The Who Discovered What?

Clay Allison - Live at the Electric Banana, Pittsburgh, PA (5/22/84) Part 1
Clay Allison - Live at the Electric Banana, Pittsburgh, PA (5/22/84) Part 2

Had a fun talk with a couple of my students the other day about Columbus versus the Vikings and who discovered America. Or which known European historical figure "discovered" the Americas, to be more politically correct perhaps.

They were flabbergasted at this idea; it went against everything they'd been taught. And these young ladies were 17 and 18 years old. But they had never once heard about this. Or if they had, they'd forgotten. My best guess, though, would be on the "Never Told About" side.

History teachers at the middle and high school level can be a fairly conservative bunch, both personally and politically, and it often shows in their teaching. I've met exactly two that I'd think of as "liberal." Also, the textbooks they use can be pretty conservative. After all, most textbooks in the US have to meet a vetting standard out of Texas - not a bastion of liberality. This is because textbook publishers desperately have to sell to the Texas school system, it's such a huge customer. So they tailor and basically censor their textbooks to meet the parochial demands of the Texas board which reviews such. California also plays a huge role in this process, but the best bet for publishers is to error on the side of conservatism even if historical truth and fairness and scientific reasoning and a bunch of other good things get jettisoned along the way.

My students probably didn't want to know as much about this as I told them, a common ailment I've found since I can go on and on at length on topics I enjoy (a fact any regular reader here will attest to), but the discussion was entertaining and enlightening. Their textbook actually mentioned "Lief Erickson Day' and they wanted to know when that happens. Lucky them, I said, it's this week - before Columbus Day! The rest of the conversion centered on where in town they could buy Viking helmets to celebrate.

Hmm. What does this have to do with some live Clay Allison? I dunno, except maybe that I've already said about all I can say about my obsession with all things Opal/Kendra Smith-related? And that the past is always prologue.

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Now playing: Ken Chambers - Out of the bag
via FoxyTunes

Carry That Head, In That Burlap Sack

Clay Allison - First Time Live (Unknown Venue, Possibly 1983)

I first heard Opal (having only read a review of the first Clay Allison vinyl but never finding a copy) driving home from work through a blizzard. "Rocket Machine" came blasting out of the shit speakers of my shit Subaru and I fell in love and I turned the Shitaru around and risked my life driving back into town to get to the nearest record store as fast as possible. They were just closing up due to the storm, but let me in so I could grab their only copy of Happy Nightmare Baby. I don't remember driving home, but I spent the rest of the night listening to this incredible, precious, beautiful THING over and over and over again. The Shitaru is long gone but I still got Opal.

HISTORY: This came to me on tape years back, labelled as Clay Allison's live debut, no date, no venue. We'll take it as given until proven otherwise. More electric than I would've expected it to be if it truly is their first gig but it really doesn't sound like live Opal, either. I'll give you some live Opal soon so you can compare.

There's nothing in print to buy from Clay Allison, Opal, or Kendra Smith. This is very, very, very sad. All you can do now is tipple your absinthe and cry, boys, cry.

* According to one commentor, if this really is the first Clay Allison gig, then it was at Cathay de Grande in Hollywood, CA.