left the living while alone at home in Corvallis Cause of death was complications from liver cancer and became an active member of the Episcopal Church of the Holy Comforter Turrentine Middle and Williams High public schools became an accomplished viola musician and earned high academic recognition college degree was awarded by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill He played with orchestras for a while before employment as a newspaper journalist near Atlanta This critical writing experience was an asset in following years He and his brothers often attended the festivals there he also derived pleasure from cooking with home grown garlic and bicycling almost anywhere especially competitive in cribbage and backgammon As if responding to an inner calling about 1996 Oregon and “assimilated in the new cultural traditions” (his own words) he adopted a kitten as his only house companion and traded his viola for a mandolin to better fit the Oregon scene KBOO was a favorite jazz station that provided comfort Many lasting friendships were formed at the “Beer 30” local pub He lived in Corvallis for the rest of his life Andrew was employed as an Editor in the Publication Services unit of the Oregon Legislative Counsel Committee in Salem He had a very responsible position and was highly regarded by colleagues who were impressed with his calm composure under pressure Some who had worked with Andrew for 20 or more years spoke of his kindness and thoughtfulness He was a great asset to the Legislative Counsel an unforgettable good man who will be missed These were his happiest and most productive adult years Andrew is survived by his parents Robert Kirchen and Helen (Terri) Kirchen of Elon N.C.; and by two brothers Evan Reed Kirchen (wife Bess Events are typically approved within 24 hours The Hyattsville Wire reserves the right to reject events submitted not on or around the Route 1 corridor Come join us for a night of incredible music as Bill Kirchen takes the stage to perform a mix of classic Bob Dylan songs and his own original tunes This in-person event will be held at the Cheverly American Legion Post 108 so grab your friends and get ready for a memorable evening of live music This “Titan of the Telecaster” will perform his originals of Country Deiselbilly and Rock-n-Roll and play covers of Bob Dylan As a matter of fact Bill was in the audience when Dylan went electric Dinner at 6 with food truck from Para Hita For more info and tickets go to: www.the108musicseries.com Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email © 2025 The Hyattsville Wire | All Rights Reserved | news@hyattsvillewire.com Since his glory days with Commander Cody & the Lost Planet Airmen from the late ’60s to mid-’70s guitarist Bill Kirchen has been plying his trademark brand of roadhouse rock ‘n’ roll in bars across America His latest album for HighTone finds Kirchen continuing to draw from a variety of roots blues (“Man In The Bottom Of The Well”) and honky-tonk (“Let The Fire Burn Out”) Kirchen successfully branches out into some new sounds The sublime swamp-pop of Clay Blaker’s “My Heart Has A Mind of Its Own” features nice brass parts from the San Antonio Horns’ Louis Bustos and Al Gomez Jr.; “Dreamworld” has a nice Drummer Jack O’Dell and bassist Johnny Castle are augmented by a bevy of Texas musicians Kirchen’s wife Louise duets on the country waltz “True Love’s The Treasure” in addition to writing or co-writing several of the album’s songs Some of Kirchen’s trademark Telecaster licks turn up on the title track and on “Livin’ Dangerously” which is driven by an incessant boogie riff and fiddling from Bobby Flores But except for the closing “Interstate” the album lacks the high-octane diesel-billy that made Kirchen’s previous efforts so enjoyable This overall lack of fire makes Raise A Ruckus less satisfying than its predecessors By Archive on November 1 FRESH TRACK: Steve Bardwil Band – “Send ‘Em Love”Check it outSPONSORED BY Steve Bardwil Band Thunderstorms during the evening will give way to cloudy skies after midnight Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight The Feldküche Giebelwald is once again making a stop at the popular lookout tower there is the opportunity to take a break with delicious food and Belgian waffles there are coffee and other beverages available groups and associations are kindly requested to make reservations/pre-orders via email or through the contact form at www.feldkueche-giebelwald.de For more information about hiking and cycling tours please visit www.druiden-hexen-siegerland.de The Tourist Information Kirchen wishes all guests enjoyable moments during their hikes and therefore during their stay at the viewpoint “Ottoturm.” a hearty pea soup with sausage will be offered While it may not have made headlines in the mainstream media the passing of Austin de Lone on January 6th saw an outbreak of genuine sadness and reflection on social media from friends and colleagues including Bill Kirchen and Will Birch A testament to the affection he was held in by other musicians and fans alike is the fact that the famed Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley was able to pull together a tribute concert for January 8th that sold out This is only fitting for a musician who with his band Eggs Over Easy kick-started the London pub rock phenomenon in 1971 and who subsequently became a sought after session and touring musician playing with artists like Nick Lowe after attending the New England Conservatory of Music he formed Eggs Over Easy with New Yorkers Jack O’Hara and Brien Hopkins in 1969 Playing music influenced by The Band they made enough waves in Greenwich Village that Chas Chandler agreed to produce their debut album in London Business problems meant that though they recorded tracks with Chandler for an album While in London they had to scratch around for gigs to keep the wolf from the door and this included getting a four-day-a-week residency at the then jazz pub the Tally Ho in Kentish Town By this time they were an experienced bar band with the three core members playing with a merry-go-round of drummers and a vast repertoire of original and cover songs They drew various local musicians to their gigs at the Tally Ho so that by the time they returned to America in late 1971 the seeds for the pub rock scene had not only been sown but were sprouting Eggs Over Easy finally recorded their debut album “Good ‘N’ Cheap” produced by Link Wray but despite their influence back in London Austin de Lone moved into a house in Mill Valley that he lived in with his family for the rest of his life While Eggs Over Easy limped on until the early ‘80s releasing a second album that sank without a trace Austin de Lone had found a home base and a network of friends and fellow musicians that sustained his career for the rest of his life This included British musicians Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello and an assortment of American musicians like Bill Kirchen and Bonnie Raitt who played music that was an extension of the bar band sound of Eggs Over Easy In the ‘80s he formed the Moonlighters with Bill Kirchen and their debut album was produced by Nick Lowe He toured regularly with Bill Kirchen and they recorded a duet album in 2016 He was a member of the Christmas Jug Band with Dan Hicks and Norton Buffalo and came to embody the spirit of the Sweetwater Music Hall with its hallowed stage He also found time to release two solo records the first “De Lone At Last” was released on the UK’s Demon Records in 1991 and the second “Soul Blues” was released in 2007 he organised annual fundraisers for the Richard de Lone Special Housing Project to raise funds to build a residential facility for sufferers of Prader-Willi Syndrome Elvis Costello played the event at San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall backed by Clover and they recreated his debut album Any recording that includes Austin de Lone on vocals or keyboards is always worth a listen and the music will be in that very sweet spot that mixes soul It is this hybrid that Austin de Lone brought to London in 1971 with Eggs Over Easy and inadvertently changed music history as they dealt with the business machinations between their manager and label He kept the flame of the music alive as a stalwart of the Mill Valley music scene and as a session player and touring musician gave his support to like-minded musicians from both sides of the Atlantic again making a perfect mix that added something to both traditions His support for his son is just one example of the more personal side of his character which is glimpsed again by the affection he was held in by his fellow musicians Jeff Finlin “Myth of the Giver” Ty Walker and the Humanoids “Home on the Strange” Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. An hugely underrated genius and the lynchpin of so many bands that litter my record collection is a pristine album (on the mighty Demon Records) that does indeed hit “that very sweet spot that mixes soul He may not have got the plaudits but he has always been up there and an integral part of that Nick Lowe And … what’s not to like about an album titled Fear of Frying by Eggs Over Easy If you enjoy what you're reading and don't want to support us on a monthly basis you can help us keep this site free from looking like one of those awful REACH sites by making a one off donation towards our running costs Be daring, be yourself, be willing to take risks and stand alone. Vanessa Collier’s music is gritty, raw, and at times, either downright sad or bubbling happy. As with most songwriters worth their salt, her songs […] “All of a sudden, time stood still, and we watched our plans and expectations float away like lost balloons.” For Angela Easterling, life began in South Carolina and, except for college years in Boston, has been […] Past, present and future are inseparable in her songs. There is an openness to Maya de Vitry that is refreshing to come by. Formerly in the Stray Birds, a bluegrass band, the Lancaster, Pennsylvania-born musician is […] As always in these prescriptive articles there must be a drawing of boundaries and Clint’s first article in the series seemed to have dealt with the idea that you should define americana in a narrow sense […] Steve Earle announced his arrival in our lives with his debut album in 1986. Since then, he has racked up almost thirty studio and live albums under his own name or in collaboration with others. I […] I heard from a colleague,  who has contact with associates of Eric Taylor, that he had died on March 9th 2020 following a period of illness. I immediately checked the web for confirmation but there was […] The biggest party in politics kicks off in Milwaukee and the impact on local businesses is still a question mark Decision Wisconsin Podcast Host Steve Scaffidi sat down with Business Reporter Rich Kirchen to discuss the challenges for local businesses during the Republican National Convention and what the week will bring for Milwaukee’s downtown Steve Scaffidi is also the host of the Political Power Hour on 620 WTMJ Decision Wisconsin is presented by Pasternak & Zirgibel is voluntarily recalling its "on the vine" tomatoes over concerns of potential salmonella contamination... MILWAUKEE -- On the Monday before Mother's Day the Daisie Foundation is bringing its signature "Random acts of Kindness" event.. MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee Brewers are bringing back a fan favorite in partnership with local police departments: Brewers trading card.. The thrilling Amstel Gold Race was broadcast live on RTL on 20 April and a behind-the-scenes look reveals how commentators Kim Kirchen and Tom Flammang throw themselves into the action turning two hours of live coverage into a captivating experience for viewers both former pro cyclists take their seats in the virtual studio in Kirchberg The two bring invaluable expertise to the broadcast: Kirchen is a former Tour de France yellow jersey wearer and one of Luxembourg's top riders of the 2000s; Flammang is known for being a racing team director with tactical insight and sharp reading of race dynamics the Amstel Gold Race evokes a memorable image: Fränk Schleck’s iconic win atop the Cauberg in 2006 Flammang describes Amstel as a uniquely unpredictable and electrifying race with the 2025 edition living up to that reputation with riders making split-second decisions and the commentators matching them in pace Both Flammang and Kirchen have developed their own distinct commentary styles they often commented on races they had once ridden themselves those detailed memories still allow them to provide unique insights something he sees as one of their biggest strengths was emotionally riding along with the peloton He highlights how vivid those race memories remain – especially the toughest moments – which help him bring authenticity and depth to his commentary Both immerse themselves fully in the race: Flammang's voice rises with excitement in tense moments while Kirchen tends to stay more and collected while drawing from his racing days The expert duo will be back behind the mic on Wednesday to cover the dramatic finale of La Flèche Wallonne which finishes atop the legendary Mur de Huy where Kirchen celebrated one of the greatest victories of his career in 2008 both will return for the 'Doyenne' of the spring classics: Liège-Bastogne-Liège Ann Arbor native Bill Kirchen is instrumental in creating the rootsy country-rock-blues-folk mix we today call Americana.  Kirchen hit it big early in his career as the lead guitarist for Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen; he’s responsible for the dazzling guitar work on their enduring 1972 hit “Hot Rod Lincoln.” He’s since become known as an absolute master of the Telecaster guitar playing with a nearly endless list of impressive names through the years.  Kirchen has found one more way to shine: He’s become well known for his Honky Tonk Holiday tours overlooked Christmas-themed gems you’ve never heard alongside some other favorites from throughout his storied career Kirchen brings his annual holiday spectacular home to Ann Arbor for a show at The Ark Dusting off should-be-classics like “Daddy’s Drinkin’ Up Our Christmas,” “Silent Surfin’ Night,” and “Truckin’ Trees For Christmas,” Kirchen -- now based in Austin -- will appear with his backing band The Hounds of the Bakersfield featuring Rick Richards on drums and David Carroll on stand-up bass.  Kirchen took the time to answer a few questions via email reflecting on the upcoming show and his time in Ann Arbor There was a tremendous folk music scene here Herb David’s Guitar Shop saw it all come and go He fixed up a banjo for me that my mom got during a 1930s banjo craze I saw Clarence and Roland White and the Kentucky Colonels at the Golden Vanity downtown then the Kweskin Jug Band at the Canterbury House at my high school from up in the light deck right above the stage.   I met a lot of musicians at the U of M Folklore Society meetings They had an apartment with motorcycles in pieces in the kitchen They said why don’t you go to the Newport Folk Festival and see him pretty well blew away the competition for what I was going to do before I In ’64 this guy drives up and parks right on the sidewalk of the Union in his Peugeot car which actually still had a crank you needed to stick in the front to start it I visited him at the Tassajara Zen Center in Big Sur and still see him today in Vancouver where he teaches ocean sailing and celestial navigation Another guy came through town who had played with Bill Monroe He sold me a Martin D-18 guitar and taught me how to hop freight trains In 1966, two buddies and I hopped those freights back from SF to Ann Arbor, where we started my first electric band, The Seventh Seal. Psychedelic folk-rock. We rented the bandshell in West Park for $15 a pop and put on the town’s first outdoor rock shows one summer, every Sunday afternoon. ["Local Group Denies Playing Riot-Causing Music," Ann Arbor News Two noted musicians from the U of M rock ’n’ roll scene saw the Seal on stage at the Cinema Guild, playing along with some Warhol movie while Gerard Malanga danced around the stage in chains. They invited me to play with them, and that became Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen and doubtless many more that have slipped through the cracks.  At the ’65 high school senior talent show I put together a jug band We had learned “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” already out and on the air I went back to Newport that summer of ’65 and saw Dylan go electric with Bloomfield My take is that people in the audience overwhelmingly loved it Booing as an audience team sport began later.  The Iguanas were also on that high school talent show Jim Osterberg (Iggy Pop) sang “Jolly Green Giant” from atop a tall riser while drumming About a year later I caught the tail end of the first Stooges (then the Psychedelic Stooges) performance at their manager’s house Iggy had spray-painted his face gold and was sitting on the floor shoving a mic in and out of a vacuum cleaner We did a couple great shows with them in the late ‘60s.  One more Ig-related influence: Danny and Michael Erlewine’s The Prime Movers and when asked he found me the album Home of the Blues with “Ooh Poo Pah Doo,” by Jessie Hill plus a Swan Silvertones album with “Seek Seek and Ye Shall Find.” Quite possibly the best two albums I’ve ever owned is a longtime avant-garde composer living in NYC a free-wheeling Ann Arbor music and art collective had lured him up to town from his native Texas I already have way more music under my roof than I’ll get a chance to hear in this lifetime Bob Needham is a freelance writer and the former arts & entertainment editor of The Ann Arbor News and AnnArbor.com Bill Kirchen and the Hounds of the Bakersfield play The Ark, 316 S. Main St. in Ann Arbor, at 7:30 pm on Sunday, Dec. 1. Tickets are $25 Bill Kirchen will be well known to Americana UK readers as a trailblazer of the genre through his work with Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen But he is also known as a tireless gigging musician regularly seen gracing the stage of Austin’s finest club venues I’ve not managed to catch him in Austin but fortunately his full touring schedule takes him not only around the USA but on regular tours of the UK took in 14 UK venues including the Troubador and Ivyhouse in London as well as lesser-known venues ( at least to me ) including Langstone Sailing Club in Havant and on my own doorstep The Duke of Cumberland in Whitstable and very happy to talk music after the show it will be the first time I saw him live which will live on longest in my memory when he toured with The Hacienda Brothers in 2007/8 including a date at the Maverick Club in Maidstone but with the Hacienda Brothers as his backing band and then played lead with them–so in truth a double bill the sets including his trademark Telecaster playing on ‘Hot Rod Lincoln‘ where he demonstrated his ability to play the licks of at least a dozen of the greatest guitarists all the while in the framework of his ‘dieselbilly’ twang style A glance at his gig list shows a seemingly almost constant touring schedule over the last decade and three small venue dates scheduled for December we can be sure the ‘Titan of the Telecaster’ will be coming to a venue close to home before too long The Natvral (ft Jen Goma) “Ballad Of Easy Rider” – flowing to the sea Great article on one of the underrated greats A charming unassuming man who is more than happy to chat to fans A great article about a world class guitarist whose performances can be enjoyed in small venues I am 29 years old and my wife Samina and I have been Madison residents since 2015 We have grown to love all that Madison and our neighborhood has to offer we are increasingly concerned with the quality of our public schools Madison’s approach to solving these issues will determine whether we stay and invest our time or look elsewhere to pursue better opportunities We are not alone in sharing these concerns Our peers in the same stages of life will be making this decision for themselves Weighing this decision has hung heavy on our hearts But we need to make sure we provide a good life for our family I have worked in financial services since 2011 my professional experience has left me to conclude that the issues of public education crime and unaffordable housing are the result of years of poor fiscal discipline and an overextension of resources at the expense of core city services We need to honestly ask ourselves: Are we doing any of it well but we need to evaluate if it is impactful Does it make sense to spread ourselves thin and not accomplish anything or give a few specific issues the attention and resources they deserve we continue to take on everything by accumulating mountains of debt It will only get worse if we do not have leadership that has the experience or will to deal with it the city’s Ponzi scheme of refinancing at low interest rates will no longer be an option Debt service has increased from 10 percent ($20 million) of the annual budget in 2008 This debt will be placed directly on residents through higher taxes and depleted public services less money for supportive services for our most vulnerable citizens and less money for the things that provide the quality of life we love Madison for they have the potential to further reduce Madison into a community of two classes: those who can and will be forced to financially support those who cannot support themselves I hope that I can bring forward the concerns of my generation to influence positive change I believe that my background in financial services makes me most qualified to deal with this issue I know I can bring a fresh perspective to the table and offer valuable insight I encourage you to research how our public debt will affect all of us And I would like for you to consider who you think would be most qualified and sincere in addressing this problem when you cast your vote for all city offices If elected, I promise to be a good steward of public resources, and to address Madison’s debt problem seriously, transparently, and honestly to the best of my abilities. Thank you for your consideration. You may reach me by leaving a note on my website at Justinkirchen.com Become a Cap Times member today and enjoy great benefits Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device This cover of the Merle Haggard song comes from Bill Kirchen’s recent retrospective release ‘The Proper Years’ It’s an album that recognises the three albums that the co-founder of Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen recorded on Proper Records and the many household names that he played with on those albums “I met Nick Lowe briefly at London’s Dingwalls Club in the early 70s when he was in Brinsley Schwartz We reconnected when Austin de Lone snagged him to produce our second Moonlighters album which was released on his esteemed manager Jake Riviera’s Demon Records imprint Nick is a formidable and fascinating theoretician concerning all matters musical I’ve played on three of his albums and toured the world with him as his guitarist That is one of the few jobs on this planet I find as enjoyable as my usual gig We re-assembled his 1993-4 recording and touring band The Impossible Birds (Nick Paul Riley and myself) plus Austin de Lone for my previous Proper album – ‘Hammer Of The Honky-Tonk Gods’ Nick and Paul Carrack tell me they had Merle Haggard’s ‘Shelly’s Winter Love’ by the Osbourne Brothers on a tape while touring the USA and would sing it together on the bus I just let ‘em at it and tried not to get in the way I met Paul Carrack through Nick Lowe and consider him one of the finest singers I have ever heard I played with him when either he or I sat in with the other He’s sung on more hits with more bands than anyone I can think of through ‘Tempted’ with Squeeze and ‘The Living Years’ with Mike and The Mechanics Nick and Paul were a deadly combination as the alternated fronting Nick Lowe’s Cowboy Outfit  This reading of ‘Shelly’s Winter Love’ may be the only time someone has sung a Haggard tune where I liked the vocal better than the original Snowgoose “The Making Of You” (Glass Modern Great track from a master guitarist and all round good guy Americana wouldn’t be where it is today without Bill Kirchen Bill Kirchen’s big 35-song box set from his years on Proper Records opens with a song not about his journey or his outlook on life but about the tool he’s taken to work for fifty years was “born at the junction of form and function it’s the hammer of the honky tonk gods.” No other single track could teach you more about Kirchen’s inspired career a virtuoso picker and a larger-than-life showman a sound word with a silvery metallic timbre but it comes baked into the wire and wood of the Telecaster an electric guitar first issued in 1950 and sold to this day with no major redesigns Kirchen observes in Episode 162 of The String that he was born about the same time as his favorite guitar so maybe that’s one more reason he forged a bond with it during his formative years as a professional musician “I got a crash course in actual country music which somehow was really being ignored by the folk world back then,” says Kirchen of his teen years in Ann Arbor “And the stuff that for some reason talked to me most were the records coming out of Bakersfield Wynn Stewart and Red Simpson.” Those were the singers anyway but Kirchen had his ear cocked to their lead guitars of Don Rich with Owens and Roy Nichols with Haggard and the others At a time before hippies were supposed to like hard core country music His friend George Frayne took on a stage persona and they formed Commander Cody And His Lost Planet Airmen in 1967 After a bit of local burnout and near dissolution Kirchen saved the band by convincing the guys to move to San Francisco in ‘69 where they found a rock audience ever more enamored of country and bluegrass super-charged their cult following with a move to Austin a couple years after that where they became a staple of the iconic Armadillo World Headquarters in the age when Willie Nelson returned to Texas and worked on the foundations of Americana music Despite hassles from their label to join the soft rock parade a la The Eagles the Airmen producing some solid studio albums and an epic live album from Texas Also there on the live album is the Airmen’s one and only hit a reworking of a rockabilly song that had bounced around since 1955 and that made its way to Kirchen by way of Johnny Bond “Hot Rod Lincoln” is a dramatic tale of an outlaw road race up Grapevine Hill on a California night Kirchen took a gimmick in the song that used guitar to imitate car horns and built on it working in a litany of guitar licks he’d learned from all his heroes from Bakersfield and beyond: Chuck Berry It’s a tour-de-force on stage where the band has to keep up over the better part of ten minutes A studio version is on the new Proper Years collection it just came organically,” Kirchen says of what’s become his signature song “I think that's one of the nice things about it but it was contrived in real time in front of (an audience) we also get into Kirchen’s long working relationship with intellectual British pub rocker and master record producer Nick Lowe (who’s on the Proper Years collection singing a magisterial version of Merle Haggard’s “Shelly’s Winter Love) his friendship with the tragic genius Danny Gatton and the time on Proper Records in the 2000s that gave rise to the new box set Reached at home in Austin during the fatal blizzard of February I found a 74-year-old artist waiting it all out with boundless good humor a terrific memory and ample reserves of twang for whatever comes next.  From his breakout days as guitarist for Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen to his four-decade career as a bandleader Bill Kirchen has been a badass hero of Americana music LISTEN: APPLE PODCASTS His dextrous and dazzling Telecaster picking may get the most attention but he’s a clever and insightful songwriter who knows how to put on a memorable show The String is officially lobbying for an Americana Lifetime Achievement Award for the Ann Arbor MI native I reached Bill at home in Austin to talk about his career and the fine 2020 anthology of his three albums with Proper Records Sudan's Christian community has been consistently targeted by both the RSF and SAF since the beginning of the Sudan war in acts that can be considered war crimes and crimes against humanity and indiscriminate killing—atrocities that international assessments have well documented Less talked about but equally horrific is the consistent targeting of the country’s Christian community attacks on churches and Christians worsened The worsening situation for Christians set the scene for war crimes committed against the places of worship as well as the grave human rights violations against freedom of religion and belief as soon as the war broke out in April 2023 RSF launched its first attack against a church in central Khartoum calling them “sons of dogs and infidels,” and sought to force them to convert to Islam while threatening the priest with a dagger in his back A similar attack occurred on May 15, 2023, when RSF soldiers broke into the Coptic church complex in Bahri while everyone else was threatened and insulted On May 14, 2023, the RSF forcibly evacuated all priests and nuns, including the Bishop of Khartoum and South Sudan, from the Virgin Mary’s Coptic Orthodox Church on Nile Street in Khartoum to use it as a military base The RSF had reportedly intimidated and harassed the church’s occupants for a week before forcing them to leave RSF has also extended its attacks to buildings affiliated with churches such as the Coptic College and Mar Morcos (St which were completely looted and vandalized On January 12, the Evangelical Church in Wad Madani was set on fire and partially destroyed by the RSF. It was the second arson attack against that church in the span of a month SAF bombed and partially destroyed the Evangelical Church in Bahri On November 11, the Orthodox Patriarchate building in the Al-Rawda neighborhood in Omdurman, a SAF-controlled area, was looted and vandalized. The church had a long battle with the authorities to get permission to use this building as a place of worship which must be overcome before it is too late The FFM’s role is necessary to ensure that violations directed at places of worship and vulnerable groups are explicitly documented Bringing justice to victims is of paramount importance as it is an essential step to stopping such crimes and establishing an equal and just society in post-war Sudan Mohaned Elnour is a Sudanese human rights lawyer who has practiced law in Sudan for over 13 years defending the victims of human rights violations particularly freedom of religion or belief He resides in the UK after being forced to flee Sudan in 2018 Americana UK’s Martin Johnson caught up with Bill Kirchen over Zoom to talk about his affection for the UK and the story behind his compilation albums ‘The Proper Years’ and ‘Waxworks – The Best Of The Proper Years’ and what it will be like having his UK label boss as his drummer for the tour Kirchen also recounts how he first met Nick Lowe at a Commander Cody gig at Dingwalls in the ‘70s and how Brinsley Schwarz covered Commander Cody’s cover of cult rockabilly artist Ronnie Self’s ‘Home In My Hand’ He also explains how Pete Townshend was indirectly responsible for him getting his first Telecaster While humour has always been part of Bill Kirchen’s songwriting he names his favourite composition as the pro-evolution paean ‘Rocks Into Sand’ from ‘Hammer of The Honky Tonk Gods’ as one of his personal favourites apart from the three-figure heat we’ve had for over six days It is over 100 degrees in Fahrenheit and I haven’t a clue what that is in centigrade First off it was interesting because I hadn’t ever been home for six consecutive months I’d always been on the road for part of the time but my marriage stayed intact I put up an hour and forty-five minute Livestream every two weeks I had a lot of things come in with people wanting me to do this or that We called the Livestream ‘The Cabin Fever Reliever’ and it was real nice because I would get a core audience and then different people every two weeks The audience would also talk amongst themselves which was also nice because it was like there was a little community out there and it got that when I was looking at my little iPhone camera I could sense the people out there and I was connecting with them which was good and they would just chat amongst themselves That was really an important part of the pandemic and I managed to get through all of it without getting COVID but in December last year and then two months ago At least I waited until the virus had worn down a little but I loved country music and we did play country music and we didn’t try to happify the country music except we might have sung about pot and stuff like that we had ‘Seeds and Stems (Again)’ instead of ‘The Bottle Let Me Down’ including the old honky-tonk stuff and western swing things that weren’t necessarily in vogue at the time We were a hippy band but we were trying to play good country music and I was just talking to Andy Stein recently about a show we did in maybe ’69 or ’70 with a lot of members of The Texas Playboys and we did a show with mandolin player Tiny Moore one time and that was good because we really tried to meet our idols not necessarily the big stars but the people who made great music I’m almost embarrassed that I’m not sick of playing it It is not that I have this angst-ridden catalogue that I feel I must shove down your throat I’m an entertainer and that is a great song and it is made all the more fun by the impressions in the middle I just love playing it and I pretty much do it every gig which is fine with me I started out with Commander Cody with an acoustic guitar with a pick-up and I bought a Gibson SG from John Tichy my fellow guitarist who was kind of the original guitarist because Commander Cody was in his band in 1962 which shows how far back that relationship went So I had a Gibson SG but the people I loved the guys on the Buck Owens and Merle Haggard records and as it turns out the guy on the Red Simpson records probably didn’t have a Tele though that twang sounded like a Tele to me I was in San Francisco in ’68 doing the last job I ever had I was a motorcycle messenger delivering blueprints and I would sit on a bench with another messenger waiting for orders to come in and he had just seen your boy Pete Townshend smash up a red SG and he wanted one and I had one He had a Telecaster and I wanted one to be like James Burton I have a loud button for when we are playing rock & roll just to get that bit extra when things are going haywire in a good way and I have a delay but I don’t use much other than that I don’t use it for a rockabilly type delay I’m a slow learner and I still don’t know what they do The CD package was two CDs that comprised my solo records on Proper Records and Malcolm Mills put it out on The Last Music Company as ‘The Proper Years’ because it was just those three albums and he moved it over to his label and for the LP we put out called ‘Wax Works – The Best Of The Proper Years’ the tracks were selected from those two CDs and Malcolm and I decided what the order should be and what the songs were going to be That was also pretty easy because they were all original songs that I had written and one Bob Dylan song and Malcolm Mills has been extremely valuable I know what’s not to like with a guy like that and it is great to see his collection of music posters I think he and Paul Riley were both on stage together at a Jimi Hendrix show in Croydon there were so many people there they both got crowded-up to standing on the stage I met him when he engineered an album I made for Demon Records by The Moonlighters and Nick Lowe produced and Paul was the engineer so we got to know each other then and I really don’t complain about that because I never made a business plan and then watched it fail or succeed I’ve always preferred to get in the canoe and just go downstream in it If it doesn’t turn into something so be it it didn’t change the world but it was another stepping stone in people’s careers letting people play and do what we love to do a wonderful experience and I wouldn’t trade it for anything I’d forgotten it wasn’t a big giant hit until you said that I have such great memories of it I have no sense of that whatsoever and then Austin DeLone who I still work with Austin is the reason we were there because he knew Nick Lowe from the old days I’ve played with Elvis off and on and he has always been keen to let me know how very well aware he was of us I’m glad we didn’t scare him off being a musician I remember coming over to the UK and we met some of those guys and he mention he learnt Brinsley Schwarz’s  ‘Home In My Hand’ the Ronnie Self song from something I’d sung on the flip side of ‘Hot Rod Lincoln’ The first gig we played in London was the Hammersmith Odeon and I remember people coming up and saying they were sure Mick and Kieth were coming to play That was something people used to say at any point in time in those days Thank you for saying that because for the humour stuff I grew up listening to Gilbert and Sullivan and also some British humour like The Goons which got through to us so I’ve always liked a good gag and funny songs and I’ve always liked The Smothers Brothers in the States One thing that happened was I went to make a record with Nick the first Proper record called ‘Hammer of The Honky Tonk Gods’ with Geraint Watkins I went I can’t just write a bunch of I’m a truck driver songs but I should really try to write something closer to the bone so I did try to write songs that were a little more serious I really like ‘Rocks Into Sand’ which is not typical of what I write there was a rise in the right in the US and along with that came anti-science and science deniers I love ‘Too Much Fun’ a song I wrote with Billy C but I don’t really know how to put my finger on it but there is a little bit of a difference but not so much that I feel I need to change what I do Maybe it is a little bit more rock & roll but that is not really fair because they all do that I don’t really know the answer you’ve stumped me it is different but it is a good different and I don’t know whether it is because of the pond in between and the different nationalities involved I going to turn round in the middle of the show next time I’m in England and go OK guys I shouldn’t really be talking about this because it’s not out until the spring but we’ve made an album with the surviving Lost Planet Airmen We were doing some shows out in California so that was fun being back in the studio doing that and I’ve done some sessions for other people I’ve been doing that from home with my home recording studio and that works pretty well I started doing that with Paul Riley when we’d finished up recording what we could in England and I dubbed some guitar and that worked fine because of the technology I can’t tell you of any great sessions I’ve done recently and actually Audie and I had done a lot of work as a duo back when we both lived in Mill Valley and I think we called ourselves the New Beatles at one point I really admire his songwriting and he is a tremendous player and singer and it was a no-brainer to me just to get together and rather than just make him my sideman on my records which I didn’t think was fair or me be his sideman on his records which I love doing as well it was nice having us both picking and choosing what we want to do I think ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’ was on that one I did the rock & roll arrangement of it when I was excited about the run-up to Obama’s election that’d when I kind of arranged it in that way but that seems a very long time ago I don’t want to be a pessimist because I don’t see an upside to being a pessimist but it is a struggle not to be about the political outcome they swing both ways so I’m hoping for the best and the other thing I might say is to watch out for the drugs and alcohol because you have no idea I would go back and hear some of the stuff I was playing there is a recent record that Owsley’s estate put out of us opening for the Grateful Dead in 1969 I was just 21 back then and we were up for some good stuff my heart was in the right place so I would just say go get them and I decided to go back to some of the songwriters I’ve missed like I didn’t listen to much Sturgill Simpson when he first came out I don’t know why so I’m catching up with him I had a chance to write some stuff with Big Al Anderson and I’ve been going back and catching some of the stuff he did with the World Famous Headliners and under his own name I will always chase some rabbit hole on YouTube I was listening to Dvořák that I played as a kid when I was a classical trombonist Every now and then I will go on a John Prine kick because what’s not to like I tend to be listening more to songwriters lately and my mother’s two sisters married two English men before the war and I grew up with packages from England every Christmas with model Jaguars Christmas pudding and cricket bats and everything and I cherish every chance I get to get over there All I can say is here is my promise to you I’m with a great group of people to work with but you can’t get good biscuits for it over here This really feels central to what I’ve been doing lately because this is where I made my last three or four albums really and playing with these guys over here on ‘Transatlanticana’ though I also had some American musicians on it It really feels like home to what I’m doing but just to be back here with the people I made the records with is a really cool thing to do I also hope to see some of my old pals in England because I’ve been going over there for fifty years Mind you he’s the drummer so he works harder than I do I just stand there and twiddle on the skinny strings https://youtu.be/gQ1rNRZbw9E https://youtu.be/guLykXXq7-w https://youtu.be/ejCRB-3q1w8 https://youtu.be/4ETRPEt4bJA iskwē | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ and Tom Wilson “Mother Love” Video Premiere: Scott Clay “Aurora” with a fella who has to be one of the most affable Legends around So looking forward to seeing him again in Bristol next week anyone who can attend one of his shows on his current tour should You don’t get the chance to see a true legend every week […] music stretching all the way back to the 1960s Whilst he told AUK’s Martin Johnson in a recent interview tonight showed beyond all doubt that Bill Kirchen is […] This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page The titan of the Telecaster has been a mainstay of country guitar music for the best part of five decades here he tells us how it all began and why mixing exotic dancers and Christmas is a bad idea First on record and then live at 1964 Newport Folk Festival.” “A Telecaster and an acoustic “Maybe my first guitar, a Harmony Sovereign I sure liked it; it would be fun to hear it today “Just a regular Telecaster with a three-position switch the switch plate and the tone and volume knobs all reversed “Find people better than you to play with.” “Playing a Christmas party where the hosts hired a stripper dressed like Santa Claus slipped in her high heels and fell on my trombone “It’s hard to feel guilty about music, but I know the category you mean. I still like Popsicles and Icicles by The Murmaids, but I’m not a bit guilty about it. At 72, that train has luckily sailed. It was the last pop hit like that before the Beatles rolled in.” “I’ve been lucky; I saw Merle Haggard open for Buck Owens, Dylan goes electric Howlin’ Wolf… Ray Charles up close in a night club But nobody who actually does play jazz thinks that.” Bill Kirchen’s new retrospective album, The Proper Years, is out now via The Last Music Company Ltd. The world’s leading authority and resource for all things guitar. By Phil Smith April 7, 2008 Tagged: Elon University Professor of History Michael Matthews explores the romantic and sexual lives of Mexico City’s poor and working class during the rule of Porfirio Diaz The 6th annual Maker Takeover featured students’ experiments business and creative works to showcase the hard work taking place in Elon University’s Maker Hub Nia James says when doctors weren’t taking her pain seriously her athletic trainer and Elon alum John Lavender ’94 was her lifesaving advocate The graduate of Elon University’s human services studies program works on policy advocacy in Washington in a prestigious fellowship with the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism Get more Elon news delivered to your inbox © 2025 Elon University | All Rights Reserved We have the address for the funeral home & the family on file If you're not happy with your card we'll send a replacement or refund your money Paula S. Kirchen of Harrison formerly of Grand Ledge a loving mother, grandma, daughter, sister and friend passed away unexpectedly December 6, 2013. Paula was born September 26, 1954 in Lansing Michigan to Paul A. and Charlotte E. (Foster)... View Obituary & Service Information The family of Paula Sharon Kirchen created this Life Tributes page to make it easy to share your memories Kirchen of Harrison formerly of Grand Ledg.. the "titan of the telecaster," descends upon the Mountain Stage for a live performance Bill Kirchen's fiery guitar work has earned him the moniker the "titan of the telecaster." His legacy was solidified in the 1971 hit story-song "Hot Rod Lincoln," released by Commander Cody & the Lost Planet Airmen but Kirchen continued to make great honky-tonk records of his own Kirchen's latest, Word to the Wise, features appearances by Elvis Costello, Dan Hicks, Command Cody and Maria Muldaur Jack O'Dell on drums and Mac Cridlin on bass (as well as some help from house-band guitarist Michael Lipton) Julie Adams and the Mountain Stage Band performs "West Virginia Chose Me" by West Virginia songwriter Colleen Anderson in celebration of West Virginia Day This Mountain Stage Performance was originally published on July 15 Become an NPR sponsor An Ohio.gov website belongs to an official government organization in the State of Ohio A lock or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website Share sensitive information only on official and personal information are protected by federal and state digital security standards I’m pretty certain I’m not the only person who thought Robert Earl Keen wrote “Sonora’s Death Row.” He didn’t. Blackie Farrell did and although he’d never recorded it (until now) Tom Russell Russell has stated, “Blackie Farrell’s ‘Sonora’s Death Row’ turned my head around and deeply influenced my writing.” Kottke said of the song Blackie Farrell’s finally getting ready to release his take on this classic cowboy saga on his debut album Cold Country Blues (anticipated release date January 2016)  He adds his version of his nearly-a-hit mother truckin’ weeper “Mama Hated Diesels”  just 43 years after Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen recorded it on their debut album Hot Licks Co-produced by the multi-talented team of Gurf Morlix and Bill Kirchen Cold Country Blues shines the spotlight for the first time on one of Americana’s most deserving unknown songwriter-storytellers Farrell’s weathered baritone evokes a time long past as he finally takes a swing at recording some of his favorite songs from the Farrell songbook he and the boys deliver 11 tight tracks that range from Old West ballads to classic country, Cajun  It took some time but the wait was worth it Maybe Blackie Farrell, at age 68 will win a Best New Artist award in 2016 Hal Bogerd: You’ve been writing songs for a long time What inspired you to record your versions of your songs Blackie Farrell: Mostly friends and fans who would ask me “When you gonna cut your own CD?” And when I do solo shows I have to tell people who ask for a CD that I don’t have one I’ve just been procrastinating about doing it for several years now My old pal Bill Kirchen — he is one of my biggest cheerleaders — has always wanted to do this with me and I knew I couldn’t make a record without him if you want Gurf and I both to be involved with this session We’ll both be in the same geographical location and now’s the time to pull the trigger on it.” So I did and we went in the studio Gurf said you didn’t want to peak too early You’ve been doing this since you were 15!” My pat answer is I wanted to avoid having to make a comeback Gurf Morlix and Bill Kirchen produced and played on Cold Country Blues I met Gurf around 2007 when we both played at Threadgill’s in Austin [It was] one of those deals where you shake hands and feel like you’ve known someone your whole life And Bill and I go back to 1968 or ’69 Having a true old friend who knows me well and a new friend who is all bushy-tailed about my stuff Could you tell the story about how you met Bill Bill let that cat out of the bag a long time ago There was a venue we both used to play in the Bay Area in California and this waitress who worked there asked me if I’d like to go home with her one night I was sitting there on her couch drinking a cup of coffee and she had this huge incredible vinyl collection of classical music on shelves from floor to ceiling I was sipping my coffee looking at them and then I looked down in the corner and there were these two old funky apple crates full of vinyl I went over and looked at those and they were all old classic R&B I said to her “Are these your records down here in these boxes It doesn’t match your taste in music that you have up here on the walls.” I had to take them out of the boxes so I could lift them and carry them down the stairs to my truck I think I was on my third trip down the stairs with a load of vinyl and this goofy looking guy on an old BMW motorcycle comes flying up the driveway: “Hey I’ve heard a lot of the songs on the album recorded by other artists Are there any songs on the album have not been covered “Jim Donny’s Gold” and “One of Those Kind” haven’t been covered and are fresh The rest have been covered by various people He puts one of my tunes or a co-write of ours on every one of his records I’m so grateful for that but I tell people he’s paying off an old poker debt January is our goal. We’ve launched a campaign at Indigogo and hopefully we’ll see that happen We’ve got this wonderful album cut with great musicians and I think a pretty good lineup of songs it is costly to get something like this out hopefully I can get myself out on the road and do some CD release shows To make that happen is going to take some outside funding that I don’t have we just ask people to share the link and pass the word “Jim Donny’s Gold” is my current favorite My mom was a receptionist at a steel foundry and my dad was a Merchant Marine early in his life and knew a lot of musicians back there He was a huge fan of Fats Waller and Kid Ory and that music was constantly being blasted in our house When he was home he would have musicians over and our house was always full of music and musicians so it was a natural course for me to take You’d walk down the street and it was coming out of car radios and there were tons of little clubs all over town I’d wander around the streets at night and I got attracted by the music blasting out of these clubs so I’d hang around the door of these clubs to listen to the music The door guys would get nervous and they’d chase away this skinny white kid who they thought was gonna draw the police One night this tall doorman in a long trenchcoat said Get under my coat and I’ll walk you past the bar.” He walked me into the backroom where the musicians hung out and I got to sit there “You can sit here if you’re cool and you don’t do anything stupid.” I sat there like a fly on the wall and I got to meet people like Big Mama Thornton I was 10 or 11 when I first started sneaking into those clubs.  Later  I got invited to a big country music show Marty Robbins came out with that little teeny Martin guitar and played “Big Iron” and “El Paso,” and the hook was set I was always attracted to those story songs that came out of people like Lightnin’ Hopkins and Hank Williams and people like that “Sonora’s Death Row” is a great story-song in the classic Western cowboy tradition and has been covered by so many great songwriters Were you surprised at how well that song has been received and the number of times it has been covered when I wrote that song I thought this will be the last song that will ever be covered It doesn’t have a chorus and it’s too long And I’d already been snakebit with “Mama Hated Diesels” and Commander Cody That was a single and it was on the charts with a bullet Then the label called a meeting saying that the DJs were complaining that the song was too long They wanted to shorten it and they had already done it We wound up getting the master flown into Nashville from New York and went into the studio with a tape editor and tried to do it ourselves: myself We were just banging our heads trying to get this thing within the requested time parameter “Would I be out of school if I made a suggestion?” And it was Tommy Overstreet and he was the guy that came up with the secret formula for shortening “Mama Hated Diesels.” To make a long story short they put out a new single for the DJs with the long version on one side and the short on the other Don McClean came out with “American Pie” and they were playing both sides of that record on the radio I thought “Sonora’s Death Row” was a great song and I accomplished what I wanted to do and that was to tell the story in the time length of a song But I thought it was too long for the radio you are always conscious about “the radio.” Back then that’s what I was trying to be: a songwriter When you have a song recorded by songwriters you admire I know you’ve been writing songs for 50 years I’m a happy guy and with this solo album coming out What a great experience it was to be in the studio with Bill and Gurf and we brought in Nick Connolly for some piano and B3 work and and Yvette Landry on button accordion.  I’ve got no complaints courtesy of Cold Country Blues co-producer and player Gurf Morlix: Gurf Morlix: I saw Bill play in the early 1970s with Commander Cody but didn’t get to meet him until the late ’90s at a gig in Austin He made me get up and sit in on guitar while he played trombone Bill introduced me to Blackie during SXSW an unknown number of years ago Both Blackie and Bill are among my very favorite people What instruments did you play on the album Except for when I played guitar and Bill played bass I won’t tell you which songs I played guitar on because I think it might be fun for people to try and figure it out Both Bill and I tried to sound like each other Was Cold Country Blues recorded live with everyone in the studio It sounds like it must have been a fun project Bill and I hadn’t really worked together we did do one day of recording that might show up on his next album What a player and what an attitude. And then there’s Blackie — one of the best songwriters I’ve ever come across Gregg Kirchen was a pioneer in golf in the Holland area After coaching for more than a decade in the sport Kirchen moved to Holland and started the girls golf program at Holland High School in 1991 Kirchen was selected for the Michigan High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in April He will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sept 21 at Central Michigan University — his alma mater I went to CMU and I remember going through there and seeing all of the coaches honored," Kirchen said I am looking forward to having my family there you don't get there without a lot of people helping you." Only one coach from each sport is elected each year and each coach must have at least 25 years of service Kirchen was elected into the Michigan Interscholastic Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2004 Starting the Holland girls program was his most important move "They gave me the opportunity to start a girls program," Kirchen said "We moved our family to Holland and my daughters were learning how to play Holland was very supportive of me starting something "My daughters played all the way through high school being able to coach them all the way through." Kirchen graduated from DeWitt High School in 1969 before graduating from Central Michigan University "I first learned golf fundamentals in a physical education class taught by Herb Deromedi," Kirchen said Deromedi went on to become the most successful football coach in CMU history Kirchen started off as a junior varsity baseball coach in 1975 at Farwell High School He then moved to golf at Stanton Central Montcalm from 1977-89 compiling a 212-13 record in boys golf (66-77 in girls) He was the Class C Boys Golf Coach of the Year in 1980 leading the Central Montcalm boys to the state title where he led the Dutch to a 123-241 record He was the 1995 Regional Coach of the Year He led the Dutch to state tournament appearances in 1994 and 1996 and had individuals qualify in 1997 and 2001 The 1994 Holland girls won a conference championship one of seven titles Kirchen led in his career UPM-Kymmene Corporation        Stock Exchange Release (Changes board/management/auditors)        25 April 2024 at 09:45 EEST Tim Kirchen appointed Executive Vice President UPM Raflatac and member of the Group Executive Team Tim Kirchen has been appointed Executive Vice President He will be a member of UPM’s Group Executive Team and report to Massimo Reynaudo He has been in this role and based in USA since 2018 he has held several senior positions at SIG Combibloc Group and he holds a Diploma in Business Administration from University of Applied Science in Trier Germany and an MBA from Midwestern State University Finland and starts in his new role 1 August 2024 “I’m delighted to welcome Tim to his new role and to the Group Executive Team He has a growth mindset and especially I value his change leadership capabilities These have enabled the successful transformation of UPM Raflatac Americas business under his leadership” says Massimo Reynaudo UPM, Media RelationsMon-Fri 9:00–16:00 EESTtel. +358 40 588 3284media@upm.com Pictures of Tim Kirchen are available for the media at https://go.upm.com/49TZ1bs We use cookies on this website to ensure the best user experience and target personalised content and relevant advertising Some cookies are necessary to provide you with a trustworthy service and cannot be declined For more information, please see our Privacy Policy We and our business partners use cookies to collect information about you for various purposes: You may withdraw your consent at any time by clicking the Cookie settings in the footer of each page This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Services apply Host: Kirchen has played music all his life from classical as a kid to folk in the '60s He got his first national exposure as a founding member of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen.(SOUNDBITE OF SONG "THERE'S A RIOT GOING ON")COMMANDER CODY: (Singing) There's a riot going on up in cell block number nine.NEARY: On his new CD "Word to the Wise," Kirchen is joined by some of the many musicians he's worked with over the years "I DON'T WORK THAT CHEAP")BILL KIRCHEN: (Singing) So I made it back home for the big inaugurama your making me nervous.NEARY: So good to have you with us.KIRCHEN: Well I understand you're called the King of Dieselbilly What exactly is dieselbilly?KIRCHEN: So at one point more of just as a joke if any - that I started calling what I played dieselbilly anything I played would be legitimate dieselbilly there's one example from the new CD that I wanted to play called "Bump Wood."KIRCHEN: Right.NEARY: And I was listening to that song in Calvert County which I understand is where you live.KIRCHEN: Exactly yeah.NEARY: Driving along on a country road this was just the right thing to be listening to.KIRCHEN: True It's a good-to-be-alive song.(SOUNDBITE OF SONG "BUMP WOOD")KIRCHEN: (Singing) If I could stretch a dollar like I stretched that cent I would have all the money that I already spent I'd spread it all around 'cause it don't mean nothing when I'm layin' in the ground And I know in the morning that it's gonna be good when I stick out my elbows and they don't bump wood if you can listen to that song without bouncing your head up and down then...(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)KIRCHEN: Even I was bouncing up and down and I've heard it before.(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)NEARY: So you called that a good-to-be-alive song.KIRCHEN: Yeah.NEARY: Is that just because of the way it makes you feel or does it go beyond that or...KIRCHEN: Well It's about writing - I wrote it with the idea of you know.NEARY: You like it here on Earth.KIRCHEN: Exactly.NEARY: And you want to continue to be here.KIRCHEN: In this neat suit that I've been issued Just fine with me.NEARY: So what are your roots are they blues?KIRCHEN: I started out being a classical musician and hearing the pop music of the day But I really didn't start playing until I got caught up in the big folk scare in the mid-'60s.NEARY: The folk scare?KIRCHEN: The folk scare - whoa But I would hitchhike to New York City into the Newport Folk Festival...NEARY: Oh and I saw all the great bluesmen like Skip James and Son House And that was the music that I got going on I really didn't start playing rock and roll in electric until a couple years later And then I got a crash course in Western swing and country at that point when I started Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen we started that band.NEARY: That's really where your career began isn't it?KIRCHEN: That's where my national career began we were - it started out almost as a - just a fun band There was a floating membership and there were dancing girls But we were mining boogie-woogie from the '40s And so we were doing a lot of kind of things which came to be known later as roots music But we were playing them for rock and roll audiences in the '60s and '70s.NEARY: Did you ever - did you start playing trombone before you played guitar?KIRCHEN: Yeah I was a classical trombone player in - through junior high and part of high school until I got seduced by the banjo and guitar.NEARY: And I know that you said that you really got into the folk music...KIRCHEN: Yeah.NEARY: ...but did you ever think about going into pure blues or jazz or...KIRCHEN: But I've really just been lucky enough to play the music that really struck me.NEARY: All right This is one that I think you wrote for Elvis Costello It's called "Man in the Bottom of the Well."(SOUNDBITE OF SONG "MAN IN THE BOTTOM OF THE WELL")ELVIS COSTELLO: (Singing) I spend my time thinking about the tales he's got to tell Don't go there for water you might walk away as dry as dust and bone.NEARY: So that is Elvis Costello...KIRCHEN: Yeah.NEARY: ...singing with you And did you write that with him in mind?KIRCHEN: I really did not write it with him in mind I was - I wanted a song for him to really sink his teeth into and I thought somehow that reminded me of him and sort of the emotional intensity that he's capable of delivering.NEARY: So you have earned some very lofty titles.KIRCHEN: Oh my goodness.NEARY: Hammer of the Honky Tonk Gods.(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)NEARY: Titan of the Telecaster.KIRCHEN: They say.(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)NEARY: And I understand you've been using the same Telecaster guitar since 1967?KIRCHEN: I think I got it in '69 I had roadies to rescue it for me and put it away every night But I've been able to take care of it myself now for the last - yeah.NEARY: Well is there something special about the sound of that guitar that makes you hold onto it or...KIRCHEN: Yeah I think any guitar has its own voice and especially the good ones Even if it's just a plank of wood and a stick and some wires and that was one of the good ones.NEARY: Yeah It's not the only guitar you play with.KIRCHEN: No It's a - I have a guitar now that I just got yesterday that's made - check this out It's made by Carmen Street Guitars(ph) in the Village and the neck is from pine taken from the fabulous Chelsea Hotel in Greenwich Village.NEARY: Well we're going to have you play that.KIRCHEN: All right.NEARY: But wait I understand something else...KIRCHEN: What?NEARY: ...which is you're a good whistler.KIRCHEN: Oh I can whistle.NEARY: Can I hear you whistle something?(SOUNDBITE OF WHISTLING)NEARY: That's great.KIRCHEN: I learned how to whistle walking my dog I'd walk my dog and whistle.(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)KIRCHEN: What can I tell you?NEARY: Well one song that you're really well-known for is "Hot Rod Lincoln," and I was wondering if you could play that for us.KIRCHEN: Sure And I was pretty new to learning songs off records And I thought I pretty much nailed it exactly and it was originality born of incompetence.(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)(SOUNDBITE OF SONG "HOT ROD LINCOLN")KIRCHEN: There you have it.(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)NEARY: Yeah there really is something about your music that makes you want to move What inspires you when you're writing?KIRCHEN: That's a good question And sometimes I feel that I just want to go or even if it's a song like a Dylan song I love or whatnot and then I was lucky enough to learn how to play and make my living doing it.NEARY: Thanks so much for being here.KIRCHEN: Thank you so much for having me This has been a wonderful experience.NEARY: All right maybe you can play something else to say goodbye?KIRCHEN: Sure "SLEEPWALK")NEARY: And this is Bill Kirchen Copyright © 2010 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information songwriter and guitarist Bill Kirchen and his band bassist David Carroll and drummer Rick Richards played what could be Kirchen's first gig in Alexandria Friday night Is this the first time he has played in Alexandria as he relaxed in the green room at Spirits Food & Friends on Texas Avenue before the show Kirchen was a guitarist and co-founder of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen band so it is possible that he could have played a show here in town "We played wherever the bus stopped," he said of those early days playing with Commander Cody The band had a top ten hit in 1972 called "Hot Rod Lincoln." Kirchen was also nominated for a Grammy for his instrumental to perform at a private fundraising event at the Alexandria Zoo Thursday On Saturday they headed back to Texas Saturday to play a show in Kerrville His bassist Carroll has roots in Central Louisiana He is a 1974 graduate of Pineville High School and his wife Kerry is a 1977 graduate His father and mother Dolly live in Pineville What's good about being in an original band is that they can put their "sound under their own umbrella." "It's based on a lot of forms of American music," said Kirchen about their music Kirchen has a new album called "Transatlanticana" coming out in August with musician Austin de Lone who was a member of the country rock band Eggs Over Easy being released on the Red House Records label is a collaboration between Kirchen and de Lone with Kirchen recording in Austin and de Lone in London Kirchen would like to return to the area in August once the album is released Republication of Lesprom Network content is prohibited without the prior written consent of Lesprom Network General Terms and Conditions and Privacy policy When Kirchen finally decided to stop being a porn star and left the adult-film business He has also been mentored by men who’ve helped him embrace freedom in Christ “Now I’m at peace with God,” Kirchen tells The Christian Post. “I have finally come to the point in my life where I’m saying what Paul said I’m only here to do what I need to do for God and I know I’m meant to use my past to help others come to know Christ’s love In 2012, Roger Frye, president of Pathway to Freedom performed a two-hour “deliverance session” on Kirchner Frye describes his work as removing the strongholds and legal grounds that Satan maintains on people’s lives he “could sense that [Kirchen’s] life was really being radically changed,” so he decided to ordain him “I think there’s a real call on his life,” adds Frye Bobby Teddlie, another mentor, describes witnessing Kirchen mature and blossom into “a truly new man” of God. “His past is definitely an asset at times, to open the door to glorify Jesus as he does often,” adds Teddlie He recalls seeing his friend minister to people who are angry at God and then break down walls with Jesus’ love Kirchen says he has a heart for people who are still mired in the “mess” of porn “That’s the enemy’s way to get us to objectify people,” he says we can’t have a true relationship or a true love.” What ultimately matters is not your number of likes but rather “Where are you gonna spend the rest of your life