Skyboys Live at the Fabulous Rainbow Tavern, June 1979

This is not a review of a live show as much as it is a review of a recording of a live show which is almost the same thing, isn’t it? I mean, it was one hell of a show judging by what is on this two-disc set (I am assuming this will be a two-discer because I cannot conceive of it being released as one— too much excellent music which all belongs together, if you get my drift). All covers, one original. So why bother, you ask? Because it’s the Skyboys! 

Few knew of the band outside of Seattle and the surrounding area back then. Those who lived there but never saw them pretty much wrote them off as another country bar band. Some who saw them but didn’t care for the genre shrugged their shoulders and moved on. But many of the people who knew them and heard them became die-hard fans, even the ones who didn’t dance.  

Dancing! That’s what I saw through the big plate glass window which fronted The Fabulous Rainbow Tavern whenever Skyboys made an appearance. Dancing and lines down the block waiting to get in, even during rainy nights. I stood out in the rain more than one night watching and listening to what little made it out and onto a sidewalk next to a busy street, cars constantly lined up (there was a stop light near), engines spewing exhaust and noise. I only saw them inside once, the night of the album release party for their then-new album on First American Records. I was there to see not only the band but Scott Boyer, the producer of the album and former member of one of my favorite bands of all-time, Cowboy, and Duncan Cameron of the Amazing Rhythm Aces. I left after Boyer played one song with the band and Cameron joined them on stage. I went outside, overcome with claustrophobic flashes (the place was packed!), and watched from the window. It was a hell of a show.    

When they recorded the music on these discs in June a year earlier at that same tavern, it was a bit different. For one thing, they were there to make people dance and they were damn good at it. One original, like I said, and a string of country and country-leaning tunes to put the tap in the boot. It’s how you got the gigs. The more they danced, the more beer they drank, and the more gigs the band got. It was a vicious circle and one Skyboys played well.

For another, they knew how to play, every damn one of them. I could pick out one or two to highlight but it would not give them credit enough. Leon Waldbauer rocked the lead guitar like nobody’s business, tossing in guitar pyrotechnics not so much with the electronic gear as the picking. He smoked on “Honky Tonk Night Time Man” and a couple of others (and I mean smoked!!!). And smoking isn’t always the word you might use for Chris Middaugh’s pedal steel, but every time I hear “Honky Tonk Night Time Man,” all I can think is holy smoke! Middaugh is one of the overlooked greats when it comes to that instrument and it really shows on these tunes. He could make it cry, laugh, rock and even burp. Gaye Winsor’s voice was one made for the harmonies the band lived on, but she pulled off lead as well, as on Tammy Wynette’s “Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad.” I especially like her voice on the Waldbauer original “Nobody Lives Here,” a song which could be a country classic today had they made it as a band. The rhythm section? Ken Parypa (bass) and Pat Bohle (drums) were the workhorses, laying down the foundation for the straight country all the way to the rockingest rock. Scott Smith’s piano is classic Nashville (makes me want to label him “his Honky-Tonkness” at times, though he plays just about anything you can on that instrument). And Dudley Hill… the dude had a touch, may he rest in peace.

Tom Kell was the only member who had any major label connections, to my knowledge, leaving the band not all that long after the release of the First American album mentioned above. Down in Los Angeles, Tom met the right people and had a decent run but real success (financial, which seems to be the benchmark for most people) evaded him. He has continued writing and recording to the present day. Back then, he was the perfect frontman, singing leads like a pro and fading into background harmony duty when needed.

So here I sit, listening to these two discs over and over and wondering why they didn’t make it and wishing, in a way, that they had. They were not just a good band but exceptionally good people, always appreciative of their fans and ready to play their hearts out at the drop of a cowboy hat. Here they are, playing their hearts out. If I had been smart, I would have seen them live more. After hearing this, I wish I had.   

Tom Kell, by the way, tells me that release of the two discs is in the works. While I hope it is true, I will believe it only when I have them in my hands. In my mind’s eye, that will be a good moment and will more than justify their importance in Seattle music history. Be on the lookout.

TRACKS (with helpful hints):

“All The Lonesome Cowboys” (Pure Prairie League)

“Good Girl’s Gonna Do Bad” (Tammy Wynette)

“You Win Again” (Hank Williams)

“Ain’t Living Long Like This” (Rodney Crowell)

“Kansas City Southern” (Gene Clark)

“Long Gone Daddy” (Hank Williams)

“Lookin’ At the World Through a Windshield” (Del Reeves)

“Big Mamou” (Gib Gilbeau)

“Here Comes the Weekend” (Dave Edmunds)

“Ooo Las Vegas” (Gram Parsons)

“Ghost Riders” (Stan Jones)

“Leah” (Gary Stewart)

“The Blue Light”

“Nobody Lives Here” (original written by Leon Waldbauer)

“Honky Tonk Night Time Man” (Merle Haggard)

“Luxury Liner” (Gram Parsons)

“Backstage Pass” (McGuinn Clark & Hillman

“Pittsburgh Stealers” (The Kendalls)

“Leavin’ Louisiana In the Broad Daylight” (Rodney Crowell & Donivan Cowart)

“T For Texas” (Jimmie Rodgers)

“The Hey Boys” (Herb Pederson)