Some songs get stuck in your head... and this is the one that's been in mine all week. I loved the Beat Farmers, and "Riverside" has a halfway spooky vibe that you'd sometimes find in songs by fellow traveler artists like Dave Alvin and Los Lobos. That's the good dark stuff, amigo.Of course, "Riverside" isn't a Country Dick song, but you can't mention the Farmers without tipping your hat in his direction. Here are Country Dick Montana's Rules of the Road for bands on tour. My favorite: "Do not take souvenirs from the crypt of a voodoo queen -- remember that zombies are even worse drives than drunks."
And speaking of voodoo queens, check out the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry on the tomb of Marie Laveau. Plenty of other interesting articles on this site, too (though some of 'em are as dry as a desiccated voodoo queen).
A few of you have asked me for a book recommendation, re: Joe Frazier. My pick is Ghosts of Manila by Mark Kram. It's not only a great study of Frazier (and Ali), but it's one of the very best books I've ever read about the sweet science (and I have read more than a few).
Smokin' Joe. Philly Soul. You can bet your last money it's a stone gas, honey.
