Pond Slider (Lake Houston, October 25, 2013) — HDR Image by kenne
Archive for the ‘Houston’ Category
Pond Slider — No Words Friday Leave a comment
Follow Me Home 2 comments
Michael Stevenson has the blog The HOBBLEHOY.
Recently he posted a The Irish Times review of Rhiannon Gidden’s
new album with Francesco Turrisi, “They’re Calling Me Home.”
We first became aware of Giddens about 15 years ago as one of the founding members of the country,
blues, and old-time music band Carolina Chocolate Drops, where she is the lead singer, fiddle, and
banjo player. In 2008, we attended the annual Houston iFest where local and international musicians and the
“iFest New Artist of the Year,” the Carolina Chocolate Drops, were scheduled to appear.
Since then, this very talented musician and her unique artistry continue to blossom.
Carolina Chocolate Drops (April 2008) — Images by kenne
“For nearly a decade, Giddens has been heralded as a luminary in the world of Americana,
and for some time, she was one of the few African-American faces represented.”
— American Songwriter
There are no words for a voice that evokes so much complexity of emotion.
This music and video will transform you into a different place. — kenne
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Down In Houston Blues Leave a comment
Houston’s Little Joe Washington (April, 2008) — Image by kenne
“Personal inconvenience, experience, and environmental impact notwithstanding, a willingness to drive all over
and beyond Harris County has its rewards for the Houston blues aficionado wanting to make the rounds.
Not only is that travel necessary to access the various widely separated business establishments featuring live
performances on a weekly basis, but for those in the know, it’s also the key to experiencing some unique
presentations of the music — both of which evoke an earlier era.”
— Roger Wood (Down in Houston: Bayou City Blues, 2003)
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Houston’s Shakespeare Pub Leave a comment
Texas Johnny Brown at Houston’s Shakespeare Pub — Photo-Artistry by kenne
(Click on Texas Johnny Brown to see archived blog posting on TJB)
Texas Johnny Brown is a major talent who simmered on the blues scene longer than all the beef stew cooked in the ’40s, the decade when he first began playing and recording. Like pianist Johnny Johnson of St. Louis, Brown is an artist who did not get a chance to record a full album as a leader until he had been in the music business more than half-a-century. Also like Johnson, the results of coming in so late in the game have been a pair of highly acclaimed, prize-winning albums including the righteous Blues Defender. Brown can take plenty of the credit, since he has taken over almost complete control of his ow arranging, production, and mixing, as well as the string bending and blues moaning. He began his career as a sideman for the Duke and Peacock outfits in the ’50s about which discographers make comments such as “… the record keeping at that time was less than desirable.” As a result, some of Brown’s playing on releases by artists such as Lightnin’ Hopkins and Joe Hinton remains uncredited. The guitarist, singer, and songwriter began his professional career as an original member of the great Amos Milburn band known as the Aladdin Chickenshackers. Brown’s picking is killer on early Aladdin recordings by both Milburn, and on Ruth Brown’s first Atlantic sides. Atlantic allowed Brown to make a few recordings of his own in 1949, buoyed by the enthusiasm the label had for Milburn, who played behind his sideman on these sessions along with the rest of the Aladdin Chickenshackers. T-Bone Walker is the dominating force in Brown’s stylistic palette, an influence that was considered something of a driving permit for any guitarist venturing out of Houston during this period. Before finally getting the biggie recording opportunities in the late ’90s, Brown did an ARC session in Houston in the early ’50s that was never released. He also performed regularly with Junior Parker during that decade, remaining based out of Houston. As a songwriter, Brown’s most famous work is “Two Steps from the Blues,” a big hit for Bobby “Blue” Bland, with whom he also toured as a lead guitarist in the ’50s and ’60s. By the ’80s, he was considered only sporadically active on the blues scene, but this turned out to be only a temporary brown-out, so to speak.
— Eugene Chadbourne Source: allmusic.com
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Houston Skyline at Sam Houston Park Leave a comment
Houston Skyline at Sam Houston Park — Image by kenne
“Houston is an example of what can happen when architecture catches a venereal disease.”
— Frank Lloyd Wright
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Sherman — Come Away In Leave a comment
Houston Blues Legend, Sherman Roberson — Image by kenne
Don’t tell me The Blues is not a feeling!
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Christmas Past: Holidays In New Orleans 2 comments
Royale Street in New Orleans (December 2014) — Image by kenne
For years, after celebrating Christmas with family and friends,
Joy and I would go to one of our favorite ‘getaways,’ New Orleans.
Big Easy dreaming
Strolling through the French Quarter
Existential being.
— kenne
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Houston’s Trudy Lynn Leave a comment
Houston’s Trudy Lynn (October 24, 2002) at Houston’s Photofest — Image by kenne
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The Great Chris Duarte 1 comment
Chris Duarte at the Cactus Moon, Humble, Texas (January 2003) — Images by kenne
When it comes to Blues/Rock guitar players, Texas has produced some of the best.
I saw Chris live several times in the late ’90s and early ’00s, and each time his
performance drained me. He is very intense and emotional — literally mindblowing.
— kenne
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1972 Houston Skyline Leave a comment
1972 Houston Skyline (Signed Print In My Office) — by Norman Baxter
The forgetting of the history of marginalized groups
is both a cause and effect of their marginalization.
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A Dream Deferred Leave a comment
Texas Johnny Brown (11/15/09) Image by kenne
A Dream Deferred
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
— Langston Hughes
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Time To Rest The Feet 1 comment
Time To Rest The Feet (FotoFest 10/24/02) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
The female is fertile, and discipline
(contra naturam) only confuses her
Who has, head held sideways
Arm out softly, touching,
A difficult dance to do, but not in mind.
Hand on sleeve: she holds leaf turning
In sunlight on spiderweb;
Makes him flick like trout through shallows
Builds into ducks and cold marshes
Sucks out the quiet: bone rushes in
Behind the cool pupil a knot grows
Sudden roots sod him and solid him
Rain falls from skull-roof mouth is awash with small creeks
Hair grows, tongue tenses out – and she
Quick turn of the head: back glancing, one hand
Fingers smoothing the thigh, and he sees.
— from Praise for Sick Women by Gary Snyder
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COVID-19 Is Killing Live Music Venues 2 comments
Until COVID-19, gentrification was the big enemy of live music venues.
Now many these of these venues have closed forever because of the pandemic.
Maybe it’s time to bring back the old fashion bandstand in public parks.
People getting together to experience live music is a necessary
part of developing and maintaining a sense of community.
— kenne
Blue Door Texas Ice House On A Sunday Afternoon In East Texas (10/26/01) — Photo-Essay by kenne
Gene Kelton at the Blue Door Texas Ice House
Blue Door Texas Ice House
Blue Door Texas Ice House
Blue Door Texas Ice House
Blue Door Texas Ice House
Sunday at The Blue Door
Blue Door Texas Ice House
Gene Kelton at the Blue Door
Dancing to the Music of Gene Kelton and the Die Hards
(Gentrification Killed the Blue Door Years Ago.)
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Looking At Community Service Days (04-27-01) Leave a comment
Joy & Kenne at a Fund-raiser for the Harris County Sheriff (04/27/01)
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Gary Clark Jr. (09/21/01) 1 comment
Gary Clark Jr. (09/21/01) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
We first saw Gary Clark Jr. in Humble, Texas at the Cactus Moon at age sixteen (November 2000).
The original image for the above art was taken the following September
at the Miller Outdoor Theater in Houston where he appeared with Diunna Greenleaf.
— kenne
![Youlgreave [Flickr Explore 25 Jul 2021]](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51333729747_c2c1214532_s.jpg "Youlgreave [Flickr Explore 25 Jul 2021]")
