DJ Hairy Larry Presents Joe Lee And Friends playing Kinda Tawny
From The Archives Of Something Blue 2024-06-02

Thanks Marty, today we’re going to hear Joe Lee play his own arrangement of the Bill Holman song, “Kinda Tawny”.

“Boppin’ At The Forest” is the third album that I helped Joe record and release. It’s the first one where I recorded the band. On “Sounds Of The Sixties” and “Joe Lee Swings On” I digitized the music from Joe’s master tapes.

Joe had this idea. He wanted to record the charts that he arranged for his band and used when touring in Arkansas, Memphis, and all over the mid south.

Back in the day it took quite a setup to make audio recordings so live audio wasn’t recorded like it is today. But Joe still had the sheet music and he had some friends who knew how to play. So we had a project to work on.

The project was preserving Joe’s arrangements as music and recording the sound of Joe’s current band.

Joe’s new studio was his living room. I ran mic cables into his study where he kept his tapes and a bunch of recording stuff he used at Alley. I hooked the mics into a mixer board and recorded stereo to my computer. So in 2001 I was ahead of the curve doing digital recording.

Playing on “Kinda Tawny” were
Joe Lee – Tenor Sax
Craig Baker – Trumpet
Dru Davison – Bari Sax
Joy Sanford – Piano
Tom Mason – Bass
and
Mike Overall – Drums

All fine outstanding musicians with deep ties to the Northeast Arkansas jazz scene.

The results were spectacular. Joe really knew how to put it together. On “Kinda Tawny” he just kept building and building on the head, adding instruments and changing the parts. Then we’ll hear some great solo work by Craig Baker and Joy Sanford.

DJ Hairy Larry Presents Snap Crow Legs Playing Will The Circle Be Unbroken
From The Archives Of Something Blue 2024-05-26

Thanks Marty, today we’re going to hear a gospel song recorded by a rock band at the Craighead Forest Bandshell in 2011.

When they first played at the bandshell Snap Crow Legs knocked everyone out with their bright, upbeat sound. They soon became regulars playing popular repertoire that included classics from all genres and contemporary rock. On May 15, 2011, they had a little personnel update with Mitch Hollifield as their front man playing acoustic guitar and sharing lead vocals with Greg Phillips.

The recordings I made that day quickly became my favorites and not just because they invited me up to play on three songs. I love it when I go to festivals and the bands invite guests from other bands to play. I really love it when I’m the guest.

DJ Hairy Larry Presents Giant Steps Playing Perdido
From The Archives Of Something Blue 2024-05-25

Thanks Marty, today we’re going to hear a Duke Ellington tune played at KASU Jazz Thursday.

By Duke Ellington tune I mean composed by Juan Tizol, a longtime member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra. “Perdido” was first recorded on December 3, 1941. Miles Davis made it his own. He recorded it with the Tadd Dameron Quintet in 1949, released as “Wahoo”. Then again with Jimmy Forrest in 1952.

Joe Lee loved the song and often played it. The musicians Joe played it with also played in the bands, Nightlife and Giant Steps.

DJ Hairy Larry Presents Striding The Blast Playing Twist Of Fate
From The Archives Of Something Blue 2024-05-12

Thanks Marty, today we’re going to hear an original song recorded In The Loft At The Edge.

I’ve played at The Edge Coffeehouse for years either in one of the rooms downstairs or on the front porch. When I learned about their loft it was an eye opener. The room upstairs was usually used for meetings, game nights, or book clubs but it was an ideal performance venue with an obvious stage area in front of two windows overlooking the ASU campus.

DJ Hairy Larry Presents NJHB Playing El Amor Cubano La Mujer O El Caballo
From The Archives Of Something Blue May 5, 2024

Thanks Marty, today we’re going to hear a Cuban love song written and performed by the Dean of Fine Arts.

When Don Bowyer came to ASU he was looking for someone to play music with so, of course, everybody mentioned me. I was a student in the music department at the time and I played out a lot, including at our monthly New Jazz In Jonesboro show with NJHB, the New Jazz House Band.

We played all original songs and Don Bowyer is an outstanding jazz composer, so he fit right in. On February 2, 2013, he brought music for a song he wrote called “El Amor Cubano: La Mujer o el Caballo?” roughly translated as who is your true love, your woman or your horse? So the title’s funny but the song is actually quite beautiful.

DJ Hairy Larry Presents Hairy Larry Singing Promises
From The Archives Of Something Blue 2024-04-28

Thanks Marty, today we’ll hear a song I wrote recorded by some fine Northeast Arkansas musicians.

My song “Promises” was released on the album “Collaborators” by Richard Murray and Hairy Larry. The album is full of songs cowritten by Richard and myself. I’ll save that story for another podcast. “Promises” was written, music and lyrics, by me.

We ended up with nine songs and I knew just who I wanted to record them. On December 2, 2009, I got the band together. Paul Moore on electric mandolin, Corey Emerson, bass, Addison Boling, drums, and I’m playing acoustic guitar. We all lived in the Jonesboro area at the time and we all had strong ties to ASU.

Since all of the songs were originals I was the only one at the session who had ever played them before. I gave Corey some pages with the chords scratched out in pencil, my notes while writing the songs so I wouldn’t forget them. Paul is blind so he plays by ear. And our drummer, Addison, like most drummers was used to playing without written music.

The rhythm section recorded all nine songs in a two hour session. We did two takes on each song and Addison’s time was so precise that sometimes I used pieces of both takes, spliced together on the album. I added vocals, trumpet, and harmonica later as overdubs.

Like most songwriters I write a lot of love songs. When I sing a love song people come up to me after the show and ask if I wrote that song about Vivian. And I usually have to say, nope, sorry, that songs not about Vivian.

But I’m here to tell you now I wrote the song “Promises” about Vivian and I sing it from my point of view. I not only wrote the song about Vivian I’m singing it to Vivian.

DJ Hairy Larry Presents Copyright Infringement Playing Stella By Starlight
From The Archives Of Something Blue 2024-04-21

Thanks Marty, today we’re going to hear a band of young musicians play a jazz standard.

It was my great good fortune to be able to work with high school jazz musicians at the Delta Jazz Workshop for several years. I enjoyed the workshop sessions and listening to rehearsals but my favorite job was rehearsing small groups made up of workshop attendees, mostly high school students.

In July of 2018 I was given some amazing musicians including a rhythm section of young musicians who were already playing at a professional level. So this was a great opportunity to show these students the whole process, selecting songs, creating instrumental sections, writing arrangements, and rehearsing for a concert.

And we had five days to make all this happen.

DJ Hairy Larry Presents John T. Parks Playing Life
From The Archives Of Something Blue 2024-04-14

Thanks Marty, today we’re going to hear a little philosophy from a fine Arkansas songwriter.

One of the benefits of volunteering to work at KASU and recording for Something Blue is that I get to meet so many great musicians. That’s how I met John Parks, recording him at KASU live events. And there’s been quite a few of them. I can even say that over the years we’ve become friends in music, one of the best kind of friends that you can have.

On November 11, 2014, KASU booked John T. Parks to play at the KASU Coffeehouse held at the Arts@311 in downtown Jonesboro. He played solo, standing there singing while accompanying himself on a 6 string guitar. I love duets, trios, and bands, and I’ve recorded John in all of these configurations. But there’s just something powerful about a solo performance.

Especially when the performer is playing all original songs. The truth rings clear from a single voice, words and music written by the singer.

DJ Hairy Larry Presents NJHB Playing Colossus
From The Archives Of Something Blue 2024-03-31

Thanks Marty, Today we’re going to hear a radio edit of one of NJHB’s most played songs.

NJHB had their first recording session at HairyLarryLand on December 29, 2012. From that session we released our first album, “Circular Logic” that included my song “Colossus”.

In 2013 we were the New Jazz House Band playing once a month at TheArts@311 in downtown Jonesboro. Every month the personnel varied and every month we released another album.

On February 2, 2012, we recorded the album “Colossus”, with the cover art showing the Colossus Of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Then on July 6, 2013, we recorded our most accessible album, “Cookin’ For Piper” and we closed the show with “Colossus”.

This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Cottonmouth, New Orleans Suspects, and the Truett Lollis Band. For more about the show visit the Something Blue website at sbblues.com.

Don’t miss Something Blue, Saturday night at 10:00 PM CST, at kasu.org.

Truett Lollis Band Live at Darwin’s Burgers And Blues on 2015-02-02
archive.org/details/truett2015-02-02.flac16

Cottonmouth – Unreleased Recordings
archive.org/details/cottonmouth1982

New Orleans Suspects Live at Ardmore Music Hall on 2020-03-07
archive.org/details/nos2020-03-07.matrix.travitz.cafiero.ford.sbeok.flac16