"Today on the Countryside it was A-Hotter than a Crotch..."

Stood at my, uh........... front gate today.

Just thought i'd brag a little on my new homestead. If it weren't somewhere near 117 degrees out here, i'd spend a little more quality time outdoors.

So until it gets cooler, i'll resort to short photographic expeditions returning to the AC only to make useless posts about them....

Mike McClure Band - Out in the Fields

buy Everything Upside Down (2004)

Bright Eyes - Landlocked Blues

buy I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (2004)
Cross Canadian Ragweed - Nowhere, TX

buy Live & Loud at the Wormy Dog (2001)

Matt Powell - A Place Where I Can Breathe

buy Dragonfly (2001)

The Vinyl Word........

Somewhere between my last trip to the record store and while researching for my last Album Release Forecast, i've realized something that really makes my needle hard...

No, no..... the one on my record player.

Vinyl Is Making A Comeback!

You may have noticed from the heading pictures on many of my posts that i have a slight affinity for the Vinyl Record. That place of being for the first true 'albums.' The ones with a Side A & Side B. Those nostalgic relics you pulled down from your parents' attic when you first realized the beauty of music. Y'know......... LP's.

Lost Highway, Sub Pop, and even EMI are few of the labels that i've noticed offering the CD/Vinyl choice. Browsing Amazon's upcoming releases recently, i found that most of the albums on the list are re-issues of older albums in the analog format. Waterloo Records in Austin, as i'm sure is true with many stores around the nation, now have larger sections of new vinyls than that of the used, original pressings. Best Buy and other major retailers are tossing around the idea of adding Vinyl records (in a limited, carefully chosen selection, mind you) to their music departments.

Vinyl records enhance every aspect of the experience one has with their music. The artwork becomes not just an album cover, but a true work of art to be to be carefully studied as the sounds are magically transferred from a small needle through to giant speakers. Playing a vinyl record requires much more work than, say... a click of a mouse does - meticulous removal of the album from its sleeve followed by the steady-handed placing of the needle along the outermost groove. And then you're required to repeat this procedure halfway through the listening process. All this extra effort allows for a ceremonious display of respect for the artists' work, and a higher appreciation for the fidelity of the music.

Perhaps just as exciting as finding that perfect, although slightly worn, copy of Blonde On Blonde, Sweetheart of the Rodeo, or Our Mother The Mountain in the used section of the store is carefully removing the plastic on the 12x12 cardboard encasing your newest favorite album deemed worthy of a vinyl immortality. Maybe there will be a fold out poster. Maybe extra liner notes. Ultimately there's the holy grail of bonuses - the vinyl-only bonus track...

And then there's that sound.....
No matter how our digital technology grows, the simple fact is that the quantity and quality of sounds present on an LP can never truly be transferred to CD or mp3. The desire for increased volume on CD's only lessens the dynamic quality of the sound captured. It puts a fuzzy, warm feeling inside you to hear that fuzzy, warm sound that comes from an LP. Records capture every sound that went into the microphones and play them back without losing any of the grandeur. This sound can transport you (often back in time) into that fabled studio the musicians holed up in for days at a time and created their art. Hell, i even enjoy the pops and static you often come across - it's genuine.

Of course, saying that vinyl is the next big thing again is just as relative as saying that the artists i talk about here are popular. Sure, they've remained preferred in small circles (DJ's and fellow Audiophiles), but the popularity will never again compete with that of the quickly accessed, readily available, and easily pirated mp3. But there is some hope in the numbers.... Vinyl revenues were up 46.2% from the last year in 2007, while CD sales dropped 20.5% - following a 10.9% drop between '05-'06. LP sales don't even make a dent in the overall layout of sales in the music industry - CD's still reign, for now - but the numbers that are reported don't include small indie record shops, or the sale of used albums in stores and on eBay. (sales figures are from RIAA via Wired.com)

And let's be honest - you wouldn't be here, nor would this blog, if it weren't for the mp3. It has dramatically changed the way we listen, collect, and share our music. But many of these hip labels releasing the vinyls fully understand that. To compensate, many offer supply a code with the purchase of the record that allows the customer to go online and download mp3's of the tracks for portable use.

So, what's in store for the CD? i believe the only thing keeping the Compact Disc hanging on is the need for music in the vehicle. Satellite radio and the FM transmitters for iPods have tried to phase out the Auto CD player, but still haven't matched it. XM and Sirius are revolutionary, but you still aren't able to pick a certain track or skip through to songs of your choice. And although many new vehicles are offering direct iPod docking stations, too many still only have the option of the FM transmitter - which simply does not produce the same sound as an mp3 file. Moreover, unless you're on a long trip with little radio interference along the way, it's just too much trouble to find an empty station to transmit your tunes through. Once the majority of car radios have auxiliary plugs on the face, or even USB ports, the CD will finally have seen it's days.

The same was most likely said about the vinyl upon the introduction of the CD, but as we've seen, that big black disc has not only hung on, but thrived. There's a nostalgia, a deeper connection to the music you get with a vinyl record that never existed with the CD and exists far less with the mp3. Long Live Vinyl.

If there is one ray of hope for the compact disc, this has to be it - Optical Media Productions is testing the idea of a Vinyl/CD hybrid. Old school on the top, digital on the bottom. The vinyl side will only fit about 31/2 minutes of music - a perfect place for a bonus track. Read the story....


Here's a couple of tunes picked especially for this occasion:
Ryan Adams - If I Am A Stranger (vinyl rip)
Todd Snider - Vinyl Records

And these just scream vinyl to me:
Bill Withers - Use Me
Bob Dylan - Talkin' World War III Blues
John Lee Hooker - Boogie Chillen'
Ray Charles - What'd I Say

Check out Amazon's Vinyl catalog.

Album Release Forecast, Vol. 3....

If you check the archives, i've only got 1 previous album release forecast (here). But i did, in fact, write two of them. One day, my second one mysteriously disappeared. My guess is some of the tracks i posted got some people angry, and instead of coming to me, they went to Blogger, who then removed the post - no questions asked.


But thanks to the internet and all its archiving glory, you can still find remnants of it - like here at Elbo.ws.

Anyway, my plan was to get an installment out pretty regularly, as not to miss any big releases. But this summer has been one big blob of uncertain locales and shaky internet service - with even more to come. So that didn't happen, but i did manage to talk about some releases as i learned of them in single posts.


i will resume with a late summer/early fall album release forecast:


August 5
Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst
(Merge Records)

This album has been talked about on every other blog and music mag, so i won't get in-depth. Conor Oberst left behind the Bright Eyes moniker as well as his "better half" and longtime producer Mike Mogis and went deep into Mexico to record his latest effort. The self titled disc is reportedly not as much 'sad-bastard' but more up-tempo midwest rock - much like Cassadaga, which i really enjoyed.

Conor Oberst - Danny Callahan
stream the whole thing here.


August 5
Carrie Rodriguez - She Ain't Me
(Back Porch Records)

If Norah Jones and Allison Krauss had a love-child, her name would be Carrie Rodriguez and she would be a classically-trained violinist with a twangy, soulful voice. Carrie worked with songwriter Chip Taylor for many years, and in '06 released her solo debut, Seven Angels on a Bicycle. It's a fiddle-driven, mellow album that features mostly songs penned by Chip. Carrie is set to release her sophomore effort in which she took over the writing duties - she co-wrote with Gary Louris and Mary Gauthier, and Lucinda Williams makes a cameo. Not bad.

Carrie Rodriguez - Got Your Name On It
Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez - Keep Your Hat On Jenny
pre-order She Ain't Me



August 19
Todd Snider - Peace Queer
(New Door Records)

i already talked about this one here.



September 2
Rodney Crowell - Sex and Gasoline
(Yep Roc Records)

The Houston Kid honed his musical chops as a guitar player/singer with ol' Emmylou. He ran around with Steve Earle, Guy Clark, and Townes in the 70's and 80' - oh yeah, he was also married to Rosanne Cash. Known mainly for his songwriting, he has penned songs that produced hits for Emmylou, Guy, Waylon, George Strait, Keith Urban, etc. With a slew of solo albums since '78, Rodney's last few discs have been politically-fueled rants set to catchy guitar/mandolin riffs.

from Sex and Gasoline:
Rodney Crowell - Closer To Heaven
from 2005's The Outsider:
Rodney Crowell - Don't Get Me Started


September 9
Okkervil River - The Stand Ins
(Jagjaguwar)

Will Sheff and band didn't take long to follow up 2007's The Stage Names (which, if i could re-do my Best of 2007 list, would make the top 5). That's simply because they had toyed with the idea of releasing a double album last year. Though the idea was forgone, The Stand Ins picks up where The Stage Names left off. The overall theme is said to carry over, there's a sequel to the plaintive Savannah Smiles, and even the artwork coincides. Read more here.
here's a live version of a song that will be on the new disc - my most anticipated of this list.

Okkervil River - Lost Coastlines (WOXY.com Lounge Acts)


September 23
Old Crow Medicine Show - Tennessee Pusher
(Nettwerk)

i posted about this release here as soon as i found out. Since then, i've also been informed that an EP will precede the album release. Out next week (July 29th), it will include 2 songs from the full album plus an exclusive track, Back To New Orleans.

The album was produced by Don Was (The Stones, Dylan, Black Crowes) who has his own channel on MyDamnChannel.com - check out the boys playin' some studio sessions with country legend 'Cowboy' Jack Clement:



You can find an older version of Caroline at my original Tennessee Pusher post, but he's another new tune from The Show that i've found:
Old Crow Medicine Show - Soul Rebel (live)

----------------------------------------------------

If you know of any upcoming albums that fit the mood here at This Mornin'...., please tell me.

Ryan Adams: Pinkheart Sessions (1)

start at the beginning of the Ryan Adams Spotlight....

In December of 2000 - just a couple months after the release of Heartbreaker and a couple weeks before the session known as The Suicide Handbook (stay tuned...) - Ryan Adams and some friends stopped in at Woodland Studios in Nashville to record some songs.


Another studio session intended to be part of a 4-disc Demolition series, The Pinkheart Sessions finds Ryan in his most punk-rock state so far in his solo career. Backed by Billy Mercer, John Paul Keith, Brad Pemberton, and Bucky Baxter - also know as The Pinkhearts - this session produced two songs that would later make it on the only disc to be officially released in the Demolition project. The cuts here of Starting To Hurt and Gimme A Sign are the actual takes that made it on Demolition (2002). Most of the remainder of Demolition came from the second Pinkheart Sessions recorded in the summer of 2001 (again, stay tuned).


Other notable songs from this collection are Mega-Superior Gold and Candy Doll, both of which received considerable live play when Ryan toured some as Ryan Adams & The Pinkhearts. Aside from a couple brilliant songs, this session is a mix of over-powered rock, juvenile satire, and even a couple of instrumental takes. But if you take it for what it actually was - limited studio time booked with the intention to try some things that may make an album one day - it served it's purpose. The standout track from the first Pinkheart Session is Young Winds. Ryan managed to calm his overactive limbs, sit at the piano, and pour out another soulful serenade.


Some tracks are not included for obvious reasons.

1. Starting To Hurt (Demolition)
2. Mega-Superior Gold
3. Gimme A Sign (Demolition)
4. Win
5. Red Red Red Red Wine
6. Candy Doll
7. I Don't Wanna Work
8. Charmed
9. Enemy Fire (instrumental)
10. Testy, Testy (instrumental)
11. Around The World/Under The Bridge (RHCP parody)
12. Young Winds

Check out the rest of my Ryan Adams Spotlight:
1. Took Me Long Enough: Whiskeytown
2. Heartbreaker
3. Gold
4. Exile on Franklin Street
5. The Destroyer Sessions
6. Whiskeytown: The Missing Bridge
show all

New Digs.........

Not much else to say except these are some of the songs i've been spinnin' lately.

The Roadside Graves - Far and Wide

The Roadside Graves - Ruby

from their upcoming Demo EP

The Graves have released some pieces of a Demo they've been working on. These two tracks show the versatility and boundless instrumentation that a seven-piece band can provide. Buy their latest album.

The Acorn - Good Enough

i only have a handful of songs from this Canadian band, some of which i really like. They've put out 2 albums and 2 EP's since '04. This newest find is an almost unrecognizable cover of song that is dear to my heart - Cyndi Lauper's Good Enough was the theme song to one of the greatest movies ever put on film....

MySpace ~ Their site

Jayber Crow - Freeze and Thaw

Jayber Crow - Devil and the Desert

i finally got my hands on Two Short Stories that came out in April. As the title suggests, the album is a bona fide 2-sider. Side A - Freeze and Thaw. Side B - What Is This Wilderness? Each takes you on an acoustic journey with waxing and waning intensity as the tracks roll on. If you're looking for a solid album that has a story (or two) to tell, pick this one up.

More Todd Snider.....

Got a link to this in my inbox this morning.
check out more videos at MyDamnChannel.com

It's Todd's newest song, America's Favorite Pastime - about Dock Ellis who, to the envy of many, once threw a NO HITTER on LSD. Amazing.

The song is from Todd's forthcoming album, Peace Queer - out August 19th. It will carry a theme that he is well-accustomed to - the modern-day protest song. He includes a cover of CCR's Fortunate Son, and the lead-off track is entitled Mission Accomplished - we all know what that's in reference to.

i've thrown up a couple Todd Snider songs here and there, but not enough has been said about this wordsmith. Like John Prine before him, Todd has a way with words that is not initially super-impressive. At times, their lyrics are so corny that they are are downright mindblowing. And listening to people like Townes Van Zandt, Elliot Smith, and Ryan Adams - whose austere phrases are often difficult to decode, we tend to forget the value of a little humor and levity in music. While Todd may not shoot for the most intellectual phrase to come up with, his timing and syllabic choices are perfect. He has a superb sense of melody that shines through in his solo acoustic work.

You Got Away With It ~ from The Devil You Know (2006)
A tongue-in-cheek song about the most powerful frat-boy of them all.
"You got the run of this place.... unbelievable!"

Here's another humor-driven tune from Todd:
Iron Mike's Main Man's Last Request
buy East Nashville Skyline (2004)

Playlist Pulse: Slowies.....

Haven't done one of these in a while. i've been pretty short on time this week, so no in-depth posts requiring a lot of thought are in the works. That's why i started this Playlist Pulse thing anyway - to get some songs out to the people in a simple way.

Today, i'm pulling from my Slowies playlist. It's simply a collection of soothing, slow-paced songs that i often use to fall asleep to. That's not to say that the songs are uninteresting, just very calming. In fact, i often end up staying awake thoroughly examining the words - as simple, quiet instrumentation paves the way for lyrically driven songs.

1. Iron & Wine - The Sea & The Rhythm
   buy The Sea & The Rhythm [EP]
   Sam Beam comprises about 20 percent of this playlist. His fluid vocals could calm a cat in a swimming pool. This song wouldn't be near as magnificent if it weren't for the shockingly simple banjo solos.
2. The Wood Brothers - That's What Angels Can Do
   buy Ways Not To Lose
   The Wood Brothers momentarily drop their heavy groove and show us a beautiful song in which Oliver decides that the only explanation for his love's power of him is that she must be an angel. Listen close and you'll hear trickling water in the background....
3. Band of Horses - Part One
   buy Everything All The Same
4. Okkervil River - Savannah Smiles
   buy The Stage Names
   The xylophone is a perfect touch for a song about your little girl.
5. Todd Snider - All My Life
   buy Happy To Be Here
   Simply beautiful.

check out more playlist pulse....

Whiskeytown: The Missing Bridge....

Because i only briefly talked about Whiskeytown on my very first installment of the Ryan Adams Spotlight, i've decided to periodically jump back and mention them as i see fit.

i'll admit that i was not cool enough back in the day to know about Whiskeytown while they were still a band - in fact, i had even listened to Ryan Adams for about a year before i snooped around and found out about them. But that was a long time ago, and i now consider myself quite sapient on the matter.

So what's the point of all this......?

A while back, a friend of mine called me and began to sing a small piece of music he couldn't quite place:

"Baby I want you

Honey I need you

I know you want to

I can feel you cry"

i immediately recognized it as an obscure bridge from a song i knew.

Slowly i pinned it as Ryan Adams, then Whiskeytown specifically.

After singing it to myself a few more times than necessary, i was almost certain that the snippet was the tempo-changed bridge from "Crazy About You" off Pneumonia. But as i listened to the song in iTunes, the bridge was nowhere to be found.

At this point i became very intrigued to find an answer.

i pulled out my copy of Pneumonia - no bridge

i looked for any copies available on The Hype - no bridge

i was sure i wasn't crazy and had heard a version of the song with the bridge included - and i was pretty sure that i owned a copy somewhere.

So i pulled out my old brick of an mp3 player and went through my Ryan Adams folder.

There it was - Crazy About You with a running time :38 longer than the album version.

Crazy About You (album version)

Crazy About You (extended with bridge)

It kicks in at 2:13 if you wanna skip right to it.

But the enigma is still not completely solved as i haven't found anything else on the web about it. AnsweringBell.com says the song made an 'unofficial appearance' on a Pre-Release of Pneumonia and includes the bridge in the lyrics, but nothing more is said.

i'm fairly positive i picked up the extended version off of some file sharing network back in the day.

i've listened to both versions intently and have yet to find a difference other than the bridge addition. It's hard to tell whether or not they recorded two cuts of it. My idea is that Lost Highway may have cut the bridge in order to save the up-tempo feel when they obtained the rights to Pneumonia.

So this is where you come in. Look through your libraries and pull out your copy of Pneumonia (if you don't own the album.... change that).

Tell me which version you have and when you got it.

---------------------------------------

In other Pneumonia-related news, i just received a copy of The Kites' John Logan covering Whiskeytown's Under Your Breath. Really good.

Under Your Breath

It's a simple home recording, but the vocals are silky-smooth.

More Kites here.

---------------------------------------------

continue with the Ryan Adams Spotlight==>

New Digs.......

Last weekend i made it over to Austin.

i swear, sometimes i really need a simple Austin fix.

Made my obligatory trip to Waterloo without much of anything in mind. i knew i wanted to pick up some vinyls - hoping for some Townes, but ended up getting an eclectic mix from the bargain section later on at Backspin Records. (btw, check out ThinkIndie.com for some record stores near you that are down with good music)

I had been on a kick for chick folk music, so i picked up something from Patty Griffin and Gillian Welch.

Patty Griffin - Fly

buy A Kiss In Time (2003)

Patty puts everything she has into her songs, and it really shows live.

Gillian Welch - Red Clay Halo

buy Time (The Revelator) (2001)

Possibly one the most underrated artists anywhere near the folk scene today, Gillian Welch (always with help from David Rawlings) can take you back to depression-era times with the first note she hits. The overwhelming spiritual quality of her music helps to offset her tragic lyrics.

After falling into The Jayhawks a while back, i've been lookin' a little deeper into Gary Louris. I picked up his first solo release that came out earlier this year, as well as Golden Smog's comeback (?) album - Another Fine Day. If you don't know - they were/are an on-again, off-again group of musicians formed from the ashes of a few pretty namely bands (learn). Gary Louris most often played the front-man, with none other than Jeff Tweedy stepping in occasionally. Other spots were filled out with dudes from The Replacements and Soul Asylum.

These two tracks show their all-over-the-map sound.

Golden Smog - Long Time Ago

Golden Smog - Corvette

buy Another Fine Day (2006)

Heard this one on Weeds. A cool show that makes you a little sympathetic towards drug dealers.

The songs on there are always attention-grabbing and well placed.

Great Lake Swimmers - Your Rocky Spine

buy Ongiara (2007)

as always, enjoy responsibly...........

In the Toolbox........

A few days ago, i made my first contribution to Star Maker Machine - a cool group-blog that features a different theme each week. They have a few regulars - boyhowdy form CoverLayDown, divinyl from Ceci N'est Pas un Blog, paul from SettingTheWoodsOnFire, and ramone666 from For The Sake of the Song (to name a few) - but they also encourage reader submissions.

This week's theme has been Hell Week, i.e. songs about hell, the devil, sinners, etc. As soon as i saw the theme, i knew exactly what song to post - Ray Wylie Hubbard's Conversation With The Devil.

i remember hearing it a few years ago when XM radio was a new thing. Up to that point, i had heard a few Ray Wylie songs, but really only knew him from the infamous shoutout Jerry Jeff gives in his recording of RWH's Up Against The Wall....

Anyway, you can check it here, so i don't have to repeat myself.

---------------------------------------------
There's a similar story about Nelson's first post on StarMaker here. Nelson runs the new-born FiftyCentLighter, and in addition to a This Mornin'.... shout-out, he's got a great post on Son Volt's Trace. He calls it an essential album, and he couldn't be more right. i, too, had been thinking about going through my catalogue of CD's for those deserted island, can't live without, bought multiple copies of...... discs - basically, a greatest albums that i own feature. Trace will definitely make the list, and i wanna thank Nelson for reminding me i wanted to do this.

As for the title and picture - i had this miniature toolbox that came in a package deal with Cross Canadian Ragweed's Garage (along with a vinyl and a mechanic's shirt). I had no idea what to use if for (tools were out of the question as i could maybe fit a hammer in there....) until i realized that it was just wide and deep enough to fit a long row of CD cases. Perfect! i had recently outgrown my flipbook style CD case and was a little tired of the discs getting scratched. And so, with the help of lots of haphazard music stickers, the Toolbox O' Music was born. It's normally filled with the newest additions to my library; however, there are those few albums that never seem to get bumped out. This feature post will highlight those masterpieces.

So, to start, we'll go way back..........

Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger
Columbia/Legacy ~ 1975

The quintessential must-have album for any fan of country music. Red Headed Stranger was created as a concept album that rolls along seamlessly and tells of a preacher on the run from the law. Filled with short piano interludes and multiple reprises of Time of the Preacher, the album takes you on ride through the Old West making stops in barrooms and brothels along the way. In 1986, a movie was filmed that loosely followed the flow of the album.

Red Headed Stranger catapulted Willie into the same country-stardom that he lives in today. The album reached No. 1 on the Billboard Country Music charts and the hit single Blue Eyes Cryin' In The Rain was his very first No. 1 single.

Thought of as a troubadour-songwriter, Willie's most famous tunes, however, were not self-pinned. Blue Eyes was written by Fred Rose, Seven Spanish Angels by Eddie Setson and Troy Seals, I'd Have To Be Crazy by Steve Fromholz, etc. But Willie has the ability to give each and every song he records his own touch, whether it's from his tenor-twang, the timbre coming from Trigger, or simply his 'Willie Nelson Charm'.

The two stand-out tracks on Red Headed Stranger were not Willie originals either, but because i've never heard any other versions and HE OWNS THEM, they might as well be his.

Willie Nelson - Can I Sleep In Your Arms

Willie Nelson - Hands On The Wheel

buy it

This album, as well as any forthcoming album on this feature, is best enjoyed from front-to-back, and with deep consideration. i appreciate when you can tell than an artist spent time planning a track order and the album has the feel of a 40 minute story with a beginning, middle, and end - as opposed to a 10-14 track collection of their best songs at the time.

So put this one in and take a slow drive with your "hands on the wheel" listening to "something that's real."

Finally, New Old Crow......

Found out today that Old Crow Medicine Show has a new album set for release on September 23rd. Tennessee Pusher will have 13 tracks and the first single is a remake of their love ballad, Caroline. You can stream it over at their MySpace page.

I have a older version of the tune that, as far as i know, is unreleased.
mp3: Old Crow Medicine Show - Caroline

My first impression is, well.... that of the unimpressed. I don't quite like the corny upbeat tempo that the new version sports. Ketch drastically changed the lyrics and added slight melody tweaks in an attempt to transform the song into what some may consider a more listener/radio-friendly version. Rips the soul out of the song...... At least they didn't touch the trademark harmony echoes from Willie Watson and the rest of the gang.

Let's hope they just got tired of the old way they played it and wanted to update the song - and that there's 12 other stellar new tracks to make up for this mistake.

Anyway, still lookin' forward to the release. It has been nearly two years since Big Iron World came out and changed the way people think about traditional music.


If i had to name the Top 3 Live Shows i've seen, Old Crow would take up two of those spots. They are truly THE BAND to see live - you can take anyone (no matter their musical taste) along with you and they will leave a fan of OCMS. There is something to be said for pure musical talent and showmanship - qualities that transcend any genre stereotypes.

They're not comin' down my way, but maybe you'll be luckier:

September 2008
Wed 3 Manchester Club Academy, Manchester, UK
Thu 4 The Liquid Room, Edinburgh, UK
Sat 6 Shepherds Bush Empire, London, UK
Thu 18 The Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA
Fri 19 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
Sat 20 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
Wed 24 Berklee Performance Center, Boston, MA
Fri 26 Webster Hall, New York, NY
Sat 27 Webster Hall, New York, NY
Sun 28 Town Point Park, Norfolk, VA
October 2008
Thu 9 Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
Fri 10 Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, TN
Sat 11 Louisville Palace Theatre, Louisville, KY
Sat 18 Riviera Theatre, Chicago, IL
November 2008
Thu 6 Henry Fonda Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
Fri 7 The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
Sat 8 The Fillmore, San Francisco, CA
Wed 12 Crystal Ballroom, Portland, OR
Thu 13 Moore Theatre, Seattle, WA

Some Other Stuff:

• just found the new cut of Caroline up for grabs at Some Velvet Blog....
• go here and listen to Ketch talk about the 'Evolution of a Bluegrass Standard' - eerily similar to this.......

SuperPost: The Road.....

No, even though i have been talkin' a little about books lately, this post is not about the Cormac McCarthy novel. There are countless songs that have been written about/inspired by that mixture of gravel, cement, and tar we like to call The Road.

Rather than save it for last, i'm gonna start with the song that inspired this post. It could be construed as too literal, but Jerry Jeff was best at being blunt.
mp3: Jerry Jeff Walker - Life on the Road
buy Scamp (1996)

Since the introduction of the automobile, Americans have long had an affinity for The Highway. Whether it represents the distance between a man and his lover, the treacherous path taken while transporting precious cargo, or a mythical place where the good go to be bad, the highway has always possessed transcendental qualities.

mp3: Owen Temple - Tennessee Highway
buy General Store (2002)
mp3: The Everybodyfields - Out On The Highway
buy Nothing Is Okay (2007)
mp3: Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited (alt take)
buy No Direction Home - The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7 (1995)

There's something special about the feeling you get from being on The Road. Whether you're a traveling musician or not, there's a calming effect that comes from the mixture of the soft hum of your tires on the blacktop, the wind in your face, and the surrounding scenery. The long stretches with nothing to do except bounce stuff around in your head have no doubt spawned some of your favorite songs from your favorite artists.


mp3: Hayes Carll - Down The Road Tonight
buy Little Rock (2005)
mp3: Bruce Robison - Driving All Night Long
buy Long Way Home From Anywhere (1999)
mp3: Patty Griffin - Long Ride Home

buy 1000 Kisses (2005)

Of course, the best part about a road-trip of any kind is that there is no TV and no movies - that leaves one of two things: Good Conversation or Good Music. i'm the type of person that will always find time to listen to music, but so many people only give themselves the chance when they're in the car. One of my favorite things to do is use the time during a drive to subject anyone in the car (willing or not) to a little music schoolin'. And the right music will always lead to good conversation.

If i know there's a road-trip in my future, i make sure i stock my toolbox o' music with some Max Stalling. As of yet, i haven't said much about Max, but he's a got a knack for conversational songs (the topic of a forthcoming post) as well as drivin' music. i can't quite pinpoint what it is about his sound, but it will take your mind off of the road and make your destination seem that much closer.

mp3: Max Stalling - The Rock Song
buy Comfort In The Curves (1997)

for more Max Stalling drivin' music, check out I-35, Runnin' Buddy, Travelin' Lite, Dime Box TX, Probably Corsicana, and Green Lights. Jeez...... i could have made this post with only his songs.

mp3: Blake Powers - Old Blevins Road
from Old Blevins Road (2001)
mp3: Bleu Edmondson - What I Left Behind
buy Southland (2001)

mp3: Brandon Rhyder - Back Roads
buy Conviction (2005)

Often portrayed as a metaphor for life itself, The Road takes on deeper responsibility when it determines the destination and not simply the gettin' there.

mp3: The Avett Brothers - Salina
buy Emotionalism (2007)
mp3: Reckless Kelly - Desolation Angels
buy Under The Table & Above The Sun (2003)
mp3: Walt Wilkins - I Chose This Road
buy Mustang Island (2005)


i'll leave you with some gems from Townes......

"it's a hard road you're travelin'/you can't walk it alone/find a big man to stand beside you"

"mother thinks the road is long and lonely/
little brother thinks the road is straight and fine/
little darling thinks the road is soft and lovely/
i'm thankful that old road is a friend of mine"

"there's lots of things along the road i'd surely like to see/
i'd like to lean into the wind and tell myself i'm free/
but your softest whisper's louder than the highway's call to me/
close your eyes, i'll be here in the mornin'/
close your eyes, i'll be here for a while"