Neko Case 2008 Tour Dates

Scarlett-maned alt.country chanteuse Neko Case is taking some time away from celebrating poetry to partake in an early 2008 road trip. Currently only 6 dates in the northeastern part of the U.S., Twang Nation will let you know if more dates are added, or when a new solo release is due, when we do.

Eric Bachmann, of Crooked Fingers and ex-Archers of Loaf fame, will open all dates.

01-25 Tarrytown, NY – Music Hall
01-26 Ithaca, NY – State Theater
01-27 Burlington, VT – Higher Ground Ballroom
01-31 Albany, NY – The Egg
02-01 Providence, RI – Lupo’s
02-02 Northampton, MA – Calvin Theater

Case’s label, Anti Records, had recently reissued her back catalog with, alas, no extras or additional goodies.

Drive By Truckers to Release “Brighter Than Creation’s Dark” 1/22/08

Los Angeles, CA –  New West Records will release the Drive-By Truckers’ eighth record, Brighter Than Creation’s Dark,
on January 22, 2008, featuring 19 new songs, many of which were previewed during the band’s The Dirt Underneath tour last
spring. Heralded by many critics as America’s best rock band, DBT will kick off the first leg of a new 29-city tour in
support of the album on February 11th in Anaheim, CA.  A four-song Brighter Than Creation’s Dark EP will be available on
December 18th at iTunes and all other DSPs (Rhapsody, Yahoo Music, MSN/Zune). The EP consists of “Two Daughters And A Beautiful
Wife,” “3 Dimes Down,” “The Righteous Path,” and “The Purgatory Line.” Back catalog reissues of Gangstabilly; Pizza Deliverance;
Decoration Day; The Dirty South; and A Blessing and a Curse will appear February 5, 2008as Limited Edition, 180 gram vinyl records.
This is the first time most of these titles will be available on vinyl.

Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley continue to be DBT’s primary songwriters, a relationship that started over twenty-two years ago
when the two began playing together. The band’s longtime bassist, Shonna Tucker, makes her debut on Brighter Than Creation’s Dark
as the band’s third writer, contributing three of the record’s nineteen tracks.  Founding member John Neff, who has frequently
guested on albums and onstage over the years, is an official member now, playing pedal steel and guitar.  He and drummer Brad Morgan
round out the band’s recording and touring line up.

Legendary Muscle Shoals keyboardist Spooner Oldham, to whom the album is dedicated, lends his unmistakable classic soul sound
to the record, as he did for the band’s last tour. The album also marks the sixth time the band has worked with producer David
Barbe, whose Chase Park Transduction studio in Athens, GA was the site of last summer’s recording.

DBT recently backed R&B vocalist Bettye Lavette on her critically acclaimed, Grammy®-nominated album The Scene of The Crime.
The album is nominated for Best Contemporary Blues Album and was co-produced by Patterson Hood and long time DBT producer David Barbe.

Brighter Than Creation’s Dark Track Listing

1. Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife
2. 3 Dimes Down
3. The Righteous Path
4. I’m Sorry Huston
5. Perfect Timing
6. Daddy Needs A Drink
7. Self Destructive Zones
8. Bob
9. Home Field Advantage
10. The Opening Act
11. Lisa’s Birthday
12. That Man I Shot
13. The Purgatory Line
14. The Home Front
15. Checkout Time In Vegas
16. You And Your Crystal Meth
17. Goode’s Field Road
18. A Ghost To Most
19. The Monument Valley

DBT on tour:
Mon Feb 11  Anaheim     CA    HOUSE OF BLUES
Tue Feb 12  Los Angeles CA    AVALON
Wed Feb 13  San Francisco CA  MEZZANINE
Fri Feb 15  Portland    OR    ROSELAND
Sat Feb 16  Seattle     WA    SHOWBOX
Sun Feb 17  Seattle     WA    SHOWBOX
Tue Feb 19  Boise       ID    BIG EASY CONCERT HOUSE
Wed Feb 20 Salt Lake City UT  THE PALADIUM
Thu Feb 21  Aspen CO   BELLY UP
Fri Feb 22  Denver      CO    OGDEN THEATRE
Sat Feb 23  Boulder     CO    FOX THEATRE
Mon Feb 25  Omaha       NE    SLOWDOWN
Tue Feb 26  Columbia    MO    THE BLUE NOTE
Wed Feb 27  Urbana      IL    THE CANOPY CLUB
Thu Feb 28  Milwaukee   WI    PABST THEATRE
Fri Feb 29  St Louis    MO    THE PAGEANT
Sat Mar 01  Louisville  KY    HEADLINERS MUSIC HALL
Fri Mar 14  Memphis     TN    MINGLEWOOD HALL
Sat Mar 15  Nashville   TN    CANNERY BALLROOM
Sun Mar 16  Newport     KY    SOUTHGATE HOUSE
Tue Mar 18  Millvale    PA    MR. SMALL’S THEATER
Wed Mar 19  Toronto     ONT   OPERA HOUSE
Thu Mar 20  Montreal    QUE   CABARET MUSIC HALL
Fri Mar 21  Northampton MA    PEARL STREET
Sat Mar 22  Boston      MA    PARADISE ROCK CLUB
Tue Mar 25  New Haven   CT    TOAD’S PLACE
Wed Mar 26  New York    NY    TERMINAL 5
Thu Mar 27  Philadelphia PA   THE FILMORE AT THE TLA
Fri Mar 28  Richmond    VA    THE NATIONAL
Sat Mar 29  Asheville   NC    THE ORANGE PEEL

The Felice Brothers support on 2/11 – 3/1
North Mississippi Allstars on 2/11 & 2/12

Bloodshot Record at the CMJ Conference – New York

Bloodshot Records artists Ha Ha Tonka, The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir and The Silos are gearing up for the annual CMJ Conference here  in New York. Ha Ha Tonka and The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir play their official CMJ showcase on October 19th at the Cake Shop before joining the Silos and select friends of the label at the annual Bloodshot Records Party, taking place at Union Pool in Brooklyn on Saturday, October 20th.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19TH
Cakeshop – 152 Ludlow, 212/253-0036
8pm   Ha Ha Tonka
9pm   Scotland Yard Gospel Choir

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20TH
Union Pool – 484 Union Avenue at Skillman Avenue, Brooklyn, 718/609-0484
12:30               Doors Open
1:00 – 1:30       Carolyn Mark*   (Vancouver BC)
1:45 – 2:15       The Panderers*  (LA CA)
2:30 – 3:00       Bone-Box*        (Manchester UK)
3:15 – 3:50       The Silos       (NY NY)
4:05 – 4:45       The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir  (Chicago IL)
5:00 – 5:40       Ha Ha Tonka     (Springfield MO)
5:55 – 6:40       Centro-Matic*   (Denton TX)

$10 admission / Free with CMJ badge
Beer from Oskar Blues Beer – Grilled treats for everyone!

8th Annual Americana Music Festival and Conference – 10/31 – 11/04

This years Americana Music Association Festival and Conference, which runs from Halloween, Wednesday October 31st to November 4th, is shaping up to be finer than last year’s.

On top of the excellent daytime panels hosted at the Nashville Convention Center featuring seminars for artists, industry
members and those with a passion for music there is the excellent nightly showcases at local clubs.

And the whole enchilada wraps up with the Americana Honors & Awards presented at the Historic Ryman Auditorium, hosted by Jim Lauderdale and backed with a house band led by Buddy Miller. The line-up so far includes Ricky Skaggs and Bruce Hornsby, Old Crow Medicine Show, Emmylou Harris, Todd Snider, Joe Ely, Sunny Sweeney, The Avett Brothers, Gurf Morlix, Amy LaVere and Guy Clark with an after party hosted by Lost Highway Records, Proper Records, Six Shooter and Starfish Entertainment, New Frontier Touring / Ramseur Records / Full Light Records and Yep Roc Records. The party will feature Blue Rodeo, the Hacienda Brothers, John Doe, the Avett Brothers and Hayes Carll and other. See you there!

Elliot Randall – Take the Fall (self released)

Elliott Randall is a man to watch.

Randall, not Elliott Randall the ex-Steely Dan guitarist best known for his guitar solos on Reelin’ in the Years, but the Bay area by-way-of Charleston, South Carolina, alt.country rocker has a lot going for him. On first listen it’s easy to be lazy and compare Elliot Randall’s superb release “Take the Fall” (self released) to some of Ryan Adams best work.

For instance take the melancholy slide-guitar and Rhodes keyboard steeped “Elephant” and the soul-wrenching title track, Randall sounds much like he’s channeling Adams more soulful moments. But Randall is his own man and as an artist he’s in many ways more focused in his compositions than Adams has been of recent. “How to Get Old” is a damn fine song that could have come from Uncle Tupelo with little mainstream Nashville hook added in to sweeten the experience. It works skillfully and without coming off as sterile and contrived. More Early Guy Clark storytelling than Kenny Chesney clichés.

Barn-burning rave-ups like Don’t Give Up On Me” and “Leaving This Town” show that the man can get a room moving when he wants to.

A recent feature on an Americana Roots podcast, Randall straddles the country and rock worlds proficiently and his work sounds both timeless and fresh.

Alex Battles’ Whisky Rebellion in the Pocono Record

Alex Battles’ Whisky Rebellion is slated to play the amphitheatre at Grey Towers’ Festival of Wood at 4:30 p.m. this Saturday (11th.) The band got a nice write up in the local Pocono Record. An excerpt:

Though living in Brooklyn, N.Y., for the past 10 years, Battles grew up on a tree farm in Chesterland, Ohio, and has a deep appreciation for and understanding of forestry and the many ways wood is used in everyday lives, including music.

There’s no earthly way of knowing / Which direction we are going

I never thought about it before, but once I got notice that Lost Highway was giving away two golden tickets in select copies of Ryan Adams new release Easy Tiger (6/25) in copies sold around the New York area (winners get to attend a concert the Ryan Adams show that night at the Hiro Ballroom) I now see the remarkable similarities between Willy Wonka and Ryan Adams.

No word yet on if the Oompa-Loompas will be opening the show.

New Yorkers try your luck at either Vintage Vinyl in Fords, NJ or Looney Tunes in West Babylon, Long Island.

Hey, you never know….

Moonshine Willy’s Nancy Tannenbaum Dies

From the Bloodshot Records web site: On Sunday May 13th, Nancy Tannenbaum, aka Nancy Rideout, original guitarist in Moonshine Willy was killed in a motorcycle accident in New York City. She swerved to avoid a pedestrian who mysteriously ran onto the West Side highway, was thrown from her bike and died at the scene.

There will be a Memorial Service this Friday, May 18 at 3:30 at Temple Sholom, 3480 N. Lake Shore Drive., in Chicago

If you’ve got photos/stories/etc you want to send Bloodshot, they will send them along. Please send them to: mdinou@grisko.com

18 Wheels (mp3)

Jason Isbell New Album Details

From Billboard.com – Former Drive By Truckers guitarist Jason Isbell will release his solo debut, “Sirens of the Ditch,” July 10 via New West. The 11-track set features guest turns by DBT principals Patterson Hood, Shonna Tucker and Brad Morgan, plus Hood’s father David and Spooner Oldham.

“Sirens of the Ditch” was tracked at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Ala., and Muscle Shoals session musicians will join Isbell on the road this summer, beginning July 9 in a city to be announced. Beforehand, the artist will play warm-up shows June 20 in Little Rock, Ark., June 21 in Memphis and June 22 in Chicago.
You can hear three tracks, “Dress Blues”,”Try” and “Grown” from the new CD on Isbell’s MySpace page. Damn that boys got a voice that can melt butter!

Here is the track list for “Sirens of the Ditch”:

“Brand New Kind of Actress”
“Down in a Hole”
“Try”
“Chicago Promenade”
“Dress Blues”
“Grown”
“Hurricanes and Hand Grenades”
“In a Razor Town”
“Shotgun Wedding”
“The Magician”
“The Devil Is My Running Mate”

“Dress Blues” by Jason Isbell