A gritty, veteran boogie-blues band from Texas, Omar and the Howlers have b… Read Full Bio ↴A gritty, veteran boogie-blues band from Texas, Omar and the Howlers have been delivering their soulful, original songs to dedicated fans in Europe and the U.S. South for more than a generation.
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
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
Hard Times In The Land Of Plenty
Omar & The Howlers Lyrics
We have lyrics for these tracks by Omar & The Howlers:
Bad Seed You know I've always been a bad seed Drifted any way…
Bamboozled I been hoodwinked I been bamboozled I been left for dead I b…
Big Chief Pontiac I bought a Big Chief Pontiac …
Border Girl Omar & The Howlers Border Girl The day is long and…
Daddy Daddy Ya Chingando ella me dice "Daddy" (eso e' así) Yo soy su…
Dimestore Hoo Doo Dime store hoo doo, Five and Ten voodoo …
Don't Lead Me On In this dirty old part of the city Where the sun…
Don't You Know Get To Know You OMAR WILSON Featuring Angie Stone Wishing o…
Drowning In Love She say she independent and got a habit for spending She…
Enough Is Enough What's the motion the real emotion Shit hit different when y…
Everywhere I Go You whipped me, I'm hurting Abused me for certain And…
False Faces We′re wearin' false faces And it ain′t even halloween We're …
Fire In The House We see tremendous injustice and tragedy in the world And the…
Fire in the Jungle I've got this fire in me And it won't let me…
Firewalker I'm a firewalker holy ghost talker I'll walk the coals to…
Hey Joe Hey Joe, where you goin' with that gun of your…
Highway 49 Well I´m gonna get up in the morning Hit the Highway…
Hoo Doo Dime store hoo doo, Five and Ten voodoo …
I Want You Baby, I want you around And baby, I want you around I'm…
I'm Gone I got a pink sport coat, alligator shoes …
Ice cold woman You can call me ugly You can call me fat…
Jumpin' The Gun I was wrong to think that you were right But now…
Lee Anne Lee Anne I want to be your special man Lee Anne…
Life Is Just a Circle The world´s not picture perfect And the streets ain´t paved …
Life Without You It that time of year To be of good cheer It's that…
Loud Mouth Woman Kept me jumpin' turned me to a nervous wreck …
Magic Man Long ago and far away I was born on my…
Midnight Ramblin' Man When the moon is full late at night …
Mississippi Hoo Doo Man Born in Mississippi in the dust of a cotton patch…
Monkey Land I'm a monkey's uncle …
Moon Bit Fool You can make my coffin from the finest wood Polish it…
Muddy Springs Road I hate to hear that screen door slammin' Hard for me…
Rattlesnake Shake I got hell hounds on my trail Bad luck and trouble…
Rose Tattoo Old enough to know Too young to drink champagne Old enough t…
Shake for me Shake for me. Come on and set me free …
Special Love I'm so glad I have found a special love …
Tears Like Rain Your mind and your experience call to me You have lived…
We Gotta Get Out Of This Place In this dirty old part of the city Where the…
What Can I Do HOOK If I Did What niggas do to me They'd call me c monster…
You Ain't Foolin' Nobody So you're back at my door The one you walked out You…
We have lyrics for these tracks by Omar:
A Day With You It's a lovely night Full of colored lights And all the stars…
Alain Vieles passiert, seit du weg bist Lange Zeit her, dass wir…
All For Me How many days Can I go without seeing your face? Not…
As Long as You Believe Why don't you talk to me, love? Why can't I feel…
BABY WEIN Baby, wein, Baby, wein Da-da, da-da Baby, wein, Baby, wein D…
BALLERMANN Ballermann scharf am Sipp, in der Hood, ich bin hart…
Be Thankful Though you may not drive a great big Cadillac Gangster white…
Bendo Komm' aus der Siedlung, hoch aus'm Block Aus dem tiefsten He…
Bereuen Das Leben lieben war nie so mein Ding Warum auch, wenn…
Big Chief Pontiac I bought a Big Chief Pontiac …
big round world Everybody's talkin' bout the clothes you wear …
Can't Get Nowhere Can't get over you Can't get over you Your skin feels like…
Come On Speak To Me I don’t do The bullshit I don’t do the bullshit…
DEALER (COLLEGE) Das geht an jeden Blockjungen auf der Straße mit …
Demi Ich leg' ihr Flex auf das Apple-Display (Mmh) Lass ficken, o…
DEPRESSIONEN Mein einziges Feature, auf meinem Album Black on Black, ist…
Destiny You know I cannot be caught up in all of…
DRITTE WELT Ich-ich-ich komm' mit Haschplatten aus der Dritten Welt an F…
Essensual Baby I I just want to hold your hand Maybe then you'll…
Feeds My Mind Yeah Think of something now And close your eyes now It's tim…
Feeling You Ooh ooh ooh, yeah yeah, ooh ooh ooh Ooh ooh ooh,…
Feeling You - Henrik Schwarz Remix Talking of summer days enjoy in so many ways Taking time…
Fine Yea you know you're so fine You know that you right Every…
Firewalker I'm a firewalker holy ghost talker I'll walk the coals to…
Fuck War Make Love I don't want to play by your rules Nothing to gain…
Get It Together And when she turns away from me I don't know where…
Get To Know You Better Get To Know You OMAR WILSON Featuring Angie Stone Wishing o…
Ghana Emotion Everywhere I look around I see history The birth of man…
HABIBI Drü-drü-drück Menge, klein oder groß, Wegmachgeld, gib ihm (…
HAZE (COLLEGE) Ich komm' von Dreißig-Kilo-Anklage zu rappen bei C…
HIER IM VIERTEL Hier im Viertel sind die Blocks hoch Kinder haben Gift in…
High Heels 3'oclock in the morning Where could you be You said you come…
HÖR NIE AUF Bruder, die Sorgen, die du grade hast, sind hart Das Leben…
HOT Ey, e-ey, ja Mister Dardy (COLLEGE), Omar Ich war schon fit…
I Take your time, think about If you doubt This is what you…
I Can Listen Yeah Yeah Are you receiving me I'm talking loud and clear Ba…
I Know I Know you are somewhere out there I Know you are…
I Want It I Celebrate to be Our love is hot like tea Only you…
I'm In Love She say she independent and got a habit for spending She…
IM BLOCK Ich erinner' mich an Tage, wo der Hunger größer war…
Intro I need, I need you I want, I want you Three days…
Is This Love Why are we here? Why are we wasting all of this…
It's So Oh no Oh no, no, no I can see the light that…
It's So... I can see the light that shines on me, I…
Ka Du Ik Paidmen Alt det, vi har, det misted' jeg troen til stille…
KARMA Así empecé esto lo e echo desde que era pequeño Empezó…
Kiss It Right Lots a people faking, I don't really mind Cause as plain…
Ku Ku Ya Allah hanya padaMu ku bersujud Matikan lah aku dalam keim…
Leave Here Running Leave here runnin' I ain't got time to lose …
Let's Go Back I've been broken so many times Trying to face the world…
Little Boy El camino que lleva a Belén Baja hasta el valle que…
lover man I got me a gal named Bessie Got two gals named…
Lullaby Do you remember that old lullaby? That we used to sing…
MAMA WEISS (College) Nicht ohne Grund hab' ich Dämonenaura Das Hase, w…
Moon Bit Fool You can make my coffin from the finest wood Polish it…
Need You Bad Please don't run away from the world when the world…
Never Let Go I said I tried to use what I know But you…
NOCH EIN DREHEN (College) Ich werd' empfangen in der Zelle mit 'nem Handy u…
Nostalgia di te Primera vez que yo te vi me enamoraste Te di todo…
NWP Ich hab' es gehasst, die Pakete zu packen Guck, ich wurde…
On Stage With Me Vibe with me Rock with you Rock with me Start sipping Go diz…
Ordinary Day I'd just like to say my love has grown. I've got…
Outside When you feel that you've had enough And the times are…
PANISCH Leben planlose Tage auf Jack bis dreizehn Uhr Kalt wie der…
Passage into Midnight (instrumental song)…
PAUSE Leben war nicht immer leicht, mit der Erfahrung bleiben Narb…
PUSH MEIN PACK (COLLEGE) Pow, pow, pow (krr) Black on Black, Black on Blac…
Reality You've been telling me to come home tonight, but I…
Rose Tattoo Old enough to know Too young to drink champagne Old enough t…
Say Nothin' Ol' Dirty Bastard (Omar)] Yo, Yo, Yo, Yo No I ain't sayin'…
SEGEN UND FLUCH (COLLEGE) (Ayy, Jiby) Sind paar Jahre vergangen Außer viel …
Simplify All at once I see something in your eyes I wanna…
Sing When things get right on top of you, its time…
Soledad Anoche shorty me salio picua Me le puse duro y la…
Sòledad Se canso de llorar Y condeno su corazón a una celda (The…
Stichnarben Ey, bevor du mein'n Matt siehst Will ich dein Geld sehen…
Stylin I can see that you're cool, got something I want I…
Syleste Doo doo doo doo No no no no no Na na na…
TEK TEK In der Zeit, wo Mama nachts am Heulen war Lief ich…
Tell Me Please, tell me how How can I stop from wanting you…
The Man I can love you with my eyes closed I don't lose…
There I know you're holding some tears They haunt your new memorie…
There Is Nothing Like This Sip a glass of cold champagne wine The rug that we…
Theres Nothing Like This Sip a glass of cold champagne wine The rug that we…
There’s Nothing Like This Sip a glass of cold champagne wine The rug that we…
This Is Not A Love Song This is not a love song This is not a love…
To Be Alone Yeah, I keep a prison bible Looking for the money, I…
To The Top Top Warrior, concen donde estamos Te esperamos en el barrio …
Too Much Ella empezó despacio Ganándome terreno Y yo que no necesito …
UNSER SONG (COLLEGE) Und immer wenn ich mit roten Augen nach Hause komm…
Use Me My friends feel it's their appointed duty They keep trying …
Vicky's Tune I've got to learn to take my time Always making moves…
VILLA Ma-ma-mach' die Scheiße nicht umsonst, Bro Wenn dich einer f…
Wine Headed Woman Wine headed woman …
Winner Kki jom burijima neo ttaeme nan maeilmaeil buranhae Oneuldo …
WINTER (COLLEGE) Ich bring' die Mucke für den Winter Für Kinder mi…
World Of You Please don't run away from the world when the world…
You And Me (Hello my lovely, I'm actually able to do more stuff…
You Didn't Call Me (He don't love me no more) (He don't love) (He don't love…
you need me (Hello my lovely, I'm actually able to do more stuff…
Your Loss My Gain Back again for round two, we're still not done, we've…
Your Mess One night I was talking to a friend of mine He…
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Daemonic Nimrod
This song's got a deep enough groove you could probably play it at any cemetery and raise the dead into dancing..Awesome!!
Alan Pilon
Lol
gnot gnot
Omar for life.....You guys rock the world big time. Thanks for all the wonderfull music ! :)
69pinkmeat
I found this album in a discount bin at a local department store in 1987 fell in love with then and is still in my album collection today and in fact it is still at #3 in my collection ! sad they were most unsung southern rock bands people that have not heard them are really missing a real treat they just have such a wonderful Delta sound with such drive ! also a must hear is Omar&the howlers 2nd album monkey land ......kudos as well !
VeronicanAudio
I love this song, loved it since I was a little kid and my mum owned it on an LP. Omar and The Howlers - Hard Times in the Land of Plenty for life!!!
bill s
Man i cant believe i just heard this open supernatural ...my dad was rockin this album for 20 sum years ....mississippi hoodoo man is awesome tool go sam and dean
kristen hughes
Sounds like ACDC
SA spinks
As well as Dancin in the Canebreak
Harry Saenz
Looks like Omar had it figured out a long time ago!!!!!! Truth in music!!!! Rock on Omar and the Howlers!!!!!
SilentKnight43
Bought this on vinyl back in the day when it was released. Killer track.