Tag Archives: Alejandro Escovedo

Record Store Day 2016 – Americana and Roots Music Picks

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130424-record-store-day

Record Store Day, the annual celebration of limited runs of the antiquated data storage device known as vinyl and once the scene of hipsters when it started in 2007, has helped fuel a surprising resurgence in sales and pushing the remaining pressing plant capacity to the hilt. As is tradition the event will be taking place on the third Saturday in April. For 2016 that means Saturday, April 16th.

At a time when music sales continue a decaded long dizzying slide vinyl sales not only rivaled CD sales, revenues have surpassed streaming services like Spotify and Pandora.

As vinyl grows in popularity there’s is pressure on the remaining vinyl manufacturers, who like us all were caught off-guard by the resurgence. The demand for vinyl is partially due to its described ‘warmer’ sound (plus cooler gatefold covers!) But the real drive behind Record Store Day is uniqueness and scarcity of offerings. Many releases come on colored vinyl or as picture discs and many of the releases are produced in very limited runs, some totaling no more than a few hundred total.

This stands in direct contrast to digital music’s hemogeny of sound and structure. an MP3 might be convenient, but it’s never scarce or unique.

Check out the Americana and roots selections below and take a look at the full list. Get to your favorite indy record early on April 16th (I’ll be at Good Records in Dallas) and share those great finds with me on Instagram and Twitter.

Blitzen Trapper – Field Rexx
Format: LP
More Info: A classic DIY release, Field Rexx was made in the sweltering summer of 2004 with no budget amidst the hiss of flies and tape. “Recorded,” according to the liner notes, “at the carny shack, fer shook n timsel on Duke’s shoot-o-matic for tisks & soda & that ol’ broke 4-track that 3-fingred mike poured Old English on and lit on fire,” Rexx’s warped eclectic pop Americana proves that great songs and performances can transcend squalor and bad album art. Features archival material of the original Trapper, James Earley, performing snippets of traditional hillbilly tunes. Field Rexx is Blitzen Trapper’s self-released sophomore album originally released in 2005. It was remastered at the tail end of 2015 and is available on Record Store Day for the first time on vinyl. A free download code including 3 previously unreleased bonus tracks is included.

Brandi Carlile – ‘Live At KCRW ‘Morning Becomes Eclectic’
Format: 12″ Colored Vinyl
More Info: Brandi Carlile – Live At KCRW ‘Morning Becomes Eclectic’: Brandi Carlile is a long time favorite of record store owners and she is one of the most celebrated names in modern alternative country/folk rock.This very special Record Store Day Exclusive release features six session tracks recorded live at KCRW as part of their “Morning Becomes Eclectic” sessions and includes the smash radio hits “The Eye” and “Wherever Is Your Heart” on White Colored 12 inch vinyl. Limited to 2500 copies.

Johnny Cash – ‘All Aboard the Blue Train with Johnny Cash’
Format: 12″ Colored Vinyl
More Info: All Aboard the Blue Train with Johnny Cash was originally released on Sun Records in 1962. The album features prime selections of the Man In Black’s recordings between 1955 and 1958, including classic songs “Hey Porter” and “Folsom Prison Blues”. Previously out of press, it’s coming back on appropriate blue vinyl for Record Store Day 2016.

Brandy Clark – “”Girl Next Door”/”Homecoming Queen”
Format: 7″ Colored Vinyl
More Info: Side A features Clark’s new hit single “Girl Next Door.” Side B features the track “Homecoming Queen,” plus the same song covered by Sheryl Crow. Pressed on random mixed blue, yellow and red vinyl.

Bob Dylan – “Melancholy Mood”
Format: 7″ Colored Vinyl
More Info: This limited edition 7” vinyl EP was originally created for Bob Dylan’s recent Japanese tour. We were able to secure a limited quantity for Record Store Day. The EP includes 4 songs from Bob Dylan’s upcoming album, Fallen Angels, pressed on 7” red vinyl.

Alejandro Escovedo – ‘Gravity’ and ‘Thirteen Years’
Format: 2 x LP
More Info: Austin TX’s Watermelon Records was founded in 1989 and released nearly 100 records in its short life. Its catalog lay dormant until 2010 when New West Records picked it up and chose Record Store Day 2016 to relaunch Watermelon Records with two beautiful remastered classic from Alejandro Escovedo. Gravity is a 2LP set pressed on 180g vinyl and packaed in a one of a kind die-cut linen jacket along with a foldable insert and download card.

Jay Farrar – Sebastopol/thirdshiftgrottoslack
Format: 2 x LP
More Info: For Record Store Day 2016, Jay Farrar’s (Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo) Sebastopol is available for the first time on vinyl. This very limited, hand-numbered release comes on white vinyl featuring Gillian Welch and members of the Flaming Lips and Superchunk. The double LP also features the 5-track EP never before released on vinyl, thirdshiftgrottoslack.

Emmylou Harris – ‘Wrecking Ball’
Format: 3 x 12″ Vinyl
More Info: The long awaited audiophile-quality vinyl reissue of Emmylou Harris’ 1995 Grammy winning masterpiece Wrecking Ball, produced by Daniel Lanois (U2, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Willie Nelson) and featuring appearances by Brian Blade, Neil Young, Lucinda Williams, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, among others. Includes original album sequence as well as outtakes and alternate versions from the original recording sessions. This Record Store Day release features three 180 gram LPs remastered with bonus tracks, and 4 page lyric insert. Limited to 5,000 copies.

Johnny Cash – ‘The Best of The Johnny Cash Show’
Format: 12″ LP
More Info: From the summer of 1969 to the final show in march of 1971 (58 episodes in all), The Johnny Cash TV Show not only exposed an American audience to an eclectic array of musical talent, but also helped establish Johnny Cash as a true artist, humanitarian, and a larger-than-life legend. The 16 performances contained on this new Best-Of LP, made especially for Record Store Day, and for the first time on vinyl, showcase the spectrum of incredible performers that Johnny hand-picked to be on his show, many for their first network appearance. So, “come along and ride this train” – the train that Cash envisioned for us all – every week on The Johnny Cash TV Show, and now, for generations to come. Limited to 5,000 copies.

Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear – ‘Live At Grimey’s‘
Format: 12″ Vinyl
More Info: This Record Store Day six track EP was recorded live at Grimey’s in Nashville, Tennessee by one of our favorite new artists on the music scene, in June 2015 as part of the celebration of Americana Music Month. Limited to 1500 copies.

Jason Molina – ‘The Townes Van Zandt Covers‘
Format: 7″ Vinyl
More Info: At a Songs:Ohia show in the early ’00s, Jason Molina said to the artist William Schaff that he would love to see himself depicted as one of Schaff’s signature, skull-headed creatures. The two struck up a pen-pal friendship and Schaff sent Jason his picture. In return, he asked for a recording of the Townes Van Zandt covers Jason had performed that night. The pair of Van Zandt covers included here, recorded at Molina’s home on the north side of Chicago, symbolize not only the creative turn Molina’s songwriting had taken (seen in his forthcoming Magnolia Electric Co. release) from sparse and jagged indie rock to rootsy folk rock, but also a sonic bond between two friends who loved each other’s work very deeply. After learning of Molina’s death in 2013, Schaff spent days pouring over his lengthy correspondence with his friend, with Molina’s oeuvre on repeat. He created the painting that graces the cover of this release in the process: Apropos of everything, a skull-headed creature in flight. This special 7″ release is limited to 3500 copies worldwide.

Mumford & Sons + Baaba Maal – “There Will Be Time”
Format: 7″ Colored Vinyl
More Info: Mumford & Sons’ RSC exclusive 7″ single features a brand new song called “There Will Be Time” (previously only available in South Africa). The track features Baaba Maal, and was produced alongside Johan Hugo from The Very Best. Limited to 6000 copies.

Graham Nash – ‘This Path Tonight’
Format: 12″ Vinyl
More Info: A special version of the new album from legendary musician Graham Nash. Includes a bonus 7″ with the classic tracks “Our House” and “Teach Your Children”

Elvis Presley – ‘I’m Leaving’: Elvis Folk- Country’
Format: 12″ Vinyl
More Info: The very best of Elvis Folk-Country 1966-1973. This special Record Store Day release includes masters from Elvis’ sessions at RCA Victor’s Studio B in Nashville in May 1971, a period in which several folk writers’ material surfaced spontaneously amid gospel and holiday recordings, plus others with similar provenance: from Dylan¹s “Tomorrow Is A Long Time” in 1966, to then-contemporary pop-folk such as “Good Time Charlie’s Got The Blues” in 1973, this is Elvis in an introspective mood, masterfully creating definitive versions of iconic compositions that resonated with him for his friends in the studio – and for us. Limited to 5,000 copies.

John Renbourn – ‘The Attic Tapes’
Format: 2 x LP
More Info: Lovingly mastered from old tapes found in a friend’s attic, this is a vintage collection of previously unreleased rarities and early works by one of the guitar’s truly great innovators. The Record Store Day edition features five vinyl-only tracks and sleeve notes written by John shortly before his death in March 2015.

The Rough Guide To Unsung Heroes of Country Blues
Format: 12″ Vinyl
More Info: This album brings to the fore classic early blues masterpieces that deserve to be heard and allows the limelight to fall on some of the lesser-known country blues masters. Essential listening for any blues connoisseur, this is an adventure into some of the more hidden recesses of country blues. The Rough Guide To Unsung Heroes of Country Blues is released on vinyl exclusively for Record Store Day 2016. Includes a download card.

Billy Joe Shaver- “Wacko From Waco”/”When Fallen Angels Fly”
Format: 7″ Vinyl
More Info: This Record Store Day 7″ features two songs – “When Fallen Angels Fly,” an unreleased version of his classic hymn, a tune from the Robert Duvall film, “Wild Horses.” “Wacko From Waco” is Shaver’s account of a 2007 shooting in a bar outside his hometown of Waco. Both tracks are pressed on vinyl for the first time. Limited to 1700 copies.

Shawn Colvin & Steve Earle – “Wake Up Little Susie” / “Baby’s In Black”
Format: 7″ Vinyl
More Info: The world-class singer- songwriters Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle make their duet debut with a delightful Record Store Day 7″ splash: spirited re-castings of the Everly Brothers’ “Wake Up Little Susie” and “Baby’s in Black” by the Beatles. They’ll be singing together again on their first duet project, a full length of co-written originals later this summer.

Son Volt – ‘Live At The Bottom Line’
Format: 2 x colored LP
More Info: This Record Store Day two LP set features the live content from the Trace deluxe CD. Pressed on 180 gram vinyl, limited to 3500 copies.

Allen Toussaint – ‘Live in Philadelphia 1975’
Format: 12″ Vinyl
More Info: Record Store Day honors the passing of one of America’s greatest musicians, performers and artists with an offering of Rhino’s 2003 Handmade title. This live album features bonus material and liner notes by Billy Vera. Pressed on 180 gram vinyl, it is limited to 5000 copies.

Lucinda Williams – ‘Just A Little More Faith And Grace’
Format: 12″ Vinyl
More Info: Lucinda celebrates Record Store Day by offering exclusive remixes from her new THE GHOSTS OF HIGHWAY 20 album, including Faith and Grace in it’s truest form, and as it was intended, a full 18 minutes long! Limited to 3000 copies.

Blaze Foley – Duct Tape Messiah (Original Soundtrack)
Format: 12″ Vinyl
More Info: This Record Store Day release is limited to 1000 copies pressed on 180g heavyweight vinyl, and includes full documentary film on DVD. This Record Store Day Elite Eecords releases Duct Tape Messiah by exceptional Texan Folk artist Blaze Foley for the first time ever on vinyl. The soundtrack to the 2011 documentary film about the turbulent life of Townes Van Zandt’s companion and close friend literally spans Blaze’s whole musical life. It includes rare archival tracks never released on vinyl before as well as tracks from posthumously released Blaze albums. The limited RSD edition comes with a DVD including the full documentary film. The film beautifully draws the picture of Blaze’s life and times and his extraordinary character. Born in Arkansas, Foley was shot to death way before his time, under circumstances still to be fully clarified. As a homeless, he traveled the streets of the Texan cities to share his music with people in nightclubs and bars. Foley always stood up for the weak, which eventually cost his life. Finally, after a life of rejections and blown opportunities, his work is now gaining recognition. In 2008 his biography Living In The Woods In A Tree was published, followed by the acclaimed documentary about Foley!s underdog life: Duct Tape Messiah. The film’s soundtrack comprises of 14 carefully selected songs from all stations in Blaze’s life and gives an insight into his straight and genuine songwriting. Blaze!s musical heritage was close to being forgotten and much material used on the record are chance discoveries from record shops and old master tapes.

Left Lane Cruiser- ‘Beck In Black’
Format: 12″ Vinyl
More Info: Retrospective of early Left Lane Cruiser material with drummer Brenn Beck, re-mastered and with three previously unreleased tracks (“Chicken”, “Bloodhound” and “Maybe”). Limited edition of 1000 on metalic gold vinyl for Record Store Day.

Charlie Parr – ‘I Ain’t Dead Yet’
Format: 10″ Colored Vinyl
More Info: A brand new 5 song 10” EP pressed on Green Vinyl. Minnesotan Country Blues guitarist Charlie Parr has been building an audience among roots music aficionados for over a decade. I Ain’t Dead Yet features four new original tunes and Charlie’s take on the traditional tune, Old Dog Blues. All songs previously unreleased!

Heartworn Highways – 40th Anniversary Edition Box Set
Format: Vinyl Box Set
More Info: This Record Store Day Exclusive release is limited to 1,000 copies worldwide and consists of a two LP set pressed on whiskey colored wax and much more in a hand crafted custom wood box by Boles Studio, Bronx, NY including an LP-sized 80-page book with exhaustive 20,000 word essay by Sam Sweet interviewing artists, documentary creators and crew, over 100 unseen photos taken during the making of the film, a cast of characters drawn by legendary Austin illustrator Kerry Awn, a reproduction of the original film poster (24”x36”), a region free DVD of the original 1976 film with restored image and sound plus 45 mins of bonus features, including performances by Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark and others, and download card for full soundtrack.

The Weepies – ‘Say I Am You’
Format: 12″ Vinyl
More Info: To celebrate the 10th anniversary of this release, a Record Store Day exclusive edition has been put together with orange vinyl, new liner notes, exclusive new photos and a poster of album cover, autographed by the band.

Billy Don Burns- A Night in Room 8
Format: 12″ Vinyl
More Info: Billy Don Burns is considered a friend to the greats of country music and has collaborated with artists such as Harlan Howard, Willie Nelson, Wanda Jackson, Connie Smith and others. A Night in Room 8 was recorded at the Joshua Tree Inn hotel room where Gram Parsons was found dead in 1973. Recorded on a Tascam Portastudio (the same model on which Bruce Springsteen recorded Nebraska). This is an eerie yet extremely vulnerable album of new, brilliant material from such a relic of country music

Bloodshot Records Announces 20th Anniversary “While No One Was Looking” Compilation – November 18, 2014

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Bloodshot Records Announces 20th Anniversary "While No One Was Looking"

Chicago’s mighty Bloodshot Records has quietly been hoisting the roots rock and alt.country flag for, well as long as those words came into mainstream use.

Hard to believe that it’s been 20 years since the intrepid indy released it’s inaugural compilation ‘A Life of Sin: A Compilation of Insurgent Chicago Country.’

The music industry has gone through some pretty rough changes in the last two decades but Bloodshot has blasted along releasing some of the best the genre has to offer.

This November 18 you’ve got one more item to add to your Christmas wish-list. ‘While No One Was Looking: Toasting 20 Years of Bloodshot Records,’ a collection of 38 reinterpretations from the label’s catalog will be released.
Blitzen Trapper, Andrew Bird and Nora O’Connor, Ben Kweller, Mike Watt, Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers, Shakey Graves, Chuck Ragan, Superchunk, and many others cover current and former acts such as Justin Townes Earle, Ryan Adams, Neko Case, Scott H. Biram, Ha Ha Tonka, Lydia Loveless, Old 97’s, Murder By Death, Robbie Fulks, Cory Branan, and more.

Personally I’m looking forward to hearing Into It. Over It cover Neko Case’s “Deep Red Bells” and Kevin “Shinyribs” Russell covering Lydia Loveless’ “All the Time.” Yowzaa!

Pre-order (limited ed. blood-red vinyl is the way to go) and track listing are below.

Preorder “While No One Was Looking”

Full Album Track Listing:

Disc 1:

1. Blitzen Trapper – “To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to be High)”
Originally performed by Ryan Adams on BS071 Heartbreaker (2000)

2. Chris Shiflett & The Dead Peasants – “Look the Other Way”
Originally performed by Justin Townes Earle on BS193 Nothing’s Gonna Change the Way You Feel About Me Now (2012)

3. Samantha Crain – “Cold Forgiver”
Originally performed by Ha Ha Tonka on BS207 Lessons (2013)

4. Chuck Prophet – “Dirt”
Originally performed by Andre Williams on BS185 Hoods & Shades (2012)

5. Hiss Golden Messenger – “Where I Fell”
Originally performed by Robbie Fulks on BS211 Gone Away Backward (2013)

6. Dave Davison (of Maps & Atlases) – “Things I Didn’t Say”
Previously performed by Bobby Bare, Jr.’s Young Criminals’ Starvation League on BS110 From the End of Your Leash (2004)

7. Ted Leo – “Dragging My Own Tombstone”
Originally performed by Waco Brothers on BS054 Electric Waco Chair (2000)

8. Into It. Over It. – “Deep Red Bells”
Originally performed by Neko Case on BS099 Blacklisted (2002)

9. Split Single – “My Backyard”
Originally performed by Nora O’Connor on BS116 Til the Dawn (2004)

10. Limbeck – “Sound of Running”
Originally performed by Old 97’s on BS066 Early Tracks (1995, 2000)

11. Tim Kasher – “Aspidistra”
Originally performed by The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir on BS148 The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir (2007)

12. Shakey Graves – “Happy Birthday Julie”
Originally performed by Wayne Hancock on BS080 A-Town Blues (2001)

13. Ivan & Alyosha – “My Winding Wheel”
Originally performed by Ryan Adams on BS071 Heartbreaker (2000)

14. Chuck Ragan – “Survivor Blues”
Originally performed by Cory Branan on BS195 MUTT (2012)

15. The Minus 5 – “Cherokee Grove”
Originally performed by Mark Pickerel and His Praying Hands on BS146 Cody’s Dream (2008)

16. Carolyn Mark – “Last to Know”
Previously performed by Alejandro Escovedo on BS027 More Miles Than Money (1998)

17. Daniel Romano – “Strange Birds”
Originally performed by Jon Langford & The Sadies on BS092 Mayors of the Moon (2003)

18. Charlie Parr – “Manifold”
Originally performed by Devil in a Woodpile on BS065 Division Street (2000)

19. The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band – “St. Nick on the Fourth in a Fervor”
Originally performed by Ha Ha Tonka on BS145 Buckle In The Bible Belt (2007)

20. Possessed By Paul James – “I Came Around”
Originally performed by Murder By Death on BS200 Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon (2012)

Disc 2:

1. Andrew Bird and Nora O’Connor – “I’ll Trade You Money for Wine”
Originally performed by Robbie Fulks on BS211 Gone Away Backward (2013)

2. Ben Kweller – “2:00 AM”
Originally performed by The Meat Purveyors on BS091 All Relationships Are Doomed to Fail (2002)

3. Frank Turner – “The Corner”
Originally performed by Cory Branan on BS195 MUTT (2012)

4. Superchunk – “Come Pick Me Up”
Originally performed by Ryan Adams on BS071 Heartbreaker (2000)

5. KOJI – “East Jefferson”
Originally performed by Ben Weaver on BS173 Mirepoix & Smoke (2010)

6. The Great Crusades – “Fake Out Jesus” (Live)
Originally performed by The Blacks on BS 063 Just Like Home (2000)

7. Mike Watt & The Missingmen – “Up to My Neck In This”
Originally performed by Jon Langford & The Sadies on BS092 Mayors of the Moon (2003)

8. Nicki Bluhm & the Gramblers – “Oh My Sweet Carolina”
Originally performed by Ryan Adams on BS071 Heartbreaker (2000)

9. Jerry David DeCicca – “Broken Bottle”
Previously performed by Alejandro Escovedo on BS027 More Miles Than Money (1998)

10. The Handsome Family – “1000 Dollar Car”
Originally performed by The Bottle Rockets on BS212 The Brooklyn Side (1994, 2013)

11. Warm Soda – “All Grown Up”
Previously performed by Gore Gore Girls on BS142 Get the Gore (2007)

12. James Leg (of Black Diamond Heavies) – “Is That You in the Blue?”
Originally performed by Dex Romweber Duo on BS186 Is That You in the Blue? (2011)

13. Two Gallants – “Truck Driver”
Originally performed by Scott H. Biram on BS122 The Dirty Old One Man Band (2005)

14. Diarrhea Planet – “Dry Land”
Originally performed by Waco Brothers on BS015 Cowboy in Flames (1997)

15. Kevin “Shinyribs” Russell – “All the Time”
Originally performed by Lydia Loveless on BS214 Boy Crazy (2013)

16. The North Carolina Music Love Army (featuring Caitlin Cary, Chip Robinson, and Kenny Roby) – “Stick to the Plan”
Originally performed by Graham Parker on BS140 Don’t Tell Columbus (2007)

17. William Elliott Whitmore – “I Wish I Was the Moon”
Originally performed by Neko Case on BS099 Blacklisted (2002)

18. Samuel Fogarino (of Interpol) – “Liked It a Lot”
Originally performed by Charlie Pickett on BS 154 Bar Band Americanus (1984, 2008)

Americana For All

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carolina chocolate drops

I’ve been kicking around the ideas to address Giovanni Russonello’s “Why Is a Music Genre Called ‘Americana’ So Overwhelmingly White and Male?” i heard my mom’s advice in m mind,
“just walk away from the stupid.” Part of it was my dad’s voice “Teach ’em a lesson.” i’ve decided to go with dad on this one.

Russonello’s piece frames the recent six-week “Americanarama” tour to argue that the tour’s roster, which included Bob Dylan, Wilco, My Morning Jacket and Ryan Bingham – represents a larger cultural exclusion rampant in the genre.

Setting aside the argument that the “Americanarama” bill does not really represent the contemporary Americana genres, let’s address the premise of “Overwhelmingly White and Male”

Early country, folk and bluegrass have generally appealed to a predominantly anglo audience. Partly because many of the songs are from European source material performed by mostly white people. The trend in these genres have mapped closely to the trends in American society in general and, as opportunities have arisen, woman and people of color have stepped up to represent their unique take on the music.

The difference is that Americana proper (and it’s cousin alt.country) have never been exclusionary.

It’s introduction into popular culture came in the 80’s as MTV gave us the L.A. cow punk band Lone Justice , featuring the gritty soul of Maria McKee, and their “Ways to be Wicked” and “Sheltered videos in rotation with Jason and the Scorchers and The Georgia Satellites on the 24- hour feed.

At the same time kd Lang and Roseanne Cash joined Steve Earle, Dwight Yoakam and Lyle Lovett in shaking up Nashville.

Soon after bands like The Meat Purveyoyers, Freakwater , Neko Case, Gillian Welch, the Cowboy Junkies, Hem, Tarnation – all bands prominently featuring female artists – laid the groundwork for Americana.

An allum of the watershed “O Brother where art thou” roster, Alison Krauss, has the enviable honor of having won the most Grammys by a female artist with twenty-seven (!)

Hardly the good-old boys club that article paints for the genre.

Then there’s this:

“… if an art form is going to name itself after this country, it should probably stop weatherproofing itself against America’s present-day developments. And it hardly seems like enough to say you’re carrying on the legacies of black gospel and blues if the performers and listeners venerating them are almost all white.”

The claim that Americana is “carrying on the legacies of black gospel and blues” is specious. True, some artist incorporate gospel and blues within their style, to say that Americana is carrying on the legacy of those sage musical genres is insulting to these thriving genres and their decades of practitioners.

And the argument that since the genre appeals to a particular segments of the population signifies that genre exclusion of others is ridiculous. Much of music is self-identity. If a segment of society don’t see themselves in the performers and their stories it follows that they wouldn’t be compelled to buy the music or attend the shows. Early hip-hop was a primarily African -American cultural phenomenon which has now transcended. As for as I know on one was accusing hip-hop of excluding anglos.

Just as people of color have taken different roads to Americana, and have contributed to it’s evolution. Los Lobos and Alejandro Escovedo bring a uniquely chicano take to the music. The Carolina Chocolate Drops and newcomer Valarie June have infused the genre with African-American string-band and folk-soul influences receptively.

Russonello places Dylan as the “the father of Americana” (I would argue Gram Parsons or Townes Van Zandt) and then points to the current shining light, Jason Isbell, as not heading the lessons of Dylan and providing anything “new.” The argument could be made that Dylan at the beginning of his career, as Isabell still is, brought nothing that hadn’t already been done by Guthrie and Seeger. Russonello then makes the case that “Music gets its power from a keen, contemporary perspective” and then “it feels facile to let this one strain of yellow-page nostalgia represent it.”

This is just lazy. Though the form, the music and singing styles harken back to a yesteryear , topics are either contemporary, like Isbell, Todd Snider and Steve Earle or dealing with the great human truths – love, hate, death – that transcend any time period.

Though the article does a serviceable job of tracing roots music’s trajectory thorough time, the conclusion shows a bias of the writer. Anything this white and male met be a conspiracy..

Americana does reflect an idealized notion of the the past (as Americans are prone to do,) but to confuse the predilections of subjective taste enjoyed by some as a kind of organized Jim Crow-style musical segregation insults a music and musicians that I celebrate daily. It also, ironically, displays a type of bigotry that all cultural forms must undergo some forced, artificial desegregation toward some imagined moral purity.

Let freedom twang!

Record Store Day 2013 – Americana and Roots Music Picks

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rsd2013

It’s that time again twangers. Yes, Record Store Day 2013 is upon us. The day when us music fans can snatch up slabs of limited pressing vinyl from our favorite artists and help local independent records store to not become bygone relics. That would stink.

This year’s RSD2013 releases offer some great selections from the roots and Americana side of the fence. Willie Nelson demos? Yes please! Waylon Jennings and Old 97s collaboration? Oh yeah!

Check the hilarious video from RSD1013 Ambassador Jack White below, where he details the shady doings of the music industry, the Masons and the NBA draft (sort of) and on April 20th head to your local independent record store to pick up one of the limited edition goodies below.

Head to the official RSD2013 site to get a complete list of releases and participating stores.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etxYxIfDhXc

Chet Atkins
Black Jack EP
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: SUNDAZED
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info:
Previously unreleased recordings by this guitar master
Midnight, Boo Boo Stick Beat, Blackjack, Blue Moon of Kentucky

The Avett Brothers/ Randy Travis
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: Warner Music Nashville
More Info:
Limited edition split single. Randy Travis covers the Avett Brothers’ “February”, The Avett Brothers covers the Randy Travis song, “Three Wooden Crosses.

The Band
The Last Waltz
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Rhino
More Info:
3 180 Gram LPs, Numbered RSD Edition. All original packaging with Embossing and two foils. All original inner sleeves plus 12-page booklet. Out of print for more than a decade.

Billy Bragg
No One Knows Nothing Anymore / Song of the Iceberg
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: Cooking Vinyl

Blitzen Trapper
Blitzen Trapper Deluxe Reissue
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: LidKerCow, LTD
More Info:
Blitzen Trapper’s debut album from 2003 will be available for the first time on vinyl in celebration of it’s 10th Anniversary. The record was remastered by Bruce Barielle and the lacquers were cut by Jeff Powell at Ardent Studios in Memphis, TN. A very limited edition run, the record is pressed on 180g vinyl with a free digital download of the entire record with five previously unheard bonus tracks from the original sessions.

Joe Bussard
Guitar Rag/Screwdriver Slide
DETAILS
Format: 78 rpm 10″
Label: Tompkins Square

Calexico
Spiritoso
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Anti/Epitaph

Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson
Rattlin Bones
DETAILS
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Sugar Hill

cookisbell

Elizabeth Cook / Jason Isbell
Tecumseh Valley b/w Pancho & Lefty
DETAILS
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: 31 Tigers
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info:
“Tecumseh Valley” b/w “Pancho & Lefty”
Studio versions of both artists covering Townes Van Zandt. They originally performed these songs on Late Night with David Letterman

cooley

Mike Cooley
Too Pretty To Work
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: Cooley Records
More Info:
Record Store Day 7″ featuring 2 live tracks recorded at shows in 2012.
1 – Self Destructive Zones (3:36)
2 – Get Downtown (3:12)

Bob Dylan
Wigwam
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: Columbia
More Info:
A – Wigwam (Unreleased Demo,) B – Thirsty Boots (Previously Unreleased) — Two previously unreleased Bob Dylan recordings from the Self Portrait sessions. Includes a demo version of “Wigwam” and the previously unreleased track “Thirsty Boots.” Taken from the forthcoming release, The Bootleg Series Vol. 10.

Justin Townes Earle
Yuma
Format: 10″ Vinyl
Label: Bloodshot Records
More Info:
Previously released debut EP from Justin Townes Earle, now on vinyl for the first time. 10″ vinyl. Colored vinyl (opaque gold). Limited to 1000 copies, for RSD.
The Ghost of Virginia, You Can’t Leave, Yuma, I Don’t Care, Let the Waters Rise, A Desolate Angels Blues

Alejandro Escovedo/Chris Scruggs
78 rpm 10
Format: 10″ Vinyl
Label: Plowboy Records
More Info:
78 rpm 10″ A/B single release of two covers of Eddy Arnold standards by Alejandro Escovedo (A side) and Chris Scruggs (B side) for upcoming “You Don’t Know Me: Rediscovering Eddy Arnold” album project due in May 2013
a side : “It’s a Sin” by Alejandro Escovedo – B side: “Just A Little Lovin’ (Will Go A Long Way” by Chris Scruggs

Giant Giant Sand
Return to Tucson
DETAILS
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Fire / Cargo
More Info:
limited to 1000 copies. 12″LP featuring 8 remixes by John Parish and Ali chant from tracks that featured on 2012’s ‘Tucson’ LP.
SIDE A: Lost love (John Parish + Ali Chant Remix); Undiscovered Country (John Parish Remix); Wind Blown Waltz (John Parish + Ali Chant Alternative Mix); Thing Like That (Ali Chant Extended Version) SIDE B: Carinito (Ali Chant Alternative Mix); Not The End Of The World (Ali Chant Alternative Version); Hard Morning in a Soft Blur (Chris Schultz Extended Version(; Forever & A Day (John Parish + Ali Chant Alternative Mix)

Golden Gunn (Steve Gunn + Hiss Golden Messenger)
Golden Gunn
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Three Lobed / Thrill Jockey
More Info:
Golden Gunn is a collaboration between Steve Gunn and Hiss Golden Messenger. LP comes with a download code. Only 870 made.

Jackie Greene
Love Is A Shining Catastrophe/Sweet Somewhere Bound 7
DETAILS
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: self-released
More Info:
7″ Vinyl Single in 4/c jacket with 2 “A” Sides and 5 song digital download.

Patty Griffin
Ohio
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: New West
More Info:
This is a single A-side 7” pressed on heavyweight vinyl. The vinyl is black, hand-numbered 1-500, and Patty will sign Side B on 25 of the records, which will be randomly distributed. This song is from her forthcoming album, American Kid, due out 5/14/13. This will come in an all white sleeve with a stamped logo and a stickered UPC.

IMAGINATIONAL ANTHEM VOL. 6 : ORIGINS OF AMERICAN PRIMITIVE GUITAR
Format: Gatefold Vinyl Ltd 1500
Label: Tompkins Square
If American Primitive Guitar begins with John Fahey and the Takoma School, then the actual origins of this sound is found within this collection of fourteen classic solo guitar performances. Recorded between 1923 to 1930, this set is the “Rosetta Stone” of style and repertoire tapped into deeply by Fahey, Basho & Rose, among many others. Sam McGee, Riley Puckett, Bayless Rose, Sylvester Weaver, Lemuel Turner, Frank Hutchison and Davey Miller are the rural artists included in this anthology. Each one of these showcases a particular technique and sensitivity sourced from the earlier 19th century parlor guitar tradition. Several of these sides are reissued for their first time including Sylvester Weaver’s “Guitar Blues” which is the first solo finger picked guitar solo ever recorded. Stunningly remastered and annotated by Christopher King.

Iron and Wine
Next to Paradise/Dirty Ocean
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: Warner Bros.
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release

Sarah Jarosz
Live At The Troubadour
Label: Sugar Hill

tift

Tift Merritt
Markings
DETAILS
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Yep Roc
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info:
4-song 12″ featuring an unreleased track, a live track and two acoustic tracks from Traveling Alone. Covered with a tactile cross-stitched/embroidered record cover.

Mumford & Sons
Live at Bull Moose
DETAILS
Format: 10″ Vinyl
Label: Glassnote
More Info:
“””I Will Wait”” “”Ghosts That We Knew”” “”Where Are You Now”” “”Awake My Soul”” — 3 or 4 songs from their bull moose instore – 10″” version”

WillieNelsonCrazyVinyl.indd

Willie Nelson
Crazy: The Demo Sessions
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Sugar Hill
More Info:
When Willie first got to Nashville he cut some demos for Ray Price and Hal Smith’s publishing company, Pamper Music. Though these cuts were used to pitch songs to artists (including ‘Crazy’ for Patsy Cline) and producers, many weren’t released. These 1960-1966 tracks are raw, real and really good, clearly the work of an artist/songwriter headed for stardom.

Willie Nelson
Someday My Prince Will Come
Label: Legacy

Waylon

Waylon Jennings / Old 97s
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: Omnivore Recordings
More Info:
2 x 7″
Two tracks from Old 97s sessions with Waylon Jennings, and two additional Old 97s demo tracks. Cover art by Jon Langford of the Mekons and Waco Brothers, and famed painter of country icons.
Iron Road The Other Shoe, Visiting Hours (1996 demo), Fireflies Take 2 (1996 demo)

Gram Parsons
Gram Parsons & The Fallen Angels-Live 1973 7
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: SIERRA
More Info:
Originally released in 1982 as a bonus 7″ EP to Sierra Records “Live 1973” LP release of Gram Parsons with Emmylou Harris with full color sleeve.
Side One: Medley- Bony Moronie, 40 Days, Almost Grown Side Two: Conversations, Doing It in the Bus, Broken EBS Box, Hot Burrito #1

Phosphorescent
Aw Come Aw Wry
Label: Misra Records
More Info:
Previously released title from Phosphorescent, and one of the best-selling, on Misra. This will be the first time that it is available on vinyl.

CHARLIE POOLE & THE HIGHLANDERS : THE COMPLETE PARAMOUNT & BRUNSWICK RECORDINGS, 1929
Vinyl w/ Poster Ltd 1500
From 1926 to 1930 one of the most popular rural string bands on record was Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers. Through their 78 RPM discs and their various performances, Charlie Poole was second only to Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers. Poole’s uniquely syncopated three finger banjo picking style coupled with his Piedmont vocal inflections eventually colored and defined much of what we consider “old-time” music. The classic configuration of banjo, fiddle and guitar with vocals was encouraged by the main label that promoted Poole but he also wanted to record instrumentals featuring twin-fiddle and piano. As renaming his group The Highlanders, Poole was able to actualize this musical vision. This collection contains all of the sides that Poole made with Roy Harvey, Lucy Terry, and twin-fiddlers Lonnie Austin & Odell Smith. Remastered in beautiful sound by Christopher King and with notes written by old-time musician and scholar Kinney Rorrer.

Punch Brothers
“Ahoy!” – 33 1/3 rpm Vinyl EP
Label: Nonesuch Records
For the first time, the EP has been pressed on 10″ vinyl for Record Store Day, and includes songs by Josh Ritter (“Another New World”), Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (“Down Along the Dixie Line”), Punch Brothers (“Squirrel of Possibility”), and Mclusky (“Icarus Smicarus”), along with one traditional tune, arranged by Punch Brothers (“Moonshiner”). Originall yrecorded during the Nashville sessions for their 2012 album Who’s Feeling Young Now?,

Richard Thompson
Salford Sunday
DETAILS
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: New West
More Info:This is a single A-side 7” pressed on heavyweight vinyl. This song is off of the release Electric (2/5/13). The vinyl is black, hand-numbered 1-500. Richard will sign Side B on 25 of the records, which will be distributed randomly

Frank Turner
Recovery
Format: 7″ Vinyl
Label: Interscope

Various Artists
Yep Roc Hearsay / They Call It Rock
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Yep Roc
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
More Info:
2 Song 12″ on clear vinyl, 24 Yep Roc Artist performing, DVD of recording session, hand made cover

Yonder Mountain String Band
Format: 12″ Vinyl
Label: Vanguard

Videos from Los Lobos’ first Cinco de Mayo Festival

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Some great videos from user prestoff2000 from the Los Lobos’ first Cinco de Mayo Festival at the Greek Theatre, Los Angeles. The festival featured Los Lobos, X, Dave Alvin, Mariachi El Bronx, Neko Case and the legendary Flaco Jimenez. Check the greatness:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpOxQAT-LyQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1gSz84YkiE

http://youtu.be/c51hV3f4cRI

Twang Nation South-By-Southwest Americana Mix

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Circumstances conspired to keep me from attending the music (and tech/film) madness that is South-By-Southwest taking place March 13-18  in  my home state of Texas. In lieu of standing toe-to-toe with strangers an having beer spilled on me I will soldier on from my couch here in the Bay Area to shed light on the Americana and Roots artists tha will be sprinkled in with the indie-darling of the week bands that dominate the scene. Here’s a list of bands/musicians that I’ve collected that are playing the event. Have a listen and check them out live. Then help them out and buy a CD or t-shirt. Guitar strings and gas don’t grown on trees bud!

Twang Nation #SXSW Americana Mix on Spotify

SXSW Americana/Roots list:

Alabama Shakes

Justin Townes Earle
Anais Mitchell
Nikki Lane
Carrie Rodriguez
Hellbound Glory
Rachel Brooke
Ana Egge
Sons Of Fathers
The Trishas
Izzy Cox
Lost and Nameless Orchestra
MilkDrive
Shurman
Warren Hood and The Goods
Treetop Flyers
The Brothers Comatose
Brown Bird
Ghosts Along the Brazos
Joe Pug
Alejandro Escovedo and The Sensitive Boys
The Lumineers
Henry Wagons
Jack Wilson
Have Gun Will Travel
The White Horse
Jon Dee Graham
Shannon McNally
Hurray for the Riff Raff
Greensky Bluegrass
Guns of Navarone
Brett Detar
Owen Temple
Star & Micey
Andra Suchy
Sugar & the Hi Lows
Seth Walker
Carrie Elkin
Lydia Loveless
The Pines
East Cameron Folkcore
the Little Willies
Punch Brothers
Jonny Corndawg
the Gourds
HoneyHoney
Chuck Meadand His Grassy Knoll Boys
Fallon & The Bandits
Deadman
Mickey & The Motorcars

Second Annual No Depression Festival Line-Up Announced

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No Depression magazine (and now web site), the go-to authority for roots and Americana music for 15 years, has announced the line-up for their second annual No Depression Festival, and it’s a peach! The Swell Season, Lucinda Williams, The Cave Singers, Alejandro Escovedo, Chuck Prophet, Punch Brothers and Sera Cahoone. The fun starts on Aug. 21, 2010, at Marymoor Park  in Redmond, Wash. Pre-sale tickets are available 10 a.m. Thursday 4/29 until 10 p.m. Friday 4/30 (password: HAPPY). Tickets will be available to the general public beginning 10 a.m. May 1.

If you order your tickets in the presale, email your confirmation to info at nodepression dot com to be entered in a drawing for a special No Depression prize package. Three winners will be chosen at random and will win a No Depression t-shirt, tote bag, anthology, and stickers.

Michael Dean Damron “Father’s Day” (In Music We Trust Records)

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Portland Oregon’s Michael Dean Damron, or Mike D. as he was known when fronting his former hell-raising roots-rock band I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House, isn’t your garden variety sensitive, market tested, conveyor belt type of singer/songwriter. The emotion, fear and anger is laid out on his third solo release Father’s Day for all to feel. He’s not just singing, he’s testifying.

The youthful flame-thrower intensity of ICLASOBITH has been condensed into a focused,  welding torch constructing a dark and twisted terrain of one mans life and soul.

The lost love songs here – Dead Days, Boy With A Car and the provocatively titled I Hope Your New Boyfriend Gives You Aids (do NOT judge the album based on the title of this song, it doesn’t show up once in this beautifully heart wrenching cut.) display just as much defiance as they do remorse. Love songs are welcome, whining is not.

The specter of the Damron family patriarch is summoned and exorcised in the title track. The song tells of Damron’s father’s life as a hard, violent, and lonely one. The song is both a celebration and an unflinchingly cautionary tale. The excellent Angels Fly Up carries on the divisional theme, devils and angels, suicide and celebration- that seems to run through Fathers Day.

Tornado Song is a chugging blues-Gospel number veined with wailing harmonica and I’m A Bastard has Damron unmitigated affirmation of his place among the best of the worst in the troubadour trade.

As if the original songs weren’t enough to make this a fine album the three covers Damron has chosen to include speak volumes, fit nicely and are done with deftness and deference. Drag the River’s Beautiful And Damned is a solemn pedal-steel laced number and a ’round the campfire treatment of Thin Lizzy’s Dancing In The Moonlight are wonderful. The real courage, as with anyone willing to cover the Late Great Townes Van Zandt, comes with the inclusion of an accomplished rendition of Towne’s bleak tale of perseverance Waiting Around To Die.

Damron’s whiskey-and-dust vocals  brings to mind modern day contemporaries like Ryan Bingham, Drive By Truckers’ Patterson Hood, William Elliot Whitmore and Lucero’s Ben Nichols. The worn nature of the delivery adds another depth of ragged beauty to each of these gems. Damron sites Steve Earle, Alejandro Escovedo, Townes Van Zant and Waylon Jennings as heroes. But I believe that the true Patron Saint to his unique style of edgy storytelling, with a penchant for tenderness might well be David Allen Coe.

Sure Father’s Day is not a sunny Summer party album, who cares. It’s a great example of a  mature and excellent singer/songwriter venting his own private Winter.

Official Site | MySpace | Facebook | Buy

Father’s Day mp3

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDIYDNi2uTI[/youtube]

Americana Music Association Nominees Announced

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The Americana Music Association announced the nominees for the trade organization’s 2009 Honors and Awards ceremony today at its annual celebration at BMI Nashville. The show, in its eighth year, will be held Thursday, September 17 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.

I’ve attended the conference and showcase for the last three years and it’s always an amazing time. I don’t agree with all the nominees, and as a member of the organization I voted accordingly. But one thing is for certain, every nominee kicks the shit out of 99% of the CMA Awards.

The 2009 Americana Music Association Honors and Awards Nominees are:

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Real Animal, by Alejandro Escovedo
Written in Chalk, by Buddy & Julie Miller
Jason Isbell & The 40 Unit, by Jason Isbell & The 40 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

Rachel Brooke and Lonesome Wyatt to Release A Bitter Harvest

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  • According to a post on her MySpace page Rachel Brooke will be collaborating with  Lonesome Wyatt from Those Lonely Bastards. The release is entitled A Bitter Harvest, and will be released around May, and will be available on CD and vinyl.
  • Daytrotter has three new Joe Pug cuts; Bury Me Far From My Uniform, Unsophisticated Heart, The Door Was Always Open.  Seriously,  Joe’s Pub tonight!
  • Washington Post staff writer J. Freedom du Lac reviews Willie and the Wheel. A new collaberation by Willie Nelson and Western swing preservationists Asleep at the Wheel, and he like what he hears.
  • Alejandro Escovedo’s Real Animal comes out the big winner in No Depression’s Readers Poll.