My nice life

I am cooking dijon pork chops, asparagus and rice for my family's dinner tonight. My son is practicing his trombone in the living room; my daughter is doing her reading assignment on the couch in the den so she won't have to worry about doing it after gymnastics. My wife is still at work at the job she loves. Tonight, I have a rehearsal with the Well Respected Men.

I love my nice life, and I just wanted to share that with you.

Dennis Linde - Under the Eye

So you know how sometimes you get the feeling you're finally going to find the one thing you've been looking for forever on this very day? You've looked high and low, bypassing the obvious eBay route where it lies, overpriced and miles away. You've gone to every store at least twice, asking the snotty clerks who neither know who you're talking about nor care a fig. Months of this behavior can make one feel desperate or even a little crazy--does it still exist? Is it as good as I remember it being, or am I delusional? 

When you finally do run across that copy of Under the Eye, Dennis Linde's 1977 release on Monument Records, you stifle a little yip for fear that the hippie guy at the counter might hear you in time to add another number to the left of the price. Because the price is SO right, especially considering what the record goes for on eBay. 

Today was that day.

Dennis Linde, as you likely know, wrote "Burning Love," recorded by Elvis Presley, the King's last top-ten hit. He wrote "Christmas Eve Can Kill You" by the Everly Brothers. Dennis also wrote "Goodbye Earl" that was a Dixie Chicks standout cut. And he wrote and co-wrote dozens of other songs for country artists like Alan Jackson, Roger Miller, Arthur Alexander and Billy Swan, none of whom had any problems writing great songs of their own.

Under the Eye was an album that came into my life courtesy of the cut-out bin at the Musical Maze record store in Manhattan. With its bizarre cover featuring an outsized old-style fuse hurtling toward Earth, the album didn't exactly cry out as a natural listen. But the first song on side one was "Down to the Station." Linde's version of his B.W. Stevenson hit. Just didn't sound like anything I'd heard before, not even B.W.'s take; it was full of little tweaky sounds, tiny funky guitars, cheesy synth bass, loads of backing vocals. All of these things made me sit up and listen. And I loved it. I played that song over and over again, absorbing the minutiae. 

The rest of the album was as adventurous and dizzying: "There Goes My Heart Again" had a celebratory, nearly bombastic chorus; "The Good Ship Rock and Roll" was an anthem in search of a larger audience; his take on "Ghost Riders in the Sky" was nothing short of insane.

As with so many of the records I collected over the eons, Under the Eye and a couple of the other Linde solo albums I'd collected disappeared. Probably either in a big purge before a move or possibly as a Katrina aftereffect, all I know is it was gone. Then the turntable was no longer a part of my stereo systems, and no Linde records ever made the leap to digital, unfortunately. (When I become king of the world, I will make sure that some sort of anthology by Dennis Linde will become available as one of my first beneficent acts.)

I've spent the last couple of years waiting for this day, and I'm happy to report that Under the Eye is still the breathtakingly weird and wonderful experience I remember it being. Linde died almost ten years ago, but his music retains the maverick goodness that made it so fine in the first place.

Labor Day

My family is spending the Labor Day weekend at Pine Knoll Shores, NC, an island community between Atlantic Beach and Emerald Isle, that boasts a big old oceanside hotel called the Clam Digger Inn. 

I think it's safe to say that it's been many years since any renovations have been made here, despite coming under new management at the start of the summer; that's a mixed blessing, I guess. The bathrooms are starting to pull apart at the seams, the acoustical tiles are sagging with 'atmosphere' and other guests seem to be dining mainly on Miller Lite, judging from what they were hauling up the elevators last night. It looks like the hot tub is where most of the action is going to be, judging from the clientele and various Yelp reviews of the place.

But at the same time, the lobby and restaurant are sort of charming, with a 60s suburban den sort of decor, which is to say 'dark wood-panelled to the nth degree.' Seafood is served Calabash-style (meaning 'battered and fried' I think, and named after a town in NC), and if you're in a big hurry to be somewhere after supper, forget about it. The food comes when it and the server are good and ready. There's also a bar here in the building somewhere, but I've yet to see it.

And we come for the sand and the water anyway. The fears that Hermine would be potentially wrecking our time here have abated with the bright sun and tide. Only one question: when did it become acceptable to bring your portable speakers out to the beach, to serenade everyone in earshot with Today's Hot Country? Doesn't work for me, sorry. The waves are the music I most want to hear here.

I managed to throw my back out right before we left Durham. So I've been hobbling around on my great grandfather's cane, living on ibuprofen and half-cut iced tea. I'm trying not to spoil the vacation for anyone else, but it has put something of a crimp in my enjoyment of the beach proper (hard to negotiate sand with a cane, I find). But that's okay, there's reading to be done, and I'm truly digging A Pound Of Paper: Confessions of a Book Addict by John Baxter, in which guitar-god-turned-antiquarian-book-dealer Martin Stone plays a pivotal role.

Pine Knoll Shores is just down the island road from Salter Path, where my parents owned a house for many years. It was a sweet little cinderblock rectangle, painted bright yellow, and my parents loved going there to fish and shell and generally relax. It had three bedrooms, a living room/kitchen area, a bathroom and a tiny screened porch that looked out over the Atlantic. They finally sold it when it became too much work to keep it up--the stairs down to the beach were inevitably thrashed and trashed by hurricanes, requiring rebuilding every year; and renters were often inclined to leave damage or messes or take things that belonged to us. 

Every year, my dad took pictures of the house from every imagineable angle, and every year, the encroaching condo world of Pine Knoll Shores loomed larger and larger in the background. 

That was probably the last place my mom and dad regularly left home to visit. I never got to spend as much time there because the time that they owned it was mostly after I was out of the house and in the throes of early adulthood.

We drove down Hoffman Beach Road on our way in yesterday to discover that the house was still there, albeit upgraded significantly. It's been extended in both directions, and there's even a garage built on in front of the old garage. It appears that the previously unmowable yard gets mowed with regularity nowadays.

Part of me wishes I could go say hello to whoever's there, but I sense it'd be a renter and I'd freak them out and invade their privacy, so I won't. But it makes me happy to know that our little bungalow has lived on in spite of the build-up of the whole island. My parents would be pleased as well, I think.

I wish you all a happy Labor Day weekend, and I hope it's as sweet as ours has been so far. We get to make our own memories and relive some old ones, too, even if we have to hear the lilting tones of Luke Bryan from a few chairs down the row...

Stand Against HB2 Finale - Cat's Cradle - Carrboro NC - November 6

In the words of George Sanford, "it's the big one." 

Make plans to attend now. We need you.

The final concert of the Stand Against HB2 series will be held November 6 at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC.

General admission is $15 in advance, $20 at the door, with all proceeds going to help EqualityNC.

Here's who's playing:

The dB's.

The Fabulous Knobs.

The Love Language.

The Veldt.

Foxture.

Henbrain.

Pre-Raphaelites.

Olsen Twins.

My 3 Sons.

Happy Abandon.

Onward Soldiers.

Blue Cactus.

the grand shell game.

Matt Phillips & the Back Pocket.

Pinto.

Brett Harris.

6 String Drag.

Tres Chicas.

Robert Kirkland.

Rod Abernethy.

Ur Mom.

Orlando Parker, Jr.

Follow this link for the Cat's Cradle event page with individual band links.

Follow this link for the Facebook event invitation--because I'm not on there anymore, please feel free to share it in my absence.

Follow this link to donate to the Stand Against HB2 GoFundMe page, because it would help a lot, too.

Stay on the rails no matter what

Apologies to the constant reader of this blog who silently passes months while waiting for me to get it together to write something (and to everybody else). I could say 'life got hectic' or something similar, but I've just gotten derailed from my regimen. School's back in for my effervescent children, so I will do my utmost to stop being like Tootle and stay on the rails no matter what.

No single yet. Technical difficulties continue to haunt progress. We do have a beautiful video filmed, thanks to the talent and graces of Dan Andrews and Mike Allen. As soon as there is vinyl in hand, we'll release this striking work that will accompany "Don't Mention the War." 

I got to be 'stick singer' for two songs at Be Loud Sophie 2016, the fantastic charity working to support adolescent and young adult cancer patients and their families at UNC Hospitals. Earlier in the afternoon, the Well Respected Men did a short set; I came back 6 hours later, and the party was still going on! Lots of local faves on that set of great tunes: Tim Smith, Mac McCaughan, Greg Humphreys (who smoked everyone with a powerful Hobex set)..."it's just stars after stars after stars"... I sang "A Million Miles Away" by the Plimsouls and "Dance Hall Days" by Wang Chung (!), and the audience seemed to dig it quite a lot; I never know what to do with my hands when there's not an instrument in them, so I played shaker egg with nervous energy on Wang Chung and gesticulated constantly on the other. 

I have made a conscious decision to get off Facebook. The amount of time and emotion I had tied up in my existence there was absurd. I will miss having contact with my many friends there (although I'm still available on FB Messenger and may have to maintain a 'music page' of some sort), but I'm getting off my ass and doing something instead of drowning. And I don't think I'll miss at all the uncivil and abusive political discourse that's accompanied this year's presidential campaign; my pulse rate has already subsided considerably. 

On a sad note, my sweet friend Monty Lee Wilkes died this past weekend from unconquerable cancer. Monty was The dB's soundman/tour manager for years, part of a fabulously successful career, working with so many different artists for years--everyone got Monty's best at the board, a formidable sound artisan. He had a snide wit, a good/bad attitude and loved his rock music; he made us sound better than anyone else ever did. We roomed together, poring over fashion magazines and microphone test results, using gallons of hairspray and listening to everything from the Shaggs to EZO. It was probably the easiest touring we ever did in that band, thanks to Monty's competence and spirit. The last time I saw him was when Hootie was on a festival lineup with the artist he was mixing, Lisa Marie Presley. Monty got to do it all, and he did it all so well. He will be loved and missed by his friends and family. 

Monty Lee Wilkes 

Photo from Suburbs Archives

Recap, Wrap-up, Catch Up - Well Respected Men, Peter Holsapple with the Forryst Bruthers, Little Diesel, Baron Von Rumblebuss

Little Diesel
Photo by Ed Speas
L to R: PH, Bob Northcott, Will Rigby, Phil Thomas, Tommy Eshelman

Sorry, I got sorta behind here. Gigs, gigs, gigs! Let me start by saying all of the shows over the past couple of weeks have been just wonderful, reaffirming for my return to music. Hell, I nearly feel professional, even!

1. The Well Respected Men - The Garage, Winston-Salem - June 25

The Well Respected Men
Photo by Laura Hart
L-R: PH, Glenn Jones, Jeff Hart, Andrew Snee

The mighty Kinks kover band opened the Near Strangers' album release party at Winston-Salem's Garage, a club that's defied the odds by staying open for years in a town that doesn't make that an easy thing to do, for some reason. The Well Respected Men played Kinks favorites for an hour to an appreciative crowd, including some who decided they'd dance, which is always gratifying. The celebrants' band, fronted by Lee and Susan Terry, sounded excellent, what little I could stay for. They have sweetness and soul in abundance. The new Near Strangers' album, Echo Reverse, is a worthy addition to your already overloaded record collection, so go forth and get it.

2. Peter Holsapple with the Forryst Bruthers - Millennium Center, Winston-Salem - Stand Against HB2 - June 26

My first foray into the fray with the new ensemble. The Forryst Bruthers, a standalone bunch of pros, took time from getting their own act together to serve as my accompanists. James Wallace and Mark Simonsen, both of whom you know from these pages as the producers of my new single, are Bruthers, as are Aaron Oliva and Evans Nicholson, and the four of them have a tight-but-loose sound that seems to complement my tunes nicely. So we practiced a few of 'em and headed down to Winston-Salem for Stand Against HB2. I'm pretty sure the folks in the audience enjoyed the set, which was followed directly by Winston's own Luxuriant Sedans who are what a blues band can sound like with arrangements and rehearsals and no reliance on long jammy jams. 

3. Little Diesel - Millennium Center, Winston-Salem - Stand Against HB2 - June 26

 

Little Diesel
Photo by Florence Dore
L to R: PH, Will Rigby, Phil Thomas,
Bob Northcott, Tommy Eshelman

If anything might have overshadowed my first nervous performance with the Forryst Bruthers earlier in the afternoon, it was likely the first show by Little Diesel, Winston-Salem's first real garage rock band, in over 40 years. Bob Northcott, Will Rigby, Tommy Eshelman, Phil Thomas and I ripped through half a dozen songs from the No Lie album to a wildly enthusiastic crowd, many of whom were around for our first incarnation as R.J. Reynolds High School seniors in the mid-1970s. We even did two originals, our paean to the legendary skin-flick drive-in theater "Flamingo" and our theme song "Kissy Boys." We had so much fun we made plans to do it all again one day soon.

4. Baron Von Rumblebuss - Festival For the Eno, Durham - July 4 

Mush pit

My final performance as The Black Hole with Tray and Kathleen Batson's band, Baron Von Rumblebuss, took place on a soggy stage surrounded by mud and a raging Eno river. Despite the meteorological conditions, it was a bright and fun set of the brilliant kids music that Tray has been writing and recording. Mark Simonsen has been my rhythm partner in the band, and I will miss the locking we were able to accomplish together. The new BVR release Summer-Sonic is coming out this summer, appropriately enough, and we played a number of songs from it, as well as hits like "Did You See Where the Cat Threw Up" to a damp but appreciative audience. The band was joined by ace flautist Tim Smith, with whom I'd played in Hobex several years earlier.

L to R: Mark Simonsen, Tim Smith,
PH as The Black Hole

I have had a great time playing with the band, but it's gotten difficult recently to play bass because of damage to my left hand and arm from a fall a couple years ago that has not improved. So I'm moving along, but not without sadness and gratitude to Tray, Kathleen, Mark, Steve Carr and the late Matt Brown for being a part of a grand adventure for seven years.

5. Peter Holsapple with the Forryst Bruthers - Festival For the Eno - July 4

Photo by Kathryn Wall

After a few inspired tunes by the Bruthers, I took center stage for a set of mostly new songs. It felt just fucking fantastic to be doing a show with a band again. We had a couple small misfires, but overall, the tunes were handled with the appropriate care and feeding, and I think that the audience was happy to hear new stuff from me finally. It was a trial by fire in my own mind--"do I still have what it takes?" as my song "Game Day" says. Apparently, I do. We had a ball, and again, I hope to do more shows with Mark, James, Aaron and Evans sooner than later. They're busy lads, so we'll need to carve some space in their collective calendars. It felt right, it felt natural, it was a fine experience and I'm so delighted to have been invited to play at the Festival For the Eno.

"What, me worry?"
Photo by Kathryn Wall
L to R: Aaron Oliva, PH, James Wallace

Hizzoner Saves the Day - Baron Von Rumblebuss, Chatham Community LIbrary, 6/17/16

The Baron and his Barbie fans

Want to hear a good story?

On Friday, I had a gig with Baron Von Rumblebuss at the Chatham Community Library. BVR is a kids rock band (music for kids, not by them) started by Tray Batson some years ago. Tray is a music therapist at Duke hospital, and BVR is a logical extension of his work as well as his love of good power pop music. The Baron writes the tunes and sings lead on most, with capable backing from his cohorts Princess Lulu La Li (Kathleen Batson on vocals, keys and wind instruments), Pofus Fimonfen (Mark Simonsen on drums) and yours truly, The Black Hole (on Fender bass).

Recently, I've been having issues of soreness in my left hand and arm.

Comparative sizes
of P-Bass (L)
and Mustang Bass (R)

Tray, who moonlights as a bassist, offered me the use of his Fender Mustang Bass which is far lighter and shorter than my own Precision Bass. So that was the plan going into the library show.

I drove out to Pittsboro and got to the library around 4:15, forty-five minutes before our show was scheduled to start. Tray and Kathleen were already setting up the PA, and Mark had pulled up to unload his kit. I looked around for the Mustang case. Tray realized he had forgotten to bring it and looked stricken. We were bassless, in a manner of speaking.

We began looking for possible options. I said, "well, I can use your twelve-string and fudge the low stuff on that" which was met with blank stares. That conjured up images of the Cramps, sort of. We also started trying to think of anyone in a nearby radius that might be in possession of a Fender bass. Former BVR lead guitar whiz Peebo Flash (noted high-end amp builder Steve Carr) got a call and a text message, as did Beth Turner who was BVR's original bassist; I even tried Jeff Crawford from Arbor Ridge Studio, about 8 miles back up the road. Nothing.

As we cogitated our next move, a tall bearded man entered the room and walked toward the stage area.

I'm not the kind of guy who does this ordinarily, but I looked up at him and said, "Do you have a bass?"

He paused, looked at me and said, "Well, actually I do have a bass."

"Where is it?"

"At home."

"How far away is home?"

"About five minutes away."

"Let's go."

We began walking toward his car and continued our conversation along the way to his house. 

He was apparently aware of who I was and had seen me play a number of times and guises. I asked him his name and what he did.

"Actually, I do have a bass."

His name was Randolph "Randy" Voller, and his prior occupations were Mayor of Pittsboro NC for four terms, after which he became chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party. I was fairly stunned by this, but Randy and I talked easily of many things like different eras of Kinks fans, state politics, and his radio program and house concerts. 

We swung by his lovely home, and he let me borrow his 'house bass.' I met his wife Lesley who rode back with us to the library. Randy and Lesley let me off out front, and I raced in to join the band, about five minutes before the show was scheduled to start.

So it began.

We rocked the kids, the show was saved, but the story is not over.

At the end of the show, Beth Turner came up to me and said, "That's my bass." I said, no, it belonged to the mayor as I'd just gotten it from him. Beth said, "No, it actually belongs to my husband. Randy's brother." I said, "oh," and she continued "And don't call him 'the mayor,'" rolling her eyes. "He's not the mayor anymore."

After all was said and done, Beth very kindly returned the bass, her bass, to her brother-in-law, Hizzoner, the former mayor of Pittsboro and head of the NC Democratic Party. I drove home to Durham, shaking my head at the circumstances and grateful to have made several new friends out of a case of the direst necessity. 

Update from my branch

Well, here it is mid-June and no record yet.

My apologies to those waiting breathlessly for it. Parts of it are really finished. Others, not as finished.

I am not the world's biggest self-starter or multi-tasker, so this bidness of getting a record together is slightly challenging.

Test pressings were not pressed well, so I'm sorting that out. Cover art has been sent to a professional (Skillet Gilmore) who is making it so I can send it to the folks making the covers.

I'm also getting ready to put together a video of the a-side since it's bound to be a natural for that sort of treatment. More on that later.

I have shows coming up which feature my record's producers

James and Mark

James Wallace and Mark Simonsen and their talented and adaptable pals Aaron Oliva and Evans Nicholson, a quartet collectively known as the Forryst Bruthers. We play a short set at Stand Against HB2 - NC Musicians United for EqualityNC and QORDS (4:00 p.m.) in Winston-Salem, NC Sunday, June 26. This band sounds good, turns on a dime and makes me feel confident about rocking the songs we're doing. This unit is also playing at the 37th Annual Festival For the Eno on July 4 at 4:00 p.m. which is apparently when we are at our best. As tempting as it may be, we will not be performing "Needles in the Camel's Eye."  Although we probably should.

Also at the Stand Against HB2 show on June 26 will be the first performance in 41 years of the original Little Diesel, Winston-Salem's first punk band. You will not want to miss this.

So maybe I have been multi-tasking after all. Anyway, I didn't want you to think I'd forgotten about putting the record out. It's well underway and worth the wait, but the wait is just a little longer than I'd thought.