Thursday, December 23, 2010

Happy Birthday Jorma!!!

The Legendary American blues, folk and rock guitarist, Jorma Kaukonen celebrates a birthday today. He is 70 years old.
Jorma is best known for his work with Hot Tuna and Jefferson Airplane.

For what it's worth, he also made an awesome Christmas album.









Here's a few vids!

Uncle Sam Blues -




Hesitation Blues -



Christmas Rule -

Friday, December 17, 2010

Farewell Captain


Don Van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart, passed away today at a Northern California hospital at the age of 69.
The cause of death was named as complications from multiple sclerosis.

Van Vliet's musical work was conducted with a rotating ensemble of musicians he called The Magic Band, active between 1965 and 1982, with whom he recorded 12 studio albums.

Noted for his powerful singing voice with its wide range, Van Vliet also played the harmonica, saxophone and numerous other wind instruments.
His music blended rock, blues and psychedelia with free jazz, avant-garde and contemporary experimental composition.
During his teen years in Lancaster, California, Van Vliet acquired an eclectic musical taste and formed "a mutually useful but volatile" friendship with Frank Zappa, with whom he sporadically competed and collaborated.
Known for his enigmatic personality and relationship with the public, Van Vliet made few public appearances after his retirement from music (and from his Beefheart persona) in 1982 to pursue a career in art, an interest that originated in his childhood talent for sculpture.








RIP Captain Beefheart.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

"Don't Let Obama Ruin Christmas"

'tis the season...

... and Jackie & Dunlap have released Red State Update's Christmas album Santa Is Real.



From the front cover - a parody of The Louvin Brothers' classic Satan Is Real album -



all through to the end, this recording is full of inspired holiday hilarity.

Allow Jackie and Dunlap to elaborate in this promotional video.



So many great tunes, but this infectious Caribbean flavored number seems to be my current favorite.



As a bonus, here's R.S.U.'s holiday offering from last year.






Sunday, December 12, 2010

Hank III Is 38!!!


Shelton Hank Williams III celebrates a birthday today.




Here's 3 acoustic #'s.


... and one from Assjack.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Country Dick

Country Dick Montana (born Daniel McLain) was a musician best known as a member of the Beat Farmers. He was also in the short-lived trio the Pleasure Barons with Mojo Nixon and Dave Alvin.



On November 8th, 1995 Montana suffered a heart attack and died while playing "The Girl I Almost Married" during a Beat Farmers show at the Longhorn Saloon in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. The band disbanded shortly thereafter.

"The Ballad of Country Dick" by Mojo Nixon was written after his death.

In 1996, posthumous solo album "The Devil Lied To Me" was released.


Sunday, November 7, 2010

Hayseed Dixie Live at Mercy Lounge

For Today's Date In Music History I'll feature a performance from NYC's Mercury lounge on November 7,2003.

Hayseed Dixie performs a mixture of cover versions of hard rock songs and original compositions in a style that is a cross between bluegrass and rock music.



Formed in 2001 with the release of their first album, titled A Hillbilly Tribute To AC/DC, Hayseed Dixie are acknowledged as the creators of the musical genre "Rockgrass."

The band consists of:
Barley Scotch - vocals, guitar and fiddle
Reverend Don Wayne Reno - banjo and vocals
Deacon Dale Reno - mandolin, guitar and vocals
Jake "Bakesnake" Byers - bass and vocals

Their sense of humor is evident in their bio, which claims that the band hails from Deer Lick Holler, "deep in the heart of the Appalachia," where its members grew up playing the traditional hillybilly music of their forefathers. But as fate would have it, they just so happened to stumble across AC/DC's back catalog of recordings when a stranger driving through the boy's hometown crashed his car and perished, but his records were saved.





Disc 1
01. Dirty Deeds
02. You Shook Me
03. Best Friends Girlfriend
04. I Know your Married >
05. Hells Bells
06. I Wanna Rock & Roll All Night
07. Deliahs Gone
08. Have a Drink on Me
09. Charlotte Mtn. Breakdown
10. Detroit Rock City
11. Cat Scratch Fever
12. The Lunch Story
13. Feel like Makin Lunch....err Love
14. Big Bottoms

Disc 2
01. Fat Bottom Girl
02. Keepin your Poop in a Jar
03. I wish I was You
04. T.N.T.
05. Paradise
06. Ellie Schaffer >
07. Shady Grove
08. Foggy Mtn. Breakdown * >
09. Doreen*
10. Katy Daley >
11. Rollin in my Sweet babys Arms
12. Highway To Hell*
Encore:
13. In the Pines * >
14. Will the Circle be Unbroken*

*w/ Scott “Sweepy” Walker on Harmonica

Download full show

Bonus: Here's a short documentary film from 2005 of the story and origins of Hayseed Dixie, the creators of the Rockgrass music genre.



More video

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween!



Hob-noblin
Wit de goblin
De Goblin Girl
From da mystery world

Hob-noblin
Wit de goblin
She's black 'n green
'Cause it's Halloween

Raggedy black
Is the way she dress
Little green shoes
'N her hair's a mess
On Halloween night
At de costume ball
She's a Goblin Girl
An' she can gobble it all

She's a goblin
A Goblin Girl
She's a goblin
A Goblin Girl
I been hobblin'
'Cause of the Goblin
Goblin Girl . . . Goblin Girl

Some girls like
To dress like a witch
Some girls like to dress like a queen
Best way a girl
Can dress for me
Is in a Goblin Suit
(They look so cute . . . )

When they're a goblin
There ain't a problin
When they're a goblin
I start a-wobblin'
Pink all over
Some is tan
Goblin Girls
From every land
They look good
From any which-a-way
Every Halloween
You can hear me say:
"Goblin Girl, take it away . . . "

Hob-noblin
Wit de goblin
De Goblin Girl
From da mystery world
De Goblin Girl
From da mystery world
(TRICK OR TREAT NOW . . . )
De Goblin Girl
From da mystery world
(TRICK OR TREAT NOW . . . )
De Goblin Girl
From da mystery world

Sunday, October 24, 2010

TDIMH: NOLA Brass Funk Rock


Bonerama Live at Tupelo Music Hall on October 24,2009

"Even in a city that doesn’t play by the rules, New Orleans’ Bonerama is something different. They can evoke vintage funk, classic rock and free improvisation in the same set; maybe even the same song. Bonerama has been repeatedly recognized by Rolling Stone, hailed as “the ultimate in brass balls” (2005) and praised for their “…crushing ensemble riffing, human-feedback shrieks and wah-wah growls” (2007). Bonerama carries the brass-band concept to places unknown; what other brass band could snag an honor for “Best Rock Band” (Big Easy Awards 2007)? As cofounder Mark Mullins puts it, “We thought we could expand what a New Orleans brass band could do. Bands like Dirty Dozen started the “anything goes” concept, bringing in the guitars and the drum kit and using the sousaphone like a bass guitar. We thought we could push things a little further.”

New Orleans’ fertile club scene was directly responsible for Bonerama getting together. Trombonists Mullins and Craig Klein were both members of Harry Connick’s band, where they’d been since 1990. Both were looking to supplement this gig with something a little less structured. “Harry sets the bar pretty high, and you have to play it the same way every night for everyone to follow.”

The big chance came in the summer of ’98, when Mullins had a weekly residency at Tipitina’s in the French Quarter. The club was then turning weekly slots over to some of the city’s favorite musicians, including Allen Toussaint and Cyril Neville; Mullins got charge of Wednesdays. Word got out one week that he and Klein were staging their trombone super-session and everybody they knew wanted to get involved. “It seemed that half the trombone players in town showed up,” Klein recalls. “At the end of the night we had them all onstage, maybe fifteen trombones at once. It sounded like a freight train; a big wall of sound coming right at you.”

Along with his jazz connections, Mullins is Bonerama’s resident rock ‘n’ roller: It was Mullins who instigated the offbeat classic-rock covers that have become a band tradition. Edgar Winter’s “Frankenstein” was the first nugget to get the treatment and songs by Hendrix, Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and the Allman Brothers Band have since appeared in their set right alongside the funk and jazz-flavored numbers. “There’s definitely something about the guitar and the trombone that are related,” Mullins figures. “You compare the fretboard to the slide; there’s a lot of similarity there.” Indeed, the sounds Mullins makes by playing through a guitar amp and wah-wah pedal may explain why he’s named Jimi Hendrix as one of his favorite trombonists. “It’s great to grab people with the rock songs, and then turn them on to some New Orleans music at the same time,” Klein says.

The buzz on Bonerama grew with hometown acclaim (with the band winning numerous OffBeat Magazine Awards; and Mullins regularly topping OffBeat’s trombone category), lots of roadwork, and three live albums – the first recorded close to home at the Old Point in Algiers; the second on tour in New York and the third album, Bringing It Home, recorded live from New Orleans’ world famous nightclub, Tipitina’s. The Boston Herald called them a “bonehead’s dream”; the Vail (CO) Daily noted that “the sound is fat and wet; sometimes downright lusty.” As hometown music zine OffBeat put it, “That nerdy kid in the band room with the trombone just might have the last laugh after all.”"


www.BoneramaMusic.com



set one (66:11)

01. intro
02. Funky Miracle
03. Bap Bap
04. Hero
05. Big Fine Woman
06. A Deeds Well Done
07. I Want To Ta-Ta You Baby
08. Yer Blues
09. I Don't Mean Nothin'


set two (74:25)

01. I'm Tellin' Ya
02. Bayou Betty
03. Whipping Post
04. Louie's Perch
05. Folsom Prison Blues
06. Down By The Riverside
07. banter/band intros
08. Moby Dick
09. encore intro
10. Blues For Ben

Download

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Justice For All


A native of West Virginia, folksinger Dick Justice blended both blues and folk patterns on his recordings of the late '20s.
Born Richard Justice in 1906, he played with many black musicians as a youth and listened to blues records as well.
Justice recorded a total of ten sides for Brunswick during 1929 (some as a duo with Reese Jarvis), including a version of "Henry Lee" that later gained inclusion on Harry Smith's 1952 folksong collection Anthology of American Folk Music.
Little is known about the rest of Justice's life, though he often worked in the coal mines.
Many of his sides were compiled on the Document collection Old-Time Music from West Virginia (1927-1929).



1.) Brown Skin Blues; 2.) Cocaine; 3.) Henry Lee; 4.) Little Lulie; 5.) Old Black Dog; 6.) One Cold December Day; 7.) Guian Valley Waltz; 8.) Muskrat Rag; 9.) Poca River Blues; 10.) Poor Girl's Waltz

Saturday, October 16, 2010

A Red State Update Ad: Legalize Pot In New York State

From RSU: Empire State NORML wants marijuana to be legal in New York State so bad, they give us $120 to make this ad. http://empirestatenorml.com They accept donations! Just like we accepted their $120.



But why stop at weed jokes? Red State Update will make YOUR campaign ad... for only $120! Are you runnin' for somethin? Like a candidate? Hate a candidate? Got $120? You qualify!

Here are the rules:
ONE: $120.
TWO: We'll make a ad for or against anybody runnin for anything. Republican. Democrat. Tea Party. Any asshole. Does not matter. All that matters: $120.
THREE: You don't get no say so. No creative control. No money back. You tell us who you you want the ad to be for or against, give us $120, we'll make ye ad and put it up on the YouTube. There will probably be some cussin' in it. Please specify attack ad, but let's be honest, they pretty much all gonna be attack ads.
FOUR: We don't care who you are, but I think they's some laws that we probably shoulda looked into before we started this, so at the end of the video, it will say Paid For By YOUR NAME And It Cost Them $120.
FIVE: No matter who we make an ad on, no matter what that ad say, it is not an official endorsement by Red State Update. We only care about the $120.
So email us at redstateupdate@gmail.com, tell us who you want us to go after or backhandedly praise, we'll tell you how to get us $120. It's all about Freedom of Speech. And you can buy ours for $120.

Red State Update Will Make Your Ad video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMxZBT...

Friday, October 1, 2010

"Yalla Yalla" - Cracker Does It For The Troops

Here's a short documentary film/music video depicting Cracker's tour of U.S. military bases in Iraq, from a post at David Lowery's 300 Songs blog.



Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Happy Birthday Les!


Bassist Les Claypool celebrates his 47th birthday today.








Happy Birthday Les!

Monday, September 27, 2010

"The Dirt Underneath"


Today's Date In Music History:

Drive-By Truckers
Live at Cannery Ballroom on September 27, 2007.

In 2007, the alternative country/Southern rock band, Drive-By Truckers, performed a string of acoustic shows called The Dirt Underneath Tour.

“We also wanted to go out a do something a little different. Maybe revisit some songs in a different light, maybe try out some new stuff on a smaller scale, maybe tell some stories and sing some songs. Pull up some chairs, have a few drinks and tell some stories to each other and some friends. We know how to do that but just never really get around to it. THE DIRT UNDERNEATH is a show I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.”- Patterson Hood



Set list:
The Home Front, A Ghost To Most, Bulldozers and Dirt, Daddy Needs a Drink, Panties in Your Purse, Tails Facing Up, Gravity's Gone, Bob, Nine Bullets, Where The Devil Don't Stay, After the Scene Dies, Self Destructive Zones,(Something's Got To) Give Pretty Soon, Marry Me, The Deeper In, Sink Hole, Check Out Time In Vegas, Goode's Field Road, Monument Valley, Zip City, The Opening Act, Love Like This, Buttholeville > State Trooper

Lineup:
Patterson Hood - guitar, mandolin, vocal
Mike Cooley - guitar, vocal
Shonna Tucker - bass, vocal
John Neff - pedal steel, guitar, vocal
Brad "The EZB" Morgan - drums
Spooner Oldham - keyboard


Friday, September 17, 2010

"Friends"

Cracker Accoustic Duo performs "Friends" at Shank Hall Milwaukee 2-17-2010 featuring David Lowery & Johnny Hickman.





Lyrics:
Well I'd never sleep with your ex-girlfriend
Even if she starts to flirt with me again.
Allow me apologize for my slightly wicked thoughts;
'Cause that's the kind of friend that you've got.

If a fight breaks out and you're the cause of it
In some redneck bar where you've been talking shit.
I would not forsake you later in that parking lot
'cause that's the kind of friend that you've got.

Well through the laughter and the tears,
we go stumbling through the years.

A bit dysfunctional well folks might say

Well I've got the dirt on you.

Hey, I've got plenty on you too.

So I pray we stay together all our days.

So when you're on a date
and you finally bring that girl home.
You put a little Captain Beefheart on the stereo
and you disconnect the phone.

Then I show up drunk and raving
and then I pass out on the spot.
'Cause that´s the kind of friend
That you've got.

Well through the laughter and the tears

we go stumbling through the years.

A bit dysfunctional well folks might say

You can say that again.

Well I've got the dirt on you.

Hey I've got plenty on you too;

So I pray we stay together all our days.

Oh dear lord

Yeah I pray we stay together all our days.



.

Behind the scenes of legendary producer Rick Rubin's latest project with famous funnyman Ray Stevens

Travis and Jonathan, aka Jackie and Dunlap, portray Rick and Ray in this hilarious mockumentary .


(HT - MC)

"Erinstock"

Erin's Birthday Party aka "Erinstock", featuring Cracker (in Erin & Tim's living room!) on Saturday, May 16, 2009.



A separate audio recording of this is available here: http://www.archive.org/details/Cracker2009-05-16.KM140

Here's the setlist in case you want to skip around during the video:

01. intro
02. Turn On Tune In Drop Out
03. Happy Birthday to Me
04. I See the Light
05. Sweet Magdalena Of My Misfortune
06. Lonesome Johnny Blues
07. Mr. Wrong
08. Seven Days
09. Eurotrash Girl
10. Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey
11. Duty Free
12. Be My Love
13. I Could Be Wrong I Could Be Right
14. Friends
15. Nothing to Believe In
16. St. Cajetan
17. I Want Everything
18. Can I Take My Gun up to Heaven
19. Shiner Song
20. Up Against The Wall Redneck Mothers
21. One Fine Day
22. Gimme One More Chance
23. Low

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Thrash-Grass


Today's Date In Music History: Split Lip Rayfield Live at Stage 5, Walnut Valley Festival on September 16, 2006

Split Lip Rayfield is a vocal and acoustic instrumental group from Wichita, Kansas. Though they are sometimes classified as a bluegrass, alt-country or cowpunk, their music draws on a wide array of influences.
Split Lip Rayfield helped pioneer what came to be known as the "Stage Five" sound, named for the notorious "unofficial" Stage 5 at the annual Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas.
Typically, bluegrass musicians played traditional folk and country songs on acoustic string instruments. Bands like Split Lip faithfully used traditional acoustic instruments, but played songs that were more closely related stylistically to rock, punk or heavy metal.
... and ya gotta love that gas tank bass!





1. Intro
2. Flat Back Rag
3. Devil
4. Old # 6
5. Pinball Machine
6. Hundred Dollar Bill
7. Redneck Tailgate Dream
8. Record Shop
9. Don't Believe That You're Someone
10. Love Please Come Home
11. Outlaw
12. Never Make It Home
13. San Antone
Encore:
14. Crowd
15. Kiss Of Death

"Baby come and spend some time with Mr. Wrong"

David Lowery of Cracker performs "Mr. Wrong" at WNRN in Charlottesville, Virginia on July 15, 2009.



Well, meet me by the river that goes nowhere.
Let me lay my sorry trip on you.
Won't you meet me by the river, little darling'?
I might just let you see my bad tattoo.

Well I was gonna bring you flowers, but I didn't.
It's the thought that counts and I think I'm a bit too broke.
But there's some change in my ashtray--maybe just enough to pay.
For a half pint of somethin', probably make us choke.

CHORUS:
Well you know I'd rather not go and meet your family.
They'd probably send me back where I belong.
Don't want to hear about Mr. Right.
'Cause he's out of town tonight.
Baby come and spend some time with Mr. Wrong.

I drive a one-eyed Malibu without a muffler.
And a tape deck that works if you kick it hard enough.
And baby if you like to read, I've got some great pornography.
And a ten pound flashlight rolling in the trunk.

CHORUS

Now, do you have a girlfriend and does she look as good as you?
Would she like to meet my brother?
He'll be out of jail in a month or two.

CHORUS

Where I come from they call me Mr. Wrong.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Today's Date In Music History:


Cracker - Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace - September 8, 2007

Recorded live at the 3rd Annual Cracker-Camper Van Beethoven Family Reunion Campout in Pioneertown, CA.




1.) pre intro, 2.) intro, 3.) Kerosene Hat intro, 4.) Low, 5.) Movie Star, 6.) Get Off This, 7.) Kerosene Hat, 8.) Take Me Down To The Infirmary, 9.) Nostalgia, 10.) Sweet Potato
11.) Sick Of Goodbyes, 12.) I Want Everything, 13.) Lonesome Johnny Blues, 14.) Let's Go For A Ride, 15.) Loser, 16.) silent tracks, 17.) Eurotrash Girl, 18.) silent tracks, 19.) I Ride My Bike, 20.) encore break, 21.) encore intro, 22.) One Fine Day, 23.) introductions and acknowledgements, 24.) outtro








***

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Saxophone Colossus


American jazz tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins celebrates his 80th birthday today.
Born Theodore Walter Rollins in New York City, Sonny has become one of the most important and influential jazz musicians of the post-bebop era.
Rollins is recognized by many for the length and quality of his career, one not easily matched in the world of jazz. His melodic sensibilities, playing style and solos have also influenced several generations of musicians.



Sonny is still touring and recording, having outlived most of his contemporaries such as John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Max Roach, and Art Blakey, all performers with whom he recorded.

"Strode Rode" - from the album Saxophone Colossus:



Sonny Rollins — tenor saxophone
Tommy Flanagan — piano
Doug Watkins — bass
Max Roach — drums

Sonny Rollins was elected to the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame in 1973.

Pssst, don't forget to click on the photos!

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

"What's New In Baltimore?"

SEPTEMBER 19 WILL BE DECLARED "FRANK ZAPPA DAY" IN BALTIMORE

Frank Zappa statue to be dedicated on Sunday, September 19 at the Southeast Anchor Branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library located at 3601 Eastern Avenue.
September 19, 2010 marks the 25th anniversary of Zappa's testimony on Capitol Hill and at Annapolis against the censorship of free expression by artists.



The sculpture is a gift to the city of Baltimore orchestrated by three guys from Lithuania: Saulius Paukstys, Saulius Pilinkus and Arturas Baublys. It is a replica of the bust of Frank Zappa installed in Vilnius (pictured here), created by artist Konstantinas Bogdanas. The gift and location were approved by the Baltimore City Public Art Commission and sanctioned by the family.
Zappa's son Dweezil Zappa will headline a special concert with his Grammy Award-winning band, Zappa Plays Zappa. The stretch of Eastern Avenue between Conkling and Eaton Streets in the heart of the Highlandtown Arts and Entertainment District will be marked 'Frank Zappa Way' with a ceremonial street sign to be unveiled for the dedication. The events, including the outdoor dedication and concerts, are open to the public at no charge.



Legendary musician and composer Frank Zappa was born in Baltimore in 1940 and passed away in 1993, at home in Los Angeles. He is internationally recognized as one of the most innovative composers and musicians of the 20th century with a career spanning more than 30 years.


"What's New In Baltimore?"

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Carolina Chocolate Drops

Today's Date In Music History (MC birthday edition):

Carolina Chocolate Drops Live at Festival Park - Greensboro, NC on August 29, 2009


Dom Flemons: 4-string banjo, guitar, jug, bones, snare
Rhiannon Giddens: 5-string banjo, fiddle, kazoo, akonting
Justin Robinson: Fiddle, jug


*Note: LMA has been experiencing some some problems with their players lately, so you'll have to advance manually after each track.

d1t01. Little Rabbit
d1t02. banter
d1t03. Don't Get Trouble in Your Mind
d1t04. banter
d1t05. Cindy Gal
d1t06. banter
d1t07. Gambia
d1t08. banter
d1t09. I Know I've Been Changed*
d1t10. banter
d1t11. Viper Mad
d1t12. banter
d1t13. Will Adams' Breakdown
d1t14. banter
d1t15. Short Life of Trouble
d1t16. banter
d1t17. Salty Dog
d1t18. banter
d1t19. Cornbread and Butterbeans
d1t20. banter
d1t21. Snowden's Jig
d1t22. banter
d1t23. Black Annie
d2t01. banter
d2t02. Old Rattler
d2t03. banter
d2t04. Yonder Comes the Blues
d2t05. banter
d2t06. Hit em Up Style
d2t07. Sourwood Mountain
d2t08. crowd > banter
d2t09. Chopsticks



Download show here (MP3)

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Voyagers Trailer

Trailer for the upcoming movie "Voyagers" coming in 2012. Based on the theory of ensuring our existence by traveling backward in time before the end of this universe to an earlier stage in the life cycle of the universe. By inhabiting different parts of the universe we would be able to avoid detection as Voyagers from the future.



NoiseCollector's Channel (youTube)

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Mike & Bryan

An amazing acoustic cover of Frank Zappa's "Inca Roads" by Mike Keneally and Bryan Beller. Mike toured as part of Frank's 1988 band.