Music Culture

Murder, Betrayal and the Story of Sweet Willie in The Murder Ballad

I was listening to Bob Dylan’s latest release, ‘Tempest’, and in that album, is a character called Sweet Willie. I’ve heard it said that this character is  a revisit of one of his earlier characters, Gamblin Ramblin Willie, But is that really so?  I dug around  and It seems that the character of ‘Sweet Willie’ is simply a reference to the  antagonist, or protagonist in early American and Scottish folk songs called Murder Ballads.

 What is a Murder Ballad?  Simply put, it’s a song reciting the sad news of violence and death at the hands of another. Remember that back in the old days, before newspapers, before radio or movies, we had songs. Songs were the primary way in which storytellers spun their tales and these songs often contained bits of news and current events that would otherwise go unknown. If you think bias is bad in news now, well, just imaging how each story changed in the telling by each bard, each with his own take, his own morality.

These situations could often change and make the protagonist the antagonist, and events were never set in stone, the way we think of it now ( truth be told, it hast changed that much) Usually the source of the murder was a jealous man, who dies because of the affections of a woman, or because said woman cheated on her man. It’s the oldest story in the book.

I find it interesting that Sweet Willie wound up as the central character in many of these murder ballads. I presume that because the names in the stories often got lost, or perhaps because the songwriter was singing a sort of biography and didn’t want his name revealed, the name Willie was used as sort of an Everyman; something like a John Doe is in society today.

Through the passage of time, Willie becomes his own character due to his prominence in these types of ballads  and his story is retold over and over again, circumstances and details changing with each telling. Who is this man? Well, that all depends on who’s telling the story.

Sweet Willie

As Mrs. Bragg, of North Carolina sung it in 1933, Willy rode off with a farmer’s daughter, and as they rode away, her father and brothers came after. Willie and the father shot it out on horseback, and they both died of their gunshot wounds. Willie made it to his parents’ house with his bride to be but died the next day. The Farmers daughter died soon after of heartbreak in the song indicating that Willie and she were lovers, but that Willie was not though very kindly of by the farmer, leaving us to wonder what the cause of the bad blood was. It seems as I’m Mrs. Bragg saw him as a hero and a martyr.

Knoxville Girl                                                                                                                           In Knoxville Girl, a traditional ballad, we hear the tale of a cruel Willy who beats his girl to death with a stick for apparently no reason, but it’s possible that she was pregnant out of wedlock at the time. In the old, pre industrial America it was quite frowned upon to be pregnant out of wedlock. Typically they would have just gotten married, but as he killed her more likely scenario is that the child to be was not his and that might help explain why he killed her.

Pretty Polly

There is another traditional song called Pretty Polly in which Willie asks Polly to marry him, then he takes his girl down to the river and he kills her. Why? Unclear but I suspect he is hurt by her rejection and cannot contain his grief sand so he lashes out, only to be arrested later in the tale. There is another version in which, like in Knoxville girl, Polly is again pregnant , possibly with another’s child and this may be the reason why Willie digs her grave in the night to toss her dead body inside. Some tales even go as far as to have Polly's ghost murder him in revenge after the deed for killing both herself and the baby. There are too many versions of the tale to be sure

Willie Moore

Yet another tale called simply ‘Willie Moore’, tells of a man who again, was not allowed to marry but this time it is the girl’s parents who refuse the marriage. Now, this story is interesting because the first line of the song says “Willie Moore was a King, his age 21”. Some say that he is an actual king, but to me that seems a bit shortsighted; why would her parents object to her marrying a king and why would a king settle for the approval or disapproval of the girl’s parents?

 I suspect that the first line refers to something else and that Willie was not really a bona fide king. At the end of the song, Willie moves to Montreal to mend his broken heart so we know Willie is in Canada, the King being the King of England so the king reference may mean that Willie was the performer, as in the king of song, much like we consider Elvis to be the King of Rock. Now Willie being a simple bard may be a very reasonable explanation as to why Ana’s parents would refuse such a marriage. The girl is found at the bottom of the river in a way no one knows but it seems to me that she killed herself, being not able to marry the man she loves. Here Willie is definitely the protagonist, the unfortunate hero if you will.

Ramblin` Gamblin` Willie

And our great modern poet and folklorist, Bob Dylan writes about a few willies in his songs. In ‘Ramblin Gamblin Willie’, our hero is a gambler who takes the house every time, wins steamboats, houses and land, fathers many children by many women, and became quite successful until one fateful day, he plays the ‘dead man’s hand’ in which he wins but the loser is so outraged, he takes his pistol and shoots poor Willie in the head. There is some mystery in whether or not Willie is a cheat or just a damn good card player but he is a good man at heart, as characterized by the fact that he is generous with his money, and takes care of his many illegitimate children and their mothers. Clearly, Willie is a man of contradicting morality. But it is plain that he is the protagonist and hero of the tale, a man of great legend and great tragedy.

In his latest number, Sweet Willie is mentioned in one line where he laid down to die in Scarlett Town, which is apparently a reference to a graveyard. Well that song may or may not refer to the same man, and it’s impossible to tell, but I suspect that he is not being that Willie had previously died in a poker game by gunshot in the afore mentioned song.

Who is the Real Sweet Willie?

This character of Willie appears again and again, and is a mysterious figure indeed. Whether he is a murderer or victim, hero or villain largely depends on who is telling the tale. I’m of the opinion that he is the classic unsung hero, often misunderstood, and widely the subject of great controversy.

For me, Willie is the epitome of the forlorn character and is usually depicted as down on his luck in some way. The Willie that resonates with me the most is the songwriter with unrequited love either by the parents who think him unworthy of their daughters hands in marriage, being a lowly musician and all. I can relate to this, as I have also been defamed by scorned women and thought of as a ‘dirty musician’ but thankfully no one has ever died by my hand!

When I think of this character I see a dark winding road in the country, willows weeping all around, maybe the rain is pouring down, little cabins and houses with closed doors and faint lights in the windows as the cautious widows and would be lovers watch him walk by, carrying a guitar and many lonely songs with him on the road to either heaven or hell, depending on your point of view. I believe Sweet Willie is a man who for all his good intentions finds himself on the run. He seems to be courting death at every turn and usually at the hands of a spiteful father. Sometimes, he is in fact, a man who lets his emotions get the better of him and loses control, resulting in a horrendous deed and once in a while, he is the victim of jealousy or betrayal.

 He is the epitome of the downtrodden traveler, as he moves through story to story finding death and tragedy at every turn. He is as often the villain as the martyr but I believe it’s up to you to decide who the real Willie is. Whatever your opinion, he is a haunting everyman character that is easily relatable to those who have suffered heartbreak and feel the blues. Who hasn’t felt a murderous rage when our lover has been caught cheating? Who hasn’t angered lover’s parents at some point? It seems to me that the best of us have been the victim of cruel rumor or been denied love at some point and Sweet Willie is ever the reflection of all the pain that comes with  unrequited love.

Riverside's Local Talent, Open Mics, and Local Recording Studios.

The Open Mic Portion of the Article

So I’m sitting here at the open mic night at Back to the Grind in Riverside, CA waiting to hear the unsigned local talent. It’s a fascinating experience, hearing the din of the crown, faint acoustic guitars in the background tuning up for their performance. 

This is where it all starts for many an artist. I see a few familiar faces and I know that the sounds will be pleasant, at least, from them. The audio engineer id unwrapping his cables and cords, to insure every performer has the best sound quality he can provide.

The high vaulted ceilings are horrible for acoustics in general, but the walls covered in books, and the crowd dampens the sound just enough to even it out.  I’m all anticipation. What will I hear? Who, if anyone, will blow me away? I always have visions of the next Norah Jones or Tom Waits playing madcap tunes or soulful ballads. Let’s face it, I’m in a coffee shop and there will be soulful acoustic ballads. I wonder, who here has never played in front of an audience before? Who hopes that this will be a stepping stone to something greater?

I’ve heard good things about this coffee shops open mic night and let’s be clear. I will hear awful music tonight. Its par for the course and to be expected at open mic nights but my opinion is that A: Its free, B: You can get up and leave anytime you want. But if you do, you will miss the gems scattered throughout these evenings.

Now the host, Bill Odien announces, in a grand voice,” Be respectful of the artists, so please no excessive talking and no open fires and the set” and Dave relays the no drum kit or marshal stack rule. There is no one screening talent, in fact, that’s the whole point. Everyone gets a chance to shine, or fall on their face, but I will clap for everyone because it takes a lot of guts to even get in front of people and perform. Did you know that 90% of all people would rather die than speak to a crowd? That’s incredible.

 I no longer have that fear but I remember my first open mic night in Salisbury North Carolina and I was petrified. I looked at the crowd, and  forgot every song I knew. I took my acoustic and just started playing and it turned out, it was a Blind Melon song,’ No Bidness’ I closed my eyes and continued on to ‘Pusher Man’ Steppe Wolf. I heard my dear friend Mike-O cheer me on and then I launched into a George Harrison number, Isn’t It a Pity, because it’s one of his favorites. Afterwards, everyone clapped, as is mandatory and I got some compliments all around, even from folks I didn’t know. It was much easier after that. Back to the night at hand.

The first performer steps up, and starts out real quite. You guessed it; It’s a soulful acoustic ballad, reminiscent of Neil Young. Slightly off tempo but other than that it’s not too  bad. Next up is ‘Troubadour Terry’ complete with a song about Labor Day, written by Merle Travis. So an old mining folk tune is what we get. And as his name suggests, he is most definitely a troubadour. Very pleasant to listen to. The next girl, Breezy, has a Dido quality,        

Oh but he next girl, Stephanie Diane Moore, well now, she is a little more lively, with a nice lyrical melody. I can definitely hear a bigger sound behind her, with brushes and almost a Mumford d & Sons quality, if they were an American girl with an acoustic guitar. I missed the intro where she announces it was a cover of Jason Mraz. Then she does a nice what a day for a day dream’ from Lovin` Spoonful, complete with wistle. If I were a promoter or producer, id grab her for a song or two.

The Small Studio Down the Street  

Then my friend Dave Call, AKA Monowheel, walks by, and invites me to come and see his studio in a flat inside the Life Arts building down the street. I cannot refuse as I don’t see him very often, besides, its down the block so off we go.

He pours some wine and we casually talk geek (html, drum loops, programming,). His space is small but charming and, best of all, its mobile- now I don’t want to grill him per se, not yet. That’s for the real interview  so I don’t go in depth, but he has a few speakers, a small mixer and quality miss and travels to the drum kits, mics em up and records them, then brings individuals into his quaint space to lay tracks over it, and the results are surprisingly good.

We listened to a few tracks by Donita Smith, a comedic songwriter, and some flamenco guitar by Brian Russo and its quality stuff. Dave in a certified engineer and he knows how to make the most with simple equipment, proving once again that it really doesn’t matter what you use as long as you have talent. Ice known guys who sink a fortune into sound equipment produce crap while a guy like Monowheel can bring out the bets tones with a few microphones and decent program.

I’m constantly amazed by the talent I find in riverside when you turn a rock over and i plan on returning to both locations and go more in depth, to give each their due  respects, but i did want to shed some light on whats happening in Riverside. The city is full of creative individuals that love a wide variety of music, art and literature.  It reminds me of the song ‘Shakedown Street’ by the Grateful Dead, “Don’t tell me this town aint got no heart, you just gotta poke around.”

 American Idol - Why It Is Not A Threat To Your Music Career

Since its inception, American Idol has quickly become a cultural icon and social magnet for  criticism and while the spectacle of the show seems more important that the actual substance, it is essentially an interactive singing competition  known for making pop stars and has launched a few careers.

 A friend recently told me of an argument she had with a producer friends of hers in which this producer lamented that American Idol was the reason for his lack of success.  Now while the thought of watching AI myself makes me want to throw myself in front of a slow moving bus, I can’t really blame AI for bands that don’t succeed. No if you are an aspiring artist and blame anyone else for your lack of success, then the problem lies with you. Now allow me to play the Devil’s advocate.

There is nothing wrong with American Idol. First, audiences love it. It gives then exactly what they want in terms of mindless pop and escapism. Now it’s easy to see the canned music as lacking in authenticity or to write it off as a way for Randy Jackson to get his crappy material recorded and trick people into buying mediocre, generic, Wal-Mart songs. I get that. But, if there is a market of that kind of entertainment, is it wrong to provide it?

Let’s face it, most music lovers are not looking for virtuosity in their pop music. All they want seems to be feel good dance tunes that can play comfortably in the background or in DJ booths at clubs. Is that really wrong? Is it that we as musicians are just walking around with bruised egos because our genius is not recognized?

Obviously, there must be something we aren’t recognizing as musicians if we can’t understand the basic appeal that the contest shows like American Idol and The Voice have for mainstream audiences. Not to mention, the appeal it has for artists that want to make a name for themselves in the industry. We all know it’s incredibly hard to make it and this can give contestant the leg up they may be looking for;look at  Kelly Clarkson (However, lets not forget the illustrious career of Lee DeWyze. "Who's Lee DeWyze?" ...exactly) .

My take is that unless your goal is to be a mainstream artist, shut the cuss up. Get out there, and promote yourselves like The Black Keys did. Did they need the help of AI? Not at all. What about Mumford & Sons? They got to where they are at through good old fashioned hard work. Did American Idol rob them of their fame? Mediocrity has always bred the most accessible music and it hasn’t really changed much, except now, we have shiny judges to tell us how unique and soulful mediocrity is, and for the severe music fan, not even Steven Tyler can give that stale platform clout so what are you worried about? The facts is that if you’re really good, unique and have something new, the fans you’re looking for are out there waiting to hear you so stop worrying about the effect Nicki Minaj has on your career and get out there.

PRIMUS  AT THE CLUB NOKIA- 

(RockNRoll Industries Magazine Archives)

Ok, I'll admit it. I have a gnarly hangover form my awesome night at Hollywood Studios Bar & Grill. So instead of hurting my brain writing about last night, I'm going to recover. So, i've decided to revive this gem of a review that was never published. I wrote it for Rock N Roll Industries Magazine back in '10 but it got lost in the deluge of articles and sadly, it was overlooked. I think that is a crime against humanity so here it is, for your pleasure, in two parts- ( its kind of lengthy, but its worth it, trust me.)

Mon Sep 17, 2010: PreShow Antics

Friday night, the 90's eclectic rock band, Primus, played at the Club Nokia in Los Angeles and i have to say it was a magical night. Well I arrived with 30 bucks hoping to scalp a cheap ticket and to my delight, we ran into four guys, who had just won ticket upgrades. One of them was wearing an old Rush concert t-shirt, a sign of a fellow cool head so we figured they would give them up or sell them on the cheap, well they wanted $40 per ticket. We mentioned the fact that the box office had them for $42 and that we thought it was a sour deal so we offered 60 for two. No dice. There were three of us, and my friend had just bought one off the same guys for $22, although i think they gave him a wheelchair discount, that lucky bastard. My buddy Steve then retorts, "Look man, i live in a basement and need money for weed so can you help a bum out?" We all laughed as they walked into the bar where, by the way, the beers were $9 a piece,(pretty steep for a man on a $30 budget and a scalped ticket to buy if you ask me).  Still, they had the look of money to them.

We made our way through the carnival-esque crowd looking for some kinder souls. Gave it a half hour, exhausted our resources and were back to our original spot by the sports bar. One of those previous ticket meisters came strolling out( for the sake of the story, we’ll call him 'Larry') for the next round of negotiations, obviously they wanted to drink more and wanted to pad their wallets a bit with our hard earned cash and still, the offer was 80 bucks for two. Apparently these folks failed to grasp the concept of haggling so we offered them $50. It was 10 bucks lower than our previous offer, just to give him an idea of what the term negotiation really means. 

“Hey, if it was up to me, I’d sell em to ya, but I’m just the negotiator" he said. 

Unaware of what their strategy was, or their instructions to him, i can only assume that these friends of his clearly missed the point of this exercise so again, we waved him away with the sinking feeling in the pit of our stomachs. Dejected, we decided to grab a bite to eat at the nearby Rockin' Fish. Big Mistake. $50 a plate for a lousy steak? Forget it. On to the appetizers. $15 for potato wedges?! Wearing only a small amount of shame, we made our way outside. 

Things were not looking so good at this point. So once again we find ourselves at the point of desperation as once again Larry The Negotiator makes his way to our spot. We figure the concert is soon to start and being that we were the only ones in the market for their clearly overpriced tickets; they would drop their price to our previous offer of thirty bucks a piece so that we might get in to the show. Just as he arrives, big, curly haired individual buts in, sticks his head out and says in a low but bold voice: "Primus Tickets!"

"How much?" says I. "Twenty a piece" says he. Now this guy is speaking our language.

Clearly here's a fellow who understands the finer points of supply and demand. We furiously jam our hands into our pockets, pull out our twenty dollar bills and make the exchange in front of our would be ticket merchant. Now at this point Larry's face instantly goes from gleeful profiteer to complete and utter rejection as we conclude the transaction for at least ten bucks less than he and his money grubbing cohorts planned on making off of us. It was a priceless moment. His face looked just like Wile E. Coyote as he plummets off the cliff, yet again, for the hundredth time and proved once more that yes, the universe has its own perfect sense of comedic timing.

Epilogue: 

We get in the Club Nokia (which is really mini amphitheater) and who do we see at the bar but our favorite negotiator, Larry and his friends! 

"Hey, you guys made it" he says.

"Yea," we said, "We had to hurry because we had to stuff ourselves with chicken strips and beer before the show. Seems we had a little extra cash on us" We laughed and laughed as we strolled away from their scowls and enjoyed the concert. To be continued...

Next......Part Two: Set One

PRIMUS  AT THE CLUB NOKIA- Part 2

(RockNRoll Industries Magazine Archives)

Here is the second installment of my 2010 Primus review. It never quite made it into Rock N Roll Ind. Magazine, so I've decided to let it live here. 

I was always quite proud if this review and it is shame that it went unnoticed by the editors of the magazine so no you can be the judge .

After much ado about scalped concert tickets, we are ready for the festivities to begin. Primus did not disappoint. It is not often I take a last minute trip to Los Angeles to see a concert with only twenty bucks in my pocket but what can I say? It was Primus. I had not seen this band live in many a year so I felt it was my duty as a longstanding Les Claypool fan to summon my wits and cunning and go to the Club Nokia, damn the consequences! 

We get in and the stage was lit by two giant astronauts in green lighting and displayed images of the bands faces in the helmets while a sinister circus theme came blaring out of the speakers. The crowd was cheering as the members of the band came strolling out on stage, Les in top hat and pig face regalia. Over the circus music came the recognizable thump of ‘Here Come The Bastards’ and I knew I was in for one bizarre and fantastic ride and already the crowd was bouncing to the rhythmic pulse and Les wasted no time digging into a small bass solo .

Next came a stellar version of Pink Floyd’s ‘In the Flesh’ and the crowd was singing right along, almost drowning out Claypool. ‘Duchess And The Proverbial Mind Spread’& ‘Those Dammed Blue Collared Tweekers’ followed, but when it came time for ‘Tommy The Cat’, well the place went absolutely F*#n nuts. There was an energy spike as Claypool let loose with the grandiose verbiage and at this point there was some crowd surfing and the crowd chanting in unison, “Say Baby!” And of course, Les was dancing around and around like some deranged Mad Hatter as the stage lighting was accenting the beat, with a flurry of colors and patterns.

At this point, I feel it is necessary to mention the Club Nokia a bit. The theater is a new freshly designed amphitheater snuggled into a strip mall filled with dazzling neon lights, sports bars and expensive restaurants. Inside, the back of the club is spacious enough to get through with five levels of seating. What struck me is that there is not a bad seat in the house. We were squarely in the middle and I had no trouble making out the band whatsoever and the sound guy was terrific although I feel Larry LaLonde's guitar could’ve been turned up a bit more but hey, the real show is Les Calypool. It is small enough to get that intimate feel without having to mosh your way around the venue. 

Now back to the show. At this point, Claypool was wearing a Bola hat and a snazzy vest. The show continued with roaring versions of ‘Over The Falls’, Claypool now donning a long pointy nosed mask, and a Tom Waits song ‘Big In Japan’ which was a rendition that would have made the ol’ man proud. Next he let drummer Jay Lane  go into his percussive jam into ‘Whamola!’ in which he uses a Stick, which is basically a standup electric washtub bass that he beats on with a drumstick. It’s an unusual instrument to say the least! ! 

After the mid- eastern flavored ‘Over the Electric Grapevine’, came the moment many Primus fans have been waiting for. As if the fans weren’t crazed enough at this point, Primus went right into ‘Jerry Was a Race Car Driver’. Absolute madness. Moshing, stage diving, and crowd surfing was rampant as the testosterone charged crowd jumped up and down amidst a flurry of bass notes and screaming guitar solos from LaLonde. Rounding out the show was ‘Golden Boy’, ‘Southbound Pachyderm’ and ‘Pudding Time’

Now at some point during the show, Les made the announcement that “all requests must be submitted in writing, on a lined 3x5 index card, in blue ink and addressed to and only to Mr. Larry LaLonde”. Well Sure enough, someone did in fact submit a lined 3x5 index card to LaLonde with the request of ‘Frizzle Fry’ written on it. Unfortunately for us, that song was performed during last night’s show. 

The second request was for ‘Spirit of the Radio’ to which les states” I’m sorry, but I am not familiar with that particular Primus song” in his quick tempo, nasally voice (for those of you who are not in the know, it is a Rush song). Dammit man!, The third request was for “any song by Phish” so we were promptly treated to ‘Shake Hands With Beef’ and a which in Claypool’s words was the closest thing they had to ‘Spirit Of The Radio’. Les does have a certain charm. The last number was a splendidly rockin  ‘Sgt. Baker’ during which the crowd overwhelmed even Claypool’s vocals as they were hands up, jumping up and down and generally getting lost in the final moments as was I. 

How can one sum up a Primus show? Well, as one fan states “Les Claypool destroyed the Bass.” There was lots of moshing and plenty of beer in the hair. What can I say? It was a mix of cabaret, circus sideshow, acid flashbacks, and good ‘ol 90’s rock.

 One of the highlights of the show was when a fan had the audacity to throw a shoe at Les Claypool! Les stopped mid-song and responded “Someone had the intelligence and the insight to throw a show at me. Im not sure why they did that, but it sure was smart. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy like a deer in the headlights, a salmon in the spotlight!” and then he promptly finished the song. What’s not to love?

 Primus is truly one of the most unique groups ever formed and I was blessed to be a part of this experience.