Lester Butler

Reviews - CDs 

Goin’ To The Church – ‘King King’ Revisited

The Captain 5 Comments , ,

Came home with her eyes on fire

Dear reader, indulge us in a moment of unadulterated nostalgia, courtesy of our very dear friend, The Riverboat Captain. Bandanas and bullet mics at the ready..

King King was a former Chinese restaurant on the north west corner of 6th and La Brea in Hancock Park. In the early 90s, Monday night regulars The Red Devils staked their claim to be Los Angeles’ biggest bar band, drawing in city bluesheads and celebrity scenesters alike with their raw, straight-ahead juke joint sound. (more…)

Harp Tab How Do They Do That? 

It’s Bad You Know – R L Burnside [..with tab]

The Good Doctor 16 Comments , , , , , , ,

She asked me why. I just went on and told her. The engineer blown the whistle, the fireman he rang the bell
I remember seeing R.L. Burnside in Brighton in the late 1990’s. The gig was above a pub (the Flying Pig I think) on Queens Road, just down from the railway station. My enduring memory will always be of Cedric, his grandson, silhouetted behind the drum kit, pumping out ‘tribal’ blues rhythms. There were just the two of them, musicians that is, but it was utterly mesmerising. I’d never experienced blues of this kind before; far removed from standard Chicago 12 bar romps. It took the audience somewhere humid and remote. Down in Mississippi, but back up in the hills.

Who’s blowing the harp?
So who’s responsible for all that raw harpooning on It’s Bad You Know? Only Lester Butler of The Red Devils! I believe recorded scraps were sequenced and engineered by Tom Rothrock and the track was released into the underground dance scene in 1998. Where it flourished. The message was then adopted by the likes of Moby, Little Axe and now Alabama 3. More recently by Son of Dave. If it’s any testament to quality, this track and, of course, Alabama 3’s Woke Up This Morning have been used in the TV series The Sopranos.

Harp tab (C major diatonic, 2nd position)
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D 2D”  1D…1D’
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  1D  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D   2D
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  1D  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D  2D
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D
1D  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D  2D
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D
1D  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D  2D
2D  3D’  4B  4D’  4B  3D’  2D
2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  1D  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D  2D
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  1D   2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D  2D

Fading
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  1D  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D  2D
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D’  2D  2D  3D’  2D  2D  2D”  1D  2D”  1D…1D’
2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  1D  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D”  2D  2D