On Friday night I was supposed to be long gone from Dallas, TX. But plans changed as they sometimes do, and I was able to cash in the consolation prize of watching two overlords of old school country cross paths at one of the best venues in the country in what turned out to be [...]
2010 is turning out to be a bumper crop year for REAL country music, and no, I’m not just saying that to be a cheerleader for the “scene.” I’ll be the first to admit that last year was a terrible year for new releases, save for a few great ones from the Bloodshot Record’s gang [...]
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 [...]
Yes, I know you are all probably tired of hearing me yap about the Muddy Roots Festival coming up this weekend, but now there is a way for ALL of us to participate, whether we make it out there or not. The Festival, in conjunction with thealternateroot.com has released a FREE compilation of music from [...]
Well I knew there was a new album called Hillbilly Fever coming from traditional country rising star Lucky Tubb and his band the Modern Day Troubadours, but I didn’t know it was coming so quickly. The album will be released tomorrow (5-11) and will feature 10 tracks, including a few with Wayne “The Train” Hancock, [...]
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 [...]
In just under a month from now, the Muddy Roots Festival will be going down in Cookeville, TN (just east of Nashville) at the June Bug Boogie Ranch. With headliners Wayne “The Train” Hancock and the legendary Billy Joe Shaver, plus over 30 other bands, a car show, bike rally, and pinup contest, this is [...]
Just a few quick things: Yesterday it was announced that Huck Johnson, long time standup bass player for Wayne “The Train” Hancock will be leaving the band. Hancock’s grueling tour schedule has caused him a lot of turnover over the years, so the announcement is not alarming. As they say, “The Train Rolls On.” Anybody [...]
Rachel Brooke isn’t just a musician, she’s a muse. If she was an illustration, it would be an old one, from the 1920′s with tattered edges. Rachel would be sitting on a high cliff overlooking the sea like a Greek Siren, and ships full of suitors would be trying unsuccessfully to approach her position. The [...]
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 [...]
Flint, Michigan’s Whitey Morgan and the 78′s have just signed with the the label that is the home of Insurgent Country, Bloodshot Records. Whitey and the boys join the ranks of people like Wayne “The Train” Hancock, Justin Townes Earle, and Scott H. Biram, all signed to the Chicago-based label. The announcement comes just days [...]
I’ve been saying for years that one of the the things the REAL country movement is lacking is a bona-fide music festival where the music can be promoted, and musicians, podcasters, media, and fans can network. Festivals like the Deep Blues and Pickathon have come close, but this year’s inagural Muddy Roots Festival in late [...]
During his appearance last night on Outlaw Radio, Lucky Tubb announced plans for new albums, and new tours including opening for Hank III on a yet-to-be-announced March tour, and then his own tour of Europe this summer. The new album will be called Hillbilly Fever and will include 13 tracks, including what Lucky calls “Tubb [...]
It seems like whenever I start making “Best Of” lists, I draw the ire of one group of people or another. I think I am misunderstood quite commonly that my “Top” picks mean that they are my favorite personally, or that maybe I am even trying to push some agenda. I really do agonize over [...]
Last week it was announced that country singer Jennifer Brantley had released a song the was written by Hank Williams, at least partially written by Hank Williams, and then finished by the request of Hank’s widow Audrey by Glenn Douglas Tubb, nephew of Ernest Tubb and a prolific songwriter. The song is called “Heratbroken, Forsaken, [...]
When I heard that Izzy Zaidman, former lead guitar player for Wayne “The Train” Hancock was starting a new band, I was conflicted. Izzy was fired from Hancock’s band for assaulting steel guitar player Tony Locke, and when I spoke with Hancock in August, he said Izzy had been “black balled from the scene.” BUT, [...]
Well tonight is a pretty big night in podcast land. First I am happy to announce that one of my favorite podcasters, Tim Pop of Tim Pop Live is debuting a spanking new podcast tonight called Rebel Rouser Country. It is going to air weekly on realpunkradio.com, Tuesdays at 7 PM EST. And for his [...]
Rockabilly perennial Brian Setzer has had a long, strange, unique career. To a passive bystander, it may seem like he has disappeared and reappeared over they years to ride one retro craze or another, though in truth he has been in the drivers seat for most of the “crazes” that have afforded his music mainstream [...]
It was one of those times when I had to reach over and pinch myself: here I was interviewing none other than Wayne “The Train” Hancock. It went down behind The Mesa Theater in Grand Junction, CO on 7-12-09 as part of Johny Wrong’s First Annual Hootenanny (to read the review of the show click [...]
If you do not know who James Hunnicutt is, then you need to take care of that. This is one of the premier guitar pickers out there, and a good singer/songwriter in his own right. You might remember talking about him in my review of the Wayne Hancock show last week. He is out on [...]
