Billy Strings Is Running Down His “Highway Prayers”
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Even Billy Strings himself admits openly that the best way to imbibe in his music is in the live setting. But that doesn’t mean he can’t get into the studio between shows and see what kind of trouble he can get into.
Hank III in Billboard Top 10 For All The Wrong Reasons
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This week the music world was agog that Lady Gaga topped the charts with her latest album Born This Way selling over 1 million copies. But I was neither shocked nor appalled that Lady Gaga made #1. What blew my mind was to see the post-contract Hank III release from Curb Records called Hillbilly Joker crest #10 of the Billboard country charts last week.
Artist Ownership Could Be Future of Music Business
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When you look at the Arab Spring going on right now in the Middle East, it’s hard not to trivialize problems such as the current financial state of the American music industry or the creative freedom of its artists. However it’s not hard to draw parallels between the two as well: repressive regimes unwilling to contemporize continue or escalate the same heavy-handed oligarchical systems…
Movie Review – “Bloodworth”
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On paper, this movie had so much promise: an all-star country cast, a critically-acclaimed novel Provinces of Night to cull a screenplay from, and the omnipresent T Bone Burnett presiding over the music presentation. However Bloodworth falls into the classic dilemma of the movie adapted from a novel trying to develop characters and deep, intertwined story lines in the time it takes to munch down a jumbo tub of pop corn.
Live Review – Revival Festival w/ Hank III & Horton Heat
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2011’s installment of The Revival Festival in Austin, TX by many measurables was a rousing success. Putting together the headliners of Hank Williams III and The Reverend Horton Heat, they created a festival that didn’t appeal to just one demographic, and they were rewarded by the biggest attendance The Revival Fest has seen. Revival Fest also facilitated May 28th being officially deemed “Rockabilly Revival Day” in Austin, TX by the mayor.
Bloodworth Movie w/ Country Cast Available On Demand
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The long awaited movie Bloodworth based on the novel Provinces of Night, starring Kris Kristofferson, along with Dwight Yoakam, Val Kilmer, Hillary Duff, Fraces Conroy, and Hank Williams III, has now been released in the United States via Amazon’s Instant Video service. The movie officially opened May 20th, but was only released in 8 cities.
Hellbound Glory New Album “Damaged Goods” Coming
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Reno, Nevada’s Hellbound Glory has announced plans for a brand new album. The working title is Damaged Goods, and it is set to be out by the end of this summer. But wait Don Pardo, there’s more. Frontman, singer, and songwriter Leroy Virgil is also working on an EP for his more signer/songwriter-oriented side project called “The Excavators” that has the tentative title of Underground.
Waylon Jennings Is Still Alive in Littlefield, TX
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A few days ago I found myself driving from Taos, New Mexico to Austin, TX; a junket I dubbed the “Waylon Jennings Historic Tour”. As I drove in on Farm to Market road 54, I noticed the name change to “Waylon Jennings Blvd”, and when I reached the heart of town, at the corner of Waylon Jennings and Hall Ave., I found what I was looking for in the form of “Waymore’s”.
Tim McGraw Countersues, Boycott of Curb Records Called
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Billboard.com has just reported that Tim McGraw has filed a countersuit against Curb Records who filed suit against McGraw last week over his Emotional Traffic album. In the aftermath of Curb Records filing a lawsuit against Tim McGraw, fans are now calling for a boycott of the record label.
Revival Fest Offers 1st Glimpse of Hank III’s New Beginning
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For 14 years, Hank III struggled under the oppressive control of Curb Records, who did little to promote his music, held up his album releases with legal wrangling, and stifled his creative freedom. Revival Fest will be the first time Hank III will be able to play whatever he wants without worry of handing over intellectual property to Mike Curb’s evil empire.
Album Review – Ted Russell Kamp’s ‘Get Back to the Land’
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If country music was like old-school wrestling (and now that I think about it, it kind of is in a bad way) then Ted Russell Kamp would be one of the good guys. Possibly best known as “Shooter Jennings’ bass player”, this moniker does little justice to the breath of Ted’s talents as a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and songwriter. The strength of Kamp’s music is his songwriting, and his voice.
Curb Records Sues Tim McGraw Over Contract
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On the same day Curb Records released Hank III’s Hillbilly Joker, marketed as a “new” album on displays at Hastings and other outlets even though the album is 8-years-old, they filed suit against cash cow and perfume magnate Tim McGraw for breach of contract. McGraw has been trying to get Curb to release his Emotional Traffic album that he turned into Curb last Fall.
Weber’s Deck Illustrates Community Through Music
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Like I always say, music is just the excuse. Saving Country Music is about people and community. And I can’t think of a better example to illustrate how you can create community through music than Weber’s Deck, the brain child of Casey Weber, who lives in the small town of French Lake, Minnesota, pop. 22. A few years ago Casey started a seasonal, weekly event