Tennessee Touring: The Hall of Fame and Studio B

(Please read our Covid 19 Statement first - Ed) Winding down our adventure in Music City and the home of the Delta Blues, we're left with one must-see from Tim's list, the Country Music Hall of Fame.

We could have also spent the evening out at the Loveless Cafe barn to see the Music City Roots TV show but, at this point, we'd seen eleven acts in different concerts and clubs along the way plus had a CD shoved into our hands as we walked Nashville's streets by a unknown artist trying to get known (turned out to be a compilations of Christmas songs and the singer sounded like an animated chipmunk).

It's Letty's turn to have a bad day with whatever virus we picked up in Tupelo. She bravely soldiers on but you can tell she's not feeling the love today.

Thirty degrees with a snowy rain is not particularly inviting either but at least there is reasonably priced indoor parking half a block from the Hall.

It's warm inside and the Hall has an instutitional smell (like a library or school) that is not sitting well with my sick wife. We get our tickets, enhanced with a tour of RCA's historic Studio B, and head on in.

Another audio tour, another hour or so of helping Tim punch the right numbers to match whatever display he's sitting in front of

It's interesting to a point...you get to see Nudie's sewing machine, Elvis's "solid gold" Cadillac, Webb Pierce's silver dollar and gun car (Buck Owen's had a duplicate of this car, now hanging over the bar at the Crystal Palace in Bakersfield), many musical instruments, outfits, and gold records.

My favorite exhibit, though I do not think it's permanent, was the Bakersfield Sound exhibition. Probably because I'm biased towards that city but it weaves a great history of the two men who dominated it...Merle Haggard and Owens...and the intricate, weirdly intersecting family histories they had together.

Other less familiar names like Homer Joy along with notables such as Dwight Yoakam are also put into the context they have with that California oil city.

We check out all the plaques in the actual Hall...a big rotunda at the end of the tour...then head back into the lobby to wait for the bus to take us to Studio B.

A ten minute ride (yes, the buses are wheelchair accessible) and we're at the back door of the famous studio. While it's mostly retired today (Studio A next door is it's current replacement), some artists still like to make special arrangements to use it, such as Marty Stuart on his Ghost Train album.

Elvis recorded over 200 of his songs here, more than any other studio.

The tour starts off in a small lobby and it's significance is explained to us as well as a listing of some of the top artists who have recorded there.  At the end, we are ushered into the studio itself as we hear some more tales...

The lights are different colors so that they could be used to set the mood; Elvis liked to record at three in the morning; the room is perfectly acoustical, there is no echo at all, a special reverb box had to be built into the wall to accomodate those who wanted it.

We're allowed to sit at Elvis' piano...but not play it...and then we're off.

Nice addition to the Elvis Trail but still not as awesome as Sun Studio was back in Memphis.

The bus driver tying Tim down in the bus tells me an elderly gentleman who has just parked nearby is Harrold Bradley. 

Harrold and his brother, Owen, opened up Nashville's first recording studio in 1954, starting the industry that Nashville now thrives on.

My wife wonders what the driver told me, so I tell her. Soon the word spreads to the tour guide who announces it to the bus. A couple of women sitting in front of us excitedly chirp up "finally, we saw someone famous here!"

After hanging with Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Ranger Doug and meeting Leon Rhodes, Anita Stapleton and seeing all the stars at the Opry, I'm thinking "if that's the only famous person you've seen on your trip, you ain't been trying hard enough..."


Darryl
Copyright 2014 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved

Celebrating Weeds and Country Music on St. Patrick's Day: Dandelion Days in Jackson, California

It's a vile weed. Sure, it has some pretty flowers and kids like to blow the seeds to the wind, where they will easily germinate. They'll take over your well cared-for lawn and destroy it, if it has it's way.

Why are we celebrating it today?

From what I can tell, it was a way of getting unwanted stuff out of your life...a community flea market to get rid of unwanted things, the "dandelions" of your life...turning lemons into lemonade.

At least that's what I can surmise, there's not a lot of data on the origins of the Dandelion Days Festival, celebrated each St. Patrick's Day weekend in Jackson, California.

In an area full of celebrations, get-togethers, fairs, and festivals, this is one of the many events happening in the region this weekend. We're going to make a full day of it.

When the crowds hit, parking is scarce in downtown Jackson. While there is a bit of parking reserved for handicapped placard and license holders at the police department, those go quickly. We have to park at one of the remote lots. We choose the lot at the county administration building a half mile away.

The accessible buses of Amador Transit are providing free, wheelchair accessible rides from the lot to the festival every half hour during the day. We get there just in the nick of time to catch one.

Main Street is closed for the event. A quarter mile of narrow, minimally accessible pavement dating back to the Gold Rush is where we need to be.

Since the street's closed, we just roll along down the middle to the other end where we'll work our way back. The sidewalks here are mainly accessible from one end of the block or the other, meaning you have to do a lot of doubling back to get off and keep moving along.

Our first stop, though, is for some food. Brunch at Rosebud's Cafe will do. A sausage and egg sandwich for me, while my wife had a delicious vegetarian curry risotto, and Tim had a grilled cheese and onion sandwich to fortify us for the journey ahead.

At the other end of Main Street, at the old fire station, the firefighters are cooking up some delicious looking tri tip.

Since we just ate, we're not hungry for it but I do make a note of their cooking rigs, which are steel drums with a fire inside. Rebar across the top makes for a handy place to hang the hooks holding the meat. A lid is put on to keep the heat down and the smoke in.

Kids and adults take their picture on an adjacent antique fire truck...

...while diners set up at tables inside the cleared station to eat.

Heading back, it's a mishmash of booths selling the usual stuff...incense, woodworkings, clothes, bags, etc...while musicians here and there busk for change.

Next to the historic National Hotel, a beer garden is set up.

A few very good cover bands serenade while we sip the local suds and wine next to Jackson Creek.

On the other side of the hotel is the actual flea market...a group of about a half dozen tables...whereas most of the other booths are professional flea market businesses.

The local Lions Club, sponsors of the event, have a dessert and coffee table here and a few carnival rides beckon the kids.

Tim tells us his battery is running low so we look for a place to exit and wait while I hike back up the hill to retrieve our van. The local American Legion let's me use their lot to load up Tim and we're off.

We take a few hours to relax and plug Tim's chair into it's charger before we're off for our next adventure. It's up to the town of Sutter Creek for an evening of dining and music.

At Cavana's Pub, we take the opportunity to have some cheap Irish whiskey and wine while dining on soup and sandwiches.

Next, we walk three doors down to the Sutter Creek Theater. I had contacted the owner earlier who assured me he'd hold a wheelchair space for Tim for the general admission show there tonight.

He's good to his word and Tim sits next to him as he operates the soundboard for the show. Letty and I sit directly in front of him.

Tonight, Sophia, Helda, and Grace...the Quebe Sisters...are playing a concert here. The sisters are a group of champion fiddle players from Texas who have evolved into an outstanding western swing band.

They're very good, popular, and well known...it's kind of surprising that they're playing this 200 seat theater up in the hills of the Motherlode...but, here they are.

The sold-out show is exceptional and, with the tiny theater and audience, the sisters have plenty of time to mingle with the fans after the show.

Sophia remarks on my Sriracha shirt and I regale her and her sisters of the day the owner of the factory gave me the shirt.

The trio happily poses for a picture as we bid them goodnight and travel home after our day of festivals and music.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2019 - All Rights Reserved

The Last Man Standing in Oildale...Rockwell and His Honky Tonk

UPDATE 2018 - Well, another one bites the dust. Trout's, the last true honky tonk in Bakersfield, stopped operating around June of last year. The club's owner, Thomas Rockwell, defaulted on the bank loan and the building was sold at auction to Truman Investments, Inc. At that point, Rockwell seems to have disappeared or is at least 'lying low' as one of the attorneys involved says.  He also seems to have absconded with the iconic trout sign out front.

Now, the new owners are suing him for damages and return of the sign...if they can find him. What is to become of this legendary nightclub is anyone's guess at this point. For now, if you want to hear live Country music in this Country music Mecca, your only choice is the Crystal Palace and maybe the occasional concert by a headliner at the Fox Theatre or the Rabobank Arena.

We met Rockwell (see below) and he really seemed invested in making Trout's a viable venue. A true gentleman on the day we met him, it's sad to see how this tale is unfolding. 

Read on to see our visit to this iconic and historic honky tonk, located just a few blocks from where Merle Haggard grew up.

Each time we come to this city in the south end of the San Joaquin Valley, we find something new to see or experience.  There was the first time we went to the Crystal Palace. Then, the old town streets of the Kern County Museum and the Oil Museum. Letty getting to be the darling of the game at the local minor league team's game; tasting the great margaritas at Mexicali; the outstanding food of Los Tacos de Huicho, Urrichio's, and the area's many Basque restaurants; hiking along the Kern River...the list goes on and on.

So what will we find on our latest stay in this very underrated travel destination?

I've got two free nights at the Springhill Suites courtesy of the Marriott Rewards program and a day and a half to explore. We're thinking of going honky tonking tonight but can't decide if we should go with the safe bet of the Crystal Palace or be a little adventurous and head over the river to the more rough-and-tumble Oildale.

Our Bakersfield guide says that there are local bands jamming all day at Trout's...billing itself at Bakersfield's last "true" honky tonk...we head over there to see the action.

Mid day on Friday, though, there is none.  We do settle in to have a drink and introduce ourselves to the bar's owner, Thomas Rockwell. Rockwell is what he prefers to be called, so Rockwell it is. He's very nice and a gentleman to take a few minutes to chat with us before heading over to the other end of the bar.

There, a camera crew has set up and is interviewing Rockwell for a show. He's in very high demand as Trout's, and the Bakersfield Sound, is getting a lot more attention these days. Even the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville has set aside a wing to salute the Bakersfield Sound (very distinct from what comes out of Nashville) and hometown heroes like Buck Owens and Oildale's most famous product, Merle Haggard.

While the bartender sets Tim and I up with a couple of good microbrews (I know, in a honky tonk?) and makes a red velvet cocktail for Letty, we wander around the two stages, snapping a few pictures and listening in to the interview.

We learn that Trout's has been at this location since the 1940's and in business going back over 80 years.  Rockwell is trying to spiff it up a bit but there are still corners of the building that are off limits because of ongoing repair issues.

Back out into the harsh, Central Valley sunshine, we pile back into the van and head back to Rosedale Highway for dinner.

We'll fill up on an extensive Basque meal at one of our favorites, Benji's, sitting behind derelict derricks and other oilfield detritis just east of the 99.

After the drive from Gold Country, we end up too tired to go out for the show, so we just relax in the suite and enjoy some after dinner wine before turning in for a long night's rest. Tomorrow, we'll go find another new pleasure in our favorite underrated travel destination.

Darryl
Copyright 2014 - Darryl Musick
All Rights Reserved