In case you’re wondering what to do this weekend.

Alt. country bad boy Ryan Adams and his Cardinals will be performing on IFC’s The Henry Rollins Show on 4/20 @ 11pm (EST)

They will be performing “What Sin Replaces Love” and “Goodnight Rose” from their upcoming new Lost Highway release “Easy Tiger.”

Balls is the boldly titled release by Wildwood, FL. native Elizabeth Cook and with singer, songwriter and ex-guitarist for Emmylou Harris’ Hot Band Rodney Crowell sitting in the producer seat it has one boot in contemporary swagger and one firmly planted in tradition.

I’m new to Ms. Cook, but apparently she’s been around a spell and is the hottest thing I never heard of. She made her Grand Ole Opry debut on March 17, 2000, and appeared repeatedly thereafter, which is a remarkable achievement considering that, at the time, she was an indie artist with zero radio airplay.

The album kicks it off right with “Times Are Tough In Rock ‘n’ Roll” - A celebration of country music bounces along with a jaw harp boinging throughout. The song softly disses on rock music, thought with the singling out of Britney Spears I wonder if it’s really pop music that is being tarheted with this fun tune.
“Don’t Go Borrowin’ Trouble” follows with a slow-burning lament that looking for bad times leads to you just might finding some.

The song that begets the title, “Sometimes it takes Balls to be a Woman” is next - Like many great country songs recorded by woman it’s both boldly declarative and coyly playful. A nice shuffle and some mean guitar work by the Nashville master Kenny Vaughn drives this baby all the way home. Cook does a shout out to Loretta and Dolly just to let folks know she knows who paved the path she’s now gracefully walking.

A duet with alt.country rocker Bobby Bare Jr. on the “Amazing Grace” reminiscent “Rest Your Weary Mind” sets Bare’s woozy rasp against Cook’s pitch perfect voice blended to fine effect with acoustic guitar, mandolin and soulful fiddle.

“He Got No Heart” is a slight boom-chucka tune about some no good dude that’s done this girl no good (he got no heart/his mama forgot that part) and makes feeling bad a lot of fun.

“Mama’s Prayers” is a pious tear-jerker about mama loving her while she’s out in this mean ‘ol world that wins because of it’s sincerity.

“What Do I Do” is a great song in the vein of classic Tammy Wynette of love on the skids.” Gonna Be” is a toe-tapping song of gumption and wherewithal.

An independent sprit shines throughout this fine album. Cook has a voice that is as clear as a crystal pond and strong enough to belt out a song that leaves the Underwoods and Wreckers in the dust.
It’s easy to draw a line in the country lineage from Lorreta and Dolly to Elizabeth Cook.

Thanks to JakobGreen at the Hank III board for this one -

American VI will be the second album of songs from the final recording sessions Johnny Cash made before he died. Like its predecessors, American Recordings, Unchained, American III: Solitary Man, American IV: The Man Comes Around, and American V: A Hundred Highways, American VI is produced by Rick Rubin and will be released on Rubin’s American Recordings record label. Lost Highway Records currently distributes country releases from the American Recordings label. Though the liner notes of Unearthed (a box set comprised of outtakes from the first four entries into the series) claim “around 50″ songs were recorded during the American V sessions prior to Cash’s death on September 12, 2003, only two albums worth of material will be released, including American V: A Hundred Highways.

One track known to be recorded during these sessions but not included on American V is “There Ain’t No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down”. Another track that could possibly be included is “A Satisfied Mind” which was released on the soundtrack to Kill Bill, Vol. 2. Rubin is credited as producer and the track is copyrighted 2003, which would suggest that it came from Cash’s final sessions.

Sheryl Crow’s “Redemption Day” was recorded by Cash weeks before his death and is a likely candidate for inclusion on American VI.

Doug Kershaw has told audiences in 2006 that he has heard Cash’s recording of Kershaw’s signature song “Lousiana Man”, but its status for inclusion on American VI is unknown.

According to a USA Today article, American VI could be released in early 2007. Most likely it will be released Mid-2007.

Track listing…

“A tentative track listing has been revealed on ManInBlack.net, a Johnny Cash fansite. It includes the following songs…”

1. “San Antonio”
2. “Redemption Day”
3. “Here Comes a Boy”
4. “That’s Enough”
5. “1st Corinthians 5:55″
6. “I Can’t Help But Wonder”
7. “Nine-Pound Hammer”
8. “North to Alaska”
9. “His Eyes on the Sparrow”
10. “If I Could Hear My Mother Pray Again”
11. “The Eye of an Eagle”
12. “Don’t Take Everybody for Your Friend”
13. “Belshazzar”
14. “Loading Coal”
15. “A Half a Mile a Day”
16. “Flesh and Blood”
17. “I Am a Pilgrim”
18. “Beautiful Dreamer”
19. “Ain’t No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down”
20. “Family Bible”

The good folks at The 9513 pointed me to this interesting article on the indie labels growing influence in Nashville.

I like the idea of country superstars starting thier own boutique labels to allow them to stretch thier wings, but I would have liked to read about indie labels, Bloodshot, Compadre - that have cultivated and nurtured indie artists all along. Artists that would have never had a phone call returned by the major labels (and probably the superstar boutiques as well.) And what about the legends that had to turn to indies in the later years because the majors saw them as washed up - Cash with American, Charlie Louvin and Tompkins Square, Porter Wagner and Anti/Epigraph. These labels saw these legends and thier legacy and allowed them to release work to regain their musical spirit with dignity.

Let’s hear the whole story on indies.

Texas honky-tonk troubadour Dale Watson’s brand new studio album, From The Cradle To The Grave, is set for release nationwide April 24 on HYENA Records. Watson will hit the road in May to support its release with a run of East Coast and Midwest tour dates. It will mark the beginning of a year long promotional push that will find Dale performing in all corners of the United States, as well as, Europe and Australia. If you’ve never seen Dale in concert do youself, and your buddies or your gal, a favor.

On second thought don’t take your gal, you’ll never measure up after she sees Dale do his stuff.
Dale Watson’s upcoming tour dates are:
May 11 / WFPK “Live Lunch” / Louisville, KY
May 12 / Midnight Jamboree at Ernest Tubb / Nashville, TN
May 13 / Hideaway BBQ / Raleigh, NC
May 14 / Shenanigans / Richmond, VA
May 15 / The Iota Club / Arlington, VA
May 16 & 17 / The Rodeo Bar / New York, NY (Yeah!)
May 19 / Johnny D’s / Boston, MA
May 20 / The Ale House / Troy, NY
May 21 / The Sportsmen’s Tavern / Buffalo, NY
May 22 / Beachland Ballroom / Cleveland, OH
May 23 / Martyr’s / Chicago, IL
May 24 / Club Tavern / Middleton, WI
May 25 / Vnuk’s Lounge / Cudahi, WI
May 26 / Lee’s Liquor Lounge / Minneapolis, MN
May 27 / Knuckleheads / Kansas City, MO

Chet Flippo has written another insightful Nashville Skyline (yeah, I know how perilously close to a fan-boy I am at this point) on the burning of Johnny Cash’s lakeside home he shared with his wife June Carter-Cash.

The house had become a virtual shrine. There were tourists out there every day, but it never took on the atmosphere of Graceland. The visitors were respectful. It was a homing site for country music fans and country music stars alike. To the point that aspiring country music songwriter Kris Kristofferson once landed his helicopter on Cash’s lawn to hand him a song demo for “Sunday Morning Coming Down.” I’m sure you saw the house in the movie, Walk the Line, and in Cash’s music video for “Hurt.” The house was a central character in both and clearly possessed a character of its own.

It just begs the question that I’ve had about real estate vs history. The Ryman was almost torn down in the 80’s and Johnny’s house was put on the market, bought (By frikin Barry Gibb!) and put in a situation to be burned to the ground. Maybe Nashville could stop shoveling crap for a few moments and try and preserve it’s legacy. At least the parts that are within the Tennessee border.

Albuquerque, New Mexico based band Trilobite - a.k.a. Singer, songwriter, Mark Ray Lewis fancies himself a “fictionist”, but unlike most creative writing 101 wankers who strive to be the second coming of Zimmy Mr. Lewis has the literary cred to back it up.

He was a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford and won the O. Henry and Pushcart awards for  his short fiction piece Scordatura — which featured an introductory note by Dave Eggers, and was nominated by Joyce Carol Oates. Not too shabby.

From the sound of this self-titled release Mr. Lewis has also studied the atmospheric Southern  Gothic gospal of Jim White. There is a nod to the old-school - fiddle, pedal steel, banjo,pump  organ - but then the music becomes a beautiful bastard hybrid that surprises.

Like White Mark Ray Lewis has a voice made for stories. Coaxing expression and depth out of his simple, straight-ahead delivery of dark myths. And like other great “fictionist” his stories are never obvious or staightforward, but the stories draw you in and keep you listening.

The release begins with Pumpkin Farmer, the strains of fiddle a loping cadence andbackground vocals Michelle Collins provides a cupie-doll rasp to harmony on this gem. Man of God uses a Wobbly pedal steel to lay the solumn mood which is then shards of a clawhammer banjo and draw of a fiddle and cello provide warmth to an otherwise chilly tune. The Ledge is a beautiful, haunting oblique tale of hunting tragedy. The Caves of Burgundy is almost a jangly, joyful tune until the whispered, fragmented, misaligned harmony weaves into a song of lust or death, hard to tell. Snakeriver is a bloody Texas two-step tha  sound like it’s being delivered from the bottom of a cavern and evolves into a Southwestern stew of schizophrenic music styles that still comes out sounding coherent and lovely. Samsara is a stormy piece laid over a muffled phone message like a call from the afterlife.

This is a dark and lovely slice of Americana that embraces tradition while it moves the genre in new and interesting directions.

From the Associated Press - Firefighters were battling flames this afternoon (April 10) in a major fire that has reportedly destroyed the home of the late country singer Johnny Cash. Dispatchers said all but one of the city’s engines had responded to the fire in the Hendersonville suburb northeast of Nashville.

No injuries were reported. Hendersonville Fire Department officials said construction crews were working at the house when the fire started. The cause is unknown.

Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash, lived at the house until their deaths in 2003. The property was purchased by the Bee Gees’ Barry Gibb in January 2006. Gibb and his wife, Linda, had said they planned to restore the home on Old Hickory Lake and hoped to write songs there.

Gibb’s spokesperson said the 60-year-old singer and his family are “both saddened and devastated by the news” but declined to release further details about the house or the fire.

While the Cashes lived there, the 13,880-square-foot house, about 20 miles northeast of downtown Nashville, was visited by everyone from U.S. presidents to ordinary fans.

“Of course we are all in a state of shock,” Johnny Cash’s sister Joanne said in a statement. “I feel that an era has passed. Just today in prayer, I had decided to move on, even discarding old newspaper clippings not realizing that this terrible thing would happen. My prayers are with the Cash family and especially the Gibb family during this time.”

Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers posted this letter to the band’s web-site. Twang Nation says happy trails to Jason and continued success with your career, and see you at the Son Volt show in May.

Y’ALL:

It’s with a wide range of emotions and feelings that I’m announcing that we have parted ways with Jason.
The split, which I consider extremely amicable is the result of a period of personal and artistic growth from all sides which has left us with differing dreams and goals.

Jason joined our band, mid-tour, in the fall of 2001, shortly after the release of our 4th album (Southern Rock Opera). His impact on the band was immediate and profound, bringing an awe-inspiring combination of vocal range, guitar dexterity, and amazing songwriting and leading us into an era of creativity that has resulted in three albums that I will be proud of for as long as I live.

Life in a band is always a delicate balancing act of personal and musical chemistries. Having been in bands for most of my life, I still marvel that any band stays together for longer than a year. Especially if the band in question spends anywhere from 150-220 days a year on the road, as our band has done since 1998. That said, I have also likened this band to a family. A big, messy, sometimes dysfunctional one, but a family full of love all the same. It is in this spirit that I plan on Jason continuing to be a part of our lives wherever our roads and dreams take us in the immediate future.

Jason is about to embark on a tour (including a leg of dates with Son Volt) with his stellar band and will be releasing (finally) his amazing solo album “Sirens of the Ditch” < July 10 from New West Records > . We all are wishing him nothing but the absolute best on every step that plays before him.

Cooley and I will have played together for 22 years this summer and DBT is about to begin it’s 12th year of existence on the very day that we will be going into the studio to begin recording our 8th album. Cooley recently sent me a demo of five new songs and yesterday I demoed nine new ones for consideration. In addition to Shonna and Brad (who is coming up on ten years in the band) John Neff will be playing with us full time, playing both guitar and pedal steel. John was a founding member of the band in 96 and has already played on four of our albums and has been on the road with us, full time for going on two years.

It is my sincere and and adamant hope that everyone will support all of us, and by that I mean our band and Jason’s, as we deal with this transition. Jason’s tenure in this band has been one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me on a personal and musical level and our love for him and his music is in no way changed or endangered by our collective decision to move into different directions.

In addition to the upcoming THE DIRT UNDERNEATH tour and the recording of our next album, we will also be playing some special ROCK SHOW dates this summer and hope to do another leg or two of THE DIRT UNDERNEATH in the fall.

As always, the bond that we have with each other, as well as with the folks that come to our shows and listen to our records has always been one of the things that has set this band apart. We plan to continue on in that tradition and spirit and hope you will come with us as we attempt to tell another tale and Rock the nights away a little while longer.

Sincerely Yours,
Patterson Hood
Drive-By Truckers
April 6, 2007

by way of Twangville.