Saturday 11 August
Chico's Paradise Roof Top Bar, 7-11 pm, No Cover
As
a renaissance man, George's performances are not merely musical in
nature,
they combine his writing, comedy, and acting skills to produce what has
been variously called: George on Stage, George Live, GLEE,
and, of course, just like Sinatra was "Frank"; sometimes he
just bills himself as "George"!
Some of his fellow musicians and artists have accused George of using
his multiple-personality disorder to give his trademark "multi-faceted"
performances. There's just no figuring how these artistic types will
view a situation like this!
All I can say is George is George; he is a one-of-a-kind human bulldog
who chews his way through concrete walls to get the exact effects he is
looking for.
This is but a small sample of the range of talent of the man that
Galveston calls George!
Until now, I have only known George Douglas Lee as a wandering
itinerant troubadour; the Woodie Guthrie of Galveston, without the
Communist world view. However, many times, as we discussed the Golden
Age of Rock and Roll, he would tell me stories of his life, back in the
day, when he was a Rock and Roll star. I had no reason to doubt
George's tales, about his band playing concerts, touring, and opening
for big-name acts; however, I did have a little trouble picturing the
man with the solo act, really rockin' with a band.
Recently, George and I have been pouring through the treasure trove of
old concerts available in Wolfgang's Vault, and this retrospective
inspired him to do the same. He opened up "George's Vault", and
selected some hit songs, he and his band did from 1975 to 1983, which
he has just released as "Rock & Roll Singer". The first six
cuts were put out as 45s, at the time, and the remaining songs were
part of the album "Made To Be Played", that was released in 1983.
This is the real stuff; authentic Blues Rock!! There is George in all
his glory on lead vocals, and lead guitar, "laying down the sound". I
don't know enough about the other members of the band to acknowledge
their individual contributions, but you must pay special attention to
Joe Alford's bass lines, especially on my favorite song, "No Woman"!
Now that Pandora's Box has been opened, and George is out of the
closet, the only question that he MUST ANSWER is whether he will
continue to try to fool us with his Clark Kent, lonely troubadour
disguise, or will he finally admit to Lois Lane, Jimmy Olson, and the
rest of us that he is a Rock & Roll Singer?
All he needs to do is to heed the lyrics of his own song, "Do You
Remember", when he asks "do you remember how we used to Rock and Roll".
It is as simple as that. Those days are not over, they merely must be
resurrected, so that the spirit of authentic Rock and Roll will live on!
I am already working with George to get him back in shape for the life
of a Rock & Roll star, again! He has joined me in doing sprints
on the Seawall, and we are doing "vocal exercises", too. After I took
my car battery, and a set of jumper cables, and clamped those cables to
George's "private parts", he was hitting those high notes on "Been A
Long Time Since We Rock and Rolled" with very little effort! He finally
begged me to stop, but I said, "No pain, no gain!"
After you hear this effort, I'm sure that you will join me in my call
for George to put down his acoustic guitar, form a new band, and strap
on his Strat! He just left for Waco, to get a "tune up", so I hope to
get his answer, when he returns.
Galveston,
Island, TX, Texas, Houston, music, live
music, bands, live bands, musicians, live musicians, live performers,
groups, live groups, singers, singing, clubs, bars, nite clubs, night
clubs, piano bars, entertainment, amusement, night life, fun, beer,
wine, liquor, rock & roll, funk, blues, jazz, country, mardi
gras,
music calendar, club scene, Bacliff, Bolivar Peninusla, Clear Lake,
Crystal Beach, Dickinson, Friendswood, Galveston, Gilchrist, High
Island, Hitchcock, Kemah, La Marque, League City, Port Bolivar, San
Leon, Santa Fe, Texas City, 77550, 77551
