instead of looking at politics or ideological movements as realistic agents of change, we should look towards art and music, and let the lessons of artistic expressions enter our hearts. That, in my opinion, is the path to true happiness, and where we will find the true meaning of The American Dream.
Few artists can articulate the important and poignant message of resetting priorities in life, and do it in such an enthralling manner as Scott McDougall. The Oregon-based One Man Band is set to release his sixth album A Few Towns More on April 10th, and promises to continue to carry his fans vicariously with him as he journeys across the country.
If you want to find some snark and sarcasm from the 2012 Grammy Awards, you should check out the official Saving Country Live Blog from last night. Yes, Chris Brown and Nicki Minaj supplied some gag reflex moments, but there was also a lot of substance and lessons to be taken from the night’s festivities. Here are the top three things I learned.
Possibly better known to you as the cowpunk pioneer and legendary frontman of Jason & The Scorchers, Ringenberg’s alter ego “Farmer Jason” brings some serious passion to his new release Farmer Jason and Buddies: Nature Jams. Hank Williams III, Todd Snider, Brandi Carlisle, Tommy Ramone, Iris Dement, and Mike Mills from REM are just some of the names that stop by to help.
The first year of the Muddy Roots Festival was about breaking ground. The second was about breaking even. The third year will be about breaking the mold of everything a music festival can be. Muddy Roots isn’t just a festival my friends. No. It’s an act of solidarity. It is a force of the collective Will of real roots fans united from disparate backgrounds, coming together to say “We are here, and things can work differently.”
The local musician has gone international. This has contributed to music parody, but possibly more damning it has contributed to the death of the local music scene. Back in the day to become a serious music artist, you first had to tackle your local scene, then become big regionally and go from there. That fed a music farm system.
When you consider yourself some type of high fallutin’ music critic, you get asked many times what your favorites albums of all time are. I would honestly say that Happy Birthday, Sabo! by the long since defunct band Royal Fingerbowl sits in my top 3 albums of all time, and can reside in the very top spot depending on the current mood. Happy Birthday, Sabo! is an album of sheer madness.
I had a dream last night that I woke up from a long sleep and was the only writer left in the country music blogsphere that hadn’t succumbed to the cult of personality of Shooter Jennings and could actually write an objective review. Then I realized that I was wide ass awake. I feel the need to offer some perspective. And my perspective on “The Deed & The Dollar” is that it’s “just okay.”
Yeah, that’s right. I said it. I don’t care if T-Bone Burnett, or anybody else with a famous name produced your album. What I am concerned with is if it is good. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying T Bone Burnett is a bad producer. It’s just at some point hype far exceeds substance, and I think we have passed that point with the “T-Bone Burnett” name.
One of the reasons the the Country Music Hall of Fame is one of the most revered and respected Halls in all the land and specifically in music is because it is so hard to get into. It is always better that you look at a list of Hall inductees and wonder why certain names are not in, instead of looking and wondering why certain names are.
As the new music reality continues to take shape, where one big mono genre serves the masses and micro genres crop up to serve the rest, the shape of the way live music is delivered to people is adapting as well. House concerts have gone from a kitschy trend to a legitimate way for artists to connect with attentive fans. For the upcoming festival season of 2012, a new trend is emerging: the micro festival.
Is this a great bluegrass album? Of course not. But a great bluegrass album would also not be a vehicle to introduce a generation of people to Del McCoury, Kris Kristofferson, and bluegrass music in general. Is it the album that Dierks set out to make without commercial consideration or label meddling? I kind of think it is.
Yes, there’s always been stupid songs, but I fail to find the historical precedence of when they have been celebrated to this extent. Did Johnny Cash’s “A Boy Named Sue” or Roger Miller’s “Chug-a-Lug” walk away with hardware on awards night? What the hell is wrong with me not wanting to be embarrassed by country music?
For those fans of Hank Williams III that wished he’d stayed or go back to his early 2000’s neo-traditionalist country style and release more material reminiscent of that era, you may have just received your wish. And for the Hank3 fans that are worried that his post-Curb career will be marred by incessant album releases of rehashed material, your concerns have just been validated.
Late Monday night, local indie Ameri-fusion band “The Sandusky’s” announced their intentions to record a new album at a local studio in March. It will be the band’s third release, and the working title for the new album is Here With Me. They have decided to fund the project with the new online threshold pledge system called Kickstarter.
Diamonds & Gasoline has a lot of the common earmarks of a Red Dirt album, and a lot of a good freshman album, even though officially it is their 2nd release. I really like this album, but moreover, I really like their potential, and am excited to see what the Turnpike Troubadours have to offer in the future.
Hank Williams III might be known best for his hellraising attitude on and off the stage, but he’s not afraid to show his sweet side when it comes to Tennessee’s furry friends. As part of his continued support for the Happy Tails Humane, a no kill animal shelter located in Franklin, TN, they have released a new video showing Hank3 spending some down time with his semi-famous pets
American Idol introduced Jason “Wolf” Hamlin as one of this year’s contestants on the episode that aired Sunday night. If you reacted positively to seeing Jason “Wolf” Hamlin on American Idol and said “Well hell, I kind of like this guy. I may actually watch this stupid show this year!” just understand that is exactly what the folks in Hollywood wanted you to say.
By taking country’s conservative, family-friendly foundations and turning them inside out, yet still staying completely within the confines of them, the duo of Carrie Shepard and John Holk engage you with a mad, sick, but still sweet and simple paradox of sensations and thoughts. Some Velvet Evening splits the creative atom. It is music parallax.
Something remarkable happened in music in 2011: sales stabilized. What the music industry is ignoring, as well as virtually everyone else in the SOPA argument, is this dramatic and unexpected stabilization of music sales. Where did it come from and why? When you dig deep into the numbers there are two answers: women and vinyl.
The official Saving Country Music stance on SOPA is that I am vaguely opposed to some elements of the legislation that may have unintended consequences. But Saving Country Music is NOT participating in the internet blackout, and I will NOT be signing any petition. These are my opinions, and that’s all they are. My suggestion is not for you to follow them, but to become informed.
Saving Country Music, along with Muddy Roots and Cracker Swamp have teamed up with Hillgrass Bluebilly’s 5th Annual XSXSW showcase to create a two day, three stage event for the edification of the underground roots fan, and to help represent the independent roots community to the rest of the independent music world.
So Al Jourgensen, the Cuban-born front man and founder of the Industrial band Ministry has made himself a country album under the pseudonym “Buck Satan & The 666 Shooters”. An overall take on this album would be that it is a rushed, tracked-out, wank-off, studio vanity electronico side-project with little heart.
Whether it is punk bands that simply interchange their electric instruments for acoustic ones, or bands that have a more traditional country sound, but overload it with “whiskey, devil, and drug” references, parody in the “punk gone country” movement has become a problem primarily by the way these artists can typecast other country punk bands, fans, and entities.
