Briefs

Thank God for January! It allows time to take a small break in the midst of the four-month Mobile holiday season. The denizens of the Port City are given the chance to recuperate from Thanksgiving/Christmas/Hanukkah/New Year’s both physically and emotionally before giving it their all for Mardi Gras. It seems as if many of our venues will be taking it easy for the first month of 2006 in order to get ready for the many great musical acts coming to Mobile in the coming months, but there are still a few things to catch.

The sincerest form of flattery

It seems as if LoDa’s addiction to tribute bands will continue into the New Year. Didn’t we learn anything from Sha-Na-Na? Soul Kitchen plans on kicking off 2006 with two weeks chock-full of tribute bands. It begins Jan. 7 with AC/DC doppelgangers Hell’s Bells. I’m personally waiting for someone to book Hell’s BELLES. The Belles are an AC/DC tribute, yet they boast an all-female line-up.

On Jan. 13, Soul Kitchen will feature a performance by the Southeast’s favorite ‘80s tribute band The Molly Ringwolds. The following night, Wrong Way (a Sublime tribute) will take the stage.

Now, here’s where I have to get on my soapbox. I am an avid Sublime fan. Bradley Nowell was the only white boy who could actually sing reggae with the soul of a Caribbean native and his untimely death still makes me angry.

I judge a Sublime tribute band like I do a Zeppelin tribute band — scrupulously. There is an extremely fine line between paying homage and committing blasphemy. No one could ever be Jimmy Page just as no one could ever be Bradley Nowell. I have never experienced Wrong Way, but I hope they do Sublime some justice. The original isn’t an easy act to imitate.

JackJaw Jimmy at home at Paddy’s

Paddy O’Toole’s, one of Mobile’s favorite watering holes for decades, has become home to one of Mobile’s most talented jam/blues acts, JackJaw Jimmy. This quartet hosts a cast of some of Mobile’s premiere musicians with Brian McDonald on drums, “T” McNab on bass, monkey skulls and vocals, Brian McNab on guitar, harmonica and vocals and Al McNab on guitar and vocals. Pulling influences from blues and rock musicians like Robert Johnson and The Black Crowes, JackJaw Jimmy has been pulling in crowds and gaining new fans with every riff they play. Songs such as “SunshineOhioJam” shows the dedication and talent this band possesses.

This band is no stranger to the music scene. The McNab brothers have been jamming since the ‘70s, a decade that found them renting out Port City venues to showcase their jams. In the ‘80s, they formed various bands, some of whom opened for the likes of Wet Willie, Dickie Betts and Great Southern, Blue Oyster Cult and The Marshall Tucker Band.

With JackJaw Jimmy, they have added Brian McDonald to the mix and have gotten down the very tips of their Southern music roots. You can catch them at Paddy O’Tooles almost every weekend on their never-ending “Wetumpka or Bust!” tour.

Music marathon

The L’Arche community is sponsoring the 5th Annual Legg Mason Funds “First Light Marathon” on Sunday, Jan. 15. This marathon, which begins at 7:30 a.m., is coordinated by and will benefit L’Arche Mobile, a Christian community that provides permanent family-like homes for the mentally handicapped. Following the race, at around 9:30 a.m., there will be a concert in Bienville Square, featuring Brett LaGrave, The Dog River Boys, The Excelsior Jazz Band, Wes Loper Band and The Eliot Morris Band. Admission is free for race participants and $10 for everyone else. This is the perfect opportunity for all of you geezers who complain that music starts too late in Mobile.

Spring’s already sprung at Saenger

Now for the long-range “heads-up.”

On March 21, legendary singer/songwriter/outlaw Kris Kristofferson will take the stage at the Saenger. Now, you young pups may credit Kristofferson with appearances in many different movies, but this Texas native seldom receives credit for his influence on not only country music but also rock and roll. He had a very close relationship with Janis Joplin and was the driving force behind her recording of “Me and Bobby McGee” (after Roger Miller had already done it, mind you). He also wrote one of the late Johnny Cash’s greatest songs (and my personal favorite) “Sunday Morning Coming Down” after Kristofferson landed a helicopter on the Man in Black’s lawn. He was also one of the legendary Austin Outlaws along with Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Paul Glacier.

The only show that might top his occurs just four days later on March 25, and I can’t wait for tickets to go on sale Friday, Jan. 20 at 10 a.m. The Okie from Muscogee, also known as Merle Haggard, will be making a stop in the Port City, and I can guarantee you that this one will sell out! It’s not every day someone I would consider just as much a country legend as Johnny Cash or Waylon Jennings rolls into town.

This Californian exploded into the Bakersfield music scene pulling inspiration from muses such as Hank Sr. and Lefty Frizzell after spending quite a few years in various detention centers. His life was the theme for many of his hit songs such as “Mama Tried.” Throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s Haggard gained the respect of Austin and Nashville as well as a legion of fans. Time hasn’t slowed Haggard down, and you will have the chance to see for yourself in March.

Stephen Centanni is Lagniappe music editor. Contact him at scentanni@lagniappemobile.com.

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