aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

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dime in the gutter
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

Post by dime in the gutter »

Image

get out of that town

angry/bitter/jealous/left behind dude pleads with lady friend to leave her newly made life in fake-ass phoenix and return to him in OG tuscon.

LA/laurel canyon influence abounds. mcguinn/csnY/buffalo springfield. except louder with 80s radio indie ballad smeared on it.

hopkins sunbeam laser tone cuts through the cali jingle jangle.

get out of those shopping malls....it's even hotter up there than here.

should have sold a bazillion copies.

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cortez the killer
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

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dime in the gutter wrote:
Mon Oct 12, 2020 3:55 pm
Image

get out of that town

angry/bitter/jealous/left behind dude pleads with lady friend to leave her newly made life in fake-ass phoenix and return to him in OG tuscon.

LA/laurel canyon influence abounds. mcguinn/csnY/buffalo springfield. except louder with 80s radio indie ballad smeared on it.

hopkins sunbeam laser tone cuts through the cali jingle jangle.

get out of those shopping malls....it's even hotter up there than here.

should have sold a bazillion copies.
Well, I know I'm crazy like a T.V. evangelist
But that town thinks it's Los Angeles


Massive, massive track. Moving to #1 with a bullet.
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dime in the gutter
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

Post by dime in the gutter »

and you know what's worse...it's even trying to be.

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dime in the gutter
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

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Image
i see a vest.

7&7 is

more LA psych, garage influence. arthur lee/love cover from mid 60's. punk rock power chord flex.

1.....2......3.........4.

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dime in the gutter
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

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doesn't anyone believe

as the kids say.....straight banger, homie. hopkins right hand rhythm is like a locomotive. power. even the delicate shit...bob mould and roger mcguinn love child.

i'm not clear on who wrote sidewinder lyrics...hopkins and or slutes.....so many memorable one off lines and ear candy choruses. great vocals from slutes. 21 gun salute firing on the snare. great song.

an opiate for the rest...

get some.
Last edited by dime in the gutter on Mon Oct 12, 2020 11:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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dime in the gutter
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

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came on like the sun

undie dropper with strings and pleas for forgiveness. hopkins sounds like a wild viking moose....heard for miles.

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dime in the gutter
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

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album closers

can't let go

like a march into the valley. drums keeping steady corps cadence. guitar heroics remind of a mournful death horn leading an ancient army into battle. jangle interludes are moments of gossip among the soldiers....until hopkins call brings them back to focus on the awaiting carnage. or some shit like that. but it's a love song.


last night of your life

stupid crazy great rock and roll song. sinister vox. hopkins playing unleashed. bleeds off into the ether at the end.

brilliant rock guitar record. all timer. never tire of it. hopkins is a conjurer of lost primordial tones.


Image
sidewinders had an amazing 3 year run that saw 3 lps released. they were on MTV. they were on the radio. pearl jam was opening for them. sky was the limit. the gods were impressed.....david briggs and mike campbell were calling. it was their time.


Image
and then they never made another record.



to be continued.....

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cortez the killer
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

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It's better to burn out than to fade away.

That desert sun burns extra hot.

Tragic ending, but "Last Night of Your Life" is one helluva final statement.
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dime in the gutter
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

Post by dime in the gutter »

Image
coming soon....

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Howlinwolf
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

Post by Howlinwolf »

Thanks Dime for the thread - and I thought I was the only Sand Rubies fan... appreciate those desert pics man... very cool

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dime in the gutter
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

Post by dime in the gutter »

Howlinwolf wrote:
Thu Oct 22, 2020 9:38 pm
Thanks Dime for the thread - and I thought I was the only Sand Rubies fan... appreciate those desert pics man... very cool
thanks, howlin. you are right about one being a lonely number with regard to sand rubie fandom. except for here at 3dd.

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dime in the gutter
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

Post by dime in the gutter »

1993

rock and roll means well, but it can't help tellin young boys lies.

just when shit was getting good.....sidewinders were sued by a NC cover band of the same name. 3 years of legal battles result in the band being forced to change their name to the sand rubies. yeah...not nearly as cool...but whatever.
Image
lost their name. lost band members. lost their record deal multiple times over.

Image
recorded over the 3 year break at various locales. 4 producers......ouch. but, david briggs (neil young) and mike campbell are both involved...way cool. same hopkins snarl and same slutes high drama vocals.



goodbye

all time fuck off song. hooky.

for all the men who took off your clothes....for all my money you put up your nose.


santa maria street

dusty mtv video with excellent vests and puffy shirts. nostalgia.

they took the past and sold it back on restaurant menus and baseball caps.


interstate

neil young cover with david briggs producing. predestined.


to be continued....
Last edited by dime in the gutter on Wed Oct 28, 2020 9:31 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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dime in the gutter
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

Post by dime in the gutter »

guns in the churchyard

mike campbell produced. beautiful, lush tune. mandolins. reminds of duran duran/save a prayer. lost souls and trippy guitar lines.


bar room light

6:45 of hazy, distortion soaked guitar freakout.


never

molten lava. or big waves, as depicted.

Bill in CT
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

Post by Bill in CT »

dime in the gutter wrote:
Tue Oct 13, 2020 9:44 am
album closers

can't let go

like a march into the valley. drums keeping steady corps cadence. guitar heroics remind of a mournful death horn leading an ancient army into battle. jangle interludes are moments of gossip among the soldiers....until hopkins call brings them back to focus on the awaiting carnage. or some shit like that. but it's a love song.


last night of your life

stupid crazy great rock and roll song. sinister vox. hopkins playing unleashed. bleeds off into the ether at the end.

brilliant rock guitar record. all timer. never tire of it. hopkins is a conjurer of lost primordial tones.


Image
sidewinders had an amazing 3 year run that saw 3 lps released. they were on MTV. they were on the radio. pearl jam was opening for them. sky was the limit. the gods were impressed.....david briggs and mike campbell were calling. it was their time.


Image
and then they never made another record.



to be continued.....
Do you know when & where Pearl Jam opened for the Sidewinders? I looked at the site linked below for the years 1990-92 but could not find such a show. Unlikely that PJ would have opened for the Sidewinders after 1992 as Pearl Jam was too big by that time.

http://www.twofeetthick.com/concert-chronology/

I have owned the Sand Rubies CD for years. I sought it out due to the cover of Interstate which is one of my favorite lesser-known Neil Young songs.
I need to check out the Sidewinders. Thanks for the AOTW post.
The closer you get to the meaning
The sooner you'll know that you're dreaming

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dime in the gutter
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

Post by dime in the gutter »

Bill in CT wrote:
Mon Oct 26, 2020 2:35 pm
Do you know when & where Pearl Jam opened for the Sidewinders? I looked at the site linked below for the years 1990-92 but could not find such a show. Unlikely that PJ would have opened for the Sidewinders after 1992 as Pearl Jam was too big by that time.

http://www.twofeetthick.com/concert-chronology/

I have owned the Sand Rubies CD for years. I sought it out due to the cover of Interstate which is one of my favorite lesser-known Neil Young songs.
I need to check out the Sidewinders. Thanks for the AOTW post.
thanx, worldwide.

i do not know when/where pearl jam opened...but i am very pleased that you are stumped.

the pj opener is mentioned throughout many articles related to the arizona band. perhaps it's mythical.....like hopkins guitar tone.

see quote from singer slutes...."We had the MTV video, we were in Rolling Stone, we toured with all the bands--Pearl Jam opened up for us on a show. At the time all these things seem like a natural progression, you just keep moving upward--but you look back and think what an exciting time it was," Slutes fondly reflects.

source: https://www.tucsonweekly.com/tw/04-11-96/mus.htm

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dime in the gutter
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

Post by dime in the gutter »

Image
vest!!

label issues, a revolving rhythm section, tensions b/n hopkins/slutes......a few months into the sand rubies 1993 tour, the band called it quits. dunzo.

here endeth this leg of hopkins' long journey.

Image
our hero was now alone in the wilderness.


to be continued....

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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

Post by cortez the killer »

dime in the gutter wrote:
Mon Oct 26, 2020 6:26 pm
Image
vest!!

label issues, a revolving rhythm section, tensions b/n hopkins/slutes......a few months into the sand rubies 1993 tour, the band called it quits. dunzo.
What role did Slutes' vests play in the breakdown of his partnership with Hopkins?
You are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

Post by dime in the gutter »

1994
recorded in tuscon: 10/93-12/93.
released on a german label. brake out records.
Image
hopkins gets busy and starts a new band. luminarios. he added rich hopkins to the moniker to keep from getting sued again over naming rights.

great listening record. full of vibes and moods. lots of new-old looks here. sunny power pop, grunge, 60's psychedelia, occasional spanish tinges, 70's desert planet space rock, acoustic jobbers, catchy hooks and plugged-in glory. loads of hopkins signature sonics...but other influences abound. hopkins steps to the mic.

album opener-dirt town

guitar flexer. groove. fuzz...not of peach. burnin rubber, grabbing in 2nd gear.

got a job down on the line...worked a 12er every time.

on my side

love a song that begins with a solo. morphing into a weezer song. before weezer was a thing.

hole

sun burnt grunge classic in waiting.


bo bedingfield and george harrison mashup

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dime in the gutter
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

Post by dime in the gutter »

buried treasure
2012
released on hopkins owned san jacinto records of tuscon.
recorded in tuscon.
28thish record
co-written with wife lisa novak

Image
trippy and psychedelic. beatles harmonies and pink floyd lyrics.

https://www.stewartlee.co.uk/album-revi ... treasures/
If Neil Young released Buried Treasures, it would be hailed as a return to form.
And when Drive-By Truckers evidence similarly unselfconscious immediacy, we praise their ability to inhabit characters.

But Rich Hopkins is for real, a regular guitar-toting guy who grew a conscience in the Peace Corps, cowriting his best songs to date with his hair-salon-owner girlfriend, Lisa Novak.
The Tucson troubadour’s 28th studio set offers Crazy Horse-style workouts and plangent psychedelic feedback jams, but, as shown by the bleakly beautiful Friend of the Shooter, they are increasingly engaged with the southwest’s dark underbelly.
friend of the shooter

safeways are not that.



to be continued....

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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

Post by LBRod »

dime in the gutter wrote:
Tue Nov 03, 2020 4:30 pm

friend of the shooter

safeways are not that.
Nice! Like Craig Finn singing for Crazy Horse.
Don't hurt people, and don't take their stuff.

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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

Post by cortez the killer »

LBRod wrote:
Wed Nov 04, 2020 5:38 pm
dime in the gutter wrote:
Tue Nov 03, 2020 4:30 pm

friend of the shooter

safeways are not that.
Nice! Like Craig Finn singing for Crazy Horse.
:lol:
You are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.
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dime in the gutter
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

Post by dime in the gutter »

cortez the killer wrote:
Wed Nov 04, 2020 5:43 pm
LBRod wrote:
Wed Nov 04, 2020 5:38 pm
Nice! Like Craig Finn singing for Crazy Horse.
:lol:
that is fucking funny.

dark side of the spoon

desert fab 4.

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cortez the killer
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

Post by cortez the killer »

dime in the gutter wrote:
Thu Nov 05, 2020 11:59 am
cortez the killer wrote:
Wed Nov 04, 2020 5:43 pm
LBRod wrote:
Wed Nov 04, 2020 5:38 pm
Nice! Like Craig Finn singing for Crazy Horse.
:lol:
that is fucking funny.
Funny yet will singe all the hairs on your face. Song is white hot.
You are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.
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dime in the gutter
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

Post by dime in the gutter »

Image
we went to parties....you know...kick backs.

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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

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strutter

yo, yo, yo...boys.

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dime in the gutter
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

Post by dime in the gutter »


buds

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cortez the killer
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

Post by cortez the killer »

dime in the gutter wrote:
Sat Nov 07, 2020 12:32 am

buds
Great video! Two underrated and underappreciated guitar gods.
You are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.
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dime in the gutter
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

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devolver lp
1999
san jacinto records
Image
hopkins stretches out. lush, diverse record. pop. bongos. low fi scorchers. ham radios and space shitting dinosaurs. spoken word social commentary. played most of the instruments himself. you know...all boston like. except for mc5's michael davis....he plays bass.

dedicated to homeless people all over the world.


Image

opens with red river saloon

mike campbell taught our boy some tricks. great wide open era petty.
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

Post by dime in the gutter »

Image

intergalactic space shitting dinosaurs

get your desert planet atmosphere on with this low-fi flyby.


Image

lost planet of love

last nite i found your pictures....dodging pterodactyls.

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dime in the gutter
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Re: aotw 10/5/20: rich hopkins-godfather of desert rock

Post by dime in the gutter »

Image


album closer tender mercies.

10 minute soaring jam with voice over from prison inmate dropping some truth bombs.

what are they gonna do about that cop that shot that dude in the back? they ain't gonna do a damn thing.

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