Despite Nashville’s best efforts to sanitize it for mass-consumption country and roots music has a long history of dealing with the dark side of life. Murder, violence, inebriation, the Devil, graveyards -  all the classic themes that also weave through All Hallows Eve are there. Hard times,  hard feelings and the tension between a righteous life and the tugs of temptation have led to some of the best music made. Gothic Country bands revel in dark misery like Carrie White drenched in pig’s blood. Except without all the telekinetic smiting. Enjoy!

10.  Those Poor Bastards: This World Is Evil -  There are few Gothic Country bands thatrepresent the genre so thouroughly as TPB. This World Is Evil is a prime example of the wretched wonder that they bring to thir live show.

9.  Reverend Glasseye: 17 Lashes - 17 Lashes is a horns-driven dark sea shanty by Austin-based Rev. Glasseye (Adam Glasseye ex-member of Slim Cessna’s Auto Club) worthy of going down with the ship with.

8.  Munly & the Lee Lewis Harlots: Amen Corner – This is a side project for Munly Munly, the front man for Slim Cessna’s Auto Club. It’s a yelping slice of brooding goodness.

7.  Sixteen Horsepower: Wayfaring Stranger – This is a live version of  Wayfaring Stranger from Club Lek, January 26 2000. 16 HP is no longer a band but this is a great testament of a man meeting his maker.

6. Scott H Biram: Blood, Sweat & Murder – Austin’s Dirty Ol’ One Man Band’s excellent gutbucket murder tune.

5. Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers:  Agony Wagon – Part Western-noir and part klezmer band Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers’ Agony Wagon is a frantic plummet into the pit of hell.

4. Creech Holler: Pretty Polly -A gritty take on the traditional English-language murder ballad.

3. Strawfoot: Churchyard Cough – A rousing Irish jig about the dirt nap from this fine band’s upcoming release How We Prospered.

2. Pine Box Boys: I Kept Her Heart – A boot stomping take on the murder ballad from this great San Francisco-based band.

1. O’Death: Low Tide – More frantic mayhem and doom from this New York band on what could be thier best song.

• Just in time for their return to the stage the Minneapolis-based Jayhawks Music From the North Country: The Jayhawks Anthology, their first ever compilation reflecting 20 signature songs and album tracks that span from their 1989 debut, Blue Earth, to 2003’s Rainy Day Music, is released today on American/Legacy Recordings.Reda a blogcrtics review of the album here.

• Texas music legend George Strait will release his new album Twang (great name!) in stores and online August 11th. Out Of Sight Out Of Mind and Living For The Night were co-written by George’s son Bubba and Arkansas Dave was solely by Bubba. The title song and I Gotta Get To You is co-written by Americana legend Jim Lauderdale.

• Those Darlins new self-titled release is out now!

• HearYa.com reviews Texas musician Scott H. Biram’s latest Bloodshot Records release Something’s Wrong/Lost Forever.

• Remember that old article on the Bottle Rockets you saw in No Depression years ago? Now where do you put that darn thing? No need to fret, NoDepression.com has released their full archives online for your reading pleasure.

The Canadian late night talk show the Hour has a great interview with Steve Earle.  Earle talks abut making his career and his newest release Townes, a tribute to his mentor Townes Van Zandt and recounts some great stories with his time with Townes. The snake wrangler story is worth the watch!

Jim Fusilli at the Wall Street Journal (wsj.com) reviews the Steve Martin Concert at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City. Martin, Supported by the Steep Canyon Rangers, performed work from his latest bluegrass release “The Crow—New Songs for the Five-String Banjo” (Rounder)

John Jurgensen, also of the Wall Street Journal,  covers the upcoming Elvis Costello twang-tinged release Secret, Profane & Sugarcane, Costello’s varied career and his thoughts on the current state of the record industry. The album was cut in three day in Nashville and is produced by Americana-roots journeyman T-Bone Burnett (who Costello collaberted with on 1986’s King of America) and featured Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Jim Lauderdale.

Whitney Self  at the CMT.com blog reviews the recent Jamey Johnson show at Nashville’s legendary Ryman Auditorium and and states is the rowdiest (and drunkest)  he’s ever seen at the venue.

AamericanaRoots.com give sa listeds to the new Scott H. Biram Bloodshot release Something’s Wrong/Lost Forever.

Kevin Ransom at Ann Arbor’s Mlive.com interviews Austin’s guit-steel master Junior Brown.

• The wonder that is Juli Thaki posts a nice review over on the Washington Post site (the big time!) of Wayne Hancock’s show Tuesday night at Arlington, Virginia’s IOTA club.

• NineBullets.net has some good things to say about the new Scott H Biram’s Blooshot Records release Something’s Wrong / Lost Forever.

• HearYa.com celibrates the memory of ex-Wilco member Jay Bennett.

• Kelly Dearmore at Twangville.com (no relation) praises the new The Dexateens release Singlewide.

• A new Magnolia Electric co. album josephine will be released by secretly canadian on july 21st, 2009. Get a free mp3 of the title track over in the Magnolia Electric co.web site. In support the record they’ll head out july 10th on a month long tour crossing the U.S followed by a few weeks of full-band touring in Europe.

• An benefit album to help Evan Phillips, – the principle songwriter for acclaimed Alaskan alt.country rock band The Whipsaws – pay medical costs associated with a debilitating chronic injury he sustained 7 years ago climbing is tentatively scheduled to release in Alaska and online on June 15. The album features acclaimed roots and alt.country artists like T, Nile, Matt Hopper, Aaron Lee Tasjan, The Devil Whales, Marty Jones and more all covering Phillips songs. Check the official MySpace site for more information and to listen to cuts from featured artists.

• Ray Charles’ classic country masterpieces Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music, VOL 1 & 2 to be Reissued by Concord Records – JUNE 2. The two albums, which featured the hits  “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” “Take These Chains From My Heart” and “You Don’t Know Me,” will be reissued together in an expanded reissue.  New liner notes by musicologist Bill Dahl are included along with  original notes by Rick Ward and Charles’ longtime recording supervisor Sid Feller.

• The new Bloodshot release by Scott H. Biram, “Something’s Wrong/Lost Forever,” drops today.

• Here’s an EPK for Levon Helm’s upcoming release Electric Dirt (Dirt Farmer Music/Vanguard Records)

• Chris Knight has posted a MySpace bulletin that he and his band will be playing a show to benefit the 8th grade class at Slaughters Elementary in his hometown of Slaughters, Kentucky.The show will take place this Saturday, March 7, 2009 @ Webster County High- 1922 US HWY 41 A South, Dixon, KY 7:00 PM — $20.00 – For tickets call (270) 635-5519 or (270) 871-2507

• Rachel Brooke has a posted a new demo on her MySpace page entitled City Of Shame. Brook writes that the song will most likely be on her upcoming new album.

• Our thoughts go out to Texas’ own ‘Dirty Old One Man Band’ Scott H Biram who after his last show in Europe suffered a compound fracture in the leg he uses on the his stomp board during performance. He is currently in a French hospital after surgery to implant yet another titanium rod in his leg (where another already exists due to a run in with a Semi a few years back.) It looks like he will be put on a plane home Saturday and can then heal in the good ole USA where its home but where insurance and reasonably priced medical care aren’t available to musicians. Go help the boy out and but some of his CDs and swag!
  

• Wayne “The Train” Hancock announces on his web site that his new release for Bloodshot records “Viper of Melody” is tentatively set to be released in April.  Wayne’s current tour line up of Izzy Zaidman on lead guitar, Huck Johnson on Standup Bass, and Tony Locke on steel guitar will be featured on the release.

• Scott H. Biram’s new release, also for Bloodshot records, “Something’s Wrong/Lost Forever” is tentatively set to be released in June. Biram’s past art professor and accomplished artist and graphic designer, Mark Todd, is creating the cover art. Some tracks to be included are “Sinkin’ Down”, “Still Drunk, Still Crazy, Still Blue” and “Judgement Day”. The Black Diamond Heavies will appear on a cover of Muddy Waters’ “I Feel So Good” written by Big Bill Broonzy, and John Meyers of The Black Diamond Heavies appears on Biram’s original “Hard Time”. Biram will be touring  Europe  starting on Jan 24th in London and then heading back home to Austin, Texas to play the SXSW festival

• Been craving some fresh tracks from that “dirty old one man band” from Austin, Texas Scott H. Biram? Ivy League Sessions has the remedy for ails you friends. Three unreleased cuts fresh from the man an 18 Wheelercouldn’t kill.

• Speaking of Austin, the good folks at the exceptional 9513 have a review of Melonie Cannon’s new sophomore release, And the Wheels Turn. 9513 thinks the the release might teach the pop-country divas currently in vogue a thing or two about writing and performing.

• You know Joe The Plumber, right? Joe Wurzelbacher is the an Ohio plumber (though has no plumber’s license and apparently believes he doesn’t need on) that approached Barack Obama to ask how his tax plans might effect a plumbing company he was looking to buy and was then mentioned by McCain in the the last Presidentail debate 12 times as an example of the working class? Seems he’s using his new found celibrity status to seek a country music recording contract…oh and to bash Obama on Isreal.

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)

Want to bring in the New Year on a real low-down and rowdy note? Then your best bet in the Austin, TX area is to head over to Emo’s New Years Eve to catch the Dirty One-Man Band with 9-lives Scott H. Biram. Flame Trick Subs and Hotrod Hillbillies Support.

Tickets available at Waterloo records.