REAL Country & Muddy Blues – Brothers in Arms
Today (9-23) will be the first first official installment of Reverend Nix’s “Mojo Medicine Show” on SCM Live. The medicine show is a podcast featuring homemade music for homegrown folks, with the best in cigar box guitar, deep roots, muddy roots, slippery roots, and boiled and sauteed roots music. And on the show LIVE this week will be 17-year-old blues guitar phenom BluesBeaten Redshaw. So if you find your self with a free minute sometime between 4 & 6 PM Eastern, today or any Friday, stick your head in and give a listen, hang out in the chat room, have a good time.
Speaking of roots music, I thought I would take a moment to set some things in stone. The name of this website is Saving Country Music, but that doesn’t mean country music is all we cover, or fight for. Since the beginning I’ve talked about many artists who might be considered more blues than country, especially in the one man band movement and other artists that centered around the now deceased Deep Blues Festival.
These artists a lot of times fit right beside the REAL country artists, tour with them, share the same labels, play the same festivals. Probably the best known is Scott H Biram, but recently I’ve reviewed albums from Reverend Deadeye and Hillgrass Bluebilly’s Possessed by Paul James. I know some of the more countrified folks may not get into this kind of music, and some of the folks that come for the bluesy stuff may not like the country artists. But that’s fine, it s all one big family.
The diversity in this insurgent roots movement gives us strength. If you ask me, Scott Biram, Hillstomp, or Larry & His Flask are much more country than most of the stuff you can hear on the radio that flies that flag. Hank Williams and Jimmie Rodgers were both country bluesman, and I see that same spirit, and musical open-mindedness here. I also see the collective artists in the deep blues/muddy roots movement being ignored by the mainstream just as much as the REAL country acts, so don’t mind trying to help shine a light on this talent.
So I say lets all of us dirty, degenerate, destitute country/bluesy/post-punk roots-types put our collective lost souls together and see what kind of trouble we can create for corporate music. We may not know what to call ourselves, but we know that its our calling to keep the soul and spirit of roots music alive, and that makes us brothers in arms.
Can I get an amen?
the deserter
September 24, 2010 @ 10:08 am
Amen Trigger. Roots is roots. Country, blues, folk, whatever. Both styles borrow heavily from each other and I love all the coverage you do here. I honestly don’t think that you could talk about an artist like Biram or PPJ without mentioning both country and blues. You mentioned Jimmie Rodgers. An interesting piece of trivia I picked up was that he was idolized by the great bluesman Howling Wolf throughout childhood. You don’t hear too much in Wolf’s music but I always thought that was an interesting influence. Keep up the good work.
.Denise
September 25, 2010 @ 1:00 pm
SRV drew heavily from Howlin’ Wolf. The blues are the deep roots that make a soul feel. It’s where the real music comes from: heart and soul. Pop Country and Corporate Music doesn’t know a dang thing about it.
Ernie
September 24, 2010 @ 10:39 am
amen and hell yeah
B.J.
September 24, 2010 @ 10:50 am
Amen Brother! Preach On!
Nlindsay
September 24, 2010 @ 12:39 pm
Amen Triggerman. I’ve been hoping this would happen to the site for a LONG time. Like 2-3 years. So uh, yeah.
Amen.
Aran
September 24, 2010 @ 4:03 pm
Here here Triggerman,or amen! Country is the “white man’s blues”, and I certainly approach it that way. It was a blues picker that taught Hank Sr. to play, after all.
Ga. Outlaw
September 24, 2010 @ 7:50 pm
I first heard that saying from B.B. King. Ray Wylie Hubbard is my favorite artist right now. While he his considerd country by most I hear more blues in his music then anything else. His latest album is my favorite album of the last few years.
The Triggerman
September 24, 2010 @ 8:01 pm
I totally agree, Ray Wylie is right there, defining country blues. And his album is one of the best of the year for sure, and unfortunately will probably be overlooked by people for end-of-year accolades because it was released so early. But it’s held up all year for me.
I think I named it #5 at the half year mark. It might have moved up since then.
https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/tops-so-far-for-2010
Rev.Nix
September 24, 2010 @ 6:46 pm
What a great turn out! Thanks for the outlet Triggerman! Today was so awesome. Cant wait to see were we can take this! And Thanks to all the loyal SCM folks for stopping in also.
The Triggerman
September 24, 2010 @ 8:05 pm
What happened today with your show is what I had been envisioning in my head for probably 1 1/2 years, and finally was able to make happen: a live performance from a great musician, and a way for fans to participate and interact ALL AROUND THE WORLD!
This is powerful stuff man. This is yet another way to get music out to the people.
Nlindsay
September 24, 2010 @ 8:25 pm
Terry says “It definitely did not suck.”
Ojaioan
September 24, 2010 @ 10:48 pm
Once again…missed the myspace loop. Would liked to have given a listen.
Jammin
September 25, 2010 @ 4:48 am
Is there any way to have a link to catch the show, for those of us that missed it.
Rev.Nix
September 25, 2010 @ 8:26 am
Yes im editing it down and will post by the end of weekend.
The Triggerman
September 25, 2010 @ 1:55 pm
I put out links to this on MySpace, and there’s a link to this blog on the MySpace blog. Sorry if you did not see it. I do my best to get info out through MySpace, but sometimes MySpace doesn’t supply it to the right people. They completely eliminated bulletins this week and now rely solely on the “stream” where I posted a link, but sometimes you see links there, sometimes you don’t. I’m doing the best I can.
Gillian
September 25, 2010 @ 11:39 am
A M E N !
Rev.Nix
September 25, 2010 @ 5:25 pm
Its up on my website….http://www.cigarboxradio.com/
michiel
September 27, 2010 @ 3:19 pm
I’ll give a big amen to that Triggerman. I’ve been calling it American Music for masny years. Since the Blasters’ debut got out on cd I started every new season of my (long deceased) radioshow with the titletrack of that album. It’s about real music, I am a big fan of Scott H. Biram. Anyone remembers Mojo Nixon? Saving Country Music is about keeping it real. The best music comes from the heart.
alex_supertramp
September 28, 2010 @ 8:36 am
Since it is basically on topic, I wanted to take a chance to highlight a terrific organization in my old neck of the woods that is fighting a similar fight for REAL blues and country – the Music Maker Relief Foundation (http://www.musicmaker.org) … their goal is to “help the true pioneers and forgotten heroes of Southern Music gain recognition and meet their daily needs”… fantastic folks and tremendous music… peruse the store and check out their festival offerings and if you get a chance to see some of the artists on tour you’ll be better off for it! Tends a bit more towards the traditional blues than SCM, but talk about the ROOTS of the music we all LOVE, this is IT…
and Triggerman, hell yeah and AMEN brother… keep up the good fight….
Denise
October 2, 2010 @ 9:15 am
Bluesbeaten Redshaw is righteous on the cigarbox! Bo Diddlely! Gives me hope for the future of music. Amen.
Cassandra
October 4, 2010 @ 3:07 am
uh…I presume you are referring to Jimmie (not Jimmy) Rodgers?
The Triggerman
October 4, 2010 @ 8:22 am
uh . . .Sure!
BCM
July 5, 2012 @ 7:19 am
TWO GUNS UP!