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
Fire in the Jungle
Omar & The Howlers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And it won't let me sleep
It's burning every single minute
Of my life you see
Just like the fight in me
Makes me a devotee
And it's damned me since I've had it
But it's set me free
And every time we need it done
We've got to go
And every time we're given love
We said no
Cause we'll feed it to the flames
If it's what it takes
Don't stop it 'til we've made it
Oh
We won't stop it once it's started
It's tearing me apart
Tearing me apart
I've got this fire in me
And it won't let me sleep
It's burning every single minute
Of my life you see
Just like the fight in me
Makes me a devotee
And it's damned me since I've had it
But it's set me free
And we can change
Change the world around us all
It starts today
And if we tear it all down
Then what remains
We won't stop it once it's started
It's tearing me apart
Tearing me apart
I've got this fire in me
And it won't let me sleep
It's burning every single minute
Of my life you see
Just like the fight in me
Makes me a devotee
And it's damned me since I've had it
But it's set me free
I've got this fire in me
And it won't let me sleep
It's burning every single minute
Of my life you see
Just like the fight in me
Makes me a devotee
And it's damned me since I've had it
But it's set me free
I've got this fire in me
And it won't let me sleep
It's burning every single minute
Of my life you see
Just like the fight in me
Makes me a devotee
And it's damned me since I've had it
But it sets me free
The lyrics of Omar & The Howlers' song Fire in the Jungle speak about an inner fire that the singer possesses, which keeps burning every single minute of their life. This fire could signify a passion for a cause, a desire to achieve something, or a drive to make a change. The singer talks about how this fire has made them a devotee to their cause, and while it has caused some trouble in their life, it has also set them free.
The lyrics also touch upon the idea that the singer is not alone, and that together with other like-minded individuals, they can make a change and "change the world around us." There is a sense of urgency and determination in the lyrics, with the repeated refrain of "We won't stop it once it's started, it's tearing me apart" emphasizing this drive to make a difference.
Overall, the lyrics of Fire in the Jungle are a call to action, urging listeners to follow their passions and beliefs, and work together to make a change in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
I've got this fire in me
I have a passion within me
And it won't let me sleep
This passion keeps me awake
It's burning every single minute
This passion is constantly present
Of my life you see
It is a part of who I am
Just like the fight in me
This passion is like a fighting spirit
Makes me a devotee
It brings out a strong commitment within me
And it's damned me since I've had it
This passion has caused me trouble before
But it's set me free
But ultimately it has liberated me
We're not alone
We are not the only ones with this passion
And every time we need it done
Every time we have a task at hand
We've got to go
We are motivated to take action
And every time we're given love
When we receive love or opportunities
We said no
We reject them if they don't align with our passion
Cause we'll feed it to the flames
We will sacrifice anything for this passion
If it's what it takes
If that's what it requires
Don't stop it 'til we've made it
We will keep pursuing our passion until we reach our goal
We won't stop it once it's started
Once we have begun, we will not give up
It's tearing me apart
This passion is intense and challenging
And we can change
We can make a difference
Change the world around us all
We can make a positive impact on the world
It starts today
We can begin taking action now
And if we tear it all down
Even if we must destroy things along the way
Then what remains
The passion within us will still be present
I've got this fire in me
Reiteration of the passion within
And it won't let me sleep
Reiteration of how this passion affects sleep
It's burning every single minute
Reiteration of how constant this passion is
Of my life you see
Reiteration of how this passion is a part of oneself
Just like the fight in me
Reiteration of how this passion is like a fighting spirit
Makes me a devotee
Reiteration of the strong commitment this passion brings
And it's damned me since I've had it
Reiteration of how this passion has caused challenges
But it sets me free
Reiteration of how ultimately this passion has liberated
Lyrics © DistroKid
Written by: Moeen Abu-Omar
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind