Saturday, January 18, 2020

Siddown! It's Sidran!

Ben Sidran was at the University of Sussex [a town in England - Ed.] in '66. That alone is mildly interesting enough, but during this period he recorded with Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones. How does that happen? Antecedently, he'd played with Steve Miller and Boz Scaggs in The Ardells, back in Wisconsin. Were Clapton and the Stones big Ardells fans?

 This could be them -

- although there were a few groups who thought calling themselves The Ardells was a swell idea. EDIT: Hugh Candyside avers this to be the Florida Ardells, AKA The American Beetles, and offers linkage in support. But as I can't find a picture of the Miller Ardells, it's all we got.




Anyways, diggin' Sidran marks you out as a cat wit' savoir faire [German - sausage market - Ed.] out th' ass. Here's a starter pack for yez; Feel Your Groove, 1970, I Lead A Life, '71, Puttin' In Time, '72, Don't Let Go, '73, and The Doctor Is In, '77.


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19 comments:

  1. Farquhar Throckmorton IIIJanuary 18, 2020 at 7:46 AM

    To qualify for the download, simply pass this spelling test!

    Today's Word Du Jour:

    DIARRHEA. Again, if you missed it: DIARRHEA.

    No Googling!

    ReplyDelete
  2. FiveGunsWestJanuary 18, 2020 at 8:00 AM

    Diarrhea Antidisestablishmentarianism spell check says it's wrong but it isn't.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Farquhar Throckmorton IIIJanuary 18, 2020 at 8:55 AM



    Ben Zedrene

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FiveGunsWestJanuary 18, 2020 at 11:47 AM

      Thanks Farquhar. Looks like the other 3 1/2 guys are out on a Friday night til Sunday morning bender. I'm home having family entertainment night that involves midget, donkeys, and handcuffs...not to mention reruns of Oprah.

      Delete
    2. Farquhar Throckmorton IIIJanuary 18, 2020 at 11:57 AM

      I'm watching Nancy Pelosi on Bill Maher. Love that woman.

      Delete
    3. pmacJanuary 18, 2020 at 3:24 PM

      I'm cleaning the lint from my belly button.
      Love Sidran. Saw him live several years ago and been hooked ever since. His newest release is a 3 disc, career spanning, set of live recordings. Back to lint removal.

      Delete
    4. Farquhar Throckmorton IIIJanuary 18, 2020 at 3:41 PM

      Last time I examined my belly button, I saw a tiny Doug McClure climbing out, chased by a tiny dinosaur. Haven't looked since.

      Delete
  4. Farquhar Throckmorton IIIJanuary 18, 2020 at 3:45 PM

    Anyone care to guess the Ardells line-up in the video clip?

    I'm guessing Steve Miller bottom right, Boz Scaggs top right, Sidran top left.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. pmacJanuary 18, 2020 at 8:02 PM

      I agree on Sidran photo. But, I would guess that Scaggs is lower right?!? Not sure about the other 2.

      Delete
  5. Hugh CandysideJanuary 19, 2020 at 1:55 PM

    These albums are great. I can't understand why I skipped over them in used record stores for decades. That Van Morrison tribute to Mose Allison woke me up to Sidran. "Ben There, Done That" is amazing. Thanks for filling in some gaps.

    Your video, I believe, is of the Florida Ardells, AKA The Tones, just about the time their hair grew out enough to change their name again to The American Beetles. Diarrhea.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Farquhar Throckmorton IIIJanuary 19, 2020 at 2:07 PM

      Mr Candyside is currently serving 8-10 on Ryker's Island for knocking over the Mennonite National Bank, New York (3rd Ave. branch). Wearing a mask made from a selfie enabled his recognition and subsequent apprehension. "I guess the double bluff thing was too sophisticated for those guys," Candyside regrets today.

      Delete
    2. Hugh CandysideJanuary 19, 2020 at 10:45 PM

      https://flic.kr/p/2ih55Qq

      Delete
    3. Hugh CandysideJanuary 19, 2020 at 10:49 PM

      http://www.billande.com/?page_id=160

      Delete
    4. Hugh CandysideJanuary 19, 2020 at 11:05 PM

      I would post more but we only get an hour in the library before lockup.

      Delete
    5. Farquhar Throckmorton IIIJanuary 20, 2020 at 5:26 AM

      Hugh, you must be right. I can't find a picture of the Miller Ardells anywhere on my internet, which is strange. Plenty of pictures of other early Miller combos, but not that one.

      Delete
  6. AnonymousJanuary 20, 2020 at 2:10 AM

    And also . . . read his book http://bensidran.com/writing/talking-jazz

    Or listen to his book http://bensidran.com/project/talking-jazz-project

    It's old but it's great.

    Cheers, Peanuts Molloy.

    ReplyDelete
  7. MrDaveJanuary 22, 2020 at 1:53 AM

    Vegas food gives me la diarrhée. Thanks for filling in my rather sparse Sidran shelf!

    ReplyDelete
  8. SitarswamiJanuary 24, 2020 at 12:05 PM

    In the early-to-mid 70s Ben used to host a weekly (Thursday night / Friday morning) tv show in Madison, WI called "The Weekend Starts Now" which featured guests -- like McCoy Tyner, Dannie Richmond, Country Joe McD, Dan Hicks -- who were in town to perform at the University. During the same period he played frequently at a local jazz club located in the basement of a health food restaurant (Good Karma). I had the opportunity to see him countless times either solo or in duos with Curley Cooke, usually, and once with Clyde Stubblefield. When he seemingly embraced the Dr. Jazz moniker someone had given him, we lost interest and referred to him as Dr. Jizz. Also, the Ardells drummer, Ron Boyer, ran a bar/restaurant seven miles down the road in my home town. My best friend's mother worked at the bar for a short time and one afternoon we were treated to Steve & Boz stories and how a teen-aged Ben used to pester them about playing with the band.

    ReplyDelete

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