Guest Book

Sorry about this very long post, but Zambi and I had such a great time last week at the Codetalkers show that we really wanted to share our experience. We collaborated 50-50 on this story, but family obligations kept us from finishing it until now. Photos from the show have already been uploaded and will be available for viewing on the ARU site in a day or two. Enjoy! Zambi and Hophead’s Athens Adventure Late Wednesday evening last week, Hophead and Zambi exchanged PMs and made a last-minute decision to go for a there-and-back Athens run on Thursday to catch Bruce Hampton and the Codetalkers, featuring the one and only Jimmy “The Red” Herring – neither would have gone on his own, so this was yet another example of HTW congruence. Hop brought along a promo copy of Tinsley Ellis’s new live record that he’d received for a review in the next HTN, so the two blasted Tinsley for a good part of the 90 minute drive to Athens. Smokin’ CD, but that’s for another time (like the next issue of HTN). They rolled into Athens just before 10:00, as planned, and got a parking spot on the street right out in front of the Georgia Theatre. Good luck omen, or what? Strolling into the Theatre, they were a little bit shocked to find very few people – it was quite apparent that the music wasn’t going to start anytime soon. It then dawned on Zambi, after having been away from Athens for awhile, that Athens is one of those “late-starting” towns (he would later regret this fact at about 4:05-ish as he pulled back into his driveway in Atlanta). After a good 45 minutes or so chatting with various nefarious and non-nefarious folks, the first band finally went on – King Daddy Conspiracy. For an opening act, they really had their stuff down. They were a basic quartet of drums, bass, guitar and keys, with some occasional vocals by the keyboardist, and they played some pretty good jazz and bluesion tunes. Their music was certainly not the mindless jamband noodling that you so often hear from young bands opening for venerable jammers like Bruce and Jimmy. If you get out to see a band and King Daddy Conspiracy is the opener, be sure to get there a bit early and check them out. Toward the end of the King Daddy set, Hophead wandered outside the theater and spotted Jimmy Herring and his whole family. Quickly getting them to pose for a family portrait on the sidewalk, Hop snapped their picture and began chatting up his old friend. Jimmy was as happy as could be to playing with the Codetalkers. He said playing with Bruce was as comfortable as slipping on an old shoe. But he had nothing but praise for Bobby Lee. He surprised Hop by saying that there are very few guitarists that he enjoyed playing with (mentioning Warren and Derek by name) and added that he loves playing with Bobby Lee. He said he doesn’t know anyone else who can both play jazz chops and write three chord songs – until he met Bobby, he thought they were mutually exclusive and Bobby has nearly 200 songs! Hophead mentioned that he’d seen where Jimmy would be touring in the Fall with Jeff Sipe and Matt Garrison, and Jimmy got very animated when talking about how good it was going to be. Then he added that Bobby Lee was going on the road with them as well! He said now that he’s found Bobby, he wasn’t going to let him go …. Anyway, so after a fairly lively set, KDS left the stage and it was on to the Main Event. After a relatively quick change-out of equipment between bands and as the crowd continued to file in, out stroll the Codetalkers without much fanfare – all wearing their customary suits. Even Jimmy had a coat and tie on, although opting for jeans instead of a suit. Everyone in the band was quite obviously in good spirits as they kicked into the first tune. It was immediately apparent that Jimmy was to be the focal point of the night, as might be expected (and hoped for by both Zambi and Hophead). From the outset, Jimmy was adding some tasty and zambi licks between Bobby Lee’s vocals before taking his first solo and running with it. Jimmy’s playing has always been largely indescribable, and tonight was no exception. The chops were there, the tasty notes were there, and good lawdy the TONE was there. Jimmy’s tone just kills every time … for you gear-heads out there, Jimmy was playing yet another new PRS, this one a beautiful tobacco-burst solidbody and he ran it through a couple of Fender Super Reverbs. No Marshall tonight, but he did appear to have his trusty ol’ Tubescreamer for that perfect “Jimmy tone.” He displayed the cleanest sparkling tones at times and the nastiest, grittiest overdrive at times. Absolutely beautiful. There really are no words to describe Jimmy’s playing Thursday night either … “incredible” or “awesome” just doesn’t do it justice. It was simply “Jimmy.” As way of background, Bruce was set up all the way stage left, sorta tucked back from the front of the stage. Next to Bruce was Ted on the bass, and then Bobby Lee on guitar/banjitar towards the middle. Jimmy was set up all the way stage right, next to Bobby Lee. Tyler had his drums set up behind the rest of the guys, between Bobby Lee and Ted. Jimmy played almost the entire night facing the band, very intent on what everyone was doing, and very interactive. Jimmy and Bobby Lee in particular were very communicative, talking each other through the tunes and playing off each all night, laughing much of the time. It was all smiles the entire evening, which in turn led to even more smiles amongst the crowd. What was quite amazing was how well Jimmy fit in with the band, given his lack of familiarity with many of the tunes. Jimmy was truly a band MEMBER, rather than just a guest. As Jimmy mentioned before the show, he was really comfortable with these guys. They ran through several of Bobby Lee’s tunes, including a spirited “Going Back to Lima” – and for the first time in memory, Jimmy was seen singing along to himself on “Lima” as Bobby Lee sang the song to the crowd. Very cool indeed. They also hit some familiar Bruce tunes, like “Fixin’ to Die” and a completely rearranged “Isles of Langerhan.” Bruce was Bruce, and he stepped forward several times to take solos that were much more out than in. With that tone of Bruce’s, one wonders what goes through his head in deciding whether to play a glass slide or a brass slide (he alternated between both) – and he must wonder the same. After playing a very good 90 minute first set, the band then took an “exactly six-minute” set break shortly before 1:00. Zambi spotted Dave Schools in the audience and Hop spied him heading backstage during the break, so Hop decided to sneak back there to chat with his buds. The tiny dressing room was packed and Jimmy was standing right by the door. Standing on the steps, Hophead complimented Jimmy for looking sharp in a coat and tie. Jimmy laughed and pointed to his jeans, saying he felt bad not having a suit like the other Codetalkers. He said he had one at home, but his wife wouldn’t let him wear it for fear of ruining it. “I guess I need to visit a thrift store like the others did,” he commented. Inviting Hop inside, Jimmy told him he belonged as much as anyone there, that he’d been there from the beginning. Schools was talking to the Colonel about the first time they’d met, and Bruce was telling him he thought he was 10 years older than his actual age. He said he’d never met a young guy with such intimate knowledge of the jazz greats like Coltrane and Miles. That reminded Hophead of a true story, once thought apocryphal, that Bruce had often related about the early days of the Stained Souls. They played a gig in Athens where so few people showed up, the band ending up owing money to the venue! Schools had been doorman at the bar that night – and that was the night Schools and JB first met Bruce. Hop also complimented the Colonel on his guitar-patterned tie, and he replied that Jerry Garcia had given it to him. The band then came back out around 1:30 for a short second set (2:00 curfew in Athens, although with the encore they managed to play until nearly 2:15). The first song coming back was a big-time Jimmy Herring feature, where he took quite an extended solo (think “Time Is Free” from the ARU days) and he just killed it. Overall, the second set seemed a bit looser. They knocked out another couple of Bobby Lee tunes, and then played a very good “Lovelight.” This was much bluesier than the Dead’s version and wasn’t nearly as focused on the riff as much as the chords. Jimmy did incorporate the counterpoint thingie that he and the Mysterious Mundy used to harmonize back in the early days of ARU, which brought smiles to everyone’s face. After “Lovelight” they may’ve done one more tune (it was getting late, and memory falters from time to time). They did come back out and do a relatively brief encore, which took them a little past the 2:00 curfew. All in all, a fantastic evening, and Zambi and Hop were ecstatic about going. Neither would have made the trip alone, and both were thankful to have witnessed such an extraordinary performance. The joy on Jimmy’s face, as well as that of the other band members, was truly infectious, and the crowd picked up on it and responded in kind. As we all know, the shows that seem truly magical as audience members are the ones where it’s quite obvious that the performers are feeling it the same way. Thursday night was no exception. The joy on the faces of the Codetalkers, and Jimmy in particular, was completely exposed … as it should be. It was truly an incredible experience to have witnessed and shared.