1980
to 1990
Stan
the Man:
By
the time Sam was released from Terminal Island Federal Prison
hippie was out and gangster was in. Hollywood had gone gangster
goofy and everybody was pretending to be a Super Fly. Sam’s
old buddy Mike Gizmo from the Blue Goat in Scottsdale asked
for help putting a nightclub together called Gizmos in Phoenix.
It was an old tough lesbian bar from the 1950’s. They
gathered a crew of the coolest of the cool to put up the cash
to change the atmosphere, stock the bar, hire a band and polish
the dance floor. An aging lesbian polished the dance floor
with Gizmo one night for screwing up her favorite hangout.
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Sam
played in a band with Stanley D. called the nasty brothers.
This was about funk and rhythm and blues in its truest
sense. Stan, Sam and the Phoenix players fell into a
natural groove that was unique. Stan's family was the
first black family in the Arizona Territory. Stan was
tough, talented and loveable. Stan was "Southwestern
Rhythm and Blues and unique as a voice musician gets.
Cocaine eventually ruined the party in the Southwest
but it's hard to imagine what the party would have been
like without it. In any case Stan the Man survived it
and has kept Phoenix on the Music Map because he plays
the tough tunes with the best players.
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Sam
grabbed the smoothest looking and best players he knew for
his house band (Stan Devereaux and Sam had played a lot of
gigs together before Sam went to prison. This combination attracted
a rehearsal crowd that looked like a Playboy parade. Ed and
Frank Mel (artists famous and fantastic) were close friends
and understood gangster atmosphere and space. The place quickly
became packed with a line outside the door.
The
old gangster formula is: the band brings the girls, the girls
bring the guys, the guys bring the money and then you sell
the bar to one of them before the joint gets raided. When the
gangsters go: the band goes and when the band goes the girls
go. When the girls go the guys go and the money is gone. Old
wisdom says: sell it when they’re 3 deep at the bar.
That is a hard thing to do because the cash is pouring in.
But that’s also when the pissed off husbands and wives,
dirty cops, bullies and wanna-bees find out where the place
is.
Gangsters,
the jazz and the girls fade away
Into the jungle to hide through the day
They bloom at night to party again
And search for the trail they found the Jazz in
Sam’s
stories about the old gangster bars, cockfights and whorehouses
are a glimpse into an ancient street philosophy of entertainment
and pleasure that goes back to the Gypsies (Egyptians).
Catemaco 1981:
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Sam
and Kris were riding a train out of Veracruz for the
Tijuana border. Sam had been in the jungle too long this
time. The farmers and villagers in the Veracruz/Oxaca
border region were fascinating. Sam was highly connected
and involved locally because of the reputation he had
earned at Terminal Island with the old Mexican families.
Sam had gone native and Kris came to guide him home again.
Sam and Kris were enjoying a quite moment before the
floor of this train cabin caught fire underneath Sam's
feet.
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His
inconspicuous exit from Veracruz got a little hot. His adventures
in the Veracruz mountains were packed with hard core action.
Ciudad
Juarez, Mexico 1984:
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Ciudad
Juarez, Mexico is the sprawling city that adjoins El
Paso, Texas across the Rio Grande River. These cities
are an ancient geological passage of humanity.
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The
smuggler lingo for this area is “The Pass”. Many
high level meetings and bloody power shifts occurred here
as a result of the drug war. Sam spent a lot of time in the
pass and dealing with conflict resolution. Sam loved peace
and had a way of getting folks to un-cock their weapons long
enough to make some money. He had friends in very high places
and a key to the city. It was deadly in the Pass but like
all “No-Man’s-Lands” everyone lived, laughed
and loved like there was no tomorrow and for many there wasn’t.
1984
kaia:
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Kaia
was Sam’s first daughter
and daddy’s girl. This photo captured a beautiful
moment between two ships emotionally rigged for heavy
weather in a temporarily calm sea.
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Chili's
Lounge 1985:
Sam
built a restaurant named Chili's outside of Indianapolis,
Indiana in 1985. He decorated the old red brick walls of
his converted "turn of the century" pharmacy with
wreaths and strands of red chili peppers tied in beautiful
Christmas bows. It was a beautiful floral contrast against
the old brick walls. The grand opening of Chili's Restaurant
was picture perfect and no expense was spared.
When
the chilies turn red in The Pass this marks the beginning
of the beautiful Christmas weeds that start pouring in from
all the remote parts of Mexico. The chili fields of Anthony,
New Mexico are a brilliant red and green. Sam knew that you
don't get any kind of pepper around a hunting dog and their
seemed to be a lot of dogs on the road between El Paso and
Indianapolis. Sam's Red Chili Christmas was a well executed
plan that will keep you leaning forward.
1964
Corvette Stingray:
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Sam’s
1964 Corvette Stingray was the real thing. It had
a 327 cubic inch 375 horse custom built motor.
Paul Romine of Indianapolis racing fame built the
motor. Sam’s corvette had a racing pedigree
and volumes of criminal history. Sam left the original
radio in it to get the full effect of the Oldie
Goldie cruise stations. Paul Romine was a famous
in the racing world but Sam knew that he was an
excellent bass player in his earlier days.
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Cockfighting
1986:
Sam
was deeply involved in the many varied cultures of
Mexico. He had a ranch in the mountains of Jalisco
and raised some of he finest battle cocks in Mexico.
Sam had grown up on a farm in Tennessee and old style
gentleman cockfighting was part of that culture as
it is in every rural agricultural area on earth. Sam
went to Mexico with the best birds Tennessee had to
offer and he earned a reputation as a world-class cockfighter.
He fought cocks from the major Pelanques of the big
Mexican cities to the fairs and festivals of the small
villages. Sam's reputation as a cockfighter allowed
him to come and go as he pleased into the most restricted
and guarded regions of Mexico. Sam will be posting
actual footage of some of the cockfights of Southern
Mexico with the music and festivities that surround
these colorful events. Additionally, Sam will explain
the ancient culture and art of cockfighting from a
different view. It is interesting to hear Sam explain
a seemingly vicious blood sport like cockfighting.
Sam loves all animals, all people and all cultures.
His take on the ancient art and necessity of cockfighting
is worth listening to. This one takes an open mind
and a compassionate heart to understand.
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The
poster of one of Sam's Cockfights in Manzanillo
has very famous Mexican entertainers on the
bill with Sam's Chickens. The most famous
movie stars and singers come to the cockfighting
arenas and perform as a halftime act between
the main fighting events.
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Not
only did Sam have friends in the military and police
forces he had friends that were as famous in Mexico
as Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe are in the United
States. Sam danced with Sasha Montenegro the actress
and drank Tequila and sang with Vicente Fernadez, El
Numero Uno. Vicente Fernadez is the most famous Mariachi
in Mexico they just call him “Number One”. The
deep cultural bond between the cities and the rural
communities merge at the Pelanque. Sam's adventures
and stories of fighting cocks in Southern Mexico will
amaze you no matter how your feel about cockfighting.
Sweetwater,
Texas May 1st 1989:
One
of Sam’s best friends and oldest member of his
smuggling family called Sam and told him to meet up
in Nolan County, Texas. It was a set up. Sam was beaten
and tortured for days before he was able to get a message
out to his family and attorneys and warn the others.
Fred
the Rat had called several of the oldest family members
into Nolan County. In all they took over $4 million
in cash, "Harvey the RV", a flatbed truck
and trailer and a long list of toys. This was a major
hit for Sam, his friends and the many families that
depended on them. Marijuana creates an alternate economy
and revenue for the poor universally and these old
school smugglers had a lot of people that depended
on them. When Fred the Rat broke the inner circle and
chain of command thousands of people started suffering.
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The
Nolan County Sheriff was trying to get Sam
to implicate Willie Nelson in this smuggling
operation. The Sheriff knew that Willie had
nothing to do with 22 thousand pounds of weed
because he and an old Texas senator were in
on the operation from the beginning. Willie
is a living legend and that gives him a certain
power to be reckoned with and controlled if
possible. There was a major push to silence
and bring Willie down publicly. Sam got caught
in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sam would
never bring harm to his smuggling family or
just as important: innocent and unwitting bystanders
like Willie Nelson and family.
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Gravely
Hills Farm House:
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Sam
is setting in front of his families old Gravely
Hills house just North of Gallatin, Tennessee.
Sam's books have several references to Gravely
Hills. This is where the black juke joints were
jumping in the old days and people would drive
from Nashville and further to dance, drink and
be merry before church on Sunday.
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