Joe Montes | Becoming is Superior to Being

Yesterday was 420 Day and with a posting on the Houston Blues Society’s Facebook page by Guy Schwartz (The New Jack Hippies), it brought back memories of Houston’s Rhythm Room.

Tommie Lee Bradley, Guy Schwartz & The New Jack Hippies at The Rhythm Room,– Image by kenne March 8, 2003

The Rhythm Room

There was a place
Somewhere near downtown
Always rock’n
Embracing the sound
Echoing in time
Without an hour clock.
Down in old H-town.

More than a room,
The grandest of joints
Rhythm was its fame
So no need to point
For people all knew
Blues was its claim
Down in old H-town.

The Room now gone
Replaced by many
So to the sound
Losing out to money
Rhythm in the blues
Forever to be found
Down in old H-town.

kenne

(First Posted Jun 13, 2010)

The following images were taken March 2003 at one of KPFT‘s Joe’s Roadhouse live shows from the Rhythm Room; followed by the Guy Schwartz and The New Jack Hippies video, “Roll My Own.”

kenne

Joe Montes Introducing Guy Schwartz and The New Jack Hippies

Guy Schwartz and The New Jack Hippies

Tommy Lee Bradley & Guy Schwartz

Guy Schwartz & The New Jack Hippies

Gloria (Soul Queen of Texas) Edwards & Guy Schwartz

Gloria (Queen of Soul) Edwards & Guy Schwartz

Trudy Lynn & The New Jack Hippies

Trudy Lynn & Guy Schwartz

Guy Schwartz – I Roll My Own (weed music video)

The TRUTH About “420” National Weed Day ! (purecrack.wordpress.com)
420: How ‘Weed Day’ Got Its Name (huffingtonpost.com)
Happy 420 Day, if You Know What We Mean [Infographic] (blogs.lawyers.com)
happy 420 day, everyone! (wtfplanet.com)
Snoop Dogg x HUF “Happy 420″ | Video (bookofswagg.net)
rhythm-room-smokin-joes-roadhouse-and-mean-gene-kelton-stardust-of-yesterdays (kenneturner.com)
capturing-the-moment-the-rhythm-room-revisited (kenneturner.com)

Joe Montes of “Smokin’ Joe’s Roadhouse” and Mean Gene Kelton at Houston’s Rhythm Room, 2003 — Image by kenne

Throughout a good part of the last decade, the Saturday KPFT programing included Smokin’ Joe’s Roadhouse, which appropriately Joe would take on the road to the Rhythm Room, later Dan Electro’s Guitar Bar, once a month. In June 2003 Mean Gene Kelton was live from the Rhythm Room on Joe’s show. Sadly, Smokin’ Joe’s Roadhouse, the Rhythm Room and Mean Gene Kelton are no longer with us.

Today the Rhythm Room has been replaced by condos, Smokin’ Joe’s Roadhouse replaced by the program, “Deadbeat” and Gene, well you can’t replace Mean Gene Kelton. However, he will always be in the hearts of the “Die Hards.”

Today while looking for some of my Big Easy Social and Pleasure Club, I ran across some of my 2003 Rhythm Room photos, each causing a trip back in time. I thought about writing a new poem, then recalled my 2005 “Stardust Memories” poem, which I share again.

Stardust Memories

The past,
is not for replay,
only for the stardust of yesterdays

Yesterdays,
in a time and place,
gently massaging forgotten dreams

Dreams,
giving clues to
our stardust memories

Memories,
fading for now,
only reborn to our imagination

Imagination,
directing the soul to
reconstruct old moments

Moments,
experiencing rapture
in the joy of our love

Love,
is the stardust of yesterday,
the music of the years to come

May these words and images gently sprinkle down on our collective stardust memories.

kenne