Remember those that gave all.

The Americana Music Association announced the nominees for the trade organization’s 2009 Honors and Awards ceremony today at its annual celebration at BMI Nashville. The show, in its eighth year, will be held Thursday, September 17 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.

I’ve attended the conference and showcase for the last three years and it’s always an amazing time. I don’t agree with all the nominees, and as a member of the organization I voted accordingly. But one thing is for certain, every nominee kicks the shit out of 99% of the CMA Awards.

The 2009 Americana Music Association Honors and Awards Nominees are:

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Real Animal, by Alejandro Escovedo
Written in Chalk, by Buddy & Julie Miller
Jason Isbell & The 40 Unit, by Jason Isbell & The 40 Unit
Midnight At The Movies, by Justin Townes Earle

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Alejandro Escovedo
Buddy Miller
Justin Townes Earle
Raul Malo

INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR

Buddy Miller
Gurf Morlix
Jerry Douglas
Sam Bush

NEW & EMERGING ARTIST

Band of Heathens
Belleville Outfit
Justin Townes Earle
Sarah Borges

SONG OF THE YEAR

“Chalk,” written by Julie Miller, performed by Buddy Miller & Patty Griffin
“Country Love” by the Gourds
“Homeland Refugee,” by Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Butch Hancock, performed by the Flatlanders
“Rattlin’ Bones” by Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson, performed by Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson
“Sex And Gasoline,” by Rodney Crowell, performed by Rodney Crowell

DUO GROUP OF THE YEAR

Buddy & Julie Miller
Flatlanders
Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson
Reckless Kelly

If your in the Bay Aarea tonight and are hankering for some riughtous roots flaovored honky-tonk and alt.country Southern rock (wheew!) head over to the The Independent tonight in San Franciscoto see Justin Townes Earle opening for ex-Drive By Trucker Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit.  Personally I think the bill should be reversed, but that’s me…

Justin Townes Earle – Mama’s Eyes – Live at SxSW 2009

Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit – Soldiers Get Strange

• The always excellent mp3 blog HearYa has offered up some in studio choice cuts from RiotGrrrrl hillbilly trio, and TwangNation favorite,  Those Darlins.

• Speaking of free downloads, Largehearted Boy has some rare and legal downloads from the likes of Kelly Joe Phelps, Mark Olson and Gary Louris, Son Volt, Steve Earle and Jason Isbell.

• If you tuned in to watch watch Fabchannel’s live webcast of Neko Case from Amsterdam Sunday you were probably pretty surprised that it didn’t seem to work. Unfortunately, the webcast didn’t happen because Neko fell ill and was unable to play. More information can be found  on her official site. Case is rescheduling her performance for sometime in August or September.

• Eleven Hundred Springs will be presenting the Country Jam Concert Series featuring EHS, Jesse Dayton, the Tejas Brothers and Deke Dickerson. The show will take place at Dallas’ Double-Wide bar on April 24th, things get started at 8pm.

Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit announce their first tour in support of their new self-titled album (Release date: February 17, 2009 on Lightning Rod Records). Presented by Paste Magazine, the tour will begin in Birmingham, AL on February 12 and continue through the band’s mid-March SXSW showcase in Austin, TX. Benji Hughes, Deer Tick, and Sons of Roswell will support select dates.

Fans can pre-order concert tickets through Front Gate Tickets from now until December 19. Pre-order ticket buyers will also receive a one-year subscription to Paste Magazine and an MP3 of “Seven-Mile Island” (You can hear the cut on Isbell’s MySpace page)   from the new album.

Pre0Order:  http://jasonisbell.frontgatetickets.com/

Tour Dates:

Thu-Feb-12 Birmingham, AL Workplay
Sat-Feb-14 Florence, AL Shoals Theater
Tue-Feb-17  Athens, GA Georgia Theatre
Wed-Feb-18 Atlanta, GA The Earl
Fri-Feb-20 Raleigh, NC Lincoln Theatre
Sat-Feb-21 Richmond, VA  The National
Sun-Feb-22 Harrisonburg, VA The Pub
Tue-Feb-24 Boston, MA TT the Bears
Thu-Feb-26 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
Fri-Feb-27 Philadelphia, PA    World Café Live
Sat-Feb-28  Pittsburgh, PA Club Cafe
Sun-Mar-01 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Mon-Mar-02 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom
Wed-Mar-04 Toronto, ONT  Horseshoe Tavern
Thu-Mar-05 Buffalo, NY Mohawk Place
Fri-Mar-06 Columbus, OH The Rumba Café
Sat-Mar-07 Cincinnati, OH Southgate House
Sun-Mar-08 Asheville, NC Orange Peel
Fri-Mar-13 Louisville, KY Headliner’s
Sat-Mar-14 Nashville, TN The Mercy Lounge
Mar 18 – 22 Austin, TX SXSW

Sons of Roswell support 2/12 and 2/14
Benji Hughes supports 2/17 – 2/ 22 and 3/8
Deer Tick supports 2/24, 2/27 – 3/14

Former Drive By Trucker Jason Isbell is readying the self-titled release of his second solo album. The release was recorded at the renowned FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Ala. and will be the first to feature the 400 Unit, which has been Isbell’s band for over 200 shows in support of irens Of The Ditch.

The 400 Unit features Derry deBorja on keyboards, Jimbo Hart on bass and Browan Lollar on guitar. Isbell co-produced the album with Matt Pence, who also lends his dumming talents to the lineup.

The release has a Feb. 17, 2009 drop date, but tracks can be heard now on Isbell’s MySpace page.

Tracklist:

1.  Seven-Mile Island
2.  Sunstroke
3.  Good
4.  Cigarettes and Wine
5.  However Long
6.  Coda
7.  The Blue
8.  No Choice in the Matter
9.  Soldiers Get Strange
10. Streetlights
11.  The Last Song I Will Write

• The Americana Music Association has released an initial list of arists that will be playing around Nashville during their music festival and conferencethis September 17-20 2008. Some of the performers will be: Jim Lauderdale, Mike Farris, Kane Welch Kaplin, The everybodyfields, The SteelDrivers, Tift Merritt, Jason & the Scorchers, Joe Ely, Malcolm Holcombe, Rosie Flores, Band of Heathens, Laura Cantrell, Cross Canadian Ragweed, James McMurtry, Jason Isbell and much much more.

• The drop date for Chris knight’s new album, Heart of Stone, has been pushed back to September 2nd due to “production issues.” Guest musicians on Heart of Stone include Mike McAdam (Steve Earle, Radney Foster) on various guitars, Keith Christopher (Georgia Satellites, The Yayhoos) on bass, Tammy Rodgers (The SteelDrivers) fiddle and vocals, mandolin and banjo, and Michael Webb (The Wreckers, Allison Moorer) on B-3 organ, piano and accordion. Producer Dan Baird also contributes on guitar and vocals. Knight says of Heart of Stone “It might just be my best. For some reason, there’s a cohesiveness here that’s not like anything I’ve done before. But at the same time, it’s not real predictable. There’s a lot of texture to it as well, but it’s a simple record. I don’t know how that happened. But I know it when I hear it.”
• The documentary “Johnny Cash: The Man, His World, His Music” will air on PBS stations tomorrow night. The film is directed by Robert Elfstrom and is a “cinema vérité look at Cash.”  PBS produced the documentary almost 40 years ago (!) Robert Elfstrom also takes some time to answer some questions for the the Tennessean (via the 9513)

It’s great to see all the Sailors walking New York City in their dress whites! This goes out to the brave folks that risk it all to protect us.

“Dress Blues” – Jason Isbell

Ex-Drive By Trucker Jason Isbell and his backing band the 400 Unit will celebrate tax day (April 15, for all you rich people) trying to pick up a little bank by releasing a live 6 song EP. “Twist & Shout” (New West Records) was recorded at the Twist and Shout in Birmingham, Alabama back on 11-16-07. After seeing Isbell and his band put on a great show over the summer I’m thinking this is probably just a quarter of the full show. Why not the full show New West? I’m especially disappointed about the decision not to include my favorite cut from Isbell’s solo release “Dress Blues” but I am glade to see the inclusion of some of his great DBT cuts.

Track listing:

1. Grown
2. Goddamn Lonely Love
3. Hurricanes and Hand Grenades
4. Danko/Manuel
5. Outfit
6. Into The Mystic

Jason Isbell – Dress Blues

I just got wind that just before after a gig in San Fransisco Jason Isbell and his band 400 Unit had their instruments stolen. Then his drummer abruptly quit and his label (New West) flew in Son Volt’s drummer and bought new equipment. The band are rehearsing and hope to continue on with their tour Wednesday in Portland.

From Isbell’s MySpace:

Touring Misfortunes

Dear fans and friends,

Leading up to the California shows, Jason had been under the weather with the flu. As the cold worsened, it became apparent that, in the best interest of Jason’s health, Jason and the 400 Unit would not be able to play Vault 350 in Long Beach.

Having taken a day off to recuperate, Jason and the 400 Unit regained positive momentum with great fan support in Los Angeles and San Francisco. It was after the San Francisco show that life threw its next unexpected punch.

On the morning of Monday, January 28, the guys discovered that their van had been forcibly broken into and that much of their gear had been stolen, including four guitars, a drum kit, an accordion, and a laptop computer. Considering the technical and emotional deflation that they experienced, the guys were left with no choice but to cancel the scheduled in-store performance at Dimple and evening show at Harlow’s in Sacramento.

Now, with a repaired van window, replacement gear on the way, and Portland, Oregon on the horizon, Jason and the 400 Unit continue to forage ahead.

For the canceled shows and appearances we sincerely apologize, and we greatly appreciate your understanding. As Jason and the 400 Unit roll into your hometown, greet them with cheers and energy, as your undying support will be vital to their success in this otherwise trying time.

I’ll post more as I hear it.