Jesse Sublett's Blog, page 10

Spring is here

Sabina

OK, you-know-what is over. But spring is here, in case you missed the redbuds blooming and other things popping up, breaking out into color and generally efflorescing. This afternoon I just happened to catch Marco Werman on PRI in time for Sabina Sciubba’s slot promoting her new solo release. I don’t know if the whole record is as great as the first song she played, but it knocked me out. Check it out here. If Sabina’s name doesn’t ring a bell, you might recognize the name of her band, the Brazilian Girls. If you’re not familiar with them, you’re on your own, but I will say that I liked them instantly, first time I heard them. They seem like a singles band and a live band more than a CD band, but that’s OK. You can watch the Brazilian Girls doing their song “Pussy” on this youtube clip.

Minotaur Ready for Combat in the 21st Century

Speaking of girls in bands, my biggest disappointment last week was missing Arum Rae, who played two shows in Austin but I had schedule conflicts both nights. Arum formerly lived in Austin and performed in a twosome called White Dress. I played on a bill with her a few years ago and again, it was instantaneous. You can sample her music on her minimalist home page or look her up on youtube also. She is supercool.

Arum Rae

 

More about this upcoming gig later: Friday, March 28, 7 PM, at All Saints Episcopal Church, I’ll be performing as a storyteller. Unique venue, special concept, no props, just me. Check it out here, or just read the details, and check the home page here.

Friday, March 28th

7:00 PM

Location

All Saints’ Episcopal Church

209 W. 27th St.

Austin, TX 78705

Notes

For Lent this year, we’re going to do something a little different. Let us set the scene. It’s dark in the church except for the beam of a single spotlight. There’s no noise. A person steps into the lit circle and begins to tell a story. The story will be a true one, from the speaker’s own life. That will be all. No musical accompaniment. No notes. No visual aids. No gimmicks at all. Just a person and a story. Afterwards, we’ll move the gathering to Kinsolving Hall for fellowship and discussion.

jesseNext up is one of Austin’s finest–rocker and writer Jesse Sublett. Although he’s best known as one of the founders of the Austin punk scene with the Skunks, his work encompasses jazz, blues, Americana, and the odd mystery novel. Jesse is intimately and profoundly acquainted with loss, renewal, and redemption.

MORE SOON…

Cheers,

Jesse

Me (center stage) with Tim Stegall & Clint Shay & the rest of the Hormones singing “Gimme Some” at SXSW unofficial 2014 at the Legendary White Swan.

PS. The above photo is by Julia Cohen, as you can see by the watermark. Thanks for letting me use it.

The Skunks (1978) return for SXSW 2014

The Skunks after the first gig at Raul’s 1978, Jesse Sublett, Bill Blackmon, Eddie Munoz, photo by Cheryl Smith

March 13, at their only SXSW 2014 showcase, THE SKUNKS (1978) are back. Original members Jesse Sublett, Eddie Munoz and Bill Blackmon will recreate the moment Austin, Texas was jolted out of its cosmic cowboy coma in February 1978, when the earthquake-shaking Skunks electrified a little Tejano bar on the Drag called Raul’s, just a month after the Sex Pistols show in San Antonio. With instant classics like “Earthquake Shake” and “Cheap Girl” and “Something About You Scares Me,” the Skunks set the stage for its Live Music Capital of the World rebirth. After 12 whirlwind months, Eddie left for the Plimsouls and was replaced by 19-year-old Jon Dee Graham, who continues to play with the Skunks as well as his many other roles. Spread the word! #TheSkunks1978 Facebook event page here. More bio on The Skunks here.

Check out the mp3s from “The Black LP” from The Skunks 1978 produced by the late Joe Gracey, released on Rude Records in 1981.

The Skunks (1978) will kick off The End Records showcase at 8 PM. Get there early to catch 40 minutes of sizzling, bonerattling rock ‘n roll. The lineup for the whole night follows.

Lit Lounge

215 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78701

(512) 236-8878

Line-up

8PM The Skunks (Jesse Sublett)

9PM Marianne’s Wish (George Solonos)

10PM Ruby The Hatchet (John Scarperia)

11PM Okta Logue (Olli Frank)

12PM My Jerusalem (Jeff Klein)

1AM Rich Robinson (Randy Miller)

PS. Eddie Munoz will also be at SXSW 2014 rocking with Split Squad.

Bookstore Party Gig March 1

Sometimes you know me as an author, sometimes you know me as a musician. This is one of my favorite times, when I get to be both. I’ll have books for sale, and I’ll be putting my music in the air. What could be better? (OK, I’m not asking for suggestions, it’s just a saying). More details to follow, and/or keep up with the bookstore’s own info here.

Jesse Sublett & The Big 3 Trio will rock the bookstore Saturday, March 1.

LOVE YOU MADLY

To help celebrate Valentine’s Day, I’ve put up a new page with my art, some stories about which I’ll share later… not all of them are happy endings, but you may get a chuckle or two on my expense. With no further ado, I’ll post the link here and ask you to have a look.

And I know we’ll see a bunch of you at Tertulia tonight, that quarterly community art event we all look forward to. I usually read a new prose piece, sometimes with my wife, Lois Richwine, but tonight I’ll be singing a new song.

CHAVEZ ON THE MOON, about 20 x 16, signed limited print, $250.

LOU REED TRIBUTE FEB. 1

Get your tickets to our show here:   Cool show. You’ll dig it. We promise surprises. A portion of proceeds to benefit  HAAM. Your good taste & dollars will help support the health of Austin musicians.

Hosted & produced by Jesse Sublett & Kim Simpson. Featuring Jesse Sublett’s Electric band, with Jesse Sublett, Kim Simpson and Bill Blackmon (original drummer of The Skunks). We’ll be joined by Dashiell Sublett and Jon Dee Graham (also of The Skunks) and Steve Bernal. Solo performances by Steve Bernal, Kathy McCarty, Kacy Crowley, Jon Dee Graham, Kim Simpson… Also featuring the Reivers, Why Not Satellite and The Wild Seeds. Read about it in Austin Monthly (February issue) and other choice media, including Austin.CultureMap. These are all Austin artists for whom Lou Reed has been a seminal influence. It’s not a “Sweet Jane” marathon jam, but a tribute, a recognition of the legacy of Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground. Some of us got through dark times in our lives with the help of Lou’s music and the sonic, emotional space occupied by songs like “Waiting for My Man,” “Berlin,” “Stephanie Says,” “Sister Ray,” “Perfect Day,” “Heard her call My Name,” “What Goes On,” “Busload of Faith,” “Venus in Furs,” “Dirty Boulevard,” etc… the list goes on forever, like art itself.

Keep your eye on this blog. I’ll add more later, along with other links to stories about the gig. Oh yeah, we’ll be on KUTX-FM with Jay Trachtenberg at 2:30 PM Thursday, January 30. We’ll do a couple of songs, an interview. It’ll be cool.

Lou Reed Music: An Austin Tribute, presented by Jesse Sublett, with Jon Dee Graham, Dashiell Sublett, Kacy Crowley, Why Not Satellite, The Wild Seeds, the Reivers, Kathy McCarty, Steve Bernal & others TBA

RIP NEAL BARRETT, JR. THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER

I just rec’d the news that my friend, the great writer and strange man, Neal Barrett, Jr., has died.

My first reaction, on receiving the email from Kip Stratton, president of TIL, was this:

That’s terrible news. I was already depressed today, so this is the icing on the cake. But I guess I can get myself together somehow, because I can hear Neal in my head saying, “Cheer up shithead, at least you’re not dead. On the other hand, it’s pretty cool out here. See around.”

 

Neal Barrett, Jr. , from Austin American Statesman

The above photo was borrowed from a profile about Neal in the Austin American Statesman.

Well, I could write more, like, give you some anecdotes about things Neal said or did when we were hanging out a lot a few years ago, me and Tom Garner, James Crumley, Dick Holland, and the other guys in the gang when Tom would load us up in his Lincoln Town Car and haul us out to Lockhart for barbecue… like when they brought me a big plate of ribs and brisket from Smitty’s when I was on chemo after having my mouth and neck overhauled, and I was down 50 pounds, skin and bones, and I took one bite and said, Wow, boys, thanks, I’ll try to eat more later, and their faces fell down so far… or the day that Neal turned 70 and he said, Wow, 70, what’s that about??? Anyway, here’s the facts.

PS, Nobody wrote about Billy the Kid like Neal. I’ll scan his Billy the Kid story later and share it with you, if you promise to buy one of his books.

Dear TIL Members:

I’m saddened to report that Neal Barrett Jr. died on Sunday. He was 84 years old.

Barrett was inducted into TIL in 1999 and won a TIL award for his novel, Interstate Dreams, the following year. As that novel proved, he was a gifted literary writer — who could be extremely funny. He tended to work in genre fiction, although he twisted and bent the genres to meet his artistic goals. He wrote all sorts of novels — Westerns, science fiction, fantasy, sometimes combining genres — and enjoyed a devoted following. He published around 50 books, 20 or so under his own name. He also used ten noms de plume. He even wrote two Hardy Boys mysteries under the publisher’s house name of Franklin W. Dixon. He was known for mentoring a number of writers, including our own Joe Lansdale, who considered him a close friend. Barrett won a number of other awards in addition to the TIL award, including the Nebula and the Hugo. In 2010, he was named Author Emeritus of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Born in San Antonio, he grew up in Oklahoma City, but called Austin home for many many years. Upon learning of his death, Joe tweeted, “The Great Neal Barrett has died. Great person and writer.” An apt assessment if ever there was one.

Here’ s a link Joe forwarded:

http://www.revolutionsf.com/revblogs/geekcurmudgeon/2014/01/13/goodbye-texas-legend/

Kip

W.K. (Kip) Stratton
TIL President

A link to a Todd Wolfson photo gallery from our United Sounds of Austin Show, Jan 11, at the Moody.

One more link: Advance tickets to my Lou Reed Tribute Show at Cactus Cafe Feb. 1 are now on sale.

Advance Tickets for LOU REED MUSIC: AN AUSTIN TRIBUTE Feb. 1

Get your tickets to our show here:  Sponsored by HAAM. Cool show. You’ll dig it. We promise surprises.

Lou Reed Music: An Austin Tribute, presented by Jesse Sublett, with Jon Dee Graham, Dashiell Sublett, Kacy Crowley, Why Not Satellite, The Wild Seeds, the Reivers, Kathy McCarty, Steve Bernal & others TBA

David Marion Wilkinson’s new novel

Dear Friends:

This review was just posted today in the Writers League of Texas blog. I’m reposting it here, but please visit the original site, too, and for more info about David, visit David Marion Wilkinson.

Posted by Writers’ League Staff

 Where the Mountains Are Thieves

By David Marion Wilkinson

Goldminds Publishing (2013)

 Our reviewer, J esse Sublett is a musician and author in Austin, Texas. He has been a member of the Writers’ League of Texas since 1999. Grave Digger Blues is his most recent novel. Broke, Not Broken: Homer Maxey’s Texas Bank War, by Broadus A. Spivey and Jesse Sublett, will be published by Texas Tech Press May 2014

 

If you’re an author in the Austin area, there’s a good chance that you’ll recognize David Marion Wilkinson when you see him. In addition to his physical stature (I’m six-foot-three and he makes me feel small), and big-heartedness (he’s been a big help to many writers, including me) he thinks big thoughts, writes big books, and sets his sights on big, sprawling themes.

David is best-known for his sprawling historical novels, Not Between Brothers (set in early 1800s Texas) and Oblivion’s Altar (covering six decades of the Cherokee Nation). One Ranger: A Memoir, co-written with legendary Texas Ranger Captain Joaquin Jackson, also covers a lot of territory, physical and otherwise (West Texas and the Ranger service), and the same could be said of his second novel, The Empty Quarter, which was informed by David’s experiences working on oil rigs in Saudi Arabia and the North Sea.

So here comes Where the Mountains Are Thieves, a modern novel set in West Texas, about a novelist with a crumbling marriage, a stalled writing career and what he fears may be an inherited curse of sorts. At 369 pages, it’s no lightweight snack, but it does represent a change of course in many respects. For one thing, the plot of the novel, in broad outline (except for something near the end which I’ll skip to avoid spoiling things) does closely resemble that of our favorite large author, Big Dave. In fact, protagonist Jesse Reverchon resembles Big Dave physically. He’s got the same not-necessarily-PC sense of humor, drives a beloved International Scout, moved to Big Bend for a while, went through a traumatic divorce, coaches baseball, and writes historical novels. If the reader is familiar with such details, it will probably enhance their enjoyment of the reading experience a great deal.

The architecture of Where The Mountains Are Thieves is again sprawling in time and space. Crucial parts of Jesse’s childhood are visited, and it flashes back and forth a bit during recent history, but primarily, the story takes us through the family unit moving from their home in Houston to Alpine. Jesse has one more historical novel to deliver, and after that, freed from the ugly distractions back in Big H, he’ll be ready to tackle the “Great American Novel,” or something like that. Rebecca, his wife, is leaving her high pressure venture capital business, which has been taken over by her imperious, backstabbing brother, and although we hear Jesse speak of her with great devotion and admiration roughly 95 percent of the time, I didn’t like her from page one. Maybe because I knew she would divorce him and cut him off at the knees. In other words, the imperious, backstabbing gene seems to run in her family. Travis, their young son, is realistic and cool and he hates the shit out of Alpine, at least at first.

The neighbors are weird and quirky in a West Texas way, but they’re anything but clichés. Jesse learns to slow down and talk to the people who live down the road, “where the holes go” (a bit of Big Bend septic tank wisdom), why the mountains are thieves, and a lot more. The baseball sequences are beautiful, period. Tautly written, spiked with humor, full of inside talk, full of love—not just for what sports can do for young people, but a father’s endless (and I mean endless) patience for children. I laughed out loud dozens of times.

Many of the jokes are on Jesse himself. When he jogs out to first base from the dugout, his flabby ass arrives a half minute later, he says (several times, because once is not enough), and to pretend that he doesn’t really have writer’s block, he rearranges his bullet outline, scans his character notes and main scenes, then shuts the PC down for the day. How’s the novel going, Jesse? Real good, had a great day.(OK, laughing at this one was painful.)

There’s so much great comic writing in this novel that I’m tempted to recommend the book on that aspect alone, but that would short-sheet the book’s other virtues, which includes a great deal of heartache and loss and yearning.

It’s not hard to predict that Rebecca will turn very nasty before the end of the book, but that’s only one source of sorrow. Jesse’s biggest worry is the Black Dog of depression, which finally chased his father down in middle age, causing his brain to short out, after which he lashed out at family, burned all his bridges and died young.

The book started a bit slowly for me, but perhaps it only seemed that way because I had an inkling of the drama that was about to unfold. I urge readers to bear that in mind, because the rewards for sticking it out are many. The scene where we learn what happened between young Jesse and his father is about as tight and harrowing as anything I’ve read in the last ten years that wasn’t in a brutal crime novel or horror story. There’s not an ounce of fat, not even a molecule.

The book has its excesses, but let me explain about that. Big Dave is, as I said, an author with big thoughts inside his head, and more than sufficient energy to share them. In conversation with him over a chicken fried steak lunch, the words keep flowing, jokes beget other jokes, additional tag lines come tumbling out, then the waitress comes by, and David brings her into the conversation, too. His company is worth its weight in gold; it’s all worth having. In a novel, you might expect a copy editor to take a scalpel to some of this, no matter how good it is, because you just don’t want to wear out your reader. I’m glad as hell that didn’t happen, because in this case, too much was just the right amount.

The climax is a little hard on the nerves. It’s tragic, painful, and beautifully written.  Only because of the great care and skill put into the architecture of the story, this development was telegraphed long in advance. Bad things don’t necessarily happen for a good reason, but they do happen, and afterward, we adjust. Sometimes the adjustments seem fated to happen. The ending felt right and it was satisfying. I felt exhausted and drained and not a little bit bruised. Plus I really hated his ex-wife. I hated the way she smokes cigarettes, the way she tries to make Jesse feel small, her secret lunch meetings, her annoying friends.

Don’t think I’m raving about Where the Mountains Are Thievesbecause Big Dave is my friend. If I didn’t think it was great, I wouldn’t want you to read it. But it is, and you should. Right now.

 

Happy New Year

Me & Moe & Lois

A few presents to you, friends & strangers: Starting on New Year’s Eve (12.31.13) all eBooks I’ve published to date are slashed in price. On the Amazon Kindle page for my books, you’ll find all my novels reduced to either $1.99 or $2.99. That includes my most recent, wildest, most surreal novel to date, Grave Digger Blues, which has almost 100 illustrations, song lyrics, and provides links to audio chapters and my original blues soundtrack on two separate soundcloud.com pages, soundcloud.com/jessesublett and soundcloud.com/atomicgarage. You can download up to an hour or so of my original music and narration. If you dare.

I don’t control my memoir, Never the Same Again, so I can’t lower the price on that one, but I’m going to ask the publisher to consider it. More books are coming from me in 2014, including Broke, Not Broken: Homer Maxey’s Texas Bank War, a non fiction legal thriller and West Texas history chronicle written with Broadus A. Spivey.

And, starting on Dec. 31st, the  iPad versions of Rock Critic Murders and Grave Digger Blues, which include tons of added media, including over 100 color graphics, original music and audio chapters and some video, those have also been reduced to $1.99 or $2.99 on the iBookstore site. Cheap, Cheap, Cheap! Go directly to Grave Digger Blues on iTunes, or Rock Critic Murders: 25th Anniversary iPad Edition.

Exciting gigs on the horizon include a Skunks cameo at Alejandro Escovedo’s “Sounds of Austin” show at the Moody Theater on January 11. I’ll post more details on that as I learn them. Also…

SATURDAY, FEB. 1st, 2014: The big, cool, classy show I am producing with Kim Simpson is “Lou Reed Music: A Tribute” starring a select group of Austin artists who will be performing their favorite Lou Reed / Velvet Underground songs in the intimate world class room, the Cactus Cafe at UT. HAAM is co-sponsoring. Advance tickets and more information available soon. Our list of performers: Jesse Sublett, Jon Dee Graham, Kim Simpson, the Reivers, Mike Hall & The Wild Seeds, Dashiell Sublett, Why Not Satellite, Steve Bernal, Kacy Crowley, Kathy McCarty, and others TBA. Show starts at 8:30 PM.

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Lou Reed Music: An Austin Tribute, presented by Jesse Sublett, with Jon Dee Graham, Dashiell Sublett, Kacy Crowley, Why Not Satellite, The Wild Seeds, the Reivers, Kathy McCarty, Steve Bernal & others TBA

More art is coming, too. Expect some of the usual naked beauties plus other, more abstract things. I’m also working on my minotaur stories and may publish my original one-act musical play script which was formerly titled and performed under the name “Marathon.” The story mixes ancient Greek legend from the Heroic age with West Texas small town football, and a visit by a modern slacker Theseus who must battle a modern evolution of the mythic Minotaur in a labyrinth constructed in a small-town high school football arena. So… stay tuned for that.

Minotaur Ready for Combat in the 21st Century

MONTEREY POP: WHEN ROCK STARS WERE MESSIAHS

Cool gig, Sunday Nov. 24th at One-2-One Bar, just so happens I’m playing. Tribute Concert to Monterey Pop to Benefit MMMF – Music Moves Mountains Foundation, a great cause, a real cool concept. Read about Music Moves Mountains here, and look at the lineup for the show.

Then consider this for a minute before you move on to the images I’ve posted. In Austin, we’ve got so many music festivals & film festivals, high tech cons, etc., back to back, the word “festival” might even seem common, like a dirty word. But flash back for a minute, to June 16, 1967, a day when the Establishment thought they were still in control, and longhaired rockers and leftists were considered weird, off the wall, maybe even dangerous… rockers like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin and the San Francisco psychedelic rockers came down like invaders from Mars.. they were the rock messiahs… Otis Redding made everybody cry, shout, shake… Listen, I’m a baby boomer, and maybe I exaggerate sometimes about how important these things were, but they were pretty damn important.

So instead of writing about it, giving my thoughts on Monterey Pop, I’m just going to post some images from it, and let them do the talking. I admit that I do not have any rights to these pictures and have not researched whether they are PD or not, so assume that they are not, they’re just posted for your perusal. And mixed in with the old pix, I’ll insert some pictures of the performers that will be playing at the tribute show on Sunday 11.24.13. Hope you can make it. Thank you, Julie Frost, Madame MMMF, for involving me in this gig. I couldn’t make it last year because I had contracted a case of pneumonia, the second time last year (Much, Much better now, I think I’m past all that 2012 stuff), and will be playing with extra mojo this year with my pal Kim Simpson on the shredding acoustic guitar.

 

 

Here’s a slide show with narration. This was apparently recorded in 2007 by people who experienced it, locals, mostly, with phenomenal photos of the event.

AND here are photos of some of the artists who will be playing at the Tribute show, Kevin McKinney, Andra Mitrovich, Tameca Jones, Dan Dyer, Jesse Sublett, Mike Flanigin, Robert Kraft, Why Not Satellite, Oliver Rajamani.

I’ll add more photos as they are contributed — and please, send pix to me. You can do it through the contact on the menu above, or via Facebook, or some other route. Cheers, Jesse.

The incredible Tameca Jones

Jesse Sublett & Kim Simpson, who will be rocking, acoustic style, Jimi Hendrix, The Who and Otis Redding

Kevin McKinney

Why Not Satellite

The awesome Tameca Jones

The unstoppable Robert Kraft Trio

The indispensable Oliver Rajamani

The legendary Mike Flanigan Trio

The unfigureoutable Jesse Sublett, by Todd Wolfson

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