The Shadowville All-Stars

Saint Augustine, Florida
In checking the map for the distance between Saint Augustine, Florisa and Columbus, Georgia, I start at Mulvey Street, where I lived in 1999, here's the link... I'm thinking of retracing my favorite steps down there, here...

Saint Augustine map

Well, when I left Saint Augustine it was supposed to be for just a couple of weeks! That turned into a year, and then a decade... someday, maybe, but I understand from friends I know down there that many of the places I loved have been changed and built over, but I want to see that for myself. Only a little over four hours drive from here, I've never managed to have the opportunity to return at all. Someday, at least to visit and see what remains that I remember...

A friend of mine who lives near Jacksonville Florida told me that it actually has been cold this year down that way this year.

I heard the weatherman state this has been the coldest winter in this area since 1999, and I recall when I lived tin Saint Augustine in 1999 it /did/ get a little nippy, I even wrote a poem about it.

I'll need to look for that, as it wasn't my greatest poem, but worth a read, I think.

y friend Henry Conley and I have been discussing "Talkin' New York"... this being the coldest Winter since that one Dylan sang about:

"Steve Harvey on New Years Eve said it was the coldest winter since 1962. The winter Dylan wrote about. Which made me wonder about the winter of 1945 that it referenced. BRRR..."

"I don't feel suh cold now..." -Bob Dylan

Influences of Harlan Ellison (Part One)
"I was drafted in March of 1957 and wrote the bulk of the book (Web Of The City) while undergoing the horrors of Ranger basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia. After a full day, from damn near dawn till well after dusk, marching, drilling, crawling on my belly across infiltration courses, jumping off static-line towers, learning to carve people with bayonets and break their bodies with judo and other unpleasant martial arts, our company would be fed and then hustled to the barracks, where the crazed killers who were my fellow troupers would clean their weapons, spit-shine their boots, and then collapse across their bunks to the sleep of the tormented. I, on the other hand, would take a wooden plank, my Olympia typewriter, and my box of manuscript and blank paper, and would go into the head (that's the toilet to you civilized folks), place the board across my lap as I sat on one of the potties, and I would write (Web Of The City)..." -Harlan Ellison, introduction to "Web Of The City"

One of the biggest lifelong influences on Will Dockery, in both his life and work, has been Harlan Ellison.

Harlan Jay Ellison (born May 27, 1934) is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.

His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media. He was editor and anthologist for two ground-breaking science fiction anthologies, Dangerous Visions and Again, Dangerous Visions. Ellison has won numerous awards including multiple Hugos, Nebulas and Edgars.

From the genius of Harlan Ellison's writings and concepts, to his ferocious championing of creative rights, intellectual property, to his spot on and hilarious Black Humor, such as Ellison's own self-parody.

At Stephen King's request, Ellison provided a description of himself and his writing in Danse Macabre. "My work is foursquare for chaos. I spend my life personally, and my work professionally, keeping the soup boiling. Gadfly is what they call you when you are no longer dangerous; I much prefer troublemaker, malcontent, desperado. I see myself as a combination of Zorro and Jiminy Cricket. My stories go out from here and raise hell. From time to time some denigrater or critic with umbrage will say of my work, `He only wrote that to shock.' I smile and nod. Precisely."



An example of the extreme subtle finesse of these self parody shenanigans from Ellison:

"I know that my true friend will appear after my death, and my sweetheart died before I was born." -Tanaka Katsumi (via Harlan Ellison)

Harlan Ellison, Stalking The Nightmare (pg. 45, 5th sentence)

This was written (or published) around 1982, and up to my quoting it I had found no use of it at all on the internet, through Google searches. Now, suddenly, the entire line has turned up in a poem by Katsumi Tanaka... in fact, the very first entry for the phrase is attributed not to Ellison, but to this other poet:

Poet

Here (for educational, example & other fair use purposes) is the poem by Katsumi Tanaka that uses (what I assume is) H.E.'s memorable phrase:

The Poem

Chance Encounter

HALLEY'S COMET appeared in 1910(And I was born in the following year):Its period being seventy-six years and seven days,It is due to reappear in 1986So I read, and my heart sunk.It is unlikely that I shall ever see that starAnd probably that is the case with human encounters.An understanding mind one meets as seldom,And an undistracted love one wins as rarely.I know that my true friend will appear after my death,And my sweetheart died before I was born. -Katsumi Tanaka

I'll be looking into this interesting development in-depth today... does anyone have any information on the poet Katsumi Tanaka and his/her relationship to Harlan Ellison, if any, or any other comments on this situation?

Already, I have a response!

From: Cryptoengineer Your google-fu is weak, grasshopper. The poem appears in

Poem

'Poetry of Living Japan' which was published in 1957. The intro states: KATSUMI TANAKA (b. 1911) He read Oriental history at Tokyo University. His first book 'was a translation of IS Tovalis, Blue Flowers. He is now a teacher and lives in Osaka.' Other sources indicate he died in 1992. pt

And, perhaps, the final word on the subject:

In my copy of "Stalking the Nightmare" (Phantasia Press, book club edition)in the story "Grail", the line is clearly attributed to "Tanaka Katsumi".The relevant section reads:

>Years later, when he was near death, Christopher Caperton wrote the >answer to the search for True Love in his journal. He wrote it simply, >as a quotation from the Japanese poet Tanaka Katsumi. >>What he wrote was this: >>"I know that my true friend will appear after my death, and my >sweetheart died before I was born." I'm not sure where the confusion lies. Tanaka was, no doubt, just one of the thousands of writers whom Ellison has read and remembered.

Captain Infinity: In my copy of "Stalking the Nightmare" (Phantasia Press, book club edition)in the story "Grail", the line is clearly attributed to "Tanaka Katsumi".The relevant section reads:>Years later, when he was near death, Christopher Caperton wrote the >answer to the search for True Love in his journal. He wrote it simply, >as a quotation from the Japanese poet Tanaka Katsumi. >>What he wrote was this: >>"I know that my true friend will appear after my death, and my >sweetheart died before I was born."I'm not sure where the confusion lies. Tanaka was, no doubt, just one ofthe thousands of writers whom Ellison has read and remembered.

Interview with Will Dockery 1996


Psychedelic Whirlwind an interview with Will Dockery by Frank Saunders

Screenshot of "Poet's Corner Profile featuring William Dockery" Will Dockery is one of the most interesting people I know. It's a pleasure to call him my friend. He nearly defies description. The closest I've come to an accurate description of Will is this poem I wrote: Psychedelic Whirlwind Prowling about like a psychedlic cheetah Roving Reporter of seamless nights. -F.S. FS: Where and when were you born? WD: La Grange Georgia, 1958. FS: Who's been your biggest influence in writing poetry? WD: Alec Lawson. (laughing) At this moment he's a big influence on me. FS: (laughing) Really? WD: I don't know if this is going to work now. FS: Maybe not. WD: Let's try outside. behind the Loft.* WD: I think the Southern South of the Sixties influenced me the most. I don't think that Paul Westerberg show is sold out. FS: You think I could get tickets? Margie: I might have to work. Alec: Blow it off. FS: Sounds good to me. WD: I gotta get a bead on this interview. Westerberg is a big influence. Let's step back here (pointing to the courtyard). Here is where I get most of my thoughts. FS: Okay, where were we? WD: You were asking me about my influences and I was gonna say Kerouac and The Beats but they weren't around then. so I'd have to say Popeye and Hank Williams. FS: (big laughs and astonishment) What? WD: Yeah, the '60s Popeye and Hank Williams. FS: Well yes I loved the '60s Popeye, and Hank Williams is the greatest songwriter ever. WD: They were a big influence. And who was the guy that played Hank Williams? George Hamilton? George Hamilton playing Hank Williams impersonating Popeye. But I consider myself a Southern poet. FS: What started your writing? WD: I would read Poe in Jr. High. I also used to draw a lot of comic strips when I worked at Cartersville Spinning Mill in Jordan City. Then I broke my wrist and George Bush got elected and the mill seemed to shut down simultaneously. It adds to the Gestalt of the Will Dockery experience.* WD: The great songwriters of the 80's Patti Smith, Paul Westerberg and now Pavement influence me a lot. Paul Westerberg has a great line [In Can't Hardly Wait] "Jesus rides beside me and never buys any smokes." FS: Yeah, I love that line. WD: ...He rhymes words that other people haven't before. I can't think of any now. FS: It's rare that you hear rhymes no one has used before. WD: I attempted some Burroughs cut up work. I haven't done any lately. My scissors are kind of dull. FS: Some of your lines seem disconnected like that but they work. WD: Well one time a man was reading over at the Street Preacher's box Mark Coile gave us and it was really garbled. I could only make out a few words here and there - mostly unprintable here in Playgrounds... Hey look, somebody's socks. It's performance art of some kind, I'm sure. FS: A pair of dirty socks and a red solo cup. WD: You were talking about the drive between here and LaGrange. I remember making that drive when I was young and hearing "Riders on the Storm" on AM radio. The line "His brain is screaming like a toad." FS: Yeah, "Take a long holiday. Let your children play." WD: Yeah I used to get a lot of thoughts drivin' a delivery truck after the mill shut down. You get really close to God behind the wheel of an automobile. FS: I know I can't help but feel it then. Especially long drives. Speaking of which we are going to Paul Westerberg this weekend. WD: Yes that's kind of tragic though. I have an extra ticket because the person that I bought it for is... well she won't be going. FS: Well is there something you would like to say to her maybe in a veiled refernce perhaps? WD: You should have that in the interview where you ask me that. FS: Okay. WD: Okay, I know what to say. I've still got the ticket though the show's over. If you want the ticket - it's better than nothing. [from Playgrounds Magazine November 1996] Playgrounds Magazine
 * We leave Al's apartment and invite everyone down to the courtyard
 * We have an intellectual but irrelevant discussion about our politics.

Later Years


"A fellow will remember a lot of things you wouldn't think he'd remember. You take me. One day, back in 1896, I was crossing over to Jersey on the ferry, and as we pulled out, there was another ferry pulling in, and on it there was a girl waiting to get off. A white dress she had on. She was carrying a white parasol. I only saw her for one second. She didn't see me at all, but I'll bet a month hasn't gone by since that I haven't thought of that girl." -Everett Sloan in Citizen Kane.



Will Dockery currently resides in western central Georgia, pursuing his lifelong passions for art, music, poetry and performance art, recently appearing with Henry Conley and Gene Woolfolk at Pat's Place in Americus, Georgia June 14, 2008 and performing with the Shadowville All-Stars at music festivals such as Hogbottom and Doo-Nanny and on an annual basis putting on concerts for World AIDS Day in co-operation with local Columbus, Georgia politician Jeremy Hobbs since 2009.

A new collection of songs written with Henry F. Conley, Shadowville Speedway Blues was released on compact disc on April 18, 2009.



The Pizza Wars
Here's one of the posters I drew and designed for Parnello's Pizza, including the Tarzan Pizza, one of the special pies I created for the menu:

Parnello's Pizza flyer

"That's the secret (one of them) to getting orders for a Pizzeria, lots and lots of the flyers (posters). Parnell worked for Pizza Roma, doing everything in the kitchen, and was very good at it all, answering phones, taking orders, cooking, mixing the home made sauces, dough, everything was made from scratch. I told him that if he rented a small shop, bought a brick oven and printed a stack of flyers he could do what he was doing there and make all the money for himself. Soon after when he got mad at the (then) owner of Pizza Roma and quit, he called me, and asked me to join him. He offered me %30 of the profits to join him so I did. Immediately I began putting the Parnello's Pizza flyers on mailboxes, car windsheilds, apartment doors, in all hotel lobbies... and soon the phone started ringing, with orders! The first day with just a few hours and no prior publicity, we sold $175 of pizza. Not a lot but very significant to us that with just the effort made the orders beagn... and never stopped for a long time. We finally did close the shop, but I attribute that to the 'big chain' pizza joints underpricing us to a point we couldn't match. The $5 large pizzas were impossible for us to compete with, as ours we hand made from real quality ingredients, not 'pre-fab' like Dominos and the others, whi basically melt frozen pizzas shipped in from a factory. At Parnello's Pizza, we made the dough, and even hand tossed it up in the air like the old school pizza chefs. And our pizza sauce was a secret from the grandmother of Ben, from Sicily and Tunisia. And the saga continues..."

Yes, about the television commercial, it should have led to more... but like so many avenues, I shifted course and missed the moment. As I think back, within weeks of the commercial several other events came into play that just past that time that sent me onto a very different course, and a time period where I was very much out of the public eye, the music scene, and much of that on the level I could have been. I was called in by a friend to once again help him launch his pizza business on the southside of town, and for a long time that was my focus, except for some appearances at festivals I usually perform at annually, Hogbottom, Doo-Nanny, World AIDS Day. This time was spent with a skill I have in running a Pizzeria on all levels, from prepping, creating sauces, menu items, designing advertising, managing delivery, inventory, accounting. A non-chain pizzeria (a "Mom and Pop" place) is generally a 3-4 man opeartion, some days just as little as two of us running everything, sharing the cooking, waiting on customers, delivery, everything! Great fun, sometimes decent profits, but it takes over a life, from morning to morning thinking of the "pizza joint", sometimes even living there. Unfortunately, this attempt, like the others, failed... and failed to the point that I seem to have lost my interest in trying it again. It begins with a great surge, but in truth the key or "secret" to success is what is happening at Fort Benning, where the deliveries are mostly intended for. The planning was that all the wars were soon to end and all the soldiers would be coming home, thousands of them. But the war or "action" continued, in Afganistan, Iraq and elsewhere, as you know... and sales never spiked because of that, and we never made the profits we needed to get that dream completed.

"Wow, I see this message has expanded, and I've barely even begun to tell the 'Pizzeria' story, which to properly tell must go back to the early years of the 21st Century, and Pizza Roma... is it interesting enough to continue? Google 'Parnello's Pizza' (in quotes) for many slightly humorous stories of the Pizza adventures. Yes, I was involved in three different tries with the Pizzerias, and earlier this year Pasko got in touch that he was now making payments on the original now, Pizza Roma. I feel the urge to jump back in, yet also dread it, since I know it will 'take over' my life again... and I will kind of like that! I love the pizza business, the excitement of finding creative ways to make it work, very similar to the approach I have with my music. Very difficult to do both, I have learned!"

Parnello's images

Here is what I got when I Googled "Parnello's Pizza" on Images, it mixes all three failed Pizzerias in one, Pizza Roma (which still exists, always changing owners), Parnello's Pizza, and Capone's Pizzeria. There was a time, it was terrible but enjoyable at once, there were two of us left, this was at Capone's Pizzeria and the owner had actually left the country, he actually went to Italy to check on a possible wife there, and left his young son in control with the $$$ budget for one month. The son wasted the money he was supposed to give us when we needed it and we made the business work for a month on the previous day's profits. I rotated cooking, delivering and waiting on dine in customers with Carol, who later began buying the Pizza Roma this year. Yes, the pizza story is every bit as long and complicated as a Russian novel... maybe I should write it all down as fiction.

2004: The Zorro Project
"It's like listening to The Beatles without earmuffs!" -Sean Connery in Goldfinger.

[Autograph of Zorro video]

Netherlands-Shadowville

"In my opinion Will Dockery is easily one of the most authentic American poets around. A real coffeehouse poet who is not scared of mingling some real American elements such as country music into his poetry. Whileas you just try to appear as European as possible with all your sucking up to 80 year old European surrealists." -M.H.Benders

M.H. Benders: "Hey Dockery, what about you reading some of my Dutch poems in front of a live coffeehouse audience and videotaping it? I'd really like to make this sort of cross cultural art. I will put it on my website which is viewed by a lot of Dutch people every day. I wrote a new poem called 'The Autograph of Zorro'. I have both an english and a Dutch version. It would be fantastic if you could read it to a poetry club dressed as Zorro, preferaably in both the english and the Dutch version. Make someone videotape it and you can send me the cassette and I will convert it to an internet video. I will promote this video in whole Holland and you'll sure be a known name to the dutch poetry crowd. Let me know how we continue."

Dockery: "I think this could be interesting. I saw a short video clip of yours last Winter on one of the newsgroups that reminded me of the video films I made with Truman Bentley in the years 1996-99, and the idea of the reading of "The Autograph Of Zorro" brings back thoughts of all those hours of footage. I'm thinking of a video for "The Autograph Of Zorro" that would use not only me reading the English translation of "The Autograph Of Zorro", backed by my jazz musician friends, Henry, Grumpy, Follicle, et al... but..."

M. H. Benders: "That's great. It sounds like a really interesting project. I will promote the video over my website which has about 80.000 visitors a year, enough to give your name a decent boost into recognition by dutch people. It's nice that these sort of cross-cultural initiatives can develop over the internet. So much negativity floating around that it's good sometimes something positive happens."

Dockery: "Also various bits by other Shadowville poets and regulars. Basically, just bring the camera and record what happens. The reading of "Autograph Of Zorro" could serve as the promo for a further video surrounding the readings. Over the course of a month of so, if it clicks right, we could have several alternative versions of the poem, in both English and Dutch... So, that's the basics, with extra shots of audience members and other poets, et cetera. I send you all the results, and you can use the one[s] most appropriate."

M. H. Benders: "Thanks for showing an interest in the cross cultural project I am planning. You can arrange the reading events in everyway that you see fit, I trust your artistic vision. When you have taped the events you can send the tape. It would be nice, I think, to have some real American elements mixed with it like Country Music (I have always been a great country music fan) but you can also use jazz if you want. I will make sure the video is digitalised and shown on different locations on the Dutch internet. Then, in the future, we can also try it the other way around."

Clyde Baker Tribute at The Loft
Tribute to Clyde Baker, founder of The Flyin Scumbolis, and member of Glaz Wind. Singer/songwriter from the Columbus, Georgia / Phenix City, Alabama area who passed away in April of 2012. Taped at The Loft in Columbus, Georgia May, 2012. Artists include; Basil Fitzpatrick, Faye Fitzpatrick, Joe George, Gary Adkins, Richard Long, Henry Conley, Will Dockery, Joe McClure, Derundo Jenkins, and more. Produced by Rusty Wood for EATV 7

Basil Fitzpatrick of Artemis Records along with a dozen or so friends, including Will Dockery took the stage a while back performing in the the tribute show to their friend Clyde Baker, a singer-songwriter who suddenly passed away in April 2012:



"Seems To Be No Time", written by Basil Fitzpatrick originally sang by Clyde Baker, vocal interpretation by Will Dockery / "Bang A Gong" written by Marc Bolan, vocal by Will Dockery / "Nothing & Nothing" written by Clyde Baker, vocal Basil Fitzpatrick / "Tonight Is Mine" written by Clyde Baker, Vocal by Derundo Jenkins / "White Rabbit" written by Grace Slick, vocal by Gini Davidson / "Gloria" written by Van Morrison, vocal by Dan Davidson.

Auburn Football
No, nothing immediate, but was a lot of fun being in the big city again, found quite a few books I wanted/needed in the used shops, and some music... interestingly Auburn, Alabama was having a big football game at the Georgia Dome last night as well, which is sort of a coincidence, since the team, and their 1000s of fans, come from very near (20 miles) from the same area as I do. Not being a big football fan I had no idea this was happening last night, but was seeing Auburn banners and their colors, dark blue and orange usually with a tiger, all around the huge city last night. Finally I went into a little used record and CD shop I've shopped in for many years, and the clerk was watching the game, Auburn vs. Missouri I think it was, yelling and cheering. Luckily, he's an Auburn fan! then later in the night when I stopped by the Varsity Drive-In (look that up when you have the time, an Atlanta landmark, one of the last of the American greasy fast food places, where servers take orders at your car, unhealthy food but very tasty) and this was after the game, and the place was crowded with Auburn fans all dressed in the colors of Auburn, some even dressed like tigers... a fun night even more-so with the local connections as part of the scenery.

Freedom Fest at Woody's Roadhouse (2002)
Brian Fowler wrote in 2002 about the Freedom Fest, which was the seminal influence and template for many of the local Music Festivals, to come, not to mention led to sessions that founded the Shadowville All-Stars. In Brian Fowler's own words:

"...Well hello folks! We had the 1st Annual Freedom Festival at Woody's In Juniper Georgia. A amazing weekend w/ lots of old, and New friends. I am going to talk about it each night so you can get a idea of what happened. I am also making a freedom festival website so as the pics keep coming in, we can still add more and more. So if you took alot of pictures that night and want them seen in website, scan and send them to ***@aol.com . I will gladly put them in the website.




 * Day One: Freedom Log

The stage has been set, Shane Stubbs has put in a tremendous amount of work painting the club, setting up the booths and getting the kegs cold and ready for the masses. If you have not been to Woody's, it's this area best kept secret. But after the weekend, Woody's is firmly on the map as far as local music is concerned. Shane has volleyball, horseshoes, pool tables, glass blowers, dunking booths, insense makers etc and so on. We had talked about a festival and we figured we would give it a try. Henry Conley showed up and ran sound on the first night and was a lifesaver. I would like to thank him for his involvement and all his spirit and help which made it go so smooth. The tents were going up and the wood was being put together for the giant bonfire after nightfall. First up on the bill was MOONPROPHET. Moonprophet had Guy Fawlkes (Rick Dukes) on Guitars joined by Will Dockery, Austin Martin and some special guests Brian Follicle and John Joiner.



Guy Opened the show in a Hawkfeather mask and tore into "Allah" which is a brilliant piece of music, I ended up running up on stage and joined them, followed by Joiner. Moonprophet played a long set of psychedelic jams and then the stage was set for JONES AVE. Jones came on and did a hour set of songs from their album's "FOLK ART" and "IDIOT's VISION". As the day turned to night, SUPERCZAR came out. This music was harder and has a techno- psychedelic feel. They have a single coming out on Shut EYE records called House of No Windows. Mater Gabe Holland and Brian Follicle played a hour set and played songs from Gabe's album. Cd's were on sale from all the groups. The Jones Ave album is on sale at LINK ARTWORKS for those who did not get one from the show. SUPERCZAR will be starting on a new album being produced by "one night STAN STEPHENS".J JIMMY HOLLAND set in w/ both JONES AVE and SUPERCZAR and showed his master trumpet skills he was a big hit at the festival. After SUPERCZAR came HENRY CONNELY to close out the first night. We all ended up on stage till about 3:00 that morning. Henry played cuts from his great album, available from him or linox.com. One of my highlights was to see everyone getting along so well and enjoying the festival atmosphere. The wide open spaces at Woodie's was comfortable and the folks were very friendly. Great food and great times. People were wearing masks and having a laugh and not being too serious. Great night...




 * Day 2 (Saturday)

The first band up was one of my favorite bands around here called the "SLOTH BAND" I was happy to get one of their cd's and they ripped thru their set playing some originals and covers. Second up was a set from INNOCENT IVY. They played a long set of OZRIC/AMON DUUL type space rock that was good for a event like that. They did a good job and were interesting. After that JONES AVE hit the stage with LASZLO STAN a violinist from Transylvania. He is a one of the best violists you will ever hear. Master Gabe Holland played Congas w/ Dr. David Wisdo and Brian Follicle. We played some covers like "Rider's on the Storm" and "Lucky man" w/ Acoustic instruments mandolin, flutes, violins etc. Kinda like a Pearls before Swine meets Incredible String Band. We did a Hour set and rolled thru some album cuts and had a great time. The crowd was dancing and cutting up and everyone was having a blast. The massive p.a. HAYWIRE rolled out is impressive. They were helpful to all the bands and had an unmatched pro-attitude. We called Shane up and he proposed to Leigh and it was a great time. Haywire hit the stage and the dancing started again. Kenny Miller is incredible on percussion and he is an amazing entertainer, They know how to get a audience rocking out. If you have not seen HAYWIRE you need to.Tthey were really great. 2 drummers, 2 gtrs and a and a great bassist. HAYWIRE played a 2 1/2 hour show and gave the crowd all they could handle. Thanks so Much HAYWIRE for such a solid show. Alot of people made the FREEDOM FESTIVAL happen and alot of bands gave their time and efforts to make this work. Here is a list of the Bands and performers.

INNOCENT IVY THE GREAT AMERICAN SLOTH BAND MOON PROPHET JONES AVE WILL DOCKERY HENRY CONLEY HAYWIRE



”...I asked myself---"of all melancholy topics, what, according to the universal understanding of mankind, is the most melancholy?" Death was the obvious reply. "And when," I said, "is this most melancholy topic most poetical?" From what I have already explained at some length, the answer, here also, is obvious--"When it most closely allies itself to Beauty: the death, then, of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world--and equally is it beyond doubt that the lips best suited for such topic are those of a bereaved lover." -Edgar Allan Poe, ' The Philosophy of Composition' , 1846

The Shadowville All-Stars


"'The Shadowville All-Stars provide the musical canvas for the word paintings of Will Dockery, the Poet Laureate of Shadowville. The group represents a vision for a multi-faceted arts ensemble shared by Dockery, Dennis Beck, a San Francisco Bay Area artist living in self-imposed exile in Radio-Free Georgia, and Gene Woolfolk, Jr., jazz-rock flautist and legendary bowling alley DJ. Individually, we are a dozen-or-so merry pranksters who rotate in and out of the lineup at different venues. Collectively we are The Shadowville All-Stars. Artists who share the stage with us in a live performance become Shadowville All-Stars forever. It's kind of like the Baseball Hall-of-Fame, only you can't kicked out for gambling...' -Dennis Beck"

The story of The Shadowville All-Stars is long and complicated enough to fill a book or two. The very core group was no doubt formed in 2006 by:

Dr. BONGO (Dennis Beck): Hawaiian Guitar, Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Keyboard/Electronica. Dr. MAGNIFICO (Jordan Beck), Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Keyboard and Bass. Dr. POGO (John Phillips), Drums/Percussion, Keyboard, Bass.



Other members quickly followed, Brian Mallard, Gene Woolfolk, Jr., the late Sam Singer, Jim Mothershed, John Joiner and Gary Frankfurth being earliest additions.

Influences:Dick Dale and His Deltones, The Ventures, The Chantays, The Shadows, The Surfaris, The Trashmen, The Kingsmen, Echo and The Bunnymen, Buddy Holly and The Crickets, The Animals, The Doors, Santo and Johnny, El Santo, Los Straitjackets, The Ramones, Eric Von Zipper, Man or Astroman, Laika and The Cosmonauts, The Boss Martians, Rod Serling, The Belairs, The Hondells, The Neatbeats, Sandy Nelson, Jack Costanza, The Challengers, The Champs, The Lively Ones, The Mar-Kets, Ry Cooder, Eddie Cochran, Southern Culture on The Skids, Duane Eddy, Johnny Cash, Jan and Dean, Harry Dean Stanton, James Bond, Spies Who Surf, John Barry, The Manatees, The Aqua Velvets, The Duo-Tones, Teisco Del Rey, The Buena Vista Social Club, Huevos Rancheros Sounds Like: What underneath the Santa Cruz pier smells like. -Dennis Beck



Current roster for The Shadowville All-Stars as of April 2013 was Robert Wright, guitar, Brian Mallard, guitar, Jack Snipe, lead guitar, Link Dunlap, bass guitar, Kevin Harrison, drums, Gary Frankfurth, harmonica, keyboard and percussion and Patricia Suddeth, tambourine and backing vocals. At the end of 2013 The Shadowville All-Stars stripped the sound down to an acoustic trio of Jack Snipe, Ron Wright and Brian Mallard, fronted by Will Dockery on vocals.

Current members

 * Will Dockery
 * Active: 2006–present
 * Regular instruments: vocals and songwriting
 * Release contributions: all Shadowville All-Stars releases


 * Brian Mallard
 * Active: 2006–present
 * Regular instruments: rhythm guitar, backing vocals
 * Occasional instruments: bass, lead guitar
 * Release contributions: all Shadowville All-Stars releases


 * Jack Snipe
 * Active: 2011–present
 * Regular instruments: lead guitars
 * Occasional instruments: rhythm guitar, backing vocals, percussion, keyboards, anything but clainet
 * Release contributions: all Shadowville All-Stars recordings, shows and projects from 2011) to present


 * Robert Wright
 * Active: 2006, 2009, 2013–present
 * Regular instruments: rhythm guitar, lead guitar
 * Occasional instruments: bass, backing vocals
 * Release contributions: all Shadowville All-Stars shows, releases and projects from 2013 to present


 * Gary Frankfurth
 * Active: 2007-2009, 2014–present
 * Regular instruments: harmonica, bongo drums
 * Release contributions: various appearances 2007 to present

Rock-N-Roll Night
Rock-N-Roll Night / Dockery, Snipe & Mallard

Well you weren't even around in Don Bright's heyday... but you MIGHT have escaped his charms.

I was embarrassingly in love with one lady and was coming over to meet her, and she left me standing on the sidewalk for 20 minutes because Don Bright had showed up, out of the blue.

That's what "Rock-N-Roll Night" is about if you ever listened to the lyrics to that one.

The lyrics don't really capture the complex events of that night, that affair.

I didn't have a phone at that time and was using pay phones. I told her I'd be outside her place in 20 minutes, she was supposed to be looking out the 2nd floor window for me.

So I stood on the street for at least 20 minutes wondering where she was, to come down and let me in the building, couln't call or text with no phone, but it had only been 10-15 minutes, I was right on time like a good fool. This was right before Betty made her debut, by a month or so.

Anyway, finally I saw she just was not going to come to the window, wave and let me in. So I went back to 4th Avenue, the closest pay phone... called her, she answered... and was like, "Oh, you won't believe who was walking by and I've been talking to... Don Bright!" the story was he was just walking along and she invited him up to talk.

I said to myself, this is taking me right back to 1985, love and suffering for it, and I do not want to go back there. So I backed off and let Don have it, which he got and a month later that was over. She got Don, and lost me... for whatever that is worth.