Looking for a cool place to get a tattoo, see some pin up girls, check out some classic cars, get married on the Queen Marry and catch some great Americana music this summer? Then head over to the Iron-N-Ink Tattoo and Kustom Culture Festival in Long Beach, CA June 6-8.

On the bill is Wayne Hancock, The Blasters, Dale Watson, Rosie Flores, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Junior Brown, The Lonesome Spurs and much more.

Guayaki Yerba Mate presents the fifth Brooklyn County Fair May 11th at Galapagos (70 North 6th Street Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY) with headliner The Flanks as their new CD heads to the press. The Newton Gang (featuring Alan Lee Backer on lead guitar and the former members of Gowanus Corral and the WWJDs) is on the bill supporting their new EP and Yarn makes their triumphant return after touring relentlessly. Jon Itkin makes his BCF debut celebrating his latest release. The Doc Marshalls will support their CD sits as it sits at 20 on the AMA Top 40. Jamie Lyn Smith returns to the BCf with her Red Tail Hawks Band bringing her melodic mountain-style to the big city. All this will be hosted by your fabulous hillbilly hostess Lindy Loo!

Sometimes, rarely but sometimes, a concert can really floor you. Just surprise you in ways you had no idea you still could be. I’m glade to say this last Saturday I attended a sold out show at New York’s Bowery Ballroom that did just that.

Omaha Nebraska’s McCarthy Trenching opened the show at about 8:15 belting out self-described songs of drinking, killing and horse songs drinking, killing and horse songs with workmanlike diligence and little room for flourish.
26-year-old singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle then hit the stage sporting a throwback look - sequin-trimmed suit and Brylcreemed hair - to match his gloriously throwback sound. Accompanied by mandolin-banjo-harmonica player and stamp-collection enthusiast Cory Younts, Earle served up with his blend of old school honkey-tonk
(Hard Livin, Ain’t Glad I’m Leavin’) and Tennessee backwoods country (Who Am I To Say, The Ghost Of Virginia) and straight up corn-pone fun (Chitlin Cookin Time In Cheetham County, Your Biscuit’s Big Enough For Me.) All the country music history sketches that make up his new release ‘The Good Life” were on show in full force. Earle showed confidence as he stalked the stage, stomped his boots to cue chorus to bridge breaks and hoisted his acoustic guitar rifle-like Johnny Cash-style. The New York crowd whooped and hollered and the girls near the stage stood transfixed with by his rugged Southern charm. Earle left the stage with a song for his Grandpa (Absolute Angels Blues) after almost an hour and left the crowd wanting more but primed the crowd for what was to come.

The most accurate and hilarious description I’ve come across for the Felice Brothers (actually three brothers and friends) is by way of Andrew Leahey over at All Music Guide - “they’re a pack of earth-stained country boys from the wilds of the Catskill Mountains, not Ivy Leaguers who thought ransacking their parents ’60s records would a better career move than grad school.” Dead on description and doubly so live. Cards on the table, I came to the show for Justin Townes Earle and decided to hang for a few songs by these Yankee roots rockers just to see what all the fuss was about. I’m glade I did.

It appeared that many under 30-year-olds from the Felice Brothers hometown of the Hudson River Valley and the New York City area, where the Felice boys honed their craft in the subway stations, turned out to welcome them back home. Young girls in cotton dresses shouted the band members names like they had them in home room and their drunk boyfriends sang to every song at the top of their lungs like they could do it in their sleep.

The Felice Brothers are often compared to a more punked-out Band, and it’s a pretty fair comparison. Like The Band The Felice Brothers take country and roots music and turn it in on it’s history to exposes the Celtic, blues and gospel innards. Gothic Americana landscapes drenched with sepia, whiskey (on stage and in verse) and blood.

Sometimes it seemed that the band was using their instruments as weapons and songs would veer just out of control just to right itself at the last minute. Tales of broken dreams and dreamers flat broke and staring down narrowing odds (the harrowing Hey Hey Revolver), sin, redemption and Dixieland salvation (Saved (Lieber-Stolle), Mercy) and salacious limo drivers (Cincinnati Queen) and straight up murder ballads that would make Nick Cave take notice (Ruby Mae.) Sometimes the whole affair seemed like a Ken Burns soundtrack mashed up with the Pogues on a particularly heavy bender.

Guitarist and lead gravel-throated vocalist Ian, drummer and vocalist Simone and accordionist and bear of a man James Felice along with a guy named Christmas (bass) and Farley (fiddle and washboard) played music dank with tradition and yet crackling with passion and fire. I’ve always said that if you can fake authenticity you can do anything, but if there is any faking until they make it with this band then my well tuned bullshit detector was unable to pick up the trace.

There have been some leveling of derision at the Felice Brothers for supposedly cribbing their sound to the Dyan/Band basement tapes. These jibes are usually from critics that see no problem giving a pass to the likes of the Zeppelin/Pixies plagiarism that is the White Stripes. I agree with Picasso that bad artists copy and great artists steal. The Felice Bros. are casing the joint and armed to the teeth.

The Felice Brothers Bowery Ballroom 4-12-2008 - I’m Saved

Following a questionable business model, laid down by millionaires like Prince, Trent Reznor (NIN) and Radiohead, of giving away your music for free online but then asking for a donation (why buy the cow? etc. etc.) or recouping the cost in other ways, Tuscaloosa, Alabama’s The Dexateens, and their label. Sky Bucket, are offering up their new release “Lost and Found” gratis.

The Dexateens are one of my favorite current bands and one that best epitomizes the moniker alt.country (for good or bad) and I hope this free download gets them some headlines and some cash from fair-minded people that realize it’s hard to make great music if you’re waiting tables or changing oil to make the bills. I’d like to hear what what all of you think about this model.

The exposure that The Dexateens get by supporting the mighty Drive By Truckers on the road for some upcoming dates might go a long way to helping them get the word out. Get out and see this great show when they come to your town.

May 6 2008- Detroit, MI at Crofoot Ballroom w/Drive by Truckers Detroit, Michigan
May 7 2008 - Columbus, OH at Newport Music Hall w/Drive by Truckers  Columbus, Ohio
May 8 2008 - Harrisburg, PA at Dragonfly w/Drive by Truckers Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
May 9 2008 - Washington, DC at 9:30 Club w/Drive by Truckers Washington DC
May 10 2008 - Washington, DC at 9:30 Club w/Drive by Truckers Washington DC
May 11 2008 - Dexateens show in Charlottesville, VA (details TBA)
May 12 2008 - Greenville, SC at the Handlebar w/Drive by Truckers Greenville, SC
May 13 2008 - Carrboro, NC at Cat?s Cradle w/Drive by Truckers Carrboro, NC
May 14 2008 - Carrboro, NC at Cat?s Cradle w/Drive by Truckers Carrboro, NC
May 15 2008 - Charleston, SC at Music Farm w/Drive by Truckers Charleston, SC
May 16 2008 - Jacksonville, FL at Freebird Live w/Drive by Truckers Jacksonville,FL
May 17 2008 - St. Pete, FL at Jannus Landing w/Drive by Truckers

It’s time to start planing on this Summer’s musical festivals and this strikes me as two of the more interesting ones.

The 2nd annual Deep Blues Musicland Film Festival seems to do for blues what alt.country did for country music. Taking place July 18-20, 2008 and offering bands from 18 states, Italy, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom - the festival will take place on the East side of Minneapolis/St Paul to the Washington County Fairgrounds by Lake Elmo, MN. The lineup offers 45 band including Richard Johnston, Th’ Legendary Shack*Shakers, T-Model Ford, Scissormen, Black-Eyed Snakes, Black Diamond Heavies, Bob Log III, Scott H. Biram, Left Lane Cruiser, Hillstomp and Charlie Parr.

The Deep Blues Festival prides itself in being a”fan friendly” event. Free parking, affordable ticket prices and concessions, no ticket services fees, and plenty of room for the fans are guaranteed. A film festival will feature dozens of music related films and will be free and open to the public at the fairgrounds throughout the weekend.

A limited quantity of discount advance three day passes for this 21+ show are available at the two festival websites deepbluesfestival.com and myspace.com/deepbluesfestival for $45. Daily tickets will be available at the event for $30. Under 21 are free, but must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Gates open at 10:00am, rain or shine.

BamaJam Music & Arts Festival is a three-day event in Enterprise, AL. - June 5-7 - and offers a nice lineup of country, Southern rock, folk and bluegrass acts. The fest will present 30 acts on three stages, including Hank Williams Jr., Trace Adkins, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Nanci Griffith, Ralph Stanley, ZZ Top, Randy Owen, Ricky Skaggs, Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert, Del McCoury Band, Tracy Lawrence, Darryl Worley, the Duhks, Dan Tyminski, Eric Church, Claire Lynch and Railroad Earth.

Ticket prices range from $39.50 to $99.50 for general admission, $149.50 to $309.50 for VIP.

In the South we sometimes forget about our kindred spirits way up North. Alaskans have many of the same qualities as Southerners. A strong sense of independence, a yearning for wide open spaces and a tendency to raise hell when the opportunity arises and a deep appreciation of American Southern musical heritage.

Straight outta Anchorage The Whipsaws sound like they could be from anywhere South of the Mason-Dixon instead of a few thousand miles to the North where for the past five years, they have traveled the vast isolated miles playing smoke-filled saloons and paying their dues on cold winter nights cultivating a uniquely Alaskan brand of country-rock.

Cribbing from the best that Southern rock offers - Neil Young, The Band, The Allman Brothers and Uncle Tupelo, singer/songwriter/guitarist Evan Phillips, bassist Ivan Molesky, guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Aaron Benolkin and drummer James Dommek, Jr. blend melodies, harmonies and sonic blasts in measures that make each song inspired with passion and not merely the aping of past glory.

The Whipsaws first full-length since their 2006 debut,Ten Day Bender, which reached #133 on the AMA chart, #28 on the Roots Music Report for Roots Rock, and debuting at #12 on the Euro Americana chart., 60 Watt Avenue carries the saound forward and has all their wares on display in fine form. The title track busts out big and then settles into a smooth vibe with crying bottle-neck guitar and Dommek’s clockwork drum work. As the song concludes Phillips screams out “I believe in rock and roll!” the band has left you no doubt that the sentiment is true.

Jesse Jane is a rollicking shuffle about wayward, boozy love that may or may not be about the porn star. The lonesome steel and fiddle laced Coming Home hearkens back to Uncle Tupelo’s Anodyne and Stick Around a love song with an askew melody that sound like it was written with a bottle a bottle of whiskey and a piano with the excellent “There are mysteries that surround you, that I don’t want to solve.” chorus of surrendering to ambiguity.

High Tide brings us to Allman Brothers wide-open road song terrain with a story of small-town woes featuring some great harmonica work. Lonesome Joe is a banjo and steel driven narrative of sage advice and life lessons from a Harley riding vet that is forged with beauty and sorrow. And The War continues the Allman-tinged aesthetic protest song that carries on the fine folk/country tradition of telling small stories to make a big point about humanity. Sinferno and Bar Scar blistering barroom brawlers right out of the hard-rock boogie Lynyrd Skynyrd playbook.

The band addresses one of their influences directly by covering Buffalo Springfield’s Mr. Soul – which was originally a great reworking of “(Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” the cover proves to be a worthy addition scorching wah-pedal leads sure to make Neil Young smile. Ode To Shakey is a moody analogue textured piece with a sloppy-jammed up lead that could have been lifted from a Mr. Young sound check. Seven Long Years is a dobro and harmonica blended gospel tune about temperance and redemption which features New West’s Tom Easton.

The Whipsaws can comfortably take their rightful place among current Southern Rock standard bearers like The Drive By Truckers and Alabama’s Caddle as they blaze a trail into the sunset.

Fronted by Waco Brother Deano Bloodshot Record’s Dollar Store blasts into New York City to lay whiskey-soaked waster to the legendary Knitting Factory. I can’t wait to see the look on those emo weasels faces when a horde of hillbillies invade their hipster space. HYAAAAA!
From Bloodshot - Loaded with trans-fats, soaked in cheap hops, and good for you in that way you know ain’t no damn good for you; a slab of greasy roots rock, Money Music should be labeled “extra-greasy,” which is to say, extra good, so keep the sonic Wet-Naps handy, you’re gonna need them. Dollar Store prove that rock n’ roll imbued with genuine energy and dynamism trumps indecision and overdubs every time.

Dollar Store - White Lightnin’ 

No Depression reports that the new Drive By Truckers release Brighter Than Creation’s Dark, debuted this week at #37 on the Billboard Top-200 album chart. The album also enters the Billboard indie chart at #6, its internet chart at #6, and the digital chart at #12. Not too shabby for a bunch of hillbillies with a funny name.

In other dbt news the Truckers will be playing the 2008 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival along with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Featuring T Bone Burnett, My Morning Jacket, The Allman Brothers Band, Iron and Wine and Willie Nelson.

If you like your music nice and neat and fitting within a particular predictable genre or style, then stay far, far away
from Canadian roots-rock duo Twilight Hotel.

Brandy Zdan (vocals, electric/acoustic guitar, accordion) and Dave Quanbury (vocals, electric/acoustic guitar) hail from Winnipeg on the Eastern edge of the prairie region of Western Canada (eight hours north of Minneapolis via 9513).  I don’t know much about the region, but if Twilight Hotel’s new release “Highway Prayer” is any cultural barometer of the area, it seems to be chilly, desolate albeit fertile terrain.

Twilight Hotel are no newcomers to the game. After recording their first self-titled LP in 2003, Zdan and Quanbury have been a hot item in Canadian roots circles and have played more than 200 North American dates in 2007.

Highway Prayer finds Zdan and Quanbury putting all those dues paid on full display as they artfully craft a pan-American
world placed somewhere between Andrew Bird’s jazz-gypsy-folk and and Johnny and June’s soulful-earthy duets. Halfway between the cafe’ and the roadhouse. The stories on “Highway Prayer” unfold like a dark map of the heart and carries on the fine folk/country tradition of storytelling from the point of view of those inflicting or bearing hardships.Recorded in Nashville, TN, Highway Prayer, features noable guest musicians including the late Richard Bell (Janis Joplin, The Band), Stephen Hodges (Tom Waits), and Dave Roe (Johnny Cash).

Things blasts to life with “Viva la Vinyl,” a rave-up-scat-duet ode to the joy of analog music recordings which sounds as joyous and as impromptu porch jam session with plenty of sour mash being passed and hoisted.

On “No Place for a Woman”  MS. Zdan belts out a reverb-draped lament about a family’s rough life in the coal mine. “Impatient Love” is a yearning duet that highlights the couples harmony and shimmers in it’s beauty. The title cut takes us out to the dark, desolate dirt roads made familiar by Neko Case and is made even more forbidding by Richard Bell organ work.

Slumber Queen is a a hard-coiled cha-cha in the gypsy-jazz vein of Andrew Bird and Iowalta Morningside follows hot on it’s trail with a chilly night-life narrative that Nick Cave would be proud of. On Shadow of a Man Zdan moves us into the gritty junk yard baroque jazz were Tom Waits reigns supreme and she does a fine job of marking her territory.

As mentioned before Richard Bell, the Canadian musician perhaps best remembered as the pianist for Janis Joplin and her Full Tilt Boogie Band, lent his considerable talent to what was to be his last work and “Highway Prayer” is made even more spectacular because of it. The last track Best Buds showcases Bell and dobro player Colin Linden is a great testament to the man and his talent.

 Twilight Hotel- Viva la Vinyl

Bloodshot Records will be holding their 4th annual Yard Dog Party and official SXSW showcase. Their artist will be performing at many other showcases and parties around Austin. A partial schedule follows:

Bloodshot Records - Annual SXSW Party at Yard Dog- Friday afternoon March 14th
Yard Dog Gallery, 1510 S. Congress

(bands NOT in order):

Firewater
Bobby Bare Jr.
The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir
The Waco Brothers
Ha Ha Tonka
Justin Townes Earle
Deadstring Brothers
Mark Pickerel & His Praying Hands
The Silos (in tribute to Drew Glackin)
Andre Williams

Bloodshot Records Official SXSW Showcase
Saturday Night, March 15th
Red Eyed Fly (715 Red River at 7th St):
1am                  The Waco Brothers
Midnight            Firewater
11pm                Deadstring Brothers
10pm                Justin Townes Earle
9pm                  Ha Ha Tonka
8pm                  Mark Pickerel & His Praying Hand