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Aaron Watson Believes In The Good Ol’ Boy Business Model
- Aaron Watson talked to Lynne Margolis about where he got the nickname Honky-tonk Kid, how he got hooked up with Ray Benson and the relationship he has with him, and about how he separates time between the road and home. His upcoming album will have a John Mayer song, a Waylon song titled “Tulsa,” and “Barbed Wire Halo” from his gospel album of the same name. It’s well worth the read.
- Ashley Monroe is one of our readers’ favorites, and while she didn’t place in last weekend’s talent contest on A Prairie Home Companion, she does have four new songs up on her myspace, is playing a full concert at Nashville’s 3rd and Lindsley on March 25th, and has a CMT.com Studio330 Session that debuts on March 26th.
- Be sure to check out the Unplugged performance from Ashton Shepherd, too. You can read a portion of the interview she did here.
- The new Tim O’Brien album, Chameleon, features sixteen songs with only one acoustic instrument per song. Peter Cooper calls it the most soley Tim O’Brien out of his fifteen “solo” albums.
- Twang Nation pointed me toward the Full Throttle Garage–music in the raw from Lone Star artists in Lone Star 92.5’s studio. So basically, a Texas version of CMT’s Unplugged. There’s live performances from Ryan Bingham, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Steve Earle, Todd Snider, Billy Joe Shaver and more. (via Twang Nation)
- The Tennessean posted the ACM Awards nominees for the off-camera awards.
- Win one for Minnie Pearl! That’s sports columnist George Vecsey’s battle cry for Belmont, the team vying to beat Duke in the NCAA basketball tournament. He met the Belmont alum once and describes the kind of lady that she was.
Minnie Pearl was the comedian on “The Grand Ole Opry” and “Hee Haw,” the country bumpkin who greeted people with a shrill “How-DEE!” and wore a gingham outfit that could have been purchased only in a yard sale in Grinder’s Switch, the hamlet where she had lived as a child, near Centerville, Tenn.
- The Big O has 20 mp3s from a Willie Nelson performance with Wynton Marsalis last year at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York. (via DC9 at Night)
- A fan posted the first twenty minutes of Eleven Hundred Springs’ performance at Texas Music Revolution a few days ago. Pretty cool stuff.
Popular Stuff
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Miranda Lambert - “More Like Her” This kind of material, as opposed to her tough-chick-done-wrong romps like “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” and “Gunpowder and Lead,” is where her real promise lies
Joey Rory - “Cheater, Cheater” It’s actually downright frivolous, but that just makes it all the more fun. And really, are you allowed to say “ho” on country radio?
Josh Gracin - “Unbelievable (Ann Marie)” Despite initial marketing that touted the album as deep and personal, “Unbelievable (Ann Marie)” is anything but deep or personal.
Josh Turner - "Everything Is Fine" Turner is the rare example of an artist who records material that’s both quality and trademark.
Darryl Worley - "Tequila On Ice" A groovy mid-tempo that sways, a refreshing reprieve from the exhausting pace of a format that clamors for loud music and swelling choruses.
Blake Shelton - "She Wouldn't Be Gone" It’s all about nailing the melody rather than providing a legitimate interpretation that accentuates the lyrical content, although Shelton does do a pretty good job of injecting what limited emotion he can.
In Memory of Don Helms (1927 - 2008) Helms dated back to a time when an excellent four or five piece band and a good singer were all that were needed to make great country music. No drums, no light shows, no production tricks in the recording studio–just good music.
Don’t look now, but Darius Rucker, lead singer of 90s rock group Hootie & The Blowfish, has a country hit on his hands. What you probably haven’t heard is that Rucker is the first black artist to chart a single in the country top 20 since Charley Pride last did it in 1988.
News that former Sugarland member and co-founder Kristen Hall is suing her ex-mates, to the tune of $1.5 million, goes a long way towards providing a bit of context regarding the Atlanta singer/songwriter’s sudden departure from the group.
Forgotten Artist: Wynn Stewart Both Buck Owens and Merle Haggard have cited Wynn Stewart as a major influence on their careers, yet somehow, he was never able to translate his enormous talent into extended and consistent success for himself.
Forgotten Artist: David Rogers David Rogers (1936-1993) is proof of the adage that it’s great to be on a major label, but only if the label is truly behind you.
In this exclusive interview with The 9513, the Show Dog Records trio talks about growing up around Waylon and Jessi Colter, and about how those experiences have helped shaped their music as they set off on their own country music journey.
One of an emerging wave of artists empowered by decreasing production costs and a rapidly changing distribution landscape, Kelleigh Bannen has taken a do-it-yourself approach to her debut album, Radio Skies.Tagged In This Article
Aaron Watson // ACM Awards // Ashley Monroe // Ashton Shepherd // Billy Joe Shaver // Grand Ole Opry // Ray Benson // Ray Wylie Hubbard // Ryan Bingham // Steve Earle // Tim O'Brien // Todd Snider // Willie Nelson
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5 Comments
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March 20, 2008 at 11:06 am Permalink
Eleven Hundred Springs are always amazing live. Thanks for posting.
March 20, 2008 at 4:29 pm Permalink
Wow, so Aaron Watson’s audiences are 80% female? If he makes it out to Los Angeles I think I’d go just to look at the other audience members! (lol) Its great that artists like Aaron can earn a good living in Texas where the general population still appreciates many of the more traditional forms of country music that are forgotten elsewhere. If it weren’t for the Time Jumpers I’d guess Nashville would be without a Western Swing band in residence.
It was crazy that Ashley Monroe didn’t even finish in the Top 3 out of 6 competitors on Prairie Home Companion. Maybe she should have chosen “Hank’s Cadillac” as one of her songs? I hope that Garrison liked her enough to invite her back for future programs. At least “Good Time Charlie” Nagatani in Japan has invited her to fly over and play at one of his shows. Last year he invited Megan Mullins, so Charlie prefers talented and beautiful young female artists who specialize in traditional country. Can’t say I blame him……
Thanks for the link to the Ashton Shepherd interview over at CMT. That gal is absolutely genuine and transparent and what you see (and hear) is what you get. Ashton and Sarah Johns are about as close to modern day Loretta Lynn’s as you’ll find these days. She reminds me of the old Hag song “I Take a Lot of Pride in What I Am”…..
March 21, 2008 at 6:35 am Permalink
For those of us who have XM and like Ashton, look for her XM Drivers Class (i think it is called), where she does an interview where she discusses how the album came about, two acoustic songs, and picks her favorite song from the album - “The Pickin Shed” - I happened to be in the car for several hours yesterday and caught it and it was really good.
March 21, 2008 at 7:17 am Permalink
Dang!! I wish I got XM so I could hear that interview!!!
March 21, 2008 at 8:18 am Permalink
You might try and see if it is available somewhere on the internet. Because it is really good, talks about how her record deal came about, her know all her songs in her head, etc.
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