|
|
 |
This is the archive of the combined Barking Spider and Andy Broad Portsmouth Blues Site mailing lists.
For the latest information on what's on at The Bullfrog Blues Club click here
Barking Spider Promotions Mailing List |
|
Only one day to go to 11th May, when the legendary TERRY ALLEN makes it all
the way from Lubbock, Texas to appear at South Parade Pier. He'll be
supported by his son Bukka Allen. DON'T MISS THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here's a bit more info re Terry Allen - different from my last newsflash!
Terry Allen is a roots-rock- alt country music singer and songwriter, and
also a visual artist and a playwright. He was born in Wichita, Kansas, in 1943
and brought up in Lubbock, Texas, Buddy Holly's home town.
Terry's mother had been a barrelhouse pianist, of the last musical generation
to accompany silent films. She was kicked out of Southern Methodist
University in the 1920s. Terry's father, Sled, who was 60 when Terry was born, was the
promoter of musical performances in Lubbock. On Fridays he'd hold dances for
black people, and on Saturdays, he'd present country acts such as Ernest Tubb,
and Hank Williams. He also brought some of the greatest early rock 'n' rollers
and blues giants to Lubbock, such as Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Fats
Domino, and Ray Charles "These were the first cosmopolitan shows they ever had in
Lubbock where you'd find whites, blacks and Hispanics all at the same place."
says Terry.
There's a lot of pressure on Terry Allen. What can one possibly say when
forced to shoulder a legacy like that bestowed upon him in the All Music Guide:
"There may be no greater maverick in all of late 20th-century music." Not to
worry, though- Allen delivers his official response in impeccable maverick style.
"F*** you," he says. Then he bursts out in laughter. This is the
drier-than-Lubbock wit of a man who, in his musics much as in person, always seems to be a
couple of steps ahead of everyone else. But as much as he's willing to poke
fun at his own uncompromising image, that same deadly sarcasm is exactly what
keeps re-enforcing it in a music world that has been absolutely baffled by
Allen, who continues to release acclaimed albufter acclaimed album of Texas-brand
Americana music while earning himself a Guggenheim fellowship and three grants
as a visual artist- all the while tossing killer barbs at the record industry
and Nashville pop-cowboys in songs like "Gone to Texas."
Of course, if you really want to know how devastating Allen's wit can be,
just ask his friends. After one particular weekend of cutting comments at fellow
Texas singer/songwriter Robert Earl Keen's home, Keen printed a batch of
badgesthat proclaimed in bold letters "F*** Terry". Could he take it as well as he
dishes it out? "Oh, I saved up a bunch of 'em," says Allen. "I pass 'em out
periodically - just wishful thinking."
Allen is just fine with the "maverick" tag, numbering as he does Lou Reed,
Dylan and Hank Williams among his top musical heroes, and having long been
associated with the school of Texas rebels that includes his Lubbock compatriots
Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock and Joe Ely. Fans have little fear of Allen
falling into any slot. While many have discovered him through Keen's cover of
"Amarillo Highway" or his collaborations with David Byrne and Lucinda Williams
on his 1996 album "Human Remains", those who have spent a lot of time with his
work, from the landmark 1979 album "Lubbock (On Everything)" to 1999's
"Salivation" have discovered that Allen's roots-rock sound is nothing if not
eclectic, while his story-songs about everything from "a one-legged woman on the
dance floor" ("Peggy Legg") to "The Wolfman of Del Rio" are often as moving as
they are hilarious, but always served up with deadpan delivery.
Terry Allen Discography
Gonna California
(1968-Bole Creek Records-Single)
Color Book
(1968-Bole Creek Records-Single)
Juarez
(1975-Fate Records-Album)
Lubbock (on Everything)
(1978- Fate Records-Double Album) Li>Cajun Roll
(1979-Fate Records-Single)
Whatever Happened to Jesus (and Mabilene)?
(1979-Fate Records-Single)
Smokin The Dummy
(1980-Fate Records-Album)
The Arizona Spiritual
(1983-High Performance- Single)
Bloodlines
(1984-Fate Records-Album)
Cocktail Desperado
(1986-Warner Bros.-Single)
Amerasia
(1987-Fate Records-Film Sound Track Album)
Torso Hell (Radio Show)
(1988-High Performance-Album)
Pedal Steel/Rollback (Sound Tracks)
(1992-Fate Records-Album)
The Silent Majority (Terry Allens Greatest Missed Hits)
(1992-Fate Records-Album)
Human Remains
(1996-Sugar Hill Records-Album)
Smokin The Dummy/Bloodlines (Re-Release On One CD)
(1997-Sugar Hill Records-Album)
Salivation
(1999-Sugar Hill Records-Album)
Terry Allen appears at South Parade Pier on Tuesday 11th May, doors open 8
p.m.
Tickets available from (023) 92863911 (Wedgewood Rooms Box Office)