Stories on:

Duane Allman

Wendy Burch Steel

Rick Recalls

Paul Filipowicz

Runaway Home

July/August/September 2013

PETER COOPER

& ERIC BRACE

Check them out at:

redbeetrecords.com

2

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Litt Dubay

Frye Gaillard

Rick Harris

David Mathias Heuss

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DUANE ALLMAN

Short Ride, Eternal Slide: The Recorded Legacy of Duane Allman

The first time Duane Allman’s name ever appeared on a nationally released album,

the occasion was the 1967 Liberty Records debut by Hour Glass, a band featuring both

Duane and younger brother Gregg Allman—names that meant little then, but ones

which would rise to the ranks of rock’s best-known within a mere few years. And,

speaking of a mere few years . . . in retrospect, there’s something almost eerily prophet-

ic about the band’s name. Duane Allman’s brief and brilliant career can be likened to

that of a sand-filled timepiece, impassively ticking off a small and finite number of

minutes. Indeed, the release of Hour Glass’s less-than-auspicious debut album in Octo-

ber of 1967 marked the beginning of Duane’s final four years. Within that brief period,

he would become a blues guitar hero, The Allman Brothers Band would emerge under

his leadership to record a small but essential body of work (including one of rock’s fin-

est live albums), and he would lose his life in a motorcycle accident, just short of his

25th birthday, in the Allmans’ adopted hometown of Macon, Georgia.

Of course, Duane lives on through his work—his reputation is, in fact, bigger than

life. An entire new generation of Allman Brothers fans has come of age since then,

many of whom have heard only a fraction of Duane’s sprawling musical legacy. Serious

students of the guitarist—and they are legion—are aware of his role in dozens of late

’60s/early ’70s recordings made predominantly in Muscle Shoals, Ala., but a broad

overview of his session work has never been made available in one package until now.

(Photo by John Gellman)

Rounder Records’ Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective is a seven-disc set with extensive liner notes detailing the legendary guitarist’s fast-rising

fame amid his dwindling days. Numerous tracks contained here were previously made available on a pair of Duane Allman anthologies and the Allman Broth-

ers’ box set, Dreams; some of the cuts on which Duane appeared—by such notables as Boz Scaggs, Wilson Pickett, Ronnie Hawkins and Delaney & Bonnie

Bramlett—are still in print. The box does, however, comprise an impressive one-stop, and it contains hard-to-find and previously unreleased tracks. Among

them are the very first known recordings from Duane and Gregg in their fledgling band, The Escorts, plus demos from transitional band The Allman Joys that,

until now, have remained unheard by most.

These formative recordings, while they lack finesse and polish, illustrate the brothers’ raw talent as well as the range of musical influences that would

soon coalesce in the proto-Southern-rock sound of the Allman Brothers. In addition to the more obvious blues and R&B workouts are garage- and psych-styled

numbers including the early Gregg Allman composition “Gotta Get Away” and a version of “Spoonful.” The Allman Joys’ tautly performed take on the Willie

Dixon-penned blues standard, notably produced at Nashville’s Bradley’s Barn studio by music-biz legend John D. Loudermilk, is more attuned to the style of,

say, The Blues Magoos than the moody, amped-up “Spoonful” served by Cream, whose version had not yet been released at the time of this session.

The straight-ahead covers of songs by seminal English blues-rockers The Yardbirds indicate that Duane was still several steps away from transforming

his influences into a more original and personal style. The oldest tracks, riddled with signs of audio decay, are important mainly as historical documents, fea-

turing performances that rarely, if ever, accomplish the remarkable. What is remarkable, though, is how quickly these early efforts morphed into muscular,

though still somewhat derivative, examples of late ’60s American rock and soul.

While the brothers Allman were prevented from exploring their desired, still-unfolding blues-rock fusion on their Hour Glass albums, it is on these

sessions that they began seriously honing their studio chops, and they play like they mean business in spite of the imposed stylistic restraints. Their medley of

4

B.B. King numbers—which remained unreleased for many years—demonstrates how fully Duane had absorbed the blues vocabulary into his lead guitar work,

which rings with authenticity and zeal on this track, a heartfelt tribute to a key musical inspiration. Had the brothers intended to head in a commercial soul-pop

direction—a credible enough choice in light of their love for R&B and Duane’s later association with the Muscle Shoals and Memphis studio scenes—they couldn’t

have done much better than the propulsive stomper “Power of Love,” sung by Gregg with gritty gusto and written by the storied Southern songwriting duo of Dan

Penn and Spooner Oldham (perhaps best-known for The Box Tops’ “Cry Like a Baby”). If they had wanted to be remembered as laughable psychedelic pseudo-

jazzers, though, they couldn’t have hit the bull’s-eye any more perfectly than they did on their sitar-stained instrumental cover of The Beatles’ “Norwegian

Wood”—an abomination that one can only imagine was the imaginary brainstorm of some cigar-puffing record company man. Such is the dues-paying flux that

the brothers underwent while laying groundwork for The Allman Brothers Band.

While the Allmans’ history has been laid out on previous collections, the band’s gestation and vital first phase are thoroughly revisited here, and the plentiful

sampling of Duane’s session recordings ups the ante considerably. However, it narrows the appeal of the exhaustive and pricey ($140) package to those listeners

who have more than a casual interest in the soulful and rootsy Southern sounds with which Skydog is stuffed. Those with a collector’s bent will revel in the ob-

scure oddities scattered throughout, though it must be said that occasional selections will tax even fans who are most fascinated by the era.

Consider, if you will, the slickly produced pop concoctions of The Bleus. A regional rival of Hour Glass who once bested them in a Tuscaloosa battle of the

bands, the capable but commercially slanted group sounds profoundly detached from the R&B, country and jazz roots of their soon-to-be-famed Southern peers—

and thus, particularly misplaced in this set. Of the fare represented, The Bleus’ songs range from twice-chewed bubblegum-pop copycatting to a weepy teen-death

sapfest (“Julianna’s Gone”) in which Duane’s crying slide guitar strives nobly but is all but buried in orchestral treacle.

The most obvious audience for this almost obsessively comprehensive package, then, is a no-brainer: guitar players. Initially, the Skydog box set is being pro-

duced in a run of 10,000 numbered copies, and if no one were allowed to buy it except card-carrying six-string slingers, there’d be no problem moving the inven-

tory. There are few musicians, living or dead, who can claim to have influenced as many guitarists as Duane Allman has done, most of them post-mortem. Two

musicians who have felt Duane’s tug agreed to share their thoughts about the great bluesman with the Americana Gazette: Nashville native Pat Murphy and Scott

Rath, who landed in Music City via Boston and L.A.

The fact that neither one’s name is probably familiar merely testifies to the wealth of under-

sung musical talent in and around Nashville. Both men are accomplished players; Rath, in fact,

worked with power-trio royalty Tim Bogert (Beck, Bogert & Appice; Cactus) and Cream co-

founder Ginger Baker, and also served a brief stint in the band of Warren Zevon. Murphy, a

tasteful player who by choice maintains a some- what low profile, has nonetheless made his pres-

ence known within the Nashville blues commu- nity as well as on the Internet, where one of his

well-realized homemade tracks was spotted and subsequently included in the ongoing “Editor

Boy’s Big Eight” feature in Guitar Player maga- zine. His YouTube channel (youtube.com/

murff625) has had more than 100,000 hits, and his fans span the globe.

Murphy’s forte is in his deeply felt, restrained style, while Rath is more prone to engaging in full

-on, careening slideplay in the upper reaches of the fretboard. What the two musicians do have in

common are a remnant of Duane Allman’s blues- man mojo as well a vital relationship with their

instruments. Rath and Murphy, as was Allman, are committed players who aren’t likely to stray

far from a guitar for more than a modest dura- tion. Both are longtime admirers of The Allman

Brothers Band who heard them soon after the release of their self-titled 1969 debut (included in

its entirety on Skydog). Rath still waxes rhapsod- ic about the day he was forever Allmanized by a

friend’s brother who owned the record. “We put it on and my life changed at that point. The in-

strumental that starts it—‘Don't Want You No More’—leads into possibly one of the greatest

blues guitar licks of all time, at the beginning of ‘It’s Not My Cross to Bear,’ and then Gregg’s voice

comes in,” recalls Rath. “I was slayed, and still am every time I hear that song.”

Murphy relates a story about being a young- ster who had begun hearing about “the blues” but

didn’t understand what they were. “I was just a kid, just past The Beatles and The Monkees. [I

thought], ‘I must know what this “blues” is about.’” Soon thereafter, he happened to hear two

consecutive tracks sizzle through a small radio: Derek and the Dominos’ “Have You Ever Loved a

Woman,” featuring Duane on slide, and “Mean Town Blues” by Johnny Winter, the other prem-

ier slide player at the time. “I knew this was the blues, without anyone saying that it was,” re-

members Murphy. “Duane spoke the language.”

(Photo by Sidney Smith)

Separated by well over a thousand miles, both witnessed Duane onstage in late 1970. Murphy vividly recalls attending an Allman Brothers show at Vander-

bilt University on Oct. 30. “I remember Duane, I remember the slide . . . it was mesmerizing,” he says. Just over a month later, on Dec. 2, Rath was fortunate

enough to be in Syracuse, N.Y., for one of the only two shows at which Duane joined Eric Clapton’s Derek and the Dominoes, reprising the invaluable role he

played on the sessions for the still-classic Layla album.

Perhaps only a guitarist who’s a dedicated Duane devotee can articulate the qualities that made him so exceptional, and Rath is just such a disciple. “Duane

had the phrasing and soul of the best blues players from Chicago, but with the inventiveness of guys like Jeff Beck,” he explains, “so he basically grew up under-

standing the nuances of the blues and how a single note or phrase can tell a story or let you feel the blues. Listen to ‘I’m Gonna Move to the Outskirts of

Town’ [included on Skydog, drawn from Live at Ludlow Garage:1970] or the B.B. King medley by the Hour Glass, and you will hear blues guitar at its finest.”

Rath also notes Allman’s “melodic sense,” which he shared with bandmate Dickey Betts, but which, in Allman’s hands, took sometimes astounding, some-

times reckless liberties. “[Duane] was known to listen to [progressive jazz masters] Charles Mingus and John Coltrane, and his sense of abandon shows—but with

melody.” Murphy points out that Duane’s tonal vocabulary hovered near the simple handful of notes in the pentatonic scale—basically, a blues mode—and that his

playing could at times lack precision, be that due to unchecked passion or intoxication, but he enthusiastically agrees with Rath’s assessment of Allman’s knack

for invention. “He might put himself out on a limb, but he went for it,” says Murphy. “Dickey Betts might have been the better technician, but he played it kind of

safe—he’s not going ‘out there.’ Duane did go for it, every single time.”

(continued on page 13)

5

WENDY

BURCH

STEEL

OPEN WINGS OPEN WINGS

Wendy Burch Steel grew up in upstate New York and learned to sing harmony from her father and her four brothers and sisters. She performed in bands in the

1980s, published two books of poetry in the 90s, and circled back to music in the Bay Area, seeking out Laurie Lewis for songwriting and vocal coaching. Laurie

liked what she heard and decided to produce Wendy’s album. I recently had the honor of listening to this young lady’s CD and thought everyone needs to know a

little bit more about her and her music, so Wendy and I had a chat! Here is what I found out and want to pass onto you!

Joyce: Hello Wendy. Let’s start out by you telling us a little about yourself. Where you grew up and how you became involved in your music career?

Wendy: I grew up in Upstate New York, born into a family of 5 children, with a father who sang like an angel whose ranges seemed endless, and we were singing

all the time, in the car, at home, you name it....we lost him when he was just 45.

My earliest memories of Dad were him and his ukulele. He'd come upstairs to our rooms, and would start out with "army stories" at our request as we called

them, and then would close out with songs I still remember today, and we would sing along with him and his uke. We sang while we were driving. We sang when-

ever anything felt good enough to do that. My dad taught me songs and harmonies at the Laundromat, wherever and whenever he could teach me. Dad taught all

5 kids harmonies, so you can imagine how pretty that sounded with his voice singing leads. It was kind of a barbershop quartet style of harmonizing, which is

probably why I really love to sing tight a Capella gospel and other styles of music.

My Mother always reminds me that as a small girl, I used to put on dancing and singing shows for my favorite Grandfather, by popping out from behind a tree

while he sat on the front porch, and literally gave him a singing and dancing show, and he clapped as loud as he could. He was a great audience, about 1000 peo-

ple if he could have been that for me.

I taught myself to play guitar at 11 and pretty much played it that way, with my own picking style, no guitar pick, like Maybelle Carter used to play, for the rest

of my career. I learned to use a pick, but still like strumming and picking with my fingers and thumb. I wrote my first real song while carrying my first and only

child, in the 70s, but she passed away right before birth, and that song is on my debut CD, Open Wings. It's called Leah's Lullaby.

I left New York State pretty soon after that to live in New Mexico, and after a year or so of finding my way, I started playing clubs and restaurants there, with

just me and my guitar and my songs, sometimes table to table, for tips and a nice meal. It was fun. There was one place called Toby's in Albuquerque where I

played quite a bit on their stage, a nice little coffee house community of singers. Jams were afterwards with sometimes 30 people, guitars, other instruments, and

voices, all in one house. I met a great guitar player and singer, and we took our music and our lives to California, settled in Santa Cruz and did what everybody

else was doing at the time on the Mall, open your guitar case for tips and start playing! Pretty soon we were playing gigs up and down the coast. Sometimes we

got paid, sometimes just a meal and tips. It was all fun. We worked on our music all day and played all night pretty much, and lived in a big white step van..... ha,

those were the days! We lived up in the Santa Cruz mountains for a while, and out in the country of course.

After I tired of the scene there, we moved out to Colorado where my partner's folks lived, and the music kind of stopped at that point for a while. Somewhat

isolated out on the prairie, I started writing, a lot; poetry, stories, and songs. I produced a few concerts and we played at some festivals, but before you knew it we

had "real" jobs in Denver, and that old lifestyle just kind of slipped away, although we continued to live out in the country. I finally left CO and that life, and

moved on alone to be reunited with my high school sweetheart who then lived in St. Louis, a musician and composer of course, and from that point on, we were

inseparable, and finally moved back to CA. While living in SF right on the ocean, I got my master’s degree at SFSU in creative writing, and my poetry was pub-

lished quite a bit in a few countries, and I published and illustrated two books.

But the music in me won out.... after my dear husband passed away from a brain tumor, I joined a Celtic band and sang leads and harmonies and worked some

percussion, and stuck with them for 5 years, but wanted to spread my wings and do my own stuff and other styles of music, writing, and singing. As fate would

have it I met Laurie Lewis through various connections, like my friend Nell Robinson, and initially took coaching from Laurie to hone the bluegrass style of sing-

ing and playing. Laurie eventually became not only my mentor but my producer and friend for what was my dream come true, --my first real CD. We found 11 of

the best musicians in the area, and we took off! "Open Wings" was going to take flight! It turned out not to be strictly Bluegrass, ---but 6 of my original folk,

bluesy, Americana songs and singing, as well as some favorite covers, such as Sea of Heartbreak, Hadn't Been For Love, etc.

Joyce: Do you write your own songs? If so, what inspires you?

Wendy: Yes, I do write my own songs.... and what inspires me is a feeling, memory or experience, a word or sentence from someone or something, something

that touches me in some personal way. From the Stories in my life. Songs are always popping into my head, and especially the words. Sometimes I'll just hear

someone singing a song in a dream or daydream, and start, much the same way I write poems. Sometimes they come with their own melody, a melody that

wouldn't work with any song but that one..... I pull out my guitar and start strumming and singing, write down the words, and there's a song there. Sometimes I

Joyce: Who musically were your inspirations growing up?

6

end up just tossing it or putting it aside. And then there are times when I just know, "this is a pretty darn good song!" and it sticks with me. I hear it over and

over again till it's the way I know it should sound.

Nature and the country inspires me, love inspires me, pain and loss inspire me, humorous times inspire me, and other writers and players inspire me to do

better and better..... to sing it better, to get the right instruments on board. Sometimes it's just two instruments, maybe a banjo and fiddle for an Old-Timey

sounding tune, and sometimes it's all the instruments in a group of players for a good rousing bluegrass or folk song. Sometimes it's no instruments, just beau-

tiful gospelly harmonies, love those!

Joyce: Wendy, what instruments do you play?

Wendy: I play guitar. It's an old 60’s Gibson, and I'm learning new styles with it all the time. But I have so many players that are so great around me I often

just sing. I plan to do more guitar playing on certain songs in the future with my band..... I also play harmonica, bodhran (Celtic flat drum), recorder, but not

seriously. I like it all. But right now just focusing on writing, singing and playing for texture once in a while.....

Joyce: You just released your CD, let’s talk about that a little bit. How are you promoting, out touring, where the songs came from, etc.

Wendy: Recording my CD with Laurie Lewis was wonderful. She is a great mentor; and I will never forget the time I was blessed to spend with her while re-

cording the CD. I completely trust her and her judgment musically, so she did a lot of helping to arrange songs I thought I already had finished, and covers,

and all of it. And she played and sang on many of the songs. Laurie has always been completely honest with me and that is why I trust her implicitly. When a

line I was singing didn't sound "authentic" as she was always going for, she had me talk it, and then sing it again. The way you sing a line, the way you say a

word -- if it doesn't sound like you're talking it, it's not authentic. I feel she found and encouraged the authentic Wendy in me. At first I just wanted to learn

more of a bluegrass style from her. Turns out she showed me the road to being oneself and doing it.... So many things happened while we were recording the

CD, it took almost a year to complete; I broke two vertebrae in my back, for instance. Ha.... but we kept on going!

We did the CD release show at the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley, CA in January and I am still gleefully resonating from that. We had 13 musicians in ad-

dition to me, all wonderful. (Laurie Lewis, Tom Rozum, Melody Walker, Richard Brandenburg, Nell Robinson, the T Sisters, Evan Morgan, Markie Sanders,

Larry Chung, John Schott). It was a fabulous night. It was really well attended, and well received by everyone. I was standing there during the break signing

my CD, and I just couldn't believe it, I couldn't even get out to the lobby, there were so many people around me, wanting the CD autographed. People were say-

ing things like, "You sing like an angel and I'm so grateful to meet you" and I was saying, "Really? Thank you!" (I also had a great publicist, Tanya Pinkerton,

resulting in a lot of air play and radio interviews, as well as great reviews in prominent publications, which continue to come in, lucky for me!)

Joyce: Who musically were your inspirations growing up?

Wendy: You might be surprised. Early in my life? My father and mother, Bob Dylan, Woodie Guthrie, Peter Paul and Mary (my first concert ever other than

classical), Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, the Beatles, Credence Clearwater, Taj Mahal, the Grateful Dead, Cat Stevens, James Taylor, and the English musicians

who were doing Old English rock, and Celtic music, Bob Marley too....

Later on, with singing, I drew from folk, bluegrass, country, South African harmonies, Old Time, Gospel, the Stanley brothers, Laurie Lewis, Hazel Dickens,

Bill Monroe, Emmy Lou Harris, and studied the deep listening philosophies of Pauline Oliveros. Nowadays there's of course, Laurie Lewis, Kathy Kallick,

Kacey Chambers, Nell Robinson, Frank Solivan, Uncle Earl, Joe Newberry, Bill Monroe, Belle Monroe, Hank Williams, the Dillards, Paul Hampton and Hal

Daird, Michael James Henderson, Dale Bradley, and on and on.....

Joyce: Wow, that is quite a list. What are some future goals for you?

Wendy: Yeah, it is quite a list, and there were others! Future goals: I have a band in the works, Wendy Burch Steel and Friends. We’re doing a show at the

Freight and Salvage which Laurie Lewis hosts, with two other bands for that evening, on May 30th. The band for this show includes players from my CD and

CD Release show, among other great pickers, including Chuck Ervin on bass, Larry Chung on fiddle and dobro, Glenn Dauphin on guitar and vocals, and Harry

Yaglijian on mando and vocals. Glenn and I are also putting together a wonderful duo, which I think is going to be magical. I’d like to tour the west coast first,

Continued on Page 13

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RICKRECALLS

This is number six in my paydirt series. I have a variety of offerings for all

you musically obsessed individuals today, so…………..let’s get started. Oh ya,

if you find something here that really sparks your interest, please dig deeper

on your own. There are endless worlds to explore in music. Sometimes it just

takes a little work. So fire up the old youtube and begin.

BOBBY CHARLES (Small Town Talk) single version.

Written by Bobby Charles and ( Rick Danko of The

Band). This tune has a simple country feel wrapped in a

warm R&B groove. It’s a charmer for sure. Listen to the

layering on the piano, organ, and horns. Bobby Charles

was a much over looked singer/songwriter in the later

50’s through the 60’s. He also wrote: Later Alligator and

Walkin’ to New Orleans. As far as I’m concerned, this is

country soul at its best.

BLIND BLAKE (Diddie Wa Diddie). Blake is considered

a master of ragtime guitar and this song, recorded in

1929, was a huge hit for him. Ragtime guitar is not easy.

I’ve spent untold hours trying to unravel and absorb his

playing. I’ve hardly scratched the surface.

ERIC VON SCHMIDT (Envy the Thief). Folk/blues/

singer/songwriter Eric Von Schmidt was at the heart of

the 60’s east coast folk scene. I love this song and I think

it’s one of his best. The tension in his voice cuts like a

razor. Schmidt was also a successful artist and did,

among other things, a number of fine album covers and

music posters.

ZOOT MONEY (Zoot’s Suit). This is a great recording

from British organist Zoot Money. He switched from pi-

ano to Hammond organ in the early 60’s and has worked

with most of England’s top musicians. I know I just keep

saying this but, I can’t get enough of these cool instru-

mentals. The organ rips across the horn section, the

whole thing driven by an amazing drum performance.

And listen to the way those drums were recorded. They

sound so live.

KORLA PANDIT (Kumar). In the late 50’s when I was a

cute, brilliant, and incredibly charming little boy, I re-

member my mom watching Korla Pandit on television.

She absolutely loved this guy. To this day I find him fas-

cinating, and he still pops up now and then, and puts a

smile on my face. His show was only 15 minutes long and

consisted of him sitting at the organ, playing by him-self,

often looking directly at, or should I say into, the camera.

He was always impeccably dressed and wore a turban.

PAY DIRT

He never spoke. He just played as he gazed into the camera with a slightly de-

tached but amused look. This often had a somewhat hypnotic effect on the view-

er. He would also do this cool percussive thing on the keyboard with his hands.

Sometimes there would be clouds or flying dinosaurs projected on a screen be-

hind him. He was a true T.V. pioneer. Years ago I stumbled onto two books at the

library called: Incredibly Strange Music Volumes 1&2. That’s right, you guessed it.

He was in there. If you want to have fun, dig into this guy’s history. His story is

very entertaining and strange too.

JEFF BECK GROUP (Blues De Luxe). To me this song is

the essence of British blues. It’s from the 1968 JEFF

BECK TRUTH album. The group line-up was: Rod Stew-

ard, Ronnie Wood, Nicky Hopkins, Micky Waller and

Jeff Beck. Not a bad little combo. Jeff beck has always

been one of my favorite blues guitarists and gives his

all on this amazing tune. His playing is rude, shrewd,

with maximum attitude. He throws everything in here

but the kitchen sink, and his high speed phrasing can’t be touched by any other

blues guitarist I know.

JOHNNY BURNETTE (Train Kept A Rollin’). Some of you

might still remember when rock & roll was supposed

to sound dangerous. Well, here’s one for all you aspir-

ing, juvenile offenders out there. This thing chugs like a

locomotive. Johnny’s vocal phrasing is perfect and you

could shave with the edge and attitude in his voice.

And listen to Paul Bulison’s lead guitar work. That oc-

tive thing on the central riff just nearly pushes this

whole tune right off the cliff. It’s another tune I’m tak-

ing to the island with me when I go. I’m starting to think I might need a bigger

island!

Written by: Rick Harris

8

As Time Goes By – Herman Hupfeld

When I Fall In Love – Victor Young, Edward Heyman

You Belong To Me – Pee Wee King, Redd Stewart, Chilton Price

Stormy Weather – Harold Arlen, Ted Koehler

Blue Moon – Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers

Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me – Harry Noble

Your Cheatin’ Heart – Hank Williams Sr.

Why Don’t You Believe Me? – Lou Douglas, King Laney, Roy Rodde

Th e Song From Moulin Rouge (Where Is Your Heart?)

– Jacques Larue, Georges Abel Louis Auric, William Engvick

Little Things Mean a Lot – Edith Lindeman, Carl Stutz

Teach Me Tonight – Sammy Cahn, Gene De Paul

Ebb Tide – Robert Maxwell, Carl Sigman

THE KRAUSE FAMILY BAND

JUST A FEW

INDEPENDENT RELEASE EP No one would ever accuse me of being unbiased when it comes to the

Krause Family Band. The simple truth is that I love this group and consider

my-self lucky to be a friend. But hey, good is good, and their new EP is

great. Six original tunes, with beautiful vocals, fine instrumental work, and

the gorgeous harmony that has become their trademark. Call it folk, blue-

grass, gospel, or country. It really doesn’t matter ‘cause it’s all in the mix.

The songwriting is absolutely first rate. Visit their website or go to CDBABY

or AMAZON.COM to purchase their new EP, JUST A FEW. The Krause

Family Band has a traditional feel with a surprisingly fresh view. I love ‘em.

So will you!

Review by: Rick Harris

KATIE BURNS

YOU’LL FIND YOUR WAY

INDEPENDENT RELEASE

Singer/songwriter Katie Burns has just released

her first cd titled (You’ll Find Your Way), and in

my opinion, she has certainly found hers. Thirteen

beautifully written songs, each one a jewel, with

first rate musicianship, production values, and

Katie’ wonderful vocal performances. Even the

packaging looks great. For those of you who have

already heard Katie Burns live, this cd may hold a

few surprises. For those of you who haven’t heard

her yet, this is a perfect introduction. Katie Burns’

new cd is………..well………..it’s just like Katie,

and that’s about as good as it gets. Highly recom-

mended. To buy her new cd go to: katieburnsmu-

sic.com or itunes.

Review by: Rick Harris

9

PAUL FILIPOWICZ

Story by:

David Mathias

Photos courtesy of the author

Giving

Audiences

That Feeling!

Everyone has had one of those moments, you know, when you’re just a bit shy about expressing your opinion for the fear of being laughed at. One of those mo-

ments for me was when I was talking with a fellow guitarist about Paul Filipowicz. I awkwardly proclaimed that some of his guitar playing reminded me of Jimi

Hendrix. To my surprise, my friend said; ‘Yeah, especially that song Paul plays called; “Switchyard.” It’s not everyday that you hear a blues guitarist compared

with Hendrix and when my friend reacted in this way I was no longer feeling bashful about the comparison. Someone else made this comment about Filipowicz:

‘One of the reasons Paul is great at what he does is because he doesn’t do it for the money. Paul plays and sings the blues out of pure love.’

Paul Filipowicz grew up in the cornfields of Lockport, Illinois, back in the sixties. He was raised musically on a steady diet of Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Wil-

liamson, Sonny Terry, Howlin’ Wolf and a multitude of blues musicians who could be heard on the old crystal radio that Paul and his older brother listened to

late at night after all the lights in the house were out. Paul’s brother stretched an antenna wire from the radio to the cast iron grill that capped off the heating

vent pipe that took the chill off of those cold Midwestern nights. On Sundays, WLS out of Chicago would play blues all afternoon.

One night while cruising the dial, Filipowicz pulled in a radio station out of Tulsa, OK. They played Howlin’ Wolf, Sonny Boy, and Muddy Waters back to back.

That was his first exposure to the blues. He first witnessed live blues in ’64 or ’65, while waiting outside a club on Chicago’s South Side. “It was boiling hot,

about 2 in the afternoon and these people were all dressed up and going into this air-conditioned club. Otis Rush and his band were tearing it up right there in

broad daylight. Electric guitar was it! Learning by ear was about the only way to go about a blues education in those days. I was playing without a pick and the

first time I heard Magic Sam, it clicked, and I was playing his phrasing.”

Over the 40 plus years of fronting his own band, Filipowicz has played venues from here in the Midwest to Denver to stints in Texas and Mississippi. A few

years ago, Filipowicz had the opportunity to play in Mongolia. “It took all afternoon for someone to find a standard cable with quarter-inch plugs!”

Some of his fondest memories are the shows with Hound-Dog Taylor and Mighty Joe Young back in the 70’s. “That’s where I met Ken Saydak, he was with Joe

then. I never thought we’d be working together someday.” Ken appears with Paul on “Chinatown.”

10

Luther Allison was a great friend. He once told me; “I know you’re a

Bluesman and you know you’re a Bluesman, but every time you take the

stage you got to prove it!” “That knowledge has always stayed with me. It

seems like yesterday, I am truly blessed,” Paul said.

“We always had a few old beaters lying around the house,” Paul said of

the elderly Kay, Harmony and Sears guitars that gave him his first callus-

es. “But I started off playing harmonica. There weren’t too many cats

playing blues harp back in those days and it was easy to find an oppor-

tunity to get on stage.” One of those opportunities came in 1972 when

Paul was invited on stage to play blues harp with Hound Dog Taylor.

Paul played guitar and harmonica for various bands in the early 70’s, but

the passion to truly excel came in 1974 when Paul formed his first band.

“It was a four-piece band with two guitars, drums and bass. We were a

cover band, playing blues songs by just about everyone. We’d sneak in a

few originals every night – the ones you hang on to. Eventually we played

all of our own songs.”

To date, Paul has released six CD’s with the last one being; “Chickenwire”

a live album released in 2007, but that will soon change with his new CD

available March 19th. “The last few years I’ve just been keeping my nose

clean, staying out of trouble, playing gigs weekly and monthly, writing

songs, and I work on my guitar playing every day whether I have a show

or not. I try to develop new licks for myself through my playing – just to

keep my music vocabulary fresh. That’s something I continue to do. If I

can come up with one new lick per year, or approach on something, that’s

good. I’ve never been out to copy anyone – at least not on purpose.”

“New licks – I keep them in my bag and can pull them out anytime, and

then they launch me in a whole other direction. And another thing that

I’ve learned long ago; everyone seems to hit a plateau, hit the wall once

in awhile – you know, when you can’t come up with anything. When that

happens, I take everything fresh that I’ve developed and play it backwards

note-for-note. Because I finger-pick, I’m pulling up on the strings instead

of picking down – so in a way that’s also a bit like playing backwards. It

gives me a different approach toward phrasing.

Otis Rush was left-handed, but he didn’t string it backwards – Albert

King also. When I first started, I wanted to play left-handed, but my older

sister, bless her soul, brought home a guitar book and told me; ‘You’ve got

to hold the guitar this way!’ I learned how to hold a guitar and a pick

from a book and that was about it. I know some guys who are left-

handed, but they just try to learn to play what the right-handed guys play.

(Laughing) What’s with that?”

“Right now in my band I have Brian ‘Tito’ Howard playing drums. I was

introduced to Brian by Dave Faas (Soup – Appleton, WI) and I have Dave

Remitz on bass. He played with me back in the 70’s, and then he moved

down to Texas, he worked out of Austin with the Fabulous Thunderbirds,

Jimmy Vaughn and all those guys down there.

As far as the make-up of the band, I’d consider adding an organ – I like a

B3 sound, are you kidding? The new album has some bonus tracks from

1982 with guys like Fat Richard on sax – he used to play with Luther

(Allison), Smoky Logg playing rhythm guitar, Chuck Solberg on piano

(Jimmy Solberg’s older brother) – I did a whole album back in the 80’s

with Randy Joe Fullerton on bass – you can see him on the 1970 version

of Howlin’ Wolf’s Highway 49. When they’d come in off the road back in

the 70’s, they’d just give me a call and say; ‘we’re going to play those gigs

with you – we know you’ve got work lined up.’ They were all my friends

and so we did a lot of gigs together. Luther was my friend, my mentor

and all that.”

Gear Talk:

“I use a 1966 Fender Bassman head; the wires were switched around to

give it 45 watts. I use number four 6L6 ‘Groove Tubes’ in it. I have a re-

issue 1964 Fender Reverb tank that I use. With that Bassman head, I only

push one blue-label 12 inch Fender speaker. Otherwise it’s just too much

power for club action. For these small clubs it’s just right because you

have to turn the amp up to four or five to get some tone. My main guitar

is my ’73 Fender Strat (CBS era) and I have Rio Grande ‘Dirty Harry’

pickups in it. Theoretically, they’re supposed to give you a Les Paul

sound, but that doesn’t happen. Then I have a ’73 Telecaster Custom

Deluxe. I keep those two on stage at all times. The Telecaster has some

tones on it that I like on certain songs. The only pedal I use is a tuning

pedal. If I want a different tone, I switch guitars. That’s my ‘semi-purist’

approach on that. I use a tremolo pedal on some of the new songs, but

more often just switch guitars. The Tele has a coil tap too – so I get quite

a range of tones, and I do use one of my old road guitars, a ’63 Fender

Jaguar at times and I can get a lot of different sounds out of that one as

well.

I asked Paul what he thought of some of the younger blues guitarists who

have made a name for themselves in the last ten years:

“Some of these new blues guys are just hype. Some of these guys have an

‘antiseptic’ sound. It’s their take on the blues and that’s alright, but they

just haven’t been exposed to the things that I have or a lot of the other

guys who’ve been doing this their whole lives. Don’t get me wrong,

there’re some new guys out there that are pretty good. Check out Junior

Boy Jones out of Texas. But with Bonamassa, he’s an internet guy. If you

live on the internet, that’s where you think it’s at. If you live in Chicago –

that’s something else…and there are still plenty of guys in Mississippi

laying it down. It’s about authenticity. At the Chicago Blues Festival a

couple years back there was a family of kids playing the blues. They were

really laying it down – stuff like John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf. They

were good because they were hearing this music since they were young

kids, and they were great. There’s plenty of real stuff out there, but in

this media-frenzy world, you get a lot of guys who are just about hype.”

“What I’ve been trying to do all along, my whole career playing, what I’ve

been trying to bring to people who come to see my show…I try to bring

what I was exposed to when I was young, Howlin’ Wolf, Mighty Joe

Young, Hound Dog Taylor, Luther Allison and all those guys that I got to

go see live. You’d walk into these clubs and get this feeling from what

you were hearing. I try to communicate that feeling to my audience. I

saw Muddy Waters when he was in his fifties and he wasn’t some old cat

sitting on a chair (makes whining sounds here) and that’s what a lot of

people think the blues is – no way, that cat slung his guitar around – he

could level your head playing slide guitar and make everybody dance.

His album; “Hard Again” (Blue Sky Records – 1987) that he did with

Johnny Winter and James Cotton, that kind of says it.”

(Laughs) Oh come on man…okay, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, and

Sonny Boy Williamson – all those guys. When I was young, in my twen-

CContinued on Page 12

11

A PET NOTE

By: Joyce Ziehli

PAX VISITS HOTEL ZIEHLI

Now you folks that know Andy and me, know that we have always had “big

dogs” at our house. Not because that is always what I wanted, it just

happened that way. I personally have thought about getting a small lap

dog many times. Well the opportunity arose for Andy and I to watch a friend of ours, little dog. What a joy this was!!!!!

My friend and co-worker had to go away for an overnight meeting, and at the last minute her dog sitter plans fell through so she asked us to watch Pax. After I

informed Sara (and checked with Andy) that we would watch Pax, Sara mentioned “By the way, I need to tell you about a few idiosyncrasies that Pax has.” I

laughed, “Do I need a full sheet of paper?” All kidding aside, Pax was a wonderful house guest and is welcome anytime.

The scoop on Pax. . . . .

Pax is a 2 year old Yorkie who lives with Sara Patterson and her daughter Mia. Pax weighs approximately 8 pounds and is quite a handsome fellow, with his shag-

gy doo! Upon entering our house for the first time, Sara, Mia and Pax were greeted by our two ginormous Springer Spaniels, Duncan and Wylie and our leopard

sized cat, Mulder. As Pax feared for his life, and Sara’s eyes grew bigger, I promised her all would be fine once they got acquainted, and as you can see from the

photo, all was fine! One big happy family.

Pax spent most of his daytime hours with Andy up at Action Guitars. He made himself right at home and let Andy know whenever anyone entered the shop. He

would run back to the work shop area every once in a while and see what Andrew Pulver was working on. Some of the “regulars” that usually stop by once a day,

stopped in 3 or 4 times during the day just to play with him. I stopped down at lunch time and shared a little of my ham sandwich with him and took him for a

stroll in the park across the street where we encountered a box turtle in the grass. Pax wanted nothing to do with the turtle and vice versa. The turtle, nor Pax

were looking for any long lasting friendship.

On Thursday morning Andy usually meets the guys for coffee at the Fat Cat in New Glarus. Since Andy and Pax were bonding so well, Pax went along for the ride

and a cup of “whatever, I don’t know what Andy got him.” Pax also spent some time out in the studio , listening to some tunes with Doug Sies, Jim Smith and

Andy. Not sure on what his musical tastes are yet? At least he wasn’t howling, so he must of enjoyed what he heard!

Evening came and Pax was pretty tired out. Time for a little supper and then he kept giving me the “look”. You other dog owners know the look, sit down, hold

me. . . . . that look! The cat tried to get him to play, but Pax didn’t seem too interested in this task at the time. Around 9:00 PM the little fellow got in his spot,

cuddled up right next to me like a second skin and I never heard a peep out of him all night. Oh wait, I did hear him snore a couple of times. Between Andy on

his C-Pap machine, and Wylie and Pax, they had a pretty good beat going on!

One thing I know Pax didn’t like during his stay was going out in the rain. It was a cold rain and the wet grass was tickling his tummy. Believe me he really, real-

ly got into the cuddling and covering up with a blanket after coming in from that. Too bad those darn doggie duties had to be done outside!

Just when everyone is getting along and things are running smooth, Pax had to leave to go back home. Upon Sara’s return, we are one less creature in the house

and Action Guitars has one less 4 legged employee at work. All is well in the world. Pax survived his two night stay at Hotel Ziehli!!!

Photos by: Joyce Ziehli

12

Paul Filipowicz continued from page 10

If you could play with anybody live or dead, who would be in the line-up?

(Laughs) Oh come on man…okay, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Son-

ny Boy Williamson – all those guys. When I was young, in my twenties, I

always thought in the back of my head; ‘well, I can always get a job play-

ing guitar for Muddy Waters if I can’t make it on my own, but then he

died (laughs). I never thought about this before, but you know what, I’d

like to play behind Annie Lennox – I love her stuff. I’d love to play on her

stuff – there’s lots of room to put some licks in there (sings some of

‘Would I Lie to You’), and don’t forget Aretha.”

Tell us a bit more about the new CD.

“There are nine new songs and they’re my take on blues – I’m just telling

my story and that’s the way blues is supposed to be. I’m not trying to

change the world, I’m just telling my story and the blues is a feeling and

so when I play a gig, when people come to a club I try to give them that

feeling that I got

when I’d go see some-

one like Willie Dixon,

Otis Rush or those. It’s

more than a show;

I try to give them a

feeling. Not neces-

sarily getting on

my knees or doing the

splits – unless I feel

like it, but I try to

convey that feeling

that I got. On this new

album, “Saints and

Sinners,” there are a

couple of songs that do

just that – at least one

or two that came

out like I hoped they

would. Sometimes

you never know what

your music sounds like until you hear it. That’s how you learn what

you’re doing right and what you’re doing wrong and then you leave that

stuff out. Some of the songs really do a good job of giving that essence of

that blues sound. Otis Rush was a guitar genius, not just a guitarist – not

just a genius, but a guitar genius. So was Fenton Robinson. I got to sit

right in front and watch them play, but I didn’t go to try to learn because

that’s when you lose the feeling of what they’re playing. You can’t really

enjoy the moment if you’re trying to focus on what and how they’re play-

ing.”

At the moment, Paul Filipowicz is getting ready to release his newest al-

bum, “Saints and Sinners’ due out on March 19th.

The album was engineered by Steve Hamilton and digitally recorded at

“Making Sausage Music” in Milwaukee. The CD release party is being

planned for sometime in March.

As one friend put it; “A lot of guys play the blues – Paul is the blues!” I’m

fortunate to have known Paul for the last twenty years of his career and

I’ve seen him with fingers battered from roofing somebody’s barn just

hours before he plays a gig. He’ll play until his fingers are raw if you’ll let

him and frankly, I don’t see anyone trying to stop him.

Hello awesome folks at Americana Gazette!

Stone After Stone Records is proud to announce the release of The

Mascot Theory's debut album "Under The Borrowed Moon". The music of

Mascot Theory has been called "a full-fat, high-energy dose of

Americana-tinged, folk-country rock" with lyrics and melodies laced

with "passion, depth, reflection and accusation working across a

spread of influences." Specifically, The Mascot Theory's sound is

influenced by classic rockers The Beatles, Dire Straits, and like the

country songs of The Rolling Stones, as well as modern bands such as

Mumford and Sons, Dawes, Ryan Adams, The Lumineers, and The Gaslight

Anthem.

Or feel free to visit http://www.reverbnations.com/themascottheory to

stream a few of the songs off the album.

Erik Kjelland

13

(Duane Allman continued from page 4)

Numerous examples of these spirited improvisations can be heard on

the Skydog set, though the majority are found on the Allmans tracks—

particularly the live ones—and culled from select studio dates on which

Duane was given ample room to stretch out. Numbering among these are the

landmark Layla sessions and the memorable Boz Scaggs track “Loan Me a

Dime,” a recording that helped to further cement Duane’s legend as a blues

master. After a couple of rounds of impassioned solos earlier in the song, the

guitarist revs up the energy in tandem with Muscle Shoals session drummer

Roger Hawkins and is only beginning to peak at the 13-minute mark, where

the track fades—despite audible evidence that the band was clearly not done

playing.

No such premature endings to contend with on At Fillmore East, the

unbeatable double live set that contains several performances clocking in at

double digits (producer Tom Dowd, in fact, was forced to edit certain tracks,

so lengthy were some of the band’s live forays). At Fillmore East stands as

testament to the fact that The Allman Brothers were entirely in their element

on the stage, that they could find ways to keep extended performances excit-

ing, and that there was something seemingly magical about their Fillmore

shows in particular. The recording, which commonly resides on best-album

lists, inspired many a musician, Scott Rath among them.

“In 1970 I was playing slide guitar and had learned most of the songs on

the Fillmore album the best I could,” says Rath, who routinely uses the same

kind of Coricidin glass medicine bottles with which Duane first played slide

due to the initial lack of a “real” one—serendipitously defining his smooth-

fretting sound in the process. “From beginning to end, with the long jams

included, [At Fillmore East] has been the inspiration for almost every guitar

player I know,” he concludes. “Possibly the greatest live album ever.”

Pat Murphy echoes Rath’s sentiment almost verbatim, not even using

the word “possibly” to qualify the claim. “The greatest live album ever rec-

orded,” Murphy simply states, referring to the album as the one upon which

he modeled his no-nonsense approach to playing music. “There was zero

showbiz and almost no stage talk—the music was an entire piece.”

Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective, with its overarching view of

its subject, can’t boast the cohesiveness of a live Allmans document. The sto-

ry it tells may be a more detailed and fragmented one than the typical All-

man Brothers fan needs to hear, but it’s one that unquestionably deserves to

be told. Given Duane Allman’s musical and historical significance, the 129

tracks on Skydog are simply too important—and most of the time, too good—

to let slide.

Story by: Steve Morley

Dedicated to the memory of Bobby Rance, another guitarist who

left us too soon—and who, had it been possible, would certainly

have been quoted here.

(Wendy Burch Steel continued from page 6)

do more festivals (I did the CBA Father's Festival on Vern's Stage last

summer), play more gigs, and do my next CD with the group. To keep

writing and keep playing!

Joyce: Any words of wisdom for other young females trying to break

into the music business?

Wendy: I would say, don't get distracted

or discouraged; just keep going, study with

the best, and put all of your love into every

song. Be humble because there are so

many others out there better or worse than

you, make no judgments, but be confident,

bold and creative and know that no one

has your unique voice or sound; it is yours,

a gift, go for it. Never let anyone tell you

that you should not do what you're doing

because it won't make money or is imprac-

tical. And listen to your mentors who you

are sure know much more than you. You

will possibly be a mentor one day. And do

it as soon as you can, don't wait. Be supportive of your fellow musicians

on the same path as you. There is no real competition, just musical pals

on the road we all love and walk, together.

Joyce: Wendy, when you’re not doing music, what do you do for fun,

relaxation, hobbies?

Wendy: I hang out with my family in my beautiful little home and cabin

near the Redwoods, with my husband, Jon, my dogs, bird, and cat, and

my wonderful friends. I meditate when I can, do Tai Chi whenever I can,

and walk for miles in nature with my dogs. I love to garden and to cook. I

look at the stars and planets with my husband who is an amateur astrono-

mer. I go to music festivals and hang out at the ocean or in the woods

when I am blessed with time to do that. I write poetry and songs, and

sketch. I also run a business!

Joyce: Another CD in the works?

Wendy: Yes, there is another CD in the works because I am constantly

writing new songs. I already have almost all the songs for it. It will most

likely be with my band, Wendy Burch Steel and Friends, and will include a

lot of original songs, covers, and maybe a gospel song or two. I am really

looking forward to the next CD.... but I just got this one out, Open Wings,

and am still reeling from that.... it's nice. You can buy this cd at my web-

site, CD Baby and Amazon. www.WendyBurchSteel.com

Joyce: Anything you want your fans to know about you?

Wendy: That all of my songs are from my heart and soul. And from my

innate humor. That they are all stories I want to tell. I love stories, and

love when songs are stories of people and the times. I guess that's why I

like Dylan so much; he really did that, told stories and wrote so well.

Joyce: Any question you wish a writer would ask you but never has? I’m

open for whatever else you want to discuss.

Wendy: Hmm.... maybe this, do I believe in destiny and fate, for musi-

cians, that some folks are just meant to do it and be good at it? Examples

are Laurie Lewis and the others I mentioned. They just heard the distant

drummer, followed it their whole life, and it was their destiny. Yeah, I do

believe in some folk’s destiny to play the music they hear.

Please check out Wendy Burch Steel at www.wendyburchsteel.com - you

won’t be sorry!!!!!

Story by: Joyce Ziehli

Photos supplied by Wendy, her website and Mike Melnyk.

14

15

RUNAWAY HOME The Troubadour, The Guitar-Slinger & The Mountain Songbird

Runaway Home, is a “homecoming” of sorts. It was founded by three powerhouse performers looking for a road back to the music they grew up on and

loved! They met by pure happenstance at a small town venue and over the next night around the kitchen table, they discovered the sound they had been

searching for. That sound is strong three part harmony over lyrics that matter, all wrapped-up in an acoustic style reminiscent of ‘70’s era radio. You might

call them Retro-Commercial –Americana, but Runaway Home is original. To listen to them is to know them! Their sound is comfortable, engaging and easily

recognizable by those hungry for music with meaning.

Mark Elliott is the troubadour of the group. He has logged countless miles as a solo folk and bluegrass artist. The Oklahoma native was a protégé of the leg-

endary artist Tom Paxton. After opening for him in 1988, Mark found himself relocating to Nashville and signing as a writer with Cherry Lane Music - the

first of many Publishing houses. As a commercial country songwriter for Bluewater Music, Maypop Music and Sony ATV Publishing, Mark found Top 40 suc-

cess with artists such as Chris LeDoux and Neal McCoy. Mark also released 7 albums on his own and continues to write prolifically for his own projects as

well as artists.

Gary Culley is the guitar slinger of the group. Initially, he cut his teeth on guitar and songwriting as a student at the acclaimed Berklee College of Music. The

Chicago native moved to Nashville in 1991 finding success as a staff writer for Sony-Edisto Music, recorded his own CD and became an integral part of the

Country Music Hall of Fame’s Words & Music Program. Gary and Mark connected early on in Nashville and were considered musically to be “twin sons from

different mothers.” That kinship led to a successful album and touring career, playing clubs and festivals from coast to coast. The duo went on to win the

coveted Kerrville New Folk Award along with many other awards.

Lisa McCarter is the mountain Songbird of the group. She was born and raised in the heart of the Smokey Mountains. As one-third of the Warner Bros.

group, The McCarter Sisters, she released two albums and had seven hits, including three top ten singles. Lisa grew up on a tour bus, travelling the world with

acts such as Randy Travis, Brooks & Dunn and Dolly Parton. She and her sisters were frequent guests on the Grand Ole Opry and the hit television show Hee-

Haw.

Runaway Home is currently rounded out by three great musicians, drummer/percussionist Chip Chipoletti, bassist Ron De La Vega and Scottish fiddler,

Laura McGhee.

Endorsed by Elixir Strings & Taylor Guitars

www.runawayhomemusic.com

https://www.facebook.com/RunawayHome

Information taken from their website. Story to follow in an upcoming issue.