Get some sleep, LaBeef
Tomorrow night we play Magic Bag in Ferndale, MI. This is a show we’ve really been looking forward to, not only because we’re sharing the stage with some talented and successful Detroitians (Detroitamatrons?), but also because Magic Bag is, so I gather, one of these big, historical theater type of places that every musician wants to play.
I’ve never been, so I went to their website to see if they had any pictures of the place. They don’t. They do, however, have a short list of notables who have played there, including: Los Lobos, Burning Spear, and Sleepy LaBeef.
Sleepy LaBeef. Best name ever? I had never heard of him, but apparently he’s a rather large fella, a rockabilly guitarist who’s shared bills with the likes of Elvis and Roy Orbison. Not bad. He also claims to be a major influence on The Beatles and The Boss. Now he’s in his late 60’s, playing 200 shows a year and, according to his bio, with “such energy that people a third of his age are annihilated…” Whoa!
So that’s Sleepy’s story, or at least a completely abbreviated version of it. When The Sapiens take the stage at Magic Bag tomorrow, hopefully we’ll make Sleepy LaBeef proud and annihilate at least a few people.
-Charlie
- LaBeef solo
July 11, 2008 at 9:43 am
It’s Detroiters.
Or formally, Detroitianites.
July 14, 2008 at 7:45 am
Sleepy is indeed a force of nature. He’s my guru, since I play the same kind of repertoire as he: Rock n Roll, Blues, Gospel, Country, Bluegrass. I play harp with with his band when he’s in this neck of the woods (the F-state). He’s also known as The Human Jukebox–he’s FORGOTTEN more songs than you and I will probably ever learn! Even though he had a major heart attack a couple of years ago, he’s still out there on the road in the van with the band, ramblin’ from town to town. If he ever comes your way, be sure and go see him–tell him Magic Marco sent you!
P. S. He got the nickname “Sleepy” because of his eyes: he has the kind of eyes where a good bit of white is visible below the pupils, which makes him look sleepy all the time. (The Japanese have a name for this: Sanpaku.)