Skip to main content

The Return of CW Stoneking

I've come to a conclusion: my favorite musical contemporaries truly are legends...just in an alternate universe.

Let's face it, so-called mainstream music has pretty much sucked for decades, and it gets worse every year. Luckily, there are brilliant, unknown (to most) legends out there cranking out amazing sounds. One of these is the most amazing CW Stoneking.

CW (which apparently stands for "Stanley Rogers"), Stoneking first came to my attention over a decade ago, thanks to my friend Kiz. She sent me a link to a video of his, and I've been hooked since. At that time, he was still doing his 'hokum' blues sorta stuff. He sounded like a time traveller from the 1920s, with a voice that just doesn't fit his face. He tends to sound a bit low and croaky and barky to the uninitiated. After a few seconds, you realize that it's perfect for his music. Followers of mainstream crap music will be aghast and confused, no doubt.

I don't like to come across as a music snob, but I guess I am. I see the mainstream stuff for what it is...crap...crap made in order to create income. Music shouldn't be about making money. I'm pretty sure that wasn't Bach's main motivation. I could be wrong.

CW Stoneking should be a household name...and I'm pretty sure that in the alternate dimension where my musical tastes originate, he is. His new 'rekkid', "We Gon' Boogaloo", is his first in over 6 years. I was starting to worry. Had he decided to chuck it all and become an accountant? How could a man with that much talent just go quiet?

Well...he did neither. He put some great thought into this new record...and wasted a few years trying to write from a perspective not his own. Once he got back to himself, he re-invented fire.

Gone is the acoustic resonator, the banjo, the tuba and horns. In comes some brilliantly distorted electric guitar and (WTF?) chickee background singers! Once again, he has managed to sound like a lost gem, transported to our current dimension from wherever he comes from. He still defies being pigeon-holed into any particular genre. He's just CW Stoneking. Those are the musicians and writers I prefer. The ones that are nothing more than themselves.

But what about this new record...is it good? Hell yes! It's raw, it's rollicking, and he sounds as good as ever! Rather than just run on about it, I'll let ya listen for yourself.


And yes...he'll still play some old-school blues stuff now and then.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Uninvited

If you know me, you know I'm a musician. Damned near 50 years treading the boards making noise.  Just like any other commercial venture, there are certain sales and marketing strategies involved with being a musician. One of the most basic and necessary being the demo tape. Back in my youth, the demo tape was usually a cassette; often recorded live. It gave the prospective purchaser (usually some guy at a bar who really didn't give a shit) an idea of how an act sounded, and what they could expect should they choose to hire ya.  Over the years, the demo tape itself became more polished. Some used it as a tool to garner interest from managers, publicists, producers and record execs. The issue I always had with these was that they were inherently dishonest. Rather than displaying how an artist actually sounded, it instead put forth an idea of what they could sound like - given perfect circumstances. Such conditions rarely exist.  By the late 80s, some of us used a VHS tape o...
Post a Comment
Read more

My Books

 I won't lie. I sorta kinda need this post for my LinkTree thing. 😂 But since you're here, I'll guess you have some curiosity about my books. Here ya go! Just click on the cover and it should take you to the Barnes & Noble site (if you're so inclined). Thanks! - MM This is pretty much where it started. A collection of short stories. I've been pleasantly surprised at how well-received it's been. There are moments when something changes. Not dramatically. Not all at once. Just enough to notice. A conversation that feels slightly off. A familiar place that no longer feels quite the same. A small event that lingers longer than it should. In BODIES, Michael C. Metzger explores those quiet turning points where ordinary lives brush against the strange, the unsettling, and the unexpected. These eighteen stories are rooted in familiar ground: small towns, aging neighborhoods, workplaces, relationships, late-night conversations, and everyday routines. Beneath the sur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Clearing up the Great Gretsch/Rockabilly Sham!

I've had a long-standing friendly argument with a couple of friends about guitars. This has gone on for 20+ years. We're all pickers, and we're all usually lumped under the rockabilly category too. They both love Gretsch guitars. I can take them or leave them. Rockabilly fans have asked me many times why I don't play a Gretsch, which is often associated with rockabilly music.   First, I point out that what I play ain't exactly rockabilly. Sure, there's a definite rockabilly influence...but there's also blues, jazz, surf, garage, punk, country, Tex-Mex, and even some Gypsy & African influences in my music. A Gretsch just ain't gonna cut it. Don't get me wrong, Gretsches have their place and their own, unique sound. But...for a picker who is coming from the afore-mentioned influences, a Gretsch just ain't gonna cut it.   The new Gretsches, mostly reissues, are well-made guitars. MUCH better made than the original ones, which tended to ...
14 comments
Read more