Wayne the Train in Denton

An evening with the World's Finest Purveyor of Juke Joint Swing

Last Friday after work, I caught another Wayne Hancock show at Dan's Silverleaf in Denton. Wayne put on a great show, as usual, belting out original numbers like "Flatland Boogie", "Big City Good Time Gal", "Highway 54", and covers like Hank Williams' "Long Gone Lonesome Blues", Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues", and of course the immortal "Route 66". (That's "route" -- rhymes with "out" -- not "root".)

Wayne Hancock at Dan's Silverleaf. Denton, TX Jan. 11, 2008.

taking a break to replace a string

Once more, with a flash. Wayne always has plenty of smiles...

Wayne's either on the wagon or he's off; on Friday, he was "on", but there were still plenty of jokes about the kind of cigarettes he planned to smoke during the break between sets.

He and the band played past the bar's 2 AM closing time; twice he begged owner Dan to let him play just one more song, boasting that his shows cost half as much as Junior Brown's but he plays twice as much. "Some of those other guys, they charge twice as much and play twice as less!" Or something like that. I had a good time, even though all my friends who said they were gonna go bailed on me so I ended up hanging around there by myself. Go see him sometime; he puts on a hell of a show.

WSC

np: Speedtrucker - "Truck Drivin' Man (Give it all I can)"

Ghost signs - Denton, TX

Scenes from a visit to Denton on Tuesday, November 27...

Evers Hardware Co.

Beall's

"Happy Motoring" lettering above a service station garage. How long has it been since Exxon used this slogan?

Not a ghost sign, but interesting nonetheless. Can you spot a railroad reference?

Texas & Pacific lettering on railroad bridge over US-377.

A closer look. I'd love to see someone touch up the lettering and diamond logo...

four levels of construction workers

NFC 10-1 showdown

Tonight's the big night... the 10-1 Cowboys vs. the 10-1 Packers. Someone will be going home with a second loss. I think the Cowboys can win, IF Romo doesn't make too many mistakes. And it would be nice if Roy Williams could actually provide some pass coverage to keep Brett Favre from throwing for 400 yards. Go Cowboys...

WSC

np: the Gourds - cover of Snoop Dogg's "Gin & Juice"

nr: John Steinbeck - East of Eden

trackside in Denton County

On Tuesday morning, I spent some time along the UP Choctaw Sub between Roanoke and Denton. I had planned on going all the way to Whitesboro, but I got distracted in Denton working on vegetation control and looking for ghost signs during a break in the train activity. Whitesboro will have to wait. I'll post the ghost signs in my next entry. Meanwhile, here are some train pics...

Crossing signal and empty coal train

UP 7331 leads coal loads south out of Denton, with the landmark "Morrison Corn Kits" sign in the background. (A "corn-kit" is a box of corn muffin mix.)

This Western Pacific boxcar still looked pretty good...

UP 8029 leads a grain train south of Argyle.

M-K-T hopper with lettering still visible

former Rock Island hopper stencilled for another fallen flag (C&NW)

Grand Trunk logo on a boxcar at Roanoke

a buZ blurr drawing

Illinois Central Gulf boxcar at Roanoke

That's all for today... stay tuned for a few shots of Denton's ghost signs.

WSC, postponing Christmas shopping as long as possible

np: Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Sweet home Alabama"

nr: John Steinbeck - East of Eden