By Robert Wilonsky, Friday, Feb. 26 2010 @ 6:17PM
![willie-mays500.jpg](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20100301194910im_/http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/assets_c/2010/02/willie-mays500-thumb-250x365.jpg) |
Willie Mays as painted by the great Will Johnson |
I was sifting through our photo archives two weeks ago when I came across a '91 photo of
Funland. I'm sure Peter Schmidt, Clark Vogeler and Will Johnson would prefer I keep it under lock and key; there's an awful lot of cut-off jorts and sweatpants in that picture. But Johnson, his hair down past the collar of his flannel button-down, looks downright adorable -- that's a mighty big grin he's sporting, silly
and sarcastic. Which got me to thinking about this week's musical outro (at least till
the judge hands down those sentences) ...
I see
here Will and
Anders Parker need a Denton living room in which they can set up and play on April 23, so if you know anybody, let them know. Sounds like a nice set-up: room for 40, no sound system required, just two chairs and room for strangers to park and ride as the twosome do their thing. It won't be as loud as this:
Centro-matic's 2006 set at Austin City Limits, straight from the soundboard and as pristine a live best-of to that point as you'll find anywhere. (
Update: Upon further reflection, despite the fact Centro-matic gave away this set via Twitter after selling it on iTunes, I've killed the freebie link and replaced it with The Official Offering. I offer this replacement:
Will's four-song WOXY set from January.)
I'd also recommend
Centro-matic's Daytrotter session, if you missed it the first time around in September 2008; that version of "Good as Gold," from Will's '96 debut
Redo the Stacks, kills me every time. And speaking of the Wayback Machine, those seeking
The Transistor and
Tympanum EPs might want to look
here. And, one more reason I love Will Johnson:
He paints portraits of baseball greats, including Willie Mays, my father's boyhood hero.