Lexington, KY will be exporting its two best producers of pop magic, The Apples In Stereo and Big Fresh, over the coming weeks.  Our loss is your gain!

Big Fresh – Strike Up The Band

The Apples In Stereo, already featuring John Ferguson from Big Fresh on keyboards, decided to bring along the entire Big Fresh ensemble for what will become the first-ever Big Fresh tour.  I’m super excited for the guys; I really can’t think of a better way for the band to get out there.

It’s about time!  Big Fresh has long been a favorite in Lexington.  I’m not quite sure when I first saw them, but I’m pretty sure it was about ten years ago.  Ten years and they’re just now doing a tour!

Big Fresh – Entertainment

Hopefully, as the song says, this will be your year, Big Fresh!

(By the way, “Strike Up The Band” is from their 2000 release “Yes Nice Please Thanks”.  I’m pretty sure it’s not available anymore, but perhaps they’ll have it at the show.  “Entertainment” is off of their 2008 album entitled “Big Fresh Forever”.  You can purchase it at iTunes, by visiting this stark website and hopefully at a merch booth near you.)

Just for fun, here’s Big Fresh performing Velvet Underground’s “Who Loves The Sun” as part of WRFL’s FreeKY Fest earlier this year…

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=V8fT_nQTAXc]

And now for the dates.  All shows are with Apples In Stereo and Poison Control Center.  Go see these shows!

FRI JULY 18TH – Headliner’s Music Hall – Louisville, Kentucky

SAT JULY 19TH – Blueberry Hill Duck Room – St. Louis, Missouri

TUE JULY 22ND – Turf Club – Minneapolis, Minnesota

WED JULY 23RD – The Waiting Room – Omaha, Nebraska

SAT JULY 26TH – Sons of Hermann Hall – Dallas, Texas

SUN JULY 27TH – Revolution Music Room – Little Rock, Arkansas

MON JULY 28TH – Hi-Tone – Memphis, Tennessee

TUE JULY 29TH – Mercy Lounge – Nashville, Tennessee

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The Beatles – Someone gave me a mix tape of Beatles songs. I remember learning all the words and running around singing the tunes and telling everyone that I sounded just like The Beatles. Guess some things never change.

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The Carpenters – We used to have one of those huge 70’s console stereos with a tuner, record player, and of course, 8-track player. I kind of wish I still had that thing….

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I’m not sure why, but the only record I ever played on it was The Carpenters’ Greatest Hits. Great jams for a three year old.

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The Stray Cats – Even though we didn’t have a lot of money, my family did splurge on cable which enabled me to spend most of the 80’s glued to MTV and Nickelodeon. The first video I have any recollection of was Stray Cat Strut. Singing along to this is probably one of my earliest and strongest memories.

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Wow. I probably haven’t seen that video in 25 years. Watching it just now, it occurred to me that as a toddler I seemed to take the lyrics literally and thought that the Stray Cats were actual cats……Beyond Stray Cat Strut and Rock This Town, I’m really not too familiar with the rest of The Stray Cats’ material. When Lee Rocker, bass player for The Stray Cats, came through The Dame last night I was excited to see my childhood favorite video brought back to life before my eyes, but didn’t know what to expect beyond that.

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Crown Electric, the opening act from right here in Lexington, blew away Lee Rocker. Mike Tevis performed with 300% more energy, digging into the songs like a man possessed with the spirit of 1956. When Lee came on, therefore, it was striking how subdued everything was. It was a good show, don’t get me wrong, but the contrast really made me realize what a treasure Lexington has in Crown Electric.

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Lee had a couple of stories to tell, the kind that you imagine they repeat night after night. One was about how The Stray Cats first album was recorded and came out in Britain in 1980 but didn’t get released in the U.S. until a year or two later. When it did, they shot up to number two and stayed there for 26 weeks, right behind Michael Jackson. “After thinking about this for many many years, I realized that I’d rather be behind Michael Jackson then in front of him.” It took you years to come up with that? Jeez.

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Stray Cats – Stray Cat Strut

Click here to purchase Stray Cats – Greatest Hits

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Remainder of Lee Rocker’s tour dates…

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Feb 8 2008 8:00P Cal Expo Sacramento, California
Feb 9 2008 8:00P Fishlips Bakersfield, California
Mar 19 2008 8:00P Schüür Lucerne
Mar 20 2008 8:00P Chez Paulette Nancy
Mar 21 2008 8:00P 013 Tilburg, Holland
Mar 22 2008 8:00P Druckerei Bad Oeyenhausen
Mar 23 2008 8:00P Tattoo Convention After-Show Party Hamburg
Mar 24 2008 8:00P Tattoo Convention Hamburg
Mar 24 2008 9:00P Stengade 30 Copenhagen
Mar 25 2008 8:00P FZW Dortmund
Mar 26 2008 8:00P Zwölfzehn Stuttgart
Mar 27 2008 8:00P Birdland Vienna
Mar 28 2008 8:00P Café Libella Munich
Mar 29 2008 8:00P Gabbia Club San Georgio in Bosco
May 17 2008 8:00P Texas Rockabilly Revival at Stubb’s Outdoor Amphitheater Austin, Texas
Oct 3 2008 8:00P Ørland Bluesfestival Ørland

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Either Hasil or his manager mailed a burned copy of this album to me a number of years ago to help with promoting a Hasil Adkins show I had booked at a club called High On Rose. Unfortunately, I had never listened to it until a few hours ago. Oops.

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I can never really get a good gauge on how popular Hasil was around the rest of the country and world. We Lexingtonians were blessed with being located just one state away from the Adkins’ homestead, in Madison, W.V. That, coupled with a couple of rabid fans (thank you J. Todd and Jesse) in town enabled Hasil to make semi-regular appearances in various Lexington clubs. I feel that a lot of us took for granted the fact that we were able to see so many shows by this gifted man before he passed away in 2005.

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I first came across Hasil Adkins somewhat randomly at a great little restaurant/small venue called Yat’s back in 1998 or so. Word traveled fast about the show (even though most of us had never heard of the guy) and that night Yat’s was overflowing in every direction. Because of this crowd, all I remember is seeing a cowboy hat bob up and down and some of Hasil’s screams and wails.

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Next came a show at High On Rose, another restaurant/venue that had a capacity of 150, roughly twice that of Yat’s. I was Talent Buyer there from 2002 until 2003 and booked Hasil with the help of WRFL. There was a great turnout and Hasil put on a fantastic show that evening. I remember him asking for tons of coffee and being very proud of his baseball cap with a built in mini-headlight. Hasil was staying with J. Todd and Jessi and I somehow ended up at the after-party. He spent the evening talking to his girlfriend on the phone and asking for plates of sausages.

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His last two shows in town were at The Dame, a much larger venue with a capacity of 390. I’m currently the Talent Buyer and GM for the club, but at the time I was Publicist. The first show I don’t really remember too well, probably due to my rum and coke consumption. The final show seemed kind of odd to me. I went down to the green room because Hasil was running very late. He seemed sort of upset about something and spoke very few words. This was in stark contrast to the Hasil I had met at High On Rose a few years prior. The set that evening consisted mostly of slow country ballads. This would be the last time most of us would see him. He was run down by a stranger on an ATV near his house in 2005 and ended up dying 10 days later.

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Make sure to check out Hasil’s bio if you aren’t familiar with his story….

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What the Hell Was I Thinking was Hasil’s lone release on the Fat Possum label, and was recorded around the same time I first saw him perform at Yat’s.

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Hasil Adkins – Beautiful Hills

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Most people are probably know Hasil for his wild songs full of yells, hollers, and gibberish. This track, however, is a glimpse of the Hasil I saw at that last show at The Dame. A timeless and haunting country ballad.

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Hasil Adkins – Up On Mars

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On a completely different side of things, we have this track. Sounds like hanging out with Hasil at 5 in the morning in a freezing cold trailer after a night of drinking and smoking way too much pot.

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Buy this CD from Amazon.