victim and talk about Plan 9 and its humble beginning. Here is my interview with Sully of Plan 9 Music. , Cindy: Can you fill us in on Plan 9’s history as a record store? Sully: Plan 9 started as an independent record store in Carytown 27 years ago. The Cary Street store is still the main and largest store, but we also have locations in Charlottesville, Williamsburg, and Winston Salem N.C. Cindy: Has the economy harmed independent stores like Plan 9? Sully: Our industry was already in a decline prior to the current recession, so it can be difficult to measure. I think in some ways it obviously has hurt us. People have less money so they are spending less. On the other hand, most of our merchandise is pretty affordable so it provides a good alternative when someone has to cancel their Disney vacation due to the economy. Another upside is that music collectors tend to be pretty fanatical and therefore recession proof. We are fortunate to have a long time regular customer base to keep us going. Cindy: On a lighter note, do you think vinyl is making a comeback? Sully: The resurgence of vinyl is definitely one of the most interesting things going on in music retail. There are more and more new records by current artists being released on vinyl. Some of them also include the digital download for the album. Records may never sell at the volume that CD’s once did, but how much the market for them will grow remains to be seen. To read more go to: http://tinyurl.com/c7caas
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INTERVIEW WITH VAPOR RHINOS TOMMY RODRIGUEZ & DEAN OWEN
This is my first attempt to interview two victims at the same time. You know what they say, double the pleasure…..
Tommy Rodriguez and Dean Owen have played together as much as they’ve played apart over the years, but between the two they have spawned something like a million different bands and played the old school streets of Grace and Harrison in venues like Hole in the Wall and The Metro, and my favorite venue, Peter Headley’s house. I was young and to me it was like Alice in Wonderland, except way more drugs and alcohol involved. I will never forget the giant stuffed animals and stuffing floating in the air from their massacred remains.
To read more go to: http://bbs.richmonddigitalmedia.com/viewtopic.php?t=219
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BEEX, JIMMY CATLETT & OCTANE SAINTS @ PLAZA BOWL 4/4/09
It was old school night at the Plaza Bowl. Anyone and everyone who hung out “back in the day” was there to pay tribute to their friends that night, Beex.
I guess when you’re over 40 you tend to know a few people that know the same people and before you realize it, everyone is connected to each other in some social way. I had to make a conscious effort to stop socializing and get to work.
The Octane Saints were four songs in when I arrived, so I walked up and enjoyed the remaining set. I was very happy I didn’t miss my favorite song, “Drinkin’”. True to form the boys had people at the stage up close and personal. It really delights me to see an Octane Saints crowd because they participate and respond to the music, they don’t just stand there. People actually move and react. That’s my kind of band and my kind of fans. Well done boys.
FOR MORE GO TO: http://bbs.richmonddigitalmedia.com/viewtopic.php?t=216
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INTERVIEW WITH JOE BUCK YOURSELF
Joe Buck, or Jim to his friends, has a plan. He plans to stay pissed off and sing about it until there is no need to anymore. In a way Joe Buck is an activist, but not by protesting or props, which he finds redundant, but by translating and transferring emotion and energy to his audience. During my phone interview with him, tape recorder by the phone, praying it was working, Joe was somewhere in Florida, on tour as always. Joe Buck is a humble man who doesn’t think he is anything special. He plays for us and he will always play for us, whether it’s a crowd of 2 or 2000. Joe Buck and I found common ground on many topics and shared some personal stories that showed me the roller coaster that has been Joe Buck’s life. I am now not just a fan of Joe Buck Yourself, I’m a fan and I hope a friend of Jim.
Cindy: You just returned from Europe. How did that part of the tour go? Is playing Europe any different than playing the U.S.?
Joe Buck: Well, it was exactly the same. It was weird, it is weird. I mean this first show in Rotterdam I was singing “Evil MF from Tennessee” and I usually let the crowd say “Tennessee”, and I’m in Rotterdam and I was like, okay, and just stopped, boom, and sure enough I heard “Tennessee”!
Cindy: So your fan base is strong in Europe?
Joe Buck: Well I’m not trying to be different, it’s just the way it comes out. I mean, obviously they’re looking for something different and you know there’s not too many places for them to get something like that I guess. It was amazing. I’m going back over there in the fall for about two months.
Cindy: I’ve noticed so many bands booking Europe dates on their tour schedules. It seems like a popular thing to do, I guess it always has been.
Joe Buck: Well, I don’t book the shows, I just let people know where I am, so it’s good because I just deal with people. We’re not getting in touch with clubs, it’s not like that. I just want to go where the people want me to come. I’m just excited about having a show. The best shows are when you get your local bands together and there’s people and you have a party. I only care about the people who are there.
To read more: http://www.thetinwhisker.com/viewtopic.php?t=197&sid=9a6438fda3d2ae352a37d4d9d7921193
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GORGEOUS & UNKNOWN HINSON @ CANAL CLUB
It had been many years since I had been to the Canal Club and I decided to attend a show I wasn’t familiar with but I thought the subject matter would be interesting to review. At the time the only act I knew was performing that night was Unknown Hinson. I had never had the pleasure of attending any of Mr. Hinson’s shows, but many of my friends never miss him when he is in town so I decided to find out what all the fuss was about. Much to my surprise, when I walked in the door I heard familiar music and saw familiar faces on the stage during sound check. “Unknown” to me, my friends Gorgeous were opening for Unknown Hinson and suddenly the overpriced $16.50 tickets weren’t so offensive.
Gorgeous, former members of Chrome Daddy Disco, has always been in my opinion the best rockabilly/psychobilly band in Richmond, or anywhere for that matter. I have been going to their shows for well over ten years and still can’t sit still when I hear them play. Sean McClain is in my opinion the best front man on a stage. If you are looking for entertainment, look no further. Sean delivers his cocky one liners and rants along with the most passionate covers, “King Creole”, “Muleskinner Blues”, and the best of the best, “Viva Las Vegas”, plus original songs like “Bloody Valentine”, that cannot be duplicated. Many bands have tried but failed. This band is the real deal down to Jim’s pink paisley James Burton style guitar, to the solid bass and drums that pull everything together and creates the “Sonic Sound” that is the infectious Gorgeous groove. Gorgeous doesn’t play out very often, so seeing them was a real treat and I’m always looking forward to their next show. Thanks guys for giving Elvistra another chance to shake, rattle and roll!
Band Members for Gorgeous: Sean McClain: vocals, ranting Jim Wark: Guitar Greg Wetherford: Drums Kyle Christian: Bass
The main act, Unknown Hinson, the King of the Country Western Troubadours from Charlotte, NC, was not the honky tonk guitar picker I assumed he was. His music is described as country/western/metal/psychobilly/cow punk. What I heard was a very talented blues oriented guitar player with quirky original songs like “Lingerie”, BarbieQ”, and “Alkyhol Withdrawl” which gives him his unique persona, and incredible covers by Hendrix and even Alice Cooper., which won me over immediately.
Unknown Hinson is not just a weird guy with a scary face, although I still can’t figure out how none of his makeup melted during the show. The man barely broke a sweat, very cool indeed. The crowd loved him and it was clear Unknown Hinson has a strong fan base in Richmond, and now I understand why. After the show Mr. Hinson greeted his fans, signed autographs and took pictures with them. He clearly appreciates his followers and treats them well.
In conclusion, the night was filled with the “Unknown”, but it was a top notch show that should’ve had a much bigger crowd to bear witness.
Be sure to check out Unknown Hinson’s CD “Target Practice” Band website: www.unknownhinson.com
Members of Unknown Hinson: Unknown Hinson: vocals, guitar Roger “Tiny” Kohrs: Bass Frank “The Tank” Sorrell: Percussion
_________________ KISSES AND SPANKS, ELVISTRA THE JOURNALISTA
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