Are you Texperienced?

Hey howdy jangleheads! Hope everyone had a terrific weekend. Half of mine was music filled. More in a second.

The young..psychedelic hipsters pictured above were a Texas band in the mid 60's who had a couple of regional hits and toured as the opener for the likes of the Doors and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The guitar player..the loafered turtlenecked one..was a young beardless lad by the name of Billy Gibbons. Yes..gentle readers..THAT Billy Gibbons who went on to fame and fortune by eventually fusing redneck blues rock with synth and disco (WTF?) and calling it ZZ Top. Now I know you can't judge an entire bands career on one album..Eliminator..but the perfume of "Waitin' On The Bus/Jesus Just Left Chicago" and "Tush" will probably never get rid of the stench of "Gimme All Your Lovin' " and "Sharp Dressed Man". Ah well..its always fun to dig up them old 60's rock-n-roll yearbook pictures. Check out their tunes on the myspace link. They're..uh..pretty shitty.

SpagWest and Dale jr. along with Tony's cousin Chris' project..Up On Blocks..played a packed house at Satori Friday evening for a first ever package show aptly dubbed..Neckfest. Good times. SpagWest was tight and laid back. Dale Jr. was off the hook..Rev. Dick was truly..truly tasteless as he should be. Thanks to all who came out.

Saturday evening..took the absolutely STUNNING Mrs. C out for din-din and coffee. yes..the tykes were out of town with grandparents visiting cousins. Did I mention how good Mrs. C looked?

Anywho..most of Sunday was absolutely wasted on the phone with tech support trying to get a wireless router up and running. My telecom odyssey took me from Mobile to Philadelphia to the Philippines and back stateside to Huntsville. My son's computer (he opted for the nicer present in lieu of a party..smart kid) is still not on the Internet. The $79 router will end up costing me $150..which is a tank of gas if you drive a Chevy Tahoe. Computers suck ass. The devil invented them. I'm sure of it.

Miss Steak should be available on CD Baby this week. iTunes and other digital outlets in about a month.

Dale Jr. plays a private party this coming weekend. It'll be insane.

All for now. Jangle on.

Seth Cherniak

Links:

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=82895577

www.myspace.com/deluxeleisureking

www.myspace.com/dalejuniorband

What's On The iPod This Week?

REM Automatic For The People

The Doors The Doors

Chris Isaak Silvertone

The Starrs Line Up

Hey howdy jangleheads! Hope everyone had a swell extended July 4th weekend. Ours was spent cooking ribs (yes..I don't dig on the swine any more..but I do cook a mean rack and the entire fam devoured them like a Peruvian soccer team after a plane crash)..splashing about and shooting off not-so-cheap Chinese fireworks in the driveway. But..the highlight was getting to see Ringo Starr..yes THAT Ringo Starr..up close. And I do mean UP CLOSE.

Ringo swung through our part of the world (Biloxi, MS..a short drive from the ranch) with his All Starr Band on the summer leg of their north American tour. Naturally..I had to go. C'mon..its Ringo..he was one of the Beatles and he's my parents' age so..grab a glimpse when you can..y'know? Mrs. C (who looked REALLY good) and I went with four good friends of ours. Tickets weren't a bargain ($75 a pop) but it was a hell of a lot cheaper than Barbara Streisand or Celine Dion and an assload better. Plus..even though they were on the tippy top row..it was one of those well designed 1500 seat casino theatres where no seat is more than 90 feet from the stage.

So..Ringo comes out and opens with "It Don't Come Easy" and I'm lookin' at the All Star Band and tryin' to figure out who they are (the whole schtick is tha the All Starr Band is chock full of folks who had pretty strong careers in their own right) and nothin' is clickin' until Ringo takes a break..climbs up on his drum kit and let's one of the guitar players do a number. Well..once he broke into "Lonely Is The Night"..genius boy here realized that one of the guitar players was Billy Squier. Our friends lit up..one of 'em hit me on the shoulder and said.."Did you know that all these people were playing with him?" I pleaded total ignorance. Billy was two thirds of the way through with his bit when one of the ushers taps our guest sitting on the aisle. He signals for us to get up and were let to the front row stage right! Apparently..some of the high rollers were to busy losing thousands of dollars to the house to come see the show. Ringo could've hocked a loogie on me we were so close!

So after Billy Squier..one of the keyboard players does a number. He's about nine feet tall and has this completely f***ed up looking long white hair with matching everything..he was..infact..an albino. But not just ANY albino..he was an Edgar Winter albino. Edgar Freakin' Winter! He did "Free Ride" and "Frankenstein". Ahh yes..the other All Starrs included..Colin Hey from Men At Work.(who did their two monster hits).Gary Wright of "Dream Weaver" fame (yes..he played that one)..and Hamish Stuart from the Average White Band and I never knew the title of their instrumental hit was "Pick Up The Pieces" (a fun AND educational night).

I will confess..a crucial payoff moment came to me (after decades of OCD Beatle study and worship) and I BLEW IT! Ringo did the obligatory "you're sitting in the front row enjoying y'self so I'm goin' t'make yer evening and do a Ringo point at ya". What did I do? I was in shock and managed a meek wave in the demeanor not unlike that of my 9 year old when he's been busted. Eye to eye with a legend and you choke! As Napoleon Dynamite would say.."Gahhh..IDIOT!".

Does the luck end when the foot lights faded? Hell to the no! So..our party gives itself 35 minutes to gamble (Ringo did 2 and half hours! DLK doesn't do 2 and a half hours!)..after all..we are at a casino. I disappear in search of a roulette wheel. Yeah..I know..worst odds in the house..but I have a method. I find a seat..but the dealer is out of colors for dollar chips. I take nickels ($5 chips). Goes against my method of spreading the risk out across the table...but..if it hits..a better payout. Two spins..nothin'. Third spin hits. $5 turns into $40 (I was already down $20 snow I'm up $5) I put it all back in my pocket and go to another table where I can get dollar chips. I get $10 and spread it all out. One hits. Net net I'm up $18. Winners know when to quit. Quitters know when to win. I cash out and walk away. 45% on your money in 25 minutes is good work. I come back to our designated meeting place..brag about my results and walk back across the casino to the cashier..get some foldin' money and pick up my Heineken off of the waitress' tray. Every one's back and we're about to haul ass. There's a $1 slot machine by us. I figure.."what the hell". Put it in..a combination hits and it pays out $60! 78 clams! One of our tickets is paid for. Frankly..I was a little afraid to go to sleep that night. The stars rarely line up like that. a splendid time was had by all! However..I'm a bit worried..seeing RIngo Starr play drums on Billy Squier's "The Stroke" could mean that the world could come to a fiery end quite soon.

Miss Steak is out on the street! If you live in the Mobile area..its available at Satori..Dr. Music or Bay Sound. For those of you elsewhere it should be on CD Baby within the week and digitally everywhere (iTunes..etc.) in about 6 weeks. Its a fun record..buy it. Read a nice interview of the DLK in The Lagniappe. A link is below.

SpagWest and Dale Jr. join Up On Blocks this Friday night at Satori. the show has been dubbed "Neckfest '08" and will start around 8:00pm. C'mon out fer a shitkickin' good time.

All for now. Sorry it was a bit long but..it was a BIG night!

Jangle on,

Seth Cherniak

Links:

http://lagniappemobile.com/article/1568

www.myspace.com/deluxeleisureking

What's On The iPod This Week?

Alejandro Escovedo Real Animal

Ringo Starr Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo Starr

Elvis Costello Get Happy

Oh brother where art thou?

Hey howdy jangleheads! Hope everyone is having a swell summer so far. I don't know if I've covered this one before. I don't think I have (after a quick trip to the archives)..but..if I have..forgive and indulge me.

Every so often..at least every other month perhaps..I pull out my copy of Oasis' (What's The Story) Morning Glory? and listen to it start to finish at least twice. Love or hate the Gallagher brothers..but make no bones about it..Morning Glory is a classic rock-n-roll album where every cut stands solidly on its own and are woven together into an amazing sonic fabric. It was..along with their debut Definitely Maybe..the band's biggest success in the U.S...but..naturally..Oasis went the route of the Jam and many other Brit bands where they were maybe just a little too British for long term American occupation. Nevertheless..its a damn fine album.

There're a gazillion tips of the tam o' shanter to the Beatles..the Jam and Paul Weller (who played guitar on "Champagne Supernova"..the Who..the Kinks..T. Rex and everyone else who made the swingin' London sound what it is. There are those (and they're many) who have perpetually labeled the brothers Liam and Noel as rip off artists..experts at aping their guitar heroes. But more is afoot on Morning Glory. Like the Kinks Village Green Preservation Society and the Jam's All Mod Cons..MG paints a picture..dark and Orwellian at times..lush and pastoral at others of the essence of modern British life as it thinks about its past while struggling with its future.I don't think Noel Gallagher(chief scribe and owner of rock-n-roll's greatest unibrow) intended to do so. But..luckily for him..the code was written in his DNA. Even the idol worship liner notes button up the whole package..."where Paul's star crossed John's sun.." Brilliant..even for a bunch of sods from Munchestah. Sadly..the bros haven't duplicated the effort. Made some good records since..and played to gazillions of fans globally..but..not quite the mojo of Morning Glory.

Had a lovely weekend. The fine ..fine Mrs. C and I had dinner on the causeway with some friends and listened to some live tunes. A splendid time was had by all.

Miss Steak has shipped and will be available (in CD form) any day now. DLK will be featured in an upcoming issue of The Langiappe..Mobile's lifestyle and leisure biweekly. Pick up a copy around town.

SpagWest (and its evil stepbrother..Dale Jr.) will play Neckfest at Satori 11 July. Joining will be Tony's cousin's group Up On Blocks. Come on out and have a shitkickin' good time.

All for now. Jangle on.

Seth Cherniak

Links:

www.myspace.com/deluxeleisureking

What's On The iPod This Week?

Oasis (What's The Story) Morning Glory?

Bob Dylan Hard Rain

Elvis Costello and The Attractions Goodbye Cruel World

The Father..the Son..and the Band

Hey howdy jangleheads! Its officially summer. I celebrated the solstice as a true southern should..wearing seersucker and drinking. More on that in a second.

I don't usually do this but I'm going to do a little "meaning behind the lyrics" exercise and try not to sound like the Episcopal priest (yes..I know..I AM Jewish but..went to an Episcopal school..sue me..I'm well rounded) who would play Led Zeppelin records at middle school chapel and interpret their biblical meaning. But here goes..

As Mrs. C (who looked fantastic by the way) and I drove across Mobile Bay to a wedding (at a clean..airy Episcopal church..ironic?) I popped the Best of The Band in the CD player of the somewhat gas sipping VW Jetta wagon. I know..I'm typically a pop guy..but you gotta dig on the Band every so often because..well..they just kicked ass. Anyway..as I'm listening to the perennial classic rock radio favorite.."The Weight"..for once..I actually started paying attention to the story.

Spend some time with the song and start picking apart the story. On the first semi-serious pass..it sounds like its about death. The song sounds and feels tired. There're spiritual images of someone the protagonist knows with the Devil..fog..a nut job raving about his dog..and the narrator..at the end..believes "..its time". But maybe there's something more.

Perhaps its a folky turn on the Jesus story..pulling into Nazareth and people turning their backs to the main character..being tempted by the Devil ("..I gotta go but my friend can stick around").."Luke" waiting on the judgement day..ministering to the sick and misguided "Crazy Chester" and at the end succumbing to the notion that its time to get back to "Miss Annie...she's the only one". Who "Miss Annie"? God..perhaps. All of this might be a stretch..but..knowing the basic chronological structure of the history of Jesus..one could make a case for it.

Then again..maybe its a song about a guy who's tired.

Like I said..since this past Saturday was the first official day of summer..I donned a new seersucker suit and escorted my pretty wife to a wedding of a friend of ours. At the reception..I chatted with Mitch Rencher..one of the tightest drummers around and a cat who can and does make a real living doing music. The wife and I split before the cougars (randy ladies aged 45 and up) started shaking their recreation only groove things to "Sugar Pie Honey Bunch" and beat it to a nice Eastern Shore eatery called Brandon's. M'lady had a fantastic tuna steak..I had great grouper. A splendid date night indeed!

Miss Steak should be in by July 1st. So..mark your calendars.

SpagWest (and its evil bastard step brother Dale Jr.) plays Satori July 11 with Tony's cousin's band..Up On Blocks. We've dubbed the package show.."Neckfest '08"..come on out.

All for now..Jangle on and drink Countrytime Lemonade.

Seth Cherniak

Links:

www.myspace.com/deluxeleisureking

www.myspace.com/dalejuniorband

What's On The iPod This Week?

The Band Music From Big Pink

The Jam Setting Sons

Elvis Presley The Memphis Sessions

You like the folk rock...bubelah?

Hey howdy jangleheads! Hope everyone's havin' a swingin' summer. Let's talk classic 60's tuneage..shall we?

When I was somewhere between the ages of 3 and 4..I had three favorite songs: "I Want To Hold Your Hand" by the Beatles.."Everybody Loves Somebody Sometimes" by Dean Martin (we had a housekeeper who absolutely LOVED Dino..so she would play the records) and "The 59th Street Bridge Song(Feelin' Groovy)" by Simon and Garfunkel. I know the impact the first one had..life changing throughout my life..the second gave me an eye for nicely tailored suits and vodka (although I don't drink vodka anymore for physiological reasons we won't go into..and no..it doesn't have to do with going to a meeting where you get a chip and everyone knows your name). The last dented my development on so many different levels. The long and short is that I still love Simon and Garfunkel records..usually get myself at least a monthly fix.

I won't go too deeply into detail on their history. The interesting thing is that S and G probably wasn't supposed to ever happen. After some mild success as NYC's yeshiva answer to the Everley Brothers in the late 50's..Paul and Art broke up and went to different colleges..Simon to Queens College and Garfunkel to Columbia (both pledged the Jewish fraternity..shocker!) They got back together after Simon punted law school as the folk scene was happening in NYC in the 60's. They recorded Wednesday Morning 3 A.M. which sucked balls which prompted Simon to split to the UK to go folky solo. While he was hanging out looking for the ultimate kosher baked face of leprechaun pie.."Sounds of Silence" became a monster hit on the coattails of label mates The Byrds and Dylan's electric success. They got back together..made some more records..had some more huge hits..started balding..and then broke up in 1970.

Their relationship history always reminded me of an on and off couple that has great sex..gets drunk..beats the shit out of each other..breaks up..repeats the process at least two more times and eventually splits up their china (what hasn't been broken) according to court order. Props where props are due..Paul Simon is a phenomenal f***ing songwriter. Personally..I'm not as wild about his post S and G work as most (The loverly Mrs. C always begs to differ on that point..ahh vive le difference!) The notes that Art Garfunkel could hit with Paul holding down the lower part of the tight harmony are nothing short of spectacular. The end of "For Emily Wherever I May Find Her" gives me chills sometimes. Despite their dysfunctional relationship..they left some pretty functional stuff behind.

Oh..the personal impact part. Besides the early exposure to fantastic vocal harmonies in pop radio music..Simon and Garfunkel (and Neil Dimond to some extent) gave me hope that schlubby Jewish kids who are genetically predispositioned to male pattern baldness..such as I..could write outstanding pop songs and be somewhat cool..at least a CBS Sunday Morning kind of cool. A cool your grandmother would be SO proud of. Plus "59th Street Bridge Song" always takes me to a happy place every time I hear it.

Miss Steak has been shipped to the pressing plant. We should have it by month's end. I'm not trying to brag..but its a great record. At least I..Bobby and Abuse think so. Hope you do too. Go to the myspace page and listen to some of the new stuff for yourself.

All for now. Jangle on and happy Father's Day!

Seth Cherniak

Links:

www.myspace.com/deluxeleisureking

What's on the iPod this week?

Simon and Garfunkel Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme

Buddy Holly Buddy Holly's Greatest Hits

Deluxe Leisure King Miss Steak

To live and die in L.A.

Hey howdy jangleheads. If you live in the souhteast..id it hot enough for ya? Sheesh!!! Top it off with I'm about to go to an OUTDOOR SpagWest gig (can you say.."sweating like a Turkish drug mule going through American customs?")..so I figure..why shower today? Anyway..on to the pop..and this installment adds a little noir to the jangle.

Everyone's heard the great 60's pop song "I Fought The Law" by the Bobby Fuller Four. And I'm sure you've heard the EVEN better cover of it by the Clash. Fuller's version was a rock solid Top 40 hit in the U.S. peaking at #4 in 1966. Now..keep in mind that the Beatles..by now are wearing paisley..taking LSD and playing sitars. Fuller's Tex Mex meets Surf sound (he was from El Paso) was straight out of the Buddy Holly-Ritchie Valens handbook which..to me solidifies the resilience of the twangy American sound (which DID influence the Beatles heavily..at first before they met the Maharishi and Dr. Robert). "I Fought The Law" was written by Norman Petty..who managed and produced Buddy Holly until 1958. Fuller was discovered and produced by Bob Keane who had also discovered and produced Tex Mex phenom Ritchie Valens (aka Ricardo Valenzuela). So..no surprise that..even waist deep in the early days of the flower power..things clicked for the BF4.

The band even got a much coveted part playing "the band" in a bad 60's teen movie. This bad teen movie happened to be The Ghost In The Invisible Bikini..featuring Nancy Sinatra. Yes..the "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" and "my dad has chunks of guys like you in his stool" Nancy Sinatra. Now..here's where the story takes they speculation..rumor and innuendo turn. There's little to any documentation to most of this. The evidence is primarily anecdotal and coincidental. Fuller died of what the L.A. police ruled "suicide" in July '66. He was found in his car not far from his Hollywood apartment. He was beaten pretty badly and he was covered in gasoline. I'm not depressed and no CSI expert..but that's just a real f***ed way to kill yourself. Now the conspiracy belief shared by many, including John Kaye in his 2002 novel The Dead Circus, was that Fuller was rubbed out by mob henchmen. The story goes that Bobby was dating (which..most likely also included banging) Nancy Sinatra. There were reports that Fuller was..like every good mid 60's L.A. rock star..experimenting with LSD and other wacky substances. I'm sure Ol' Blue Eyes didn't dig his little girl hanging out with the long hairs and so..he called the boys from Vegas to do something about it. To date..most official police records are gone and there is very little out there regarding the circumstances. Ahh..but who knows..rock-n-roll is a weird racket to begin with.

Artwork is done for Miss Steak. Its freakin' awesome. Going off to the duplicators this week. Couple of weeks..tops.

Had a great weekend. After a childless week of coupled bliss..we went to pick up number 2 son who at the beach with cousins. Number 1 son was there..however..he was headed to camp. So with name tags sewn into his underwear..we bid him a teary farewell. Stayed up latish with number 2 son watching the Speed Channel. That's really all that was on that was appropriate at that hour.

The beautiful Mrs. C..didn't make it to the Pocono 200 rerun opting for Snoozeville instead.

All for now. Happy summer and jangle on!

Seth Cherniak

Links:

www.myspace.com/deluxeleisureking

What's On The iPod This Week?

Keith Richards Main Offender

The Rolling Stones Tattoo You

REM Murmur

Big hairy deal

Hey howdy jangleheads! Hope everyone had a swell summeresque weekend. Mine was spent playing Mr. Mom as the actual Mrs. Mom went on her annual girls weekend beach trip. I write this as I wait for her glorious return. Dad needs some relief (wink..wink..nudge..nudge).

Why the crude joke so early? Well..every now and then I'll do a gearcentric piece and this week's subject has one of the raunchiest names ever given to a piece of guitar playing equipment ever. But that's OK because they can put they're money were their mouth is.

Typically..I'm a clean jangly playing guy. But every so often..sometimes more than not..you need some fuzz in your sound. There're a bazillion different distortion stomp boxes that can give you a bazillion different textures but chances are you don't have one of those POD containers in your back yard to store all of them in. I'm guilty of being a bit of a gear slut and probably have one too many distortion pedals. I do have a famous one that I kind of acquired by accident..a late 1970's model Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi. The company describes it as "the finest harmonic distortion - sustain device developed to date" when it debuted in 1971. I won't list everyone..past and present..who used or uses the Big Muff..let's just say..its a long..star studded list. It makes a nasty sound and that's the only easy way to describe it. Lotsa sustain. Lotsa harmonic distortion. Listen to the guitar solo I did on "Zoomin' Around" on 15 Minutes of Shame or on "23 Dollar Rundown Motel Blues" on Debbie Does Nothing. That's me using the Big Muff in front of a tweed Fender Blues Deluxe. Sounds good with single coil pickups sounds REALLY good with double coil pickups. That's what I was using this weekend after digging the Big Muff out from the bottom of the gear bag. Playing slide..all kindsa blues runs..perfect for that kind of nasty.

Oh..how I acquired mine kinda by accident..right. I was in a band called Idaho Trust during my college days at Auburn University. We shared practice with some friends of ours..a band called the Purple Zeros. Naturally..everyone left their crap lying around the practice room. Everyone was respectful and could use whatever. Their guitarist had an old Big Muff Pi pedal gathering dust in the corner. I started piddling with it one day because..in high school..I had owned a smaller version called the Little Muff (one knob for volume..no tone control..no sustain..i.e..fuzz..control). I really dug this strange metallic clank that it made. Talking with the rightful owner about how much I dug the sound..he hipped me to the fact that the pedal had been broken for a couple of years and I could have it if I wanted. Well..that was a good deal especially as they didn't even make the Big Muff at the time. Electro Harmonix's original incarnation went out of business in 1982. That was 1987 which means that the pedal was probably a '78 or '79. Later..I took it to a guitar tech who looked like Styx guitarist Tommy Shaw's more unsuccessful younger brother. But..the cat could fix ANYTHING. He fixed the Big Muff for something like $20 and its worked like a champ ever since. That's her in the picture above. I don't gig with it. Too sensitive tonally. But..as mentioned earlier..I record with it and pull it out and play with it at home. But get your own. Mine's NOT for sale on Ebay.

About to send Miss Steak off to the presser and digital distributor. Its good. I really love it. Hopefully you will too.

All for now. Jangle on.

Seth Cherniak

Links:

www.myspace.com/deluxeleisureking

www.myspace.com/ehx

What's On the iPod This Week?

Dinosaur Jr. Where You Been?

Matthew Sweet 100% Fun

Deluxe Leisure King Miss Steak