Rockin' the Caskets Like a Man From the Carpathians

I knew that Hungarian Ambassador to the United States Andras Simonyi was in a rock band, but I did not know it was called The Coalition of the Willing. And, depending on your point of view, something about the following paragraph is just plain Wrong … or Right.

Simonyi's bandmates included guitarists Lincoln Bloomfield, the former assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs; Daniel Poneman, special assistant to the president from 1993 through 1996, who now is a principal at the Scowcroft Group; and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, formerly of Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers. Bob McNally was on drums and Jim Ehinger played the keyboard.

Comments

[joe]

I wonder why they call him "Skunk." Maybe he has poor hygeine? Or he comes onto to unwilling women in a French accent? Or maybe he just has a white stripe down his back.

I wonder.

[SPD]

And Henry Kissinger is their road manager.

[ERM]

Jeff "Skunk" Baxter as a consultant to the Pentagon on missle defense? Dude, WTF?

[Chris]

I recall seeing Jeff Baxter on Bill Maher's show once ... the topic that night was missile defense, and Baxter was terrific -- he was so well-informed and funny that he actually made the show (almost) watchable, a major achievement. Al Franken was also on the panel that night, and Baxter had him so totally flummoxed that Franken finally stopped trying to counter Baxter's verbal flurries and focused almost single-mindedly on ridiculing his nickname.

It doesn't get a whole lot better than Jeff trading licks with Elliott Randall on Reeling in the Years, does it?

[SPD]

Wait a second... I thought Walter Becker was Steely Dan's guitarist?

As for being an expert on missiles, who better than a member of a band named after a giant metal dildo?

[joe]

Baxter is a bassist.

[Number 6]

Perhps Tipper and Hillary can start a band and play against them in a battle of the bands. Bill, of course, would be on Sax. If Hillary will allow him in the same room, that is.

[thoreau]

Number 6-

Why would Tipper start a band when she's so busy censoring them?

[independent worm]

Yeah, Skunk Baxter is some kind of self-educated super weapons nut who just sort of became a big expert on the subject. Kind of like Tom Clancy i guess.

Weird, i guess, but it is nice to see people can become experts on stuff without having to be part of some corporation, law firm, university or think tank. Just sittin' home readin'.

[Phil]

Baxter is a bassist.

Umm . . . no.

Best-known for his work with Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter's versatility and highly developed technique as a soloist made him a hugely in-demand session guitarist from the '70s on. Perhaps because he's never recorded a solo album, Baxter isn't quite a household name, but his talent and taste have never been in question. Born December 13, 1948, in Washington, D.C., Baxter (who refuses to discuss the origins of his nickname) landed his first recording gig in 1969 with the psychedelic pop group Ultimate Spinach. In 1972, he began his association with Steely Dan, playing on their debut album, Can't Buy a Thrill; his ability to blend rock's visceral power with smooth, sophisticated jazz-pop made him an important element of the group, until Walter Becker became accomplished enough to handle the guitar leads himself. Following 1974's Pretzel Logic, Baxter moved on to the Doobie Brothers, debuting later that year on What Once Were Vices Are Now Habits and continuing on for several more albums through 1978; he also frequently doubled on steel guitar. During the mid-'70s, Baxter also began to expand his session work, eventually playing everything from rock to folk to pop to country to fusion to R&B; he also went on to work with the likes of Dolly Parton, Barbra Streisand, Rod Stewart, Bryan Adams, Ringo Starr, Carly Simon, Donna Summer, Joni Mitchell, Rick Nelson, Hoyt Axton, and Freddie Hubbard, among many others.

From his All Music Guide entry.

Denny Dias also played lead for Steely Dan on the first few albums, and from Katy Lied it was pretty much Becker and studio sidemen. (Most famously Larry Carlton on "Kid Charlemagne.")

[Phil]

Oh, and neither Baxter, Becker nor Dias played the solos on "Reelin' in the Years"; Elliot Randall did. And, amazingly, he achieved that tone through amp overdrive alone; no stompbox needed.

[Jim Walsh]

And, amazingly, he achieved that tone through amp overdrive alone; no stompbox needed.

The best tones are always the natural ones.

[Charlie (Colorado)]

And, amazingly, he achieved that tone through amp overdrive alone; no stompbox needed.

The best tones are always the natural ones.

And the best humor is subtle humor.

[Chris]

Larry Carlton's solo on Kid Charlemagne rules.

[William Burroughs]

...who better than a member of a band named after a giant metal dildo?

Actually, the dildo was rubber. The "steel" in its name was metaphoric. From Naked Lunch":

"Mary is strapping on a rubber penis: 'Steely Dan III from Yokohama,' she says, caressing the shaft."

[SPD]

Dear Mr. Burroughs,

Yikes. But thank you for the correction.

[kevrob]

Tipper Gore had a band. The then-Mary Elizabeth "BJ" Aitcheson....

... attended St Agnes (currently St. Stephen's and St. Agnes) a private Episcopalian school in Alexandria, Virginia, where she excelled at athletics and played the drums for an all-girl band, The Wildcats. - Wikipedia

Much the same at infoplease.

Didn't Kerry play bass in a prep school "rock" band, too? These aging boomer Dems could put together their own version of The Rock Bottom Remainders, or Seduction Of The Innocent. We'll get Sen. Byrd an electric fiddle.

But what should their name be? Gore's out of office, so they can't be The Incumbents. Potomac Fever? Tyranny Of The Minority? Run/DNC? Bl?e State C?lt?

N?minati?ns are in ?rder.

Kevin

[Kenneth Jordi]

"N?minati?ns are in ?rder"

Well, perhaps "Lipsticks for Pigs" would be quite fitting

[Gottfried]

...or maybe "Weltschmerz Combo"

[joe]

Thanks, Phil, I stand corrected.