Shangri-La Projects

More Excellent Memphis Heat Outtakes!

2010-07-22T22:54:00.000-05:00

Memphis Heat: The True Story of Memphis Wrasslin' documentary is humming along! Almost done and the hits just keep on coming!

Don't forget to pre-order your dvd or become a special producer of this amazing film!

Meanwhile, feast your eyes on the inside scoop from a very objective, fair man, Referee Jerry Calhoun with his perspective on the Jerry "the King" Lawler vs. Andy "I'm from Hollywood" Kaufman battles. The greatest ever!

Kickstarting Memphis Heat!

2010-07-13T22:16:00.001-05:00

Ladies & Animals, great progress has been made on one of the finest documentaries to hit this great nation. Memphis Heat: The True Story of Memphis Wrasslin' is almost finished. We have busted our budget like Tojo Yamamoto choppin' your chest with a karate chop. So, we now offer you a chance to be a "special producer," become a friend of the Memphis Heat crew, or pre-buy your dvd at Kickstarter.

We thank you in advance for your support and compliment you on your fine taste in films!

More Memphis Heat Fun: Jimmy Hart Edition!

2010-07-13T21:58:00.001-05:00

Check out a snippet of outtakes coming from Memphis Heat: The True Story of Memphis Wrasslin'! This is sure to be on everyone's early Academy Award documentary list for the fall of 2010! Stay tuned!

I said, "Memphis Heat," not Memphis Beat!

2010-07-11T15:04:00.001-05:00

It's almost that time: Memphis Heat time! After a year and a half, Memphis Heat: The True Story of Memphis Wrasslin' is almost nigh.

Check out this nice little outtake from what is surely to be the film of the year at Cannes!

Are You Sirius????

2010-06-10T23:08:00.001-05:00

Well, my auspicious radio career began in January, 1985, as Sherman the Rock 'n Roll Gorilla (see photo above of guy in new wave glasses--no, not the guy wearing the Duckie Pretty in Pink costume--the guy wearing the hillbilly overalls trying to sell pumpkins) at KSPC Pomona College in January, 1985. My ratings (competing with former Memphian Rick Dees, no less) on the West Coast were so high that I was instantly hired by WCFM Williamstown for a spell there in the mid-'80s. I took summers off to host jazz shows at the now defunct WLYX Radio Rhodes (defunct thanks to a horrible decision by arts & music-hating/former industrial carpet salesman & President of Rhodes College James Daughdrill). Word got around to Memphis Institution WEVL, who gave me a massive signing bonus and a 10 year contract in the '90s to handle "the night shift." Apparently some of my legendary air-check tapes started making the rounds on the you tubes and my good friend Justin Bieber er, Justin Gage, hired me on as a sidekick to his show on Sirius Aquarium Drunkard Radio Friday, June 11th at noon & at midnight. I invited my good friend Doug EZ Easley to sit in & talk about the good ole days with me.

Check it out and vote for your favorite moldie-oldies at Sirius/XM. Thanks to all the little people who keep mailing in those requests. It's what keeps me going down to the station. You just can't keep a good d.j. down, right, Dewey!

Memphis Music: The Glory Days of 1978!!!

2010-05-23T17:06:00.002-05:00

Here is a taste of the tail end of the glory era of Memphis music...the late '70s. Check out this Billboard magazine from January 1978...it's got it all for Memphis music fans! Quotes from Sam Phillips about Paul Ackerman; tons of hype & advertisements on power-pop should-have-beens the Scruffs and Power Play Records; a great mention about how Memphis vice-squad cops were checking out the Sex Pistols in Atlanta in advance of their Memphis show; tons of great articles on the burgeoning new wave scene, new wave bands, new wave records and imports (JEM!!!); but, most importantly, a great article on Memphis' best record chain of all time, Pop Tunes. I think the photo in the article is from inside the Summer Ave. Pop Tunes, where I bought my 1st 45 around this time, C.W. McCall's "Convoy," and where I waited in line with various Raleigh/Frayser stoners for most of my teenage concert tickets (Cheap Trick/Kansas/Foghat/Aerosmith/etc). Be sure to read the whole article about the ridiculous way customers had to purchase records at Pop Tunes. Their methodology was similar to the way Service Merchandise sold vacuum cleaners or the way hard-working homesteaders bought sugar, meal, and other staples from Mr. Olson's Mercantile in Little House on the Prairie.

It's hard to believe Pop Tunes lasted as long as it did with this method--from 1945 to 2009. It was sad to see this legendary Memphis record retailer/wholesaler whimper away so ignominiously in 2009, but at least the downtown Pop Tunes' sign is slated to end up in a museum unlike the gorgeous Summer Ave. sign, which was destroyed by morons who took over the property about 10 or so years after the damn thing was restored to its splendor for Pop Tune's 50th anniversary in 1995.

P.S. The Taliesyn Ballroom where the Sex Pistols played is now a Taco Bell & the original Shirley's Poplar Tunes, started in 1945, is soon to be a sandwich shop. Yum.

(Photo Jim Shearin, courtesy of the Commercial Appeal)

Grifters Re-onion????

2010-04-26T10:00:00.000-05:00

Well, if I had a dollar for every time someone axed when the original Grifters were going to recreate those blissful early '90s glory days of rock 'n roll, I'd have 35 or 40 bucks right now. As most of you fans know, the band has decamped into two distinct sections: the rhythm, & the guitarists. For reasons I do not fully comprehend & all Grifters' fans gnash their teeth at, all reonion requests have been rejected.

However, hardcore Grifters fans can dance nakedly around a mulberry bush to the news that one faction will be tributing the Grifters with a set at Steve McGhee's fundraiser the weekend of July 29-31! It's just like the good ole days: Grifters save the day for the Antenna Club rent fund!

Busy Weekend for Memphis' Most Beloved Record Label!

2010-04-22T11:00:00.006-05:00

Spring is in the air & Shangri-la Projects Bands are Too! Come on out, America, & keep this economy rolling along! You work, you ride. Easy credit here.

Any area of the country has access to Shangri-la Projects goods this week:
East Coast: Catch the Strapping Fieldhands at Fishtown Festival live (this looks like a free show) & pick up their newly reissued cd Discus. No regrets on this seminal record (remember those???)

Memphis area Shangri-la Projects fans can enjoy some tasty live music at the Westin Sole patio the next two Wednesdays (free music! beer & burgers specials!) with Good Luck Dark Star solo from cocktail hour til 9ish--in the heart of the Fedex Forum/Gibson Guitar area of Beale St.

Also, Grifters' side-project Dragoon will play a record release party at Buccanneer Saturday night!!

Sweet Home, Alabama folks can meet & greet author Ron Hall at Charlemagne Records in Birmingham, Alabama, Saturday, April 24th from 1-3 p.m signing copies of Sputnik, Masked Men, & Midgets: The Early Days of Memphis Wrestling as well as Playing for a Piece of the Door: A History of Garage & Frat Bands in Memphis, 1960-1975 & the supremely ltd. edition The Memphis Garage Rock Yearbook. Tres cool stuff! Come on out, Birmingham!

And those of you lucky enough to live in Austin, Texas, can check out our award-winning pop stars For Her And The Snow, who will be revisiting their former home base for the first time in years at Flipnotics Friday night! Check out this excellent live show!

Thanks for all your supports and keeping the economy bubbling up! Over 21 years of kissin' ass & taking names!

Strapping Fieldhands Studio Documentary!!

2010-03-16T22:34:00.000-05:00

Here's the deal: One of the greatest bands in the world--our own Strapping Fieldhands--are featured in this cool, short video series shot in Philadelphia. Check it out here and be sure to order their new cd so you can have something to listen while enjoying the film. We are so happy they are finally getting some airtime after all these years! Enjoy.

Last Living Bluesman Fieldstone Will Roy Sanders Passes Away

2010-02-24T10:51:00.001-06:00

It is with sadness that we report that Memphis bluesman Will Roy Sanders, whose life story and band the Fieldstones were chronicled in Shangri-la Projects documentary Will Roy Sanders: The Last Living Bluesman, passed away from complications of lung cancer in Memphis, Tennessee, from February 16th, 2010.

Sanders is best known for 1st recording the song “Crosscut Saw” in the early 1960s with his band the Binghampton Blues Boys. The song was later made famous by Albert King, Eric Clapton, & any other blues guitar player who ever played in a bar band.

Sanders spent the 1970s, 1980s, & early 1990s playing with one of the toughest blues bands in the world—the inimitable Fieldstones, who played every fish fry, bbq, juke joint, & wedding in Memphis for almost 25 years. In the early ‘90s Sanders and his wife took over the legendary Green’s Lounge, the last great juke joint in Memphis and ran it until it burned down in 1997, acting as the house band every Friday and Saturday night. Green’s Lounge was the place for any blues fan or musician to visit in Memphis in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s to hear raw and excellent live blues music. Blues aficionados and musicians came to Green’s Lounge from all over the world to enjoy the good times blues of Will Roy Sanders and the Fieldstones.

Sanders is survived by his wife, Dorothy, his 18 children, & his 42 grandchildren. He will be buried at the West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery at 4000 Forest Hill-Irene in Memphis, Tennessee.

Discography:
Will Roy Sanders Live at Green's Lounge “Green’s Lounge Shuffle” 7" (Shangri-la Projects)
Will Roy Sanders The Last Living Blues Man Soundtrack cd (Shangri-la Projects)
Will Roy Sanders The Last Living Blues Man Documentary VHS (Shangri-la Projects)
Will Roy Sanders The Last Living Blues Man interview book (Shangri-la Projects)
Fieldstones Memphis Blues Today (High Water)
Fieldstones Mud Island Blues (High Water)

The Coolest Book Ever on Memphis Wrestling Is Out!!!

2009-10-18T21:27:00.004-05:00

“This book will give any wrestling fan

the Monday Night Memories…”
-Jimmy Hart, the Mouth of the South

Sputnik, Masked Men, & Midgets: The Early Days of Memphis Wrestling is out now & getting amazing reviews! You can purchase Ron Hall’s 4 year odyssey into the best of Memphis wrestling from the early 1950’s through the late 1970’s right now directly from us at our online store. We take Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, or you can mail us a check if you’d prefer. Want to order by phone? Holler at us at 901.359.3102. Ordering from outside of the U.S.? Shoot us an email and we can talk postage.
Or head down to your local retailer & pick one up:

Tennessee
Valle’s Italian Rebel 1636 Winchester Memphis
Shangri-La Records, 1916 Madison Ave., Memphis
Davis-Kidd Booksellers, 376 Perkins Ext., Memphis
Sun Studios, 706 Union Ave., Memphis
Tater Reds, 153 Beale Street, Memphis
Burke’s Books, 936 South Cooper, Memphis
Rock ‘N’ Soul Museum, 191 Beale Street, Memphis
Borders Books, 4552 Poplar, Memphis
Goner Records Cooper-Young, Memphis TN
Old Millington Winery 6748 Old Millington Rd., Millington TN
Hooked on Books, 747 W. Poplar Collierville TN
The Great Escape 5400 Charlotte Ave. West Nashville, TN
Len Rossi’s Health Food & Care Center 1605 Franklin Rd. Brentwood, TN (Get Mr. Rossi to autograph your copy when you buy it!)

Mississippi
Downtown Books, 515 Franklin Street, Corinth MS
Spice of Life Books, 1801 South Harper Rd., Corinth MS
Reed’s Books, 129 W. Main St., Tupelo MS
Lemuria Books, 4465 I-55 N # 202, Jackson MS
Square Books, 160 Courthouse Square, Oxford MS

Arkansas
That Bookstore, 316 W. Main St., Blytheville AR

Florida
Sundog Books, 89 Central Square, Seaside FL

... and of course you can always find Sputnik on Amazon.com.

Watch our commercial (just 45 seconds or so) on YouTube and get a sneak peak of what’s inside the book!

The reviews are in! Check ‘em out…

Bob Mehr in Memphis’ Commercial Appeal
Wrestling ruled: New book links Memphis grapplers, music and culture
“Sputnik, Masked Men and Midgets” is a testament to one of the enduring traditions of Memphis pop culture, but Hall simply hopes the book is as entertaining for people to go through as it was for him put together. “I want people to feel the same thing,” says Hall, “to get that same charge that I did when I would first find these pictures and clippings. Hopefully it’ll be a fun, weird, enjoyable read for everyone.”

John Branston in Memphis’ The Memphis Flyer
The King of Memphis Wrestling Books
Ron Hall’s new book Sputnik, Masked Men, and Midgets: The Early Days of Memphis Wrestling, is one of the best collections of black and white sports photos I’ve ever seen and a hell of a lot of fun.

Michael Finger in Memphis’ The Memphis Flyer Best of Memphis 2009
Best Local History Book of 2009 AND Best History Book Title of All Time. In Sputnik, Masked Men, and Midgets, Ron Hall has produced a photo album that documents the early days of Memphis wrestling, when men like Sputnik Monroe and Jackie Fargo were the rock stars of their day. Packed with wonderful images, it even includes a CD of songs performed by famous wrestlers from the 1960s. Well done, Mr. Hall.

Mike Mooneyham in The (Charleston) Post and Courier
Book Chronicles Memphis Mat Memories
Author Ron Hall and editor Sherman Willmott have done a terrific job putting together an attractive, coffee table-style volume that contains nearly 400 nostalgic black-and-white images from a bygone age in wrestling history in one of wrestling’s most enduring cities.

Mark Satrang in Pro Wrestling Examiner
‘Sputnik, Masked Men, and Midgets’ is a fun Memphis wrestling tour
Overall the book is just a fun piece of pure nostalgia for those who knew and remembered that time and place. And for other wrestling fans it is quick history lesson told through images that paint a vivid picture of a wrestling era from days gone by.

Bob Pomeroy on geminispacecraft.com
Thumbing through the wonders contained within the pages of Sputnik, one has to ask whether any greater collection of early wrestling photos, promo shots, clippings, wrestling cards, and records–actually, Sputnik comes with a CD of classics like Sputnik Monroe’s “Sputnik Hires a Band” and Jackie Fargo’s “Champ of Champs”–has ever been compiled.

Paul Ryburn on paulryburn.com
Definitely a book worth having if you’re into the rich history of Memphis wrestling.

Gary Saunders on dixiedining.com
The pictures are a treat and the accompanying bonus CD is a hoot.

Be our Facebook friend and find out about our upcoming Sputnik events!

The Rumors Are True!!! Memphis Wrassling Book Out Soon!!

2009-05-21T21:21:00.000-05:00

After four years of research, Shangri-la Projects is thrilled to announce the release of the greatest book on wrestling ever! We give you Ron Hall’s Sputnik, Masked Men, & Midgets: The Early Days of Memphis Wrestling to be released September, 2009!!!

Memphis music historian Ron Hall created a whole audience for the over-the-top Memphis garage rock scene of the ‘60s & early ‘70s with his two books: Playing for a Piece of the Door: A History of Garage & Frat Bands, 1960-1975 and The Memphis Garage Rock Yearbook as well as two compendium CD’s. The compilation CD’s gathered unbelievably rare lost 45 gems from many of the bands featured in the books. Not only did the books break all garage rock book sales records, they also revitalized the historic Memphis garage rock scene and helped many of the bands re-form 35 or 40 years later!

Now Hall has turned his attention to the also-amazing Memphis wrassling world — pre-cable, bleached hair, and steroids–with a new book Sputnik, Masked Men, & Midgets: The Early Days of Memphis Wrestling to be published by Shangri-La Projects in September, 2009. Memphis wrassling WAS the roots and forerunner of the WWF and the WWE. Many of the giants of the corporate cable wrestling world first wrestled in Memphis–including Jerry Lawler, Jimmy Hart, Lance “Banana Nose” Russell, and many others. But before Lawler, in Memphis, there was Sputnik Monroe, Jackie Fargo, Don and Al Greene, Tojo Yamamoto, and Plowboy Frazier. Why do you think Andy Kaufman put his multi-million dollar career as a comedian and actor on hold? To come be a part of the greatest wrassling territory in the U.S., of course (and to wrestle Memphis women as well!)
Hall’s book captures the insanity of the ring and the outrageous costumes and get-ups of the wildest and most original wrestling era. The book contains over 400 images of wrestlers, programs, advertisements, and other Memphis wrassling ephemera. Any professional wrestling fan must own this book!

If that is not enough, the King of Memphis, Jerry “The King” Lawler adds his thoughts about early Memphis wrestling in the book’s introduction! But, wait, there’s more…
Additionally, Hall’s book includes some of the most amazing early 1950s never-before-published live action Memphis wrestling photos from the Robert Dye, Sr. collection.

And, like all crazy releases from Shangri-la Projects, this book comes with still even more: a cd of rare recorded gems from Sputnik Monroe, Handsome Jimmy Valiant, & Len Rossi–among others!!!!
This book is a must-have for any & all wrestling fans. Read more about it at Ron Hall’s Early Memphis Wrestling Blog.

Available September, 2009! Order yours now & it will ship before your neighbors get it!

Goons Go Digital & Help Steve Jobs Retire!

2009-05-19T21:22:00.000-05:00

Memphis Goons’ long-awaited Peppo release is now available on itunes! Call up your friends at Apple, ask for the Memphis Goons newest & greatest, & download away!

Antenna Shoes’ Trumpeteer Nashon Featured in $5 Cover Series!

2009-05-14T21:23:00.000-05:00

So, Nashon Benford is one of my favorite Memphis musicians. He really rounds out and completes the sounds of many Memphis bands, delivering them a sweet, high-pitched pleasantness from his trumpet. Two Way Radio, Snowglobe, Jeffrey James & the Haul…to name a few. But you can really hear him on this delicious gem we released last year…

Check out Nashon in this week’s $5 Cover Amplified!

$5 Cover Beams Memphis Music Out to the World

2009-05-01T21:25:00.000-05:00

Well, the $5 Cover bomb landed all around Shangri-la Projects last night! Twas Craig Brewer’s best production to date, shot in mid-town/downtown Memphis last summer, weaving Memphis musicians’ soap opera lifestyles throughout their day jobs, live gigs, & personal daily lives. The “acting” was surprisingly very good in most cases for what most would agree were acting debuts by Memphis musicians (Granted every one of the musicians have “performed” in public before this so they are not new to showbiz, but only a couple of times during the series did things fall off into cheesy dialogue/bad indie film acting territory). Memphis looked great visually and sounded tasty musically. Overall, $5 is a massive improvement over the very disappointing, unfortunately cast/written/directed/acted and farcical Black Snake Moan (although the rootsy soundtrack saved the day for that flick!) and better than the interesting and edgy Hustle and Flow. Standouts are Al Kapone, who comes off larger-than-life on the big screen; Packy, the erstwhile dope-smoking scene keeper of the flame recording engineer played by Jeff Pope; Patti Pistol, who plays the bitchy boss foil to Amy LaVere (ironically, in real life, they work together at Sun Studio!); & Claude, Packy’s curmudgeonly tough-talking landlord turned Memphis music mogul.

Enough movie critiquing, let’s move some units, to paraphrase Stephen Colbert. Let’s laser in on the Shangri-la Projects’ connections in this mini-series debuting nationally tonight on MTV and playing for the next month. Let’s start with producer Scott Bomar, who was Shangri-la Records’ employee of the month June, 1996, as part of the crack crew that set sales records that still stand on the books today. Bomar has become quite the producer and studio maven working with Brewer on all of his successes since the P& H days. In addition to producing the series, Bomar composed, performed, and selected many of the tracks. (If there was a small flaw with this show, perhaps giving Muck Sticky three songs was at least one too many…).

Roy Berry makes many appearances in $5 Cover playing himself, drummer for Lucero and looking more and more like Animal all the time. Most Lucero fans—and there are tons of them and many more to come with their new tour and recently cut record at Ardent coming out soon—do not know that before the massive success of Lucero, Roy produced and recorded some of the best indie rock in Memphis in the early ‘90s. Specifically Berry recorded the 1st groundbreaking record by the Grifters, So Happy Together, (“a brilliant pastiche of noise”) at the now infamous Shops of Ann Adler where Dave Shouse and Stan Gallimore worked and the band practiced and recorded at night (as well as drove their flowershop van all over the country on tour!). In addition Roy produced and drummed for the Simple Ones Worth the Weight and 2 Cups for a Tale. Both have genius pop moments throughout and Worth the Weight is like a greatest hits of the first few years of this very popular early ‘90s indie rock group. Kudos to Roy, and the Roy Army, for all his silver screen success. Lucero fans: start stocking up on Simple Ones downloads, 45s, & cds today at your neighborhood Apple download center! Let the buying begin!

As a corollary to the Roy Berry story, many of the $5 scenes were shot across the street from Shangri-la Records at Rakapolis where legions of Memphis musicians including Jeff Evans,
Nick El Diablo, Roy Berry, Tripp Lamkins, Jack Yarber, & Brent Shrewsbury (“Nic”) have lived and recorded—including 2 Cups for a Tale as well as friend of the label Jeff Evans‘ late ‘90s yet to be released Memphis garage bonanza compilation.

Former Shangri-la Records co-conspirator and ordering guru Eric Friedl’s Goner Records was feted with many t-shirt and sticker sightings as well as label stars like Harlan T. Bobo featured. There was even one obscure Oblivians t-shirt appearance!

Cody Dickinson (as well as $5 Cover drummer/lover Paul Taylor), featured on Gutbucket’s “Where’s the Man with the Jive”–one of the rarest 7”s manufactured & distributed by Shangri-la Projects, has a small role as a musician/engineer trying to implore the voluptuous & flirtatious Clare to “be sexy” on a record.

The biggest surprise to Shangri-la Projects’ fans (present company included!) was the amount of screen time given to Antenna Shoes‘ star Tim Regan, who was wearing an Antenna Shoes shirt on-screen. The Antenna Shoes also received an on-screen recommendation for Antenna Shoes’ drummer Paul Taylor to hook up with Amy LaVere in the plot. Antenna Shoes’ Nashon, Luke, & Steve Selvidge were also given massive airtime on stage with Amy LaVere, Two Way Radio, and my favorite joke of the whole series.. Snowballs, er, Snowglobe. In fact, Snowglobe, which is basically the non-touring version of Antenna Shoes, played and starred in the climactic final episode scene. Millions of $5 Cover fans can now discover the majesty of the great Antenna Shoes Generous Gambler. Ladies & gentleman, let the downloading begin now!

All in all, $5 Cover is a great promotion for many of these bands, Memphis, & Shangri-la Projects’ artists! Thanks to Craig Brewer and Scott Bomar for helping Shangri-la Projects get these musicians the recognition and sales they deserve. MTV & MTV fans, time to enjoy some down-home Memphis music!

P.S. I went out to two live Mid-Town clubs to catch some great Memphis music after the world premiere–one was $7 cover and the other was $10 cover. $5 cover is ancient history!!!!

Attn: Fans of Memphis Pop!! Good Luck Dark Star Reporting for Duty!

2009-04-28T21:16:00.000-05:00

We are so excited about You’ll Need This new release coming out by Good Luck Dark Star!!! It is yet another masterpiece coming from the vaults of Memphis recording studios! Part Beach Boys, part Todd Rundgren, part Flaming Lips–just overall awesome rock ‘n roll. Try a taste here and don’t just take our word for it–see what the nice people at Blurt had to say about it. You do need it! Available at local download stores May 5th–along with the Memphis Goons’ Peppo!

The Unbelievable Return of the Memphis Goons!!!!

2009-04-13T21:16:00.000-05:00

You can’t keep a good band down! The Memphis Goons, who never really went away, are returning for their first album in 10 years, and their last album from 30 years ago! Peppo!

The Memphis Goons came of age 10 years after the U.S. garage-rock phenomenon and 20 years before grunge. Recording between 1968 and 1974, the Memphis Goons were largely ignored by their fellow Memphs musicians, and likewise the Goons ignored their neighborly influences of the time–Elvis, Al Green, Alex Chilton. They were indeed a clump of crabgrass sprouting in America’s rich musical soil.
The Memphis Goons recorded in the garages and basements of its members—Xavier Tarpit, Wally Moth [Vanilla Frog], Jackass Thompson, and Rover Rollover—literally one mile from Graceland. (After “successful” recording sessions, the band members would often frolic at the entrance of Elvis’ humble abode to piss on its gates). The Memphis Goons managed to ingest all that went down in the ‘60s and subsequently infuse it with the nervous propensity of a youth culture run amuck. Influenced by great garage groups such as The Stooges, The Seeds, and Grand Funk, the Goons piled the rawness of pre-punk on top of replicas inspired by Trout Mask to achieve a noisy synthesis unlike anything in popular music up till then.

The Memphis Goons named themselves after the British radio comedy team, the Goons, as well as Alice the Goon from Popeye comics. Their initials are a tribute to the MG’s of Booker T. fame. The band came from the Memphis suburb of Whitehaven. Every day after school, the group members would gather to create recording projects they were convinced would attract the attention of the music business beyond Shelby County.

That day did occur in 1969 when founder Xavier Tarpit received a personal letter from Frank Zappa on Straight label stationary, praising the recent reel of tape the band had submitted. With this inspiration, the Goons floundered forward, their dream of suburban escape nearing closer with every revolution of the tape reel.

The nut of the the Goons’ musical genius is the so-called ecstatic monkey wrench. Just when a song seems so out-of-tune or so chaotic that it is about to collapse, it comes together in an epiphany of adolescent abandonment. There are hundreds and hundreds of hours of these documented songs, with many of them only now surfacing and reaching the light.

The Goons’ projected output of albums were all sequenced, arranged, and packaged as if they were destined to be major releases, including intricate liner notes and surrealistic scrawling. In the fall of 1996 the brave Memphis label, Shangri-la Projects, Memphis’ most beloved record label, released the Memphis Goons’ first full-length CD Teenage BBQ from this treasure trove of material–a kind of “greatest hits.” The album became an instant underground success with over 50 positive reviews in online and print publications all over the world. Rolling Stone’s Alt-Rock-A-Rama called it “One of the greatest garage recordings of the 20th century!” Thurston Moore said of the Goons: “The Memphis Goons are this fantastic American rock ‘n roll story.” Fans of the then-current lo-fi sound loved the Memphis Goons and recognized their clear sense of purpose and astounding commitment to the garage sensibility. Suddenly it was apparent that the Memphis Goons were the missing link between garage-rock and the Sex Pistols’ brand of punk. Indeed.

Although the Memphis Goons practiced and recorded constantly, they never got a chance to play live, except once when they were pelted with rocks and bottles by neighborhood kids in their backyard. Therefore, Shangri-la Projects gave them that opportunity on the first day of spring in Memphis in 1998 at the 10 year anniversary of the Shangri-la Record store. There, they gave a highly successful performance, and although the members were 25 years older, the band’s aural madness moved garage rawness to an even further edge. From that moment, the Goons developed a strong base of loyal fans that continues to this day.

So, get your paypal accounts out and get ready to download some digital Peppo, as the Memphis Goons’ reissue series begins May 5th, 2009, in your favorite corner digital download store all over the world. It’s been a great year for the recording industry: 1st Bruce Springsteen, then U2, &, finally now, the long-awaited return of the Memphis Goons to save the music biz!

This Memphis Goons reissue series is dedicated to Rover Rollover, the Goons’ longtime manager & confidant extraordinaire, who passed away in January, 2009. Rover Rollover, wherever you are, the Goons miss you a whole lot!

Check Out Brian Jonestown Massacre April 11th at the Hi Tone!!!

2009-04-07T21:19:00.001-05:00

So, about a year ago, I stumbled along this show & invested almost 250$ in a ticket to the 3 day event. Meat Puppets II? Check! Built to Spill Perfect From Now On? Check! Difficult-to-catch-live Mercury Rev? Check! My Bloody Valentine 1st appearance in years? Check! My brother having a fishing cabin within 1/2 hour of the festival clinched the deal. So, I headed up to the Catskills (no Rip Von Winkle jokes, please) & actually spent the whole weekend in an area of New York I had only previously driven through on the way to somewhere else. The weather was unbelievably beautiful that late September weekend and the ATP folks caught it just right. The fishing cabin was in the quietest spot I have ever been around in the U.S. I headed over to the show Friday afternoon & drove through herds of bearded Hasidic Jews who, according to local legend, took over the Catskills some time in the last 20 years and walk in the middle of the roads like a flock of sheep in Greece just like individual African-Americans do in Memphis–paying no attention to who or what cars might be driving right down the road towards them.

After about 45 minutes, I arrived at Kutschers “Resort,” which was a cross between the Shining and what you would expect from a ’60s era Borscht-Belt hotel that had not been invested in for over 40 years. It looked cool at first with its kitschy sign out front, but after a few minutes, it was obvious this spot had been moth-balled in the ’80s and probably should have been torn down about 15 or 20 years ago. Most of the comedians performing later that evening used the hotel & its shabby, creepy environs as the bulk of their material–good stuff, but an easy target all around. Memo to ATP: if you are charging such ginormous ticket prices–easily the most I have ever paid for a concert or weekend of concerts–and you do not mail the tickets to the customer–instead of making the customers wait in a 1/2 hour line to pick up their tickets once they arrive at the venue, you should have a butler at the door of the hotel handing over the tickets in a gold-leafed envelope with a small mound of cocaine to share with Kevin Shields in the back of a limo, or, at the very least, less than 5 minute waiting lines. After waiting for 1/2 hour line to pick up my ticket, I then had to get in a line to get a bracelet to buy drinks. By then the Meat Puppets had already begun their 6:00 set. Poor planning, indeed!

However, once the music started, things went much smoother and the fun began. The Meat Puppets were awesome, and it was particularly funny hearing them play songs they had either never played live or hadn’t played live in over 20 years.

But they did a great job and then played a couple of encores. I then bounced over to hear some great comedy at the smaller ballroom–shows ran remarkably on time at this fest, with the exception of the headliner Sunday night/Monday morning. I caught funnyman Joe DeRosa, who started things off pretty well but, surprisingly, told McDonald’s jokes, which I would not have expected with this transplanted batch of Williamsburg hipsters (I think I was one of the oldest there and definitely one of the few not wearing unbelievably tight jeans and all black) making the bulk of the audience with a few Europeans mixed in. Then Eugene Mirman, who I had not noticed as landlord in Flight of the Conchords, followed. He was really good but seemed to have not done a lot of live comedy–so far so good. (At this point, I was skipping Tortoise, who are super-duper incredibly boring live–kind of like watching their cd spin in a cd player–as well as Thurston Moore’s playing of Psychic Hearts, which would have been nice to hear, but good live comedy is so hard to encounter these days so I rolled with that). Maria Bamford followed and she was the equivalent of a female Emo Phillips to me. Most of her humor bordered on the uncomfortably neurotic for my tastes, but I’m sure she has her fans. Patton Oswalt headlined this great evening of comedy & really killed with plenty of sweaty, fat jokes about himself as well as numerous jabs at the hotel and its unique ambiance. I was not familiar with his work, but I am definitely a fan now.

Then most folks headed over to catch a stellar set of Built to Spill and, as usual, they were amazing and high energy.

So, the 1st night I had a blast and caught 4 1/2 great acts in one night. I headed back to the cabin and spent Saturday with my brother and his family. I was surprised how much fun the Catskills were, all jokes aside. Saturday’s line-up didn’t do too much for me–lots of noize–Lightning Bolt/Shellac (yawn!); a few bands I always liked but have seen before & weren’t must-sees like Polvo & Low, but most were bands/acts I’d heard nothing about–(plus I didn’t get to play poker with legendary music biz curmudgeon Steve Albini, bummer!).

So, I passed on Saturday, and Sunday was very excitement, as Borat would say. (By the way, these festivals that begin at noon and end at 2:00 a.m. the next day require some planning in terms of energy, beverages, & food. The food at this festival sucked donkey dicks. They had some mediocre Mexican food and really shitty dorm burgers for sale outside by what looked like the local cheerleader fundraising group or possibly the local shriners–yep, the kind you get for weekend cookouts from the college cafeteria–and hotdogs that had been cooked a couple hours earlier and wrapped in tinfoil. This quality level of food at a festival that is so isolated and expensive was really poorly planned and totally unacceptable). I didn’t get there in time for Gemma Hayes, who sounded fine on myspace, but I started with EPMD, who had a high energy but fairly rote performance with maximum hip-hop cliches. They were pimpin’ a new album and might as well have been at a high school dance for their lack of awareness of where they were playing. I think they even gave a shout out to being in Albany (! No shit!), which was about an hour and a half away. The much-anticipated Mercury Rev followed. This is a band I have been a fan of since Rough Trade went out of business in 1991 and Grasshopper and David Baker were going cross country selling their lps and dropped by Shangri-la Records and sold us a few colored vinyl copies of Yerself is Steam. Since they rarely tour the deep South, this was my first chance to see them. Well, most of the folks who created their early ’90s gems I love are no longer in this outfit, and they were the cat’s ass. Total suckage. The few songs I endured would have been more appropriate in a Broadway musical and the lead guy should have joined the Smiths for all his artsy-fartsy movements. “Mercury Rev” was the biggest disappointment of the weekend, especially since they were the local boys done good from just around the corner. Oh, well.

Yo La Tengo was running late because of airline difficulties and played their unsettling, hurried set as if they had to catch a flight. Ira’s rushing through the set was uncomfortable to watch & hard to enjoy. Not their best day. Bob Mould was playing in the comedy ballroom so I checked that out. The irony of the weekend was that Bob Mould’s band Husker Du had really trailblazed the music world and set the stage for many of these bands playing ATP25 years earlier, but most of them had bypassed Mould in their use of noise and modern effects to squeeze the best, edgiest sounds from guitars & pedals & computers. Watching Mould play through his set of his solo stuff (with Jon from Superchunk on drums) as well as Sugar songs was like watching a band that time had passed by in slow motion. These new bands had supplanted the groundbreaking work he had done 25 years earlier with far more vivacious efforts. Such is life.

The lately omnipresent Dinosaur Jr. was cranking up their sound in the big room so I caught a couple of their really loud songs. I’ve seen them a couple times lately so even though Lou actually looked like he was having fun on this occasion, I left them to check out Brian Jonestown Massacre’s set in the smaller room. Having seen Dig! a couple years back, I knew that this Anton from BJM came off as a self-absorbed, drug-addled asshole, and his band, who has some great songs on record, could be really bad or really good. Suffice to say that their set was the best of the weekend. The only way I can describe it would be if you were really high around 1982 and caught the Dream Syndicate in a small club for one of their perfect shows. All three guitars meshed perfectly and Anton was nowhere near a douchebag. Much success. This band was awesome and the definitely the highlight of the weekend. In fact, their performance is the raison d’etre for this post. You, dear reader, have the chance to catch them this Saturday night, April 11th, at the Hi Tone here in Memphis. I would encourage music fans to attend.

Ending up the ATP weekend several hours later, My Bloody Valentine was set to hit the stage to much anticipation around midnight. Pretty much the whole crowd was there to see them by 11:30 p.m. & 1500 gathered in the big room to hear this band. Every other band ran on time this weekend except MBV so it was really unusual for everyone to wait until about 12:35 Monday morning for them to finally come on stage. Most people had been waiting in that room for over an hour. They finally began and were excrutiatingly loud. Even with earplugs. All five of the songs I heard sounded the same since they were all so loud. The wierdest thing was that Kevin Shields has been out of rock ‘n roll for so long that he had to have a roadie come out after each song and step on his effects pedals to reset them. What a total wanker! Can’t even press his own foot pedals. I left after 5 songs, fully sated with the Brian Jonestown Massacre and totally disappointed by MBV.

(If you plan on going to this year’s ATP, do not stay at Kutscher’s as all of the hotel rooms had nasty, roach-infested Motel Hell like experiences. Most of the people staying there went to Wal-Mart to buy something like a sleeping bag or rubber raft to put on the beds in order to sleep in that hotel. Also, bring your own food and plan on cooking out as there are few restaurants around there you would want to eat in. Camping is definitely cheaper and more convenient and most likely a better experience than the hotel). Kudos to ATP for an outstanding line-up, but, ATP, work on the food & hotel location! It can definitely be improved &, for that much money, the experience should have been much better.

2009-03-23T21:04:00.000-05:00

Let it be known: it was good for Memphis. The Memphis Music Foundation put together an awesome package to invade Austin’s SxSW music showcase with a busload of Memphis roots music & tasty bbq. It was the 1st time ever that Memphis organized itself in such a professional manner, and it paid off greatly in terms of showcasing the city’s great music and turning up the national press on Memphis.

So, as if there needs to be another blog about SxSw, here was my experience:

Disclaimer: the Foundation was kind enough to let me ride their bus down to Austin & back since they had an extra space. Dear reader, while I appreciate this nicety, my thoughts about the convention have not been clouded by such largesse. Boarding the bus with sodas, sandwiches, & cookies provided by the Foundation Tuesday at midnight with no window seats left to crash against, I found myself–by some bizarre nature coincidence–loaded with week-old poison ivy, and I took a place in what was Harlan T. Bobo’s seat, who also happened to be burdened by this unpleasant affliction simultaneously, perhaps he in an even worse state than I. Misery does indeed love company! Mr. Bobo is certainly one of my favorite Memphis magicians, and I duly enjoyed catching up with him and even laughed at his terrorist jokes about the bus blowing up at his behest through a bomb hidden in his headgear. I said if that happened, then the soon to be promoted MTV show would have to be rechristined 3$ Cover, due to the impending loss of most of the mid-town Memphis band scene.

Little did we know that within a couple hours, we would not need to worry about Bobo blowing up the bus, because the driver himself appeared to be on some sort of sortie suicide mission, driving recklessly through the rain like a madmen chased by Buford T. Justice, hellbent on getting Memphis music to Austin before sun-up. After a few winks at three a.m., I could no longer sleep as I was not prepared to die in my sleep while the driver zoomed up and around all manner of trucks in dangerous fashion. (Fortunately, after a sterile stop at some suburban Crackerbarrel outside of Dallas at 7 a.m., someone seemed to have mentioned to the driver that this was not a life or death mission, and he could indeed take his time on the rest of the journey). Other than some spurious drunken banter between River City Tan Lines’ Terrance and the bus driver around Little Rock, the rest of the drive down was uneventful.

Finally arriving around 2 p.m. the next day to beautiful Austin 80 degree weather, we checked into the convention and I immediately dispatched to 6th St. & a highly recommended Camino El Camino for a 3/4 lb. buffalo burger (buffalo wing sauce & blue cheese!). Now this dive bar is too cool for school. It’s one of those spots where the bartenders have to one-up everyone on piercings & tats. “You have a nose ring? Well, I gotta bone running through my nose.” “You got nipple piercings? I got my scrotum pierced to my earlobes…” One day, I’ll be that cool. Well, maybe. Well, never. I hope. Cool, obscure music you’ve never heard on the speakers & bizarre b-movies buzzing anonymously behind the bar while all manner of local hipsters & national hipsters roll in for a draft beer or two. The cooks in the back actually discourage you from ordering a burger from them, saying that it will take 45 minutes. (Actually, it took over an hour!). Anyway, the burger was damn good, esp. after a 14 hour bus ride, and I then headed to the hotel to take a much needed rest.

Woke up around 6 p.m. to a text from For Her And The Snow bassist Palli, who resides in Tejas, and offered to buy me the world’s tastiest quesadilla. We went directly to Polvo’s, an excellent indoor/outdoor spot–with an ambiance much like many restaurants in Austin–on S. 1st St. & immediately the chips, margaritas, tacos, & quesadillas began flowing. I knew I had re-arrived in Austin when the margarita hit my lips. How do they make it so much better there???

After a couple drinks, it was time to head over to the Austin Music Hall, which reminds me a lot of the new Minglewood Hall in Memphis, for the Austin Music Awards and a Doug Sahm tribute featuring Alejandro Escovedo. There was also a rumor that Roky Erickson would be appearing, but I did not expect that to happen. 1st up was the Dicks (who knew I’d ever see this troupe?) with David Yow doing “Wheelchair Epidemic” & then a great “Hate the Police”!!! Crazy way to start the trip! I love it. Tons of young punks up front & older, more cosmic types in the back. Austin rules! A few more awards–fortunately done quickly–then a Doug Sahm 2 or 3 song tribute by Sahm’s son & Augie Meyers. Not too bad as far as those things tend to go.

By this time I was pretty tired & really didn’t expect much else. Certainly I didn’t expect Roky Erickson to come out on stage, but the Black Angels played a number then brought him out.

They tried to begin “Splash 1″ and it didn’t quite work out as Roky appeared confused about the whole set-up. So they stopped and started it again, & at the right anointed moment Roky stepped up to the mic & bellowed out the words in a haunting manner that sent chills down my spine. It was an amazing and wonderful music moment and I think I was more happy for him than for me. In Memphis, we call that a Memphis music moment. Totally chilling! They followed with a decent version of “You’re Gonna Miss Me,” but it didn’t compare to the previous song. What a great and unexpected beginning to SxSW!

Next day was work, work, work at the Convention. The Memphis booth (co-run by the Tourism Foundation–pushing the new Civil Rights Documentary by Deanie Parker– & the Memphis Music Foundation) was the 1st & most prominent booth you saw when you came into the convention. While there were indeed no major labels to be seen and massive cutbacks in corporate spending at the convention this year, this lack of other competition really gave Memphis bands & music companies a major leg-up as the Memphis booth was easily one of the most exciting, crowded, & buzz-worthy of any booth at the SxSW. Lots of musicians like Jody Stephens, Two Way Radio, River City Tanlines, & the Jack Oblivions hanging out, performing acoustically or being interviewed by the omniscient MTV or MTV2 or MTVNews or MTV3 etc. Tons of cool Memphis record label and Memphis music studios or attractions passing out info promoting Memphis. Virtually everyone who passed by picked up free cds or other Memphis maps or promo material. Most folks coming by the booth either loved Memphis or have not been and want to come. Well-placed booth and very effective. I remember USO making inquiries about hiring the Bar-Kays or other Memphis bands for overseas tours, Offbeat magazine from New Orleans stopped by as did the Austin Music Commission head, a few distributors including Select-O-Hits & Sonic Rendevous checked in, LuAnn Williams, who used to run Pop Culture Press and now works for SxSW, & some guy booking a roots music conference in Germany…just to namedrop a few folks.

After a few hours of glad-handing & pimpin’ Memphis –which I did while the Memphis Music Foundation & all their employees had their massive tent directly across the street with free bbq & free Memphis music from noon to 3–I moved on to some music biz panels, which were very helpful (Long & short of every panel I went to is that the music biz is in the tank right now. Great for me–get rid of the riff-raff, Fastbuckfreddies in it for a quickbuck!). Everyone wanted to check out the Foundation tent as it was the only game in town that time of day, the weather was stellar, & the location was primo. Another grand slam for the Foundation! Nice work.

After meeting with some more distributors, I took an ASCAP/publishing house boat cruise on the local river dividing the city, talked publishing with some industry folks, & scarfed down a couple beers. Then I headed back to the hotel to prepare for a solo Howe Gelb show at the Continental Club Yeproc showcase. (please don’t expect much Memphis music coverage of SxSW here as I have seen virtually every Memphis band in Memphis ad nauseum & didn’t catch one live Memphis act other than those at the convention booth). The super silly Gelb started about 9:10 & finished by 9:35 singing his own brand of free-range expositories about payphones melting in the southwest summer heat and such. Great stuff, but obviously he wasn’t getting paid for such a short set and it thus ended too quickly. Continental was filling up as I went next door to Home Slice for some tasty New York style pizza. That was enough of a day for me.

Next day, I went to hear Little Steven mumble about the good old days and how bands should take the shaft from the record company in exchange for a 30 or 40 year career in music. As the convention began again, I chatted up the bands playing from Memphis. Two Way Radio showed up to play acoustically as did Dave Cousar, Jack Oblivion, more MTV interviewers looking for Lucero, and many others. Apparantly 8ball & MJG missed their flight & disappointed a couple hundred fans from the previous night’s showcase the Foundation put on Thursday. (Memo to Music Memphis & Memphis Music Foundation: Shangri-la Projects‘ artists don’t miss or cancel shows, leaving promoters in the lurch & other non-chosen bands screwed!) I guess they didn’t need the promotion after all. Pitched Memphis for a couple more hours then went looking for some lunch before more publishing seminars. One of the problems with SxSw is obtaining food can take forever during the fest. I opted for the massive spread being offered by the Australian government music contingent in the park across the street from the convention. Total booty: one hot dog, mustard only, after a 25 minute wait. Times are tough in these lavish SxSw private parties! Hey, it was the quickest & free-est lunch available!

After learning a fair amount at the publishing seminars (mainly the music biz is fucked and the only way to survive is to get a song or two on the next RockStar video game…Done!), I headed back to catch up with Palli who saw what was supposedly the best show of the fest, Blitzen Trapper, that evening. (Palli later played me their cd & it is indeed damn good!). We went to a taco trailer park on S. 1st & ate some very tasty tacos in a really cool setting with outdoor picnic tables/open fire, Mexican cokes, & lots of cool folk hanging out & chillin’ Austin-style. Next door was a great place with a great burger trailer in it I’ll have to try next time (even Joe hasn’t eaten burgers there yet!).

After a few tacos, we headed over to Joe’s coffee shop parking lot for a 14 piece band set by Austin superstar Alejandro Escovedo. This was one of the many free, non-SxSW events that was enjoyed by locals and out of towners equally. Just a totally kick-back 800-1000 people standing around the parking lot, drinking beer, getting high on whatever and enjoying quite possibly the best show of the week. Good on ya, Alejandro for rocking it so hard. Some of Austin’s finest musicians in this band. The weather, ambiance, & music was perfect. Just an amazing Austin night. Palli wanted to catch Dinosaur Jr. downtown so we grabbed some tasty homemade ice cream (white chocolate shake!) from Amy’s and headed that way. Palli didn’t have a pass so getting in was a bust & boring-ass Bjorn & Peter were noodling on the drums so we finally left to watch the end of the Siena basketball game (Great finish–the way the tournament is supposed to be). I was done after that.

Got up the next morning to meet the bus crew heading back to Memphis. After 3 days of hard work, schmoozing, & partying, folks were beginning to look ragged. Ran into Harlan at the hotel, who had had enough of the MTV cameras & didn’t play the Memphis music showcase the previous evening. (Memo to Memphis Music Foundation & Music Memphis: Shangri-la Projects bands do not miss their gigs!). Got on the bus & ate Pilot Wendy’s chicken & suburban Chic-fila chicken for the next 12 hours while watching Super Bad on the dvd. Back in the home of the blues. Austin seriously kicked ass and has done a phenomenal job making itself into the greatest music city in the U.S.

Great Memphis music promotion by all. This is one of the 1st times in my life Memphis as a music community has begun to promote itself in a positive way nationally. The only caveat about it all is that both Memphis Music Foundation & Music Memphis fell into the (I’m assuming, SxSW-forced) trap of over-booking Memphis roots music and pigeonholing Memphis music into something it isn’t necessarily so any more. Let’s hope they tweak their booking next year and book more bands like Antenna Shoes and Good Luck Dark Star!

So, for Shangri-la Projects it was a great week to promote our new releases by the Strapping Fieldhands, the Memphis Goons, Good Luck Dark Star, Forget Rock ‘n Roll Vol.1, Ron Hall’s newest book, & the Memphis Pops Fes t. More on all of these great items soon. Thanks for taking the time to read about these great cultural items!

Memphis Representin’ in Tejas!

2009-02-18T21:03:00.000-06:00

Shangri-la Projects will be making its first convention appearance in years at South x Southwest and our first actual appearance inside the convention itself. Come by the Memphis booth at the convention Thursday or Friday & meet us and find out what great records we are pimpin’ in 2009!

Here’s the poop on all of the Memphis acts performing at SXSW this year–March 18-March 21! (if there are any other shows, please email me the info!)

Wednesday, March 18th

No Comply Scoot Inn 1308 E. 4th St. 8:00 p.m.

Thursday, March 19th

Amy LaVere (featuring Antenna Shoes‘ Steve Selvidge & Paul Taylor!) Austin Convention Center 4:00 p.m.

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Memphis Music Foundation Showcase Lowdown Dirty Dog Bar 505 E. 6th St.

Jack Oblivian & TN. Tearjerkers 7:30 p.m.

Al Kapone 8:15 p.m.

River City Tanlines 9:00 p.m.

Free Sol 10:00 p.m.

8ball & MJG 11:00 p.m.

Lucero (featuring Roy Berry from the Simple Ones!) midnight

Bar-Kays 1:00 a.m.

Friday, March 20th

Tim Regan of the Antenna Shoes has organized a super afternoon/evening of music at Shangri-la bar (no relation to us!) 1015 E. 6th St.

I’m told it is free & begins around noon!

Dave Couser 12:00 noon

Harlan T. Bobo 1:00 p.m.

Jack Oblivian and the Tearjerkers 1:45 p.m.

Cory Branan 2:30 p.m.

John Paul Keith & the 1,4,5s 3:15 p.m.

Antenna Shoes 4:00 p.m.

Amy LaVere 4:45 p.m.

Snowglobe 5:30 p.m.

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Jump Back Jake Mother Egan’s 715 W. 6th St. 7:00 p.m.

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Tunnel Clones Prague 422B Congress 9:25 p.m.

Lord T & Eloise Prague 12:10 a.m.

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Music Memphis Showcase (At least a couple of our Antenna Shoes guys get to play another gig with Amy LaVere!)

Habana Calle 6 709 E. 6th St.

City Champs 7:00 p.m.

Harlan T. Bobo 8:00 p.m.

Ron Franklin 9:00 p.m.

John Paul Keith & the One Four Fives 10:00 p.m.

Hill Country Revue 11:00 p.m.

Susan Marshall 12:00 midnight

Amy LaVere (featuring Antenna Shoes‘ Steve Selvidge & Paul Taylor!) 1:00 a.m.

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Goner Records Daytime Party Scoot In 1308 E. 4th Street (4th & Navasota)

John Paul Keith & the 1,4,5’s 1:00 p.m.

Viva L’American Death Ray Music 4:45 p.m.

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Saturday, March 21st

Cory Branan Live.Create.Lounge 503 Neches St. 8:00 p.m.

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Free Sol Austin Music Hall 208 Nueces tba

Al Kapone 8:25 p.m.

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Goner Records Showcase (all ages)

Red 7 611 E. 7th St.

The Limes 9:00 p.m.

Harlan T. Bobo 10:00 p.m.

Jack Oblivion & TN Tearjerkers 1:00 a.m.

Lots of great Memphis tunes all over Austin! Have fun & hope to see you somewhere there. Buy me a margarita & a quesadilla!

Rockin’s Our Business & Bizness is Good!!!

2009-01-30T20:58:00.000-06:00

Here’s the Deal, the New Paradigm:

The Market Has Spoken! Music Fans Want to Buy Individual Songs. So, Shangri-la Projects is cranking up a new compilation series beginning this spring. We have a couple of spots left on our first release so, Bands, send us your best rock ‘n roll stuff today:

Shangri-la Projects

PO Box40106

Memphis, TN 38174

Send us your best original songs on a cd or cd-r, and, if they meet our unbelievably high standards of rock ‘n roll, we will release them to the world in our new compilation series.

1) Do Not Send Any Songs that have been released online, in traditional cd/lp/7″ format, or are unavailable to be published. Do Not Send Any Cover Song–only originals.

2) Do Not Send Bad Music–We only want the best rock ‘n Roll! (We’ve been doing this for over twenty years so we know what qualifies).

3) Include your contact info./myspace etc.

Priority will be given to bands in this order: bands/artists from Memphis, bands from the mid-south area, & then bands from the rest of the world.

Thanks for your attention & keep on rockin’!

The Mgmt.

P.S. If your stuff makes the cut, we’ll get back to you.

Antenna Shoes’ Maestros Featured in Mojo Magazine!

2009-01-27T20:59:00.000-06:00

Coming back from their brief, yet well-acclaimed sojourn to bloody England in December, Antenna Shoes’ Steve Selvidge & Paul Taylor, received the royal write-up in Mojo. The word is slowly seeping out about one of Memphis’ finest bands. Band leader/singer & star of the upcoming $5 Cover Amy LaVere also received some pub in the article!

Other Antenna Shoes activities coming up: new video under production and big (free) Memphis in Mayhem SxSw showcase Day Party March 20th at Shangri-la (no, not this Shangri-la!) 1015 E. 6th St., Austin, Texas beginning around 3:00 p.m.

Besides Antenna Shoes, you can check out Harlan T. Bobo, John Paul Keith and the 145’s, Amy LaVere, Jack Oblivian and the Tearjerkers, Cory Branan, & Snowglobe. Whoa, boy, howz ’bout that, folks?

Additionally, you can catch Antenna Shoes’ members Steve Selvidge & Paul “Snowflake” Taylor on Conan O’Brien February 2nd! What a year for Antenna Shoes!!!!

Grifters’ Mania is Back!!!!

2009-01-23T21:01:00.000-06:00

The return of one of Memphis‘ coolest new groups–hope you enjoyed them at our 20th Year Celebration last year–the New Mary Jane featuring Grifters’ Dave Shouse & Scott Taylor cranking up the jams at the Buccaneer Friday, January 23rd in Memphis. Come on out!

Ain’t I’m Clean????

2009-01-16T21:02:00.000-06:00

What is happening in 2009? Most busy around the Shangri-la Projects World HQ indeed! Let’s get to it:

Check this out–in tough times 5$ ain’t much to pay to see some great Memphis bands. In fact, this is even cheaper–free! Looks pretty kewl & features a whole bunch of great musicians & Friends of Shangri-la Projects–including our very own Tim Regan! Word is that it is debuting at South x Southwest this year, of which we will be attending & pimping our new releases by the Memphis Goons among other nice new listening surprises.

In the ya can’t keep a good man down dept., check out Stax’s Al Bell’s new website. Be sure to click on the Rufus Thomas video!!! Holy Smokes, Rufus is still the freakin’ best ever. I miss him more than any other Memphis musician who has died in the last fifteen years with the possible exception of Junior Kimbrough. Anyway, Rufus’ live show at Wattstax was the shiznitz–one of the two best ever (besides Sam & Dave live on ‘the ‘67 European tour!) Be sure to buy the dvd from the Stax Museum. Watch Rufus work that crowd!

Mad love to Bill Black, DJ Fontana, & especially Spooner Oldham for their inductions to the Rock & Roll Hall of Hame! Spooner not only is one of the greatest songwriters ever, but he showed up with Dan Penn at his in-store at Shangri-la Records a couple of years back and was the nicest guy in the world! I also enjoyed him touring with Neil Young back in 2000. Great show & good on ya, Spooner, for a lifetime of great tunes!

What It Do in ‘08?

2008-12-31T20:54:00.000-06:00

Wierd year, huh? Bush, Palin, Hillary, New Economic Depression…let’s get it over with, how ’bout it?

Here was some great stuff:

1) End of Bush wars/torture/destruction of the U.S.

2) Magnolia Electric Co. live for 10 year Hi Tone celebration in Rocktober. I confess a serious obsession with this great band of tunesmiths this year. Their Hi Tone show was nothing short of stunning and, quite frankly, mind-blowingly amazing. Due to its Sunday night timetable during the worst economy ever seen in these parts, only about 30 folks caught this. Where were all the tapers who are usually at the Hi Tone???? This was the one I’d love to hear again (& again).

3) Charles Hodges throwing down on keys at the O.V. Wright tribute. Charles Hodges \”Precious, Precious\” Lawd, have mercy, this man went down the alley, through the church, faced the devil, & showed him who is boss of the ivories on the spectacular 20 minute version of “Precious, Precious.” This was my penultimate Memphis music moment of the year in a year where there just weren’t enough. Nothing else came close except #9…

4) Song of the year: “Which Way to Go” Eddy Current Suppression Ring Way to go, Goners!

5) Return of Burn Notice for another season of great ’80s action/detective/intrigue cheese.

6) All Tomorrow’s Parties in the Catskills–more on this amazin’ line-up later. Quite simply, too much great entertainment on a beautiful fall weekend in a much-lampooned & maligned part of the country.

7) Return of Ellen’s Soul Food. Don’t get no better than this!

MouseRocket Pretty Loud lp Mainly these days, I buy records at shows by bands whose live show I like. I didn’t buy too many great records this year. This was one that stood out. Also good was Thomas Function Celebration

9) Terry Manning blasting the walls at the Hi Tone at the Memphis Pops Fest with his interstellar version of “I Am the Cosmos.” I felt like the guy in the Maxell tape commercial.

10) Robert Pollard returning to Memphis & high-kicking again! The man is a scientific wonder. He didn’t kick as often as usual, but, goddamn, this guy is rocknroll. Another blessed moment in the Hi Tone’s awesome 10 year celebration in Rocktober.

That’s all. Someone call in the adults to clean-up this mess Bush & Cheney made. Then we can get back to rocking the Casbah. Whatever.