I was given a 1963 fender jazzmaster when I hit Austin and my guitar couldn't keep up with the volume down there. Stevie Vaughn got it from Lonnie Mack when they recorded their album together. I love this guitar and when Stevie died I called Lonnie and asked if he wanted it back. I sent him this cut to hear and he told me he dug it and to keep the guitar. He told me he recorded som good stuff with that guitar back in the day. I recorded everything at once and then overdubbed the guitar. It has an old school sound to it IMO that newer models don't have. Walter 1 man band with Lonnie Macks guitar 1 man band with Lonnie Macks guitar and jimmy reed beat with harp ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year in the Tunnel of Dreams Studio. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
Damn just lost the whole damn message when I went to play the recording. That be some deep blues on that Jimmy Reed style tune. Really liked the phrasing on the vocal in particular.
Lonnie Mack? Hell yeah! I first saw in Cocoa Beach '65-'66, when he had a minor hit with an instrumental version of "Memphis". Package show with a surf movie, would you believe.
Saw him again in the 70s at the Santa Monica Civic. Both shows were great but there was a moment in the Civic show I've never forgotten.
The band goes into a Bo Diddley beat when Lonnie calls this young girl on stage from the front. She couldn't have been more than 16 or so and tiny at that. Cute as a button, wearing this fringe leather jacket that she must have borrowed off her brother. It was like two sizes too big.
So Lonnie says, "You play guitar?" "No", the young lady giggles kind of nervous. So then Lonnie unslings that big ass Flying V and hangs it around her neck. One by one he puts her three fingers into an E chord and tells her to just hang on. Then he takes her wrist and gets her right hand strumming that Diddley beat. In a couple of seconds she's got it. He kind of shouts, "Now keep it going!" and steps back. The kid is now grinning like no tomorrow banging out that Bo Diddley on Lonnie Mack's guitar, on stage, at the Civic. I would bet good money she tells that story to her grand kids now.
Thanks for posting this Walter. Got to run that little movie in my head again. Love that one. ---------- LSC
Thanks for the compliment LSC and thanks for the story. Here is the guitar at the original Black Cat Lounge in Austin. I played this club more than any other and it was such a magical place that words can't describe the good vibes there. This picture captures a typical night. Note the tip jar above on the close line. It went from the door to the stage. We were making more money there a night than any other club in town paid. Once other musicians heard this they began coming in droves trying to get a gig. Paul the owner was an eccentric. He had no phone, calendar, and he only booked who he liked. Your level on the fame meter meant nothing to him. He often told me"you are the worst musician that ever played my club but you play like an old black man(he used another less dignified word) and that sound can't be learned in no book and the million guitar gods in this town can't touch it." He also told me to fire my band, put a mic under a rug, stomp it and do it all by myself. I fought him for years on that because I dug having a real band. Little did I know he was right and here I am today doing the 1 man band and could never go back to a real band full time again.
He booked me 5 nights a week when I walked in with one of my albums. He had a record player in the club believe it or not. One night Willie Nelson was there and asked to sit in. I was all excited but Paul jumped up and said "Willie you can play guitar but no singing". I have so many fond memories from that little club that held maybe 80 people when it packed like in this photo. We often would go from 10pm - 5am on weekends. Paul would lock the doors at 2am, kick everyone out except the crazy music lovers/dealers of dreams to enhance the mood, and then admitted musicians he liked as they finished their gigs and came by. Many big name touring bands/artists would stop by to listen/sit in with us. Joan Baez was one....... Crazy days of Austin long gone. The rules were loose then before it got all yuppified. Walter
---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year in the Tunnel of Dreams Studio. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
