Los Super 7 on Better Days

Better Days
June 16th, 2005
10:00pm - 12:00am PDT
Guest Host: Paul Norton
CFRO 102.7 FM by signal
www.coopradio.org on the web

The June 16th edition of Better Days is inspired by
the latest release by Los Super 7, called 'Heard It
on The X'. The title track was originally a song written
by ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons of all people. It was LS7's
desire to conjure up the feel of the legendary freewheeling
Mexican border radio stations with their recording. So,
we'll hear liberal dosages of that CD, featuring guest vocalists
like Lyle Lovett, Delbert McClinton, Raul Malo, Joe
Ely, Rodney Crowell and Freddy Fender.

XERF and XERB in their heyday from the 1930s right
up to the mid-1960s had an unregulated signal that was
so strong it could be heard all the way to Canada. They
presented a freewheeling mosaic of western swing, blues,
folk, country, Tex-Mex, r&b and Latino music. You could
hear Bob Wills, Lydia Mendoza, Muddy Waters,
The Carter Family, Clifton Chenier, Fats Domino,
Jimmie Rodgers and Bill Monroe all in a single hour.

The commercials were for the greatest collection of scams
the world has seen. Crazy Water Crystals, glow-in-the-dark
Jesus paintings, cheap bibles and Doctor Brinkley's male virility
cure for the old get-up-and-go-that-got-up-and-went
(involving implanting of goat gonads in a very sensitive place).

We'll hear from some of the people that you might have heard
on the stations way back then, and also a few people who were
listening as children, and were inspired to become musicians as
well - Dave Alvin, Sam the Sham, Doug Sahm, Marty
Robbins, Los Lobos, Flaco Jimenez, Tish Hinojosa and
as many more as we can squeeze in.

As if that wasn't enough, we'll also treat you to a few choice
sound bytes from actual border radio way back when. It should
be a fun and fascinating edition of Better Days. Hope you can
tune in.

-Paul Norton, guest host

My Icelandic sweetheart, Thordisa 

Me with Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Cowboy Johnson
backstage at the 2004 Willie Nelson July 4th Picnic
in the scorching heat of Fort Worth, TX

Gone Fishin'

On Monday, I leave for an extended adventure in
Europe. I ought to be able to blog now and then while
overseas, but not at the previous rate.

I'll be in Iceland for the first half of my journey,
visiting my dear friend, Thordis Gudmundsdottir,
and from there it's a visit to Norway to record
with Magne Hellesjo and Mike Beck. I will also be
visiting Sweden, England and Ireland. Holland is
a possibility. I'll close the trip with a couple days
in Scotland visiting with Karine Polwart, taking in
her homecoming concert in Walkerburn. Lots of
friends to see, lots of music and, of course, the
great unknown of travelling and meeting people.

In my absence, Better Days will feature a variety
of great guest hosts. Ruth Leibik will be doing her
usual hosting of the last Thursday of each month.
My old friend, Paul Norton, one of the first people
I met when I moved to Vancouver, will be doing
this week's show and I'll post his bulletin about it
before leaving.

I've been awfully busy preparing for this getaway,
and wish I had the presence of mind to post a
deeper thought just now. But the energy of the
road is already teeming in me, so I'll get back to
packing and cleaning up the apartment. The next
time I post here will be from Reykjavik.

Takk, bless

Doug