My buddy, The Pig, passed away on June 11, 2017 at 46. I got the call at 3am that he passed away after a heart attack. My life will never be the same. Pig was the best. I met him through Jeff Westlake. Jeff had just produced The Sheered Lepus CD that Pig did vocals on.
Pig and I worked on many projects. His brainchild, Fingerbang, passed away with him. It was an interesting political rock opera that would have been something to see and hear. Brady was a great writer, singer, and comic....most of all he was an entertainer.
ALLIGATOR JACKSON'S TOP 5 BRADY ROBINSON SONGS
5. The Guise by Sheered Lepus
4. War Pigs - Sheered Lepus
3. Wratchchild - Sheered Lepus
2. Painting Utopia....unrealesed from Sheered Lepus and to be a part of FingerBang
Stone Machine is a Huntington area 'supergroup' and side project that deals with the classic bluesrock sound of the 70's. The band gained national recognition when it was featured and praised on the syndicated Lex and Terry Morning radio show.
Guitarist Dirk Blevins and singer Jason Mays with AJ's biggest fan
Alligator Jackson selects his ten favorite Stone Machine tunes:
10. May You Run Forever....nice slow tune from American Honey cd
9. Corn Bread ….some funky, playful blues from American Honey
8. Pike County Woman....some stellar blues rock from the debut cd
7. Rock Ain't Dead from the title track from the third cd
6. Long Road from American Honey
5. Mr Blues from Rock Ain't Dead....dedicated to Ronnie Van Zant
4. White Horse ….. some Zep flavoring
3. West Virginia Blue......nice bluesy slice of 70s
2. Better Days from the 2nd CD American Honey....southern style rock
1. Dirty Sweet from the debut CD..... Sounds like a nice nasty chunk of Bad Company
ALLIGATOR JACKSON REVIEWS STONE MACHINE - "AMERICAN HONEY"
September 17, 2012 at 12:20 PM
Stone Machine has returned to the time that music forgot. They take you back to the 70's when music was fun, simple, and intoxicating as a bottle of ice cold Boone's Farm. "American Honey" is a reckless ride down a rock and roll highway.
Stone Machine started as a side project for musicians in the Huntington, WV / Ashland, KY. area. The project took on a life of it's own after they received favorable reviews on The Lex and Terry Show for their first album.
Now on Grooveyard Records, Stone Machine is back for another heavy dose of 70's inspired blues rock. The vocalist, Jason Mayes, is the perfect singer for the project. Mayes has a smooth voice that is a mixture of Paul Rodgers from Bad Company and Lou Gramm of Foreigner with a touch of Robert Plant thrown in.
The music is simple but it crunches. The title track "American Honey" is a double entendre song about whiskey and women that gets the cd rocking from the very beginning. "Better Days" throws in a hint of Lynyrd Skynyrd but has a heavy dose of Bad Company. It's a mid-tempo song that is a highlight of the album.
At times, it does feel like you have heard these songs before but that is the fun of this album. It's a trip down a rockin' retro highway that you've traveled before but differently. The nostalgic feel is there but the songs are new. There are alot of trains going down the line in the lyrics but a few 70's cliches add to the overall feel of the album.
"Cornbread" is a fun funky blues song and "Shake That Thing" is another fun 70's style blues number. "Bye Bye Baby" and "Speed Demon" are out and out rockers. "Midnight Gypsy" features bluesy riffs by guitarist Dirk Blevins. "Rock and Roll Queen" and "Bad Lovin'" are more seering blues rock meets melodic rock tunes. "May You Run Forever" is a beautiful tender song in the vein of Led Zep's softer bluesy ballads with more excellent handiwork from Blevins.
Stone Machine does not take you down new roads but it is a hell of a ride down a familiar travelled highway. It takes you back into a time when music was simple and fun. Roll down the windows and crank the volume, the tie die shirts and Boones Farm Wine are optional but Stone Machine's "American Honey" is totally necessary for a nice retro rawking party.
Jeff Westlake was the first person I met when my family moved to Proctorville in 1976. We listened to hundreds of bands together over the last forty years. I remember him getting his first electric guitar for Christmas when he was 12. I went with him to his guitar lessons at Pied Piper.
I hung out and watched him play with his band Westlake at Sharkey's. Our friend from high school Jeff Watson was always there, he has since passed away.
He introduced me to my great friend Brady "The Pig" Robinson. Brady has since passed away. The three of us had a great time recording 20 episodes of our internet talk show Westlake and The Pig.
Jeff has had a great music career. He travelled the world with his band Hydrocyn. He has recorded many projects. He even was part of The Godz. The Godz was one of our favorite bands growing up. Jeff's sister Terri gave him their debut 8 track tape they recorded on Kiss's label Casablanca Records in the late 70's.
Alligator Jackson and Jeff Westlake
Here is my 10 favorite Jeff Westlake tracks.
10. The Devil's Juice by Jeff Westlake from The Dead World
9. Just Like Before by Jeff Westlake from In The Key Of Blue
8. Chase The Ghost - Westlake......from the early 2000s with Scott Niles on vocals
7. 18 and Life - Hydrogyn Julie on vocals giving a female spin to the Skid Row classic.
6. Heaven's Burning Down - Audio Porn
5. Sea Of Lies - URA KAI
4. Freak Like You - Audio Porn
3. Fill Our Souls- URA KAI
2. Redemption - Hydrogyn with Erica Parrot on vocals
Very few vocalist have the range that Gary Jeffries has. He once audition for the singer role in Quiet Riot. He filled in for Axl Rose on stage with Guns N Roses. He and his band Asphalt Ballet were signed to Virgin Records and won MTV's Headbangers Ball two weeks in a row beating bands like Tesla and Corrosion of Conformity. As lead singer of Alligator Stew his video was in rotation on country video station GAC. His two solo albums were played world-wide on southern rock radio stations.
Gary Jeffries can sing it all. Here is Alligator Jackson's favorite Gary Jeffries song.
10. Smokin' Gun by Gary Jeffries
9. Darker Shade Of Blue by Danny Clarke and Gary Jeffries
8. Scarecrow by Asphalt Ballet
7. Flowers On My Grave by Gary Jeffries
6. Blood On The Highway by Gary Jeffries
5. Tuesday's Rain by Asphalt Ballet
4. A Gator's Tale by The Stitchpig Revival
3. Blood Money by Alligator Stew
2. Hell's Kitchen by Asphalt Ballet
1. Soul Survive by Asphalt Ballet
Here is Gary singing on a song I wrote Southern Soil.
I first started following Richie Callison's career in the early 1980's. I used to visit relatives in the St. Louis area. I bought KSHE Seeds a compilation of St. Louis bands put out by St. Louis radio station KSHE.
The next year I bought his solo album I'm Here To Tell Ya. Richie went on to tour as lead singer of Black Sabbath's bassist's band The Geezer Butler Band. Later he joined classic St. Louis rockers Head East.
I bought his return to his solo career in 2009 and became friends with him. I love his classic rock style. Richie has moved to Los Angeles and is working on new music. Here are my Top 10 favorite songs by Richie Callison
10. Walk A Mile from the CD Rock This
9. Never Say Goodbye from The KSHE Documentry "Never Say Goodbye"
8. Round and Round from KSHE Seeds 2
7. Five Hundred Dollar Bundle of Joy - single B side
6. Do I Know U? From Rock This
5. Love of Money from Richie Callison CD
4. Run Back from CD Richie Callison.
3. Crazy Woman from The CD Richie Callison. Richie filmed a great video for Crazy Woman.
2. Waiting For The Hammer To Fall = single. Richie rocks up some George Thorogood styled blues rock.
1. I Got Time from Rock This....Richie channels White Snake and Led Zeppelin
Here is an interview done with Richie by myself and The Pig from our 2010 internet radio show
ALLIGATOR JACKSON'S TOP 5 BRADY ROBINSON SONGS
Guitarist Dirk Blevins and singer Jason Mays with AJ's biggest fan
