Colin O'Brien: Banjo on My Mind
Colin O’Brien is an anomaly. Colin O’Brien is a folk singing, guitar playing, fiddling banjo picker who is making a living doing what he loves, in Nashville. Remember the old joke;
Son:”Mom I want to be a banjo picker when I grow up”
Mom: “Now, son, you
An Introduction to the Interwoven Web of the Wainwright Children: Rufus, Martha, and Lucy
For many, it’s hard to live up to--or escape--the shadow of one’s parents. This is especially true in the music industry. While having that famous last name opens many doors, finding success and a large audience is a much harder struggle. This is a quick introduction
Raul Malo of the Mavericks Tells How the Band Got Back Where They Belong
In 1989, the year the Mavericks first convened, the divide between pop and country was still relatively wide, despite the progress made by bands like the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Poco and others of that ilk had made to close the distance many years
How to Get Your Record Reviewed
In an era that has wholeheartedly adopted the phrase, “Any press is good press”, artists, entrepreneurs, politicians, and moms with the cutest baby photos evar recognize the importance of getting one’s name out there in the media landscape. But as everyone also knows, catching and keeping your audience’s
Big Joe's Proteges: Bob Dylan and Mike Bloomfield
Two Degrees of Separation
I blogged about Mike Bloomfield and Bob Dylan in December, writing here about their first encounter in Chicago in 1963, the crucial role that Bloomfield played backing Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival, the beautiful licks he laid down on Highway 61 Revisited, and his decision
All Aboard the Blues and Gospel Train
These days, the blues is pretty much universally acknowledged as integral to the world’s music DNA. Even ad-men get it. But, fifty years ago, when a bunch of English white kids with names like Clapton, Jagger, Jones, and Page first fell in love with the music they were