Album Review – Dale Watson’s “Carryin’ On”

(Carryin’ On is on sale right now for $6.99.)

I’ll be strait up honest with you. When it comes to Dale Watson, there is no bigger fan than your lovable, huggable Triggerman. However when it comes to his albums, it can be…well…hit and miss.

I thought with his last two albums, they had their moments, but the concept got in the way of the music. Surfing through the rest of his discography can be difficult. There’s so many albums, some of which are unavailable, others that you can only get in Europe. And all the time you see the question from newly christened Dale Watson disciples, “What are his best albums? Tell me where to start.” That is such a hard question. My answer is usually, Live in London, but it’s a live album, so does that really count?

So when Dale releases a new album, my expectations are tempered. Then it was revealed that Dale had used Nashville musicians while recording the album in Nashville. Things were not setting up well. Then an early reviewer lamented his polished approach to this album.

But I’ll tell you what people, I like this album. I like it a lot. This is the best Dale Watson album put out in years. It’s not groundbreaking, it won’t be an influential work. But for capturing the essence of what makes Dale Watson an artist for the ages, Carryin’ On does a better job than many of its predecessors.

Dale is a man of context. I saw him last year at Pickathon in the early afternoon on a concert stage, and the mood was lost. Dale is a honky tonker. And though he’s made a career out of anti-Nashville songs and sentiment, he’s always been slick in his live presentation. He’s a slick guy, with his slicked back hair, suave stance, and smooth guitar licks. His dirty albums were made that way without choice, or from bad decisions.

I wouldn’t want every Dale Watson album to sound as slick as Carryin’ On, but for this time and place, it’s near perfect. The standout in this album is Dale’s voice. He exhibits superlative control and wide wisdom singing his parts that come across confidently, without any sign of weakness or chipped paint even after years of honky tonkin’ and road doggin’. If Nashville had tried to strap an Auto-tuner to him, he would have fried the machine from the complexity of runs, and the diversity of volume and note changes just in a simple, short phrase. Nashville younguns take note of a master.

Nashville session players Lloyd Green, Pig Robbins, and Pete Wade do a bang up job fitting tones and textures to Dale’s songwriting, and rise to the occasion of accompanying Dale’s masterful vocal performances. Sure this is the Nashville sound, but it’s the Nashville sound of 20 years ago, giving it a uniqueness and heart that pulls a nostalgic feeling from the REAL country fan. There’s a lot of by-gone Merle Haggard and George Jones in this album that make it fit like a familiar ball cap, nice and snug into your little music world.

“Hey Brown Bottle” and “I’ll Show Ya” are instant Dale classics, destined to be requested without rest at Austin’s Continental Club or Broken Spoke for years to come, and together they bookmark the breath of Dale’s style and ability. Title track “Carryin’ On” grows on you like Dale’s smile that makes every woman wonder where his relationship status stands as he flashes it across a two-stepping floor full of Lone Star beer. And “Hello, I’m An Old Country Song” takes a more wise, but still pointed and poinignant approach to Dale’s protest of the direction of country, and will fit strongly beside “Nashville Rash” and others as a solid signature song.

There are some weakly-written songs here, but in most cases the simplicity of the songwriting is drowned by Dale’s dizzying vocals. Though “Flowers in Your Hair” offers little lyrically, your mind tends to focus on Dales voice and the words are forgiven or overlooked. One thing I didn’t like about the Nashville session approach was the drums. With your finger on fast forward through the weaker tracks, you wouldn’t notice it. But taken as a whole, the lack of any creativity or direction with the production keeps reminding me of when Ween as a gimmick went to Nashville and recorded 12 Golden Country Greats. More could have been done to separate the underlying sounds in this album to help set the individual tracks apart and keep it fresh throughout.

Still, this album works for me. Dale heard something in his head, set out to do it, and I think it was accomplished, and accomplished well. There are plenty of more raw-sounding Dale Watson albums out there. I am going to enjoy this one for what it brings to the table: some great new songs, a slick approach, and Dale’s spectacular voice now bottled in its purest form for eternity.

Two guns up!

Dale Watson’s “Carryin’ On” Due Out Aug. 24th

Dale Watson has ready a new album called Carryin’ On, and it will be released on August 24th via Koch Records.

Dale has made a country music career out of defying convention, but he defies his own convention with this new album. As discussed in Separating Music City From Music Row, the writer of “Nashville Rash” recorded the album at Nashville’s Hilltop Studios, and used legendary Nashville session players Lloyd Green, Hargus Robbins, and Pete Wade.

From The Tennessean:

“People say, ‘What are you doing? You hate Nashville. But I don’t hate Nashville. I hate what has been done to the music that I love, the music that came from Nashville and that was invented in Nashville. I’m 100 percent inspired by what Nashville was.”

Apparently Koch Records did not pick Dale, Dale picked them. He funded the album himself, and then sought out distribution.

“I knew the only way to make a record like this was to keep the labels out of it. I financed it myself. It cost me a lot of money, but I don’t do this for the money. This was the dream record for me. It’s been my dream to get a record done in this town, in Nashville, in the way I knew it could be done.”

Carryin’ On can be pre-ordered HERE, and as album artwork, track list and previews get populated, you should be able to find them there as well.

Album Review – Lucky Tubb’s Hillbilly Fever

Wow. Well if you head isn’t already spinning from the caliber of recent REAL country music releases, it will be now. Lucky Tubb & The Modern Day Troubadours team up with the legendary Wayne “The Train” Hancock for an old school comic book style dynamic duo one two punch to the gut of mainstream pop country frappety crap! This is country music for the rest of us. This is music for the folks that “get it.” Hillbilly Fever is sick. It’s the disease you need, so catch it, and then spread it like a bad rash!

With Hillbilly Fever Lucky keeps his tradition alive of making very traditional-sounding albums, and that’s why inviting Wayne Hancock on for a couple of tracks makes perfect sense. Yeah the spoon fed will spit this out as being “too hokey” but who needs them and their GAP reproduction pearl snaps made in China? Feed ‘em fish heads, this is country music the way we like it.

Lucky starts off with an original called “Ramblin,” which despite the “Rambin’ Man” wishing well being tapped so many times in music Steve Martin parodied it no less than 35 years ago, this song still works on me.

“Well I’ve been a rambin’, I’ve been a gamblin’
Walking the blade of a double edged knife
8 stale Cheetos, half dead burritos
Drinkin’ beer for breakfast just to stay alive.”

“Ramblin” sets the table for what is an album with very smart and tasteful arrangement, and hits the bulls-eye when it comes to setting the tempo. Subtle organ makes a soft bed for the song and drives home the rhythm at the end of phrases, while Casey “The Barber” Gill’s thumping standup is like a pacemaker for the easy-living country heart.

Just like Lucky’s last one, this album features songs from the Tubb bloodline. Glenn Tubb, maybe one of the most prolific and underrated songwriters of all time, contributes “You Sure Look Lonesome,” and “Tired of What You Don’t Do,” and Talmage chimes in with “Blue Monday Blues.” Listening to these songs I am reminded that Lucky is not just a fresh character in the underground country scene, he is also the latest, if not last in the Tubb country music lineage to carry a banner that honestly is not ballyhooed near enough.

There’s also plenty of reminders that this isn’t just Lucky, but a fully stocked tank of talent behind him in the Troubadours. Natalie Page writes and sings “Honky Tonkin’ Is All We Got,” which despite its retro setting, carries an all too modern theme about being in a fun relationship with no soul, but sung by Natalie with soul aplenty. I also can’t say enough about Casey Gill on bass, who is true soul of the band.

The Wayne Hancock duet’s of the old George Vaughn tune “Hillbilly Fever” and the Lucky/Hancock co-written “West” make this album worth ponying up for if nothing else does. Sure there’s the oddity of the two artists collaborating, but the collaboration just works. Some may think since both artist work in traditional ways, what’s the difference? “West” really points that out the differences as it bridges the two styles, with the bass line and lyrics more like a Hancock song than one by Lucky.

Sure, the average consumer couldn’t tell the difference. But like a seasoned bird watcher who appreciates the subtleties between the male and female of a species, watching the two artists bridge styles, Hancock’s being more Hank Williams blended with Texas swing, and Lucky’s being more Tubby/Lefty/Hank Snow mix, is exciting for all of us old school fogey fools born in the wrong era. Hancock is solid as always, and after touring with Hank III last year and now this album, Lucky has officially courted two of the three names that in the early oughts made the triumvirate of REAL country, Dale Watson being the last to tackle.

My favorite songs on the album, just like on his last album Damn The Luck, are the tunes that Lucky wrote himself. “Ramblin” and “Not At All,” are the standouts for me. Lucky has a unique cadence and delivery of his lyrics that is most present when you see him live, and when he sings his own songs. That vocal delivery is really what sets him apart, and is his unique talent.

The production by James Stevens is excellent, but there were a few times I thought it was a little heavy handed, with some of the backing vocals and with the weird chorus-like moaning on “You Sure Look Lonesome.”

Also as I was nearing the end of this album, I was thirsting for some more variety. Well right on cue Lucky delivers a shot right out of left field with the ghost track that I’m told by my insiders is called “Rain.” This is a super cool Tom Waits-esque shift in gears that adds a whole new dynamic to Lucky, and this album. Alone the song maybe apes Waits more that being Lucky’s take on his style, but as a hidden track, I give it more latitude. Put this song in the middle of the album and it goes over like a poop in a punch bowl. Bury it at the end, and it completes it.

His last album Damn The Luck I thought had a few better songs, but I think this is a better album.

GET THE HILLBILLY FEVER !!

Album Review -Hank III’s The Rebel Within

I’m going to have a lot to say about this record, but the upshot is that its damn good. It is an improvement from Hank III’s last offering Damn Right, Rebel Proud. It may not be his best album, or the album of the year, but considering all the different factors Hank had to juggle when making it, he hit just about as close to the bulls-eye as anyone could expect.

Hank has been in a 14-year battle with his label Curb Records, and while making this album he had to ask himself, “Do I make it with his best material available, and hand the rights of those top-notch songs over to my mortal enemy so they can continue to fill their filthy coffers even after I leave?” He’s publicly said that once he’s done with Curb (which happens after this album release), he wants to be independent, mainly because he wants to reserve all his music rights.

But if he puts out a dud, he jeopardizes the loyalty of his famously loyal fan base. Hank has to keep his fan’s attention to proceed without label support. And that’s another issue: the fans.

EVERYBODY seems to have an opinion about what Hank III should be doing with his music. He cut his teeth as a neo-traditionalist, but his album Straight to Hell, considered his masterpiece, created an influx of punk and metal fans into the Hank III fan base, and into country music in general. Now the traditionalists and metalheads are going 9 rounds over what direction they think Hank III’s music should go, and Hank III has gone from being the most revered man in underground country to being one of the most polarizing.

And EVERYONE wants to compare any new Hank III album to his previous ones. Hank III might have started this trend, famously saying “Damn Right, Rebel Proud ain’t shit compared to Straight to Hell,” a message still on his MySpace page. But is every Willie album compared to Red Headed Stranger? Can’t we judge subsequent albums, good or bad, on their own merit?

Somehow, someway, with all these balls in the air, Hank III has figured out how to strike a balance between warring forces, and not forget that the way for him to make the best album possible is to listen to his heart.

The Rebel Within has those traditional country elements that his country fans crave, and a little of the metal edge to keep red meat in the bellies of the folks in black. And it does so fairly seamlessly. It doesn’t feel like “oh here’s another metal country song,” the album just flows. There’s some new sounds here too, new for Hank III, and new, period.

This album is Hank III settling into a sort of early Hank Jr., late Waylon, Johnny Paycheck-esque “hard” country style. He’s not reinventing the wheel; he already did that once, and if he does it again it might as well be when the Curb leech is off his ass. He doesn’t wow you with his songwriting, though it does have it moments. This is more of a party album, even more than his previous two.

The standout tracks for me were “Lookin’ for a Mountain,” “Karmageddon,” and “Tore Up & Loud.” Many people are calling the first the “Waylon Song,” and yes it has that identifiable two note bass line. But it also opens up a new theme for Hank. He’s always said he prefers the simple life, cutting the grass and running the dogs, and this song delves into the yearning for simplicity we all have.

“Karmageddon” is one of the “new sounds.” It comes across as plain weird at first, but multiple listens reveal its genius. Down the road we might look back at this song as a hint of the direction Hank III goes post-Curb. “Tore Up & Loud,” is just Hank III doing what made Hank III famous, but unlike some of the “hellraising” songs of Damn Right, Rebel Proud, this one works. The production isn’t overdone, and the heavy metal elements blend with the country elements smoothly. This is Hank III. This blend is his contribution to country music.

In some ways, this album made me judge Damn Right, Rebel Proud even more harshly. I’ve always said it was an album of good songs buried with poor production, a sentiment Hank III has asserted himself. But again, let’s look at this album on its own merit. The production of Rebel Within is clean and balanced. It’s more country, but not in a way that usurps Hank III’s country/metal blend. Simply put, the album works.

Some will complain that the drinking songs are too much. I agree that Hank should open up some new song themes in the future, though he starts down this path in this album. But Hank III reinvigorated the ‘hellraising” attitude in country. One of the reasons it seems overused is because Hank inspired an army of copycats who can’t craft an original idea, throwing out “whiskey,devil, cocaine” references with no direction or purpose.

My least favorite song is the title track, with the “screams” feeling out of place and dragging down an otherwise good song.

If handed this album and told to grade it, I would give it a B+. But knowing the challenges facing Hank III in making it, I give him an A.

It seems everyone wants to criticize Hank III, second guess him, pontificate of how he should live his life and what direction his music should go. I’d like to see those people try to fill the biggest boots ever handed down in country music while fighting off a malevolent music label. I say just enjoy the music, that is what it is there for. And if you can’t, leave it.

But don’t forget who brought you back into country music after years of disappointment from the mainstream. Don’t forget who introduced you to country music when you were listening to who knows what kind of filth. Don’t forget who introduced you to Wayne Hancock and Dale Watson, and a slew of other musicians who have changed the very complexion of your life, brought you countless joy, helped you through endless sorrow. Don’t forget who made you feel hope that maybe everything in country music isn’t lost. Don’t forget who introduced you to countless other fans who now feel like family. Don’t forget who made the music that was there for you when nobody and nothing else was.

If it wasn’t for Hank III, I wouldn’t be here. If it wasn’t for Hank III, YOU wouldn’t be here. Hank III created all of this: this genre, this scene, this website, your interest, everything. We may not even be able to agree what to call this music, but we can all agree to call Hank III the king of it, and always will be, whether he puts out another country album or not.

The best place to purchase or pre-order ANY album is through your local record store. But if you can’t, you can pre-order the album through Amazon by CLICKING HERE.

Note: Long time artist for Hank III Keith Neltner, who did his last two album covers did NOT do the cover art for this project.

Also for everyone hoping that now Hank III is free we might see a double disc dump of some of the best country music we’ve ever heard, don’t hold your breath. Sure, Hank III probably put some songs in the can until Curb was in the rear view, but we might not see another pure country project for years. Hank has a lot to sort out, and anyone who thinks they know what is coming up is high.

Separating Music City From Music Row

Nashville was lucky. During the early 20th Century, many cities could have ended up with the “Music City” moniker. Tulsa had a bustling music scene, with Bob Wills playing weekly at Cain’s ballroom. Bakersfield, CA had the best recording studios west of the Mississippi and was a magnet for the Southern talent that had migrated during the Depression. Shreveport, LA had the Louisiana Hayride, where Elvis got his start, and so many others.

But Nashville had WSM and the Grand Ole Opry. And the Grand Ole Opry had Hank Williams.

We tend to trash Nashville so easily these days. I am as guilty as any. It’s hip, and it’s only fair because Nashville deserves it . . . or at least institutions that call Nashville home do.

A while back Chris Scruggs of BR549 and other projects said in a Nashville Scene interview:

“People say, “Oh, you know, country music went bad,” and they like to blame it on Nashville. People say, “I can’t stand Nashville for what it’s done to country music.” Nashville was the home of Hank Williams, Roy Acuff, Ernest Tubb, Loretta Lynn and Kitty Wells. To blame Nashville for the state of country music is like blaming the house for being robbed. People came, cheapened it, and they took away a lot of the magic. That’s not Nashville’s fault, it’s the industry’s fault, and it’s the same industry that’s responsible for a lot of the mediocre rock music you get nowadays too. Country fans feel so betrayed by Nashville as a city and I’d like to champion Nashville and say that no, Nashville is still a good place.”

Yesterday it was revealed in The Tennessean that Dale Watson, performer of “Nashville Rash” and other anti-Nashville songs recorded his latest album at the Hilltop Recording Studio in Music City, and used Nashville players. Dale defended the decision by saying:

“People say, ‘What are you doing? You hate Nashville.’ But I don’t hate Nashville. I hate what has been done to the music that I love, the music that came from Nashville and that was invented in Nashville. I’m 100 percent inspired by what Nashville was.”

So should we separate the city from its seedy industry? Not so fast. Distinguishing the industry from the individuals that call Nashville home, or recognizing the history is one thing. However remember back in February, when the Nashville City Council voted to eminent domain the Musician’s Hall of Fame? They bulldozed a site dedicated to music to erect another tool of industry. The President of the Musicians Union at the time said:

“…all people are gonna remember is that the city of Nashville took a building that was honoring musicians in an eminent-domain court proceeding and that to me is a black mark on the city of Nashville…and that’s not gonna go away overnight.”

This year Nashville sent Janet Miller of the Nashville-area Chamber of Commerce to Austin’s SXSW Festival to “Defend the Music City Brand.” They passed out this survey to some 20,000 attendees to “find out how Nashville is perceived.”

Nashville on the surface seems to understand that it must preserve its “Music City” name, but their approach seems to be all symbolism and no substance. Billboards, commercials, and little music notes on manhole covers downtown will not replace actual notes of music being played in Nashville, or preserved in historical landmarks threatened by eminent domain. If the trend continues, those manhole covers will be like the tombstones of what Music City was.

There is a battle right now for the heart of country music, and as goes that battle, so does the city that country music calls home, for now.

“You can’t grow if you rip your roots out of the ground,
It looks like that Nashville Rash is gettin’ around

Billy Joe Shaver Found Not Guilty !!!

Outlaw country music legend Billy Joe Shaver was found not guilty for shooting Billy Coker with a .22 pistol outside Papa Joe’s Saloon in Lorena, TX, on March, 31st of 2007. After less then two hours of deliberating, the jury came back with a not guilty verdict, just after 6 PM Central time according to The Statesman.

“Billy Joe Shaver grew testy during cross-examination at his aggravated assault trial today, bristling when a prosecutor suggested that he has cultivated an outlaw reputation. “More like an outcast, “ Shaver said under questioning by McLennan County Assistant District Attorney Beth Toben.”

Shaver faced up to 20 years in prison if he was found guilty. Though Shaver’s case looked grim at times during the trial, with witnesses refuting his assertions that Billy Coker had been intimidating him and that he was “fearful” and shot Coker in self defense, Shaver by all accounts never seemed scared of the verdict, booking shows for after the trial. He’s playing a gig in Houston tonight.

“I knew in my heart we would win.” Shaver said after the trial.

“The defense to aggravated assault is self defense. It’s a God given right that is recognized by our law since time began,” said Shaver’s lawyer Dick DeGuerin.

The song Where Do You Want It? written by Dale Watson did come up in the trial.

“I actually asked him “Why do you want to do this.” For one reason or another someone turned it into “Where do you want it,” Shaver said. “You’re still gonna write the song but with different lyrics,” the prosecutor Toben asked.

Shaver and his lawyer objected to that comment and caused verbal outbursts by some of the observers in state District Judge Matt Johnson’s courtroom. Shaver said that earlier he was referring to how Dale Watson had written a song called “Where do you want it,” from accounts from the original affidavit.

Shaver friends Willie Nelson and Robert Duvall showed up support Billy Joe at the trial. You can see a video of Willie from the courtroom by clicking here.

Photo from Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald

Why Whitey Morgan / Bloodshot Signing is Big

As I first reported here, Michigan-based honky tonk band Whitey Morgan & The 78′s have signed with Chicago-based independent label Bloodshot Records. Both times I saw them at South by Southwest, their live show did not disappoint. Whitey might be the closest thing to Waylon you can see these days. There’s a lot of bands that try to ape the Waylon sound with the thumping bass drum and the simple two note bass line, but Whitey and the 78′s have found a way to re-create that soul, that swagger that Waylon’s Outlaw band had, and Whitey ain’t afraid of taking his own leads.

The reason I think the Whitey/Bloodshot signing is significant, more significant that just for the band and Bloodshot, is because it means the system is still working. Over the last decade, the music industry has been going through tremendous, merciless contraction. The fact that Bloodshot is looking for new talent, and then is able to find it means there’s still hope and upward potential for REAL country music.

And that’s the other thing that excites me, because a lot of Bloodshot’s bands are country-esque, but most blend country with something else. Whitey Morgan and he 78′s are pure country, REAL country, though at one point on stage Whitey said, “We call ourselves a honky tonk band. We don’t want to call ourselves country and have people think we play that shit that’s on the radio.”

Whitey dropped a few other interesting nuggets from stage, including that their upcoming album will be recorded at the studios of Levon Helm. He also confirmed that “Where Do You Want It,” a song by Dale Watson about Billy Joe Shaver will be on their upcoming album after Dale listened to it and gave them the thumbs up (see video I shot below for the full scoop).

The Whitey signing came about after the band toured opening for other Bloodshot artists Wayne “The Train” Hancock and the The Deadstring Brothers. I talked to bass player Jeremy Mackinder for a while about the burgeoning Michigan country music scene, and he hinted that fellow Gander country artist Rachel Brooke might be included in future touring plans.

You should check Whitey Morgan and the 78′s out if you haven’t already. That way your Whitey T-shirts will be nice and worn in when they get big and you’re bragging that you knew them before they were hot.

Live Review – Dale Watson @ The Continental Club

If you want to see Jerry Jeff Walker, the best place to see him is at Luckenbach, TX. If you want to see BR549, you should see them at Robert’s Western World in Nashville. A Dwight Yoakam concert is probably a good bet anywhere, but if you ever get the chance, Bakersfield, CA is the best place to catch him.

Same can be said for Dale Watson, and the legendary Continental Club in Austin. This is where it all begins for the authentic, charismatic country singer, that if placed on the earth 30 years previous, would be a bona fide country music superstar. He has the look, the chops, the songwriting skills, the stage presence. All he lacks it fortuitous timing, but hell, all the better for me, because all I had to blow was 5 bucks to see this man do his worst for nearly two hours.

You may think that because Dale Watson at the Continental Club is a virtual weekly event that the energy might be flat and the moments predictable, but nothing could be further from the truth. This is where Dale Watson belongs, and where you belong if you want to see him in his natural element. It’s like seeing a panther in a picture book, or having one crash your picnic.

In fact the complete lack of interest from Dale in using the event to put a pile of cash together was endearing and refreshing. The atmosphere was completely comfortable. No reminders of what websites to visit or to sign up for an email list. No merch table. It was all about the music, and for a Monday night the place was packed with a healthily diverse crowd of countrifieds, college kids, and curiosity seekers looking for the most authentic piece of true Austin, TX culture to ingest.

This was Texas, and country music, and so there was no crowding the stage. In front of Dale at any given time was a half dozen to a dozen Texas two-steppers doing their thing, and the music’s foremost focus was to keep them twirling. Dale played Willie’s “Hello Walls.” He played Charlie Rich and Merle Haggard. He played his own stuff too of course, and was accommodating to all requests. Dale also has a stage presence the likes of which I haven’t seen in a long time. His use of timing and wit in the banter between songs is even more of a lost art than the tunes he twangs out, and every budding country star could do themselves a good turn by taking studious notes on how Dale works a crowd.

Trying to be a well-informed and up-to-date Dale Watson fan can be frustrating. At any given point it seems half his albums are out of print or can only be bought in Europe. His website and MySpace are woefully neglected and out of date. In fact I thought I would miss Dale in Austin because I knew he was about to go on tour, though none of the dates could be easily found online. Some might say this is a criticism of Dale, but I think to Dale all these issues are secondary to the music.

I got a similar feeling in the Continental Club that night as I did when I first visited Luckenbach, TX: that all was right in the country music world. So many times when you attend music events in other places with underground/insurgent country artists, everything seems so tense, like they are hanging on by a string and fighting for every inch. Sure Dale has some of the most legendary and well-penned anti-pop country songs, but none of those made an appearance that night. They didn’t need to, because all those issues seemed to be miles away.

With Dale Watson and the Continental Club, everything is as it should be, and all those troubles can be saved for another day.

Here are those hard-to-find upcoming concert dates by the way:

• 13 Wednesday – Eldorado Casino Shreveport, LA
• 14 Thursday – Knucklehead’s Kansas City, MO
• 15 Friday – Lee’s Liquor Lounge Minneapolis, MN
• 16 Saturday -Wiggy Saloon Janesville, WI
• 17 Sunday – Rollie’s Sauk Rapids, MN
• 18 Monday – Martyr’s Chicago, IL
• 19 Tuesday – Beachland Tavern Cleveland, OH
• 20 Wednesday – Thunderbird cafe Pittsburgh,PA
• 22 Friday – Hill Country NY New York, NY
• 23 Saturday – Music Bar Freeport, ME
• 24 Sunday -Johnny D’s Somerville, MA
• 25 Monday -IOTA Club & Cafe Arlington, VA
• 26 Tuesday -Shenanigans Richmond, VA
• 27 Wednesday -The Pour House Raleigh, NC
• 28 Thursday – 4620 Reinvented Knoxville, TN
• 29 Friday – Smith’s Olde Bar Atlanta, GA

BIG News About Big G’s Texas Roadshow !

I am very happy to announce that Big G’s Texas Roadshow has teamed up with savingcountrymusic.com, and now on Big G’s Page (located on the site’s top gray bar) you can hear Big G’s legendary interviews with big name guests!

And this ain’t Connie Chung interviewing your favorite artists people, oh no. I know a lot of great interviewers, but Big G by far is my favorite. It’s not an interview, it is a conversation. How about spending over an hour with Hank III, or having Dale Watson live in studio talking AND picking, or hearing Big G catch up with his old friend Lucky Tubb from the road?

Well right now you can hear all three, by listening online whenever you want, or downloading it to your favorite trendy audio device. And how much does this cost you? A big ol’ bag of NOTHING!

We haven’t decided exactly when yet, but we will likely be adding new interviews each week as they become available, probably on Wednesdays or Thursdays. I’ll keep you posted, but Big G has bagged a laundry list of the who’s who in independent music to look forward to, people like Unknown Hinson, Tonya Watts, Kinky Friedman, Augie Meyers, and the list goes on and on.

Also, if you want to read about the day I spent hanging out with Big G when I was down in Texas, you can now go to outlawmagazine.com, scroll down a bit and check it out! It is the featured article at the moment, or if you don’t see it, just click on the “Texas” tab.

AND everyone should tune in to revfmradio.com this Friday night (7-31) at midnight Central, where you will hear Big G interview none other than The Triggerman himself, in the flesh! Yeah I know it’s late, but hell it’s a Friday so give the kids some NyQuil, boil a pot of coffee, and make it happen!

The Triggerman is On The Move

My heroic dry spell of shows is about to come to an end my friends, because I am hitting the road and bearing down on various ports of call to take in some of the best good ole country music this fine country has to offer! Gas prices? Meh, my plan is to keep the tank full by knocking off every Dairy Queen on my route.

Gimmie all your money and a Butterfinger Blizzard to go, OR THE TEXAS TOAST GETS IT !!!

FIRST STOP: JOE BUCK AND WAYNE HANCOCK IN COLORADO.

When I first saw that the somewhat odd, but severely tantalizing combination of Joe Buck and Wayne “The Train” Hancock were touring together, I knew I had to include this in my life. I have never seen Joe Buck solo, only slapping bass for Hank III, and you add the King of Juke Joint Swing and that is one big musical Hunger-Buster I gotta take a bite of!

And to add another wrinkle of intrigue to this night, apparently the venue Wayne Hancock is playing at decided that Joe Buck and his catch phrase “Fuck You Motherfuckers” was too racy, so Joe Buck was forced to find a bar down the street to play at. No worries, because the two places are very close and Wayne is going to wait until Joe is finished playing, but when I called my Colorado peeps and asked them about the Joe Buck bar, they said. “Oh, that’s the ‘Straight After 8′ bar. I said the what? And then they explained.

So yep, long story short, Joe Buck will be playing what passes for a gay bar in the town of Grand Junction, CO.

Where biker’s stare at cowboys, who are laughing at the . . . oh wait. And no, I won’t be touching Dieter’s monkey that night, so save the jokes, but I ain’t missing Joe Buck for anything.

SECOND STOP: BILLY JOE SHAVER AT LUCKENBACH, TX.

That’s right, after I kick it new school old school, I’m going to kick it old school old school, with one of the original Outlaws, disputably one of the last REAL living Outlaws (I’d put Coe on that list too), in the most legendary Outlaw venue that ever existed: Luckenbach By God Watashin Tecumsech Shotgun Willie TEXAS!!!

There are only a few men you can talk about how there may have never been an Outlaw movement if it wasn’t for them, and Billy Joe Shaver is one of them. Shaver is my favorite Texas songwriter. Sure, Townes Van Zandt might have been the best wordsmith, Ray Wiley Hubbard may be the most wild. But Billy Joe Shaver is the full package if you ask me. He can turn a phrase, is a consummate performer, AND has an ear for music.

THIRD STOP: PICKATHON IN PORTLAND, OR

This event is so big, it will have it’s own article in the future. But in three weeks from now, I will be attending a festival where Dale Watson, Justin Townes Earle, Big Sandy and this Fly-Rite Boys, Hillstomp, Paleface, Samantha Crain, The Hackensaw Boys, and many many others will be playing! If you want to see the full list of performers you can go to pickathon.com.

So fasten your seatbelts, because in the coming weeks I should have tons of great audio, interviews, and reviews coming your way.

And for the love of all things good, plot my course and wherever I’m headed, stay off the roads and lock your daughters up. Because the Triggerman is on the move.

Outlaw Radio Now On SavingCountryMusic.com !!!

For the past 38 weeks, Outlaw Radio has been playing REAL country music every Tuesday night at 9 PM Central, and interviewing guests like Hank III, Wayne “The Train” Hancock, Joe Buck, Roger Alan Wade, the .357 String Band, and many others. The show is aired live on punkandbeansradio.com, but in the past, if you missed the show, you were out of luck.

Well I am happy to announce that Outlaw Radio and savingcountrymusic.com have teamed up, and now you will be able to listen and/or download previous episodes HERE, on a permanent page on savingcountrymusic.com! You can also find the episodes by clicking on the “Outlaw Radio” button in the menu bar at the top of every savingcountrymusic.com page!

At the moment we only have the last episode archived there, but the new shows will be added after they are broadcast, and we are working on archiving ALL Outlaw Radio episodes there for listening and downloading.

This is just in time as well, because THIS Tuesday (4-14-09), Outlaw Radio will have Dale Watson as a guest. Then the next week there will be an interview with (4-24) Justin Townes Earle. And then the week after that Wayne “The Train” Hancock will be making his second appearance on the show.

Put a boot through your radio people. It is so permeated with pop country nowadays all it does is anger the blood. Podcasting is the way to go!

New Dale Watson Album – Truckin’ Sessions Vol. 2

That’s right people, Real Deal Dale (just made that up) is releasing a new album “Truckin’ Sessions Volume 2″ on April 21st. Here’s the company spiel:

“Following up his 2007 release ‘From The Cradle To The Grave,’ Watson is back with his second album for Hyena Records entitled ‘The Truckin Sessions: Volume Two.’ Here he reprises the most celebrated album in his discography, ‘The Truckin’ Sessions.’ An ode to truck-driving men (and even a truck driving queen), the album’s 14 songs pay tribute to those who commandeer a mighty 18-wheeler rig on America’s highways. In the process, Watson captures both the humor and sadness of lives spent on the road.

“His songwriting imparts empathy for those characters with a deep, soulful baritone voice. All and all, ‘The Truckin Sessions: Volume Two’ is a big-wheeled, classic country ride not to be missed.”

Track List:

1. Drag ‘N’ Fly
2. Jack’s Truck Stop and Café
3. Truck Stop in LaGrange
4. 10-4
5. Yankee Doodle Jean
6. Hey Driver
7. Hero
8. I Got To Drive
9. Truckin’ Man
10. Me and Freddie and Jake
11. Truckin’ Queen
12. Let This Trucker Go
13. No Help Wanted
14. Texas Boogie

Preorder Here.

From 1998′s The Truckin’ Sessions Vol. 1:

Johnny Knoxville : Supporter of REAL Country Music

You might be surprised to learn that Jackass mastermind and actor Johnny Knoxville is a big fan of underground / outlaw country music. Not only that, at times he’s gone out of his way to lend his name to helping out specific artists and causes. When you start poking around a bit, it’s amazing where his name pops up in conjunction with different country music projects. Here’s a list of some of them:

Roger Allan Wade and Johnny Knoxville Records

Johnny Knoxville’s cousin is country singer/songwriter Roger Allan Wade. Far from being a distant cousin of Johnny who materialized out of thin air when Jackass got big to leach off of the fame, Roger Allan Wade has skins on the wall of his own, and actually Knoxville credits his cousin for getting him into acting when he gave him a copy of Jack Kerouac’s novel On the Road.

To help support his cousin, Knoxville started “Johnny Knoxville Records,” an independent record label. At the moment Roger Allan Wade is the only artist on this label, but don’t be surprised if you hear this label mentioned with other artists in the future.

Dale Watson

Johnny Knoxville has also worked as a video and movie producer. Knoxville worked with country legend and anti-Nashville spitfire Dale Watson, putting together a video for his song “Hollywood Hillbilly:”

He also did a great interview with Dale on Jackass World world that you can watch in its entirety (and it’s worth it) HERE.

The Johnny Cash Cabin

Speaking of Dale Watson, his 2007 album From the Cradle to the Grave was recorded in an old cabin outside of Nashville that was once owned by none other than Johnny Cash. But who owns the cabin now? None other than Johnny Knoxville. He bought it from Cash a week before he died. Dale Watson talked about the experience:

“I got up there and basically wrote 10 songs in three days. At first, I was adamant about not writing anything even remotely reminiscent to Johnny Cash as I figured I’d be instantly dismissed for trying to cop his vibe, but his presence was so strong up there that I decided, ‘Why fight it? Let the chips fall where they may and go with the feeling.”

Jesco White Documentary

Johnny Knoxville is currently bankrolling and producing a documentary about Boone County, West Virgina’s Dancing Outlaw Jesco White called “The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia.” Not much is known about the project just yet, except that it is slated to be released on MTV, and has been called “the end of documentary filmmaking as we know it.”

Hank Williams Jr. and Hank III have some sort of relationship to this project, and of course Jesco appeared on III’s album Straight to Hell.

Grand Theft Parsons

Johnny Knoxville also played Gram Parson’s road manager Phil Kaufman, in the 2003 movie Grand Theft Parsons. It is based on the true story of Phil Kaufman stealing Gram Parson’s body to burn it in Joshua Tree as he’d promised Gram he would do.

Along with Dale Watson and Johnny Cash, Knoxville also confirms being a fan of Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, David Allan Coe, Billy Joe Shaver, Dwight Yoakam, Buck Owens, Bill Monroe, Bob Wills, Hank Williams, and Hank Williams III.

Country Legends George Jones and Dale Watson Honored

George Jones Receives the Kennedy Center Honors:

The silver-toned devil, the greatest living country music singer George Jones received the Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Medal this week for giving country music 50+ years of his life, and counting. George hasn’t missed a step either, despite the drug abuse and brushes with the law. He’s completely sober now, and witty as ever.

There’s a great article by the Washington Post about George Jones HERE , and you can also check out a picture gallery of his career HERE.

Pure Gold:

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Dale Watson Wins a REAL CMA Award:

The REAL CMA results are in and whether your nominees won or not, I think we can all agree this was a great way to give our country heroes some credit, and hopefully turn some people on to some great REAL country artists.

I thought most notably in the list was that Dale Watson won “Best Kept Secret,” and though I have to say I was surprised at this at first, it makes complete sense to me.

Out of all the great REAL/Underground/Outlaw bands and artists we all like, the two that should receive the most credit for being the pioneers are Wayne ‘The Train’ Hancock and Dale Watson. They were the ones that came before Hank III, revitalizing that real country sound. But nowadays maybe we don’t pay as much attention to them as we should, since they are such established artists who’ve been doing their thing for years. I wrote about Dale in my second blog ever and I try to mention him as much as I can, but for those who don’t know about one of the true legends of country music, and more importantly, and fighter for REAL country, here you go:

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Oh, and one last thing. It’s someone’s birthday. The hint is 1 + 2 = ???