New In 2021

Actually @slaw, I believe it is John Hiatt with The Jerry Douglas Band ;-) . I give top billing to the singer/songwriter, whom on this album I am sure is John.

I saw The Jerry Douglas Band at the tail-end of 2019, at a nice theater in Portland. I prefer he and they in a supportive role; on their own they are too Jazz-informed for my taste. It was all about virtuosity, which bores me. I’m a song-orientated music lover, first and foremost.

Also upcoming is the Tom Petty tribute album by Lucinda Williams, Runnin’ Down A Dream I believe it is entitled. Oughta be great.

Fun fact: Do a search of early Dwight Twilley Band videos on You Tube. There are a couple (one on American Bandstand, I believe) in which you will see Petty playing a Rickenbacker bass, as if he were a band member. The two DTB albums (drummer/singer Phil Seymour left after the second for a solo career) were recorded as a trio, no formal bassist. Even though they were lip-synching in the videos, I guess they wanted to look "right".

More facts: When Mudcrutch left Florida for Los Angeles to seek their fame and fortune, they stopped in Tulsa to look up Twilley, Seymour, and Pitcock. The first DTB album Sincerely had made a huge impact of bands of a "certain" ilk, one that included Petty and company. Tom sought Dwight’s advice on securing a record deal in LA. Instead, Twilley took Petty to the Shelter Records office in Tulsa (Twilley’s label), and introduced him to label owner Leon Russell. Though Mudcrutch didn’t get a deal, the new Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers did, and it was with Shelter.

If you listen to the first Petty album critically, you will hear the same "phasing" problem you can also hear in the first Twilley solo album. The Shelter studio on Sunset Blvd. had two engineers---Max and Noah---who were not so hot. They had some kind of phase thing going on, and you can hear it in their recordings. It’s a mild form of the phasing effect you hear intentionally in "Ichicoo Park". Weird.

To dispel any notions you have remaining in regard to the glamorous Rock Star life: I became acquainted with the guys in Twilley’s band in early 1980 (Pitcock and I played on a recording of "Money" by an aspiring singer), and they were living on a salary of $150/week each. None of them had a car or girlfriend, and were just killing time between recording dates and occasional gigs around town. And this is signed to a major label. As luck, good fortune, perhaps management and promotion---and their undeniable talent---would have it, Twilley and his band watched as Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers---not nearly the equal of the former imo---went on to true fame and fortune. Phil Seymour enjoyed some success as a solo artist (he had a killer live band), but died of cancer in the 1980’s. Guitar extraordinaire Bill Pitcock IV---a two pack a day man, died of lung cancer ten years ago, leaving Twilley alone back in Tulsa, releasing an occasional album that few hear. It’s a cryin’ shame.