Monthly Feature Albums 2009

On this weeks show (December 14th) I will be looking back at the ten albums I featured each month February to November. I'll be playing a couple of tracks from each. The ten albums are featured below.

In the coming weeks on the show will be my annual Christmas Special on December 21st and then two weeks looking back on 2009. I will be counting down my favorite Top Twenty Albums of 2009. Numbers 20-11 on December 28th and 10-1 on January 4th.

Hope you can tune in!

February: Chuckanut Drive - Fidelity Grange


Chuckanut Drive is an alt country band from Bellingham, Washington spearheaded by Texas born singer/songwriter Stephen Ray Leslie. The band has released 3 full-length albums in the past five years and sold copies in over 10 countries.

Over the years, the cast of characters in this raucous alt county collective has changed several times, but anchored by Leslie’s songwriting and raw emotive voice one thing remains the same, great songs that bypass pretension and go straight for the gut.

March: Phosphorescent - To Willie


In 1975 Willie Nelson recorded the album To Lefty From Willie, 10 songs in which Nelson pays homage to Lefty Frizell, reinterpreting his favorites from the Frizzell catalog and stamping them with his own unique voice, reshaping them into his own new classics.

Now Phosphorescent has done the same for Willie Nelson by bringing us To Willie. Here, Matthew Houck has selected 11 of his favorite Willie Nelson songs and does much more than just simply cover them. He has not selected the greatest hits, but rather digs deep, offering renditions of hidden Nelson gems and lost classics. The songs collected here seem cracked from Phosphorescent's proprietary mold with Matthew Houck's unmistakable voice leading the way. They feel lived in, they feel weathered and they feel just like Phosphorescent.

April: Downhills Home - Wolves in the Woods



Downhills Home are a Melbourne based band. The band is made up of Sean McMahon (guitar, vocals), Michael Hubbard (guitar, vocals), Brendan McMahon (keyboard and piano), Josh Duiker (drums) and Tim McCormack (bass).
They deliver a sound that is raw and pure, with a late- 60’s country quality, inspired by The Byrds, The Rolling Stones, Neil Young, The Band and early Wilco. The Wolves in the Woods is there second full length album.

Recorded over a week at Guruland Studios, The Wolves In The Woods was tracked mostly live to tape with additional guitar and keyboard overdubs providing the songs with rich and varied textures. This is highlighted from the very start with the opening track Travelling Light. Building from a basic introduction of guitar, bass, keyboards and drums, the song moves into a long descending chorus line orchestrated with violin, viola and mellotron opening up the vast sonic field in which the rest of the songs on the album are brought to life.


May: Old Californio - Westering Again



Recorded in their old chicken coop garage turned recording studio in Pasadena, CA, Old Californio set out to mix a gritty soup of bucolic rock and roll influenced as much by Moby Grape, Crazy Horse and The Grateful Dead as by the chaparral canyons and ungovernable San Gabriel mountains themselves. Songwriter Rich Dembowski sings with a heartfelt voice that might remind some of the Band's Richard Manuel. His lyrics on the 10 song Westering Again evoke winsome images of riparian vistas and wine stained front porches, of places forgotten and out of the way. The album feeds from bright guitar-driven melodies with complicated and earthy arrangements, mixed in with a little down-home country twang and dovetailing instrumental jams that venture to the psychedelic/ philosophic.

June: Jordie Lane - Sleeping Patterns



Co-produced by Jeff Lang and Tim Hall, Sleeping Patterns had been brewing in the subconscious of Jordie’s mind for nearly four years, and eventually came to fruition in the winter of 2008. Recorded in little more than five days, in the open warehouse space called Adelphia in Melbourne the album is storytelling at its rawest, gutsiest, and most fragile.

Featuring guest performances by prominent roots artists Ashley Davies, Jeff Lang, Laura Jean, Liz Stringer, Garrett Costogan and Stevie Hesketh, Sleeping Patterns moves between finger pickin’ ballads, western tunes, rockin’ blues and even the odd sea shanty.

July - Magnolia Electric Co.



With the 2007 death of long time bassist Evan Farrel, Josephine is no doubt the strongest set of songs Molina has written since the inception of Magnolia Electric Co. Molina has approached the universal loneliness before, but never in such a focused, directed manner as found on Josephine. Molina, Magnolia Electric Co. and legendary recording engineer Steve Albini have put it all to heart and on record. The album is also an experiment in Molina's songcraft, introducing some real lessons in brevity as he whittles a handful of tracks into well-under three minutes. There are cues taken from great songwriters like Willie Nelson and Warren Zevon.

August: Drive-By Truckers - Live From Austin Texas



The Drive By Truckers' performance on Austin City Limits was an instant classic. Recorded during their Brighter Tham Creation's Dark tour, the band line-up featured is Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley, Shonna Tucker, John Neff, Brad Morgan and Jay Gonzalez. Formed in 1996, these Southern Rockers are known for their three-guitar attack. The 13 songs recorded for Austin City Limits feature a mix of new songs from Brighter Than Creation's Dark alongside DBT classics 'Let There Be Rock', '18 Wheels Of Love' and 'Marry Me'.

September: Richmond Fontaine - We Used To Think The Freeway Sounded Like a River



“We Used To Think The Freeway Sounded Like A River” follows on from the band’s landmark seventh album “Thirteen Cities” (2007), the sparse, stripped down, “The Fitzgerald” (2005) and the alt country classic “Post To Wire” (2004), which was named 4th best album of the year by Uncut (behind Brian Wilson, Wilco, & Loretta Lynn). The new album, seen as the band’s most accessible yet, was produced once again by JD Foster (Calexico, Richard Buckner, Laura Cantrell), who was at the helm for the last three albums. Multi-instrumentalist Paul Brainard steps in with pedal steel, trumpet and piano and the core line up of Willy Vlautin (guitars, vocals), Sean Oldham (drums, vocals), Dave Harding (Bass) and Dan Eccles (guitars) remains.

October: Monsters of Folk - Monsters of Folk



Fans of the individuals that make up Monsters of Folk will be pleased to hear an equal dose of Yames, Ward, and Oberst throughout, each taking on an even amount of lead singing duties. And there are magical moments for each. Oberst delivers an absolute gem with “Ahead of the Curve” (surprisingly Oz’s early favorite), M. Ward particularly shines on “Sandman, the Brakeman and Me” and Yames delivers his finest on “Losin Yo Head” (and a heckuva spiritual on “His Master’s Voice”). They also tickle the eardrums by passing the microphone around on numbers like “Say Please” and “Baby Boomer.” But Monsters of Folk are at their best when they share the microphone at once. On songs like “The Right Place” and “Magic Marker,” the three voices blend together at times to form a sort of bionic voice with superhuman powers.

November: The Avett Brothers - I and Love and You



I and Love and You is The Avett Brothers' major label debut, produced by Grammy-award winning producer Rick Rubin. The album tracks are diverse and unique, ranging from striking ballads to energetic romps. With over 195k independently released albums scanned, and the follow-up to the critically acclaimed Emotionalism, I & Love & You is sure to be embraced as a new favorite by longtime and newfound fans alike. The Avett Brothers have built up an impressive and loyal fan base with constant touring. This prolific band is renowned for their high-energy live shows and incredible mix of eclectic musical styles. The Avett Brothers' fan base continues to grow in markets all around the country, capturing the hearts of all who are lucky enough to experience their music live.

Americana Music Association Award Winners

The Americana Music Association announced it's award winners at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Thursday 16th September.

Buddy Miller almost scooped the pool, winning Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Duo of the Year (with his wife Julie) and Song of the Year (written by Julie and performed by Buddy and Patty Griffin). Gurf Morlix won Instrumentalist of the Year (and prevented a Buddy Miller scoop of all the categories he was nominated in). Justin Townes Earle (son of Steve) won the award for New and Emerging Artist. Justin will be in Melbourne at the start of October.

The awards cap off an amazing and difficult year for Buddy. He suffered a heart attached in February and underwent triple bypass surgery soon after. Now fully recovered he has had one of his best years as a musical career to date.


Nominees and Winners (in bold)

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Real Animal, by Alejandro Escovedo

Written in Chalk, by Buddy & Julie Miller

Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, by Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit

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” by Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson, performed by Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson

“Sex And Gasoline,” by Rodney Crowell, performed by Rodney Crowell


DUO GROUP OF THE YEAR

Buddy & Julie Miller

Flatlanders

Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson

Reckless Kelly

Tune into the show this week to here some songs from the artists listed above.

CLASSIC ALBUMS - Richard Buckner: Devotion + Doubt

Introducing a new segment - CLASSIC ALBUMS.
Focusing on classic albums in the Alt-Country/Americana genre.

In the first of an occasional series, on this weeks show (21/9/2009) I'll be focusing on Richard Buckner's 1997 release Devotion + Doubt.



Released by MCA it is currently out of print, although of course many second hand copies exist and downloads are available.

This was Buckner's second album following his debut, Bloomed, released in 1994. The songs on Devotion + Doubt deal with the painful subject of Buckner's divorce which he went through at the time and the feelings of sadness, loss and lonliness that followed. Hence they are somewhat introspective, low key and maudlin as a result. The album contains two of my favourite all time Buckner songs, "A Goodbye Rye" and "Lil Wallet Picture" and I'll be giving these two songs a spin during the show.

The album was produced by J.D. Foster, a producer of note who has worked with many artists including another show favorite, Richmond Fontaine. It was recorded in the famous Wavelab Studio in Tuscon Arizona by Craig Schumacher and Nick Luca. Future Calexico members Joey Burns and John Convertino, then in Giant Sand acted as the backing band with Howe Gelb and Marc Ribot. The wonderful pedal steel is provided by Lloyd Maines.

Buckner recorded another album, Since, in 1998 for MCA before being dropped by the label. Now days he is signed to Merge and they released his most recent studio album Meadow in 2006. A new album is expected in 2010.

Buckner's Website
(He is obviously not a fan of illegal downloads! But who is?

A.A. Bondy - When The Devil's Loose

A.A. Bondy, (the initials stand for Augeste Arthur) is otherwise known as Scott Bondy and he started out his musical in a rock band called Verbena. Drawing comparisons to bands like Nirvana they eventually came to the attention of David Grohl and he produced their major label debut "Into the Pink" for Capitol Records in 1999. Verbena spilt in 2003. Bondy emerged again in 2007 from his home in upstate New York with a new name, a new folk sound and his debut solo album "American Hearts". Originally on the label Supersonic it was re-released by Fat Possum in 2008 to wide acclaim.

The new album "When The Devil's Loose" was released in late August once again on Fat Possum (Spunk/EMI in Australia) and received even wider acclaim than his debut.



A.A. Bondy on Myspace

Wilco - Wilco (The Album)

Got my copy of Wilco's seventh studio album during the week and it's growing on me by the day. After a couple of listens I can already safely say that I am enjoying it more that their previous two albums Sky Blue Sky and A Ghost is Born. It is certainly a more mellow sound but also more assured (or should I say comfortable). That is, Tweedy and the band know exactly what they want and how to achieve it. They have probably reached that magic moment in their careers when they no longer care too much about what other people want (or expect) and are happy making music for themselves.

Wilco fans fall into two categories. Those that followed on from the demise of Uncle Tupelo and those who jumped on board after the success of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. I fall into the former category and I still yearn for the more country sounds that appeared here and there on albums like A.M. and Being There(My favourite Wilco album) but each album since has always had something I really like that keeps me coming back. This new album seems to have more of those moments and therefore, for me, the album works. Songs like Solitaire, I'll Fight and the duet with Fiest, You and I are particular favorites, all mellow for sure but still with that magic Wilco spark. Through constant evolution the band has had a hard time pleasing both category of fans and they will never please them all (see above) but on this new album they will make more happy than not.

Tweedy has surrounded himself with some top notch musicians (Nels Cline, Mikael Jorgensen, Glenn Kotche, Pat Sansone and John Stirratt) who are all fantastic in their own right. Together they gel as probably the best makers of contemporary popular music in the world right now.

Tweedy and I are roughly the same age and I feel that we have been on a journey together all these years. I am happy to continue along for the ride.

Wilco's Website

STRINGER LAKE

Stringer Lake come from a place called Stouffville in Ontario Canada. Led by Allan Reesor-McDowell and Aidan Boyd, Stringer Lake create a sound that is similar in sound to maybe Belle and Sebastian but with more Americana - or should that be Canadiana! Pedal steel, dobro, lap steel, electric, and twelve-string guitars are used to create their sound which is pleasant, relaxed and very good. The only complaint is that the album is not long enough!

Listen out on the show on 29/6/09 for the tracks "Reap What you Sow" and "Time (Is all I need)"

Stringer Lake on myspace.

Download the album from Amazon.

AMA MUSIC AWARDS

The American Music Association has announced the nominees for the forthcoming award ceremony to take place at the Ryman Auditorium on September 17th. The night will be hosted by Jim Lauderdale and featuring a band led by Buddy Miller.




The nominees are as follows:

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Real Animal, by Alejandro Escovedo

Written in Chalk, by Buddy & Julie Miller

Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, by Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit

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” by Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson, performed by Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson

“Sex And Gasoline,” by Rodney Crowell, performed by Rodney Crowell


DUO GROUP OF THE YEAR

Buddy & Julie Miller

Flatlanders

Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson

Reckless Kelly

Tune into the show this week to here some songs from the artists listed above.

ALELA DIANE - TO BE STILL

Originally from California, singer-songwriter now calls Portland Oregon home. Now signed to Rough Trade, "To be Still" is the follow up to her debut album from 2006 called "The Pirate’s Gospel". Diane has been likened to Sandy Denny and Karen Dalton, both being valid comparisons. She has toured with The Decemberists, Iron & Wine, Akron/Family and Vashti Bunyan and has a big following in Europe, especially France.

myspace
Rough Trade

TODD SNIDER - THE EXCITMENT PLAN

Regular listeners to the show would know that Todd Snider is one of my particular favourites. He has made a habit of releasing albums on a regular basis and his latest "The Excitement Plan" is out now on Yep Roc. Once again it a beauty! Made with the help of legendary producer Don Was it's a more personal album than last years "Peace Queer". Snider's greatest gift is his talent for words and once again each song has you listening intently for words of wisdom. For me, Snider has the ability to articulate the way I feel and think about things better than I ever could and I think that's why I love his work so much. The album also contains a duet "Don't Tempt me" with Loretta Lynn.

As always it best to leave it up to Snider himself to tell us what it's all about;
"Initially The Excitement Plan (June 9th on Yep Roc Records) wasn't supposed to be about anything. I was just trying to come up with the best... most open hearted ... well-thought-out lyrics I could come up with. I wanted every song to be sad and funny at the same time, vulnerable and entertaining at the same time, personal and universal at the same time. I wanted every song to be as uniquely written as possible and then I wanted to perform them in a studio loose and rugged and hopefully as uniquely as I could. My hope is to be hard to describe and/or new…I'm not saying I am. I'm just saying that's the hope."

It's available from YepRoc and eMusic or in all good record stores.



Website
Myspace

FROG HOLLER - BELIEVE IT OR NOT

"Believe it or not" is the sixth full length album by the Berks County, Pennsylvania based band. Still fiercely independent, the band put the album out on ZoBird Records earlier this year. Originally a bluegrass outfit they have evolved over the years but still maintain that original element in their music.

The band convenes every Tuesday night at the house of one of the band members to play music and share a meal. They have a rehearsal space and a recording studio at the house and the album was put together in these comfortable surrounds. Frog Holler sings songs about hope for the future in uncertain times and that the lessons learnt from the past will be remembered.The album is available from eMusic or CdBaby



Band Website
MySpace

LEO RONDEAU - DOWN AT THE END OF THE BAR

Originally from North Dakota, Leo Rondeau’s now lives Austin, Texas. His 2007 debut, "Bangs, Bullets and the Turtle Mountains", mixes traditional country and bluegrass and is mostly about stories of his younger days in ND. His latest album is called "Down at the End of the Bar" and it continues on from where his debut left off. And as with the first CD, it is self-released via cdbaby or iTunes.

Rondeau possess that classic gravel-based country voice that sounds as old as time itself and much like other new kids on the block, Ryan Bingham and Hayes Caryl, he is sure to keep gaining new fans.

myspace

THE LOW ANTHEM - ON MY GOD, CHARLIE DARWIN

The Low Anthem hail from Rhode Island USA. It's probably the first time I've played a song from a band from there. The band are Ben Knox Miller, Jeff Prystowsky and Jocie Adams. The album "Oh My God, Charlie Darwin" was originally released in 2008 in a limited run of only about 2000 copies with cover art hand painted by the band. Nonesuch have re-released the album in the USA this month. No news on a local release but the album is available from itunes, eMusic and Amazon.

All three members of the band are multi-instrumentalists and they shared around different instruments while making the album. Described as chamber folk and compared to the likes of Sufjan Stevens, Sam Beam and even Nick Drake the album is a gem. Recommended also for those who enjoyed the likes of Fleet Foxes and Bon Iver last year.

Low Anthem Website
Myspace
Nonsuch

Let's all help cowboys sing the blues (Weekly Show 7/4/08)

The show this week featured some new music from a new project from M Ward called "She and Him", a song from Chuck Prophet's tribute to Waylon Jennings called "Dreaming Waylon's Dreams" and a couple of tracks from the fantastic new album by Justin Townes Earle called "The Good Life"

Local music came from new albums by Clinkerfield, Silver City Highway & Kasey Chambers with her husband Shane Nicholson from their forthcoming album "Rattlin Bones".

To view the full playlist click here.

Firstly, Justin Townes Earle.

Justin is Steve Earle's son. If that wasn't enough to raise expectations Justin has the added burden of carrying the name of one his Dad's heroes Townes Van Zandt. His debut album, out on Bloodshot Records is called "The Good Life". At 25 Earle has already packed alot into his short life. A veteran of a few bluegrass combos he also playing in his fathers touring band until Earle senior kicked him out due to various bad "habits".

Justin has since cleaned up his act to release this great album.

The Good Life is produced by RS Field (Billy Joe Shaver, Sonny Landreth) and Steve Poulton. The album was recorded (with the exception of “Ain’t Glad I’m Leaving”) at House of David studios, the legendary room that has hosted sessions with George Jones, Elvis Presley, Neil Young and countless others. Joining Earle in the studio are a cast of all-star players including longtime cohort Cory Younts (Bobby Bare, Jr) on banjo and mandolin, pedal steel player master Pete Finney (Dixie Chicks, Patty Loveless), bassist Bryn Davies (Patty Griffin, Guy Clark), drummer Bryan Owings (Buddy Miller, Shelby Lynne), keyboardist Skylar Wilson and fiddle player Josh Hedley. - Bloodshot Records



She and Him - Volume One

She and Him are Zooey Deschanel & M Ward. M Ward I know of course but if you heard the show you would know that I had no idea who Zooey was. I admit it OK. After a bit of research I know who she is now - an actor as well as a singer. She was on Weeds - one of my favourite shows amongst other things.



The She & Him story begins when in 2006 , renowned one man band M. Ward, recorded a duet with a girl named Zooey Deschanel. A delightful recording session, the experience lead to a dialogue between the two about collaborating further. This, in turn, led to Deschanel admitting to secretly making dozens and dozens of home demos and hoarding them like acorns for the winter. Sick and tired of being stingy and secretive about music, Deschanel realized that if songs were acorns then this was indeed her wintertime: she sent the recordings to Ward and these demos became the basis for their first record, entitled Volume One.

Ward’s unique arrangements and virtuostic guitar playing paired with Deschanel’s affinity for vocal harmony give Volume One its characteristic sound . Ward and Deschanel share a mutual affection for the songs they grew up hearing on Los Angeles radio stations - and keep in their hearts the records that most DJ’s aren’t playing anymore: Les Paul and Mary Ford, The Ronettes, Nina Simone, Chet Atkins, Linda Ronstadt, the Carter Family and about a hundred others. Aiming to achieve the warmth and charm of pop and country records from the early and mid part of the twentieth century, Ward, who also produced the record, and Deschanel, who wrote most of the music, called upon the help of a number of extraordinary musicians including: Rachel Blumberg, Adam Selzer, Mike Coykendall, Tom Hagerman, Peter Broderick, Mike Mogis, and Paul Brainerd. Without whom this record would just be two people with no drums, bass, strings or pedal steel. - Spunk Records

See. She was in Weeds!



Chuck Prophet - Dreaming Waylon's Dreams

Chuck Prophet was a member of Green on Red. He has issued a very rare tribute to Waylon Jennings "Dreaming my Dreams" called "Dreaming Waylon's Dreams". It is a track by track tribute featuring Max Butler, Stephanie Finch, John Murry, JJ Wiesler, Mark Pistel and others.. Only 1000 copies have been made. Some may be available to order here otherwise you can download it from emusic

Local music this week came from Kasey Chambers & husband Shane Nicholson. Also we heard a couple of tracks from the new albums by Clinkerfield & Silver City Highway.

Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson release their first collaboration together later this month. It's called "Rattlin Bones". Here is the video.



Clinkerfield launched their album "A Head Full Of Rain & A Heart Full Of Puddles" last week at the Corner in Melbourne with the Idle Hoes. The album is out through Green Media/MGM Distribution on their own Waste Management label.

Silver City Highway are launching their new album on April 26th at the Tote. The album's called "Everything Is Breaking” through Green Media/MGM Distribution. Playing with them at the launch will be Abbie Cardwell and band, The Ukeladies, Van and Cal Walker, and The Family Hour (featuring Henry Wagons).

Letters from sinners & strangers (Weekly Show 24/3/08)

This weeks show featured interviews with Henry Wagons from The Wagons & with Dave Miles from the Hard Way plus Pete from the Skinners. Music was also provided by Wilco, Whiskeytown, Todd Snider, Old Crow Medicine Show, Felice Brothers & a whole lot more! To view the full playlist click here

HENRY WAGONS

Henry Wagons came in & played a couple of tunes. One, "Never been to Spain" is a song made famous by Elvis & a tune that Henry says he enjoys playing at gigs. Henry also played "Pamela May" from the latest Wagons album, "Curse of the Lightning". You can here Henry's performance by logging onto the PBS website & follow the links to the listen live section.

Henry is supporting John Hiatt at the following shows:
Thu March 27: Henry Wagons w/- John Hiatt @ Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Fri March 28: Henry Wagons w/- John Hiatt @ National Theatre, Melbourne

Following on from this the Wagons embark on their Lightning Strikes Twice Tour:
Sun March 30: The Retreat, Melbourne
Wed April 2: Electric Light Hotel, Adelaide
Thu April 3: Edinburgh Castle, Adelaide
Fri April 4: The Pub, Bendigo
Sat April 5: National Hotel, Geelong
Wed April 9: Oxford Tavern, Wollongong
Thu April 10: Brass Monkey, Cronulla
Fri April 11: Woodport Inn, Erina
Sat April 12: Hopetoun Hotel, Sydney
Sun April 13: Great Northern Hotel, Byron Bay
Thu April 17: Shark Bar, Miami Tavern, Gold Coast
Fri April 18: Bon Amici's, Toowoomba
Sat April 19: Sol Bar, Coolum Beach, Sunshine Coast

Henry recommends getting along to the Bendigo & Geelongs shows for an extra special "good" time!

Wagons latest video from Youtube for the song "Snake Bite"



www.myspace.com/wagonsmusic

DAVE MILES & THE HARD WAY

Dave Miles is a Melbourne based singer & songwriter with an iron in a couple of fires. One of his outfits, The Hard Way have just released their debut full length album called "These Blue Miles". It is available at their gigs or from their myspace page.

They are playing at the Old Colonial here in Melbourne on April the 5th & 11th with the Skinners. A admission price of $10.00 will also get you a six track ep with three songs each from Dave Miles & the Hard Way and The Skinners.

Dave Miles & the Hard Way on youtube



www.myspace.com/hardwayband

WILCO

Wilco are coming to town this week playing at the Palace in Bourke street (the old Metro with a new name).

Here is a couple of interesting performances

The first features Jeff Tweedy & the Bottle Rockets performing Passenger Side recently. Lead singer with the Bottle Rockets is Brian Hennmann. He was a guitar tech with Wilco in the early days & played a bit of guitar on the first Wilco album "A.M."



You can log onto the Wilco website & request songs for them to play (no guarantees that they will though). I played two songs as kind of request for the upcoming show, Far Far Away from Being There & Too Far Apart from A.M. If I had a bit more time I also would have played Via Chicago from Summerteeth & Dash 7 from A.M. (maybe next week).

Wilco - Dash 7



Some other clips from band featured this week.

Eilen Jewel - Drop down daddy



Old Crow Medicine Show - I hear them all



Todd Snider - Conservative Christian, Right-Wing Republican, Straight, White American Males

Too Crowded on the Losing End (Weekly Show 17/03/08)

The show this week featured some previously unheard songs from Whiskeytown from the deluxe edition of Strangers Almanac.

I also played a few songs from the fantastic compilation featuring songs played by Bob Dylan on his Theme Time Radio Hour that has just been released by Ace Records (distributed by Shock in Australia)

To view the full playlist click here

Whiskeytown - Strangers Almanac Deluxe Edition (Geffen/Universal)

Released in 1997, when Adams was twenty-two, Almanac was Whiskeytown's major-label debut, and although the group was in upheaval, the record is remarkably polished, coloring Gram Parsons-style country rock with R.E.M.'s vocal drama ("Not Home Anymore") and the Replacements' beer-breath blues ("Yesterday's News"). The album is a minor classic, and this reissue proves Adams was ridiculously prolific even then.

Whiskeytown at the time of Strangers Almanac were:
Ryan Adams (Guitar, Vocals)
Caitlin Cary (Fiddle, Vocals)
Phil Wandscher (Guitar)
Steven Terry (Drums)
Jeff Rice (Bass)

Two original members, Skillet Gilmore (Drums) & Steve Grothmann (Bass) had recently left the band.

The newly expanded version will include previously unreleased Whiskeytown tracks plus several classic covers.

The first disc includes the original album, produced by Jim Scott, plus five live public radio performances recorded in Santa Monica 10/9/1997 on the program Brave New World for KCRW-FM.

The second disc features acoustic demo versions of "16 Days," "Avenues" and "Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart" plus seven previously unreleased Whiskeytown tracks, including "Kiss & Make-Up" and "10 Seconds." Most of these tracks were recorded at the legendary Barn on Fire sessions. Recorded in a loft in Durham for Bloodshot Records the sessions acted as a warm up for the Strangers Almanac sessions to follow.
Steven Terry had just joined &Chris Stamey produced & played bass.

Most of the acoustic tracks on the second CD come from another session called the Baseball Park Sessions which began at the Modern Recording Studios in Chapel Hill by just Adams & Wandscher. Later the full band joined in (the original line up with Gilmore & Grothmann) to record a series of songs, most of which appeared on the bonus released of Faithless Street.

Also on the second disc the band also tackles Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams," Gram Parsons' "Luxury Liner," Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone" and the True Believers' "The Rain Won't Help You When It's Over."

Youtube Clips





Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan (Ace/Shock)



A 2CD set featuring 50 tracks, representing the 50 shows of the first series of radio shows. For those that are new to the show, each programme lasts an hour and has a different theme each week, for example Drink or Mother. Each track is introduced by Dylan with his dry humour, eclectic interest and vast musical knowledge. His voice does not appear on this CD, just tracks selected from the shows.

A further summary of what the show is all about & where to here it can be found on the wikipedia page here.

Track Listing:
Disc 1
1. Turn Your Radio On - GRANDPA JONES
2. Papa’s On The Housetop - LEROY CARR and SCRAPPER BLACKWELL
3. Shortnin’ Bread - PAUL CHAPLAIN & HIS EMERALDS
4. Seven Nation Army - THE WHITE STRIPES
5. Gun Fever (Blam Blam Fever) - THE VALENTINES
6. Pistol Packin’ Mama - AL DEXTER & HIS TROOPERS
7. Pistol Packin’ Mama - THE HURRICANES
8. Homework - OTIS RUSH
9. He Will Break Your Heart - JERRY BUTLER
10. Take It Away Lucky - EDDIE NOACK
11. Buddy, Stay Off The Wine - BETTY HALL JONES
12. Tears A Go-Go - CHARLIE RICH
13. Rich Woman - LI’L MILLET & HIS CREOLES
14. Laughin’ & Jokin’ - ERNIE CHAFFIN
15. Me And My Chauffeur Blues - MEMPHIS MINNIE accompanied by LITTLE SON JOE
16. If I Lose - THE STANLEY BROTHERS
17. I Sat And Cried - JIMMY NELSON
18. Beatnik’s Wish - PATSY RAYE & THE BEATNIKS
19. Devil In His Heart - THE DONAYS
20. Let’s Invite Them Over - GEORGE JONES & MELBA MONTGOMERY
21. Don’t Take Ev’rybody To Be Your Friend - SISTER ROSETTA THARPE with the Sam Price Trio
22. Good Morning Heartache - BILLIE HOLIDAY
23. Pouring Water On A Drowning Man - JAMES CARR
24. I Drink - MARY GAUTHIER
25. Mother Earth - MEMPHIS SLIM

Disc 2
1. Chain Of Fools - ARETHA FRANKLIN
2. Walk A Mile In My Shoes - JOE SOUTH & THE BELIEVERS
3. Cry Tough - ALTON ELLIS & THE FLAMES
4. Tommy Gun - THE CLASH
5. (Everytime I Hear) That Mellow Saxophone - ROY MONTRELL
6. Those Dj Shows - PATRICE HOLLOWAY
7. I Ain’t Drunk - LONNIE “THE CAT”
8. Eat That Chicken - CHARLES MINGUS
9. Mama, Get Your Hammer - BOBBY PETERSON QUINTET
10. How High The Moon - SLIM GAILLARD
11. Cool Water - THE SONS OF THE PIONEERS
12. Only A Rose - GERAINT WATKINS
13. I Walk In My Sleep - BERNA - DEAN
14. Stars Fell On Alabama - JACK TEAGARDEN’S CHICAGOANS
15. Mama Tried (The Ballad From Killers Three) - MERLE HAGGARD & THE STRANGERS
16. Big Long Slidin’ Thing - DINAH WASHINGTON
17. Black Coffee - BOBBY DARIN
18. I’d Rather Drink Muddy Water - THE CATS AND THE FIDDLE
19. Ain’t Got The Money To Pay For This Drink - GEORGE ZIMMERMAN & THE THRILLS with the Bubber Cyphers
20. Bottle And A Bible - THE YAYHOOS
21. Okie’s In The Pokie - JIMMY PATTON
22. If You’re So Smart, How Come You Ain’t Rich? - LOUIS JORDAN
23. Ay Te Dejo En San Antonio - SANTIAGO JIMENEZ
24. Mona - BO DIDDLEY
25. Roadrunner (Twice) - THE MODERN LOVERS

Finally here aer a couple more clips by a few of the artists I played today.

Trailer Bride (Melissa Swingle!)



Jim White - Searching for the wrong eyed Jesus



Happy Easter

Whiskey in My Whiskey (Weekly Show 10/3/08)

This week I played a couple of new songs from the Felice Brothers & Chatham Country Line. Local music was supplied by the Idle Hoes, Jane Dust & Dogsday.

To view the full play list click here.

The Felice Brothers hail from the Catskill Mountains in up state New York & three members of the band actually are brothers. James, Ian & Simon are three of seven children that grew up in the woods around Palenville in the Catskills. They credit this upbringing as a major influence on their music, this & a steady diet of Hank Williams, Blind Willie McTell & Jimmie Rogers. The fourth member of the band is a shady character simply named Christmas who is apparently a published novelist & dice player.

The Felice Brothers new self tilted album, recorded mainly in a chicken coop is out now on Team Love.

Here is a live clip of the song I played "Whiskey in my Whiskey"



The Chatham County Line are a Bluegrass band or as they call it, an acoustic country band who come from North Carolina & were formed back in 1999 by Dave Wilson & Greg Readling. Wilson was in the band Stillhouse & after that band broke up he spent some time with Readling in the backing band for Tift Merritt. Joining with some long time Stillhouse fans, John Teer Chandler Holt, Chatham Country Line was born. The new album IV is out now on Yep Roc & follows on from 2006's Speed of the Whippoorwill.

Here is the video for "Let it Rock" from the new album.



Local music this week.

The Idle Hoes have their debut coming out on Friday March 14th called "Little Victories". Recorded by Craig Pilkington at his Audrey Studios & at Mick Thomas's Two Feet High & Rising studio (both located here in Melbourne). The band are launching the album at the Corner Hotel on Friday April 4th with Clinkerfield (who are also launching a new album on the night).


Jane Dust is Melbourne based singer-songwriter & one time member on the band Muddy Spurs. Her new album is called "A Spray of Red from the Deep" & was recorded by Dave Graney & Claire Moore at their Ponderosa studio. Moore provided some percussion on the album were required, otherwise it is an acoustic affair.

Jane is launching her album on Sunday March 30th at Bar Open (317 Brunswick st Fitzroy) with special guests Kim Salmon, Claire Moore & Leon Stackpole.

Here is a clip of Jane's from Youtube.



Finally I played a song from Dogsday's self titled 5 track ep. After a break of nearly ten years while the band spent time raising kids & paying off the mortgage, they are back! Check local gig guides for details on the EP's launch date sometime in March or April. Here is live cut from the EP

No Depression - No More (Weekly Show 3/3/08)

For the full playlist from this weeks show click HERE.

The key element to this weeks show is the news about the pending demise of the No Depression Magazine (follow link to the website for a full transcript from the magazines editors). The main reasons for the demise are stated as falling revenue from advertising & the rising cost of printing. I can also see other factors such as the increased use of the Internet & the use of myspace & youtube by record companies & music fans alike to get the message out there. A bi-monthly magazine such as No Depression is out of date as soon as it hits the stands. They say they will continue on line but we sure will miss the great articles (something the Internet is not good at) & informed reviews.

Anyway this week I paid tribute to the magazine with a few choice cuts from artists most associated with the magazine. When the last one comes out in May, I'll probably devote a whole show!

Here is an Uncle Tupelo clip of the song that started it all



This weeks show also featured three songs from ex-Jayhawks members who all have solo albums out. Tim O'reagan & Mark Olson put theirs out last year & Gary Louris's Vagabonds is just out now.

Vagabonds was co-produced by Black Crows front man Chris Robinson. He also worked with Louris on the forthcoming reunion album with Mark Olson called " Ready fro the Flood". It was actually recorded before Vagabonds but it's release has been held over while the focus it on the solo albums. Ready for the Flood is due in mid 2008.

Here is Gary Louris singing "True Blue" from the new album.