Kurt Sutter’s new biker drama Mayans MC drops September 4. The first official trailer hit on Thursday. Sons of Anarchy was a certified phenomenon, and Clan Cornelius was there for the whole violent, over-the-top ride. We’ll saddle up with the Mayans, too.
I wrote at the end of the SOA ride that:
Sutter’s one of those creators that you have to take the bad with the good, the ridiculous with the sublime, because they are not separable. Only an extreme personality could have made SOA what it was and turned it into the ratings powerhouse that it became. Sutter’s lack of inhibition is an intrinsic part of his creation. It’s bootless to wish he could have been a more disciplined storyteller.
In the end, it doesn’t matter, at least to me. It was worth the ride.
I expect Mayans MC to deliver much the same: A mythology of the fundamental, feral male society — the gang — along with powerful and compelling women characters. If it does, I will be well satisfied.
Mayans also features two of the most charismatic Hispanic men to ever wear a cut. Marcus Alvarez (Emilio Riveras) dominated the screen every time he appeared in SOA. Totally convincing outlaw charisma.
And… Edward James Olmos. That’s a casting coup. Remember Miami Vice? Everybody knew that Lt. Castillo was THE MAN. Still is.
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Tamara Saviano, who wrote the excellent Guy Clark biography Without Getting Killed Or Caught says that Steve Earle is recording an album of Guy Clark songs at the end of August for an early 2019 release.
That’ll make a memorial collection of songs from both of the men he called great teachers and bad role models. His album Townes was great (and apparently a big success for him, too).
I have a great deal of respect for Tamara Saviano, who became much more than a biographer to Guy Clark in his last years. She’s a real torchbearer for the music that means so much to me, and my hat is off to her. Looking forward to her documentary.
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Frontier Partisans correspondent Paul McNamee accuses me of having way too much fun with the latest iteration of the red-haired Russian Sparrow Follies. Guilty. How can I resist?
That doesn’t look like trouble. Not at all… беда
Of course, that’s probably what Paul Erickson said. He’s the 56-year-old political operative the 29-year-old gun-lovin’ Russian agent of influence Maria Butina was living with. According to the Feds, she considered her relationship with the guy as “simply a necessary aspect of her activities.” Ouch. Sounds especially brutal in a Russian accent. She also allegedly offered sex “in exchange for a position within a special interest organization,” which is almost certainly the NRA.
A judge denied her bail. Apparently the Sparrow is a flight risk. You think?
Send lawyers guns and money — the shit has hit the fan!
Matthew says
About bikers, former comic writer Mike Baron has self published an over the top series about a former outlaw biker turned P.I. The series has its faults (Baron allows his politics to get in the way of the story in two novels) but I think you would enjoy them. They begin with Biker: Bad Road Rising. I also like Not Fade Away were one of the bad guys is a ninja. That’s the kind of series it is.
About Russian spies, is it just me or do all these spies happen to be red-heads? 😉
JimC says
No more red-haired waitresses for me…
john roberts says
My connection with Olmos: Olmos played the outlaw Gregorio Cortez in the film “The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez” (1982). Cortez was either a horse thief or a revolutionary hero, depending on the narrative. In a wildly disputed incident, he killed the sheriff of Karnes County, W.T. Morris. A huge manhunt ensued, during which he killed another Anglo sheriff. Cortez was captured, tried and convicted but later pardoned. Amazing enough that he was taken alive, but pardoned? Anyway, Karnes County is my ancestral home and when I was a boy I knew Harper Morris, sheriff of Karnes County, son of W.T. Morris. He was a fascinating character himself. The Border Corrido “Tha Ballad of Gregorio Cortez is still sung and you can find it on YouTube.
JimC says
I have been negligent in not doing a post on this. The book With A Pistol In His Hand by America Paredes is really remarkable, a study of both the incident and the ballad.
lane batot says
Ha! MY first viewing of Olmos was in one of my FAVORITE films, the Frontier-in-New York City movie(and an unexpectedly ECOLOGICAL film, too!), titled “Wolfen”–still the BEST wolves-eating-people movie ever made(so far….)–AND, to their credit, they did use REAL WOLVES(though you never see them until nearly the end of the film!) Olmos played the Indian activist that knew more than the cops regarding the predation going on all around them. Saw it in the theatre–when was that? 1980? Always acquired a copy for home viewing–VCR, now DVD. Come to think of it, it would be a good film subject for the “Frontier Partisans”–how a “frontier” can exist right in the heart of civilized urbania. Rather prophetic movie too, now that the “coywolves” actually DO live and forage in New York city now…..
JimC says
Wow. THAT’s a blast from the past…
Matthew says
Never seen the film, but I remember reading The Wolfen the novel on which it was based. It was written by Whitney Strieber who is best known for his claim of being abducted by UFOs. Despite that it was an entertaining novel. A “frontier” existing in the heart of civilized urbania. Never thought about it that way.
lane batot says
I read–and loved–Strieber’s novel “Wolfen” too(also read some of his UFO stuff–he’s certainly a good writer!). But the book is different in some ways–the Wolfen in his book are NOT wolves, but an totally different species that the human legends of werewolves are based on–a really neat concept I thought, but for once–a GREAT rarity!–I actually enjoyed the FILM’S concept much better–that the Wolfen were WOLVES(and they used real wolves in the film, too! And made some effort for you-the-viewer to see, smell, and hear things from a wolf’s abilities and perspective! Remember “they can hear a cloud pass overhead”….)that had adapted due to European persecution, gone underground, and were living amongst us in our cities, preying on the dredges of our society, unknown and not even imagined. They only draw attention in the film because they must take out a modern urban developer about to destroy their hunting grounds–some slums in New York city! OF COURSE a wealthy urban socialite’s demise will attract attention, unlike the pitiful wretches living in the ghettos!…This movie had SO MUCH to say about our callous social hierarchy–even the predatory wolves had more respect for their prey than the “fellow” human developer who was about to callously destroy an entire segment of the population’s homes–the wolves’ “hunting grounds”, or the investigating cops and forensics people, or the politicians! AND an ECOLOGICAL movie to boot, in that, cruel as it may seem, humans require “predators” to keep us in check, too! And the film’s use of the Native American community living in the city–NOT represented in the book– knowing all about and accepting the Wolfen–was a superb touch! And it’s obvious the film took a LOT of it’s philosophy from that great book on wolves–Barry Lopez’s classic “Of Wolves And Men”! So YES, by all means, try to find a cheap DVD copy, and watch a thrilling, tense, and yet philosophical and even poignant(the end scene of the wolf pack running through the city always brings tears to my eyes for some reason. ALWAYS–despite numerous viewings over the years!) so-called “horror” movie!
lane batot says
….and an interesting aside–when I first viewed “Wolfen”, much as I enjoyed it, I thought they got just a BIT Hollywood unrealistic with the wolves–with ease–ripping off people’s arms, hands, even a head in one scene. UNTIL, that is, I eventually acquired a pack of wolf hybrids(of varying percentages of recent wolf genetics) in my wandering life in the Appalachians–they taught me a LOT about wolf capabilities! And having seen them nail and dismember certain critters(with EASE), I can now say that those scenes are NOT so far-fetched! The first time my first wolf dog(about half wolf) grabbed a grown groundhog/woodchuck(almost right beside me!) and had barely shaken it once, cleaved the body IN HALF, the bottom half flying over my head, splattering me with blood, I remember saying meaningfully to myself…” freakin’ WOLFEN!” And groundhogs are famous for their tough hides, yet my boy bisected that marmot with frightening EASE! He was also happy to share it with me–he often brought me things he killed and gave them to me! So the Disney “The Journey of Natty Gann” movie is not so unrealistic, either! The ensuing years, and experience with more such “hybrids” only re-verified this understanding! And these were dog crosses–I imagine full wolves have as much and more capabilities. I mean, they can take out a moose’s hamstrings with one good slash–why not a human hand?
JimC says
The werewolf is my favorite mythical critter…
lane batot says
Mythical???
JimC says
Well… umm.. ah…
H.P. @ Hillbilly Highways says
I grew very frustrated with Sons of Anarchy, but, who am I kidding, I will be in for this one. I won’t make the mistake of expecting another The Shield. At least it will be better than The Bastard Executioner.
JimC says
Hey H.P. — Good to see you here. Of course you will.
I didn’t make it through one episode of The Bastard Executioner.
H.P. @ Hillbilly Highways says
You didn’t miss out on anything. It looks like they have a good lead. Charlie Hunnam can be thanked for much of SoA’s success (and I still love Legend of the Sword, no matter what anyone else says). Lee Jones was unfortunately a black pit of charisma, playing a character even more of a emo wimp than Jax.
JimC says
Slightly off-topic, but… You are right about Ozark. Just great. A friend and co-worker binged the whole thing last weekend in a wallow of country noir goodness. You’d have thought she was high.
Brian H says
I find it crazy that in my lifetime the N.R.A. has become some kinda Illuminati investment bank. And subsequently involved in all this…stuff.
JimC says
Politics and everything associated with it in Washington D.C. has gotten exponentially weirder over the past four decades. I’ve got a deeply ambivalent relationship with the NRA. They remain a necessary bulwark against people actively trying to criminalize firearms ownership (see IP 43) but I am deeply uncomfortable with their role in increasingly extreme right-wing politics.
Traven Torsvan says
And now their president is a former crack cocaine dealer who sold weapons to Iran!
Brian H says
Exactly