DIG THIS WITH BILL MESNIK AND RICH BUCKLAND- THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS
My Fellow Americans, Life is actually just a microscopic, deluded moment in time, so let's cut to the freakin' chase. One look at our impending election debacle can solidify my case. It has been my contention since birth, that the answer to every difficulty we encounter on this sacred yet demented Stone, can be revealed with ultimate clarity through the ultra neurotic engagements of Music, Art, Literature, Film, Poetry and a good Pastrami sandwich. Why would any sane human spend so must time on a film set (Do you know how long you gotta wait until your 8 second deliverance of an edited beyond repair line gets a chance to become a professional embarrassment etched in time forever? ) or expend so much energy in a recording studio, piecing together another ode to a man or woman who could not care less how much love existed within your digestive tract? It's all about hymns and prayers and a quest for mercy and forgiveness and silence and faith. We were blessed with Charles Bukowski, Gene Chandler, Lenny Bruce, Mitch Ryder and a legion of creative explorers whose influences provided the air we breathe. So Let's Dance! This site shall explore the reaper, find a way to disarm the stench of injustice, discover some true loves and talk it all over before it's all over. So what's the worst that our desires could produce? Failure? So sue me. I'm going to require your assistance in making as much trouble for the grown-ups as possible. Let the record show that my childish heart yearns to disrupt the madness. Join me Ladies and Germs!
With Gratitude For Gena Rowlands, Nancy Sinatra, Jerry Quarry, Leo Gorcey, Arthur Alexander and Joey Heatherton, Your Splendid Bohemian, Rich Buckland.
DIG THIS WITH BILL MESNIK AND RICH BUCKLAND- THE SPLENDID BOHEMIANS
"CAPTAIN BILLY'S MAGIC 8-BALL" RIDES AGAIN WITH HANK WILLIAMS, JR. - WHISKEY BENT AND HELL BOUND - (ELEKTRA, 1979) , IN HIGH DEFINITION - THE ENTIRE ALBUM WITH THE CAPTAIN'S MAGNETIC NARRATIVE -THE CAPTAIN EXPLORES HIS COVE OF 8 TRACK TREASURES!
HANK WILLIAMS, JR. / WHISKEY BENT AND HELL BOUND / ELEKTRA, 1979
I have a good story about Hank Williams, Jr., aka “Bocephus:”
My late wife, Chemayne grew up in the backstages and dressing rooms of the biggest rock n roll arenas in the Southeast. Her mom worked for a couple of regional mega promoters, and Chemayne had many encounters with such 70’s luminaries as Willy Nelson, James Taylor, Roger Daltry, Mick Jagger, Elton John, etc. One memorable meeting involved the son of “The Hillbilly Shakespeare.” I guess she was about eight, and Hank decided to take out and display his glass eye in order to tease her. Freaked her out so bad the memory was burned into her brain for all time.
Hank worked hard to cultivate his Outlaw image, and to both embrace, and out run the weight of his father’s immense legacy, and along the way he kicked the shit out of himself, but made some damn fine records. This album was created during his high point of the late 70s-early 80s when his combination of Country, blues, and Rock went main stream - between his monster hits Family Tradition, and All My Rowdy Friends Have Settled Down. He was so big that in the early 90s he became the identifiable voice of Monday Night Football. Not only did he embody his own “Family Tradition”, but America’s as well, it seems.
It’s worth noting also that the disc was produced by Jimmy Bowen, who also produced Frank Sinatra’s Strangers in the Night - which demonstrates some cross over wizardry in service of one of Country music’s arguably biggest cross over artists.
