George Cartwright: Stick Insect

Recently, Davey Williams spoke up to me and he said:

"George that's dang good band ys got there in the frozen zen like neither atmospheres three up way up there and:"

It was pretty good there down in Lower Alabama. The frog of time has hopped about on my memory of the show or even when the two of us got together. Two bedroom apt, Dave was working a country band playing drums and playing the immense and tremendous songs of the time. I worked part time as a bartender serving beer to anyone with a mouth to breath out of around that time.

Now, Josh, that's a different but more confusing story.

There was much talk of art and music there in LA, ideas, theories, subjections, lager, fighting, like one million drumsticks flying into the sun , our sun that is, no Pall Malls were involved! I was mostly right but you'd have to ask Dave what he thought... LOTS OF trees there in Lower Alabam, green expansive expanse, oaks, further south there are masses, messes of tall pine trees (J. B. Lenoir). Made for music.

I forgot Dave's favorite country song of the time. Give me a bit, I'll see if i can come up with it.

The visit from author Barry Hannah was a godsend. He slammed and confused and (watched the OLe miss football game carried on his shoulder to the Mayflower in Jax, MS)and sorted us out fast. He strengthened us. Josh really said, if on a desert island, Barry's books would be the ONLY ONES he would bring

NOW I of course question that wisdom and believe deeply that a few books of Calvin and Hobbs would be a great early morning hello. We did seriously consider changing our names to Facetto, Man Mortimer and Big Missy MarcineMentailaly but didn't. I wish I could remember what it was he said about that.

Barry is funny though. We fell into a... (did I say I was learning the sax(ophone) at the time? Yeop, true, got a little better every day) (not much but a bit) ('cumulates pal) ran into Josh Granowski at a huge and tremendously frothingingly sweeping and slappinginy battle of the bands at the MID South Coliseum in Memphis, TN. HOME to Jerry Lawler and Sputnik Monroe (It Came From Memphis). Josh was in a band that played 1900 staples, Dave still in a progresive country funk band that incorporated heavy metal singing and buck dancing, the REAL buck dancing where you can't move your arms. At all. ME, PRE free jazz, and or not or nil at the time Anthony (braXTon) but heading sasheingly that way in that direction forward..

Anyway, JOsh lept in the air, viscously, quoting Sputnik Monroe : "?" Leaping into the surging screaming crown chucking crowd yelling "analog analog analog" and "'death to the fascists" which no one there understood but they kindly people tham being, helped him back on the massive stage in a country political daze with 43 bands! I mean, my goodness this was a big time, ba baa!!!

So we three got to talking, ho ho ha, right, i was in a salt and pepper soul band that had one singer like al green (mem) and the other like Otis Redding. One gig we did in south, Mississippi had a story of a customer who (male) (assuming that, naturally as I was not there) had a habit of peeing into the bell of the tenor saxophonist's HORN. I kept both eyes out.

Gee, what were we talking about? Hell or heck, I don't remember.

Our band was born THAT DAY out of lanky beats, sodden and stroked. Firely energy, smiling mighty hots of fire in the air the ground ground and all in betweens! MY MAN SAID!!!!!!, energy, and the calm and the carefully tattooedly intentions frothing to the unknown breaching of music simple, fat and, if it would it did take up. We padded fiercely about, to and also.

Dave said something interesting that was interesting. Josh, my g(G?)od that man, with 17 children, 4 dogs, uncountable cats and a metal upright bass also comments.

ME it was yes all the way ;especially since I fled the ancient volcano just in time for this one gig of a giant slant falling up . The rest is in the past and is the past and relegated to the misty and weaving (a bearly used musical term) Past. Love what Wm F said about that, Past.

I just woke up with a start in St Paul ,MN all on overcast late Of (fatty daddy little ((ONE)) fall) day. Ummmmm.

I hear from Dave that he is in Italy slurping up as much well water as he can. (don't)(He will soon wake up in Robbinsdale. When he's back. Josh just got in from an all night gig in a country band playing the questionable hits of the day.

Bary did say that OC changed his life.

Thanks Davey Williams

Liner Notes copyright © 2024 George Cartwright.

Stick Insect can be purchased here.

Contact George Cartwright at All About Jazz.

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