Look closely. He doesn't look like his father, does he? Listen closely and there's a bit more of a hint but its still a stretch to make the connection. Being the son of Steve Earle you would think a young musician would want to use that connection but not in this case. Justin Townes Earle doesn't need to.
Even if I can now hear the elder Earle when I listen to "Turn Out My Lights" from the new release The Good Life, that wasn't the case initially. The songs speak for themselves and so does the quality but the question is, can this Earle make his own way.
That's to be determined but this weeks What They Are Saying might give us an initial glimpse into what the path might look like.
What THEY are saying about "The Good Life"
from Obscure Sound - Indie Music Blog, Mike Mineo is impressed by Earle's ability to stay rooted in folk and country while embracing modern production. TRACKS AVAILABLE.
Twang Nation - enjoys new blood that knows what made Nashville the beast it is today but is still willing to thumb its nose.
Here's todays playlist for the Sunday 12-pack... enjoy!
Jeffrey Foucault - "Northbound 35"
Townes Van Zandt - "Waiting Around to Die"
** -- from the incredible docu-movie about Townes life called Heartworn Highway. What a songwriter! --**
Caroline Herring - "Paper Gown"
The Bluegrass Album Band - "Cheyenne"
Uncle Tupelo - "No Depression"
The Weary Boys - "Can't Keep Me Down"
**-- now defunct Austin, TX country/swing/rock/slop masters were a band I caught live years ago on my first visit to Austin. We rolled along the strip looking for some good live music and stumbled up to Maggie Mae's. About 20-seconds of listening and I was sold on this band. I brought their CD back to the Font Porch and still spin it to this day. --**
If you are near Nashvegas on Saturday April 19th around noon you will want to head over to Grimey's New & Pre-Loved Music for a free show by Tim O'Brien. You can pick your copy of O'Brien's new album Chameleon (Proper American) while you are there. The release hit the shelf March 25th and includes 16 original tracks, some of which you can hear on Tim's Myspace page.
Austin City Limits has released its lineup for the 2008 festival There will 8 stages and 130 bands this year for the festival which runs September 26 through 28 at Zilker Park in Austin. Bands include Foo Fighters, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Beck, John Fogerty, David Byrne, Gnarls Barkley, Robert Earl Keen, Patty Griffin, Iron Love, G. Love and Special Sauce, Neko Case, Band of Horses, Silverspun Pickups, Gillian Welch, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Yonder Mountain String Band, Drive By Truckers, Jose Gonzalez, Jenny Lewis, Ryan Bingham, and Okkerville River to name more than a few... but not all.
Head over to their website's lineup page to not only see a list of all of the bands but also to get clips of music from all of the acts that are appearing.
An interesting discussion going on at NPR about what you want in the "Next" music format. I like author Bob Boilen's idea of including chords and lyrics for every song along with interactivity and electronic liner notes.
Why not hop over and join the discussion and see what others think?
I am really loving the new release from Chatham County Line called "IV"... apparently I am not alone as the bluegrass and americana charts are reflecting huge success.
Here is a video of "Let it Rock" which is track 3 of the new album.
The Wood Brothers second album hit the shelves about two weeks ago and its spinning all the way through for the first time for me as I type. Yep, I'm off and running past the lead off track "Lovin' Arms" which is a great entry. The bluesy jangle sets the stage with brother Oliver's aluminum pipes crooning adeptly over brother Chris's incredible bass beats and Oliver's very own adequately strummed guitar work.
Oliver and Chris Wood grew up in Boulder, Colorado. Sons of a Poet and a Microbiologist, they both took up music. Oliver took off for Hotlanta and eventually formed the blues band King Johnson (named after Freddy King and Robert Johnson). Chris moved to New York City and helped to form the jazz favorites Medeski, Martin & Wood. Two years ago the brothers put together their first album. "Ways Not to Lose" was an incredible work and I have given it much attention on the Front Porch since its March 2006 release. From the looks of it the listeners will be getting "Loaded" as well... even if the critics don't seem too awfully satisfied.
I am a big Steve Earle fan and I found this video and thought I'd share. A local guy named Craig Russell covers this tune and does a helluva job. Me and a few buddies go and see a lot of his shows and this one has become one of Rosee's favorites.
1. Darrel Scott - "Hank Williams Ghost" 2. Nathan Lynn - Untitled Cut 3. Bawn in the Mash - "Musical Moon" 4. Nashville Acoustic All Stars - "Workin' on a Building" 5. Vassar Clements andThe Del McCoury Band - "Lonesome Fiddle Blues" 6. Nickel Creek - "Anthony" 7. Nickel Creek "Why Should the Fire Die" ** This Nickel Creek vid is actually the last song they played together live on their Farewell For Now tour. Recorded in Nashville at the Ryman on the 2nd night of their two-night stint. I was at this show though its not my video work. The band played their normal gig and then brought out Tim O'Brien, Bela Fleck and Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings for some jamming. Then the band stepped out front, center-stage, away from all mics and left the world with this one last musical thought.** 8. Alexi Murdoch - "Orange Sky" 9. Jose Gonzalez - "Down the Line" 10. The Wood Brothers "Luckiest Man" 11. Meiko - "Under My Bed" 12. Tim O'Brien - "Look Down that Lonesome Road"
Let's get one thing out of the way up front here... The Weepies write and record cheesy pop tunes. There is no apology coming from them and you won't find one here either... and none should be offered. Cheesy it may be, but damn its good!
In 2006, The Weepies' released Say I Am You on Nettwerk Records. Things began slowly with a normal tour for struggling musicians with big hopes... and then BAM! Their music appeared in more than a dozen TV shows, as well as several major motion pictures. Their iTunes sales topped the folk charts in eight countries. Their MySpace player hit 2 million plays. JCPenney and Old Navy used their tunes as the theme songs for their major holiday TV campaigns.
What is wrong with me? Why am I writing about this? This is the exact kind of band that I usually detest.
Or is it?
Slick melodies. Well-arranged music. Unique vocals. Great songs... hell, that's what I like in a band! Yeah, this isn't gonna make me clutch my fist and grit my teeth like the Descendants do. The Weepies will never make me love the dirt under my nails and the smell of beer on my breath like the now defunct Austin, Texas band The Weary Boys do/did. Why should they?
The Weepies give me songs that I can spin when I want it quiet and low-key, when I wanna be hopeful, and content. Carve away that the "commercial" world wants to use them for selling cheap, poorly-produced products and there is still a really good song at the heart of the mush. Add in that most of the aforementioned commercial exposure are things I avoid anyhow and I am simply back to the fact that I like this band and their music and that is all that matters. There's just something about a well-groomed pop song that gets me no matter if its the Beatles, Husker Du, The Jam, The Replacements or anyone else. If its good, I like it.
The planets aligned for The Weepies in 2006 and they cashed in... as they should have. You never know when the well will run dry and you had better seize your opportunities while you can. They did and as could be expected with all of the success heaped on at once The Weepies said when they returned home in 2007, they were exhausted.
From their website:
"2006 was amazing. Coming off the road in 2007 should have been this blissed-out time with so much to celebrate, but it was totally depressing. Our rented shack in the California hills was cold, it had a leaky roof and there were mice living in it. Our electric guitar had been destroyed on the last plane flight of the year. We hadn't seen most of our close friends in months."
"We were empty," says Talan. "We both felt dark after being in the bright lights for a year. We were looking to reconnect with what moved us about music in the first place. We needed to hide out and write."
HIDEAWAY is the result of their year-long struggle to get tapped in again. Another homemade gem, HIDEAWAY is a darker companion to their last album, with 14 new tunes ranging from the upbeat title track to the jangly rock of "Not Dead Yet" to gorgeously arranged meditations like "How You Survived the War" and "Little Bird."
HIDEAWAY will be released April 22, 2008. You can pre-order at iTunes or pre-order a physical copy from Newbury Comics and receive a LIMITED autograph booklet with purchase!
If you venture into the murky waters of Myspace you might want to take a gander at the video trailer "The Folksinger". The full-monty will appear later this year at the Deep Blues Music & Film Festival in Minneapolis, MN (July 18-20).
"Troubled by religious demons, anger, doubt and the need to supply for his unborn child folk blues singer Jon embarks on a gruesome month long tour through Texas and Louisiana. Armed with nothing but a fiddle, a banjo and a beaten up suitcase, Jon hits the road. Throughout his journey he crosses paths with musical peers, Honky Tonk propietors, country folk & religious mavericks. The road leads him from small town bars and Honky Tonks to a dismal New Orleans motel room where it comes to a final clash between Jon and his demons."
Outlandish fiddler Sara Watkins (Nickel Creek) has joined forces with Tift Merritt to open seven shows along the west coast. You can find out more at http://www.myspace.com/sarawatkinssolo along with the dates she and her brother Sean do as The Watkins Family Hour.
Sara is trying her best to get her first solo album to the shelves. It sounds like all of the recording is complete and its down to the finishing touches. At the Myspace link above you can hear a few tunes including "Jefferson" and the Gordon Lightfoot cover "Early Morning Rain" which I hope/presume will be on the new album.
I am sitting here getting ready for a break and the phone rings...
"WKMS, this is John."
The voice at the other end says, "Hi, is this John McMillen on the air right now?"
I reply "Yeah, this is he."
Then from the other end comes, "This is Sam Bush."
Well, I wondered which one of my mfriends was trying to play a joke on me. So I said, "Yeah Right."
The caller tried to assure me he was actually Sam Bush so I proceeded with some questions and low and behold it was Sam Bush! His wife had been on the internet and was alerted that there was a birthday tribute to him going on at some radio station out of Murray, KY.
Well, Sam proceeded to find the phone number and give me a ring... and I am still glowing!
Thanks Sam Bush for making my day and a BIG, ROUSING Happy Birthday to you!
Also, thanks to the listener from St. Louis who was listening via the internet who tipped Sam's wife off!
Sam Bush turns 56 on Sunday, April 13th and we are celebrating! Its a three hour look at Bush's career... and what we play this morning is only a small taste of the incredibly immense recording career of the "King of Newgrass". The full playlist for tomorrows show is available at wkms.org or via this direct link. You know Bush's musical talents aren't his only great trait... he's a baseball fan and more importantly he is a St. Louis Cardinals fan!
..::.. Official Sam Bush website ..::.. Sam Bush on Myspace ..::.. Sam Bush Biography at All Music Guide
Here's the playlist from todays birthday celebration:
1972 - Tut Taylor - "Midnight in Beanblossom" - Friar Tut 1975 - John Hartford - "In Tall Buildings" - Nobody Knows What You Do 1975 - New Grass Revival - "Skippin in the Mississippi Dew" - Fly Through the Country 1977 - New Grass Revival - "Four Days of Rain" - When the Storm is Over 1977 - New Grass Revival - "Crooked Smile" - When the Storm is Over 1977 - New Grass Revival - "High Lonesome Sound" - Too Late to Turn Back Now 1979 - New Grass Revival - "Crazy In The Night" - Barren County 1981 - New Grass Revival - "Pack of Fools" - Commonwealth 1982 - Bela Fleck - "Applebutter" - Natural Bridge 1982 - Peter Rowan - "Roving Gambler" - The Walls of Time 1983 - Dan Crary - "Cotton Patch" - Rag Guitar 1984 - Tony Rice - "Likes of Me" - Cold on the Shoulder 1984 - Doc Watson - "Hesitation Blues" - Down South 1984 - New Grass Revival - "White Freightliner Blues" - Live 1984 - Bela Fleck - "Nuns For Nixon" - Deviation 1984 - New Grass Revival - "One More Love Song" - On the Boulevard 1985 - Peter Rowan - "Goodbye Old Pal" - The First Whippoorwill 1985 - Sam Bush - "Leather Britches" - Late As Usual 1986 - John Prine - "Lulu Walls" - German Afternoons 1986 - Jerry Douglas - "Redhill" - Under the Wire 1986 - New Grass Revival - "Sweet Release" - New Grass Revival 1987 - John Hartford - "Way Down the River Road" - Gum Tree Canoe 1987 - New Grass Revival - "I Can Talk to You" - Hold to A Dream 1988 - Maura O'Connell - "Crazy Dreams" - Just In Time 1989 - Strength in Numbers - "Macedonia" - Telluride Sessions 1989 - New Grass Revival - "Angel Eyes" - Friday Night in America 1989 - New Grass Revival - "Let Me Be Your Man" - Friday Night in America 1989 - New Grass Revival - "You Plant Your Fields" - Friday Night in America 1989 - New Grass Revival - "Friday Night in America" - Friday Night in America 1989 - New Grass Revival - "Callin' Baton Rouge" - Friday Night in America 1989 - New Grass Revival - "Big Foot Friday" - Night in America 1988 - Tony Trischka - "Crossville Breakdown" - Dust on the Needle 1988 - David Grisman - "My Little Georgia Rose" - Home is Where the Heart Is 1989 - Guy Clark - "All Through Throwing Good Love After Bad" - Old Friends 1990 - Alison Krauss - "Dark Skies" - I've Got That Old Feeling 1991 - Mark O'Connor - "A Bowl of Bula" - New Nashville Cats 1992 - Emmylou Harris & The Nash Ramblers - "Guess Things Happen That Way" - Live at the Ryman 1992 - Stuart Duncan - "Thai Clips" - Stuart Duncan 1993 - Claire Lynch - "Friends For A Lifetime (Song For Kegan)" - Friends For a Lifetime 1993 - Tony Rice - "This Morning at Nine" - Plays and Sings Bluegrass 1992 - Stuart Duncan - "The Passing" - Stuart Duncan 1996 - Sam Bush - "Same Ol' River - Glamour and Grits 1997 - Darrell Scott - "Spelling Bee Romance" - Aloha From Nashville 1997 - Buddy Miller - "Poison Love" - Poison Love 1998 - Sam Bush - "Howlin' At The Moon" - Howlin' At The Moon 1997 - Chris Thile - "Leaves Fall" - Stealing Second 2000 - Sam Bush - "Big Mon" - Ice Caps - Peaks of Telluride 2004 - Sam Bush - "Eight More Miles to Louisville" - King of My World 2006 - Sam Bush - "The Dolphin Dance" - Laps in Seven
