Buffalo's Book Club: For You Ozark Mt. Daredevils Fans

Time again for Buffalo's Book Club, in which I attempt to influence how you spend what little time you have left at the end of the work day. Some of these books are new, some older, but all have an honored place on ol' Buff's bookshelf.

IT SHINED
Michael “Supe” Grande

The Ozark Mountain Daredevils were one kick ass Southern Rock band by anyone’s standards, a group that cracked the Top 40 several times during the 1970's while building a massive following of fans who even today speak of the band with reverence and broad, sometimes illegal, smiles.

Beginning at a Springfield, Missouri club called The Bijou, the band then known as The Family Tree braved the stages with original music, something that has never been easy for an up and coming band to do. But with the Daredevils, the fans ate it up.

As the story goes, a live tape from the Bijou wound up in the hands of legendary music mogul John Hammond, which resulted in a studio demo, which really caught the ear of David Anderie, an executive at A&M Records. Just like that the band signed to A&M, changed their name to The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, and took off for London to record their debut album which contained "If You Want to Get to Heaven." Their follow up was recorded back home in Missouri, and contained "Jackie Blue,” which made it all the way to #3. And believe you me, that's only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

Supe Granda - I would tell you why they call him Supe, but it’s in the book and it’s a fun story - is the author of It Shined as well as a founding member of the group and the bass player. He is a fine writer, a great story teller. This 500-plus page book is one of the best rock and roll books I have ever read. It is compelling, always interesting, and at times quite funny. Granda pulls no punches. The drugs, alcohol and excesses of the road are all here, but his spirit and obvious love of the music and his friends and band mates makes it read positive rather than negative. Good karma. I like that.

Supe carries us through the band’s big time as well as the lean times with equal zeal, and paints a clear picture that the Daredevils worked equally hard whether they had a record on the charts or not. It Shined is a real page turner, especially for old rock and rollers like me. If the devil is truly in the details, you’ll be feeling your feet heat up after the first few pages. Simply stated, It Shined is a must read for all rock and roll fans, especially those of us from the good ol’ South.

-Michael Buffalo Smith

Visit Supe’s Website

The Cover of The Rolling Stone

The news media never ceases to amaze me. The first thing I saw when I turned on CNN this morning for my ritualistic coffee and news update was the cover of the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine. There, on the cover, is Boston Marathon bomber suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The photo looks more like a picture of one of today’s teen idols than a portrait of a murderer. (I don't know what folks expect. There were only a handful of images available, and none that showed him with horns. Although they could have penciled those in.) Now Rolling Stone is being accused of making the terror suspect appear to be a celebrity, like the lost member of One Direction. Well, he is a celebrity. So is Charles Manson, and he too was on the cover of Rolling Stone back in the early 1970’s.

 

I believe Rolling Stone made the perfect call. The whole story is “how could a good looking, well liked kid next door end up committing such a heinous act of horror?" The photo says it all. Especially with the 72 point boldface serif font spelling out “The Bomber” right under the photograph.

One of the talking heads - either on FOX or CNN, I was flipping between them - made a comment about how this should have never happened. After all - they said with an air of self-assuredness that almost made it sound like they knew what they were talking about - Rolling Stone is a music magazine.

After 40-plus years of publication, one would think that fellow media reporters would know one of the biggest magazines in the world a bit better. Rolling Stone has covered politics, environment, human rights and all good things right alongside their up to the minute coverage of the ever-changing music trends since the very beginning. Who can forget the political mayhem brought to their old school newsprint pages by the late great Dr. Hunter S. Thompson? And today I read every article they print by political writer Matt Taibi. Always topical. Always well researched. Always well written

I think what pisses me off more than anything is watching our society deteriorate into this dark place where every move a magazine makes, every word out of celebrity’s mouth (ie: Natalie Maines and the Bush debacle that crippled the Dixie Chicks), every action or non-action is immediately up for scrutiny by our absolutely wired society. A society of bloggers and social media reporters who have no training whatsoever in the craft of writing or news reportage. If someone takes the slightest offense at something said by a celebrity or a well known periodical or television show at 9 a.m., that person or group of people will be major “news”  by afternoon at the latest. By that evening, they may branded forever. Paula Dean? Please. It makes me want to scream the "F" word. Welcome to my nightmare, kids. The thought police are waiting just outside your door. Please remain in a single file line and be prepared to show your bar code tattoo.

The issue of Rolling Stone will be on news stands on Friday. The story, which features interviews from childhood friends, teachers and law enforcement agents, promises to reveal how a “popular, promising student was failed by his family, fell into radical Islam, and became a monster." I, for one, eagerly await my copy in the mail. And it’s not because I want a Dzhokhar poster on my wall. (Although he is a dreamboat.) It’s because I want to know what caused this youngster to go postal. I’d like to have a better knowledge, learn about him, and then watch the bastard fry.

- Michael Buffalo Smith

All My Blogs in One Place. Whew!

From today forward, I will be posting my (sometimes) daily blogs here on this one page. Previously, I had several blogs, kind of scattered to the wind, including my BUFFALO ZONE blog at Universal Music Tribe. From here on, Afterthoughts stands as my official blog, no matter if I am writing about Southern Rock, Rasslin,' Politics or Hot Chicks. There are a lot of older posts in the BUFFALO ZONE if you like digging. I welcome you!

Gracias. Buff