Rev. JJ Vicars: Blog

Twenty-ten was an interesting year full of hidden gems.There were a few bumps in the road along the way but in the end it all worked itself out for the better and that turned out to be the 'theme' for the year. As they say in baseball, "You win some and you lose some, and some get rained out, but you suit up for the all." A few bumps in the road along the way but that's life. And that's also where the interesting stories come from! All in all it sorted itself out in the end and everything worked out for the best. Aliiance and Canton, Indianpolis, Tennessee, Houston, Austin, Vegas, Fukushima, Hiroshima and the Atomic Dome, "new songs from The Hillbilly Resistance, Nikki Hills, Gretsch guitars, LONGHAIRED LEFTOVERS re-released and studying Jazz via Robert Conti.

Bruce Sheehan moved from his home in Youngstown, OH to Austin, TX and by the mid-80's found himself in the middle of a burgeoning Roots Rock revival that brought Rock 'n' Roll out of the arena and back down to Earth. There he started up Jungle Records whose most notorious releases were the first Leroi Brothers LP CHECK THIS ACTION and the Grammy-nominated Big Guitars From Texas TRASH, TWANG & THUNDER.

Mike Buck is a cornerstone of Texas roots music. He played with damn near every Blues and Rockabilly legend during his early years and at the beginning of the 21st Century has backed many of the younger musicians. He's the living thread that keeps it a viable musical form. Buck does more than most to keep it alive. Having played behind so many of the greats, helping put his own generation on the map and backing many up-and-comers he's also taken over Antone's Records. Half of his week is spent running the store that's practically a library. Rare and hard-to-find classics sit alongside obscure jewels and the latest releases by current groups. The living history is alive and well within those store walls.

Lynyrd Skynyrd toured Japan in 1977 playing 5 nights, Jan 14th -18th & 21st at Nakano Sun Plaza in Tokyo and Osaka Koseinenkinkaikan Hall. It was the only time the original band played there. Opening for them was Japan's top Southern Rock band, Idlewild South. Music Life was the major Rock magazine in Japan at the time, their equivalent of England's Melody Maker. When looking for someone to interview Skynyrd for a feature article they decided to let Idlewild South have free reign. Who better to interview Skynyrd for Music Life? It proved to be a good choice; rather than answering cookie-cutter questions from a journalist Ronnie Van Zant, Allen Collins and Artimus Pyle sat down for some friendly conversation with musicians who had embraced the Southern Rock style during it's heyday and were eager meet their heroes. The result was a very candid, informal article that did the band justice.

Ronnie James is living the dream that all musicians who grew up listening to the Roots Rock revival of Austin during the 80's dream of. While living in California he began his road career with Little Charlie & the Nightcats before playing with the Fabulous Thunderbirds which led to his current gig as Jimmie Vaughan's bassist. Along the way he's shared the stage and studio with a Who's Who of Blues legends, most notably the time he spent with the late Bill Willis in Vaughan's band. Now a mainstay in Austin, he sat down in early April 2010 to share his story..."As far as playing the first thing was guitar, like most kids. I liked sports and tried to be good at it but was terrible. Then got a guitar and realized I couldn't play ERUPTION. That and Van Halen's version of ICE CREAM MAN, those two solos, I thought if I could just figure those two out I'd have it made. I don't know if anybody's every figured it out properly."His introduction to Blues and Roots music was standard for his generation, [...]