Taproot Radio

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Show Notes:

Beth McKee on iTunes

Beth McKee web site

Recap of Interview with Beth McKee

Beth McKee joins Calvin on the show live via telephone to talk about her new CD, Next To Nowhere.

Beth McKee talk this being Beth’s second appearance on the show. She was a guest back on episode 7 of the show.

Beth McKee talks about this CD being a testament to persistence and gumption. She says the climate in the music business is different than it’s ever been before. So having gumption and “stick-to-it-tiveness” is important for anybody in the music business today.

Beth McKee sets up “On The Verge” as the anthem track of the CD. It was inspired by a group of women that she’s gotten to know as she toured and promoted her previous CD, I’m That Way. As she met these interesting women that she wanted to keep up with, she decided to create an online Facebook community which she calls The Swamp Sistas. The group now has 1200 women. They are mostly from or in the south but they are from all over the world. Getting to know these women inspired this song. The song is about getting back to your dreams if you’ve lost track of them and it could apply to anybody.

[ plays “On The Verge” ]

Calvin talks about the many different styles of song on CD and asked her if it was a deliberate choice. Beth McKee says no, it wasn’t deliberate. It’s just her. Beth says these songs “are the sound track to her life.” She talks about how the time she’s spent in Mississippi, Texas, Louisianna, Florida, and North Carolina. Each of those states have their own type of southern culture and she’s picked them up as she went around.

Calvin asks if any of the genres are harder than others. Beth says no, they were all challenging in their own way and that the whole band and producer Tony Battaglia put everything they had into every track.

Beth McKee set up “Should Have Kept On Walking”. This is a song she wrote with a friend in New Orleans, Gary Hirstius. It’s about realizing that you should have gotten out of a relationship earlier than you did but being glad that at least you did eventually get out of it.

[ plays “Should Have Kept On Walkin'” ]

Beth and Calvin talk about the very short insert of back up vocals into “Should Have Kept On Walking.” She says it was Tony’s idea and she recorded that back up bit and her rule is “Tony is always right.”

Beth talks about the difference between covering someone else’s songs like she did on the previous CD and writing songs from her personal experience. She says its obviously a little more frightening but that was all the more reason for doing it. She said that Bobby Charles told her to follow her gut and don’t question yourself and just be honest about it.

Beth McKee tells a story about fishing to illustrate how she feels about the CD, Next To Nowhere. She says she used to go fishing down in Cocodrie, LA (near Port Sulfer) in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana and that she’d fish for redfish. She’d catch then from the bank, some times 8-10 pounders. She talks about the intense nervous feeling she got when she’d hook a fish on her line and it was so overwhelming she’d have to remind herself tht’s the fun part. She’d tell herself “don’t be freaked out that you are going to lose the fish so much that you don’t enjoy catching the durn thing.”

Beth McKee picks the third track, “Same Dog’s Tail,” because it is based on a quote from a famous North Carolina baseball player, Catfish Hunter. She had to clean up the language and “PG it down a little.”

[plays “Same Dog's Tail” ]

Beth McKee talks about the many musical influences she’s had. One in particular she mentioned was Gram Parsons because she lives in the area of Florida he was from. Calvin asks Beth to talk about the Americana of Gram Parsons of then vs the Americana of today. Beth says he was the guy the connected rock and country music then and that’s the core of americana today.

Get More!

The episode index page lists the guests for all episodes and has links to the episode pages.
You can receive email notifications of future episodes by signing up for the free Taproot News email newsletter.
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Legal

The Taproot Radio Podcast is copyright 2011 by Taproot Media. The music and interviews in this episode are used with permission of the artists. The Taproot Theme music is called “Meltdown Man” by Derek K. Miller of Penmachine.com. The episode as a whole is copyright 2011 by Taproot Media.

Feedback

If you have any feedback for this episode or any other episode, please send mail to feedback@taprootradio.com.

Taproot Radio News #306

admin — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 21:00:02 +0000

Rotation #306
April 2, 2012

Howdy,

It’s not out til May 1st, but I wanted to tell you about this album as soon as possible so you can start saving your pennies now to buy it. It’s called Ghost of Browder Holler by Chelle Rose. Chelle Rose comes from the deep woods of the Appalachian mountains around the North Carolina / Tennessee border and her album, Ghost of Browder Holler, sounds like it. Her vocals have that mountain sound to them. But tales of rural preachers, moonshine, and mountain flowers are just the jumping off point for a collection of songs that’s closer to rock and roll than folk, closer to soul then country. More details online at the review.

There’s still time to enter for the Merlefest Ticket Giveaway! You could win a pair of one-day tickets to Merlefest 2012, courtesy of WCOM FM. Tickets will be given away on April 9th. Visit the Giveaway page for all the details!

On episode 81 of the Taproot Music Show, Alex Culbreth and Karen Jonas are the Parlor Soldiers and they talk about the origin of their band name, how they manage to combine folk and alt.country into something that works, how they are able to write such gritty, detailed songs, their advice for aspiring singer/songwriters, and their Johnny Cash / June Carter song.

Dig Deep,

Calvin

See the bottom of this newsletter
for all the links and social network stuff.

Taproot Road Song of the Week

Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears have proven beyond booty-shakin’ doubt that soul music has a place in the21st century. “Booty City” is probably the hardest hitting cut from their Scandalous CD and you can’t help but want to shout along with the chorus.

Recent Adds

Overclocked / Jim Allchin / Overclocked / 3:05
Bowder Holler Boy / Chelle Rose / Ghost Of Browder Holler / 3:24
Weepin Willow On The Hill / Chelle Rose / Ghost Of Browder Holler / 3:55
Rufus Morgan / Chelle Rose / Ghost Of Browder Holler / 4:28
Shady Grove Gonna Blow / Chelle Rose / Ghost Of Browder Holler / 3:44

Taproot Music Show Recent Episodes

See a list of all episodes on the episode index page.

Episode 77 - Becky Warren of The Great Unknowns talks about why there’s almost always a geographic reference in all of her songs; her experience driving the Lewis and Clark Trail and what it mean to her; the long wait between their first and second CD; writing a song about a band that doesn’t become that famous; the new line up; and plays three tracks from their new release, Homefront.

WCOM Play List

The Taproot Radio show airs live on Monday nights at 9pm Eastern. Local listeners in Chapel Hill can tune in to WCOM at 103.5FM. Everyone else can tune in to the WCOM.webcast stream.

I’ll be covering two hours this week and featuring two interview guests. In the 9:00 hour The Milagro Saints will be in the studio to perform songs from their upcoming release. In the 10:00 hour MC Taylor from Hiss Golden Messenger will be live in the studio with me.

9:00 Hour
Roll In My Sweet Baby’s Arms / Lester Flatt;Earl Scruggs;The Foggy Mountain Boys / The Essential Earl Scruggs / 2:39
Rufus Morgan / Chelle Rose / Ghost Of Browder Holler / 4:28
All Is Not Lost / Possum Jenkins / Carolinacana / 2:14
Hooky Junk / The Gourds / Heavy Ornamentals / 4:44

*** Special Guest: Milagro Saints ***

Dirty Water / Chris Castle / Last Bird Home / 4:21
Life In Shambles / Sons Of Bill / Sirens / 3:10
Evil Gal Blues / Aretha Franklin / Aretha Sings The Blues / 2:43
Should Have Known / Yvette Landry / Should Have Known / 3:29
Elvis Presley Blues / Gillian Welch / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 12 (Disc 2) / 4:51
on the bleed / Michael Rank and Stag / Kin [Disc 1] / 4:52
Live And Let Live / JWW And The Prospectors / It’s High Past Time / 2:51
Shallow Grave / The Parlor Soldiers / When The Dust Settles / 4:00
Annie / YARN / Almost Home / 4:07
One Way Gal / Lyle Lovett / Release Me / 2:59
Cripple Creek / Lester Flatt;Earl Scruggs / The Essential Earl Scruggs / 2:05

10:00 Hour
Foggy Mountain Top / Flatt & Scruggs; (featuring Mother Maybelle Carter & The Foggy Mountain Boys) / The Essential Earl Scruggs / 2:25
Cheap Cigar / Maynard and the Musties / Cheap Cigar / 4:00
Reckoning Lament / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 3:11

*** Special Guest: MC Taylor from Hiss Golden Messenger ***

How Long / Moot Davis / Man About Town / 3:29
Stuff That Works / Jack Ingram / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 2] / 4:49
Sway With Me / Ben Weaver / Stories Under Nails / 7:53
Curtains & Dreams / Choosy Beggars / Choosy Beggars / 3:57
Come On Back To Me / Jackstraw / Sunday Never Comes / 3:08
Doncha Miss That Water / Malcolm Holcombe / For The Mission Baby / 2:36
Booty City / Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears / Scandalous / 2:41
River Rush / Beth McKee / Next to Nowhere / 3:24
South of the River / Ray Wylie Hubbard / The Grifter’s Hymnal / 4:07
On My Way Downtown / Lucero / Women & Work / 4:29
Nashville Skyline Rag / Lester Flatt;Earl Scruggs;The Foggy Mountain Boys / The Essential Earl Scruggs / 2:47

This Week’s Webcast Rotation

Listen to the week’s rotation on the taprootradio.com current rotation play list on Spotify.

Evil Gal Blues / Aretha Franklin / Aretha Sings The Blues / 2:43
Matrimony / The Avett Brothers / Four Thieves Gone / 2:50
Sway With Me / Ben Weaver / Stories Under Nails / 7:53
River Rush / Beth McKee / Next to Nowhere / 3:24
Booty City / Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears / Scandalous / 2:41
Trouble Bound / The Blasters / Trouble Bound / 3:40
The House Is Rockin’ (Live) / Brian Setzer / Don’t Mess With a Big Band (Live) / 4:06
Rufus Morgan / Chelle Rose / Ghost Of Browder Holler / 4:28
Curtains & Dreams / Choosy Beggars / Choosy Beggars / 3:57
Dirty Water / Chris Castle / Last Bird Home / 4:21
Poison & Wine / The Civil Wars / Barton Hollow / 3:40
Hot Tamale! / Davy Jay Sparrow & His Well-Known Famous Drovers / Olde Fashioned / 2:38
Borrow / Eric Hisaw / The Crosses / 2:50
Blue Collar King / Family Reunion / Family Album / 3:48
I’ve Been Loving You Too Long / Flat Duo Jets / Introducing The Flat Duo Jets / 2:39
Foggy Mountain Top / Flatt & Scruggs; (featuring Mother Maybelle Carter & The Foggy Mountain Boys) / The Essential Earl Scruggs / 2:25
Elvis Presley Blues / Gillian Welch / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 12 (Disc 2) / 4:51
Hooky Junk / The Gourds / Heavy Ornamentals / 4:44
Streets of Baltimore / Gram Parsons / Sacred Hearts And Fallen Angels: The Gram Parsons Anthology (Disc 2) / 2:54
Love Song / The Great Unknowns / Homefront / 2:46
Stuff That Works / Jack Ingram / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 2] / 4:49
Come On Back To Me / Jackstraw / Sunday Never Comes / 3:08
Overclocked / Jim Allchin / Overclocked / 3:05
I’d Be Over You By Now / Joey Allcorn / All Alone Again / 2:39
Little Flower / Jon Shain / Times Right Now / 3:26
Live And Let Live / JWW And The Prospectors / It’s High Past Time / 2:51
Cripple Creek / Lester Flatt;Earl Scruggs / The Essential Earl Scruggs / 2:05
Roll In My Sweet Baby’s Arms / Lester Flatt;Earl Scruggs;The Foggy Mountain Boys / The Essential Earl Scruggs / 2:39
Nashville Skyline Rag / Lester Flatt;Earl Scruggs;The Foggy Mountain Boys / The Essential Earl Scruggs / 2:47
Reckoning Lament / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 3:11
Lights Of Downtown / The Long Ryders / The Long Ryders Anthology: Looking for Lewis and Clark [Disc 1] / 3:10
Alone With You / Loretta Lynn / Sings LP / 2:14
On My Way Downtown / Lucero / Women & Work / 4:29
One Way Gal / Lyle Lovett / Release Me / 2:59
Doncha Miss That Water / Malcolm Holcombe / For The Mission Baby / 2:36
Devil Final Master mp3 / Marah / Willow Mixes / 3:41
Down In The Swamp / Mark Lucas / Dust / 3:59
Cheap Cigar / Maynard and the Musties / Cheap Cigar / 4:00
on the bleed / Michael Rank and Stag / Kin [Disc 1] / 4:52
Rose La Rose / Miller Brothers Band / Tales From Foundry Town / 4:34
How Long / Moot Davis / Man About Town / 3:29
The Same Thing / Muddy Waters / His Best, 1956 To 1964 / 2:45
Baby You Crazy / Nick Curran And The Lowlifes / Reform School Girl / 2:13
James River Blues / Old Crow Medicine Show / Old Crow Medicine Show – Big Iron World / 3:07
These Arms Of Mine / Otis Redding / Stax 1959-1968 #2 / 2:33
Shallow Grave / The Parlor Soldiers / When The Dust Settles / 4:00
All Is Not Lost / Possum Jenkins / Carolinacana / 2:14
Haunting Me / Raul Malo / Lucky One / 4:18
Bad Man’s Blood / Ray Bonneville / Bad Man’s Blood / 4:20
South of the River / Ray Wylie Hubbard / The Grifter’s Hymnal / 4:07
Suitcase Lover / Shanimal / Rough & Tumble / 0:50
Life In Shambles / Sons Of Bill / Sirens / 3:10
Think / Steve Cropper / Dedicated – A Salute To The 5 Royales / 4:02
Too Drunk To Dream / Whiskeytown / Whiskeytown: Faithless Street [Reissue] / 2:54
Annie / YARN / Almost Home / 4:07
Should Have Known / Yvette Landry / Should Have Known / 3:29

All The Links You Need

Taproot Radio Live on WCOM

Monday nights at 9pm Eastern time. Tune in to the WCOM webcast.

Taproot Music Show

Webcast

Social Networks

taprootradio.com road song play list in Spotify

Email

Send your feedback and suggestions to director@taprootradio.com

Road Song 306: “Booty City” by Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears

admin — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 17:05:04 +0000

Scandalous on iTunes

Review: Ghost of Browder Holler by Chelle Rose

admin — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 16:05:47 +0000

Chelle Rose (pronounced as in “Shelly”) comes from the deep woods of the Appalachian mountains around the North Carolina / Tennessee border and her album, Ghost of Browder Holler, sounds like it. Her vocals have that mountain sound to them. But tales of rural preachers, moonshine, and mountain flowers are just the jumping off point for a collection of songs that’s closer to rock and roll than folk, closer to soul then country. The opening track “Browder Holler Boy,” sets the stage Appalachian mountains but comes off more like a rock song in the spirit of Richard Thompson’s “1952 Vincent Black Lightning.” “Shady Grove Gonna Blow” has a Stones-ey feel along the lines of “Gimmie Shelter.” And “Weepin’ Willow on the Hill” confirms Chelle’s ability to pull on heart strings in an authentic way. But the highlight track for me is “Rufus Morgan,” a country-soul tune that conjures up the ghost of Dusty Springfield, featuring the McCrary sisters on perfectly timed backup vocals and a long slow build to a hair raising payoff. While comparisons to Lucinda Williams and Mary Gauthier come to mind, she’s definitely drawing from her own background and pursuing her on vision of Appalachian rock an roll.

TPR#81 The Parlor Soldiers – Interview and Music

admin — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 04:30:04 +0000

Alex Culbreth and Karen Jonas are the Parlor Soldiers and they talk about the origin of their band name, how they manage to combine folk and alt.country into something that works, how they are able to write such gritty, detailed songs, their advice for aspiring singer/songwriters, and their Johnny Cash / June Carter song.

TPR#81 Parlor Soldiers – Interview and Music (MP3)

Sponsor

The Parlor Soldiers on iTunes

Show Notes:

The Parlor Soldier web site

Interview Recap:

Alex Culbreth and Karen Jonas are the Parlor Soldiers and they join Calvin for a telephone interview.

Alex Culbreth notes that the folk influence in their music mostly comes through Karen and the gritty alt.country influence comes through Alex. Karen says Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, and Paul Simon as her musical influences, but since she has met Alex she’s enjoyed exploring the alt.country influences.

Calvin asks the Parlor Soldiers if they could open for any band they wanted who would it be. Alex Culbreth says they are into Ryan Adams, Justin Townes Earl, and Hayes Carll these days. Alex also says that they are looking forward to opening some gigs for Chris Knight and says that Knight’s CD, Enough Rope, was a big influence on his music.

Karen Jonas set up “Mess.” She says it’s about a girl who who runs into some bar mishaps and is trying to get noticed by a guy and she gets noticed for all the wrong reasons. She said this is one of the first songs she’s written that’s not autobiographical.

[plays "Mess"]

Calvin asks Karen and Alex about how they got to the point where they can write such detailed songs. Alex Culbreth talks about trying to say a lot in as few words as possible and how Charles Bukowski advice to writers rings true for him. Karen Jonas believes that detailed writing is something that can be learned and intentional. She talks about getting away from “emotional language” and translate emotion with a story. Karen also says that it’s important to collaborate with other artists and to not feel like your art is their specific thing and they can’t share it. But Karen has said this band has taught her the value of working with other artists.

Alex Culbreth sets up “Shallow Grave.” He says it started out with the guitar riff and the first line “Pretty Mary Jo with a bloody broken nose, left her clothes out on the line.” From there he wrote a rough draft and sent it to Karen and she wrote the bridge for it. Alex says Karen didn’t like the song at first because she thought it was too gory.

[plays "Shallow Grave']

Alex Culbreth talks about the band name. They are based in edericksburg, Virginia which was the location of many significant Civil War battles. And the term “parlor soldier” was a slang term of the times indicating someone who’s a poseur, someone who looks good in uniform in the parlor but isn’t really a soldier.

Karen Jonas talks about supportive music scene in Fredericksburg and their upcoming gig a the historic Kenmore Inn with the Green Boys and Brooklyn’s The Spirit Family Reunion.

Karen sets up “Crazy”. A sort of Johnny Cash / June Carter style tune that they wrote together. Karen says at first she didn’t like it but as they played it at live gigs she began to like it more and more.

[plays "Crazy"]

Alex talks about their web site and some of their upcoming shows, including one in October in Winston-Salem.

Get More!

The episode index page lists the guests for all episodes and has links to the episode pages.
You can receive email notifications of future episodes by signing up for the free Taproot News email newsletter.
Taproot Radio Podcast page on iTunes so you can subscribe in iTunes
Subscription page for other podcast players
Taproot Radio Home Page

Legal

Feedback

If you have any feedback for this episode or any other episode, please send mail to feedback@taprootradio.com.

Tommy Womack, at Home

admin — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:03:47 +0000

Tommy Womack give you a guided tour of his house (“this is the living room where we do a lot of our living”) and talks about his CD Now What? Hear tracks from the CD and more discussion about his music on episode 78 of the Taproot Music Show.

Taproot Radio News #305

admin — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 12:06:16 +0000

Rotation #305
March 26, 2012

Howdy,

It’s getting to be Merlefest time of the year again, North Carolina’s big contribution to live roots music. I’m proud to announce that Taproot Radio has tickets to giveaway courtesy of Merlefest and WCOM FM in Chapel Hill, NC. The tickets will be given away to a randomly selected subscriber to the newsletter. BUT you must enter to win. Look for the “update subscription preferences” link at the bottom of every issue of the newsletter. Follow that link to your newsletter subscription profile. Click Yes in the Merlefest 2012 Ticket Giveaway Field. Then click the Update button at the bottom of the form. Full details about the Ticket Giveaway can be found at the free stuff page at the site. Tickets will be given away on April 9th, so enter soon!

YARN’s Almost Home reminds me of Paul Simon’s folk. Down to earth and world wise at the same time. A little worn and weary but at the same time optimistic and hopeful. They have a barroom twang and a enough character sketches to fill a wall with black and white photos. Highlights for me are “Dirt Road,” “Annie,” “Almost Home,” and “Heart Worth Breaking.” Yet another twangy band from Brooklyn!

Moot Davis’ music on Man About Town hearkens back to the early days when both rock & roll and country were warm, earnest, confident, and a little off the rails. Fun times. Kinda reminds me of something Roy Orbison might have done if he were more twangy. Highlights for me are “Crazy In Love With You” featuring a duet with Elizabeth Cook, “Only You,” “Queensbury Rules,” and “How Long.”

On episode 80 of the Taproot Music Show, Joe Maynard talks about his many-faceted art career in New York City; explains the name of his first band, the Millerite Redeemers; runs through the current band line up and explains how they became The Musties; the advice he got from Ryan Adams; and explains why his band is mapped out to “the rhythm section” and “the weirdos.”

Calvin

See the bottom of this newsletter
for all the links and social network stuff.

Taproot Road Song of the Week

“Usual Suspects” by Ha Ha Tonka has kind of an80′s REM-ish feel to it. Reminds you of the days when all you needed to get by was naive enthusiasm. Good thing to keep in mind. Love the mandolin riff.

Ha Ha Tonka on iTunes

Taproot Road Songs on Spotify.

Recent Adds

Santa Ana Winds / Sons Of Bill / Sirens / 4:28
Life In Shambles / Sons Of Bill / Sirens / 3:10
Slow Slow Boogie / Davy Jay Sparrow & His Well-Known Famous Drovers / Olde Fashioned / 4:16
Hot Tamale! / Davy Jay Sparrow & His Well-Known Famous Drovers / Olde Fashioned / 2:38
Orange Grove / Shanimal / Rough & Tumble / 2:47
Suitcase Lover / Shanimal / Rough & Tumble / 0:50
Dirt Road / YARN / Almost Home / 3:28
Annie / YARN / Almost Home / 4:07
Almost Home / YARN / Almost Home / 4:16
Heart Worth Breaking / YARN / Almost Home / 3:40
How Long / Moot Davis / Man About Town / 3:29
Only You / Moot Davis / Man About Town / 2:31
Queensbury Rules / Moot Davis / Man About Town / 2:50
Rust / Moot Davis / Man About Town / 3:56
Blue Collar King / Family Reunion / Family Album / 3:48

Taproot Music Show Recent Episodes

See a list of all episodes on the episode index page.

Episode 76 – Brandon Sampson from Six Mile Grove and Bob Wootton tell the story of how they met and began their long time musical collaboration, talk about their mission to keep the Johnny Cash sound alive, give us a preview of Six Mile Grove’s upcoming CD Secret Life In A Quiet Town, and explore the existential question of free will and predestination.

WCOM Play List

The Taproot Radio show airs live on Monday nights at 9pm Eastern. Local listeners in Chapel Hill can tune in to WCOM at 103.5FM. Everyone else can tune in to the WCOM.webcast stream.

This week only, I’ll be in the studio for two hours from 9-11 and I’ll be interviewing Mike June from Mike June and the Wilson Street Exiles during the 9:00 hour and Dave Willis from the Possum Jenkins Band in the 10:00 hour.

9:00 hour

Heart Worth Breaking / YARN / Almost Home / 3:40
White Freightliner Blues / Lyle Lovett / Release Me / 5:06
I’ve Got This Friend / The Civil Wars / Barton Hollow / 3:24
Crazy / The Parlor Soldiers / When The Dust Settles / 3:00

*** Special Guest: Mike June from The Wilson Street Exiles ***

Everything Is Free / Gillian Welch / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 17 (Disc 1) / 4:37
Song Of The Open Road / Bobby Sichran / Peddler In Babylon / 3:44
Santa Ana Winds / Sons Of Bill / Sirens / 4:28
I’m Gonna Get My Heart Broken / The Great Unknowns / Homefront / 2:59
Houses On The Hill / Whiskeytown / Strangers Almanac / 2:38
New River / The New Familiars / Between The Moon And The Morning Light / 3:25
Been There Before / Possum Jenkins / Carolinacana / 3:12
Usual Suspects (Album) / Ha Ha Tonka / Death Of A Decade / 3:33
Trouble In Mind / Pinetop Perkins/Odetta / Ladies Man / 4:28
Pretty & Cryin’ / Maynard and the Musties / Cheap Cigar / 4:41
Crazy in Love with You / Moot Davis / Man About Town / 3:04

10:00

New Orleans to Jackson / Beth McKee / Next to Nowhere / 4:44
Crazy in Love with You / Moot Davis / Man About Town / 3:04
What Have I Done That Made You Go Away / JWW And The Prospectors / It’s High Past Time / 3:29
Bird / Chris Castle / Last Bird Home / 1:47

*** Special Guest: Dave Willis from Possum Jenkins

She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye / Swamp Dogg / The Excellent Sides of Swamp Dogg, Vol. 1 / 3:00
Don’t Be Ashamed / Steve Cropper, Bettye LaVette & Willie Jones / Dedicated – A Salute To The 5 Royales / 2:49
Faulkner Street / Hayes Carll / Trouble In Mind / 3:26
My Favorite Picture Of You / Jerry Jeff Walker / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 2] / 3:44
1968 / Alejandro Escovedo / The Man Of Somebody’s Dreams: A Tribute to the Songs of Chris Gaffney / 5:10
Hangin On / Joel Dasilva And The Midnight Howl / Joel Dasilva And The Midnight Howl / 2:39
Usual Suspects (Album) / Ha Ha Tonka / Death Of A Decade / 3:33
Like Lightning / Lucero / Women & Work / 4:15
Mother Blues / Ray Wylie Hubbard / The Grifter’s Hymnal / 5:57
Pyramid Of Tears / Lucinda Williams / Por Vida: A Tribute To The Songs Of Alejandro Escovedo / 4:47

This Week’s Webcast Rotation

Listen to the week’s rotation on the taprootradio.com current rotation play list on Spotify.

1968 / Alejandro Escovedo / The Man Of Somebody’s Dreams: A Tribute to the Songs of Chris Gaffney / 5:10
Hu-matic Man / Andre Williams / Hoods and Shades / 3:13
New Orleans to Jackson / Beth McKee / Next to Nowhere / 4:44
Song Of The Open Road / Bobby Sichran / Peddler In Babylon / 3:44
Why Don’t You Do Right? / Carolina Chocolate Drops / Genuine Negro Jig / 3:37
When You Come Around / Charlie Feathers / Get With It: Essential Recordings (1954-69) [Disc 1] / 2:09
Bird / Chris Castle / Last Bird Home / 1:47
I’ve Got This Friend / The Civil Wars / Barton Hollow / 3:24
Fisherman’s Blues / Cornflower Blue / Run Down The Rails / 4:54
Long As I Can See The Light / Creedence Clearwater Revival / Chronicle, Vol. 1 / 3:34
Better Place To Stop / The Damn Quails / Down the Hatch / 3:20
Slow Slow Boogie / Davy Jay Sparrow & His Well-Known Famous Drovers / Olde Fashioned / 4:16
Little White Lies / Deer Tick / Born On Flag Day / 3:39
Love Is Here And Now You’re Gone / Diana Ross and The Supremes / The Ultimate Collection / 2:49
Jake / Eric Hisaw / Nature Of The Blues / 3:50
Fishin’ Hole / Fiona Boyes / Blues Woman / 2:58
Everything Is Free / Gillian Welch / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 17 (Disc 1) / 4:37
Kiss The Children / Gram Parsons / Under Your Spell Again [Disc II] / 3:44
I’m Gonna Get My Heart Broken / The Great Unknowns / Homefront / 2:59
Usual Suspects (Album) / Ha Ha Tonka / Death Of A Decade / 3:33
Faulkner Street / Hayes Carll / Trouble In Mind / 3:26
My Favorite Picture Of You / Jerry Jeff Walker / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 2] / 3:44
Hangin On / Joel Dasilva And The Midnight Howl / Joel Dasilva And The Midnight Howl / 2:39
What Have I Done That Made You Go Away / JWW And The Prospectors / It’s High Past Time / 3:29
Dirt On My Hands mp3 / L.P.O. / What You Been Missin’ / 3:05
You’ll Never Again Be Mine / Levon Helm / The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams / 3:10
Clementine / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 3:23
Like Lightning / Lucero / Women & Work / 4:15
Pyramid Of Tears / Lucinda Williams / Por Vida: A Tribute To The Songs Of Alejandro Escovedo / 4:47
White Freightliner Blues / Lyle Lovett / Release Me / 5:06
Pretty & Cryin’ / Maynard and the Musties / Cheap Cigar / 4:41
Sea Measures / Michael Rank and Stag / Kin [Disc 2] / 4:25
Crazy in Love with You / Moot Davis / Man About Town / 3:04
New River / The New Familiars / Between The Moon And The Morning Light / 3:25
Baby You Crazy / Nick Curran And The Lowlifes / Reform School Girl / 2:13
(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay / Otis Redding / Stax 1959-1968 #9 / 2:42
Crazy / The Parlor Soldiers / When The Dust Settles / 3:00
Trouble In Mind / Pinetop Perkins/Odetta / Ladies Man / 4:28
Been There Before / Possum Jenkins / Carolinacana / 3:12
Mother Blues / Ray Wylie Hubbard / The Grifter’s Hymnal / 5:57
Orange Grove / Shanimal / Rough & Tumble / 2:47
This Ain’t My Home / Shannon McNally / Coldwater / 4:34
Santa Ana Winds / Sons Of Bill / Sirens / 4:28
Don’t Be Ashamed / Steve Cropper, Bettye LaVette & Willie Jones / Dedicated – A Salute To The 5 Royales / 2:49
Stage Fright / Steve Reynolds / Endless Highway: The Music Of The Band / 3:45
She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye / Swamp Dogg / The Excellent Sides of Swamp Dogg, Vol. 1 / 3:00
Wild Wild Lover / Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers / Cockadoodledon’t / 3:00
Whiskey Or Die / Tom Eure / Back Woods / 5:22
Houses On The Hill / Whiskeytown / Strangers Almanac / 2:38
I Still Miss Someone / Willie Nelson & Johnny Cash / VH1 Storytellers / 3:13
Heart Worth Breaking / YARN / Almost Home / 3:40

All The Links You Need

Taproot Radio Live on WCOM

Monday nights at 9pm Eastern time. Tune in to the WCOM webcast.

Taproot Music Show

Webcast

Social Networks

Email

Send your feedback and suggestions to director@taprootradio.com

Review: Man About Town by Moot Davis

admin — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 15:38:21 +0000

Man About Town on iTunes

Review: Almost Home by YARN

admin — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 15:10:05 +0000

YARN’s music reminds me of Paul Simon’s folk. Down to earth and world wise at the same time. A little worn and weary but at the same time optimistic and hopeful. They have a barroom twang and a enough character sketches to fill a wall with black and white photos. Highlights for me are “Dirt Road,” “Annie,” “Almost Home,” and “Heart Worth Breaking.”

Almost Home on iTunes.

Win A Pair of Tickets to Merlefest 2012!

admin — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:39:59 +0000

Merlefest 2012 is coming April 26th – 29th and Taproot Radio is giving away a pair of one-day passes to the show courtesy of WCOM FM radio in Carrboro, NC. The passes are good for any single day of the festival. So check the schedule for the day you would like to atend.

MerleFest, considered one of the premiere music festivals in the country, is held on the campus of Wilkes Community College (WCC) in Wilkesboro, North Carolina each spring.

MerleFest was founded in 1988 in memory of Eddy Merle Watson and is a celebration of what Doc Watson calls ―”traditional plus music, meaning the traditional music of the Appalachian region plus whatever other styles we were in the mood to play.”

The festival hosts over 90 artists, performing on 14 stages during the course of the four-day event.

Visit the Contest Page to enter to win!

TPR#80 Joe Maynard from Maynard and the Musties – Interview and Music

admin — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 04:30:20 +0000

Joe Maynard talks about his many-faceted art career in New York City; explains the name of his first band, the Millerite Redeemers; runs through the current band line up and explains how they became The Musties; the advice he got from Ryan Adams; and explains why his band is mapped out to “the rhythm section” and “the weirdos.”

TPR#80 Joe Maynard – Interview and Music (MP3)

Sponsor

taprootradio.com road song play list in Spotify

Show Notes:

Interview Recap With Joe Maynard from Maynard and the Musties

Joe Maynard talks about how Brooklyn is home to many different kinds of people and that members of his band come from all over the U.S and their drummer is from Frnce. So that’s how they can be an oasis of easy going music in Brooklyn.

Joe Maynard talks about the anti-politically correct title “Cheap Cigar” and that they chose the name to go along with the band name “Maynard and the Musties.”

Joe Maynard sets up the title track, “Cheap Cigar” by describing it as “politics, religion, and sexual morality all tied together.”

[plays "Cheap Cigar"]

Joe Maynard talks about his many different forays into the New York City art scene. He went to Pratt, did art for a long time. He talks about how he did a series of automatic drawings” which contained more and more words, which lead him to writing fiction and zines. He worked at Christie’s for a while. He started writing lyrics and playing guitar.

Joe Maynard talks about how he put the band together. He had enough songs written. He met Naa Koshie Mills the fiddle player. They first performed with her as the “Millerite Redeemers.” Joe played in Mo’s Jepson band, Mr. MacGregor, and eventually Joe “adopted” the band and they started calling themselves the Musties because they all worked with old books. Drew Glackon also played with them on lap steel.

Joe tells the story of working at a flea market and talking to Russ Titelman who encouraged hime to make a demo. With Russ’ advice, he booked a recording studio. He also talks about ocasionally seeing Ryan Adams at the flea market and Ryan encouraged him to go ahead and make a full album. Ryan Adams played with them on a few tracks on the band’s first CD.

Joe Maynard sets up “Pretty and Cryin’.” It’s based on a long road trip he took to Florida and in Jackson ville he witnessed a commotion in a parking lot and the songs is based on what he saw.

[plays "Pretty and Cryin']

Joe Maynard talks about some of the additional band members. Dikko Faust plays trombone as his “midlife crisis” instrument. Chet Hartin on bass, Gordon Hartin on pedal steel. They are from Texas and their dad was a country musician. Eric “Roscoe” Ambel plays rhythm guitar and the band plays at his bar, The Lakeside, once a month.

Joe Maynard talks about the way Eric “Roscoe” Ambel helped them “map out the group.” Joe, the bass, and drums are “the rhythm section” and everyone else are “the weirdos.” Joe says that actually helped them a lot.

Joe sets up “Marfa.” It’s a town in west Texas known for weird lights in the sky and there is speculation about what the lights are. Are they car head lights? UFOs? Something like the Northern Lights?

[plays "Marfa"]

Joe Maynard points out their myspace page, reverb nation and other sites for the band’s gigs. Joe Talsk about the joys of being self-produced and doing such fun tasks like stuffing inserts into CD jewel case.

Get More!

The episode index page lists the guests for all episodes and has links to the episode pages.
You can receive email notifications of future episodes by signing up for the free Taproot News email newsletter.
Taproot Radio Podcast page on iTunes so you can subscribe in iTunes
Subscription page for other podcast players
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Legal

Feedback

If you have any feedback for this episode or any other episode, please send mail to feedback@taprootradio.com.

“Demolitions” by Michael Rank and Stag

admin — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 12:12:40 +0000

The band’s CD release party for KIN. Filmed at The Station in Carrboro NC on 3/10/12 with special guest Nathan Golub on pedal steel. Hear Michael Rank and Marc Smith play acoustic covers of songs from Kin, plus a Snatches of Pink bonus song on episode 79 of the Taproot Music Show.

“On and Off The Wagon” by Tommy Womack

admin — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 12:00:08 +0000

Tommy Womack and Lisa Gray aboard the Music Fog bus in Memphis, performing “On and Off the Wagon,” from Now What? Hear Tommy Womack talk about the CD and his musical habits on episode 78 of the Taproot Music Show.

“On The Bleed” by Michael Rank and Stag

admin — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 11:46:37 +0000

Music video for the first single “On the Bleed” from the 2012 album KIN from Michael Rank and his new band Stag (video featuring Marc E. Smith, John Howie Jr and Alex Iglehart). Hear Michael Rank talk about this and other tracks from the his new band’s first CD, Kin on episode 79 of the Taproot Music Show.

Road Song 305 – “Usual Suspects” by Ha Ha Tonka

admin — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 02:26:47 +0000

Ha Ha Tonka on iTunes

Taproot Radio News #304

admin — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 11:22:32 +0000

Rotation #304
March 19,2012

Howdy,

Had the great pleasure to see the Lyle Lovett/John Hiatt tour when it came through Durham a few days ago. hey are two very different performers. Lyle Lovett is much jazzier, has much more complex music and literary lyrics. Joe Henry has much simpler, direct lyrics that everyone can relate to. It was amazing to see these two guys share a stage. Just them, a couple of guitars and the occasional harmonica. Trading songs back and forth. The John Hiatt highlight for me was “Thing Called Love” because he played the bridge of the song that Bonnie Raitt left out when she made it so popular. The Lyle Lovett highlight for me, hmmm, I guess it was “My Baby Don’t Tolerate Nashville.” I definitely recommend the show if you get a chance to see it in your area.

The Possum Jenkins band, based out of North Carolina, wasn’t content to just label themselves “Americana.” They were keenly focused on the musical roots coming out of the North Carolina mountains and have been developing a signature sound which draws from country, gospel, Piedmont blues, folk and soul, not to mention good old fashioned southern rock. Their latest CD, Carolinacana puts the finishing touches on their signature sound, which is sure to please any americana fan. Highlights for me are “Copper Coin,” “Been There Before,” and “All Is Not Lost.”

The self-released CD, It’s High Past Time, from JWW and The Prospectors reminds me of the happy upbeat Western Swing my grandparents generation used to dance to. Sometimes we think of old school country as full of heartache and woe, and it’s CDs like this that remind us that there was plenty of upbeat dance music for country fans back in the day. This stuff will make you tap your feet if not want to sign up for swing lessons. Entertaining from front to back. Highlight tracks are “It’s High Past Time, “What Have I Done That Made You Go Away,” “Live And Let Live,” and “Big Bend Boogie.”

It’s not often a folk duo with little more than guitar and drums can keep me mesmerized all the way through a CD, but Joy Williams and John Paul White manage to do just that on The Civil Wars’ first major release, Barton Hollow. The chemistry between the two and the interplay of their voices pulls out deep, entrenched humanity coming to the surface. Highlights for me are “20 Years,” “I’ve Got This Friend,” “Poison & Wine,” and “Barton Hollow.”
On episode 79 of the Taproot Podcast, Snatches of Pink front man Michael Rank and Marc E Smith join Calvin in the studio live to play some acoustic versions of songs from Kin, the debut release from Michael Rank and Stag. Michael talks about the amazing line up of area musicians he’s got on the new CD, why he decided not to do this as a CD as a Snatches of Pink CD, the challenges of coordinating so many band mates when recording the tracks, writing songs for both acoustic and full band performances, and how he finally caught up with Taylor Swift in the break up CD department.

On episode 78 of the Taproot Podcast, Tommy Womack talks about he was motivated to start writing songs about himself and “from the gut” on There I Said It and how he continues to write peronal songs on Now What because he could never go back to writing third person songs. his role of patron saint of 50 year olds with kids who don’t make it to as many shows as they used to; the structure of the CD Now What in terms of song arrangements and sequence; Tomy’s habit of referencing other musicians in his song names and lyrics; and his favorite covers of his songs.

Dig Deep,
Calvin

See the bottom of this newsletter
for all the links and social network stuff.

Taproot Road Song of the Week

Probably the best cover of “Long Tall Sally” ever ever amen is Jerry Lee Lewis’ performance at the Star Club in Hamburg Germany. Full on. No holding back.

Taproot Road Songs on Spotify.

Recent Adds

Copper Coin / Possum Jenkins / Carolinacana / 2:46

Been There Before / Possum Jenkins / Carolinacana / 3:12

All Is Not Lost / Possum Jenkins / Carolinacana / 2:14
It’s High Past Time / JWW And The Prospectors / It’s High Past Time / 3:37
What Have I Done That Made You Go Away / JWW And The Prospectors / It’s High Past Time / 3:29
Live And Let Live / JWW And The Prospectors / It’s High Past Time / 2:51
Big Bend Boogie / JWW And The Prospectors / It’s High Past Time / 3:07
I’d Leave Me Too / Audrey Auld / Resurrection Moon / 2:24
Run Down The Rails / Cornflower Blue / Run Down The Rails / 3:03
Fisherman’s Blues / Cornflower Blue / Run Down The Rails / 4:54
Shooting The Breeze / Some Velvet Evening / Ain’t No Law Against Talking / 3:05
Still Have Your Hat / Some Velvet Evening / Ain’t No Law Against Talking / 1:50
20 Years / The Civil Wars / Barton Hollow / 3:02
I’ve Got This Friend / The Civil Wars / Barton Hollow / 3:24
Poison & Wine / The Civil Wars / Barton Hollow / 3:40
Barton Hollow / The Civil Wars / Barton Hollow / 3:26
A Man Needs Love mp3 / L.P.O. / What You Been Missin’ / 2:28
Dirt On My Hands mp3 / L.P.O. / What You Been Missin’ / 3:05

Taproot Music Show Recent Episodes

See a list of all episodes on the episode index page.

Episode 75 – Laurie MacAllister, Abbie Gardner, and Molly Venter of Red Molly talk about their music backgrounds, the appeal of female trios, the excitement of playing Merlefest, the appeal their music has for the NYC coffeehouse crowd, and the stories behind three of their songs on the CD Light In The Sky.

WCOM Play List

The Taproot Radio show airs live on Monday nights at 9pm Eastern. Local listeners in Chapel Hill can tune in to WCOM at 103.5FM. Everyone else can tune in to the WCOM.webcast stream.

This Monday only, Taproot Radio will be on WCOM from 7-9pm Eastern time. So adjust your clocks accordingly.

7:00 Hour

1. Lucero – Juniper (4:43)
2. Jackstraw – Just Another Way To Go (2:52)
3. Hymn For Her – Montana (3:37)
4. Chris Castle – Trees Fall Every Day (3:09)

*** Special Guest: The Parlor Soldiers ***

5. Patty Griffin – The Cape (3:27)
6. Maynard and the Musties – After the Game (3:16)
7. Lincoln Durham – Love Letters (2:57)
8. Thieving Birds – Home (4:42)
9. The Parlor Soldiers – Mess (2:55)
10. Mike June & The Wilson Street Refugees – Miss Lavelle White Blues (3:33)
11. Beth McKee – Same Dog’s Tail (3:36)
12. Ray Wylie Hubbard – Henhouse (4:30)
13. Westbound – Somethin’ in the Water (2:47)
14. Andre Williams – Dirt (3:13)
15. Drew Nelson – Danny and Maria (3:20)
16. The Far West – Nothing (2:37)
17. Michael Rank and Stag – on the bleed (4:51)
18. The Great Unknowns – A Bad Way (3:04)
19. Lyle Lovett – White Boy Lost In The Blues (3:32)
20. Joel Dasilva And The Midnight Howl – Try (2:34)

8:00 Hour

1. Chris Castle – Dirty Water (4:21)
2. The Damn Quails – The Damn Quails – Fool’s Gold (4:14)
3. Lucero – Like Lightning (4:15)
4. JWW And The Prospectors – It’s High Past Time (3:37)

*** Special Guest: Beth McKee ***

5. The Great Unknowns – Love Song (2:46)
6. Joe Ely – Dublin Blues (4:24)
7. Muddy Waters – Still A Fool (3:19)
8. Ray Wylie Hubbard – Coricidin Bottle (1:59)
9. Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators – If This Ain’t Love (Don’t Know What Is) (3:28)
10. Steve Cropper, B.B. King & Shemekia Copleland – Baby Don’t Do It (2:51)
11. The Border Blasters – (In The) Next Life (2:12)
12. Cary Ann Hearst – American Made Machine (2:38)
13. Nick Lowe – American Squirm (2:31)
14. Otis Spann – Must Have Been The Devil (2:40)
15. Son Volt – When The Wheels Don’t Move (3:21)
16. Possum Jenkins – Copper Coin (2:45)

This Week’s Webcast Rotation

Listen to the week’s rotation on the taprootradio.com current rotation play list on Spotify.

1. Elvis Costello & The Attractions – Mouth Almighty (3:05)
2. Ha Ha Tonka – Usual Suspects (Album) (3:32)
3. Otis Spann – Must Have Been The Devil (2:40)
4. Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators – If This Ain’t Love (Don’t Know What Is) (3:28)
5. The Black Crowes – High Head Blues (4:01)
6. Jerry Lee Lewis – Money (4:38)
7. Cary Ann Hearst – American Made Machine (2:38)
8. The Blasters – Cryin’ For My Baby (5:26)
9. Wilson Pickett – Ninty-Nine And A Half (Won’t Do) (2:43)
10. Drive-By Truckers – Perfect Timing (2:58)
11. The Border Blasters – (In The) Next Life (2:12)
12. Ben E. King – Its All Over (3:12)
13. Wilco – Hate It Here (4:33)
14. Joe Henry – Some Champions (4:32)
15. Muddy Waters – Still A Fool (3:19)
16. Nick Lowe – American Squirm (2:31)
17. Mary Wells – What Love Has Joined Together (2:56)
18. Doc Watson With Merle Watson – Southbound (2:41)
19. Percy Mayfield – Gone Astray (3:13)
20. Gram Parsons – Buckaroo (2:34)
21. Greg Brown – ‘Cept You & Me Babe (4:28)
22. Steve Cropper, B.B. King & Shemekia Copleland – Baby Don’t Do It (2:51)
23. Son Volt – When The Wheels Don’t Move (3:21)
24. Joe Medwick – I Cried (3:27)
25. Heavy Trash – Isolation (3:24)
26. Michael Rank and Stag – straw man (3:23)
27. Joel Dasilva And The Midnight Howl – Boogie Real Low (3:59)
28. Andre Williams – Jaw Dropper (2:05)
29. Mike June & The Wilson Street Refugees – Babe I Ain’t Perfect (3:19)
30. Lyle Lovett – Brown Eyed Handsome Man (3:36)
31. Chris Castle – Dirty Water (4:21)
32. Lincoln Durham – Love Letters (2:57)
33. The Great Unknowns – Love Song (2:46)
34. The Parlor Soldiers – Mess (2:55)
35. Jackstraw – Sunday Never Comes (3:35)
36. Lucero – Like Lightning (4:15)
37. The Damn Quails – Fool’s Gold (4:14)
38. Westbound – Makin’ Time (2:54)
39. The Civil Wars – 20 Years (3:01)
40. Possum Jenkins – Copper Coin (2:45)
41. Ray Wylie Hubbard – Coricidin Bottle (1:59)
42. Joe Ely – Dublin Blues (4:24)
43. JWW And The Prospectors – It’s High Past Time (3:37)
44. Maynard and the Musties – Rock This Little Boat (3:12)
45. Beth McKee – Shoulda Kept on Walkin’ (2:57)
46. Cornflower Blue – Run Down The Rails (3:03)
47. Audrey Auld – I’d Leave Me Too (2:24)
48. Big Joe Duskin – Beer Drinking Woman (3:20)
49. The Avett Brothers – I And Love And You (5:08)
50. L.P.O. – A Man Needs Love mp3 (2:27)
51. Jerry Lee Lewis – Long Tall Sally (1:51)

All The Links You Need

Taproot Radio Live on WCOM

Monday nights at 9pm Eastern time. Tune in to the WCOM webcast.

Taproot Music Show

Webcast

Social Networks

Taproot Road Songs on Spotify.

Email

Send your feedback and suggestions to director@taprootradio.com

Road Song 304: “Long Tall Sally” by Jerry Lee Lews

admin — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 19:16:00 +0000

Probably the best cover of “Long Tall Sally” ever ever amen is Jerry Lee Lewis’ performance at the Star Club in Hamburg Germany. Full on. No holding back.

I don’t think there’s a video of his performance that night. But here’s one to keep you going until you can get the CD.

Review: Barton Hollow by The Civil Wars

admin — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 15:49:34 +0000

The Civil Wars on iTunes

Review: JWW and the Prospectors – It’s High Past Time

admin — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:42:46 +0000

The self-released CD, It’s High Past Time, from JWW and The prospectors reminds me of the happy upbeat Western Swing my grandparents generation used to dance to. Sometimes we think of old school country as full of heartache and woe, and it’s CDs like this that remind us that there was plenty of upbeat dance music for country fans back in the day. This stuff will make you tap your feet if not want to sign up for swing lessons. Entertaining from front to back. Highlight tracks are “It’s High Past Time, “What Have I Done That Made You Go Away,” “Live And Let Live,” and “Big Bend Boogie.”

JWW and the Prospectors in iTunes

“Numb Into You” by Michael Rank and Stag

admin — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 18:18:37 +0000

The band’s CD release party for KIN. Filmed at The Station in Carrboro NC on 3/10/12. Hear Michael Rank and Stag talk play acoustic versions of this song and others from their first release Kin on episode 79 of the Taproot Music Show.

“Alpha Male & the Canine-Mystery Blood” by Tommy Womack

admin — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 11:56:40 +0000

A from the Folk Alliance festival in 2010. Listen to Tommy Womack talk about his music and his CD, Now What?, on episode 78 of the Taproot Music Show.

TPR#79 Michael Rank and Stag – Interview and Music

admin — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 04:30:33 +0000

Snatches of Pink front man Michael Rank and Marc E Smith join Calvin in the studio live to play some acoustic versions of songs from Kin, the debut release from Michael Rank and Stag. Michael talks about the amazing line up of area musicians he’s got on the new CD, why he decided not to do this as a CD as a Snatches of Pink CD, the challenges of coordinating so many band mates when recording the tracks, writing songs for both acoustic and full band performances, and how he finally caught up with Taylor Swift in the break up CD department.

TPR#79 Michael Rank and Stag (MP3)

Sponsor

Show Notes:

Interview Recap:

Michael Rank and Marc Smith open the show with an acoustic version of “Straw Man” from Stag’s first CD Kin]

Michael Rank talks about “Straw Man.” John Teer from Chatham County Line plays fiddle and mandolin on the song.

Michael Rank says the last time he did a solo album it was for Caroline records about 17-20 years ago and he decided to do another “solo.” But the backing band, Stag, has a who’s who of area rock stars as guests on the CD. He talks about the band members including duo drummers with John Howie Jr (Two Dollar Pistols, John Howie Jr and the Rosewood Bluff,) and Sara Romweber (Dexter Romweber Duo), Marc Smith (Patty Hurst Shifter, Snatches of Pink) on lap steel and slide guitar, Daryl White (Trailer Bride) on upright bass, John Teer (Chatham County Line) on fiddle and mandolin, Alex Iglehart (Calico Haunts) on electric guitar, Nathan Golub (Rosewood Bluff) on pedal steel, and of course Michael Rank on vocals, piano, and guitar. Recording duties were split between Jessie Huebner (Maldora, Small Ponds) and Rick Miller (Southern Culture On The Skids).

Michael Ranks set up “On The Bleed” and says there’s a video for the song on You Tube and it’s one of his favorite songs on the CD.

[plays “On The Bleed” from the CD]

Michael Rank talks about the ache in “On The Bleed” and how this CD was born out of starting to write music again after having become a father five years ago and having his wife walk out on him. He says it’s in some ways a cliché’ break up album and that “break up albums aren’t just for Taylor Swift anymore.”

[Michael Rank and Marc Smith play an acoustic version of “The Goat” from Kin.]

Michael Rank talks about how he does an acoustic version and full version of the songs. He and Marc play a lot of acoustic shows together. He subscribes to the idea that if you can sit on a stool and perform a song acoustically, it’s a song.

Michael Rank sets up the song “Arrowheads” from their first CD, Kin

[Plays “Arrowheads” from CD]

Michael Rank talks about coordinating so many people on a CD. He talks about how he creates demo tapes and shares them around with the band mates. Or in some cases he springs it on them at the studio. He talks about the advantages of playing with people who are “above your weight division.” He tells the story of how he emailed some demo tapes to John Teer but “Arrowheads” somehow got lost. In the recording studio John Teer had never heard the song but was able to pick it up as they played along the first time.

Michael Rank mentions the CD release party at The Station in Carrboro on Saturday March 10^th. He says it’s their favorite venue in Carrboro and that members of Magnolia Collective will open for them.

Michael Rank set up “Numb Into You” from the Snatches of Pink CD, Love is Dead.

[Michael Rank and Marc E Smith play an acoustic version of “Numb Into You”]

Michael Rank talks about the Love Is Dead CD being the highlight of the Snatches of Pink era, at least musically.

Michael Rank sets up “The Eye Teeth” from the CD Kin, notes that Nathan Golub plays pedal steel on this track.

[plays “The Eye Teeth” from the CD]

Get More!

The episode index page lists the guests for all episodes and has links to the episode pages.
You can receive email notifications of future episodes by signing up for the free Taproot News email newsletter.
Taproot Radio Podcast page on iTunes so you can subscribe in iTunes
Subscription page for other podcast players
Taproot Radio Home Page

Legal

Feedback

If you have any feedback for this episode or any other episode, please send mail to feedback@taprootradio.com.

Review: Carolinacana by Possum Jenkins

admin — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 01:37:28 +0000

The Possum Jenkins Band, based out of North Carolina, wasn’t content to just label themselves “Americana.” They were keenly focused on the musical roots coming out of the North Carolina mountains and have been developing a signature sound which draws from country, gospel, Piedmont blues, folk and soul, not to mention good old fashioned southern rock. Their latest CD, Carolinacana puts the finishing touches on their signature sound, which is sure to please any americana fan. Highlights for me are “Copper Coin,” “Been There Before,” and “All Is Not Lost.”

Taproot Radio News #303

admin — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 21:00:43 +0000

Rotation #303
March 12, 2012

Howdy,

Imagine a duo that writes songs with the grit of Drive-By Truckers and the intensity of The Civil Wars and you’d have a fair approximation of the Parlor Soldiers‘ CD, When The Dust Settles. Alex Culbreth and Karen Jonas write songs with such detail and authenticity you’d swear every single one is about them. Highlights for me are “Shallow Grave, “When The Dust Settles,” “Crazy,” and “Mess.”

The thing that consistently amazes me about Lyle Lovett and his band is how they can take musical cliches and tropes you’ve heard a thousand times before and breath new life into them. You’ll hear those two short fiddle bursts and think “Oh No, Not another Honky Tonk song,” and by the end of the song you want want to shake Lyle’s hand for being so amazingly inventive. On Release Me, he covers several country and jazz standards with his amazingly musical band you can tell right away these guys are master craftsmen. The originals are Lovett’s slice of Texas life, idealized, but no sappy. Highlights for me on his new CD,Release Me, are “White Boy Lost In The Blues,” “Brown Eyed Handsome Man,” “One Way Gal,” “White Freightliner Blues,” and “Release Me.”

On episode 77 of the Taproot Music Show, Becky Warren of The Great Unknowns talks about why there’s almost always a geographic reference in all of her songs; her experience driving the Lewis and Clark Trail and what it mean to her; the long wait between their first and second CD; writing a song about a band that doesn’t become that famous; the new line up; and plays three tracks from their new release, Homefront.

Dig Deep,
Calvin

See the bottom of this newsletter
for all the links and social network stuff.

Taproot Road Song of the Week

Ok I know I know I’ve been falling all over myself to push Ray Wylie Hubbard’s latest CD, Grifter’s Hymnal, but let me put in just one more plug with a foot stomper from the Grifter’s Hymnal CD, “Coricidin Bottle” as road song of the week. Try to keep up and watch out for the vocabulary lesson he sneaks in there…..

Recent Adds

On The Beltway / Karen Collins & The Backroads Band / No Yodeling On The Radio / 2:49
Walking Papers / Cole Mitchell / The Valley Of Want / 5:00
Hog And Sheep Going To The Pasture / Mariel Vandersteel / Hickory / 2:28
White Boy Lost In The Blues / Lyle Lovett / Release Me / 3:32
Brown Eyed Handsome Man / Lyle Lovett / Release Me / 3:36
One Way Gal / Lyle Lovett / Release Me / 2:59
White Freightliner Blues / Lyle Lovett / Release Me / 5:06
Shallow Grave / The Parlor Soldiers / When The Dust Settles / 4:00
When The Dust Settles / The Parlor Soldiers / When The Dust Settles / 4:32
Crazy / The Parlor Soldiers / When The Dust Settles / 3:00
Mess / The Parlor Soldiers / When The Dust Settles / 2:55

Taproot Music Show Recent Episodes

See a list of all episodes on the episode index page.

Episode 73 – Lincoln Durham talks about his residency at Gruene Hall, why he can’t write love songs, his long path from playing fiddle to Son House and Fred McDowell, and why he wrote a creepy songs about ne’er-do-well characters playing forty

Episode 74 – Lucy Tight and Wayne Waxing from Hymn For Her, how they met and started making music together; their evolution from folk duo to lo-fi rock band; and recording in their airstream trailer.

Episode 77 – Becky Warren of The Great Unknowns talks about why there’s almost always a geographic reference in all of her songs; her experience driving the Lewis and Clark Trail and what it mean to her; the long wait between their first and second CD; writing a song about a band that doesn’t become that famous; the new line up; and plays three tracks from their new release, Homefront.

WCOM Play List

The Taproot Radio show airs live on Monday nights at 9pm Eastern. Local listeners in Chapel Hill can tune in to WCOM at 103.5FM. Everyone else can tune in to the WCOM.webcast stream.

On this week’s show I’ll be covering for the DJ before and after me which means 4 hours of great music! I can’t wait. Here’s the planned play lists for all 4 hours.

7:00
Cartoon Gold / Drive-By Truckers / Go-Go Boots / 3:14
Glory to Glory / Pieta Brown / Mercury / 3:23
When It’s Over / Don Varner / Sweet Sounds Of Muscle Shoals: Vol. 1-Tear Stained Soul / 2:12
I’ve Lost My Heart To You / Dexter Romweber / Blues That Defy My Soul / 2:49
I Burn Today / Frank Black / Honeycomb / 4:06
Stay On The Ride / Patty Griffin / Children Running Through / 5:18
Engine Joe / Slobberbone / Barrel Chested / 2:27
Needed You Tonight / Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals / Lifeline / 2:46
How You Make Me Feel / Shelley King / Welcome Home / 2:52
A. On Horseback / Charlie Pickett / Bar Band Americanus / 4:00
I’m Dreaming Of Your Demise / Mary Flower / Misery Loves Company / 4:05
Unrepentant Sinner’s Last Prayer / Doug & Telisha Williams / Ghost Of The KnoXVIlle Girl / 4:51
Gal Youngin / Mofro / Lochloosa / 4:34
Blanket Gray / Two Cow Garage / Three / 3:54
Danny and Maria / Drew Nelson / Tilt-A-Whirl / 3:21

8:00pm
The Levee’s Gonna Break / Bob Dylan / Modern Times / 5:43
He Made A Woman Out Of Me / Bettye LaVette / Take Another Little Piece Of My Heart / 2:35
You’Ve Got The Papers(I’Ve Got The Man) / Ann Peebles / Handwriting Is On The Wall / 2:57
Faulkner Street / Hayes Carll / Trouble In Mind / 3:26
If I ever Needed Someone / Choosy Beggars / Bring It Back Alive / 3:56
Pay The Devil / Van Morrison / Pay The Devil / 3:03
Walt Whitman Bridge / Marah / If You Didn’t Laugh You’d Cry / 3:06
It’s All Fun And Games (Til Someone Breaks A Heart) / Two Dollar Pistols / Hands Up! / 4:18
Been Down Too Long / Scott H. Biram / Blooshot Records Sampler #8 / 3:45
Barrel Chested / Slobberbone / Barrel Chested / 4:15
Stake Your Claim / Eli “Paperboy” Reed & The True Loves / Roll With You / 2:48
Ain’t Got No Honey Baby Now / Elizabeth Cotten / Freight Train And Other North Carolina Folk Songs And Tunes / 0:57
Worried Life / Asie Payton / Worried / 4:05
Chicken Wire / The Felice Brothers / Yonder Is The Clock / 2:44
Love In Vain / The Rolling Stones / Let It Bleed / 4:23

9:00pm
Henhouse / Ray Wylie Hubbard / The Grifter’s Hymnal / 4:30
A Bad Way / The Great Unknowns / Homefront / 3:05
Miss Lavelle White Blues / Mike June & The Wilson Street Refugees / Exile On Wilson Street / 3:33
Trees Fall Every Day / Chris Castle / Last Bird Home / 3:10

*** Special Interview Guest: Joe Maynard from Maynard and the Musties. ***

Lorena (America) / Johnny Cash / Come Along And Ride This Train [Disc 3] / 1:52
(Hey Baby) Que Paso / The Texas Tornados / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 18 (Disc 2) / 3:33
Dark End Of The Street / The Flying Burrito Brothers / Sacred Hearts And Fallen Angels: The Gram Parsons Anthology (Disc 1) / 3:59
A Mighty Long Way / Eddie Bradford / Sweet Sounds Of Muscle Shoa : Vol. 4-More Power To Ya! / 2:35
Rose La Rose / Miller Brothers Band / Tales From Foundry Town / 4:34
Somethin’ in the Water / Westbound / Blackjack Road / 2:48
The Gardens / Freddy Fender / The Man Of Somebody’s Dreams: A Tribute to the Songs of Chris Gaffney / 3:16
Walking Papers / Cole Mitchell / The Valley Of Want / 5:00
Love Going South / Jo Serrapere / Love Going South / 4:16
Flying Shoes / Glory Fountain / The Beauty of 23 / 3:33
Love Letters / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 2:58

10:00
White Boy Lost In The Blues / Lyle Lovett / Release Me / 3:32
Same Dog’s Tail / Beth McKee / Next to Nowhere / 3:37
Just Another Way To Go / Jackstraw / Sunday Never Comes / 2:53
Juniper / Lucero / Women & Work / 4:44
Mess / The Parlor Soldiers / When The Dust Settles / 2:55
Home / Thieving Birds / Thieving Birds / 4:43
Nothing / The Far West / The Far West / 2:38
on the bleed / Michael Rank and Stag / Kin [Disc 1] / 4:52
Sugar Sweet / Muddy Waters / His Best: 1947 To 1955 / 2:32
I Drink Alone / George Thorogood & The Destroyers / Greatest Hits: 30 Years of Rock / 4:32
The Shade / Malcolm Holcombe / Gamblin’ House / 2:37
The Sun Is Shining Down / Mofro / Country Ghetto / 5:58
Oh Little Boy(What Did You Do To Me) / Mary Wells / The Ultimate collection / 2:40
Try / Joel Dasilva And The Midnight Howl / Joel Dasilva And The Midnight Howl / 2:35
Coricidin Bottle / Ray Wylie Hubbard / The Grifter’s Hymnal / 2:00

This Week’s Webcast Rotation

Listen to the week’s rotation on the taprootradio.com current rotation play list on Spotify.

Alphabetically by artist:

Dirt / Andre Williams / Hoods and Shades / 3:13
Same Dog’s Tail / Beth McKee / Next to Nowhere / 3:37
Trees Fall Every Day / Chris Castle / Last Bird Home / 3:10
Walking Papers / Cole Mitchell / The Valley Of Want / 5:00
Cry Like A Man / Dan Penn / Do Right Man / 4:03
Danny and Maria / Drew Nelson / Tilt-A-Whirl / 3:21
A Mighty Long Way / Eddie Bradford / Sweet Sounds Of Muscle Shoa : Vol. 4-More Power To Ya! / 2:35
Nothing / The Far West / The Far West / 2:38
Dark End Of The Street / The Flying Burrito Brothers / Sacred Hearts And Fallen Angels: The Gram Parsons Anthology (Disc 1) / 3:59
The Gardens / Freddy Fender / The Man Of Somebody’s Dreams: A Tribute to the Songs of Chris Gaffney / 3:16
I Drink Alone / George Thorogood & The Destroyers / Greatest Hits: 30 Years of Rock / 4:32
Flying Shoes / Glory Fountain / The Beauty of 23 / 3:33
Ambiguous / Graham Parker / Don’t Tell Columbus / 4:30
A Bad Way / The Great Unknowns / Homefront / 3:05
Crazy As A Loon / Greg Humphreys / Trunk Songs / 2:43
Montana / Hymn For Her / Lucy & Wayne And The American Stream / 3:37
Just Another Way To Go / Jackstraw / Sunday Never Comes / 2:53
Love Going South / Jo Serrapere / Love Going South / 4:16
Try / Joel Dasilva And The Midnight Howl / Joel Dasilva And The Midnight Howl / 2:35
In Nashville, Tennessee / Joey Allcorn / 50 Years Too Late / 4:20
Lorena (America) / Johnny Cash / Come Along And Ride This Train [Disc 3] / 1:52
On The Beltway / Karen Collins & The Backroads Band / No Yodeling On The Radio / 2:49
Love Letters / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 2:58
El Microscopico Bikini (Dizzy Miss Lizzy) / Los Straitjackets / Rock en Español Vol. One / 2:51
Juniper / Lucero / Women & Work / 4:44
White Boy Lost In The Blues / Lyle Lovett / Release Me / 3:32
The Shade / Malcolm Holcombe / Gamblin’ House / 2:37
Hog And Sheep Going To The Pasture / Mariel Vandersteel / Hickory / 2:28
Oh Little Boy(What Did You Do To Me) / Mary Wells / The Ultimate collection / 2:40
After the Game / Maynard and the Musties / Cheap Cigar / 3:17
on the bleed / Michael Rank and Stag / Kin [Disc 1] / 4:52
Miss Lavelle White Blues / Mike June & The Wilson Street Refugees / Exile On Wilson Street / 3:33
Rose La Rose / Miller Brothers Band / Tales From Foundry Town / 4:34
The Sun Is Shining Down / Mofro / Country Ghetto / 5:58
Sometimes / The Mountain Firework Company / A Rough Guide To Feeling Rough / 4:34
Sugar Sweet / Muddy Waters / His Best: 1947 To 1955 / 2:32
Some Place Along The River / Overmountain Men / Glorious Day / 4:59
Mess / The Parlor Soldiers / When The Dust Settles / 2:55
The Cape / Patty Griffin / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 2] / 3:27
Texas / Po’ Girl / Home To You / 4:40
Coricidin Bottle / Ray Wylie Hubbard / The Grifter’s Hymnal / 2:00
Henhouse / Ray Wylie Hubbard / The Grifter’s Hymnal / 4:30
Mattie / Sally Spring / Made Of Stars / 3:19
I Want A Tall Skinny Papa / Sister Rosetta Tharpe / The Gospel Of The Blues / 2:52
Susie Q / Sleepy LaBeef / Greatest Hits / 2:31
Strawberry Lady / The Soul Of John Black / Good Thang / 4:18
I Do / Steve Cropper & Brian May / Dedicated – A Salute To The 5 Royales / 2:48
Resting Place / Terry Robb / It’s All Connected / 3:21
(Hey Baby) Que Paso / The Texas Tornados / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 18 (Disc 2) / 3:33
Home / Thieving Birds / Thieving Birds / 4:43
Somethin’ in the Water / Westbound / Blackjack Road / 2:48

All The Links You Need

Taproot Radio Live on WCOM

Monday nights at 9pm Eastern time. Tune in to the WCOM webcast.

Taproot Music Show

Webcast

Social Networks

Email

Send your feedback and suggestions to director@taprootradio.com

TPR#78 Tommy Womack – Interview and Music

calvin — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 04:30:33 +0000

Tommy Womack talks about he was motivated to start writing songs about himself and “from the gut” on There I Said It and how he continues to write peronal songs on Now What because he could never go back to writing third person songs. his role of patron saint of 50 year olds with kids who don’t make it to as many shows as they used to; the structure of the CD Now What in terms of song arrangements and sequence; Tomy’s habit of referencing other musicians in his song names and lyrics; and his favorite covers of his songs.

TPR#78 Tommy Womack – Interview and Music (MP3)

Sponsor

Ray Wylie Hubbard on iTunes

Show Notes:

Get More!

The episode index page lists the guests for all episodes and has links to the episode pages.
You can receive email notifications of future episodes by signing up for the free Taproot News email newsletter.
Taproot Radio Podcast page on iTunes so you can subscribe in iTunes
Subscription page for other podcast players
Taproot Radio Home Page

Legal

Feedback

If you have any feedback for this episode or any other episode, please send mail to feedback@taprootradio.com.

Review: Release Me by Lyle Lovett

admin — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 03:10:25 +0000

The thing that consistently amazes me about Lyle Lovett and his band is how they can take musical cliches and tropes you’ve heard a thousand times before and breath new life into them. You’ll hear those two short fiddle bursts and think “Oh No, Not another Honky Tonk song,” and by the end of the song you want want to shake Lyle’s hand for being so amazingly inventive. On Release Me, he covers several country and jazz standards with his amazingly musical band. You can tell right away these guys are master craftsmen. The originals are Lovett’s slice of Texas life, idealized, but not sappy. Highlights for me on Release Me are “White Boy Lost In The Blues,” “Brown Eyed Handsome Man,” “One Way Gal,” “White Freightliner Blues,” and “Release Me.”

Review: Shallow Grave by The Parlor Soldiers.

admin — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 02:53:38 +0000

“Steel Mule” by Six Mile Grove

calvin — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 22:20:26 +0000

“Steel Mule” is a song about the grandfather of lead singer Brandon Sampson and it just doesn’t get any more authentic than this. Hear Brandon Sampson of Six Mile grove talk about where he grew up in small town Minnesota on episode 75 of the Taproot Music Show.

“Boys and Girls” by Alabama Shakes

admin — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 14:33:25 +0000

Title track from their upcoming CD performed at WNRN in Charlottesville, Virginia.

“Hold On” by Alabama Shakes performed on Conan

admin — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 22:29:31 +0000

Alabama Shakes perform a track off of their upcoming debut album “Boys and Girls.” I love the unassuming strength in Brittany’s voice.

Road Song 303 “Coricidin Bottle” by Ray Wylie Hubbard

calvin — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 22:57:58 +0000

Ok I know I know I’ve been falling all over myself to push Ray Wylie Hubbard’s latest CD, Grifter’s Hymnal, but let me put in just one more plug with a foot stomper from the CD as road song of the week. Try to keep up and watch out for the vocabulary lesson he sneaks in there…..

Ray Wylie Hubbard web site.

“Rainbow Connection” performed by Willie Nelson

admin — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 18:51:38 +0000

This one’s for you, sweetheart…..

“Homefront” by The Great Unknowns, Live

admin — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 14:17:37 +0000

The Great Unknowns: Title track off their new CD Homefront. Live at the Rock N Roll Hotel, Washington, DC on September 30, 2011. Hear more tracks from Homefront and hear Becky Warren talk about the The Great Unknown’s music on episode 77 of the Taproot Podcast.

“What Did I Used To Be” by Tokyo Rosenthal

admin — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 01:15:49 +0000

Lots of songwriters have tried to give voice to the hard economic times experienced by so many people these days. Maybe the most famous is Springsteen’s. And, frankly, Springsteen’s is one of the worst. Tokyo Rosenthal has been around the block a few more times than The Boss, and is much more in touch with every day life than Bruce will ever be. Toke’s given voice to the frustrations felt by so many people in a much more authentic and realistic way than anyone else that’s tried it.

“What Did I Used To Be” is available on iTunes

Hear more music and hear Tokyo Rosenthal talk about the stories behind his songs on episode 50 of the Taproot Music Show.

#ows #occupy

Taproot Radio News #302

admin — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 22:00:33 +0000

Rotation #302, March 5, 2012

See the bottom of this newsletter
for all the links and social network stuff.

Howdy,

Ray Wylie Hubbard has found his way out of the backwoods again bearing his new CD, Grifter’s Hymnal, in one hand and a bunch of chicken bones tied up with guitar strings in the other, muttering something about finally understanding the relationship between the Devil, God, and Man. You want to call this music the blues, just to try to connect it to something earthly. You know that ain’t quite right, but that’s the best you can do. You kinda want to call it rock, but not that kind of rock that makes kids jump around, the kind that makes kids go slack-jaw. You might even want to call it gospel, but it would raise the question of just whose side is Hubbard on, anyway. Stand out tracks for me are “Coricidin Bottle,” “South Of The River,” “New Year’s Eve At The Gates Of Hell,” “Mother Blues,” and “Henhouse.” CD comes out on March 27th but you can hear tracks from it on the Taproot rotation starting March 5.

By popular demand (who knew?) the Taproot Road Song Play List on Spotify will now have all of the songs on it instead of just the most recent week’s song. I’m gonna try to make the play list reverse chronological order so that the most recently added songs are first on the play list.

I’m excited to announce that Michael Rank and Mark Smith formerly of Snatches of Pink and now of Michael Rank and Stag are going to be my guests on the live show this week. They will be playing cuts from the new band’s first CD, Kin, and also playing a live acoustic version of a couple of songs. So tune in Monday night at 9pm eastern. See below for the webcast link.

Dig Deep,
Calvin

Taproot Road Song

Going a few years back on this one, “One More Time” by Alejandro Escovedo is one of my all time favorite road songs. The way the lyrics kinda skid around against the beat brings to mind a car careening dangerously near the guard rail, but barely staying between the lines.

Couldn’t find a decent video of the song, but as always you can listen to “One More Time” on Spotify at the Taproot Road Songs play list.

Recent Podcast Episodes

For the full episode list, visit the episode page or follow the Taproot Music Show episodes on Pinterest.

Episode 72, Lee Briante of The Far West talks about the importance of having video and internet media available for today’s audience; how it made him feel to move to Los Angeles; and how recording in an American Legion hall brought their debut self-titled CD to life.

Recent Adds

Junker / Brendan Hogan / SilverQuick / 3:26
Money / Loretta Hagen / Mud And Stone / 3:10
My Liver’s Bad – My Life’s A Mess (And I Blame You Sweetheart) / Michael And The Lonesome Playboys / Last Of The Honky Tonks / 3:36
Coricidin Bottle / Ray Wylie Hubbard / The Grifter’s Hymnal / 2:00
South of the River / Ray Wylie Hubbard / The Grifter’s Hymnal / 4:07
New Year’s Eve at the Gates of Hell / Ray Wylie Hubbard / The Grifter’s Hymnal / 3:31
Mother Blues / Ray Wylie Hubbard / The Grifter’s Hymnal / 5:57
Henhouse / Ray Wylie Hubbard / The Grifter’s Hymnal / 4:30

The Week’s WCOM Play List

The live show is on Monday Nights at 9pm Eastern time on WCOM. Listen to the webcast stream.

New Year’s Eve at the Gates of Hell / Ray Wylie Hubbard / The Grifter’s Hymnal / 3:31
On the Verge / Beth McKee / Next to Nowhere / 4:16
Pretty & Cryin’ / Maynard and the Musties / Cheap Cigar / 4:41
How Does A Crow Fly / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 2:36

*** special interview and in studio performance by Michael Rank and Marc Smith ***

Bird / Chris Castle / Last Bird Home / 1:47
Cave / Hymn For Her / Lucy & Wayne And The American Stream / 2:28
Save My Soul / Thieving Birds / Thieving Birds / 4:45
Halfway House / Arty Hill and the Long Gone Daddys / Another Lost Highway / 3:55
Better Place To Stop / The Damn Quails / Down the Hatch / 3:20
Bound to Lose / The Far West / The Far West / 2:41
The Prisoner / Mike June & The Wilson Street Refugees / Exile On Wilson Street / 3:33
Sunday Never Comes / Jackstraw / Sunday Never Comes / 3:36
I’m Gonna Get My Heart Broken / The Great Unknowns / Homefront / 2:59
Sometimes / Lucero / Women & Work / 4:53
One More Time / Alejandro Escovedo / With These Hands (Expanded Edition) / 4:06

This Week’s Rotation

Weekly rotation on Spotify

Alphabetically by artist:

One More Time / Alejandro Escovedo / With These Hands (Expanded Edition) / 4:06
Jaw Dropper / Andre Williams / Hoods and Shades / 2:06
Halfway House / Arty Hill and the Long Gone Daddys / Another Lost Highway / 3:55
On the Verge / Beth McKee / Next to Nowhere / 4:16
Dim Lights, Thick Smoke / Bill Kirchen / King Of Dieselbilly / 3:54
Junker / Brendan Hogan / SilverQuick / 3:26
Everybody’s Up To Somethin’ / Brian Setzer / 13 [Bonus Track] / 2:47
Since You Been Gone / Bucktown Kickback / Speakeasy / 5:59
Back To Santa Rosa / Carolann Ames / Laurel Canyon Road / 3:40
Can’t Give It To Me / Choosy Beggars / See The Lovers Right On Time / 3:26
Bird / Chris Castle / Last Bird Home / 1:47
Better Place To Stop / The Damn Quails / Down the Hatch / 3:20
Lessons / Drew Nelson / Tilt-A-Whirl / 4:13
The Wallflower (Dance With Me Henry) / Etta James / Gold / 2:59
Bound to Lose / The Far West / The Far West / 2:41
La Hawaiana / Flaco Jiménez / Tex-Mex Party / 3:13
Hickory Wind / Gram Parsons / Under Your Spell Again [Disc I] / 4:37
I’m Gonna Get My Heart Broken / The Great Unknowns / Homefront / 2:59
Madalyn’s Bones / Gurf Morlix / Diamonds To Dust / 3:33
Cave / Hymn For Her / Lucy & Wayne And The American Stream / 2:28
Sunday Never Comes / Jackstraw / Sunday Never Comes / 3:36
Green Grow the Lilacs / Johnny Cash / Come Along And Ride This Train [Disc 2] / 2:47
Oil & Water / Les Sampou / Lonesomeville / 3:47
How Does A Crow Fly / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 2:36
The Light Gets In The Way / The Long Ryders / The Long Ryders Anthology: Looking for Lewis and Clark [Disc 2] / 3:54
Money / Loretta Hagen / Mud And Stone / 3:10
Sometimes / Lucero / Women & Work / 4:53
Do America / Mark Knopfler / Sailing to Philadelphia / 4:12
Two Can Play Your Game / Marquise Knox / Here I Am / 4:06
What’s Easy For Two Is So Hard For One / Mary Wells / The Ultimate collection / 2:53
Downward Road / Mavis Staples / You Are Not Alone / 3:08
Pretty & Cryin’ / Maynard and the Musties / Cheap Cigar / 4:41
My Liver’s Bad – My Life’s A Mess (And I Blame You Sweetheart) / Michael And The Lonesome Playboys / Last Of The Honky Tonks / 3:36
The Prisoner / Mike June & The Wilson Street Refugees / Exile On Wilson Street / 3:33
Papa’s Got A Brand New Bag / Otis Redding / Live On The Sunset Strip (disc 2) / 10:08
Color Of The Blues / Patty Loveless / Sleepless Nights / 3:06
Glory to Glory / Pieta Brown / Mercury / 3:23
Rollin’ On Again / Planetary Nights / Today Ain’t Too Late / 3:38
Mississippi / Ray Bonneville / Bad Man’s Blood / 2:33
You Can Bring Me Flowers / Ray LaMontagne / Till The Sun Turns Black / 4:12
New Year’s Eve at the Gates of Hell / Ray Wylie Hubbard / The Grifter’s Hymnal / 3:31
I Will Walk With You / The Resentments / Switcheroo / 2:49
Bad Reputation / Reverend Horton Heat / Holy Roller / 2:24
Over The Waterfall / Robert Earl Keen / Picnic / 4:33
Texas 1947 / Robert Earl Keen / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 2] / 3:58
Cocaine And Ashes / Son Volt / American Central Dust (Amazon MP3 Exclusive Version) / 4:31
Come On & Save Me / Steve Cropper, Dylan Leblanc & Sharon Jones / Dedicated – A Salute To The 5 Royales / 2:58
Save My Soul / Thieving Birds / Thieving Birds / 4:45
Delta River Line / Westbound / Blackjack Road / 3:42
I’m Lonely (But I Ain’t That Lonely Yet) / The White Stripes / Get Behind Me Satan / 4:20
Good Hearted Woman / Willie Nelson / Willie & Family Live / 2:59

All The Social Stuff

The Live Show

Monday Nights at 9pm Eastern time on WCOM. Listen to the webcast stream.

Podcast of The Taproot Music Show

On the web

Subscription info

On Pinterest

Webcast

Taproot Road Songs on Spotify

Social Networks

director@taprootradio.com

TPR#77 Becky Warren from The Great Unknowns – Interview and Music

calvin — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 05:30:07 +0000

Becky Warren of The Great Unknowns talks about why there’s almost always a geographic reference in all of her songs; her experience driving the Lewis and Clark Trail and what it mean to her; the long wait between their first and second CD; writing a song about a band that doesn’t become that famous; the new line up; and plays three tracks from their new release, Homefront.

TPR#77 Becky Warren from The Great Unknowns – Interview and Music (MP3)

Sponsor

Ray Wylie Hubbard on iTunes

Show Notes:

Get More!

The episode index page lists the guests for all episodes and has links to the episode pages.
You can receive email notifications of future episodes by signing up for the free Taproot News email newsletter.
Taproot Radio Podcast page on iTunes so you can subscribe in iTunes
Subscription page for other podcast players
Taproot Radio Home Page

Legal

Feedback

If you have any feedback for this episode or any other episode, please send mail to feedback@taprootradio.com.

“Bitter Drunk And Cold” by The Far West – New video

admin — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 14:11:49 +0000

Brand new video from The Far West. Love the Grand Ol’ Opry homage in the video! Hear Lee Briante talk about this song and hear other tracks from The Far West’s debut CD on episode 72 of the Taproot Podcast.

Taproot Road Song 302: “One More Time” by Alejandro Escovedo

admin — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 03:32:03 +0000

Photo Credit: MChavez

Couldn’t find a decent video of the song, but as always you can listen to “One More Time“ on Spotify and the Taproot Road Songs play list.

Grifter’s Hymnal by Ray Wylie Hubbard

admin — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 01:58:27 +0000

Ray Wylie Hubbard has found his way out of the backwoods again bearing his new CD, Grifter’s Hymnal, in one hand and a bunch of chicken bones tied up with guitar strings in the other, muttering something about finally understanding the relationship between the Devil, God, and Man. You want to call this music the blues, just to try to connect it to something earthly. You know that ain’t quite right, but that’s the best you can do. You kinda want to call it rock, but not that kind of rock that makes kids jump around, the kind that makes kids go slack-jaw. You might even want to call it gospel, but it would raise the question of just whose side is Hubbard on, anyway. Stand out tracks for me are “Coricidin Bottle,” “South Of The River,” “New Year’s Eve At The Gates Of Hell,” “Mother Blues,” and “Henhouse.”

CD comes out on March 27th but you can hear tracks from it on the Taproot rotation starting March 5.

Ray Wylie Hubbard web site

“Folsom Prison Blues” by Bob Wootton and Six Mile Grove

calvin — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 22:10:57 +0000

Bob Wootton played with Johnny Cash for decades and continues to this day to keep the Johnny Cash sound alive with the help of Six Mile Grove as the backing band. Hear Bob Wootton talk about this song and his time with Johnny Cash on episode 76 of the Taproot Music show.

Taproot Radio News #301

calvin — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 03:15:33 +0000

Rotation #301, February 27, 2012

See the bottom of this newsletter
for all the links and social network stuff.

Howdy,

There’s a great moment in the movie The Big Chill when “Nick,” played by William Hurt, is being faux-interviewed by one of his friends in a mock TV interview. His friend is running down a list of half finished projects, abandoned careers, and miscellaneous dodgy dealings. Nick abruptly interrupts and says indignantly, “I was evolving, I’m still evolving.”

That’s kinda how I feel about Taproot Radio and especially the podcast. It’s evolving, still evolving. So yeah, I’m changing the name (again) to The Taproot Music Show. Yes, it will still primarily be delivered as a podcast. So all you podcast fanatics don’t hafta worry. But I wanted to drop Podcast (and Radio) from the name so it wouldn’t be so weird as I explore new ways to deliver the same great interview show. Not sure exactly where that’s going to lead, but I’m actively looking at alternate ways to get the show into more ears. Got an idea? I’d like to hear it.

In a meager attempt at being hip, I’ve joined Pinterest and have created a pin board for the Taproot Music Show episodes. I’ll still be announcing new episodes here, on the blog, on the Facebook, and the twitter. But if you’re into Pinterest you can follow there too. So there’s really no excuse not to listen. heh.

And on to music! Dang! I actually caught up with auditions last week. So if you’re a label rep waiting to hear about a CD you sent in, better drop me a line. I got nothing in the queue right now. Wouldn’t be the first time I lost a CD. Sorry in advance. And weirdly enough, not a single CD showed up in the mail box this week. Can’t remember the last time that happened!

But now, as of this afternoon, I understand why. It was kinda like the Red Seas parting to make way for the arrival of….drum roll please…. THE NEW BETH McKEE CD!!!! Pick your favorite superlative for Next To Nowhere because it will fit. She hits just about every style of southern music on this CD, from torch singer blues, piano bar romps, R&B ballads, southern rock, gospel-inspred anthems, a little cajun/hippie and I don’t know what all else. This CD made my day and I know it will put a little oomph in your day too. Drop what you’re doing and check it out as soon as possible.

On episode 76 of the Taproot Music Show, Brandon Sampson from Six Mile Grove and Bob Wootton tell the story of how they met and began their long time musical collaboration, talk about their mission to keep the Johnny Cash sound alive, give us a preview of Six Mile Grove’s upcoming CD Secret Life In A Quiet Town, and explore the existential question of free will and predestination.

My interview guest on the live show this week is Mike June from Mike June and the Wilson Street Exiles. So tune in to the WCOM web stream at 9pm eastern time to hear him tell the stories behind his music.

Dig Deep,
Calvin

Taproot Road Song

Speaking of southern soul, blue-eyed soul, whatever you want to call it. I decided to put George Soulé’s “Take A Ride” up for the Road Song of the week. After last week’s kick ass road song from Lucero, this adds a smoooooooth kinda road song into the mix.

Recent Podcast Episodes

For the full episode list, visit the episode page or follow the Taproot Music Show episodes on Pinterest.

Recent Adds

Next to Nowhere / Beth McKee / Next to Nowhere / 3:04
On the Verge / Beth McKee / Next to Nowhere / 4:16
Shoulda Kept on Walkin’ / Beth McKee / Next to Nowhere / 2:57
New Orleans to Jackson / Beth McKee / Next to Nowhere / 4:44
Same Dog’s Tail / Beth McKee / Next to Nowhere / 3:37

The Week’s WCOM Play List

The Live Show

Monday Nights at 9pm Eastern time on WCOM. Listen to the webcast stream.

Next to Nowhere / Beth McKee / Next to Nowhere / 3:04
Green, Green Grass Of Home / Johnny Cash / Sunday Morning Coming Down / 2:35
On My Way Downtown / Lucero / Women & Work / 4:29
Take A Ride / George Soule / Take A Ride / 3:20

*** Special Interview Guest: Mike June ***

Dirty Water / Chris Castle / Last Bird Home / 4:21
Knockin’ Over Whiskeys / Hayes Carll / Trouble In Mind / 2:56
Losin’ Boy / Eddy Giles / Deep Soul Treasures 2 / 3:15
Slow Death / Charlie Pickett / Bar Band Americanus / 3:49
Another Story / The Damn Quails / Down the Hatch / 3:33
Into The Mystic / Mike McClure Band / Camelot Falling / 4:46
Just Another Way To Go / Jackstraw / Sunday Never Comes / 2:53
Love Letters / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 2:58
tenderhook / Michael Rank and Stag / Kin [Disc 1] / 4:26
Ain’t Got No Troubles / Eden Brent / Ain’t Got No Troubles / 5:09

This Week’s Rotation

Taproot Road Song on Spotify
Take A Ride on iTunes

Next to Nowhere / Beth McKee / Next to Nowhere / 3:04
A Bad Way / The Great Unknowns / Homefront / 3:05
On My Way Downtown / Lucero / Women & Work / 4:29
Dirty Water / Chris Castle / Last Bird Home / 4:21
Hu-matic Man / Andre Williams / Hoods and Shades / 3:13
tenderhook / Michael Rank and Stag / Kin [Disc 1] / 4:26
Delta River Line / Westbound / Blackjack Road / 3:42
Rock This Little Boat / Maynard and the Musties / Cheap Cigar / 3:13
Hangin On / Joel Dasilva And The Midnight Howl / Joel Dasilva And The Midnight Howl / 2:39
Promised Land / Drew Nelson / Tilt-A-Whirl / 3:38
Just Another Way To Go / Jackstraw / Sunday Never Comes / 2:53
Another Story / The Damn Quails / Down the Hatch / 3:33
Love Letters / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 2:58
Stuck In Memphis / Thieving Birds / Thieving Birds / 3:05
Randall Knife / Vince Gill / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 2] / 4:34
I’ll Never Drink Again / The Far West / The Far West / 3:12
Slips / Hymn For Her / Lucy & Wayne And The American Stream / 2:41
Dedicated To The One I Love / Steve Cropper, Lucinda Williams & Steve Winwood / Dedicated – A Salute To The 5 Royales / 3:15
You Better Pray / Marquise Knox / Here I Am / 4:45
Big Drops of Trouble / Arty Hill and the Long Gone Daddys / Another Lost Highway / 3:49
Mocha Jaydene / Planetary Nights / Today Ain’t Too Late / 4:36
The Train That’s Bound For Glory / Garrison Starr / Amateur / 3:41
Angel Of Death / New Country Rehab / New Country Rehab / 2:52
Blues for Big Bill / Chris Cotton / It’s All Connected / 3:23
Pony Blues / Bluff City Backsliders / It’s All Connected / 4:11
Take A Ride / George Soule / Take A Ride / 3:20
Wild Horses / The Flying Burrito Brothers / Sacred Hearts And Fallen Angels: The Gram Parsons Anthology (Disc 1) / 6:24
New Shoes / Caleb Klauder / Dangerous Mes And Poisonous Yous / 3:11
You Left The Water Running (Live) / Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham / Moments From This Theatre / 3:24
7 Months, 39 Days / Hank Williams III / Lovesick, Broke And Driftin’ / 3:27
Down To The Wire / Son Volt / American Central Dust (Amazon MP3 Exclusive Version) / 4:20
Fooled Around And Fell In Love / Mickey Thomas / The Bluesmasters Featuring Mickey Thomas / 4:20
Final Wild Son / The Long Ryders / The Long Ryders Anthology: Looking for Lewis and Clark [Disc 1] / 2:40
Losin’ Boy / Eddy Giles / Deep Soul Treasures 2 / 3:15
Man of Somebody’s Dreams / Los Lobos / The Man Of Somebody’s Dreams: A Tribute to the Songs of Chris Gaffney / 3:59
I Can’t Turn You Loose / Otis Redding / Live On The Sunset Strip / 6:20
Green, Green Grass Of Home / Johnny Cash / Sunday Morning Coming Down / 2:35
Piss & Moan Blues / The Gourds / Dem’s Good Beeble / 3:16
Everything’s Alright / The O’s / Between The Two / 2:21
Tennessee Waltz / Ruth Brown / More Dirty Laundry: The Soul Of Black Country / 4:15
Money / Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kin… / I Learned the Hard Way (Bonus Version) / 3:22
The Ballad of Elano DeLeon / Reckless Kelly / Somewhere In Time / 3:26
Lucky Man / Ronnie Wood / Lucky Man / 3:53
Get On The Bus / The Bottle Rockets / Lean Forward / 3:51
Honey Now / Gillian Welch / Hell Among The Yearlings / 1:52
Into The Mystic / Mike McClure Band / Camelot Falling / 4:46
Slow Death / Charlie Pickett / Bar Band Americanus / 3:49
Ain’t Got No Troubles / Eden Brent / Ain’t Got No Troubles / 5:09
Handcuffs / Sodajerk / Sodajerk / 3:01
Knockin’ Over Whiskeys / Hayes Carll / Trouble In Mind / 2:56
Angels On A Passing Train / Marah / Angels Of Destruction / 4:06

All The Social Stuff

The Live Show

Monday Nights at 9pm Eastern time on WCOM. Listen to the webcast stream.

Podcast of The Taproot Music Show

Webcast

Social Networks

Road Song 301: “Take A Ride” by George Soulé

calvin — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 22:08:02 +0000

Was digging through my back catalog the other day and ran across this gem of an New Orleans’ style R&B from George Soulé. It’s got that smooth head-boppin’ thing going for it, like yeah I’ve got everything under control and no one’s gonna get me down. The CD is also called Take A Ride, and like the cover says, it’s that Southern Soul Sound. They got that right. George worked at FAME and many other soul music institutions and helped shape that southern soul sound we all love.

TPR#76 Brandon Sampson of Six Mile Grove and Bob Wootton – Interview and Music

calvin — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 12:52:22 +0000

Six Mile Grove

Bob Wootton

TPR#76 Brandon Sampson from Six Mile Grove and Bob Wootton
Interview and Music (MP3)

Sponsor

Show Notes:

Bob Wootton web site

Get More!

The episode index page lists the guests for all episodes and has links to the episode pages.
You can receive email notifications of future episodes by signing up for the free Taproot News email newsletter.
Taproot Radio Podcast page on iTunes so you can subscribe in iTunes
Subscription page for other podcast players
Taproot Radio Home Page

Legal

Feedback

If you have any feedback for this episode or any other episode, please send mail to feedback@taprootradio.com.

Follow The Taproot Music Show on Pinterest

calvin — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 00:14:31 +0000

For those of you on Pinterest, you can follow the Taproot Music Show episodes on the Taproot Music Show Episodes board on Pinterest.

The best way to keep up with the new episodes is to subscribe to the newsletter or subscribe on iTunes. But if you’re into Pinterest, that works too.

Taproot Radio News #300

calvin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 01:00:18 +0000

Rotation #300, February 20, 2012

read: http://www.taprootradio.com

listen on Spotify
user profile: cspowers
current rotation play list
road song of the week play list
live: Monday nights at 9pm eastern on WCOM: http://www.wcomfm.org
feedback: director@taprootradio.com

Howdy,

Lucero leads off the news this week with the announcement of a new upcoming CD, Women & Work. Nobody does twang infused blues rock any better than these guys and Women & Work highlights is their best yet, soulful when it needs to be, bad-ass the rest of the time. “Like Lightening” is going in as the road song this week. My other highlight is the title track, which sounds like the Stones, if they could do southern accents honestly.

Speaking of rock, Snatches of Pink front man Michael Rank has a new band called Michael Rank and the Stag. The guest list on this CD includes a who’s who of Chapel Hill rock and country legends including Rick Miller, Dex Romweber, and John Howie Jr. The first release from the new line up is Kin. These guys have more of a late night jam band feel to them, full of angsty energy and wailing instrumental work.

Also, I gotta mention that the new CD from Andre Williams is out. On Hoods and Shades, the New Orleans hell hound himself has transcended his nefarious past and moved into Gil Scott-Heron territory, giving us a slice of street cred and wisdom with almost a beatnik poet delivery.

My interview guest on the live show this week is Jason Alexander. He and his band, the Stedpsiders are at the top of the FAR charts these days with a very fine CD of straight up honky tonk. As always locals can tune into the live show on WCOM in Chapel Hill/Carrboro and everyone else can tune into the webcast.

A couple of logistical announcements. In an attempt to simplify the madness that is my weekly routine, I have decided to drop the Live365.com station. The weekly rotation will continue to be available for full listening on spotify.com. See the header of this newsletter for the relevant links. I’m kinda sad to be leaving Live365.com. They are good folk. Never had a thing to complain about with them. But it’s not free and it takes time and there are commercials in the stream. On the other hand. Spotify is free for me and listeners don’t have to hear commercials. So the decision was pretty simple.

Likewise, I will no longer be publishing the weekly rotation in iTunes Ping? What’s Ping? Exactly my point. If iTunes was paying affiliate commissions on sales generated from my pay lists, I might consider it. But as it stands now, I’m spending time each week for no return.

And lastly, I’m combining the weekly newsletter with the WCOM play list post. Again, to save a little bit of time each week. But also to keep the web site from being quite so cluttered.

On episode 75 of the Taproot Podcast, Laurie MacAllister, Abbie Gardner, and Molly Venter of Red Molly talk about their music backgrounds, the appeal of female trios, the excitement of playing Merlefest, the appeal their music has for the NYC coffeehouse crowd, and the stories behind three of their songs on the CD Light In The Sky.

I tried to think of something to say to commemorate the 300th Taproot Rotation. Taproot Radio has gone through numerous incarnations starting from my show on WXDU, the Duke student station. Moved to WCOM, added the podcast, added the webcast, added the weekly newsletter. But at the end of the day, it’s all about sharing good music with as many people as I can. The thing I can say about getting up to my 300th rotation is that I’m happy to have done it.

Dig Deep,
Calvin

Taproot Road Song

You gotta like a song that starts out with an old-timey acoustic piano riff which leads into power chord driven guitars and blaring trumpets and that’s what you get from Lucero’s “Like Lightening” from their Women & Work CD.

Recent Podcast Episodes

Episode 71 – John Lilly talks about meeting Bill Kirchen and Bill’s help on his most recent CD, Cold Comfort; how he funded the CD by winning a songwriting contest; working at the Country Music Hall of Fame and getting to visit “the cathedral of Country Music”; his yearly Hank Williams Tribute show; and introduces us to three songs on his Cold Comfort CD.
Episode 72, Lee Briante of The Far West talks about the importance of having video and internet media available for today’s audience; how it made him feel to move to Los Angeles; and how recording in an American Legion hall brought their debut self-titled CD to life.

Recent Adds

tenderhook / Michael Rank and Stag / Kin [Disc 1] / 4:26
on the bleed / Michael Rank and Stag / Kin [Disc 1] / 4:52
straw man / Michael Rank and Stag / Kin [Disc 1] / 3:24
Sea Measures / Michael Rank and Stag / Kin [Disc 2] / 4:25
Gypsy Django / Humming House / Humming House / 2:51
Boy Who Doesn’t Exist / Stephanie Fagan / Heart Thief / 4:52
I Can Tell The World About This / Sankofa / The Uptown Strut / 2:16
Curveball / Duane Eddy / Road Trip / 3:33
Back To Santa Rosa / Carolann Ames / Laurel Canyon Road / 3:40
Dirt / Andre Williams / Hoods and Shades / 3:13
Jaw Dropper / Andre Williams / Hoods and Shades / 2:06
Hu-matic Man / Andre Williams / Hoods and Shades / 3:13
The Train That’s Bound For Glory / Garrison Starr / Amateur / 3:41
Angel Of Death / New Country Rehab / New Country Rehab / 2:52
Bird / Chris Castle / Last Bird Home / 1:47
Trees Fall Every Day / Chris Castle / Last Bird Home / 3:10
Dirty Water / Chris Castle / Last Bird Home / 4:21
On My Way Downtown / Lucero / Women & Work / 4:29
Women & Work / Lucero / Women & Work / 3:07
Juniper / Lucero / Women & Work / 4:44
Sometimes / Lucero / Women & Work / 4:53
Like Lightning / Lucero / Women & Work / 4:15

This Week’s Rotation

“Restless” on iTunes
Taproot Song Of The Week on Spotify

Women & Work / Lucero / Women & Work / 3:07
Trees Fall Every Day / Chris Castle / Last Bird Home / 3:10
Dirt / Andre Williams / Hoods and Shades / 3:13
tenderhook / Michael Rank and Stag / Kin [Disc 1] / 4:26
Makin’ Time / Westbound / Blackjack Road / 2:54
After the Game / Maynard and the Musties / Cheap Cigar / 3:17
Babe I Ain’t Perfect / Mike June & The Wilson Street Refugees / Exile On Wilson Street / 3:19
Try / Joel Dasilva And The Midnight Howl / Joel Dasilva And The Midnight Howl / 2:35
Lessons / Drew Nelson / Tilt-A-Whirl / 4:13
Come On Back To Me / Jackstraw / Sunday Never Comes / 3:08
Fool’s Gold / The Damn Quails / Down the Hatch / 4:15
Reckoning Lament / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 3:11
Home / Thieving Birds / Thieving Birds / 4:43
Songbrd / Randy Thompson / Collected / 4:08
Worry B Gone / Hayes Carll / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 1] / 3:49
Bitter, Drunk & Cold. mp3 / The Far West / The Far West / 2:32
C’mon / Hymn For Her / Lucy & Wayne And The American Stream / 3:13
Ode To Misery / Paladino / Paladino / 2:27
You’re Through Fooling Me / Patty Loveless A/ The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams / 2:06
Marginalized / The Gourds / Old Mad Joy / 5:31
Gypsy Django / Humming House / Humming House / 2:51
I Can Tell The World About This / Sankofa / The Uptown Strut / 2:16
Little Elvis & Fat Cat Eddie / Doug Prescott / The Journey & The Deep Blue Sea / 3:15
Boy Who Doesn’t Exist / Stephanie Fagan / Heart Thief / 4:52
Curveball / Duane Eddy / Road Trip / 3:33
Like Lightning / Lucero / Women & Work / 4:15
The Slummer The Slum / Steve Cropper & Buddy Miller / Dedicated – A Salute To The 5 Royales / 3:12
I’ve Been Loving You Too Long / Otis Redding / ARB 6: 1965-1967 / 3:15
She / Gram Parsons / Sacred Hearts And Fallen Angels: The Gram Parsons Anthology (Disc 2) / 4:59
Let Me Be A Woman / Brenda Varner / Sweet Sounds Of Muscle Shoals: Vol. 1-Tear Stained Soul / 3:15
Feel Good Again / Charlie Feathers / Get With It: Essential Recordings (1954-69) [Disc 2] / 8:16
Wildisde / Mark Lennon / Down The Mountain / 4:35
Mama Don’t / Jon Doe with Dave Alvin & Veronica Jane / This Is Americana Volume 2 / 2:48
Walkin On My Dreams / Hacienda Brothers / This Is Americana Volume 2 / 3:39
Suppose Tonight Would Be Our Last / The Two Dollar Pistols & Tift Merrit / The Two Dollar Pistols With Tift Merritt / 2:43
Sin City / Clive Gregson & Boo Hewerdine / Conmemorativo | A Tribute To Gram Parsons / 5:09
Wayward Son / Adam Klein / Wounded Electric Youth / 4:05
I Don’t Like Half The Folks I Love / Paul Thorn / Pimps & Preachers / 4:21
Hate It Here / Wilco / Sky Blue Sky / 4:34
I’m Just A Nobody / Freddy Love / The Soul Side Of The Street – The Hadley Murrell Story: 1964-1972 / 2:38
My Baby Loves the Secret Agent / The Detroit Cobras / Baby / 2:00
Sugar Bee / Sir Douglas Quintet / The Prime of Sir Douglas Quintet / 2:19
Flashback Blues / John Prine / John Prine / 2:32
She Lives Up The Street / The Silos / Cuba / 3:13
Poke Salad Annie / Captain Luke and Cool John / Outsider Lounge Music / 4:49
All The Time / Elizabeth Cook / Americana Music Awards Sampler / 2:54
Naked Eye / Luscious Jackson / Fever In Fever Out / 4:41
Watch Yourself / Bucktown Kickback / Speakeasy / 4:08
The Mercenary Song (3:01) / Cory Morrow / The Cory Morrow Band / 3:01
I’m Gone / Pieta Brown / Mercury / 2:21
Stick On You / Otis Taylor / White African / 3:31

This Week’s WCOM Play List

Interview Guest: Jason Alexander and the Stepsiders

Like Lightning / Lucero / Women & Work / 4:15
tenderhook / Michael Rank and Stag / Kin [Disc 1] / 4:26
Ode To Misery / Paladino / Paladino / 2:27
Bitter, Drunk & Cold. mp3 / The Far West / The Far West / 2:32
Makin’ Time / Westbound / Blackjack Road / 2:54
Come On Back To Me / Jackstraw / Sunday Never Comes / 3:08
Dirt / Andre Williams / Hoods and Shades / 3:13
Suppose Tonight Would Be Our Last / The Two Dollar Pistols & Tift Merrit / The Two Dollar Pistols With Tift Merritt / 2:43
I’m Gone / Pieta Brown / Mercury / 2:21
I’ve Been Loving You Too Long / Otis Redding / ARB 6: 1965-1967 / 3:15
Babe I Ain’t Perfect / Mike June & The Wilson Street Refugees / Exile On Wilson Street / 3:19
Reckoning Lament / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 3:11
Trees Fall Every Day / Chris Castle / Last Bird Home / 3:10
You’re Through Fooling Me / Patty Loveless / The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams / 2:06
I Don’t Like Half The Folks I Love / Paul Thorn / Pimps & Preachers / 4:21
My Baby Loves the Secret Agent / The Detroit Cobras / Baby / 2:00
After the Game / Maynard and the Musties / Cheap Cigar / 3:17

Taproot Road Song #300 – “Like Lightening” by Lucero

calvin — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 22:12:14 +0000

You gotta like a song that starts out with an old-timey acoustic piano riff which leads into power chord driven guitars and blaring trumpets and that’s what you get from Lucero‘s”Like Lightening” from their Women & Work CD.

WCOM Play List for Feb 13, 2012

calvin — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:00:14 +0000

Howdy,

I’m happy to be adding Maynard and the Musties into rotation this week. Reminds me of the Felice Brothers, you know, before they went off the deep end. Also featuring one of my all time favorite and much under appreciated soul singers, Ruby Johnson.

My interview guest this week is Jon Neufeld from Jackstraw. Woo!

As usual, local listeners can tune into WCOM 103.5 FM and everyone else can tune into the WCOM webcast.

Cheap Cigar / Maynard and the Musties / Cheap Cigar / 4:00
Sorry Times / Trailer Bride / Trailer Bride / 3:12
When My Love Comes Down / Ruby Johnson / Stax 1959-1968 #6 / 2:48

*** interview guest Jon Neufeld from Jackstraw ***

How Does A Crow Fly / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 2:36
I Don’t Want To Take A Chance / Mary Wells / The Ultimate collection / 2:48
Nothing / The Far West / The Far West / 2:38
Runnin’ With The Fools / Two Dollar Pistols / Hands Up! / 3:08
How Many Times Have You Broken My Heart? / Norah Jones / The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams / 3:32
Blue Eyes / Uncle Tupelo / Conmemorativo | A Tribute To Gram Parsons / 2:59
Say It / Steve Cropper & Bettye LaVette / Dedicated – A Salute To The 5 Royales / 2:25
The Prisoner / Mike June & The Wilson Street Refugees / Exile On Wilson Street / 3:33
Somethin’ in the Water / Westbound / Blackjack Road / 2:48
For All I Know / James McMurtry / It Had To Happen / 3:58
Willie And Laura Mae Jones / Tony Joe White / The Best Of Tony Joe White (Featuring Polk Salad Annie) / 4:57
Dirtfloorcracker / Mofro / Lochloosa / 3:37
The Dirty Boogie / The Brian Setzer Orchestra / The Dirty Boogie / 3:14

Cheap Cigar by Maynard and the Musties

calvin — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:03:19 +0000

Imagine a band that has had a little too much to drink and has listened to a little too much Felice Brothers and you’d come pretty close to Maynard and the Musties. The music on Maynard and the Musties’ Cheap Cigar is loose and worn and boozy. Every note is a surprise. Every line is sad but true. This is highly recommended as good hanging out and drinking music. Their CD is not yet on iTunes but will be soon. Meanwhile you can hear cuts from it on their band camp site.

Road Song 299: “Restless” by Langhorne Slim

calvin — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:05:25 +0000

Langhorne Slim has an infectious optimism, even when he’s singing the blues. I don’t know how he manages to do that. I think it’s something about the earnestness in his voice and this week’s road song, “Restless” is a great example.

Langhorne Slim – “Restless” from Matthew Achterberg on Vimeo.

TPR#75 Red Molly – Interview and Music

calvin — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 05:00:11 +0000

Laurie MacAllister, Abbie Gardner, and Molly Venter of Red Molly talk about their music backgrounds, the appeal of female trios, the excitement of playing Merlefest, the appeal their music has for the NYC coffeehouse crowd, and the stories behind three of their songs on the CD Light In The Sky.

TPR#75 Red Molly – Interview and Music (MP3)

Sponsor

Red Molly’s Light In The Sky on iTunes

Show Notes:

Red Molly’s Web Site

Red Molly Interview Recap

Laurie MacAllister introduces herself. Laurie says that singing was the thing she was most interested when he was a little girl. When she was 28, she was in a corporate job but decided to leave that job to pursue being a singer/songwriter. About 6 years later she met Abbie at a folk festival and formed Red Molly. Laurie talks about how supportive her friends were when she decided to leave her job and start in music. Laurie talks about how she’d been doing coffee house gigs for a while before she left and her friends and co-workers would come to her shows. And when she announced to her co-workers that she was leaving her corporate job to pursue music, she received 40-50 emails of support from them. Laurie said she printed all of them out and she still has them to this day.

Abbie Gardner introduces herself. She says she has her parents to thank for getting into music. Her father is a jazz musician, playing piano and trombone in Dixieland bands. Abbie talks about how her first foray into music was classical flute but how she liked to interpret pieces too much to be a classical musician. She worked for a while as an occupational therapist while she discovered song writing and guitar. Eventually she fell in love with the dobro, which is still her favorite instrument.

Molly Venter introduces herself. Her mom was the musician in the family.Her mom taught her and her brother their first chords and they would harmonize together. Right after college she mad a solo album and moved to Austin to jump into the scene there. She put out some more albums and did some touring, living out of her van. She opened for Red Molly several times and they asked her to join the band when they had an opening in their line-up.

Laurie MacAllister talks about how audiences love female trios and even though you can name a few of trios there aren’t that many of them. Red Molly stands out from the usual thousands of solo singer/songwriters due to the interplay of their voices which the audiences really like.

Laurie MacAllister introduces “Walk Beside Me.” It’s a song that Abbie introduced her to from an album called Real Time by Tim O’Brien and Darrell Scott. Back in 2005 or 2006 Abbie played the CD for Laurie as they were traveling around and “Walk Beside Me” was one of songs they both loved. The theme of the song is “Walk Beside Me until our pathways do divide.” They changed the word “brother” to “sister” and the song became applicable to the band.

[plays "Walk Beside Me"]

Laurie talks about doing shows in the New York City area. She said that you might not expect folks in that area to like their rootsy, almost country sound, but they do. For one thing there is so much variety in that area you can find an audience for almost anything. That, combined with the energy and the fun in their shows, they were able to build up a following. The band found that doing a fun, high energy show works regardless of whether you are playing to an NYC crowd or a bluegrass festival and so they don’t have to change their shows much for different types of gigs.

Abbie Gardner introduces the song “Hello, Goodbye,” which is a song she wrote with her father. On this song, she’d written the melody and the bridge and all the words, but she was stuck on the chord progression. She was stuck because the song had a “swingy” feel to it and she hadn’t written that kind of song before. She took it to her dad because that’s the type of music he performs. He sat down at his old stand-up piano and she started playing the song. He was able to immediately pick up on it and developed the chord progression for her. They had never co-written songs before and so that was fun for her. Her father plays on this track as well as some other tracks from Light In The Sky.

[plays "Hello, Goodbye"]

Abbie Gardner talks about playing Merlefest in 2010 and 2011. She talks about standing back stage and being mere feet away from Jerry Douglas playing his with Omar Hakim on drums and Viktor Krauss on bass. It was a special set that they were plying for the festival. So there are many performances and artist combinations you don’t get the hear anywhere else. Abbie talks about how they enjoyed and were honored to have Dr. Greg Liszt, the banjo player from Crooked Still play with them on stage. They got a kick out of seeing themselves on the big jumbo TV screens at the event.

Abbie talks about some of the other festival highlights of theirs including the Sisters Folk Festival in Oregon, the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Festival, and of course the Falcon Ridge Festival where they formed. Abbie talks about how they started out just playing at the camp site and then they entered the new artist competition and won and then they earned a Saturday slot on the main program. Abbie also just found out they will be playing the RockyGrass Festival in Colorado and she is excited about that one because she used to go the the academy they have the week before the festival to learn from some of the dobro greats.

Molly introduces “Hold It All.” This is a song she wrote shortly after joining the band. She wrote this song thinking about “how you can get a dose of really wonderful stuff and a dose of some not so wonderful stuff all on the same day sometimes and how you can feel all of it all at once.”

[plays "Hold It All"]

Molly talks about how the usual way they work is that they write songs individually and bring them to the group and it’s not until they start working out the harmonies that they can determine if a song is going to work for them or not. But more recently, Abbie has done quite a bit of co-writing and Molly has been dabbling in co-writing as well. The band is starting to work toward doing more co-writing together.

Get More!

The episode index page lists the guests for all episodes and has links to the episode pages.
You can receive email notifications of future episodes by signing up for the free Taproot News email newsletter.
Taproot Radio Podcast page on iTunes so you can subscribe in iTunes
Subscription page for other podcast players
Taproot Radio Home Page

Legal

Feedback

If you have any feedback for this episode or any other episode, please send mail to feedback@taprootradio.com.

Taproot Radio News #299

calvin — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 14:09:08 +0000

Rotation #299, February 13, 2012

read: http://www.taprootradio.com

listen: http://www.live365.com/stations/cspowers?play=1
live: Monday nights at 9pm eastern on WCOM: http://www.wcomfm.org
feedback: director@taprootradio.com

Howdy,

On episode 74 of the Taproot Podcast, Lucy Tight and Wayne Waxing from Hymn For Her, how they met and started making music together; their evolution from folk duo to lo-fi rock band; and recording in their airstream trailer.

Speaking of the podcast, I’m happy to announce that the North Carolina Hops and Roots Festival is a sponsor for the podcast again this year. This festival celebrates local beer, wine, food, and music and I’m proud to be associated with it. Check them out if you are in the area.

I’m drowning in CD submissions these days and it’s always interesting to see what people do to make their submission stand out. I have more branded beer bottle openers, stickers, post cards, refrigerator magnets, etc etc than I can shake a stick at. Some folks tie up their CDSs in ribbon as if it’s a precious gift. Others include hand written notes from the musicians. It’s all appreciated. But don’t forget the basics. This week I received a CD that showed promise, at least based on the packaging. But there was no CD in the case! Oops!

And while I’m on the subject. I heartily endorse electronic distribution of review copies. Big fan. But please please, make sure the meta data is attached to the MP3 files using MP3 tags so I can eaily import it into my music management system. Thanks and keep the good music coming!

Dig Deep,
Calvin

Taproot Road Song 299

Recent Podcast Episodes

Episode 70 – Lydia Loveless talks about how much she enjoyed going into the sound booth to “scream until I almost passed out” when recording her CD, Indestructible Machine; her admiration for the songwriting of Sunny Sweeney and the guitar work of James Wilsey; her advice to aspiring artists; and why punk rock wasn’t a rebellion for her.

Recent Adds

Finished With You / Ashley Robertson / Finished With You / 4:37
Uphill / Julie Lee and the Baby Daddies / Julie Lee and the Baby Daddies / 4:44
Today Ain’t Too Late / Planetary Nights / Today Ain’t Too Late / 3:00
Mocha Jaydene / Planetary Nights / Today Ain’t Too Late / 4:36
Rollin’ On Again / Planetary Nights / Today Ain’t Too Late / 3:38
Cheap Cigar / Maynard and the Musties / Cheap Cigar / 4:00
Rock This Little Boat / Maynard and the Musties / Cheap Cigar / 3:13
Pretty & Cryin’ / Maynard and the Musties / Cheap Cigar / 4:41
After the Game / Maynard and the Musties / Cheap Cigar / 3:17
Makin’ Time / Westbound / Blackjack Road / 2:54
Delta River Line / Westbound / Blackjack Road / 3:42
Somethin’ in the Water / Westbound / Blackjack Road / 2:48
Things We Dare Not Tell / Kath Buckell / Faces Do Not Change / 4:16

This Week’s Rotation

Somethin’ in the Water / Westbound / Blackjack Road / 2:48
Cold Dog Soup / James McMurtry / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 1] / 3:48
“Baby Doll” / Charlie Gracie / “Baby Doll” Single / 3:05
Cheap Cigar / Maynard and the Musties / Cheap Cigar / 4:00
Finished With You / Ashley Robertson / Finished With You / 4:37
Jebediah Wilcox / Johnson County / Johnson County / 4:21
Sorry Times / Trailer Bride / Trailer Bride / 3:12
The Prisoner / Mike June & The Wilson Street Refugees / Exile On Wilson Street / 3:33
Uphill / Julie Lee and the Baby Daddies / Julie Lee and the Baby Daddies / 4:44
He’s Got Himself A Young Girl (And He Can’t Keep Up) / The Long Ryders / The Long Ryders Anthology: Looking for Lewis and Clark [Disc 2] / 2:57
Return Of The Grievous Angel / Gram Parsons / Under Your Spell Again [Disc II] / 3:52
Breakdown / Audra Mae and The Almighty Sound / EP / 3:19
Come Home Blues / Mark Pickerel And His Praying Hands / Snake in the Radio / 3:49
Danny and Maria / Drew Nelson / Tilt-A-Whirl / 3:21
I Don’t Want To Take A Chance / Mary Wells / The Ultimate collection / 2:48
Nothing / The Far West / The Far West / 2:38
Runnin’ With The Fools / Two Dollar Pistols / Hands Up! / 3:08
The Dirty Boogie / The Brian Setzer Orchestra / The Dirty Boogie / 3:14
Today Ain’t Too Late / Planetary Nights / Today Ain’t Too Late / 3:00
For All I Know / James McMurtry / It Had To Happen / 3:58
Head to Toe / Pokey LaFarge & the South City Three / Middle of Everywhere / 2:32
How Many Times Have You Broken My Heart? / Norah Jones / The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams / 3:32
If You Want Me To / Deadstring Brothers / Silver Mountain / 4:33
Willie And Laura Mae Jones / Tony Joe White / The Best Of Tony Joe White (Featuring Polk Salad Annie) / 4:57
Take My Possessions / Charlie Sohmer / Dying To Have A Good Time / 3:59
Dirtfloorcracker / Mofro / Lochloosa / 3:37
Boogie Real Low / Joel Dasilva And The Midnight Howl / Joel Dasilva And The Midnight Howl / 3:59
Cranky Mulatto / The Gourds / Noble Bonus Tracks / 3:21
Everything I Do / Whiskeytown / Strangers Almanac / 4:32
Haunted / The Gourds / Old Mad Joy / 3:49
Mexicali Rainsong / Paladino / Paladino / 3:44
Let’s Get Wide Open / Doug Prescott / The Journey & The Deep Blue Sea / 4:10
Montana / Hymn For Her / Lucy & Wayne And The American Stream / 3:37
Muddy Water / Aretha Franklin / Aretha Sings The Blues / 2:32
Ol’ 97 / Randy Thompson / Collected / 4:12
Save My Soul / Thieving Birds / Thieving Birds / 4:45
Things We Dare Not Tell / Kath Buckell / Faces Do Not Change / 4:16
How Does A Crow Fly / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 2:36
Invisible Riverside / Ryan Adams / Ashes & Fire / 4:49
I Hear A Symphony / Diana Ross and The Supremes / The Ultimate Collection / 2:44
I’m The Man Who Loves You / Wilco / Yankee Hotel Foxtrot / 3:56
Wedding Day / Alejandro Escovedo / A Man Under The Influence / 3:54
Blue Eyes / Uncle Tupelo / Conmemorativo | A Tribute To Gram Parsons / 2:59
The Honeymoon / Langhorne Slim / Langhorne Slim / 2:03
Say It / Steve Cropper & Bettye LaVette / Dedicated – A Salute To The 5 Royales / 2:25
Stripped / Lou Ford / Sad, But Familiar / 3:28
Time / The Greencards / This Is Americana Volume 2 / 4:33
Wonder Woman / Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint / The River In Reverse / 3:08
Rockin’ My Life Away (Alternate Take) / George Thorogood & The Destroyers / Greatest Hits: 30 Years of Rock / 3:28
Preachin’ Blues (Up Jumped The Devil) / Robert Johnson / The Centennial Collection / 2:52
When My Love Comes Down / Ruby Johnson / Stax 1959-1968 #6 / 2:48
Another Story / The Damn Quails / Down the Hatch / 3:33

“Montana” by Hymn For Her

calvin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:38:43 +0000

Hymn for Her’s track “Montanna” from Amairican Stream. Hear more tracks from Hymn For Her and how they got together on episode 74 of the Taproot Podcast.

“How Does The Crow Fly” by Lincoln Durham

calvin — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:25:15 +0000

From his CD, The Shovel vs. The Howling Bones performed at Threadgills during SXSW 2011. Hear Lincoln Durham tell the stories behind The Shovel vs. The Howling Bones on episode 73 of the Taproot Podcast.

“Slips” by Hymn For Her

calvin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:35:47 +0000

Lucy Tight and Wayne Waxing from Hymn For Her perform “Slips” from their most recent CD. Hear Lucy and Wayne talk about Hymn For Her’s music and hear other tracks from the CD on episode 74 of the Taproot Podcast.

TPR#74 Hymn For Her – Interview and Music

calvin — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:30:43 +0000

On episode 74 of the Taproot Podcast, Lucy Tight and Wayne Waxing from Hymn For Her, talk about how they met and started making music together; their evolution from folk duo to lo-fi rock band; and recording in their airstream trailer.

TPR#74 Hymn For Her – Interview and Music (MP3)

Sponsor

NC Hops and Roots Fest

Show Notes

Hymn For Her on iTunes

Hymn For Her web site

Show Recap

Wayne Waxing and Lucy Tight talk about how they met and became the band known as Hymn For Her. Lucy was working in a music store In Philadelphia and Wayne would come in and buy strings. And Wayne was working in a sub shop and she’d go in and buy subs. Wayne says they almost called the band “Stirngs and Hoagies.” Wayne says he’d go to the music store and play songs for Lucy there in the guitar store and sometimes she’d sing along with the harmonies. And eventually they started writing sogns together.

They talk about Hymn For Her’s CD “Lucy and Wayne and the Amairican Stream.” CD and how it came to be named that. Wayne introduces “Slips” which is about the dualism one feels when you are living nomadically. Wanting to get off the road when your moving and wanting to get back on the road when you’re home.

[Plays "Slips"]

Lucy Tight and Wayne Waxing talk about recording Hymn For Her’s CD in their Airstream trailer which doubles as their home while they are on the road traveling from gig to gig. Wayne says they like to park at a campground start a fire people will “pull up a log and pass around the guitar.”

Lucy introduces the Hymn For Her’s song “Not,” which is a song about unrequited love. Being in love with someone and not having that love returned. If you listen closely you can hear the rain on the roof of the Airstream trailer. At first they thought they were going to have to stop and wait for the rain to pass. But then they decided that the rain added to the sadness of the song

Lucy and Wayne talk about their deliberate lof-fi sound. For example they have a cigar box car that they feature on almost every track. Before they introduced the cigarbox guitar their music rocked more and became less folky. Lucy talks about how an instrument will tell you where to go musically. Wayne talks about how recording in the Airstream gave it a lo-fi sound. They started as a folk duo but wanted rock out some. So they got a kick drum and a hi hat and that was fun for them. And then they added the cigar box guitar. With those instruments, the overall sound started getting that dirty sound and then they decided that as a result the microphones sounded too clean so they got a bullet mic to go along with the sound. The bullet microphone sounds like an old transistor radio.

Lucy and Wayne talk about one of the heaviest songs on Hymn For Her’s CD, “Montana.” This song is more about someone who is desperate and controlling and won’t give up on the relationship. It’s about some friends of theirs. They talk about playing it to wake up the dead.

[plays "Montana"]

Lucy talks about playing the Americana Music Fest and their upcoming European tour to the Belgium and the Netherlands. It’s their first time over there.

Lucy and Wayne also talk about their kid on the cover the CD and she’ll some times sing “Don’t Fence Me In” at an encor of a recent gig.

Get More!

The episode index page lists the guests for all episodes and has links to the episode pages.
You can receive email notifications of future episodes by signing up for the free Taproot News email newsletter.
Taproot Radio Podcast page on iTunes so you can subscribe in iTunes
Subscription page for other podcast players
Taproot Radio Home Page

Legal

Feedback

If you have any feedback for this episode or any other episode, please send mail to feedback@taprootradio.com.

Taproot Radio News 298

calvin — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:35:21 +0000

Rotation #298, February 6, 2012

read: http://www.taprootradio.com
listen: http://www.live365.com/stations/cspowers?play=1
live: Monday nights at 9pm eastern on WCOM: http://www.wcomfm.org
feedback: director@taprootradio.com

Howdy,

Mike June and the Wilson Street Refugees are out of Austin, playing growly folk rock kinda stuff with a deadhead vibe running through it. Good fot tappers from these guys. I think they’ve been playing gigs for a while, but I think this is their first release.

Joel DaSilva and the Midnight Howl also hit my radar this week with some straight-forward, hard hitting, modern New Orleans style blues. It has a late night rock ballad vibe in a lot of the songs. Their self-titled release came out last year and deserves more attention.

On episode 73 of the Taproot Podcast, Lincoln Durham talks about his residency at Gruene Hall, why he can’t write love songs, his long path from playing fiddle to Son House and Fred McDowell, and why he wrote a creepy songs about ne’er-do-well characters playing forty two.

Dig Deep,
Calvin

Taproot Road Song 298

“All In The Pack” by The Gourds. Long time listeners to Taproot Radio know that The Gourds are my favorite bar band, ever, period. No debate. And some of their songs have a great travelin’ feel to them. Case in point, “All In The Pack.” Jimmy Smith is in rare form with obtuse lyrics that I think are about being accused of smuggling. But the thing that moves the song on down the road is the fiddle my Max Johnston and the accordion by Claude Bernard. These two instruments just keep pushing each other in the song and I love it.

Recent Podcast Episodes

Episode 69 – Cam Penner talks about his motivation for writing songs when he was younger, his roadtrip across North America, getting stopped by the police, his time with Jesus People USA, and how he set up the recording of his latest CD, Gypsy Summer.

Recent Adds

Promised Land / Drew Nelson / Tilt-A-Whirl / 3:38
Danny and Maria / Drew Nelson / Tilt-A-Whirl / 3:21
Lessons / Drew Nelson / Tilt-A-Whirl / 4:13
Hangin On / Joel Dasilva And The Midnight Howl / Joel Dasilva And The Midnight Howl / 2:39
Try / Joel Dasilva And The Midnight Howl / Joel Dasilva And The Midnight Howl / 2:35
Boogie Real Low / Joel Dasilva And The Midnight Howl / Joel Dasilva And The Midnight Howl / 3:59
The Prisoner / Mike June & The Wilson Street Refugees / Exile On Wilson Street / 3:33
Babe I Ain’t Perfect / Mike June & The Wilson Street Refugees / Exile On Wilson Street / 3:19
Miss Lavelle White Blues / Mike June & The Wilson Street Refugees / Exile On Wilson Street / 3:33
Let’s Get Wide Open / Doug Prescott / The Journey & The Deep Blue Sea / 4:10
Little Elvis & Fat Cat Eddie / Doug Prescott / The Journey & The Deep Blue Sea / 3:15

This Week’s Rotation

Another Lost Highway / Arty Hill and the Long Gone Daddys / Another Lost Highway / 4:30
Worried Life / Asie Payton / Worried / 4:05
Breakdown / Audra Mae and The Almighty Sound / EP / 3:19
Girl From A Pawnshop / The Black Crowes / Three Snakes And One Charm / 6:18
Them Eyes / The Black Keys / The Big Come Up / 2:23
Tell Me / Catfish Haven / For A Decade Of Sin: 11 Years Of Bloodshot Records / 3:44
“Baby Doll” / Charlie Gracie / “Baby Doll” Single / 3:05
The Unreliable Taxi / Chuck Brodsky / Tulips For Lunch / 4:04
Better Place To Stop / The Damn Quails / Down the Hatch / 3:20
Is A Bluebird Blue / Dan Penn / Junkyard Junky / 3:29
Ya Ya Ya (Looking for My Baby) / The Detroit Cobras / Baby / 2:28
Promised Land / Drew Nelson / Tilt-A-Whirl / 3:38
All These Things / Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint / The River In Reverse / 4:07
I’ll Never Drink Again / The Far West / The Far West / 3:12
Baby’s Got A Dream / Girls Guns And Glory / Sweet Nothings / 3:46
All In The Pack / The Gourds / Noble Creatures / 2:53
Marginalized / The Gourds / Old Mad Joy / 5:31
Your Still On My Mind / Gram Parsons / Under Your Spell Again [Disc II] / 2:33
Pretend You Love Me Tonight / Grant Langston / Stand Up Man / 3:46
Georgia Peach / Gravy Boys / Working The Angels For Handouts / 2:38
Skinny Days / Greg Brown / The Evening Call / 6:19
Outside Chance / Heavy Trash / Going Way Out / 3:02
C’mon / Hymn For Her / Lucy & Wayne And The American Stream / 3:13
Come On Back To Me / Jackstraw / Sunday Never Comes / 3:08
Wayfaring Stranger / Jeff Hart / Ghosts Of The Old North State / 3:32
My Favorite Picture Of You / Jerry Jeff Walker / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 2] / 3:44
Floorshow / Jo Serrapere / Love Going South / 2:22
Voodoo Woman / Jonathan Jeter / Late To My Own Funeral / 4:05
Streets Of Pocatello / Karen Dahlstrom / Gem State EP / 3:56
Concentration / Kenny Roby / The Mercy Filter / 3:12
Save Yourself / Lewie Longmire Band / Tales Of The Left Coast Roasters / 5:16
Clementine / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 3:23
Years Long Ago / The Long Ryders / The Long Ryders Anthology: Looking for Lewis and Clark [Disc 1] / 3:34
Foot Of Pride / Lou Reed / Bob Dylan The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration / 8:48
It’s A Long Way To The Top / Lucinda Williams / Little Honey / 4:56
Never Had Nobody Like You / M. Ward / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 17 (Disc 2) / 3:10
America’s Blues / Marquise Knox / Here I Am / 4:01
Miss Lavelle White Blues / Mike June & The Wilson Street Refugees / Exile On Wilson Street / 3:33
How Many Times Have You Broken My Heart? / Norah Jones / The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams / 3:32
Try A Little Tenderness / Otis Redding / The Ultimate Otis Redding / 3:52
Mexicali Rainsong / Paladino / Paladino / 3:44
In My Mind I Was Talkin’ To Loretta / Pieta Brown / Remember The Sun / 3:55
Ol’ 97 / Randy Thompson / Collected / 4:12
If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day / Robert Johnson / The Centennial Collection / 2:35
Invisible Riverside / Ryan Adams / Ashes & Fire / 4:49
She Digs My Love / Sir Douglas Quintet / The Prime of Sir Douglas Quintet / 2:46
The Moon Blues / The Soul of John Black / It’s All Connected / 4:29
Say It / Steve Cropper & Bettye LaVette / Dedicated – A Salute To The 5 Royales / 2:25
Some Things You Never Get Used To / The Supremes / The Ultimate Collection / 2:25
Release Me / Thee Shams / Sunday Nights / 4:36
Stuck In Memphis / Thieving Birds / Thieving Birds / 3:05

Taproot Roadsong 298 “All In The Pack” by The Gourds

calvin — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 15:50:40 +0000

My all time favorite twangy bar band. Best blend of country and rock you’ll find anywhere. I think this song is about being accused of smuggling, but I’m not really sure. The music is great whatever it’s about. “All In The Pack” is from their CD Noble Creaturs. This video is a great live rendition at the Rhythm and Roots Festival in Charleston Rhode Island.

“Living This Hard” by Lincoln Durham

calvin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:20:58 +0000

Lincoln Durham performing his song “Living This Hard” at Threadgills in Austin during 2011 SXSW. Hear Lincoln Durham tell the stories behind The Shovel vs. The Howling Bones on episode 73 of the Taproot Podcast.

“Mud Puddles” by Lincoln Durham

calvin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:00:01 +0000

This is Lincoln Durham’s favorite song from his CD, The Shovel vs. The Howling Bones. Hear Lincoln Durham talk about why he likes this song on episode 73 of the Taproot Podcast.

WCOM Play List for January 30, 2012

calvin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:01:17 +0000

This week I’ll be playing new music from The Far West, Lincoln Durham, and Jackstraw. I’ll also be playing some old favorites from Wanda Jackson, Janiva Magness, and the Drive By Truckers.

My interview guest this week is Ace Crayton from the Thieving Birds.

As usual, local listeners can tune into WCOM 103.5 FM and everyone else can tune into the WCOM webcast.

“Baby Doll” / Charlie Gracie / “Baby Doll” Single / 3:05
Funnel of Love (with The Cramps) / Wanda Jackson / Heart Trouble / 2:33
Cave / Hymn For Her / Lucy & Wayne And The American Stream / 2:28
Messin Up / Steve Cropper & Sharon Jones / Dedicated – A Salute To The 5 Royales / 3:05

*** Interview with Ace Crayton from The Thieving Birds ***

Sink Hole / Drive-By Truckers / Decoration Day / 3:27
Never Had A Problem / Andre Williams and the New Orleans Hellhounds / Can You Deal With It? / 2:29
You Were Never Mine / Janiva Magness / Do I Move You / 4:36
Got My Mojo Working / Muddy Waters / His Best, 1956 To 1964 / 2:53
Have You Ever Been Lonely / Paladino / Paladino / 2:16
Better Place To Stop / The Damn Quails / Down the Hatch / 3:20
You’ve Been Lonesome, Too / Alan Jackson / The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams / 3:23
Ashes & Fire / Ryan Adams / Ashes & Fire / 3:49
This Time Around / Randy Rogers / Rollercoaster / 4:34
Just Another Way To Go / Jackstraw / Sunday Never Comes / 2:53
Your Benefit / The Gourds / Old Mad Joy / 4:15
How Does A Crow Fly / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 2:36

TPR #73 Lincoln Durham – Interview and Music

calvin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:30:02 +0000

TPR#73 Lincoln Durham – Interview and Music (MP3)

PSA

Jack Benny PSA on the importance of racial and religious tolerance.

Show Notes

Lincoln Durham on iTunes (Note: The Shovel vs The Howling Bones is not available until January 31, 2012.)

Lincoln Durham web site

Lincoln Durham Interview Recap

Lincoln Durham explains how he came up with the creepy title “The Shovel vs The Howling Bones” for his new CD. He says he doesn’t seem to be able to write a love song. He tried to come up with a way to describe the emotions throughout the CD.

Lincoln Durham talks about his favorite song “Mud Puddles.” because it gives us a hint about where his next CD is going to go. He enjoyed the chance to play some fiddle on this tune.

[plays "Mud Puddle"]

Lincoln Durham talks about the guidance he got from the CD’s co-producer, Ray Wylie Hubbard. Ray told him to emphasize being able to play and deliver a song by yourself and then add stuff to it. So he encouraged him to adopt a finger picking style with the thumb providing a base. Ray told him if you start like that you can feel comfortable booking a gig even if the band can’t show up.

Lincoln Durham took that advice to heart and the next thing he added was a porchboard bass/lo fi microphone, which is something he could also do on his own. Later he added harmonica as well and he already knew how to play fiddle from when he was a kid.

Lincoln Durham talks about how he did a show with Scott H. Biram a few months ago and how he was impressed and encouraged that someone was out there proving that there is a market for this kind of sound.

Lincoln Durham introduces “Love Letters” which is a free download from his web site. He says this one was especially fun to record and that it has a rockabilly-ish feel to it. It’s basic, no bass. mostly him and Rick Richards on drums. This song is about everyone has past lives and relationships that didn’t work out and how everyone “has love letters to burn.”

[plays "Love Letters"]

Lincoln Durham talks about how ended up as a blues man. He started out playing fiddle when he was 4 years old, thanks to the influence of his dad and granddad. He played monthly opry shows from around 7-8 until he was 15, out in a turn of the century school house. Back then it was largely bluegrass. Then he transitioned to guitar and wanted to be the next Hendrix. His father was into Outlaw Country listening to Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash etc. But His guitar interests led him to bands like Led Zeppelin who then pointed him to the early blues men like Son House and Fred McDowell. Lincoln Durham says that now he’s finally playing the music he wants to be instead of imitating others.

Lincoln Durham introduces “Reckoning Lament” This is a song that talks about Fred McDowell, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Robert Johnson, etc. The idea of it came from playing dominoes, especially 42, which he has played a lot of over the years. he had a dream about playing dominoes with ne’er do well characters. The next day he woke up and wrote the song in a single day which is unusual for him.

[plays "Reckoning Lament"]

Lincoln Durham talks about the residency he did at Gruene Hall, which claims to be the oldest dance hall in Texas.

Get More!

The episode index page lists the guests for all episodes and has links to the episode pages.
You can receive email notifications of future episodes by signing up for the free Taproot News email newsletter.
Taproot Radio Podcast page on iTunes so you can subscribe in iTunes
Subscription page for other podcast players
Taproot Radio Home Page

Legal

Feedback

If you have any feedback for this episode or any other episode, please send mail to feedback@taprootradio.com.

Taproot Radio News #297

calvin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 03:35:09 +0000

Rotation #297, January 30, 2012

read: http://www.taprootradio.com
listen: http://www.live365.com/stations/cspowers?play=1
live: Monday nights at 9pm eastern on WCOM: http://www.wcomfm.org
feedback: director@taprootradio.com

Howdy,

Charlie Gracie is one of those masters of rock and roll most kids these days have never heard of. But The Stones have. Graham Nash has. Van Morrison has. He was one of the early American Rock and Rollers to tour Britain in the mid 50’s and has been cited as a key influence by many of the rock legends. This week I received in the mail a CD single promoting a new(?) tune of his called “Baby Doll,” which combines a full on rock and roll sound with an early rockabilly vibe. Was glad to receive it. Not sure if this is a teaser for more Charlie Gracie releases to come, but we can hope.

On episode 72 of the Taproot Podcast, Lee Briante of The Far West talks about the importance of having video and internet media available for today’s audience; how it made him feel to move to Los Angeles; and how recording in an American Legion hall brought their debut self-titled CD to life.

Dig Deep,
Calvin

Taproot Road Song 297

“Messin’ Up by Sharon Jones. Follow the link to hear the song on iTunes or SPotify.

Sharon Jones is a soul goddess and Messin’ Up is a classic soul tune from the Five Royales. In other words a killer combination of music and soul.

Recent Podcast Episodes

Episode 68 – We feature a special audio show about the making of The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams. 13 singer/songwriters were given the opportunity to set lyrics from Hank Williams’ notebooks to music and perform them on the CD. On this show hosted by Alejandro Escovedo, we hear the artists such as Jack White, Rodney Crowell, and Alan Jackson talk about what it was like to “collaborate” with Hank Williams.

Recent Adds

“Baby Doll” / Charlie Gracie / “Baby Doll” Single / 3:05
Whisky Whispers / Nearly Beloved / Where’s Bob? / 4:41
Streets Of Pocatello / Karen Dahlstrom / Gem State EP / 3:56
Save Yourself / Lewie Longmire Band / Tales Of The Left Coast Roasters / 5:16

This Week’s Rotation

“Messin’ Up” on Dedictated: A Tribute To The Five Royales on iTunes.
Messin’ Up on the Taproot Road Song Of The Week on Spotify

Six Days On The Road / Gram Parsons / Under Your Spell Again [Disc II] / 3:13
Ashes & Fire / Ryan Adams / Ashes & Fire / 3:49
Carolina Dreams / Lee Marcus / Grandpa’s Pond / 3:12
Magnolia Wind / Emmylou Harris & John Prine / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 2] / 4:23
Sink Hole / Drive-By Truckers / Decoration Day / 3:27
Whisky Whispers / Nearly Beloved / Where’s Bob? / 4:41
Funnel of Love (with The Cramps) / Wanda Jackson / Heart Trouble / 2:33
Never Had A Problem / Andre Williams and the New Orleans Hellhounds / Can You Deal With It? / 2:29
This Time Around / Randy Rogers / Rollercoaster / 4:34
Two Can Play Your Game / Marquise Knox / Here I Am / 4:06
You Were Never Mine / Janiva Magness / Do I Move You / 4:36
Buick City / Whitey Morgan / Whitey Morgan & The 78s / 3:12
Come See About Me / The Supremes / The Ultimate Collection / 2:42
Good Times / Ray Bonneville / Bad Man’s Blood / 3:55
Ramblin’ On My Mind / Robert Johnson / The Centennial Collection / 2:22
We Don’t Live Here Anymore / Jakob Dylan / Women And Country / 4:24
Here Tomorrow Gone Today / Two Dollar Pistols / Here Tomorrow Gone Today / 3:28
I-95 / John Lilly / Cold Comfort / 3:10
Just Another Way To Go / Jackstraw / Sunday Never Comes / 2:53
Marching To Zion / The Brothers In The Kitchen / Bring It Back Alive / 2:41
Signs / The Avett Brothers / Mignonette / 3:45
Cleaning House / Grandpaboy / Dead Man Shake / 2:32
Mr. Big Stuff / Jean Knight / Stax 1968-1971 #7 / 2:34
Bound to Lose / The Far West / The Far West / 2:41
Cave / Hymn For Her / Lucy & Wayne And The American Stream / 2:28
Have You Ever Been Lonely / Paladino / Paladino / 2:16
How Does A Crow Fly / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 2:36
Got My Mojo Working / Muddy Waters / His Best, 1956 To 1964 / 2:53
Halfway House / Arty Hill and the Long Gone Daddys / Another Lost Highway / 3:55
Over Again (Feat. Zoe Muth) / Eilen Jewell / Queen Of The Minor Key / 4:02
La Mujer / Flaco Jiménez / Tex-Mex Party / 2:20
Messin Up / Steve Cropper & Sharon Jones / Dedicated – A Salute To The 5 Royales / 3:05
Twang This / Randy Thompson / Collected / 3:54
One Way Gal / Jon Shain Trio / The Kress Sessions / 4:06
Pick It Up, Lay It in The Cut / Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings / Dap-Dippin’ With… / 4:08
The Slummer The Slum / Steve Cropper & Buddy Miller / Dedicated – A Salute To The 5 Royales / 3:12
Dancing Queen / The Yayhoos / Fear Not The Obvious / 4:23
Low Down Dog / Honeyboy Edwards / Roamin’ And Ramblin’ / 1:43
Your Benefit / The Gourds / Old Mad Joy / 4:15
Shine Along / The Black Crowes / Before The Frost…Until The Freeze / 4:33
I’m So Proud / Dan Penn / The Man Of Somebody’s Dreams: A Tribute to the Songs of Chris Gaffney / 3:06
Just One More Day / Otis Redding / Deep Soul Treasures 2 / 3:26
Better Place To Stop / The Damn Quails / Down the Hatch / 3:20
My Friend The Devil / Audra Mae and The Almighty Sound / EP / 3:05
Truth! / Ruthie Foster / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 17 (Disc 1) / 3:22
“Baby Doll” / Charlie Gracie / “Baby Doll” Single / 3:05
Always A Friend / Alejandro Escovedo / Real Animal / 3:36
Hell, Yes I Cheated / Johnny Adams / More Dirty Laundry: The Soul Of Black Country / 3:33
House Of Gold / Patty Griffin / Downtown Church / 2:54
Mr. Lonely / Jeff Hart / Ghosts Of The Old North State / 3:33
You’ve Been Lonesome, Too / Alan Jackson / The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams / 3:23

Road Song Of The Week: “Messin’ Up” By Sharon Jones and Steve Cropper

calvin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:38:31 +0000

This week’s road song of the week is from soul diva Sharon Jones who helped out Steve Cropper on his Tribute CD to the Five Royales with a cover of “Messin’ Up.”

I like the Sharon belts out the chorus on this one. If you ever get a chance to see her perform live, do it. You won’t regret it.

WCOM Play List for January 23, 2012

calvin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:00:13 +0000

This week I’ll be playing an Etta James tribute set at the end of the hour and will be playing new music from Jackstraw and the Dan Quails.

My interview guests this week are Lucy and Wayne from Hymn For Her. If you like trailer park rock, they’re the band for you!

As usual, local listeners can tune into WCOM 103.5 FM and everyone else can tune into the WCOM webcast.

The Wallflower (Dance With Me Henry) / Etta James / Gold / 2:59
Fool’s Gold / The Damn Quails / Down the Hatch / 4:15
More Like Them / Lydia Loveless / Indestructible Machine – CLEAN / 4:06
Love Letters / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 2:58

*** Interview with Hymn for Her ***

My Heart Still Stands With You / Jason And The Scorchers / Still Standing (2002 Reissue) / 3:37
I-95 / John Lilly / Cold Comfort / 3:10
Home / Thieving Birds / Thieving Birds / 4:43
Dontcha Lie to Me Baby (Album) / Scott H. Biram / Bad Ingredients / 1:54
Nothing / The Far West / The Far West / 2:38
A Sunday Kind of Love / Etta James / Gold / 3:18
At Last / Etta James / Gold / 3:01
Trust In Me / Etta James / Gold / 3:00
Something’s Got A Hold On Me / Etta James / Gold / 2:50
Almost Persuaded / Etta James / Gold / 3:23
Sunday Never Comes / Jackstraw / Sunday Never Comes / 3:36

TPR#72 – Lee Briante from The Far West – Interview and Music

calvin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:30:26 +0000

Lee Briante of The Far West talks about the importance of having video and internet media available for today’s audience; how it made him feel to move to Los Angeles; and how recording in an American Legion hall brought their debut self-titled CD to life.

The Far West

TPR#72 Lee Briante from The Far West – Interview and Music (MP3)

Show Notes:

Recap of Lee Briante Interview

Lee Briante talks about how no one from the band is from Los Angeles. Everyine moved there from somewhere else. Everyone in the band is an experienced musician from other projects but this is the first CD issued from The Far West.

Lee Briante says some songs on the CD are written by him and some are written by the bass man Robert Black. Lee walks through the CD’s original line up and the band’s current line up.

Lee Briante introduces “Bitter, Drunk, and Cold,” saying it described how he felt when he first go to LA and had to deal with being alone at first.

[plays "Bitter, Drunk, and Cold"]

Lee Briante talks about how that song has a little bit of a Bakersfield sound to it.

Lee Briante talks about the documentary that was made while the band was recording the CD. They had been playing many of their gigs ate a local American Legion hall and he felt like many of the songs came alive in that hall. The American Legion Hall was a visually interesting place so they decided to have a documentary made of the recording. Lee works in video production and they knew the camera man, so they were comfortable with him being there. Lee says these days you have to have a whole collection of media to keep people interested.

Lee Briante introduces the song, “Bound To Lose.” He describes it as a moving song. It’s about packing up your duffle bag and heading out and not being sure where you’ll end up.

[plays "Bound To Lose"]

Lee Briante talks about how the band tried playing “Bound To Lose” a couple of different ways before they settled on the sound. He says that at first they were trying a more bluegrass approach to the song. But when Robert Black switched to electric bass, the song came together better. But they wanted to keep the banjo bits because it gave the song a rolling moving feel. Lee says he likes how the song has a road vibe to it.

Lee Briante describes Dylan, Townes Van Zandt, and John Prine as song writing influences. He talks about “St. James Infirmary” being the first song he ever played in public.

lee Briante talks about hos there is a definite alt.country/americana scene in L.A. and there is a core set of bands that play together once or twice a week.

Lee Briante introduces “I’ll Never Drink Again.” He says he’s trying to boil things down and keep it simple. In this song he limits it to girls names, drinks, and promises that can never be kept.

[Plays "I'll Never Drink Again"]

Lee Briante notes that the band is getting ready to play South By Southwest and is working on putting together some more theatrical, staged videos.

Lee Briante advises independent artists to treat their music like a small business. He says an internet presence is crucial but there are so many online services for managing a band it’s hard to keep up with them all.

Get More!

The episode index page lists the guests for all episodes and has links to the episode pages.
You can receive email notifications of future episodes by signing up for the free Taproot News email newsletter.
Taproot Radio Podcast page on iTunes so you can subscribe in iTunes
Subscription page for other podcast players
Taproot Radio Home Page

Legal

Feedback

If you have any feedback for this episode or any other episode, please send mail to feedback@taprootradio.com.

Taproot Radio News #296

calvin — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 03:34:23 +0000

read: http://www.taprootradio.com
listen: http://www.live365.com/stations/cspowers?play=1
live: Monday nights at 9pm eastern on WCOM: http://www.wcomfm.org
feedback: director@taprootradio.com

Howdy,

The Damn Quails are going into rotation this week with some country rock that takes you back somewhere that you never you came from. Jackstraw caught me by surprise. They’re doing bluegrass, but not their grandfather’s bluegrass. They are doing their own here and now bluegrass. Believe me, that makes all the difference. Several tracks going into rotation this week.

I was sad to hear that Etta James passed away this week. I’ll be doing a tribute set for her this week. I’m glad that she’s getting so much recognition. But I have to say it, “At Last” has never been one of my favorites. Tune in on Monday to hear a set of some of the lesser known Etta James songs that will blow you away.

On episode 71 of the Taproot Podcast, John Lilly talks about meeting Bill Kirchen and Bill’s help on his most recent CD, Cold Comfort; how he funded the CD by winning a songwriting contest; working at the Country Music Hall of Fame and getting to visit “the cathedral of Country Music”; his yearly Hank Williams Tribute show; and introduces us to three songs on his Cold Comfort CD.

Dig Deep,
Calvin

Taproot Road Song 296

This week’s road song is from Audra Mae and the Almighty Sound. “Won’t Grow Up” is sort of your typical rebellion against mundaneness, but Audra Mae does a great job selling the vibe. Truly a crank it up song.

Recent Podcast Episodes

Episode 67 – Jonathan Harkham from the band Paladino, talks about trying to capture the textures of the southern California landscape and latino culture, listening to his mother’s country music while growing up in Los Angeles, and why he chose to cover “Green Green Grass of Home.”

Recent Adds

Voodoo Woman / Jonathan Jeter / Late To My Own Funeral / 4:05
19 Doin’ 20 / Jonathan Jeter / Late To My Own Funeral / 3:35
Breakdown / Audra Mae and The Almighty Sound / EP / 3:19
My Friend The Devil / Audra Mae and The Almighty Sound / EP / 3:05
Won’t Grow Up / Audra Mae and The Almighty Sound / EP / 2:36
Another Story / The Damn Quails / Down the Hatch (Rough Masters from Joe) / 3:33
Better Place To Stop / The Damn Quails / Down the Hatch (Rough Masters from Joe) / 3:20
Fool’s Gold / The Damn Quails / Down the Hatch (Rough Masters from Joe) / 4:15
Mr. Lonely / Jeff Hart / Ghosts Of The Old North State / 3:33
Wayfaring Stranger / Jeff Hart / Ghosts Of The Old North State / 3:32
Come On Back To Me / Jackstraw / Sunday Never Comes / 3:08
Just Another Way To Go / Jackstraw / Sunday Never Comes / 2:53
Sunday Never Comes / Jackstraw / Sunday Never Comes / 3:36

This Week’s Rotation

King of That Thing / Arty Hill and the Long Gone Daddys / Another Lost Highway / 3:59
Swept Avay / The Avett Brothers / Mignonette / 3:55
Sugarfoot / Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 18 (Disc 2) / 3:19
The Gravedigger (Radio Edit) / The Bluerunners / Honey Slides (Radio Edit) / 5:08
The Hennepin Avenue Bridge / Brian Setzer / 13 [Bonus Track] / 3:09
Newborn Blues / Calvin Newborn / It’s All Connected / 8:36
Fool’s Gold / The Damn Quails / Down the Hatch / 4:15
Junkyard Junky / Dan Penn / Junkyard Junky / 4:09
S.O.T. / Danny Barnes / Rocket / 3:15
Daddy’s Cup / Drive-By Truckers / The Dirty South / 5:53
Nothing / The Far West / The Far West / 2:38
Melchert / The Gourds / Old Mad Joy / 2:55
Wake Up (Next To You) / Graham Parker & The Shot / Graham Parker Ultimate Collection / 5:10
No Time To Waste / Hacienda Brothers / Music For Ranch & Town / 4:40
Sunday Never Comes / Jackstraw / Sunday Never Comes / 3:36
Yonder Come The Blues / Jakob Dylan / Women And Country / 4:01
My Heart Still Stands With You / Jason And The Scorchers / Still Standing (2002 Reissue) / 3:37
Sister Ray Charles / JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound / Want More / 3:25
Austin After Midnight / Jimmy LaFave / Favorites 1991-2001 / 4:15
One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer / John Lee Hooker / From Clarksdale to Cleveland Vol.1 The Roadhouse / 2:54
I-95 / John Lilly / Cold Comfort / 3:10
19 Doin’ 20 / Jonathan Jeter / Late To My Own Funeral / 3:35
Love Letters / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 2:58
More Like Them / Lydia Loveless / Indestructible Machine – CLEAN / 4:06
Hannah’s Trading Post / Malcolm Holcombe / For The Mission Baby / 3:26
Operator / Mary Wells / The Ultimate collection / 2:46
Snow Deer / Paladino / Paladino / 2:29
My Mortal Sin / Parker Roads / Youngblood / 2:24
I Want It Back / Pieta Brown / Mercury / 4:57
If You Don’t Love Me, Would You Fool Me Good? / Precious Bryant / Blues Came To Georgia / 1:33
Twang This / Randy Thompson / Collected / 3:54
Homegrown Tomatoes / Ray Wylie Hubbard / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 1] / 3:30
Steady Rollin’ Man / Robert Johnson / The Centennial Collection / 2:37
Ashes & Fire / Ryan Adams / Ashes & Fire / 3:49
Dontcha Lie to Me Baby (Album) / Scott H. Biram / Bad Ingredients / 1:54
Ain’t Much / Scotty Alan / Wreck And The Mess / 1:24
Angel Mine / Sheryl Crow / The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams / 3:36
Messin Up / Steve Cropper & Sharon Jones / Dedicated – A Salute To The 5 Royales / 3:05
Home / Thieving Birds / Thieving Birds / 4:43
Take, Take, Take / The White Stripes / Get Behind Me Satan / 4:23
I’m Lonely (But I Ain’t That Lonely Yet) / The White Stripes / Get Behind Me Satan / 4:20
I’m In Love / Wilson Pickett / The Very Best Of Wilson Pickett / 2:34
Woman On The Interstate / Yarn / Yarn / 3:42
Dead And Gone / Yvette Landry / Should Have Known / 3:15

Taproot Road Song 296 – “Won’t Grow Up” by Audra Mae and The Almighty Sound

calvin — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:11:18 +0000

This week’s road song is “Won’t Grow Up of of Audra Maes EP, an a truely righteous anthem about not giving in to a mundane life. I really get into Audra Mae’s brassy in your face delivery.

“Come and Go” by John Lilly

calvin — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:44:54 +0000

John Lilly sings “Come and Go” accompanied by some wild postcards. This song won the 2010 Rock the Highway song contest (acoustic category). Thanks for voting! More at www.rockthehighway.com. Hear John Lilly talk about this song and others from his Cold Comfort CD on episode 71 of the Taproot Podcast.

“Cold Comfort” by John Lilly

calvin — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:40:09 +0000

Title cut off of John Lilly’s 2011 CD release, recorded at Cherry Ridge Studio in Floresville, Texas. Produced by Tommy Detamore and featuring Bobby Flores on fiddle, Tommy Detamore on steel and tic tac guitar, Floyd Domino on piano, Tom Lewis on drums, Ric Ramirez on bass, and John Lilly on lead and harmony vocals and rhythm guitar. Song written by John Lilly (c) 2011 by Beverly Lane Publishing (BMI). Hear more tracks from this CD and listen to John Lilly tell the story behind the songs on episode 71 of the Taproot Podcast.

WCOM Play List for January 16th, 2012

calvin — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:00:07 +0000

Greetings,

Blues man Lincoln Durham is my interview guest tonight from 9-10pm. Will also be playing new music from The Far West and classic soul from Shelby Lynn

As usual, local listeners can tune into WCOM 103.5 FM and everyone else can tune into the WCOM webcast.

Drop What I’m Doing / The Gourds / Old Mad Joy / 4:17
Bitter, Drunk & Cold. mp3 / The Far West / The Far West / 2:32
Slips / Hymn For Her / Lucy & Wayne And The American Stream / 2:41
Nothing But The Whole Wide World / Jakob Dylan / Women And Country / 3:48

*** Interview Guest: Lincoln Durham ***

Come And Go / John Lilly / Cold Comfort / 4:23
How Many Women / Lydia Loveless / Indestructible Machine – CLEAN / 3:45
Bigtime Blues / Malcolm Holcombe / For The Mission Baby / 4:44
Can A Young Man Play The Blues? / Marquise Knox / Here I Am / 6:10
New River / The New Familiars / Between The Moon And The Morning Light / 3:25
Lonely Mountain / Paladino / Paladino / 4:01
Come On In My Kitchen / Red Molly / Light In The Sky / 3:24
Invisible Riverside / Ryan Adams / Ashes & Fire / 4:49
Willie And Laura Mae Jones / Shelby Lynne / Just A Little Lovin’ / 4:10

TPR#71 John Lilly – Interview and Music

calvin — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 05:30:25 +0000

John Lilly talks about meeting Bill Kirchen and Bill’s help on his most recent CD, Cold Comfort; how he funded the CD by winning a songwriting contest; working at the Country Music Hall of Fame and getting to visit “the cathedral of Country Music”; his yearly Hank Williams Tribute show; and introduces us to three songs on his Cold Comfort CD.

John Lilly

TPR#71 John Lilly – Interview and Music (MP3)

PSA

Jack Benny PSA on the importance of racial and religious tolerance.

Show Notes

John Lilly on iTune

John Lilly Website

John Lilly Interview Recap

John Lilly talks about Cold Comfort, his most recent release, which debuted at the top of the Freeform American Roots Chart. He talks about how the technical production and the fullness of the sound came together and the musicianship of everyone on the CD.

John Lilly talks about Bill Kirchen playing on the CD. He tells the story about how he met Bill Kirchen at a party in the Washington DC area in 2002. So John Lilly introduced him self and talked about how much he liked the Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen era of his music Bill Kirchen invited him to get guitars out and started playing music right away. They’ve been friends for a long time and Bill Kirchen helped him line up the producer and some of he musicians on the CD.

John Lilly introduces “Come and Go,” the track that finance a big part of the CD. He entered a songwriting contest that was being sponsored by Midas Muffler and Spin Magazine. They were looking for the “Next Great Road Song.” So John wrote a travel song. It was an online voting thing. He had to pester all his friends and family and Facebook Friends to vote. He sent out press releases to media outlets to try to get it to be a statewide pride issues and on the last day of voting he surged from #4 to #1 and won it. The prize money helped finance the rest of the CD.

John Lilly talks about his gig as a tour guide at the Country Music Hall of Fame. He says it taught him how to talk and walk backwards. He said it was interesting and tedious. He says it was kind of like a Country Music College. The first two weeks they let him do nothing but listen to music. And John Lilly is interested in early country music. John Lilly described it as “the cathedral of country music.” He was amazed that he could listen to music from his some of his favorites like Molly O’Day, Skeeter Davis, and Jimmy Work.

John Lilly said the most interesting thing he learned while working at the Country Music Hall Of Fame was that Nashville wasn’t always the center of country music. It was a deliberate decision to consolidate the country music industry together so they could pool their resources and stand up to the increasing popularity of rock and pop music. So consolidating in Nashville enabled them to have radio conventions and fan gatherings etc to build it back up. The “Nashville Sound” was part of that to keep country music viable.

John Lilly told a story about giving a tour to a group of fourth graders and Tammy Wynette was one on the chaperons. So he enjoyed getting to ask Tammy about some of the memorabilia. He also got meet people like Kitty Wells, Bill Monroe, and Harold Bradley.

John Lilly introduces the title track, “Cold Comfort.” His co-producer, Tommy Detamore. He lined up the musicians. This cut was recorded Detamore’s studio in Forestville Texas. He knew all the best Texas honky tonk musicians. John told Tommy he wanted to recreate “that Ray Price shuffle” and he knew exactly how to put that together.

John Lilly talked about the harmony on “Cold Comfort” and how they had to tune it to A-flat. He talks about the relaxed aching quality of the vocals for that style of music. It’s not tense like bluegrass. There’s a ringing sound in the formation of vowels.

John Lilly talks about his Hank Williams tribute concert that he does in West Virginia every year. Hank Williams was found dead in Oak Hill West Virginia on New Years day. John Lilly’s day job is editor os the state’s history and folk life magazine, called Goldenseal. They did a big report on Hank Williams’ death because a lot of the people who were involved in reporting and investigating his death were still alive and in the area. (You can parts of the article in the Winter 2002 issue of Goldenseal.) John’s friend Rob McNurlin started to do a Hank Williams tribute in one of the small towns in West Virginia. It turned into an annual event that grows every year. This year it’s on January 7^th in Charleston West Virginia at the Clay Center for the performing arts. (See John Lilly’s tour calendar for details.)

John Lilly introduces “Somewhere In Texas,” It’s a guitar and vocal CD. He slept in Detamore’s recording studio the last night of the recording. And Detamore had to slam the door because it had been raining and the door had swollen. That door slam triggered the opening line of the song.

John Lilly talks about working as an independent artist. He says that on each CD he does try to go through the motions of pitching it to labels, but they always decline. And then he puts it out independently and has success with them. He says working independently enables him to make a lot more money per CD sale than he would with a label. He also talks about how working independently enables him to pick the musicians he wants to work with.

Get More!

The episode index page lists the guests for all episodes and has links to the episode pages.
You can receive email notifications of future episodes by signing up for the free Taproot News email newsletter.
Taproot Radio Podcast page on iTunes so you can subscribe in iTunes
Subscription page for other podcast players
Taproot Radio Home Page

Legal

Feedback

If you have any feedback for this episode or any other episode, please send mail to feedback@taprootradio.com.

Taproot Radio News #295

calvin — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 04:59:39 +0000

Rotation #295, January 16, 2012

read: http://www.taprootradio.com
listen: http://www.live365.com/stations/cspowers?play=1
live: Monday nights at 9pm eastern on WCOM: http://www.wcomfm.org
feedback: director@taprootradio.com

Howdy,

The big music news for me this week is the new CD from Lincoln Durham. He’s got that distorted, heavy, electric, one man blues band sound down pat and some creepy, cathartic, southern rock lyrics to go with it. I’m adding 4 tracks into rotation this week and listing his “Reckoning Lament” as the road song of the week. According to the web site it’s not in stores until Jan 30th. But you can listen to tracks from his CD on the webcast and on the web site.

In other music news this week, I direct your attention to the amazing three disc box set, The Fame Studios Story: 1963-1971. I doubt you’ll ever find a better anthology of the Muscle Shoals Sound than this. Thanks to Rick Cornell for pointing me to it. I’ll be adding virtually every one of the 75 tracks into rotation over the next few months.

On episode 70 of the Taproot Podcast, Lydia Loveless talks about how much she enjoyed going into the sound booth to “scream until I almost passed out” when recording her CD, Indestructible Machine; her admiration for the songwriting of Sunny Sweeney and the guitar work of James Wilsey; her advice to aspiring artists; and why punk rock wasn’t a rebellion for her.

Lastly, I wanted to put in a plug for The Future of Music Coalition. They are a national nonprofit organization that works to ensure a diverse musical culture where artists flourish, are compensated fairly for their work, and where fans can find the music they want. One of their more interesting projects is a research survey to identify how artists are currently making music today. Thanks to Dr. Hugh Turner for pointing it out to me.

Dig Deep,
Calvin

Taproot Road Song 295

As mentioned earlier, Lincoln Durham’s “Reckoning Lament” is this week’s road song. Check out the video at the link.

Recent Podcast Episodes

Recent Adds

Clementine / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 3:23
Reckoning Lament / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 3:11
How Does A Crow Fly / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 2:36
Love Letters / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 2:58

This Week’s Rotation

Breathin’ / Asylum Street Spankers / It’s All Connected / 2:42
Throwin’ Rocks At The Moon / The Backsliders / Throwin’ Rocks At The Moon / 3:51
Houston Don’t Dream About Me / The Black Crowes / Before The Frost…Until The Freeze / 5:04
Smokin’ 100′s Alone / The Bottle Rockets / Not So Loud: An Acoustic Evening With … / 3:24
One Way Through The Door 3:34 / Brian Molnar & The Naked Hearts / Of The Fall / 3:34
03-Can’t Say Goodbye / Cary Ann Hearst / Lions and Lambs / 3:04
No Use In Tryin’ / Choosy Beggars / See The Lovers Right On Time / 3:52
Wine / Danny Barnes / Rocket / 5:08
Nana and Jimi / Dave Alvin / Best Of Yep Roc Singles / 3:22
Evening Blues / Dave Alvin / Blackjack David / 5:33
Bitter, Drunk & Cold. mp3 / The Far West / The Far West / 2:32
No One Knows My Name / Gillian Welch / Soul Journey / 3:16
Drop What I’m Doing / The Gourds / Old Mad Joy / 4:17
Walking On The Devils Backbone / Ha Ha Tonka / Novel Sounds of the Nouveau South / 3:53
So Heavy / HalleyAnna / The Country / 3:32
That Ain’t Right / Heavy Trash / Going Way Out / 3:21
Bumble Bee / Heavy Trash / Midnight Soul Serenade / 1:58
Good To Hear Your Voice / Homespun Remedies / Great Depression / 4:10
Slips / Hymn For Her / Lucy & Wayne And The American Stream / 2:41
You Know That I Know / Jack White / The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams / 3:53
Nothing But The Whole Wide World / Jakob Dylan / Women And Country / 3:48
The Stars Don’t Care / The James Low Western Front / Whiskey Farmer / 4:03
Calling All Angels / Jane Siberry / When I Was A Boy / 5:21
Down To My Last Dollar / Jason Arnold And The Stepsiders / Crazy Things / 2:03
I Am Trying To Break Your Heart / JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound / Want More / 3:34
Come And Go / John Lilly / Cold Comfort / 4:23
The Electric Love Letter / Langhorne Slim / When The Sun’s Gone Down / 3:56
Carolina Dreams / Lee Marcus / Grandpa’s Pond / 3:12
Reckoning Lament / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 3:11
Life On The Bayou / Louis Johnson / Old Friend / 3:43
Passionate Kisses / Lucinda Williams / Lucinda Williams / 2:39
How Many Women / Lydia Loveless / Indestructible Machine – CLEAN / 3:45
Natural Forces / Lyle Lovett / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 18 (Disc 2) / 5:49
Bigtime Blues / Malcolm Holcombe / For The Mission Baby / 4:44
Can A Young Man Play The Blues? / Marquise Knox / Here I Am / 6:10
Once Upon A Time / Mary Wells / The Ultimate collection / 2:29
Goin’ Down / Michael Powers / Prodigal Son / 3:46
New River / The New Familiars / Between The Moon And The Morning Light / 3:25
These Arms Of Mine / Otis Redding / ARB 5: 1961-1965 / 2:32
Don’t Leave Me This Way / Otis Redding / Stax 1959-1968 #3 / 2:58
Lonely Mountain / Paladino / Paladino / 4:01
I’m Gone / Pieta Brown / Mercury / 2:21
Ol’ 97 / Randy Thompson / Collected / 4:12
Sugar And Riley / Ray Bonneville / Bad Man’s Blood / 3:34
Come On In My Kitchen / Red Molly / Light In The Sky / 3:24
Baby Took A Limo To Memphis / Rosie Flores / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 1] / 4:44
Invisible Riverside / Ryan Adams / Ashes & Fire / 4:49
Your Hero? / Scotty Alan / Wreck And The Mess / 3:07
Willie And Laura Mae Jones / Shelby Lynne / Just A Little Lovin’ / 4:10
Shores of Galilee / Shinyribs / Well After Awhile / 4:44
Right Around The Corner / Steve Cropper & Delbert McClinton / Dedicated – A Salute To The 5 Royales / 2:36
Save My Soul / Thieving Birds / Thieving Birds / 4:45
Let’s Have A Party / Wayne Hancock / Hard-Headed Woman / 3:00
Houses On The Hill / Whiskeytown / Strangers Almanac / 2:38

The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones by Lincoln Durham

calvin — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:51:09 +0000

Lincoln Durham

Every time Lincoln Durham plays a track from The Shovel vs. The Howling Bones, an angel whispers in Chris Robinson‘s ear and tells him to get down on his knees and pray.

Tracks Added to Rotation

Clementine / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 3:23
Reckoning Lament / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 3:11
How Does A Crow Fly / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 2:36
Love Letters / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 2:58

Hear Lincoln Durham tell the stories behind the songs from The Shovel vs. The Howling Bones on episode 73 of the Taproot Podcast.

Taproot Road Song 295 – “Reckoning Lament” by Lincoln Durham

calvin — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:25:13 +0000

This week’s road song comes from Lincoln Durham’s CD The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones. He’s got that one-man blues band thing going in a loud creepy song about playing dominoes. Hear Lincoln Durham talk about the story behind this song on episode 73 of the Taproot Podcast. (Available on January 30, 2012.)

“More Like Them” by Lydia Loveless

calvin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:20:39 +0000

A break up song from Lydia Loveless on her CD Indestructible Machine. Hear Lydia Loveless tell the story behind this song and others on episode 70 of the Taproot Podcast.

WCOM Play List for January 9, 2012

calvin — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 22:00:59 +0000

Howdy all,

Great show this week with a heavy metal country rock set spearheaded by Theiving Birds.

As always, the show is on from 9-11pm Eastern. Local listeners can tune into WCOM 103.5 FM and everyone else can tune into the WCOM webcast.

Stuck In Memphis / Thieving Birds / Thieving Birds / 3:05
Do Right / Lydia Loveless / Indestructible Machine – CLEAN / 3:51
Hotel Ghost / John Doe / A Year In The Wilderness / 2:27
Black Creek Risin’ (Album) / Scott H. Biram / Bad Ingredients / 2:53
America’s Blues / Marquise Knox / Here I Am / 4:01
Train Fare Blues / Muddy Waters / His Best: 1947 To 1955 / 2:48
Point Breeze / Marah / Kids in Philly / 2:14
It’s Martini Time / Reverend Horton Heat / Holy Roller / 3:14
Just How Lonely / Southern Culture On The Skids / Doublewide and Live / 3:14
Total Destruction to Your Mind / Swamp Dogg / The Excellent Sides of Swamp Dogg, Vol. 1 / 3:25
I-95 / John Lilly / Cold Comfort / 3:10
When I Get Like This / Steve Cropper & Lucinda Williams / Dedicated – A Salute To The 5 Royales / 2:29
Glory to Glory / Pieta Brown / Mercury / 3:23
Invisible Riverside / Ryan Adams / Ashes & Fire / 4:49
Melchert / The Gourds / Old Mad Joy / 2:55
Sweet Side / Lucinda Williams / Live @ The Fillmore [Disc 1] / 4:45

“Bad Way To Go” by Lydia Loveless

calvin — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:20:18 +0000

One of the most popular tracks from Lydia Loveless’ CD Indestructible Machine. Hear Lydia Loveless talk about his song and others from her CD on episode 70 of the Taproot Podcast.

TPR#70 Lydia Loveless – Interview and Music

calvin — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 05:30:27 +0000

Lydia Loveless talks about how much she enjoyed going into the sound booth to “scream until I almost passed out” when recording her CD, Indestructible Machine; her admiration for the songwriting of Sunny Sweeney and the guitar work of James Wilsey; her advice to aspiring artists; and why punk rock wasn’t a rebellion for her.

Lydia Loveless

TPR#70 Lydia Loveless Interview and Music (MP3)

Show Notes

Recap of Interview with Lydia Loveless

Lydia Loveless talked about writing the songs for her latest release, Indestructible Machine. Some of the songs were written before she signed with Bloodshot. She says that her songwriting didn’t change much after signing with Bloodshot but maybe she edited her swearing a little once she knew she was going to be on Bloodshot and might have some chance of radio airplay.

Lydia Loveless talked about how going into the studio was much more enjoyable this time because she got to pick her own band that she felt good about. She was able to go into the sound booth and “scream until I almost passed out,” which was a lot more fun then doing an over produced CD.

Lydia Loveless introduced “Bad Way To Go”. It was written at an event called Rock Pot Luck, which where this guy in Columbus gets about 40 musicians and puts them together into about 8 bands. Each band has to do two originals and one cover. Bad Way To Go is one she wrote at that event.

Band Lineup Ben Lamb on bass, Parker Chandler on Drums, and Todd May on guitar.

Lydia Loveless talked about how she looks up to Sunny Sweeney. Lydia feels like Sunny she writes very honestly about topics many people would not be comfortable writing about.

Lydia Loveless also talked about how she likes the guitar work of James Wilsey. He is most famous for the guitar work on Chris Isaac’s “Wicked Game.” She likes the surf guitar sound of his and she says’ she’d like to snag him for her next album because she’s like to may a “Chris Isaacy deserty kind of album.”

Lydia introduced “More Like Them,” which she says is “your average break up song.”

Lydia Loveless says she grew up in the country on a farm. She said you had to be creative and entertain yourself out there and singing is one of the things you could do. She says she didn’t start playing music for years and at first she’d fantasize about singing in front of millions of people, singing songs she had not written yet.”

Lydia Loveless said the first punk album she heard was London Calling by The Clash. She says that her mom used to play it every time they got in the car. So for here punkl rock wasn’t about rebelling.

Lydia Loveless introduced the song “Learn To Say No.” This is the song that has the “indestructible machine” line in it. This song is about the social anxiety that has plagued her her whole life. It’s about a time where she was having trouble making herself leave the house and join society.

Lydia Loveless said the tough part of live shows is not being on stage, but waiting to go on stage. She said that her recent show in Chicago made her feel like she had broken into the scene. She talked about how she’s looking forward to touring with her label-mate, Scott H. Biram.

Lydia Loveless says that her advice to aspiring artists is to stay focused on the creative stuff. Hire a good manager to deal with the business stuff for you and stay focused on being creative.

Get More!

The episode index page lists the guests for all episodes and has links to the episode pages.
You can receive email notifications of future episodes by signing up for the free Taproot News email newsletter.
Taproot Radio Podcast page on iTunes so you can subscribe in iTunes
Subscription page for other podcast players
Taproot Radio Home Page

Legal

Feedback

If you have any feedback for this episode or any other episode, please send mail to feedback@taprootradio.com.

Taproot Radio News #294

calvin — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 21:24:28 +0000

Rotation #294, January 9, 2012

read: http://www.taprootradio.com
listen: http://www.live365.com/stations/cspowers?play=1
live: Monday nights at 9pm eastern on WCOM: http://www.wcomfm.org
feedback: director@taprootradio.com

Howdy,

Over the holiday break I had the chance to finally check out turntable.fm. Whoa! You can describe it as a “chat+music sharing” site or a “group listening room.” But neither really describes to good feeling you have knowing you’re in a virtual room of like minded music fans. I highly encourage you to check it out. I’m listed on the service under the name Calvin Powers so send me a message if you see me online. I spend virtually all my time in the room created by Mike Powers (no relation) of Yellow Dog Records. The room is called “Folk/Americana/Blues/Soul – It’s All Connected”.

Speaking of Yellow Dog Records, they have a companion music sampler available featuring the labels artists, most of which you’ve heard on Taproot Radio at one point or another. The CD’s tracks are going into rotation over the next few weeks and you can get the sampler for free with the purchase of any of their CDs. I’ll tell ya, I liked the sampler CD so much I voluntarily paid $5.00 for it even though I could have gotten it for free. It’s that good.

Read on a music industry newsletter that Bobby Purify, of James and Bobby Purify fame passed away just a few days before the new year. So I’ve been playing as many of their songs as I can. They are probably best known for their song “Shake Your Tail Feathers.” But you should also check out “I Take What I Want” and “I Am Your Puppet.” They are among the superstars of classic soul music.

If Gun’s ‘n Roses had decided to be a country band, they might have ended up sounding like Thieving Birds, a band I stumbled across recently. Some of the hardest country rock you’ll hear this year and a welcome relief from string of way too many sensitive songwriter types that have been showing up in my inbox of late. Three tracks from their self titled CD are going into rotation this week.

On episode 69 of the Taproot Podcast, Cam Penner talks about his motivation for writing songs when he was younger, his road trip across North America, getting stopped by the police, his time with Jesus People USA, and how he set up the recording of his latest CD, Gypsy Summer.

Dig Deep,
Calvin

Taproot Road Song

The Far West has been on my heavy rotation list for the past few weeks largely due to the strength of the song, “Bound To Lose,” which reminds me a lot of early Paul Simon with just a little more twang. It has a good traveling song feel.

Lead singer Lee Briante will be my guest on the loive show on WCOM on Monday night, January 9th at 9pm Eastern time. Visit the WCOM web site to listen online.

Recent Podcast Episodes

Episode 66 – Ted Hefko talks about the extremely competitive music scene in NYC and how that’s a positive influence on artists, how Dylan’s early work was a huge inspiration for him, riding the Greyhound Bus to move to New Orleans when he was just out of high school, and learning to “fix his face.”

Recent Adds

Stuck In Memphis / Thieving Birds / Thieving Birds / 3:05
Save My Soul / Thieving Birds / Thieving Birds / 4:45
Home / Thieving Birds / Thieving Birds / 4:43
Songbrd / Randy Thompson / Collected / 4:08
Ol’ 97 / Randy Thompson / Collected / 4:12
Twang This / Randy Thompson / Collected / 3:54
The Stars Don’t Care / The James Low Western Front / Whiskey Farmer / 4:03
One Way Through The Door 3:34 / Brian Molnar & The Naked Hearts / Of The Fall / 3:34
Breathin’ / Asylum Street Spankers / It’s All Connected / 2:42
The Moon Blues / The Soul of John Black / It’s All Connected / 4:29
Darkness in the Delta / Eden Brent / It’s All Connected / 3:21
Paper Sack / Mark Lemhouse / It’s All Connected / 4:07
Chicken Wants Corn / Fiona Boyes / It’s All Connected / 4:04
Snakes in My Garden / William Lee Ellis / It’s All Connected / 3:03
Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me / Mary Flower / It’s All Connected / 4:08
Beer Drinking Woman / Big Joe Duskin / It’s All Connected / 3:21
Resting Place / Terry Robb / It’s All Connected / 3:21
Blues for Big Bill / Chris Cotton / It’s All Connected / 3:23
Pony Blues / Bluff City Backsliders / It’s All Connected / 4:11
Newborn Blues / Calvin Newborn / It’s All Connected / 8:36
Carolina Dreams / Lee Marcus / Grandpa’s Pond / 3:12

This Week’s Rotation

Anchor / Alejandro Escovedo / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 18 (Disc 1) / 3:22
The Love That Faded / Bob Dylan / The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams / 2:30
Kerosene / The Bottle Rockets / Not So Loud: An Acoustic Evening With … / 3:38
When Hepcat Gets The Blues / Brian Setzer / 13 [Bonus Track] / 2:50
Frank’s Tavern / Calexico / The Man Of Somebody’s Dreams: A Tribute to the Songs of Chris Gaffney / 4:28
Tulsa Queen / Calico Moon / When Love Comes Around / 3:45
Someone To Use / Candi Staton / The Ultimate Fame Years Collection / 2:33
American Made Machine / Cary Ann Hearst / Are You Ready To Die / 2:39
Obvious To Me / Charlie Faye / Travels With Charlie / 2:11
Wine / Danny Barnes / Rocket / 5:08
Old Guitar / Daphne Lee Martin & Raise the Rent / Dig & Be Dug / 4:27
Jake / Eric Hisaw / Nature Of The Blues / 3:50
Bound to Lose / The Far West / The Far West / 2:41
I’ll Never Drink Again / The Far West / The Far West / 3:12
Do Right Woman / The Flying Burrito Brothers / Sacred Hearts And Fallen Angels: The Gram Parsons Anthology (Disc 1) / 3:57
Willie And The Hand Jive / George Thorogood & The Destroyers / Greatest Hits: 30 Years of Rock / 4:04
Melchert / The Gourds / Old Mad Joy / 2:55
No Time To Waste / Hacienda Brothers / Music For Ranch & Town / 4:40
Carrying This Heartache / Hooverville / Follow That Trail Of Dust Back Home / 3:14
Wang Dang Doodle / Howlin’ Wolf / From Clarksdale to Cleveland Vol.1 The Roadhouse / 2:19
C’mon / Hymn For Her / Lucy & Wayne And The American Stream / 3:13
To Love Someone (That Don’t Love You) / JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound / Want More / 4:04
Unbreak My Heart / Jo Serrapere / Love Going South / 4:13
Hotel Ghost / John Doe / A Year In The Wilderness / 2:27
Cold Comfort / John Lilly / Cold Comfort / 3:00
I-95 / John Lilly / Cold Comfort / 3:10
Hole in my Shoe / The Johnny Possum Band / Short Summer / 3:32
Time And Place / Lee Moses / Soul Sides: Volume One / 3:06
Sweet Side / Lucinda Williams / Live @ The Fillmore [Disc 1] / 4:45
Naked Eye / Luscious Jackson / Fever In Fever Out / 4:41
Do Right / Lydia Loveless / Indestructible Machine – CLEAN / 3:51
Point Breeze / Marah / Kids in Philly / 2:14
America’s Blues / Marquise Knox / Here I Am / 4:01
No One Said Nothin ‘Bout Dancin / Melissa Ruth & The Likely Stories / Ain’t No Whiskey / 3:02
Lonesome River / Mosey West / Vaca Money / 3:21
Train Fare Blues / Muddy Waters / His Best: 1947 To 1955 / 2:48
Glory Of Love / Otis Redding / Stax 1959-1968 #8 / 2:41
Ode To Misery / Paladino / Paladino / 2:27
Glory to Glory / Pieta Brown / Mercury / 3:23
Wrecking Ball / Quarter Mile Combo / Motels, Gas & Beer / 3:33
Songbrd / Randy Thompson / Collected / 4:08
Blonde Of Mine / Ray Bonneville / Bad Man’s Blood / 4:36
It’s Martini Time / Reverend Horton Heat / Holy Roller / 3:14
Stones In My Passway / Robert Johnson / The Centennial Collection / 2:29
Broken Hearted People / Ron Sexsmith / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 1] / 4:20
Invisible Riverside / Ryan Adams / Ashes & Fire / 4:49
Confession / Sassparilla / The Darndest Thing / 4:09
Black Creek Risin’ (Album) / Scott H. Biram / Bad Ingredients / 2:53
Long Ways From Laughin’ / Scotty Alan / Wreck And The Mess / 3:55
Just How Lonely / Southern Culture On The Skids / Doublewide and Live / 3:14
When I Get Like This / Steve Cropper & Lucinda Williams / Dedicated – A Salute To The 5 Royales / 2:29
Total Destruction to Your Mind / Swamp Dogg / The Excellent Sides of Swamp Dogg, Vol. 1 / 3:25
Stuck In Memphis / Thieving Birds / Thieving Birds / 3:05
I Should Have Known It (Album Version) / Tom Petty / Mojo / 3:36
Cold Hearted Woman / Vince Mira / Cash Cabin Sessions / 2:40
Drank Like A River / Whiskeytown / Whiskeytown: Faithless Street [Reissue] / 2:57

Taproot Road Song 294 – “Bound To Lose” by The Far West

calvin — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 20:57:55 +0000

The Far West has been on my heavy rotation list for the past few weeks largely due to the strength of this song, “Bound To Lose,” which reminds me a lot of early Paul Simon with just a little more twang. It has a good traveling song feel. Listen to The Far West Band lead singer Lee Briante talk about “Bound To Lose” on episode 72 of the Taproot Podcast.

Wilco, Nick Lowe, and Mavis Staples Rehearse “The Weight”

calvin — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 21:46:20 +0000

Enjoy

“Town Called Lonesome” by The Far West

calvin — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:23:36 +0000

The Far West performing “Town Called Lonesome” live at Hotel Cafe. Hear Lee Briante, the lead singer from The Far West band, talk about where they like to perform on episode 72 of the Taproot Podcast.

“Driftwood” by Cam Penner

calvin — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:04:20 +0000

Cam Penner performs Driftwood at a recent in-store at Union Music Store, with John Wood accompanying on electric guitar. Hear Cam Penner talk about “Driftwood” on episode 69 of the Taproot Podcast.

WCOM Play List for January 2cd, 2012

calvin — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:00:01 +0000

First show of 2012 has got soul from JC Broks and The Uptown Sound, blues from Marquise Knox, twang from Paladino, and rock from Girls, Guns, and Glory. Not a bad way to start the new year, eh?

9-11pm Eastern. As usual, local listeners can tune into WCOM 103.5 FM and everyone else can tune into the WCOM webcast.

Hour 1
Bound to Lose / The Far West / The Far West / 2:41
Mexicali Rainsong / Paladino / Paladino / 3:44
Snake Skin Belt / Girls Guns And Glory / Sweet Nothings / 3:32
Be With You / Pieta Brown / Mercury / 2:28
We Don’t Run / Willie Nelson / Songbird / 4:20
The Honeymoon / Langhorne Slim / Langhorne Slim / 2:03
Walt Whitman Bridge / Marah / If You Didn’t Laugh You’d Cry / 3:06
Plaid Coat / The Gourds / Shinebox / 2:09
Bad Way To Go / Lydia Loveless / Indestructible Machine – CLEAN / 2:59
Dear Someone / Red Molly / Light In The Sky / 2:01
Thirty Second Lover / Steve Cropper & Steve Winwood / Dedicated – A Salute To The 5 Royales / 3:55
Ashes & Fire / Ryan Adams / Ashes & Fire / 3:49
Everything Will Be Fine / JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound / Want More / 3:30
Just Someone I Used To Know / The Two Dollar Pistols & Tift Merrit / The Two Dollar Pistols With Tift Merritt / 2:56
Ain’t Much / Scotty Alan / Wreck And The Mess / 1:24
Love Me Through The Pain / Marquise Knox / Here I Am / 3:48
You Got the Silver / The Rolling Stones / Let It Bleed / 2:55

Hour 2

Booty City / Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears / Scandalous / 2:41
Rollin’and Tumblin’, Part 1 / Muddy Waters / His Best: 1947 To 1955 / 3:01
Cave / Hymn For Her / Lucy & Wayne And The American Stream / 2:28
If I Can’t Trust You With A Quarter (How Can I Trust You With My Heart?) / Zoe Muth and the Lost High Rollers / Starlight Hotel / 5:07
Marginalized / The Gourds / Old Mad Joy / 5:31
Oh, Mama, Come Home / Jakob Dylan / The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams / 2:26
Hang Your Head and Cry (Album) / Scott H. Biram / Bad Ingredients / 3:48
So Long Baby Goodbye / The Blasters / Trouble Bound / 3:58
Christine’s Tune (Devil In Disguise) / The Flying Burrito Brothers / Sacred Hearts And Fallen Angels: The Gram Parsons Anthology (Disc 1) / 3:05
So Long Honeybee, Goodbye / Pokey LaFarge & the South City Three / Middle of Everywhere / 3:07
Sugar And Riley / Ray Bonneville / Bad Man’s Blood / 3:34
One More Time / Alejandro Escovedo / With These Hands (Expanded Edition) / 4:06
Rain Crow Bill / Grant Dermody / Lay Down My Burden / 2:17
All In The Pack / The Gourds / Noble Creatures / 2:53
Rockabilly Fever (with Dave Alvin) / Wanda Jackson / Heart Trouble / 3:59

TPR#69 Cam Penner – Interview and Music

calvin — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 05:30:07 +0000

Cam Penner talks about his motivation for writing songs when he was younger, his roadtrip across North America, getting stopped by the police, his time with Jesus People USA, and how he set up the recording of his latest CD, Gypsy Summer.

Cam Penner

TPR#69 Cam Penner – Interview and Music (MP3)

Show Notes

Recap of Interview with Cam Penner

Cam Penner talks about how his latest CD, Gypsy Summer, came together. He says they came together over the past spring an summer. His sweetheart was playing a lot of Al Green and MoTown. Between that and lots of tequila and 8 hours a day in the studio he came up with the music. Back and forth between listening to the music and making his own.

Cam Penner introduces “Driftwood.” This is the first track he wrote for the CD.
Cam Penner talks about growing up in a small Mennonite town in Manitoba. It was a very religious environment. No music except family singing gospel songs.

Cam Penner talks about how he got into writing songs. He wrote songs playing acoustic guitar, writing songs, to be interesting to women when he was around 16 or 17

Cam Penner spent a year traveling North America. He and is girlfriend took a road trip in a van. Left in January in Canada. Traveled from Calgary To Quebec, to New Orleans, To San Diego. The cold was a challenge but they loved it. They learned how to be self-sufficient. He says they stayed at Opryland’s parking lot. They went down to the lower 9th ward in New Orleans. They went to Chicago and many other places.

Cam Penner says his music comes across as “I, I”, but really he sees his music as an expression of the people he’s meant.

Cam Penner introduces “Ghost Car”. He talks about how they got stopped by the cops and were afraid they’d get searched. After that he immeidately wrote Ghost Car.

Cam Penner joined a commune called Jesus People USA. Worked at homeless shelters there to help the commune. He imersed himself in helping the homeless. While he was there, he heard lots of raw stories. Cam says you can hang out with the ultra rich or ultra poor. Cam Penner did that from 18-31 and then took all that knowledge from working with the homeless when he chose to spend a year on the road. Gypsy Summer CD speaks to that simple life.

Cam Penner introduces, “Hey My My My,” he likes the lush background strings

Cam Penner talks about self-producing the CD. He discusses how he does his own tour bookings. Cam talks about renting a ranch house in southern Alberta so far out there was no cell phone reception. He hired some musicians and had just a one day rehearsal before they started recording. Cam talks about this being a cohesive album.

Cam Penner talks about his recent tour to Ireland, UK, Netherlands, and Germany. He enjoys the fact that audiences are quieter and pay more attention to his music and what he has to say.

Get More!

The episode index page lists the guests for all episodes and has links to the episode pages.
You can receive email notifications of future episodes by signing up for the free Taproot News email newsletter.
Taproot Radio Podcast page on iTunes so you can subscribe in iTunes
Subscription page for other podcast players
Taproot Radio Home Page

Legal

Feedback

If you have any feedback for this episode or any other episode, please send mail to feedback@taprootradio.com.

“How Many Times Have You Broken My Heart?” by Norah Jones / Hank Williams

calvin — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 17:35:26 +0000

Nora Jones’ contribution to The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams project in which current songwriters set previously unpublished Hank Williams to music. Hear the story of The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams on episode 68 of the Taproot Podcast.

Taproot Radio News #293

calvin — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 03:08:11 +0000

Rotation #293, January 2, 2012

read: http://www.taprootradio.com
listen: http://www.live365.com/stations/cspowers?play=1
live: Monday nights at 9pm eastern on WCOM: http://www.wcomfm.org
feedback: director@taprootradio.com

Howdy,

2011 was the best year ever for Taproot Radio the site continues to grow and the music is pouring in like never before. I’m excited to jump in to 2012 with both feet.

Alas, not much music has come in this week between Christmas and New Years. So I added a few CDs that fell through the cracks in 2011, including the new Ryan Adam CD, Ashes and Fire, which I thought was a good solid new direction for Ryan Adams. He’s still go the songwriting chops that he’s always had. Also added the new Jakob Dylan CD, Women and Country, which reminds be of the Robert Palmer/Alison Krauss collaboration from a few years back.

I’m starting a new feature for 2012, the Taproot Road Song of the week. Yeah, it’s like you think. Songs that are great tunes to listen while speeding down the road at full blast with the radio turned up. The inaugural Road Song is “Whammer Jammer” and extremely well known and and great example of what I’ll be aiming for. Oh, and it happens to be one of my wife’s favorite tunes. Read below for more details. In future weeks, I’ll be bringing you road songs that are less well known, but just as good. So stay tuned. Got a suggestion for a great road song? Send mail to director@taprootradio.com.

On episode 68 of the Taproot Podcast, we feature a special audio show about the making of The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams. 13 singer/songwriters were given the opportunity to set lyrics from Hank Williams’ notebooks to music and perform them on the CD. On this show hosted by Alejandro Escovedo, we hear the artists such as Jack White, Rodney Crowell, and Alan Jackson talk about what it was like to “collaborate” with Hank Williams.

Dig Deep,
Calvin

Recent Podcast Episodes

Episode 64 – Todd Jagger and JR Harrell from The Border Blasters talk about listening to border radio stations when they were kids, their own radio show, the joys of Texas swing, and their experience recording in Sun Studios with ghosts looking over their shoulder.

Episode 65 – Mary Flower talks about the Piedmont blues as “band in a hand,” how she met Elizabeth Cotten, her square-necked Gibson and when she works it into her shows, playing everywhere from bars to Merlefest, and talks about three tracks from her Misery Loves Company CD.

Taproot Road Song

The first Taproot Road Song is “Whammer Jammer” by J. Geils Band. Read on for more details and enjoy.

Recent Adds

Anyhow, I Love You / Lyle Lovett / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 1] / 3:50
Broken Hearted People / Ron Sexsmith / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 1] / 4:20
Baby Took A Limo To Memphis / Rosie Flores / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 1] / 4:44
Homegrown Tomatoes / Ray Wylie Hubbard / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 1] / 3:30
Cold Dog Soup / James McMurtry / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 1] / 3:48
Worry B Gone / Hayes Carll / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 1] / 3:49
Dublin Blues / Joe Ely / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 2] / 4:24
Magnolia Wind / Emmylou Harris & John Prine / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 2] / 4:23
The Cape / Patty Griffin / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 2] / 3:27
Stuff That Works / Jack Ingram / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 2] / 4:49
Randall Knife / Vince Gill / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 2] / 4:34
Texas 1947 / Robert Earl Keen / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 2] / 3:58
My Favorite Picture Of You / Jerry Jeff Walker / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 2] / 3:44
Anchor / Alejandro Escovedo / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 18 (Disc 1) / 3:22
I And Love And You / The Avett Brothers / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 18 (Disc 1) / 5:08
No Place Like Home / Charlie Mars / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 18 (Disc 1) / 3:04
Midnight Train / Joe Ely / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 18 (Disc 1) / 3:32
Village Inn / Robert Earl Keen / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 18 (Disc 1) / 2:47
Black River Killer / Blitzen Trapper / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 18 (Disc 1) / 3:08
When My Time Comes / Dawes / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 18 (Disc 1) / 5:43
Living For Today / Raul Malo / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 18 (Disc 1) / 3:39
The Bringdown / Bob Schneider / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 18 (Disc 1) / 3:40
Written In Reverse / Spoon / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 18 (Disc 1) / 4:16
The Weary Kind (Theme From Crazy Heart) / Ryan Bingham / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 18 (Disc 2) / 4:04
Thieves / She & Him / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 18 (Disc 2) / 4:04
Sugarfoot / Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 18 (Disc 2) / 3:19
(Hey Baby) Que Paso / The Texas Tornados / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 18 (Disc 2) / 3:33
Natural Forces / Lyle Lovett / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 18 (Disc 2) / 5:49
Laredo / Band Of Horses / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 19 (Disc 1) / 3:15
Come Around / Sarah Jarosz / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 19 (Disc 1) / 3:33
Tree By The River / Iron & Wine / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 19 (Disc 1) / 3:34
Let The Light In / Bob Schneider / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 19 (Disc 1) / 3:34
Back Of The Room / Charlie Mars / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 19 (Disc 1) / 3:45
If I Wanted Someone / Dawes / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 19 (Disc 1) / 4:19
Kmag Yoyo / Hayes Carll / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 19 (Disc 1) / 3:43
Louder Than Ever / Cold War Kids / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 19 (Disc 1) / 2:43
Booty City / Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 19 (Disc 1) / 2:50
Beg, Steal Or Borrow / Ray LaMontagne & The Pariah Dogs / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 19 (Disc 2) / 4:34
Fade Like A Shadow / KT Tunstall / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 19 (Disc 2) / 3:24
Stone Rollin’ / Rafael Saadiq / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 19 (Disc 2) / 3:34
Hallelujah / Ryan Bingham / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 19 (Disc 2) / 4:37
The Cave / Mumford & Sons / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 19 (Disc 2) / 3:35
Fly Away / Los Lonely Boys / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 19 (Disc 2) / 3:34
Adios To California / John Hiatt / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 19 (Disc 2) / 3:53
Barton Hollow / The Civil Wars / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 19 (Disc 2) / 3:19
Every Night Is Friday Night (Without You) / Old 97′s / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 19 (Disc 2) / 2:54
Valentine / Willie Nelson / KGSR Broadcasts Vol. 19 (Disc 2) / 3:07
Good To Hear Your Voice / Homespun Remedies / Great Depression / 4:10
Life On The Bayou / Louis Johnson / Old Friend / 3:43
Dirty Old Town / Katya Chorover / Big Big Love / 3:31
Down To My Last Dollar / Jason Arnold And The Stepsiders / Crazy Things / 2:03
Nothing But The Whole Wide World / Jakob Dylan / Women And Country / 3:48
We Don’t Live Here Anymore / Jakob Dylan / Women And Country / 4:24
Yonder Come The Blues / Jakob Dylan / Women And Country / 4:01
Ashes & Fire / Ryan Adams / Ashes & Fire / 3:49
Invisible Riverside / Ryan Adams / Ashes & Fire / 4:49

This Week’s Rotation

The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams on iTunes

Just Someone I Used To Know / The Two Dollar Pistols & Tift Merrit / The Two Dollar Pistols With Tift Merritt / 2:56
Rubber Chicken Rag / Booka and the Flaming Geckos / The Not So Meaningful Songs In The Life Of Jeremy Fink / 1:47
Sugar And Riley / Ray Bonneville / Bad Man’s Blood / 3:34
Bone Colored Moon / Sassparilla / The Darndest Thing / 3:18
Booty City / Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears / Scandalous / 2:41
Carnival / Eric Hisaw / Nature Of The Blues / 4:43
Country Cool / Shinyribs / Well After Awhile / 3:37
Forever Friend / The Elders / Wanderin’ Life & Times / 3:46
Ain’t Much / Scotty Alan / Wreck And The Mess / 1:24
Mentone, Alabama / Sally Spring / Made Of Stars / 3:30
Rollin’and Tumblin’, Part 1 / Muddy Waters / His Best: 1947 To 1955 / 3:01
Mexicali Rainsong / Paladino / Paladino / 3:44
Rain Crow Bill / Grant Dermody / Lay Down My Burden / 2:17
Big Drops of Trouble / Arty Hill And The Long Gone Daddys / Another Lost Highway / 3:49
Bound to Lose / The Far West / The Far West / 2:41
Cave / Hymn For Her / Lucy & Wayne And The American Stream / 2:28
Gear Jammer / George Thorogood & The Destroyers / Greatest Hits: 30 Years of Rock / 4:34
If I Can’t Trust You With A Quarter (How Can I Trust You With My Heart?) / Zoe Muth and the Lost High Rollers / Starlight Hotel / 5:07
Step By Step / John Lilly / Cold Comfort / 2:32
You Got the Silver / The Rolling Stones / Let It Bleed / 2:55
You’re A Heartbreaker / Elvis Presley / The Sun Recordings / 2:12
Countdown / Blame Sally / Speeding Ticket and a Valentine / 3:54
We Don’t Run / Willie Nelson / Songbird / 4:20
Funky Broadway / Wilson Pickett / Greatest Hits / 2:37
Love Me Through The Pain / Marquise Knox / Here I Am / 3:48
Marginalized / The Gourds / Old Mad Joy / 5:31
Snake Skin Belt / Girls Guns And Glory / Sweet Nothings / 3:32
Stop Breakin’ Down Blues / Robert Johnson / The Centennial Collection / 2:24
The Homeplace / Don Gallardo / When The Daylight Whispers Darling… / 3:10
The Honeymoon / Langhorne Slim / Langhorne Slim / 2:03
Walkin’ With Sorrow / Hank Williams III / Lovesick, Broke And Driftin’ / 2:57
Oh, Mama, Come Home / Jakob Dylan / The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams / 2:26
Walt Whitman Bridge / Marah / If You Didn’t Laugh You’d Cry / 3:06
All In The Pack / The Gourds / Noble Creatures / 2:53
Long Tall Sally / Jerry Lee Lewis / Live At The Star-Club, Hamburg / 1:51
Plaid Coat / The Gourds / Shinebox / 2:09
Hang Your Head and Cry (Album) / Scott H. Biram / Bad Ingredients / 3:48
Rockabilly Fever (with Dave Alvin) / Wanda Jackson / Heart Trouble / 3:59
Rumble Strip / Reverend Horton Heat / Revival / 0:29
Caffeinated Heart / The Carrborators / Caffeinated Heart / 3:40
So Long Baby Goodbye / The Blasters / Trouble Bound / 3:58
Be With You / Pieta Brown / Mercury / 2:28
You Make Me / Jeff Gates Band / You Make Me / 2:46
Anyhow, I Love You / Lyle Lovett / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 1] / 3:50
Christine’s Tune (Devil In Disguise) / The Flying Burrito Brothers / Sacred Hearts And Fallen Angels: The Gram Parsons Anthology (Disc 1) / 3:05
About You and Me / Lin McEwan / When I Wake… / 3:09
Bad Way To Go / Lydia Loveless / Indestructible Machine – CLEAN / 2:59
Before The Next Teardrop Falls / The Texs Wranglers / Adios, Goodbye / 2:43
Cheap Living / Eric Hisaw / Nature Of The Blues / 3:40
Dear Someone / Red Molly / Light In The Sky / 2:01
So Long Honeybee, Goodbye / Pokey LaFarge & the South City Three / Middle of Everywhere / 3:07
Thirty Second Lover / Steve Cropper & Steve Winwood / Dedicated – A Salute To The 5 Royales / 3:55
A Song For You / Gram Parsons / Under Your Spell Again [Disc II] / 5:59
One More Time / Alejandro Escovedo / With These Hands (Expanded Edition) / 4:06
Ashes & Fire / Ryan Adams / Ashes & Fire / 3:49
Everything Will Be Fine / JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound / Want More / 3:30

Taproot Road Song 293 – “Whammer Jammer” by J. Geils Band

calvin — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 02:42:44 +0000

This is the first of the weekly road song’s and hopefully of many to come. So why start at episode 293? Just because it’s part of the weekly rotation. I dunno. Maybe I should start with 1, but then I’d have to keep up with two sets of number. Too much trouble.

In any case, the first Taproot Road Song is “Whammer Jammer” by the J. Geils Band. One of the all time greatest live tunes and arguably one of the tunes that put The J. Geils Band on the map. I love the opening harmonica riff that sets the backbone for the whole thing. I love the acoustic piano riffs and how it builds into the quintessential roadhouse tune. Great tune for driving down the highway and a great tune to kick off the Taproot Road Song series

“Blue Is My Heart” by Holly Williams / Hank Williams

calvin — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 17:32:26 +0000

Holly Williams’ contribution to The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams in which current music artists set previously unpublished Hank Williams lyrics to music. Hear more about the story of The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams on episode 68 of the Taproot Podcast.

“Angel Mine” by Sheryl Crow / Hank Williams

calvin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:28:46 +0000

Sheryl Crow’s contribution to the Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams in which current music artists set previously unpublished Hank Williams lyrics to music. Hear more about the story of the Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams on episode 68 of the Taproot Radio podcast.

“The Love That Faded” by Bob Dylan / Hank Williams

calvin — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 17:25:33 +0000

Bob Dylan’s contribution to the compilation album, The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams in which curent country songwriters set unpublished Hank Williams lyrics to music. Listen to story of The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams project on episode 68 of the Taproot Podcast.

“I’ll Never Drink Again” by The Far West

calvin — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 16:15:46 +0000

The Far West performing their song “I’ll Never Drink Again.” Hear Lee Briante, lead singer of The Far West band, talk about “I’ll Never Drink Again” and others on episode 72 of the Taproot Podcast.

WCOM Play List for December 26, 2011

calvin — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 22:00:42 +0000

Two hour show this week, due to Rick being out sick. No interview guest this week, but I’ve got new music from The Far West, not to mention new music from Paladino, The Gourds, Pieta Brown and much much more.

As usual, local listeners can tune into WCOM 103.5 FM and everyone else can tune into the WCOM webcast.

Hour 1
Bitter, Drunk & Cold / The Far West / The Far West / 2:32
Your Benefit / The Gourds / Old Mad Joy / 4:15
How Many Women / Lydia Loveless / Indestructible Machine – CLEAN / 3:45
You Got a Man Like Me Loving You / Dave Sutherland / On The Waiting List / 4:16
By the Riverside / Mark Viator & Susan Maxey / These Arms / 4:10
Blue Is My Heart / Holly Williams / The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams / 2:43
Have You Ever Been Lonely / Paladino / Paladino / 2:16
She Baby / Heavy Trash / Going Way Out / 2:58
Sister Ray Charles / JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound / Want More / 3:25
C’mon / Hymn For Her / Lucy & Wayne And The American Stream / 3:13
So Many Miles / Pieta Brown / Mercury / 3:03
Water Or Gasoline / Kevin Gordon / Down To The Well / 4:16
Fistwhistle Boogie / Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers / Believe / 2:22
This Ain’t Love / Shoestring Strap / Mudgrass / 4:23
I Don’t Like Half The Folks I Love / Paul Thorn / Pimps & Preachers / 4:21

Hour 2

Hold On! I’m Comin’ / Sam & Dave / Stax 1959-1968 #5 / 2:35
Lonely Hearts / Raul Malo / Lucky One / 3:18
Ruby Elizabeth / Parker Roads / Youngblood / 2:18
Lisa’s Birthday / Drive-By Truckers / Brighter Than Creation’s Dark / 3:20
Let’s Get Shakin’ / Dave Fields / Time’s A Wastin’ / 3:52
Midnight Communion / Delbert McClinton / Cost Of Living / 4:11
Outlaw’s Prayer / Mike McClure / 50 Billion / 3:05
Say It / Steve Cropper & Bettye LaVette / Dedicated – A Salute To The 5 Royales / 2:25
If I Ever Needed Love(I Sure Do Need It Now) / Ruby Johnson / Stax 1959-1968 #7 / 2:24
Peroxide Blonde In A Hopped Model Ford / Brian Setzer And The Nashvillains / Red Hot & Live! / 3:16
Cold Comfort / John Lilly / Cold Comfort / 3:00
Angel / Danny Barnes / Rocket / 3:36
Stop&Go / Mark Lennon / Home Of The Wheel / 3:09
Whiskey Town / Biscuit Kings / Hambones & Trombones / 3:56
Do I Ever Cross Your Mind / Red Molly / Light In The Sky / 3:21
Work / Jeff Gates Band / You Make Me / 3:26

TPR#68 The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams – Radio Feature

calvin — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 05:30:28 +0000

Special audio show about the making of The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams. 13 singer/songwriters were given the opportunity to set lyrics from Hank Williams’ notebooks to music and perform them on the CD. On this show hosted by Alejandro Escovedo, we hear the artists such as Jack White, Rodney Crowell, and Alan Jackson talk about what it was like to “collaborate” with Hank Williams.

TPR#68 The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams – Radio Feature (MP3)

Show Notes

Recap of The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams Radio Feature

Alejandro Escovedo introduces the show:
Hank Williams wrote a lot of songs he never got to record. He kept notebooks of lyrics and song ideas. When Hank Williams died in 1953, the notebooks were locked away for many years. Now 13 accomplished singers and songwriters have been given the chance to complete a Hank Williams song.

Patty Loveless performs “ Your Through Fooling Me.”

There are more tributes to hank than there are Hank Williams recordings. When he died he had only released a few dozen singles. His notebooks contained lyrics for 66 more songs.

Michael McColl is a writer at the Country Music Hall of Fame. He says the Hank Williams notebooks are treated like the lost scrolls and treated with reverence.

Bob Dylan performs “The Love That Faded.”

Mary Martin is a country music industry exec. She felt that every participant in this project must be a songwriter because Hank Williams wrote both lyrics and melodies.

Peggy Lamb is a music publisher says they made sure they protected Hank’s legacy by ensuring that the collaborators didn’t change the idea of the song. They know each of the artists and trusted them but they also put it on paper of the agreement.

Rodney Crowell found a snippet of a gospel that was reminiscent of Hanks gospel alter ego, Luke The Drifter. Rodney found a couplet in the Notebooks called I hope you shed a million tears. He wrote an old style Sunday morning recitation to go with it. He worked with Vince Gil who put it to a Hank Williams waltz. They got Williams’s original steel player Don Helms to play on the session. It was his last session before he died.

Alan Jackson talks about what a thrill it was to be listed as a Hank Williams’ collaborator. He talks about how some of them were cool lyrics but didn’t have the structure of a song. He chose one that had a good lyric structure already.

Alan Jackson performs “You’ve Been Lonesome Too.”

[break]

Hank Williams started playing early. Had his first show at 14 with band the Drifting Cowboys until most of them were drafted into World War II. Michael McColl talks about Hank Williams starting out in Montgomery Alabama and publishing his first song with Acuff Rose Publishing. That was the first publishing company in Nashville. A few years later his wife sent several songs to Acuff Rose. Fred Rose saw the songs and recognized the talent Hank Williams had. Fred Rose became a mentor for Hank Williams and the reason we have Hank Williams songs is because of Fred Rost.

“Lovesick Blues” by Hank Williams

Hank Williams had one of his first hits wiith “Lovesick Blues.” That got him an invitation to the Grand Old Opry. On his first performance he got six encores that night. The Grand Old Opry was made more famous by Hank Williams. They sort of had a symbiotic relationship formany years until 1953 when he was fired for habitual drunkenness.

“You’ll Never Again Be Mine” performed by Levon Helm.

Jack White says Hank Williams represents all that is good about country music. Jack White says Hank Williams almost seems alien because everything about him is all so unbelievable. His looks, his delivery, the stories you hear about him all seem so exaggerated. And Hank Williams had a tendency for exaggeration. His alcoholism was probably due to a rare spine condition that kept him in pain a lot.

Rodney Crowell says there was something very worldly about the simplicity of his deep Alabama message. He was a voice that a son of a sharecropper could relate too.
Hank Williams was the soundtrack to poor Southerners’ lives

“You’re Cheatin’ Heart” by Hank Williams

Alan Jackson says it’s hard to sit down and write like Hank Williams did. He kept it simple, which is tough to do. Rodney Crowell says Hank Williams invented the “Saturday Night Sinning, Sunday Morning Redemption” style of country music that fit the times.

“Sermon On The Mount” by Merle Haggard

Rodney Crowell says no one is more natural in their delivery, and that Hank’s delivery influenced Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan.

Colin Ascott wrote a biography of Hank Williams. He says that when Hank Williams was alive, there were several country singers that were much bigger than Hank Williams was, including Eddie Arnold and Red Foley. They were more popular because they wrote for people who didn’t like country music. They smoothed over their sound to make it more appealing. On the other hand, Hank Williams kept the edge in his sound and that’s why his sound is still popular today while the other guys’ music sounds so dated.

“How Many Times Have You Broken My Heart” by Norah Jones.

Hand Williams’ influence has spread far and wide. Jack White has produced both rock music and country, including albums for Wanda Jackson and Loretta Lynn. Jack White says that when he signed up for this project, he just wanted to be an antenna for Hank Williams. Didn’t want any of himself in the song. He played it first for Bob Dylan who told him that it sounded like it came straight out of the 50′s and that’s how Jack White knew it was done.

“You Know That I Know” by Jack White

Holly Williams is Hank Williams’ Granddaughter. She is reminded at how prolific Hank Was at 29 compared to herself and most artists. She found that playing her grandfather’s music took a lot more than learning the parts. He didn’t do any crazy minor chords, but wrote melodies.

“Blue Is My Heart” by Holly Williams

Hank Williams Jr. says “It would be like we found more Shakespeare.” He says you could imagine every one of Hank Williams lyrics.

“I’m So Happy That I Found You” by Lucinda Williams

Hank Williams Jr talks about when they took him to Hollywood to sign a movie contract. He wasn’t impressed by the movie stars he saw at the studios and he made some disparaging remarks about the owner of the studios and that was the end of the movie contract.

“Angel Mine” by Sheryl Crow

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Taproot Radio News #292

calvin — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 18:03:54 +0000

Rotation #292, December 26, 2011

read: http://www.taprootradio.com

listen: http://www.live365.com/stations/cspowers?play=1
live: Monday nights at 9pm eastern on WCOM: http://www.wcomfm.org

Howdy,

I’m excited to be putting into rotation this week a new band, well new to me anyway, called The Far West. They remind me of Charlotte’s Lou Ford quite a bit. Not a lot of flash and bling with these guys, but some fine heart-breaking twang. Several good sing-a-long tracks.

On episode 67 of the Taproot Podcast, Jonathan Harkham from the band Paladino, talks about trying to capture the textures of the southern California landscape and latino culture, listening to his mother’s country music while growing up in Los Angeles, and why he chose to cover “Green Green Grass of Home.”

Y’all have a Happy New Year and I’ll see ya in January. Lots of great podcast interviews lined up and I’m gonna be starting a new regular feature on the site. Stay tuned!

Dig Deep,
Calvin

Recent Podcast Episodes

Episode 63 – Scotty Alan talks about living in the wilds of Michigan, his punk rock days, making music at home, how he found himself in Los Angeles to record his CD, Wreck and the Mess, and his “Irish roots.”

This Week’s Rotation