Country singer Pam Tillis talks about the first management contract that she was offered and why she researches the towns that she visits while on tour.
Monday Morning Video – A John Prine and Steve Goodman Classic
Let’s kick off the week with another John Prine classic. “You Never Even Called Me By My Name†was written by Prine and his good friend Steve Goodman. It later became a hit single for David Allan Coe, no doubt earning Prine and Goodman some fine mailbox money. It is humorously referred to as the […]
Mayer’s Playlist for Spring 2020, Part 1
FEATURED ALBUM Trouble Don’t Follow Me, Christopher Paul Stelling (from the Anti- Records release Best of Luck) Christopher Paul Stelling has never been much of a conformist. While many artists are expressing anxiety and frustration with the state of the world, Stelling has decided to celebrate harmony and contentment. It’s all the more noteworthy for […]
The Buckleys Talk About Hillbilly Robbie and the Joy of Broken Strings
Australia’s The Buckleys share a running band joke and talk about why they return to the spot of their first gig every year.
Monday Morning Video – A Tough Week in Music
The title says it all. Covid-19 continues its deadly march, leaving death and heartbreak in its wake. The music world is not exempted as a growing list of artists are being abruptly taken from us. In the past week, we’ve lost Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne), jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis, and country singer-songwriter Joe Diffie, […]
Western Centuries – Call the Captain
You could probably write a book about how bands are formed. Some are born as school friends playing in a forgiving parent’s garage. Other have a process-based beginning, with formal recruitment and auditions. I think I’d take a bet that many of the most successful started with a mutual love of something that became foundational […]
Jesse Daniel – Rollin’ On
It’s like the beer bottle you never saw coming. One moment, everything’s fine. The next, you’re looking up to the underside of the table. Jesse Daniel, on his latest record, Rollin’ On, wields a Bakersfield bucket of sound like a drunk with a longneck, intent on righting a mighty load of wrongs. The album blasts […]
Saints Eleven Premiere – The Crown
Saints Eleven is garnering a lot of attention in the Texas country music scene, especially since they won the Texas Country Music Association’s Band of the Year award last year. Their last record, Coming Back Around, really showcased the band’s red dirt, almost rock and roll, but country in the end, sound. They have a […]
Monday Morning Video – Kenny Rogers (1938 – 2020)
Many of us got to know Kenny Rogers through his solo hits of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, not to mention his duets with everyone from Dolly Parton to Lionel Richie. Before that, however, Rogers made some magic with the First Edition, including this classic, which came around again in 1998 when it was […]
Monday Morning Video – Pinto Bennett
For every artist who has found critical and commercial success, there are countless others of immense talent who sit just under the radar. Count Pinto Bennett among them. The Idaho native has been plying the songwriting trade for decades, including a stint in Nashville where he was befriended by the likes of Chet Atkins, Lyle […]