You Don't Know Jack

Ultimately, we don't know jack about what's in another human's heart. We can think we do; they can share stuff with us and we can feel at home with them. But we just don't know what's in the heart's dark corners. I've recently come to grips with a couple of my own dark corners; I can talk about them now. It's not the end of the darkness in me. There are some places you don't want to go. Shit, there are places I'd rather not go right now. The dude that lives in there ain't so pleasant. But sometimes shining the light into those little corners makes us feel better. Maybe in doing so we can help out a friend and let them know they aren't alone, that others have struggled with something like they are facing. Then again, maybe it's a huge buzzkill for the share-ee.

You just never can tell. So if you're one of the friends who shared a deep-dark with me this week, or if I unloaded some of my load of venom on you... thanks for being a part of the week, I owe you one.

Here's a good secret.

There used to be a really great band out of Syracuse called Little Georgie and the Shuffling Hungarians. It is probably the greatest blues/jam ensemble you never heard of. George Rossi featured on the keyboards, and as I recall they had an interesting assemblage of guys and sometimes gals who would play horns and other instruments and provide swinging background vocals. Think Blues Brothers, but without all the comedy. They used to play around the northeast a bit, maybe got down Cajun way (there's a major Syracuse/Cajun connection for some reason...see, e.g. Benny Mardones). I also seem to recall them having a sort of regular gig at Styleen's Rhythm Palace, a place comparable to the Black Cat Club in D.C. or Chapel Hill's Local 509, just more locally focused (more like 509). They weren't cut out for fame & fortune; they didn't fit an easy record company mold. I think they'd do a lot better now with the iTunes Store... but there's no way of knowing.

Li'l Georgie has been out of circulation for a while. I don't know what his deal is but I miss his music badly. He's just good for the soul, right? But lately, it looks like maybe he is going to come out of his cave and share his considerable gifts with us. Gary Frenay - a NY pop legend - has talked him into playing a show at the Auburn Theater on November 24th. Funny, I'll be in the neighborhood around then... I may have to catch it.

[UPDATE: through the magic of Google-fu, I located Li'l Georgie. Here's his blog, and here's the story of what happened to him b/t/w the early Y2Ks, and now. Damn, he's had an interesting life in music; and I'm glad he's playing gigs again. I'll let you know if I hear about any albums.]

So here's what you missed if you never heard Li'l Georgie play on his first go-round, right after the band stood up:



This is what the band sounded like in barely-rehearsed, early, guitar shop-show form:



So-so video, mediocre sound quality... but you can just tell, cant you? If you're feeling a little Doctor John there, I'm with you.

There's a little bit of soul in this impromptu piece recorded a few months ago - maybe there's hope for a full time working reunion?:



Here's what George sounds like now - not sure where this is but he's getting the pump primed for sure:



Damn that's good stuff. And here's a good audio-only sampling. The Ballad of Li'l Georgie may be the best thing on here, but it's all good.



If you like that, there's a lot more here.



So not all my secrets are a buzzkill. Have fun this weekend, and if you're going to be racing cross, I *strongly* encourage you to legit freakout, and Unleash the Fury!

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