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!

Justin Townes Earle continues to blaze a trail, and the Grand Ole Opry moves a step toward relevency (inviting Sunny Sweeney was a also a plus) by inviting Earle to perform Friday, May 2nd on the 8pm show, also on a bill will be Brad Paisley, Mark Wills and Mountain Heart.

If you find yourself in Nashville do yourself a favor and catch what is sure to be a great performance.

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

By way of Twangville

All right Cali twangers, get out and see Wayne “The Train” Hancock and Scott H. Biram at Safari Sam’s two year anniversary show.

Congratulations to Drive By Truckers drummer Brad Morgan and his wife and musician Kimberly  (from the band Kimberly Morgan and the Everlovin’ Band) for the arrival of the newest member of the Trucker family, Ruby Morgan!

The Dexateens have posted a new blog on MySpace about recording their new release “Lost and Found.” There’s also a cool blog about the making of the multi-media artwork that they used for the cover.

The Jack Grace Band starts their every Sunday night run at the Rodeo Bar (27th and 3rd Ave, New York, NY )

Sean Kershaw & the New Jack Ramblers plays Hanks Saloon ( 46 3rd Ave at Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, New York) tonight, and it’s FREE!

Country Stars Central has a fine interview with Brenda Lee. Branda talks about her life growing up poor in Atlanta, Georgia and her 1957 Grand Ole Opry Ryman Auditorium which also featured with Elvis Presley.

No mater how much time I spend looking over this great land of ours (and others) looking for great music something is bound to slip my gaze. I try to make up for it later and I’m about to make amends for not knowing about Denton, Texas’ Rodney Parker & 50 Peso Reward sooner then I have.

I will be reviewing their new release. “The Lonesome Dirge” (Label Name - release 4/8) soon but if you find yourself near my hometown this evening haul your ass to the Dallas’ Granada Theater to catch RP50PR CD release party and enjoy some a stiff shot of alt.country rock goodness.

If you can’t make it to the show “The Fine Line” will be webcasting the show live tonight.

Rodney Parker & 50 Peso Reward - Rodney Parker “200 Acres”

The mighty Drive By Truckers will be at terminal 5 Wednesday March 26^th. There’s still a few tickets available, let’s show the Truckers the New York love and sell this sucker out!

Austin’s own baritone-voiced guitar wiz Junior Brown - Monday March 31^st at Maxwell’s - Hoboken, NJ

The Bodeans - Thursday, April 3rd at the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza

Kathleen Edwards - Thursday, April 10 at the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza

The Felice Brothers with Justin Townes Earle and McCarthy Trenching - April, 12 2008 at the Bowery Ballroom

Dolly Parton - Thursday, May 1st (rescheduled from March 7) 8:00 at Radio City Music Hall

James McMurtry - Thursday, May 1st at the Bowery Ballroom

The Wood Brothers - Saturday, May 17th at the Bowery Ballroom

The Bottle Rockets (15th Anniversary Show) - Saturday June, 7 at the Mercury Lounge

Any I forgot? Post ‘em below!

That “Dirty ol One Man Band from Texas: Scott H. Biram will be wheeling his First Church Of The Ultimate Fanaticism selling his brand of sanctified chicken-fried country blues music this spring and will be over in the UK in late May with some possible central Europeon dates in Early June.

Check him out at a chicken coop near you if you dare!

Fri 3/21/08 Riley’s Tavern Hunter, TX

Sat 3/22/08 Red Eyed Fly Austin, TX

Sat 3/29/08 Double-Wide Dallas, TX

Thu 4/10/08 Rhythm Room Phoenix, AZ w/Hillstomp

Fri 4/11/08 Plush Tucson, AZ w/Hillstomp

Sat 4/12/08 Casbah San Diego, CA w/Hillstomp

Sun 4/13/08 Safari Sam’s Hollywood, CA
w/ Wayne Hancock, 50 Cent Haircut, Hillstomp (SHB plays 3rd)

Tue 4/15/08 The Crepe Place Santa Cruz, CA

Wed 4/16/08 Bottom of the Hill San Francisco, CA w/Hillstomp

Thu 4/17/08 Axe & Fiddle Cottage Grove, OR w/Hillstomp

Fri 4/18/08 Dante’s Portland, OR w/Thee Loyal Bastards & Hillstomp

Sat 4/19/08 El Corazon Seattle, WA w/Hillstomp & Bob Wayne & His Outlaw Carnies

Mon 4/21/08 The Filling Station Bozeman, MT w/Hillstomp

Wed 4/23 Bar Deluxe w/Hillstomp

Fri 4/25/08 Bender’s Tavern Denver, CO w/Hillstomp, Rev. Deadeye

TBA (Possibly Lincoln, NE)

Charlie Daniels has invited Shooter Jennings to open a series of Daniels’ Volunteer Jam concerts this year. April 11-12 in Harris, Mich. the bill also features .38 Special (which includes Donnie Van Zant, of the country duo Van Zant.)

The origial Volunteer Jam took place in 1972 was suppose to a one-off showcase of Daniel’s friend’s which just happed to be the best Southern Rock bands of the time which including the Allman Brothers Band and the Marshall Tucker Band.