GIANT ANTS SONG for the undergrount film. Dr. Blt with Hank Ray on lead. Save gas and vacation here at Bakotopia! Recorder at "The Buck-a-room"
All by my self, nothing to do. I went down to Trouts to watch the Blackboard Playboys. Sitting in a darkened corner watching the shadows under the bar-room lights and watching the colorful stage lights cleaming off the bottles - I wrote this song. BLT's brother from Canada came over and did the fiddle. The recording of me was done at "THE BUCK-A-ROOM"- by Dr. BLT =producer.I played the chrome resonator guitar.
Son of the Father, of Bakersfield Sound.
By Hank-Ray
GET READY FOR A HURRICANE! at the crystal palace 6th Aug (Top photo: By Dr. BLT, photo below by Dr. BLT; Roxie Thiessen photoshop, all other photos by Ray Harwood)
A city struggling to find a new identity, or maybe retrieve a lost glory, since they lost their soul; the architect of the Bakersfield Sound, Buck Owens. The Bakersfield sound was a genre of country music developed in the mid- to late 1950s in and around Bakersfield, California. Bakersfield country was a reaction against the slickly-produced, string orchestra-laden Nashville Sound, which was becoming popular in the late 1950s. Buck Owens and the Buckaroos and Merle Haggard and the Strangers are the most successful artists of the original Bakersfield sound era. Fender Telecaster "twang" with a driving beat!
Recently a large apportionment has been allotted to, restore North of the Kern River in Oildale, where much of the magic took place half a century ago. Included in the renovation is a giant mural of the Bakersfield sound; Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and the ghostly images of the dust bowl migration. Many many of the cities 322,500 Bakersfieldians don’t care, some even despise the legacy,and older country acts such as Hank Ray, The Blackboard Playboys, and Dr. Bruce Thiessen play in dark corners of the Bakersfield night without much fan fair and the Buck Owens Crystal Palace remains somewhat of a tourist destination. Bakersfield needs a defibrillator, something to bring it back to life. There has been a VERY slight swell in the tide of Bakersfield country music recently with, younger, local Punk and Metals bands picking up telecasters and playing a heavier revitalized Bakersfield sound, the anthem being “Streets of Bakersfield”, made popular by the classic duet of Buck Owens and Dwight Yokam, many years ago. In 2005 a young punk band called the Kookoonauts received a fair amount of airplay on the local station, KRAB radio with a cow-punk song called Searching, the guitar was defiantly “TWANG” and the driving drums numbed the indo-cranial cavities. The band was disbanded when the guitarist was badly beaten in one of the downtown venues on brutal streets of Bakersfield. The iron Outlaws are a fantastic Bakersfield country band with definite “Bad Religion’ overtones, especially with their tune “If I could only die for love”. We are sure to see huge things from them, and I am sure some young Bakersfield ladies have hung out wanted posters on these Iron Outlaws! As far as perpetuating the legacy of the Bakersfield sound, it is coming soon, like a tsunami on the horizon, and it is coming from the very house of Buck.
I had just gotten through touring all the old abandon Bakersfield Honkytonks from the golden age of “Nashville West” with Mr. Lloyd Reading, an alumnus of the 1930s “Blackboard craze”. When Lloyd’s daughter Anna told me her son was also into country music, this sparked more than just a flash interest and when I heard the bands demo the ink in my pen began to boil over. The band had so much drive, power and freshness it blew me away, I must have listened to it over and over a hundred times or more, and I am actually listening to it now as I put pen to paper. The band sounds to me like a cross between Alan Jackson and Social Distortion; with some Mavericks thrown in for good measure!
The name of the band is “Buckshot” and they are locked and loaded, fully loaded for buck, Buck that is, for one of the lead singers is John Owens, son of the father, of the Bakersfield Sound. John has been a hard working ranch hand and foreman on the Owens’ Horse Ranch for most of his life; he is the quintessential American Cowboy persona and carries himself in accordance. He is a caricature the west; speaks in a direct manner, he is reserved with facial expression and tone. When we first met, I couldn’t help reflecting on the 1993 western movie classic “Tombstone”; when the character Mr. Fabian (the young actor) stated to Josephine Marcus (as they exit the stage coach), when it first arrives in the dusty streets of Tombstone: “you've set your gaze upon the quintessential frontier type. Note the lean silhouette... eyes closed by the sun, though sharp as a hawk. He's got the look of both predator and prey”.
John Owens has none of attributes of a musician, save one; he has a voice bestowed on him from the father; his father, the father of the Bakersfield sound. Mr. Owens truly has the best country music voice I have ever heard.
Aside from his extraordinary voice, his band is the perfect mix of talent. Meeting the band was much like the David Allen Coe song; “Desperado's Waiting on a Train” , they area group of friends that like to hang out together and maybe share a frosty adult beverage, one day at the beach they discovered John had the Owens gift. David Allen, rhythm guitarist, whom started his music career when he got out of the Navy, plays a beautiful flamed Fender Telecaster. The Fender Telecaster is the guitar that defined the original “Nashville West” rebellion decades before. David, like all the members of the band are hard core Bakersfield born and bred, most are relatives of country royalty but they all kept it pretty close to the vest. Despite their country roots, all the band members came from an assortment of local heavy metal bands that have been shaking the walls of Bakersfield for the last decade. David traded in his beloved Fender Stratocaster for the telecaster for this new venture. When I asked David to describe “Buck Shots” music, he relaxed his arms over his Telecaster, turned his head toward the band and remarked: “You gotta look, we got a bunch of rock guys with an old school country guy so of course it’s going to have an edge, and it’s almost southern rock”.
Simon Faughn, as John Owens points out, is as far from country- in appearance- as a person could be; shaved head, Mr. Spock side burns, and two “sleeves” of tattoos down his arms. Simon sings lead along with John and their voices blend perfectly with each other. Simon describes his music relationship and influences with “Buckshot as such”: Once we start writing our own music, that’s when our real distinctive sound will emerge. Our roots will shine through; Hank III is my absolute favorite. The influential roots I pull from go way back, I like that old boon-docks –hillbilly-red neck sound, I LOVE THAT! John and I are the two lead singers and we go back and forth; he will highlight one song and then I’ll highlight the next and then we may do a duet.” Simon has played in many local metal bands over the years, in fact he is also concurrently in a popular metal band called 800LBS Gorilla, and where does and 800 lbs Gorilla sleep? Any where he wants to, even the world famous, Buck Owens ranch!
Mike Martin holds down the post of lead guitar and backup vocals, he sports a red white and blue Fender Telecaster in the tradition of Buck Owens, whose songs they cover so well. Mike screeches and twangs like the old masters and I am sure Buck would have approved. His vocal high notes are reminiscent of Buck's partner in rhyme, Don Rich. Like most of the dudes in the band Mike's family was steeped in the early Bakersfield music scene, his mother Anna was the one whom introduced us, his Grandfather, Lloyd Reading, was involved in the late 1930s honkytonk circuit.
The rhythm section of Buckshot is made up of DD Boutros on bass and Colby Swank on drums. They too came from “metal” backgrounds and sharpened their chops in Myndsick. Colby and DD create a wall of driving sound that sets the canvas for what is sure to be called a “new Bakersfield sound” masterpiece!
They started getting together and casually jamming at the Owens ranch, even today they say it is mostly for fun, from my perspective, phenomena.
Lloyd Reading, His Journey Through The Past,Part Two, Rainbow Gardens Honky Tonk
Kern County Museum BW photos.
Lloyd, his daughter Anna and myself, had just left the the old Pumpkin Center Barn Dance and I fallowed there red dodge mini van down Taft Hwy to Union Ave. I followed then in my old Dodge truck for several miles North to the "Basque Club". We pulled into the parking lot and excitedly got out of our cars. Lloyd thought the building had been torn down and moved, however it turned out that it was Union Ave that had actually been moved and the building was the same, someone had put stucco on it and taken off the large wooden panels on the front that used to open up for ventilation.
Some Basque fellows were playing handball in the back, the place was very famous for this years after Lloyd had frequented the place. The old place was closed but one of the fellows was kind enough to unlock the front door and let us have the run of it. We were in shock to see the wooden dance floor and stage just how it was the last time Lloyd was there 70+ years ago. It was an honor to sit on the same stage as Lloyd Reading over seven decade since he rocked the house and pick some tunes with him. I think it was one of the coolest things I have ever done, the best musical moment "that's -aw-foe-show". It was hot in there and the ghosts of the past were dancing around the stage as we played on, wouldn't you know it my B string tuning peg was broken and I had a sour note, the ghost audience was oblivious to my circumstance and danced on. Where is Richard at the Trouts' Blackboard when I need his tuners ear!
Next time catch a ride with Hank and Lloyd to another haunted honky-tonk!
"The Blackboard was hot, but
Rainbow Gardens
was close behind, thanks to visits by performers like the Everly Brothers, performing here in about 1958 with Buck Owens, Jelly Sanders and others" (BKS). Lloyd played in the same band with Jelly Sanders and many of the others. More episodes to come on this later!
I consider myself really lucky to have met and played music with Lloyd. He is a great
singer, guitarist and song writer. He has the voice of Ralph Stanley and writing skill of Hank Williams. Lloyd is a great source of information on the early days of country music and has toured and played with many of the greats, including Bob Wills.
He is the nicest fellow you can meet. I hope to play music with him again soon and perhaps we can get another interview! You can find Loyd at Trouts' Blackboard and Green Room for jam session, shows and festivals. Lloyd got a standing ovation at this years Bakersfield Music Festival (Buck Fest). Lloyd was also honored at the Bakersfield Music Awards at Trouts.
Interview:
I’ve been doin’ this music since I was 14. I had a band in Visalia in 1952 and had the band for 47 years, “The California Playboys”. I did all the Bob Wills stuff. I grew up with that music in Okalahoma. I had Joe Holly in my band for eight years before he passed away and we did all that stuff. I always followed that trend, because I grew up with it.
I’m going into the studio soon with my grand son, Mike, as engineer and I have a lead fiddler from the Fresno area comin’ down. She does all the Bob Wills stuff….those long….. drawn out notes, were going to get those recordings started and give them to Joe Streep.
Ya, I came here in 1938 and left and came back and I’ll be here until I die. I am proud to be here. (Hank Ray from: Bakotopia Magazine, Page 14: July 2008)
Kern County Museum for B & W Photos
"Cousin Ebb's Pumpkin Center Barn Dance"
Above Lloyd shows me the doors that he and the Bob Manning Trio used to bring there music gear into the Pumpkin Center through. What an honor this was to share this 70+ year reunion with Lloyd. The photos are taken by Lloyd's daughter Anna and myself. Bob Manning's black 1937 Chevy coupe used to park right here while Lloyd climbed out of the trunk, where he used to ride, he folded up like a human pretzel with his guitar and an accordion under him and an old stick holding the trunk lid from falling on his head.
Lloyd standing in front of where he played his music 70 years ago, on the Pumpkin Center Stage. The original asbestos tiles were put in so the bands wouldn't echo, you can still see them dangling above. Lloyd said before the tiles the echoes would mess up the band's timing.
Here is the Pumpkin Center back in the 1950s, looking much the same as it did in the 1930s, people changed. The old place still looks pretty much the same today inside and on the sides.. outside. Note the lamps are still hanging there in the modern photo above.
ABOVE: Lloyd Next to the old safe in the back office of the old Pumpkin Center Honky Tonk, 70 years later in the large quansit hut metal building.
"The earliest strains of the Bakersfield Sound emanated not from the rowdy Blackboard, but from the Beardsley Ballroom in Oildale, the Rainbow Gardens and Rhythm Ranch, both on South Union Avenue, and the Pumpkin Center Barn Dance just south of town." (BKS)
Lloyd at in the old Pumpkin Center Honky Tonk, 70 years later in the large quansit hut metal building. See the curvature of the side and the original windows that were left open to cool off the dances back in the 1930s when Lloyd laid down the swing and fiddle tunes for over 3,000 farmers, wild caters and bar room queens.
“The Blackboard was the biggest, loudest, roughest bar in Bakersfield for the better part of a quarter-century. Its owners could not have known, back in 1949, that it would become known as the freewheeling cradle of the Bakersfield Sound, the most legendary of the city’s half-dozen country-music incubation stations. But that's just what happened. Nashville had the slick studios and the celebrity mansions, but Bakersfield had raw-edged Telecaster guitars and the vague sense that something special was happening here - at places like the Blackboard.” ( Robert Price.BKS)
Lloyd Reading,1930s Bakersfield country music legend -played the Blackboard over one hundred shows here! Hank Ray, historian and country blues player, standing in front of the actual ruins of the original Black-Board. Hank had brought amps and a car power converter, for the amps -it was just too damn hot to play! It would have been really awesome to jam with a real Blackboard legend at the original spot, some 70+ years after he ripped up the joint with his tunes.
Blackboard, owned by Frank Zabaleta and Joe Limi( standing on the side-walk), was the place to be back in the day. In 1951 the cafe reopened after a major remodeling and became known around town as the hottest places to hear, non horn playing, music acts, The Blackboard’s heyday came in the decade or so starting in 1952. The famous,” Bakersfield Sound,” a string twisting –twang Fender guitar based music, with a hard driven beat, a new country music style unique to the Bakersfield area, was born and burnin’. The new building is made of cement with a brick front. Photo Courtesy of Adoph Limi.
Below show inside the Blackboard, owned by Frank Zabaleta and Joe Limi
Blackboard
(from: Kern County Museum)
The world famous landmark,"The Bakersfield sign", arched walk-over Union avenue. Even tho it defined Bakersfield, the city fathers tore it down and luckily Buck Owens stepped up to the plate and had it restored and erected on the side street next to his Crystal Palace. Even though the sign is a true piece of classic Americana, the city fought Buck all the way, just like the hypocritical S.O.B.s did on the naming of "Buck Owens Blvd", which runs in front of the Palace. This postcard was sold back in the day, this copy was from the Kern County Museum. The Palm trees were moved to the new auto mall between Gasoline Ally and Wibble Road, Near Harris St.by Stier's RV.
Painting Pictures with Time, Lloyd Reading Of Bakersfield Was There 70 Years Ago, A True Blackboard Legend!
”Saw ya won’t me ta tell ya about the Blackboard ay”
I had gone on the tour of the old Bakersfield honky tonks last week with the country music legend, Lloyd Reading . Well, yesterday was time for the king of all haunted honky-tonks worldwide, The Blackboard! I had plans to set up amps and put a converter in my old truck, so as the time drew near I packed up the gear and called Anna, Lloyd Reading's daughter . We met in front of an empty lot next door to the Kern County Museum, which had oddly enough just published an article about the Blackboard that morning in the newspaper’s magazine “Bakersfield Life”. When I first got there, I was not sure which empty field had been where the famous Blackboard stood… I set up in front of a little occupational center parking lot just north of the museum. I turned up my Hip shot-B-Bender-Stratocaster and was playing as load as I could. I suppose I was tryin’ to scar up some old Black Board ghosts, I was in the mood for a spectral dance. As I played, clad in “cowboy armor” hat-boots-gingum (sp?) shirt and blue jeans. As I played there on Chester Ave, I got a lot of looks from passers by on their trek over the bridge into Oildale. Of all the looks I got, all were inquisitive. Hey…no one thinks I am a nut! Even though it is like 120 degrees! I played my songs “Bakersfield Girl “(magazine cover model Dolly Dagger’s favorite song SEE LINK : http://www.myspace.com/cand... then I played a heavy blues version of Walk these Streets Alone
(The New York “Mercs” favorite song : SEE LINK : http://www.myspace.com/hank... Ya- it is selfless self promotion…I know!
As I waited for Lloyd and Anna, I could feel a magic about the place, even though it is hot as hell, this is indeed a haunted Honky-tonk! Just about then I saw their red Dodge Caravan parked in a lot just north of my locality. I walked over to them. Anna was the first to speak, “yer in the wrong spot, the Blackboard was over here! I ran back through the perilous Bakersfield heat and got my truck, did a "u" turn on Chester Ave. and came back around to the very South East corner of the Kern County Museum . “This is it!” Anna declared, and I replied –“ it is hotter than hell”, Lloyd responded; “this is Bakersfield!”
I set up, I decided it was just to hot to set up the equipment, so the dreams of me playing at the place of the original Blackboard, with one of its’ legends, was not going to happen today.
It is hard to describe the feelings I had being here, "hallowed ground of the Bakersfield Sound" with him, a true Blackboard Legend! I suppose it would be like a Disney fan going to Disneyland and watching the film Fantasia or Steamboat Willie with Walt Disney himself! Anyway, the heat was getting to me. So we decided to have Lloyd show me the layout of the Blackboard and how it was back in the day. He did a bee-line to the chain link fence and waived his right arm in gesture;”here is where she stood” I gazed at the empty dirt field with artifacts of the old place abundant all over the surface. “Here is where the door to the restaurant was” pointing to the South-East corner of the little field next to a large weed.
These 2 photos show Lloyd Reading pointing out where the door, bar and actual chalk covered blackboard that the bands signed in on were, in the world famous honky tonk, The Blackboard. LLOYD Reading, of Bakersfield, is one of the only surviving players from the Black-Board days. Just this year he will turn 90 years of age and is a Black-Board alumni of the late 1930s.
“Here is where the actual “Blackboard's Blackboard was,” Waiving his guitar pickin hand over to the West about 15 feet in from the current sidewalk. “What?”
I declared, there was an actual Blackboard! I suppose everyone in Bakersfield new this but me, but wow! When you walk in the door, there was a school room blackboard on your left and that is where the bands signed in to their playing slot, “played for three hours, with now breaks, unless there was a fight”. Next Lloyd showed me where the hole in the wall was where the people passed through dividing the restaurant and the bar, There was some legal or code issue, so the two had to be separate... R.T.I.…red tape issue! After this we got our “get ares” out and got some Kodak moments on film and picked a wee bit of a tribute to the ”Honky-tonk Angles” OF THIS, MOST FAMOUS OF ALL THE HAUNTED HONKYTONKS!
Lloyd Reading,1930s Bakersfield country music legend -played the Blackboard over one hundred shows here! Hank Ray, historian and country blues player, standing in front of the actual ruins of the original Black-Board. Hank had brought amps and a converter for car power for the amps -it was just too damn hot to play! It would have been really awesome to jam with a real Blackboard legend at the original spot,some 70 years after he ripped up the joint with his tunes. Note the Archaeological importance of this "historic site", From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Historical archaeology is a branch archaeology that concerns itself with "historical" societies those that had systems ofwriting (Buck and the boys all had song “ writing”). It is often distinguished from prehistoric archaeology which studies societies with no writing. However, in current international usage the term historical archaeology is particularly used, especially in North America and Australasia, to describe the archaeology of the most recent past - from approximately AD 1500 to the present - meaning that it is concerned with the material remains of the modern period.
Bakersfield sound and Blackboard artifacts everywhere, maybe Buck's guitar pick is in that old field?!
Long before Buck Owens opened the very upscale, hugely popular, Crystal Palace in Bakersfield, "he helped shape the music that would come to define Bakersfield in an unassuming little honky tonk on Chester Avenue."
The Blackboard’s was originally a cramped little wooden shack like cafe built in 1925, when Buck Owens was four years old (Buck Owens: August 12,1929- March 25, 2006.) that served breakfast to blue-collar oil and agricultural workers and had live country music at night.
Buck's son John is about to rock the damn house brotha...look on the horizon for some smoke..here comes BUCKSHOT Myndsick and Owens tother is effing awsome!!!!
Lloyd Reading came DR. BLT's Buck-a-room -Recording Studio and played many of his classic tunes and we filmed an hour long interview there about the old Black Board days in Bakersfield. Lloyd talked about the dust bowl days and when he fist met Buck Owens.
Lloyd loved the article about him in the Bakotopia Magazine, as you can see in the photo!
Lloyd especially liked the sexy cover photo of Bakersfield's CandiceHarris, aka "Dolly Dagger".
Bakersfield Independent Film Festival. Information needed on how to submit films.
DR. BLT SHOW
HAPPY 4TH OF JULY...COME BY STARBUCKS AND SEE SOME STAR-BUCKAROOS
PLAY SOME PATRIOTIC SONGS FOR BAKERSFIELD FOLKS FREE! SEE DR. BLT DO SOME DEATH DEFYING FEET'S OF DANGER..LIKE PLAYING GUITAR WITH HOT COFFEE IN HIS LAP! HIS NEW "BUCK OWENS RED WHITE AND BLUE GUITAR" CD IS OUT AND HE WILL HAVE COPIES FOR SALE, 1/2 BENNIFITS GOING TOTHE BUCK OWENS FOUNDATION.
07/04/2008 08:00 AM - Star Bucks Coffee shop
Rosedale Hwy NW by Traget
Bakersfield, California 93312
US
Cost:free
Description:4t
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