You were curious for my opinion on something yet start by saying "I couldn't care less............". That really got me ready to engage with you BB
If you know anything about my musical tastes from any of my previous posts you wouldn't be surprised that I would have no time for either of those two guys. I'm sure you have a few musicians that you just can't listen to. Yes I know they give pleasure to millions and are obviously talented guys, but they just have no place in my world. As I said, if Kudzu hadn't said what he said the way he said it (not a criticism!!) I wouldn't have even responded, but he did, so I did!! It's not a matter of pride, where I come from we call that having an opinion.
My post wasn't intended to be "sweeping" but I can certainly see how it might have come across that way. I'm just speaking to what I saw across social media (and beyond) when Glenn Frey passed. No, what I was saying doesn't apply to all music fans but I did see a fair share of folks speak fondly of Frey and the Eagles that weren't necessarily fans. I was never much of a fan but I readily acknowledge their contributions to rock n' roll and specifically the subgenre of country-rock, Cosmic American, alt.country, whatever you choose to call it. I was also never much of a Bowie fan but I felt a deep sadness when he passed due to all that he had meant to and contributed to music. My love of rock n' roll and music in general isn't about keeping up appearances in regards to what's considered cool or uncool to like or what may make one "hip".
I love Los Lobos, although I haven't heard most of their older albums. I first got into them when The Road to Gila Bend came out.
Other than Derek & the Dominos, I loathe Clapton's bluesy shit. I can't buy into it at all. I do have a soft spot for the more singer-songwriter and poppier stuff (261 Ocean Blvd, Slowhand).
Smitty wrote:I love Los Lobos, although I haven't heard most of their older albums. I first got into them when The Road to Gila Bend came out.
Other than Derek & the Dominos, I loathe Clapton's bluesy shit. I can't buy into it at all. I do have a soft spot for the more singer-songwriter and poppier stuff (261 Ocean Blvd, Slowhand).
Huge Los Lobos fan, have almost everything they've released, in a perfect world they would be infinitely more popular, famous, and rich
I honestly think that if Clapton had never recorded a thing after Slow Hand his legacy wouldn't lose one bit of luster and likely would be held in higher regard. In such a scenario he would never have had that massive hit with Tears in Heaven/Unplugged but it also means we would have never had to hear things like Forever Man, I've Got a Rock and Roll Heart, & It's in the Way That You Use It. That's more than a fair trade in my book.
I'm not a huge Clapton fan, I often refer to him as "rock's sacred cow," but I do like Layla (like it a lot), 461 Ocean Blvd (love this one), and most of his work with Cream
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing
Mary Gauthier. I heard about her for maybe a couple years via the Guitartown email list but didn't see her until she opened for Guy Clark at Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC sometime in the early 00's. That show solidified my fandom, I'm not sure how many times I've seen her since. If you like Guy, Prine, Townes, etc. I imagine you'll also enjoy Mary.
Jon Dee Graham
Another artist that was put on my radar by the Guitartown email list in the late 90's/early 00's. I saw Jon Dee Graham in concert for the first time with the Resentments during a trip to Austin in 2001 for SXSW. The Resentments were a supergroup of sorts that also included the late Stephen Bruton (a good deal of the Jeff Bridges movie Crazy Heart was based on his life, a subject of controversy shortly after the film's release) and "Scrappy" Jud Newcomb (Ian McLagan, amongst many others). More on the Resentments here. Jon Dee is also a member of the True Believers that includes Javier and Alejandro Escovedo. The first clip below is of Alejandro and Jon Dee doing "The Rain Won't Help You When It's Over", a True Believers song that was later covered by Whiskeytown that appeared on their In Your Wildest Dreams EP. For those that are interested, The Bitter Southerner ran a great piece on Jon Dee a couple years ago or so called A Man of Few Words: Jon Dee Graham and the Laws of Subtraction that is well worth the read. One of my favorite shows this past year was Jon Dee playing to probably around a couple dozen or so of us during an early show at Slim's in Raleigh, NC. If any of this piques your interest, be sure to give his website a looksee for any potential dates near you (looks like he's got a few in Texas with a European tour TBA soon).
Roadside Graves. I know a bunch of people here like them, but they deserve the same kind of cult adoration bands like the Dexateens get. I think that's an apt comparison, actually. Working class rock and roll bands with a DIY ethos making kickass music on nights and weekends. Their latest, Acne/Ears, is a flawless masterpiece.
Last edited by Duke Silver on Mon Aug 01, 2016 12:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Kudzu Guillotine wrote:Jon Dee Graham
Another artist that was put on my radar by the Guitartown email list in the late 90's/early 00's. I saw Jon Dee Graham in concert for the first time with the Resentments during a trip to Austin in 2001 for SXSW. The Resentments were a supergroup of sorts that also included the late Stephen Bruton (a good deal of the Jeff Bridges movie Crazy Heart was based on his life, a subject of controversy shortly after the film's release) and "Scrappy" Jud Newcomb (Ian McLagan, amongst many others). More on the Resentments here. Jon Dee is also a member of the True Believers that includes Javier and Alejandro Escovedo. The first clip below is of Alejandro and Jon Dee doing "The Rain Won't Help You When It's Over", a True Believers song that was later covered by Whiskeytown that appeared on their In Your Wildest Dreams EP. For those that are interested, The Bitter Southerner ran a great piece on Jon Dee a couple years ago or so called A Man of Few Words: Jon Dee Graham and the Laws of Subtraction that is well worth the read. One of my favorite shows this past year was Jon Dee playing to probably around a couple dozen or so of us during an early show at Slim's in Raleigh, NC. If any of this piques your interest, be sure to give his website a looksee for any potential dates near you (looks like he's got a few in Texas with a European tour TBA soon).
He is one of the guys who has been on my "need to listen to more" list for ages. Good call.
John Fullbright. I know there isn't much material but it seems like his stuff would be perfect for some of the tastes on this board. He's like an Oklahoma Randy Newman or some shit.
I dig both Roadside and Fullbright quite a bit. Both get a lot of fall tractor play from me.
On the Fullbright side, I'd add Turnpike Troubadours (of which Fullbright was once a member). There's a few of us here, and I haven't seen anyone flat out dislike them, but I think between Evan Felker and RC Edwards, they're starting to push into McMurtry-esque songwriting in terms of not only subject matter, but also quality. "The Bird Hunters" is a fucking masterpiece of a song. I think they still have better work in them.
Felker flat out admits to the McMurtry influence here, but that was the first thing I thought when I heard it.
Iowan wrote:I dig both Roadside and Fullbright quite a bit. Both get a lot of fall tractor play from me.
On the Fullbright side, I'd add Turnpike Troubadours (of which Fullbright was once a member). There's a few of us here, and I haven't seen anyone flat out dislike them, but I think between Evan Felker and RC Edwards, they're starting to push into McMurtry-esque songwriting in terms of not only subject matter, but also quality. "The Bird Hunters" is a fucking masterpiece of a song. I think they still have better work in them.
Felker flat out admits to the McMurtry influence here, but that was the first thing I thought when I heard it.
Jesus, that sounds good. A little off topic , but it seems the troubadours, and particularly Evan, have cleaned up a little bit. I don't think he is completely on the wagon, but has slowed down and seems to have a different attitude. I love the guy but he did kinda seem like a prick in the past.
Iowan wrote:I dig both Roadside and Fullbright quite a bit. Both get a lot of fall tractor play from me.
On the Fullbright side, I'd add Turnpike Troubadours (of which Fullbright was once a member). There's a few of us here, and I haven't seen anyone flat out dislike them, but I think between Evan Felker and RC Edwards, they're starting to push into McMurtry-esque songwriting in terms of not only subject matter, but also quality. "The Bird Hunters" is a fucking masterpiece of a song. I think they still have better work in them.
Felker flat out admits to the McMurtry influence here, but that was the first thing I thought when I heard it.
Jesus, that sounds good. A little off topic , but it seems the troubadours, and particularly Evan, have cleaned up a little bit. I don't think he is completely on the wagon, but has slowed down and seems to have a different attitude. I love the guy but he did kinda seem like a prick in the past.
Yeah. I saw them in Lincoln, NE this winter and they still were all drinking, but it didn't appear that they were out of control at all, or on anything else. The show was top notch too. I don't think it was much secret how hard they partied in the past, at least among their fanbase, and after there was some videos of a real wasted performance (pretty sure it was more than booze) it seems like they knocked off the over the top shit. Some friends and I partied with them before a show in Des Moines in 2013 and Felker was definitely the least interested in mingling, but he wasn't an ass either. Just a little quieter, more reserved, while Edwards/Nix/Engleman were over the top extroverted.
Kind of the DBT approach as opposed to the Isbell approach.
Kudzu Guillotine wrote:Jon Dee Graham
Another artist that was put on my radar by the Guitartown email list in the late 90's/early 00's. I saw Jon Dee Graham in concert for the first time with the Resentments during a trip to Austin in 2001 for SXSW. The Resentments were a supergroup of sorts that also included the late Stephen Bruton (a good deal of the Jeff Bridges movie Crazy Heart was based on his life, a subject of controversy shortly after the film's release) and "Scrappy" Jud Newcomb (Ian McLagan, amongst many others). More on the Resentments here. Jon Dee is also a member of the True Believers that includes Javier and Alejandro Escovedo. The first clip below is of Alejandro and Jon Dee doing "The Rain Won't Help You When It's Over", a True Believers song that was later covered by Whiskeytown that appeared on their In Your Wildest Dreams EP. For those that are interested, The Bitter Southerner ran a great piece on Jon Dee a couple years ago or so called A Man of Few Words: Jon Dee Graham and the Laws of Subtraction that is well worth the read. One of my favorite shows this past year was Jon Dee playing to probably around a couple dozen or so of us during an early show at Slim's in Raleigh, NC. If any of this piques your interest, be sure to give his website a looksee for any potential dates near you (looks like he's got a few in Texas with a European tour TBA soon).
this! Ive had the opportunity to see him several times over the years both with True Believers and solo. Always a great show. Top notch songwriting.
I'm not too familiar with Alexander Escovedo, but I picked up one of his CDs at a junk shop recently and played it on the way to church camp last week. The kid now has it borrowed.
The sooner we put those assholes in the grave&piss on the dirt above it, the better off we'll be
John A Arkansawyer wrote:I'm not too familiar with Alexander Escovedo, but I picked up one of his CDs at a junk shop recently and played it on the way to church camp last week. The kid now has it borrowed.
For someone that's considered one of the pinnacles of alt.country, it took me a while to discover Alejandro Escovedo. Once I did, I found out that I'd indeed heard of him going all the way back to my college radio years where we used to play his Rank n' File records alongside stuff by Jason and the Scorchers, the Textones, Stealin' Horses and other proto-cowpunk of the day. I'd also heard of the True Believers but had never sought them out. In the spring of 1998, No Depression named him Artist of the decade. I haven't been able to find the entire article but in the event that you're interested in reading an excerpt, you can do so by clicking on the image below.
John A Arkansawyer wrote:I'm not too familiar with Alexander Escovedo, but I picked up one of his CDs at a junk shop recently and played it on the way to church camp last week. The kid now has it borrowed.
One of my all time favorites.
We call him Scooby Do, but Scooby doesn’t do. Scooby, is not involved
John A Arkansawyer wrote:I'm not too familiar with Alexander Escovedo, but I picked up one of his CDs at a junk shop recently and played it on the way to church camp last week. The kid now has it borrowed.
One of my all time favorites.
That's quite a recommendation, seeing as how I didn't mention which one it was!
But I just looked it up in his discography. It's A Man Under The Influence. I'd meant to look it up earlier, because I wanted to see if that was his autograph on the cover of the booklet. It's hard to tell when it's a marker or a sharpie and not a ballpoint (my preference). And sure enough, it was!
The sooner we put those assholes in the grave&piss on the dirt above it, the better off we'll be
tinnitus photography wrote:Alejandro was also in noted punk band The Nuns, who opened for the last Pistols show in the US.
Indeed but I cited Rank n' File and True Believers due to their more direct connection to alt.country and its orgins. I also realize punk plays a part in that as well but he has also been in numerous other bands (if I'm not mistaken) so I didn't want my point to potentially get lost in a long list of those other bands. When I first learned of Alejandro's vast history, I came to think of him as sort of a Forest Gump of alt.country.
A few years ago, when Chip Robinson (of the Backsliders) was injured in a bicycle accident in New York, there were at least a couple benefits held, one in New York and one in Raleigh. For the Raleigh show, the Buck Jones Band put in a rare appearance. Apparently, they only perform once every ten years or so. In addition to Alejandro and Chip, the Buck Jones Band includes Marc Smith (Patty Hurst Shifter, Maldora), Robert Kearns (Cry of Love, Bottle Rockets, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Sheryl Crow) and Skillet Gilmore (Whiskeytown, Patty Hurst Shifter). They're joined here by Tres Chicas (Caitlin Cary, Tonya Lamm and Lynn Blakey) on background vocals.
I have heard of this band thanks to Lydia Loveless but haven't dug deep enough yet to see if they really click with me. So far, I've only sampled a song or two, which I liked but overall didn't trip my trigger.
I have heard of this band thanks to Lydia Loveless but haven't dug deep enough yet to see if they really click with me. So far, I've only sampled a song or two, which I liked but overall didn't trip my trigger.
Have You Ever Done Something Evil is an incredible record.
Their new one A Band Is Something To Figure Out is very strong as well.
This is my label > http://warhenrecords.bandcamp.com/
Label IG > @WarHenRecords
