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The
Greys, Southover, Brighton August 22nd, 1999
Gene Parsons and Meridian Green |
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Front cover
of Zigzag 41, the Fifth Birthday Party Issue,
what a gig, what a magazine* |
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'The
cottonwood
stood trembling' |
|
Gene
Parsons and Meridian Green website
www.stringbender.com |
|
Join
the Greys Mailing List: greyspub@fastnet.co.uk
|
| My second visit to the Greys. First had been for Geoff Muldaur. Tonight was Gene Parsons and his partner Meridian Green. Another superb night of acoustic music in a tiny Brighton pub. |
| This is a unique setting. The Greys lodged on a corner amongst the the Victorian terraces overlooking Brighton's Eastern bohemia known as the Lanes. Close to the railway station and within sight of Brighton Dome. |
| As the evening sun draws down a regular stream of couples and groups emerge from the little roads around here. They stop at the pubs door, most recognised by the promoter Mike Lance, who exchanges folding stuff for pre-booked tickets. |
| Out of the street there I meet Dave who clocks my Townes Van Zandt t-shirt and calls 'Good man.' He used to book Townes in Brighton when he came through. Damn I've missed some great gigs in my time. But not tonight I'm here ticket in hand for the first of two nights of a couple who don't come out of Mendicino that often. |
| Tonight is standing room only. 75 plus people crammed into this very singular venue to hear a man that most of us probably grew up listening to when he was in the Byrds. Gene Parsons in a tiny pub. £7 quid to get in. That's what we call cracking around here. |
| Gene Parsons and Meridian Green wander in from the pavement outside where they have been chatting and the show gets underway around 8.30pm. Gene Parsons looks like he just got off the Santa Fe stage. A western hat, a big white moustache and a knowing smile as he accepts the applause as he and Meridian take to the stage. |
| Throughout the evening Meridian Green will play effective rhythm to Gene Parsons picking, share vocals or add harmonies, or sing lead. |
| Meridian, a golden haired Californian by the sound of her soft voice opens the show accapella. The duos harmonies blending on a song called I think Love Was Lord (or that's what it said on the set list). I'm sat right at their feet and the opening is perfect. Two voices drifting across the low lit pub. Not even a glass tinkles. |
| I'm reading the set list upside down and noting the delights to come. Both artists fetch their guitars. Gene Parsons bends his fingers around the neck of the guitar, begins to thumb and two finger pick a song you can hum within a bar. The intro is glorious, subtle and shifting and his voice like a cool breeze that almost hums the opening words: |
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'I
was out on the road late at night, |
| The picking, the harmonics and chords are evocative of those desert highways between 'Tucson and Tucumcari, from Tehachapi to Tonopah.' What an opening card. Meridian contributes floating harmonies over the top and the whole thing flows like a movie soundtrack. The audience are already starting to feel the warmth of this set. |
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Both artists are clearly enjoying the venue and Meridian wants to know how many folks here have visited the Hove Museum. Part of their relaxation this afternoon was a visit there. She encourages those whose hands haven't got there yet to go visit. The museum I think has a few old motorbikes and stuff. |
| Meridian mentions that if we buy enough CDs tonight, Gene might be able to afford the promoters BSA motorbike. Ship it all the way back to Casper, California (that's between Fort Bragg and Cat Mother country Mendicino). |
| 'The next song was written in 1934,' notes Gene Parsons. I'm sure its California Blues by Jimmy Rodgers. The artist notes that 'riding the blinds' means to ride under the railroad cars 'when we had a railroad that is', he laments. Gene Parsons slips a small steel bottleneck on his pinkie and the rendition is gutsy with some tasteful, effective slide. |
| My love of small venues is simple. I love the intimacy. I'm sat on the front edge of the tiny stage, able to watch Gene Parsons immaculate picking from a few feet away and hear Meridian's vocals going over the top of my right shoulder. And reading the set list upside down I just break into a smile with the next introduction. |
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The
Gilded Palace of Sin
|
| Meridian Green notes that this is about 'A nasty little town in Southern California. No sense of place at all. Full of anonymous strip malls that you can get totally lost in.' Phew Gene Parsons and Meridian Green are playing my record collection. The Flying Burrito Brothers, Sin City, Gram Parsons at his most telling. Hard to believe with the fullness of Gene Parsons guitar work that we are just hearing two musicians conjure this one up. |
| 'This old earthquakes going to leave me in the poor house, this whole towns gone insane.' Everyone like me is mouthing the words through this classic. Never mind the tribute albums you got to get out in the bars and hear this done live. And how. Excellent harmonies. |
| I'm with Andrew and Jane Perry and friend Chris. When the song closes Andrew asks Meridian 'Is that about Las Vegas, because that's in Nevada?' 'No it's about Los Angeles,' Meridian assures him. Mike Lance stood by the door calls out: 'It's alright he's got a ticket.' British humour . . . |
| Meridian Green takes the lead vocal on the next song. A killer song called Listen to the Thunder from a songwriter who will also feature in the second set of whom I know diddly squat, Jane Gilman. A powerfully sung, kind of straight outta of Mendicino in the rain song. |
| More Mendocino tales follow. A venture into the jingles market with a song written by the duo called Old Coast Hotel. Meridian explained that she worked as a barmaid at the hotel, in Fort Bragg, I think she said. Just after they wrote the song the Hotel closed 'so be warned Mike . . .' Neat little radio jingle, rocky and a hint of bluegrass. Loved it. |
| Another self penned ballad followed called Just Away. Meridian had a good voice, soft, running somewhere between folk and country and as ever Gene Parsons mike technique, harmonies and the beauty of his picking was spot on perfect. |
| The neck hairs went up on the next song. I knew what was coming by reading the set list but it still made me blink. Fast picked jangling thumb and two finger picking pattern, 'sitting backwards on this airplane is bound to make me sick', I think the whole room knew it judging by the people around me mouthing the words, 'have breakfast with me mama I hope they'll let us in, got a leather jacket on, I know its a sin' and of course the killer line 'chasing the sun back to LA'. Gunga Din. The guitar work was subtle, relaxed and superb. Wow. The place erupted when they tailed it off. |
| Next came a lovely little story about Gene Parsons growing up in the desert around Joshua Tree, California where his father had an automobile spare parts business. He stood there tuning a five string banjo while unrolled a tale about having to bump start his 'Stoody' (Studebaker) by leaving it on a hill because the battery was never up and it 'had six cylinders but ran on four, two were on vaction.' |
| 'So I let go the brake and then popped the clutch, nothing, so I popped the clutch again and reached the bottom of the slope.' The solution was to fetch his fathers pickup and give the reluctant 'Stoody' a shove. However forgetting he'd left the key on in the ignition the Studebaker took off as soon as it was bumped. |
| So chasing after the Studebaker Parsons finally gets the door open and pulls her up inches from a neighbours barn. Dad is impressed. Watching from the front porch he shouts, 'Can you repeat the first bit I missed it . . . I've always figured my life has been a series of things that might make a movie if I could get the finance . . .' |
| A neat little intro to a fast banjo picking instrumental where the two flew. Banjo dog twisted, turned with Meridian Green pushing Gene Parsons by supplying fast strummed rhythm. And he answered with some belting assured fretwork. |
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Abilene
|
| The final song of the first set explained Meridian Green was written by her father (Bob Gibson). 'He could never decide whether it was about Abilene Kansas or Abilene, Texas until a visit to the first Kerrville Festival in 1978 or 1979 when he sang the song and on the chorus 4,000 Texans rose as one to sing it.' We weren't 4,000 Texans but we gave a good singalong to the end of a very fine first set. |
| As the musicians packed away, Andrew and Janes friend Chris was clearly impressed with the first set and his first visit to the Greys. He asked Gene Parsons whether he wrote Gunga Din on a plane? Parsons nodded 'I wrote it on board a DC8, you don't see those anymore . . .' |
| The half way break, time for the performers to take in the cool evening air outside, talking to fans. Also for me to wonder why I couldn't just live around the corner and pop around for tomorrow's sold out show as well. |
| The second set was an end to end delight as well. Got under way with a Gib Gilbeau song with a Cajun backbeat to it. 'I got a house on stilts,' it began. City Bride was drenched in Louisiana gumbo. Meridian explained that 'Cajun is like Welsh, they take out all the vowels . . .' She also thanked the organisers of this tour, 'Dave and Shawn of Borderline Records' from Brighton's bohemian Lanes district. |
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'The
cottonwood is trembling . . .'
|
| From Lousiana back to the deserts of California. Gene Parsons spoke of returning to where he grew up to see 'the old place'. He wrote a song there called Desert Childhood, 'just me and the snakes, cactus and stuff . . .' This was a Joshua Tree audio soundtrack ballad and a half. Just bloody stunning. So subtle like the changing colours of the desert. Delicate picked guitar and lovely poetic lines like 'The cottonwood stood trembling . . .' |
| The tour promoters are shouting for him to do Yesterdays Train but clearly the duo haven't worked this one up for the tour. 'You like soppy songs? This is a soppy song,' suggests Meridian. A self penned ballad follows called Life Comes On. It has a great line, a concise take on things delivered by 'Life is a highway leading into night.' |
| Gene Parsons lightens the mood afterwards by telling a story about how he got his hat. 'I bought it in Flagstaff, Arizona. You can sleep on it and it bounces back.' He scrunches the hat in his hand and replaces it with a smile. He's tuning the banjo again and they go into Swing Low Sweet Chariot. |
| The song offends someone because there is about a five second snatch of trouble by the door. Just the sound of a scuffle, a shout 'Right, out' and Mike and Dave (who'd been on the door) bowling someon out into the street. 'See ya' calls Gene Parsons. 'Phew our music always brings the best out in people . . .' |
| Meridian has stopped her partner putting away his banjo and they launch into a lovely Country and Western campfire song for the yodellers in the audience. Meridian sings 'I love to see the cowboys at the rodeo . . .' All that was missing was the pork, beans and spurs. Yee hah. |
| Appropriately an old Gene Parsons song, I think, Hillbilly Highway (actually its Steve Earle from Guitar Town) followed like a take on Jed Clampett leaving the backwoods for Los Angeles. 'My grandaddy was a miner . . .' opened Gene Parsons. |
| The second Jane Gilman song dropped the mood back to reflection. It had a gorgeous line in it, sung by Meridian Green, 'The face in the moon looks like Marilyn Monroe.' Plus a neat opening line, 'Put the radio up and your windows down.' I like songs with cinematic images. |
| More road tales followed to compliment the next song which was called Trouble. Meridian Green told us that 'We were going to the Albuquerque Folk Alliance (showcase for artists) and we were going through Harford and we came upon four bands with twenty two tour buses, four semi's, seven limousines and I was doing my sums trying to figure who had that kind of money to keep that running and then I noticed they were sponsored by Crown Royal. And we thought we could do with a limousine . . .' |
| 'We saw a Mister Peanut mobile going up the highway,' continued Gene 'and we tried to catch it up, but it was going 85 and we could only make 80 . . . The morale is if you play folk music you are going to play for peanuts . . .' |
| Trouble was another ballad laid with a blanket of harmonies, gentle as the smoke from the embers of a campfire. 'Don't go looking for trouble because it will find you,' sang Gene Parsons. Wow. |
| Gigs like these are so great because the between song banter gells a whole string of songs together. And the audience response to jokes and quips makes a great evening. Somehow the next poignant song started off with an offbeat story about Banana slugs which explained Meridian Green are '6-9 inches long, every year they have a Banana Slug Festival south of us at Sebastapool. Kinda slow town . . .' |
| The story seques into how the duo had taken an Indian chief's words to the President in 1835 and put them to music. 'The President wanted to buy the Pacific North West from Chief Seattle and this was his response,' explained Gene Parsons. 'How would you like the USA to buy your country?' |
| A wag in the audience: 'They already have' |
| 'Oops we started some controversy here . . .' Gene Parsons laughed and continued, '150 years old, that's really old in California, that's an antique . . .' The song called I think Chief Seattle was a history lesson, akin to reading Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee. |
| The astonished Indian chief asking how one might sell a river or a sunset and saying that 'The water's murmur is my mothers voice'. Loved that line. |
| By this time Gene Parsons is checking his clock because the gig has a tight 10.30 close. Well maybe . . . |
| 'Do you know what conspire means?' asks Meridian Green. Andrew Perry wearing his Panhandle Conspiracy t-shirt points to the wording and Meridian laughs and continues 'it means to breath together . . .' |
| This by way of an invitation to sing together. No announcement of what the song is but who needs one when the familar guitar picked intro brings a smile across the face and Gene Parsons sings: |
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'Clouds
so swift, |
| Gene Parsons takes to Dylan's nasal whine for one of the verses and holds his nose on the chorus. Each chorus has the bar singing along in full voice. So Gene Parsons suggests taking the chorus again at the end and it all sounds like a rabble rousing version with smiles all round. The audience applauding the duo and vice versa. |
| As might have been predicted from the opening bars of the first set to the last song of the second the bar is lound in their praise and wanting more. Gene Parsons and Meridian Green have stood down from the stage but are soon climbing back up. |
| Tour promoters Simon and Shawn are shouting for You Must Be Someone and Gene is apologising that he hasn't played that one in a long time. However he decides he'll give it a crack. 'Do we have time Mike?' The bar answers for Mike. |
| Gene Parsons suggests that they do Meridians song first which was the intended encore. The song is Hallejuah, with an obvious Gospel tinge. Beautifully sung and underlined by Gene Parsons simple but spot on three plucked bass notes which sounded like harmonics along the top string. The great musicians only play what's needed and Gene Parsons style is economic and telling. Phew do that again. |
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You
must be someone
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| The final song and one that Gene Parsons apologises for, 'If I mess up the lyrics, I'm having a senior moment . . .' He explains the song. 'Vern Gosdin came home after a gig and there was nothing left in his home. Kids, wife, furniture, all gone, just a stool in the middle of the room. On it a note 'Vern I'm leaving you . . .' and he sat down and wrote this one.' |
| I tell you this was another neck hair tingler. You might have been sat in that stark room when Gene Parsons sang 'There must be someone I can turn to.' Meridian had left the stage and there framed in the low light was the Gene Parsons playing beautiful guitar and weighing the words into the microphone like the great musician he is. |
| He was word perfect. Stunning. |
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The crowd erupted, Gene Parsons extended a hand to Meridian Green who called out 'I haven't heard that one in a long time . . .' The duo took the bows. The pub was buzzing. That's what it is about. Crown Sponsorship roll on by you can't put a sticker on this stuff. |
| The Frying Burrito Brother |
|
Join
the Greys Mailing List: greyspub@fastnet.co.uk
|
|
Gene
Parsons and Meridian Green website
www.stringbender.com |
|
*Tons of 'grist' on Gene Parsons
and the Byrds in Pete Frames excellent Rock Family Tree books. Pete
Frames much missed Zigzag magazine contained the following gem about
Gene Parsons: |