Rocks Requiem Part IVXIII…


Dan Baird of The Georgia SatellitesYeah my baby called me up said I done made her mad
she’s takin’ me off for everything that I had
ran out of town and now she’s come back
got Van Halen wailin’ on the stereo eight track
watch out baby that’s what I said
there’s a red light, road block, bridge out ahead

- Georgia Satellites - Red Light

My friend Jackson and I are both fairly pessimistic about the future of rock and roll. It’s not because there aren’t any bands out there playing rock and roll, but few are playing anything credible or authentic enough to keep the fields abundant for future generations to survive. I’m talking about rock and roll the way The Ramones played it, or the way Bon Scott sung it; bands that rocked without the need of production perfection or the benefit of major label hype. Through the gilded years of rocks reign, these bands may not have topped charts, but they DID leave their mark and filled clubs Friday and Saturday nights. Labels used to have room for these sub-gold sellers.

One of the bands was the Georgia Satellites.

Yep, Keep Your Hands To Yourself, with it’s comically goofy MTV video is what most will remember most about the Georgia Satellites if they remember anything at all, and those who do remember more than likely cast the band aside as a novelty act after ‘Hands’ broke to number 2 on the Billboard charts behind Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer in 1986. But the Georgia Satellites were much more than the Chuck Berry driven silliness of “No huggy, no kissy…”, They were definitely for real and could deliver the goods. The magic is ALWAYS in the deeper cuts, and those smart enough to listen past the hit got to gorge themselves at the table of ass-kicking rock.

The Satellites had Rick Richards, the class of 1985 valedictorian of the Keith Richards Conservatory of juke guitar playing. Rick was also blessed with a fantastic Marlboro 100 infused voice which lent itself well to backing vocal duties and stood well on his own on when called upon to sing lead (Check out Rick belting Rod Stewart’s Every Picture Tells a Story the best version of this tune ever). Together with front man Dan Baird’s quick wit, sincere Hotlanta twang, and wicked Telecaster slingin’ in his own right, these two guys were the Less Glamorous Twins of this gang of southern born hooligans, along with Rick Price on bass, and Mauro Magellan pounding the drums (always with the handle end of the sticks).

Debut Album from The Georgia Satellites

I remember a Rolling Stone interview in which Dan Baird defined the term “Man Dancing” as something that results when a guy drinks six beers and puts on side one of Exile On Main St. The result is a great deal of spontaneous Keith Richards style air guitar convulsions and Chuck Taylor high top clad foot slapping. At that point in my life, I was relieved to know that there were others that carried on this way, and that there was actually a term for it having long perfected this dance technique to the Master Black Belt level.

Man dancing music is exactly what the Satellites inspired. I was fortunate enough to see them open for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers at MSG in 1987. The crowd gave it up for them as much as they did for Tom and his band that night, but even better than that was the show Jackson, my sister, and I caught at The Chance in Poughkeepsie NY a couple of years later as they toured behind their recent release Open All Night. That show was as much fun as I’ve ever had in my life. The place was packed and the band ripped though a 2 hour set including original material and homages to the Gods with a version of I Wanna be Sedated, and a scorching assortment Faces, Stones, and Yardbirds covers. No pretense, no elaborate costumes, no choreography, or no light show, just a bunch of Georgia boys clad in dirty tee shirts, jeans, and Converse sneakers surprised by their success, perhaps feeling a bit like foreigners, playing to a full house in a club along the banks of the Hudson River.

The Band

The band’s records are not for the faint of ears or those looking for Peter Gabriel-like production, but they no doubt rock the roof off. The best two records were recorded by Jeff Glixman and combined the traditional twin Tele sound with contemporary big drums. Both the first and second records were hastily mixed as evidenced by sloppy fades and inconsistent dynamic fluctuations, but who cares about any of that shit anyway. I actually enjoy Keep Your Hands to Yourself off the self titled debut album, but lift the needle (for those that don’t understand, hit the forward double arrow button on your iPod) and drop it on the next track, take a deep breath of Railroad Steel, and then grab onto something for the teary eyed tenderness of Battleship Chains. Following that, you may want to put on your helmet on for Red Light, my personal favorite after which, if you somehow don’t manage to discover the art of the man dance, you may as well turn in your rock badge deputy. Flip it over for Can’t Stand the Pain, and Nights of Mystery with the acoustic guitar segue into Every Picture Tells a Story. You’re guaranteed to be huffing and puffing by the time the final chords ring out.

The Satellites’ sophomore effort Open All Night wasn’t quite as strong as the debut, but a great record nonetheless. Highlights being tracks like Sheila, Hand to Mouth, and a cover of Ringo Starr’s Don’t Pass Me By.

Future efforts were marginal, cash-infused attempts by Elektra to fit the band into a more marketable box, but not without some serious gems like Stellazine Blues and the Lowell George tribute Shake That Thing from In the Land of Salvation & Sin not to mention awesome solo albums by Dan Baird (another sign of rock’s eminent demise: other than the debut and Sin & Salvation, all the other records are no longer in print).

After moving to Atlanta in 1991, I had heard from a few folks in local music circles that, much like the great Danny Gatton and Jeff Beck, they band parted ways and members willingly returned to the simple life wanting to do nothing more than hang out and work on their cars after growing weary of travel and the bullshit that is the music business. They still show up now and again in various forms in local clubs playing mostly for the fun of it. If you happen to find any of their stuff while flipping through your local used vinyl or CD store, buy them all. Then, on your way stop at the gas station and pick up a twelver of PBR (in cans of course), drop the needle, and clear some space for some serious man dancing. Don’t be shy girls, you can do it too!

Man, I miss the Georgia Satellites.

Rock is dead, long live rock!

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July 17th, 2007
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Viewing 22 Comments

    • ^
    • v
    The Sats were an awsome band. Saw them 3 times here in the UK and they were fantastic.

    Dan's solo work is also excellent, and he continues to tour (Europe anyway).

    As for new bands, I've just discovered The Trews who are based in Canada. I saw them in London UK last week and they were superb. Good songs, great harmonies etc. Check out www.thettrewsmusic.com .

    LR.
    • ^
    • v
    "It had to do with the way that newcritics recycles the whole boomer aesthetic, waxing lyrical about the good old days which were never exactly as good as they seemed to be."

    Oh contraire my feisty friend THEY WERE BETTER(at least for rock)! That's exactly what my position is Lex. I'm STILL "discovering" great music from the 60's, 70's, and 80's. Just this weekend I picked Jeff Beck's first three records. I used to hear them all the time, but I never owned any of them. A couple of Elvis Costello disc's too. Oh yeah, I'm not sure what defines a "Boomer", but I was born in 1964. My discovery of the 60's acts were after that heyday.

    It's to my great disappointment that the late 90's and 00's have produced very little fertile ground for rock music. There are a few good records out there, and there are bands playing rock (Jackson records these acts at his studio regularly), they're just not getting any traction. THIS BOTHERS ME!

    So I'll ask again, since you're so critical of the "Boomer" wining at Newcritics. Make your case for your contemporaries: Give me something to listen to that will restore my faith a little bit. I’m all ears…
    • ^
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    Who needs to spew?
    What "stance" would that be exactly, Jackson? My comment had nothing to do with "giving props to...musical taste," whatever that
    means. (I have nothing against the Ga. Sattellites, no strong opinion about them either way).
    It had to do with the way that newcritics recycles the whole boomer aesthetic, waxing lyrical about the good old days which were never exactly as good as they seemed to be. Over and over. Again and again. (I repeated this in comment 9, but alas reading isn't Jackson's strong suit.)
    • ^
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    True Jackson, but hate and self-loathing have a long, storied place on the rock-and-roll storyboard. So, lex pistol, spew away.
    • ^
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    As I said, Lex has nothing to back up his idiotic stance. Sure there's a whole world of music out there to enjoy, and discuss. It just so happens this post was about the Georgia Sattelites, a neglected but great band, and Lex seems to have an issue with us giving props to our musical taste.

    If Jason likes Brittney more than the Ga. Sattelites, well then I accept that. What he doesn't do is chastise Tony for writing about them - quite the opposite in fact.

    Yep, Lex is a loser.

    In other words, hate blogging.
    • ^
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    Jason--
    I haven't heard the new Tinariwen but I'm looking forward to--their last one was a grower--a bit reticent at first but one of my fav's of 05.
    • ^
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    Sean, you're right, rock sure does travel well. Tinariwen may the be best rock band working today---great guitar-driven, groove-heavy rock from Toureg refugees. The group's records amaze me.
    • ^
    • v
    I like "Toxic" too. The whole notion of "authenticity" and "sincerity" seems beside the point. JT's promblem's not "computer-driven" but persona driven, he seems like a cipher with a measure of talent unsure of what he wants to say. I like guitars as much as anyone else around here but the whole punk rock playbook is all but exhausted and there are times when I think I never want to hear another roots rock record again. Until someone rewrites the rules, (not an easy thing to do at this late date) the template is just too narrow.
    But there is still plenty to listen to. Rock as a commercial force may be stone cold dead, but its basic components, guitar, bass drums, power-chords, etc. travel well and have been assimilated for the past two decades (at least) by any number of indigenous musics from the Balkans to Algerian rai to Japanese psych and beyond.
    • ^
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    "The notion that you could listen to anything else is unfathomable."

    BTW Lex, I'm open to any suggestion that you might have with regard to anything contemporary that is halfway listenable. Com'on man, move me with something. While not optimistic, I'd be releived to be proven wrong. No joke, make a suggstion and I'll pick it up on Amazon right away.
    • ^
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    "I’m a Britney fan…Toxic, I’m a Slave for You, even Oops I Did it Again. These are records I really like (more than I like any Georgia Satellite records, frankly)."

    I don't know how to respond to that and if I were you I'd consider not repeating that too loudly.

    Huge hip hop fan, but it is suffering the same death as rock and for the same reason, lack of credibility and sincerity. Why will kids say, “Who are Nickleback?” in ten years? I think they produce nice melodies over rockin’ guitars, but I don’t BELIEVE THEM and they aren’t saying anything. Same with hip hop. With exception of a few contemporary acts today’s hip hop lacks any substance.

    All the great technology that has falsely created the impression that “anybody can do it” has quite frankly fucked it all up and I think everybody is slowly coming to realize it, at least I hope so. The music buying public has been subjected to a bunch of computer wiz jackasses that actually thought that with technology they could overcome their gaping lack of creativity. While electric instrumentation has been a part of pop music for a long time, I think people yearn for the more organic analog sounds, it’s just they don’t know how to articulate this need. Combine that with a credible artist who has something to say and won’t be on the next Coke commercial, you’ve got somebody I’m willing to take a chance on. I hope this is why traditional instruments are flying off shelves at Guitar Centers around the world. It’s the only way rock/pop will survive.

    Jackson gives me a ton of shit about my affinity for JT and a couple of N’sync tunes that I can’t resist. My wife is a huge JT fan so I’m subjected to it a great deal, but the worst aspect with his records is not that he’s talentless (quite frankly the guy can sing his ass off and craft a great tune), but it’s the lack of organic instrumentation, it’s all fucking computer driven shit and it wears on you quickly. Christine Agulara, or her people figured it out and pared her up with a band playing trad instruments and she’s enjoying more success than she ever has.

    We’ve got to get back to the garden and quick before it’s all gone.
    • ^
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    Oh, and ps, I'm music editor and I'm a Britney fan...Toxic, I'm a Slave for You, even Oops I Did it Again. These are records I really like (more than I like any Georgia Satellite records, frankly).

    Watson, still waiting on that Der Bingle multi-parter w/ the Bob Crosby sidebar and special focus on megaphone technique.

    I hope we don't have a house aesthetic but I'm perfectly happy with writers who do and with commentors (and other writers) who are happy to bring their own aesthetic biases to the table.

    Rock's not my passion, but I love people who have any sort of aesthetic passion. If there's a house aesthetic to the way we treat music, let it be that--articulate passion. (Though generally I'd like to see us favor a tone of discovery over one of nostalgia.)

    I'd like to see us cover a lot of different kinds of music, and the more writers we can convince to write for us for free, the more kinds of music we will cover!:)
    • ^
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    the loops and beats are often samples, or start as samples..in any event I was referring to the whole looping practice which is what the samples were always used as...
    • ^
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    Hey lex, there is no "newcritics musical aesthetic" - stick around and see us argue.

    And just wait till my huge Bing Crosby multi-part extravaganza!

    Jason, from what I can tell, sampling as we know it from the rap era is old now...building songs from sounds and loops and midi and beats is bigger. but I could be wrong.

    Also, big return to trad instruments....kids buying drums and guitars. Visit any GuitarCenter...
    • ^
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    I needn't say another word: that last bit of idiocy neatly encapsulates the newcritics musical aesthetic: if you don't want to hear the same baby boomer boilerplate nostalgia recylced again and again, well, you must be a raving Britney fan with tech issues or...a dick. The notion that you could listen to anything else is unfathomable. High marks for defensiveness though.
    • ^
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    Don't sweat it Jackson, Lex just lost his hard drive with $5000 worth of Britney Spears iTunes that he'll have to now re-purchase. Either that or he's just a dick. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt...
    • ^
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    Actually jazz moves catalogue too.

    Rock IS dead, at least as a dominant commerical pop force. Hip Hop killed it. It won't die w/ the boomers but just as swing band jazz was the music of the WWII gen and faded from popularity as that generation aged out, so too w/ rock.

    Samplers and sampling are to kids today as electric guitars were to kids post-Beatles on Sullivan. Timbral and rhythmic changes always form the dividing line between changing pop musical styles and hip hop offers the rhythmic and timbral sounds that define contemporary pop and have for the past twenty years.
    • ^
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    Just as I thought, he's got nothing.
    • ^
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    Who's "hate-blogging" Jackson? What data do I need to cite about nostalgia, warmed over for the umpteenth time? Reading about "great music" over and over and over and over...and over and over...and over. Talk about a dog chasing its own tail.
    • ^
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    I'm sure Lex can do much better. I like to back up my hate blogging with some references or data. Guess Lex can't be bothered to do much more than complain about.....about what exactly? Having to read about great music - oh yeah, he doesn't have to read it at all.
    • ^
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    oh, sorry, nostalgia hour again...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...tom petty...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...this site inches closer and closer to the Joe Franklin show.
    • ^
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    Nobody slaps a Chuck Taylor on the boards like Dan Baird, and his solo debut - 'Love Songs for the Hearing Impared' makes any rock record (exception Tom Petty) made today seem trivial. There may be plenty of new grinding rock out there, but I haven't heard any new good rock.
    • ^
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    Only rock moves catalogue.

    But there's plenty of good, new, grinding rock music out there. There just aren't many emerging arena acts.
 

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