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Event
Jerry Giddens/Colonels of Truth House Concert
Saturday, June 6th marks the long awaited Bay Area return of Jerry Giddens.
Giddens is a singer-songwriter, poet, and teacher, born on the banks of the Red River, in Shreveport, Louisiana and raised at a crossroads six miles from Ringgold, Louisiana, a small town of 1500 people. His earliest memories of pop music are "the Fats Domino records my older sisters smuggled out of New Orleans where us kids spent many Mardi Gras and summer vacations at my Aunt Nina Ruth's home." But his earliest memories of music are those housed at Springhill Baptist Church, a little country church down the road from his home. There, Jerry first sang from the stage, at age six. As a teenager he would direct the church's youth choir for Sunday services and appearances around North Louisiana. On Saturdays he and a local guitar player would sing Everly Brothers tunes for the new coffee houses springing up in the 60s.
"When I finally escaped that lonely crossroads, I headed for the university and freedom. On many weekends, I would head to New Orleans to see a show at the old Warehouse." In the late 70s Giddens would relocate to Southern California. He would be a part of the vibrant 1980s and 1990s indie music scene in Los Angeles and the imagination behind Walking Wounded with whom he recorded four records: The New West, Raging Winds of Time, Hard Times, and artificial hearts. The band toured nationally. "We even headlined Tips one TUL night and Better Than Ezra opened. After that we worked with Jack Gretsch at The Howling Wolf. He was always great to us. He would even let my underage cousins from Metairie slip in for the evening. When the band broke up and I began touring solo, Jack was one of my key supporters and I opened shows for Tim McLaughlin, Snooks Eaglin, Dash Rip Rock, and the wonderful Alex Chilton." Giddens' discography also includes The Ballad of Gaucho Gil and four solo records: Livin' Ain't Easy, The Devil's Front Door, For Lydia, and little demons.
He left California after a thirty-five year fling with "show business" and returned to Louisiana to take a teaching position at Southern University at New Orleans. "Now, I teach a class at Tulane, Jazz Biography and Storyville. The class is a product of my lifelong love of The City That Care Forgot. I guess like Jimmy Buffet, New Orleans was my Paris." Giddens has stayed busy in the studio. He has recorded and now released Damn it Abby! with Killeen Foundry, a project with Rod Hodges of The Iguanas. "The sessions with Mark Bingham at Piety Studios were the beginnings of a Jerry Giddens record. John Fohl, Tom Marron, Michael Skinkus, and Spencer Bohren began the sessions. Spencer introduced me to Rod, he brought in the rest of the Iguanas, and we recorded a few more tracks. One of my old fans even commented on the New Orleans influence on the new material. That's a real source of pride for me." Today you might catch a rare Killeen Foundry show when Rod is in town and Jerry has begun a residency, of sorts, at The St. Roch Tavern in New Orleans on Tuesday nights. His new cd/record continues the artist's evolution, with a combination of acoustic and electric sounds that challenge the notions of folk music and as Jim Beal from The San Antonio Express News comments, stomps "all over the line that separates alternative and the mainstream."
Opening the evening will be the San Francisco Bay Area's own Colonels of Truth."The sound of a Flathead Ford with busted muffler and three flat tires running on Hi-Test and caffeine".
What started as a late night Easter Eve text conversation, most likely fueled by alcohol and the Holy Spirit of Charlton Heston's Moses flashing across the TV screen, and culminating in a living room strewn with guitars, beer bottles and a small flask of whiskey tucked neatly behind a table leg, evolved into Colonels of Truth.
Rick Santos of the South Bay honky tonk heroes Longliner joined with Peter Dominguez, David Sands & Robert Scott Mueller of San Francisco's cow punk outfit GEN 11 in an attempt to strip everything away and return to their roots. Brad Parker joined CoT on snare & brushes for most of 2014. With Brad's departure late in the year, The Colonels were extremely fortunate to add Ian Taylor Sutton on pedal steel guitar and percussion.
Their brand of Northern California Neo Bluegrass Anti Folk Urban Gospel Alt Country Americana was brought to Real Job Recording in Fremont, California for their 'live in studio' debut EP Songs of Love, Blood & Redemption in late 2013.
Since it's December 2013 release the EP has received steady play on college, independent & community radio, as well as having two songs featured on FX Network's brilliantly twisted comedy Legit. Songs of Love, Blood & Redemption also earned The Colonels opening slots on national tour stops for Jon Dee Graham, Pert' Near Sandstone, Austin Jenckes, Cody Beebe & The Crooks, a set at the 38th annual San Francisco Free Folk Festival, and the recent honor of playing the inaugural SF Porchfest.
The Colonels are busy at work finishing up their next record, and will be debuting many of their new songs in this intimate environment.
To paraphrase Steinbeck, the inhabitants of CoT's songs are "whores, pimps, gamblers, and sons of bitches,' by which he meant everybody. Had the man looked through another peephole he might have said, 'saints and angels and martyrs and holy men,' and he would have meant the same thing."
This promises to be an incredibly strong evening of music & stories. Please don't miss it.
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LocationPrivate Residence. Address will be included with your receipt at end of purchase
Noe Valley
San Francisco, CA 94114
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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Contact
| Owner: RS Mueller |
| On BPT Since: May 19, 2014 |
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| RS Mueller |
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