Rocky Hill (December 1, 1946 - April 10, 2009)

Funeral services for Rocky Hill, age 62, of Kemah, Texas, will be held at Murray-Orwosky Funeral Home, at 1:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 14, 2009, with Rev. B. J. Teer officiating. Interment will follow at Como Cemetery, with Don Harley, Wayne Rabe, Steve Simmons, Mike Simmons, Anthony Shadix and Tony Glasscock serving as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers will be Alvin Milliken, Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard and Christian L. Smith. Visitation will be held from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday, April 13, 2009, at Murray-Orwosky Funeral Home. Rocky Hill passed away Friday evening, April 10, 2009, at St. Johns Hospital in Houston. He was born in Dallas, on December 1, 1946, the son of Ernest Hill and Myrl (Ward) Hill. He was the beloved husband of Joy Darlene Smith. They were married in Houston, on November 21, 1998; she survives. Rocky was a musician and a member of the Baptist faith. He was an A.S.C.A.P. writer and received a gold and platinum record for work on Z.Z. Top’s Recycler Album. He was an honorary Texas Ranger. Other survivors include: son, Christian L. Smith; sister, Sue Shadix of Como; brother, Dusty Hill of The Woodlands; three nieces, Sherrie Shadix of Como, Lori Hoffman of Grand Prairie and Cody Hill of Houston; three nephews, Tony Shadix of Saltillo, Will VanWey of Dallas and Allen Garvin of Dallas; four great-nieces and four great-nephews. He was preceded in death by a brother, Stanley Garvin and sister, Jane Aiken.
Obituary

A Sad Day for Texas Blues

It’s a sad day for the friends, family and fans of Rocky Hill. Rocky has left us after a period of illness. I really don’t have any details beyond the obituary. I will try to provide some soon, so check back. Or feel free to post a comment if you have any information.
Rocky is the brother of ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill. Rocky rubbed elbows with many a Texas bluesman including SRV and Jimmie Vaughan, (Rocky was a pallbearer at SRV’s funeral) Lightnin' Hopkins, Albert King, Jimmy Reed.
See below for Rocky’s self titled release.
Thanks to Rocky’s nephew, Allen for sending me Rocky’s Midnight Creepers release. Get it HERE
Midnight Creepers featured Tommy Shannon, Kim Wilson, Uncle Tom Turner and Albert Collins.
Also, you can find American Blues, the band with Dusty and Rocky together, HERE. Or go direct to the rapidshare link, HERE
Here is some footage of Rocky talking about Lightnin'
Houston Chromicle story

Rocky Hill

Rocky Hill is of course the brother of Dusty Hill of long time ZZ Top residence/fame.
This record was released in 1988, is a Lone Wolf Production and ZZ Top producer Bill Ham was at the helm. Much of the record really shows the Bill Ham/ZZ Top influence that surely would have been nearly impossible for Hill to avoid. Not that it's a bad thing. Although one wonders who is responsible for the very dated sounding background vocals populating much of the work. Unfortunate.

HPD kicks it off with a good rockin blues piece, showing Hill's penchant for changing meter and feel during his songs, sometimes it works, other times not so well. Next up is I Won't Be Your Fool, full of tasty licks, and moving vocals, clearly was intended to be a hit. Take My Love, Sam Bass and Walked from Dallas round out the nice works here.
New York Turnaround is rather formulaic but Hill kicks out a killer solo in the middle.
Bad year for the Blues, while it is well meant, it is a mish-mash sort of arrangement with some awkward breaks. I'll Be There is your basic ballad. Hoo Doo Eyes with the background vocals, whew, that is a miss.
Hill wraps it up with a basic acoustic piece that at once acknowledges his roots and may have been a bit of an artist saying, Hey, enough with the horns and backup vocals, I'm a Texas bluesman.

Line up seems to be; Reed "Red Pharoah" Farrell, Randy Joe Hobbs, Steve Hardin, Doyle Bramhall, James Robinson, Lester Snell, William Brown, the Duncan Sisters and the Memphis Horns.

Ragtime Ralph Volume 4

Well it is time to get back on the acoustic track, and what better way to do it than by posting the ‘latest’ from Ragtime Ralph aka Blind Brand X. If you haven’t already grabbed these previous releases, do it now!
Ragtime Ralph “Lost Blues”
Blind Brand X “Black Dog Blues”
When I say ‘latest’ release, it’s more like a re-release that never happened. These recordings are apparently the Takoma recordings that were originally slated to be release by Fahey’s own label. I don’t know the details of why it didn’t happen but it’s safe to assume that it was related to the troubles the label often experienced due to Fahey’s apparent lack of business savvy. Nonetheless, when you can reference Joe Bussard and John Fahey in your recording ancestry, then you must have been doing something right. It’s a shame these works haven’t seen more exposure. They are phenomenal!
Ralph flies out of the gate on the first tune, “Badlands Blake” like a picker possessed.
His ability to whip out the banjo rolls, smooth and precise, is evidenced throughout the recording. Some excellent use of harmonics is also seen in a couple songs. Particularly on Vince Guaraldi’s “Cast Your Fate to the Wind”. This is just a great interpretation of the song…on slide guitar!
The rest is classic American Primitive guitar in the Takoma tradition, full of ringing strings, delicious dissonance and a healthy dose of the Blues.


             

Amazing art made with old audio cassette tapes

See how one person uses old audio cassette tapes to create new art.

iri5 calls the series Ghost in the Machine and it includes Marilyn Monroe, Bob Dylan, Robert DiNero, Jimi Hendrix, Ian Curtis, and Jim Morrison. Check it out HERE

Paladins - Live

This is an excellent live audience recording of the Paladins from 1988. The guys were at their best is these days and the energy in this show proves it. They were supporting the recently released "Years Since Yesterday".

Ronnie Earl guests on the last couple of songs!!

THE PALADINS

NIGHTSTAGE

CAMBRIDGE, MA. JUNE 23, 1988

Get the tunes here, PART1 & PART2

Michael Hornbuckle

I recently saw Michael Hornbuckle open a show for Johnny Winter. Now, don't get me wrong here but Hornbuckle blew me away. That is not a slight of Winter's talents or the show in any way. But it is a matter of expectations. I expected a quality show from Winter and I got one to match my expectations. I didn't know what to expect from Hornbuckle and considering some of the piss-poor opening acts that I've suffered through to see a headliner, I was blown away. Hornbuckle is a very talented guitar player in the SRV mold. And to top it off he has a great singing voice! Check him out at iSOUND where you can listen to every song!

Go HERE

Bop Street - aka The Jinns

In 1981 Pete Nalty and brother Brian Formed Bop Street. Pete is a talented singer, songwriter and keyboardist, the combo stood out from the new-wave-influenced groups that were popular then by championing a style that harked back to the rock and roll and rockabilly of the Fifties.

The sound was nostalgic for some, but Pete's sweet vocals and Brian's persuasive riffing also made it as musically immediate as anything offered up by their contemporaries. Crowds flocked to club dates starring the performers, and promoters hired them to open for national acts such as Billy Idol, who personally chose Bop Street to appear with him during an appearance at Red Rocks.

This is a 20 year old cassette tape recording of the original LP. No artwork, I never owned the LP, a friend taped it for me back in the late Eighties when it was already out of print and hard to find. If you liked the Jinns post you will like this one too, the style isn't really that different as Pete was the writer and he and Brian the major artistic force in both groups.

Hope you enjoy.

Get it HERE
  

Wallace Coleman

This post is going to be a departure from the usual acoustic posts, probably not the first time. This is a pretty tasty disc that I haven't really seen around so I thought I would put it up. Hope you enjoy.

As a youth in eastern Tennessee where country & western music still prevails, Wallace Coleman was instead captivated by the sounds he heard late at night from Nashville’s WLAC….the Blues.
The sounds haunted him by day where, he says, "I would be sittin’ in class and hear the Howlin’ Wolf singin’ just as clear in my head…" It was on WLAC that Coleman first heard those who would become Blues Legends and greatest musical influences: Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters. Laying the guitar foundation on many of those recordings was Robert Jr. Lockwood – a man who, some 25 years in Coleman’s future, would play a role in his musical career.
Coleman left Tennessee in 1956 to find work in Cleveland, Ohio. He found steady work and, to his delight, an active Blues community where Jimmy Reed, Sonny Boy Williamson, Muddy Waters, Elmore James, B.B. King and others came to perform. A self-taught musician, Coleman played the harmonica on his breaks at work. One day a co-worker brought his cousin to the jobsite to hear Coleman play. That meeting sparked a year-long pairing with Cleveland’s Guitar Slim at the Cascade Lounge.
It was there that Coleman caught the ear of audience member Robert Jr. Lockwood. Asked by Lockwood to join his band, Coleman expressed that he first wanted to retire from his day job. Two years later, in 1987, a newly-retired Coleman did indeed contact Lockwood. That call initiated a 10 year position in Lockwood’s band. Wallace Coleman remains the only harmonica player invited by Lockwood to join his band. - from WallaceColeman.com
Please visit the artist site HERE
Buy some Wallace Coleman at Amazon

Eric Lugosch - Let the lesson begin...

Duck Baker digs Eric Lugosch, so you better take notice!

I first heard of this guy when I saw him in Acoustic Guitar magazine, the Oct 2005 issue. He was teaching a song called Marching Through Georgia. An example of the song was available online and I loved it the minute I heard it. Here it is:

Now ain't that some fine pickin'?

Get the tab HERE

Eventually working my way to his website I found a plethora of original, interestingly arranged tab with fast and slow examples as well as good tips on how to play each song.
I also found this fingerpicking version of 16 Tons. Pretty cool little song to pick, I must say...and frankly a lot easier than the Marching song. Here it is:

Get the tab for Sixteen Tons HERE as well as plenty of others is on his site, HERE

His home page is HERE

Now I know there is a ton of tab on the web, but I think you will probably find something good here that you will want to learn. He has got stuff from John Hurt to the Beatles and Hank to Dvorak. Also, the tab is very nicely done with a good program, none of this hand scribbled stuff or text files. Everything is free and d/l-able on PDF.

So don't forget to check out his CDs for sale as well as a tab book.