You might not know his name, but his song “Smokin’ InThe Boys Room” should ring a bell. His band was Brownsville Station, and the tune was later covered by Motley Crue. It first split the airwaves in 73’, but I'M HERE TO TELL YOU…LOUD AND CLEAR…THAT WAS ONLY A SMIDGEN, OF AN INKLING, OF A TEENSY TASTE of what Cub Koda TRUTHFULLY WAS.
Time to plug him. He was a generous and shining talent…a larger than LIFE talent, who lit a smoldering FIRE beneath a huge number of willing, musical asses.
HE’S the man who once shouted at me...“Give em’ all the GOOD sh** Vardz. FU** babe, you GOT the great sh**, so GIVE it to em'. FU***IN' GIVE IT.
Whether they WANT it or NOT.
They ain't diggin’ it?
FU**IN' GIVE IT TO EM' AGAIN! I SAID....AGAIN!" So I did. Hey…I know when to take direction. I recently read about a show in which he did exactly THAT. The same darn song four times.
He could expertly wallop a number of instruments, but was most widely admired for his singular work on guitar. Not only was he a guitar MASTER in every dusty corner of American music, (outlink the Link, outroy the Roy, outtamp the Tampa) CHILD….he could make that thang SCREAM. You don’t often see an instrument handled with such an astounding degree of off-handed, seemingly effortless artistry.
HOW COME the fingers don't seem to be moving? Just the one HAND? Ohhhh....come ON now...behind the back and upside down, NOOO...not over the head...down towards the butt. CR**...here comes the darn thing between the legs...JAAYSUS.
I can still see it...the flash of color and chrome twirling UP. Twirling up in the air, like a drunken rocket...and then begining the long spiral downward. To be caught by those beautiful hands.
Precisely in position.
I can see his fingers pulling the note as it lands.
With unhesitating authority.
Gotta tell y'all...Cub was the LOUDEST guitar player i've ever run into. And I ain't talking about his amp. No eleven. Nope.
OK, stop kissin' that sky there Jimi. Get on your knees, and KISS Cub's freakin' HEM.
Was Cub a diva? Oh HECK yeah. Had to be done, and done RIGHT every time. BUT...he was an indestructibly affectionate and concerned man, even in the midst of his own sufferings. And funny, FUNNY.I wanted to believe HE was indestructible too, and in a way, I was right.
Michael “Cub” Koda was only 51 when he left this earth in 2000, but what he left US was precious and enduring. His words reflect the heart of every dedicated touring musician,that’s ever been. Not talkin' about weekend dabblers here. me to my job.
This is what they pay me for.
Welcome to my job.
Sometimes it’s fun, Sometimes it’s a bore
But NOW, as the first song’s under way,
I hope you dig what I’m gonna play
I hope the PA sounds OK.
I just sing and talk too much, playin this old beat up guitar,
BUT I LIKE IT.
I wouldn’t do NUTHIN’ else, even if I got religion.
Welcome to my job.
Cub did NOT give a DARN if he was headlining in a colleseum or POUNDING it OUT in a dive, and did both with EQUAL relish. Gave it his all, and gave it anywhere. NOTHING stopped him from sharing his knowledge, or his gigantic enthusiasm.
He eagerly parted with every bit of it, for anyone who cared, and was smart enough to zealously grab for it. THAT IS THE MARK OF A TRUE GREAT.
Cub Koda may very well have been more stuffed with music than ANYONE I’ve ever known. And HONORED to have known him I AM.
That Detroit boy was stickin’ his inquisitive nose into blues and rockabilly before most white Americans knew it existed. Listen to him with Hound Dog Taylor’s band, “The Houserockers”. How about "Cub Koda and The Points”? That raw acoustic album “Lunchbox”? Oh HELL listen to everything he ever DID.
He once said he was “Somewhere between a cult figure, and rock & roll legend”.
Steven King hailed Cub as “America’s GREATEST house rocker”.
Right on. I’d be a willing cult member any day.
Cub was a great writer, student, archivist, and teacher. He wrote for All Music, the book “Blues for Dummies” (I'm not kidding), and did liner notes (Rhino, MCA, Motown, etc) for EVERYONE.
He had a 22 year column “The Vynl Junkie” in Goldmine mag, a radio show, wandered into movies, and produced others. Mr. Koda's prowess as a singer? Ha. This man endlessly toured, wrote reams of tunes...allrighty...where did he find the TIME? Ask folks who knew him. Ask Stephen Thomas Erlewine,(check him out on All Music) and Teisco Del Rey... writers who KNOW the great stuff...(another dwindling population). Ask Sonic Mike from the band Red Squares. Ask Bruce Nazarian, a talented guy who played with Cub.
Crikey Bobby Dylan will tell ya. Ok, so it's in that scary voice of his.
Cub and I were shuckin’ in the same circuit for years, (lucky ME). He and his wife Lady J. opened their home for my mess of a slobby crew, when passing through Portland ME. Only met you once Jeannie, but would like to know you, and right now...I'd like to THANK YOU, for sharing your man with us. OH to pick that brilliant, and patient brain..to meander through that collection.... BLISS.
YOU all, can get to know him TOO. He’s WORTH knowing. God. We still miss him terribly.
The Cubmaster LIVE? LIVE? I wish every one of you could have witnessed the spectacle.
Those who did can ENLIGHTEN YOU. He’d lay you out FLAT. He’d bulldoze, and BANG your ass DOWN. He'd make you fairly DRIP with the tasty sweat of DEFEAT.
Go ahead. TRY getting’ up off the barroom floor after a Cub Koda show.
HELLO, R & R HALL OF FAME? ANYBODY HOME? WELL,THAT’S UNDER DEBATE. Y’ALL HAVE A FEW REAL SNOOKERS ON YOUR LIST THERE. THINK WE HADN’T NOTICED?
HEY, DO YOU THINK THERE’S ALL THAT MANY BIG TALENTS WHO HAD AN IMPACT ON OUR RADIO LISTENIN’, AND SELFLESSLY CARRIED THE TORCH? SPREAD THE WORD LOUD, FAR AND WIDE? DO YOU KNOW WHAT HE DID FOR THE WORLD OF MUSIC?
CUB KODA WAS THE VOICE OF A WARRIOR. A WARRIOR FOR AMERICAN MUSIC.
HE CONSIDERED IT HIS JOB. HIS ONLY JOB.
INDUCT HIM. WELCOME HIM TO YOUR JOB.
Thanks for your time.
