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Welcome back, my friends, to the "Battle" that never ends.
We're so glad you could attend. Come inside! Come inside!
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This is 'BATTLE OF THE BANDS' ('BOTB') where you listen to different recordings and vote for the one you like best. A new Battle gets posted on the 1st of each month and on the 7th, I place my own vote, tally 'em all up and announce the winner.
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Friend? Foe? Stranger? No matter, ALL are welcome. So pull up a chair, pour yourself 24 oz. of DOG BITE High Gravity Lager (or the poison of your choice) and turn it up to Eleven!
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[NOTE: Links to the first year of 'BOTB' (#1 - #24) can be found at the very bottom of this page.]

Saturday, January 8, 2022

BOTB RESULTS: MARGARITA DAY, 2022 (Or, THE CHAMPS VERSUS JIMMY BUFFETT)

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Sometimes the underdog wins!

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I created this Battle Of The Bands installment (HERE) believing that 'Margaritaville' by Jimmy Buffett would probably beat The Champs' 'Tequila' by a fairly comfortable margin. And although I really dig BOTH songs, I also came into this Margarita Day (Jan. 1, 2022) Battle thinking I would be voting for 'Margaritaville' - no question.

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But then, listening again, closely, to 'Tequila' by The Champs, my own vote suddenly seemed less certain. Mang, I LOVE that raunchy saxophone! I seriously had to reconsider my BOTB bote a couple of different times but I finally did decide to stick with my first impression, voting for Jimmy Buffett's hit.

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See, here's the thing: although I'm a rebel's rebel, and therefore I haven't a single tattoo on my body, this verse really tickles me:

Don't know the reason

I stayed here all season

Nothin' to show but this brand new tattoo

But it's a real beauty

A Mexican cutie

How it got here I haven't a clue

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Also, there was a kind of Lost Weekend on Catalina Island, circa 1982. In my book manuscript about The League Of Soul Crusaders, the story was told in chapter 16, 'Twenty-Six Miles Across The Sea'. Nappy, my friend Dean, and I took the boat to Catalina. The weekend started with a fifth of Bacardi 151, and it ended with us drinking daiquiris until our money ran out. We had only enough money to get the van out of the parking lot in San Pedro when we got back to the mainland. And in between the rum and the daiquiris, there was one wild story after another (like sleeping on park benches, sleeping on a mountain top, and running from the cops).

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The rest of that day we spent lying under palm trees on the knoll near an outdoor bar and we had the waitress bring us a steady flow of daiquiris. A stranger and his wife passed by and he stopped when he saw us. "You know, I haven't seen you guys without a drink in your hands for three days", he said. This was the first time we had noticed the gentleman but apparently we had made our presence known on Santa Catalina Island.

~ pages 119 & 120

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Although rum & daiquiris were the alcoholic theme of that trip, because of the laid-back island atmosphere, any time I hear Jimmy Buffett's 'Margaritaville', I am immediately nostalgically transported back to Catalina and that wild, wild weekend. So... as much as I dig 'Tequila' by The Champs, it's 'Margaritaville' for me.

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THE FINAL TALLY

The Champs ('Tequila') = 8 votes

Jimmy Buffett ('Margaritaville') = 4 votes

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My genuine thanks to each and every one of you who came by here with two cents for the BOTB kitty. Also, my sincere wishes for a healthy & happy 2022! Hopefully you will all return for my next Battle Of The Bands contest on February 1st. Until then, may you...

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Bless And Be Blessed!!

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~ Stephen T. McCarthy

14 comments:

  1. I thought Margaritaville would win as Tequila seems spazzy. Good story, I went to Catalina just once on a motor boat of my girlfriend's brother and dad (she didn't go). from Long Beach. Did you know chumming is illegal? We did yet somehow my gf's brother (I knew him before I dated his sister) had no problem throwing chunks of fish of the boat and circling in smaller and smaller circles.. sure enough sharks arrived at the end of our fishing poles. He had no problem clubbing them on the back of the head as they were pulled on board. (He's built like at least a high school level linebacker)... on the way, then Catalina seemed this forest utopia where you hear music from a distance and walk toward a giant outdoor party. Thanks for bringing up the memory and the space to do so. ("Me me me me"). Happy start to 2022. Da Da Da Da Da - Corona!

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    1. G DogG ~

      >>... I thought Margaritaville would win as Tequila seems spazzy.

      Well, I've certainly seen tequila make men spazzy (myself included). They should just label it as 'Jail Juice'.

      Wow! Shark-hunting!! Now THAT'S something The League never did. And it's just as well, because undoubtedly Pooh would have fallen in, disappeared in seconds, and then who would pay for the pizzas?!

      Pooh was our most important entertainment feature, and The League without him would have been like 'The Andy Griffith Show' without Don Knotts!

      Truth be told, I hadn't come up with no kinda BOTB match-up for February 1st, and I even briefly toyed with the idea of skipping it. But then this Battle reminded me of another Booze Battle I've had on my 'To Do' list since December of 2019.

      So, I hope you'll be back for mo' drinkin' tunes in my next contest. We're gonna go down to the Silver Dollar Saloon and check out what they have on their jukebox. Brother, be there or be... somewheres else.

      ~ D-FensDogG
      'STEPHEN T. McCARTHY REVIEWS...'

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  2. Who hasn’t slept on a park bench? I’m glad you have such fond memories and glad the Champs won

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  3. Oh you don’t know the chicken dance? This was at every wedding way back when, now try not to get up and do this because I know you will love it... https://youtu.be/6UV3kRV46Zs

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    1. "Let's-a hear it for-a Bobby and-a Sissy!"

      SBBVI

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    2. BIRGIT ~

      Ha!-Ha! I think I *may* have seen that Chicken Dance done at a wedding or two, but I'm not certain because I have been fairly successful at blocking out from my memory most of the weddings I've attended in my life. I eventually took to calling them "funerals".

      I got a good chuckle out of this remark in that video's comment section:
      >>... "This dance set western civilization back a thousand years.

      GOL! :^D

      The League Of Soul Crusaders had a dance it invented in the early 1980s, but it was not nearly as structured as The Chicken Dance. We called it 'The Hangover Waltz' and it was done on Saturday and Sunday mornings (some other mornings, too), and it was performed to Side 2 of The Beatles' "White Album" (i.e., 'Martha My Dear' through 'Julia'). But, truthfully, we never danced to 'I Will' or 'Julia', because by the end of 'Why Don't We Do It In The Road?' we were already off and running after the next hangover.

      Thanks (I think) for introducing me to, or reminding me of The Chicken Dance, Birgit. You'll pay for that, M'Dear. And your little dog, too! ;-)

      ~ D-FensDogG
      'STEPHEN T. McCARTHY REVIEWS...'

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  4. They are both good songs, but so different. That raunchy sax is some good stuff and so evocative of my late childhood. I listened to a lot of music like that back then--probably because my parents did too and we had a lot of records like that in the house.

    Nice outcome. I would have thought Buffett would have carried it, but the Champs makes sense too.

    In all my years living in L.A. I have yet to go to Catalina. I'm not real fond of boat trips and neither is my wife so we'll probably never make that trip. My oldest daughter Ada was proposed to by her husband of now 12 years on Mt Ada in Catalina. The island hopes a special place in their memories. Who knows--maybe they'll drag us there someday.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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    1. BOIDMAN ~

      'Tequila' was the kind of music my Ma also liked. She had a wide range of musical interests, but it certainly included tunes like 'Tequila'; groups like Bill Doggett, Bill Black's Combo and, yes, even the song 'Raunchy'.

      I've been to Catalina Island twice. The first time was very sedate compared to the second. I was just camping with a friend - hiking, exploring, and drinking beer (not in excess).

      That second trip, with the same friend, Dean, and my Brother - *THAT* was the one where everything went wonky. (I like to joke that the cops on Catalina are probably *STILL* looking for us.)

      It's a pretty cool, neat, memorable place. But I wouldn't recommend going during this Mask Era. I don't recommend going ANYWHERE during this Mask Era.

      ~ D-FensDogG
      'STEPHEN T. McCARTHY REVIEWS...'

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  5. That was some "Lost Weekend!" ☺ I always wanted to visit Catalina Island, but it never happened. Pity! I'm surprised the results weren't closer, since both songs are good.

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    1. DEBBIE D'DOGLADY ~

      I even left out most of the real action (like discovering a seemingly dead body; the arguments and near brawl; the Black guys who wanted to party with us, etc.) Nappy, Dean and I were barely even speaking to each other by the end of that long weekend. Not good. It's no wonder Bacardi 151 has since been taken off the market. ;^D

      Catalina's pretty cool. If you ever get the chance again, you should check it out. But choose your traveling companions wisely. (HA!)

      I definitely agree that both songs are good, however, I kind of anticipated this same voting spread. But my guess was that Jimmy Buffett would be the one with the 8 botes. (BOTB - the mystery continues!)

      ~ Stephen
      DogGtor of Alcohology &
      King of Inebriation Nation

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    2. I really want to read that book, Stephen! Are you SURE you don't want to publish it?

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    3. Ha!-Ha!
      Honestly, Debbie, everyone seems to love the '80s, and this book would probably make my buddies and me rich and famous. But, we played with automobiles the way two-year-olds play with Jello, and we must have had guardian angels working overtime to keep us (relatively) safe.

      I'm truly afraid that if I rewrote and published this book, after it was made into a movie (because kids don't read), a bunch of young fools would try to emulate some of the stuff we did and would get hurt, or worse. And I really wouldn't want that on my conscience.

      I think it's best if the full story remains out of view. Too bad, though, because I could use the money. :^D

      ~ D-FensDogG

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  6. Well, darn it! I forgot to stop by and enter the contest again. I have started my own "10 Step Program" trying to remember stuff! 1) Write on my own blog and read others' blogs weekly. (help me with my program, Stephen T!)

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    1. Don't feel too bad about it, BECKY-O!

      If I didn't leave a note on my bedside table reminding me to get up each morning, I would just lie in bed all day every day. In fact, sometimes I ignore the note and do that, regardless! ;^D

      ~ D-FensDogG
      'STEPHEN T. McCARTHY REVIEWS...'

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