bill woods, “phone me Baby.” 1957
from: The other side of bakersfield Vol. 2
Under the radar, I keep finding more under the radar.: individuated projects that go barking up particular musical doglegs. Among the candidates would be “The Other Side of Bakersfield, Vol. 1 & 2.” They beg the question, just what was it about the musical tenor of mid-fifties Bakersfield to which the “other side” was reacting. Answer: I don’t completely know. But the migration west to California from all ends of the wild blue American yonder did build a bridge between olde country and a stripped- down, burgeoning lo-fi rock. It was championed by vintage retro echo effects. A hillbilly amalgam. Result: , Elvis, Buddy Holly, Link Wray, and countless underknown guitarzans It caught on and left a mark that still vibrates.
-Larry Haley-
Mr. Woods was also a commercial photographer.
