10249 - OMAR & THE HOWLERS - THE KITCHEN SINK (2015)
OMAR & THE HOWLERS
''THE KITCHEN SINK''
2015
41:41
**********
1 That Ain't It 03:02
2 The Battle Rages On 03:14
3 Fire And Gasoline 05:12
4 I'll Keep On Dreamin' 02:10
5 Dirty People 02:58
6 Dixie's All Night Bar 05:59
7 Cutie Named Judy 02:09
8 Dust My Broom 04:14
9 Who Do You Love 04:02
10 Hello Operator 02:42
11 Can't Hold Out 03:24
12 Climb On Board 02:28
**********
ABOUT THE ALBUM
Richard Ludmerer
This newest recording on the Big Guitar Music label is Dykes 27th overall. Half of the album is new while the other half is a tribute to four good friends Dykes lost in 2014. They are Efrain Ramos, artist and fan club President; disc jockey Larry Monroe; Omar and The Howlers drummer Gene Brandon; and Jack Primich, philanthropist and father of harpist Gary Primich who passed in 2007.
The new recordings include six originals featuring Dykes, guitar and vocals; and the rhythm section of Bruce Jones, bass; and Wes Starr, drums. On the opener “That Ain’t It” Casper Rawls plays lead guitar. Guitarist Derek O’Brien is added on both “Fire and Gasoline” and on “Dirty People”. Dykes displays his country side by adding steel guitarist Tommy Spurlock on both “The Battle Rages On” and on “Dixie’s All Night Bar”. Danny Levin plays both fiddle and piano on “I’ll Keep On Dreamin’”.
The archived recordings include Brandon, The Howlers drummer from 1981 thru 1994, on Elmore James “Dust My Broom”; on Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love?” featuring Greg “Fingers” Taylor on harmonica; and again on Dykes’ “Hello Operator”.
A different band including O’Brien guitar; Primich, harp; Nick Connolly, organ; Mark “Kaz” Kazanoff, sax; Paul Junior, bass; and George Rains, drums; is used on both Jerry “Boogie” McCain’s “Cutie Named Judy” and on Elmore James “Can’t Hold Out”. The album closes with “Climb on Board” with Rawls on guitar.
Dykes’ is an original roots rocker whose musical sensibilities never disappoint. Dykes’ is a national treasure.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/OFFICIAL
Austin, besides being the Texas state capital, is home to much of the best in American roots music. Since the 1970s, gutsy blues players, renegade country pickers, and raw-voiced rockers have mixed & matched their musical styles in Austin ’s thriving club scene. And that’s where Kent “Omar” Dykes holds court too.
He hails from McComb, Miss. , a town with the distinction of being home turf for Bo Didley. Omar started playing guitar at seven, took to hanging out in edge-of-town juke joints at 12, joined his first band at 13 – the next youngest player being 50 – and started honing his music. He was still Kent Dykes in those days, but by the time he hit 20 he had hooked up with a crazy party band, called the Howlers, looking back, he says, “We had two saxophone players on baritone and tenor who wore Henry Kissinger masks. They were called the Kissinger Brothers. Not on every song, mind you. Sometimes it was Dolly Parton playing saxophone. Or Cher. And we had these cardboard cutouts from record stores for skits.” They even did fake ads for Sunshine Collard Greens and Howlers’ Fried Chicken – “for that old-fashioned taste that tastes just like Grandma.”
It was a crazy time, but a lot of fun too, with the rough & tumble Howlers playing R&B, Rock & Roll and even the occasional polka and western swing tunes. But Kent Dykes mostly just wanted to play blues. And by then the other Howlers had taken to calling him “Omar Overtone” because he tended to let his guitar feedback on stage while he dropped to the floor to spin on his back in a spontaneous, Big & Tall Store take on break-dancing. As he says, those performances were “sometimes fueled by, a-hmm, alcohol.”
By 1976, the Howlers decided to move and relocate to Austin, where such clubs as the Soap Creek Saloon, the Broken Spoke, the Armadillo World Headquarters and Antone’s had created a haven for renegade music. “We worked out of Austin for about a year,” Omar says, “but a lot of the guys decided they weren’t cut out to play music full-time for the rest of their lives. They headed back to Mississippi and Arkansas , and I decided to keep the name. Nobody objected.” And as Dykes says, Omar & the Howlers works better than Kent & the Howlers. Of such decisions are careers made.
Fronting a new lineup, Dykes honed a band capable of the sort of raw, rowdy, rambunctious blues that made Howlin’ Wolf and Hound Dog Taylor legends. Omar's first release was Big Leg Beat in 1980, shortly followed by I Told You So 1984, earning Omar & the Howlers consecutive Austin band-of-the-year awards in 1985-1986. Hard Time in the Land of Plenty followed in 1987.
But really that was just the beginning as Omar followed up with another twelve albums in the next fourteen years; Wall Of Pride 1988, Monkey Land 1988, Live at the Paradiso, Courts Of Lulu, Blues Bag all in 1992. Blues Bag 1992 was Omar's first solo album followed by a second solo album, Muddy Springs Road in 1995. Omar also released World Wide Open in 1995. Next up was Southern Style 1996, Swingland 1998 followed with two releases; Live At The Opera House and The Screaming Cat both in 2000. But that's not all; Omar came on with Big Delta in 2001 and Boogie Man in 2003.
On Boogie Man, Omar brought in songwriter friends he’s made since he left Mississippi for Texas 27 years earlier. “Co-writing at that point in my life was a lot of fun. To me it’s like free songs. These are ones that I wouldn’t have had the patience to sit down and write on my own. But when you get with friends and drink coffee, tell jokes and stories, and then write something, it always turns out to be something different than what you might have done on your own.”
Plus it’s not exactly heavy lifting to work with such Texas icons as Ray Wyle Hubbard, Darden Smith, Alejandro Escovedo and Stephen Bruton.
Besides the songwriting collaborators, Omar also brought some friends into the recording studio, including guitarists Chris Duarte and Jon Dee Graham (True Believers), Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Double Trouble, George Rains (Sir Douglas Quintet and house drummer on scores of Antone’s label releases) and his frequent running-mates Terry Bozzio (Missing Persons, Jeff Beck, Frank Zappa) and Malcolm “Papa Mali” Welbourne.
In 2006 Omar was back with more and did another four albums in the next four years; Bamboozled 2006, On The Jimmy Reed Hiway (with Jimmie Vaughn) 2007 (with an episode on Austin City Limits - see Photos/Videos section), Chapel Hill (with Nalle, Omar and Magic Slim) 2008 and then in 2009 with Big Town Playboy.
2011 finds Omar tighter, funkier than ever and slated with a great new release in 2012. But Omar always loves to play live; “I still do 150-160 shows a year, and with travel days that adds up to a lot of time away from home. It always seems like we’re on a plane headed somewhere.”
Be certain to check Omar's calendar - he will be playing somewhere close laying down that beautiful sound we have all come to love and appreciate.
Howl On Big Dog, Howl On!
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Al Campbell
The European blues fans all adore Austin, TX-based guitarist and singer/songwriter Omar Kent Dykes. That's because he fits the stereotypical image many of them have of the American musician: he's tall, wears cowboy boots and has a deep voice with a Southern accent. However, Dykes does not carry a gun, and though he looks rough and tough, he's actually an incredibly peaceful and intelligent musician, and a veteran at working a crowd in a blues club or a festival. While Dykes still has a sizeable American audience owing to his albums for Columbia Records, he still spends a good portion of his touring year at festivals and clubs around Europe. Omar Kent Dykes was born in 1950, in McComb, MS, the same town from which Bo Diddley hails. He first set foot into neighborhood juke joints at age 12 and after he'd been playing guitar for a while, he went back into the juke joint. After graduating from high school, Dykes lived in Hattiesburg and Jackson, MS, for a few years before relocating to Austin in 1976. He'd heard the blues scene in Texas was heating up. At that time, Stevie Ray Vaughan was still playing with Paul Ray & the Cobras. By the early '80s, Omar & the Howlers had gained a solid reputation for their invigorating live shows. They also released two albums on independent labels, Big Leg Beat (1980), followed four years later by I Told You So. Among white blues musicians, Dykes is truly one of a kind, a fact Columbia Records recognized in the mid-'80s when they signed Omar & the Howlers. Unfortunately, it was a fleeting relationship at best. After releasing Hard Times in the Land of Plenty (1987) and Wall of Pride (1988) the band was dropped when the company was bought by Sony. While it was inconvenient, it didn't stop Dykes. His post-1990 output has been nothing short of extraordinary. Starting in 1991, Omar & the Howlers recorded three discs for Rounder/Bullseye Blues: Live at Paradiso (1991), followed by Blues Bag and Courts of Lulu (both in 1992). In 1995, they switched to the Austin, TX-based Watermelon Records and released Muddy Springs Road (1995), World Wide Open (1996), and Southern Style (1997). After 15 years of dealing with record contracts, Dykes needed a break from being tied down to one particular label for any length of time. Since then, he and the Howlers have released excellent discs on Discovery (Monkey Land) (1997) Black Top (Swing Land) (1999), Blind Pig (Big Delta) (2002), and Ruf Records (Boogie Man) (2004). A live set recorded in Germany, Bamboozled, appeared from Ruf Records in 2006.
**********
WEBSITE
**********
TO THE TOP
**********
''THE KITCHEN SINK''
2015
41:41
**********
1 That Ain't It 03:02
2 The Battle Rages On 03:14
3 Fire And Gasoline 05:12
4 I'll Keep On Dreamin' 02:10
5 Dirty People 02:58
6 Dixie's All Night Bar 05:59
7 Cutie Named Judy 02:09
8 Dust My Broom 04:14
9 Who Do You Love 04:02
10 Hello Operator 02:42
11 Can't Hold Out 03:24
12 Climb On Board 02:28
**********
ABOUT THE ALBUM
Richard Ludmerer
This newest recording on the Big Guitar Music label is Dykes 27th overall. Half of the album is new while the other half is a tribute to four good friends Dykes lost in 2014. They are Efrain Ramos, artist and fan club President; disc jockey Larry Monroe; Omar and The Howlers drummer Gene Brandon; and Jack Primich, philanthropist and father of harpist Gary Primich who passed in 2007.
The new recordings include six originals featuring Dykes, guitar and vocals; and the rhythm section of Bruce Jones, bass; and Wes Starr, drums. On the opener “That Ain’t It” Casper Rawls plays lead guitar. Guitarist Derek O’Brien is added on both “Fire and Gasoline” and on “Dirty People”. Dykes displays his country side by adding steel guitarist Tommy Spurlock on both “The Battle Rages On” and on “Dixie’s All Night Bar”. Danny Levin plays both fiddle and piano on “I’ll Keep On Dreamin’”.
The archived recordings include Brandon, The Howlers drummer from 1981 thru 1994, on Elmore James “Dust My Broom”; on Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love?” featuring Greg “Fingers” Taylor on harmonica; and again on Dykes’ “Hello Operator”.
A different band including O’Brien guitar; Primich, harp; Nick Connolly, organ; Mark “Kaz” Kazanoff, sax; Paul Junior, bass; and George Rains, drums; is used on both Jerry “Boogie” McCain’s “Cutie Named Judy” and on Elmore James “Can’t Hold Out”. The album closes with “Climb on Board” with Rawls on guitar.
Dykes’ is an original roots rocker whose musical sensibilities never disappoint. Dykes’ is a national treasure.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/OFFICIAL
Austin, besides being the Texas state capital, is home to much of the best in American roots music. Since the 1970s, gutsy blues players, renegade country pickers, and raw-voiced rockers have mixed & matched their musical styles in Austin ’s thriving club scene. And that’s where Kent “Omar” Dykes holds court too.
He hails from McComb, Miss. , a town with the distinction of being home turf for Bo Didley. Omar started playing guitar at seven, took to hanging out in edge-of-town juke joints at 12, joined his first band at 13 – the next youngest player being 50 – and started honing his music. He was still Kent Dykes in those days, but by the time he hit 20 he had hooked up with a crazy party band, called the Howlers, looking back, he says, “We had two saxophone players on baritone and tenor who wore Henry Kissinger masks. They were called the Kissinger Brothers. Not on every song, mind you. Sometimes it was Dolly Parton playing saxophone. Or Cher. And we had these cardboard cutouts from record stores for skits.” They even did fake ads for Sunshine Collard Greens and Howlers’ Fried Chicken – “for that old-fashioned taste that tastes just like Grandma.”
It was a crazy time, but a lot of fun too, with the rough & tumble Howlers playing R&B, Rock & Roll and even the occasional polka and western swing tunes. But Kent Dykes mostly just wanted to play blues. And by then the other Howlers had taken to calling him “Omar Overtone” because he tended to let his guitar feedback on stage while he dropped to the floor to spin on his back in a spontaneous, Big & Tall Store take on break-dancing. As he says, those performances were “sometimes fueled by, a-hmm, alcohol.”
By 1976, the Howlers decided to move and relocate to Austin, where such clubs as the Soap Creek Saloon, the Broken Spoke, the Armadillo World Headquarters and Antone’s had created a haven for renegade music. “We worked out of Austin for about a year,” Omar says, “but a lot of the guys decided they weren’t cut out to play music full-time for the rest of their lives. They headed back to Mississippi and Arkansas , and I decided to keep the name. Nobody objected.” And as Dykes says, Omar & the Howlers works better than Kent & the Howlers. Of such decisions are careers made.
Fronting a new lineup, Dykes honed a band capable of the sort of raw, rowdy, rambunctious blues that made Howlin’ Wolf and Hound Dog Taylor legends. Omar's first release was Big Leg Beat in 1980, shortly followed by I Told You So 1984, earning Omar & the Howlers consecutive Austin band-of-the-year awards in 1985-1986. Hard Time in the Land of Plenty followed in 1987.
But really that was just the beginning as Omar followed up with another twelve albums in the next fourteen years; Wall Of Pride 1988, Monkey Land 1988, Live at the Paradiso, Courts Of Lulu, Blues Bag all in 1992. Blues Bag 1992 was Omar's first solo album followed by a second solo album, Muddy Springs Road in 1995. Omar also released World Wide Open in 1995. Next up was Southern Style 1996, Swingland 1998 followed with two releases; Live At The Opera House and The Screaming Cat both in 2000. But that's not all; Omar came on with Big Delta in 2001 and Boogie Man in 2003.
On Boogie Man, Omar brought in songwriter friends he’s made since he left Mississippi for Texas 27 years earlier. “Co-writing at that point in my life was a lot of fun. To me it’s like free songs. These are ones that I wouldn’t have had the patience to sit down and write on my own. But when you get with friends and drink coffee, tell jokes and stories, and then write something, it always turns out to be something different than what you might have done on your own.”
Plus it’s not exactly heavy lifting to work with such Texas icons as Ray Wyle Hubbard, Darden Smith, Alejandro Escovedo and Stephen Bruton.
Besides the songwriting collaborators, Omar also brought some friends into the recording studio, including guitarists Chris Duarte and Jon Dee Graham (True Believers), Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Double Trouble, George Rains (Sir Douglas Quintet and house drummer on scores of Antone’s label releases) and his frequent running-mates Terry Bozzio (Missing Persons, Jeff Beck, Frank Zappa) and Malcolm “Papa Mali” Welbourne.
In 2006 Omar was back with more and did another four albums in the next four years; Bamboozled 2006, On The Jimmy Reed Hiway (with Jimmie Vaughn) 2007 (with an episode on Austin City Limits - see Photos/Videos section), Chapel Hill (with Nalle, Omar and Magic Slim) 2008 and then in 2009 with Big Town Playboy.
2011 finds Omar tighter, funkier than ever and slated with a great new release in 2012. But Omar always loves to play live; “I still do 150-160 shows a year, and with travel days that adds up to a lot of time away from home. It always seems like we’re on a plane headed somewhere.”
Be certain to check Omar's calendar - he will be playing somewhere close laying down that beautiful sound we have all come to love and appreciate.
Howl On Big Dog, Howl On!
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Al Campbell
The European blues fans all adore Austin, TX-based guitarist and singer/songwriter Omar Kent Dykes. That's because he fits the stereotypical image many of them have of the American musician: he's tall, wears cowboy boots and has a deep voice with a Southern accent. However, Dykes does not carry a gun, and though he looks rough and tough, he's actually an incredibly peaceful and intelligent musician, and a veteran at working a crowd in a blues club or a festival. While Dykes still has a sizeable American audience owing to his albums for Columbia Records, he still spends a good portion of his touring year at festivals and clubs around Europe. Omar Kent Dykes was born in 1950, in McComb, MS, the same town from which Bo Diddley hails. He first set foot into neighborhood juke joints at age 12 and after he'd been playing guitar for a while, he went back into the juke joint. After graduating from high school, Dykes lived in Hattiesburg and Jackson, MS, for a few years before relocating to Austin in 1976. He'd heard the blues scene in Texas was heating up. At that time, Stevie Ray Vaughan was still playing with Paul Ray & the Cobras. By the early '80s, Omar & the Howlers had gained a solid reputation for their invigorating live shows. They also released two albums on independent labels, Big Leg Beat (1980), followed four years later by I Told You So. Among white blues musicians, Dykes is truly one of a kind, a fact Columbia Records recognized in the mid-'80s when they signed Omar & the Howlers. Unfortunately, it was a fleeting relationship at best. After releasing Hard Times in the Land of Plenty (1987) and Wall of Pride (1988) the band was dropped when the company was bought by Sony. While it was inconvenient, it didn't stop Dykes. His post-1990 output has been nothing short of extraordinary. Starting in 1991, Omar & the Howlers recorded three discs for Rounder/Bullseye Blues: Live at Paradiso (1991), followed by Blues Bag and Courts of Lulu (both in 1992). In 1995, they switched to the Austin, TX-based Watermelon Records and released Muddy Springs Road (1995), World Wide Open (1996), and Southern Style (1997). After 15 years of dealing with record contracts, Dykes needed a break from being tied down to one particular label for any length of time. Since then, he and the Howlers have released excellent discs on Discovery (Monkey Land) (1997) Black Top (Swing Land) (1999), Blind Pig (Big Delta) (2002), and Ruf Records (Boogie Man) (2004). A live set recorded in Germany, Bamboozled, appeared from Ruf Records in 2006.
**********
WEBSITE
**********
TO THE TOP
**********
