From Tommy "THE SWAMPMAN" Mann:

Mystery solved. I asked Ken Murphy, the guitar player of the K-OTICS in the early sixties if he

remembered any of the details

re: the JOURNEYMEN.Within

24 hours he responded, he said:

"They played at TROY UNIVERSITY in 1963 in Sartain

Hall". I`m blown away by his

genius memory, so I said how

in the world did you remember

that? He said ," I got out the

1963 year book and there it was! He could`da/ should`da

said I have "total recall". After

he told me that ; I remembered that in 1963 I was the social

chairman? at troy and we scheduled them to play. I was

supposed to setup the stage and PA system, and I/we assumed a couple of guitar amps would provide enough

volume for the auditorium.Well

it dudn`t and I believe we found out about an hour before they

were to begin playing. Johnny

Butler, president of the student body now a lawyer in Mobile?,was ready to strangle

me or somebody! I was able to

obtain a pa system from somebody and it worked fine.

That`s why they gave me the thank you note.I tried to get

the Letterman for that performance but they were too

expensive, we weren`t sure of the Journeymen`s talent but they were really good.And as

things happened back then it took only a combination of right

place/right time to become famous. They went on to be

some of the biggest stars of the

sixties. Like I told the SNAKE,

when I think of those days I

tear up. There will never be another time like the sixties, as

Greg Haynes says "It all ended

on December 31, 1969."

LOVABLE OL SWAMPMAN

Robert Register is pleased that Tommy "The Swampman" Mann of the K-Otics discovered where the mysterious Thank You Note from the Journeymen came from. Tommy got them a P.A. when they played Troy State in '63. That's neat to think about "Papa John" Philips & Scott McKenzie touring South Alabama 47 years ago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dIg-hpWfuI

Hey y'all~
Hope Rockin' Rodney appreciates me ripping off his images!
best,
r

image courtesy of http://www.coocoocachooband.com/
Otis, Orbison,Robert Nix, and sleeping Phil Walden on the plane back from London.
In the back of the plane, Booker T and the M.G.'s,the Mar Keys, The Bar Kays, Rufus Thomas, Arthur Conley, Fats Domino, Carla Thomas


image courtesy of http://www.coocoocachooband.com/
Outside Marble Arch in London--Second from the right,our pal Ray Williams, who went on to become Elton John's manager and the person who put him together with Bernie Taupin

image courtesy of http://www.coocoocachooband.com/
Vancouver finishing up a tour with Orbison, and the Newbeats---it was cool because Orbison used OUR bus.

image courtesy of http://www.coocoocachooband.com/
A rare picture of us with Bobby Peterson on piano,taken in Bossier City, LA....there are a LOT of stories associated with this city.....what happens in Bossier City...

This morning I wanna thank Frank Tanton for the superb sounds emanating from his bad-to-dah=bone myspace page www.myspace.com/thebopcats


The following post concerning catfish licking is courtesy of Buddy Henry:

Dave's Place: The Sailcat Zone

http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/dave-hurteau/2005/03/daves-place-sailcat-zone#

The dope on the catfish-slime-licking phenomenon.

Article by Dave Hurteau.

Big news for catfish lickers and their parents: No doubt many of you have heard (or tried to discover firsthand) that licking saltwater catfish-commonly called sailcats-can produce a hallucinogenic high, and that hooked teenagers along the Gulf Coast are paying up to $200 for the opportunity to lap up the gooey substance that oozes from the skin of a freshly caught specimen.

News of catfish licking first broke five years ago in a Florida sportfishing magazine, but a more recent article in the Tallahassee Democrat ("Catfish Licking: A New High?") quickly spread over the Internet and became a hot topic among fishermen, teenagers, and concerned parents. In it, Dr. John Hitron of the Florida State University marine lab is quoted as saying, "I've heard of people licking [BRACKET "catfish"] and getting zoned like they're on LSD."

Reportedly, when ingested, sailcat slime produces the sensation of being underwater. I should note, however, that the cats I have licked-for journalistic purposes only-have merely produced the sensation of having whiskers. And in fact, I do have whiskers.

* * * * *

The Democrat article doubtless informed many otherwise ignorant or skeptical parents, who were made aware of the need to investigate fishy odors, to periodically check teenagers' bedroom closets for saltwater fishing tackle, and to discourage unchaperoned parties at piers and beaches. Since then, uncorroborated anecdotal evidence seemed to suggest that parents might also check dresser drawers and book bags for doughballs, which, supposedly coated with the hallucinogenic slime, may go by the street names "dopeballs" and "cat-nips."

With the practice widely known, the question of how long people have been secretly licking catfish became a topic of some speculation. Several anonymous and unaccredited linguists took a second look at the slang term cat. Thought to mean "happening dude" and widely used during the freewheeling jazz era of the 1920s and revived during the drug-induced years of the late '60s and early '70s, some believed it to be a reference to early catfish lickers.

These people and others, however, were no doubt shocked by the latest development: In a follow-up article, the Democrat has revealed that catfish licking is a hoax. Staff writer Tony Bridges announced:

OK, listen up catfish lickers.
You've been punked. There's no hallucinogen in the slime.

According to the article, Doug Olander, editor-in-chief of Sport Fishing Magazine, made the story up for an annual April Fool's special in 2000. Parents who suspected their teenagers of catfish licking are breathing a collective sigh of relief, while some would-be catfish lickers are likely breathing a collective sigh of disappointment. Despite the revelation, however, there is concern that it may do little to discourage the practice now that it has caught on.

Siding with caution, sportfishing authorities continue to discourage catfish licking, though with the news that catfish slime is actually harmless, they have since softened their stance. For those anglers who just can't help themselves, authorities merely recommend that if they intend to only lick, and not eat, a given sailcat, they should lick it as quickly as possible and return it to the water immediately thereafter.

Hey y'all~

Best thing that's happened to me lately is discovering this incredible Girard/Young Jr. BLUES being cranked out by BEAUGATORS.
Check it out~ www.myspace.com/thebeaugators

Like I love to say,"It beeeeze dat wayzzzzzzzzzzz sometime.
'Nair nuttin' but a thang nuttin' but a chickin wang hangin' by a strang down by the Burger Kang smokin' a Kool Filter KANG!!!!"

Look like I be takin' neck Friday off! ("It a holiday! It a holiday" "What Holiday?" "Friday! Evah Friday A Holiday in Tuskeeloosee!!!!")

I be headin' to Huntsville Friday, Feb. 26!

I love that Holiday Inn down by The Big Spring but I'm open to offers.
Money tight.





We all know about The Hotel Martin but what about HOTEL THRASHER?!

Stephen Ehret from Wildflower and longtime companion of Stark Naked here.

Thought you might be interested in a website I've been working on to try to correct the historical/hysterical record about Cathryn Casamo also known by her misspelled name Kathy Casano. Anything you can do to help change history for Cathy, her daughter Caitlin, son Holden, granddaughter Natalie and myself would be appreciated.

www.cathryncasamo.com

her obit is on the "hello-goodbye" page of the site.

peace and love

Stephen

Hey Robert

Sonya's birthday just passed this past weekend and I never heard back from J. I had not written him personally for a long time because you had passed the emails on but I did write him in January telling him her birthday was just a month away and that her sister really wanted to give this to her as a gift. Well I never heard from him at all. I can understand about someone being busy but to just ignore an email and not give some kind of feedback. Are you sure that email even works. I really don't know what else to do. I thought finding you was a good starting point on finding about those old shows and the music and seems like it has just dead ended with you for I cant nor can you get any kind of response from him.

Thanks.

Craig

babbs~
I'm forwarding this to Johnny Wyker. He may have been the Sail Cat you met in L.A.

best,
r

On Sun, Feb 14, 2010 at 12:26 PM, kapnken wrote:

Hey Roberto,
thanks for the coverage. Did you know a sailcat is also a cat that has been flattened on the freeway and dried up and can be used as a frisbee? I didn't know that until I asked a guy in a band called Sailcats in L.A., What's a sailcat? new youtube up, eamcnipator weekend, click on: new on Youtube: announcement of my book sale. Click on: http://www.youtube.com/therealkapnken ##################################### http://www.skypilotclub.com _/ |_ FURTHER _| O O

From a Facebook post at the end of January which I never placed on the blog (thanks for reminding me, Al! http://alkooper.com):

Robert Register got a kick out of watching the hour long video of yesterday's ceremony
of the unveiling of Roy Orbison's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He
is #2400 & his star is positioned near John Lennon's & George
Harrison's. The video doesn't get going until about 23 minutes in but
then,WOW! http://www.rollingstone.com/rockda...ily/index.php/2010/01/29/watch-roy-orbisons-hollywood-walk-of-fame-ceremony-now/

See More

Watch Roy Orbison’s Hollywood Walk of Fame Ceremony Now : Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily

www.rollingstone.com

UPDATE- FEBUARY 16, 2010

Well, I have done some travelling since last I appeared here online.Highlights were playing Yoshi’s Jazz Club solo in San Francisco - a place I have always wanted to play; two great nights at McCabes in Santa Monica where the solo shows approached nearly three hours of songs and sit-down comedy; doing background vocals for my next album on a remake of the Blues Project oldie “No Time Like The Right Time’ with Jeff Foskett, leader of Brian Wilson’s band while in LA seein’ the grand-kids (see photo this page), and winding up in the hospital with food poisoning during the NAMM convention in Anaheim, thereby cancelling the NAMM concert and the Triple Door Seattle gigs. Took a week or two to recover from THAT but nonetheless had a GREAT birthday show at BB Kings in New York City February 5th featuring Danny Kalb, Jimmy Vivino, Kristina Train, and The Funky Faculty . Regulars say it was the best one yet and it sure felt like it!

Coming up is a panel discussion at SXSW in Austin TX March 17th-21st on the history and future of classic soul music featuring
Kenny Gamble, yours truly, Claudine Robinson (ex wife of Smokey Robinson and former Miracle) and a few others yet-to-be announced.

A Tribute to Al Kooper at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis, MN on May 2nd, with various top local musicians each singing one Al Kooper composition for the first half of the show followed by yours truly playing a solo set and then everyone joining in for a grand finale. I have never done this before and i am really looking forward to it.

I am working on my next album and still no release date but as usual I want it to be just right, so no deadlines are being imposed.
Hope everyone makes it through this bizarre winter and that we have great spring weather to make up for all this cold and snow.

Talk to ya in a few....

Al Kooper

http://alkooper.com