Southern Musicians Under California Skies

Posted: Jul 26, 2008

Southern Musicians Under Southern Skies and Other News
7/26/08

News about Mystery And Manners' Honorary Southern Artist Tom Waits came across the wire today and this article sheds light on Waits' Glitter & Doom tour. Also, a review on the new Hunter S. Thompson film stands as proof how the Kentucky writer's legend grows with each passing year.

Transcribing my interview with The Black Crowes keyboardist Adam MacDougall this evening, I came to the point where MacDougall was describing how he came to record with two southern musicians--Chris Robinson and Jonathan Wilson--who began Wednesday night jam sessions at Wilson's house that started attracting many skilled players.

MacDougall played on Gary Louris' Vagabonds along with Wilson, Robinson, Jenny Lewis and various other stellar players. These jam sessions became a nucleus for the second generation of southerners to move to California and began pollinating the Golden State with southern-based music. Southern musicians like Merle Haggard, Gram Parsons, James Burton and Leon Russell moved to California and began a vital movement that all revolved around traditional southern music the generation before.

MacDougall and I got to the point in the conversation where he first visited Jonathan Wilson's house in Laurel Canyon. Eventually these jam sessions and recording experiences would lead to him joing The Black Crowes.

"I just went up to this thing that happens every Wednesday night and it's a jam session. I saw Chris (Robinson) and we were like, 'We haven't seen each other since 1996!' We remembered each other and we hung out. I went to a bunch of those. I got a call from Chris and he said he was producing this Gary Louris record Vagabonds, and he asked if I wanted to play on it. Jonathan's place is great. That whole scene is amazing. For a while it was every Wednesday, and it would start around 11 and I'd sit behind the organ until 4 or 5 in the morning. It was great.

"Chris and Jonathan started the whole scene. It didn't happen if one of them couldn't make it. Like, if we're out with The Crowes, it doesn't happen. When we get back off the road we do every Wednesday night. A lot of cute girls in mini-skirts running around. The only way you could tell it was not 1971 was everyone has a cell phone (laughs). The vibe is great there. It never felt contrived--it still doesn't.

"What was great about the Louris record was Chris produced it. He just said, 'I'm going to rent a rehearsal space for a week and a half. We'll just put the musicians in a room and get a feel. Then we're going straight into the studio and set up the same way and pretty much do it live.'"

From there, the interview gets more interesting as MacDougall goes into deeper detail about the scene revolving around Wilson and Robinson as well as his whole experience with joining, recording and touring with The Black Crowes. This fits into a larger article about southern musicians playing songs under California skies and how far and wide southern-based music influences The West. More on all that later with a large cast of characters to involve...

The MacDougall interview covers a lot of territory--including Jonathan Wilson living very close (can't say how close and blow his privacy) to Harry Houdini's old house. Adam said the Houdini place carries a weird vibe. I hope to have this interview up in a few days. As the old saying goes, I'm busy as a bee in a tar-bucket. More later, back to transcribing...

James Calemine
JCalemine@Swampland.com