The Reverend Double J: Blog

2011 was hardly a space odyssey. More of a slow comeback after a couple years of what both the Western and Chinese zodiacs described as "everything you touch shall turn to shit." While it wasn't without its trials all in all it was pretty good. Even the rough spots had their advantages in the larger picture of things.

The back cover of the Trash, Twang & Thunder album described Frankie Camaro as a "Surf musician from Indiana". As if that wasn't odd enough nobody seemed to know much about him, like where he was from or what happened to him after the album. A few things here and there popped up on the Internet over the years but no real insight. And then somehow he got word that there was a book about the Austin Roots Rock Revival of the 80's named after that infamous album and he e-mailed inquiring about a copy. When he found out that the book was still in progress he gave a full length interview in late 2010. Here in his own words is the story of Paul Jova aka Frankie Camaro, from his earliest beginnings, through the Trash, Twang & Thunder album, on up to the present day.

In part 2 of an in-depth interview guitarist Denny Freeman talks about meeting Keith Ferguson for the first time, their shared musical interests, the winding down of the Austin scene at the beginning of the 90's, his later work with Taj Mahal, the Phantom Blues Band, and Bob Dylan, and his recent organ trio gigs at upstairs at the Continental Club. Denny wraps it up with an overview of Austin's Roots-oriented music scene despite the trends of the 70's and 80's, and its place in the larger picture of American music, namely the ongoing evolution of Blues and Rock 'n' Roll. Just as with part 1, the interview is presented verbatim with only the most minimal of editing to give the reader an inside perspective.

Denny Freeman is most well known for being a sort of mentor to the Vaughan brothers, Jimmie and Stevie Ray, as well as his tenures with Taj Mahal and most recently Bob Dylan. Anybody who discovered Blues, Roots music and/or the Austin scene via Stevie Ray Vaughan remembers SRV praising Denny wherever he was interviewed. The elder statesman of the three, his playing his a study in taste and understatement. His solo albums showcase the diversity of his talents and a YouTube search adds to that.

These days he holds down a regular gig at The Continental Club Gallery in Austin with his organ trio where he gets to indulge his Jazz leanings. Here in part one of the interview he talks about his beginnings in Dallas up through to the Big Guitars From Texas album TRASH, TWANG & THUNDER. Be sure to visit his website at http://dennyfreeman.com/

This is my personal account of the 9.0 earthquake that occurred in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Sendai, Japan as I experienced it and the resulting events. If you or someone you know is in Japan as this is happening please share your story in the Comments section.