Playground Recording Studio

Known Felons in Drag

2011-07-20T09:18:00.000-07:00

While in the process of trying to explain the existence of Jerry McGill aka Curtis Buck aka many more, to the music world.. I came across the poster from "Confederation" days in Memphis. This was a concert that we did at the coliseum, Yeah the same spot where King Jerry Lawler and Andy Kaufman duked it out. Even though McGill's picture is on the poster.. he didn't perform. He was in attendance however. It seems the federales were looking for him but they were not looking for a female.. thus "Known Felons in Drag" which later became the title of the first Mudboy album

Noteworthy

2011-04-08T06:39:00.000-07:00

The Playground Team (Jim and Jill) took off on Saturday April 2nd and drove to Memphis to attend the unveiling ceremony of Jim Dickinson's Brass Note on Beale Street.

The ceremony was held on April 3rd in front of the New Daisy.

John Fry from Ardent studio opened remarks. His first was that Jim was the first independent record producer he had ever worked with. John and Jim were contemporaries and basically the same age, but it occurred to me that Dickinson was one of the first independent producers anywhere. John continued with well deserved endearing remarks.

Knox Phillips followed John. Channeling some of his Dad's revival spirit he told studio war stories of unique situations involving Dickinson sessions which included known felons in drag, Harleys playing to Gene Chrisman's beat on a Dan Penn track. firearms and mojo charms. We very much enjoyed Knox's genuine heartfelt presentation. There were other speakers including Congressman Steve Cohen, wife Mary Lindsay, sons Luther and Cody. All in all it was a moving ceremony and we were able to visit with many an old friend and compadre. We were spiritually uplifted.

There was an impromptu jam session following the ceremony across the street at the Old Daisy. Jill and I played gigs and events with Jim and MudBoy and the Neutrons at both Daisys. Jim's 3 day 50th birthday celebration was at the New Daisy.

On the trip back to Playground, Jill made me stop in Jackson to visit the site of Ace Records where I grew some teeth in the record biz with Johnny Vincent back in the 70's. This is the Mississippi Blues Trail Marker that now stands in front of the old studio site. A special thanks to Jim O'Neal for including me on the sign.. I can send my grandchildren there sometime in the future

Lots of memories were remembered and experiences relived. A special thanks to the Turley's who hosted us in Memphis

Photo from the Mississippi Blues Trail Marker of a record I recorded for Johnny.
Ace 2028 Genuine Mississippi Blues.. I believe they are still available for purchase
Chief

With Sabres In Our Hands

2010-11-10T07:47:00.000-08:00

http://soundcloud.com/playgroundrecording/with-sabres-in-our-hands

Excerpt from Robert Gordon to accompany the song
This was 1974, and the divergent forces in Memphis music came together that night at the post-Elvis studio built by the master around the corner from Sun. It was a session for Jerry McGill, whose Topcoats were the South Memphis hoods that East Memphis mamas were too scared to hire in the late 1950s. McGill's one released recording had been for Phillips some twenty-five years earlier. Jim Dickinson was producing the session, using demo money he'd wrangled from Warner Brothers. Those present included Danny Graflund, Campbell Kensinger, Marcia Hare, and another of the Mud Boy dancers. Impresario Jim Blake was there, as was writer Stanley Booth. Knox Phillips, Sam's elder son, was engineering the session.
Campbell sat in the control room drinking Wild Turkey from a fifth, bouncing the bottom of the glass bottle on the floor as he listened to other people tell stories. "You ever think of 'the Law' as a whole fucking table?" Campbell asked. And he picked up a coffee table, put the corner in his mouth, tried to bite it off.
Stanley Booth, who was practiced in the martial arts, leapt up and karate chopped a decorative wooden shingle into two pieces. Campbell was extremely unimpressed. Blake remembers Campbell saying, "These guys in my gang walk around with these guns and knives and shit and they think they're tough. I'll show you tough," and Campbell whipped his noonchuks from his back pocket and started hitting himself on the left side of the head. "About twenty times," says Blake, "stuff that would have not only disabled me or you, but would have given us permanent brain damage. And he said, 'Now that's tough.' Hey, nobody could disagree with that."
Knox and Dickinson, who was thinly slicing hog tranquilizer for sustenance, kept their attention on McGill, who was overdubbing the vocal. Knox remembers that he was singing "Desperados Waiting for a Train," but Dickinson believes it was a Civil War song called "With Sabres in My Hand." In the latter number, there is a line that upset McGill every time, a line at the end of the song in which the Southern narrator refers to "the lost cause." Dickinson leaned to Knox to confirm that he'd frisked McGill before the session.
"Yes," said Knox, "I got his gun."
"Gun?" said Dickinson. "Guns!"
At that moment, Eggleston was entering the studio floor with his video camera, and McGill's fuse lit. It was bad enough admitting defeat on audio tape, but to have it chronicled on video was too much. Eggleston crept closer as the song neared its climax. The camera was on top of McGill when he said the scurrilous words. The goddamn line sung, the final notes fading, McGill reached into his jacket and stated, "Lost cause my ass," unloading his six gun into the ceiling. Instinctively, everyone in the control room ducked. When Dickinson looked up, Knox was still at the board.
"What're you doing?" he hissed.
Stated the ace engineer, "The gun needs mo' echo."

Death Day...August 16 1977

2010-08-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

Ok..33 years ago, Jill and I are living at 100 North Main in Memphis... Lowenstein Towers 20th floor over looking the Mighty Mississippi.

The previous night we had played and engagement with MudBoy at an old porn theatre on Madison that had been converted into a Rock and Roll Joint.. I believe it was called the Ritz... A couple of years earlier, I had seen "Behind the Green Door" there.

Knox Phillips on death day

Following the performance, Dickinson and I were talking to Herbie O'Mell. Herbie said that he had earlier heard from Joe Espsito at Graceland and Elvis had not come down from upstairs in 2 days or so and everyone was getting worried. We collect our fifty bucks or whatever and go on home. The following day is my birthday.. Jill and I are lounging around the apt.. I actually was on some pretty heavy pain meds at the time as Pat Rainer and I had been in a pretty serious auto accident over by the Pink Palace just a few days earlier.. so I had a big patch on my face where some glass had cut me during the accident.

Dickinson call up about 1:30pm and asks if we had heard the news. About 30 minutes later, while still on the phone the news flash came across the TV. Dickinson said he was headed into town. We all meet up at Phillips Recording... where the phone is ringing off the hook. Knox and Ricky were there. Robert Palmer calls at some point and says he'll be in Memphis in 3 hours. Robert, from the "Insect Trust" band had become a senior music writer at the NY Times
Robert Palmer and Randall Lyon Death Day 1977

Palmer arrives a few hours later via taxi (which cost him a fortune as there were few taxis available and hotel rooms were really hard to get). I end up driving Robert to Graceland. It was a madhouse. The picture below is Palmer outside the gates of Graceland on this day 33 years ago. I also took photos at the funeral a few days later. If you'll remember, there were at least two Elvis fans hanging outside the gate that were killed by passing motorists.

I thought it might be appropriate to publish these pictures, or let them escape on this day in 2010..
almost to the minute of when this saga began.

Other folks who showed up at Phillips during this 3 day period were Tav Falco, Charles Rateri, Randall Lyon, Pat Rainer and several of the Sun artists who had recorded concentrically with Elvis..

Robert Palmer NY Times at Graceland on Death Day

The Tucker Street Raid

2010-08-02T09:46:00.000-07:00

Finley Duncan and Shelby Singleton at Playground site in Valparaiso

Flashback

So.. In Late 72 or so, on this same farm in Brentwood, I had a two track recording set-up. We had different musicians and songwriters in and out. It was adequate for song demos and the like. Jimmy Louis was a friend from Florida who ironically happened to record at Playground and had a record out on Shelby Singleton's Plantation label. He and his wife came to Nashville to visit us in a Lime Green 68 Caddy. Word got out that Shelby had a film projector and was going to have a showing of "Deep Throat" at his studio. (Gotta remember this was before VHS). So Louis and I attend the event and meet David Alan Coe, who was signed to Shelby also at the time but had cut his first LP down in Valparaiso which came out on Shelby's label called "Penitentiary Blues" that was co-produced by Teddy Paige.

Coe ends up coming back to the farm and staying 3 days.. we sang, wrote and recorded night and day for about 3 days.Within a month Coe had signed with Columbia and we went along as his backing band. The first album that he recorded for Colombia "The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy" was largely a result of the farm sessions. As Columbia, started promoting the Coe product.. we played gigs and did TV shows, even played the Ryman. However, we missed Memphis and would make regular trips on the weekend back to the Bluff City to hang with our rock and roll buds. Before Coe was signed to CBS he wrote for Pete Drake.. we did a lot of hangin out at Pete's Place on 17th Ave. There was a set of apartments across the street.,Dottie West had one, Linda Hargrove had one and McGill, for short time had 2. McGill would end up making alot of those weekend trips to Memphis with us. For a time perspective. this was during the time Eggelston was shooting "Stranded in Canton". As Coe started to gain recognition, different sidekicks, road managers etc. began to appear..

The Tucker Street Raid
The first manager made the mistake of giving me a ride from Nashville to Memphis in his little MG. We docked at Hal Newman's apt. behind Huey's on Madison Ave. Hal had a perpetual tab at Huey's and we could literally receive food and beer through the window.. Hal had a baby grand in the front room so there was always lots of songwriting and singing going on there. On the day of our arrival I stashed the road manager on Hal's sofa.. and we went about the task of making music in Memphis. Jerry was there speaking in rhyme. He had embodied the spirit of Confederate General Nathan Beauregard Forrest... he was toting around a homemade weapons bag that included swords, bows and arrows and knives, however every word he spoke was in rhyme.

site of the Tucker Street Raid

Campbell Kinsinger was the king of Midtown. Nothing happened in midtown that wasn't truly sanctioned by him and his crew. We did a lot of strange and bizarre stuff in Midtown in the 70's.. most of which couldn't have occurred if Campbell hadn't been in control of the streets. Campbell is another story worthy of recognition. .

So the road manager is asleep on Hal's sofa.. Campbell drops by a couple of times and tells us all that no one should leave.. goodies were arriving at 10:00pm. The cast of characters at the time included McGill, Halito, Scary Sherry (who eventually married Bernard), Judy Avanzi, Celia Yancey could have been there, I can't remember and possibly Pat and Sabue and a couple of Midtown stragglers.

At 10:00 pm sharp.. simultaneously the front door and the back door are kicked in. Through the back door came one of Campbell's trained gals swinging nun-chuks better than Bruce Lee and Whitey, one of Campbell's lieutenants. led the charge through the front door with a nickel plated nine millimeter.. both entree's were followed by other members of Campbell's crew.. We hear someone holler "Secure" and Campbell enters through the front door. When I see McGill hit the floor and crawl under Hal's piano, I also deem this to be a good idea.. The road manager is still on the sofa. Campbell orders the guy to stand, which he did.. Campbell begins to interrogate the guy and then rips off the guy's tee shirt to inspect a tattoo he had on his arm. Seems like this tat was not one you would want to wear into Campbell's territory. The manager makes an explanation that he had received the tattoo from a cell mate in a northern prison and had no idea what it meant. (at this point it should be noted that Campbell was the undisputed leader of a regional Bike club.. and David Alan Coe and/or his supposed brother Buddha was the chief of a rival club).

Neatly tucked under the piano, we all are a bit nervous. Campbell then orders me to stand. I stood. He asks me "Lancaster, can you speak for this guy?' After a short amount of thought, the truth was "No". There are some situations where a one word reply is more than adequate, any other words would have been an excuse or a lie.

After a bit more interrogation and roughin' up, It is deemed that this guy is ok for now and everyone should get off the floor and this party should resume. Which it did. The music continued, everyone in the room, including the bikers sang a rousing version of "Why You Been Gone So Lone". Campbell insists we move the party to Peanuts.. which we do. While Furry is playing. Campbell's guys repeatedly started torturing this road manager and eventually kick his ass totally.. smashed his glasses and trashed his MG..I still don't know how he got out of Memphis. At one point during the melee, feeling as small amount of sympathy for the guy who had given me the ride, I ask McGill at the bar if there was anything we could do... he just smiled and shook his head...

Needless to say, our time with Coe had come an abrupt and interesting conclusion.. There was a phone conversation on my behalf between Campbell and Coe. As far as I know Coe never played in Memphis until after Campbell's death.. could have just been a coincidence.

Turquoise and Leather

2010-07-29T06:45:00.000-07:00

I was born in Memphis
Youngest brother out of three
raised down in Dixie
in the south of Tennessee
My Daddy was a hustler
Momma worked most every night
In the streets I learned to do the boogie
In the joints I learned to fight

Call Me Hootchie Cootchie Man
Jerry McGill

For those reading this soap opera who may not be familiar with McGill.. there are some things you should be made aware of. Jerry was friends with Waylon early.. long before the bigger records when Waylon was playing shows at the roadhouses in the American southwest. They were all buds with Duane Eddy who was Jessi Colter's first husband. In the mid 60's Waylon was just assembling the band that would eventually play on the "Honky Tonk Heroes and Me" album, which would be the first real breakaway album from the traditional Nashville method. On trips from the west coast to Nashville, McGill started bringing back turquoise and silver jewelry that he had acquired from his native American friends. Within a very short time every country music star in Nashville was wearing this type jewelry. Turquoise became a rage for a few years. McGill was singlehandedly responsible for this.

Jerry also acquired and was wearing leather clothes from the Indians before anyone else in Nashville. Country music didn't want leather clothes.. It didn't fit the mold in 1970. When Waylon put on leather clothes the "outlaw" movement became a reality.. or at least one that Nashville execs figured they had better package and promote like Wheaties. There were country music outlaws before the movement.. always had been.. just nobody called their names.

Now I can tell you this first hand... McGill has never compromised.. It's all or nothing, always has been. If you were to hang around Jerry.. you'll do more living in three hours than you would in your normal life in 3 years. Even now at 70 years old with diabetes and half a lung he can get more out of life than you can imagine.. It would make Keith Richards' eyes spin.

This is Jerry in May 2010 at Playground

Curtis Buck.. The Saga Continues

2010-07-28T08:20:00.000-07:00

So.. We're gonna back up a few years before we continue with the present.

When I first met McGill he wanted to kill me. I didn't know this until later. I was eighteen or nineteen and we were staying on a farm in Brentwood when Jerry shows up with a band of criminals... mostly car dealers, politicians and drug dealers that hung out in Printer's Alley. We won't mention any names to protect the not so innocent. When these guys arrived at the farm.. they had a full unopened bottle of quaaludes.. which we were supposed to keep safe until it was disposed of. There was also a shitload of little green mescaline pills.. The drugs were deposed, however not in the manner that they intended.. In a fog.. some incidents occurred after which McGill and I had an altercation.. Jill and I ended up chasing him from Brentwood all the way to Dan Penn's carriage house studio behind Ira Sachs' house.. Jill and I had a new '72 Monte Carlo.. we side swiped a couple of tractor trailer rigs on the high speed chase. At Dan's, after some tense moments (I had too much testosterone for my own good) Jerry and I resolved our differences.

A couple of days later Dickinson calls up .. He says "Jerry calls me a week ago and asks me if I know you, he says he's gonna Kill you, because your an arrogant bastard. The following week he calls and says I got this new kid Lancaster, who is going to lead my band".

One of the cons talked us into trading the bruised unpaid for Monte Carlo for a pristine '47 chevy, even trade... Everyone on music row had Cadillacs.. the bad boys.. Waylon and them had Lincolns... I had the '47.. Stanley and Bernard totaled this car on the Mississippi Arkansas bridge a year or so later. Stanley's book was still not out at the time

More later
Future Episodes include:
The Tucker Street Raid
Fort Buck
Doctor Buck

Geronimo in the Panhandle

2010-07-26T17:00:00.000-07:00

Jerry McGill aka Curtis Buck..condensed recent biography...

for our friends who don't know
Until 3 months ago.. I hadn't seen or heard from Jerry in over 35 years. Jerry surfaced in Huntsville and schedules a session in Memphis with Roland Jaynes at Phillips which included, much to Roland's dismay, more folks than antici...pated including all of the surviving members and compadres of MudBoy, Luther and Cody Dickinson..and two different films crews were in attendance. Robert Gordon and Paul Duane had been in the process of filming a documentary film on Jerry. Up until then the only way I knew he was still alive was a random post on Facebook. Within 2 weeks of the Phillips sessions.. McGill had hired a taxi to bring him down here to Valparaiso from Huntsville with all his earthly possessions as well as several other folks' possessions. We put him up at Ed Kollis' house, a couple of blocks from the studio. At this time he had already been diagnosed with lung cancer, not to mention he was in advanced stages of diabetes.. A day and a half later after a long arduous flight through volcanic ash to Huntsville, Irishman Paul Duane arrives in the same taxi with film gear in tow. It only cost $750 for the taxi ride..more later

McGill... Recent Bio... continued

We left off with Jerry and Paul Duane (Irish Filmmaker) arriving at Playground via taxis hired in Hunstville only 400 miles away)

McGill arrived first. It took them almost 20 hours to make the drive from Huntsville.. 1st there was a flat tire with no spare somewhere south of Cullman. While the taxi driver (who McGill had designated as his road manager) went looking for a tire.. Jerry was serenading on the interstate. Hiway patrols were in attendance.. after a 4 hour tire.. they got to south Alabama and had no money for fuel... there was a wait for money to be wired from the company filming the documentary.. They arrive on a Friday afternoon.
Unloading Jerry's possessions.. there was a broken plaster Elvis statue, along with a plaster angel.. a legal sawed off shotgun.. bags of medications.. and some other various folk crafted weapons.. some items that turned out to be "borrowed" and a few clothes.

We locked Jerry away in Ed's house for the night. The following day, April 24th was Saturday in the Park family day, which takes place in front of the studio and is an all day event. We are always involved with the audio portion of the event and were that day. While we were working the event McGill escapes Ed's house and begins to walk towards the sound of music. At the sight of Jerry the neighbors immediately call the police. Jerry ends up arriving at the event via female police escort. She was a big gal, goes to the passenger side of the cruiser and physically lifts McGill out of the police car, while playing "Working Girl" on the guitar and sets him on the street in front of the studio... more later

So... Saturday in the Park.. is a local festival with some family and historical oriented vendors and booths, all accompanied by school and church musical ensembles playing live. McGill goes around to each booth and does impromptu performances and gathers small crowds at each. There is a historical museum next to the studio which he visited and performed in... all the while secretly trying to score. Needless to say he was the surprise special guest of the day. We fed him and relocked him in Ed's house on Saturday night. The same evening he woke and decided to go fishing on the pier across the street. The police were again called by someone who was accusing him of being a child molester because he had asked a kid if he wanted to go fishing. Again, he talks his way out of the police situation..Sunday morning on the walk to the studio he passes a church, takes out his guitar and begins to serenade some of the parishioners. VOLCANIC ASH over Ireland keep Paul from flying out.. He arrives with camera in tow on Monday which is Jerry's vocal overdub day. By this time McGill had converted Ed's house into a fortress and had weapons, mainly shivs, stashed in every available crevice. Meanwhile Elvis' head is still broken off the statue and he's shooting insulin through his clothes. By overdub day.. he had not slept nor stopped talking.. so his voice was shot for singing.. which really didn't matter.. what did matter was how I was going to get them outta here. Jill and I resolve ourselves to driving both Paul and Jerry to Huntsville.. We did this on Tuesday.. of course after stuffing himself on herbalite smelling dog tranquilizers we couldn't find Joyce's house and she wasn't answering the telephone.. all Jerry said was "Uh Oh.. wrong rocket" Jerry was supposed to go have a lung removal operation under yet a different alias in less than 2 days. Joyce was in the shower so we placed all of his belongings on the porch and left him with Paul and Joyce.

A couple of harrowing weeks later, while shooting a crossbow. he chopped off a finger on his fretting hand.. he had a gig scheduled for the weekend. When he calls with the news of the accident I tell him how to tune his guitar in open D and play with a slide.. he was thrilled.. however the morning of the gig bounty hunters from Cullman show up and arrest him under a different alias... still hadn't had his scheduled operation... so all of his meds were in sacks not prescription bottles and they don't exactly let sacks of drugs into the prison. So with the pain from the recently departed finger.. he screamed for a couple of days. This being a weekend there were no judges available and as it turns out the following Monday is a state holiday in Alabama.. ironically Jefferson Davis' birthday..the courthouse in Cullman is closed all week

2010-04-11T07:07:00.000-07:00

Danny and Casey's 5th birthday Party at Lincoln Park in the Vale of Paradise at 2:00 pm.. just around the corner from the studio.. Air show will continue today as well..

2010-04-08T06:38:00.000-07:00

The Alabama Musicians Hall of Fame induction Ceremony.. was a blast.. congrats to all inductees.. all well deserved accolades. Special kudos to Jerry Carrigan, Paul Hornsby and Buddy Buie.

PinchBottle

2010-03-28T09:14:00.001-07:00

Citing influences, Hank Sr., Hank III, Jimmy Rodgers and the Carter Family, John Palmer "Hoss" Morton has written some pertinent material delivered in a tongue in cheek bluegrass fashion.. the words quickly transcend the genre. Accompanied by PinchBottle band members Wes on acoustic/vocals and Robert Wright on mandolin/vocals, the band delivers these songs with a "Mayberry" slant that is mature beyond their 19 years. We have recorded 3 tracks and are continuing a sprint to finish the project. Look for some "in store" performances soon.

Alex...

2010-03-28T08:34:00.000-07:00

A local music magazine after finding out that we had played with Lx.. asked me to write a piece.. it's rather generic but will have to do

Alex Chilton 1950-2010

I met Alex Chilton in 1974 at the Mid South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee. My wife Jill , and I were playing a gig with our band Confederation and guest artist Jim Dickinson, along with Waylon Jennings. As we sang the Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses", a thin skiddish figure dressed in a bright yellow rain coat, with hood up and walked up to the microphone and started singing with Jill and I. At the end of the gig Dickinson, who had played on the the Stones' cut of "Wild Horses, introduced us to Alex.

For some years we had been enjoying the Boxtops and the songs they recorded. Songs like "Cry Like A Baby", "Neon Rainbow" and perhaps the most famous "The Letter", produced by the legendary Dan Penn. Alex sang "The Letter" in 1967 when he was only 16 years old. It became an immediate smash "Boxtops" hit. At first, it was hard to realize that this unassuming and quietly introspective man had already attained worldwide acclaim.

Over the next 35 years Alex would remain both a friend, a collaborator and a musical inspiration. During the same time that we became friends with Alex, he and friend Chris Bell had a newly formed group called "Big Star". Big Star went on to record 3 critically acclaimed, melodically beautiful power pop albums at the famed Ardent Recording Studio in Memphis. Big Star did not sell a lot of albums initially, however the group had a major influence on on up and coming post punk bands such as the Replacements and R.E.M. Always the innovator and "quiet rebel", Alex experimented with alternative sounds writing and recording several solo albums.

Alex moved to New Orleans in the early 80's. He continued to perform, play guitar and write until his unexpected passing. In the past few years "Big Star" has been finally gaining the recognition deserved with the release of a box set and a new revival of the band. Alex was preparing to travel to Austin, Texas to perform with the group at the SxSX music festival only a few days prior to his death.

We will always remember Alex as a friend, excellent guitarist, singer writer and a major influence on American music culture.

Jim and Jill Lancaster

Alex Chilton R.I.P

2010-03-18T07:01:00.000-07:00

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/mar/17/memphis-musician-alex-chilton-dies/

New Stuff coming!

2010-03-06T08:43:00.000-08:00

New product on the way.. Steve Fisher "Nothing But Hope" http://www.reverbnation.com/label/southernamericanamusic#/stevefisher2
BigWater http://www.reverbnation.com/label/southernamericanamusic#/bigwater1

BigWater Music

2010-03-06T08:40:00.000-08:00

You can find some previews of the BigWater record here http://www.reverbnation.com/label/southernamericanamusic#/bigwater1

2010-03-06T08:28:00.000-08:00

BigWater is feverishly trying to get out a a CD by the end of March. We have been recording songs from the Playground catalog and are playing them at our live performances to enthusiastic audiences. We have also included a Dan Penn song or two. We are making "in progress" reference Cds and this is the working cover for the ref disks. They are for sale on a limited basis.. Less than 30 units will be manufactured before we change jackets and program content.

2010-03-06T07:56:00.000-08:00

This is a post from the current Uk mag "In The Basement". Playground alumnus Len Wade is picked #3 all time blue-eyed soul singers with his 1966 cut of "It Comes and It Goes".. truly an amazing track and a scorching vocal. Thanks to David for publishing this great rag!

2010-03-01T07:36:00.000-08:00

Mr and Mrs. Right

2010-01-11T07:14:00.001-08:00

We are finishing up the 1st 7 cuts on Rip Wright. Rip was raised right here in Valparaiso... and in 1980 made a 45 with Finley Duncan. It was issued on the Emerald Coast label on green vinyl ( there are only 4 artists issued on this label). Rip has combined local color as well as well as a unique musical combination of players for the new project which includes his son Robert. The project was initially begun with the Decoy's lead singer, Scott Boyer. Rip is officially a boat captain and entrepreneur. Songwriting has always been a hobby, but now one that he can put on disk and share. "Alimony" which was issued on the 45, for you collectors, who by a slim chance might have this Emerald Coast 45 has been re-cut and is a rockin track. We look for an issue on the current endeavor sometime in 2010.

Steve Fisher "Nothing But Hope"

2010-01-11T06:58:00.000-08:00

As the New Year has turned over.. we can hardly say 2010 much less write it down.. however studios are like casinos.. no natural light and no clocks.. after a three year project, Steve Fisher's "Nothing But Hope" is finally on the forecast to be released. Masters have been sent to the manufacturer and art is on the way.. so we are about a month out for retail copies. Steve has crafted some fine songs into an Americana Symphony.. actually we like to call it the "Boggy Bayou Hobo Orchestra". To accompany these quatrains, some fine musicians are featured on this disk. Clayton's guitar work exceeds Nashville twang. This is what a telecaster is supposed to sound like. Fred Dumalot overdubbed drums on the entire project (a feat in itself) and Doug plays some memorable mandolin on these American poems. There will be a limited amount available on the Playground website www.playgroundrecordingstudio.com. The cover photo is by Shelley Swanger and graphic art by Willie Warren Meigs

2009-12-21T07:02:00.000-08:00

MudBoy in 1987.. MudBoy and the Neutrons.. from left
Sid Selvidge, Jim Dickinson, Jimmy Crosswaithe, Lee Baker

2009-12-21T06:51:00.000-08:00

A Happy Holidays greeting to all. We love the holidays at Playground Recording Studio... cause everybody is doing something else while we are recording. The grandchildren are running around here waiting on Christmas morning.. gumbo on the stove.. fish in the bayou.. and tunes on ProTools.. these are things we are thankful for. I do miss my weekly calls from Dickinson and still expect him to call up one day from the grave to discuss the state of the music business and what we have been recording and how nothing we record will ever make it to the pop charts and both being proud of that fact.. The we agree that neither will disclose the fact that we had this conversation. BigWater is going strong...we are finally recording a few of the old Playground songs and presenting them to the public in a little different light. God Bless all who might read this and Happy Holidays

Thanks and Giving

2009-11-27T05:36:00.000-08:00

Eleven months ago.. I couldn't see forward to Thanksgiving 2009. Needless to say, I am thankful that we made it. It's been a difficult but productive and revealing year. Since our last post to the Playground blog a lot has been going on. Our band "BigWater" has been playing quite a bit. We have finally gone into the studio and recorded some of the songs we do. A few are posted on myspace at www.myspace.com/bigwater1 Steve Fisher's album is now, after 2 years ready for manufacture. The CD will be called "Nothing But Hope". I am proud of the CD. Clayton has played some iconic electric guitar and has done some great Pro Tools arrangements. All of Steve's songs are relevant and timely. Wilbur Walton Jr. was in this month to record a new song "Folk Blues #5 The Americana Taliban". Although Wilbur is pushing septuagenarian.. it's the hippest, most original thing that has come into the studio in a year or so. Ms. Amy Hart has been in and has penned a tune called "Birdcage", which is a dynamite R&B number that we plan to record very soon. Local panhandle arteest Rip Wright has begun a project to be completed soon. His songs are unique and original... much better than anyone will expect. Two of the songs we recorded were released on Finley Duncan's Emerald Coast label back in the early 80's on green vinyl (there are only 5 releases total on Emerald Coast) and they are as pertinent today as ever. We will be recording our ass off during the holidays.. thanks for being a Playground fan.

Hog Heaven Music Hub

2009-09-27T10:36:00.000-07:00

The Twin Cities... No not Minneapolis/ St. Paul... But Niceville/ Valparaiso....Florida now has up to 5 music venues within a 2 mile area, where you can experience live music on the weekends.. most always with no cover. With the tourist season over Niceville is becoming a live music hub for the panhandle. Woody's Hog Heaven, which by the way has great BBQ and full bar, musically is anchored by the "Boggy Bayou Band" BigWater. BigWater performs at Woody's generally one night every weekend. During the short time that Woody's has been open, they have become a musical center on Friday and Saturday nights. BigWater has had countless "special guests" perform with the band. These include, Jack Jernigan, Amy Hart, Bobby "Blues" Elmo, Kathy Lyon and Tom Lyon, Andy Durand, Steve Stokes, Duane Mays, Norris and Suzy and many more. Original and unique material sets these musical performances apart from the norm. Other local favs like the WaCo Ramblers, Coconut Radio, Common Thread, Suzy and Norris have also performed here with more to come in the future. Woody's is gearing up for Mullet Festival weekend which will be Oct. 16th-19th. BigWater will host during and after the Mullet Fest events. There will be some special events during this weekend that you won't want to miss.
Other Niceville venues.. The Bayou Blues, The Filling Station, The Edge, Tisa's. More on these later.. Come join us in Niceville for your next musical experience.

News from PRS

2009-09-26T06:38:00.000-07:00

News from Playground

Our good buddy, Larry Tenor, formerly keyboard man with "Little Feat" has found true love and is leaving the panhandle for Tennessee and has graciously left us his 1966 Hammond B3. We have been putting the B3 on everything.

Special product "Georgia Pines" has officially escaped and is available at www.playgroundrecordingstudio.com. "Georgia Pines" was written by Buddy Buie and John Rainey Adkins.. originally made famous by Wilbur Walton Jr. and The James Gang, this Cd/EP is a track by Beaverteeth, sung by Charlie Silva, Jimmy "Orion" Ellis and Jimmy Louis PLUS has an instrumental track. Dothan's Jimmy Dean is playing on the tracks.

Muscle Shoals super group "The Decoys" were in the panhandle last week with Alabama Leaning Man Donnie Fritz. Scott Boyer (from the group "Cowboy") also with "The Decoys" was in the studio to assist with a Rip Wright session.

"Lost Soul" The Playground Series Vol. 2 has been compiled and will be available for single song download from CD Baby in a couple of weeks. "Lost Soul", the follow-up to "Soul Resurrection" has tracks by Count Willie, Connor Cagle, Johnny Dynamite, Len Wade, John Hamilton and Doris Allen, The Truths Inc., Reuben Howell and many more. Most all of these tracks are backed by the original PLayground Rhythm Section, which include Dothan Musicians, David Adkins, John Rainey Adkins, and Jimmy Dean. We'll post the CDBaby link as soon as it is available.

WE have also begun work on the compilation of a Wilbur Walton Jr. project (Unreleased) that was recorded in 1973. These are some tremendous WW Jr. performances and some great songs. Songs like "Eternity", "Are You Hiding" and "Simple People" anchor this project.. and Wilbur is rockin'!

"BigWater", the Boggy Bayou Band has been performing live in the panhandle quite a bit lately.. and has begun a recording project. The first 3 songs are Dan Penn's "Tiny Hiney's and Hogs", Reuben Howell's "Mr. Important Person" and Mason Arnold's "Clever Devils". www.myspace.com/bigwater1

We have recently begun studio projects on singer/songwriters Amy Hart and Duane Mays.

Pleased to Meet Me

2009-09-21T06:26:00.000-07:00

In the fall of 1986, Jim Dickinson and I began a Sire/Warner Bros project on the Minneapolis band "The Replacements". All of the recording was done at John Fry's Ardent Studios in Memphis. This project would last well into 1987 and finally be released in July of 87. The Replacements at the time were Paul Westerberg,Tommy Stinson and Chris Mars. They had just canned Tommy's older brother Bob from the band after a notorious appearance on Saturday Night Live where Bob appeared in a diaper and .. I mean diaper only! SNL had to pull the plug on the performance.. the Mats (as we began to call them) were pressured by the record company to relieve themselves of Bob.. so that they could go on and make a more grown-up record. The Mats are a true rock and roll band. This story goes on and on, but now some 22 years later Bob Mehr is doing research on the band to write their biography. We spent a couple of hours on the phone with Bob yesterday, recollecting some events of the sessions that led to "PTMM" the Mats still have a large and loyal fan base and have a definite chronological niche carved out in Rock and Roll history. We are really looking forward to the publication. Paul has gone on to solo success and Tommy has had concentric success with his own material and since 1998 has also played bass with Guns and Roses. We'll post some more info as the story unfolds. If you are unfamiliar with the band, it would be a good time to check them out..

BigWater

2009-09-13T11:58:00.000-07:00

BigWater pix... more below
Jack Jernigan Clayton Lancaster

Photos by Lily
More BigWater at www.playgroundrecordingstudio.com
www.myspace.com/bigwater1
and www.myspace.com/playgroundrecordingstudio

BigWater Rocks Niceville

2009-09-13T11:15:00.000-07:00

BigWater is Jim, Jill, Clayton Lancaster, Warren Meigs and Ed Kollis. Dubbed the "Boggy Bayou Band" are all members of the Playground team. We all live around the bayous that surround the twin cities of Valparaiso and Niceville in the Florida panhandle. You can find us playing fairly regularly around the Twin Cities at either Bayou Blues or Woody's Hog Heaven. Playing a mixture of swamp funk, R&B and Americana, BigWater concentrates on unique material and song choices. We have gone into the Playground archives and retrieved some material recorded at the studio by artists like Reuben Howell, Doris Allen and Big John Hamilton. We also pull material from folks we have worked with in the past including Dan Penn, Jim Dickinson, Willie Mitchell, Chips Moman, and Buddy Buie. These include some great songs that may have never even been released or in some cases even recorded. A good array of original material is also included in our set list.
BigWater will also include special guests like Amy Hart,Bobby Elmore, Jack Jernigan and many more depending on who is in the audience. This Friday, BigWater is backing Kathy Lyon from Pensacola at Woody's Hog Heaven in Niceville. We would be pleased to have you attend and enjoy a blend of Americana roots and Jazz tunes provided by Kathy.
Bobby "Blues" Elmo sitting in with the BigWater Band
Pix by Lilley

James Luther Dickinson

2009-08-16T09:51:00.000-07:00

Jim Dickinson passed early on the morning of August 15th 2009. Jim's credits and influence on the music industry speak for themselves. If you are not familiar with his works or influence now would be good time to find out for yourself. To all of those who knew Jim, we all share the same loss, maybe in different degrees but as I have stated .."Gravity is a more powerful force today with his passing."

The Dickinson/Lancaster story is too long and yet not long enough. As he put it in his farewell letter, "Few will know and fewer will care-except those lonely people out there in their own night of desperation.
Put it in the red, old friend".

On Jim's 50th birthday we had a 3 day musical event, this was Jill's contribution to the publication that was issued in honor of the event

Somewhere in the Steaming Night......Africa?
In the heat. The smell of the wet earth
sweet and bitter
I'm searching, feelings Numbly on hands and knees
And always the Music.....
It's enough to change the taste in my mouth

Wild Dog Spinning tales Rolling in Rhythm
I'm hanging on to every word,
Trying to remember
Hanging on.... Midnight Moon
Senses wide open.....RAW
And Always the Music.......

WE TRAVEL DEEPLY
EYES THAT ALREADY KNOW

Emotions surface, the tape changes
Voodoo Music..... The Whip cracks !
Will the UFO land tonight?
Yo Mama?
My Mama?
Everybody's Mama....
He smiles, somehow sinister
WoogaBooga!
The Fat Lady sings
And School is out !

Old Friend..as you know.. It's always in the red!

BigWater

2009-08-11T08:08:00.000-07:00

BigWater... The Boggy Bayou Band

Clayton, Jim and Jill Lancaster and some members of the Playground Rhythm section. Warren Meigs on Drums and Ed Kollis. In a swamp/funk style, BigWater plays material gathered over the years from the near great.. songs you won't hear anywhere else.. some Dan Penn, Eddie Hinton, John Hurley and Ry Cooder, not to mention they have unearthed some Playground timeless masterpieces that are in the soul/funk genre. Some songs by Reuben Howell, Jimmy Gresham and the original Playground Rhythm Section.

In addition, BigWater Features some of our original songs including Clayton's "Boggy Bayou Blues", an anthem for the serenity of the Bayous that surround our twin cities. Clayton also does several songs in the "Americana" style. Dan Penn's "Tiny Hineys and Hogs" is a regular which is a biker's theme song. In addition, BigWater does arrangements of some known classics by Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Lucinda Williams, Buddy Guy, Ry Cooder, Al Green, Bob Marley and Delbert McClinton along with some country classics by Waylon Jennings and Niceville songwriter of the year Larry Shell. Some New Orleans classics like "Trick Bag" and "Hey Pockey Way" are also included. Never over rehearsed.. you never know what they'll play and there are generally always special guests included, whether they are local favs or artists that have recently recorded at Playground.

You can catch BigWater at Woody's Hog Heaven in Niceville a couple of weekends per month.

Updates

2009-08-11T07:23:00.000-07:00

Been awhile since the Playground Team has updated the blog here. In the last couple of months we have seen the release of the Heritage CD.. a group of multinational guys playing Reggae/Pop music, headed up by Full Spectrum Entertainment. The album turned out very well and The Heritage band starts their Southeastern tour in October.

Meanwhile Playground Records has a Unique Special product that will be available in September. In the early 60's Songwriter extraordinaire Buddy Buie (Traces of Love, Spooky and many more) along with Playground alumnus John Rainey Adkins penned the song "Georgia Pines" that was a major regional hit on Wilbur Walton and the James Gang. The song was recorded in 1972 here at Playground by Beaverteeth with lead vocalist Charlie Silva. Within the next year Finley overdubbed two other vocalists on the track. The CD is the Beaverteeth track with Jimmy (Orion) Ellis' version and Jimmy Louis' version along with Charlie's original verion on the CD. These three vocals are also accompanyed by ann instrumental version. Audiophonically the CD is unique in that from the original tape transfer to the master, it was all done at 96K for the best possible audio quality. Our friends in Europe like to call this song "The Hymn of the South"

Po paa reee

2009-06-07T09:29:00.001-07:00

http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/1530233

2009-06-07T08:07:00.000-07:00

Checkin out ReverbNation's widget

2009-05-05T15:30:00.000-07:00

Big John Review from JukeBlues, current issue. Great job Soulscape! All Playground tracks.. rescued from archived tape masters.

April 25th

2009-04-25T08:04:00.000-07:00

Saturday In The Park... April 25th... Family entertainment, crafts and Foods

Clayton Hosts

Playground Songwriter's Night at "The Filling Station" John Sims Parkway, Niceville 8:00 PM
Saturday Night April 25th.. Great Food .. Great Wings..Live Music

All songwriters invited! All public Invited for an eve of relaxed eats and tunes. Come on down for some Boggy Bayou Blues

Spring on the Emerald Coast

2009-04-12T08:45:00.000-07:00

It's a beautiful spring here in the panhandle of Florida.. a really good atmosphere to record and to live life to the fullest.

This week we have completed the Steve Fisher project, working title "Nothing But Hope" and the new album on the reggae roots group "Heritage"
formerly know as "Solid Ground"

Bigwater @ Bayou Blues Club, Bayshore Drive in Niceville Friday April 17th 8 pm
Clayton Lancaster, Jim and Jill Lancaster, Ed Kollis, and Warren Meigs

Transfers

2009-03-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

We transfer and digitize analog tapes to CD or DVD. There are certain limitation such as the condition of the tape that you want to have transferred, but in most case we can transfer your old audio tapes to .wav files (Hi Res) or Mp3 files (med. Res) to CD to be played on our computer or your CD player.

We can do a 1:1 transfer with additional EQing or noise reduction OR we can transfer to CD using outboard gear or computer plugs to make your transfer sound as good as possible (of course you'll pay a little more for this). If this is something that you have been considering please feel free to contact us for pricing (It's reasonable) and preserve your old recordings for generations to come

Editing and Mixing

2009-03-08T09:23:00.000-07:00

We realize that these days everyone has a studio in their closet or their garage. In actuality.. many big selling CDs and videos start right there.

At Playground, we have begun to accept tracks via the internet or one of the large transfer file services for editing and remixing. All prices for these services vary according to the amount of work that you want us to do. Our prices are very reasonable and you are not charged for studio time, only for the time it takes for one of our experienced mixing engineers to do the work. Prices range from a minimum of $75.00 to $300.00 and up per song depending on the work load.

You will receive at least two reference mixes during the process and email consultations during the process. Your mix (upon your approval) will be delivered to you upon completion in a "Manufacture Ready form"... Plus your satisfaction is guarenteed.. if you are not satisfied with the results... you don't pay!

The Playground Team

Always Looking

2009-03-08T09:16:00.000-07:00

Even though February has been a mighty tough month for the US economically. WE feel there is no need to slow down. Right now at Playground we are looking for for young bands to record and promote. Qualifications include #1 great songs.. # 2 good singer and or front person.. #3 the desire to succeed in the music entertainment business #4 at least one or two folks in the band that can actually play.. we can do the rest....

If you feel that you have the qualities listed above feel free to contact us at Playground.. probably the best way to reach us is by posting a comment on the blog with a short bio (we're looking for a few key words) or send us a note on our MySpace page at www.myspace.com/playgroundrecordingstudio

The Playground Team

More Solid Ground update

2009-02-12T14:05:00.001-08:00

Tony and Eric were in last night for vox overdubs and did a fantastic job.. We'll be mixing soon! Stay tuned

Waco Ramblers@ PRS Radio Show

2009-02-08T23:34:00.001-08:00

Wilbur Walton Jr.

2009-02-08T16:34:00.001-08:00

"Are You Happy With Him"

2009-02-05T08:59:00.000-08:00

AS you may know, at Playground we not only record and produce new artist projects, we also archive masters that were left here following the passing of founder Finley B Duncan in 1989. Late in 2007 we issued "Soul Resurrection The Playground Series Vol. 1", in 2008 we saw the release of of Mary Gresham's "A Voice from the Shadows" and Doris Allen's "A Shell of a Woman" released on the Soulscape UK label. We are looking forward this month to the Soulscape release of Playground tracks on Big John Hamilton entitled "Are You Happy With Him"

Nothing But Hope

2009-02-03T09:08:00.000-08:00

http://tinyurl.com/d9ryoq

Try This link to hear "Nothing But Hope" by Steve Fisher

Obama Era... Nothing But Hope..Steve Fisher

2009-02-03T08:01:00.000-08:00

We now that the Super Bowl is over .... maybe we can start the new year! Although it was one of the best Super Bowls ever.. It just seems like the country would not not kick into gear until the Inauguration and the Super Bowl had come to an end. Now that those two events have come to a close, what does that leave us with?

"Nothing But Hope" is the working title of an on going project that we have been working on here at PRS for Steve Fisher. The project is coming to a close and features some fine instrumentalists and Steve's great songs. The project is scheduled for a limited release in the first quarter of 2009.
The album mirrors the similarities between the Great Depression of the 1930s and our current economic dilemma.

Steve has had three previous releases, one solo project and two with the Virginia based band the Circuit Riders.

Clayton on iLike

2009-01-31T10:47:00.000-08:00

http://www.ilike.com/artist/Clayton+Lancaster

If you haven't checked out iLike try the link above and then customize your own music updates. Pretty cool music site

Clayton

2009-01-31T08:14:00.001-08:00

2009-01-31T07:51:00.000-08:00

Early in 2008 Wilbur Walton Jr. formerly of Wilbur Walton Jr and the James Gang brought some Dothan musicians in to record a 4 song EP.

David Adkins is the featured musician here, original member of the Playground rhythm section and brother of famed John Rainey Adkins, does Dothan proud on this recording.

Wilbur is singing better than ever. This collection of songs is a must have for any southern fan of the 60's. Long time James Gang bassist Jimmy Dean is also on this EP.

This photo is the Playground one sheet for the release of Mr. Redbud.

Wiley and The Checkmates

2009-01-31T07:42:00.000-08:00

Wiley and the Checkmates : from Oxford Mississippi have recorded their last 2 albums at Playground. In 2008 with the release of "We Call It Soul" the Checkmates delighted crowds at SxSW in Austin and were the hardest working rhythm section n show business at The Ponderosa Stomp in New Orleans. This photo was taken on January 23rd at the Ground Zero Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi at the Oxford American bash.

Ain't It Great To Have A Hit!

2009-01-30T18:57:00.000-08:00

From the archives:

This looks like a happy group!

Make your own assumptions.....

Solid Ground "Sneek Peek"

2009-01-29T16:05:00.000-08:00

Solid Ground

2009-01-29T15:58:00.000-08:00

Although the name might change.. the music will remain roots, pop, ska, skank, reggae.. all better described as "World Music" fronted by twin Ukes, the band is currently working on a full length debut album

Earth Vibes

2009-01-29T15:54:00.000-08:00

Earth Vibes:
Recorded at Playground in January and are currently in post production.

2008 Retrospective

2009-01-29T15:41:00.000-08:00

2008, despite all of the problem with the economy was a pretty good year for Playground with several releases on Playground Records. We have begun 2009 with a couple of new projects that are very interesting. These projects are in various states of completion here at the end of January.

We are looking forward to the Soulscape UK release of the Big John Hamilton Playground material in early February 2009. This is deep soul from Playground and will include almost all of Big John's unreleased tracks. The CD release will be available in the states from Dusty Groove in Chicago

From the Chief

2008-09-14T08:48:00.000-07:00

As if we don't have enough to do, Playground Recording Studio and the Playground Team are blasting off into the Blog world. Please feel free to post questions, answers, truths, lies and rumours. We are constantly seeking to fill in the gaps of the "Playground Story" which began with Finley Duncan in the late 50's until he passed away in 1989. In 2005 the story picks up again. Some of the characters have remained the same.. Feel free to add your story.

Chief