The Walkin’ One and Only Rides In

Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks play The Solar Center

Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks are playing the KTAO Solar Center Sunday, June 28. You do not want to miss this show.

Hicks is a master of a thoroughly American musical form – folk-jazz. Or is it maybe cowboy Latin swing with a little chipotle seasoning? Sounds like a curious hybrid, que no?

Curious and musically adventurous, Hicks also has a sense of humor – evident by his chord changes, quirky, yet natural phrasing and harmony choices. This guy is more than cool. In fact, he is so cool he is hot – and vice versa.

Like country swing fiddle master Johnny Gimble said, it’s hard not to listen to swing music and not smile a little.

Likewise, you are challenged to hear Hicks signature classics like “Walkin’ One and Only,” or the driving emotional recklessness of “I Scare Myself,” and not smile a little – if not from ear to ear.

The man is undeniably hip. Cool as a moose, etc. Performers like Rickie Lee Jones and Elvis Costello credit him with being a huge influence. Through his decades-long career he remains one of acoustic folk’s true treasures and true eccentrics.

Part of the psychedelic rock scene of San Francisco during the late 1960s, he played drums and a little guitar with the Charlatans, a band that has either been blamed or credited (depending on who you’re talking to) with the whole freakin’ Haight-Ashbury scene. They are also credited with being one of the first acts to play famous Family Dog.

“It’s not like I found myself in the middle of this heavy rock scene and decided to do something different,” Hicks said in a phone interview – I was in the Charlatans from ‘65 to ‘68, playing drums and some guitar,. Some folk stuff too – acoustic folk. I just started adding to that – added the upright bass, the fiddle and the girl singers – we started playing out and after a while I quit the Charlatans,” he recounted.

“I was more of a jazz guy anyway. So I got gigs. It was independent – a natural evolution. It’s what I like. I like acoustic ‘cause you can hear the singing,” he said.

So, besides being a counter-culture icon, he’s got a quirky, bad-boy reputation, that follows him to this day. On his website’s home page there’s a photo pf him from back-in-the day, flipping the bird.

I asked him about a story I had heard back in the early 1970s – about how he flipped off  a Cleveland audience and walked off stage because the audience threw things at him and the band.

“I remember the incident you’re talking about. There were four bands on the bill at the Cleveland Auditorium. Steppenwolf, an all-girl band called Fanny, and the Native American band Redbone. It was kinda the wrong place for us. It was before [electronic] pick-ups were used. Since we just had acoustic instruments – playing through the PA – we were quiet. We were unknown too. We were in the middle of this big electric scene, and the audience started throwing ice cubes. Heckling is one thing but ice cubes are little hard things. We were ducking and dodging – we got through five songs and I told the audience off and we left the stage. The next day we went on the local FM rock station [WMMS,] and talked about the incident,” he said, laughing about the memory.

Hicks’ latest release, Tangled Tales,” is like chomping into one of Mante’s Chow Cart chile relleno specialties, and biting into a particularly hot and juicy pocket of goodness. And perhaps it’s a bit spicier than expected.

One big surprise is his buttery rendition of the classic Horace Silver / May Ellen Shashoyan Bossa Nova, “Song for My Father,” where his voice sounds like the most tender horn solo ever played.

His new album lineup of side men is certainly an unexpected treasure. David Grisman, and Charlie Musselwhite are just two of an incredible list of  players joining him for this release.

On YouTube.com there is a video for the title track that is a total crack-up. It features his infamous finger photo with moving-mouth Lo-Fi animation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TnjPYyzwvM

On Hick’s website, under the bird, it says,

“In an era dominated b snot-encrusted bellybutton-gazing, semi-literate, mirror-fixated, testosterone-deprived, over-medicated, self-appointed prophets of a particularly lifeless strain of homogenized, lyrically depraved, self-indulgent faux-poetic songcraft, Dan Hicks stood out from the crowd. If the 1970s singer-songwriter scene had a single saving grace, musically, it was Dan Hicks and The Hot Licks”

– The Irate Pirate, Wrath of the Grapevine

Arrr! And a flip of the bird to ya, cultural icon, bad boy, hep cat and snappy dresser – Dan Hicks. I’ll be there or be square.

He’s traveling with a six-piece combo. That’s a lot of ways to split the money, I remarked.

“Split the money? What do you mean?” He laughed.

Advance tickets for Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks are $10 in advance. Children under 12 are free. Doors open at 6 p.m. the opening act, yet to be decided, will start at 7 with Hicks starting at 8 p.m.

http://danhicks.net

Chickens Progress

I’ve “finished” the chicken coop. I put the word in quotes because, like a Lower Ranchitos take on the Chinese Proverb about finishing your house, you’re never really “finished” as long as you are drawing breath.

Opening night of the Preservation of Jazz Jam series at Seco Pearl

Jazz is usually considered an urban art form (unless you want to talk about New Age stuff with pan pipes and pastoral faeries afloating but I’m not talking about that stuff). Urban jazz and what we think of when we think “jazz standards,” seems out of place and time in Arroyo Seco, a groovey little community that coagulated at the crook in the highway north of Taos.

Even still, jazz flowed and flourished like the garden that was just planted that day nearby surely will.

When I pulled up for the gig at Seco Pearl, a woman greeted me, saying the garden was just planted, the setting sun basking her in the leftover glow from the afternoon, the sprinklers spraying in silver arcs over the weedless earth behind her, the scent of wet loam seeping in as the shadows lengthened.

“This is my 47th garden,” she told me and I could see the pride and exhaustion in her sunburned face.

Inside the Pearl, my good friend, Raymond Blanchet, was getting set up for the opening night of his new jam sessions. He’s hosting the proceedings and has populated the players with his new students, acolytes to the high priest of real jazz in these parts.

I don’t know that anyone disputes Blanchet’s musicianship. It’s his grumpy façade that usually puts people off. I’ve heard him described as a troll or a black hole, and Blanchet will own up to either persona in a heartbeat. But the thing that really  pisses people off is that he is usually right – at least when it comes to music, and often almost everything else. Believe me there’s nothing that will piss a person off more than calling them on their shit.

So he’s managed to put together this combo of “new to jazz” neophytes (and I have to say I was a little concerned that I was going to have to sing with this group when they got started).

I watched Blanchet bark out orders to the drummer and heard him drive the guitar player. I’ve heard this tune before with the numerous kids (and adults) he’s shaped.  Many of them have gone on to be major players, like Lorca Hart, son of Billy Hart, who listed me on his resume as his first gig (La Cocina back in 1989) and called me a “torch singer.” I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be flattered or offended by the title. Still not quite sure.

So when I got up to sing, I was relieved when the combo finally hit their stride and were able to keep everything going even if it took both feet.

After the Jon Hendricks tune “Moaning,” finding the groove was a little like chasing a hamster around the room.

I was delighted, however, when Sambhu and Al Sutherland joined the combo. Blanchet slipped over to play the piano since the groove was in Sutherland’s able hands.

I’d love to be able to better hear Sambhu tasteful gypsy stylings but the combo is playing on funky equipment and the sound balance is not what it could be with time and resources. Still, I look forward to hearing more from this group.

The klatch of dreadlocked and sweet-faced children and granola dancers who came in from the night to hear this urban-kinda music – thank you for being open to the potential this little jazz scene could turn into.

I would encourage any singers out there to give Blanchet a call at 575-737-0854 and talk about songs and charts. Come on up. It’s happening.

Snake burn

Last Tuesday I did something I’ve done dozens of times – I picked up a garter snake dozing in the sun. But this time something happened to me that had never happened before – I got burned.

Not right away. Let me explain.

The snake – an adolescent – must have been sleeping. I clearly startled it and for the first time I smelled “snake smell,” and I immediately thought of the John Prine song, “Paradise.”

Well sometimes we’d travel right down the Green River
To the abandoned old prison down by Adrie Hill
Where the air smelled like snakes and we’d shoot with our pistols
But empty pop bottles was all we would kill.

It was a foul, musky odor. I’d never really smelled anything like it before but the closest thing I could compare it to was the horrid, rotten-potato smell of a stink bug.

There was quite a lot of the secretion – it nearly puffed out of the snake and foamed as it hit the air. The oily substance instantly followed the form of the snake as it wrapped its body around my wrist. Soon both of my hands were covered with it.

Of course, this was when my Blackberry decided to slip out of my pocket and onto the ground.

I took the snake out of my path, letting him loose in the tall grass near the ditch and tried to pick up my phone without getting snake juice on it. The juice had actually turned into a greasy powder-like substance that reeked horribly.

I washed my hands when I got to the house. I first blasted them with the hose outside then used the antibacterial liquid soap we keep in the kitchen.

I didn’t really notice the burning feeling until I woke the next morning. My hand felt swollen and hot – but not so much on the surface as on the inside and the joints especially.

I researched garter snake secretions online and found nothing more than mentions of a “foul smelling secretion” from a gland near the snake’s anus.

After waking the second day – this time with the hand clearly swollen (not a lot) and the skin becoming dry and flaky – like an acetone burn – I decided to rephrase my garter snake searches to include the word “volatile” and “secretion.”

I found a scientific journal article about the “Volatile components in scent gland secretions of garter snakes (Thamnophis spp.)” I didn’t have the $34 to spend on the journal but a look at the names of some of the compounds tells me, I’ve been chemically burned, with my limited knowledge of chemistry. It’s a somewhat unusual encounter, according to local lore, but something scientists are aware of.

My hand *still* burns. The knuckles are becoming cracked. The right hand more than the left, feels like a very bad arthritis attack, but heat and hot water only makes it burn more.

I may never touch a snake ever again.

I keep thinking about what it means.

In myth and in symbolism, snakes stand for knowledge, for healing, for our human “chi” energy, and sexual prowess. Getting what amounts to a chemical burn from what is an essentially harmless snake species is certainly puzzling.

Taos Spring Clean Up

Taos Spring Clean Up, 8 a.m. to 12 noon, Saturday, April 25: Keep New Mexico Beautiful Litter Clean up of Taos. Dumpsters will be available at the Town Public Works yard on Dea Lane (near Walmart) for all residents to bring green waste from their yards for free disposal. White goods may also be disposed of for free that day at the Public Works yard from 8 a.m. to 12 noon – refrigerators (remove freon first), stoves, washers, dryers, etc. This saves a trip to the land fill plus disposal fees. Tires will also be accepted for free — but only 4 per person. That same day the Town of Taos sponsors groups to pick up litter roadside (vacant lots, etc.) throughout the Town. Questions? Contact Dennis Martinez, Parks Supervisor, dmartinez@taosgov.com, 758-8234. The week following the April 25th Taos Spring Clean Up Day, Monday, April 27 through Friday, May 1, the Town of Taos Streets Div. will have complimentary curbside pick up of bundled yard (green) waste throughout the Town limits – contact Joseph Valerio, Streets Supervisor, for details and to schedule your curbside pick up, jvalerio@taosgov.com.751-2047.

– Town of Taos News Brief 4.23.09

A thank you letter from Judy Kendall

In case you didn’t see this letter in da Tempo, I thought I’d share it here. It means a lot that she mentioned me and my early enthusiasm for contemporary Taos art.

Dear Rick.

Today I was remembering Melody ( then Elwell, now Romancito) some twenty years ago when she was the new Tempo Editor. She would come into the Fenix with such enthusiasm for the revival of the more contemporary, abstract art showing in Taos. As we chatted about art I was so grateful for her support as I am now for all the Tempo editors who followed. It was wonderful when you, with aplomb and perseverance stayed! Without the paper’s positive, thoughtful reporting of Fenix openings and events, I could never have thrived in Taos. Thank you! and thank you to all the writers, ad reps and general staff!

As you may know, the Fenix is closing its physical space the end of this month. For a year or more, I have thought that it would be wonderful to pass along this legacy to a new owner, one with creative vision and the energy to carry forth the art represented at the Fenix. The new space is so historic and has been a great venue for showing art. However that was not to be and now the resources have dried up. The gallery will remain intact as a virtual space. I plan to maintain the web site (fenixgallery.com) and represent the artists privately. As they are all here, I can easily set up studio visits. It’s also a time for me to explore new ventures and projects.

While the Fenix was always about showing and selling fine art representing primarily Taos artists, it was so much more for me. It was a community of resourceful, immensely talented artists with high integrity and vision. Without them there was no Fenix and my heart isn’t big enough to express what a privilege it was to hang the shows of such exceptional work. Whenever I traveled I would be intimidated to go to other galleries but as soon as I entered, I knew what quality we had right here in Taos. We had wonderful fun along the way and, imagine, made some money! Thank you can’t do justice to the artists. What a rare luxury to be with this art everyday! The collectors, curators, directors, other gallery owners, designers, editors, caterers, and all the Taos Community made this unlikely venture last a very long time.

My hope is to step forth into this changing world with a modicum of grace and courage, secure in the knowledge that the spirit of art not only in Taos but also within our closely connected world will explode with renewed vitality.

Bravissimo and mil gracias Taos!
Judy Kendall

Thank you, Judy, for all your years of perserverance and grace. Buena Suerte, doña.

New Tempo column

For the last year, Tempo readers have been without a regular artist profile column since Betsy Carey passed away. Her “Local Color” column was a local favorite and once a year, there was even a show at the Taos Country Club celebrating each of the artists that had been covered.

I’ve been given the opportunity to write this much-needed column for Tempo by my husband, Rick.

To assure those out there who might be concerned that I might not be the best choice for this bi-monthly column, I think it’s time to honk my horn a little and remind folks that writing about Taos artists goes way back for me.

Besides having been Tempo editor myself from 1988 to 1990, I also wrote articles and maintained calendars for Tempo, Taos Magazine, Southwest Art, Art Talk and many other publications in the region.

It’s a pleasure to be back writing about all the creative people who call this area home. The new column, called “In the Studio With,” talks with the artists in their studio and enters a discussion of how place is a large component of the creative process.

The first column features jewelry artist Clemmie Watson, who shows at The Grand Bohemian Gift Shop at El Monte Sagrado on Kit Carson Road. You can see a little preview of the article here, where I’ll be posting each column as it appears in Tempo.

If you’re an artist (or represent one) working in the Taos area, and you’re represented by a gallery here (in other words, if people can easily view your stuff), contact me at melodyromancito at gmail dot com and we’ll discuss the possibility of featuring you in an upcoming “In the Studio With” column.

Good Friday Pilgrims

Peregrinos – Pilgrims from Rick Romancito on Vimeo.

Video shot and edited by Rick Romancito for The Taos News Media Center.

Spamming hippies

Talk about a misguided marketing effort!

Looks like the tourism department has hired a local twitter to message anyone with the word “hippie” in their name about the Summer of Love Celebration.

Better to know?

There are some things it’s good to know and then there are things that, once you know them, you wish you didn’t.

Generally this question is one of those double-edged sword dealies. You need to know it — whatever “it” may be because not knowing makes you look like a fool. However, once you’ve been let in on the knowledge — there’s no going back to when you didn’t know and everything was cool. Buh-bye.

Not knowing you have toilet paper stuck to your shoe makes you look like a doofus, but until someone points to it there on you shoe, you were doing just fine.