With the Buffalo Club facing a 15 day suspension for showing to much of the Chippendales. Russ Purcell is preparing to open up Grizzly Rose in the old Bogie’s location. As discussed earlier on Boisee.com. Expect a upbeat country rock bar. The stage and dance floor beg for live music. We are thinking a hip countrified venue will work downtown, you?

1. Idaho:

One of the best conducted hoaxes in history. Idaho does not exist, nor does anyone “from Idaho” exist. It is suspected Idaho is a black hole.

Idaho is, in actuality, the final resting place of the B-52’s. When their career began to decline, they left for Idaho and never returned.

My grandma’s poodle was sucked into the gaping void of Idaho while she was visiting Montana.

In Idaho there is a point of interest every 2 miles. Well, maybe not every two miles. OK, maybe not even most every two miles, but some!

This boot was in a small hot springs pool next to the middle fork. Wonder what the story is?

After the Memphis benifit. Nathan Jay headed over to Richard Soliz’s Jam. Let’s just say you should been there.

The respect each player showed for the other is a tribute to thier talents.

From Ken. . .

Dear HC Men Fans:
We had a SUCCESSFUL fundraiser last Sunday at the Rose Room and raised enough $$ to pay for our airfare and accomodations with some meal money left over. THANK you to everyone who showed up, donated $, sent $ and helped.

THANK YOU especially to:

Ellen Burry, Jo Fryberger, Karen and Genevieve Jennings, Donna Gudmundson(Donna and our bassist Bud recently got married-congratulations!), Carmel Crock, Dee Southard, Leslie Trail, Lori B! and The Boys, Underscore, Tige, Roger, The Boise Blues Society, Nancy, Katy, Matt Taylor, Tracey Richards, The Bartels, Joe Brown, David Day, Don Patterson, Tom L, EVERYONE WHO DONATED PRIZES and EVERYONE ELSE not named.

We leave on Jan 30 and play a 25 minute set in the Beale Street area in downtown Memphis(one of THE birthplaces of the Blues) on Thurs Jan 31 and then AGAIN on Fri Feb 1. THEN, if we make the Finals, a 20 minute set on Sat Feb 2. The important thing is that we will be heard by blues bands/writers/record companies/clubowners/journalists/festival promoters/fans from ALL OVER THE WORLD and thanks to your generosity, we can hand out our cd/contact info to all these people. If you go to www.myspace.com/hcmen, we will be performing “Sneakin’” and “Phone Booth” and will also perform “Jaguar Blues,” “Soothe Me,” “Hummin’”, “Back In Idaho,” and “You Got No Business” from our cd(on sale at the Record Exchange in the Local Music section at 11th and Idaho-downtown Boise).

We will blog you from Memphis. THANKS AGAIN! If you have any relatives/friends near Memphis who might want to come hear us, we will send out our exact performance times/locales before we fly out.

xxxooo
The Hoochie Coochie Men and their families

Is there a Boise music scene? I would have to agree with Dan. The scene is there, but you have to look harder.

A word from our friend Dan Costello…
Body:
QUIT SAYING…
I just wrote this on the Statesman’s message board, responding to yet another Boisean who poo-poos the local music scene. I’ll start with their original post, and then paste in what I wrote in response.

Boise Music Scene?
Submitted by BSUGUY2 on Mon, 01/07/2008 - 4:22pm.

Mr. Deeds asks if there is a country music scene in the Treasure Valley. Well I don’t know if there is one because the only music ever getting reported is cover bands. That’s the problem with the “Treasure Valley Music Scene” THERE ISN’T ONE! There is no support from any venues for local music, no support from local papers/media. I am not talking about an article every once and a while or locals “nights” at local bars because that is not good enough to get the Treasure Valley interested in local music. Everyone wants only cover bands because that’s the only thing that will draw a crowd. Well I say that’s not the bands fault, it surely is lack of support from ALL local venues. All each venue has to do is pump it up a bit and make sure the band chosen to play actually sounds decent and advertise for the night, it could really change up the lack of support and lack of local music right now. I know of many great musicians anywhere from solo projects to full bands that must seek exposure elsewhere because their city doesn’t support them. I am not talking about garage bands either, I am talking about people who really put their heart and soul into their creations. Boise as a city could be getting attention from all over if we could support our local music and get it noticed a bit. We did it with football, why can’t we do it with music. For being Capital City, there is crap for live music. All we get is the same cover bands each weekend. The Bouquet has horrible sound and gets only the occasional decent band, however they at least give local music a chance but this only appeals to people who are familiar and enjoy that “environment”. The Big Easy makes it so difficult for a local band to play (now having to play covers in order to present original music) it takes the fun out of rocking with your local band. If there were actually someone with money who cared for local music this city could be turned around because obviously local media/venues would only have faith in money. Instead we will all sit back and watch as NOTHING happens and local music stays where its at…
—–
And now, for my response.
—–
BSUGUY2, et al, have we met?
Submitted by furrball on Wed, 01/09/2008 - 1:53pm.

The answer to my question is YES, we have met. Maybe not you personally, and maybe I’m being unfair or presumptuous in lumping you in here… no offense intended. It sounds like you have good intentions and want to encourage local artists, which is wonderful. But my “type” has met your “type” over and over and over in this town. There IS a good scene going on here, it’s not “crap.” It could be better, but not all the blame can be placed on the venues or local media. I fight the ever-growing urge to slap people that continually say there’s no scene here. It just proliferates the problem. I hear’em gripe about it, but then I never see their “type” at my or my friends’ shows… huh. What makes a scene? Isn’t it a combination of things, including listeners with an optomistic enthusiasm for seeking out new music and musicians? If a musician plays a club and there’s no one there to hear it, did they really make any music? Be part of the solution, instead of a part of the very problem you’re griping about. If your beef lies mainly with venues, I promise you they’ll change their tune if more people show up consistently for locals doing original music. Be that “more people!”

Most annoying in following this “is there a true country music scene” thread is that NO ONE, not just Michael, but NO ONE even mentioned two of the most consistent ORIGINAL country acts in town that both draw solid crowds every time they play: Pinto Bennett, who plays at Shorty’s with an acoustic trio, and Jeremiah James, who plays in a number of different configurations and venues. Jeremiah has TEN SHOWS in the next two weeks! How can he not be on your radar? Most notably, Wednesday nights at Pengilly’s with the Jeremiah James Gang are busier than many other acts on weekends. It’s a madhouse of hootin’ hollerin’ honky-tonk zealots. Yes, he plays some covers (probably half and half), but until local radio facilitates the opportunity to hear local players’ music twice an hour all day long like they do with sponsored national acts, of COURSE the familiarity with their material won’t be as strong as the better-known covers. And Jeremiah’s crowd knows a lot of his own original songs by heart– nearly the whole room, including the bartender, sings every word of “Midweek Thrills.”

Think about this: do you remember the first time you ever heard your favorite song or artist? I can guarantee there was huge chunk of your life spent not being aware of what now has become your own personal soundtrack. When did you hear it? Did you fall in “love at first listen?” Or was it the repetition of hearing it on the radio over and over until it stuck? Or was it a friend that loaned you a CD/tape/8track/LP? Did you hear it three times in a row in their car on the way to school? Was it like the scene in Garden State where some stranger put their headphones over your ears and said, “This music will change your life?” Doesn’t that same possibility, that of finding your next favorite band or song, exist in taking a chance on a local live show?

Here’s another thing to ask ourselves: Is there something about local live shows that people don’t like? Is it the volume? The smoke? The lack of tight leather pants and pyrotechnics? When’s the last time you saw any of the following people/bands do their show: Rebecca Scott, Thomas Paul, Kris Doty, Jeremiah James, Pinto Bennett, IQEQ, Douglas Cameron, Ryan Peck, Travis Ward, Hill Folk Noir, Dan Costello, Stella, Nathan Jay Moody, Steve Fulton, Kelly Martin, Niccole Blaze & Mo Kelly, James Orr, Low-Fi, Jerry Fee, Ned Evett, Bill Coffey, Midline, XeX, EqualEyes, Kris Hartung… ? This is by no means an exhaustive list, and all these people do primarily original material, and most of them play here in Boise a number of times a month. I’d call that a pretty decent scene. Sure the venue support could be better, but it’s not nonexistent. Here’s another list for you: Pengilly’s, Tom Grainey’s, The Reef, Pair, Babylon, The Bouquet, Terrapin Station, Piper Pub, Red Feather, Opa, Satchel’s, Leku Ona, Egyptian Theatre, Ha’Penny… Again, nowhere near an exhaustive list, an incredibly diverse blend of different types of clubs, smoking or non, clamorous or quiet, high-brow or low, pinky-extended martinis or pitchers of PBR, suit’n'tie or spit-in-the-corner… all within just a ten-block radius of the core of downtown. And I’ve either played or seen a show involving local original live music in every one of these venues in the last six months. Still say the scene sucks? Name me one other town even twice the size of Boise that has this breadth of diversity in the genres of original music and types of venues that stage it.

How can you complain about something not existing, when it’s RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU? You said it yourself: “Instead, we all sit back…” Don’t do that anymore! BSUGUY2, you sound like you actually want to do your part. Next time you see a show you like, how about writing a review? Or telling the venue how much you liked it, and how many of your friends you’re gonna bring down the next time that person or band plays their venue? Or telling the DBA to quit booking bands from out of town for Alive After Five? Yes, our scene can get better. My opinion is this: the first step toward making it better is telling people that it’s actually pretty good right now, and that they should go check it out.

A well informed Boisee.com reader sent us this. . .

Hey there, my friend…
I was at Shorty’s last night to hear some old friends play in their “new” band - and was told that Shorty’s has sold and the new owners take over on Monday. True? Not true?

Anybody else heard anything. My radar screen is blank on this one. Boiseeboy.

>Not that anyone would need a bribe to come, but the auction items include a river trip, a hoochie coochie show, a Berryhill dinner for I think six, and a whole bunch of other cool stuff.

It was a vista of big blue sky, fluffy clouds, and the grand Snake River.

However the beauty was in a simple feather above the river. Took this Thursday just outside Celebration park on the northern edge of the Snake. Hope you enjoy it.

Gutairist Adrian Legg well be apearing at the Reef January 26th. Adrian is a witty brit who is an amazing fingerpicking player. He used to make jaws drop as a songsmith and bellies hurt with as a wordsmith at the forever missed Blues Bouquet.

Been sitting on this one due to the nature of angst stories about Dave Krick create!!!

However Dave and André(Andy) have parted ways. André is pursuing a project somewhere else in the valley. I believe the Krick organization will maintain Andre’s as is for the time being.

>Forbes has listed Boise as the 5th most lustful city in America. Actually we tied with SLC, so the methodology based on sales of contraceptives and condoms may be a bit off. Denver is number one and Seattle and Portland are also in the top five. Is it the weather out here? Come on Boise with hard work we can be #1.

Golfers call it a “come backer” that one drive, or putt that makes a whole day on the coarse worth it. As a skier it is often the last run, the sun setting, headed to the lodge. After a month of not taking particularly good, much less great photos it all came together. Perfect light, snow, fog, the river, a goose or two and a good friend to wander with. Guess I’ll keep at this whole thing for a while.

Pretty serious rumors abound that the Grape Escape may be shutting down. This is a bummer. Guess all of the new competition has taken a toll. The patio of the “Grape” has been a see and be seen staple for years. Hope the innuendo is false.

Nice to have some time off from the market and the shows. I have been working on some more universal images. What do you all think of this one?

The #4 dinner.
Tamale and Enchilada. Coffee.

5165 Glenwood St
Garden City, ID 83714
(208) 321-0355