Wednesday, October 1, 2025

IN THE MIX The Skeletons Edition Vol. 1 - with STEVE FORBERT & DAVE ALVIN!


 IN THE MIX The Skeletons Edition Vol. 1 POST

There were two contenders for the title of “World’s Greatest Bar Band” NRBQ & THE SKELETONS.  Both bands’ styles are nearly indefinable because they play a kitchen sink combination of rock, rockabilly, surf, R&B, bluegrass, & country.  And they both inserted obscure songs into their set-lists, and wrote songs about topics other bands didn’t.


THE SKELETONS had at their core bassist LOU WHITNEY and guitar whiz D. CLINTON THOMPSON.  Depending on who the other players were, they performed/recorded as THE SYMPTOMS, & THE MORELLS.  And they recorded with a staggering number of artists—only partly because LOU WHITNEY owned a recording studio in their hometown, Springfield MO.  It’s safe to say just as many artists recorded there because the members of these groups could be coerced into playing on their album.


D. CLINTON THOMPSON is as good as any stringbender you can mention, and with Lou the two have a chemistry that makes any number pop—which is proven here track after track. Both played with the more commercially successful OZARK MOUNTAIN DAREDEVILS from time to time, and Lou’s wife MARALIE WHITNEY played keys with THE SYMPTOMS, & THE MORELLS.  Drummer RON “WRONGO” GREMP beat the skins for THE SYMPTOMS, & BOBBY LLOYD HICKS rounded out THE SKELETONS, augmented by second guitarist NICK SIBLEY & keyboardist JOE TERRY (who I saw playing with DAVE ALVIN).


STEVE FORBERT gets credit for exposing them to a wider audience by hiring them to back him for the tour promoting Jackrabbit Slim which contained his biggest hit Romeo’s Tune.  On that tour, they met FORBERT’s friend JONATHAN RICHMAN (who recorded his JONATHAN PLAYS COUNTRY album at Lou’s studio).  And LOU WHITNEY was immortalized in the song Laughter Lou (Who Needs You?) on FORBERT’s follow-up release.


On this collection, there are songs that feature one or more of THE SKELETONS backing other artists.  The whole group backs RICHMAN, BOXCAR WILLIE, RUDI “TUTTI” GRAYZELL, The Del-Lords’ SCOTT KEMPNER, & SYD STRAW.  A few live tracks by the band are included on this edition of IN THE MIX.  One is a CORNELL HURD song If You Play With My Mind (You’ll Get Your Hands Dirty).  They also back HURD on The Long Goodbye.


I was given all but one of the live DAVE ALVIN tracks over 30 years ago by a dear friend who was allowed to videotape one of Dave’s shows where he was backed by THE SKELETONS.  I had to swear I wouldn’t share them all this time, but for this collection, my friend lifted the moratorium, allowing JOKONKY to share with you a rarity around these parts—tracks that are unavailable anywhere else!


On them, it’s clear to hear the affection ALVIN has for the band in his gentle ribbing that the monitors sound “Lou Whitney-ish” before having him sing Going South, or having BOBBY LLOYD HICKS sing Crazy Country Hop, the last song of his PALOMINO set.  BOBBY LLOYD HICKS and JOE TERRY probably backed Alvin the longest.


You're in for a treat, whether you listen to this collection in your den, on a high-performance stereo system, after a long day of insider trading--or in your shed, on a boom box, after mowing the back forty.  Just shy of 80 minutes of bare-bones rock & roll by THE SKELETONS!




56 comments:

  1. For my money, this compilation starts off with the BEST version of Chuck Berry’s NADINE that was ever recorded (by THE MORELLS). No easy task when a song has been covered as many times as it has!

    Downloaders are asked to share a song that’s been covered over and over—that THEY feel shouldn’t have been recorded ONCE.

    One of mine is HI-HEEL SNEAKERS that was originally recorded by TOMMY TUCKER (aka Robert Higginbotham) and has been committed to tape ad-infinitum.

    Here’s the link to IN THE MIX The Skeletons Edition Vol. 1:
    https://pixeldrain.com/u/5ZWhDgra

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    1. Thanks for this one. one of the great lesser-known bands. They were the quintessential bar band. D.Clinton Thompson's version of Drivin Guitars is a classic. I'm hoping for a volume 2. great work Jonder.

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    2. Thank you VERY much! Some of these members of the Morells/Skeletons family are folks I was briefly acquainted with back in the 1980s, so I appreciate this feature for personal as well as musical reasons -- and I of course look forward to any subsequent volume(s) as well.

      I'm pretty sure one of the main complaints against "Hi Heel Sneakers" would have to be that it's TOO derivative. Even so, I would note that Tommy Tucker apparently wrote the song hoping that Jimmy Reed himself would record it. Speaking for myself, I'm kind of enamored of the whole, um, vibe of the Tucker version. It's also one of only two songs I can think of with lyrics featuring the term "wig hat," so that alone counts for me as a plus!

      However, a song I wish had never been recorded, let alone covered, is the old jazz/pop standard "Deep Purple" (which, ironically enough, became a special favorite among a bunch of 50s doo-wop groups whom I otherwise like). I understand it was written by Peter De Rose in 1934 as a piano solo (yuck!) and then popularized the following year as an orchestrated instrumental by Paul Whiteman (yech!) before finally having some disgusting lyrics added (ew! gag! blech!) in 1939 by Mitchell Parish. Isn't that's already three versions too many?

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    3. Jake, the thanks are due to Stinky for this one -- not me! I remember "Driving Guitars" from the 1980 compilation album Declaration Of Independents (which also included Kevin Dunn's excellent cover version of "Nadine").

      I didn't compile this one, but I did put together something for the Syd Straw fans a few years back:
      https://jonderblog.blogspot.com/2021/04/guest-spots-syd-straw.html

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    4. And there are currently three volumes, Jake!

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    5. Thank you for your well thought out contribution, CRAB DEVIL.

      I could live without DEEP PURPLE (the song), myself.

      I didn’t realize there was mention of a wig hat in HI-HEEL SNEAKERS—even though Tucker slipped it in right up front.

      I think I fall into a fugue state after the first couple of chords.

      I like it when a product’s name tells you exactly what it is--like the Wig-Hat. Here are some of the better songs that mention one:

      THE CRAMPS Call Of The Wighat:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpsDxcE-wdA&t=154s

      SHORTY LONG Devil lWith The Blue Dress On:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x379nWJAAM

      BOURBON JONES Wig Hat:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpDDrDVumQE

      THE WITCH DOCTORS Wig-Hat Glass-Eyed Woman:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlPtxlK01q8

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    6. Thanks for the extra wig hat songs!

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  2. Unchained Melody
    Bridge Over Troubled Water
    Any national hymn
    My Way (No, not even Herman Brood nor Nina Hagen's)
    My Funny Valentine
    I wish these were never ever recorded, we can do without them, thank you very much

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    1. Thank you, Richard. Something tells me you're not gonna like my upcoming BEST OF HERMAN BROOD. :)

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    2. You only have to skip one (1) track to make me happy. Said that, he did make a rather personal version of the song.
      There are some great docus about his last few days. One with a re-enactment of the jump was superb. One can say a lot about him. This is my memory:
      he had, at that time a young kid that went to school. He knew that when he would die, just like that, it would inevitably lead to speculations, and his kid would have been the mocking point (your daddy died a junkie) as kids do. So he jumped in public. bungee-jumping without a rope. No one who could say he died of an overdose, no speculations. His last year was full of medical issues. It was suggested drug related early dementia, incontinence, liver, kidney failure etc etc.
      Herman Brood, twice the man of any club 27 died age 54 on july 11, 2001

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    3. Hi Richard: I don't want to share too much of my write-up for the BEST OF BROOD, but talking to music fans when I was in Amsterdam, my understanding is that his body couldn't adjust to clean living after being an addict so long (and being older than most addicts are when they get sober). I was told he was in terrible health, & the account I heard more than once over there was that he recorded MY WAY--before very publicly taking his own life--purely to support his family. As he expected, it went to #1 with all the attention.

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    4. Leave your writings for the BEST OF post. My Way was credited as recorded in 1999 (2 YEARS before his self chosen death)
      https://www.discogs.com/release/5982839-Herman-Brood-My-Way-The-Box
      scroll down and see 4-22 (My Way) recorded 1999

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    5. Just goes to show you can’t always trust the word on the street.
      - Stinky

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  3. John Hartman (Hawkster) Any name you wanna use, they are among the best.....

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  4. Yesterday or Love me Tender...c'mon. Puh-leze.

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  5. Excellent collection Stinky! The Nadine cover is pretty good too, but not sure if it's the best one as there are sooo many.
    An unusual Nadine cover is by Stan Ridgeway, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RExAbE_vGl0
    John Hammond did a pretty good version as well!
    And since we're talking about Chuck, I wish he never had recorded My Ding-a-ling, his biggest and lamest hit... Yes, I know it's actually a cover, but still, it sucks!
    Another song I can't stand: Imagine

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    1. Imagine is a song that I don't want to hear anyone cover. Someone else mentioned Yesterday, and I agree. Let them be! Leave them alone.

      Koen, I agree with you completely about My Ding-a-ling! Chuck was such a brilliant lyricist, and yet his top selling song sounds like a naughty children's rhyme.

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    2. Jonder, Koen, I am reading back, and Stinky asked for a song that has been covered over and over. After Chuck Berry did My Ding-a-ling, how many did it after him?
      There are lots of songs that sound like a softwarm sunday morning with cheerful deceivingly simple melodies best enjoyed wearing your pajamas while lounging on pillows and cushions. Would you be so kind to scratch your fork against the plate for an hour

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    3. Hopefully no one else has done My Ding A Ling, and it has shriveled away and died of neglect because no one would play (with) it. Perhaps it is buried with Chuck Berry. I have since decided to amend my earlier statement to endorse LAIBACH (and no one else) as interpreters of Beatles songs.

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    4. You are not Dutch, so you would not understand Rijk de Gooyer with his version of yesterday (Ja, ik ben niet van gisteren (I was not born yesterday))
      The Beatles have been covered so unbelievabully many times. One hears more often the bad ones because they are many. The Best of The Beatles covers.
      Blue Jay Way by Colin Newman, Rain by Randy California, Dear Prudence by Siouxsie, Why don't we do it by Clint Ruin/Lydia Lunch, The Beatles 1962-1970 arranged by John Cage

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    5. Unfortunately someone named Kid Anderson did, Jonder: https://exystence.net/blog/2019/11/04/mike-zito-rocknroll-a-tribute-to-chuck-berry-2019/

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    6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFC92He8WR4&list=OLAK5uy_ktmWhM89qsM1aHnEP93vrV58hrUKHzh_Q&index=20

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    7. I like John Hammond's version of NADINE, Koen, thanks for turning me onto it. It turns out he recorded TWO versions!

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    8. John covered a few more Berry's, check out his No Money Down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpEXMzqnWZE&list=RDYpEXMzqnWZE&start_radio=1

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  6. Talking about Nadine, I had several thoughts, so I went out to look for Nadine in cross reference with Rolling Stones and I got this:
    https://www.discogs.com/release/12791039-Nadine-Expert-I-Wanna-Be-A-RollinStone/image/SW1hZ2U6MzcwOTIxOTM=
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Y2NJh1Y5Ys
    This is all very much beside the point.
    You should know that Johnny G did a Nadine on his A Month Of Sundays (or G-Force 3 track 6), all I'm saying

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  7. I really enjoyed this. Thank you!

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    1. Always happy to share! Berni, I saw a comment from you on TZ quoting one of your sons who was reminding you, (something along the lines of) "Mom, you hosted a house show for (that band)." Since then I have been asking myself two things. 1) why did I assume you were a guy, and 2) why didn't MY mom host any cool house shows??? I think I know the answers to both questions. But also 3) is Berni short for Bernice?

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    2. Well, I've always been a music fanatic so when my son was interested in music I thought it was simply great. I ended up being the mom lugging bunches of teens to shows like Pearl Jam at Madison Square Garden or Megadeath in Boston. When they started high school ska bands, I ended up being the adult chaperone at rented venues and embarrassing myself trying to skank (there's a visual ha ha). There's worse things teens can get into than music.

      When my son (who's a drummer btw) asked if they could play in the basement, I couldn't see any reason why not. That's how that started. It got bigger every year until at I think at the biggest we had 18 bands over 3 days with about 150 people camping in tents all over the property. We did this annually for maybe 15 years until my house burned down 5 years ago. It did resume, though much scaled down, this summer at our new place.

      Now you know,
      Bernice

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    3. That's so cool! My son is a bass player and a metal fan. I was the chaperone taking him and his teenage friends to see Mastodon, Dethklok, Alice In Chains, Deftones, High On Fire, Red Fang, and others. This summer, he and his sister took me to see Melvins, Napalm Death and Weedeater.

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    4. So you're the cool dad! You'll have to try a house show - they're wicked fun!
      My younger son was a metal head too (and I clocked many miles taking him to metal shows but I tended not to attend them myself, just driving).

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    5. Wow! What a story, Berni! Thank you for sharing it.

      We love to learn something about visitors, and to have them share their knowledge of/experience with music!

      You & Jon were clearly MADE to be parents!

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    6. Bernie, I was born in Massachusetts. My family moved when I was 6, but we returned to Cape Cod for summer vacations. I spent a semester in the "Happy Valley" as a UMass student and saw some wicked good shows!

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    7. Oops, sorry for adding the extra "e" to Berni. Sometimes I can be wicked retahded.

      I enjoyed the metal bands. Kinda glad my son wasn't into ska! j/k

      My parents sat in the car for a few of the punk shows that I attended in Milwaukee as a teen (until I found older friends who could drive). Jeff & Steve McDonald's parents did the same back in the early Redd Kross days!

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    8. Ah, the Happy Valley! I did my undergrad at Mt Holyoke and masters at ZooMass so I know it well. I've seen many a show at the Iron Horse in NoHo. The Palladium in Worcester has a big metal scene but it's not my thing. I did recently see Shane Smith and the Saints there though. Never was into punk too much myself though we did have Harry and the Potters a couple of times at the house.

      I forgive you. We can all be wicked retahded sometimes, like when you forget to use your blinkah on the way to the packy, or have to drink from a bubblah with your grindah 'cause you forgot the iced Dunkins!

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSvNhxKJJyU

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    9. During my semestah as a "domestic exchange student" from New College, I took advantage of the Five College System to take classes at Hampshire, Smith, and Amherst. After DeSantis destroyed New College, Hampshire offered in state tuition to their "earthy crunchy" colleagues from FL. Jakob Dylan was a Hampshire student, but I never ran into him.

      I saw the Lyres at the Iron Horse, and several cool bands on the UMass campus itself (Meat Puppets, Alex Chilton, etc). Also saw Jonathan Richman perform at a ski hill (which doubled as an outdoor amphitheater during the summah), and went to a shitty party at Williams College to rub shoulders with the "Bright Lights, Big City" types. Massholes!

      I remember the blank look I got when I asked where the bubbler was at my Georgia high school.

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    10. What's happening with colleges being under assault is really, really messed up and extremely alarming. 'Nuff said.
      There's so, so much music out there in the valley, that's for sure. I also used the Five College system - to take classes at Smith and UMass - while at Mt. Holyoke. What year were you there? I was in the UMass library the morning of September 11th, 2001 and had no idea what was happening until they announced the campus was being shut down.

      I remember going south for the first time and wondering where all the stone walls in the woods were; I'd thought they were everywhere.

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    11. When I was there (in 1987), I heard the "Sinking Library Myth," where the architect supposedly forgot to account for the weight of the books when designing the main library at UMass Amherst. It was said that the foundation shifted after the books were moved in, and that bricks occasionally fell off the building's exterior. I stayed in one of the high-rise dorms, and occasionally witnessed what were called "Tower Wars", where students would open a window and anonymously yell "FUCK YOU" at the top of their lungs. They couldn't be identified from the ground (or from the other dorm towers), because there were so many windows and they all looked alike. I suppose it was cathartic for those who took part in it, like primal scream therapy. It was kind of like the internet is today, where people can anonymously insult each other without their real identities being traced.

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    12. The myth continued... but there could've been something to it. When I was there a perimeter fence was around the building, apparently to keep people out of the drop zone. The Tower Wars I'd not heard of because I didn't live on campus but it sounds about right!

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  8. Thanks Richard. I like the cut of her jib!

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  9. Thanks from a proud member of the Morell Majority!

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    1. Oh man, is that really what they call their fans (or what their fans call themselves?) Or did you invent it, Will? Either way -- GENIUS!

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    2. For years here in Missouri, Lou would call this out.
      SoundAsleep Records in Sweden has a new Morells CD out, but it is stuck there with all the tariff stuff.

      https://scontent-dfw5-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/550329881_1453828165785839_2481768268431795220_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=d5A7IAw22tsQ7kNvwGAKGh-&_nc_oc=AdlT7nd47TiT5DKvb2UBFspZXqsOQ_FTKnPR3BsPRN6sxnNlxkWUUAVO1SVcLM-h_YY&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-2.xx&_nc_gid=1Y_GcMTdo4y6pJChuXtESQ&oh=00_AfdZsDayoCWiIN664M0NN-07kDfcqFz8ma5OJZr9oPQBuA&oe=68E5AF90

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    3. "Morell Majority" made me laugh out loud, Will. It even made my girlfriend chuckle! Lou was clearly hilarious--and a couple of his humorous comments pop up on the next two volumes. I'm going to ask my fellow music obsessives to try to find "You're Gonna Hurt Yourself" so I can pull a couple of tracks for the continuing series. It looks GREAT.

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  10. Replies
    1. My pleasure! Thanks for the comment & please check back for more great music by THE SKELETONS!

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  11. Agree about My Way, also New York,New York, Chicago, and Seasons in the Sun.

    finally replaced CD player,, here are Auteur de Lucie.
    TISH!
    https://pixeldrain.com/u/DG69DnmA

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    1. TISH! THAT'S FRENCH! Thanks, Bucephalus!

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    2. Touche pas à Brel. Seasons in the Sun is a reworked Brel classic, and it just never reaches the depth. I know so very few Brel songs, done by others, that have the reality Brel brought into them.
      Auteur de Lucie c'est tres bien, Merci! Pas de titres, mais avec discogs, pas de problème

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  12. SPECIAL THANKS TO WILL who sent me a SKELETONS-related recording I've been looking for! You're the best!

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    1. My pleasure! Saw Donnie last in 2021 - he was kind enough to autograph these for a rabid Skeleton/Morells fan

      https://scontent-ord5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/183333260_10109793309700810_2303348560317329853_n.jpg?_nc_cat=101&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=833d8c&_nc_ohc=wq7G9MAujcEQ7kNvwGK4XWc&_nc_oc=AdmCY8tPPC7uJsXjKK9n8sT3m4EI88Q32-8UbWX7qEHutfpWklMVrZvBRQ3GiXwGrmIJjMSH-8orlo0GSsRiSPdC&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-ord5-1.xx&_nc_gid=P5YCEpvIaKtJUJKN-xkxLQ&oh=00_Afcx-OBCI0efKMT-v45qkI46Y-4Emb4wgU3wCty7ZEnI4A&oe=6914A820

      https://scontent-ord5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/471955268_10113906295145010_3491225079656767882_n.jpg?_nc_cat=106&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=833d8c&_nc_ohc=Ns1q8eCXJe0Q7kNvwHF8tWo&_nc_oc=AdnccuBAMvjVXl4OBgmnYXcm69NOU9s35CAunSqPMyh6EsU1Aqh-emSSiAesRS0SVwj3HlcyX84_MfHbxqocqNBp&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-ord5-1.xx&_nc_gid=xQUbCXRHchQWw0pV5h_2PA&oh=00_AfcLFUN9pRyudo-H_GyLvtZTEfVuw4BtZLlvamCjnsISIA&oe=68F31735

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    2. That's so cool! Thanks for sharing those, Will.

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