Twangville


SXSW 2013: The Sounds, Part 1

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Patty Griffin One listen to a Patty Griffin song and you’ll understand why she has developed an almost cultish following. She is, quite simply, an extraordinary songwriter. New West Records, her new record label, arranged a private showcase at a South Austin mansion called the Castle to celebrate her forthcoming release. It was an event [...] more »

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SXSW 2013: The Scene

Steve Earle

For me, the true harbinger of spring is the arrival of the SXSW Music and Media Conference in Austin, Texas. Or rather, spring begins for me when I arrive in Austin for SXSW. With upwards of 2,500 bands and 20,000 attendees from around the world, SXSW is the world’s premiere music conference. Even better, it [...] more »

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Monday Morning Video: Couch By Couchwest

Some travel to see bands, others let the bands come to them. So while SXSW brought thousands to Austin, the annual Couch Couch By Couchwest brought the music to you. The annual online festival invites artists, most of whom are not attending SXSW, to submit videos of themselves performing songs. Artists have fun with it, [...] more »

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Win Big: A Joe Pug Signed Vinyl Give-Away

Pug Messenger

One of the best parts of Twangville is discovering an artist early in their career. It is incredibly satisfying watching said performer build an audience and grow as an artist. In that light, it was great to see Joe Pug when he passed through Boston a few weeks ago. From his early days as an [...] more »

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Monday Morning Video: Langhorne Slim

Let’s start our week with Langhorne Slim burning through “Fire” from last year’s The Way We Move. more »

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Monday Morning Video: Tim Easton

Talk about stripping your artistry down to the core. Here’s Tim Easton, sans microphone and armed with just his acoustic guitar, delivering an energetic performance of his song “Broke My Heart.” If you like what you hear, New West Records has just released Before the Revolution – The Best Of 1998-2011 an impressive collection that [...] more »

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Mayer’s Playlist for February 2013, Part 2

ALBUMS OF THE MONTH On My Mind, In My Heart, by Jesse Dee Who’d have thought that a kid from Arlington Massachusetts could so brilliantly channel Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and Al Green? Ladies and gentlemen, meet Jesse Dee. Over the course of 11 tracks, Dee rocks, rolls, reels and strolls as if he was [...] more »

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Monday Morning Video: Kevin Gordon

The word “epic” probably gets bandied about a bit too much. It seems appropriate, however, when discussing Kevin Gordon’s “Colfax/Step in Time.” With a brilliant literary style, Gordon chronicles a young boy in the South during the 1970′s. As the song progresses, he touches on everything from young lust to the dark side of the [...] more »

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Mayer’s Playlist for February 2013, Part 1

ALBUMS OF THE MONTH Rickenbacker Girls, by Todd May This is a real rock record. Now I don’t mean that it is filled with wailing guitars and pounding drums, although both certainly happen on this record. Rather I am referring to its authenticity: real instruments, real songs, real stories and real emotions. It starts with [...] more »

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Monday Morning Video: Live from the Living Room

New York City’s The Living Room has long been recognized as a music lover’s paradise. The venue has been a musical home to artists like Norah Jones and a place where artists like the Punch Brothers can comfortably explore new material. As recently as a few weeks ago, the Lumineers talked in the New York [...] more »

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Win Big: a Fleetwood Mac “Rumours” Give-Away

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Dave Grohl’s documentary on fabled California recording studio Sound City has been garnering a lot of attention lately. One of the classic albums that can trace some of its history to Sound City is Fleetwood Mac’s classic Rumours. Rumours remains one of the biggest selling albums of all time. It is perhaps not a surprise [...] more »

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Monday Morning Video: When Ian Hunter is President

At 73, Ian Hunter is still putting out rock and roll that should be the model — if not the envy — of songwriters a fraction of his age. In celebration of President’s Day, here’s the title track from Hunter’s fine 2012 release, “When I’m President.” Says Hunter about the song, “really all it is [...] more »

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Monday Morning Video: True Believers

Let the guitars ring out, the True Believers have reunited! Back in the mid-1980′s, the legendary Austin band scorched a blazing trail as they criss-crossed the country with their three guitar attack. A solid debut album was released. A follow-up album was recorded but was lost for years in record company limbo. The frustrations mounted [...] more »

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The Wisdom of Rock and Roll

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I expect that most of us have been inspired by a song lyric at one time or another. From the Beatles’ “and in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make” to the Lumineers’ “the opposite of love is indifference,” these lyrics offer distinct perspectives on the lives that we [...] more »

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Monday Morning Video: Kingsley Flood

Along with the download that I posted in my January playlist last week, the fine folks from Kingsley Flood shared this video of the song “Strongman” from their recent cd release party in Washington D.C. If nothing else, watch at the 2:00 minute mark as drummer Travis Richter attempts to atomize his drums. Now THIS [...] more »

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