Billboard Story on Jason Isbell

Billboard.com has a feature on ex-Trucker Jason Isbell about leaving the Drive By Truckers and working on his solo release, Sirens of the Ditch.

Isbell started writing for a solo album around four years ago. Although he didn’t initially set out with a side project in mind, he says a batch of songs came together that just didn’t feel like Drive-By Truckers material. “I was writing most of these songs on piano, which I hadn’t done for Truckers songs, and the arrangements I was hearing in my head called for different instrumentation than we had in the band.”

William Elliott Whitmore Fall Tour

The illustrated man with the banjo and a voice of the ages is embarking on an extended US fall tour. According to Whitmore’s MySpace page he is currently working on a new record this summer and it should be out in the Spring of ’08.

Fri Aug 17 2007 PICADOR IOWA CITY, IA
Sat Aug 18 2007 CLIFTON HOLLOW GOLF COURSE – DEEP BLUES FESTIVAL RIVER FALLS, WI
Fri Aug 24 2007 THE RIVER MUSIC EXPERIENCE – RIVER ROOTS LIVE MUSIC FESTIVAL DAVENPORT, IA
Sat Aug 25 2007 USHERS FERRY HISTORICAL VIL – USHERS FERRY FOLK FESTIVAL CEDAR RAPIDS, IA
Sat Sep 8 2007 THE NOTE CHICAGO, IL
Sun Sep 9 2007 STONEFLY BREWERY MILWAUKEE, WI
Mon Sep 10 2007 TRIPLE ROCK MINNEAPOLIS, MN
Wed Sep 12 2007 OFF BROADWAY NIGHTCLUB ST LOUIS, MO
Thu Sep 13 2007 MOJOS COLUMBIA, MO
Fri Sep 14 2007 JACKPOT SALOON LAWRENCE, KS
Sat Sep 15 2007 RED ROCKS MORRISON, CO MONOLITH FESTIVAL
Mon Sep 17 2007 TRACTOR TAVERN SEATTLE, WA
Tue Sep 18 2007 DANTES PORTLAND, OR
Thu Sep 20 2007 BOTTOM OF THE HILL SAN FRANCISCO, CA
Sat Sep 22 2007 THE CASBAH SAN DIEGO, CA
Sun Sep 23 2007 THE SETS TEMPE, AZ
Tue Sep 25 2007 EMOS ALTERNATIVE LOUNGING AUSTIN, TX
Wed Sep 26 2007 WALTERS ON WASHINGTON HOUSTON, TX
Sat Sep 29 2007 ROCKETOWN NASHVILLE, TN
Sun Sep 30 2007 SMITHS OLDE BAR ATLANTA, GA
Wed Oct 3 2007 NEW BROOKLYN TAVERN COLUMBIA, SC
Thu Oct 4 2007 LOCAL 506 CHAPEL HILL, NC
Tue Oct 9 2007 DC9 WASHINGTON, DC
Wed Oct 10 2007 MIDDLE EAST UPSTAIRS CAMBRIDGE, MA
Thu Oct 11 2007 IRON HORSE MUSIC HALL NORTHAMPTON, MA

More In From The Dirty ‘ol One Man Band From Austin

I really hope there are “Texas as Fuck” t-shirts at the shows!

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The “Texas as Fuck” World Tour ‘86 starts next week in Roanoke, VA on August, 8th!! Funny thing is…heh!..it’s just the North Eastern and Mid Western United states really.

But I did make some great new women’s Underwear featuring an “ass-load of Texas” to help commemorate the event! I’ll also have some new “Get Off My Property” tees and I’m hoping to secure an order of the 2003 recording of Scott H. Biram’s Rehabilitation Blues EP before I leave. This is a CD made only for those of you who have everything else I’ve recorded. It was recorded while I was bed-ridden in 2003 after “the big wreck.” It’s only me and my acoustic and it’s a limited edition pressing. It ain’t the best I’ve done, but give me your money anyway. I need a new roll of duct tape and some velcro. The Black Diamond Heavies will be joining me on several dates 8.13-8.23. Come check them out. They are great friends of mine and I’m looking forward to rockin’ the fuck out with them! Keep your fingers crossed that US Justin is there with the Reverend John Wesley “James Leg” Meyers, ans Good Ol’ Van Winkle Campbell. Also, we will be touring together in the UK during October ‘07 with a few dates in the Netherlands and France on the tail end. Be there if you can! Some higlights of the upcoming August USA tour will be my show with friends, Nashville Pussy in Asbury Park, New Jersey on August, 10, and Chris Johnson’s Deep Blues Fest in River Falls, Wisconsin on August, 18th. There are so many great acts on the bill including Robert Belfour, John Schooley, Black Diamond Heavies, Mark “Pork Chop Holder”, William Elliot Whitmore, Hillstomp and so many more.
You can see more about this event at www.myspace.com/deepbluesfestival
and at www.deepbluesfestival.com.
Don’t miss the Minneapolis show the next night!!
Anyway, we’ll see y’all soon.
Sleaze out,
SHB

Pop Matter DVD Review – Johnny Cash: The Man, His World, His Music

Popmatters.com has an excellent review of Robert Elfstrom’s documentary Johnny Cash: The Man, His World, and His Music (1969). The film highlights Cash at his career pinnacle and looks back at his upbringing in rural

Arkansas.From the review: More than that, he was content to dwell in contradiction; he didn’t try to resolve all his warring selves. He was equally the outsider rockabilly and the establishment patriot, the social protestor and the Billy Graham crusader. He gave us a model of cultural ambivalence that we could all identify with. He didn’t solve America’s identity problems, he showed us how to live with them. 

Lucinda Williams Talks to Rolling Stone

Lucinda Williams talks to Rolling Stone about her upcoming tour, getting hitched and heading back to the studio.

Currently on the road “in the hinterlands” of the Northeast — playing out-of-the-way gigs to extremely appreciative audiences – Williams and her backing trio have been prepping for the special shows, busting out rare cuts, some of which Williams hasn’t performed in over a decade. “The guys are rehearsing them at sound check and we’re tryin’ them out,” she says. “Last night we played “Big Red Sun Blues” and “The Night’s Too Long” [both from Lucinda Williams] and they sounded great.” She says she has a tendency to compare her earliest songs to her most recent. She says, “I’m thinking, ‘Boy, I’ve come a long way as a songwriter.’

Lyle Lovett to Release “It’s Not Big It’s Large,” 8/28

Lyle LovettLyle Lovett is set to release “It’s Not Big It’s Large,” on Aug. 28. The album, produced by Lovett and longtime collaborator Billy Williams, features the singer’s Large Band on 12 new tracks. The four-time Grammy winner will cover everything from country to blues, to folk, jazz and gospel.

A deluxe version of the CD will be released simultaneously and include a DVD with studio footage, according to a press release.

Lovett, who likes to take his time between albums, released his latest, “My Baby Don’t Tolerate,” in 2003. That set, his first collection of original material since 1996’s “Road to Ensenada,” reached No. 7 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart..

Lovett and his Large Band have been touring with K.D. Lang for the last couple of few weeks. Lovett and band will break off for a headlining stint in California, Montana and Idaho. Then in October, Lovett will return home to Texas for a half-dozen shows, including the Big State Music Festival in College Station, which is home to Lovett’s alma mater, Texas A&M University.

Lovett has  also recently announced that he will join Emmylou Harris, Shawn Colvin, John Hiatt, Patty Griffin and Buddy Miller in headlining “Cayamo: A Journey Through Song,” a six-day Carribean cruise scheduled to launch from Miami next February. Lovett’s tour itinerary is listed below.

Lyle Lovett Tour Dates (dates may change, call ahead)

July 2007
29 – Concord, CA – Sleep Train Pavilion *
30 – Saratoga, CA – Mountain Winery
31 – Redding, CA – Cascade Theatre

August 2007
2 – Bozeman, MT – Brick Breeden Fieldhouse
3 – Missoula, MT – Wilma Theatre
4 – Sandpoint, ID – Festival At Sandpoint

October 2007
10-11 – Fort Worth, TX – Bass Performance Hall
12 – Tyler, TX – R. Don Cowan Fine Arts Center
13 – College Station, TX – Big State Music Festival
14 – San Antonio, TX – Majestic Theatre
15 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s Bar-B-Que

February 2008
4-7 – Miami, FL – Carnival “Victory” Cruise

*co-headlining with K.D. Lang

Drive By Trucker News

Because I’m a DBT fanboy I’ll just post Patterson Hoods recent release from planet Trucker:

HEY Y’ALL:
Just wanted to touch base.
First off, i would like to thank everyone who came out last week and supported our band.
It was a great tour for us with a minimum of bumps and some amazing highlights.
Thanks to everyone who extended hospitality and made us feel so welcome in their towns.

Coming up we are playing Chattanooga this weekend and in a couple of weeks are playing 3 nights opening for the Allman Brothers.
I have some solo dates in late august and a trip out to the west coast and to Texas in September.

Next week we will be in the studio completing our next studio album.
We’re already about 2/3 done and it has gone exceptionally great, as we’ve cut a ton of new songs and the bar is really high on this one.
Many folks have already heard some of the new songs (although we’ve kept a few under wraps too) and we’ve been really happy with the response we’ve been getting out there. I think Cooley has really outdone himself this time.

In September (25) Anti Records is releasing a new album by Bettye LaVette. She is a soul legend who scored her first hit in 1962.
In 1972 she recorded an album at my Dad’s old studio that featured The Muscle Shoals Sound Rhythm Section.
The album was supposed to come out on Atlantic Records and everyone seemed to think that it was going to be her long-awaited breakthrough.
Instead the album was shelved for over 30 years, stalling her career and causing her much personal and professional anguish.
When the album was finally released a few years ago, it was received as a lost soul classic and led to her current great fortunes and record deal with Anti (who also have released great albums by Tom Waits, Merle Haggard, Nick Cave, Mavis Staples and Porter Wagoner).

Bettye LaVette’s new album is called “The Scene of the Crime” and it was co-produced by David Barbe, myself and Bettye.
For this record we took her back to Muscle Shoals (hence the title) where she was backed up by members of Drive-By Truckers along with my dad ( David Hood) and legendary keyboardist Spooner Oldham.
Work on this album led directly to Spooner’s current involvement with DBT.
We recorded it at the legendary FAME Studios there (where we had recorded much of The Dirty South).
I am extremely proud of this album and can’t wait for it to come out.

While we’re on the subject of album releases, I’d like to remind everyone who hasn’t already grabbed it, Jason Isbell’s long awaited solo album is out now and getting rave reviews from all over. I am listed as a co-producer and most of the band plays on it in various forms.

The album is called “Sirens of the Ditch” and is out now on New West Records.
He’s playing about a thousand dates so go check out his great band and show.

In October we will play the third and final leg of our “The Dirt Underneath Tour” which puts us in a mostly acoustic and somewhat stripped down mode for an evening of stories and songs.
Tour dates are up now and the tour will take us to some of our favorite towns and maybe a couple of new ones also.
After this tour it will probably be a really long time before we do this again, so I highly recommend you checking it out if you haven’t already.
It’s been a really special thing for us and has had an incalculable influence on our next album which will be coming out on New West Records in the very first part of 2008.

Guess that does it for now. Thanks again for everyone’s continued support and love.

See you at The Swamp Show.
Patterson Hood
Drive-By Truckers

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Note from Jenn:
Hey guys, a couple of things:
First off, please go buy some art from the Sabina Art Auction! There are lots of DBT-related pieces of art there (even some pottery done by my mama!), plus a photo by Michael Stipe, a print by Clive Barker, and much more – and all proceeds go to an excellent cause.

Back to DBT –
I put up new DBT dates for October! All of these will be The Dirt Underneath shows except for the Texas date, which will be ROCK. Also posted a bunch of new Patterson Hood solo dates!

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS DATES
ALL OF THE FOLLOWING SHOWS ARE ROCK SHOWS unless otherwise noted:
Sat July 28 – Chattanooga, TN – K Fest @ Ross Landing
Fri Aug 10 – Charlotte, NC – Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre w/ The Allman Brothers Band
Sat Aug 11 – Raleigh, NC – Alltel Pavilion w/ The Allman Brothers Band
Sun Aug 12 – Virginia Beach, VA – Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre w/ The Allman Brothers Band

The following dates are part of THE DIRT UNDERNEATH unless otherwise noted:
Oct 12 – Birmingham, AL – WorkPlay Theatre
Oct 13 – New Orleans – Tipitina’s
Oct 14 – College Station, TX – Big State Festival at the Texas World Speedway (this will be a ROCK SHOW)
Oct 16 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom
Oct 17 – Lawrence, KS – Granada Theatre
Oct 18 – Iowa City, IA – Englert Theatre
Oct 19 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue
Oct 20 – Madison, WI – Barrymore Theatre
Oct 22 – Chicago, IL – Park West
Oct 24 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom & Tavern
Oct 25 – State College, PA – The State Theatre
Oct 26 – New York, NY – Bowery Ballroom
Oct 27 – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
Oct 28 – Baltimore, MD – Ram’s Head Live
Patterson Hood Solo Dates:
Fri Aug 24 – Birmingham AL – Birmingham Museum of Art – Art On The Rocks
Sat Aug 25 – Athens GA – Melting Point with Bo Bedingfield
Thu Sep 6 – Seattle WA – Tractor Tavern
Fri Sep 7 – Bellingham WA – NightLight Lounge
Sat Sep 8 – Portland OR – Dante’s (Part of Big Fest)
Tue Sep 11 – San Francisco, CA – Swedish American Hall
Wed Sep 12 – Los Angeles, CA – The Hotel Cafe
Sun Sep 16 – Austin TX – Austin City Limits Festival

Cool! See you at the shows!

Drive By Truckers – Daddy’s Cup (Live at Red Rocks)

Johnny Cash’s “The Great Lost Performance” to Be Released July 24, 2007

A first-ever release of a performance by the Man in Black at the Paramount Theatre in Asbury Park, New Jersey on July 27, 1990 will be released as “Johnny Cash – The Great Lost Performance” (Island/UMe), released July 24, 2007, debuts nearly 17 years to the day of the original concert.

The nearly hour-long CD features the classics – “I Walk The Line,” “Hey Porter” and “Folsom Prison Blues” and “Ring Of Fire,” but will also feature duets with wife June Carter Cash on “Jackson” and “The Wreck Of Old ’97.” The CD will also feature Cash’s first performance of his original “What Is Man?,” and his only recorded version of country gospel’s “Wonderful Time Up There” and “A Beautiful Life,” and his only concert version of “Life’s Railway To Heaven,” whose studio version by Cash
was released only posthumously.

Props to the 9513 for the heads up!