Heartworn Highways To Be Shown Nationwide via Kino Marquee Starting Feb. 5th

HEARTWORN HIGHWAYS

In the mid-‘70s, filmmaker James Szalapski traveled to Texas’ Hill Country and Tennessee to capture musical white lightening in a bottle. From high school gymnasiums, trailer homes, recording studios to a liquor-fueled Christmas guitar pull in Guy and Susanna Clarks dining room, now legendary performers – Guy Clark, Rodney Crowell, Townes Van Zandt, Steve Young, David Allan Coe, a 19-year-old Steve Earle and many others are shown crafting a genre by looking towards country music’s folk roots and away from Music Row’s glitz.

Musical highlights include Clark’s brilliant “Desperados Waiting For A Train,” Steve Earle’s stirring “Mercenary Song” and Townes Van Zandt’s gut-wrenching “Waiting Around To Die.” (see videos below)

Though filmed in the late 70’s the full documentary was not released theatrically until 1981 and has been notoriously difficult to watch in its entirety. If you’ve never seen it in its entirety now you’ll have a chance. Starting Feb 5 Heartworn Highways will be in Virtual Cinemas nationwide via Kino Marquee.

Visit Kino Marquee here

Guy Clark – “Desperados Waiting For A Train”:

Steve Earle – “Mercenary Song”:

Townes Van Zandt – “Waiting Around To Die”

Listen Up! Sturgill Simpson New Song ‘The Dead Don’t Die’

It’s been a long stretch waiting for new music from Sturgill Simpson. Well, folks, the wait is over.

For those concerned that Simpson might jettison his Country Gold classic country sound, take comfort in
“The Dead Don’t Die” a standalone single off the soundtrack from indy filmmaker Jim Jarmusch’s upcoming zombie flick of the same name.

The sound is a melancholy sweetness that warms the heart and brings a tear to all lovers of barroom serenades.
Sure the subject matter is weird, but with Simpson’s smooth croon delivering the weirdness, I’m in!

“The Dead Don’t Die” opens this weekend.

The Last Waltz -Reflections and Alternate Footage

On November 25th, 1976, Thanksgiving Day, San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom was the setting for the end of an era. One that had started seventeen years earlier when Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, and Robbie Robertson aligned as The Hawks, a backing band for rockabilly pioneer Ronnie Hawkins.

The concert most famously known as ‘The Last Waltz,’ from the Martin Scorsese documentary and resulting best-selling soundtrack, was part fan’s, friend’s and peer’s celebration of a legendary band and a grand and final statement mandated by Robertson, who unilaterally wanted to end The Band as a touring entity.

Through Scorsese’s studied gaze, and his love of music, the film delivers an intimate and exuberant slice of music history But off-screen business maneuvering, lawyers and a fair amount of paranoia and hubris tainted the celebration and drove a wedge between Levon Helm and Robbie Robertson that time, and lawyers, never remedied.

As Helm recalled in his book ‘This Wheel’s on Fire’ Robertson “… was saying he was sick of it all. He wanted to keep on recording with us, but not go on the road. ‘We’re not learning anything, man. It’s not doing anything for us, and in fact it feels dangerous to me. Look what’s happening, Levon. I’m getting superstitious. Look at Dayton Stratton (a friend and associate of The Band who had died in an air crash). Every time I get on the plane I’m thinking about this stuff. The whole thing just isn’t healthy anymore.’

Set designer Boris Leven lent a deft hand in creating a cozy yet grand stage aesthetic. Using stored props from Opera Company of San Francisco’s production of Verdi’s opera ‘La Traviata’ – columns, chandeliers, crimson wall hangings – Leven grandly melded lavish pomp with living room comfort to set a fitting au revoir.

Contrast this with the ‘Cocteau Room.’ A backstage space painted white walls to ceiling, with white carpeting. Also furnished was a glass table strewn with razor blades for the express purpose of cocaine use for the gathered guests. Helm remembers Scorsese being so wired that “he talked so fast I barely understood a word he said.”

Though there’s no denying the talent and magic of some of the performances, I’m left wondering if this was a bit of thunder stealing. After a spirited full set by The Band, complete with horns arranged by Allen Toussaint, the latter portion of the bill relinquished The Band to back-up positions. Not only of their former frontmen Ronnie Hawkins and Bob Dylan but also for Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Muddy Waters, Van Morrison and others who performed their own songs.

Though this no doubt broadened the marketing potential for the movie and soundtrack I personally believe it was taking the spotlight from its proper focus, The Band and their musical legacy. Wouldn’t it have been more fitting, and appropriate if these artists were brought on to support the group in their own songs and them maybe then given one of their own? I believe so.

But it’s all history now, and the music remains. This was even more poignant to me after I happened across this great raw footage of the event. Footage that shows the performances like the crowd that night experienced it.

Let us give thanks that The Band was with us, no matter how briefly, and left a rich musical trail-blazing legacy still followed, and celebrated today.

True Detective Season Two – Top 10 Music Recommendations

True Detective

After 8 all-too-brief spellbinding and perplexingly metaphysical episodes the first season of HBO’s True Detective has finally reached its conclusion. The ending was such a hit that the millions hitting HBO GO service crashed the system for much of the show.

It’s no wonder it’s a hit.

The spirit of the show is reflected in the taunt writing of creator Nic Pizzolatto. Then there’s the stellar performances by Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as the dysfunctional Det. Rustin Spencer “Rust” Cohle and Det. Martin Eric “Marty” Hart bound together to catch a dark killer.

Another star of the series was the music selection that provided atmosphere and texture in a way that you hardly realized you were hearing songs by Wu-Tang Clan , Bob Dylan and Austin’s 13th Floor Elevators.

The soundtrack also included a great selection of Americana, country, gospel, and blues. John Lee Hooker and Slim Harpo sit aside Steve Earle , Buddy Miller , Lucinda Williams and Father John Misty.

And then there’s that stunning opening segment backed by The Handsome Family excellent performance of the T Bone Burnett-penned “Far From Any Road.” (below)

I reached out on twitter to ask folks what bands they most would like to hear on True Detective season two. Some of the choices were obvious, some surprising. All great and would fit nicely.

If Nic Pizzolatto stops by (‘sup Nic) I hope he considers some these great artists and allows them to set a tone and allow the greater exposure.

Enjoy and leave you choices in the comments.

Lincoln Durham is a consummate stage performer and brings grit, soul and blood to his craft. Perfect for end credits or a bar fight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5QGl8PgUX8

Elephant Revival’s warm and inviting sound could lull in a audience in just before a particularly gruesome bit of work.

The Ben Miller Band kicked my butt in Nashville and their performance has stuck with me. Bar scene or panning a rugged landscape.

Valerie June. Who am I kidding. Put Valerie June in any segment and she’ll steal the scene.

Lee Harvey Osmond is a master of atmosphere. He’d fit right into a scene needing a slow simmer. Love scene, hands down.

Lindi Ortega is as good as it gets. Her sound is a great fit for an opening credits or as a a pan of the killers quarters.

Slim Cessna’s Auto Club oozes chaos and menace. Add to something violent.

16 Horsepower sounds as old as the hills and as deep as a grave. Opening credits or main character reflective moment.

Hiss Golden Messenger’s darkness is always bolstered by a joyful reverence. Perfect for a moment of hoe or resolution.

Rachel Brooke was born to back a show like True Detective. Her sound is of the ages and has a playful darkness and perfect for a late-night rainy drive away from something unspeakable.

Ken Burns’ Country Music Documentary Coming to PBS in 2018

Ken Burns

I’ve been hearing about Ken Burns’ new project focusing on Country Music for over a ear. Now PBS has made it a realty b announcing that the anticipated documentary, succinctly called called “Country Music,” will air in 2018.

That will be about 5 years worth of work on the one series. Sure that’s a long time
but it helpes to keep in mind that it’s a year less than he spent on his ten-episode miniseries detailing jazz. And given Burn’s attention to detail ranging from The Civil War and the history of baseball it’s satisfying to see that there is care being applied ot a genre we all love.

The origins and fundamentals of roots, folk and country music are vast . deep at least as deep and vast as many of the topics Burns has tackled before. I have faith that this is going to be a fascinating (and lengthy) series.

From the release “The country series explores the question, “what is country music.” It will track the careers of the Carter family, Jimmie Rodgers, Bob Wills, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and others.”

“For over a century, country music has been a pivotal force in American culture, expressing the hopes, joys, fears and hardships of everyday people in songs lyrical, poignant and honest,” said PBS President Paula A. Kerger. “It is fitting that we have two of America’s master storytellers, Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan, tell the story on film of an art form that for generations has told America’s story in song.”

The documentary will follow the rise of bluegrass music with Bill Monroe and note how one of country music’s offspring – rockabilly – mutated into rock and roll in Memphis. It will show how Nashville slowly became not just the mecca of country music, but “Music City USA.” All the while, it will highlight the constant tug of war between the desire to make country music as mainstream as possible and the periodic reflexes to take it back to its roots.

That;s the part that will be interesting to me, how Burns handles the splinter threads of the genre. The aforementioned Bluegrass The Outlaws, Bakersfield and, as Steve Earle helped shepherd and deemed, “Great Credibility Scare of the Mid-1980s.”

T Bone Burnett Is Wrong

T Bone Burnett

T Bone Burnett Is Wrong

While discussing working on the Coen brothers upcoming Greenwich Village folk-movement inspired soundtrack for “Inside Llewyn Davis,” with American Songwriter singer/songwriter/producer and auteur of the austere T Bone Burnett took the occasion to deride both technology and self-promotion.

Now the negative impact of technology on the music industry, from piracy to inferior audio quality, is well documented and debated. Given Burnett’s years of expertise as a successful musician and producer he has the upper hand when discussing technology’s impact on sonic and creative part of the music industry.

Where Burnett gets it wrong is when he says:

“Self-promotion is a horrible thing. As soon as an artist self promotes he ceases to become an artist, he becomes a salesman.’

T Bone should know better.

Many early twenty century artists that influence Burnett’s dust-bowl aesthetic were quite adept at using the technology of their day to have their music heard and to make people aware of upcoming shows and new releases.. They were equally adept at the art, yes art, of self-promotion as they were songwriting and performing.

Ralph Stanley, who Burnett worked with on the Americana watershed OST for ‘O Brother Where Art Thou,” recounts in his book “Man of Constant Sorrow: My Life and Times” that he, his brother Carter, regularly made use of the self-promotion technology of the day, radio, becoming regular personalities on the local station WNVA in Norton, Virginia.

After graduating from high school, and receiving an honorable discharge from the Army, Stanley returned to Virginia where he and Carter formed a and their band, the Clinch Mountain Boys, and established themselves in Bristol, Virginia’s WCYB scheduling.

Would Burnett consider Ralph Stanley a “salesman” in the derisive vein he spoke above? I don’t think so.

But there Dr. Ralph was, utilizing the social media of his day, the radio — promoting his music and upcoming live shows at local schools and churches. In other words self-promoting.

Many of the folk artists that paved the way for Americana and country music honed their chops, both musical and self-promotional, traveling with medicine shows. These mobile infomercials arrived shortly after the Civil War and employed tumblers, dancers, fire-eaters, snake handlers, comedians and hillbilly musicians to attracted the locals with pockets full from selling their harvest. Once a crowd had formed some smooth-talking huckster pitched some panacea sure to cure all ailments.

These traveling shows might not have cured folks, but they allowed musicians to perform in front of an audience. It also taught them the importance of promotion and selling.

T Bone himself owes much of his storied career to the tools of self-promotion. After a series of post high school bands he landed a plum gig. a touring guitarist for a master of self-promotion, Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue.

In 2000, Burnett produced the soundtrack and wrote the score for the Coen Brothers film, ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’. The award-winning, best-selling soundtrack featuring Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss, Ralph Stanley, Gillian Welch and others. This not only brought rural roots and blues music back into mainstream consciousness it brought it’s creator there as well.

More movies, like Crazy Heart and I Walk the Line, and production credits for Elvis Costello, Allison Krauss and Robert Plant, B.B. King, Elton JOhn and many others looking for a particular, and lucrative, sound followed.

These gigs didn’t fall out of the sky or find just the right man the right mix of talents serendipitously. Burnett’s reputation preceded him. A reputation formed partially by talent and partially by promoting, self or otherwise.

Art and commerce has always had a thorny relationship, Cultural artifacts — visual arts, music, theatre , etc. — in modern history have always relied on state or private benefactors to assure the creator the lifestyle to create more work and, ideally, free from intrusion. This arrangement doesn’t come cheap.

It’s cliche to say the music industry is in turmoil. Much of the churn is self-inflicted apathy fueled by short-term, greedy delusion that music would always remain trapped in physical objects. And that the price of those objects would forever be dictated by the labels.

But the Genie made it out.

We now see the product is not the record/tape/disc. It’s the music. The invisible music contained within the grooves or tape has been released, forever to buy on demand, anywhere. Or to steal just as readily.

But in turmoil there;s often opportunity and affordable technology has also allowed artists to take control of their careers by allowing access to production, communication and promotion.

I respect Burnett, and everything he’s done, and continues to do, for a the Americana genre I deeply love. But the above quote exhibits a state of ideal detachment, of artistic purity, that he himself has not practiced.

This idea that is dangerous for budding artists that want to make music a sustainable vocation, as well as for fans that want to hear that music. If this advice was to be taken as gospel many trees would fall in the forest unheard.

But young artists know better. They’ve grown up in a mediated culture that not only feeds into their art but also into how they present it.

Just as Americana music has to recreate itself to thrive as a viable genre in the contemporary world, and not a cultural tinotype thick with nostalgic dust, musicians have adapted and thrived. We have more music being produced now than anytime in human history.

Burnett , of all people, should understand that self-promotion, and prudent technology use with fair and equitable reimbursement, is a age-old practice that paves a way for creativity and discovery.

Listen Up! Chris Cornell and Joy Williams “Misery Chain”

cornell joy
Photo ChrisCornell.com

12 Years a Slave is the tale of a man abducted in New York and sold into slavery. The story’s soundtrack, overseen by R&B singer John Legend, inspired an eclectic group of songwriters and performing roots, blues, pop, and R&B.

Artists represented are Gary Clark Jr., Alabama Shakes and Cody Chesnutt as well as tracks from the score by composer Hans Zimmer.

Also included is is a new cut from “Misery Chain” by Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell. This slow burner features soulful background vocals by the Civil Wars’ Joy Williams.

Cornell and Williams cut the track in Nashville and it’s produced by Charlie Peacock (The Civil Wars, Holly Williams)

Cornell told Rolling Stone “I was moved by this film and the story in a way that transcends any film experience I have ever had,” he said. “I was inspired to write a hundred different songs, but finally landed on one based on what I believe is an extremely important message I took from this man’s journey. Compassion, basic human rights and love must be our priorities above race, religion or commerce. Every generation needs a reminder of that simple idea.”

Here “Misery Chain” below.

Taylor Swift to Perform with Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, Sam Bush at Country Music Awards

video-taylor-swift-with-civil-war

Nashville’s Tennessean posts an Associated Press story “Taylor Swift invites special guests to CMA Awards.”

These “Special guests” turn out to be some roots music heavy-hitters. Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, Sam Bush, bassist Edgar Meyer and percussionist Eric Darken. They will join Swift for on the Country Music Awards “special version” of her hit song “Red.”

Swift has worked with Americana musicians in the past, most notably her Grammy-wining collaboration withe The Civil Wars for the song “Safe and Sound” for the Hunger Games soundtrack.

This allows huge exposure for these participating artists, and give Swift some gravitas and Americana cred for a future career move.

How do you feel about this announcement?

Tune in to find out November 6th on ABC. Follow me on twitter as I will live tweet thsi awards

(VIDEO ADDED)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76vj3O8402c

Another Time, Another Place: Celebrating the music of Inside Llewyn Davis benefit concert 9/29/13 [VIDEOS]

 Another Day, Another Time: Celebrating the music of Inside Llewyn Davis

I was not fortunate enough to attends the Inside Llewyn Davis benefit concert this last Sunday at New York’s Town Hall, but YouTube user Julie P did and was kind enough to share some videos of the performance which I’ve posted below.

The concert is inspired by the upcoming folk pseudo-documentary Inside Llewyn Davis by the incredible Coen brothers (O Brotehr Where Art Thou, No Country For Old Men, True Grit) The evet was produced by the Coens and the film’s Executive Music Producer T Bone Burnett. the roots music who’d=who bill included The Avett Brothers, Joan Baez, Rhiannon Giddens of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Lake Street Dive, Colin Meloy of The Decemberists, The Milk Carton Kids, Marcus Mumford, Conor Oberst, Punch Brothers, Dave Rawlings Machine, The Secret Sisters, Patti Smith, Gillian Welch and Willie Watson. The artists as well as stars from the film performed songs from the film live, as well as songs from the early 1960s that inspired it.

As more videos are posted I will add them here.

Colin Maloy, Joan Baez, and Gillian Welch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy7dNZTNem8&feature=c4-overview&list=UUkM6IBsFkHspnonQLwecdKA

Gillian Welch, Rhiannon Giddens, and Carey Mulligan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K15nU5a6Qek&feature=share&list=UUkM6IBsFkHspnonQLwecdKA

Patti Smith, Avett Brothers, Dave Rawlings + – People Have The Power
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDCLmTq_y2M&feature=c4-overview&list=UUkM6IBsFkHspnonQLwecdKA

Marcus Mumford, Oscar Isaac, and Punch Brothers “Fare Thee Well”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TstKeaP-aHk

Marcus Mumford and Joan Baez – “Corn Whiskey When I’m Dry”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIsr2bwVrz0&list=UUkM6IBsFkHspnonQLwecdKA

Marcus Mumford – “I Was Young When I Left Home” (Bob Dylan)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvVBce8hQF8&list=UUkM6IBsFkHspnonQLwecdKA

Elvis Costello, Punch Brothers, Inside Llewyn Davis actor Oscar Isaac, & Adam Driver “Please Mr. Kennedy”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzU8mz3eqTc&list=UUkM6IBsFkHspnonQLwecdKA

Watch Out! Levon Helm Covers Randy Newman’s “Kingfish” [VIDEO]

Levon Helm not in it for my health

RollinStone.com posted this great clip from Ain’t in It for My Health</em> , Jacob Hatley’s documentary on the musical legend.

The film will premiere in upstate New York on April 19th, near his famous barn where his rambles are held to this day. The opening will occur exactly one year after his passing,

The film show’s Hatley’s intimate access to Helm and follows his comeback with the Grammy-winning Dirt Farmer album. Below is a clip from the film showing Helm performing acoustic rendition of Randy Newman’s “Kingfish” his voice raspy as a result of throat cancer treatment.

From RollingStone.com “So this clip was one of the first things we shot,” says Hatley. “We were in between takes on a music video for the Dirt Farmer record and had rented out this dilapidated motel for the shoot. We were all sick of shooting this lip synched, choreographed video and wanted to hear some real music, so Levon and Little Sammy Davis went in to one of the rooms and started playing. They did about eight songs, just for the crew. There was a heart shaped jacuzzi just off frame. The motel has since burned to the ground.”