Reckless Kelly Tributes Austin’s Latest Shuttered Venue, Giddy Ups
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For some Austin music venues, there’s a sense of not “if,” but “when” the end will come, and along with it, all the history, memories, and sometimes friendships and family that is made at these magical spots.
Michael Jackson Montgomery Supports the Troops More Than You
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Saving Country Music first learned about Michael Jackson Montgomery in February of 2011, when a mole at a major, prominent, well-known Nashville label leaked details on the “vast, multi-level, multi-platform, cross market super franchise…” Well now ahead of what he’s hinting might be a full studio release from the “mega-franchise”, he’s released another rough demo to Saving Country Music.
Blues Review – James Leg & Left Lane Cruiser “Painkillers”
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Painkillers isn’t just a catchy idea to sketch some cover art around, it is the idea this album is built from, to take a bunch of timeless, kick ass songs, give them the dirty, heavy-handed Left Lane Cruiser/James leg punk blues treatment, with the result being an album that is perfectly concocted to kill pain.
“Truck Yeah”: Big Machine & Curb Competing w/ Tim McGraw Singles
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An outright street fight of mammoth proportions is breaking out on Music Row in Nashville, pitting two of Music Row’s heaviest hitters against each other, Mike Curb of Curb Records, representing the old guard and the heavy-handed restrictive way of handling artists, and the up-and-comer, Scott Borchetta, the Country Music Anti-Christ as the two men release competing singles from Tim McGraw.
Album Review – Don Williams “And So It Goes”
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This biggest question heading into the release of Don Williams’ And So It Goes was what would change in Don’s sound after an 8-year hiatus from recording, 18 years after last working with long-time producer Garth Fundis, a quasi-retirement, and an induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame? Well the answer is positively nothing, and that’s what makes And So It Goes such a treasure.
“Go Ready” Artists in Americana Music Right Now
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Though Americana may be a less-institutionalized and much smaller genre that tends to have better music and promote artists that are easier to respect, sometimes it can seem almost as exclusive as Music Row. So here is a list of artists that even considering Americana’s heavy requirements, could make it big and improve the Americana world if only given a chance.
Saving Country Music Radio Episode #28 Released
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Sometimes you just have to stop pontificating so much about music and just play it. That is what the Saving Country Music Radio podcast is for. Even if you have no time or desire to listen, please pilfer the playlist for ideas for what we’re listening to right now. This episode is co-hosted by Earl Dibbles Jr. (well, sort of), who just released a new single, and prominently features my favorite new album from Eric Strickland.
Mono-Genre Watch: Taylor Swift Records ‘Both of Us’ Rap w/ B.o.B.
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A couple of weeks after Jason Aldean’s country rap “Dirt Road Anthem” went triple-platinum, Taylor Swift was in Nashville shooting a video for an upcoming single “Both of Us” with hip-hop artists B.o.B. to be featured on B.o.B’s upcoming album Strange Clouds. Swift first shared the spotlight with the Georgia-based rapper in 2011 during the Dallas leg of her “Speak Now” tour.
Will Country Music Ever Be Saved?
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Last weekend, former Drive By Trucker turned solo artist Jason Isbell, let fire a tweet that read in part, “I just don’t see how any genre of music needs “saving” or “reclaiming.” I don’t know if this tweet was meant for Saving Country Music or of it was just coincidental, but it raises a point that comes up often on a site named Saving Country Music, will country music ever be saved?
I Don’t Care What Carrie Underwood Thinks About Gay Marriage (a rant)
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Congratulations Carrie Underwood fans, haters, apologists, and detractors who’ve been swept up by this story, you’ve just been played by a sensationalizing British tabloid with an overt political agenda. Why was Carrie Underwood asked about gay marriage in the first place? Why should we even care what Carrie Underwood thinks about gay marriage or any other political wedge issue?
Album Review – Joseph Huber “Tongues of Fire”
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It is difficult to describe Tongues of Fire without comparing it to Joseph’s first solo album Bury Me Where I Fall which in contrast was very dark from deep and intelligent songwriting and eery chord structures. Tongues of Fire takes almost an exact opposite approach, with a lighter feel to virtually all these songs even when the lyrics deal with dark subject matter.
Earl Dibbles Jr. Strikes a Chord w/ ‘The Country Boy Song’
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Granger Smith channels all true country fans’ worst enemy in the character Earl Dibbles Jr. for the new video and song “The Country Boy Song”, exposing the moronic, stereotypical, rehashed, and creatively-vacant world of corporate country’s checklist culture. This is what country music needs. To fight fire with fire.
Scott Borchetta: The Rise of the Country Music Antichrist
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I first used the phrase “Country Music Antichrist” in reference to Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta about 2 1/2 years ago. I’d like to hold my chin high and say I was being prophetic, but in truth at the time I just thought it was a nasty way to label the guy primarily responsible for the rise of Taylor Swift. Little did I know Borchetta would become one of the most powerful men in all of music.