Rowdy morning on KCRW + 1 new song, 1992

Posted in red devils with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 28, 2010 by J.J.

A great “new” tape has surfaced of The Red Devils performing live in the studio on San Diego radio station KCRW’s long-running program “Morning Becomes Eclectic,” showcasing a new tune, different arrangements, and an interview with the band.

Jon Miller up in Seattle dug the tape out of storage, and sent a copy along to nofightin.com, and it’s a good one. Though the recording is incomplete — picking up toward the end of a searing version of “I Was Wrong” — it is impressive for what’s there, including a rowdy trio shuffle new to nofightin.com.

LISTEN: The rare “Blues in the Nighttime” shuffle with Lester Butler, Paul Size and Bill Bateman [MP3]

The airdate, as marked on the original cassette dubbed live from the radio, is dated 12/7/92, though host Chris Douridas mentions that the Devils’ segment was taped the previous Friday. The timeline is corroborated by the Dec. 7 Los Angeles Times review of a Friday evening gig in L.A.

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The nofightin.com store is now open

Posted in red devils, related music with tags , , , , , , on February 18, 2010 by J.J.

Looking for some of the great music we’ve been talking about here? We’ve made it easy for you to get some great tunes with the nofightin.com store on Amazon.com.

Though there are really only two CDs between The Red Devils and 13, there are dozens of other associated records we’d like to turn you on to. We’re going to curate the store to be the best from each member of The Red Devils, their influences and their contemporaries, hopefully giving you a little more of an idea of who’s who on these records.

Heard Lester Butler talk about James Harman, but you don’t know where to start? We’ve got those records, so we can help ya out.

And if you were thinking of scoring a Harman disc, by getting it from the nofightin.com store, we get a little taste and can help keep the site running.

We promise not to burn you with “sounds like The Red Devils” when it doesn’t. Now, not too many bands do sound like the Devils, but if you like them, you might be ready for some of these other artists.

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“Cross Your Heart” lyrics

Posted in red devils with tags , , , , on January 31, 2010 by J.J.

“Cross Your Heart” (Sonny Boy Williamson), from “King King”

When you cross your heart to someone
You’re not supposed to, you’re not supposed to tell a lie
You cross your heart to someone
Little girl, you’re not supposed to, you’re not supposed to tell a lie
If you say wrong or do wrong, baby, it got to be so long, or goodbye
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Rubin bio gives hints of producer at work

Posted in red devils with tags , , , , , , , , on January 20, 2010 by J.J.

Simply calling Rick Rubin a “producer” misses what has made him such an important modern musical figure: He has been a guru, shaman, caretaker, curator, therapist and friend for many artists, coaxing some to produce their greatest music ever. What he does simply cannot be reproduced.

Using already-published interviews as a backbone, author Jake Brown constructs a discography-based look at Rubin’s career in the recently released book “Rick Rubin: In the Studio” (ECW Press). Not a tabloidy tell-all, “In the Studio” instead is a gearhead’s delight, giving some insight into the famed Rick Rubin recording process.

Red Devils fans, however, will be let down — the Devils’ Rubin-produced “King King” is not mentioned save for a discography at the back of the book. The lone mention of the Devils in the text is a graph about the Mick Jagger blues sessions, not even noting that this “Los Angeles blues ensemble” was a Def American band.

However, there are some insights that can be gleaned into “King King” by studying Rubin’s other works and his philosophy — his less is more, or “production by reduction,” style.

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13 ticket stub, Tivoli, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Posted in 13 with tags , , , on January 10, 2010 by J.J.

Thanks to our great nofightin.com readers for turning us on to so many great photos and recordings in the last month or so. As we continue to collect more stuff, we’ll continue to share with you.

Reader Harry sent us this concert ticket for 13 at the Tivoli, Utrecht, The Netherlands. The date is Sept. 9, 1997, and Harry remarks, “It was a great show!” European blues band Drippin’ Honey was also billed.

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Devils celebrate New Year’s Eve

Posted in red devils with tags , , , , , , , , on January 2, 2010 by J.J.

Hope everyone had a great New Year’s holiday this year. Seems a good time to look back on what the Red Devils were doing this week in year’s past:

1992: The Devils were among the stars in Aspen, according to the Jan. 6 Rocky Mountain News:

(Don) Henley was spotted later that evening at China Club, where Jimmy Buffett joined his band for a 1 1/2-hour set, which ended when Steven Stills and Foreigner’s Mick Jones joined him on stage. …

Racer Danny Sullivan hosted a China Club party on Dec. 29 and it was a major blowout. Buffett provided the tunes again. The Dirt Band also played, as did guitarist Al DiMeola and Billy Idol, who crooned a duet with Stallone.

The next night, Bruce Willis and the Red Devils played, joined on stage by John Oats.

New Year’s Eve was no slouch on the China Seas. … (Idol) was later joined on stage by Stills and Gary ”Helmet Head” Busey.

1993: The Los Angeles Daily News advanced the Devils’ New Year’s Eve gig in its Dec. 29 and 31 editions, but the Dec. 17 Long Beach Press-Telegram really summed it up, in comparison to a competing B.B. King gig that night:

A harder-edged, wilder, and wildly less expensive blues year’s eve show can be experienced within the Polynesian-decored walls of Jacks Sugar Shack, 8751 W. Pico Blvd., in Los Angeles. A 10-dollar bill buys you an entire evening’s worth (starting at 9:30 p.m.) of the fiery hot sound of American Records rouser the Red Devils. For information, call (310) 271-7887.

1995: The ashes of the Red Devils helmed New Year’s Eve at Bar Deluxe in Hollywood, according to the L.A. Times:

Witnessing a good live show at Bar Deluxe was fun if not always comfortable on a packed night, but now the problem’s solved. Good thing. From the edgy surf-rock of the Bomboras to Rocket 88’s “sicko-billy” sound, Bar Deluxe mixes and matches musical styles with an affection for America’s darkest corners. In true Deluxe fashion, the Red Devils have been booked on New Year’s Eve to ring in ‘96.

If you have any info on other Red Devils/Blue Shadows/Lester Butler New Year’s gigs, please share the details in the comments section.

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Show souvenirs

Posted in red devils with tags , , , , , , , , on December 23, 2009 by J.J.

Christmas came a little early here at nofightin.com, thanks to some cool memorabilia shared by Andrew Rackauskas.

Rackauskas, who tells us he ran a ’90s fanzine called Spinal Column (his 13 review can be found on Jasper Heikens’ site), sent us an e-mail, relating stories about seeing the Devils every week at Jack’s Sugar Shack in L.A.:

I can’t tell you how lucky I felt getting to watch them virtually every Thursday for so long! Once Jack’s moved to the Hollywood/Vine location, the vibe was killed, and the Devils started playing far less. I was also really lucky to see them play as the house band at the “Ciao Def” party where Rick Rubin’s label got rid of the “Def” and made it “American Recordings.” They played in a bowling alley off Olympic in Koreatown in L.A. that is no longer there. It was quite the party! I remember waiters walking around w/ wheel-barrows of beer and booze!

Check out these photos he’s passed along:

Rackauskas has a harmonica signed by Lester Butler, "but I'm never going to part with that!"


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Moulin DVD highlight reel

Posted in 13 with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on December 16, 2009 by J.J.

The Web site that brought us the 13 Moulin Blues DVD, www.bluesdvd.nl, now has a YouTube channel. Of interest to us: A great quality highlight reel of the 13 DVD. If you’ve been on the fence about getting this concert, watch this video and get going!

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Bootleg review live from Iowa, 1993

Posted in red devils with tags , , , , , , on November 22, 2009 by J.J.

A bootleg of The Red Devils live at the Mississippi Blues Fest at Le Claire Park in Davenport, Iowa, July 2, 1993, is a solid capsule of the band on the summer festival circuit.

It’s not an essential set by any means, and may be of interest only to the most hardcore of collectors. Most of the songs are found in better form and audio quality in several other live sets. What stands out is the band’s almost experimental jamming, coming more than a year into the original lineup’s never-ending tour schedule.

The audio recording comes from a KFMH radio live broadcast of the festival; the announcer mentions other performers that day included Dr. John, Jimmy Ley and Nappy Brown. The poor audio quality of the recording means parts of the music are a wash, though Butler’s vocals are right out front, as are the harp and Paul Size’s lead guitar.
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Another fan weighs in on Moulin 1998 DVD

Posted in 13 with tags , , , , on September 23, 2009 by J.J.

moulin_dvd

More than a year after its release — and more than 11 since the gig — the Lester Butler DVD, “Live at Moulin Blues Ospel 1998 — Lester’s Legendary Last Gig,” is still being discovered by fans.

A review posted today by “Slidin’ Slim” from Sweden underlines some of what we’ve been saying about this DVD:

To watch Lester’s very last performance (he died from a drug overdose one week after the gig) at the Moulin Blues Ospel in The Netherlands 1998 together with some very rare rehearsal footage and a few songs from 1993 with The Red Devils was both joyful and extremely sad.

Again, you can pick up a copy of the DVD from www.bluesdvd.nl.

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