Newsletter: In Dolly we Trust. Women to the front in the North Bay.
"Look, I've got a gun out there in my purse. And up to now, I've been forgiving and forgetting because of the way I was brought up. But I'll tell you one thing: If you ever say another word about me or make another indecent proposal, I'm gonna get that gun of mine... And I'm gonna change you from a rooster to a hen with one shot! Don't think I can't do it!"
-Dolly Parton as Doralee Rhodes in the 1980 classic comedy film 9 to 5.
My mother raised our family on a gigantic, yet healthy dose of Dolly Parton. I grew up in the '80s and I have these fond memories of riding down the interstate in our ancient station wagon listening to alternating 8-track cassettes of Dolly, Willie, Carly Simon and The Big Chill soundtrack. I'm sure there was some Elvis and others in the car, but those are the ones that really stuck with me over the years.
I remember watching 9 to 5 all the time as a little kid. My memory is a little fuzzy, but I do believe the comedy classic would play very often on HBO and our family stop everything to watch it. Particularly in those summer afternoons when it was too hot to go outside and nothing else was on TV.
My mother was equally obsessed with Dolly's Steel Magnolias, which she had recorded onto a VHS tape and would watch very often. Still to this day, I have large chunks of Steel Magnolias memorized and deeply embedded into my head. I watched it recently and it's much more of a schmaltzy Lifetime film of the week than I remembered, but holy hell did I laugh so much at antics of Shirley MacLaine as Ouiser... and my face still got appropriately wet at all the right parts.
Last night in honor of Mrs. Parton's passing, I turned on 9 to 5 and like the ladies in the film, I smoked a marijuana cigarette before sitting back to laugh my ass off for damned near two hours (with a few breaks in between to "re-up" myself).
It had been decades since I watched the film. I remember it being GREAT, but holy hell was it so much better, darker and deeper than I remembered. I was blown away at just how biblically awesome this film was, not just of the time but for all-time. I was afraid I would fall asleep, but instead I felt a real charge watching it again after all these years.
Oh-so-much of the films humor went right over my head as a kid and the film gets a little too goofy in the middle and loses a bit of its steam, but that first hour is damned near perfect.
Watching the film last night, I was struck by just how formitive the film must have been to my young brain. It showed me as a young boy that women kick ass, take names and are not to be fucked with. Oh and that they're funny as hell, too.
It doesn't hurt that my own mother is a strong and powerful woman as well. She was a dynamite PTA president when I was in the 3rd grade. She put on a hell of a carnival at my elementary school that I still remember fondly and I recall her fighting tooth and nail with the school board to get our corrupt principal removed.
Just a few short years down the line, my mother would go off to nursing school at the ripe age of 29 years old. She had four children, and one of which was a very sick young lady- always in and out of the hospital. She was told she wouldn't finish and was wasting her time. She showed them. She finished damned near the top of her class.
I watched 9 to 5 last night and I mostly thought about my mother and her triumphs in life. I wondered how much inspiration women like Dolly, Lily Tomlin & Jane Fonda had been on her life and career. Not to mention my grandmother, her was a battle axe of her own, who started a very successful bus tour business. Maybe in Dolly and these other strong women, she saw something of herself within them. Maybe it was genetic. Maybe it was both.
I'm lucky that throughout my life I'm surrounded by strong, independent women.
And while I can't recall exactly, I feel like watching 9 to 5 as a young child must have taught me that my mother, and all women- could do anything in this world. It instilled in me a great love and attraction to STRONG women, just like my life-partner Claire. It also taught me to treat women as equals (and honestly I'm kind of a big dum dum, so it also taught me women are usually smarter than men.)
I'm heartbroken like so many others, but as I watched this film last night with red eyes glazed over I thought of Dolly Parton's influence and how that influence still lives on in this world. We are surrounded by strong and powerful women the world over fighting for their rights every day. We have great examples of her legacy continuing in the world thanks to countless other women who have joined in the fight.
And to keep this relates to Sonoma County in some way... One of those strong woman who have picked up the mantle and have been using their voice and talents for the good of the world in a style reminiscent of Dolly is Carsie Blanton!
Her bio reads, "Carsie Blanton is a songwriter with hooks, chutzpah, and revolutionary optimism. Inspired by artist-activists including Nina Simone and Woody Guthrie, her catalog exhibits a wide exploration of genre woven together by humor, a fondness for classic melodies, and the spirit of punk rock."
But listening to her many records and watching her many amazing YouTube videos, it's easy to see that a ton of her spirit and gumption have also descended from Dolly.
Blarton is coming to Petaluma on September 23rd at the Mystic Theater. She's already Sold Out her 9/22 show at the Sweetwater in Mill Valley!
If anything, I encourage you to check out one of her many GREAT videos on YouTube. Here's one of my favorites, it has PUPPETS! Everything Is Great! By Carsie Blanton & The Burning Hell
I've been pitching a profile/feature with Carsie and hopefully you'll be reading more about her upcoming show here on SmartMouth in the next few weeks!
There's also a large number of strong women here in our local music community, hell... Every music community I've participated in has been held up by strong women. There's a number of those great local women are mentioned in the show list below. I'd love to learn more about the other strong women making this community a great one. Drop a line and let me know who else I should be checking out!
9 to 5 isn't easily streaming, but I picked it up for $5 on Apple. In honor of Dolly, I recommend you smoke a J and laugh your ass off for 2 hours like I did. It'll inspire you in ways you didn't expect. Then take that inspiration and go out and make the world a better place for everyone. It's what Dolly would have wanted.
-Damian
THIS WEEKEND'S RECOMMENDED EVENTS:
Earlier this week, I spent a couple of days going through most of the local area music venue websites and I added a ton of events to the smartmouthcalendar.com! I still have a few more to go through including Hopmonk & Lost Church, but there's so much cool stuff going on in the next few months!
Please submit any upcoming events for consideration at: https://smartmouthcalendar.com/submissions/
Thursday 8/27: Who’s Watching with Tim Kasher of Cursive – Film Screening & Performance – Roxy Stadium 14, Santa Rosa
Emo & Indie rock fans! Tim Kasher from the iconic emo band CURSIVE is coming to Santa Rosa for a very special performance & screening THIS THURSDAY at the Roxy 14 movie theater in Downtown SR! Tim will be on hand to host a screening of his new indie horror/thriller WHO'S WATCHING and will perform a short Cursive acoustic set!
Last week I shared my SmartMouth Long Read with Tim about his new film, his love of writing, shifting to filmmaking and what folks can expect from this screening experience! You can read that here:
Damian Burford
I'm a big fan of Sonoma County's Ellie James! I worked with the musician a couple years ago when I was still running the concert program at Napa Valley Distillery. I loved her gargantuan and gregarious energy both on stage and off! I'm going to try to catch bits and pieces of this show on Thursday while also attending the Tim Kasher show and screening at the Roxy.
From the Lost Church Website: The Okay Ultras are a trio of powerhouse femme vocalists out of Sonoma County. All three, Ellie James, Sophia Kandler, and Sunny Mitchell have been captivated by music and live performance all their lives! That love brought them together, forging a friendship with their shared passion at the center.
Ellie brings her pop/rock sound and sensational songwriting to stages throughout the Bay Area. Sophia rocks every stage with her gripping vocals and stage presence. Sunny’s lilting soprano and jazz/funk roots get a crowd grooving. Together, these three friends bring an unforgettable night of music sure to delight any audience.
Friday 8/28: Scam Likely, New Low, Must Be Nice & Phthalo - El Infierno Cantina, Santa Rosa - $15
From our friends at DOWN THE STREET BOOKING: An All Ages Hardcore show in Santa Rosa at a bar that mostly does Hispanic Bandas? Hot damn! I've yet to catch a punk/hardcore show at El Infierno in downtown SR, but it's high up on my list. I won't be able to make this one due to my work schedule, but I sat down and dug in deep into each band playing.
My knowledge of Hardcore is lacking. I was always more into the punk leaning bands like Black Flag, Sick Of It All, H2O, or Kid Dynamite. Hope Conspiracy is one of my very favorite bands. So I can't get too deep into what I like about these bands, but I was surprised at just how fucking rad, unique and intense all of these artists were on this bill!
ALSO CHEERS TO ALL THE WOMEN IN THE FRONT! I love it!
Scam Likely: Heavy AF Female fronted HxC band from Oakland! Heavy Riot Girl influences meets modern day Hardcore. Great band name.
New Low: Killer female fronted HxC from right here in Santa Rosa! The singer's fierce presence comes through HARD on their recordings. Reminds me a bit of Gouge Away. This stuff is Brootal!
Must Be Nice: Really cool post-punk artsy Hardcore. I love the Local H cover. I love the use of horns. Damned cool, expansive stuff. There's a bit of Ceremony flavor I'm picking up (but that could just be that I've been listening to a lot of Ceremony lately), meets later era Black Flag.
Phthalo: 707 Screamo! Nothing to listen to online that I could find, but they seem young, hungry and enthusiastic.
Free Hip Hop show in downtown Santa Rosa! This banger of an event features one of the hardest working acts in the area Dark Lives Matter! Also featuring: T3ru, Willymack, Yadi Rose, Niko Otis, Hous3, Busby999, Don Relli, Wjm Mena, Yngsolomon, Larisa Roberts, Spacewalker, Sonomacana
Saturday 8/29: Comedy: Hannibal Buress – Uptown Theatre, Napa
Hannibal Buress is coming the the Uptown Theatre in Napa!?! You know him from Broad City, The Tom Holland Spider-man movies, 30 Rock and so much more! He's bringing his brand of laid back, slow cooked - observational humor. He's one of the best in the biz! This will be an unforgettable night of stand-up in downtown Napa!
Saturday 8/29: RAD Napa 2nd Annual Action Art Fest: ART • LIVE MUSIC • FOOD • BEVERAGES • HANDS-ON ART ACTIVITIES FOR ALL AGES – Action Avenue – Napa 11am - 4pm
I'm a big fan of the Action Arts Fest in Napa and the people who run it! If you're looking for afternoon, family friendly fun in Napa on Saturday you can't miss this fantastic block party event.
From the RAD District email: "This Saturday, the Rail Arts District (RAD) comes alive for the 2nd Annual Action Art Fest, bringing artists, musicians and the community together for a day of live performances, interactive art, demonstrations, music, food, wine and activities for all ages."
For more details, please check out the email the RAD District sent out this week!
And more information on their official website: https://www.radnapa.org/rad-action-art-fest-2nd-annual/
And instagram page: @radNapa
Tuesday 9/1: Diana Ross – Blue Note Summer Sessions: Napa
The iconic, the legendary, the one-and-only Diana Ross to the Blue Note Napa Summer Sessions stage on September 1. There are few artists who define an era the way the Queen of Motown does… don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime evening under the Napa stars! Tickets start $101.05
LOOKING FOR MORE UPCOMING EVENTS?
WHO EVER SAYS NOTHING HAPPENS IN THE NORTH BAY IS FULL OF SHIT. There's all of this and MORE happening this very weekend and every single weekend!
Make sure you visit SmartMouthCalendar.com! It's an ongoing project to help promote up and coming events. I've been slacking on adding new stuff, so please let me know what I'm missing! What shows and events are you looking forward to in the North Bay? Send them my way and let me know!
SmartMouth707@gmail.com!
