Twang Nation – The Best In Americana Music
Americana & Roots Music & Culture
If you’re in the New York City area, and you know what’s good for you, you’ll head over to Joe’s Pub tomorrow night (2/3) to catch what promises to be a great show featuring Amy LaVere and Joe Pug.
Amy LaVere – Killing Him
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fEdpDdx-K8[/youtube]
Gene Beley was Ventura Star-Free Press reporter when he, and the newspaper’s chief photographer, Dan Poush, were invited to accompany Johnny Cash to Folsom Prison for his landmark 1968 concert. New pictures taken at that event recently surfaced when Beley returned to the prison a few months ago to participate in a BBC radio documentary marking the 40th anniversary of the concert. Beley brought along the photos to give to Jim Brown, a retired correctional officer and operations manager of the Retired Correctional Peace Officers Museum at Folsom Prison.
Beley was with Cash’s party in a room at West Sacramento’s El Rancho Hotel the night before the concert when Rev. Floyd Gressett, asked Cash to listen to a tape recording by Folsom Prison inmate Glen Sherley. Gressett was a friend of Cash’s who ministered to California inmates, had worked with the prison’s recreation director, Lloyd Kelley, to set up the concert.
Copies of these new photos are available only at the Museum at Folsom Prison and a shop in Billings, Mont. (The Sacramento Bee)
Fabchannel will present a live webcast of Alt.country legend James McMurtry entire show from the legendary Paradiso in Amsterdam tomorrow, January 27. The show is the first of McMurtry’s European tour. The webcast will start at 19.00 (GMT).
A few days after the live show, the entire recording will be included to Fabchannel’s online video archive.
Fabchannel records and streams live concerts every week. The James McMurtry recording is the latest addition to the extensive Fabchannel video archive, which includes 1000 full-length concert recordings, including Paul Weller, Willard Grant Conspiracy, Calexico, Iron and Wine, Fred Eaglesmith, Grayson Capps, Chuck Prophet, Joe Henry, and Drive-By Truckers and many more.
The CalAmericana Association’s Acoustic Americana series (CalAcoustic) begins tonight (1/24)Â from 8-10 featuring Sam Misner and Megan Smith at Cafe Royale, San Francisco CA.
You can’t rewrite history but if I could rewrite my 2008 best of list I would include Malcolm Holcombe’s Gamblin’ House would be on it. Alas, I am but a humble blogger with no interns to be had. Holcombe is currently touring Europe in support of Gamblin’ House and will be touring most of 2009.
Malcolm Holcombe – Where is my Garden
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-xTP3piCwc[/youtube]
Drive By Truckers – Perfect Timing
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLUDnXEWvpw[/youtube]
If you’ve attended a solo Willie Nelson show you know what’s coming. Just as sure as a Texas Summer is hot and that your enchiladas at El Fenix will begin with chips and salsa, the Redheaded Stranger will deliver a canon of some of the best and most loved American songs spanning his 40 year career. The Johnny Bush and Paul Stroud penned Whiskey River, Good Hearted Woman – written by Willie and his partner in outlaw brotherhood Waylon Jennings, Crazy – the Willie penned 1962 #2 country hit for Patsy Cline that was originally written for, and turned down by, Billy Walker, Funny How Time Slips Away – a song Walker did record and had a hit, the Kris Kristofferson penned Help Me Make It Through The Night and Me And Bobby McGee (made famous by fellow Texan Janis Joplin), Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain – the Fred Rose penned song that was originally performed in 1945 by Roy Acuff , later by Hank Williams but made into a hit by Willie on his thematic masterpiece Red Headed Stranger. The list goes on but you get the idea.
Even after a reprieve in 2004 due to a bout with carpal tunnel syndrome (well not much of a reprieve, Willie wrote two current song list staples, Superman and You Don’t Think I’m Funny Anymore – during the 4 months he was supposed to take it easy) Willie still plays the weathered Martin N-20 with now defunct Baldwin pickups (aka Trigger) in his signature syncopated style that made him too jazzy for 60’s era Nashville but endeared him to an audience that weren’t typical country music fans back in Austin. Trigger bares a ragged hole in it’s body right where decades of downstrokes have landed blows – surrounded by signatures of Johnny Cash, Roger Miller, Kris Kristofferson and others this singular instrument has transcended it’s original intent. It now stands as a talisman as well as, as it’s name suggests, a trusted and loyal friend.
Very few artists have achieved the status of American icon. It’s a short and select group that have one thing in common, they transcend the level of working musician and become a representation of the music itself. 40’s pop, Frank Sinatra, Jazz, Louie Armstrong – Country Music in the minds of many Americans born in the last 40 years is Willie Nelson.
After all this time the humility is still there, thanking the audience after songs or an especially dexterous turn on Trigger. The 1000 watt smile, the twinkle in his eye, the humor, the worn bandanas tossed into an adoring crowd. Except for his well-known predilection for ganja (of which some of the Bay Area’s finest found its way on stage tossed up by a fan that abides) the man could have easily had a place in politics.
Seeing Willie is like visiting the Grand Canyon or the giant Sequoias – he’s less a musician and more like a force of nature, you’re awed to be in the presence of a national treasure and, after repeated visits, subtleties arise that are only discernible after a level of familiarity is achieved. The classics begin to expose nuances, phrasing, odd time signatures – once past the initial awe there’s a lasting beauty that emerges. The audience is enthralled and vocal – “yeehaws” and “ahh-haaas” ring out between each song. Not surprising, this is as far west we you can get without getting your boots wet.
Willie’s son Lukas and his band, the Promise of the Real, opened the show with their brand of jamband psychedelic fusion. Playing in this venue where the Grateful Dead performed so many times must have been a dream come true for these guys. I’m not particularly a fan of this style of music but one thing did stand out for me; whether fronting his own band or supporting his dad Lukas Nelson is becoming a master guitar player in his own right.
The night was topped off for me meeting Linda, a fellow blogger with #1 Willie Nelson fan site Still is Still Moving. Linda’s site is the go-to place for all thngs Willie.
And then there was the Oakland chapter of the Hells Angels in VIP seating within the security barrier right in front of us. The outlaw mojo was in full force on this cool, San Francisco night.
Willie Nelson : Stardust – The Fillmore – 1/17/09
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EOqKMlq05I[/youtube]