If TwangCity Were a Place

OK, you might say Twang City is somebody's nickname for Nashville.

Not this TwangCity. Nope.

If TwangCity were a place, it would be a bar. The original name of this web radio station was Dogtown Saloon. I really don't remember why I changed it. I love a good bar, a roadhouse with a killer jukebox, maybe a bluegrass band or some live roadhouse blues. Yes!

Ever been to Heinhold's Last Chance Saloon, at Jack London Square in Oakland California? Wow. I  love the gas lamps and slanting floor (and bar). And the history. And the regulars and excellent bartenders.

WHen I was a kid, I stumbled into a joint in Hudson New York at 4:30 in the morning. Johnny Otis playing on the jukebox, chicken frying in the back room, plentiful  bourbon,  a three-hundred pound blond hooker, and three or four older African-American gentlemen who for some reason took a liking to  me and my friends, and bought us drinks and told us stories until dawn.

I remember another after-hours night, in Bolinas California, at Smiley's Schooner Saloon, where I ended up on the pool table with a sweet but tough biker gal who later took me home and cooked me a hell of a breakfast. I stole her recipe for home fries. Secret ingredient? Lots of bacon.

I really miss Murph's, in Selkirk New York, on Route 144. Patty Murphy made sure everybody got along, so matter what color or class or age or politics. And the Murphburger at 3am ranks among the best burgers I've ever had.

Then there's a nameless place in the hills somewhere between Granville New York and Rutland Vermont. You have to know it's there. wood stove is running full bore, 24/7, from September to St. Patrick's day, and always a pot of soup on top. Don't want to ask exactly what that meat is in the soup, if you're squeamish about critters.

Vermont has some mighty fine bars. Maine too. Florida. Texas. Oh, I can't forget about McGrath's in Alameda, where I get my bluegrass fix these days. And Apple Jack's in La Honda. And that tiki bar on College Avenue in Oakland, the Conga Lounge. Try the blood orange martini.

I got some free dental work at the Old Mill in Mill Valley in the late 70's. Spent some of the best times of my life just down the street at Sweetwater. Hung out for hours after a show at Pauly's Hotel in Albany New York, swapping stories with John Hammond. Learned to play darts at the Mayflower in San Rafael.

TwangCity is not a tiki bar, but you might hear some slack key guitar.  We're not a pub, but we can probably rustle you up some Guinness if you're thirsty. The floor isn't slanted, but the porch is. No squirrel meat in the soup, but we do have a cookin' wood stove, a hell of a music collection, and some interesting characters hanging out.   Welcome!