Eric Church’s New Pot Anthem “Smoke A Little Smoke”

By his own account, pop country’s so called ‘New Outlaw’ Eric Church doesn’t mind ruffling feathers. With his new pot anthem “Smoke A Little Smoke,” he’s doing that very thing, and not just with the morality police.

Of course Eric Church fans are eating this song up like a bowl of Count Chocula in a munchie attack, but even some professed non Eric Church fans are praising this song as “catchy.” In my dirty little music world, calling a song “catchy” is an insult, though if your mind is numbed by years of exposure to pop country, a song with some glittering electronica and simple layering might sound like a musical wonderland. Maybe a nameless sound engineer deserves a pat on the back for this song, but beyond that, it’s bad, and not in the Michael Jackson kind of way.

Some are praising the song’s originality, but a few Frank Zappa fans are crying foul that the title and lyric of “Smoke a Little Smoke” are ripped from Zappa’s anti-disco song Dancing Fool (@ 3:10). A similar line is also in another pot song, Do It All Again by Chad Hatcher, and I wonder if Collective Soul is expecting royalties for the “Yeah” part in the chorus. Honestly its all within the realm of poetic license, but it’s a little hard to make the argument this song is rich with originality.

Meanwhile well-adjusted pop country fans who for the most part have staved away the perversion of drugs in their music are finding themselves at Eric Church concerts, shocked by all the pot references, and not just in this this song. Eric’s gone pot crazy, throwing pot leaves around on all his merch, tweezing his thumb and first finger together on stage in the universal pot sign. It’s pot peetie pot pot–let’s all ride the purple Snuffleupagus to pot-ilicious pot-land!

How did this perversion slip out of Music Row? No worries, the radio single is censored courtesy of Capitol Records Nashville who knows all about morality, as they once sued a charity representing the grieving families of dead firefighters. (There’s a Smoke/Fire pun in here somewhere, but I’ll spare you.) Apparently they mince the words a bit to make it seem this song is talking about “cigarettes and alcohol,” once again pointing out that Music Row thinks its fans are stupid. If Eric Church had stood up for this song, it would’ve finally given me a chance to stand up for him. But instead he gave in to his label’s bid for mass appeal.

A check of Eric Church’s merch illustrated to me what all this pot nonsense is REALLY about.

ERIC CHURCH POT SHIRT #1

ERIC CHURCH POT SHIRT #2

The marijuana leaf and pot references have long since been used as marketing tools, but it’s never been taken out of context like this. The first shirt is clearly a play for Grateful Dead fans with it’s skeletons and roses. Really? If you can find ONE true hippie at an Eric Church concert, I’ll eat my hat.

As for the other shirt: I’ve been saying for a while, the whole scheme behind these “New Outlaws” is to eradicate the country music underground by attempting to incorporate them. Right now disgruntled country fans might make up half the genre, but a lot of those fans have not come from mainstream country, but from punk, metal, classic rock backgrounds, thus the black skull and pot motif. Once again, they are stealing plays out of the playbook. Problem is, the music is still the same old tired pop song.

But except for all of that, I think this song is GREAT!

Oh, and for all the Eric Church fans, you’re right, I AM jealous of Eric Church. An no, I haven’t actually taken the time to sit down and listen to his songs. You win.

Who Will Be Country’s Next Savior?

When it boils right down to it, what is it going to take to Save Country Music? Hard work, education, and grass roots efforts are one way, but the magic bullet would be an artist that could rise above all the arguments dividing country music, and offer widespread appeal through a new approach while also being true to country’s traditions and it’s traditional sound. This is what Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings did back in the mid 70′s, and they helped shine the light on all the other Outlaw artists that previously had been laboring in obscurity.

We need a leader. The mainstream says the music needs to be “accessible” to appeal to the masses, but all great music leaders haven’t come from accessibility, but innovation; an ability to unite people of different backgrounds and tastes behind a common movement through creative leadership and undeniable talent. It could be an underground artist, or someone currently in the mainstream. Remember, Willie and Waylon started in the Music Row machine.

So my question is, in the current stock of country performers, who might be capable of doing this: uniting the country fans under one flag again, or drawing the attention of the mainstream? I know, I know, some underground elements don’t want to kiss and make up with the mainstream or have their favorite artists become mainstream acts. But shouldn’t country want to celebrate the best and brightest, instead of mediocrity?

Here’s my current candidates for country’s next savior. Leave yours or your thoughts below.

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An obvious mention is Hank Williams III simply because his grandfather is the King of country music and his pops is one of the highest-selling country artists ever. Recently Tom Waits called him “Country Royalty, the Strange Prince,” and if you’re anything like me, when you first heard his music, and the anti-Corporate/Nashville message it carries at times, you couldn’t help envisioning Hank III riding into Music Row to sack the interlopers and claim his rightful seat as the heir to country’s throne.

But in the practical world, fights with his label Curb Records and some of his own decisions have kept him firmly in the underground, though in a sort of Grateful Dead way, where creating one of the strongest grass roots networks ever known in country has allowed him to thrive without radio play or marketing campaigns. Now that he is free of Curb, maybe this is the moment when his influence will reach beyond his rabid fan base.

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Some will get mad I included his mug here, other will be happy I’m giving him some attention. That’s because Jamey Johnson is a polarizing figure. Yes, I know he wrote the “Bandonka Donk” song, but get over it, that argument is tired. Jamey is nowhere near the filth of the other “New Outlaws” like Eric Church and Josh Thompson. Still, he fits in this awkward middle ground: his songs are just accessible enough to be played on the radio, yet not accessible enough to be big hits. On the other hand his songs are somewhat palatable by underground and REAL country fans, but no so much so that they would name him as one of their favorite artists. So outside of his core fans, he ends up in this gray area.

The game changer for Jamey might be his double album due out 9/24 called The Guitar Song, with the first album about addiction, and the second about redemption. Maybe this is a creative way to play both sides and be all things to all people and unite country fandom. We’ll see.

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He may not be the country music savior, but no question Justin Townes Earle’s stock is rising, and rising fast, and not just in the music world. GQ naming him one of the 25 most “Most Stylish Men in the World” means he could cause a ripple in the greater popular culture that could reflect back on the music. However wearing bowties, and baby blue pants two sizes too short, as well as his move to New York City could make him a hard sale to the hardcore country fan.

One of the reasons I named his 2009 album Midnight at the Movies Album of the Year was because of how it bridged fans of the disparate elements of country together under one artist. But lately it seems the JTE camp is actively trying to court the progressive, NPR return music, Old Crow/DriveBy Truckers side of country, leaving some of his fans wondering where the rawness went. There’s also whispers that he’s rising too fast, and its going to his head. JTE also has a new album coming that might answer some questions, and hey, being part of a famous bloodline never hurt in country.

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Ruby Jane rocketed to the top of my favorite artists after seeing her live recently, but I was going to include her in this list even before, if only to emphasize that the country music savior might be someone who is still in their formative years, and that it could be a female. Why not?

15 to 25 year-olds might be the most important demographic these days in music, and maybe it will take someone that younger people can relate to, yet someone that holds true to traditions and can hold sway over older people as well simply by their talent. At the Ruby Jane show, there were kids, I mean small kids, as well as many older people, 65+. This proves that Ruby Jane can speak to a wide audience, and do it by being herself, and not trying to pander to a constituency.

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What’s you’re opinion? Who are your candidates? For some reason when I think about this, I can’t get Leroy Virgil of Hellbound Glory off my brain.

Vintage Album Review – Workingman’s Dead

Those that have been around here for a while know that I like to come out of left field with my vintage album suggestions. You already have a big stack of records, no need for me to rehash through them. Still I know some of you are rolling up to this thinking, “What kind of hippy dippy Mickey Mouse Cali trash space jam bull honkey is The Triggerman try to peddle NOW?”

I have a theory: No matter what is happening in mainstream country, that uniquely country sound or “twang” that awakens something deep inside of us, usually driven home by a pedal steel guitar, will always be championed by someone. In the mid 70′s, when mainstream country was awash with “contemporary” string and chorus arrangements, it allowed The Outlaws to champion the twang sound and rise to power. Right now Music Row has gone in a pop/80′s hair direction, the “twang” has been picked up by people who cut their teeth listening to punk and metal.

But before the Outlaws and the current underground country crop, that “twang” sound was picked up by some of the psychedelic musicians in California, some of which were born and raised with that sound in the South like Gram Parsons and carried it with them West. Jerry Garcia, aka Captain Trips is best known for being the leader of The Grateful Dead, but while he was writing music to eat acid to, he was also working on the side as the West Coast’s most sought after pedal steel session player.

This might shock you, but Jerry Garcia might be in my top five pedal steel players of all time. His work was featured in the Crosby, Stills & Nash hit Teach Your Children. He worked solely as the pedal steel player for the country rock band New Riders of the Purple Sage. Jerry also played banjo, and in later years would be in bluegrass projects like Old & In The Way with country stalwarts John Hartford and Vassar Clements. But I digress.

The Grateful Dead’s first three studio albums were decidedly psychedelic projects, but their fourth, Workingman’s Dead, is a country music masterpiece. This isn’t an album with country influences, or some California interpretation of country, this is pure, true, REAL country at its finest.

Tight and exceptionally arranged harmonies, amazing and intelligent minimalist production by the legendary tapist Betty Cantor, and of course Jerry’s songwriting and pedal steel make this one for the ages. The Grateful Dead never got much radio play, but if this album had “hits” it was the harmonic-driven “Uncle Johns Band” and “Casey Jones” about a cocaine snorting train engineer. I like these songs, but I think “High Time” and “Dire Wolf” do a better job illustrating Jerry’s steel work and his uncanny mastery of rural themes.

Another good one is “Cumberland Blues,” which with the recent mine disasters, the release of the White Documentary and the recent flooding of the Cumberland River, is probably why this album has been on my mind. “Easy Wind” might be my favorite song. Dead member Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, former lover of Janis Joplin who was already ailing from the alcohol abuse that would kill him 2 years later, belts out a hell of a blue collar anthem in this often overlooked track.

The “production” of this album really is its biggest strength. Willie Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger is seen by most as the greatest country music album of all time, and the minimalist, dirty, rootsy production is given a lot of credit for that. Workingman’s Dead takes nearly that same approach, only half a decade before, and in my opinion, with better instrumentation.

The Dead’s next album American Beauty is the better known of their “country” projects, and though I like this album as well, it has more of a folky, mainstream feel to it. For my money, a good followup to Workingman’s Dead is their live Europe ’72 album which again features tight harmonies and amazing country songs.

You may hate hippies or California, or the sheer idea of The Grateful Dead, but if the blue collar tribute Workingman’s Dead is not in your collection, your prejudice has gone too far.

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You can purchase and preview the tracks of Workingman’s Dead by CLICKING HERE.

Poodie Locke – Stories from the Road

Death has been busy lately in the world of country music. When Vern Gosdin passed away, I hated to admit that for all my country music geekness, I had never heard of the man. But I can’t say the same about Poodie Locke, who passed away last Wednesday (5-6-09). I knew exactly who he was, and why the country music world is a different place without him.

When I look back at the original Outlaws, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, and when they have looked back at themselves, they give a lot of credit to their success to the great people they have been fortunate to have around them. For Willie that is especially true. Willie might be living under a bridge if it weren’t for his “family,” who has always included his band members and close associates. Poodie Locke, Willie’s long time stage manager, is one of those vital people.

Poodie was also an amazing character, and a superlative storyteller. When I read the Willie Nelson Autobiography, one of my favorite parts of it was the stories that Poodie told from the road.

Following is my favorite excerpt. It ends with Willie standing in a parking garage, with a pair of huge Colt .45′s stuck into his cutoff jeans in a parking garage in Birmingham, Alabama. Enjoy:

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From Willie, An Autobiograpy:

(Caution: Heavy language from a crazy Texan to follow)

In Vegas the stage is about table high. People leap onstage and you got to deal with their shit. You can’t be violent with them, because Willie don’t like it, but sometimes it’s hard to reasrain a person without being physical. i looked around at one show, and here was some drunk bitch on the stage heading for Willie. I stepped in front of her and she said, “Get out of my fucking way. I’m gonna touch Willie.”

I said, “No you ain’t.”

She said, “Have you ever touched Willie?”

I said, “No ma’am, but I jacked him off once in Kansas City. Does that count?” She looked startled, and it gave me a chance to ease her away as gently as possible.

We played with the Grateful Dead in Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City in 1977 to a crowd of 80,000. Us and Waylon. The Dead played three and a half hours while we watched the clouds building up. This big fucking storm blew in and it was pouring rain when Waylon took the stage. Waylon freaked out. Lightning ain’t the best thing to have happen when you got all this electrical equipment around you. Waylon hadn’t been to sleep in about a year – he just ate Hershey’s Kisses and snorted cocaine. Waylon started hyperventilating. He froze. So Willie walked onstage, took Waylon’s guitar, and kept on picking.

I says, “Willie, it’s dangerous out here.”

Willie says, “If you got to go, you got to go.”

We changed bands in the rainstorm, moved Waylon’s stuff off and ours on. Willie never missed a lick with rain pouring on him. I told the Grateful Dead guys, “You fuckers played so long you made it rain.” They said, “Yeah, so why don’t your old man make it stop?”

Soon as we got our band set up, the rain stopped.

But one of the strangest happenings was in Birmingham, Alabama. We had done a show downtown, and we were loading our gear at a six-deck parking garage. We all carried two or three guns and plenty of ammo back then. All of a sudden we hear KABOOM! KABOOM!

It’s the sound of a .357 magnum going off in the parking garage. The echoes sound like Howitzer shells exploding. It’s kind of semi-dark, and this guy comes blowing through this parking deck. Now here comes this fucking bitch with a fucking pistol. KABOOM! She’s chasing this motherfucker. It sounds like a fucking war.

People are piling out of the show and they start scattering. Here comes cops from every direction. They’re flying out of their cars, hitting that parking deck, spreading eagle the whole crowd. “On the deck, motherfuckers!” – because the cops don’t know who is shooting at who.

We cut the lights, and slip around to the back of the bus. All you can see are police headlights in a big semi-circle and hundreds of people lying flat on the ground all stretched out. It looks like Guyana. All these cops are squatted down in the doorjams, turning people over, frisking them, aiming guns at everybody, just waiting for the next shot to be fired.

And here comes Willie. He walks off the bus wearing cutoffs and tennis shoes, and he’s got two huge Colt .45 revolvers stuck in his waist. Two shining motherfucking pistols in plain sight of a bunch of cops nervous as shit.

Willie just walks over and says, “What’s the trouble?” Well, he’s got some kind of aura to him that just cools everything out. The cops put up their guns, the people climb off the concrete, and pretty soon Willie is signing autographs.

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RIP Poodie

More Mudding Videos to Come & More Hank III Criticism

More Mudding/Long Hauls Videos Coming Soon !!!

Just wanted to let you guys know, it has come to the attention of the Outlaw Country Blog that there will be a different edit of the Long Hauls & Close Calls video DONE BY HANK III himself that will be made available in about 10 days or so, and at the same time, they are also going to release a FULL MUDDING video with more footage of the actual mudding event down in Mississippi where a lot of the ‘Long Hauls Close Calls’ footage was shot.

KICK ASS!!!

Also, for those of you wondering who did the video, it was directed by Gene Joanen of TAI Media www.taimultimedia.com and Andra Dalto. The post editing was done by Hank III himself and Ryan Thornburg. I like to give behind the scenes people their due.

And if you were wondering, that is NOT Gary Lindsey, Hellbilly and Assjack’s Screamo guy, yelling in the video. That is none other than the grandson of Hank Williams himself.

Criticism of Long Hauls and Close Calls.

As my regular readers know, if someone is out there criticizing Hank III, I like to meet that criticism head on. The main criticism I hear is that he’s just riding on his name, or that he doesn’t give a shit about the money because he got a bunch coming to him when Jr. kicks it, or lately, that he’s a sellout. You can sift through my previous blogs and there’s plenty of info on why all of these criticisms are bullshit.

But the criticism that I have not always agreed with, but have always said is a gripe I can understand is when people say they like his music, but don’t care for the cussing, drugs, devil stuff, etc. Needless to say, this ‘Long Hauls Close Calls’ video has brought these people out of the woodwork.

First off, I just want to say that as the author of this blog, and a music critic, I think ‘Long Hauls Close Calls’ is the best song Shelton has ever written, and I mean that. And it might be my favorite song he’s ever written.

Musically speaking, it is one of the most technical songs he’s ever written. I’m no more than a hack guitar player, but pretty much every Hank III song I’ve ever wanted to learn I’ve been able to. Not to discount his songs, but Shelton writes simple songs, and their greatness is in their simplicity. But ‘Long Hauls and Close Calls’ is crazy. I don’t even know where to begin playing it, and furthermore, I think the lyrics are great.

But some people don’t think that. I’ve heard from a few readers who’ve told me that, but to show that I’m not just picking on them, I pulled these comments off of YouTube:

“im sorry III, but you need to go back to the basics. this shit just dont have the same feeling……….. ”

“more bonehead shit from one of my favorite people. this shit ain’t you III, go back to singing from the heart.”

The first time I heard the song was at a concert. Then I found the YouTube:



Man, it still gets me going.

My guess is the main beef SOME (and I emphasize some) people have I think is with the screamo parts of the lyrics, and also maybe the devil imagery in the video.

For me personally, I’m not bothered by the devil stuff and I think the video overall is superbly made. But I have to admit, when I heard the recorded version of the song, I thought the screaming part of the lyrics was a little over the top. But it didn’t ruin the song for me at all, and hey it’s III’s song. I’ve been helping him fight for his creative control, and it ain’t my place to tell him what to do.

The reason I’m writing this is because I wanted to point out two things to people who have a problem with Long Hauls Close Calls:

1. Country, folk, blues, and rock singers have been singing about the devil ever since those genres began. The music might be harder, but the themes for the most part are still the same. I’ll give you an example: This song has also been called ‘The Devil Is My Friend’. Here’s one of my favorite songs from the ‘Grateful Dead’ called ‘Friend of the Devil:’



Now who’s going to call Jerry Garcia ‘over the top’ or ‘extreme’ just because he wrote this song? The devil is a folk character of modern music, and always has been. Is Hank III a Satan worshipper? Hell, I don’t know. Really don’t know if its my business. I just like his music. If he tells me to go rape my neighbor and sacrifice a goat to the dark angel, I’ll re-evaluate then. But for now, I’m on board.

2. If you have a problem with Long Hauls Close Calls PLEASE LISTEN TO THE REST OF THE ALBUM!!!

Listen, I don’t have a copy of it, but since my day job makes me a member of the media, I have been able to listen to it. LHCC is by far the most brutal song on the album, and if you like the slow stuff or the mid tempo stuff, it’s got plenty of that. In fact I think a few of it’s songs are the most accessible songs III has done since Rising Outlaw, and ‘Stoned and Alone,’ in my opinion is his best slow song ever.

Weather you agree or disagree, feel free to leave your opinions here. I just want to emphasize that Damn Right Rebel Proud has something for everyone. I wish they would’ve released a video for one of the slower songs too, but he’s got plenty of those out there. Just give it a chance, and don’t give up on III.