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A TRIBUTE TO LINK
WRAY
A wonderful night was had by
all at the El Boqueron II Nighclub in Rockville Maryland. Over 750
people came out to pay their respects to Fred Lincoln "Link" Wray.
It was a "standing room only" sold out house. Demand for tickets was
strong and had the venue been larger, several hundred more tickets may
have been sold.
Ray Wallace started the show, aided by Los Straitjacket's Eddie Angel.
Almost immediately into his set, the power went out on the entire city
block due to high winds that night. It was almost as if Link was
stopping in to say hello. Ray put on a great set and be sure to look
for his new CD "Introducing Ray Wallace."
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Next on stage was the long
awaited reunion of Switchblade, Eddie' Angel's rockabilly band when he was
in DC in the early 80's, right after he parted company with Tex Rubinowitz. Eddie, Ratso and the rest of the band put on a tight set.
Unfortunatley due to time constraints, the set was too short.
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stage next, after a hiatus of over two decades. The Raymen included
Richie Mitchell (late 50s / early 60s), Ed Cynar (early 60s thru
1985), Pat Greenwood (80s) and Link's grandson Chris Webb. These
guys had spent more time with Link than all the acts put together and it
showed.
The presented Link's music
exactly the way Link wanted it heard. They knew how because they
were there on the bandstand with Link in DC - six nights a week, five sets
a night.
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They put on a blistering set
of Link Wray music, with Chris opening the set taking the lead on
"Rumble."
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The Triumphs, featuring Jack
Casady played a great set as well. The members of The Triumphs
were influenced by Link's music when they were teenagers in DC, and
opened
Raymen shows from time to time
back in the 60's. This was the first time they had
played in over 45 years. The band featured Jack Casady,
who later went on to form Hot
Tuna and the Jefferson
Airplane. I'm happy to report that this Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame inductee has signed our petiton to have Link
inducted into the Hall of Fame. Cross your fingers!
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My attention for the remainder of the night involved meeting many of the
great folks who view this website, as well as working the merchandise table.
Other than hearing the great garage rock of Norton Records A-Bones, and
Robert Gordon's wonderful set (featuring Billy Hancock, Eddie Angel and
Anton Fig from the David Letterman Show), I don't have much more to report.
If anyone would like to comment on the show, please send me an eMail and
I'll get it right up on line.
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Overall, it was a wonderful
night that paid a respectful, well deserved tribute to Link. Special
thank you's to Joe Lee of Joe's Record Paradise, and Melissa Avery of
www.dc-rock-and-roll.org.
Without them, this event would not have happened.
I'm still recovering.
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PICTURES AND VIDEO! |
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