Mike Seeger, brother of Pete Seeger and music historian/archivist, recorded a mountain dancer one time named D. Ray White. The video, called "Talking Feet", aired on PBS and was rather remarkable. The man knew more steps than anyone alive. What you were seeing, when you watched it, was actually centuries old. Pretty cool stuff.
Decades later, his son, Jesco White, achieved cult status when another PBS documentary was made, "The Dancing Outlaw". Jesco's uncanny talent and striking good looks combined with an Appalachian environment so wild it was surreal. The movie, in fact, is rather surreal. But yet true.
Dali would have loved it.
The film led to an appearance on the Rosanne show with Dweezil Zappa, (Jesco thought his name was Weasel), and a second, less impressive, (the shock kind of wears off after the first one), doc called "Jesco Goes to Hollywood". (Think "Ernest Goes to Hollywood" but filmed/written by David Lynch with Christopher Walken tap dancing his heart away as Jesco). Neither earned much fortune or fame for Jesco, but his following grew and expanded.
And it went all the way to the Prince of real Country, Hank Williams III. He wrote a song about Jesco and started performing and recording with him. And so Jesco became waaaayyyyy more famous and started playing with more and more people. Ultimately, he wound up on stage at the legendary Ryman in Nashville.
All the while, his antics on and off stage earned him as much recognition as his dancing, which really is amazing. The best example of these that I've heard yet is the story of Jesco and Mamie's trip to Nashiville/the Ryman night.
Jesco was to perform with the Black Keys, (they ROCK!!! check 'em out), and had travelled to Nashville with Mamie and his girlfriend at the time, Beverly. Now, one thing that happens whenever Jesco goes out is everyone wants to buy him whiskey. And Jesco, like pretty much everyone else in that neck of the woods, really likes whiskey. That night, before the show, someone gave him a bottle of Maker's Mark. As Jesco put it, "The Marker's Mark left a mark on him."
I'm afraid he drank all of it.
Reportedly, his performance at the Ryman didn't involve a great deal of dancing. The crowd, however, according to Jesco and per videos on YouTube, LOVED it. He was pretty damn funny... "Till Mamie came stormin' in and hauled me off" he said. Mamie says she was the only one nervy enough to get him off the stage. She is, after all, the biggest, the baddest and the meanest, (a quote from "The Dancing Outlaw").
The adventures didn't end there. After being thrown, in best outlaw tradition, off stage at the Ryman, he stirred things up Boone Co. Outlaw style all over town, including Hank III's show there that night.
Then they scared a cab driver, who threatened to call the police. "If I'm goin' to jail, it ain't gonna be in Tennessee." Mamie said she told him, after pointing out that they had gangs in Boone Co. way tougher than any Nashville cabbie mafia. Or something like that.
Then Jesco trashed his hotel room. "If they wanted me to be a star I was gonna act like a star goddamn it". Jesco said as he described a whiskey bent and Hell-bound rampage that frightened all around him into hiding. "A pissed off star."
And when he got back to Boone Co., he realized he'd left his dancing shoes somewhere in Nashville. Cuzn Wildweed tracked them down by phone, they were at a BBQ place. So they got sent back with the Black Keys.
So that's how Jesco's shoes went on tour...
Anyway, not long after that, a movie MTV had been filming that followed a year in the life of the White family premiered at Tribecca. Extremely controversial, (think Hillbilly "Cops" + it's by the Jackass people ), the movie had barely been screened when the Boone Co. Sherriff started looking for reasons to arrest Jesco and other family members who appeared in it. Jesco was arrested on bogus charges, (they woke him up to charge him with intent to distribute...wtf?), and was interviewded from jail. He even danced for the viewers.
MTV producers bailed him and his sister Sue Bob, who was also arrested, out. It was the least they could do.
Since then, The White's have been having all sorts of adventures, good and ill, unfortunately - since the controversial release of the trailer for Jackass Studio's, "The Wild, Wonderful Whites of West Virginia". Sue Bob went on the lam after being set up by Boone Co. Deputies, (the Sherriff wanted to show the country that WVA ain't like that by God! Oh please. The "Dukes of Hazard" went off the air a long, long time ago dudes.) Unfortunately she got caught and is going to be away for a while. Not cool.
Sue Kirk, who is overly-sensationalized in the film, to say the least, is hanging in there. You can find her here in my friends - why not check out her page and dispel the myths for yourself? She's cool. But she's having to put up with way too much post-MTV b/s, not cool.
So not cool +2 -- cool +2 --- it goes on like that.
Fortunately, a lot more artists in music, television and film appreciate the White's than MTV's cast and crew, (why is it that every time I hear of them doing a reality show that might be interesting I'm soon after hearing of people going to prison? Ain't just in WVA folks, there have been other incidents). Jesco and Mamie just got back from Atlanta, where they recorded an episode of the Squidbillies. It's coming out in March and I can't wait!
(I will take the opportunity to say, once again, that I really think I need to be a Squidbilly. The Lonesome Squid - a gun in 6 of the 8 arms and a banjo & a bottle of whiskey in the 2 others. Rolling around like a tumbleweed ... "I'm a lonesome squid...all alone and lost..."). Big D says he should be a Squidbilly too. Cuz is a given. If you don't know who he is, check him out -- got thrown off of YouTube for pulling a gun on the camera on one of his shows, The Redneck Minute
And check out his new website, (he said F YouTube then he'll just have his own damn website). He's got new photos up now from the Hank III show in Raliegh.
Back to Boone Co., more good news - there's another movie! This one premiered at Sundance and stars Carrie Fisher as Norma Jean. It looks waaaayyyyy better than the other one.
Jesco and Mamie just got back from Hollywood, where they saw their film with Johnny Knoxville. Jesco and Mamie said they had a great time but didn't get to meet anyone famous except for Johnny Knoxville. Photos of the trip are in the Jesco Fan site on Facebook.
Hank III was here in Richmond a few days ago and the show was BADASS!!! of course. Cuz and I got to spend some time with the band and they are sooooo nice. The new banjo player, (David Madison, also in my friends here), is SO good. Adds a whole new dimension. And their clothes were so cool - I seriously think Vogue should do a Hellbilly fashion segment. Not kidding here. I spent days figuring out how to copy the steel player's hair.
It's not the same without Joe Buck but at the same time it's awesome that new musicians are getting the opportunity to get experience w/Hank III - I mean, that's bound to do nothing but improve country music -- and God knows it needs all the help it can get.
And Joe Buck's own thing is so astonishing - more time focused on that can't be a bad thing at all. We also had a killer time with him when he came to town - culminating in watching "South Park" in his RV with the dudes who'd just played Jesus and St. Andrew on the 700 Club's Easter Special. Rather surreal.
Speaking of Hellbilly's, J.B. Beverley has an amazing CD out, "Watch America Roll By". Check him out in my friends at http://www.myspace.com/lonesomeliz I hear he's going to be interviewed for "High Times" soon.
We thought we were going to get up to Boone Co. this weekend but aren't going to be able to make the trip, (though if you'd like to start a send Cuz and Liz back to Boone Co. fund please feel free to do so and send me the details). We are, however, going to Hinton for John Henry days, (even Hellbilly's have to do cute mountain summer relationship stuff man).
Hang tough and don't talk shit about the White family or you'll get 5 of these.
Check out Jesco and Mamie this Sat and the next in Ripley and Huntington WVA - Jesco's website And check out the new videos Cuz and I made! videos of us, Jesco, Joe Buck, Hasil Adkins, other Hellbilly stuff
More Jesco: Jesco on MySpace
Cuzn Wildweed
Friday, July 10, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
A Grateful Documentary and the Greatest Jam Session Ever: The Festival Express
Mike was part of the Dead's golden age, well summed up in what was called the "Greatest jam session ever", the "Festival Express" was a train that rolled West across Canada with The Band, The Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, Buddy Guy, and other remarkable musicians. The trip was documented by film maker Frank Cvitanovich and footage was released in 2003, along with modern-day interviews with some of the folks who were there:
Festival Express
Watch it on Netflix
Cvitanovich continued to make films, including one of an American Folk Opera by Kurt Weill, ("The Threepenny Opera", "Mac the Knife", "Alabama Song"), "Down in the Valley"
Down in the Valley
Festival Express
Watch it on Netflix
Cvitanovich continued to make films, including one of an American Folk Opera by Kurt Weill, ("The Threepenny Opera", "Mac the Knife", "Alabama Song"), "Down in the Valley"
Down in the Valley
Saturday, May 30, 2009
The Black Donnelly's of Ontario - the Story Behind a Steve Earle Song
Like Van Zandt, Steve Earle is a wonderful story teller. Here's the true story behind one of my favorite songs of his, "Justice in Ontario".
The Donnelly family emigrated to Canada from Ireland, settling on land that, at the time, had an absentee landlord. James Donnelly, his wife and nine children had lived there happily, (we can assume), until 1855 when the absentee landlord sold the Donnelly homestead to a man named Michael Maher.
Understandably, this did not go over well with James Donnelly. He wasn't about to give up the land. He stood his ground, daring anyone to take it from him. The only man brave enough to try was a man named Patrick Farrell.
Patrick rented the land from Maher but when he ventured to lay claim to the property, James refused to go. They went to court, where it was divided between the two of them. James wasn't having any of that either.
Soon after the court decision, a man named William Maloney held a logging bee. All the farmers in the community, including James and Patrick, were there drinking. There are different accounts as to how the whole thing started and what happened next, but whoever started the fight, Patrick ended up with a hole in his head from a handspike James came at him with. And the ramifications of all that changed the town of Biddulph forever.
A warrant was issued for James but when the law showed up for him he was gone.
He stayed out of sight for almost a year. His wife and children knew where he was, of course, but they weren't talking.
Turned out he was hiding in plain sight in his own back fields. He'd disguise himself in his wife's clothes sometimes and work in the fields with her. The neighbors noticed a 'strange woman' around but no one said anything if they suspected the truth. When winter came, he lived in his stables and at the homes of friends willing to risk getting in trouble themselves to help him.
In May 1858, near the anniversary of the murder, James turned himself in at the advice of one of his close friends, Justice of the Peace, Jim Hodgins. The idea of another brutal Canadian winter on the run probably had something to do with the decision too.
James went to trial with one of the best criminal lawyers around to defend him but his sentance was death nonetheless. A hanging was set for September 17, 1858. His devastated wife put a petition for clemency in motion; calling for a less severe sentance. She had people sign it everywhere she went and it worked. His sentance was changed from death to seven years in prison. He was released in 1865.
On February 4, 1880, vigillante's took retribution for Patrick's death into their own hands. James and Johannah, their sons, John and Tom, and a niece, Bridget, were all slaughtered in what came to be known as, "The Biddulph Horror". I believe the Donnelly's were known as "The Black Donnelly's" before it happened.
A little boy named Johnny O'Connor had hidden beneath a bed while the massacre took place. He survived to tell the tale of what happened. The following is from his account at the murder trial, which was published by The London Free Press in 1880, in an article called, "The Biddulph Tragedy".
Johnny O'Connor was staying the night with the Donnelly's when the massacre occurred. They had to be in Court in Granton the next morning, February 4th, for suspected arson; a man named Grouchy Ryder's barn had been burned down. Johnny was supposed to take care of their pigs while they were gone. A niece, Bridget, was visiting from Ireland.
Sometime between midnight and two a.m., James Sr. woke Johnny up. James Carroll, the supposed leader of the Biddulph Peace Society, was standing in the living room. When Donnelly asked why he was at the house, James C. said that he "had another charge against him."
According to Johnny, Mrs. Donnelly got up and called her niece to help her with the fire. She then had a conversation with her son, Tom, who was chained in the kitchen, that Johnny couldn't hear. James came in the kitchen and asked his son why he was handcuffed.
"He thinks he's smart," Tom replied as James Carroll came in the kitchen.
"Read the warrant..." Tom demanded.
Then all hell broke loose.
"The little kitchen exploded into chaos, and death surrounded the Donnellys on every side. Carroll had let out some kind of signal, and the door burst open with a gang of men who entered with murder on their blood-thirsty minds. Armed with clubs, sticks, and other farm implements, they surrounded the startled family, and began beating them to death. They cared not for the sex or the age of their victims, but only that their name was 'DONNELLY', and on that night, February 4th, 1880, the Donnellys had to die.
"I think there were about twenty of them (that) ran into the house," Johnny said during his testimony. "I don't know how many came in afterwards -- I was still lying in bed when they came in, and then I jumped out and crawled under the bed -- I could see out into the front room; the bed was near the end of the room, opposite the door." From that vantage point, Johnny said that everyone was in the kitchen except for Bridget whom he saw dashing across the floor towards the stairs that led to an upper level. "She was at the stairs' door when I saw her -- I could only see the front of the stairs from where I lay; when in bed I could see a couple of the steps, but no more."
"Seeing no one in the front room other than Bridget fleeing for her life, Johnny ran after her and followed her up the steps to the next floor, but when they reached the top, she inadvertently slammed the door in his face. Afraid of being discovered by the assassins who were still in the kitchen finishing off James, Johannah and Tom, the lad raced back to the bedroom, and hid beneath the bed behind a clothes basket. "It was one of those big baskets, a little lower than the bed cords; there was about half a foot between the bed and the basket."
"Just after Johnny crawled under the bed again, he saw Tom run across the living room floor. Being a feisty, powerful man, he had broken free from his antagonizers, and was making a run for it out the front door. Johnny wasn't sure how many men followed Tom outside into the cold night, but he could hear them beating him with "sticks". Minutes later, they carried him back inside, and threw him down on the floor close to the front door.
"I could see Tom's feet at the door, and heard him groaning," the boy recalled. "I could hear something rattle when they threw him down; one fellow said, 'hit that fellow on the head and break his skull open'; then someone hit him three or four blows on the head with a spade." Johnny added that he saw the murder weapon as it was being carried past the door.
"As the frightened lad peered out at the grisly scene lit only by a single candle, he spotted several men standing over Tom's expiring body. They appeared to be doing something to him that the young witness thought may have been the removal of his handcuffs. One man had a "blackened" face, another was "dressed in women's clothing", and two of them, Johnny recognized. "I saw John Purtell and Thomas Ryder there," he said. "Purtell was standing right beside Tom's body then -- and I knew Tom Ryder from his whiskers and face."
"When the men had finished with Tom, someone asked the whereabouts of the girl, and another replied that she was upstairs. Johnny said that a lot of the men then ran up the stairs to get Bridget, but that he heard no sound up there as they took her life. Within minutes, their footsteps were heard on the stairs again, and someone announced that the girl, who was only 21, "was beyond earthly tale-baring". The killers then proceeded to the front bedroom, and after pouring coal oil over the bed under which Johnny lay hidden, they set it ablaze, and quickly abandoned the house to its untimely fate.
"Johnny, shaking uncontrollably with terror, waited for what must have seemed like forever until he was sure that everyone had left the scene. He feared for his own life should the murderers discover him there; a witness to their heinous, most despicable crime. Then, crawling out from his hiding place at last, he tried to put out the flames that had engulfed the bed, but his efforts were in vain. "Then I looked and saw Tom lying in the room, and the old woman near the kitchen door; I tramped on her as I went out; I saw Tom lying in the front room, but saw none of the others; the two I saw were breathing, but I was too much frightened to see what state they were in."
From the official Donnelly's website: http://www.donnellys.com/
Johnny ran to a neighbor's house for help. But it wasn't over. The vigillantes were out for more Donnelly blood. William Donnelly, the second oldest of the seven Donnelly brothers,still lived. Though he had a clubfoot, (and so was called "Clubfoot Will") he was so fierce and formidable that it was said he was in league with the Devil himself. He was also known for his keen intelligance. It was Will the Biddulph Peace Society wanted dead.
William was at home with his wife, Nora, his brother, John, and a man named Martin Hogan. He woke in the night by his brother hurridly leaving his room. The time was "about twenty-seven minutes after two," William said later during the murder trial. John was sleeping "in the room off mine, (and) had to pass through mine to get into the kitchen".
"John said, "I want to see who is rapping at the door and calling fire". He didn't stop and wait for his older brother to join him in his investigation, but went straight to the kitchen door and opened it. Somewhere out in the shadows of the night, he had heard voices yelling; voices that William recognized as belonging to "Martin McLaughlin and young Patrick Ryder". They were hollering, "Fire! Fire! Open the door, Will!"
"But William never opened the door on that fateful night. John did. "I heard two shots fired in rapid succession, almost together" Will testified. "The gun was almost in the house, because the smell of gunpowder rushed into my bedroom; I was lying in bed next (to) a door, the top part of which was glass; my wife was in bed on the front side; John fell back against the door of my bedroom, leading off the kitchen. I knew he fell that way because his head came back against the door; He said, 'Will, Will, I'm shot; may the Lord have mercy on my soul!'"
"Lay quiet (or) we will all be killed," warned their friend, Martin Hogan, from the next room. He had jumped out of bed at the sound of the gunfire, and was standing near the bedroom door that opened into William's room. "It is you that they want," he added quickly. "If they find out that it was not you they shot, they will come back and kill you and me, too."
From the official Donnelly's website: http://www.donnellys.com
They'd meant to kill William. As William stared out the window, Nora got up, saying she was doing it whether she got shot in the process or not. They could hear John choking on his own blood. William later said that he counted "twenty-nine holes" in his brother's chest, "well up towards the collar-bone, and several nearer the lungs." Another bullet had hit John in the groin, and passing through it, had lodged itself in the wall on the other side of the room.
William listened to Carroll and other men talking as best he could. He said he couldn't make much of what was being said on the other side of the fence, but that he did hear James Carroll say something to the effect of "What next", or "What's best". "There were some words by parties outside the fence," he testified, "but I could not hear what they were. Kennedy said, 'Brother-in-law is easy at last'. Whenever he was making fun of me in a crowd he called me brother-in-law; I was satisfied then that Hogan's words were right; that it was me they wanted, and that they thought I was the one shot."
Nora cried, "Oh Lord, he's dying!" and began pulling John towards the bedroom door. Hogan came and helped. They all stayed into the room until dawn, afraid to go out. "During all the night my brother John was lying dead in the room," William said, "his head at the foot of my bed and his feet against his bedroom door; Hogan had drawn him there and he was quite dead; I got up a little before daylight; my wife and Hogan were there with John in the same room; we were all there together... all this time I never looked at John at all."
"At five o'clock when I looked out it was just as light as at half-past two; I opened the kitchen door first and looked at the tracks; there was about six feet of a roof projected over the door, and the snow did not blow in there; outside this door there were the tracks of a pair of boots and a pair of overshoes."
In the morning, he discovered what had happened to the rest of his family. "The old folks' house had been burned down and all the bodies were lying there burned up."
William tried, but never did, get justice for his slain family.
The Donnelly family emigrated to Canada from Ireland, settling on land that, at the time, had an absentee landlord. James Donnelly, his wife and nine children had lived there happily, (we can assume), until 1855 when the absentee landlord sold the Donnelly homestead to a man named Michael Maher.
Understandably, this did not go over well with James Donnelly. He wasn't about to give up the land. He stood his ground, daring anyone to take it from him. The only man brave enough to try was a man named Patrick Farrell.
Patrick rented the land from Maher but when he ventured to lay claim to the property, James refused to go. They went to court, where it was divided between the two of them. James wasn't having any of that either.
Soon after the court decision, a man named William Maloney held a logging bee. All the farmers in the community, including James and Patrick, were there drinking. There are different accounts as to how the whole thing started and what happened next, but whoever started the fight, Patrick ended up with a hole in his head from a handspike James came at him with. And the ramifications of all that changed the town of Biddulph forever.
A warrant was issued for James but when the law showed up for him he was gone.
He stayed out of sight for almost a year. His wife and children knew where he was, of course, but they weren't talking.
Turned out he was hiding in plain sight in his own back fields. He'd disguise himself in his wife's clothes sometimes and work in the fields with her. The neighbors noticed a 'strange woman' around but no one said anything if they suspected the truth. When winter came, he lived in his stables and at the homes of friends willing to risk getting in trouble themselves to help him.
In May 1858, near the anniversary of the murder, James turned himself in at the advice of one of his close friends, Justice of the Peace, Jim Hodgins. The idea of another brutal Canadian winter on the run probably had something to do with the decision too.
James went to trial with one of the best criminal lawyers around to defend him but his sentance was death nonetheless. A hanging was set for September 17, 1858. His devastated wife put a petition for clemency in motion; calling for a less severe sentance. She had people sign it everywhere she went and it worked. His sentance was changed from death to seven years in prison. He was released in 1865.
On February 4, 1880, vigillante's took retribution for Patrick's death into their own hands. James and Johannah, their sons, John and Tom, and a niece, Bridget, were all slaughtered in what came to be known as, "The Biddulph Horror". I believe the Donnelly's were known as "The Black Donnelly's" before it happened.
A little boy named Johnny O'Connor had hidden beneath a bed while the massacre took place. He survived to tell the tale of what happened. The following is from his account at the murder trial, which was published by The London Free Press in 1880, in an article called, "The Biddulph Tragedy".
Johnny O'Connor was staying the night with the Donnelly's when the massacre occurred. They had to be in Court in Granton the next morning, February 4th, for suspected arson; a man named Grouchy Ryder's barn had been burned down. Johnny was supposed to take care of their pigs while they were gone. A niece, Bridget, was visiting from Ireland.
Sometime between midnight and two a.m., James Sr. woke Johnny up. James Carroll, the supposed leader of the Biddulph Peace Society, was standing in the living room. When Donnelly asked why he was at the house, James C. said that he "had another charge against him."
According to Johnny, Mrs. Donnelly got up and called her niece to help her with the fire. She then had a conversation with her son, Tom, who was chained in the kitchen, that Johnny couldn't hear. James came in the kitchen and asked his son why he was handcuffed.
"He thinks he's smart," Tom replied as James Carroll came in the kitchen.
"Read the warrant..." Tom demanded.
Then all hell broke loose.
"The little kitchen exploded into chaos, and death surrounded the Donnellys on every side. Carroll had let out some kind of signal, and the door burst open with a gang of men who entered with murder on their blood-thirsty minds. Armed with clubs, sticks, and other farm implements, they surrounded the startled family, and began beating them to death. They cared not for the sex or the age of their victims, but only that their name was 'DONNELLY', and on that night, February 4th, 1880, the Donnellys had to die.
"I think there were about twenty of them (that) ran into the house," Johnny said during his testimony. "I don't know how many came in afterwards -- I was still lying in bed when they came in, and then I jumped out and crawled under the bed -- I could see out into the front room; the bed was near the end of the room, opposite the door." From that vantage point, Johnny said that everyone was in the kitchen except for Bridget whom he saw dashing across the floor towards the stairs that led to an upper level. "She was at the stairs' door when I saw her -- I could only see the front of the stairs from where I lay; when in bed I could see a couple of the steps, but no more."
"Seeing no one in the front room other than Bridget fleeing for her life, Johnny ran after her and followed her up the steps to the next floor, but when they reached the top, she inadvertently slammed the door in his face. Afraid of being discovered by the assassins who were still in the kitchen finishing off James, Johannah and Tom, the lad raced back to the bedroom, and hid beneath the bed behind a clothes basket. "It was one of those big baskets, a little lower than the bed cords; there was about half a foot between the bed and the basket."
"Just after Johnny crawled under the bed again, he saw Tom run across the living room floor. Being a feisty, powerful man, he had broken free from his antagonizers, and was making a run for it out the front door. Johnny wasn't sure how many men followed Tom outside into the cold night, but he could hear them beating him with "sticks". Minutes later, they carried him back inside, and threw him down on the floor close to the front door.
"I could see Tom's feet at the door, and heard him groaning," the boy recalled. "I could hear something rattle when they threw him down; one fellow said, 'hit that fellow on the head and break his skull open'; then someone hit him three or four blows on the head with a spade." Johnny added that he saw the murder weapon as it was being carried past the door.
"As the frightened lad peered out at the grisly scene lit only by a single candle, he spotted several men standing over Tom's expiring body. They appeared to be doing something to him that the young witness thought may have been the removal of his handcuffs. One man had a "blackened" face, another was "dressed in women's clothing", and two of them, Johnny recognized. "I saw John Purtell and Thomas Ryder there," he said. "Purtell was standing right beside Tom's body then -- and I knew Tom Ryder from his whiskers and face."
"When the men had finished with Tom, someone asked the whereabouts of the girl, and another replied that she was upstairs. Johnny said that a lot of the men then ran up the stairs to get Bridget, but that he heard no sound up there as they took her life. Within minutes, their footsteps were heard on the stairs again, and someone announced that the girl, who was only 21, "was beyond earthly tale-baring". The killers then proceeded to the front bedroom, and after pouring coal oil over the bed under which Johnny lay hidden, they set it ablaze, and quickly abandoned the house to its untimely fate.
"Johnny, shaking uncontrollably with terror, waited for what must have seemed like forever until he was sure that everyone had left the scene. He feared for his own life should the murderers discover him there; a witness to their heinous, most despicable crime. Then, crawling out from his hiding place at last, he tried to put out the flames that had engulfed the bed, but his efforts were in vain. "Then I looked and saw Tom lying in the room, and the old woman near the kitchen door; I tramped on her as I went out; I saw Tom lying in the front room, but saw none of the others; the two I saw were breathing, but I was too much frightened to see what state they were in."
From the official Donnelly's website: http://www.donnellys.com/
Johnny ran to a neighbor's house for help. But it wasn't over. The vigillantes were out for more Donnelly blood. William Donnelly, the second oldest of the seven Donnelly brothers,still lived. Though he had a clubfoot, (and so was called "Clubfoot Will") he was so fierce and formidable that it was said he was in league with the Devil himself. He was also known for his keen intelligance. It was Will the Biddulph Peace Society wanted dead.
William was at home with his wife, Nora, his brother, John, and a man named Martin Hogan. He woke in the night by his brother hurridly leaving his room. The time was "about twenty-seven minutes after two," William said later during the murder trial. John was sleeping "in the room off mine, (and) had to pass through mine to get into the kitchen".
"John said, "I want to see who is rapping at the door and calling fire". He didn't stop and wait for his older brother to join him in his investigation, but went straight to the kitchen door and opened it. Somewhere out in the shadows of the night, he had heard voices yelling; voices that William recognized as belonging to "Martin McLaughlin and young Patrick Ryder". They were hollering, "Fire! Fire! Open the door, Will!"
"But William never opened the door on that fateful night. John did. "I heard two shots fired in rapid succession, almost together" Will testified. "The gun was almost in the house, because the smell of gunpowder rushed into my bedroom; I was lying in bed next (to) a door, the top part of which was glass; my wife was in bed on the front side; John fell back against the door of my bedroom, leading off the kitchen. I knew he fell that way because his head came back against the door; He said, 'Will, Will, I'm shot; may the Lord have mercy on my soul!'"
"Lay quiet (or) we will all be killed," warned their friend, Martin Hogan, from the next room. He had jumped out of bed at the sound of the gunfire, and was standing near the bedroom door that opened into William's room. "It is you that they want," he added quickly. "If they find out that it was not you they shot, they will come back and kill you and me, too."
From the official Donnelly's website: http://www.donnellys.com
They'd meant to kill William. As William stared out the window, Nora got up, saying she was doing it whether she got shot in the process or not. They could hear John choking on his own blood. William later said that he counted "twenty-nine holes" in his brother's chest, "well up towards the collar-bone, and several nearer the lungs." Another bullet had hit John in the groin, and passing through it, had lodged itself in the wall on the other side of the room.
William listened to Carroll and other men talking as best he could. He said he couldn't make much of what was being said on the other side of the fence, but that he did hear James Carroll say something to the effect of "What next", or "What's best". "There were some words by parties outside the fence," he testified, "but I could not hear what they were. Kennedy said, 'Brother-in-law is easy at last'. Whenever he was making fun of me in a crowd he called me brother-in-law; I was satisfied then that Hogan's words were right; that it was me they wanted, and that they thought I was the one shot."
Nora cried, "Oh Lord, he's dying!" and began pulling John towards the bedroom door. Hogan came and helped. They all stayed into the room until dawn, afraid to go out. "During all the night my brother John was lying dead in the room," William said, "his head at the foot of my bed and his feet against his bedroom door; Hogan had drawn him there and he was quite dead; I got up a little before daylight; my wife and Hogan were there with John in the same room; we were all there together... all this time I never looked at John at all."
"At five o'clock when I looked out it was just as light as at half-past two; I opened the kitchen door first and looked at the tracks; there was about six feet of a roof projected over the door, and the snow did not blow in there; outside this door there were the tracks of a pair of boots and a pair of overshoes."
In the morning, he discovered what had happened to the rest of his family. "The old folks' house had been burned down and all the bodies were lying there burned up."
William tried, but never did, get justice for his slain family.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Jesco and Mamie White on Chicago Outlaw Radio
Close on the heels of the Tribecca Film Festival, where an MTV documentary about the legendary Dancing Outlaw, Jesco White premiered, Jesco landed in jail and his sister, Sue Bob, went MIA with the Sheriff on her trail.
Why? Well, what Jesco says was acting, the law took seriously. The film depicts, among other things, apparantly simulated drug activity. Not only Jesco, but MTV producers in their official statement said that no crimes were committed during the making of the film about outlaws.
In response to this, and to Jesco's arrest, his sister Mamie said, "This is where the line gets drawn...I don't even know which law's got Jesco's keys...all I got to say to them people from MTV is we better not see their face in Boone Co. They won't get out alive."
Listen to a new interview with Jesco & Mamie on Outlaw Radio
... click on Episode 44 at:
Jesco and Mamie
Why? Well, what Jesco says was acting, the law took seriously. The film depicts, among other things, apparantly simulated drug activity. Not only Jesco, but MTV producers in their official statement said that no crimes were committed during the making of the film about outlaws.
In response to this, and to Jesco's arrest, his sister Mamie said, "This is where the line gets drawn...I don't even know which law's got Jesco's keys...all I got to say to them people from MTV is we better not see their face in Boone Co. They won't get out alive."
Listen to a new interview with Jesco & Mamie on Outlaw Radio
... click on Episode 44 at:
Jesco and Mamie
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
The Lyrics of Townes Van Zandt
Townes was, I think, a poet first and kick-ass musician second; though undoubtedly some would disagree. His guitar skills almost make me disagree. However, when I look at songs like this, I can't help but insist that it's the poet that shone through most when he was speaking his mind. Here's how he looked at a game of 5 card stud:
Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold
(Townes Van Zandt)
Well, the wicked King of Clubs awoke; it was to his Queen he turned,
His lips were laughin' as they spoke; his eyes like bullets burned.
"The sun's upon a gamblin' day." His Queen smiled low and blissfully.
"Let's make some wretched fool to pay." Plain it was she did agree.
He sent his deuce down into diamond, his four to heart, and his trey to spade,
Three kings with their legions come and preparations soon were made.
They voted Club the day's commander. Give him an army, face, and number;
All but the outlaw Jack of Diamonds and the aces in the sky.
Well, he give his sevens first instruction: "Spirit me a game of stud
Stakes unscarred by limitation 'tween a man named Gold and a man named Mudd."
And Club filled Gold with greedy vapors 'till his long green eyes did glow.
Mudd was left with the sighs and trembles, watchin' his hard earned money go.
Flushes fell on Gold like water; tens they paired and paired again,
But the aces only flew through heaven and the diamomand friend.
The diamond Queen saw Mudd's ordeal; began to think of her long lost son,
Fell to her knees with a mother's mercy; Prayed to the angels, everyone.
The diamond queen, she prayed and prayed and the diamond angel filled Mudd's hole
Then the wicked King of Clubs himself fell face down in front of Gold.
Now three kings come to Club's command, but the angels from the sky did ride;
Three kings up on the streets of gold; three fireballs on the muddy side.
The club Queen heard her husband's call, but Lord, that Queen of Diamond's joy
When the outlaw in the heavenly hall turned out to be her wanderin' boy.
Now Mudd, he checked, and Gold bet all; Mudd he raised, and Gold did call
And his smile just melted off his face when Mudd turned over that Diamond Ace.
Now here's what this story's told: You feel like Mudd, you'll end up Gold;
Feel like lost, you'll end up found, so Amigo, lay them raises down.
Mr. Mudd and Mr. Gold
(Townes Van Zandt)
Well, the wicked King of Clubs awoke; it was to his Queen he turned,
His lips were laughin' as they spoke; his eyes like bullets burned.
"The sun's upon a gamblin' day." His Queen smiled low and blissfully.
"Let's make some wretched fool to pay." Plain it was she did agree.
He sent his deuce down into diamond, his four to heart, and his trey to spade,
Three kings with their legions come and preparations soon were made.
They voted Club the day's commander. Give him an army, face, and number;
All but the outlaw Jack of Diamonds and the aces in the sky.
Well, he give his sevens first instruction: "Spirit me a game of stud
Stakes unscarred by limitation 'tween a man named Gold and a man named Mudd."
And Club filled Gold with greedy vapors 'till his long green eyes did glow.
Mudd was left with the sighs and trembles, watchin' his hard earned money go.
Flushes fell on Gold like water; tens they paired and paired again,
But the aces only flew through heaven and the diamomand friend.
The diamond Queen saw Mudd's ordeal; began to think of her long lost son,
Fell to her knees with a mother's mercy; Prayed to the angels, everyone.
The diamond queen, she prayed and prayed and the diamond angel filled Mudd's hole
Then the wicked King of Clubs himself fell face down in front of Gold.
Now three kings come to Club's command, but the angels from the sky did ride;
Three kings up on the streets of gold; three fireballs on the muddy side.
The club Queen heard her husband's call, but Lord, that Queen of Diamond's joy
When the outlaw in the heavenly hall turned out to be her wanderin' boy.
Now Mudd, he checked, and Gold bet all; Mudd he raised, and Gold did call
And his smile just melted off his face when Mudd turned over that Diamond Ace.
Now here's what this story's told: You feel like Mudd, you'll end up Gold;
Feel like lost, you'll end up found, so Amigo, lay them raises down.
Monday, May 18, 2009
A Van Zandt-ecdote
Mike got this letter from a Facebook friend this morning and we thought you all might enjoy it:
Subject: bizarre
Hi Michael,
Re your status update:
I was having a Townes Van Zandt weekend alone...lovin it...and mentioned it to my friend and told him a story of when Townes came over here with John Stewart and Guy Clark. After the show Townes sat with me in the hotel bar, just me, him, John Stewart and the barman...and sang Springsteens' "Racing In The Streets" ...TO ME!!!
At the time (early 90s) i didnt realise the hugeness of the moment but now i realise what a privelage it was and hold it dear in my memory.
Just thought I would share this with yoiu as your status update mentions that song...and its just a little spooky considering I've not even thought about that song for years then in the space of one weekend I hear it in my head and you write it on your page.
Hope youre well
Greetings from London UK
Subject: bizarre
Hi Michael,
Re your status update:
I was having a Townes Van Zandt weekend alone...lovin it...and mentioned it to my friend and told him a story of when Townes came over here with John Stewart and Guy Clark. After the show Townes sat with me in the hotel bar, just me, him, John Stewart and the barman...and sang Springsteens' "Racing In The Streets" ...TO ME!!!
At the time (early 90s) i didnt realise the hugeness of the moment but now i realise what a privelage it was and hold it dear in my memory.
Just thought I would share this with yoiu as your status update mentions that song...and its just a little spooky considering I've not even thought about that song for years then in the space of one weekend I hear it in my head and you write it on your page.
Hope youre well
Greetings from London UK
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
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