Newsgroups: bit.listserv.allmusic
Date:         Mon, 4 Jan 1993 15:25:23 EST
From:         Scott Hammer <SCOTH@WMVM1.CC.WM.EDU>
Subject:      Catching Up From the Holidays

First a couple items of my own:

1)  While wrapping Christmas gifts, I had on MTV for purposes of mindless
    companionship, and caught a video by a band called "Jackyl."  I don't
    remember the name of the song, but it was fairly standard blues-metal
    kind of stuff, except that it featured the lead singer soloing on
    chain saw.  As Dave Barry would say, I am not making this up.  What
    the solo lacked in musicianship, it made up for in exuberance.  Is this
    (power tools as musical instruments) a new phenomenon, or have I been
    missing more than I was aware of?

2)  During the same wrapping/MTV viewing session, I saw Pearl Jam's "Jeremy"
    video.  I must admit to being impressed.  Is there any hope for me?

3)  This is mostly aimed at Ken Koester -- the Boston Camerata are playing
    here in Richmond this Friday night -- for free.  E-mail me if you want
    more information.

4)  The 'rents came through with the Byrds boxed set for Christmas -- now all
    I need is some granny glasses and I'll be ready to go.  I really enjoy
    the Byrds, but one disc of the set is all I can take at one sitting --
    all those Rickenbackers go to my head

Now to catch up on some responses:

Leonard Watkins opined:

>Saffire is another all-girl band that is very talented, they may not be your
>cup-o-tea, but they are very talented muscially.

I assume you are talking about Saffire, the Uppity Blues Women, who hail from
these parts (Fredericksburg, VA).  If so, I beg to differ.  The piano player
is an ok accompanist, the guitar player is a passable finger-picker, and the
bass player tries real hard, but none of these women is an instrumental
virtuoso, and they aren't spectacular singers, either.  The big appeal of
Saffire, as far as I can tell, is in the "Uppity:"  they have a distinct
attitude, and they aren't what one normally expects from an all-female group.

Myself, I find them offensive.  I've been booed off the stage by feminists for
singing what I thought were fairly innocuous folk songs like "Cold Rain and
Snow," so when Saffire sings about men in raunchy, demeaning, sexist terms, I
wonder why people eat it up.  If I sang about women in the same terms that
Saffire uses to sing about men, I'd be lynched or castrated.


Elsewhere, Leonard Watkins said:

>Damn Albert King died of a heart-attack last night, a true blues legend
>one of the rare guitar players who's playing is "all meat and no filler"
>An influence to count-less players i'll miss the hell out of him....W

As others have already noted, King played left-handed on a right-handed
guitar.  He was thus pulling string-bends that we righties push, which gave
him an advantage, and was responsible for his distinctive style.

The Chrome-Plated Megaphone of Destiny sez:

>Hey, who was that overweight guy with the red tights? Damn! That was Jerry
>Garcia!

Nah, everyone knows that Garcia always wears black!  As DeadHeads say: Have
A Jerry Christmas and a Happy Bob Weir!

Thumper sez:

>Hogmany!!  Don't Scots refer to young sheep as hogs??!!  This has me mighty
>suspicious!  Rev. Dave, are any of your flock involved in this
>celebration?

Q: D'ye ken why the bonnie Scotsman wears a kilt?
A: Because the wee little sheeps can hear a zipper from miles away!

-Scott "Still Exhausted from all the Holiday Cheer" Hammer
 College of William and Mary
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