Willie Nelson was forced to cancel a fund-raiser appearance in the Denver area Sunday night because he was having trouble breathing attributed to emphysema and the high altitude and was taken to a local hospital.
Nelson was scheduled to appear at a fund-raiser for the Dumb Friends League, a Denver area Humane Society Animal Shelter being held in Castle Pines Village, 21 miles from Denver.
According to 9NEWS in Colorado, one of the organizers of the event said Nelson was taken to the hospital.
UPDATE – According to KVET 98.1 in Austin Willie is doing better and planning to head back to Texas today. No word on whether Willie will make his
scheduled appearance at Dallas’ House of Blues this Tuesday.
UPDATE: According to the New York Times Willie Nelson is in good condition on Monday morning after suffering a bout of altitude sickness and was forced to cancel a charity concert in Colorado over the weekend, his publicist, Elaine Schock, said.
“He’s fine,†Ms. Schock said on Monday. “He’s on the road to the next gig, and he’s not in any danger.â€
Dwight Yoakam showed that he could still cut a painted-on jeans, low Stetson crowned, fine figure of a honky-tonk man as he shuffled across the stage of ‘The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” last night.
Yoakam performed ‘Nothing But Love,’ a cut from his upcomin Beck collaberation ’3 Pears.’ (Sept. 18. )
The week following its release, the classic singer will be honored by the Academy of Country Music with the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award at the 6th Annual ACM Honors event, to be held on Sept. 24 in Nashville.
No current performer has straddled the music Row and Americana divide as deftly as Jamey Johnson.
His throwback sound, Alabama growl and biker looks appeals to those (like myself) that pine for the days of Waylon and Willie and the boys while his ear for a melody was able to grab the attention of the mainstream country radio and fans with his top 10 hit “In Color.”
Johnson is an unapologetic neo-traditional disciple of country music’s greats. He’s opened for Willie and done George Jones songs in the presence of the man himself. His next effort is to a man that influnced those giants.
On October 16th Johnson will be joined by Willie and many others on his new album, Buddy Cannon-produced Livin’ For a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran. (vinyl beginning Sept. 25.)
Cochran, who died at age 74 in 2010, is considered one of the greatest songwriters in the history of country music. He helped evolve the perfect country template established by Hank Williams a generation earlier.Â
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“If I had to dream up somebody like Hank to influence songwriters, I couldn’t have done a better job,” Johnson says. “That’s what he was– not just for me, but for Willie and for a lot of people–just a helpful friend. If he knew you needed help with something, he could help you. He was there. And that’s what I want to be for the people in my life, same as Hank. He influenced me, not only as an artist and songwriter, but also as a person.”
Cochran’s songs transcended the country genre to become American standards (a practice closely studied by Willie) his catalog includes “I Fall to Pieces,” “She’s Got You,” “Make the World Go Away,” “The Chair,’ “Set ‘Em Up Joe” which Johnson covered on 1010’s The Guitar Song. His songs have been recorded by artists including Eddy Arnold, Patsy Cline, George Jones, George Strait, Elvis Presley, Elvis Costello, Ray Price, Ronnie Milsap, Jim Reeves and many others.Â
Recording a collection of Hank Cochran tunes in a pop-country saturated industry takes guts, and truly reflects the original Outlaw spirit the hat acts on the radio brag having. When it came time to take the next step in his recording career, he listened to his heart and decided to embark on a labor of love. In a daring career move that is consistent with Johnson’s penchant for bucking conventional industry wisdom to create a unique path, he decided to devote his time and creative efforts to honoring his late friend and celebrate traditional country music.
Besides having a professional affinity to Cochran he also has a personal one. “Shortly after he first met Jamey, Hank was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer,” says his widow, Suzi Cochran. “So for the two years he lived after that, Jamey would get off the road and pull his bus right up to the hospital, run up and see Hank and raise Hank’s spirits. The last time Jamey saw Hank was the night before Hank died.” Johnson joined Buddy Cannon and Billy Ray Cyrus at Cochran’s bedside as they handed the guitar back and forth while singing Cochran’s songs. Cochran died about six hours later.
“Hank adored Jamey,” Suzi Cochran says. “Hank loved Jamey. Jamey was a constant in the last chapter of Hank’s life.
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“This is incredible,” she says of the tribute album. “I wish Hank had been here to see it. He wouldn’t believe it. He would have cried. He’d be happy. It’s exactly like Hank would have done it.”
I am really looking forward to hearing this release and look forward to hearing classic from it live when Johnson joins Willie Nelson and The Band of Horses on the Railroad Revival Tour 2012.
Track listing:
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1. “Make the World Go Away” – Jamey Johnson and Alison Krauss
2. “I Fall to Pieces” – Jamey Johnson and Merle Haggard
3. “A Way to Survive” – Jamey Johnson, Vince Gill and Leon Russell
4. “Don’t Touch Me” – Jamey Johnson and Emmylou Harris
5. “You Wouldn’t Know Love” – Jamey Johnson and Ray Price
6. “I Don’t Do Windows” – Jamey Johnson and Asleep at the Wheel
7. “She’ll Be Back” – Jamey Johnson and Elvis Costello
8. “Would These Arms Be in Your Way” – Jamey Johnson
9. “The Eagle” – Jamey Johnson and George Strait
10. “A-11” – Jamey Johnson and Ronnie Dunn
11. “I’d Fight the World” – Jamey Johnson and Bobby Bare
12. “Don’t You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me” – Jamey Johnson and Willie Nelson
13. “This Ain’t My First Rodeo” – Jamey Johnson and Lee Ann Womack
14. “Love Makes a Fool of Us All” – Jamey Johnson and Kris Kristofferson
15. “Everything But You” – Jamey Johnson, Vince Gill, Willie Nelson and Leon Russell
16. “Livin’ for a Song” – Jamey Johnson, Hank Cochran, Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson
You’d think the addition of her third child, a beautiful daughter Poet, would afford Australian trad-country artist Kasey Chambers some time off. But no, she’s just finished Wreck and Ruin, a follow up to 2008’s excellent Rattlin’ Bones, created with her singer/songwriter husband Shane Nicholson. She’s now preparing to tour the United States behind her just-release her covers project, Storybook. The release features her unique interpretations of Hank Williams, Gram Parsons, Lucinda Williams and Texas legend Townes Van Zandt. The last whose music legacy she, along with The Avett Brothers’ Scott Avett, Grace Potter, and others, reflected on in the recent book “I’ll Be Here In The Morning: The Songwriting Legacy of Townes Van Zandt.” In the midst of packing for her tour she was gracious enough to answer some questions.
Baron Lane (Twang Nation) – How has being a mother influenced your songwriting not just in practice but in point if view?
Kasey Chambers – Well I have to write all my songs quicker ‘cos i don’t have much time now with 3 children – ha. Actually I guess I have taught myself to write in and around the chaos otherwise I’d have to go out and get a day-job (and I really don’t have any other skills so that is not really an option). Being a mother has thrown my whole world upside down – in a good way. I feel like it forced me to get to know my “real” self more than ever and what better fuel for songwriting is there than honesty?
TN – In 1999 you won the ARIA Award for “Best Country Album” for The Captain and I would classify much of your sound on “Storybook” as old-school honky-tonk. With the current state of country music in America your sound would fall under the Americana label. What’s your opinion of mainstream Australian and American country music?
KC – To be honest I am just so happy than anyone wants to listen to my music that I really don’t care what label they want to put on it. I consider myself a country artist but I think my idea of country is probably very different than what the “mainstream world” calls country . A lot of the stuff known as country these days is hard for me to identify with having come from the music grounding of Hank Williams, Louvin Bros and Gram and Emmylou. But it’s hard to argue when you’re in the minority and who am I to say what it should or shouldn’t be. I find and listen to the music I love and share it with as many as I can. I honestly feel so lucky and constantly surprised at how many people I have managed to share my music with over the years. I never imagined any of that to happen.
TN – Do you identify yourself as a country singer, a folk singer, both? Something else?
KC – Someone called us “Country Goth” the other day – ha. i am definitely just a little old country singer.
TN -What is your approach to songwriting? Do you work it all out beforehand or is it a band/studio process?
KC – I don’t think I really have a set process with writing. Sometimes a lyric will come to me, sometimes a melody, sometimes I sit there for a while and nothing comes at all. I wish I had more control over it but I guess it may not be as creative then. I often go six months to a year without writing one thing and that’s ok. They will come when they are meant to.
TN – You will soon embark on a tour with a fellow countryman of mine (Texan) Sarah Joaroz, are there any other young female singer/songwriters you like?
KC – I have a young female singer/songwriter on the road with me at the moment. Her name is Ashleigh Dallas and she plays fiddle, mandolin, guitar, and sings harmonies in my band and she is just beautiful. She’s 19, writes her own stuff as well and she is a big Sarah Joaroz fan so she is super excited about doing some shows with her. We are all gonna have a lot of fun together.
TN – Your new release, Storybook, showcases your take on personally influential songs handpicked from the iconic songbooks of Hank Williams, Gram Parsons, Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Townes Van Zandt and more. How did you pick the artists and songs to include?
KC -All these artists have inspired me in some way or another over the years and I can honestly say I would not be the singer/songwriter that I am without their influence. So many of these songs helped get me through some really hard times in my life.
TN – Was there any cuts that didn’t make it?
KC -I really wanted to include about 20 other Lucinda Wiliams songs…..
TN – You have another collaboration with your husband, Shane Nicholson “Wreck And Ruin,” coming out in September. How is writing and performing with him different for you?
KC – I argue with him a lot more than other musicians! We are like any other normal married couple – sometimes we just need time apart ‘cos we drive each other crazy but I must admit it really is pretty awesome to stand on stage and sing with him. Especially a song we have written together – I absolutely love the sound we create together and at the end of the day I am his biggest fan. (Don’t tell him though or he’ll get a big head.)
TN – What role did music play in your childhood?
KC – I grew up in such a remote area in Australia and had hardly had any contact with civilisation so music was really the only form of entertainment that we had. No TV, no radio, so my dad would get out his guitar and play us old country songs around the campfire. At the time I thought all kids lived like that.
(added on edit) TN – Your sound is very reminiscent of American classic country from the 50’s through the 70s. Did your sound shape from that location and era or was there Australian artists with that that sound that influenced you? How similar / different was American country to Australian country of the same era?
KC – My dad brought me up listening to some Slim Dusty and Tex Morton who are Australian bush balladeers from the early days but apart from that it was pretty much mostly American music that I grew up with. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I started to discover the music of Australian singer/songwriter Paul Kelly who is and was at the time hugely successful in the mainstream world of rock/pop music but I soon realised he had this sound that (even though I didn’t understand why or how) somehow reminded me of the music I had grown up listening to. Turns out his influences were a lot closer to mine than I would have expected.
TN – What was your first concert?
KC – Does my dad’s gig count? I would go and watch my mum and dad play when I was a kid and one day he asked me to get up and sing. He never got rid of me……
TN – What legend (living or dead) would you like to write a song with?
KC – I don’t really do co-writing much. I only really do it with my husband and most of the time that is enjoyable but the thought of writing with a legend freaks me out so luckily I probably won’t ever get asked…….
As Ryan Bingham hinted at last week the lyric video for his nearly pop-punk sounding “Heart of Rhythm,†has been released.
Truth be told, it’s disappointing to me to hear Bingham move further way from the moody, dusty country-noir of 2007’s Mescalito.
The single is off Bingham’s fourth studio album Tommorowland. It was made without his longtime band The Dead Horses and features Bingham on all of the electric guitar for the first time. Tommorowland be released 9/18 on his own Axster Bingham Records label.
Bingham will launch a U.S. tour in September.
Let me know what you think off the new song in the comment area.
Dallas’ own Old 97′s will celebrate the 15th anniversary of their pivotal alt.country album “Too Far To Care” with a Deluxe reissue will feature a scad of bonus tracks, and a national tour where Rhett and the boys will perform the album in full.
American Songwriter posts that “the reissue features three unissued bonus outtakes (“Beer Cansâ€, “No Doubt About Itâ€, “Holy Crossâ€) a rare promo track (“Northern Line,†off the Nothing To Attract You EP) and a second disc will contain They Made A Monster: The Too Far To Care Demos with 11 previously unreleased demos from the Too Far To Care sessions. They Made A Monsterwill also be released as a stand-alone LP (w/download card) and also as a stand-alone digital version.”
Old 97’s Too Far To Care 15th Anniversary Tour Dates w/Those Darlins supporting:
DATE: CITY/STATE VENUE
August 23 Houston, TX House of Blues
August 24 Dallas, TX House of Blues
August 25 San Antonio, TX Sam’s Burger Joint
August 26 El Paso, TX Tricky Falls
August 28 Phoenix, AZ The Crescent Ballroom
August 29 Solana Beach, CA Belly Up Tavern
August 30 Santa Ana, CA The Observatory
August 31 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre
September 1 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre
September 2 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
September 4 Seattle, WA The Showbox @ The Market
September 5 Vancouver, BC Venue
September 6 Portland, OR Roseland Theatre
September 7 Boise, ID Knitting Factory
September 8 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge
September 10 Boulder, CO Boulder Theater
September 11 Omaha, NE The Slowdown
September 12 Columbia, MO The Blue Note
October 14 Austin, TX Austin City Limits Festival
Old 97’s Too Far To Care 15th Anniversary Tour w/Salim Nourallah supporting:
DATE: CITY/STATE VENUE
October 16 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
October 17 Madison, WI Capitol Theater
October 18 Minneapolis, MN First Avenue
October 19 Chicago, IL Vic Theatre
October 20 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall
October 22 Boston, MA Royale Night Club
October 23 New York, NY Webster Hall
October 25 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer
October 26 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
October 27 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
October 29 Nashville, TN Cannery Ballroom
As part of my own Twang Nation train redemption series we bring you an opportunity to win a pair of tickets to a Railroad Revival Tour show at a stop of your choice.
Railroad Revival Tour is celebrates a pivotal age of American transportation and the more recent musical spirit best exemplified by the Festival Express. That tour chartered a Canadian National Railways train to transport Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead, The Band, Buddy Guy and others to Toronto, Winnipeg and Calgary, during the summer of 1970. The Railroad Revival Tour is a truly a uniques experience as travels town to towns aboard 16 vintage, 1940’s railcars, setting up open air, pop-up concert venues in parks, fields and lots around the railroad tracks where they stop.
Last year’s inaugural journey, featuring Mumford and Sons, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show, was a huge success and 2012’s version, featuring Willie Nelson & Family, Band of Horses, Jamey Johnson and John Reilly & Friends, is shaping up to be even bigger and better!
This year’s train route kicks off at the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth, Georgia surrounded by the historical steam locomotives and railcars of years past. The train then heads to Memphis, home of the legendary Stax Records and Elvis (and BBQ!.) Returning to the tour’s (and my) home state of Texas, the train will stop in the historical railroad town of Old Town Spring before heading west to Tempe, San Pedro and a finale where it began last year in Oakland, CA.
Now how do you enter the contest? Easy! Head over to the Twang Nation Facebook page and enter a caption for this pic. Rules: Post your caption on the image and the one with the most “Likes†at 1 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday August 1st will be claimed the Winner. Twang Nation reserves the right to settle a tie.
Make sure to “Share” the Facebook post with friends and family to increase your “Likes”.
On what would have been Hardly Strictly Bluegrass founder Warren Hellman’s 78th birthday the good people that worked side by side with him carry on in his honor. The upcoming 12th anniversary of the festival, and first after Hellman’s death last December, looks to continue the celebration of great, and free, music doesn’t look as though it’s slowed a bit. On this day of remembrance the festival’s organizers have released audio hints, like last year, of the first 10 conformed acts.
Check out the file below and in the comments give us your best guesses who’d playing HSB this Oct. 5-7!
It seems too crazy to be true. It was over a year ago that I read about a potential collaboration between Dwight Yoakam and Beck. I thought it was too good to be true and as the months rolled by I thought my hunch was correct. No way Jose.
I’ve never been so glade to be mistaken. The recently announced “3 Pears,†is the result of that creative union and will be be released Sept. 18. It’s also Yoakam’s first studio album of original material since in seven years ‎and his return to Warner Bros. Records.
I read that Yoakam has been working on the 12 songs on the album since 2008 and jokingly describes the process as “reaaall reaaaallllll sloooww.â€
Let’s hope it results in a release that’s reaaall reaaaallllll good!
Here’s a little Bakersfield heaven with Dwight joining the Hag on his “Swinging Doors.”
Country music legend Glen Campbell is canceling his upcoming Australia and New Zealand tour with Kenny Rogers due to health reasons, the Associated Press reports.
A spokesperson for Campbell, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease last year and currently on his farewell tour, said isn’t up for “the very long flight that it would require.” The Australian shows would have been his last international stop. Campbell is still scheduled for U.S. dates
throughout the summer and into the fall.
Glen Campbell was a recipients of the GRAMMYs Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Awards and recently played the legendary Hollywood Bowl for his last concert in his home of Los Angeles
Here’s is campbell’s “A Better Place,” with a cameo from Queen of the Stone Age and Them Crooked Vultures member Josh Homme.
Willie Nelson was forced to cancel a fund-raiser appearance in the Denver area Sunday night because he was having trouble breathing attributed to emphysema and the high altitude and was taken to a local hospital.
