Best of the Welcome Columns


Best of the Welcome Columns

Author: Alston, Ed
Honky-Tonks along the Streets of Bakersfield

Like many, I fear print journalism's golden age has passed. While I lament daily newspapers' apparently irreversible slide -- esp. in California -- I fondly recall some great reads. One such appeared a few years ago on the SF Chronicle's front page, in an item about how some nondescript attorneys had suddenly found fame and fortune by offering legal commentary on celebrities' courtroom proceedings. To quote: "...lawyers who wouldn't have turned heads during last call at a Bakersfield honky-tonk were suddenly getting the best seats in Los Angeles' hippest restaurants..." What great images! Iconic nightspots in the southern San Joaquin Valley...with attorneys trolling therein! Almost makes one want head for Bakersfield whether or not there's a Great 48 Bluegrass Jam...doesn't it? Consider, too, an informative passage from the city's official Visitor's Guide: "Many musicians and entertainers were involved in making the Bakersfield Sound a global phenomenon; however, none were more well-known than...Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. Both artists cut their teeth at the bars and honky-tonks around Bakersfield before gaining international prominence." Ah, the fabled Bakersfield Sound! It developed over 50 years ago, when "country" music was called "country & western," and included bluegrass. By the time Dwight Yoakam picked up the Owens-Haggard torch -- and lit up the charts with his 1988 hit, "Streets of Bakersfield" (duet with Owens) -- most CBA folks knew about the city's storied musical tradition. Hence, for CBA to stage its annual Great 48 Bluegrass Jam there seems most appropriate. As my good friend Marcos Alvira might put it, Bakersfield has its musical mojo going. But one need not cruise the city's streets and honky-tonks to find great music. Simply drop by the Doubletree hotel for the Great 48, beginning Thursday PM, Jan. 6 -- that's just three weeks from today! Where our Great 48 is the only CBA event held in a major city -- this state's 11th largest -- there's a lot to offer outside the hotel. Most enticing is Bakersfield's wide variety of terrific restaurants, to include more Basque eateries than anywhere else in the U.S. And just a proverbial stone's throw from the Doubletree is the Crystal Palace, major restaurant-musical venue founded by the legendary Buck Owens. Gourmet dining suggestions abound -- see list at bottom of page. Now, what about the best of Bakersfield's iconic honky-tonks? Alas, I'll have to defer to the true experts. How about it, Craig Wilson, and Kelvin Gregory? You Bako denizens doubtless have spent lots of time honing your chops -- and/or wetting your whistles -- in such tony venues. With expert advice from homies like Craig and Kelvin, Great 48 attendees can contrive a well-timed outing -- say, a bit after 1:00 AM, as honky-tonks' closing time approaches -- and take along the likes of Carl P., Whit W., Bob S., and Wendy S. Then watch carefully, to see whether these legal stalwarts turn any heads... Don't bother asking me to go along (but thanks for thinking of moi). I'll be busy hosting one of the Great 48's hospitality suites for the Central Coast's Bluegrass Music Society. Y'all be sure to drop by. And give us BMSCC folks a full report on your honky-tonking expeditions! We'll save the best drinks and snacks for anyone who strikes up a tune about honky-tonks. Probably a good idea to pass on the Stanley Brothers', "She's More to Be Pitied Than Scolded... since it warns how the "lure of the honky-tonk" can "wreck [one's] young life". That bluegrass standard might discourage some Great 48 jammers from venturing out to research Bakersfield's intriguing nightspots. Or second thought, maybe that's a good one to play time and again. --Ed Alston ************************************ TRIVIA QUESTION: Name the chart-topping 1963 country single that one of next year's Father Day Festival headliners covered on its recently released bluegrass cd, thereby neatly blending the Bakersfield Sound with our beloved high lonesome sound. [Hint: This song was written & recorded by one of the Bakersfield Sound singers mentioned above.] PRIZE: to be awarded during the Great 48, for first correct answer posted on CBA's message board -- your choice of either (a) two drinks at any Bakersfield honky-tonk; or (b) chicken-fried steak dinner at the Crystal Palace, compliments of Chairman Rick Cornish, CBA's chicken-fried steak connoisseur. [no, you can NOT opt to have that dinner without Rick] ************************************ MORE DINING SUGGESTIONS: Breakfast -- 24th Street Cafe (yup, it's on 24th St., at 1415) Sandwiches -- Sequoia Sandwiches (1231 18th St.) Ice Cream -- Dewar's, esp. Elberta Peach flavor (at corner of California and Eye Streets -- that's between "H" and "J") Ice Cream plus Sandwiches, etc. -- Moo Creamery (4885 Truxton) Chinese -- Great Castle (410 Union Ave.) or Bill Lee's Bamboo Chop Sticks (1203 18th St.) Italian -- Luigi's Restaurant & Deli, lunch only (725 E. 19th St.) Mediterranean -- Flame & Skewers Mediterranean (1201 24th ST. - #C110) Basque -- hard to go wrong, Benji's is closest (4001 Rosedale Hwy, a bit west of the hotel)....also, Wool Growers Exchange (620 E. 19th)...and Noriega Hotel (525 Sumner St.) Mexican -- again, hard to go wrong...try Los Tacos de Huico (123 E. 18th St.)... or go west from hotel about 3 miles, to Mauricio's Grill & Cantina (10700 Rosedale Hwy) Mexican seafood -- La Costa Mariscos (716 21st St.) [While I personally can vouch for several of these eateries, all are endorsed by evidently well-informed, impartial posters at www.chowhound.com]

Posted: 12/16/2010