The best country songs tell great stories. Well, singer-songwriter Zach Schmidt has got a bunch of ’em. All the better, they are drawn from his own life experiences. The now Nashville-based Schmidt has lived a life of wanderlust, having bicycled across the US and worked on a Texas cattle ranch. No surprise to anyone, Schmidt […]
Monday Morning Video – Fred Eaglesmith “Freight Train”
Fred Eaglesmith is a songwriter’s songwriter, a talent whose commercial success has never matched the esteem in which his peers hold him. Here’s a song that I’ve heard countless other artists cover over the years. In his introduction, Eaglesmith talks about the Alan Jackson version and why he tours in an old converted school bus.
In Memoriam – Buckwheat Zydeco
While New Orleans has played a significant role in two of America’s greatest musical forms, jazz and blues, when you say “Louisiana music” to most people they hear the style championed by Stanley Dural, Jr., aka Buckwheat Zydeco. Â Dural passed away this past weekend and it’s worth remembering the man who became the face of […]
Matt Bigland of Dinosaur Pile-Up Shares a Cure for Tour Anxiety and Sums Up His First Gig in 4 Words
Dinosaur Pile-Up singer-guitarist Matt Bigland describes life touring in a van that is on its last legs and recalls a memorable night mopping the floors at the bar where he was working. He also talks about the balance between being poor and finding job security.
Monday Morning Video – Loretta Lynn
This week we’re going to pay a Monday Morning Video tribute to an true legend of country music, Miss Loretta Lynn. Lynn has released nearly 50 albums over her six decade career, the most recent being this year’s Full Circle. The album is her first in more than ten years. This video takes us back […]
Reckless Kelly – Sunset Motel
Reckless Kelly is releasing their ninth album, “Sunset Motelâ€, on September 23rd. Even more significant, they are doing so as they log their 20th year as a band. It is a rare achievement for any band to make it this far. For Reckless Kelly it is even more significant given the transition of the industry […]
Tom Rhodes Recalls a Wild Ride in the Tour Van and the Rather Intense First Song That He Wrote
Singer-songwriter Tom Rhodes on eating local (although traveling with a pair of running shoes) and which member of the band always has the biggest practice space.
Monday Morning Video – Jerry Reed “Eastbound and Down”
I heard a bar band rip into this song, the theme from the movie “Smokey and the Bandit”, a few weeks ago. Let’s just say that the crowd erupted and was quick to join in for the chorus. “East bound and down, loaded up and truckin’, we gonna do what they say can’t be done.”
Aoife O’Donovan – Man In A Neon Coat
Synergy is such an over-used word, but the idea is so important you can’t stop using it in protest, especially when you witness how a band comes together as something greater than the individuals. Â On her latest album, Aiofe O’Donovan (pronounce Ee-fah if you’re new to her music) has captured that magic in a single […]
Jonas Parmalee of The Silks on That Time Their Tour Vehicle Blew Up and What the Term “Sellout” Really Means
Jonas Parmalee of the Providence, RI-based power trio The Silks recalls being rescued by the Low Anthem when their tour vehicle exploded and why the band orders the most expensive thing on any restaurant menu.