Hey y’all,
In this episode of Gettin’ In The Grooves I share my top 5 albums of 2015.
Adios,
~Tumbleweed TAD~
Drive By Truckers Jason Isbell Ray Wylie Hubbard James McMurtry Corb Lund Uncle Lucius Third Man Records CNBC
Hey y’all,
This post is kind of a wrap up of the blog as far as this school semester goes. I definitely intend to keep the blog going beyond this post, this is just a requirement of the class for which I initially started the blog. The content of this post is just going to be a summary of the experience with my first blog, and some stats that relate to it.
Well, when this assignment to start our own blog was first given to us, I was somewhat torn. I was excited to finally have an excuse to talk more about my favorite subject, as well as an excuse to share it with more folks than just my friends I see every day. I also felt some trepidation about having to share my thoughts with more folks than just my friends I see everyday (a requirement of the assignment was to share our blog on any social media platforms we used). I have always been of the mindset of ‘who cares what I think, or just anybody thinks.’ If your not an expert on the subject or have some kind of proven track record of knowledge about the subject, then why would anyone else care to hear what you have to say about it? I will admit I un-friend people from Facebook all the time for sharing their opinions on various topics, (typically the topics that are better left for serious discussions and not Facebook posts, politics, religion, etc.) Now I’m fully in support of free speech, but since I have the ability to alter my news feed, I’m going to. Nothing personal, but I would just rather see pictures and music my favorite bands post than your thoughts on abortion and gun laws. Sorry, I got a little off track. My point is that I was definitely nervous about having to put my original thoughts and writing out there into the internet where anyone could see them.
Now that I’m several months through this, my fears and stance on all of that have softened. One big reason for this, which I noticed right away, is that a lot of people won’t even look at the things you post. Just looking at the percentage of views of a post, to the number of friends I have on Facebook, clearly shows that the majority of people won’t view my posts. That was both relieving and a little disheartening, if I’m being honest. Constructing my own blog has also lead me to explore other blogs and other people’s writing. I have definitely changed somewhat in my thinking of ‘why would I care what this person has to say about this.’ After getting past those reservations, I definitely have become more interested in seeing what other folks or the masses have to say about certain topics (certain being a very key word there.) The experience of being on the other end of the story has certainly affected my thoughts on all of this.
Stats
Facebook was the only thing I used and it seemed to be relatively effective.
I only used Facebook, so I don’t really know. I definitely could have posted a couple blog entries at different times of day, or certainly not at the same time as major world events. I posted one entry to Facebook right as or after the Paris attacks happened. I had been outside all day and didn’t know the attacks had happened yet. Not very many people looked at that post.
I definitely wish I had learned better editing skills before I shot the first two videos. I certainly feel that I could have made the whole blog better and more visually appealing if I had more time to devote to the project, especially the videos.
Well, I learned how to do several things I had no idea how to do prior to this project; setting up a blog, filming interviews/videos, editing videos, speaking on camera and interviewing someone. Hopefully I will need these skills in the future.
Week of November 30. Porno Pete Breaks His Silence – 40 views, 30 visitors. Week of September 21. Introduction – 48 views, 28 visitors.
– Oddly, it was my Introduction. It beat out Porno Pete Breaks His Silence by one view.
– 35 and 34
I have no idea why the Introduction received the most views. The other post was the highest because I tagged the real Porno Pete in the Facebook post and thus more people saw it.
Yes, in fact one thing I noticed was very surprising. My blog was viewed by individuals in Puerto Rico, Canada, and the UK. I have no idea who those people could be.
Adios,
~Tumbleweed TAD~
Hey y’all.
In this episode, Porno Pete finally breaks his silence and gives us his thoughts on music.
Interesting.
Thanks for checking out this episode of Gettin’ In The Grooves. We’ll see y’all next time.
Adios,
~Tumbleweed TAD~
I went and picked up the new Drive-By Truckers record the other day.
This is usually how buying a new record goes for me.
These pictures should not be construed in any way that would suggest I like cats. Quite the opposite.
“Dogs under 50 pounds are cats, and cats are pointless.” – Ron Swanson
~Tumbleweed TAD~
“Well I never saw Lynyrd Skynyrd, but I sure saw AC/DC, with Bon Scott singing LET THERE BE ROCK!” So goes the last verse of The Drive-By Truckers song Let There Be Rock, from their groundbreaking 2001 release Southern Rock Opera. Let there be rock indeed. The Truckers bring almost more rock than you can handle with their monstrous new release, It’s Great To Be Alive!. The live album, recorded at San Francisco’s legendary Fillmore, during a three night stand last November, (20-22, 2014) clocks in at just over three hours, and takes 5 LP’s to catalog.
Band leaders & co-founders of DBT, Patterson Hood & Mike Cooley, img. courtesy 904happyhour.com
The songs on record are a career spanning portrait of the Athens, GA by way of Alabama rock group. The songs stretch from the bands most recent and highly acclaimed album, 2014’s English Oceans, all the way back to the pre-Truckers days of Adam’s House Cat, with the song Runaway Train. Adam’s House Cat was the band that founding members Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood were a part of, just prior to starting the Truckers. The sequencing of the record follows the career spanning motif as well. The opening track, Lookout Mountain, comes from those early 90’s days when Hood and Cooley were forming the band. The song that book ends the album is an extended 13 minute version of Grand Canyon, Hood’s remembrance of a recently fallen friend, and also the last song off of their most recent release. The songs between pull somewhat equally from all of the different eras of the Truckers. They bring back gems from the early years like Uncle Frank, and Box of Spiders from 1999’s Pizza Deliverance. They also touch on their breakout, three guitar, monster of an album, Southern Rock Opera. From SRO they do Cooley’s Zip City, and Women Without Whiskey, and also Hood’s devastatingly beautiful tale of Skynyrd’s plane crash, Angels & Fuselage. Well represented is also the era sometimes referred to as the Dirty South years, or the Isbell years. The two albums often regarded as their best come from this era and are well represented with Marry Me, When The Pin Hits The Shell, and Hell No I Ain’t Happy from 2003’s Decoration Day. Also, Where The Devil Don’t Stay, Sinkhole, and Tornadoes from 2004’s The Dirty South. They even touch on the oft forgotten and final album that Jason Isbell would be a part of, A Blessing and A Curse, with Gravity’s Gone and A World Of Hurt. The post Isbell era is also represented well with songs from 2008’s killer (especially from Cooley’s side) Brighter Than Creations Dark, 2010’s The Big To Do, as well as a couple from 2011’s Muscle Shoals influenced Go-Go Boots. The track list follows suit with the live shows, alternating between Hood’s songs and Cooley’s. They also made sure to capture the magic of Hood’s between or sometimes mid-song storytelling that has become a staple of Trucker’s shows. Top to bottom, (and that’s a long way) The Truckers and their team did a great job with this album. Sometimes live albums can stink of contractual obligations and be lacking in effort and production. This album is not that. It reminds us of some of the great live albums of the 70’s. It is a celebration of possibly the greatest rock & roll band of the last 20 years, and should be the template for any live album to come in the future.
DBT Circa 2004. Courtesy youtube user 71galaxie
Another aspect of this release that I wanted to talk about, especially as it relates to this blog, is the vinyl itself. This album is the perfect example of why vinyl is the only way go when purchasing music. Like I said, the album takes 5 LP’s to catalog. That’s basically five new albums you get when you buy the album. The album was even sequenced so that the each record is like its own separate album. Instead of the usual download code, the package comes with the entire album on a collection of 3 CD’s, so you also have the ability to upload the music to your iPod or phone or whatever. Along with the music, they give us a few special extras that only come with the vinyl release. Included in the package are 4 concert posters from the critically acclaimed artist Wes Freed, who does all of the Trucker’s concert posters as well as every album cover since 2001’s Southern Rock Opera. Along with all of that, also included is a 16 page LP sized booklet with pictures and extensive liner notes from Patterson Hood. For me and other big fans of the Truckers, this is probably the coolest extra. Patterson does this for every record and his writing is always worth the read. He is a published author and has been featured in publications like The New York Times, and was just recently the commencement speaker at the University of North Alabama. The guy can write. They also released a version of the album on vinyl called, This Weekends The Night, which is a snapshot of the three nights and features just 13 songs. A good collection in itself, but to me seems pointless to buy when the other is available. So all in all, a great recording and a great release. It’s Great To Be Alive!, from The Drive-By Truckers, should stand as the one great example for all live albums and vinyl releases to come.
The Dirty South years. Some would say the best lineup, L-R, Jason Isbell, Patterson Hood, Brad Morgan, Shonna Tucker, Mike Cooley. img. courtesy popmatters.com
Some would argue that the current line up is the best its ever been. L-R, Jay Gonzalez, Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley, Brad Morgan, Matt Patton. img. courtesy drivebytruckers.com
Thanks for checking it out y’all. Go support your local record store and get you a copy of this one. You won’t regret it.
“See you at The Rock Show”
~Tumbleweed TAD~
Drive By Truckers Wes Freed Jason Isbell NY Times – Patterson Hood Fillmore
If you have never heard of Willis Alan Ramsey; Actually, I should say, you have probably never heard of Willis Alan Ramsey. You have also probably never heard of the lone album that bears his name. Released in 1972 on Leon Russell’s Shelter Records, the self-titled album lives in a somewhat mythological place in the folk, blues, and Texas music worlds. It is remembered as much for the songs as the mystery that surrounds their composer. The transcendent album remains the only recording ever released from an artist, lauded by many of his peers as one of the truly great writers and singers of all time.
W.A.R. at the Armadillo World Headquarters circa 1974
img. courtesy of willisalanramsey.com
Willis
Willis Alan Ramsey was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1951. When he was around ten years old, his family moved to Dallas, Texas, where he spent most of his youth. This combination of being raised in the Deep South and Texas would come to play an important role in his songs. He spent his high school years singing in the choir and playing in cover bands. It was around this time that a friend first introducsed him to the idea of writing his own songs. He had two failed attempts at college, first in Memphis, and then Austin. College never worked because the muse was calling, and so he dropped out to become a songwriter. He soon found his way into the Texas folk circuit, playing the clubs between Austin, Dallas, and Oklahoma. He fell in with the likes of Steve Fromholz, Ray Hubbard, B.W. Stevenson, and others. (I just have to stop for a second a say, what an amazing time. To think you could walk in a place and see all of those people in the same setting is just ridiculous. I was born 30 years too late.) He spent some time on the folk circuit, honing his craft and studying his heroes. (He cites Woody Guthrie and Robert Johnson as his two heroes and biggest influences). A few years later, a chance meeting with several bona fide rock & roll legends would be the break he needed to get his songs on record. In 1970, Leon Russell and The Allman Brothers were playing an outdoor festival in Austin, and the bands happened to be staying at the same hotel Willis was crashing at. Willis had no intention of letting this opportunity slip away, so he walked around the hotel until he bumped into Leon Russell, Greg Allman, and Dickey Betts (insane right?!). He convinced these three to listen to a few of his songs, and proceeded to floor them. They all immediately invited him to their studios to record his songs. Allman and Betts asked him to come to their place in Macon, Georgia, while Russell invited him to his studio in L.A. He tried both but settled on recording with Leon Russell and his Shelter People. At the time, Russell had one of the first, world class home studios. He also had people like J.J. Cale hanging around. Willis found the level of fame and talent he was now surrounded by to be a little intimidating. He realized that he really needed to get it all together to hold his own with these incredible musicians, and it took him a little while. After multiple recording sessions in L.A., Memphis, Nashville, and for some reason Tyler, Texas, the album was finally released on Shelter Records in May of 1972. They obviously didn’t know it at the time, but the record they had just made would become not only critically acclaimed, but also the catalyst for one of the strangest and most mysterious stories in music history.
Willis shortly after he returned to the States. Courtesy youtube user Steve Swinnea.
The Record
The cover of the record follows suit with many of those great records of the seventies, featuring simply a picture of Willis on the front. The young man with the cocked cowboy hat and the sly smile belies the greatness and writing prowess hidden inside those dark green cardboard flaps. The songs contained within tell the stories of less than reputable characters, American heroes, women who inspire song, and even some furry creatures who can’t keep their hands off each other. There are a total of eleven songs on the album, of which nine have been covered by other artists. The opening track, The Ballad of Spider John, which tells the story of a petty thief who falls in love only to lose it because of fear and dishonesty, was covered by Jimmy Buffett on his 1974 release, Living And Dying In ¾ Time. The second song on the album is called Muskrat Candlelight. This song was recorded under the name Muskrat Love, first in 1973 by the band America, and then in 1976 by The Captain & Tennille. It was a big hit for the latter, and thus is one of the songs of Willis’ that the average American might know. This is one of the two songs on the record that tells the story (beautifully & poetically) of two small animals getting it on. The next song on the record, Geraldine and The Honeybee, tells a similar story. The middle of the record contains three songs that were all covered by critically acclaimed and influential artists. The first, Satin Sheets, was covered by Waylon Jennings on his 1977 album titled Ol’ Waylon. Some of y’all might remember that record because it contained the wildly popular song Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love). Next is Goodbye to Old Missoula, which was recorded by Jimmy Dale Gilmore, a founding member of The Flatlanders. The next song, Painted Lady, is an ode to honky tonk women. This song was recorded by one of the seminal members of Austin’s progressive/outlaw movement, the late great Rusty Wier. Wier put this song in his excellent 1974 solo debut Stoned, Slow, Rugged. Willis follows this incredible stretch of songs with Watermelon Man and Boy From Oklahoma. The former is a song about food and love and the latter is a song about Willis’ hero. Boy From Oklahoma is his ode to Woody Guthrie, and a beautiful portrait of the great American songwriter. Willis closes the album with one of my all-time favorite songs, Northeast Texas Women. While the title is geographically suggestive, the song is really a celebration of all Texas women. He tells us that whether you’re looking up north, out west, or even for something strange down in old La Grange, they all have “kisses that are sweeter than cactus.” The song turns into an extended jam session at the end, and Willis’ dog Odlio even makes an appearance. (If you’re already a fan of Willi’s, and like me always wondered what they were saying at the end; it’s Odlio. Thanks to Mattson Rainer of KNBT in New Braunfels for clearing that up). Jerry Jeff Walker recorded a revved up, electric version of this song on his monster 1977 album, A Man Must Carry On. This song was my first exposure to the greatness of Willis Alan Ramsey, though I would not discover him till several years later.
These songs live somewhere in the realm of bluesy folk, folky country, and somewhere else that is escaping my descriptive powers. The words coming through the speakers defy the age of the person singing them. One would expect the person writing and singing these words to have spent at least half a century on this earth. Nope. Willis was not even 21 years old when they were recording this album. Besides the writing, it was Willis’ voice that made these songs so magical. That Alabama/Texas mixture gave him an incredibly unique drawl and delivery with his words. Hearing his voice for the first time was like hearing Ray Charles or Randy Newman for the first time; it’s that powerful. If you are part of my generation, then the first time you probably heard Randy Newman’s voice was singing that song You’ve Got A Friend In Me, from the Toy Story movie. I remember hearing that voice as a child and thinking that it had to be coming from God, or certainly someone not of this mortal world. I imagined that a sound like that could only come from a heavenly being, who was beyond giant in stature and lived somewhere far away from this planet. I had not heard Randy Newman in years when I first heard Willis Alan Ramsey, but I got that same feeling. Willis’ voice comes from that same celestial place. When you hear it (at least for me), you think that there is almost no way that that sound is coming out of a human. It is all encompassing and yet sharp and poignant. It feels gigantic and intimate all in the same breath. It surrounds you with a warmth that is completely southern, yet feels worldly. I don’t think I was really convinced that it was real until I witnessed it happening in front of me.
Apart from the writing and the supernatural voice, the album also had another key element that made it so great. The production. Now that’s not something one would typically think about when discussing a good folk record. It’s certainly something that could come up when discussing a bad folk record. To understand this, we need not look farther than the greatest songwriter to ever suck air not named Bob Dylan. This would of course be Townes Van Zandt. Townes has some really bad studio albums (think Buckskin Stallion) because the production is, well, just even there in some cases. Steve Earle (the biggest Townes disciple on the planet) has said that he didn’t think Townes had any good studio albums, for that very reason. I think the consensus is that Townes’ best record was the Live At The Old Quarter album. This album was nothing but him, a guitar, and a microphone. So my point is that you typically don’t want to hear much of anything else on a folk record. Somehow Willis found a way to get in that sweet spot where the music and production took nothing away from the songs themselves. They were able to walk that line and came away with something really special.
W.A.R. in recent years.
img courtesy of rockymountainhighway.org
Now Things Get Weird
So in 1972, Willis Alan Ramsey released this incredible record right as the scene in Texas was starting to garner national attention. It should have been huge right? Well, nothing happened. Things were changing at Shelter Records and he received little support from the label for promotion or a follow up tour to support the record. After some financial negotiations failed, he never returned to their studio and spent the next eight years touring the folk circuit until his contract ran out. Then around 1980 he became disenfranchised with performing all together. Around this time, the movie Urban Cowboy came out and completely changed the bar and club scene, especially in the Lone Star State. Venues were now about dancing, mechanical bulls, mating rituals, and rowdy hell raising. The music became background noise at many clubs. If you weren’t playing something the crowd could dance to, then not many paid attention (Charlie Daniels got pretty big at this time). It was certainly not the scene for a cowboy/hippie poet to be finger picking his bluesy poems. So Willis just kind of fell off the face of the earth. Actually, he moved to Europe. He spent most of the 80’s in Britain and Scotland before returning to the states sometime around 1990. Around this time he would meet his wife Alison Rogers, who apparently convinced him to stay in the states. He also started playing the off gig here and there and even revealing some new songs. Between then and now he has popped up once or twice every couple of years to play a gig, (often times in very unusual places) or on a songwriting credit. He and his wife Alison penned Lyle Lovett’s hit songThat’s Right (You’re Not From Texas). He also co-wrote (with Lovett) the absolutely beautiful song, North Dakota, which appears on Lyle Lovett’s 1992 album Joshua Judges Ruth. In just the last couple of years he has started showing up at the insanely good time that is the Texas comes to Colorado music festival known as MusicFest, which happens every year in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
It’s so good to see him re-emerge back into the public eye, even if it may just be once or twice a year. But……… It’s now been 43 years since his one and only record came out, and we should all be grateful that it exists for our ears to consume, but why nothing more? We know he has new songs in the bag, and has for a while. As you can imagine, every time he pops up somewhere he is faced with the questions about when the new one is coming. His answers to this are usually as vague as to why he disappeared for so long. Typically it’s one of two things; “probably next year” or “what’s wrong with the first one” (which is of course nothing at all). There are a few reasons floating around out there as to why he took the path he did, but few hold much water. It’s been written that when this album was recorded Willis was an individual completely out of touch with the recorded music industry and how it all worked. This seems like a reasonable statement. It’s never been a secret that he was a pretty eccentric guy who did things nobody’s way but his own. A friend of mine who contributes to Texas Monthly once shared a story about Willis with me that was relayed to him during an interview with Ray Wylie Hubbard. The Wylie Lama said that during one year in Dallas, every time he went to Willis’ house the entire living room had been painted a different color. When Ray asked him why he was doing all of this, his dead serious response was that he had not yet found the right color. Weird yes, but Frank Zappa was also a pretty weird guy and he made lots of records. There were also reports that Willis was very difficult to work with. He himself has admitted that he is an “audio purist” and does not care for the sound of most recordings. Again, this seems like a somewhat substantial reason, but it’s still not enough. Ryan Adams has been making records for years and we’ve all heard the stories about him.
Whatever the reasons are, we may never know. Lets just be glad we have the one. Maybe some day we’ll get to hear that magical voice singing a new song. I’ve heard some of them live, and Willis’ hasn’t missed a step. But for now, the one record will do just fine. If I have intrigued you and you want to get a hold of it, well, it can be hard to find. To my knowledge, it was never re-printed on vinyl, so if that’s what you’re looking for, it can take some work. I bought my vinyl copy from a guy in England. It was the only available copy I could find on the internet after about a month long search. The album was released on CD sometime in the early ninety’s, but even those can be hard to find. The album isn’t on iTunes, but you can hear it all on YouTube. Well, I think I have said all I can say about Willis Alan Ramsey. If you’ve never heard his songs, (which I suspect you haven’t) you should find a way to. You can thank me later.
Adios,
~Tumbleweed TAD~
“Marketability might be a problem for me, because all my songs are about food, sex, and little animals. But I grew up on blues and Disney, and that’s what comes out” – W.A.R.
Willis Alan Ramsey Leon Russell Shelter Records Lyle Lovett
Courtesy youtube user Joe Maynard
Hey y’all,
This the fifth edition of my blog Gettin’ In The Grooves. This will be our second recorded episode, and along with my special guest we are going to talk about the resurgence of vinyl, as well as two truly great live albums. Townes Van Zandt’s Live At The Old Quarter, and Nirvana’s Unplugged In New York. Enjoy.
youtube doesn’t seem to like my videos, I had to split this in half for some reason, here is part 2
Townes, Img courtesy of americansongwriter.com
Live At The Old Quarter
Townes performing his most well known song, Pancho & Lefty. This performance is from the incredible documentary, Heartworn Highways. Courtesy of youtube user cratediggersradio.
Nirvana, Img courtesy of today.com
UNPLUGGED IN NEW YORK
Nirvana performing David Bowie’s The Man Who Sold The World during the recording of this album. Courtesy of youtube NirvanaVevo
Well that’s it for the fifth edition of Gettin’ In The Grooves. Very special thanks to my guest Lauren Meckel. Thanks for checking it out.
~ Tumbleweed TAD
“Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world, and I’ll stand on Bob Dylan’s coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that.” – Steve Earle
Hey y’all,
So this post is going to fulfill a requirement of the class I’m doing this blog for. With one of our posts we are required to review a blog that is similar to our own blog. It’s a requirement that I’m really glad we have because I’ve really wanted to talk about this guy and his site, I just didn’t know how I was going to fit it in. The blog/site I’m going to review is called Saving Country Music, and can be found at savingcountrymusic.com Now this site doesn’t particularly cover the subject of vinyl, but it is all about the preservation of true music, past and present, and how this music can evolve and survive in the world of today without straying so far that it loses site of it’s foundations. I think vinyl faces a similar conundrum in its push to become relevant again.
I want to preface this by saying this will not be an objective review. I visit this site on a daily basis. For many reasons, which we will discuss, this is my favorite website in the whole wide internet.
So let me tell you a little bit about Saving Country Music. SCM is a blog about, well, saving country music. It’s right there in the name. The articles on SCM cover news, reviews, artists, music history, and key players as they relate to the industry. There is also a fair amount of dragging pop country through the mud. While the main focus is country music, the site also covers folk, bluegrass, rockabilly, blues and most roots music. Although it is a music based website, they tell us in the about section that SCM is “first and foremost a consumer advocate and industry watchdog, who works from the core principals that the focus should be people first, then the music, and that music is just the excuse to explore deeper issues throughout culture”. SCM actually began in 2008 as a blog on Myspace called Free Hank III. Hank III, the grandson of the legendary Hank Williams, was being held hostage by the evil Curb Records, who would not release his albums. Because of a contract stipulation Hank III was unable to even speak out against this lunacy, and forced to just sit there with unreleased albums. Free Hank III became a collection of writers, fans, DJs, and musicians who spoke out against Curb on Hank’s behalf. They eventually pressured Curb to release the albums and Hank III from their roster. After this, Free Hank III became Saving Country Music.
Hank III, img courtesy of concertlivewire.com
The site receives well over a quarter of a million unique visitors each month and has claimed its place as a legitimate voice in the conversation about country music, and the state of the music industry as a whole. SCM has been interviewed or quoted by numerous national and international publications. CNN, Fox News, The NY Times, Playboy, Entertainment Weekly, and the BBC are just a few of the bigger ones. The writing on SCM has inspired a song by Eric Church, and some folks believe that the Taylor Swift song Mean is about the head writer of SCM.
So who is this head writer? Well as far as I can tell he’s the only writer, and I think that has had something to do with the success of SCM. The creator, editor, and “benevolent dictator” of SCM goes by the moniker “The Triggerman” or “Trigger”. The Triggerman is actually a fellow named Kyle Coroneos. He is a published author and has also written for several other well known music publications like American Songwriter and the UK’s Country Music Magazine. Him being the sole writer on the site I think has definitely helped the success of SCM. It gives the site a singular voice and a very clear direction as to what the site and the writing are all about. Now you might think, well that could get old with just one guy, who has a very clear and unwavering opinion about the subject matter. But it doesn’t. I think this has a lot to do with the level of writing in the articles. When you read some of the articles and news stories, and even the album reviews, the level of talent Trigger has as a writer is very apparent. In something like an album review you would expect to typically just get a description of the sound and a few sentences explaining things like who produced the album, when it was recorded, and maybe a standout track. Not with Trigger. He digs deep into the whole album to really try to tell us where he thinks the artist is coming from with the album. He looks for overshadowed deep cuts, and the messages that aren’t just laid out there in plain English for the casual listener. He searches hard into the subject and then relays his findings with the voice of a seasoned professional who could be plying his trade on even the biggest platform. In the run of the mill album review, one is not typically treated to the use of language like, “Most vilified in this work is the time we live in today, and the artifice of prosperity as the gulf between the have’s and have not’s continues to widen, and people fall over themselves to be heard instead of to listen”.
Now besides just the writing, Trigger does a lot of other great stuff with site that makes it really appealing to the reader and fan. First of all, the set up of the site, and the ease at which you access information were very well thought out. The most recent ten or so articles are listed on the homepage with a brief description and picture that takes you to the full article. The archives, whether years or weeks old are easy to access through just a couple of clicks. Something really great Trigger does with the site is the scrolling news ticker at the top of every page. He has recent news on country music from other publications scrolling in a continuous loop at the top of each page. I really like this feature because it turns you on to other publications and writers you might not have ever found on your own. Another thing that Trig does really well with is the comments section of each article. He is very active in the community of readers he has created with his site. If you ask a direct question of him in the comments, he will almost always respond, and in a timely manner. If you wanna go let loose on a rant in the comment section, you are free to do so. From my knowledge he does not censor any posts in the comments, and that’s really cool. However, if you puff your chest out and start spouting some nonsense, he will let you know exactly what he thinks about the things you said, and that’s even cooler. Trigger is willing to be pretty unfiltered and transparent with what he thinks, and I think a lot of his readers appreciate that, whether they agree with him or not. For a glimpse of what I’m talking about with Trig’s willingness to lay it out there, check out his gloves off review of Ryan Adams’ recent front to back cover of Taylor Swift’s 1989.
Well, that is Saving Country Music. It’s a great place to go if you want to read about real music being made by some real folks you probably haven’t heard of. It’s also a great place to go if you wan’t to read a great writer explain why there is some really bad music being made by some folks you probably have heard of.
~Tumbleweed TAD
“When a culture’s music is lifeless, that culture is bound for more trouble than just having nothing decent to listen to” – quote from Saving Country Music
A young John Prine. Img courtesy of imageck.com
Hey y’all
This is the third edition of my blog Gettin’ In The Grooves. This is our first recorded episode, so I’m going to talk about two of my all time favorite records. The two records we will discuss are John Prine’s self titled debut, as well as the Hard Working Americans self titled debut. Enjoy.
Dave Schools – Bass, Img courtesy of jambase.com
Todd Snider – Lead Vocals. Img courtesy of equality365.com
Jesse Aycock – Lap Steel, Guitar, Img courtesy of gettyimages
Duane Trucks – Drums, Img courtesy of buffalo.com
Neal Casal – Lead Guitar, Img courtesy of gratefulweb.com
Chad Staehly – Keys, Img courtesy of flickr.com
Hard Working Americans – Stomp & Holler Official Video, courtesy of HWA
John Prine performing Paradise circa 1980, courtesy of youtube user im4outagain
Blackland Farmer – Frankie Miller Illegal Smile
Another Train – Will Kimbrough Spanish Pipedream
Down To The Well – Kevin Gordon Hello In There
The Mountain Song – Kieran Kane Sam Stone
Stomp And Holler – Hayes Carll Paradise
Straight To Hell – Kevin Kinney, Drivin’ n Cryin’ Pretty Good
Welfare Music – Brian Henneman, Bottlerockets Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You…
Mr. President…. – Randy Newman Far From Me
Run A Mile – Don Herron, Chuck Mead Angel From Montgomery
I Don’t Have A Gun – Will Kimbrough, Tommy Womack Quiet Man
Wrecking Ball – Gillian Welch, Dave Rawlings Donald And Lydia
Well, that’s it for the third edition of Gettin’ In The Grooves. Stay tuned for our next episode when we will discuss a favorite record of my special guest. Thanks for checking it out.
~ “Tumbleweed” TAD
“Making money outta paper, paper outta trees, we’re making so much money we can hardly breathe” – Todd Snider
Hard Working Americans The First Waltz Widespread Panic Great American Taxi Chris Robinson Brotherhood Todd Snider Jesse Aycock Duane Trucks
Hey y’all.
This is my second entry in Gettin’ In The Grooves: The Resurgence of Vinyl & Why We Love It. First off I’d like to say happy holidays to everyone in South Texas. I hope y’all all got your limits this weekend. In this post we’re going to talk about the re-birth of vinyl as a relevant source of music. I’m going to hit you with some numbers, so we can examine the change in sales and production of vinyl over the last 40 years or so. Then finally, we are going to explore a little bit about what makes vinyl records appealing as opposed to other mediums, and maybe I’ll turn you on to some new music.
So lets talk about vinyl records.
Now, I know some of y’all reading this are of my generation and may not know a whole lot about the subject, so here is a little back ground info (audiophiles and those born before the late 80’s please bare with me). Long before digital music, or cds, or tapes, or 8-tracks, there were records. When they first started recording and releasing music back in the early twentieth century, it was released on records. Records are typically described in relationship to their size in diameter and their rpm’s. Most commonly you see 7″, 10″, and 12″. The most common rpm speeds are 33 1/3, 45, and 78. Most new vinyl released today is at 33 1/3. Up until the mid 1960’s when 8-track tapes came out, records and radio were the only sources of music in American homes. 8-track was then followed and dominated by the cassette tape. Even with these new vehicles of delivery, records remained relevant until the rise of compact discs in the late 1980’s. When compact discs came out, they were wildly popular. Obviously they had many advantages when compared to records; especially in a more mobile world. Now as long as new formats had been coming out there was always a slight decrease in vinyl sales, but they really took a dive shortly after the CD became relevant. Once the CD, and then the portable CD player came out, it seemed that vinyl was not long for this world. According to data coming from the Recording Industry Association of America, reported here by the Huffington Post; From 1991 through 2005 the sales of Vinyl in the United States dwindled to almost nothing. Then 8 years ago in 2008 these number began to rise drastically. They reached their highest point (so far) in 2014 with 9.2 million units sold. Now obviously, that is not a huge number, and compared to vinyl’s high point in the late 70’s, it’s miniscule. However, if you think about all of the other available forms of media and the ease at which they are accessed, that rise is rather significant.
Patterson Hood of The Drive-By Truckers showing his support for vinyl. Photo courtesy of gettyimages.
So why do people like vinyl records again?
I think there are a few reasons for this change. One of the most obvious of those is that our society is cyclical. We see it in trends and fashions and art all the time. Spend a day on a college campus and you’ll know what I’m talking about. A short walk through a creative hub like Austin, or Portland, or parts of Nashville, will reveal this sentiment. In recent years some trends have been high waisted pants, mustaches, and string bands. Younger generations discover these things from before their time and they make a come back for a while, until a new old style is discovered and recycled again. Lets hope this isn’t the case with vinyl. Another reason I believe has led to this change (one that certainly strikes a chord with me) is a sort of backlash against the enormity and overwhelming scope of technology. For the people who are buying vinyl records, the music is obviously very special and important. I think because of this, they want to separate it from the soullessness of technology. I don’t believe the consumers or the artists like seeing this thing they love and pour their lives into treated like a commodity. To companies that provide streaming services, a song or an album is nothing more than just that, a commodity. It’s art and should be treated as such. Now while the cyclical nature of society and a backlash against digital music have contributed to this rebirth of vinyl, I believe the most influential factor has been the music. Specifically, I think this pertains to the growing power of independent and roots music. Independent and roots music has made huge strides in recent years. Jason Isbell’s most recent album Something More Than Free (released on his own label Southeastern Records, with some help from Thirty Tigers) landed at number one on Billboard’s country, folk, and rock charts during the week of its release. Americana music has grown immensely in recent years, and now has a televised awards show and a Grammy category (Americana music is an encompassing genre that includes traditional country, folk, bluegrass, r&b, blues, roots rock&roll, and all styles of roots music, see link). Whether by choice or necessity these artists have a do it yourself attitude and approach to their music and lives, and that resonates with people. To me, this approach seems fantastically similar to the period in the mid to late 70’s when artists like Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson were taking back control of their music, and record sales were higher than ever. These artists music embody what the resurgence in vinyl is all about. It’s about a passion for true music that moves forward while always recognizing it’s roots. I think these sentiments are shared by both the artists and their fans, and has been the catalyst for the growth of this scene. On top of all that, many of these artists (like Patterson Hood, featured in the picture above) are collectors of vinyl themselves. The artists are people who enjoy listening to music at 33 1/3 rpm, and they want to release their own music in the same way.
Img. courtesy of jasonisbell.com
So really, what is so great about vinyl? Why do some of us love it so much?
For me, it’s several things. A vinyl record appeals to so many senses. The texture, the smell, and the visual art are all exhilarating; and you can get all that without even dropping a needle on it. For me there is nothing like putting your hands on an album. Spending hours meandering around a record store flipping through endless stacks of records is a simple pleasure I could never derive from scrolling through a list on a screen. A methodical search through a record store can reveal hidden gems that you may not be able to find anywhere else on the planet. It can bring on emotions that you weren’t having or expecting before you walked into the store. Maybe you see an album your grandaddy used to play and it brings on a feeling you haven’t had in a while. Or maybe you just see a picture of Frank Zappa, and it makes you laugh. Either way, a tactile search through a record collection is an experience scrolling down a screen and clicking a mouse can never match. Then there is the smell. OH MAN do I love the smell of classic vinyl coming out of a 40 plus year old paper sleeve! Those smells may be literally as old as the record itself, and when it hits you, it’s like you just experienced a little bit of the 60’s, or whenever it was made.
Img. courtesy of bobdylan.com
I have an original issue of Dylan’s Bringing It All Back Home. When I pulled that gem out of the rack and released it from its plastic chamber and that smell hit me; mind-blowing. It was almost like I had experienced a little bit of the 60’s in upstate New York, while standing in a small town in the Texas Hill Country. I wondered, “is this what it smelled like while he was writing things down like, “better stay away from those that carry around a fire hose, keep a clean nose, watch the plain clothes, you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.”” Needless to say, that was an experience and feeling I could have only gotten right there in that record store.
Img. courtesy of rollingstone.com
So beside just smells from the 60’s, there is also the album art. This is something that seems to be completely lost in the age of the digital download. Now I know a little picture of the album may come up on your computer, but is anybody even taking note of that? Some classic albums can be identified solely by their artwork, no band name needed (think The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper or Hendrix’s Axis:Bold As Love). Some of the most beautiful art I have ever seen has been on the covers of records and should be entirely appreciated as art itself; standing apart from the music in its guts. Some artists releasing vinyl today are even turning the record itself into art. Go out and get Gary Clark Jr.’s new record The Story of Sonny Boy Slim, and you’ll see what I’m talking about. Now besides the art you get when you buy a record, you also get what is hidden inside those cardboard flaps. And no I don’t just mean the record itself. Inside a record’s case you can find secrets and stories you would never know otherwise. In the case of new vinyl releases, you will almost always find a card containing a digital download code and sometimes exclusive to vinyl extras. For example, the Hard Working Americans upcoming record Take The Bind Lemon Pledge And Stick It To The Man, will contain a board game based on saving Elvis from the movies.
So besides all of those reasons that make vinyl great, there is one last thing I want to say about records. They’re just f****ing cool. When I walk into a someone’s house and see a shelf full of vinyl next to a record player I think, “man that looks cool.” It’s something I don’t think people who get all of their music digitally will really understand. To me, and I’m sure other music nerds, it’s just really cool to have this tangible collection of something I love and can be proud of.
Well that’s it for blog post number two. In the next installment I’m going to talk to y’all about two of my all time favorite records, and after that we’re going to start the series of filmed interviews where I discuss vinyl with some pretty interesting folks. Thanks for reading.
~”Tumbleweed” TAD
“You can’t roller-skate in a buffalo herd, hey but you can be happy if you’ve a mind to” – Roger Miller
Drive-By Truckers, Jason Isbell, Gary Clark Jr. Hard Working Americans
Gettin' In The Grooves: The Resurgence Of Vinyl & Why We Love It 