Tag Archives: Kent McDaniel

May You Still Believe

12 Mar

Maybe watching cable news makes it seem like there’s no hope: Democracy, justice, progress, escaping ecological calamity, even human decency are lost causes. But writing off all hope everything good and/or hopeful is a self-fulfilling prophecy, that’s obvious. So, may you still believe. Here’s the words to a song about all that (with an mp3 below them):

MAY YOU STILL BELIEVE

WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG

YOU SAID LOVE WOULD FIND A WAY

TO BRING PEACE ON EARTH

SURE AS DAWN COMES EVERY DAY

BUT NOW YOU’RE GROWN

WATCHIN THAT CABLE NEW

AND SEEIN HOW THINGS ARE

SURE GIVES YOU THE BLUES

CHORUS: 

MAY YOU STILL BELIEVE

                   MAY YOU STILL BELIEVE

                   DESPITE ALL THE NEWS YOU RECEIVE 

                   MY FRIEND–MAY YOU STILL BELIEVE

IN SCHOOL YOU PLEDGED

YOURSELF TO THE LAND OF THE FREE

ONE LAND UNDER GOD–JUSTICE AND LIBERTY

NOW STEAD OF BLACK

AND WHITE THERE’S SHADES OF GRAY

WHAT’S JUST AND WHO IS FREE

SOME DAYS YOU CAN’T SAY

CHORUS            

YOU SAY THAT GOD

IS WHERE WE GO AND ALL COME FROM

YOU SAY THAT GOD IS LOVE

AND GOD’S RULE ONE DAY WILL COME

YET MADMEN BATHE IN BLOOD

TO PLEASE THEIR GOD

AND ASK GOD TO BLESS THEIR

CRUSADE OR JIHAD                            

CHORUS/REPEAT CHORUS

Check out the recording:

may_you_still_believe_022023_525pm-1Download

Tags:

Regina Zavala & Stick Gilbert on WDBX

1 Sep

In 2017 Regina Zavala journeyed to Carbondale from her native Honduras attend Southern Illinois University. She almost immediately joined into the local music scene. Her vocals, guitar works, and songwriting turned heads, and her charm made her friends everywhere. In Time she transferred from SIU to University of Texas, where she earned a Masters degree. Then she made us all glad by finding work around here and returning.

Again she lit up the local scene, and we enjoyed that for a good year. The time came recently, though, when she felt the need to return to her homeland. We all wish her the best there, and hope we’ll see her again. I’m happy that not long before her departure, she stopped by WDBX along with her good friend Stick Gilbert for a farewell performance, on Down Home Cookin’. A recording of the show is right below, and I hope you’ll check it out. You’ll be glad you did.

Regina Zavala
Stick Gilbert

Kent McDaniel

Tags: , , ,

Pics from the Birthday Bash

14 Aug

In June we celebrated my birthday with a show at PKs, that venerable Carbondale showcase. It might’ve been my best birthday thing ever. For real. Lots of friends showed up to catch the show and/or be part of it. Fine players made it and cut loose. Drummer Charlie Morrill, bassist/flautist Dorothy McDaniel, Banjoist Lew Hendrix, Blues Man Tawl Paul, Queens of latin folk Colleen Springer-Lopez and Regina Zavala, rockers Rick Droit and Dr. Ted, and let us not forget The Misfit Pirate, Michael Eric, nor of course the incredible Kendall Bell and Eva Joy. Oh, hey, and Blossom The Clown. Good music and good vibes prevailed. Long will I remember. And Georgia De La Garza shot some great pictures. Here’re some of them.

Rick Droit made a fine poster for the show
Charlie Morrill, that bad man, drummed that night
My favorite banjo player, Lew Hendrix, started our set off with four songs. Man, was he on fire.

The Legendary Tawl Paul came up to finish our first set with some of the songs from his most recent album, That’s just How I Am

I played on that album, and wrote several songs for it. The whole thing’s streaming free at: www.tawlpaul.bandcamp.com.

Kendall Bell and Eva Joy surprised me by coming by to sing Back up on “Down Home Cookin'”

Kendall and Eva Joy sang fantastic back-up on “Down Home Cookin'” for an album in the works of that title. The song’s streaming free already at https://kentmcdaniel.bandcamp.com/track/down-home-cookin-2. And while you’re on the page, check out “Back to the Valley”. They sing beautiful back-up on that, too.

And then things ratcheted on up: Blossom The Clown (AKA Bethany Kerley) breezed into the bar bearing birthday gifts and generating smiles and laughter all over the place. Which set things up just fine for the next players, Colleen and and Regina, who had Miz D. and me up and dancing.

Kendall Bell, Eva Joy, and Blossom: 3 great smiles.
Colleen Springer-Lopez (L) and Regina Zavala played a hot acoustic set
Dorothy on flute, Dr. Ted on bass, Charlie on drums, Rick on guitar and vocals, me on guitar
Michael Eric, The Misfit Pirate, laid down mellow trop rock (on his uke).

The grand finale of the night, Dan Marsh doing “Dog and Cat” with us, escaped the camera, unfortunately. But check out his Dog and Cat album streaming free here: https://wordpress.com/view/dumbfoundingstories.com

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dog and Cat

10 Jun

This is a video of my wife Dorothy and I playing “Dog and Cat,” a song written by our good buddy, Dan Marsh. We originally recorded this for #closedmicnight, a weekly project by Carbondale musicians, which is raising money for local charities and nonprofit groups. We love this song.

 

 

 

Scan 5

“Dog and Cat” appears on Dan Marsh’s album of the same title.

 

Here’s Dan’s version of the song from his album. (You may notice  a couple small changes  to the lyrics we made.)

Tags: , , , , ,

On DBX

11 Aug

Here’s a vide of Dorothy McDaniel, Stick Gilbert, and me (Kent McDaniel) jamming live on WDBX 91.1. Carbondale. Rolling with some Jimmy Reed.

 

Tags: , , , ,

Write-up from C’dale Times

3 Aug

Here’s an article Carbondale Times ran about Dorothy and me back in June. We appreciate it, and like the new merging of Carbondale Nightlife with Carbondale Times.

The McDaniels make downtown Carbondale debut at PK’s

By Dakota Holden

updated: 6/22/2018 5:44 PM

Kent and Dorothy_L8A2542-1_edit_FB

The McDaniels will make their debut at PK’s in Carbondale June 23. The blues and rock will start at 9 p.m.

The McDaniels are Kent (guitar, vocals) and Dorothy McDaniel (bass).

Kent McDaniel originally performed in Carbondale in the 1970s with The McDaniels Brothers Band, splitting shows with Shawn Colvin, opening for Earl Scruggs, and often sharing the stage with Tawl Paul. The McDaniel Brothers were a PK’s regular, playing every Thursday night until Kent moved out the region.

Kent moved to Chicago in 1980. He tells Nightlife he bumped into Dorothy riding the train into the loop. She was going to her oboe recital, and he was on his way to see Koko Taylor. They decided to attend both events with each other. They later married and started a family of their own. They have been playing music together ever since as The McDaniels. In the past year, they both moved to Carbondale.

“No matter where I lived, I have always searched for a place that felt like home,” Kent says. “When I moved back to Carbondale, it finally felt like home.”

Since their return, they have hosted and performed on WDBX, played small shows at Tres Hombres and Celebrate 618, and now PK’s for their first full-length show.

The McDaniels have an interesting combination of influences. Dorothy grew up playing with a strong classical background, teaching Kent theory and how to read sheet music. In return, he taught her the art of improvisation and memorization of music.

The McDaniels have been working with Jim Foerster at Mole Hole Studios on new music and are excited to release their recordings. Their song “When the Blues Come Knocking” features B.B. King-style rhythms and tasteful leads as well as beautiful background vocals.

The McDaniels’ debut will feature guests including Stick Gilbert (percussion), Lew Hendrix (banjo) and Tawl Paul. It also happens to be Kent McDaniel’s birthday that night, so make sure to give a proper Carbondale welcome.

Music is available through kentmcdaniel.bandcamp.com.

Who: The McDaniels

When: June 23

Where: PK’s

Tags: , , ,

The McDaniel Bros. Band @ Carries (Spring, ’78)

12 Mar

The playlist below is four songs by The McDaniel Brothers Band, recorded Spring of 1978, at Carries, a late night roadhouse located out in the county between Carbondale and Murphysboro. Carries closed at 4 AM and the bands played from something like 11:30 PM to 3:30 AM. The songs were recorded live on a two track reel to reel. Considering, the tape’s sound quality was okay. Only, starting with the fourth song, the vocal level got drastically lower. So I’m including the first three songs, and one of the later songs. The vocals on it are pretty low, but we liked to jam out on a song sometimes, and I wanted an example included.

I got the tape from Tawl Paul a little after my wife Dorothy and I moved back to Carbondale from Chicago. We saw him at PKs, and he said, “Hey, man, I been meaning to tell you. I got this old tape. I don’t how I ended up with it, but I think it’s The McDaniel Brothers Band.”

I was pretty sure which tape he meant, cause I only I remember us taping one gig. Turned out it was the tape I was thinking of. Tawl Paul only had one tape, but two reel to reel tapes were recorded that night. I’d sure like to get my hands on the other one.

The guys in the band were John Zurek on drums, Rick Stoncious on bass, Doug McDaniel on rhythm guitar and vocals, Kent Mcdaniel (me) on lead guitar, and Gary Victorene on pedal steel. Here’s the songs.

 

Much thanks to Jim Foerster of The Mole Hole Studio, for getting the most out of those two track tapes in digital form.

 

mcdaniel bros band

L-R  John Zurek, Rick Stoncious, Doug McDaniel, Kent McDaniel, Gary Victorene

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Midwest Action! reviews He Flies

12 Nov

midwestaxn_logo_200x200pxMidwest Action!, a site with some street cred around the heartland, recently reviewed my He Flies album. I probably won’t destroy any suspense by saying they liked it. Otherwise, why would I be putting up a link to the review  here? But I did think the reviewer had an interesting take on He Flies, and the site imbedded mp3s of of four of the He Flies package v4.2.inddalbum’s songs. I was also surprised to see which four they chose to imbed. Anyhow, the review’s at: Midwest Action!

Tags: , ,

The McDaniels on WDBX

18 Oct

Dorothy and I appeared live recently on WDBX radio in Carbondale during Lonesome Roy’s Country Hoedown. And a fun hour it was. Loy Addington, who hosts the show, is a smooth interviewer and a funny guy. Talking with him was a kick, and in between conversations Dorothy and I played songs. Several originals, along with some Hank, Merle, Prine, Carter Family, and a little jazz we snuck in, too. (Loy forgave us.)

22135317_1708095622580753_703388590419928748_o (1)

The talk  ranged from Carbondale’s music scene, to growing tomatoes, to songwriting, to my new album, to the relationship between Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, and Bonnie Owens as it related to “Swinging Doors.” Concerning that last topic, I got disabused of a long held misconception of mine. You can check it all out by clicking the link below. I hope you’ll use headphones. On my laptop you can’t hear Dorothy’s bass at all, and the overall sound’s a little tinny. With phones the bass comes through nice and clear and the whole mix sounds fuller.

 

 

As I said, we talked some about my new album.  It’s called He Flies, and if  you want to check it out, it’s streaming free at Band Camp.

WDBX, where the show aired, is a gem of a station. It’s line-up rocks, and no program director or AI algorithm sets the playlist. The DJs are are volunteers who just share IMG_0204 (1)the type of music  they know and love best. A pretty refreshing mix results: blues, metal, country, jazz, hip-hop, punk, world music, electronic, classical, and various points in between. And whoever chooses the DJ volunteers does a good job. Overall, they sound pretty damn professional. I hear it’s unusual for a town of Carbondale’s size (27,000) to have a community radio station. Carbondale’s fortunate to have it.

I got started listening to it while I was vacationing down here from Chicago, and I streamed the station for years back home in Chicago. Now that I’m back in Carbondale, I’m glad to get a chance to play for the station. It’s broadcasts are fresh, high energy, and highly recommended. The station streams on the net. Check it out: WDBX

 

More Action Shots

 

22137071_1708095432580772_1646833464449273652_o (1)
.

 

22135354_1708095479247434_2270550342859855878_o (1)

 

22095893_1708095532580762_6911397929357877952_o (1)

Tags: , , , , ,

He Flies: Some Info

3 Apr

We just finished a CD called He Flies, and it’s streaming free at BandCamp:

The CD is also available at CD Baby and digital downloads are available there, too. Digital downloads are also available at Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, and everywhere else you can download music. (At iTunes just get into the store & search for “He Flies by Kent McDaniel.”)

The lyrics to all the songs are up at BandCamp, too.

And here are the people who played on the album:

Alpha

Alpha Stewart plays percussion and/or drum kit on “May You Still Believe,” “He Flies,” and “Big Jim.” He’s who we count on for drums when we play out.

Robert

Robert Marshall plays drums on “Zombies Stink (& Vampires Suck),” “May Third,” & “Your Love Set Me Free.” He also mixed and mastered the album, at The Cave Recording in Evanston, Illinois.

photo

Dorothy McDaniel, plays bass and flute.

andrew mac

Andy MacCrimmon plays drums on “Over Yonder & Round The Bend,” “Cards on the Table,” and “Dance Till Morning Light.”

10270435_10206767890249288_1459133332981736693_n

Nicki Broeker sings harmony on “Cards on the Table.”

j.t

John Temmerman plays sax and saxello on “May You Still Believe” and “Cards on the Table.”

gus

Gus Friedlander plays banjo on “over Yonder & round the Bend.”

Me

Kent McDaniel is on vocals, acoustic and electric guitar. And wrote the ten originals on the album.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

← Older Entries