Daily - The Austin Chronicle (2024)

Willie Nelson and two cohorts – his sister, Bobbie Nelson, and David Anderson, his tour manager – were in a Louisiana court April 24, where Nelson and Anderson pleaded guilty to possession of pot and mushrooms, which were found on Nelson’s tour bus during a routine commercial vehicle inspection back in September.

The Red-Headed Stranger and Anderson were each fined $1,024 and were sentenced to six months probation; as part of the deal, the charges against sister Bobbie were dropped.

It's been way too long since I thought about Fishbone.

The Los Angeles-based punk/ska/soul outfit plays Emo's Wednesday with Lick Lick and Opposite Day in support of Still Stuck in Your Throat (Sound in Color), their first new stateside album in seven years. Aside from helping pave the way for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jane’s Addiction, and No Doubt, they were one of the best live bands of the Eighties. Anyone who saw them plow through "Party at Ground Zero" or "Lyin' Ass Bitch" during their heyday can testify to that.

Fishbone's sweat-soaked August 1987 show at the Ritz with the True Believers and Bad Mutha Goose may have actually saved my life after being shown the dorm-room door by an unrequited summer-school crush. I also recall a 1989 show at the Texas Union Ballroom with Thelonious Monster at which the band stated they'd never play UT again until the university divested from apartheid South Africa (a promise they kept).

The 'Bone's commercial peak was 1991's The Reality of My Surroundings, but even that sprawling album never made the Top 10. Diminishing returns followed and original members started dropping off. Today only sax player/vocalist Angelo Moore and bassist/vocalist John Norwood Fisher remain from the original 1979 lineup.

At its finer points, Throat recalls the frenetic, stereotype-smashing fusion of “black” and “white” musical genres that made Fishbone’s 1985 debut EP so revolutionary. From the hardcore neurosis of "Frey'd f*ckin' Nerve Endings" to the goofyass ska hoedown, "Party With Saddam," the band retains its boiled-over melting-pot vibe. While hearing them pay tribute to the influenced with a cover of Sublime's obnoxious "Date Rape" is sort of sad; it's the last song and easy enough to skip. Either way, Fishbone was always a live band. I'd never write them off in that context.

File under "Rendering Irony Obsolete":

WASHINGTON – Bill and Georgia Thomas reported they were elated Monday when they met in the Oval Office with President George W. Bush to present him with a Purple Heart. … The couple was able to meet with President Bush for about 20 minutes to present him with one of three Purple Hearts that Bill Thomas received during his service in Vietnam.

"He said he didn't feel like he had earned it," Thomas said, noting the president looked thinner in person than on television. … Thomas said he and his wife came up with the unprecedented idea to present the president with the Purple Heart over breakfast one morning a few months ago as they discussed the verbal attacks, both foreign and domestic, the commander in chief has withstood during his time in office.

"We feel like emotional wounds and scars are as hard to carry as physical wounds," Thomas said.

We're sure everyone at Walter Reed agrees.

It's really hard to gauge what's more astonishing: the Thomases' idea or the fact that Bush – who famously ducked Vietnam in the Texas Air National Guard and then famously ducked that – accepted the f*cking thing. If there were ever an occasion to graciously refuse something, this would've had to be it.

The comments here are suitably outraged. Our favorite: "Why not just head down to the local military cemetery and piss on some of the fresher-looking graves?"

TODAY'S EVENTS

Texas Burlesque Festival at Long Center for the Performing Arts

Hyperreal Hoedown fundraiser w/ Loteria, Sentimental Family Band [patio] at Hotel Vegas

MUSIC | MOVIES | ARTS | COMMUNITY

I know, I know … you're stuck in the Dirty South. And feelin' the need for some quick, er, stress relief. But it's all over the news, take it from Atlanta: Don't F-bomb in the bathroom.

True. Plainclothes airport police, at least at this one major hub, have nothing better to do than patrol for gay-on-gay layovering in the water closets of big city airports, a cruising spot as old as the Wright Brothers. Don't believe us? Take it from Craigslist.

Sheryl Crow wants us to use “only one square per restroom visit” of toilet paper when we use the toilet. By “we,” I take it she means women since the only man I know who blots his weenie after peeing is David Beckham.

La Crow admits that there are “those pesky occasions where two to three could be required.” Two or three? What do you eat, Sheryl? Iams and Science Diet? As long as you’re citing exceptions, what about explosive diarrhea? Must we requisition extra? And what if you wipe and then have to go again, Sheryl? How about a long, snotty sneeze in the vicinity of the bathroom? What’s the allocation there?

I’m a little surprised that she took off after toilet paper. She mentioned paper napkins, which seems a much more reasonable place to start, since they don’t actively involve personal hygiene. The downside to using cloth napkins is that they must be washed. Washing usually involves soap, water usage, and electricity, but maybe that’s the fair trade. Clean napkins are as much a necessity to the restaurant industry as they are to household eating. She didn’t even mention disposable diapers.

For the past couple of years, the Old Settler’s Music Festival seemed to wobble on its last legs, both creatively and in terms of attendance. This past weekend, however, it showed great signs of life with respectable crowds; a full, lively campground; and some inspired bookings that proved it’s more than just another (dreaded) bluegrass festival.

The vibe at Camp Ben McCulloch on Thursday night was as pleasant as an Austin music event could be with smiles all around and everyone kicking off their shoes for dancing and hula hoops. Slaid Cleaves cleared the air as to how a singer-songwriter goes about entertaining an audience. Backed by a trio that included striking fiddler Eleanor Whitmore, Cleaves laid down a set of country and folk, fast-paced yet touching and peppered with the occasional yodel. Baton Rouge, La.’s Red Stick Ramblers followed with a plate of swing, blues, and Cajun that had nearly everyone shaking their moneymaker. They’ve had some personnel changes over the years, which has unfortunately led the quintet to lean a little heavy on the swing and away from their Louisiana roots, but there were no complaints from the crowd, which was obviously geared up for a energetic weekend.

From the Secretary of State's office:

Secretary Williams to Present Voting Award

AUSTIN – Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams will present the Stephen F. Austin Champions of the Republic Award to Travis County for the highest voter turnout in last November’s election.