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Peter Blackstock

Various Artists - Poet: A Tribute To Townes Van Zandt

Back in February 1992, in a telephone interview for a daily-paper concert preview, I asked Townes Van Zandt if he tended to benefit from the covers of his songs that occasionally popped up amid the big leagues of country music. I meant it in a financial sense, related to

Bob Schneider - Lonelyland

More than a year after it went on sale at Waterloo Records in Austin -- where it eventually sold more than 10,000 copies, at a single store -- Lonelyland finally received a nationwide release via Universal in March. The ultimate big-fish-in-a-small-pond story, Schneider has been king

West Texas rivers and wind-blown campfire tunes

Driving west on I-10 from Austin, the desert creeps up on you, gradually revealing itself mile after mile after mile until the entire landscape has changed. The winding rivers, lazy lakes, scrubby trees and colorful flowers of the Texas Hill Country finally give way to barren creekbeds, rocky outcroppings,

Neko Case - Destiny rides again

It's a recurring theme in our conversation, though not by design -- which is perfect, because that pretty much is the theme. Grand plans just seem to fall into Neko Case's hands, like a destiny she had nothing to do with, but she seized the opportunity when

Townes Van Zandt - In Pain

As with many of the latter-day Townes Van Zandt releases, In Pain primarily gathers live solo versions of some of his better-known songs recorded during the final years of his life. Most of the 16 tracks here were recorded in November '94 (a little more than two

Richmond Fontaine - Lost Son

Over the course of a half-decade and three albums, Richmond Fontaine has established itself as one of the better bands in the Northwest. When they expanded from a Buffalo Tom-esque trio by incorporating the considerable pedal steel and mandolin talents of Paul Brainard, the group broadened the countrified

Various Artists - Return Of The Grievous Angel: A Tribute To Gram Parsons

If you were trying to explain to someone the difference between mainstream country and alternative country, one way to start might be to posit that alternative country artists are much more likely to be influenced by Gram Parsons. It's no mere coincidence that more than half the artists