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Woe to all my English friends who fear for my pronunciation... I'm celebrating my release from the hospital by attending a Hank Williams III concert at a little club on Easter night, this Sunday.
It's 'Hellbilly' music, sounds like his grandpa Hank Williams on speed.
I expect to sound (and probably look) like gen-yoo-ine All-American Trailer-Trash by Monday morning.
My poor friend Stephen will gnash his teeth and weep, I know... sorry, pal.
Hank 3 lets everybody know what he thinks about the way Nashville treated his granddad. They fired him (Hank Sr.) from the Opry in '52... then he conveniently dies on new Years Day '53 and all of a sudden they were all his friends and they have been riding his coattails ever since.
What they have never understood is that people love Hank Williams for his music... the ability to put complicated feelings into the simplest of lyrics that everyone- even now- can relate too... and we don't need any frosting put on it...He was unvarnished, untamed and sincere...and we also don't need any Nashville "hype" to appreciate that.
Let me know how the concert was.
Best Wishes,
Hunter
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When evidence is not to be had, theories abound. Even the most plausible of them do not carry conviction- London Times Nov. 10.1888
Hank Sr was one of the great ones. I grew up on his songs, as my mother was a country girl and loved his stuff. Indeed he knew how to put complicated emotions into lyrics that seemed simple, but which were often poetic. Something that seems simple is usually much more difficult than people understand because the person doing the thing makes it look simple.
Enjoy the dickens out of that concert, Archy.
"What our ancestors would really be thinking, if they were alive today, is: "Why is it so dark in here?"" From Pyramids by Sir Terry Pratchett, a British National Treasure.
I think so, too. My uncle was a fine natural musician, self-taught, and although he was a country-western musician, he could do just about any genre. So I think you're right.
Haven't seen you in awhile.
"What our ancestors would really be thinking, if they were alive today, is: "Why is it so dark in here?"" From Pyramids by Sir Terry Pratchett, a British National Treasure.
What they have never understood is that people love Hank Williams for his music... the ability to put complicated feelings into the simplest of lyrics that everyone- even now- can relate too... and we don't need any frosting put on it...He was unvarnished, untamed and sincere...and we also don't need any Nashville "hype" to appreciate that.
Very nicely put, Hunter. In fact, perfectly put. The man was a true genius.
Hey y'all, I went to the Hank III show with my friend and lived to tell about it... we had a blast! I promised to report back so here you go.
The show was held at one of my favorite clubs, The Showbox near Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle, a restored Art Deco nightclub.
The sound was great, much cleaner than I expected. We got there after the first band had played and the place was utterly packed and they were scalping tickets for $150 outside but we still ended up with the best view in the place! We were directly above the floor, front and center of the lounge area with a perfect view of the whole stage, right opposite Hank. The crowd was definitely hard-core, tattooed and about 75% male but everybody was noticeably nice & polite to us. They obligingly let my friend & I through to the front of the raised platform so we could see, which was super cool of them, and even put our coats on a chair for our convenience.
The whole floor was a wild mosh-pit; everybody was dancing, bodies were sailing through the air,and my friend said "Bunny, don't you dare go down there!!" lol I didn't, I realized that I would have been accidentally squashed underfoot.
Great atmosphere though; the crowd was so enthusiastic and sang along with every song. We even had room to dance where we were, so it was perfect.
The first segment of the show was material from the cd Straight To Hell etc, songs in the rockabilly/blues vein more like Hank I. The band was in great form: stand-up bass, steel guitars, electric fiddle, acoustic guitar and drums, etc. At times it sounded like they were playing a Theramin at the speed of light, which was REALLY cool. I swear I thought I saw sparks flying off those instruments!
The middle was more "speed-billy" with what they called a "rockabilly rapper" and that was very fun too. The latter segment was more of the thrash/heavy-metal they call "hell-billy" and the mostly male crowd went wild, but the first portion, more bluesy, was our favorite.
Anyway, it was a terrific show, better than I expected. They played for hours & hours. My friend kept saying how cool it was to be there for such a unique show & how happy she was that I'd talked her into going. I'm awfully glad I was able to go, too, because when I was in the hospital I was bummed thinking it would be impossible for me to attend. It did exhaust me for several days but the fun was well worth it!
I sincerely recommend seeing Hank III if you get a chance.
Hello Bunny. I'm afraid the dear old boy is hiding in an archive.
Speaking of which, I have located a Dutch archive with the names and addresses of various socialists in the different socialist groups in Britain. I take it you'll like a peek when it arrives? (I should say, IF it arrives. I have spent 2 months dealing with the London Metropolitan Archive trying to get Isenschmid's medical record. Quite frustrating.)
So that's where Jack is, stuck in a filing cabinet he can't get out of???
I'll buy that.
Thank you for the good wishes, Steve; much appreciated. I'm making pretty decent progress with my health and doing much better than was expected, with maybe just a few 'bumps' along the way... Two doctors' appointments on Monday, so we'll see what they say. At least I've gained a few pounds.
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