Hillbilly Hootenanny - Mid Wales, April 2011

The Hillbilly Hootenanny is a throwback to the travelling troupe shows that used to be the norm in small towns across 40s and 50s America. This particular band of hillbillies featured Ian Cal-Ford and the Railmen, Chuck Micallef and former Darts from man Bob Fish. The glue that held them all together and played with all three acts was the highly talented Dave Luke. Despite being based in mid Wales, he's the guitarist for Nashville stalwart Gail Davies, who also showed his prowess on mandolin and steel guitar. To be able to carry off those black and red cowboy boots he has to be good!

The night kicked off with a set from Canadian Micallef, who sang a mixture of some classics and a few self written tunes. He was joined throughout by Dave Luke on mandolin and duet vocals. I thought that Chuck had a Waylon Jennings feel to his voice and would have loved him to have done some Waylon. The highlight of his set for me were the one he wrote about his dad and Hank's Mind Your Own Business. Dave Luke remained on stage to back Bob Fish, whose plaintative vocals were the perfect foil for his autoharp. The crowd seemed to really enjoy his performance.

The final act was Wales' very own Man in Black Ian Cal-Ford and the Railmen. I first saw them in the 90's at an all-dayer in Bristol when Mac Curtis headed the bill, and was blown away by their authentic sound, with Sitdown Steve Tompsett playing great Scotty Moore and Chet Atkins licks. Nowadays they lean more heavily on the Johnny Cash songbook but still play the odd rockabilly track, as outlined by a stirring cover of Johnny Talley's Wild Wild Mind. The Sun classic Luther Played The Boogie was spot on and another highlight for me was I Still Miss Someone. The crowd were on their feat for a double bill of Ring of Fire and Walk The Line. Milkcow Blues Boogie complete with the "hold it fellas, that don't move me" start allowed Tompsett and Dave Grieves to show their skills. Their great set was rounded off with all the others joining them for a rousing sing-along of Hank's I Saw The Light. Somehow the night ended with Leavin' On A Jet Plane, which although at odds with the Eisenhower era feel of the night, again pleased the crowd and send everyone home in great spirits. If the Hillbilly Hootenanny comes your way, make sure you check it out. It's the real deal.

(Photo courtesy of Ian Cal-Ford).

Flip remembers Mickey Gee

In memory of Wales` greatest guitarist - Mickey Gee

Earlier this year I sadly attended the funeral of the Welsh guiatr great Mickey Gee in Cardiff, many musicians were there including Shaking Stevens, Geraint Watkins, Andy Fairweather Low, John David, Terry Williams,John Lewis and Ian Calford, Mickey had provided immaculate Fender bending to all these guys, he`d played with Ian`s dad the late Cal Ford and the Brakemen.

He was a valued part of Edmunds Rockpile and played on the great Carl Perkins Rockabilly Session tv show. He also played with Tom Jones, Lulu, Joe Cocker,Bill Wyman as part of Willie and the Poor Boys and the great 70s rockabilly band Memphis Bend recording a brillaint album on UA that sadly has not been issued on cd and was an important part of the Shaky sound during the 80s chart hits years. When ill health hit him in the 90s he turned down many lucrative jobs/tours preferring to turn up in the local pubs and clubs of Cardiff and sitting in.

A few years back much to my surprise BBC Wales tv acknowledged that music started before Tom Jones by putting this prog out reunting Edmunds, Geraint, Mickey, Andy, etc and one of the many highlights was Mickey`s version of the great Chuck Berry blues rocker Betty Jean (given the wrong title on youtube BTW).

There's an old b& w clip of the pre fame Tom Jones in rocker mode doing What`d I Say and Chills n Fever on tv, look carefully at the young guitarist with hair it`s Mr Gee!

My fav memory of Mickey is of him blowing up his amp doing a Burnette rab classic as his set opener, much of a delay ensued as a roadie went off in his van to find another amp, eventually he set up the new one, Mickey played the Burnette intro and the new amp blew up!

I also love the story about Chet Atkins dressing room where Chet was holding court to all these modern guitar gods when Mickey shyly entered the door, most of the stars looked at this shy bald bloke and wondered who the gatecrasher was. Chet spotted him and called him over to sit next to him and got them both guiatrs whilst they ripped thru the Reed/Atkins classic The Claw, much jaw dropping ensued in the room, I bet they're still jamming up there.

Sadly missed, a wonderful part of my collection is devoted to Mickey.