Like him or not, Hank Williams III has one of the most rabid and loyal fan bases out there, and that is why the opening act on a Hank III tour is such a coveted position. But landing it doesn’t guarantee you anything. I remember back in ’07 when Jim Goad, author of the The […]
This blog is coming to you LIVE from none other than Luckenbach, TEXAS! Beer is flowing, brats are cooking, and this place was about everything I was expecting and more. Real deal Texas! The first part of the Luckenback experience is actually finding Luckenbach. There’s only ten or so permanent residents here, and it is […]
I am happy to announce that the home of insurgent country, and pound for pound the best independent record label for artists AND fans Bloodshot Records has signed on as an official sponsor of savingcountrymusic.com! This is very exciting for me, that a label that I have been following for years and that has such […]
Last up at The Mesa Theater was Wayne “The Train” Hancock, and then the after-party with Joe Buck playing at Quncy’s down the street. Even though there had been three stellar bands playing before without one electric bass between them, when Wayne Hancock walked out and started doing his thing, you could tell why he […]
On Sunday night (7-12-09) I was giddy as a schoolgirl in anticipation of watching Wayne “The Train” Hancock and Joe Buck on the same night in Grand Junction, CO, but I had no idea that I was walking into “Johny Wrong’s 1st Annual Honky Tonk Hootenanny” featuring a total of FIVE bands, all with the […]
We talk about the artists in insurgent country all the time, but I also like to pull the curtain back and give props to the behind the scenes people who work their arses off, lot’s of times for moderate pay if any pay at all, to help bring the music to you. People like Hank […]
My heroic dry spell of shows is about to come to an end my friends, because I am hitting the road and bearing down on various ports of call to take in some of the best good ole country music this fine country has to offer! Gas prices? Meh, my plan is to keep the […]
Yeah, I know. I’ve been hassling you a lot here lately to ink your John Hancock on all kinds of things, whether it be the Reinstate Hank petition, or the petitions to get Gram Parsons and Johnny Paycheck into the Country Music Hall of Fame. But petitions and movements are one way the Underground and […]
Today is the release date of my most anticipated album of the year, A Bitter Harvest, which is a collaboration between Lonesome Wyatt of Those Poor Bastards and Rachel Brooke. And your outlets for independent/Outlaw country news and interviews are all over this release like a bad rash. First, Jashie P of Outlaw Radio will […]
Before Willie Nelson moved down to Austin, TX to ignite the Outlaw country movement in earnest, there were two guys in the early 70’s, each with three names, that had made the Austin music scene something worth moving to: Jerry Jeff Walker and Michael Martin Murphey. Sure there were a lot of other great acts […]
When Newsweek published an article calling out pop country a while back, I declared this was an important moment: a mainstream news outlet shining a big light on the sham of Nashville. Another reason I knew it was important was because Nashville took it like a shot right across the bow and came out swinging. […]
Well Hank Williams III has been on an east coast junket with Lucky Tubb and some good reviews, pictures, and videos have been rolling in. Cathy’s Reinstate Hank Bandwagon has a good review with pictures HERE from the shows at Headliners in Louisville, KY and Bogart’s in Cincinnati. There’s also another review of the Cincinnati […]
So apparently something happened with Michael Jackson yesterday. His penis exploded or something, I don’t know. I tried to think of something to write about it, but since Michael Jackson has just about as much to do with country music as pop country radio does, instead I think I’ll talk about a stoner cartoon about […]
It’s rare you can pull out the term “Hard Country” and have it make sense and fit like a glove on an artist, but that is exactly what describes Johnny Paycheck. And he’s was an Outlaw too, in the truest sense of the word. It is for all of these reasons that Johnny Paycheck fans want him considered for the Country Music Hall of Fame, and have started an online petition.
I’ve got so many great readers and supporters, and it seems like everyone has something they try to support beyond REAL country music. I wish I had more time to investigate and be more involved in all of these great causes, but there is only so much time in the day, as they say. I […]
The Hardcore Troubadour, Steve Earle, is back with the follow up to his 2007 Grammy award winning Washington Square Serenade, but this time Earle takes on fifteen cuts from his hero, Townes Van Zandt. Simply entitled, Townes, the album is an array of songs most meaningful to Earle of the cult singer-songwriter. Earle once said […]
In my last post I talked about how singer/songwriter Six Gun Britt had decided to try out for American Idol. Inspired by her residents and co-workers at the nursing home she worked at in Kentucky, Six Gun Britt went out a grueling journey to Atlanta and back, and this was the conclusion in Six Gun’s […]
Yes I know, Fox Television’s American Idol is a Barbie and Ken-style prancing poodle popularity contest that promotes celebrity worship and rabid consumerism, and is causing a general decay and homogenization of our culture to a prim and prissy style of music that is heroically void of soul. BUT, just indulge me for a second, […]
My personal most anticipated release of 2009, A Bitter Harvest, which is a collaboration between Rachel Brooke and Lonesome Wyatt of Those Poor Bastards, is now available for previewing and pre-order! The album is available on CD, vinyl, and a limited edition white vinyl (only 100 copies), and they all can be pre-ordered by CLICKING […]
The greatness that is Bob Wayne just announced through his MySpace site that: “NEW LIVE DOUBLE C.D. COMING SOON!!!!” “Just finishing up a few final touches but its soundin KILLER!! im thinkin it will be available next week! We should also have the D.V.D. and a T-SHIRT up also in the store….so keep your eyes […]
Yesterday, the .357 String Band announced that founding member and mandolin player Jayke Orvis would be leaving the band. Here is an excerpt from their MySpace blog announcing the decision: “Due to differences in opinion on both the creative as well as business aspects of the band, Jayke Orvis is no longer a member of […]
A few days ago I was thinking, what is country music when you strip it all down? When you remove the business, the show? For example, maybe when you stripped down Rock n’ Roll it would be a group of guys in a basement or a garage jamming out, or a juke box blaring in […]
I’ve been up in pop douche Chris Brown’s kitchen even BEFORE he took a closed fist to his girlfriend Rihanna. Back in December (2008) this knucklehead recorded a song with country’s superlative sellout Tim McGraw called “Human”, and afterwards said “It’s incredible, I wanted to do something more along the country line. That’s a bigger […]
What do dogs have to do with country music? Well, not much really, but more than you might think. When I first started this thing, I was amazed how many people involved in dog rescue contacted me, especially people involved with rescuing and rehabilitating pit bulls. Like one of my readers pointed out a few […]