Goin' Back AGAIN to Swamp Guinea! (Part Five)

There are large gaps in my Athens phonebook collection, so this 1976 listing is the earliest I can provide.

Many of you folks out there in Ichibanland are probably a bit mystified at this blog's longtime obsession with long-defunct Athens, GA-area restaurant the Swamp Guinea, but we're going there again, so you'll just have to accept it!

Thee Original.

     The thing that drives most folks' interest in the restaurant is this record, which has intrigued and confused record hounds in this region for decades. You may listen to it here. I've had a fair number of them pass through my hands over the last quarter-century– maybe as many as a dozen. Knowing my interest in the subject, the noted record collector/dealer Kurt Wood recently presented me with a surprise– a heretofore unknown Swamp Guinea record! It's not as fascinating as its predecessor, but it's a perfectly fine bluegrass tune. Its worst sin is that it's not as focused on the particulars of the restaurant, but I've gotten the word from composer Tony Pritchett that this is not happenstance. Asked to recall what had could about this, he responded:



     Hi, Devlin. I was mentored by a man named B.W. Coile back in the early 1970s. He asked me to write a song with Swamp Guinea in the title and in the song. I asked him did it have to be "about the restaurant" or could it be just a song...so I thought about the name, Swamp Guinea, and it reminded me of my daddy telling me not to believe everything I read or hear. Because, it wasn't a swamp and it wasn't a guinea hen. So, I just wrote. Then B.W. took me in to the studio to record it. That's pretty much all I remember about it. He also asked me to write a commercial for Golden Pantry. That got some radio airplay. I've been an "Athens musician" for a very long time. Played almost every club there was to play. Now, my guys and I just do a little Jimmy Buffett cover show. Called Sons Of Sailors. You can access that here: www.sonsofsailors.com

"Heard About Swamp Guinea," by the Light Sensations

"Swamp Guinea Special" (the B-side)

Previously on WFMU's Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban: (1) (2) (3) (4)

BONUS! Go here to read an account of a 1978 visit to the Swamp Guinea by famous author William Least Heat-Moon, from his 1982 NYT bestseller, Blue Highways!

Whig Out! Opens the Doors of your Mind! 8pm tonite!

Psych Out with the Whig Out! tonight at 8 with Doors impersonators and off-the-wall psychedelic wackiness! click here to listen -> http://wfmu.org/playlists/WT

GRADE A!!! THE REAL NITTY GRITTY tonight at 7PM on WFMU'S Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban Stream!

GIT WITH THE GRIT! https://wfmu.org/playlists/RG

Debbie Does WFMU

Tonight on Debbie Does WFMU!  7-8 PM Fridays.  4-5 AM Sundays.

Playlist - comments

Happy birthday, Anna Mae!

The Fringe Factory goes COLD TURKEY this Thanksgiving Eve!

Tonight The Fringe Factory goes COLD TURKEY for it's 8th Annual Night Before Thanksgiving Show! All Psychedelic, Garage and Hard Rockin' songs from the 60s Underground about food & drink... and all guaranteed to make you hungry & thirsty for more! Tune in at 8pm ET and view the Live Accu-playlist right here: http://wfmu.org/playlists/FY

Psychotronic Movie of the Week Returns! Spend your Thanksgiving with BLOOD FREAK!

I'm bringing the PSYCHOTRONIC MOVIE OF THE WEEK back to the Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban blog and I'm kicking off version 2.0 with my own favorite Thanksgiving cinematic tradition, Brad F. Ginter's BLOOD FREAK.

Ginter's filmography as a director includes just five titles, and it's three that he's primarily remembered for today - the awful biker flick DEVIL RIDER (1970), the bizarre Veronica Lake swan song FLESH FEAST (1970), and today's feature, BLOOD FREAK (1972).

Steve Hawkes, whose previous acting resume was highlighted by two low-budget, shot in Florida Tarzan movies, co-wrote the screenplay with Ginter and stars as Herschell, a Nam vet biker who gets invited to a party by a beautiful young lady and well, one thing leads to another and before we know it, Herschell is addicted to the pot! He ends up eating some chemically altered turkey and when he wakes up he's become a monster with a giant turkey head who needs to feast on the blood of drug addicts to satisfy his cravings. In the end, the only thing that can save him is turning to God - the film was described by Shock Cinema's Steven Puchalski as "the world's first Christian, anti-drug splatter movie!" And if that plot wasn't enough of a trainwreck, wait until you get a load of Ginter himself as the narrator, sitting at a desk in front of faux wooden paneling, talking about "the human body as a mixing bowl," spewing Reefer Madness-style anti-drug rhetoric while smoking a cigarette. At one point he breaks into a coughing fit that only adds to the delicious (unintentional?) irony. You would think they would have done another take, but I guess it wasn't in the budget.

BLOOD FREAK was released on VHS in the 80s by Video Treasures, which promised "A Dracula on Drugs!" Something Weird Video released the ultimate special edition DVD in the early 2000's which is now out of print but can be found on Amazon and eBay. I highly recommend seeking it out, but in the meantime, here's the entire movie as posted on YouTube, DIG! 

EDIT: YouTube has already removed the video I originally posted, but you can still watch it broken down into six parts.

The Sin-Ti-Lating sirens of Italian 60's Soundtracks on Crayons to Perfume! at 7 tonite

Everyone give thanks for those slinky, silky voices of Italian 60's soundtracks! These Sin-Sational soundtrack ladies ooh and ah their way through jazzy little numbers - and you can hear them all tonight at 7 on Crayons to Perfume! so listen here: http://wfmu.org/playlists/CE

Take a trip back to New York's Dive with Michael Stark on the Whig Out! Sunday at 8

Today on the Whig Out, New Yorker Michael Stark tells us about the 80's garage scene in NYC at the Dive and on Long Island - including his band Stinky & The Skunks! He's brought lots of his favorite bands from that time including the Secret Service and the Mosquitoes, the Optic Nerve & Cheapskates, along with some 60's sounds from New York state! Join us at 8, right after The Real Nitty Gritty! ... Listen here: http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/WT

instrumental 45 of the Week!

EGGHEAD! (listen/download)

Oh NO!! The Fringe Factory has a BAD TRIP!!!

Tonight the Fringe Factory has a BAD TRIP!! (In a good, bad way) Featuring the psych, garage and hard rockin' sounds of the sixties and music by The Wailers, New stuff from Mikey & The Drags, Les Gry Grys , Bob Segar Sound System, Them Belfast Gypsies & More! Listen right here at 8pm ET and the archive after: https://wfmu.org/playlists/FY

Crayons to Perfume! at 7 with special guest DJ's Brian Phillips and Jason Stone!!!

Tonite, Crayons to Perfume's special guest dj's are the Electrophonic Brian Phillips, and the The Stepfather of Soul, Mr. Jason Stone who recently wowed the Ponderosa Stomp crowd with a blazing set of soul stormers during the Hip Drop, the Stomp's pre-party dance evening. Tonight they bring their favorite girls, you won't want to miss it, so tune in HERE!