Monkee Business, Randy Lee, Larune
Monday, January 28, 2008

Brandy Wood singing at the Demolition String Band's Monkees Tribute at Southpaw on Friday.

On Friday Brandy and I sang at a Monkees Tribute hosted by our friends the Demolition String Band out at Southpaw in Brooklyn. I sang "Steppin' Stone" and "Mary Mary" and Brandy shimmied all over the stage singing "For Pete's Sake." Other performers included Mary Lee Kortes,, Ollabelle, Alex Battles (who donned shades and rocked the hell out of the mid-80's reunited Monkees nugget, "Whole Wide World (I'd Go The)," Laura Cantrell and many others. Oh mercy did we have fun Monkeeing around.


From the left there's Elena Skye from the Demolition String Band, me, and telecaster master Boo Reiners.

Saturday I saw Randy Lee , who also sang at the Monkees night, do a special set at the Mercury Lounge. Randy has great tunes and really sexy friends. The night degenerated beautifully.

On Sunday I went to the Brooklyn Country Fair at Galapagos in Williamsburg to check out Larune . In my first blog here I talked up Larune, who I'd seen at a Hill Country show put on by Lindy Loo . For the past month Larune has performed at the Living Room in Manhattan along with Shooter Jennings every Sunday (something she'll do again in February, see you there!)

I think Kamara Thomas, lead singer and frontwoman in Larune, is one of the best songwriters I've ever heard. Her song "Cryin' In My Onions" gives me chills. I've got her ($5!) CD on the stereo right now. Her boyfriend, Gordon, plays incredible pedal steel in the band. The details that Kamara writes into her songs, like "the smell of hibiscus" in her tune "Don't Fall in Love With Texas" and the image of the scorned woman scrubbing the floors and cooking a stew in "Onions" are haunting. Her supple, husky voice is the perfect conduit for those emotions. As Lindy Loo said by way of introducing her at the fair yesterday, "She's as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside, she's the real deal."



Dig it.

New Heathens play Wednesday at Arlene's Grocery with the Apple Brothers. Should be a great night of greasy rock 'n' roll.

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