A TRUER SOUND HAS MOVED, SPRING COMP IS UP

CLICK HERE TO GO TO HTTP://ATRUERSOUND.COM

Free Music Alert: Duquette Johnston - Rugged & Fancy

Ok, so I know some of you are waiting for the Spring sampler. I know, it's late...I'm working on it now, and to make it up, it'll be a double.

Now on to some more free music that is unbad (actually it's pretty fucking great!). This is Duquette Johnston, and you can listen to all the songs prior to download to see if it's your thing or not. Recommended for folks who like Magnolia Electric Co., Scud Mt. Boys, and other lo-fi indie folk type stuff with catchy melodies.

Download and Stream here

Down By Downtown Festival in Roanoke, VA

As some of you may know, this is a Southwest Virginia based music blog. Now rarely do I talk about things happening in the area because well....rarely do things happen in the area. That has all changed here recently though, with good shows coming to town, radio support for Americana (yes folks we have station in Roanoke that caters to Americana located at 101.5 FM), great venues, and a budding local music scene.
Now most of this is new to me, and Roanoke is still a good hour away, but by-god it's a local music scene and it's my kind of music. Now all of this activity seems to be culminating this week with a festival that has the unfortunate name of Down By Downtown (Facebook link).
Down By Downtown kicks off this Wednesday in downtown Roanoke with shows at The Jefferson Center, my fave local venue Kirk Avenue Music Hall, Martin's Downtown Bar & Grill, and Blue 5 Restaurant.

The festival lasts until Saturday and features many local talents along with some name acts. Personally I am most looking forward to Chris Knight and Cory Hunley this Saturday at Kirk Avenue Music Hall.

Click here for the full schedule

Now I don't know if I have any local readers in SWVA, but I like to think I do. So if you are in the area, or are going to be in the area, get downtown and check it out.

Let's get all hippy and meloncholy up in here...

.....since it is earth day afterall



That's Eliza Gilkyson doing her father's song Greenfields off her excellent live album Your Town Tonight

Free Music Alert: Golden Bones - Self Titled

What the hell is going on here? Two posts in two days! Am I over my blogggers block? Hopefully!

Here's a cool little album that was pointed out to me by Twangnation. The Golden Bones are a country-rockish group out of Brooklyn that remind me a lot of Frontier Ruckus, only with some very cool 70's style country rock harmonies. Recommended (but not limited) to anyone who like that old country rock harmony sound (i.e. CSNY, America, Manassas, etc...)

Download and Stream the album here

Magnolia Mountain - Redbird Green Vinyl Project

This evening I had the pleasure of hanging out with Mark and Jordan from Magnolia Mountain, a roots band based out of Cincinnati. Not only are they great guys, but they also make some damned fine music (see below:)




Now, I wanted to help them get the word out about a cool thing I think they are doing which is putting out their upcoming album on vinyl. Well I should say they are TRYING to put out their upcoming album on vinyl. That's where folks like you and me would come in. See they have a backer system in place where 25 bucks will not only get you a copy of the album on Vinyl (double album I might add), but also helps finance the making of said album! How sweet is that. There are other backer levels such as the $100 level which will get you a producer credit, the $300 level which will get you a homecooked meal and a private acoustic set, or the $1000 level which will get a song in your honor on a future Magnolia Mountain record.

The way I see it is if you are going to buy the album on vinyl anyway, might as well throw down now and be a backer. Better hurry though, there are only 18 slots available for the $25 vinyl album level. Go to the site either below or here for more info.

Official - Facebook

From The Archives: A Truer Easter

Sorry about the lack of posts folks, just a weird time for me right now. In the meantime, enjoy some songs about Jesus that won't make you fall asleep in the pew!


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Who says songs about Jesus have to suck. Here's a good set of mostly straightforward gospel songs (mostly). First I want to talk about the cover image I used. Now these three crosses, exactly like those in the picture are all over this area....every road just about you will see them. They first started appearing around here in the mid to late 80's and there were many local legends about them. These legends state that a local millionaire had a near death experience during which he had a vision of God who told him he would spare his life if he spent the rest of it building these wooden crosses and placing them beside highways. Other parts of the legend state that some folks didn't take too kindly to these crosses being on their land or near their land or what have you and tried to tear them down. Supposedly one guys tractor suddenly caught on fire, one guy's boat engine died and he was stranded in a lake. One guy even supposedly had a heart attack whilst trying to remove the wooden crosses. There were also stories of lightning striking them but nothing happening, and them surviving forest fires, floods and hurricanes.
Now I don't know how true those last parts are, but a little research has confirmed that the man in question was indeed a succesful businessman from Craigsville, WV named Bernard Coffindaffer. He had a heart attack in 1982 which was when he recieved his holy vision and life's mission. Pretty interesting stuff I thought.

Here is an article about his death in the NY Times

There is even an organization that carried on his mission after his death called "Christian Crosses"

Here is some more history about Mr. Coffindaffer

Have a good Easter folks, and in the words of Billy Joe; "If you don't love Jesus go to hell"

01 Ralph Stanley - Sing Songs About Jesus
02 The Dillards - Somebody Touched Me
03 Johnny Cash - Wildwood in the Pines
04 Ray Wylie Hubbard - When She Sang Amazing Grace (Live)
05 Billy Joe Shaver - Jesus Christ Is Still The King
06 The Byrds - Jesus Is Just Alright
07 Old Crow Medicine Show - God's Got It
08 Uncle Tupelo - Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down
09 Link Wray - Backwoods Preacher Man
10 Tom T. Hall - Me and Jesus
11 The Gourds - Hallelujah Shine
12 Scott H. Biram - Only Jesus
13 Billy Joe Shaver - If You Don't Love Jesus
14 Slobberbone - Trust Jesus
15 The Meat Purveyors - Working on a Building
16 Jim Lauderdale - I Met Jesus In A Bar
17 Bobby Bare - Dropkick Me Jesus
18 Steve Earle - Elijah's Church
19 Scott Miller - Is There Room on the Cross for Me
20 Buddy Miller - This Old World
21 J. D. Souther - Jesus In 3/4 Time
22 Dillard and Clark - I Bowed My Head And Cried Holy
23 Earl Scruggs Revue -Gospel Ship
24 Ralph Stanley, Emmylou Harris - Great High Mountain
25 Johnny Cash - It Was Jesus
26 The Carter Family - Let the Church Roll On

MP3 @ 192
Download A Truer Easter here

Free Music Alert: Ray Wylie Hubbard edition

In case you missed the Comment from Ray's wife Judy on the Stingaree post, she has put some rare treats from the Ray Wylie Hubbard vault up over at http://www.raywylie.com/vintageray.htm

It's about 4 songs from the 70's and 80's and has included information. I'm dying to hear that punk version of Portales she is going to put up. Like her, I love that song! I also love the note at the top about hunting people down if they are selling the tracks!!

Enjoy, and thanks to Judy (and Ray) for the tracks!

The Fox Hunt - I'll Drink Cheap (Vid)

Sorry about the lack of activity around here. Just some personal shit going on, but never fear I'll get back to it shortly with a few big surprises I have in the works.

Right now I want you guys to know that the new Fox Hunt album IS OUT, and it's FUCKING GREAT!

There will be a proper review later, but for now.......Listen and order here, and enjoy this vid of one of the new songs.

From The Archives: Ray Wylie Hubbard - Stingaree 2007

Got a great comment from a 12 year old asking for this and it made my day. I love when young kids are passionate about music. So this is for the all the little 12 year old music lovers out there!

Of course this is well worth reposting in it's own right. Ray's set at the inaugural Stingaree Music Festival. This years Stingaree Festival is taking place May 29th - 31st featuring Hayes Carll, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and the one man buzz machine Ryan Bingham.
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I've made no secret of my love for Ray Wylie Hubbard, I will get to that in more detail in my RWH sampler post. But first here is a killer bootleg from the Stingaree Music Festival, or as Ray calls it "Hayesapalooza". This was the first stingaree festival, the brainchild of Hayes Carll (I love that guy too) to showcase some of his friends and favorite artists and held in his "base camp" town of Crystal Beach, Texas. And man what a lineup they had....I would have loved to have gone: Todd Snider, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Hayes Carll, Corb Lund, The Dedringers....man talk about a killer line up. This is the first of what I hope is many bootlegs from this festival.

And what a great one it is too....Ray Wylie puts on one hell of a show and has some of the best banter you will hear. This also contains probably THE BEST version of "Wanna Rock And Roll" I have heard to date.

http://www.stingareemusicfestival.com/

MP3 @ 192

Download RWH - Stingaree 2007 here

Free Music Alert: Prison Book Club - LIVE in Shepherdstown

WOW!, discovered this from the other Big Bullet Records link I posted a few posts ago. Now I LOVE this band. I love their raw energy and unbridled bar room honky tonk. This is great shit. Fans of the rougher side of Drive By Truckers (i.e. Cooley) would be doing themselves a favor to check this out.

Now as I've mentioned before in my review of their debut album Required Reading, Prison Book Club is a band whose core members are Tucker Riggleman of The Demon Beat, and John Miller from The Fox Hunt (who I must mention have an album coming out later this year). This thing is rough around the edges and you just smell the whiskey and cigarette smoke coming from the speakers when you play it.


Download Prison Book Club - LIVE in Shepherdstown here

(awesome photo courtesy of Ashley Hoffman)

From The Archives: Steve Earle - Radio Sessions 2002-2007

So I'm just trying to clear out some requests while I got time, and this is one of them. This is actually a really good set, and anyone who thinks Steve is not worth listening to after Transcendental Blues should give this a listen.
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I put this together from 4 different radio shows I had. The outcome is a pretty damned good listen if say so myself. Starting in 2002 in support of Jerusalem, going into 2005 in support of Revolution, and ending with two shows from this year one in preperation, and one in support of Washington Square Serenade. Some nice older tunes on here too. All in all it's a pretty nice set of tunes, mostly acoustic and laid back with the occasional record scratching on the last show....still don't know how I feel about that, but it's not near as bad as it seems like it should be. There are some very interesting interview segments throughout as well.

Also look for Steve in an upcoming play based on Howard Zinn's "People's History of The United States" (a great read if you haven't read it).

MP3

Download Steve Earle - Radio Session 2002-2007 here

Free Music Alert: Big Bullet Records - What's Love Got To Do With It?

Big Bullet Records is a favorite here at A Truer Sound, they are a fairly new record label out of northern West Virginia, and they always have something interesting worth checking out. Here we have a free valentines day compilation (I know, I know it's over a fucking week late.....but it's still good).
Now this is not typical "alt-country/americana" fare but I love Big Bullet Records and there is bound to be some crossover on some of this stuff. I mean I know some of you guys are into the punk stuff and who doesn't like a good cover song anyway?
Highlights on here include Greg Loftus' version of Nirvana's "Molly's Lips", a listenable version of the titanic theme song by a band called The Goddamn Hills that sounds like it could be a Ryan Adams outtake, and thestripped down exile-on-mainstreet-esque version of "I Just Want To Make Love To You" by The Demon Beat and Dandelion Snow.

Download Big Bullet Records - What's Love Got To Do With It? here

(Poke around the Big Bullet Records site for other free download offers)

From The Archives: Old 97's and Chris Whitley - KCRW Sessions

This is probably one of the strangest things I've ever posted, and I often wonder why I did not just seperate these two? They really don't go together at all, and there is nothing really to tie them together....but hey....consider it a double bill....two for one type of thing.
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This is an interesting pairing, but I got it like this, so I left it like this. One thing they both had in common at the time was that they were both just starting to reach the top of their games. The Old 97's set is amazing. I mean they are doing promotion for "Wreck Your Life", the songs are still fresh, and the band is hungry. What's particularly intersting are the interview segments....really took me back. I mean they didn't even know what to call their music cause the word "Alt Country" hadn't been popularised yet. And they talk about getting ready to do a show with "a great new band out of chapel hill called whiskeytown"........"they say that kid Ryan isn't gonna make it to 28". This really took me back, cause this was around the time I was really starting to dig into what we now call Alt Country. A great set. The Whitley set ain't too bad either.....searing blues rock as expected.

MP3
Download Old 97's and Chris Whitley here

From The Archives: Drive By Truckers - The Dirt Underneath I O W A (10-18-07)

Trying to clear some requests out. This one I'm listening to now and it's really hitting the spot to tide me over 'til The Big To Do. As stated below The Dirt Underneath tour was in support of Brighter Than Creation's Dark. It features some of those songs, and some older goodies. The best thing about this is the stripped down nature of the songs and the addition of steel guitar and keys to them. Listening to this 2 years later and having become familiar with Brighter Than Creation's Dark I really wish they had played "Perfect Timing", but the version of "Get Your Ass On The Plane", "My Sweet Annette" and a near bluegrass rendition of "Daddy's Cup" on here more than makes up for that little omission.

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Killer little DBT boot here from there just wrapped up (I think) Dirt Underneath tour. Now if you don't know, the Dirt Underneath tour was a laid back tour (hence the sit down performances) and featured Soul Session legend Spooner Oldham. There are a few new songs on here worth checking out too, not to mention some seldom heard oldies.....like my favorites "panties in your purse" and "tails facing up". Can't wait for the new album to come out. It's called "Brighter Than Creation's Dark" and it's due to be released January 22nd of '08.

MP3
Downlaod DBT - The Dirt Underneath I O W A here

Kasey Anderson - Live 2005-2008

As promised, some Kasey Anderson live stuff. A little delayed because of the game of virtual tummy sticks Kasey and I were playing trying to get these files up.

This is really damned good. Matter of fact I told Kasey he needs to put out an official live album. I love the stripped down essence of the songs on here, I love the between song dialog and the rapport he has with the audience, and I especially love the version of Sooner Later on here where he switches effortlessly between some songs from his inspirations and back into his own composition.

Highly recommended listening!

1. Save It For Later
2. Bellingham Blues
3. Don't Look Back
4. Home
5. Sooner/Later
6. Union Square
7. Emaline

Download Kasey Anderson - Live 2005-2008 here

Also worth mentioning is Kasey is offering up a free digital sampler on his website. All you have to do is choose any 4 songs you want, email him, and you will get a link to whatever custom sampler you have created. Pretty cool idea.

Random Records: Charlie Daniels Band - Way Down Yonder

Here's a feature I haven't done in a while, and I know I promised a Kasey Anderson live thing, but due to technical problems that will have to wait until tomorrow (hopefully). Now, I dug this album out yesterday while giving the basement a much needed cleaning. I don't know if I have ever even listened to this one before, but man it was the perfect album for that moment.

Now most of you fine folks out there are probably familiar with Charlie Daniels, and hopefully your familiarity extends beyond "Devil Went Down To Georgia". Now don't get me wrong, I love Devil Went Down to Georgia. What person my age doesn't. I Guarantee you every one of us in our early 30's have childhood memories of singing "Granny does your dog bite no child no!!!". No....just me...? Well regardless, the Charlie Daniels well is much deeper than that.

You see by the time Urban Cowboy came along and propelled "Devil Went Down To Georgia and Charlie Daniels" into the pop and country charts, CDB had put out around 11 studio albums, and 4 Volunteer Jam live albums. You see before Urban Cowboy....Charlie Daniels Band had been primarly known as a Southern Rock Band. After Urban Cowboy, they began to morph into strictly a mainstream country band that has kind of an edge. This album, Way Down Yonder is a testament to the early southern rock era.

Way Down Yonder was released in early 1974, right before what I consider CDB's finest album Fire On The Mountain, from the same year. Listening to Way Down Yonder and listening to Fire On The Mountain is almost like listening to 2 different bands. Way Down Yonder marks the end of one era and Fire On The Mountain marks the beginning of another. You see, this album is what some call SOUTHERN BOOGIE. Think Allman Brothers. This is heavily blues and country influenced rock...this is Southern Rock, and this is good southern rock (unlike Molly Hatchet).

The track I pulled off this album for you all to hear is a fine, FINE example of what this first southern boogie CDB phase sounded like (the other phases of course being country rock CDB, mainstream country CDB, gospel CDB, and patriotic CDB). The song jumps right out of the gate with an opening lick that just screams SOUTHERN ROCK, before being joined by one funky ass bass line and a Duane Allman like slide lick. This is the foundation of the song, and it's a solid foundation. Now like the Allmans, this song gets a little jammy, but I love how they start layering on the other instruments towards the end until you can't tell where the slide guitar stopped and the fiddle began.  Listening to this song on the computer.....doesn't really do it justice. I had this puppy pumping through my vinyl rig with the big ass all wood house speakers and that bassline....man that bassline.

Recommended if you dig southern rock.

Listen to Charlie Daniels Band - Low Down Lady here

Album Review: Kasey Anderson - Nowhere Nights

Here is a review I've been needing to write for a while now. The album, released on Kasey's own Red River Records comes out next Tuesday but has been available via pre-order for some time now and includes a download card so you can listen to the songs early. I would recommend picking up the vinyl as it's wonderfully pressed and sounds oh so good (you will also get a download card with that as well). The album is also available right now via iTunes.

Now, I've had this album for quite a while....actually I have had it so long that when I listen to the album now all the songs have that type of familiarity that only great albums offer after repeated listening. Now, I know a lot of bloggers and writers like to shy away from easy comparisons, not me. I embrace the easy comparison. Matter of fact I think the easy comparison is great for letting potential fans know that "hey, I might dig this". With all that said, the obvious easy comparison for Kasey is Steve Earle. I'm talking fresh out of prison and kicking ass Steve Earle, not "I'm holding onto the last few hairs on my head and  hate republicans" Steve Earle.  Matter of fact, I bet ol' Steve wishes he would have written a song about the Iraq War as potent and inspiring as Kasey's "I Was A Photograph". Which I've mentioned multiple times on here, and I still think it is not only the stand out track on this album, but the song of the year (I'm calling it right now!).  I will post this link again, because it is a story that needs to be read : Story of I Was A Photograph

But wait, that's just one song.....and well worth the album price, but lucky for us Kasey saw fit to put 10 other killer songs on this thing.  The other songs on the album share a common theme of leaving and trying to find one's place. There is a good reason for this, as the album was written while Kasey was in the midst of moving from his longtime home of Bellingham, Washington to spend a year in Germany (from which he just returned). The opening track, aptly titled Bellingham Blues sets the tone for the whole album and states "This ain't ever been my home/I woke up here one morning and 15 years were gone".  Later in the album on the title track  Nowhere Nights he sings "I used to walk around like they built the damn town up around me while my back was turned"....man I love that line.

Now I know journalists are supposed remain objective, but fuck it, I'm not a journalist and I never claimed to be. Me, I'm a blogger and more importantly a music fan. As a music fan I love Kasey Anderson's music. As a blogger I have forged somewhat of an online friendship with Kasey. Most of you know he is one of the bloggers over at Ninebullets.net, and some of you may have interacted with him on Twitter or Facebook as well. Judging by his online self, he is one of the nicest musicians and folks you could ever have the pleasure to meet. He is also one of the most prolific online motherfuckers I believe I have ever seen. He has so many blogs and sites that I can't even keep track. I do know that he deleted his old blog which is a shame because it had a song by song write-up for Nowhere Nights, which you are going to want to read after you listen to these songs. Kasey, if you are paying attention, put those posts back up!

Listen to Kasey Anderson - Bellingham Blues here
Listen to Kasey Anderson - From Now On here

Official - Blog - Facebook - Myspace

Additional note: Look for some Kasey Anderson live stuff that will be posted tomorrow

Concert Report: Will Kimbrough @ Kirk Avenue Music Hall - Roanoke, VA 1/31/10

This Sunday I had the rare treat of seeing Will Kimbrough. I say rare because  it's rare that a good show comes through this area. Hopefully that is all changing because the venue Will was playing at, Kirk Avenue Music Hall in Roanoke is a very "Folk/Alt Country/Americana" friendly venue. Chris Knight played there a few months back (which I didn't find out about until after the fact), Dave Alvin will be playing there in a couple of weeks, and Tom Russell will be playing there early this summer. Those are just some of the bigger acts, they pretty much have a good show every week, check out their schedule, and it is highly recommended if you are in the Roanoke area. The place is right downtown, easy to get to, ample parking (of course that could have been due to the recent snowstorm and snow covered streets). Also, any bands reading this, this would be a great venue to stop at when you are driving up 81 from Knoxville or Charlotte to Charlottesville or Richmond (which most of you do).

Now, about the show....AMAZING. Will is such an incredible guitar player, such an incredible songwriter, such an incredible singer, and most importantly such an incredible entertainer. Will played from 7:30 to 10:30 taking about a 30 minute break in between. Nothing but Will, an acoustic guitar, and a happy audience. The most remarkable thing to me was just how much sound was coming from this one man and his guitar. It took me a few songs to catch on to what he was doing. He had a loop pedal and he was playing leads over his own rhythm playing. A couple instances he even laid down bass lines, and percussion by beating on his guitar....all this without missing a beat and in some cases playing harp to boot.

I went into this show a casual Will Kimbrough fan, knowing him from his many producing and sideman credits (such as Todd Snider, and Rodney Crowell), and I came out of this show a HUGE fan. So much so I can't wait for his new album Wings which comes out the Feb. 23rd, and pre-orders begin Feb. 3rd at www.willkimbrough.com (watch this vid where Will tells you all about it). You can also download the song "Three Angels" here.

Now I did take a lot of vid this time, but I will only post a couple. The first is the title track off the upcoming album "Wings". He prefaced this to say that Jimmy Buffet will also be recording his own version of this song, but his is a little different.




Next up is a vid of the rousing tribute to Chuck Berry and Yo Yo Ma.....the aptly titled Yo Yo Ma. This one includes the intro which will explain everything you need to know. This vid also shows off his loop pedal skills and just how much sound one man can make.....also some of the wildest Chuck Berry-ish guitar playing you are likely to ever see done on an acoustic guitar.



More Videos: Like Laughing - Philadelphia, MS - Piece Of Work

Wrinkle Neck Mules - Catfish & Color TVs (vid)

Really good vid of the Wrinkle Neck Mules performing the song Catfish & Color TVs on air last Thursday. This song is from their latest Let The Lead Fly.

Speaking of Drive By Truckers

As some of you may know, I've been spending the week in Cincinnati. One of the things I always try to do when I hit a new city is check out the local record stores. Thanks to some help from a few locals, I got some great tips for where the good record finds are in Cincinnati. Places like Everybody's Records & Mole's Records which is a sleepy little store right off UC campus that any vinyl hunter could easily spend a week in if unchecked (crates from floor to ceiling completely unsorted). One of the record stores I was told I HAD to go to was Shake-It Records. Shake-It from what I gather is somewhat of an institution in Cincinnati, and rightly so as it's one of the most eclectic, friendly, and organized record stores I've been to.

Now, on to the subject of this post. Shake-It Records is also a record label, and luckily for me, their latest offering is a Drive-By Truckers 7" that is Vol. 2 in a tribute to Muscle Shoals session legend Eddie Hinton (Vol. 1 is by Cincinnati native Greg Dulli of The Afghan Whigs). Now, click that Eddie Hinton link there because there is some interesting info there. For instance the DBT song Sandwiches  For The Road is based on the life of Eddie Hinton. As Dana Carvey would say in his Johnny Carson impression "I did not know that".

Now I haven't had a chance to listen to this yet, because my turntable is back home in Virginia, but I just wanted to give everyone a heads up on this. What I can give you though is a killer live version of side B: Everybody Needs Love

Download Drive-By Truckers - Everybody Needs Love (Live) here

Order Dangerous Highway: A Tribute To The Songs of  Eddie Hinton here

Drive By Truckers - After The Scene Dies (vid), and news

Here's a great vid of one of the new songs from The Big To-Do, due out March 16th. The band starts their Big To-Do tour tomorrow, and they are also offering a free download of the first single, a song called This Fucking Job. In even more DBT news, they will be screening the first ever DBT documentary entitled The Secret To A Happy Ending in Feb. I can't wait to see that!

From The Archives: Slobberbone - Last Show 3-13-05

Got a request for this the other day and wanted to get it in before I go out of town for a week. If I remember right, once upon a time I promised a Slobberbone sampler....well obviously I flaked on that, but never fear fine readers, because lucky for you Ninebullets.net's resident badass Romeo Sid Vicious recently created a "Through The Whiskey Glass" compilation of Slobberbone that is way better than anything I could have come up with. Check it out here: http://ninebullets.net/archives/diggin-on-slobberbone
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How 'bout some live slobberbone to kick off spring. This is probably the best boot I have found of theirs....not only because of the significance of it being their last show, but it's just a damned good boot. They play like it's their last show....running through almost all their best songs in a single night....plenty of debauchery as well. Here is a neat little write up I found on the show itself:

It was a sad day for Texas music on March 13, 2005. That’s when people from as far away as Europe crowded into a sold-out Dan’s Silverleaf in Denton to bid farewell to the State’s reigning ‘best bar band’. That final show was short on covers and long on remembrances, for the band and the audience alike. They resurrected a “Barrel Chested” era documentary film to kick off the night, standing quietly onstage while the film rolled on a screen set up near the entrance. Then they played for a little over two hours. While the album of the night seemed to be their second release, “Barrel Chested”, they managed to cover their entire career, but went sparingly on their last and most over-produced record, “Slippage”. Fittingly enough, the crowd seemed drunker than usual, even for a Slobberbone show. So while the beer and whiskey soaked crowd raised their bottles and glasses, the band kept playing songs about, mostly, drinking. When they first emerged on the scene way back in the early to mid 90s, they were compared to Uncle Tupelo, just like every other “alt country” rock band at the time; only these guys not only had a sense of humor, they, at least to this observer, didn’t take themselves quite as seriously as that by-then-defunct Illinois band. And like UT in the early days, their songs were part punk-rock, part southern-rock and part country. They mixed banjos and fiddles with the blaring electric guitars and channeled the feedback into glorious melodic anthems to lost love, lost dreams, and whiskey. Over the years, it became apparent that they probably owed more in the way of influence to Neil Young and Crazy Horse than to Uncle Tupelo. And now that it’s all over, it looks like frontman Brent Best will continue to play the occasional solo show and the rest of us, at least locally, can wait for the inevitable reunion shows. As far as bands go, it was a great run. Here’s to them!
-jitter

and a News Article

MP3 @ 320

Download Slobberbone - Last Show here

Truesounds - Winter '10

Ok, so here's the latest Truesounds comp. This one features a couple of new names, most notably Michael Dean Damron. I'm really late to the party on this guy, but well...it happens right. My excuse was I thought his former band "I Can Lick Any Son Of A Bitch In The House" had a horrible name so I never checked them out. Damn.

1. Dustin Bentall Outfit - Three Thousand Miles
Off his latest Six Shooter. This song makes me smile

2. Mark Stuart and The Bastard Sons - Gone Like A Raven
Formerly known as The Bastard Sons Of Johnny Cash, this is off their latest Bend In The Road.

3. Michael Dean Damron - Father's Day
Former lead singer of I Can Lick Any Son Of A Bitch In The House, this is the title track off his latest

4. Carolyn Mark and NQ Arbuckle - Downtime
Great little country rocker off their latest Let's Just Stay Here

5. Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit - Soldiers Get Strange
My latest favorite off their latest self titled album. So good

6. Kasey Anderson - Nowhere Nights
Title track off his upcoming Feb. 16th release. Pre-orders available now!

7. Wrinkle Neck Mules - One Hand In The Furnace
Laid back country rocker off their latest Let The Lead Fly

8. Chuck Ragan - Don't Say A Word
Off his latest, Gold Country

9. Sam Baker - Cotton
Title track off the latest Sam Baker album. Hey ho hor

10. Malcolm Holcombe - A Bigger Plan
Really, really love this song off the latest album For The Mission Baby from national treasure Malcolm Holcombe

11. Kieran Kane - Way Down Below
Love, LOVE this song....hell the whole album, last year's Somewhere Beyond The Roses

12. Ben Gibbard and Jay Farrar - Breathe Our Iodine
Was not very familar with Ben Gibbard, but the Big Sur soundtrack album this is off of, titled One Fast Move or I'm Gone, is killer

13. Bettysoo - Get Clean
You guys know I love Bettysoo, just another killer song off Heat Sin Water Skin

14. The Band Of Heathens - Golden Calf
Off their latest, One Foot In The Ether

15. Truckstop Coffee - Ghost Or Angel
Man, I just love this fricken song. Off their latest For Dear Life, which they are still offering on a "name your own price" basis

16. Jon Snodgrass - Fast In Last
From the solo album Visitor's Band of this Drag The River member

17. The Kill Devil Hills - Rosalie
Apparently this band is pretty big in Australia. I had never heard of them, and I dug this song off their latest Man You Should Explode

18. Headwater - Never Going Back
Another laid back country rocker, this time from canadian outfit Headwater. Off their latest Lay You Down

19. Blue Rodeo - One More Night
A FUNKY laid back country rocker. Off their latest double album Things We Left Behind

20. Drag The River - Best and Worst
Really could not think of a better song to end us out with. Off their latest Bad At Breaking Up

MP3 @ 192
Download Truesounds - Winter '10 here

Free Music Alert: D. Striker - multiple albums

Got alerted to this via an email of the video below. Needless to say it grabbed my attention so I headed over to their site and found that they are offering all their albums on a "name your own price" basis. You can listen to the songs prior to downloading. If you like it, throw 'em some dough if you can.

D. Striker reminds me a lot of the irreverent sides of Scott Miller and Mic Harrison, and knowing my love for them, you know I like this.

Watch this vid, go to the site, listen to the songs (they are pretty damned good, better than the vid in my opinion), and click the download album button if you dig it. You will be asked to name your price then and there, and provide an email to get the download link. Look on the right side for other albums (click "More Releases").



Visit the D. Striker official site to download albums

From The Archives: Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, Ray Wylie Hubbard, & Bobby Rambo - Three Teardrops Tavern 1992

I have gotten a couple requests to re-up this because there was a problem with one of the zip files. This thing is so damned good. Like I said below basically just Townes and Guy and Ray Wylie and Bobby Rambo are filler. Fantastic sound, and I also love the simplicity of the artwork I made for this one.
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Someone left a comment asking where to start with Townes Van Zandt and if I have any shows of his....well of course I have some shows, and here's a brand spankin' new one. All I have to say about this one is DAMN!! The sound on this one....EXCELLENT, the performances on this....EXCELLENT!!
This is basically a Townes and Guy show with Ray Wylie and Bobby Rambo thrown as a bonus. After listening to this a couple times, I'm honestly surprised this hasn't seen official release yet....it's that good. The version of Townes' "Marie" on here kills me. Other bonuses on here....learn a little back story to Guy's L.A. Freeway, learn why they call it the Three Teardrops Tavern (now a Duccati dealership). Highlight is by far the Townes and Guy singing trading songs off and singing together at the end.
This is the first I've ever heard of Bobby Rambo, but I'm very impressed by what's on here, an artist I will have to find more about. Oh and if you still want to know where to start with Townes, get Live at The Old Quarter (especially if you like this)

MP3 @ 192 (206MB)
Download Three Drops Tavern here

Three Faces West (Ray Wylie Hubbard's first band) - The Outpost, New Mexico, 1972

So here is the treat I promised you. This is some amazing stuff right here. Now I only expect the most hardcore of Ray Wylie fans to be familiar with Three Faces West. You see Ray Wylie Hubbard started out as Ray Hubbard, folkie, playing what he called "Cosmic Cowboy Music". He was contemporaries with Michael Martin Murphy, B.W. Stevenson and Steve Fromholz (on this recording). He had formed a band with Rick Fowler and Wayne Kidd called Three Faces West and recorded an album in 1969 that according to Steve Fromholz, was the only album more obscure than his own debut album. This was before Willie moved back to Texas, and the music they were making along with Townes Van Zandt and The Flatlanders was very much the beginnings of the Texas "progressive country" scene that would come to dominate the Texas music scene throughout the 70s. This is an audio time capsule of that era.

(Below: Three Faces West 1969 L-R Wayne Kidd, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Rick Fowler)

Now like I said, this is folkie stuff. Those only familiar with Ray's output from the last two decades may be taken off guard by this. Musically this has more in common with Crosby, Stills, and Nash than greasy slide guitars. You've got harmonizing, and lots of acoustic guitars going on here. There are glimmers though of Ray's future recorded output, such as Healing Preacher and an early version of his song Portales (which is also on his first solo album, and his 1992 album Lost Train Of Thought).

I feel like I'm talking too much about Ray Wylie's input when there are other amazing artists on this set as well. Such as Steve Fromholz, who is probably most famous for touring with Steven Stills (which he talks about here), and writing The Texas Trilogy which was later recorded by fellow Texan Lylle Lovett. Some of the other artists on here are slightly more obscure. Dan McCrimmon who worked closely with Fromholz makes a few appearances, and you also have the other members of Three Faces West, Rick Fowler and Wayne Kidd. I could not find any info on those two, or what they are up to now, but I have to wonder if the Rick Fowler from Three Faces West is the same Rick Fowler who runs this Karate School right outside of Dallas. It is good to see however that Bill and Bonnie Hearne are still together, still playing and still recording.

If anybody has any information about what some of these folks are up to now, I would love to know just because this is such a great recording. Yes did I mention that. Not only is this recording historically important to "Progressive Country", "Americana", "Texas Country" or whatever the hell they are calling it this week, it's also a fucking great recording with damn near perfect sound. I would give this a solid A in the sound category.  If you are a die hard fan of Ray Wylie Hubbard....you're gonna want to get this. If you are a fan of "progressive texas cosmic americountry music" you are going to want to get this. If you are a fan of country rock and folk rock in the vein of Crosby Stills and Nash you will likely want to get this as well.

Here is a great article that talks about Ray Wylie Hubbard's early days as a singer/songwriter

I didn't make the back artwork for this because it would have been to hard to put 4 discs on one thing and well I'm not sure anyone even uses the back artwork. All the info is included in the info file (which I updated to correct some info and song titles), and I will include the track list in this post below. Also worth mentioning is even though I don't have an exact date for this. At one point they mention Labor Day being next weekend which means the most likely date for this recording is August 25th, and 26th of 1972. It's obvious this was recorded over at least a two night set so, that's the best guess I have.

I would like to also mention that if anyone has a digital copy of the out of print Three Faces West album, or the out of print Fromholz album please pass it along to me and I would be greatly in your debt.

Disc 1
1. Won't You Listen To Me - Steve Fromholz
2. She'll Sing For You - Steve Fromholz
3. Banter - Steve Fromholz
4. Rock And Roll Woman [Buffalo Springfield] - Steve Fromholz 
5. Stubby Intro - Steve Fromholz
6. Stubby - Steve Fromholz
7. Dimmy Jeans Banter - Steve Fromholz
8. I Will Try - Steve Fromholz
9. Everybody's Going On The Road - Steve Fromholz
10. Rest Area Waltz Intro - Steve Fromholz
11. Rest Area Waltz - Steve Fromholz
12. Banter - Steve Fromholz & Dan McCrimmon
13. Man With The Big Hat - Steve Fromholz & Dan McCrimmon
14. Saxton County Wildman Intro - Three Faces West
15. Saxton County Wildman - Three Faces West
16. Square Dance Banter - Three Faces West
17. Swing Your Partner One More Time - Three Faces West
18. Kansas Legend Intro - Three Faces West
19. Kansas Legend - Wayne Kidd & Dan McCrimmon
20. Portales Intro - Three Faces West
21. Portales - Three Faces West
22. Banter - Three Faces West
23. You Can Only Say So Much [Michael Martin Murphy] - Three Faces West


Disc 2
1. West Texas Highway - Three Faces West
2. Freeway Church Of Christ Intro - Three Faces West
3. Freeway Church of Christ - Three Faces West
4. Portales - Three Faces West
5. Grizzly Bear Intro - Three Faces West
6. Grizzly Bear - Three Faces West
7. Everybody's Going On The Road - Three Faces West
8. Banter - Three Faces West
9. Love Just Comes Along (Then It's Gone) - Three Faces West
10. Jazzbo Dancer Intro - Ray Wylie Hubbard
11. Jazzbo Dancer - Ray Wylie Hubbard
12. Wildfire Intro - Three Faces West
13. Wildfire [Michael Martin Murphy] - Three Faces West
14. Healing Preacher Intro - Three Faces West
15. Healing Preacher - Three Faces West


Disc 3
1. Black Eyed Peas Intro - Three Faces West
2. Black Eyed Peas - Three Faces West
3. Tin Can Jamboree Intro - Three Faces West
4. Tin Can Jamboree - Three Faces West
5. Everybody's Going On The Road Intro - Three Faces West
6. Everybody's Going On The Road - Three Faces West
7. Me and My Uncle Intro - Three Faces West
8. Me and My Uncle [John Phillips] - Three Faces West
9. Piece of His Cross - Three Faces West
10. Morning Stormbird Intro - Ray Wylie Hubbard
11. Morning Stormbird - Ray Wylie Hubbard
12. Drunken Lady Intro - Three Faces West
13. Drunken Lady Of The Morning [Michael Martin Murphy] - Three Faces West
14. Closing Banter - Three Faces West
15. Grizzly Bear - Three Faces West
16. West Texas Highway - Bill & Bonnie Hearne
17. White Line Fever [Merle Haggard] - Bill & Bonnie Hearne
18. Boy From The Country Intro - Bill & Bonnie Hearne
19. Boy From The Country [Michael Martin Murphy] - Bill & Bonnie Hearne
20. You Ain't Going Nowhere [Bob Dylan] - Bill & Bonnie Hearne
21. Blue Morning - Bill & Bonnie Hearne
22. Muddy Boggy Intro - Bill & Bonnie Hearne
23. Muddy Boggy Banjo Man [Ray Wylie Hubbard] - Bill & Bonnie Hearne
24. Wild Geese Intro - Bill & Bonnie Hearne
25. Wild Geese [Ian Tyson] - Bill & Bonnie Hearne
26. Rock Me On The Water [Jackson Browne] - Bill & Bonnie Hearne


Disc 4
1. West Texas Highway - Three Faces West
2. Rainbow Man - Three Faces West
3. Ricochet - Three Faces West
4. Me and My Uncle - Three Faces West
5. Banjo Breakdown - Three Faces West
6. Blackbird [The Beatles] - Three Faces West
7. You Can Only Say So Much - Three Faces West
8. Southwestern Pilgrimage [Michael Martin Murphey] - Three Faces West
9. Coming Down To The Metroplex - Three Faces West
10. Saturday Night [The Eagles] - Three Faces West
11. Won't You Listen To Me [Steve Fromholz] - Three Faces West
12. Wildfire - Three Faces West
13. Black Betty - Three Faces West

MP3 @ 192
Download Three Faces West - The Outpost 1972 here

Ray Wylie Hubbard - Drunken Poets Dream (vid)

I'm just going to go ahead and declare this Ray Wylie Hubbard week at ATS, which means I have something extra special for you folks coming this weekend. For now though, enjoy this excellent high quality HD vid of Ray Wylie performing and acoustic version of the song Drunken Poet's Dream off his new album.  This was recorded during last weeks Music Fest in Steamboat, Colorado by the fine folks over at Music Fog who are doing God's work when it comes to capturing great artists on high quality vids.

Album Review: Ray Wylie Hubbard - A. Enlightenment, B. Endarkenment (Hint: There is No C)

It's been 4 years since Ray Wylie Hubbard's last album Snake Farm. That album was a massive chunk of blues, county, and rock so greasy the pharmaceutical industry had to start manufacturing Lipitor commercially.* In those 4 years Mr. Hubbard has been pretty damned busy. Touring all over the place, helping Hayes Carll get the attention he deserved, writing a script, getting said script turned into a movie, turning his son Lucas into a genuine guitar slayer, launching a music festival, hosting a weekly radio show, and writing and recording the album I am supposed to be talking about here.

The album takes it's title from the first song, and while it's certainly a mouthful of an album title, the song, much like "Knives of Spain" from his 2003 album Growl, sets the tone for the entire album, . And that's the closest comparison I can make for this album....it's very reminiscent of Growl's bluesy grit, groove, and tone as Ray Wylie is so fond of saying. I would venture to say this is his bluesiest effort to date, with greasy slide guitar licks augmented by those mystically poetic lyrics that have become his trademark. In the promo copy that accompanies this album, it states that Ray Wylie once wished he could become a hybid of Guy Clark and John Lee Hooker....an admirable goal to aspire to and one that I for one think he has transcended. 

Now let's talk about some of the songs on here. Currently my favorite is "Black Wings", which if you've watched any of the vids I've posted on here you should have heard before. The lyrical imagery of this song just kills me: "fly away on them ol' wings, black as they may be/shimmering like a leslie and a hammond B-3" and "trusting in a duo-jet and a 9-volt battery/fly away on them ol' wings, black as they may be". He also name drops the Stella guitar in this song....which I'm only mentioning so I can brag that I have one! Another song I want to point out is the lone ballad on this album called "Loose". This song is the odd man out on this album but it's so fucking good it's like finding a chicken nugget in your french fry box. This song is the bait that finally hooks you on this album right before the fire and brimstone of the last three songs kicks in. I'm pretty sure these last three were intended for the Last Rites of Ransom Pride soundtrack, and holy crap are they mood setters. The final song let's you know it's THE FINAL SONG. Fans of the show Deadwood should certainly enjoy the final stretch.

Speaking of Hayes Carll who I mentioned a couple paragraphs up, this album also features Ray Wylie's version of the song "Drunken Poet's Dream" which he co-wrote with Hayes. Ray's version strips the song down to it's essence and while the lyric about paying his student loan seems out of place, Ray still makes you believe every last word of the song with his grizzled voice dancing above the overdriven guitar licks. Rays version made me hear lyrics I had never paid attention to in the song before, and that is why I am such a fan of his music. He doesn't just sing a song.....he propels the lyrics out of the speakers and into your ears in such a manner that makes it nearly impossible to ignore them. Even with all that amazing guitar work by his son Lucas going on.

Buy Ray Wylie Hubbard - A. Enlightenment, B. Endarkenment (Hint: There Is No C) here

(download links removed per request, stream the songs here, or stream the whole album here)
Listen to Ray Wylie Hubbard - Black Wings here
Listen to Ray Wylie Hubbard - Loose here

(*while this fact remains to be proven, it should be noted that both hit the market in 2006....coincidence?...) 

FINALLY!, a (real) Last Rites of Ransom Pride teaser

So you guys know I've been waiting for this movie to come out since I heard of it. I mean, it's a western starring Kris Kristofferson, & Dwight Yoakam, and it's written by Ray Wylie Hubbard. Also soundtrack by Ray Wylie himself. Did I also mention the gun totin' dwarf!!??

View the trailer here at the official website http://lastritesfilm.com/  Make sure to poke around the site to see some more goodies, and more vids can be found here. Apparently this is some kind of viral marketing thing too, so if you go to http://whokilledthedwarf.com/ you can sign up to get a peak at another teaser. (I haven't got mine sent to me yet....waiting on "the siamese twins" or some mess)

Word is that this will be a digital download some point early this year.....which I hope means the within the next 6 weeks. A shame this thing will not see nationwide release, but fuck I can't even find Crazy Heart playing at any theater within 100 miles.

In related Ray Wylie Hubbard news, look for his latest album A. Enlightenment, B. Endarkment, Hint: There is No C. next tuesday at your music vendor of choice (pre-order at Raywylie.com and get an autographed copy).

Free Album Alert: Joey Kneiser (of Glossary) – The All-Night Bedroom Revival

For those who enjoyed the free Glossary album I posted about a few months ago, I've got good news. Glossary frontman Joey Kneiser is offering up his brand new solo album for free as well. It's DAMN good folks, especially to be so free!! As to be expected, this is little quieter, introspective and personal than the Glossary stuff

Here's a big thanks to Joey and Glossary for offering up free goodies like this!

Download Joey Kneiser - The All Night Bedroom Revival here (you can also still download the Glossary album The Better Angels of Our Natures if you missed it the first time)

Don't miss this folks. The price is right and it's fucking good!

Vic Chesnutt & The Amorphous Strums - The 40 Watt 6/14/02

As I'm sure most of you guys are aware, songwriting legend Vic Chesnutt passed away this past Christmas day. I don't have much to say about this other than it's a great recording though there is some background chatter throughout that is not too distracting. It just adds to the "live" atmosphere. If you are unfamiliar with Vic's large body of work I would recommend downloading this free mp3 sampler from his official site to whet your appetite. His style of songwriting and singing is very subtle and subdued but it works it's ways into the deepest valley's of your brain. He will be missed.

MP3
Download Vic Chesnutt - At The 40 Watt here
(Also available HERE along with other Vic Cesnutt shows)

2009 ATS Readers Poll Results

So the readers poll is closed, and here are the results. Thanks all who voted. This one is dominated by DBT and it's affiliates

#1 Drive By Truckers - The Fine Print (with 35.4% of the vote)

#2 Steve Earle - Townes (with 34%)

#3 Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit - s/t (with 33%)

#4 Justin Townes Earle - Midnight At The Movies (with 27.8%)

#5 Ryan Bingham - Roadhouse Sun (26.8%)
#5 Todd Snider - The Excitement Plan (26.8%)

#6 Levon Helm - Electric Dirt (22.7%)

#7 Patterson Hood - Murdering Oscar (21.6%)

#8 Lucero - 1372 Overton Park (20.6%)

#9 Son Volt - American Central Dust (19.6%)

#10 Buddy & Julie Miller - Written in Chalk (18.6%)