Good Taste From the Roadhouse With Greg Vandy
I introduced myself to Greg Vandy at this year's Americana Music Conference in Nashville, back in September. I knew he was cool because I saw him at all the good shows over the week and then at Arnold's "meat & three" Country Kitchen. Then
Bromberg's Blues: Americana Music's Granddaddy Returns Home Once Again
David Bromberg embraced Americana music long before it was cool – probably even before the phrase had even been coined. He pioneered the seemingly inconcievable mash up of country and western, low-down blues, bluegrass and sea shanties with searing rock and roll guitar licks. Some call him the grandfather of Americana,
A Desperado Waiting for a Train: Talking with Tamara Saviano about Guy Clark
Very few music biographies or music memoirs tell compelling stories in a spellbinding way. Most of these books flit fitfully across our view, scattering ephemeral bits in their wake, and leaving few memories of the lives and art of the artists.
Then along comes a music biography—well, it’s
Ray Charles' Atlantic Box
He could get more out of a moan than many singers could wring out of a career. Ray Charles was the voice of pain, agony set to music that bared his soul and exposed his genius to the world.
Rhino Records has resurrected Charles' early years on Atlantic with
Bob Dylan, "Tell Me, Momma," Live at the Royal Albert Hall
In 1966, Bob Dylan’s career had skyrocketed over the earth. Mary Campbell summed up what had happened in a lede that contains multitudes: “1965 was the big folk-rock year in pop music and slightly built, shy-spoken, gritty-voiced Bob Dylan was the big man of the year.”
Who had thought
The High Flight and Quick Descent of Tower Records
All Things Must Pass – The Rise and Fall of Tower Records
Filmrise Studios, 2016
A five year fall from billion dollar sales to bankruptcy is a startling denouement, but not the message of Colin Hanks’ documentary on Tower Records. At the heart of the story is founder Russ Solomon, the