I listen to a lot of new Americana and Country music. As much as I can without getting overwhelmed. Even at that, there is so much to discover and fall in love with. If you'll let me, I want to share with you 4 songs that I think you might like or will at least find interesting.
I find a lot of music through movies and tv shows as I'm watching them. I'll pick up on a lyric that interests me and google it. Sites like Tunefind are a great resource to find these cool unknown gems. That's exactly how I found this awesome bluegrass thumper. It was featured in a season one episode of Justified being played by a jailhouse bluegrass band, portrayed in the episode by Wagner and his band. After I did some research and found the song, I discovered that there are a couple of different versions. One is an older more traditional bluegrass style, while the one featured here has a banging drum kit featured. Cliff Wagner was quoted as saying, "Some bluegrass fans say to me, 'you don’t need a drummer' and I say to them yes, I don’t need a drummer, I want a drummer." I'm dig the later drummed up version myself, but your miles may vary.
This tune hits a checkbox with me, and that's the one that digs driving drums and aggressive banjos. Something about that combination really set's off the inner hillbilly in me. It's worth noting this song is based on a true story. Wagner wrote it about a bartender he knew that had a medieval castle tattooed on his neck. He didn't know that sud slinger's name until it was published in the local paper for killing his girlfriend. That's the pedigree of a bluegrass song.
If you ever, I mean ever get a chance to see Shinyribs live, do so. I guarantee you will not regret it. It doesn't even matter what kind of music you're into. Country? Gospel? Blues? R&B? Swamp rock? Oldies? Jazz? It's all there! I've had the pleasure of seeing them twice and I hope the see them a dozen more. Kevin Russell, the lead singer, is a bastion of energy and "I can't believe he just did that" swagger. That's never more evident than when they are playing a song like Take Me Lake Charles.
The song tells the tale a down on his luck guy who's asking his lady friend to take him to the casino, because he really wants to do some gambling. He's lost his license during Hurricane Rita, so he can't drive, but if she will take him, he'll take her to the buffet and buy her some flowers. It's so much fun and you can't help but sway and smile along as he lists the reasons she should take him on this journey.
Fun fact - Remember when you downloaded Gin and Juice off Limewire back in the day and it was probably labeled as a "Weird Al" song? That was actually Kevin Russell's earlier band The Gourds!
From May of 2000 to May of 2005, I worked at Video Connection in Galax Va. Nearly every Wednesday morning for those five years, I came in at 9:30 in the morning to open up the store. In those days, I considered getting up at 8:30 am super early and would drag myself into work like I had gotten up at 4. To keep myself awake in those mornings, I would listen to Bob & Tom on 106.5 the End out of Charlotte. Bob & Tom is your typical kind of morning zoo show, maybe skewing to a little bit of an older crowd. I would get about 20 minutes each week of their bits and special guests. One week they had a special guest in Todd Snider. At the time, I didn't know Todd Snider. I was busy listening to Rob Zombie and Staind. But when I first heard Beer Run, something about it, made me pay attention. I felt like I already knew the song somehow. I would hear it another couple of times in the following weeks and soon, I would know the song pretty much by heart. I did have a few questions though.
Who was Sleepy John?
What was that reference at the end, "the Road Goes On Forever and the Party Never Ends?"
And who is Robert Earl Keen?
It wasn't long after that, that I began buying random things on eBay. Fun fact; the first thing I bought on eBay was Todd Browning's Freaks on DVD. The main thing that I've always bought however, has been CDs. I'm still a sucker for ph
ysical media. I like having that case and the art in my hands to examine as I listen to the disc.
As I found myself humming along from time to time to Beer Run, my curiosity grew about Robert Earl Keen. This was probably around 2004, just before YouTube, so it wasn't as easy to check out someone's music. So with this interest growing, I made a purchase that kind of changed my whole musical taste.
I bought Robert Earl Keen's Best.
And it didn't click with me.
It was fine. I liked it well enough. I listened to it once or twice and put it on the shelf. I moved along and went back to my Cold and Stabbing Westward. It would be probably another year or so before I picked the disc back up. I'm not sure why I did, or when I did. But the second time I really gave it a shot, it all made sense.
I understood the taught little bald man in No Kinda Dancer. I could see Willie headed away from the thunderhead. I felt good again. I stood along that seawall. I was coming home. I must have listened to that CD front the back a dozen times before I popped it out of car. I listened until I knew every word. For whatever reason, these songs about love, parties, outlaws and Texas were now my favorites. And they still are.
It wouldn't be long before I bought all his albums. In 2017, I got to check off a bucket list item and got to Mr. Keen at his annual Christmas Show. It was a magical event, and there were times that I just closed my eyes and made myself take a mental note to remember the moment. We would see him again at Merlefest the following spring. A festival means a shorter set, but it was nonetheless as great as the last time. The following October, we saw Robert Earl Keen and Lyle Lovett at the Paramount Theater in Bristol Tn and that show was probably in my all time top 5 concerts I've ever seen. I could drone on about how wonderful it was and never do it justice. Finally we were lucky enough to catch the Christmas show last December at the Paramount as Shinyribs opened and wowed us with their wonderfully insane stage show. I was somehow lucky and got front row tickets, so when the main event came on, I was maybe 6 feet from Robert Earl Keen himself.
I think I may have closed my eyes the entire time he played Feelin' Good Again. Maybe because it's my favorite song. Maybe because I was feet away from the man who wrote it. Maybe I kept them closed to keep from crying. But sang along with every word and I saved that moment in my head and I'll never let it go.
Robert Earl Keen has become my favorite. Not just my favorite singer. Not just my favorite songwriter. Just my favorite. I've never had the pleasure of meeting the man, but he comes across as a down to earth humanitarian, involved with several charities and give back to the music community. His writing can be introspective and deep and at the same time, humorous and self deprecating. His songs range in subject matter from a wild redneck Texan Christmas to the complexities of immigration. He sings of outlaws in the old west, and Sears employees who want to disappear. He's sang tributes to Bill Monroe and Levon Helm, and has posed the question, "Is there wireless in Heaven?"
In 2009, Musicfest arranged a tribute to Mr. Keen that featured some heavy hitters of Red Dirt and Texas country paying tribute by covering some of his greatest songs. Artists like Wade Bowen, Chris Knight, The Brauns Jason Boland, Cody Canada and Bonnie Bishop all contributed. It's definitely worth tracking down if you can find it.
Currently Robert Earl Keen is the host of Americana the 51st Podcast. On this show, Keen interviews some of the biggest names in Americana music. Some of the past guests have included Bj Barham of American Aquarium, Kevin Russell of Shinyribs, Lucero, and I'm With Her.
10-20-2020 was officially named Three Twenties and a Ten Day by Governor Greg Abbott in the state of Texas. Keen is recognized by the state for his contribution to Texas culture and his work with state charities. A limited edition shirt is available for a short time on his website shop.
I'm not sure why an I.T. guy from southwest Virginia identifies so much with these Texas country songs. But after discovering Robert Earl Keen, I found my way to other wonderful artists like Charlie Robison, Bruce Robison, Cody Canada, Reckless Kelly, Micky & The Motorcars, Turnpike Troubadours and so many more. I'm so glad I found Texas Country and Red Dirt music.
I plan on seeing Texas someday. Maybe I can see Billy Bobs. Or John T Floore's Country Store. In the meantime, I'll listen to my Robert Earl Keen CDs, or my endless playlists I've made. Or I'll keep writing about it and the odd connection I feel to Texas and its music.
I'll leave ya'll with this piece of song I've been writing that I plan on finishing someday:
I ain't Texan But I can dream I close my eyes and I'm on stage With Robert Earl Keen
I ain't Texan Wish as I might But I float that Brazos river in my mind every night
Feelin Good Again - Robert Earl Keen
Thursday, October 8, 2020
4 Songs I Think You Should Hear
I listen to a lot of new Americana and Country music. As much as I can without getting overwhelmed. Even at that, there is so much to discover and fall in love with. If you'll let me, I want to share with you 4 songs that I think you might like or will at least find interesting.
4) Soul Living On - Lucas Pasley (feat. Martha Spencer & Kyle Dean Smith
From the album "Soul Living On"
I have to preface this by saying, yes my uber talented cousin Kyle Dean Smith plays on this song, but even if he was a total stranger, the words and melody would have moved me the same. Lucas Pasley's Soul Living On is a family affair. All of the 15 tracks on the album are written by him or members of his family. The accompanying video is home movies of Pasley's family and sets a perfect backdrop to the bittersweet meaning of the song. The music itself and the sweet mountain stylings of Miss Martha Spencer paint the song in sepia and make it somehow timeless and a tune as familiar as the hills themselves.
Kentucky is a hot bed these days of amazing singer songwriters. Not all of them though can write like Ian Noe. His major debut, Between The Country, came out in 2017 and was top to bottom one of my favorite records that year. If you imagine John Prine writing about meth-heads, you'll have small idea of the kind of tunes Ian Noe writes. This one in particular has a drunken sing along style chorus that's as infectious as the song's content; a story about an alcoholic family member that keeps showing up causing drama.
A good friend of mine just recently bought me a copy of Red Dirt: Roots Music Born in Oklahoma, Raised in Texas, At Home Anywhere. I love Red Dirt country music and here's a great example of a track that could be used a jumping off point for someone new to the genre. I'm no expert, but Micky & The Motor Cars are some of the great Red Dirt royalty and are members of the storied Braun family. When the chorus of this country rock driver hits, you feel yourself windows down, driving across Oklahoma, mid July on the way to a Cody Canada show. That's a nice feeling when the leaves are falling in October here in the Blue Ridge.
From the album "Lightning on the Mountain & Other Short Stories"
It's wonderful to hear the Evan Felker is clean and sober and writing. Maybe someday we'll get the word that the Troubadours are getting back together. I do pray for that day. That's a live show that I always seemed to have missed and would love to make up for that. In the meantime though, we have Kyle Nix's amazing debut album Lightning on the Mountain & Other Short Stories. Nix is known for burning up the bow as a member of the Turnpike Troubadours, but here, he adds songwriting to his list of skills. Each song is another story and this one in particular has stuck with me from the first day I listened. It tells the story of a family that has served in the military for generations and how eventually, that comes to an end.
That's all for this installment of 4 Songs I Think You Should Hear. Check out the links to support the artists!
The last thing I wrote about on this blog, was the death of Tom Petty. That was in 2017 and it still seems unreal. But it will also tie in nicely to one of my entries in this new series.
I was doing pretty ok with this blog for a while. I spotlighted songwriters especially as that's where my heart lies. But life sometimes gets in the way of hobbies. Work piles up and fries your brain and as someone who sits behind a keyboard all day, the last thing you want to do is spend your free time typing more. As I read back through some of my posts though, I remembered how much I did enjoy doing this, brief as it were. So I'm testing myself with a weekly segment to see if I can keep it up. I may do more posts in between if I feel froggy. Who knows? With that, let's begin with The Thursday 4!
I listen to a lot of new Americana and Country music. As much as I can without getting overwhelmed. Even at that, there is so much to discover and fall in love with. If you'll let me, I want to share with you 4 songs that I think you might like or will at least find interesting.
4) Emily Scott Robinson - Better With Time
From the album "Traveling Mercies"
Greensboro's own Emily Scott Robinson is a songwriting beast. Her debut album Traveling Mercies garnered her loads of attention including a spot on Rolling Stone’s “10 New Country and Americana Artists You Need to Know.” While "The Dress" has become the most talked about track on the album, I chose one of my favorite songs I've heard in a while, from that same record. "Better With Time" is a true story. It's all about the love story between Robinson and her husband, and you guys, it's the sweetest thing you'll hear today. It's the kind of tune that you sort of feel like you've always known. You'll be singing along with a smile by the second time you hear it.
3) Ray Wylie Hubbard ft Aaron Lee Tasjan - Rock Gods
From the album "Co-Starring"
Mr. Hubbard did it again yall. I could have picked pretty much any song from Co-Starring as they are all so wonderful. Personal favorites include "Drink Til I See Double" and "Outlaw Blood." But this song seems timely to me, especially with seeing my last post being a memorial to Tom Petty, whose death is referenced in this song. The chorus states:
"And all the rock gods are dead or dying
Seems the whole world is broken and crying
It is more than prayers we're needing
We're all on a cross, alone and bleeding"
Hubbard's the kind of guy who can articulate the state of the world with gruff poetry, but do so with a raging beat.
2) Morgan Wade - The Night
From the single "The Night"
I'm telling you right now. Morgan Wade is about to blow up. She's working on a new album now and I believe when that hits, she's going to be a superstar. The Night is an opus of recovery and mental health.This is raw and honest and powerful. Imagine something falling between Joan Jett and Jason Isbell. It's truly a sound though, that is all her own. Not exactly country, but a country flavored rock that doesn't exactly sound like southern rock, with the exception of her Floyd Va. accent. Trust me. It'll make sense if you listen.
1) American Aquarium - Better South
From the album "Lamentations"
This isn't a political forum, but BJ Barham is speaking my truth in this song from what I'm so far calling the album of the year "Lamentations." American Aquarium hammers home what a lot of us are feeling in these days. Its kind of a simple message, but requires the deft pen of an author like Barham to poetically illustrate how we can do better. Beautiful song. "Nuff said.
So that's it for the first edition of The Thursday 4! I hope you check these songs out and if you dig them, go buy them or go buy some merch from the artists. These times are rough on musicians and they are hustling any way they can. See yall next Thursday!
Thomas Earl Petty: October 20, 1950 – October 2, 2017
"Yeah and it's over before you know it. It all goes by so fast"
The Best Of Everything
It had been nearly a year since I typed blogger.com into my address bar. I had high aspirations for my music blog and was initially motivated to keep it updated and write about music as much as I could. Sadly the world, or my laziness, intervened and I stopped updating. There was no grand cancellation. I just didn't want to anymore. Until this last week, that is. I was at work last Monday October 2nd 2017 when I happened to open Facebook on my phone. In the last couple of years, as I've aged, I've grown almost accustomed to my heroes passing on to the greater beyond. Its sadly not that shocking anymore to see news articles about these great pioneers dying. In 2017 alone, we've lost Gregg Allman, Chuck Berry, Glenn Campbell, Chester Bennington, Chris Cornell and so many more. But this one was different. If I remember correctly, it must have been 1994 or so when I was flipping through the channels on my family's newly acquired satellite dish. I came along some of the music video channels, and stopped when I saw that CMT was airing something I believe was called "Drivin' Country." This was a show I had seen a couple of times and remembered enjoying. These were videos by what we would call Americana or Alt Country artists now. I remember they even played a Dylan video. But what struck me on this particular viewing, was "You Don't Know How It Feels" by Tom Petty. I had grown up in a country music household. It wasn't that other music was forbidden, it was just what we listened to. It was what we knew. Rock music was a foreign entity to me for the most part. I knew band names and certain songs, but for the most part I was clueless. So when this shaggy looking fella was singing about "getting to the point and rolling another joint," I was fascinated. The music felt familiar. It had some twang to it, but the words were unlike anything I had ever heard. I found out soon who the artist and the album was, and it turns out my brother had the CD. So after bumming it from him and making a cassette copy, I stumbled into the world of music outside my comfort zone. Tom Petty became my gateway drug into a world I had never listened to. The first "rock" CD I ever bought, was Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers' Greatest Hits. I went on to purchase more of Petty's albums through the years. Echo was always a personal favorite. I heard "Walls" the first time at a Carolina Hurricanes hockey game. Soon I was a grown man with his own tastes.
On June 9th 2006, I had the opportunity to see Tom Petty and The
Heartbreakers live at what was the Verizon Wireless Music Theater. This
was probably the first "mega" concert I had ever been too. I'll never
forget that sea of humanity singing along with every song. I'll always
remember the deafening applause when Stevie Nicks came out to join him. I've not stopped listening to Petty's music since that day I first him on CMT. I can't say that for all the music I've listened to in the past. I still listen to the soundtrack for "She's The One." "Southern Accents" is still one of my favorite songs ever. I'll spend the rest of my life humming "Running Down A Dream" to myself. And no wild night sing along will ever be complete without a rousing rendition of "Mary Jane's Last Dance."
I'm thankful for that concert. I'm going to see Robert Earl Keen this December. But I never got to see Johnny Cash. I can't afford to see Springsteen. But I will always have the memory of that night. I hope that all the millions of fans worldwide will find solace and comfort in those amazing songs and performances. I know I will.
"For a songwriter, you don't really go to songwriting school; you learn by listening to tunes. And you try to understand them and take them apart and see what they're made of, and wonder if you can make one, too." - Tom Waits
Harlan Perry Howard (September 8, 1927 – March 3, 2002
One of my favorite things about songwriters, is where they get their ideas. Where do they come up with these turns of phrases? Is it like the movie Walk Hard, where Dewey Cox hears an interesting phrase and immediately has an idea? Or is something crafted slower? Do you start with a title and work back or do you craft that first line that sets the tone? I suppose all of these are right, because in my research, it seems like everyone is a little different. That's why I want to start this feature of the Music Ramble; The Songwriter Spotlight.
Today in this first edition, I wanted to start somewhere less then expected. Prine, Kristofferson, Snider, Isbell, Keen, Williams and more will be featured in time, but why not take this opportunity to learn a little more about one of the most prevalent songwriters in country music history.
When I began looking for someone to start this article with, I wanted to find someone I didn't know much about. I definitely did that, because an hour ago, I had no idea who Harlan Howard was. That's the best thing about digging into the history of music; you can always learn.
Harlan Howard was born in Lexington Kentucky in 1927. His family relocated soon after to a farm near Detroit. He spent his Saturday nights listening to the Grand Ole Opry and became a fan of Ernest Tubb. It was these songs and their words that would inspire Howard to write. He was especially adept at song titles.
As an adult, he spent four years in the military service before moving to California and becoming acquainted with the Bakersfield Sound. By the time he moved to Nashville in the 1960's, Howard was a sought after writer and brought several hits with including "Heartaches by the Number", which had been a massive hit for Ray Price.
In the next four decades, Howard would pen many more songs that would help push artists to the top of the charts. He would write classics with Hank Cochran and Buck Owens. One of Patsy Cline's signature songs, "I Fall To Pieces" was written by he and Cochran. His songs would be recorded Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, Patty Loveless, The Judds, Joe Simon, Waylon Jennings, and many more.
Harlan Howard is a member of the Country Music Hall Of Fame and the Nashville Song Writer's Hall Of Fame.
Selected works written by (or with) Harlan Howard:
It seems this year and now this week in particular have been rough for the music industry. In the last week, we have lost Leon Russell, Leonard Cohen and Holly Dunn. In 2016 we've said goodbye to Merle Haggard, Prince, David Bowie, Glenn Frey, Lemmy, Ralph Stanley, Joey Feek, and many more. I'll be honest that I don't know much of Leon Russell's work. But after researching him, I've come to really appreciate all that he contributed to music. Take a listen to Tight Rope from the 1972 album Carney:
I do however know a little more about the work of Leonard Cohen. I remember the first time I saw Pump Up the Volume. I was entranced by this deep voice singing over a funky almost ghostly track. It was Everybody Knows, and I wanted more. I've never become a super fan of Cohen's, but he's always been someone that I knew was worth respecting. I know his more famous works, but have little knowledge of his back catalog. I can say that this is my favorite Cohen song:
In honor of these legends, I think I'm going to do a little more audio research and get a little more familiar with these cats.
