jcshepard's Last.fm Journal

Americana Music Association Nominees 2009

Thu, 21 May 2009 18:19:03 +0000

More lists posing as journals composed inside the teeny tiny lost.fm edit box!

The 2009 Americana Music Association Honors and Awards Nominees are:

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Real Animal, by Alejandro Escovedo
Written In Chalk, by Buddy and Julie Miller
Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, by Jason Isbell
Midnight At The Movies, by Justin Townes Earle

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Alejandro Escovedo
Buddy Miller
Justin Townes Earle
Raul Malo

INSTRUMENTALIST OF THE YEAR
Buddy Miller
Gurf Morlix
Jerry Douglas
Sam Bush

NEW & EMERGING ARTIST
Band Of Heathens
Belleville Outfit
Justin Townes Earle
Sarah Borges

SONG OF THE YEAR
“Chalk,” written by Julie Miller, performed by Buddy Miller & Patty Griffin
“Country Love” by the Gourds
“Homeland Refugee,” by Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Butch Hancock, performed by The Flatlanders
“Rattlin’ Bones” Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson
“Sex And Gasoline,” Rodney Crowell

DUO GROUP OF THE YEAR
Buddy & Julie Miller
Flatlanders
Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson
Reckless Kelly
My impressions: I haven't spent much time with the Millers' Chalk. I do really like J.T.Earle's new songs. In fact I'm becoming quite impressed by young Earle's quality and range. John Conquest (3rd Coast Music News) is a long time sceptic of the AMA, but also a long time fan of Sarah Borges (rhymes with gorgeous, he says). I don't know the Belleville Outfit, but have been reading up on Band of Heathens. Might have put Micky and the Motorcars in this group. On the bottom line I'd think the Flatlanders would be the only acceptable choice--should be more like Group of the Decade, or Group touring Once a Decade.

Not a bad bunch. Could be better. Can always be better.
-jc

Telluride Bluegrass Festival Lineup

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:50:17 +0000

Continuing my habit of lists posing as blogs on the last.fm journal (since lost.fm reduced the Entry window to a microscopic 6 lines rather than the more extensive editing window), this is from Planet Bluegrass and Bluegrass.com:
single-day lineup for the 36th Annual Telluride Bluegrass Festival, June 18-21, 2009.

Thursday, June 18
David Byrne
Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band
Three Girls & Their Buddy -- being Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Shawn Colvin & Buddy Miller
Peter Rowan
Zac Brown Band
The Lovell Sisters
Jerry Douglas & Tim O'Brien

Friday, June 19
Railroad Earth
Elvis Costello & The Sugarcanes
Béla Fleck & Toumani Diabate
Jenny Lewis
John Cowan Band
The Greencards
Crooked Still
Blue Canyon Boys

Saturday, June 20
Gaelic Storm
Sam Bush Band
Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson
Telluride Troubadour
Yonder Mountain String Band
Jerry Douglas Band
Punch Brothers Play & Sing Bluegrass
Greensky Bluegrass

Sunday, June 21
Telluride House Band
Emmylou Harris
Tim O'Brien
Todd Snider
The Steeldrivers
Works Progress Administration
Mike Farris & The Roseland Rhythm Revue

Bluegrass.com has good paragraph summaries & a photo of each artist, if you're not familiar, or just want an update.
If you're interested in my take on the festivities: When in doubt: Go Higher.
And you don't get much higher than Telluride, Colorado.

Merlefest 2009 lineup

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 21:59:22 +0000

If you're anywhere North Carolina and you like anything resembling acoustic music, you're probably already there. Merlefest 2009 starts now.

2009 Artist Lineup

Doc Watson
Richard Watson
Susana and Timmy Abell
The Alberti Flea Circus
Darin and Brooke Aldridge Band
Angel Band
Banknotes
Buffalo Barfield
Bearfoot
Beausoleil avec Michael Doucet
The Belleville Oufit
Rory Block
Blue Highway
Roy Book Binder
Laura Boosinger
Bob Bovee and Gail Heil
Broken Wire
David Bromberg
Sam Bush
Cadillac Sky (yeah!)
The Carolina Chocolate Drops
The Circuit Riders
Clack Mountain String Band
T Michael Coleman
The John Cowan Band
Dailey And Vincent
The Dixie Beeliners
Donna the Buffalo
Pat Donohue
Robert Dotson
The Duhks
The Farewell Drifters
Loretta Freeman and Lynsey
Full Throttle Bluegrass Band
Rayna and Dan Gellert
The Gibson Brothers
Josh Goforth
The Grascals
The Gravy Boys
Buddy Greene
The Greencards
Mitch Greenhill
George Hamilton IV
Emmylou Harris
Wayne Henderson
Violet Hensley
Willette Hinton
Jimmy "Duck" Holmes
David Holt
Clint Howard
Sierra Hull and Highway 111
The InterACTive Theater of Jef
Phil Jamison
The Kruger Brothers
Jim Lauderdale
Jack Lawrence
Mark Lippard
Jeff Little
The Little Rascals
The Local Boys
The Lovell Sisters
Doug MacLeod
Andy May
Del McCoury Band
Tift Merritt
Mountain Heart
Nashville Bluegrass Band
The Neighbors
New North Carolina Ramblers
Ollabelle
Out On The Ocean
Polecat Creek
Missy Raines and The New Hip
Tony Rice
Linda Ronstadt featuring Los Camperos de Nati Cano
The Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band
Patrick Sauber
Martha Scanlan
Scythian
Anne and Pete Sibley
George Shuffler
Smokey Valley Band
Joe Smothers
Spring Creek Bluegrass Band
The Steeldrivers
Rodney Sutton
Patrick Sweany
Tut Taylor
Joe Thompson
Tom, Brad & Alice
Happy Traum
Mac and Jenny Traynham
Travis Tritt and Jerry Douglas
The Waybacks
WCC Child Development Singers
Pete and Joan Wernick
Wilkes Acoustic Folk Society
Tony Williamson
The Zephyr Lightning Bolts

-jc
(holding profanities under the breath at lost.fm tiny New Journal Entry window and disfunctional buttons...)

Kerrville 2009

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 01:53:43 +0000

I've not yet been to Kerrville (in fact it's been a few years since I've set foot in the Republic of Texas), but I usually like the folks who like Kerrville. In fact, a local concert organizer here in Greater Minnesota recruits almost exclusively from artists on the Kerrville card. PR says the card is set:
The Kerrville Folk Festival at Quiet Valley Ranch, nine miles south of the Texas Hill Country resort community Kerrville, announces an exciting 2009 festival schedule for its 38th annual event. Once again this legendary songwriter's festival will run for 18 straight days, from Thursday, May 21 through Sunday, June 7, 2009. The entire weekend of May 29 - 31 will be broadcast live on Sirius XM Radio, The Village (XM 15), hosted by Mary Sue Twohy. For information and tickets please go to www.kerrvillefolkfestival.com.
The (yes) 18-day lineup for 2009 is an interesting mix of folks I like, folks I'd like to try, and alot of others of whom I just got no idea. It would be worth a trip to see even a few of these:
Charlie A'Court
Albert & Gage
Austin Lounge Lizards
Band Of Heathens
The Belleville Outfit
Rick Beresford
Berkley Hart
BettySoo
Blame Sally
Ray Bonneville
Border Blasters
Danny Britt
Norton Buffalo
Jonathan Byrd
Chip & Marvin
Bob Cheevers
KC Clifford
Kevin Connolly
Cary Cooper
Rose Cousins
RJ Cowdery
Amelia Curran
Rich DelGrosso
Cliff Eberhardt
Jon Emery & Art Blondin
George Ensle
Kent Finlay
Folk Brothers: Jack Hardy & Dave Massengill
Guy Forsyth
Ruthie Foster
Ken Gaines
Purly Gates
Stefan George
Susan Gibson
Dave Gunning
John Wort Hannam
Sid Hausman
Michael Hearne & SXSW
Tim Henderson
Terri Hendrix
Tish Hinojosa
Ray Wylie Hubbard
The Hudsons
Ron Hynes
Jagoda
Steve James
Joe Jencks
Johnsmith
Billy Jonas
Brian Kalinec
Shelley King
Celeste Krenz
Jimmy LaFave
Zoe Lewis
The Limeliters
David Llewellyn
Madcat & Kane
Karen Mal
Frank Meyer
Jaime Michaels
Butch Morgan
Drew Nelson
Claudia Nygaard
Bill Oliver
Chris O'Brien
Ellis Paul
Patrice Pike
Tom Prasada Rao
TR Ritchie
Rhythm Angels
Bruce Robison
David Roth
Gayle Ross
Shake Russell Trio
The Siekers
Michael Smith
SONiA & Disappear Fear
Amilia Spicer
Devon Sproule
Martin Swinger
Trout Fishing in America
Jon Vezner
Kevin Welch
Walt & Tina Wilkins
Jack Williams
Elizabeth Wills
Peter Yarrow
Hans York

Now, I thought I saw somewhere that Nels Andrews was heading back to Kerrville, too, plus New Artist contestants (like Angela Easterling I've seen over on the No Depression ning), so I expect there's others announced or not that will be joining the party. Folks I know--ok, recognize--are linked above. Tips on any others?

-jc

The Texcentric Show

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:14:51 +0000

Sand Sheff has come down off the mountain to pick and grin in Texas. Austin will never be the same.
http://www.myspace.com/sandsheff

Big Music Will Surrender

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 23:21:29 +0000

Big Music Will Surrender, But Not Until At Least 2011
recorded music will largely be little more than marketing collateral, meaning that the Internet services being sued today for copyright infringement will be embraced in the future as ways to get the word out on hot new music. These services pay for the privilege today (either through high streaming rates or in court), but in the future they’ll be the ones getting paid by labels. Think radio payola at a whole new level, and there won’t be any more talk about social networks giving stock to labels and artists. Money will flow the other way, as it should.
h/t to marybeth-damico. She thinks it’s depressing, I’m not so sure. There’s a business model here for somebody smart enough (or dumb enough) not to get scared off by the music mafia.

(cross-post from jcshepard.com )

T for Texas

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:43:01 +0000

Jimmie Rodgers was one of the first "stars" of country music. Known as the Singing Brakeman, Rodgers set the standard for future generations:
Jimmie Rodgers’s first Blue Yodel, which became known as “Blue Yodel No. 1 (T for Texas) ”, was recorded on 30 November 1927 in the Trinity Baptist Church at Camden, New Jersey. When the song was released in February 1928 it became “a national phenomenon and generated an excitement and record-buying frenzy that no-one could have predicted”.
Wikipedia I first heard Lynyrd Skynyrd do 'T for Texas' back in school days. I didn't think much about the song or the lyrics, but over the years it's dawned on me how radical this stuff is.

i'm gonna buy me a pistol
just as long as I'm tall
i'm gonna shoot poor Thelma
just to see Her jump And fall.
Kids today, in my day even, think of Country music as old stuffy stuff, with the hoots and the haws and the howdy y'all. Go back to the roots and you'll find some pretty basic matters of life, love and all that means.

-jc

Alison Sands the Grammys

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 00:15:16 +0000

Last year I was Grumpy about the 50th Annual Grammy Awards. I can’t be grumpy this year. My gal Alison Krauss cleaned up. Producer T-Bone Burnett worked his magic on her duet album with Robert Plant, Raising Sand [ Rounder].
• Record of the Year
• Album of the Year
• Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
• Best Country Collaboration With Vocals
• Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album

Alison Krauss is simply the best thing out there right now.

And I’m conflicted about that.

I don’t “get” Raising Sand. I don’t dislike the CD. I’m a long-time fan of Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin days. I just don’t “get it”. The plethora of gold record players gives me an idea why and it’s as obvious as the beard on my face.

I like to keep my music close to the roots. Songwriter. Guitar. Maybe a stand-up bass. Tell me a story, maybe one I can do a two-step to. I like my Alison closer to her roots—her high lonesome done-me-wrong songs. But she’s been there and done that. It’s only appropriate that she wants to grow as an artist, to challenge herself and try new things.

There’s nothing like finding a new artist that you connect with . It’s very much like making a new friend. In today’s flattened world of internet radio and social media, it often is making a new friend, or at least adding them as a friend on FaceSpace. However, we also all grow up. There are a few of my childhood friends that I’ve kept up with, more now with the latency of FaceSpace. There are many more whom we have gone our separate ways. Maybe I’m just jealous of all her new friends. I don’t know.

I am concerned. It’s not appropriate to sully your hard-earned reputation fawning over a “Pop Collaboration With Vocals”. I’m not sure if it’s a sorrier statement on the ill health of popular music, country music, or Americana. I could celebrate that Krauss, Plant & Burnett were able to put together a production that successfully bridged the chasms. That would be the pragmatic thing to do. I’m not a pragmatist. I’m a strong believer in the quality of music and the musicians craft.

Here’s hoping Alison comes back around to visit her old friends soon.

Other Kudos from the 51st Annual Grammy Awards:

Best Pop Instrumental Album: Jingle All The Way, Béla Fleck & The Flecktones [Rounder]
Best Male Country Vocal Performance: Letter To Me, Brad Paisley. Track from: 5th Gear [Arista Nashville]
Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals: Stay, Sugarland. Track from: Enjoy The Ride [Mercury Records] (Was there ever any question?)
Best Country Song: Stay, Jennifer Nettles, songwriter (Sugarland) Track from: Enjoy The Ride [Mercury Records; Publisher: Jennifer Nettles Publishing]
Best Country Album: Troubadour, George Strait [MCA Nashville] (I can’t keep up with George)
Best Bluegrass Album: Honoring The Fathers Of Bluegrass: Tribute To 1946 And 1947, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder [Skaggs Family Records]
Best Traditional Blues Album: One Kind Favor, B.B. King [Geffen Records]
Best Long Form Music Video: Runnin' Down A Dream, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers; Peter Bogdanovich, video director; Skot Bright, video producer [Warner Bros.]

Of the others, I would have liked to see Kathy Mattea recognized for her concept album, Coal, even if I haven’t actually heard it.

-jc
(sorry if it looks goofy, they blog says they're working on the BBCode for the lists)
*****
Edit: Marybeth twitter'd me a good question about release dates. Now I'm wondering: Plant & Krauss won a Grammy LAST year for Pop Collaboration. How can they repeat? My guess is it's single release vs. album release. Anyway, artists, not all release dates are created equal.

The Day The Music Died

Tue, 3 Feb 2009 18:09:27 +0000

Today is the 50th anniversary of The Day The Music Died. On 3 February 1959, in a field outside Clear Lake, Iowa, a small plane carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, crashed and killed everyone on board, including pilot Richard Peterson. Waylon Jennings, as we all know, gave up his seat on the ill-fated plane and lived to sing his own songs another day.

Bye bye Miss American Pie,
Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry
Them good ole boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singing "This'll be the day that I die,
This'll be the day that I die."
-Don McLean, American Pie

Minneapolis Star-Tribune Columnist & Twitterer James Lileks doesn't think the music died that day. He thinks the music is doing just fine, blaming McLean's American Pie for getting it all wrong. Take a look at an annotated explanation of the cryptic lyrics here.

I wonder how enthralled I would have been with this new-fangled Rock & Roll if I had been a generation earlier. I'm more inclined to agree with The American Spectator: "Who, in the early sixties at least, cared to patronize the recordings of sex perverts whose 45s probably received radio spins through bribery?" I liked La Bamba yet I'm thinking if I was contemporary to the events depicted, probably not so much. I'm really much more a Hank Williams fan.

The STrib re-visits Clear Lake's Surf Ballroom and the crash site, video
here. Also on the playbill: Bobby Vee, Graham Nash, Los Lobos, Delbert McClinton, Joe Ely and Wanda Jackson.

I could have made the drive, it's only 182 miles out my front door. Still, I try to stick closer to home come winter time. Never know when your vehicle might freeze up & get stuck...

-jc

We Are All Alone In This Together

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 22:44:34 +0000

We Are All Alone In This Together
Graham Lindsey
Spacebar Recordings (2008)

What is it in a simple progression of notes that can bring a person close to tears? Even before adding in a well-crafted lyric. How can a few notes strung together in a very specific manner evoke a primal reaction, a blood lust of the ear.

Graham Lindsey does this to me with “The Bird That Lived In A Burning Tree”, on his new Spacebar recording, We Are All Alone In This Together. I’m a long-time fan of Graham, once compared him to Bob Dylan channeling Hank Williams. Twangville compares and contrasts him with, say, Old Crow Medicine Show or The Avett Brothers. Yes. And no. Graham Lindsey simply brings together an honest appreciation of folk traditions with a hard-driving post-punk honky tonk spirit. Graham is the man.

The album opens with a plaintive line on “Tomorrow is Another Night” and moves through a dozen strong tracks of love, life and stuff on the shovel. “Old Roger” caught my attention right away. Graham uses a variety of session players to enhance his typical solo show, adding dobro, pedal stell, percussion, fiddle, upright bass, organs, horns, even piano and Henry’s bark. I’m sure more than a couple of those instruments saw the inside of Music Villa in Bozeman.

Yet it is Track 4, “The Bird…” that grew on me with each play. A simple one-two progression builds, adds lyrics without overpowering the instrumentation, builds acoustic instrumentation without overpowering the guitar, then fades away into the night.

Cold wind blows
make you weep and moan
why has this found my home?
because that’s the one we chose
everybody’s got to choose
everybody’s got to choose
I’m sure that somebody who stayed awake in music appreciation class could swiftly identify the artistic device. The technical terminology. The proper analytic context. How the melody and instrumentation build a memorable wave.

I just know there are a very few times in this life when a melody hits me upside the head like a shovel. The 2nd part of Bach’s Double Violin Concerto in D Minor. Hank Williams’ I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry. And now Graham Lindsey.

Graham is also releasing an EP into general distribution next month. Check it out on Myspace at www.myspace.com/grahamlindsey

-jc