An the Bullcrafe news US~ that's tH paldpennlt to pitch no. 2419 C' PITCtI KCMO February '1986 Kansas City's ffee music and entertainment newspaper Issue 62 A Texas tidal wave Blues, rock, rarb, ballads, you name it from the latest- Hammond discovery the Chantones, Blackbird and Nightcrawlers. by Roger Naber His senior year of high school, he dropped out He's been the most talked-about guitarist in and left his hometown of Dallas in the early 70s. blues and rock circles for the last three years. He followed his brother Jimmie to AUstin, which He dominated reader's and critic's polls in has been his home base ever since. various magazines. For the last two years he has From 1975-77 Stevie played with Austin's been the recipient of "Best Blues Instrumentalist" most popular r&b club band, the Cobras. He at the W.C. Handy Awards in Memphis. And then formed his own r&b revue, Triple Threat, there is no indication that the crest Stevie Ray which featured vocaUst Lu Ann Barton. In ear­ ~ Vaughan is riding is ready to level off. ly '81 Lu Ann quit the band in the middle of I first met the guitar genius four-and-a-half a tour, and that forced Vaughan to take over years ago. After spending several weeks trying lead vocals. He regrouped the band and named to locate him, I hired Vaughan and his band it Double Trouble pr an Otis Rush song. The Double Trouble to perform at HarUng's. The group consisted of Tommy Shannon on elec­ man who urged me to book him was his older tric bass and Chris Layton on drums. -brother Jimmie Lee Vaughan of the Fabulous Vaughan, according to People magazine, Thunderbirds, who, ironically enough, is the went "roaring into the 1982 Montreux festival opening act for Stevie Ray's performance at with a '59 Stratocaster at his hip and two flame­ Memorial Hall on February 8. throwing sidekicks he called Double Trouble. He On July 4, 1981, Stevie Ray Vaughan played had no record contract, no name, but he re­ three one-hour sets of blistering rock and roll duced the stage to a pile of smoking cinders and piercing blues to a wall-to-wall crowd. From and, afterward, everyone wanted to know who Jimi Hendrix to Guitar Slim, Stevie's repertOire he was." In attendance at the festival was Davis displayed ~n extensive knowledge and mastery BoWie. who tapped Stevie to play lead guitar of blUes guitar. His performance that night at on his album Lefs Dance, and Jackson Browne, HarUng's was one of the most memorable night who offered the group free time at his Down' club shows Kansas City has witnessed this Town Studio In Los Angeles. Vaughan's debut dec l.P,Texas fIootI (Epic 38734, $8.98 Ust), was recorded' ma ~ !M!ek~jn NQvember 1982 under the guidance of John Hammond, the Rush. Springsteen. By the-. of eight, Vaughan began playing Texas Flood sold a quarter of a million copies, in a succession of local bands with names Uke (continued on page 8) Tommy Shannon, Stevie Ray Vaughan; Chris Layton and Reese Wynans atmmys hit close to borne been missing. Ing Fish 325, $8.98 list), has garnered positive own bot comPQsitions. They deserve a gram­ by I-Fred But it won't be easy. The other nominees in reviews across the country and good notices in my for their tune "Nancy Reagan- and their ver­ The Blue Riddlm Band has joined the ranks the "Best Reggae Album" category are such roots bibles as Reggae &,African Beat and sion of Vangelit "Chariots of Fire~ which fmat· of such notables as Big Joe Turner and Pat heavyweights. Jimmy Cbff, long a reggae Rockers from JA. Not bad for a bunch of white Iy makes the song live u~ to its title. " Metheny. Soon, some more Kansas City talents superstar, tops the Ust followed by the Melody guys from the heart d America. H all goes well, by February 25 Kansas CitY' could have a Grammy resting on their mantle. Makers, who are the ~ kids of reggae's spiritual The recording Is from their 1982 gig at could be the home of another nationally Although they've always had a die-hard core cornerstone, Bob Marley. The other two Jamaica's Su~lash Festival where they took recognized group and the Blue Riddim Band of local followers throughout their near eight­ nominees include political-roots powerhouse everyone by surprise. The reaciton of the au­ could be on the to somewell-deserved respect. year career, Blue ~iddim has yet to achieve na­ Burning Spear and Judy Mowatt, an E!l{­ dience grew from po Ute indifference to wild en­ respect. tionwide recognitiotl; They've been near the member of Bob Marley's bancl Ifs stiff competi­ thusiasm to screaming for two encores. The Blue brink several times, but have never quite made tion, but Blue Riddim has a pretty good chance. Riddim Band's materialranges from classic reg­ it. This could be th~t elusi break" they've The album nominated; A1hte in Jamaica (F1y- gae covers and reggae-ized soul tunes to their FEBRUARY IS GRAMMYMONTH All' GRAMMY NOMINEES 20% OFF PENNYLANE IS A CATS TICKET OUTLET ;03rd & State line 4128 Broadway 844 Massachusetts South Kansas City • 941-3970 Westport • 561-1580 lawrence • (913) 749-4211 KC PlTCI1 February 1986 PRODUCTIONS 9930 TRUMAN ROAD INDEPENDENCE, MO (Formerly Rich Roberts) Phone: 816-252-0530 MICROPHONES "* Sound Reinforcement System Rentals OUR GIFT TO YOU ... "* Lighting Rentals BEST PRICES BEST QUALITY "* Video Production BEST SERVICES * Plus More. Just Call f'\A;Jt ? p£Al(£r.s MOt\lI-mrS RAW5p£AKEr5 ~,,~~ ~ We Sell 'em Rent 'em, Buy 'em Trade 'em, Fix'em T-Shirts and Satin Jackets Also~vaiiabJe,! February 1986 KC PITCH Page 3 Avenue reviews:~ best of '85 Because January is always a slow time for "of some of the most innovative rock music Simple Minds Waterboys new releases, the record companies havi~g around. Their '85 release varies from the heavily Once Upon a Time This is the Sea brought most of the new stuff to market before layered multirhythmic sound that dominated A&M 5092, $8.98 list Island 90457, $8.98 list Chris~mas for obvious reasons, it seems like a most of their recent wGrk, but its simpler, more Another Scottish aggregation that has long The second recording by a Scottish trio that good time for a few comments about the music melodic songs do nothing to diminish this band's been a cult favorite. With this release they m'ay serves as the medium for leader Mike Scott's that came out in 1985. claim to being the best American band work­ have found the' formula for pop success without romantic, mystical vision. About half the record While 1984 brought three monster hits, ing today. compromising their particular pe$onj:ll vision. is too overblown, but the remainder contains Private Dancer, Born in the USA and Purple some of the most powerful and moving music Rain, 1985 failed to produce even one domi­ Sam Cooke Suzanne Vega to come along in some time. nant release. Rather, it was a year marked by Live at the Harlem Square Club A&M 5072, $6.98 list some extraordinary reissues of historic record­ RCA 5181, $8.98 list The first LP by an East Coast artist who has Van Morrison ings. Now that rock and roll has a 30-year There's this guy named Gregg Geller who been credited with resuscitating the folk music Sense of Wonder recorded history it is beginning to attain the RCA has let loose among their archives, and scene in New York. Searingly honest lyrics and Me~ury 822 895, $8.98 list cultural recognition it has long deserved, for bet­ this record is one of several releases that he a sophisticated acoustic sound mark this as one Certainly not at the top of the large and grow­ ter or worse. There were also a number ofhew brought to the market in 1985. Geller may be of the <;>utstanding debut releases in some time. ing catalog of Van's recorded output, but I recordings, often by new or little known artists, the best thing to have happened to RCA's pop nonetheless it contains some truly moving music that yielded some first-rate music. catalog since they signed Elvis 30 years ago. Bob Dylan by one of rock's great musical visionaries. For 1985 was a year when rock radio remained Sam Cooke was simply one of the most exciting Empire Burlesque some reason the CD is' much more'satisfying , largely restrained because too few people still artists to have worked the pop scene since rock CBS 40110, $8.98 list than the LP. decide what most of us wiD get a chance to listen and roll became the sound of pop music and Dylan's most highly produced record (Arthur to. It was a year when the continuing heavy this record provides a unique opportunity to Baker) establishes once again that while this ar­ Atlantic Rhythm &: Blues 1947·1974 commercialization of the form manifested itself sample the pure, wild joy that was Sam Cooke tist's most revolutionary and creative work may Atlantic 81620, $86.98 list in the marriage betwe~n the music and movies. live. now be 20 years old, there Is a continuum of Turkish brothers Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun It may well be remembered as the year when meaning and message that easily merits con­ migrated to this country to pursue professional an Irish r~cker united the world's media for a The Blasters tinuing attention.