Dante, World Wide Spies and the big JFK derby - By N.L. Belardes
I was sitting in a little room in the Rabobank arena, the Stanley Cup within my reach when my cell phone rang. I think I had just rubbed Wayne Gretzky’s name. On the phone was Steve Robles, unofficial manager for LA band World Wide Spies. They were going to be in town that very evening and we had talked about doing an episode of the Buck City Podcast.
“You’re sitting with the Stanley Cup?”
“It’s within my reach.”
“Well I can totally understand how important that is for you. We can do the podcast when World Wide Spies are back in town on December 30th if you like.”
I felt like I was about to touch the Cup of Christ in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Drink from it and the hockey gods would enter my bloodstream for sure. I’m sure Steve could sense the surreal moment. He gave a chuckle, we spoke some more and I promised to head out to Azuls to watch their show after the Condors got done whooping some tail in the arena. They did.
It was a cold night at Azuls, as freezing as the Bakersfield ice the Condors skated on earlier. Matildakay was in the house to hear World Wide Spies. I knew this would be a treat for her (she mentions World Wide Spies in this entry). When I arrived, Dante Esperanza was jamming out some tunes. Duncan McKnight knows how to belt out the cowboy hits, and was. I snapped a few photos of he and the band. I noticed they had a violin player—she sounded wonderful, providing a dynamic new sound for the band since Jordan from Johnny Clash had jumped in on episode 18 of Dante on Buck City. There was a tambourine player too. She looked melancholy in her aloneness at the side of the band and smoked a cigarette patiently as if she were just hanging out, waiting for a bus.
AJ from Gigantic Vintage/Soulsteppers works the sound...
I gave Nunez a hug. We kissed and made up since I accused him of walking out at the book release party. It was all for shits and giggles and Nunez thanked me for my help and we talked about how many folks had been listening to his podcast in episode 19, "Latinidad with Nunez". “Down in LA we played at UCLA and there were people there who had heard the podcast…”
When the band finished, Duncan came over and said hello. He was as polite as ever and I told him I enjoyed the music.
World Wide Spies all hung out in the corner of the outside patio where the band was playing. Steve Robles said a hearty greeting as did the rest of the band: JFK, JAX, IZIK and STEVO. If you haven’t heard them on Buck City, give a listen to their music and fun stories on episode ten. You can subscribe to the feed on iTunes…
Right away I noticed JFK wore a black derby and a large black leather coat. Here was the Londoner on the streets of Bakersfield and about to sing to the folks in Buck City some of his 80s revival power pop. I heard they had a few new songs up their sleeve although I expected to hear "Individual", one of my favorite World Wide Spies songs.
But then JFK had a few stories to tell while Dante Esperanza closed shop. He pointed to an eyebrow ring he was now sporting above his left eye. “As you can tell, I have a few new odds and ends and have just the tale for you.” (Or something to that effect. Going by memory here. You have to imagine a strong Londoner accent, sort of the kind you’d expect from a Hoodlum throwing rocks at the moron tourists who just stand there staring up at the blank face of Big Ben—“Hey, quit standin’ there lookin’ at that dumb clock ya bludy yank! Yuh git a face that looks jest as cracked!”).
“I noticed the derby. Nice touch, JFK.”
(I’m sure I’m way off, but I’m giving this a shot as I try to capture at least some of the essence and charm of JFK) “It’s good to look a little different now and then. Now let me tell you this story. There I was, and I’m not the kind of guy who goes and just gets these kinds of jobs done, but let me say I was at a show and this fella says he loves the music. And why not? It’s good music to like. Can’t blame him. And he offered to get a tattoo right then of World Wide Spies on his arm if I would go and get a piercing. Like I said, I’m not one for the sport, but who am I to deny such advertisements.”
“I never get offers like that for nlbelardes.com.”
“Perhaps your day’s coming, sir. But let me say I went down and had this done and now I’m no worse for the better and I certainly don’t have a tattoo to show for it.”
“But you do have that nice derby.”
He then pulled the derby off. “And the hairs grown out a bit for a change of weather.”
All the while the rest of World Wide Spies sat and laughed at the storytelling and exchange. “I must beg off for a drink of whiskey,” JFK said while the band went and set up for their gig. I spoke with Steve Robles about Yahoo search engines and web rankings when in a few minutes, JFK returned with a cup of beer. “This is American whiskey. Funny, I ask for a shot and I come back with this. Maybe the fella didn’t understand me, but this tastes like beer.”
Soon World Wide Spies hit the stage. JFK said he thought it was supposed to be warm in Bakersfield and the weather reminded him a bit of home. His humor and antics, always welcome then transitioned into a fine intro of the song “Individual” even though they joked they were waiting for Stevo who sat smiling and laughing as usual but then got right to business; right away I was hooked.
World Wide Spies is one of those rare rock bands who take their music seriously but their off-stage bantering is fun and they're easy to get to know. I still remember the first time JFK was introduced to me at Riley’s Tavern. It was a pleasant meeting and I’m sure I asked him far too many boring questions that he was kind enough to answer in his polite charm and wit.
What a great night of music and the Stanley Cup as World Wode Spies performed three new songs, “Three Cheers”, “Time Will Tell”, and “What Are We Fighting For”. Sure, World Wide Spies present songs meant for a much bigger stage, but then, the 80s were big, right? Gotta love these guys with their Big Country meets U2 meets a post-modern Psychedelic Furs twist as their tunes are as captivating as their charm… Stay tuned for a December 30 podcast recording as the guys from World Wide Spies are preparing an exclusive acoustic set just for Buck City… They will be performing at Montgomery World Plaza on December 30th as well. I’ll be there.
Can't get enough? Watch this fun video of the band...
“You’re sitting with the Stanley Cup?”
“It’s within my reach.”
“Well I can totally understand how important that is for you. We can do the podcast when World Wide Spies are back in town on December 30th if you like.”
I felt like I was about to touch the Cup of Christ in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Drink from it and the hockey gods would enter my bloodstream for sure. I’m sure Steve could sense the surreal moment. He gave a chuckle, we spoke some more and I promised to head out to Azuls to watch their show after the Condors got done whooping some tail in the arena. They did.
It was a cold night at Azuls, as freezing as the Bakersfield ice the Condors skated on earlier. Matildakay was in the house to hear World Wide Spies. I knew this would be a treat for her (she mentions World Wide Spies in this entry). When I arrived, Dante Esperanza was jamming out some tunes. Duncan McKnight knows how to belt out the cowboy hits, and was. I snapped a few photos of he and the band. I noticed they had a violin player—she sounded wonderful, providing a dynamic new sound for the band since Jordan from Johnny Clash had jumped in on episode 18 of Dante on Buck City. There was a tambourine player too. She looked melancholy in her aloneness at the side of the band and smoked a cigarette patiently as if she were just hanging out, waiting for a bus.
AJ from Gigantic Vintage/Soulsteppers works the sound...
I gave Nunez a hug. We kissed and made up since I accused him of walking out at the book release party. It was all for shits and giggles and Nunez thanked me for my help and we talked about how many folks had been listening to his podcast in episode 19, "Latinidad with Nunez". “Down in LA we played at UCLA and there were people there who had heard the podcast…”
When the band finished, Duncan came over and said hello. He was as polite as ever and I told him I enjoyed the music.
World Wide Spies all hung out in the corner of the outside patio where the band was playing. Steve Robles said a hearty greeting as did the rest of the band: JFK, JAX, IZIK and STEVO. If you haven’t heard them on Buck City, give a listen to their music and fun stories on episode ten. You can subscribe to the feed on iTunes…
Right away I noticed JFK wore a black derby and a large black leather coat. Here was the Londoner on the streets of Bakersfield and about to sing to the folks in Buck City some of his 80s revival power pop. I heard they had a few new songs up their sleeve although I expected to hear "Individual", one of my favorite World Wide Spies songs.
But then JFK had a few stories to tell while Dante Esperanza closed shop. He pointed to an eyebrow ring he was now sporting above his left eye. “As you can tell, I have a few new odds and ends and have just the tale for you.” (Or something to that effect. Going by memory here. You have to imagine a strong Londoner accent, sort of the kind you’d expect from a Hoodlum throwing rocks at the moron tourists who just stand there staring up at the blank face of Big Ben—“Hey, quit standin’ there lookin’ at that dumb clock ya bludy yank! Yuh git a face that looks jest as cracked!”).
“I noticed the derby. Nice touch, JFK.”
(I’m sure I’m way off, but I’m giving this a shot as I try to capture at least some of the essence and charm of JFK) “It’s good to look a little different now and then. Now let me tell you this story. There I was, and I’m not the kind of guy who goes and just gets these kinds of jobs done, but let me say I was at a show and this fella says he loves the music. And why not? It’s good music to like. Can’t blame him. And he offered to get a tattoo right then of World Wide Spies on his arm if I would go and get a piercing. Like I said, I’m not one for the sport, but who am I to deny such advertisements.”
“I never get offers like that for nlbelardes.com.”
“Perhaps your day’s coming, sir. But let me say I went down and had this done and now I’m no worse for the better and I certainly don’t have a tattoo to show for it.”
“But you do have that nice derby.”
He then pulled the derby off. “And the hairs grown out a bit for a change of weather.”
All the while the rest of World Wide Spies sat and laughed at the storytelling and exchange. “I must beg off for a drink of whiskey,” JFK said while the band went and set up for their gig. I spoke with Steve Robles about Yahoo search engines and web rankings when in a few minutes, JFK returned with a cup of beer. “This is American whiskey. Funny, I ask for a shot and I come back with this. Maybe the fella didn’t understand me, but this tastes like beer.”
Soon World Wide Spies hit the stage. JFK said he thought it was supposed to be warm in Bakersfield and the weather reminded him a bit of home. His humor and antics, always welcome then transitioned into a fine intro of the song “Individual” even though they joked they were waiting for Stevo who sat smiling and laughing as usual but then got right to business; right away I was hooked.
World Wide Spies is one of those rare rock bands who take their music seriously but their off-stage bantering is fun and they're easy to get to know. I still remember the first time JFK was introduced to me at Riley’s Tavern. It was a pleasant meeting and I’m sure I asked him far too many boring questions that he was kind enough to answer in his polite charm and wit.
What a great night of music and the Stanley Cup as World Wode Spies performed three new songs, “Three Cheers”, “Time Will Tell”, and “What Are We Fighting For”. Sure, World Wide Spies present songs meant for a much bigger stage, but then, the 80s were big, right? Gotta love these guys with their Big Country meets U2 meets a post-modern Psychedelic Furs twist as their tunes are as captivating as their charm… Stay tuned for a December 30 podcast recording as the guys from World Wide Spies are preparing an exclusive acoustic set just for Buck City… They will be performing at Montgomery World Plaza on December 30th as well. I’ll be there.
Can't get enough? Watch this fun video of the band...
This entry was posted by N.L. Belardes, on
Sunday, December 11, 2005.
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