We’ve been flitting back and forth across the ocean for the last few entries in the Chain Gang, and this week also involves a flight, albeit of a very different kind. We’re safely back in England once more to answer the question posed last week. “How will the wolf survive?” asked Los Lobos and the answer is to form a supportive community, to go from that lone wolf always on edge to being one of the Wolf People.
Wolf People – a tragically underappreciated band who for fifteen years gave the world the very heaviest of psychfolk on their albums ‘Tidings’, ‘Steeple’, ‘Fain’ and ‘Ruins.‘ Imagine Espers with a go-faster booster, and the distinctive Hendrixian guitar and oh so English vocal of Jack Sharp. A band that can only be described as “ear shatteringly awesome live” and on record the modern heirs to the likes of both Pentangle and Black Sabbath (imagine that!) with a heavy does of Wickerman-esque rural folk horror. Or, in other words, a virtually perfect band.
This choice pick from their repertoire has the added bonus of seasonality as the protagonist proclaims “I’d fly every night if I could / On wings of paper and wood / Delivering Death wherever I go / As graceful and quiet as snow / As snow so heavy ceaselessly falls / I will bury you all….I am Night Witch.” And there is, literally, no arguing with that.
In the last AUK Chain Gang Guy Lincoln took us to the West Coast of Scotland and Glasgow’s snarling mavericks, James King and the Lone Wolves, but let’s catch a transatlantic flight to a very different West Coast, to Los Angeles, and East Los Angeles to be more specific. But…
It’s fascinating to see how the AUK Chain Gang works – how we all pick up certain elements of the previous post, to conjure up musical memories for the next writer. Jonathan’s fascinating choice of Wolf People’s 'Night Witch' was not only illuminating - learning about a band I knew…
Last week's Chain Gang featured Jesse Daniel whose 2020 album, ‘Beyond These Walls’ featured keyboard player Ronnie Huckaby who has been a loyal member of George Strait’s Ace in the Hole Band since 1983. As Strait’s backup band since the mid-seventies, Ace in the Hole has since toured extensively with…
Sure, I could climb high in a tree, or go to Skye on my holiday. I could be happy. All I really want is the excitement of first hearing The Byrds, the amazement of decades of Dylan's music, or the thrill of seeing a band like The Long Ryders live. That's not much to ask, is it?
