Darrell Nulisch was born in Dallas on September 14, 1952. Darrell grew up listening to Southern soul music including Rev. Al Green and Otis Redding. During these years he learned to play harmonica and began singing.

In 1977, he and Anson Funderburgh, Mark Hickman, and David Watson formed Anson and The Rockets. Darrell’s style combined live love of soul and R’n’B with traditional Chicago blues.  I was fortunate to catch them in their earliest days we the group played in Longview’s Alley Club.  Darrell fronted the group until 1985, and later joined with fellow Dallas guitarist, Mike Morgan, before moving to Massachusetts, starting a new chapter in his career.

In 1988, he joined  Ronnie Earl and The Broadcasters, before starting  his solo career in 1990.   Over the years Darrell has join several blues great as vocalist, including James Cotton who asked him to sing with his band on tour, after Cotton had lost his  voice. He also performed with Buckwheat Zydeco, Hubert Sumlin, Otis Grand, and others.

While Darrell still lives in the northeastern part of the country, he still has friends and family in Texas and occasionally still performs in the Lone Star State.

Come On – Anson and The Rockets 1981,
Talk To You By Hand – Anson and The Rockets 1981,
Keep What I've Got – Anson and The Rockets 1983, 
Last Night – Gregg “Fingers” Taylor w/ Darrell on vocals 1983, 
Without A Friend Like You – Hubert Sumlin w/ Darrell on vocals 1989, 
Leaving On The Morning Train – Darrell Nulisch 1998, 
My Baby’s Gone – Hash Born w/ Darrell on vocals 1999, 
I Found Love – Darrell Nulisch 2003, 
Pouring Water On A Drowning Man – Darrell Nulisch and Texas Heat 2006, 
Going Back To Dallas – Darrell Nulisch 2007, 
The Woman Don’t Live Here No More – Darrell Nulisch 2009, 
You Tore My Playhouse Down (Live at der Stadkeller, Lucerne) – Blucerne w/ Darrell on vocals, 
Judgement Day – Johnny Campbell w/ Darrell0n vocals 2012, 
Cottonmouth Man – James Cotton w/ Darrell on vocals 2013,
Saint On Sunday – James Cotton w/ Darrell on vocals 2013, 
One Woman Man - Kai Strauss with Darrell on vocals 2018, 
Cry a Million Tears - Anthony Geraci and The Boston All Stars w/ Darrell on vocals 2015, 
Lyla Tov (Good Night) - Benjie Porecki piano, Darrell as producer.

  | Robin Hood Brians was involved in music from the tender age of five. His first performances were in Corsicana, Texas on the Lion’s Club Variety Show. Robin had a quartet in Junior High called “The Four Roses.” His choir teacher sometimes accompanied them in which case they were booked as “The Four Roses and a Fifth.” After High School, he formed a band called “Robin Hood and His Merry Men” that played dances and shows throughout the Ark-La-TEX area. In 1957, he recorded  his song called “Dis-A-Itty-Bit.”  While it was not a national hit, The current Robin Hood Studios was built in 1963 in what had been the back yard of Bob and Audrey Brians' residence at 1024 West 10th Street in Tyler, Texas. Officially named “Brians Studios”, however since everyone called it Robin Hood Studios, the name was soon changed. The first Billboard hits for Robin Hood Studios came from  “Mountain Of Love” by David Houston on Epic Records. Other artists who recorded at Robin Hood includes Ike and Tina Turner, Z Z Top, John Fred & His Playboy Band, The Uniques, The Five Americans, Southwest FOB, Mouse & the Traps, Jon & Robin, Gladstone and hundreds of other regional acts. 
David Houston - Mountain of Love (1963 – Robin’s 1st hit in C&W),
The Uniques - Not Too Long Ago (1965 - 45rpm
The Uniques – All These Things (1966 – Uniquely Yours),
Mouse And The Traps - Maid Of Sugar, Maid Of Spice (1966 – Tyler’s own garage band), 
Exit 9 – The Heard (1967 – 45 rpm),
Only Ones - Another Place (1967 – 45 rpm), 
Five Americans – Zip Code (1967 – Progressions), 
John Fred and The Playboys -  Judy In Disguise (1967 – Agnes English),  Nat Stuckey – Pop A Top (1968 - Nat Stuckey Really Sings),  
Southwest F.O.B. – Smell Of Incense (1968 – Smell Of Incense), 
American Blues - Keep My Heart In A Rage (1969 – Is Here with Dusty Hill and Frank Beard), 
Dale Hawkins – L.A., Memphis, and Tyler (1969 with Ronnie Weiss aka “Mouse”), 
Z. Z. Top – Just Got Back From Baby’s (1971 -First Album), 
Rio Grande – Nice and Easy (1971 Rio Grande w Ronnie Weiss aka “Mouse”), 
Gladstone – A Piece Of Paper (1972 A Piece of Paper), 
Z. Z. Top - Apologies To Pearly (1972 Rio Grande Mud), 
Willis Alan Ramsey - Northeast Texas Women (1972 Willis Alan Ramsey), 
Z. Z. Top – Have You Heard (1973 Tres Hombres),
Rusty Wier – Think About It (1973 Stacked Deck),
Southpaw – Run Away (1980 – Southpaw was a Southern rock band from Haughton, LA),
Johnny Campbell – Sky Is Crying (1999 – Tyler, Texas Sessions, Johnny was from Shreveport/Carthage, Texas),
Freda and The Firedogs – Your Good Girls Gonna Go Bad (2002 Freda and The Firedogs, Austin,TX),
Michelle Hanlon – This Is My Day (2014 Michelle is a Texas singer songwriter… find out more at www.michellehanlon.com)/  
A few more of Robin Hood’s work of east Texas artists: 
Only Ones – Can’t Trust A Woman, 
The Heard – You’re Gonna Miss Me, 
Johnny Campbell – Driftin’ and Driftin’   
Eny this slice of east Texas!

Nicholas George Gravenites (excuse my mispronunciation)  born in Chicago on October 2, 1938.  Ne started playing the blues while attending the University of Chicago. He is best known for his work with The Electric Flag, Janis Joplin and Big Brother, and Mike Bloomfield, He sometimes performed under the stage names Nick "The Greek" or Gravy. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2003. Nick passed away in September 2024.

“Everybody loves the blues, but you can go broke trying to play it. Blues is your passion, your inspiration, I’ve heard that from many people, but jeez, it’s hard to make money off of it.” ~  Nick Gravenites

Spend The Hour with us as we count down Nick Gravenites…

12 I’m A Blues Man – Nick Gravenites,
11 Another Country – Nick with The Electric Flag,
10 Joseph's Coat – Nick with Big Brother and The Holding Company, 
09 Killing My Love – Michael Bloomfield and Nick, 
08 My Party – Nick and Animal Mind, 
07 Four Floors or Forty – Nick and John Cippolina,
06 Blackberry Jam – Nick and Lester Chambers, 
05 You Don't Want To Mess With Me – Nick and The Backbone, 
04 Common Ground (from the movie Steelyard Blues) – Nick and Michael Bloomfield, 
03 Brown Paper Bag – Nick and Jimmy Vivino,
02 Groovin’ Is Easy – The Electric Flag, 
01 Born In Chicago – Nick and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band (Nick wrote this classic),
Nick The Greek sez “One More!”: Buried Alive In The Blues – Nick and The Chicago Blues Reunion

Enjoy!

This week Trick’s presents a whole lot of nothing, but we demonstrate that nothing can be an entertaining experience at Trick’s Synthetic Podcast!

A List of Nothing:
I Who Have Nothing – Al Kooper,
Nothing Without You – Delaney Bramlett,
Nothing Takes The Place of You Back 2 Back with Z.Z. Hill and The Earls of Suave,
(Nothing's Too Good) For My Baby – Louis Prima and Keely Smith, 
My Tears Are Nothing – Brave Combo,
Hey, Ride with Me Awhile:  My Baby Don't Dance To Nothing But Ernest Tubb – Junior Brown, 
It Ain't Nothing but a Warner Bros. Party – Graham Central Station, 
Nothing To Do With Love – John Mayall,

Bear’s Choice Blue Bloc:
Nothing But Blues – Lonnie Johnson,
Nothing From Nothing Leaves Nothing – Etta James, 
Do Nothing ‘Till You Hear From Me – Steve Howell, Dan Summer, and Jason Weinheimer, 

Hitting On Nothing – Blues Caravan,
All The Way To Nothing – Doug Sahm,
My Favorite Record: I’ll Let Nothing Separate Us – Otis Redding,
Your Cash Ain’t Nothing But Trash Back 2 Back with Big John and The Buzzards and Billy Lee Riley,
All Or Nothing (Small Faces cover) – Little Bob Story,
Nothing New – Fabulous Rhinestones,
Little Piece of Nothing – Ronnie Lane and Slim Chance,
It’s Nothing To Me Back 2 Back with Harlan Howard and Johnny Winter (yes that’s Johnny!),
Nothing But The Facts - Minnie Epperson, 
Nothing Before Me but Thang -   Parliament,
Spiritual Spotlight: Nothing But The Blood – Blind Boys of Alabama (With Jars Of Clay), 
Nothing More Is Nothing Less – Mark Levine, 
(The Great American Marriage) Nothing – Al Kooper.

That's all, there's nothing more!

I recently read an article listing the author's choices for the best organists in rock. Here at Trick's we go one them one better with these, now we are completely organized!

Getting Organized is:
The Old Guys”
Dad’s Theme – Baby Face Willette, 
J.S. Blues – B3 Trio,

The 13!
Time of The Season – Argent (Rod Argent), 
Playground –Jon Lord ( Deep Purple ), 
Happy Boys Happy – Ian McLagan (Small Faces ), 
Astral Traveler - Rick Wakeman (Yes ), 
Use What You Got – Billy Preston, 
Sneaking Around The Barnyard – Al Kooper, 
First Impression – Keith Emerson (ELP ), 
Hot ‘Lanta – Gregg Allman (Allman Bros),
Strange Days - Ray Manzarek (Doors), 
Beale Street Revival – Booker T. Jones (and The M.G.s),
Let The Night Fall - Garth Hudson (The Band), 
Shanghai Noodle Factory - Steve Winwood (Traffic), 
I Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down - Steve Nieve –(Elvis Costello and the Attractions)

But wait! There’s More!
Would You Be Happy, Would You Be Sad - Lee Michaels, 
Laughed At The Judge – Chris Stainton (Grease Band), 
Stop Lookin’ Back – Craig Frost (Grand Funk),
Tobacco Road – Edgar Winter, 
I Am Yours – Bobby Whitlock (Derek And The Dominoes).

There, you're now organized too!

 Over the years so many very good artists have fallen through the cracks, never hitting the top 40 anything. SO many of these over looked artists deserve their time in the limelight, so leave it to Trick's to do exactly this with,
The New Old Music Podcast.
Rock And Roll Heaven – Country – 1971 Country
Distractions  (Part 1) – Bob Darin – 1969 Commitment, 
Don’t Ask Me Questions When I’m Stones – Tom X and The Supernatural Family Band – 1986 Lost In North Austin, 
Drink Drank Drunk – Crazy Chestur – 2025 5X5,
Red E. Lewis And The Red Caps – Home – 1971 Pause For A Hoarse Horse, 
I Wanna Get Funky – Same Player Shoot Again (France) – 2018 Our King Albert, 
Houston (with Houston Vamp) – Cowboy – 1974 Boyer and Talton, 
One Find Me Home – John Parker Compton – 1971 To Luna,
Now That I Want You – Appaloosa - 1969 Appaloosa, 
Sidewalk Talking – Hollins and Starr – 1970 Sidewalk Talking
Deportee (Woodie Guthrie cover) – Los Super Seven – 1998 Los Super Seven, 
Mayday From Space – Jon Larsen with Jimmy Carl Black via telephone – 2008 Jimmy Carl Black Story, 
Bitter Pill – Mannish Boyd with Jimmy Carl Black – 1987 A Lil’ Dab’l Do Ya, 
Hillbilly Blues Back 2 Back with The Mannish Boys w/o JCB (1998 Satellite Rock) and Gary Primich (2006 Riding The Dark Horse), 
The Chokin’ Kind – Allan Tousaint – 1971 What Is Success, 
Down In New Orleans – Jimmy Nalls – 1999 Ain’t No Stranger,
Lord I Wonder – Katie Webster – 1988 Swamp Boogie Queen,
Down To The Bottom- Stoneground – 1972 Stoneground 3, 
Captain Cody Memorial – Kathy McCord – 1970s Unreleased, 
I’m Gonna Break Her Heart – Ugly Beats – 2007 Take  Stand,  
Where The Rio De Rosa Flows – Jimmy Logsdon – 1957 Now and Then
A Deke Dickerson Double Play:
Peroxide Blonde – 1998 Number One Hit Record, 
Here Kitty, Kitty – Honky Tonkin’ Rhythm. 

Remembering Robert Stanley "Bobby" Whitlock who passed away this last weekend. This podcast was originally released as #675  in May of 2020.

I'd Rather Live the Straight Life - Bobby Whitlock
When The Battle Is Over (Organ, Backing Vocals) - Delaney and Bonnie
Behind That Locked Door (Organ) - George Harrison
It's Too Late (Keyboards, Basking Vocal) - Derek and The Dominos
Thorn Tree In The Garden (Vocals, Keyboards)- Derek and The Dominos
Told You For The Last Time (Organ, Vocals) - Eric Clapton
Black John the Conqueror (Background Vocals) - Dr. John
Lazy Day ( Organ, Background Vocals) - Donovan
Slow Boat To China (Co-Writer, Background Vocals) - John Prine
Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven (Organ) - Don Nix
Going Down (Organ) - Leslie West
Let's Go, Let's Go, Let's Go - Bonnie Bramlett and Bobby Whitlock
If I Could Ease Your Pain - Bobby Whitlock
Layla - Bobby Whitlock and CoCo Carmel

It isn't even the largest city in Texas*, but there is something about Big D (little a...llas) this is legendary in the state. To celebrate the icon, we present this weeks countdown.

12 Dallas, Texas – Bad Livers,
11 People In Dallas Got Hair – Waylon Jennings, 
10 Broke Down South Of Dallas – Junior Brown, 
09 Going To Dallas – Johnny Campbell,
08 Dallas Blues – Floyd Dixon, 
07 Dallas – Wes Jeans, 
06 Dallas – Jimmie Dale and The Flatlanders, 
05 Going Back To Dallas – Darrell Nulisch, 
04 Dallas Alice - Doug Sahm, 
03 Palace Of The King – Freddie King, 
02 Dallas – Johnny Winter, 
01 Dallas - Willie Nelson,
That L’il Something Extra – Dallas Shuffle – Willie Willis

* That honor belongs to Houston

Meaning of Life is one of mankind's deepest questions. Well, leave it to Trick's to give you the answer to that in music, OF COURSE!

The Lifetime Monologue – Lou Rawls,
Special Life – Sir John Mayall,
Turn On A Friend To The Good Life – Peanut Butter Conspiracy,
Love The Life I Live Back 2 Back with Mose Allison and James Ulmer,
My True-Life Blues – Banana and The Bunch,
Ono, It’s a Beatle Bloc:
Love Life – The Rutles,
Run For Your Life – Fiona Silver,
In My Life – Johnny Cash,
In My Life Reprise – Verbeck Faiirground Organ,
Got To Get You Into My Life – Mick Kolassa and Mark Telesca,
My Favorite Record: You're What's Been Missing In My Life – Michael Gately
That’s Life (Frank Sinatra Cover) – Big Mabelle
This Is My Life – Calvin Russell,
Life Is So Good – Marc McClure,
Life Is Sweet – Mortimer,
Life’s Little Package Of Puzzles – Spooner Oldham,
Life’s Greatest Fool – Gene Clark,
Walk of Life (Dire Straits Cover) – Zydecoal,
Spiritual Spotlight: The Christian Life – The Byrds, 
I’d Rather Live the Straight Life – Bobby Whitlock, 
That’s What Our Life Is – Jonathan Edwards,
Take Life As It Comes – Red Dirt Rangers, 

Hey, Ride With Me Awhile: Stars In My Life – The Supernatural Family Band,
Then I’d Be Satisfied With Life – Tiny Tim,
Celebration of Life – The Chambers Brothers,
Put Love In Your Life – Parliament,
Life’s Full O’ Consequences – O.S.T. Cabin In The Sky

So now you know!

Last night (July 31) we heard of Doug Sahm's compadre', Flaco Jimenez's passing, so this review and countdown is really timely. Enjoy this slice of Texas favorite son, Doug Sahm with appearances by Flaco,  with these...
12 Rollin’ Rollin’ (Sarge Records),
11 Why, Why, Why – Doug and The Mar-Kays, 
10 She’s About A Mover – Sir Douglas Quintet, 
09 San Antone – Doug, Jerry Garcia and Leon Russell (Thanksgiving Jam 1972)
08 Lawd, I’m Just A Country Boy – Sir Douglas Quintet, 
07 You Can't Hide A Redneck (Under That Hippy Hair) – Texas Tornados (original) and Sir Doug, 
06 Blessed Are The Tears – The Last Real Texas Blues Band featuring Doug, 
05 Sister Terry – The Texas Mavericks with Samm Dogg (Doug),
04 Who’s To Blame, Senorita – The Texas Tornados
03 Candy Kisses – Doug and Augie Meyers,
02 Papa Ain’t Salty No More – Doug Sahm,
01 Love Minus Zero/No Limit  – Wayne Douglas Sahm, 
That something extra: Mendocino – Sir Douglas Quintet

Enjoy this slice of Texas!