Local 309 and Blind Deer

This Thursday, September 14, it's two new orginal rock bands at Chelsea's Cafe. Conincedentally, I'm in both of them. Come check us out and see if any of us are a force to be reckoned with.

Local 309 is a Baton Rouge based five piece band featuring several veterans of the Baton Rouge and Lake Charles music scenes. On Hammond B3 organ is John Smart (Righteous Buddha, the eXpanded Trio), on lead guitar is Ross Granger (Lingus). On bass guitar is Mike Waugh (Pinecone On Tent, Nuevo Hippie Cover Band) and Doug Gay (Lingus, The Elements) is on the drums. Chad Holland sings lead vocals.

The band plays all original music, with most songs written by Smart and Gay. They put a South Louisiana spin on the southern rock traditions of the Allman Brothers, Government Mule, and Gordon Lightfoot.

Opening for Local 309 is Blind Deer, a two piece rock duo featuring Mike Waugh on guitar and vocals, and Kevin Duffy on drums. Chelsea’s favorite and veteran of the Baton Rouge hippie jam band scene, singer-songwriter Mike Waugh unveils his newest project. When asked about his new project’s sound, Mike Waugh says, “It’s kind of like the White Stripes, only I’m worse than Jack White on guitar and Kevin’s better that Meg White on drums.”

Original rock is alive and well in Baton Rouge!

If any of you are wondering about the southern rock credentials of Gordon Lightfoot, I present the following excerpt from the Encyclopedia of Rock by Dr. Stuart Pendleton, Simon and Schuster, 2002

Lightfoot, Gordon (1938-) Gordon Lightfoot is a Canadian born singer-songwriter who is probably best known for his work pioneering the music that has become known as Southern Rock. His early and failed experiments in the California jazz scene left him wandering penniless in Mississippi, where he joined Lynyrd Skynyrd on tour, earning the moniker "The 14th Lynyrd" when he accompanied the band on several of their best known tracks, including "Gimme Three Steps".

When on their way to a show in Baton Rouge Louisiana, Lightfoot and lead singer Ronnie Van Zandt, flipped a coin to see who would get the last seat on the plane. Lightfoot lost the coin toss and was forced to ride in the car with Merle Haggard. Van Zandt, along with most of the band, lost their lives. His song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" gives details of this fateful plane crash.

Lightfoot later joined the Allman Brothers after a brief stint as a peach truck driver. He wrote the lyrics to many of their most famous instrumentals.