JJ Cale.....

Today was the day I learned that JJ Cale died. When I first heard the news of his passing I stopped for a minute and thought about all the music he wrote and performed. Within the next minute tears started flowing out of my eyes. The last time that happened was when Stevie Ray Vaughn died. I guess the music of JJ Cale has always been very special to me... His name came to me via two of my favorite genres of music, Southern rock and blues. Eric Clapton and Lynyrd Skynyrd. From the beginning of my concert-going days I knew who wrote some of the most popular songs the bands performed at the shows. I always had that name in my head...JJ Cale.

I don't have much to write that hasn't been written somewhere else. I will mention a quick story from a Tom Petty concert several years ago. I was waiting in the crowd for the Tom Petty show to begin and I hear this song come on the huge piles of speakers in front of me. I stop and listen to the song and then I turned and walked to the sound area to talk to the sound guys. I asked them what that was. They smiled and said "JJ Cale, Artificial Paradise." I said thanks and within a week I had the cd "JJ Cale Anthology" and I ended up playing the song on Radiomargaritaville within the next week. True story...

So here are the lyrics to a couple of my favorites from JJ Cale. He will be missed..and I don't know what else to say except maybe getting old and losing musical friends really sucks.


Artificial Paradise

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFWZu0NKA_w

Many loves in a lifetime, they seem to go astray
Many people come and go, they never seem to stay
Sometimes I kid myself, then I realize
I'm just living in an artificial paradise

A hundred times, my hopes and dreams are blown into the air
A thousand times, it always seems no one is really there
Then I know I'm fooling myself, I'm not so wise
I'm just living in an artificial paradise

Plastic state of mind, superficial clothes
Living in a vacuum, close to zero
Sometimes I kid myself, then I realize
I'm just living in an artificial paradise

Call Me the Breeze

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8uk7vlk0sE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsIqEq9OFxE

You can call me the breeze
I keep blowing down the road
You can call me the breeze
I keep blowing down the road
I ain't got me nobody
I ain't carryin' me no load

Ain't no changin' the weather
Ain't no changin' me
Ain't no changin' the weather
Ain't no changin' me
I ain't hidin' from nobody
Nobody's hidin' fom me

I got that green light babe
I gotta keep movin' on
I got that green light babe
I gotta keep movin' on
I might go up to Califonia
Might go down to Georgia
I don't know.

Burning Down the House!

All photos ©2013 Andrew Talbert Down South Productions.

Check out this very cool old guitar David is holding. You can see the check lines in the finish in this photo. (Click to enlarge the photo) This was one of the two encores. "Burning Down the House"

A quick story. When this song was popular on FM radio and MTV I was driving a four day old 1985 solid black VW Golf GTI. Very fast...I will not admit to the speed... I came through a turn at roughly 10:30 PM in Brown Summit, North Carolina just feeling the car stick like glue in the curve, grinning all the way. The radio was very loud with this song. Suddenly out of no where around a 20 MPH curve a car appears and crosses into my lane taking half of it. I drop on to the grass to avoid a collision and as I ease the car back on to the rural road I discover an eight inch drop-off to the surface of the road. The rear passenger tire catches hard on the drop and throws the car into a hard spin. I am thrown into the seat belt scarcely six inches from the steering wheel. I steer into the direction of the skid instinctively without thinking. The car spins twice very hard but never leaves the road. All I remember is the lights playing off the side ditches as I steered for my life. I have locked the brakes all the way and the circa 1985 very soft Goodyear Eagle GT tires become a $400 four day old loss. They are flat-spotted but my car is dent-free having spun twice in a very dark circle. All the while "Burning Down the House" was playing very, very loud.

That's my story. The song still rocks to this day. I even videoed the performance for you. Thank you David Byrne. That was one awesome concert!!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdr5hGN9TWg


What a great show!! Until next time, I'll see you down the road!


Watch out, you might get what you're after
Cool babies, strange but not a stranger
I'm an ordinary guy
Burning down the house
Hold tight, wait 'till the party's over
Hold tight, we're in for nasty weather
There has got to be a way
Burning down the house
Here's your ticket, pack your bags, time for jumpin' overboard
Transportation is here
Close enough but not too far, maybe you know where you are
Fightin' fire with fire
All wet, hey you might need a raincoat
Shakedown, dreams walking in broad daylight
Three hundred sixty five degrees
Burning down the house
It was once upon a place, sometimes I listen to myself
Gonna come in first place
People on their way to work said, "Baby what did you except?"
Gonna burst into flame, go ahead

Burning down the house
My house is out of the ordinary
That's right, don't want to hurt nobody
Some things sure can sweep me off my feet
Burning down the house
No visible means of support and you have not seen nothin' yet
Everything's stuck together
I don't know what you expect staring into the TV set
Fighting fire with fire

Burning down the house
Burning down the house
Burning down the house

David Byrne!

http://www.davidbyrne.com/news/index.php

I have my signed book. It is a good one...now I need to find some time to read it!! I really like the stuff I have seen in it so far...

Annie!

Rocking...

http://www.ilovestvincent.com/news/

One of my favorite pictures.....

The horn section was huge! And they all rocked!! I really liked this picture and I saw it in my brain before the shutter ever activated on this one. I love concert photographs. This was a great show! Before the show started David Byrne took the microphone and said take all the video and audio you want. Take pictures...just don't block your neighbors view with your iPad. Now here is a man who gets it. What an awesome night.

David Byrne and St. Vincent in Charlotte!

David Byrne with Annie Clark. Photos by Andrew Talbert ©Down South Productions 2013.

http://www.davidbyrne.com/news/index.php

http://www.ilovestvincent.com

For this old Talking Heads fan this was a very cool night. My daughter Alex was in a VIP seat and I was a bit back enjoying the party. It was a very cool show.