Jingles, Toots and the Tarot

by Chris Aaland


It’s with great relief that I must report the ending of the election season. Since my deadline is mid-day Tuesday, I have no freaking idea who won any of the races. By the time you read this, though, you will. My fingers are crossed for my candidates, but that’s all I can report at 2:17 p.m. Tuesday.

Like most of you, I won’t miss the rhetoric. And I won’t miss the calls, emails and knocks on my door encouraging me to vote for the guy I was already going to vote for. I certainly won’t miss not being able to talk to one of my best friends, a guy who has refused to answer my calls or return my text messages in over a month because of a political argument we got into at 11:30 one Friday night.

But what I will miss — and I’ll miss it dearly — is the J. Paul Brown radio jingle … you know, the one that starts “J. Paul Brown is a man, he’s a good man.”

My politics and those of State Rep. Brown couldn’t be further apart. But our love for classic country music is likely a shared passion. My sources tell me the Bar D Wranglers recorded the 30 seconds of pure Americana genius. Brown’s jingle brought a smile to my face the first time I’d heard it. I envisioned Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Tex Ritter, the Sons of the Pioneers and Riders in the Sky. I heard echoes of Flatt & Scruggs singing “The Ballad of Jed Clampett” or Tennessee Ernie Ford crooning “The Ballad of Davy Crockett.”

So I guess a bed-wetter like me and a staunch conservative like J. Paul Brown really can have something in common.

Reggae legends Toots & the Maytals play the Fort Lewis Community Concert Hall along with Anders Osborne next Tuesday.

Sometimes pairings are so eclectic that they make sense. Take Tuesday’s 7 p.m. one-two punch of reggae legends Toots & the Maytals with New Orleans-based Swedish bluesman Anders Osborne. Toots blends ska and reggae with gospel, soul and rock in what’s billed as Toots’ “Unplugged Acoustic Tour.” He formed the band in Kingston in the early 1960s and has been evolving ever since. They’re perhaps best known for their contributions to Jimmy Cliff’s epic 1972 soundtrack to “The Harder They Come” — the only reggae album I own on vinyl … miraculously, one that my stepfather was groovy enough back in the day to purchase.

Osborne has become a people’s favorite in New Orleans for his fusion of blues, rock, funk, R&B and jazz. His latest effort, “Black Eye Galaxy,” reminds me at times of the Black Keys at their finest — hard-edged, minimalist blues-rock. Critics are hailing it as his finest hour.

It’d be worth your while to check out either of these acts, let alone both on the same stage. Rumor has it that Osborne even sits in with the Maytals.

The third annual Living Tarot Oracle is back — this time at the Durango Arts Center on Friday through Sunday after being at the Mancos Opera House the past two years. This unique, theatrical event utilizes living representation of each of the 22 major arcana cards of the Tarot deck, including such familiar characters as the Fool, the Magician, the High Priestess, the Sun and Moon, the Hanged Man and Temperance. Each of these “living oracles” will have an individual station and will be in full costume and character of that particular card. The event happens from 6-8 p.m. Friday, 5-8 p.m. Saturday and 3-6 p.m. Sunday. Friday’s event is free (which also includes a free “teach-in” by Carrie Paris), while Saturday and Sunday costs $5 per card with a three-card maximum.

The next in the line of the Community Concert Hall’s screening of “The Met: Live in HD” continues at 10:55 a.m. Saturday in the Vallecito Room of the Student Union. This time around, it’s the premiere of Thomas Adès’ “The Tempest,” based on Shakespeare’s classic drama.

Moe’s lineup this week includes the usual suspects: Salsa Night tonight (Thurs., Nov. 8), the Jazz Church freeform jam session from 6-9 p.m. Sunday and an open mic from 8 ’til close Tuesday. Surtified spins tunes for your dancing pleasure from 8 ’til close Saturday.

Now that the summer has waned and the frost is on the pumpkin, Thursday’s weekly Ska-B-Q has morphed into Ska Chili Night. The main difference, of course, is that the shin-dig moves inside to keep your tootsies warm. There’s still free grub, free live music and Ska brews. Tonight’s special guest is Palisade-based singer/songwriter Tony Rosario, a guy who sounds a bit like John Hiatt, Delbert McClinton, Gregg Allman, Warren Haynes and Keb’ Mo’.
The Abbey Theatre hosts “Code Red” a birthday party for Critter featuring Benjamin K, Make Believe and B-Side. Show up dressed in red for this 18+ theme party.

Digital Beat Down is a live electronica duo that fuses synthetic textures and organic instrumentation to create dance-friendly compositions with a prog-rock twist. Check it out for yourself this Saturday at the Summit.

Elsewhere: Hello Doll Face rocks the Summit tonight; and Pete Giuliani does a solo acoustic show at Vallecito’s Schank House from 6-10 p.m. Friday.
Y’all were forewarned last week that Spruce Goose has returned to Steamworks. What I didn’t tell you: the seasonal suds will be poured at Sorrell Sky Gallery on Friday during a special celebration of the arrival of the Capitol Christmas Tree as it passes through Durango on its way to Washington, D.C.
The giant spruce was harvested in Meeker and will travel to the U.S. Capitol this winter on its “Celebrating Our Great Outdoors” journey. Getting to taste the Spruce Goose outside of Steamworks is hard to do. It’s usually only available on tap and in bombers there. You can’t buy this stuff in the liquor sto’.
In honor of the J. Paul Brown jingle, this week’s Top Shelf recognizes my favorite commercial jingles on my iPod:
- Sweet Sunny South, “Homestead Market” on “Bell Creek Dance Club.” “You just can’t beat our meat.”
- Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Radio One Theme,” on “Radio One.” The dude rocked.
- Hot Rize, “The Martha White Theme,” from “Hot Rize/Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers Live — In Concert.” The seminal Colorado bluegrass outfit took its name from the song.
- The Who, “Odorono” from “The Who Sell Out.” A fake commercial for a real deodorant.

Pull your rig on it and park it? Email me at chrisa@gobrainstorm.net.