Sometimes, in the course of my adventures, I literally walk into unexpected LOUIE LOUIEs. Last month, I attended a comic book convention where I witnessed Spider-Man dancing to Iggy Pop‘s version of LOUIE LOUIE.
This time, it was a just a casual little mention of my project that led to an entirely new version of the song. A few weeks ago, I was in Southern California, visiting a friend. We decided to check out Pappy & Harriet’s, a little honky tonk restaurant-bar near Joshua Tree Park. I heard that Victoria Williams, a singer I’m quite fond of, was playing with Pappy & Harriet’s All-Stars, a loose group of local musicians that liked to jam every Sunday night at Pappy & Harriet’s. It’d been quite a few years since I’d seen Victoria, including a handful of shows in the San Francisco area, and a Bumpershoot appearance in Seattle.
Sure enough, she was part of this Sunday night show, and it was great to hear her perform again. During a set break, I had a chance to yack with her, and reintroduce myself. Just like the last time I talked with her, she was extremely cordial, friendly, and absolutely charming. When I mentioned my LOUIE LOUIE project, her eyes lit up, she told me she loved the song and wanted to record a special version for me!
Then, during the next set… she surprises me with a spontaneous version of the song, so I pull my little camera out of my pocket, and capture this version for posterity….
Victoria is a singer-songwriter that was born in LOUIsiana. In 1993, her life took a dramatic turn when she learned that she was suffering from multiple sclerosis. As she didn’t have health insurance, word got out about her condition, and a whole bunch of artists, including Pearl Jam, Lou Reed, Maria McKee, Soul Asylum, Lucinda Williams and others, joined together to record some of Williams’ songs for a tribute/benefit project called Sweet Relief: A Benefit for Victoria Williams. This led to the creation of the Sweet Relief Fund, a charity that aids professional musicians (of any stature) in need of health care.
As it turns out, she’s actually doing pretty good, health-wise, these days, which is GREAT!
Check out this video clip of my favorite Victoria Williams composition – “You Are Loved.”
I second that emotion! LOVE YA, VICTORIA!
Go visit her at
VictoriaWilliams.net
… or Pappy & Harriet’s
Hi. Was this show around April 19ish 2012. A friend of mine recommended a bar near Joshua Tree where he saw Victoria Williams play around this time and I was wondering if Pappy & Harriet’s is it. Cheers. Tim.