“I lived in New York for a while. But I’m a hothead. I wasn’t well-suited for the temperament of that town.” Tom Waits

As much as I despise mainstream country radio how could I stay in a city where there was not one terrestrial country music station? Since the demise of Y-107 on 2001 there has been no country music radio station in the New York City. New York City is country music`s second-largest sales market. I mean it’s a format that would result in a frikkin ATM machine for ratings and ads! 

Truth be told my wife finished school at about the time I had enough of 8 million people that can’t walk on a sidewalk in an orderly fashion or restaurant help that yell at you when you order . Some people call it urban charm, I call it social masochism.

It’s true many things about New York set me on edge, but I will miss some of it and it me and my family will always consider it our other home. I started this blog in New York City in part because I was a displaced Texan and was forced to define myself in contrast to the dominating East Coast environment I found myself living in. I also discovered artists that showed me that country music had as much fire and passion as anything coming from rap, punk or metal camps as well as cleaning most pop and singer/songwriter clocks. As a goodbye I want to mention some of the artists, organizations and places that helped my hang onto my Southern bred sanity while in the land of the Yankees and ever present scent of urine.

The Bowery Ballroom where I caught my last New York show, a sold-out Toadies performance that was as chaotic and brilliant as any show I had seen with the band in Dallas. Joe’s Pub where I was fortunate enough to see the late, great Porter Wagoner accompanied by Marty Stuart just before their collaboration “The Wagonmaster” was released. I also was able to see Wagoner and Stuart at Madison Square Garden when they opened for the White Stripes. Carnegie Hall where I saw George Jones with Kris Kristofferson opening the show and Irving Plaza where I also saw many fine performances. Special attention sent to Rockwood Music Hall and the National Underground for keeping Americana and roots muisc alive and thriving in the East Village.

 For Southerners much comfort come from what you put in your mouth, thanks to Hill Country Barbecue (also a great place to catch a show), Daisy May’s Barbecue and Brother Jimmy’s Barbecue. For Mexican food my respect goes to Arriba Arriba and the Rodeo Bar (another great place to catch a show.)

The bands, artists and fans are way to numerous to mention and I would leave out some great folks. Suffice it to say that there are many, many real country and roots music fans in Gotham. Keep the hillbilly flag flying ’til I get back kids, ya hear?

Now I’m in Texas again and readying myself and my family for out new home in San Fransisco. If anyone knows of great places to see live music, great artists I need to check out, and eat great ‘cue or Tex-Mex in the Bay Area give me a shout.

• Del McCoury’s new release,  Moneyland (7/8), wants to raise awareness of serious economic issues facing Americans today through a thoughtful selection of six new (or newly recorded) songs, mixed with eight neglected gems and classic favorites that offer a hard-hitting look at today’s economic injustice. In addition to songs from the Del McCoury Band, the album features songs from Marty Stuart, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Bruce Hornsby along with the Fairfield Four, Chris Knight and others.

• The Dallas Morning News’ Mario Tarradell opines on the mixed success of several pop country crossovers.

• PopMatters.com really digs Alejandro Escovedo’s new release “Real Animal” (Back Porch). They also dig (though a tad less so) a newly discovered treasure for me Slim Cessna’s Auto Club’s “Cipher” (Alternative Tentacles)

• Kathy Mattea performed at the Roseburg’s Stewart Park Music on the Half Shell summer free concert series.

• From Country Hound - After an eight-year hiatus, Randy Travis is making his return to the Country Music industry with his new album, Around the Bend (7/15.)

• Macon, GA’s macon.com asks Can Justin Townes Earle save country music?

A collection of unreleased George Jones duets entitled “Burn Your Playhouse Down” (Bandit Records) will be released on August 19. The recordings range from the mid-70s with his ex-wife Tammy Wynette to the most recent recording from 2007 with his daughter, Georgette, the only child from the union of George and Tammy.

Seven of the recordings are extra songs, not included in The Bradley Barn Sessions that MCA Records released in 1994. Produced by Brian Ahern, the Bradley Barn recordings brought together superstar musicians and singers from both the country and rock world. Recorded during the worst ice storm in Tennessee history, the 1993 sessions, which took place over the course of several weeks, brought together Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, Leon Russell and Marty Stuart - as the core of the studio band with Keith Richards, Mark Knopfler, Emmylou Harris trading off as instrumentalists and vocalists on many of the songs.

The top players in Nashville - Eddie Bayers, Mac McAnally, Jerry Douglas, Glenn Worf, Brent Rowan, Glen D. Hardin, John Jennings, Harry Stinson, Richard Bennett and many more made the icy trek every day to Mt. Juliet,  about 30 miles outside of Nashville. No one wanted to miss these historic sessions which paired Jones with a selection of superstars influenced by the artist they considered the greatest living country singer. Ahern produced the classic Jones hits as an acoustic project to give the songs a different feel than the originals.

The complete track list for Burn Your Playhouse Down includes:
• “Burn Your Playhouse Down,” Keith Richards
• “Window Up Above,” Leon Russell
• “Selfishness In Man,” Vince Gill
• “She Once Lived Here,” Ricky Skaggs
• “I Always Get Lucky With You,” Mark Knopfler
• “You’re Still On My Mind,” Marty Stuart
• “When The Grass Grows Over Me,” Mark Chesnutt
• “I Always Get It Right With You,” Shelby Lynne
• “Tavern Choir,” Jim Lauderdale
• “Rockin’ Years,” Dolly Parton
• “Lovin’ You, Lovin’ Me,” Tammy Wynette
• “You And Me And Time,” Georgette Jones

Northeastern Pennsylvania’s The Weekender has an interview with Texas’ hillbilly king Dale Watson. Dale. As usual, rails on pop-country music and thinks his style of old-school honky-tonk should split from the country genre proper:

“It didn’t really focus on or strengthen the type of music that I like to keep out there,” he said. “I think country music — what was country music — has to go the route of bluegrass, which was considered part of country music, but they created their own festivals, awards and genres.”

If you prefer a more entertaining, and less sober, interview with Watson check out this one with Johnny Knoxville.

Last night’s Tom Waits show in Dallas was along waited treasure for this fan. You can read more here and here. Waits has been mining a vein of American music that is uniquely his own through his career and his songs have been covered by Allison Krauss, Johnny Cash and the Ramones among many many others (notice the intended omission of one Ms. Scarlett Johansson.)  

Big thumbs down for the venue, The Palladium Ballroom, for the lack of air conditioning for a two thousand plus crowd on a hot Texas June night.

Tom Waits: Innocent When You Dream, Houston 2008

Glitzy entertainmant industry parties in New York City are common (not that I’m invited, they do have some standards) but on the recent occasion of the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction it took “the pride of Butcher Holler, Kentucky” to give those jaded industry wonks something to talk about on the way out of the Marriott Marquis hotel in Times Square. Loretta Lynn brought down the house and left them wanting more.

Just in from the fine folks at Lost Highway Records: Bored at work?  Hayes Carll is performing live at 3:00 PM PST (6:00 PM EST) and it’s for all of us junkies!   Mike Nesmith’s (yes, THAT Mike Nesmith) VideoRanch.com and KPIG in Freedom, CA will simulcast Carll’s performance for your listening enjoyment.  You’ve got two ways to satisfy your Carll craving:

Visit www.videoranch.com and download the 3D Browser. It takes only a second and will be a trippy way to
watch Hayes perform.

Not into downloading files? Then visit www.kpig.com this afternoon (June 18) and listen to the performance.

And as always… make sure to swing by www.hayescarll.com for new tour dates, streaming music from Trouble In
Mind and loads of reviews.

Rob O’Connor compiled a list of 25 Music Legends (With At Least 25 Years of Service) for his Yahoo music blog. His list speaks well of the longevity of great country music by including some legends scattered in with Blues and Rock greats.

Merle Haggard bows in at #23 (as a country music artist, he’s about as close to rock ‘n’ roll as a country musician can go without acting crossing over the line.) Loretta Lynn comes in at #21, Dolly Parton at #18, Willie Nelson at #12 (I assume it’s his Zen-like state that enables him to endure the rigors of the road after all these years. He’s able to get to that mental state where you don’t know where you are and you don’t care.) George Jones is in at # 9 and Johnny Cash makes the grade at #5 (He owned the color black.)

Topping the list at #1, no surprises, is Robert Allen Zimmerman (aka Bob Dylan)

The 2008 Americana Music Association Honors and Awards Nominees have been announced with Alison Krauss & Robert Plant getting the most nods for their moody roots release “Raising Sand.”  Some are dead on and some, like the The Avett Brothers who have come out with no new release for 2008, you just wonder if the AMA is going to have it’s own equivalent shoo-in like the Country Music Awards giving Kenny Chesney Entertainer of the Year for something like 13 years in a row (5 years in a row, actually.)

Here’s the list

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Alison Krauss & Robert Plant
Raising Sand
Hayes Carll
Trouble in Mind
James McMurtry
Just Us Kids
Levon Helm
Dirt Farmer

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Steve Earle
Levon Helm
Jim Lauderdale
James McMurtry

INSTUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR
Buddy Miller
Chris Thile
Gurf Morlix
Sam Bush

NEW EMERGING ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Justin Townes Earle
Mike Farris
Ryan Bingham
The Steeldrivers

SONG OF THE YEAR
“Broken” Tift Merritt
“Cheney’s Toy” James McMurtry
“Gone Gone Gone” Alison Krauss & Robert Plant
“Poor Old Dirt Farmer” Levon Helm
“She Left Me for Jesus” Hayes Carll

DUO/GROUP OF THE YEAR
Alison Krauss & Robert Plant
Drive By Truckers
Kane Welch Kaplin
The Avett Brothers

In more Americana Music Association news, the AMA is going to give their Lifetime Achievement in Performance Award to alt.country pioneers Jason and the Scorchers. The Awards show will be held Thursday, September 18 at the Mother Church of Country Music, the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Original Jason and the Scorchers members Jason Ringenberg, Warner Hodges, Jeff Johnson and Perry Baggs will be on hand not only to accept the honor, but to perform together for the first time in more than a decade.