The Doors Of The Kingdom

Hat Fitz and Cara Robinson

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 21:35:00 +0100

Hat Fitz - Slide Guitar and Vocals, and Cara Robinson - Vocals, percussion and flute, are swnging back through Ireland over the next couple of weeks. Catch em if you can. Saw em a month ago at the White Horse Sessions in Lahinch. Great gig with people dancing from the get go - but then they know how to party at Kenny's Bar!

I love this little video of them. There are prettier ones to watch but the sound is so evocative on this!

here is their schedule

Jul 28 Fiddlers Green Festival Rostrevor Co. Down NI
Jul 29 The Listening Post Ulster Uni. Coleraine NI
Jul 30 The Barge River Lagan, Belfast, NI
Jul 31 Voodoo Lounge Letterkenny, Donegal, Irl
Aug 01 Shandon Hotel Dunfanaghy, Donegal, Irl
Aug 02 Grey Hound Bar Kilkee, Co. Clare, Ireland
Aug 03 Kenny's Bar Lahinch Co. Clare Ireland
Aug 04 Crane Lane Theatre Cork, Ireland

Aug 5-7 Mannifest Isle of Man

Aug 09 Mick Murphy's Ballymore Eustace Ireland
Aug 10 Whelan's Bar Wexford St, Dublin Ireland
Aug 11 The Cobblestone Pub Smithfield, Dublin Ireland
Aug 12 7 Hills Blues Festival Armagh Co. Down NI Red Neds 10-12 pm
Aug 13 7 Hills Blues Festival Armagh Co. Down NI Gas Lamp 6-8 pm
Aug 14 AmericanRoots Belfast, NI

then they are back to the uk - check out their tour page:
http://www.hatfitz.net/gigs2011.htm
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Tennessee Mafia Jug Band in Clonmel

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 13:46:00 +0100

This here promises to be a good night out or five!
As their (very entertaining) press blurb says:

There’s only so many graveyard numbers or raunchy love songs that even the most rabid country audience can sit through without some kind of relief. This frolicking fivesome brightens up the stage with rib-tickling old time tunes. Even better, they have an utter lack of self-consciousness (and some might say any sense of decorum). The Tennessee Mafia Jug Band not only know the music, they wear the costumes, tell corny jokes and even do slapstick gags!

July 19th Kilworth, County Cork
July 20th Clonmel, County Tipperary
July 21st Naul, County Dublin
July 22nd Bray, County Wicklow
July 23rd Manorhamilton, County Leitrim

Check out their tour page for details: http://www.tennesseemafiajugband.com/tour

here's Leroy Troy demonstrating his banjo juggling skills!

Justin Townes Earle in the UK

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 11:24:00 +0100

Justin is playing in the UK this month. Some pub gigs and some festivals. No Irish dates though!

20/7/11 - Milton Keynes - The Stables
22/7/11 - Perth, Scotland - Southern Fried Festival
23/7/11 - Gateshead, Summertyne Americana Festival
24/7/11 - Oxfordshire Truck Festival
26/7/11 - York - The Duchess
27/7/11 - Sheffield - the Greystones
29/7/11 - Cambridge Folk Festival

This is his track from the Buddy Holly tribute album just released this month by Concord Records
You can stream the whole thing at Justintownesearle.com this week or buy it from http://raveonbuddyholly.com

Gill Landry - Tour of Scotland!

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 23:16:00 +0100

Gill Landry announced on his Facebook page today that he is doing a tour of Scotland in July, well the Highlands and Islands!

Fri 15th – HebCelt Festival, Stornoway
Sat 16th – Ullapool Tall Ships, Ullapool
Sun 17th – The Arch Inn, Ullapool
Mon 18th – Hootanannys, Inverness
Tue 19th – Eagle Barge, Fort William
Wed 20th - Star Inn, Stornoway
Thur 21st – Old Bridge Inn, Aviemore
Fri 22nd – Athol Arms, Dunkeld
Sat 23rd – Wickerman Festival, Dumfries

If you can get yourself to any of those gigs I'll be jealous!

Pokey LaFarge in Kilkenny

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 16:11:00 +0100

I took the new car off through the Silvermines to Kilkenny last week to see Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three. A two hour drive but having seen them in Belfast last September I wasn't going to miss them when they where coming this close. Cleere's Pub in Parliament Street has a great reputation for live music, with Johnny Holden keeping it ship shape.

Pokey and the boys were coming up to the end of a '40 shows in 40 nights' tour of the UK and Ireland so I thought they might be flagging a bit but it was quite the reverse and they were teasing the audience at times saying that we were getting tired! After swinging their way through their 31 song setlist they started taking requests and ended up playing for 3 hours! About half of those songs came from their two albums, "Riverboat Soul", and the just released "Middle Of Everywhere", plus a few songs from Pokey's solo albums "Marmalade" and "Beat, Move and Shake" and a great bunch of covers as varied as the St Louis Blues or Bob Wills' The Devil Ain't Lazy. We also got both sides of the 7" vinyl they recorded with Jack White last year, Chittlin Cooking time in Cheatham County, plus a short quiz on what chittlins were (although the audience had a few novel ideas of their own!)

All in all it was a fantastic night, and if you missed them they'll be back in the spring of 2012, and they have a few gigs in the UK in September 2011

Feels So Good

You can hear the new album at NPR's First Listen this week, and it's released in the States this week.

Buy it from the band if you can or order it from http://www.pokeylafarge.net/

Belfast Open House Festival 2010

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 18:23:00 +0100

i haven't had the heart for much blogging recently, but this weekend has made a difference.

I have to say i was stoked when i heard the Old Crow Medicine Show were playing the Open House Festival in Belfast this year. There is something different about a festival. A gig is great but really - you walk in watch the show and walk out - then talk about it on the way home with the stereo on. At a festival you get a chance to savour the music, get to know people, and sometimes see odd collaborations as the musicians meet up with old friends. So when the news started to come in that the Festival also had The Felice Brothers who toured with the Old Crows for the Big Surprise tour last year, along with Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch who would also be playing it was announced, and Pokey Lafarge from St Louis (whom Ketch Secor has played fiddle for), plus possessed banjo player Morgan O'Kane (whose Band includes Ferd Four of the Hackensaw Boys) it was exciting to say the least.

ALIVE WITH SUCH POSSIBILITIES ...

But then i started to realise that it was a different gig every night, separate tickets for each one and the artists would just come in, do their show and go out the back door. It wasn't going to be Glastonbury, or Hardly Strictly Bluegrass or the Frog Fair, camping out in the sunshine and mud eating all-day food. Ah well Buckle up boys and don't think twice, buy your tickets, book a hotel and figure out the cheapest way of getting there.

I came in on the Friday afternoon resigned to miss the Felice Brothers who were opening for Wilco (the top-price ticket of the week) but i had to walk down and see what was going on. At the far end is a little tent with some rip-roaring banjo/fiddle coming through - so i peer through the fence and am rewarded with a big grin from Ferd Hackensaw - it's Morgan O'Kanes band warming the place up. Heaven.

You could only get in if you had one of those aforementioned luxury tickets (well luxury if you only wanted to see the support band) but by some fortune of good management (aka miracle 1) the fence outside the marquee was nicely arranged so people could look in and see the stage only a 100 yards away - not so different from Glastonbury after all - I could see James Felice's piano being sound checked. It was a difficult moment knowing i could just walk over and buy a ticket right then so i went and got some chips and came back at 8.30 in time to hear Murder By Mistletoe, Whiskey In My Whiskey, Run Chicken Run, Penn Station, all while looking over the heads of Wilco fans in the 'courtyard'. I was chuffed. I don't know which song it was, perhaps White Limo but a girl walked up to the inside of the fence and said (you have to imagine the Belfast accent) "Do you not have a ticket?"

"WHAT A LOVELY LADY!"

You guessed it! Miracle 2. She had a spare complimentary ticket so i thanked her kindly, and managed to walk the length of the marquee floor to the opening bars of Frankie's Gun where the Felice Brothers fans were tearing it up and i got to hear how good the sound was. Then Kevin Hayes and Willie Watson came onstage to join in which threw the security into confusion for a while. It was the last song of their set but it felt great to be there with everyone howling for an encore, and James and Ian getting ovations when they came out to collect bits of kit.

By the time I got outside Farley of the Felice Brothers and Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show were into some fiddle tune near the bar until Pokey LaFarge played in the little tent where I'd seen Morgan O'Kane. And when i say little here i mean big enough to hold the band, not the audience! The Pokey LaFarge band played a beautiful set of 30s jazz/swing/ragtime harmony tunes reminiscent of the early Mills Brothers, or The Delmore Brothers with Pokey the epitome of the suave and elegant bandleader and equally at home playing Blind Blake or standards like 'Sunny Side Of The Street'. I'd have to digress quite a lot to cover all the bases they touch on as they head for home but you might get the idea. The thing is that Pokey plays the blues but he doesn't have the blues. He's a happy guy. Friendly, warm, open, and he sings it that way. So I'm going out on a limb here to say this music is like a cross between Blind Blake, the Hoosier Hotshots and Bing Crosby. Polished, fun, and witty. See them when you can.

"I'M SO HAPPY I'M SINGING LA LA LA"

When the set finished Ketch reappeared and politely commandeered the 14 foot caravan of the Alternative Ink Tattoo Artist, Shane Sunday, somehow managing to squeeze himself, Farley, and all of the Pokey LaFarge band (including Joey Glynn's double bass ) into one end of the little space.
At first it's Ketch teaching fiddle tunes until everyone is up to speed and they can cut loose and fly. He's calling out chord changes ( "I, I, I, I, IV, IV, V, I etc) and A and B parts and having a great old time. Then they are swapping songs and tunes, Pokey LaFarge did a great version of Going To Germany, Sail Away Ladies was played and sung, instruments are exchanged, Hank's Lost Highway, and Bucket's Got a Hole in it are played, by which time the windows are wide open and a small crowd (whoever wasn't tempted by Wilco in the Marquee) can't believe their luck. Gill Landry is taking photos in the window, Ian and Christmas Felice are outside, Kevin Hayes of Old Crow, too and then Ferd Hackensaw and Morgan O'Kane come in and the tempo kicks up it's heels. They know the tunes as well as Ketch and we are treated to some firey music, with Ferd and Ketch almost knocking foreheads across the small caravan space which is rocking like the ship on the proverbial stormy sea.

DON'T YOU ROCK ME DADDY-O

Security eventually had to clear us all out and nobody really minded. We knew how lucky we were to find a real festival in the heart of the city, and friends we hadn't spoken to yet all through the weekend.

When The Time Rolls Around

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:00:00 GMT

Alright I admit it. It's Xmas.

So a first here at The Kingdom and an official Xmas feast, I mean, post.
And a christmas song that has been posted on the blogosphere before but not recently, is something I've enjoyed for years despite the cultural associations of the season. I guess that part of the joy is that the celebration is for it's own sake, the best of reasons. And it's really the overlaps that make this track shine because it's not really about Xmas at all, it's about New Orleans. And the way Dr John tells it New Orleans already embodies the Xmas Spirit year round.

~~Xmas in New Orleans~~ - Dr John*

Apparently this, and the other tracks on this album (Zu Zu Man - Trip 9815 from 1975) were recorded as demos back in the days before Mac Rebennack became Dr John The Night Tripper, and the transition is there to be heard clearly in the progression from Trader John to Zu Zu Man, from the kindly but astute pawnshop owner to the Voodoo Medicine Man. So we're back in the mid sixties sometime. Dr John is reportedly unhappy with the release of these tracks and in relation to what he was doing at the time the were released I can see that they were not representative. However when I bought this LP (which has been rearranged and redistributed in many forms over the years) I knew not, and cared less. These are great tracks, and all the better for not being embellished with spit and polish. You can hear a tight band and some catchy tunes that were recorded with the aim of sharing some lovely musical ideas with some sharp and mellow players.

Trader John is a simple funky diatribe about cash on the nail for "anything other than trade or pawn", but the store has everything you'll ever need including Voodoo products unlimited, and Trader John will sort you out if you have the cash.

~~Trader John~~ - Dr John*

Did She Mention My Name is a totally different attitude in comparison. Sweet and plaintive vocals that put you in mind of the Neville Brothers, as they might have been if they'd done their thing as a vocal group in 1964 instead of more recently. I really had to stop and wonder who could be singing here, but I think it is Rebennack. I'd love to know who else was there, though. The band eases into this with grace and style.

~~Did She Mention My Name~~ - Dr John*

Xmas in New Orleans is, as I mentioned earlier, a funky and laid back celebration of the perennial party atmosphere that New Orleans is rightly famous for.

*EDIT at least that's what I thought! Dan Phillips over at Home Of The Groove has pointed out that some of the backing tracks feature Dr John (or Mac Rebennack as he was known at the time) but none of the vocals on these tracks are his. More info to follow

And to stay with the season, here is a beautiful let's (not) get together and do a video (not) together and still sound good together (although we're not together) starring Dr John and the equally incomparable Leon Redbone.

And this is what happens when you let your mind get free and your tongue be righteous.
Not for the squeamish or stuck up.

Blue Horse Out-take

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:08:00 GMT

In a recent discussion about perennial favourite albums - the ones you just have to come back to - I was pushing around the ideas for the runner-ups but I think that Blue Horse by The Be Good Tanyas is probably the favourite returnee in The Kingdom. Made in 2000 with Jolie Holland still a major influence on the sound, it's quirky, sweet, upbeat, downbeat, pretty, profound, soothing and inspiring all at once.

So it was nice to visit their myspace yesterday and find they have contributed to PepperMill Records anthology of songs by, about or for tree planters. And they have contributed an out-take from Blue Horse, with Julie Holland taking lead vocals and going by the name of "Cabin In The Woods". It's a beautiful reminder of where the gals where coming from at the turn of the millenium, musically and spiritually.

Read their description of the recording

The nearest I've got to tree planting is putting in oak and hazel and chestnut and birch, with ash for firewood here at the Kingdom and some fruit trees to follow, so I can be suitably impressed by those crazy souls who wander the uplands of BC with T-shirts shrouding their heads and midge repellent caked on like pan stick. A season of that stuff and you deserve every penny you get and all the good karma you can carry.

The relevant thing to us is, of course, that though the Tanyas are the name band on this compilation, all the tree planting community that I've come across are deep into their music and quite capable of turning a listening ear their way. Go back to the PepperMill Records link and click on a few tracks and see if thereisn't just something special in there.

Might meet you there.

The Be Good Tanyas feat. Jolie Holland- Cabin In The Woods

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Gill Landry

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 22:34:00 GMT

I have a theory that this is the Burren in County Clare, Ireland, which probably means that it was taken in 2006 while Gill was subbing for Critter Fuqua of the Old Crows during their European Tour. Maybe he was there some other time. But I like my theory. Anyways he's hanging out on the Limestone. Once (many years ago) the home to thousands of poets and musicians and farmers and goats, and now the home to hundreds of well, poets and musicians and farmers and goats and so on. A good place to hang out for a while, or a lifetime.

The pic is up on an amazing collection of photos at the Kitchen Syncopators website from which I just bought three of their albums. If you can just afford one then I recommend Pepper In My Shoe, but I could afford three so i got Tijuana Zebra and Gill's first solo album. It's like discovering an old bluesman on Document Records, or getting The Memphis Jug Band box set in the post. Loads of great tunes played like the bar is open and the street is still busy outside, but we need to get some customers in here so fire em up boys and get the party started. Drinks are on the house.

Get em while you can.

Gill's album (2003) has to stand comparison to his 2006 album for Nettwerk. The Ballad Of Lawless Soirez. My favourite album of 2007 ( I'm a bit behind OK. We live on a huge bleak bit of limestone, alright, only got electricity when the millenium got going. Hang fire. The dates are all fecked anyway, it should be nineteen thirty one or somesuch)

All that said it's great and gets as much play as any of the others. Intriguing and rich, earthy and raucous, slick and sure, and it's got Gill's great voice. The voice is what has changed the least between the two albums. He really knew these songs back then.

Get it while you can.
NOW!
Then get this:

Amazon.co.uk have it at various prices and it's worth every penny, whatever you pay.

So fast forward to 2008 - Gill Landry with The Old Crow Medicine Show performing for the Lightning 100 radio show while they were in town to play The Ryman in Nashville. Gill wrote and sang the track Mary's Kitchen on the new Tennessee Pusher album and it's a high point of funky fun on a dark, gritty album. He's been subbing for Critter (again) since the last European tour and is now officially acknowledged as an Old Crow.

Here's a couple of Kitchen Syncopators tracks from Pepper In My Shoe
~~Black Rat~~
~~Way Down In Arkansas~~
And the title track from Ballad Of Lawless Soirez:
~~Lawless Soirez~~

Who's this busking in NOLA?
Gill and Annie Ford on flickr at a radio gig.

Gill's Myspace has some unreleased tracks.
Gill's Web~~site~~pages has the bare bones.

Way down south in Louisville

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 22:02:00 +0100

I'm hearing some great things about last night's show in Louisville, KY.

The Old Crow Medicine Show and The Felice Brothers sharing the billing and (at times the stage) can guarantee some crazy times
and some high energy performances. Here's the perennial crowd pleaser, Wagon Wheel with most of both bands on stage. Stormin' it Up to the rafters. Can't you just hear it tearing off into Tell It To Me at the end. Wow.

"Way down south in Louisville
They showed me to the door
They hadn't seen a railroad bum
Since 1924
Its a rich folk's town
They don't need me 'round"

runs the verse from Trouble That I'm In by the Old Crows. Maybe so but the door they're being shown now is the way in.

Old Crow Medicine Show - ~~Trouble That I'm In~~ from Live
The Felice Brothers - ~~Trouble Been Hard~~ from Adventures of The Felice Brothers
The Carolina Chocolate Drops - ~~Short Life Of Trouble~~ from Dona Got A Ramblin' Mind

The Chocolate Drops were supporting the Old Crows at The Ryman in Nashville over the weekend.
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Old Crow Medicine Show - Tennessee Pusher Review

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:39:00 +0100

OK So it's different. Ketch is stretching out as a songwriter, Gill Landry is stepping up to the plate for slide, banjo and songwriting. While Critter is contributing vocal harmonies, but no picking or new songs.

They've come down from the mountain and have been living in the City for how long? OCMS was pretty much Mountain music. Big Iron World was transitional. Tennessee Pusher is born out of time to think about the lives rolling past. Lots of lives. Some of them not making it. It's City Music. It's vision is bigger out of necessity, not so much hoe-down and more looking and thinking sharp. But still the same work and trials and heartbreak, only with an edge. It's watching the world and it's triumph is how immediate it is. These are personal songs and they make OCMS seem like a dream. A romance back there when we were kids, and leaning on the El Dorado. That old beast is rusty now and you're wary when it goes past.

Alabama High Test is a rompin uptempo tune with energy and attitude. A great opener if you don't know where this album is going by verse two you should only go outside during daylight hours.

Highway Halo is the biggest departure. I guess it's the daylight hours version. A gentle drum and slide led reverie of the open road. Morgan's bass runs are pretty modern here, too, and the banjo is way back. You'd be hard pushed to recognise this as Old Crow. It's a very catchy song though and once I made the adjustment it quite often comes to mind during the day. I'd love to hear what this sounds like live, after hours, waiting for lift south.

Greatest Hustler is my favourite song on the disc. It's ancient and it's happening right under our noses. It fits right in there with Always Lift Him Up in that "them's just folks" department, so it doesn't cast judgement. It's plaintive heart string stuff, and it's a timeless story that is stretching the realm of possibilities just too far. It's funny. It's cartoon but it's heart break. Beautiful and instantly memorable.

Methamphetamine is dark alley stuff, the modern drug fable, and it twists you as the story unfolds. The harp is great as are the harmonies and that "falls of the Cumberland" line is stellar. I'm not so enamoured of keltner's drumming on this, but it's another powerful song and we start to get a picture building up.

Next Go Round is just stunning. Stop me in my tracks. An instant classic, like Take Em Away from OCMS this is timeless and achingly beautiful. The fiddle. Willie singing with Ketch and Critter harmonising. Another favourite.

Humdinger. A fun tune from Kevin and great to sing along with. I think this song got left unfinished - I loved hearing it live and somehow there's a bit missing here. In fact a live version for the album would have been the way to go. I don't mind the "right-winger/folksinger" bits - it's Animal House here and all comers who can take the pace are welcome .. just don't go making speeches or sitting on the stairs being all aloof and enigmatic.

Motel in Memphis comes lurching off of the Rolling Thunder Revue, whitefaced and staring out of those dark corners again, and it yet sounds so pretty - the fiddle - the melody. I get the impression that MLK is as much an icon here as Mr Crump, and we're been given another broad brush-stroke of the obvious. The Old Crows walking out with their eyes open. It's still about the street where we all live.

Evening Sun is another of Willie's plaintive ballads, with the beat picked up a little. The opening melody is very similar to Next Go Round but damn it's a good song. There's another "Thousand somethings", too, which bugs me a bit. But damn it's a good song.

Mary's Kitchen is wonderful and boy am I ready for some old time uptempo footstomping sweaty goodtime music. Thanks Gill.

Crazy Eyes. Starts off on the porch real personal like. Another of Ketch's alter-ego's trying to make sense of the world, not causing trouble but not really getting involved anymore, making good sense but and still Crazy. I love this track. And the way it steps back and then makes way for

Tennessee Pusher is eeire. Another instantly real narrator telling the story we don't want to hear. It's just us Crows here and we can talk straight, right. Throw another log on the fire, I feel cold inside, and I'm wondering where this life of mine is going ...

Always lift Him Up is a lovely treatment of an good song. Willie's voice hits the heartstrings again, and there's that Willie/Ketch/Critter harmony effortlessly lifting us higher than a cathedral roof - plus it's just Old Crows playing. We're reminded that there's been no judgement at all for the last hour. Just watching, wondering , trying to explain, trying to feel our way through this crazy world. And our friends and neighbours trying to do the same.

Caroline. This version is now neck and neck with the OCMS out-take. I love the pace and muscially it has the edge, but the out-take has the turning flips line and the thousand miles apart line. Tough call. Great song either way, and a good closer for the album.

This going to be in my player for a good long time.

Old Crow Medicine Show Buy It From The Boys!! The whole full quality Top Notch CD for $11.99 !!

You can hear a bunch of the songs over at the Amie Street Blog which seems to be legal lowbitrate versions, since Amie Street is selling the album ($8.98 download).

Here's an example:
~~Greatest Hustler Of All mp3~~

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Crooked Still

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 23:08:00 +0100

One Sunday in May we took the Kingdom to Ennis to see Crooked Still at the sparkly 'new' theatre there. Glór. It's a funny place, not least because you can't take your drink into the auditorium. The stage is wide and the seats are not far away but the back of the room, the depth of it is not as wide as the stage if you get my meaning. There's a good sound system so the sound can be good if it's handled right. It was that night.

There should be a couple of footnotes here. The band had just got off the plane and spent the afternoon renegotiating a van that was the right size for their gear. They did if I remember rightly have some spare time though coz their was talk of Brittany Haas swimming in Kilkee (or was it Spanish Point?) I start to realise my memory is a little hazy here coz it was clearly said that she swam in May without a wetsuit. In the Atlantic. No mean feat.

There's a saying in Kilkee which seemed logical at the time:
April and May - stay out of the Sea
June and July - swim til ye die

My memory is a little hazy due to the second footnote about Saturday being such a beautiful night, all balmy, still and full of friends, that I could not sleep at the party I went to (and didn't get home til way after dawn). All day I was receiving important messages from my liver such as **WARNING! YOU HAVE BEEN POISONED. PLEASE DO NOT MAKE ANY SUDDEN MOVEMENTS - WE ARE ATTEMPTING TO MINIMISE THE DAMAGE** so I wasn't on tiptop form when I got to the theatre. Painkillers (the good ones my friend K has for her migraines) were sneered at by my internal repair team. I nursed my bottle of water through the first set. And took a medicinal Whiskey during the interval. That was well received.

So what of the gig? All I can say was it was good enough to go and see them again a few days later in Galway, in a small room with maybe 120 people, and with the band wedged in between the tables. Great. The Irish water (whiskey?) has done it's work and they are looser and freer and having fun.
Here they are doing a Bill Monroe Instrumental, "~~Road To Columbus~~" with some funny chat about Tattoos and Piercings. Led by their new fiddler, Brittany Haas. Actually the chat was led by Aoife O'Donavon during the introductions for the new members, Brittany, and Tristran Clarridge, but Brittany led the tune. (I like the way her myspace categories say "Acoustic/Folk/Psychobilly" btw)

It was a great gig and the new CD, Still Crooked, is still on high rotation here two months later.

A couple of tracks from that too.

~~Undone In Sorrow~~
~~Tell Her To Come Back Home~~

here's a great review of the new album, Still Crooked, over at Cover Lay Down

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And next up is banjo player, Greg Liszt's project the Deadly Gentlemen, about which you hear a tantalising snippet of introduction at the end of the live track.

Top Ten Covers

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 21:12:00 GMT

OK semi retirement be damned.

Berkeley Place is hosting an Audience Participation event, tracking down the top ten covers of the Century (so far)

get on over there and see if they've missed anything.

Here's mine (for today anyway)

Old Crow Medicine Show - Down Home Girl (the Coasters)
Hetten Des - Ace Of Spades (motorhead)
Gillian Welch - Black Star (radiohead)
Johnny Cash - Hurt (NIN)
The Duhks - Ol’ Cook Pot (Shawn Byrne)
Sinead O’Connor - Untold Stories (Buju Banton)
Antony and the Johnsons - The Guests (Leonard Cohen)
James Bouchard - Cape Cod Girls (Jim Rader)
The Sumner Brothers - Sam Hall (Johnny Cash)
Crooked Still - Oxford Town (Bob Dylan)

Go Watch Buju Banton - Untold Stories (May God Help Your Soul)

Or Hetten Des' version of The Ace Of Spades

The Felice Brothers

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Mon, 1 Oct 2007 10:47:00 +0100

I just heard a few tracks by The Felice Brothers Myspace over at Red Blondehead and the first one was good enough to send me browsing around. Apparently they were in Europe this summer (damn) and there are some great videos on YouTube from the CornburyFestival in Oxfordshire - try this one for size. Looks like they managed to gather a crowd for a pre-breakfast gig - lovely light and lovely sound.

The Duhks

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 00:33:00 +0100

So not only are the Old Crow Medicine Show playing tomorrow night, but The Duhks (Myspace) are here next week, along with Aoife O'Donovan of Crooked Still Which promises to be a right rootsy night, as they have some cracking songs up on their Myspace page

And here's a Crooked Still track for the fun of it.

~~Ain't No Grave~~

this is from their recent "Shaken By A Low Sound" and there are a couple of tracks from there previous CD on their Listen and Buy page.

I'm Going Down the Road to See Bessie

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 21:31:00 +0100

So The Band sang on "The Basement Tapes".

Bessie Smith died following a car accident in 1937, four years after her last recordings, still in demand throughout the 30s for live performances. The 20s were her heyday, though.
Today is the anniversary of her death. 70 years ago.

There is a good discography at Red Hot Jazz and you can listen to each track there, or at Jazz On Line which has a few extra tracks, albeit a slightly smaller selection. Either will keep you going for hours, though. (Both use the RealAudio Plugin).

CBS put out a ten(?) double LP set of her recordings many years ago which bizarely had the first recordings and the last recordings on the same double album and the recording sessions actually met up on the last LP of the set (being the middle of her career) if I understood the whole concept. I bought the first (and last ...) sessions LP and not having had access to it for a few years now I seem to remember that there were a few stunning standout tracks and the rest were not so memorable. It's a tribute to Bessie Smith's vocal prowess that as i sift through the Discographies looking for the songs I have, that I recognise and can put a tune to most of the tracks from that double album. Sometimes the material was below par, but Bessie's voice always connects.

I was wondering what to post of 160 recordings, and there are a couple of (to me) favourites, and her first single (which apparently sold 750,000 copies in the first year (1923). That's mind-boggling.

Then there is an oddity. let's start there.

Graveyard Dream Blues and Cemetery Blues were the two tracks recorded on the 26th of September 1923. Yep. Todays date. The anniversary of the day she died. Strange, huh? I went looking through the discography to see, and there are a couple of death related titles, but nothing so strikingly poignant. I'm not reading much into this. Just pointing out the oddity, and the way Graveyard Dream Blues finishes. It has a little more depth and power because of the circumstances as I look back on it, wondering if in some way she was looking forward. Weird.

Bessie's First single was Down Hearted Blues and it was a good choice. Beautiful.

Another track from 1923 is Tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do - a strong contender for my favourite of all her recordings, as is Black Mountain Blues which popped up recently in a version by Nick Drake.

You can get all of these tracks on Quadromania at Amazon.co.uk which is 24-bit remastered and contains 65 tracks on 4 CDs.

But listen up to these and explore the discographies. Bessie Smith left an amazing legacy.

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UPDATE

I was just browsing the Hype Machine and came across Lil Mikes excellent and tasty selection of musical morsels, including "Big Butter and Egg Man" By Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith. But my ears won't have it. Who is that singing? Bessie surely didn't sing that high, ever? Well maybe on occaision, but ...

A bit of research: there are plenty of references on the web to Louis and Bessie doing this trackin 1926, but also ProperBox 93 contains the track and lists the vocalist as May Alix on a November 1926 session in Chicago.

Is this the track or is there really a Bessie Smith version of this track out there?

oo i love a good mystery ...
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Janis Martin 1940-2007

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 22:20:00 +0100

Kingdom favourite Janis Martin died a fortnight ago, aged 67. As called by bookofjoe

I've had the RCA double LP of her on my desk since the last post about her, waiting to get to a record player, and the new needle turned up in the post day before yesterday. That album is the first one ripped to my hard drive.

She'd been due to play the Americana Festival in Nottinghamshire this summer, which would have surely seen her onstage with Rosie Flores. Janis sang on Rosie's '96 CD Rockabilly Filly along with Wanda jackson, and Rosie has championed her on the Rockabilly scene over the years.

According to her website Rosie and Janis were working on tracks for a Janis Martin CD earlier this year. I wonder if that went ahead?

Click, click ...

Actually YES! it did, news up on the Myspace fansite and features two songs from the album. Long White Cadillac and Sweet Dreams. Bittersweet as someone said in the comments. Great tracks though.

Speaking of great tracks. Here are a couple.

~~Let's Elope Baby~~ 1956 from her first session for RCA
~~Good Love~~ from 1958

Old Crow Medicine Show Show

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 23:05:00 +0100

First the bad news.

I've known for a while that OCMS are playing the Open House Festival in Belfast at the end of the month (it's the end of September already?) and it has been a trying time. Very tempting. A 200 mile drive on a Friday afternoon across Ireland and sleeping in the car. Hmmm. You sense the hesitation.

So now the good news.

There's an extra date added in Galway. Saturday night. An hour up the road. Almost home turf. Woo!!

It's still an hour though so I will take the car (hopefully chock full of local hillbillies). Shanks' Pony isn't in it.

~~Don't Ride That Horse~~ from Big Iron World

They have a few Scottish and English dates before and after, and a Dublin gig the night after Galway. Still time to play Limerick but nothing booked so far. (We live in hope). Check their website for details and their Myspace

I'm saving up coupons to get one of those

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Sun, 9 Sep 2007 23:09:00 +0100

Last friday I wandered up to my local record emporium after work wondering what was going to grab me. I was hoping for the Gillian Welch album which features "Elvis Presley Blues" and "I Dream a Highway" a fifteen minute wonder of a track which i heard over at The Late Greats, but it was not to be. No i was swayed by a reduction, a special offer. A few quid off. So I bought another ProperBox. Blazing Bluegrass another 100 tracks for my auditary pleasure, and pleasure is the word. 25 Bill Monroe sides, 25 by Flatt and Scruggs, 25 by The Stanley Brothers and a various CD. And the usual great book.

Then I got home that night and Kat at Keep The Coffee Comin' posted "Rocky Road Blues" which might still be up. So I plugged in and started to listen, read, (and sup) and really got pulled in to how Monroes Blue Grass Boys were a starting point and a launch pad for so many key players. Flatt and Scruggs being pivotal in the maturing of the Monroe sound in the mid forties, before heading out on their own.

I also was struck by how much these songs seem to come from an awareness of community. People geting on with things. How little posturing or ego there is in them. Someone in the comments to Kat's post said this is Bluegrass - Sacred Music. I get that. It's certainly not all religious, though a fair amount is, but it's all about humanity getting on with Life.

And it turns out that today is the 11th anniversary of Bill Monroes passing so here without further ado are a couple of tunes.

~~The Coupon Song~~ 1941, is a funny tune from the first incarnation of the Bluegrass Boys.
~~Shine Hallelujah Shine~~ 1947 has a stunning four part harmony by Bill, Flatt, Scruggs and bass player Howard Watts; and
~~Blue Moon Of Kentucky~~ 1954, is a sign of just how influential young Elvis' version of Monroes most famous song was. Within a couple of months of Presley's hit, Monroe recorded this version taking us from the original waltz time to a stompin 4/4 Bluegrass Boys rendition.

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MacIdol Monday Pt.1

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Mon, 21 May 2007 23:27:00 +0100

I haven't been keeping up with these, so sorry if you're enjoying the selections, but I've been a bit sparse recently. I think the RPM Challenge, followed by six weeks of unseasonal sunshine, put my rhythms out, such as they were. Still hopefully I'll be able to get back to at least a monthly MacIdol update and a weekly look into whatever roots music is burning a hole in my brain.

For those of you who don't know, Macidol is a community of (fairly mad) musicians varying from hobbyists to yer actual gigging performers, who are constantly surprising me with great songs and tunes, and helping each other get the most out of their Apple software, and their various creative juices. And every so often I call out a few of the tracks I've enjoyed recently. There we are : Up to date! Or nearly.

First up is the song which spurred me to post, today. And I do mean spurred:

I like a good Murder Ballad. This one skirts the edges of the good times, like a stalker, ready to pounce.
The Last Song - slumbering

Be So Good - Cadman
Led by a great guitar sound (reminiscent of "Love is Strange" by Mickey and Sylvia) this is a wicked slice of Indie Pop.

The Last Chord - Red Sea Station
I just love the vocal sounds these guys get. More catchy neo-pop.

Freight Train - The Calculus Affair
The first track up from the Calculus' RPM Challenge CD and it's a beaut. Chunky guitars, rollin' keyboards and the film noir talk over sets the mood til the chorus takes off. Very Cool.

Carmen's Peak - B&Massa
Rearing up like some slovenly beast from the Revolver sessions, this one won't get out of my brain.

Snake River - Henry
Henry is popping up with some great Americana tales from Utah (and beyond) and I love the twists and turns in this one. Just when you think you know the story ...

39 Steps - MO
Classy guitar blues, perfect tone, perfect taste. I don't listen to much instrumental blues, except for MO.

Matter Rose - John Haydon
Collaborating with Margaret from Mr Airplane Man this is miles from her gritty Wolf inspired urban blues. A delightful ballad with some tasteful playing from John. (Not convinced, huh? ah well, you may never know ...)

Olives And Honey - Magritte
A newcomer collaborating very nicely with Kingdom favourite James Bouchard, this is a perfect spring love song and reminding me somehow of Bugsy Malone, one of my favourite soundtracks.

MacIdol Blues - HOKEYPOKEY
This one gets me every time. It's loop based, with "several slide banjos and an electric violin" and that either grabs you or else !!

Gaze At The Sun (ii) - The Qualified Superlatives
Here we have version2 of this discussion of the space between, the final test, and the combination of melancholy and Peace created is sublime. Deadman Turner and slumbering. Beautiful.

Bo Diddley hospitalized.

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Sun, 20 May 2007 00:54:00 +0100

I was just browsing, Officer, I didn't mean nothing, I just found it right there in the street.

In the street?

In the street!

Maybe somebody knows what this is. All I know is it's the kind of thing you don't get to see every day. Posted two days ago on YouTube.

Here's a track you don't hear so often.

~~Cadillac~~
1960, with Jerome green, Frank Kirkland and God only knows who else. Bo is a master.

UPDATE: AFAIK Bo had a stroke while on tour in Iowa. He played two shows last Saturday. TWO SHOWS! He's 78 for God's Sake! Then got taken to hospital. He's up and walking and as tough as they come. He was my first concert. 1978.

Whatever you gotta do, Bo. Godspeed.

latest info I can find from the Chicago Tribune

I Can't Understand It - Willie Egans

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Sat, 19 May 2007 22:57:00 +0100

As it says in this Obituary Krazy Kat released a bootleg LP of Willie Egans 50s material in 1982 and it caused quite a stir. Two respected collectors, Jim Raper and Pete Bowen, used to say "Stu. You've got no money. How can you think of collecting? Just buy the best stuff!" And one week they were telling me about this new LP release. "Rock'n'Roll Fever" "Well worth buying", they said. And it was.

So many people thought so, that Willie Egans was searched out, and brought to England to gig, recording a new album and a live concert (did that ever get released?) so the bootleg was good for him.

From that Krazy kat LP, some storming Louisiana R'n'B. Fortunately for you the material is available again on Signature:
Buy It Here and read their Willie Egans Bio.

And try these stomping tracks for size:

~~I Can't Understand It~~
~~Wear Your Black Dress~~

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I Just Can't Seem To Drink you Off My Mind

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Sun, 13 May 2007 21:21:00 +0100

Over at Big Rock Candy Mountain the work has been done. The votes have been counted, and some long forgotten tunes have resurfaced along with all their acoutrements, all those old memories you thought you'd grown out of, and put behind you. Or some of our favourite "stagger home from the bar marching melodies" are there too, shouting raucously down the street, and best of all are the "Party on Up" and get your ass moving into the Glorious River of Life (to mix a metaphor or two).

I'm speaking, of course, about the TOP 100 DRINKING SONGS OF ALL TIME, carefully arrayed in all their gory, I mean splendour.

Come Monday morning we all get back to the grindstone, and the LIST moves to the Barstool Mountain where anyone can comment, post, suggest and generally add to the Brouhaha

In celebration and a fit of coherence, I have selected my top ten songs that didn't make the list.

Closing Time - Leonard Cohen
Sunny Afternoon - thee Kinks
Women Drinking Whiskey - Michelle Moon
thee Boys From County Hell - thee Pogues
Whiskey and Rum - Shiloh Lindsey
Have A Drink On Me - Lonnie Donegan
My Old Kentucky Home - Ry Cooder
HonkyTonk Women - thee Rolling Stones
Woke Up This Morning - thee Alabama 3
I Shall Be Free - Bob Dylan

Bonus:
This tune came in at 141 on the list, though they were probably thinking of other versions:
Finegans Wake - slumbering (with Stuart Walker)
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And if there are any other classics that you don't see on the lists, then get yourself over to Barstool Mountain and tell the world.

Sláinte !
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Got Love If You Want It

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 23:16:00 +0100

So the story goes that after their first audition at Sun Records, Clyde Leopard and The Snearly Ranch Boys were playing at the Cotton Club, when Sam Phillips and Johnny Cash stop by and Johnny offers the band this song he's written. "Rock'n'Roll Ruby". At this stage Johnny Cash has released his second single (Folsom Prison Blues) and must feel on top of the world. Generous anyway. So the band record it and it's issued as by the singer Warren Smith. Piano player Smokey Joe Baugh is on top form, and the record deserves every one of it's rumoured half million sales.

It was issued on April 21st 1956.

You can hear Johnny Cash's quick demo at his RCS Discography. Scroll down to Additional tracks.
Warren Smith has a Sun Records Discography too.

His follow up was the offbeat rocker Ubangi Stomp, but it was the third single that rocked Warren's boat. "So Long I'm Gone" came out immediately after Jerry Lee Lewis' "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On" and got precious little of Sam Phillips' promotional energy. Warren Smith took to buying up Lewis' single and smashing it in the record shops, while Lewis played it every time he found a Jukebox. Those Sun Records concert tours!! Must have been as mad as "Walk The Line" makes out.

So for his next single (ten months later) Warren (minus The Snearly Ranch Boys) now with ace Sun session guitarist Roland Janes, cuts a stomping version of "Got Love If You Want It" (see below) and must think the money is in the bag. But wait - it's wedged between Jerry Lee's "Great Bals Of Fire" and "Breathless" on the release schedule. And in the same DJ mail out is Johnny Cash's "Big River", Carl Perkins' "Glad All Over", Sonny Burgess' "My Bucket's got A Hole In It" and Roy Orbison's follow up to "Ooby Dooby".

I reckon Sam Phllips and Warren Smith would be having words by this stage. It's the only explanation for a track like "Red Cadillac and a Black Moustache" remaining unreleased, and Warren leaving the label a year later after only one more single release.

Buy a decent Warren Smith album

Slim Harpo was a crossover blues act that didn't crossover. Not in the charts anyway. According to The Blues Harp "By the time his first single became a Southern jukebox favorite, his songs being were adapted and played by White musicians left and right." Label mate Warren Storm covered "I'm A King Bee", on Excello, but that must have been later ... it begs the question "What was the first white cover of a Slim Harpo record? Any suggestions folks? Was it Warren Smith's Sun version?
Buy here and listen to some more tracks at Livin' Blues

~~Rock'n'Roll Ruby - Warren Smith~~
~~Got Love If You Want It - Warren Smith~~
~~Got Love If You Want It - Slim Harpo~~

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I Dig You Baby

noreply@blogger.com (The DoorKeeper) — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 13:55:00 +0100

I met Marvin Rainwater in 1980 in South Shields ... or was it Sunderland?
Shook his hand, got his autograph, told him what a great show he did. He was still full of surprise that not only did people remember him (or in my case, had heard of him) but they knew the words to his obscure Rockabilly records. He was all fired up to cut a Rockabilly record when he got home, and because he was in favour of the local brew, the record was going to be about Brown Ale.

When it came out the following year "Henrieta, Oklahoma" was a hit in Scandinavia, even though it wasn't about Brown Ale, and it did fair thump along.
Bear Family has the Rockin' Rollin' Rainwater CD (which has all the tracks mentioned here and also the early rockabilly numbers like "Hot and Cold") where you can do a search to see the other CDs by Marvin in their catalogue.

One interesting thing I didn't know about Marvin Rainwater, was that his second UK hit "I Dig You Baby" was recorded in the UK with Ken Jones and his Orchestra (as they used to call em - I love that feature of old R'n'B singles that say things like "with Vcl Group and Orchestra" when they mean a piano). This track features some great piano playing from Mr Jones, and the rest of the 'orchestra' are right on the button, too ... for Limeys ... And a great follow up to "Whole Lotta Woman" it is, perhaps "Dance You Daddy" was meant to be in the same groove - I never understood why it ws issued on MGM Rockabilly Vol2 when it's such a great Rock'n'Roll record. Apparently they only recorded one track in the UK, unless there's anything else on the Bear Family box set. Let me know if you find anything comparable.

Just up recently is Marv's Myspace site
and you can also leave a message for the man at his official site AND there's an interview from 1998 where he sounds on good form.

And of course, the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame

~~I Dig You Baby~~
~~Dance Me Daddy~~
~~Boo Hoo~~

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