ALLISON RUSSELL Seeing Allison Russell was a transcendental experience. Her songs and performance were glorious in their intensity and emotion. While she brought out the clarinet and banjo for a few songs, she mostly relied on the talented trio of musicians to support her on acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and cello. Simply magical. BER One […]
SXSW 2022 – The Sounds, Part 1
DOLLY PARTON What can be said about seeing Dolly Parton for the first time? The hits, the stories, the people weeping with joy around me – it was spectacular. And playing “9 to 5” twice – the second time so the audience could sing it – was tremendous. LEE BAINS III & THE GLORY FIRES […]
Drew Cooper Song Premiere – Whiskey And Smoke
There’s a transparency that comes with growing up in a town in the Midwest. First of all, everyone knows you. Or your mama. Second, you have to have a certain amount of self-awareness and honesty about yourself. When a simple trip to the mailbox in winter can be death-defying, miscalculations can carry a heavy price. […]
Terry Klein on Touring, Working as a Lawyer, and Being Jinxed by Twangville
Austin singer-songwriter Terry Klein talks about finding produce while touring, his heavy metal past, and playing instrumentals at his first gig.
Monday Morning Video – Eli Paperboy Reed
R&B master Eli Paperboy Reed and his band cram themselves onto a small stage and set fire to the folk gospel classic “God’s Gonna Cut You Down”.
Willie D & the Hip Pockets – Rock, Rhythm & Jazz
For the last decade Willie D, aka William Martin Daniel, Jr., has been injecting his jazz-influenced, soulful saxophone sound into a variety of Austin musical venues and styles. He apparently came by at least some of his artistry via heritage–his dad played sax in several 40’s and 50’s style jazzy dance bands. The culmination of […]
Paul Hunton of Dust City Opera On The Group’s “Band Mom” and Taking Online Courses
Paul Hunton from Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Dust City Opera talks about rehearsing in an old dance hall, Halloween cover band gigs, and a very memorable day job.
Monday Morning Video – World Party Put the Message in the Box
Karl Wallinger shares a timeless message in this pop classic. The world saysGive a little bitGive a little bit of your love to me‘Cause I’m waiting right here with my open arms
The Sully Band – Let’s Straighten It Out
I hit play on the new record from San Diego’s The Sully Band and it was like stepping into the way back machine. It must have been about 1975 or 1976, and I discovered KAAY in Little Rock and its after-midnight programming. Sitting on a tailgate on a sweltering summer night, pulling surreptitiously from a […]
Ben Balmer Song Premiere – Girl With the Dirty Hair
Last fall I wrote about Ben Balmer’s latest record, Honky-Tonk Macbeth. There were a couple of very good, but dark, numbers including the title track. It has the best summary of the Shakespeare classic that I’ve ever heard, “just words that sound pretty, then there’s mostly death.” Most of the album, however, was more in […]