No Fightin': The Red Devils, Lester Butler & California blues, rock and roots music

At the height of their powers, The Red Devils were heard live on the popular “Mountain Stage” radio program on Oct. 4, 1992, along with Leo Kottke, John Cale and Juliana Hatfield.

Thanks to YouTuber Dominik Ablamowicz, the oft-bootlegged radio program is a little more available.

Ablamowicz uploaded two songs, “Have a Good Time” and “Shake Your Hips,” from that session.

While it is not clear if Oct. 4 was the day the program was recorded or aired or if those dates are one in the same, the recording the Devils between their opening stint on tour for Los Lobos and their first U.S. headlining club tour dates. In fact, it would be just about a week later that we would see the Devils at the old Jake’s nightclub in Bloomington, Ind.

The bootleg itself is short, with just four tunes and radio chatter. But, it is crystal-clear audio and a nice touchstone for the band during this time.

Of note: The presenter mixes up the Bartel boys, announcing Jonny Ray on guitar and Dave Lee on bass. It was likely Mike Flanigin holding down guitar duties, as he would have been on tour with the band during this time. And, well, Lester Butler does yell “Mikey!” at one point.

We are looking for more info on this show. Were you in the audience? Did you tape it when it aired? Speak up now!

Also missing is a rumored NPR radio show, hosted by Ruth Brown and featuring the Devils. We’ve never heard it, and would love to.

“Mountain Stage,” Oct 4, 1992
1. Intro/“Have a Good Time”
2. “Blackwater Roll” (nascent version, a la “Scratch My Back”)
3. “She’s Dangerous”
4. “Shake Your Hips”
5. Band intros

This entry was posted on October 18, 2015 at 4:28 pm and is filed under red devils with tags john cale, juliana hatfield, leo kottke, mike flanigin, mountain stage, red devils, shake your hips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.