Austin, besides being the Texas state capital, is home to much of the best in American roots music. Since the 1970s, ballsy blues players, renegade country pickers, and raw-voiced rockers have mixed & matched their musical styles in Austin’s thriving club scene. And that’s where Kent “Omar” Dykes holds court too. And it’s also where he’s recorded his latest Ruf album, Boogie Man, working with some of his adopted hometown’s most famous songwriters and musicians.
He hails from McComb, Miss., a town with the curious distinction of being home turf for both Bo Diddley and Britney Spears. It’s well established that Omar started playing guitar at seven, took to hanging out in edge-of-town juke joints at 12, joined his first band at 13 – the next youngest player being 50 – and played the sort of music where somebody bustin’ a cap at somebody else was just added percussion.
He was still Kent Dykes in those days, but by the time he hit 20 he had hooked up with a crazy-assed party band, called the Howlers, who specialized in playing frat parties. Looking back, he says, “We had two saxophone players on baritone and tenor who wore Henry Kissinger masks. They were called the Kissinger brothers. Not on every song, mind you. Sometimes it was Dolly Parton playing saxophone. Or Cher. And we had these cardboard cutouts from record stores for skits.” They even did fake ads for Sunshine Collard Greens and Howlers’ Fried Chicken – “for that old-fashioned taste that tastes just like Grandma.”
It was a crazy time, but a helluva lot of fun too, with the rough & tumble Howlers playing R&B, R&R and even the occasional polka and western swing tune. A decade earlier and 250 miles north of McComb, Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn had learned their chops exactly the same way as members of the Memphis party band the Mar-Keys.
But Kent Dykes mostly just wanted to play blues. And by then the other Howlers had taken to calling him “Omar Overtone” because he tended to let his guitar feed back on stage while he dropped to the floor to spin on his back in a spontaneous, Big & Tall Store take on break-dancing. As he says, those performances were “sometimes fueled by, a-hmm, alcohol.”
By 1976, the Howlers decided they were ready to bust a big move and relocate to Austin, where such clubs as the Soap Creek Saloon, the Broken Spoke, the Armadillo World Headquarters and Antone’s had created a haven for renegade music. “We worked out of Austin for about a year,” Omar says, “but a lot of the guys decided they weren’t cut out to play music full-time for the rest of their lives. They headed back to Mississippi and Arkansas, and I decided to keep the name. Nobody objected.” And as Dykes says, Omar & the Howlers works better than Kent & the Howlers. Of such decisions are careers made.
Fronting a new lineup, Dykes honed a band capable of the sort of raw, rowdy, rambunctious blues that made Howlin’ Wolf and Hound Dog Taylor legends and inspired Don Van Vliet to become Captain Beefheart.
By then the Fabulous Thunderbirds were also getting started in Austin and T-Bird member Jimmie Vaughan’s kid brother, Stevie Ray, had formed Triple Threat with Lou Ann Barton, future Double Trouble-r Chris Layton and Jackie Newhouse (LeRoi Brothers). The T-Birds were the first to record, cutting their debut in 1979, but Omar wasn’t far behind with Big Leg Beat in 1980. His second, I Told You So, in 1984 made them the big men on the block – or at least along Austin’s famed Sixth Street – earning them consecutive Austin band-of-the-year awards in 1985-1986.
The following year Omar signed with Columbia Records and cut Hard Times in the Land of Plenty (1987), which sold in excess 500,000 copies, and Wall of Pride (1988). Since then there have been another dozen albums, all of them featuring Omar’s guitar and baritone voice, which reviewers describe as a cross between Howlin’ Wolf in his prime and the warning growl of a large primate. Hyperbole aside, the big man’s talents have earned an international following, prestigious awards and induction into the Texas musicians’ Hall of Fame.
For Boogie Man, his newest release on the Ruf label, Omar has brought in some of the songwriter friends he’s made in the 27 years since he left Mississippi for Texas. Ten of the 11 tracks on the 55-minute disc are collaborations. “Co-writing at this point in my life is a lot of fun. To me it’s like free songs. These are ones that I wouldn’t have had the patience to sit down and write on my own. But when you get with friends and drink coffee, tell jokes and stories, and then write something, it always turns out to be something different than what you might have done on your own.”
Plus it’s not exactly heavy lifting to work with such Texas icons as Ray Wyle Hubbard, Darden Smith, Alejandro Escovedo and Stephen Bruton. “Some of them I hadn’t seen for a while,” Omar says, “because like me they’re in bands and on the road. So when we got together, we end up reminiscing a lot. For instance, I’ve known Ray Wyle off and on for 20 years – acquaintances for a long time but pretty good friends now. In the old days, he was busy drinking and partying on his own, and I had my own party going on too.”
Besides the songwriting collaborators, Omar also brought some friends into the recording studio, including guitarists Chris Duarte and Jon Dee Graham (True Believers), Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Double Trouble, George Rains (Sir Douglas Quintet and house drummer on scores of Antone’s label releases) and his frequent running-mates Terry Bozzio (Missing Persons, Jeff Beck, Frank Zappa) and Malcolm “Papa Mali” Welbourne.
About the recording process, Omar says, “I played out for seven and a half months, with only a few days off, and I’d spend those cutting in the studio. I would have liked to take the time off to relax, but it was a lot of satisfaction writing and recording with my friends too. This was an album I’ve wanted to do for a long, long time.”
As for future plans, Omar says he’ll be back on the road soon. “I still do 150-160 shows a year, and with travel days that adds up to a lot of time away from home. It always seems like we’re on a plane headed somewhere.” Omar is touring currently with bassist Barry Bihm and drummer Jon Hahn.
Or as he sums things up in “That’s Just My Life”:
It’s a long way from Pittsburgh down to Knoxville, Tenn.,
But I’m in it for the long haul, and that’s all right with me.
Night-time keeps me in the roadhouse, daylight’s burning up the miles,
The blacktop goes forever, I was born a highway child.
Credit http://www.omarandthehowlers.com/home.html and Copyright to the parties where in the weblink-Bermont/follower of the Howlers
See Also: http://www.last.fm/music/+noredirect/Omar+and+The+Howlers
Don't You Know
Omar & The Howlers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
OMAR WILSON Featuring Angie Stone
Wishing on a star
For a lover like no other yeah
Are you who you say you are
Cuz I'm searching for someone to share my love Baby I been left before
And I know this time I got to be sure yeah
I'm lookin' for relations and I'm hoping it's you
(CHORUS)
Gotta get to know you better
Gotta get to know you better
Gotta get to know you better girl yeah Gotta get to know you better
Gotta get to know you better
Gotta get to know you better girl yeah
Baby girl you got me open
Wishing and I'm hoping that can hook up
Hang out baby girl and do some things
Boy you got me feeling you I don't know what to do Cuz of all of the hurt and all the drama
Things that I've been through yeah
Girl I'll be giving you quality time
Quality time space to unwind
Whatever it takes to make you mine
Well if what you say is true, I'll be making you my boo Giving you my heart and soul and mind and body too
(CHORUS)
Gotta get to know you better
Gotta get to know you better
Gotta get to know you better girl yeah Gotta get to know you better
Gotta get to know you better
Gotta get to know you better girl yeah
Girl just let me say you don't have to worry No I think I wanna give you my phone number I won't ever hurt ya
Let me cook you dinner baby
I'm giving you my heart girl
Baby are you listening
You can have the keys
To my crib to my car
I'm on my knees baby
(CHORUS)
Gotta get to know you better
Gotta get to know you better
Gotta get to know you better girl yeah Gotta get to know you better
Gotta get to know you better
Gotta get to know you better girl yeah
Gotta get to know ya better babe Gotta get to know ya better babe Wanna get to know you better babe Gotta get to know ya better babe Gotta get to know ya better babe Wanna get to know you better babe
Gotta get to know ya better babe Gotta get to know ya better babe Wanna get to know you better babe Gotta get to know ya better babe Gotta get to know ya better babe Wanna get to know you better babe
The song "Don't You Know" by Omar & The Howlers talks about searching for a genuine and loving relationship after being hurt before. The song's lyrics depict the singer's desire to get to know someone better in order to avoid getting hurt again. He has been left before, and doesn't want to go through the same thing again. He wishes for a lover who is honest, trustworthy, and willing to commit to a relationship. The chorus of the song emphasized this desire, with the singer stating that he needs to get to know his love interest better.
The verse also portrays the singer's willingness to make an effort to make the relationship work. He is looking for quality time with his partner and wants to give his all if what she says is true. He reassures her that he won't hurt her and is willing to grant her access to his life, such as his car and house keys. The song ends with the singer professing his love and the need to understand more about his love interest.
Overall, the lyrics of "Don't You Know" are a mix of desire, hope, and vulnerability. It speaks of the fear of getting hurt again and the heart's desire to find a genuine and devoted partner.
Line by Line Meaning
Wishing on a star
Expressing desire for a special love
For a lover like no other yeah
Hopeful for a one-of-a-kind soulmate
Are you who you say you are
Questioning authenticity of potential partner
Cuz I'm searching for someone to share my love
Seeking a person to grow and intimacy with
Baby I been left before
Having been abandoned by past love
And I know this time I got to be sure yeah
Realizing the importance of solid trust in a relationship
Ain't got no time for shady situations
Avoiding deceitful circumstances in romance
I'm lookin' for relations and I'm hoping it's you
Searching for lasting love and hoping the potential partner is the one
Gotta get to know you better
Emphasizing the desire to learn more about the potential partner
Gotta get to know you better girl yeah
Reinforcing the urgency to build a deeper connection with the potential partner
Baby girl you got me open
Feeling vulnerable and open due to love interest
Wishing and I'm hoping that can hook up
Desiring and wishing for a romantic connection
Hang out baby girl and do some things
Wanting to spend time and experience moments together
Boy you got me feeling you I don't know what to do
Feeling attracted and confused to the potential partner
Cuz of all of the hurt and all the drama
Having scars from past romance and complications
Things that I've been through yeah
Reflecting on previous experiences that shape current love desires
Girl I'll be giving you quality time
Promising meaningful moments spent together
Quality time space to unwind
Providing personal time and space for relaxation and decompression
Whatever it takes to make you mine
Willing to put forth any effort to lock down the potential partner
Well if what you say is true, I'll be making you my boo
Considering making the potential partner a significant other if they are genuine
Giving you my heart and soul and mind and body too
Offering all of oneself to the potential partner in a committed relationship
Girl just let me say you don't have to worry
Reassuring potential partner of devotion and reliability
No I think I wanna give you my phone number
Offering a direct line of communication to pursue a romantic connection
I won't ever hurt ya
Vowing to never purposefully harm potential partner
Let me cook you dinner baby
Wanting to show affection through providing food and care
I'm giving you my heart girl
Offering love and affection to potential partner
Baby are you listening
Asking for attention and focus from potential partner
You can have the keys to my crib to my car
Offering trust and access to personal belongings and space
I'm on my knees baby
Displaying humility and surrender to the potential partner
Gotta get to know ya better babe
Reiterating the importance of building a deeper connection with the potential partner, using variation in phrasing
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Omar Wilson, Michael Flowers, Louis Humphrey, Angie Stone
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind