JEFFREY J. HAYDEN

    http://www2.hawaii.edu/~jeffrey/

    SMOKIN' WILLIES




    eMail: jeffrey@hawaii.edu



    From about March 1998 to March 2000, I was in Beijing's One and Only All-American Rock and Roll Band -- The Smokin' Willies!. We picked our name during a practice session at the recording studios of the Beijing Film Institute. We were six guys who had regular day jobs that wanted to get together once in a while to play rock 'n' roll from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and sometimes the 80s.

    We all had busy schedules, so in the two years that we were together we only magaged to play about 15 gigs. Among those, we played the Fourth of July celebrations at the Global Silverhawk warehouse compound for both 1998, when the Coasters headlined, and in 1999 when we opened for Cui Jian. (I love being able to say that.)

    The following guys made up the Smokin' Willies during that two-year period I played bass with them:

    Smokin Ken Smokin' Ken Hendricks (aka Special K),
    lead guitars and vocals

    Ken was the leader of the band. He had been in Beijing for about two years already and had headed one or two bands before the Willies were born, one being City Chicken (with Eric Chadwick on rhythm guitar). He gave us the discipline and inspiration to go out and kick some serious local and laowai (foreign) butt.


    Wee Willie Eric "Wee Willie" Chadwick,
    rhythm guitar and vocals

    Wee Willie basically managed the band and arranged gigs for us. One of the smoothest operators in Beijing's music scene, Wee scored us choice stage time at places in and around Sanlitun Bar Street like Minder Cafe, Nashville Bar, Swing Bar, Power House, ForEx, Riders Bar, Keep In Touch Bar, and both of the July Fourth bashes.


    Keyman Clark Keyman Baurer (aka Big Dawg),
    keyboards and vocals

    Keyman started the same night I did. Originally more familiar with shaking church rafters, Keyman took to the rock 'n' roll thing like a duck to water, baby! His abilities to throw in the right accent at the right time, as well as blast out a soulful solo added so much color to the music, it just never felt right without him on those rare occasions when he couldn't make it to practice.


    Da Bass Guy Da Bass Guy (aka yours truly),
    bass and vocals

    When I signed on, I was the youngest and most inexperienced of the bunch. With encouragement from the rest of the crew, however, I shed a majorly thick shell and really started to get into the fun of playing live. When Wee Willie left China and headed back to the States in early 2000, I sort of took over as gig arranger. The term was short-lived, but still a major learning experience.


    Jelly Roll KY Dave Sullivan (aka Jelly Roll),
    percussion and vocals

    Known pre-eminantly for his stage antics, KY ('cuz he's from Kentucky, 'das why) was defintely our most outgoing and energetic showman. His percussion lead-in on our cover of Santana's "Evil Woman" and supporting percussion throughout our sets and egging the audiences on to get up and dance contributed greatly to the funky feel our songs were known for.


    Chopstix George Chopstix Randall,
    drums and vocals

    Chopstix had to be one of the most soulful drummers I had the pleasure to play music with. The two of us immediately clicked into one of the tightest rhythm sections I had seen or felt in Beijing (IMHO). George's short six-month tour in Beijing was probably the strongest time for the Willies, reaching a peak when we did our blues night at the Keep In Touch Bar.


    Bop-A-Louie Brian Bop-A-Louie Christensen (-tensen, -tensen),
    drums and vocals

    Bop-A-Louie replaced Chopstix in early 1999. More at home doing the jazz thing, BAL picked up the songs quick and ran 'em solid to the wee hours of the morning. BAL had a reputation for sneaking out fast after our gigs -- BAL? BAL? Anybody seeen Bop-A-Louie? -- in order to do a jazz set across the way at Jam House.


    Ted the Head Tom Ted The Head Guenther,
    rhythm / lead guitar and vocals

    Head came in shortly after we lost Wee Willie. Man, talk about a guitar player! He gave our rendition of BTO's "Takin' Care of Business" the spark of life that made it the cornerstone of the few but irreplaceably special gigs we did together. And when he and Smokin' Ken went at it with the dueling leads in our copy of Foghat's "I Just Wanna Make Love To You" (after our slow lead-in of John Lee Hooker's blues original), you just had to get out of your seat and on the dance floor!




    The following guy also contributed greatly whenever he joined us on stage.

    PoBoy Matthew PoBoy Cooper
    lead / rhythm guitar and vocals

    PoBoy was our invited guest for many gigs. His solid guitar playing -- fingers only, no pick -- would rip your heart out. PoBoy can play the blues! Jimi Hendrix' "Hey Joe" never took on so much meaning before. You can still catch him in Shanghai doin' his thang with some of the local / laowai talent.




    Coming soon: Smokin' Willies Gallery.

    Last updated 10/2003.