Bakersfield Sound Underground
http://blog.bakersfieldsoundunderground.com
Bakersfield Sound Underground

Please pray for Homer Joy's health



Please pray for Homer Joy, a dear friend of mine who wrote Buck Owens and Dwight Yoakam's big hit, STREETS OF BAKERSFIELD. He also wrote recorded many other great songs, including another big hit that he recorded with Buck Owens called "John Law."  Several year ago, Homer received a heart transplant and he was doing very well for  quite some time after that. Homer's new heart was severely damaged. He will be undergoing tests at  UCLA shortly to learn if he is a good candidate for a second heart
transplant.

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Rumors about HOMELESS VALENTINE confirmed!: A Dr BLT/Dave Howe digital downloadable duet to raise money for Haitian victims


"allegedly" Dave Howe

The rumors allegedly began to spread at around midnight on 2/3/10 on facebook and twitter.  It wasn't long before there was suspicion that the rumors had spread to the point of being out of control.  The alleged rumors concerned the alleged prospect of a brand new, digital, downloadable duet version of a Dr BLTune called Homeless Valentine aka Streetheart Serenade, to be sold be release here on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 to raise money for victims of the earthquake in Haiti through the Red Cross:

Dr BLT's official home page

AS IT TURNS OUT, THE ALLEGED RUMORS WERE TRUE:  The proof is contained in this rare audio sample:


Homeless Valentine (Streetheart Serenade) duet
Dr BLT and Dave Howe
words and music by Dr BLT copyright 2010



Homeless Valentine

 

This is a homeless valentine

 

A card with eyes too sad to cry

 

Let me whisper in your ear

 

You have nothin’ left to fear

 

 

You’re cold and livin’ in the street

 

You’ve got no shoes upon your feet

 

This poem and prayer is just for you

 

A Valentine to get you through

 

 

Chorus:

 

This one’s for the street hearts

 

Penniless and forlorn

 

Lookin’ for some shelter

 

Shelter from the storm

 

This one’s for the street hearts

 

Street hearts who have no home

 

Let us show them love

 

So they won’t have to be alone

 

 

This is a homeless valentine

 

A card with eyes too sad to cry

 

                                                              A song with chords too sad to strike

 

A tunnel with a distant light

 

(chorus)

 

Chorus #2

 

This one’s for you too

 

With abundance with you

 

Share a little treasure

 

With a heart that’s true

 

(instrumental bridge)

 

 

Make them the apple of your eye

 

Give them a shoulder

 

For to cry

 

Give them a shelter from the storm

 

Give them a valentine that’s warm

 

 

And when their nighttime

 

Feels just like a lifetime

 

It won’t last forever

 

The sun will soon arrive

 

 

Yes, when your nighttime

 

Feels just like a lifetime

 

We’ll be there by your side

 

With this homeless valentine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Dr BLT at the Element Lounge


Hi, I'm Dr BLT and I'm here to inform friends, family and fans that I'll bedoing a 30-minute set of original songs at the Element Lounge at 1927 KStreet between 19th and 20th Streets in Bakersfield on Saturday,January 23 from 8-8:30 pm.

This song will likely be among them. I'm planning to record a multi-artist version featuring Patricia Mikel and Dave Howe to raise money for victims of the Haiti earthquake.


Dr bLT
words and music by Dr BLT © 2010

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The Aventures of "Oil" Dale: Alien carpenters, compromised brains and foiled wedding plans

The Adventures of Oil Dale: Wedding plans down the drain, with the brains


* single-song soundtrack to the following short story
It Only Hurts when I Cry
Dr BLT copyright 1996, 2010

It Only Hurts When I Cry 




It was a foggy, groggy Saturday morning, January 16. 

Oil Dale was sitting on his fiancé  Ellie’s couch watching pre-taped episodes of My Redneck Wedding to get ideas for their own wedding set for February 30, 2010.  They were of course, assuming that such a date existed.  Ellie, rather roughly, yanked Oil Dale’s old, over-sized 1980s set of headphones off his head, grabbed his cassette player and smashed it on the floor.

 

“What the hell are you listening too?  You’re supposed to be paying attention.  Don’t you care about our wedding?” she screamed in that distinct, all-to-familiar edgy tone Dale had become accustomed to over the nearly two weeks that had been together. 

 

“What did you do that for? That’s Dr BLT’s song about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,, the one called It Only Hurts When I Cry.  You get the day off just like I do, don’t you appreciate the significance of that day?” he replied in a gradually increasingly confident tone. 

 

“How can you get the day off when you don’t have a job, Dale?” Ellie had cooled off a little, and though her tone remained harsh, it was decidedly less shrill.  “And besides, don’t you know what town you’re in?  You could get beat up for listening to that.”

 

“I plan to take the day off by letting the garbage sit an extra day.  What do you mean don’t I know what town I’m in?  I ain’t stupid, but you are obviously ignorant.  Times have changed.  African-Americans now walk down the streets of Oildale with their heads held high. Why they frequently enter Trout’s without fear, even participate in Karaoke Night without as much as a cold stare aimed at them.  You’re the prejudice one now, stereotyping Oildale folks with your overly developed occipital lobe.”  Dale seemed almost cocky and smug this time around.   Ellie walked to the kitchen and grabbed a frying pan.  Then she put it down slowly.

 

She had entertained the thought of striking him but then hesitated, remembering that this was the behavior of a crack head and her, now two-week, clean and sober time had been earned by the sweat of her brow, and with every ounce of determination inside of her.  

 

She took a deep breath, let it out slowly, then replied, “The occipital lobe is involved in bilateral and contralateral vision, Dale, haven’t you been paying attention in Dr. BLT’s class?  If you’re going to put me down, at least have your knowledge about the brain physiologically correct.  Stereotypes are based on primitive emotional reactions, relatively un-modulated by higher-order brain centers.  They stem, no pun intended, from the limbic system, involving the regulation of pleasure and pain.  So go ahead, say I have an overly developed limbic system, or hypothalamus, which governs emotional behavior such as anger and sexual activity.  But don’t say I have an overly developed occipital lobe. That would only help me to see things more clearly.”  Ellie now joined Dale on the couch, gently stroking his hat-matted hair.  I just want you to use your head when you speak, she said, half-jokingly, but none-the-less condescendingly. 

 

 

“Ain’t nothin’ inferior about emotion.  It Only Hurts When I Cry is obviously centered on emotion, but Dr BLT is no dummy and the song is not designed for idiots.  It is intelligently written and it has historic as well as cultural value.  Haven’t you ever heard of emotional intelligence?  It’s not just for troglodytes you know.   What good is a brain if you can only think, not feel?  How much compassion would you have for your fellow Oildale neighbors?”  Dale felt quite good for defending himself. 

 

Ellie pulled back, and had a hard time concealing her frustration and dismay.  “What would you know about emotional intelligence, or intelligence of any kind for that matter?

The reason you can never seem to make rational decisions and the reason you are always seeking instant gratification is that your brain, especially your prefrontal cortex, is always numb from alcohol.  As such, it can’t possibly perform its ability to slow down your need for instant gratification, to introduce rational thoughts, is impaired.  How rational is it, after all to believe in space cowboys? Ellie added.

 

“What?  What the heck are you talking about?”  Dale shifted sheepishly in his chair.

 

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” she replied with marked frustration.

You even going to submit a copy of your cover of Dr BLT’s song If You Want to Be the Next Buck Owens to the radio show, Bakersfield and Beyond, but stopped, thinking that so-called sighting was a sign that the contest, and the contestants were would-be victims of some sort of alien cowboy conspiracy or something.” 

 

“If you’re referring to that so-called sighting, involving the two so-called alien-carpenters-dressed-as-antediluvian-cowboys hitchhiking on the freeway exit off Buck Owens Blvd. I always thought that was a joke.  I didn’t believe it for a moment,” Dale replied with ersatz dismay. 

 

“Okay, that’s it! I’ve had enough of your lies and prevarications, Dale!” 

 

Ellie stormed out of the door.  Dale sat helplessly on the edge of the couch with his head in his hands.  This time he did not run after her and beg for her return.  It was a break from his typical alcohol-fueled ritual.  This time, he had been sober for over 4 hours, and his prefrontal cortex was in rare form.  He wouldn’t stay rational for very long, but in his life, any moment of clear thinking was a godsend, not only for Oil Dale, but for everybody who had any sort of relationship with him. 

 

 

 

 

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Strange sighting/odd encounter on Buck Owens Blvd.


The day was Tuesday, January 12, 2010.  I came across these alien cowboy hitchhikers on my way to work the other day, on the freeway entrance on Buck Owens Blvd., right across from Buck Owens' Crystal Palace. I was in a hurry but stopped to introduce myself. They were silent. I asked if they were in a band, they said no.I asked if they were cowboys. They said "no." Then, in a strange sort of sci-fi voice, they said in unison,"We are carpenters." I was running late for work, so I had to leave the scene of this alien carpenters sighting. Only in Bakersfield. I sense anew song in the works.

So, what do you, the blog visitor, make of all of this?  Are they human?  Are they really carpenters?  Are they trying to communicate?  If so, what are they trying to tell us? 

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2009 ENDS IN A TWANG! Thanks to BAKERSFIELD AND BEYOND!



The Bakersfield Sound movement, or musical earthquake, if you will, was one of the only "bumper crops" to come out of the great depression and what a great harvest it yielded (pardon my mix of metaphors).  The Bakersfield Sound revival, a belated musical aftershock, if you will, arrived decades later.  If I may mix my metaphors one more time, a brand new bumper crop was harvested in 2009, and much of it will be revealed on this week's broadcast of Bakersfield and Beyond.

2009 ended with a bang, or, rather, with a twang.  Contrary to what you may be reading in the newspapers, 2009 wasn't all bad.  One of the best things to come out of 2009 was a brand new radio show that woke up a sleeping giant known as the Bakersfield Sound.  By playing the Bakersfield Sound classics (along with more obsure BS gems), along with newer songs by artists grounded in, or influenced by the Bakersfield Sound, Mike Varley and Amanda  Eichstaedt, the shows co-hosts started a brand new Bakersfield Sound earthquake with the epicenter being in Marin County, of all places. 

Robert Price, in his Bakersfield Californian article, summarized the phenomenon more elegantly than I ever could:

Price's piece on "Bakersfield and Beyond"

I believe that for the radio show was the missing link in the evolution of the Bakersfield Sound---the missing link that, by its missing status, caused a conspicuous skip in the beat, and a near-"fatal" disconnect between Bakersfield Sound generations of yore, and the generations that followed. 

I call Bakersfield and Beyond "the savior of the sound," and I think experts like Robert Price and others would agree that my characterization of the show, and its effect, is no exaggeration.   

This week, on Bakersfield and Beyond, a new year for the show is kicked off as Mike and Amanda pay tribute to 2009, with some lists they've generated.  Have I aroused your curiousity?  I hope so, and I'll let them reveal additional details that are bound whet your appetite---all contained within the boundaries of their blog:

Bakersfield and Beyond blog

In summary, if you want another year to begin and end with a TWANG, I'd recommend that you stay tuned (literally) by streaming the show here Thursday from 6:40 pm to 8:30 pm (or listening to it on the airwaves if you live near Marin County):

KWMR





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"CELEBRATE" Christmas Day with Oildale Santa and the Homeless Christmas Medley





Christmas came in like a lion, and went out like one, or at least like a rockin' reindeer, and at least as it pertains to the Bakersfield music scene.  We won't be coming out with a full-length hard copy CD this Christmas, but we're getting there, with several songs that will be used to raise money for Bakersfield Homeless Shelter. 

A few days ago, producer, cutting-edge rock guitarist, Brian Benson, showed me just how far he was able to take my humble tune called Celebrate (The Gift that Keeps on Givin').  Sample it here:


Dr BLT ft. Brian Benson and Mark McKinney
words and music by Dr BLT © 2009

Prior to that release, we had two versions of the Homeless Christmas Medley, penned by yours truly, produced by Mark Yeary, and featuring Nu Bako Sound All-Stars.  This song's line-up of All-Stars included Walter Stormont, Mark Yeary, Reggie Langendorfer, Mark McKinney (who laid down some slammin' harmonies, bass lines and drum tracks), and the two front vocalists, Patricia Mikel and Dave Howe. 

Then, of course, there was Oildale Santa, which made it's debut in two videos, both of which aired on the brand new cable TV show, Rockwell's Opry.  Rockwell and me were able to complete the first version of a duet of the song, also penned by yours truly. 

Before that, we made a statement about the weather, while paying tribute to Homer Joy and Buck Owens with another new Christmas song penned by yours truly,   Another great line-up of All-Stars were represented on It Only Snows on the Streets of Bakersfield.  These included Alyssa Kaess, Jeffrey Michaels, Mark McKinney, Dominic "Nick" Andrew Muller. 

Of course we all owe a huge debt to Mike, Amanda and the radio show that woke up a sleeping giant, that giant being the Bakersfield Sound with their radio show, Bakersfield and Beyond.  On their final show, they played some Bakersfield Sound-styled Christmas songs, among others, and they aired their interview with Rosie Flores and played her awesome music.  I believe they plan to debut the Homeless Christmas Medley too. 

I'm rambling, when I should be heading back for that second helping of turkey and a great big piece of pumpkin pie. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!  And to all, a good Christmas Eve night!

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The day we recorded the HOMELESS CHRISTMAS MEDLEY: December 19, 2009





Well, it's a done deal, and the first version of THE HOMELESS CHRISTMAS MEDLEY aka Homeless at Christmas/Angels, has been released at:

Homeless Christmas Medley

It's from the forthcoming CD, THE BAKERSFIELD SOUND OF CHRISTMAS: VOLUME I: HOMELESS 4 THE HOLIDAYS.  All profits from this album, and from the downloaded mp3s that are purchased even prior to the completion of what we hope will eventuate in a full-length, hard-copy CD, will be donated to the Bakersfield Homeless Center. 




What another magical session, featuring a confluence of some of the most outstanding artists in Bakersfield and the surrounding regions.  That's why I call them all-stars, Nu Bako Sound All-Stars, to be precise.  No, it's not an established group, it's a fluid, steadily evolving, steadily revolving group of the very best, hand-picked artists in Bakersfield and the surrounding regions---the finest fruits of my talent scouting adventures, the cream of the crop, the top of the heap.  They are not only hand-picked, but mixed and matched to tailor every song selected for recording. 

The first line-up of artists is featured on IT NEVER SNOWS ON THE STREETS OF BAKERSFIELD, from the same album-in-the-making.  This line-up is slightly different, but every bit as brilliant as the first combo.  It goes down in the evolution of the Bakersfield Sound as a truly historic, magical event.




Here's what Patricia Mikel, one of the All-Stars had to say at the session: "What a great experience this was for me!  I had a good time.  Mark and Dr BLT are the bomb.  I enjoyed all the great talent by all who participated.  Thanks for having me."  Patricia brought tears to my eyes with her performance, and gave us all goosebumps." 





Walter Stormont said this: "What an honor and a blast to be part of this wonderful session and recording.  All the talent will rub off on me, I can only hope.  Thanks, and Merry Christmas!"

Dave Howe added this, "To all BLT fans...If you listened to and like the Homeless Medley posted on the blog page (the "before" edition), let me say "you ain't heard nothin' yet!"  You will be blown away by the final version!!!"


We kept Mark McKinney too busy the whole time to allow him a comment, but what a remarkable force of talent he is!!!  Of course, we will all be forever grateful to Mark Yeary who plays keyboard and who produced and arranged this version of the song.  Stay tuned (and I mean that literally) for the follow-up version, featuring Dave Howe and Patricia Mikel together; and for the release of Oildale Santa and one Brian Benson has been busy producing called CELEBRATE (THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING).  

To hear the first version of THE HOMELESS CHRISTMAS MEDLEY in it's entirety, visit:

Dr BLT's MySpace page

And now for a sample, followed by the credits:

Home Christmas Medley (Solo Version)

HOMELESS CHRISTMAS MEDLEY aka Homeless at Christmas/Angels
words and music by Dr BLT © 2009

Credits on this version:

Patricia Mikel: lead vocals, backup vocals

Mark Yeary: keyboard

Mark McKinney: bass, drums, vocal harmonies

Walter Stormont: ending choruses vocals

Dave Howe: ending choruses vocals

Dr BLT: ending choruses vocals

produced by Mark Yeary

engineered by Reggie Langendorfer, Bakersfield Music and Recording Studios

sponsored by Dr BLT Music

Nu Bako Sound Recordings






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The making of OILDALE SANTA: Rockwell's Opry



Most people don't know that the version of the Cake music video that I'm on with a cameo is not the only version.  When the initial video for Short Skirt/Long Jacket debuted on MTV, it became so popular that Capitol Records, the company Cake was signed to at the time, asked the band to create additional versions.  The initial version went on to become nominated as Ground-making Music Video of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2002. 

Well, when the first edition of Oildale Santa debuted on Rockwell's Opry last week, it generated such a buzz, thanks in part to some of the creative props, I was asked to go back and do another version, this one with me singing my new song, Oildale Santa, while wearing a Santa beard and sitting on a brand new Harley.  The recording of the song is not complete, but it is part of the BAKERSFIELD SOUND OF CHRISTMAS project to benefit Bakersfield Homeless Center.  Hope you will support that recording project.  A couple of songs are already available at:


The all-new version of OILDALE SANTA will debut on Rockwell's Opry on Saturday, December 12, 2009 at 6 pm on Brighthouse TV 21.   

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Homeless Christmas Medley: Need to rehearse for the 12/19/09 multi-artist recording?: Rehearse to this!


 

If you are a singer or artist who is grounded in the Bakersfield Sound, or appreciative of the Bakersfield Sound, put DECEMBER 19th on your calendar.  DECEMBER 19, 2009 from 9 am to noon, (931 26th Street in lovely Bakersfield, California, artists from Bakersfield and the surrounding regions will gather in a We-are-the-World/Do-they-Know-it's-Christmas multi-artist/multi-band manner to record a song I wrote a few years back that Mark Yeary of Merle Haggard and the Strangers is producing for this sort of mass-artist format. 

Some of you would like to rehearse with the keyboard/strings only version and so hear it is, accompanied by both the Mark Yeary/Dr BLT vocals and the original arrangement. 
Homeless at Christmas
words and music by Dr BLT © 1992, 2009
produced by Mark Yeary


To hear that scaled down keyboard/strings/vocals only version (More instruments and many more voices will be added to this version:


Original arrangement done in 1992.  Listen to this if you'd like ideas on what you may want to add to contribute to the vocals. 

SEE YOU ON THE 19th--------December 19, 2009 from 9 am to 12 noon at BAKERSFIELD MUSIC AND RECORDING STUDIOS,
931 21st Street: 661-325-3300

Homeless Christmas Medley

words and music by Dr BLT © 2009 produced by Mark Yeary


I took a walk one Christmas

Down forbidden streets

Saw the homeless people

With no food to eat

Some were struck with illness

From the freezin’ cold

Others lost their homes

While they were growin’ old

 

A man came up to me and asked me for a dime

I could tell his back was achin’

By his crooked spine

He had no one to care

For sores upon his arms

Protect him from the cold

Shelter him from harm

 

Chorus I

No one should be homeless at Christmas

Everyone should have a place to stay

No one should be homeless at Christmas

No one should wake up alone

On this Christmas Day

 

We’re livin’ in a time

When people loose their minds

We’re livin’ in a world that’s full of

Of hate and crime

But I see a new tomorrow on this Christmas night

Through the darkened streets, I see a holy light

(chorus I)…

 

Part I of medley begins here: Angels (From Realms of Glory)

 

I would like to travel

On a timeless flight

Back to Bethlehem

On that holy night

I’d come to see the babe

Wrapped in swaddling cloths

join in singin’ carols

with that heavenly host

 

 

chorus II:

of angels from realms of glory

bring good tidings

redemption story (repeat)

 

I would like to travel to

The holy land

Ride with the wisemen on the desert sand

The drummer boy would play

Pa rum pa pa pum

And ask that it be sung

(chorus)

 

I would like to travel

With you by my side

Put you on a donkey

So that you could ride

You could ride…

(chorus; repeat chorus)

 

I’d like to introduce you

To that baby king

Make the world a better place

With peace he brings

Put a song in your heart

So that you could sing

Put music in your soul

So that you could rock n roll

With those…

(chorus; repeat chorus)



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