Got Jim Boyer in my Toyota xtra cab, went to pick up Jeffery at his house. He seemed enormous, poking his head thru the window between the cab and the pickup canopy, which barely was big enough for the cowboy titan.
We went to the Belmont Inn where Jimmy had Monday nights. This was my one and only time playing with Jeffery. He died soon thereafter. Got to know Jake Ray, his son, pretty well. Played gigs with Jake in the Dalles, Mosier, and Maryhill Museum founded by Sam Hill. Michael Hurley was our headliner, I organized the music for the Museum's art 2 day outdoor art festival.
When I go to the Belmont Inn now, shoot some pool., I look at that corner of the bar and wish there were a plaque: Here played Jeffery Fredrick. Jim Boyer (RIP). the Bad Livers. No FX.
My rancid old father in law has a story about Jeffery getting into the whiskey cabinet and swilling to no end. Music is a good keeper, so brine is welcome.
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"Jeffrey Sutton Frederick (1950–1997) was a songwriter, guitarist and performer specializing in good-time Americana music—an idiosyncratic blend of folk, country and rock and roll. He was a largely uncredited predecessor of today's alternative country music genre.
Also notorious for his pranks, he was a prodigious songwriter, specializing in sly, hilarious and soulful pieces. Frederick's tightly crafted songs and intricate guitar work were praised by the likes of Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, and Dan Hicks.
Frederick developed many of his best-known songs during this period, such as "What Made My Hamburger Disappear" (which was borrowed by the TV program, Sesame Street, even though it is actually written from the perspective of somebody having a heart attack),
"Robbing Banks" (which Frederick claimed was written for his great-uncle, "Gentleman" Willie Sutton), "Stolen Guitar", and many others. His songs were almost invariably inspired by real people and events. For instance, during this period, in northern Vermont there was increasing tension between conservative rural and establishment Vermonters and the young "hipster" crowd.
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"In 1976 the bands took off on a 9,000-mile Bicentennial tour of the perimeter of the United States. During this tour, Frederick was arrested in Texas for performing in a dress, and the band was escorted out of Alabama by the state police, for singing the irreligious gospel tune, "Let Me Down" ("Take these nails right out of my hands/And I swear you will get to the promised land/All your sins are forgiven/now let me down...").
During the tour, Frederick recorded Have Moicy!
("best album of the year," Village Voice, "the top folk album of the rock era," Rolling Stone Magazine)
with Jill, Michael Hurley, Peter Stampfel, Paul Presti, Dave Reisch, Robin Remaily, Wax Iwaskiewicz and Robert Nickson. His contribution to this groundbreaking record is widely recognized.
For example, rock critic Robert Christgau has described Frederick as "the secret hero of my beloved Have Moicy."
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