Author Archives: Baron Lane

Gob Iron – Death Songs for the Living – Sony

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Gob Iron (Brit for harmonica) is Comprised of Jay Farrar (Son Volt) and Anders Parker (Varnaline) together they breath life, longing and menace into retooled traditional folk songs. Recorded in the span of five days in the Autumn of 2004 Death Songs for the Living came together when Anders Parker was enlisted to take part in the recording of an aborted Son Volt album. The sound of both musicians merge and entwine so well you’d swear they’d been doing it for years.

These are songs about love, loneliness and death. Sparsely produced, mostly acoustic but with flourishes of Crazy Horse style dissonant electric guitar. The space between each songs are moody acoustic guitar instrumental interludes that fill out the overall Western-noir feel of the work.

Dwight Yoakam – Concert Hall at The New York Society for Ethical Culture (10/12)

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Dwight Yoakam mosied into the sold out show on this brisk October night on Central Park’s upper west side as naturally as if he were playing at a State Fairgrounds or a Texas honky-tonk. The adoring crowd of big-buckle Yankees, pretty ladies in tight shirts and tattoos dancing in front of the stage hoping to catch the Honky-tonk man, in his stylish dudes, eye and there was a smattering of Southerners, like myself, appreciative to have a cultural diplomat of this talent stopping in town.
Tift Merritt was a surprise opener for the show and show and she charmed and wowed the crowd with her passionate voice and goofy jokes.

Yoakam’s sharp dressed band hit the stage at about 9:50 in his trademark off-white Stetson set over his eyes, and after a quick “Thanks ya’ll!” they break into “She’ll Remember” the toe-tapping rave-up from his latest release for New West records “Blame the Vain.” The nearly three-hour set was brimming with an embarrassment of riches, “Turn It On, Turn It Up, Turn Me Loose,” “This Time,” Jume Carter’s “Ring of Fire,” – Johnny Horton‘s “Honky Tonk Man,” “Stop the World (And Let Me Off),” “A Thousand Miles from Nowhere,” “Little Sister” as well as “Guitars, Cadillacs” — the song that startled the Nashville brass who had written Yoakam off when he was living in Nashvile in the early 80’s.

Yoakam also paid tribute to his late friend and Bakersfield style mentor, Buck Owens by covering his classics “Act Naturally,” “Cryin’ Time” and “Together Again”. The tribute ended with the duet the pair recorded in the 1990s, “Streets of Bakersfield.” I’m sure Owens was smiling down at the performance that night.

After a few minites off stage the band came back out to close things out with Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and the great song of spurned female commupance “Intentional Heartache.”

When he’s in the spotlight, Dwight Yoakam ranks with just a handful of country singers that make it all seem effortless.

Meat Purveyors Last Show – Bloodshot BBQ – Union Pool, Brooklyn

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It was a cold and bittersweet day this Saturday, Nov. 4th, it was the day of Bloodshot’s Annual CMJ (weasels!) Showcase. Yes it was a great day-long party and BBQ at Union Pool in Brooklyn featuring the Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, Mark Pickerel, The Silos, the Deadsting Brothers, Austin’s own Scott H. Biram, Bobby Bare Jr.’s Young Starvation League and, sadly, Austin’s own Meat Purveyors where to be performing their last show as their bass player, Miss Cherilyn DiMond, has decided to get married and move on to other pastures in Maine. I missed most of the shows due shooting the shit and catching up with old friends and making some new ones.

But I got to make time for my homeboy Scott H. and his crazy grease-soaked stomp-blues revival and the very last show of the Purvs. Scott did his best in the 45 min allotted for him but c’mon! He’s just getting the crowd hoping, hollering and speaking in drunken tongues.

I skipped on Bobby Bare Jr. (yeah, I know) but I was near the front of the masses for the Purvs.

Taking the stage at 5:30 and a few moments of reflection from lead singer Jo Walston the band tore into an hour-and-a-half of thrash-grass sampler from their ten year career. “TMP Smackdown”, “Pain By Numbers”, “I’d Rather Be Your Enemy,” “Truckers Speed,” “Tallboy”, “Working on a Building” it was a trip down memory lane in a meth-fueled trailer park. The band then threw in killer covers of Ratts “Round and Round” and Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” and “Lucky Star” just to top of the night right.

There were tears, laughs and discussion of weed-induced hetro and or lesbian sex by Jo as she up-ended a stiff shot of whisky. The rest of the Purvs, Cherilyn DiMond on stand-up bass (and the instigator of the Purvs demise due to that aforementioned marital commitment (Damn woman, where your priorities?!), guitarist extraordinaire Bill Anderson and on speed-metal mandolin Peter Stiles, gave the rabidly-rowdy and adoring crowd (some of which had traveled all the way from Austin to catch the show) the red Meat they came to hear.

More tears, more denial and two encores I was too drunk to recall the details of..if it had to end this is the way it should have gone.

Thanks to the Meat Purveyors for then great years and to Bloodshot for being cool to me and putting on such a great shindig,

November Vanity Fair Country Music Spread

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The November issues of Vanity Fair magazine has a pretty decent spread on country artists. There’s obvious -Cheesney, Hall and Oates…er…I mean Brooks and Dunn- the legends, Willie, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, Dolly Parton, I still get a heat flush looking at that woman! Then there’s the presence of Mr. Who Cares…Kid Rock? How does this no-talent yankee still get play. I guess there’s a lot of people that want to get to Pam…
Shooter, Shelby Lynn, Dwight, Rosanne, Lyle….all there. I could squabble about the obvious omissions (Hank III, Scott H. Biram, Gary Allen, Old Crow Medicine Show) but whatever…it’s a nice feature.

Bloodshot Records 11th annual CMJ (weasels!) BBQ

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Yeah those weasels at the CMJ denied yours truly a press pass to attend their precious conference (don’t they know that tens of people worldwide read this blog?!) but who cares there’s only one show I want to  go to anyway and it’s open to the public and CHEAP! from the label:

BLOODSHOT 11th annual CMJ BBQ
Saturday, November 4th @ Union Pool in Brooklyn (Williamsburg)
Sponsored by KDHX, eMusic, and Oskar Blues Brewery.

Tickets $10 or $7 with a CMJ badge.
Public welcomed and encouraged.  No invite needed!!!
Beer, BBQ and goodies provided
Doors at noon, music PROMPTLY AT NOON!!

Scotland Yard Gospel Choir (Chicago IL) (chamber folk punk)
Mark Pickerel (Seattle WA)
The Silos (NYC)  New CD in Feb 2007
Deadstring Brothers   (Detroit MI)
Scott H Biram   (Austin TX) (That dirty ‘ol one-man band-Twang)
Bobby Bare Jr  (Nashville TN) 
THE MEAT PURVEYORS  (Austin TX)   LAST SHOW EVER!!!!!(RIP dammit-Twang)

George Jones, Kris Kristofferson to Play Carnegie Hall

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I feel like a boob. I’m just learning about this and now have to scatter for a freakin ticket! If you have an extra drop the Twang a line.

From CMT – George Jones and special guest Kris Kristofferson will perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City on Oct. 31. Jones last played the famous venue in 1962 when he appeared with Johnny Cash, Mother Maybelle and the Carter Family and Tompall and the Glaser Brothers. “I think we were one of the first, if not first, country shows to go in there. … We had a great time. The place was packed and sold out,” Jones said.

Edit: I got a great ticket from the box office. They still have some on sale for the show.

Shut Up & Sing – Dixie Chicks

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Some people give me grief for posting about the Dixie Chicks. These people can kiss my ass. The Chicks were anti-Bush before anti-Bush was cool. Anyhoo, the new movie “Shut Up and Sing” from two time Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple and Cecelia Peck that chronicles the lives of the Dixie Chicks from 2003 to the start of their 2006 tour.

All the highs, lows and death threats that occurred just before and for the three years following “the incident” are all here. The personal attacks, personal growth, a changing world, making music, having babies, receiving death threats, and even a fair amount of laughter.
I did then, do now and always will back my girls from Big D.

also check out the Chicks on VH1 Storytellers.

Shack*Shakers gear and trailer stolen!

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Well this is some sorry shit!!!

Repost from the band:

Sometime between 11am and 3pm, Oct. 27, 2006, th’ Legendary Shack Shakers’ trailer was stolen here in Nashville. This is a partial list of equipment that we lost. Anyone with any info please contact us here or on the official website.

Gretsch White falcon Bound in silver
Gretsch custom shop 6120 (orange)
King Doublebass Road King Red Sunburst with Metal Flake red on the sides.
fender 800 pro head in Star Case rack w/ korg tuner, Fishman Pre and assorted cables etc.
2 fender 810 pro cabinets
orange pearl drum kit with “shack shakers’ kick heads
fender supersonic head and 412 cabinet
Germino guitar head with marshall 412 in ‘destroyers’ roadcases
Tweed Twin reissue custom shop guitar amp
Fender 59 bassman 410 guitar amp (tweed reissue)
Red 1981 fender P-bass (fernandes neck plate, jazz bass special neck)
hundreds of t-shirts and cds.

Thanks,
JD