Joe Ely Gets Personal
Texas singer/songwriting troubadour Joe Ely has been a significant force in the alternative country scene for decades. Ely was born in Amarillo and followed his family to Lubbock, both in the northern-most region of Texas referred to as The Panhandle. This region is known for its flat, dry and
The day Elvin Jones Fired Up Milwaukee's Lakefront Festival of Art in 1972
This blog is a birthday remembrance, honoring -- one month late to the day -- the monumental jazz drummer and innovator Elvin Jones, who was born on September 9, 1927 in Pontiac, MI, and died May 18, 2004. His passing prompted the original version of this appreciation, published in 2004
Bob Dylan, "Sitting on a Barbed-Wire Fence"
Bob Dylan has always liked the spaces in between, dividing lines, and borderlines in his songs. Particularly in the mid-1960s, he liked, lyrically, hanging out in no-man's-lands: the haunted wild-western, Tex-Mexican border town of "Desolation Row"; wherever it is he has the "Tombstone Blues"
Nashville Obsolete by Dave Rawlings Machine: Regional Music and Beer
If an artist carves a beautiful sculpture out of a tree in the forest and no one sees the artist do it, is he or she still an artist? The obvious answer is, or, hold on, the maybe obvious answer is, “well, sure.” Artists, of course, do not create for
Bottle Rockets Make (Another) Career Album 22 Years On
Many bands have lost at least some of their emotional fire, if not their creative spark, 22 years into their careers, leaving their fans content to settle for a couple of memorable new songs now and then. The Bottle Rockets are not one of those bands.
“South Broadway Athletic Club”
Libido and Loathing In America: Father John Misty Live in Detroit
In a recent interview, Father John Misty was quoted as saying, “I just wanted to write about love without bullshitting.” What resulted of course is I Love You, Honeybear, the former Fleet Foxes member's second solo effort and one that has a stronghold at the top of my