Deadwood in Hollywood
The Deadwood Quilting Bee
First of all, on January 7th, 2006 "The Quilting Bee" with Sacred Cowboys and King Straggler returns to the Main Room at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood (about a block west of the Mann "Grauman’s" Chinese Theatre) on Hollywood Blvd.. W. Earl Brown promised a return as well to the "loud guitar" style Sacred Cowboys is known for--Boys, Boys, Boys, and Girls, do yourself a favor and get to this show.
The Show last night at the Knitting Factory was in the Front Room (this is a great room to see and hear a band, smaller and incredibly intimate, and for anyone checking out the Hollywood scene, you may want to add the Front Room to your list of haunts) and if I only had one word to describe the evening, it would be SPECIAL!
Lonesome Marty West opened the show with Mike Johnstone, from the Sacred Cowboys, sitting in on pedal steel guitar; Marty's smooth voice and the band's authentic sound provided a true country spirit to the night.
Sacred Cowboys then performed an outrageous "acoustic" set, which, for my money, couldn't have been more perfect; it allowed Earl's rich, strong and purposeful voice to rise above the excellent instrumentals. They ended the set, in Santa hats, with a joyously sarcastic rendition of Robert Earl Keen's "Merry Christmas from the Family." If I only had two words to describe the evening, they would be SPECIAL and PERFECT! Not too bad so far, huh?
THEN, King Straggler ended the night with what they call "Y'allternative" Music and what I'd call an intense counterculture sound for the 21st century; beyond their quizzical wit is an uplifting brilliance put forth with beautiful harmonies, potent rhythm, and an abundance of SOUL. Thank goodness for small labels like Authentica and guys like Scott Weiland (Stone Temple Pilots/Velvet Revolver) who produced King Straggler's debut album. Now, I'm not saying that all record execs are asleep-at-the-switch ne'er-do-wells, but someone is definitely missin'-the-boat on these boys! Fortunately, for all of us, their debut album is available at their performances as well as on the Internet (Click here), and if you don't already have it, BUY IT! That's my "do yourself a favor" #2 recommendation for the holidays; in fact, it's a hidden gem that will make a fantastic gift whether you have 8 nights or 1 day of presents to give--a no-brainer, can't miss stocking-stuffer!
All right, that's my review of the evening--yeah, I had a great time in nice company! And if I only had three words to describe it, they would be......well, you get the drift. It was a pleasure!
Respectfully,
Michael
PS: NIKI, from KS, if you read this, the autographed CD copy will be given away here--we're thinking a caption contest of a DW photo? Maybe the guys can sign the CD to the winner?
Here are a few more links:
Here is a website to link to (and, of course, I'll link back): The Real Deadwood Podcast. It's hosted by me, Paul Dennis, and it's a variety show from the real Deadwood in the Black Hills of South Dakota for fans of the award-winning HBO Deadwood series combining news, interviews and entertainment from both Deadwoods. I've got music from both Sacred Cowboys and King Straggler, as well as pictures of me performing with both of them (well, actually, with KS but just me & Earl), on my website:
http://www.realdeadwoodpodcast.com/
My wife Mary Kopco is the director of the Adams Museum & House (I see her link in your collection) and we've gotten to know quite a few of the actors (John Hawkes, Earl Brown, Robin Weigert), crew (John Rizzo, Michael Kelley, Linda Rebman) and producers (Scott Stevens) through her research for HBO. I almost got to be in your ranks during our visit to the set last March, but after visiting the Paramount studio with A.C. Lyles during the day I got back to the set too late (and to think I could have been "guy carrying torch").
Here are some more features of the Real Deadwood Podcast:
* Deadwood SD history
* interviews with actors and crew from the HBO Deadwood series
* audio recorded during the Summer '05 visit of HBO Deadwood actors to Deadwood SD featuring:
o Robin Weigert (Calamity Jane)
o Paula Malcomson (Trixie)
o W. Earl Brown (Dan Dority)
o Jim Beaver (Ellsworth)
o Sean Bridgers (Johnny Burns)
o Titus Welliver (Silas Adams)
o Peter Jason (Con Stapleton)
o Richard Gant (Hostetler)
o Franklin Ajaye (Samuel Fields, The General)
o Pavel Lychnikov (Russian telegraph operator Blazenov)
o Monty Henson (Hawkeye)
* interviews with musicians performing in various concerts in Deadwood SD including:
o Bobby Vee
o Merilee Rush
o Mitch Ryder
o Big Head Todd
o Steve Earle
o Marcia Ball
o The Young Dubliners
o John McEuen
* interviews from the streets of Deadwood SD
* music from Deadwood SD and Black Hills artists
* music from HBO Deadwood actors and their bands
* soundseeing tours in and around Deadwood SD starting with Mt. Moriah Cemetery, current home of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane.
* Deadwood's Adams Museum & House event updates
* Deadwood SD Chamber of Commerce event updates
* summary of HBO Deadwood media news
* summary of HBO Deadwood online forums
* personal experiences from visiting the HBO Deadwood set in Santa Clarita, CA
* audio feedback from listeners
So let's hook up. I can email you a graphic for your links section -- do you have one for me? All of y'all subscribe to my show and send me some audio feedback via Skype -- I'd love to do interviews with all of you for the show.
That's it for now. Let's stay in touch.
Paul Dennis
The Real Deadwood Podcast (Comment this)