Now Read This: 33 Days – Touring In A Van. Sleeping On Floors. Chasing A Dream., by Bill See
When I came to the end of this book, I closed the back cover slowly, and rested my fingertips on it, pulling myself back to the present while the the last image – Bill See, alone in a quiet house with his guitar amid a swirl of cables, contentedly working on songs while his loved … Read more
A Conversation with Rick Steff
Our friend Michelle Evans has another report from Nashville for us, this time with the diversely-talented and widely- and highly-regarded Rick Steff. Rick Steff, to me, is one of the best things about Lucero, so I jumped at the chance to speak with him at Mercy Lounge in Nashville. We discussed … Read more
Black Diamond Heavies: One Night Only!
Aw, hell yeah, this is a cool event, kiddies. On December 7, 2011, at 9 PM EST, Saving Country Music will be streaming the Black Diamond Heavies’ set from the 2009 Deep Blues Festival. BDH performed at the very first DBF, and not only does the 2009 set feature core members John Wesley Myers … Read more
Saturday Matinee: Groove with Us
In honor of Small Business Saturday, how about a short film about Cleveland record-pressing plant Gotta Groove Records? Mmm, vinyl biscuits… Gotta Groove Records – “Groove With Us” from Nick Cavalier on Vimeo.
An Update with Austin Lucas
NTSIB’s good friend Michelle Evans checks in with road report on Austin Lucas. Midwestern Ohio NOTE: Austin is playing Zanesfield TONIGHT. More details below. I was able to catch up with Bloomington, Indiana musician Austin Lucas this past weekend before his set at the Mercy Lounge in Nashville, where he and … Read more
James Leg is Coming to Cleveland (and Other Cities, Too)
Solitary Pleasure is ingrained with James Leg’s extensive knowledge of the rock and roll canon and the album displays his passion and originality to full effect. Granted, Leg’s gargled-with-goat vocal style could be an acquired taste, but it’s also a quality instrument that, like his keyboard work, will prove powerful, yet supple and dextrous … Read more
I Will Be Your Light Inside the Dark: New London Fire, The Dirt The Blood The Faith
Periodically people ask me what kind of music I like. My default answer is “big drums and dirty bass lines,” but now that I’ve spent some (more) time listening to current offerings in the field of country/Americana I have to add “fiddle and pedal steel.” The Dirt The Blood The Faith, the third and latest … Read more
Rebirth of the Cool: …Baby, One More Time
It’s been too long since we’ve had a Rebirth post, but I’m sure some of you have taken a look at the title and are already wincing in anticipation of this one. Let’s get the difficult part out of the way now. I know, I know… Back in the early 2000s, while … Read more
Classic Moments in Jubilee Showcase: Church before Church
Music doesn’t have boundaries. We impose things like genre, or let a marketing department impose a genre and then just go along with it, and then say short-sighted things like, “I love all music… except country/hip hop/hated-genre-of-the-moment.” Music does have power. Songs can speak and speak to us. Songs can move and move us. … Read more
Saturday Matinee: Cry Baby: The Pedal That Rocks the World
Featuring interviews with everyone from the inventor of the pedal to Buddy Guy to a lot of dudes you haven’t even heard about since hair metal went out of fashion the first time, this great documentary tracks the life and wide-reaching influence of the Cry Baby Wah-Wah guitar effect pedal, one of the most … Read more