Working On A Building

Tim Hensley, George Jones, Lilly Pulitzer, Christopher Hanna Ripple On…

I’m at the Rhiga Royale, now called the London. Once upon the time, it was the high, but not most nosebleed expensive rock & roll hotel: a place where Billy Gibbons and I once passed the night talking about heaven only knows, where running a “Regis & Kathie Lee” performance with a young client, Nanci Griffith heard my laugh and ran up to…

After listening to many great releases by many talented artists I was afforded a chance to sit back and listen to something I can simply enjoy in the spirit in which it was made. This music was actually recommended to me by another musician I respect and admire.  

Jay Aymar has been mining a stylistic narrative songwriting vein for a few years now but this latest effort – “Overtime” -- while being for selective tastes – and…

With just three months 0f 2013 in the history books, it's shaping up to be a quality year for Americana records. Here are my picks for the Top 10 Records of the Year (So Far).

10. Bobby Bare - Darker Than Light

Bare's first album in seven years is a collection of 16 songs drawn from a list he's kept for the better part of his 50 year career. There are murder ballads, songs of the sea, interpretations of rare classics and readings from the rock and roll songbook. The…

When I first heard Norman Blake, about thirty or so years ago, I was blown away by the notion that there was actually a picker who could hit the hot licks, but chose, rather, to explore the sounds from another day combined with the sounds floating around in his head. I admired Norman Blake for making that choice, or taking that stand. Since then, I’ve immersed myself in all types of roots music, acoustic mostly, North American, mostly. Today’s world is crammed full of songwriters,…

KENNY ROBY

Memories & Birds (Little Criminal)

Roby as an artist continuing to mature and evolve since his ending of 6-String Drag in 1998. A dark, often lonely and very human record, Memories & Birds is filled with surprising twists and turns,…

Various Artists

The Music Is You: A Tribute to John Denver

(ATO)

Always popular among the masses, John Denver was sometimes scorned as unhip, uncool and just a little bit of a geek. Firmly established in the show biz firmament (he was a designated guest host on the Tonight Show during Johnny Carson’s reign), his music expressed his unabashed love for Colorado and the spectacular environs of the Rockies and the American West. So while a…

My dear friend, legendary writer about music and pop philosopher Paul Williams, passed away March 27.

Paul was the founder, writer and publisher of the first serious rock and roll magazine in the United States, called Crawdaddy!, which was named after the club in England where the Rolling Stones got their start.

While attending Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, Paul made 500 copies of the first issue on a mimeograph machine. With that first issue in hand, he went to…

John D. Hale Band hails from the great state of Missouri and is rapidly becoming a success via internet. They recently released their third CD titled More Than I Can Handle which was produced by Cody Braun of Reckless Kelly and it's starting to generate a buzz, not only in their own backyard but across much of the country.  In early 2013 the band decided they needed Management and took a huge step in the right direction by signing with Epic Management and Music Promotion which is…

The last time I spoke with Charlie Parr, we dug through his rich musical history and personal evolution as a songwriter. It was a lengthy chat that has stood as one of my favorite interviews. When I heard the news at the end of last year that Charlie had a new album in the works for spring of '13, I reached out to check in with him to line up another…

From the opening notes of “The Thought of You,” on Andrea England’s new CD – her third – Andrea displays a rich melodic vocal that is simply enchanting. It has that Rolling Stones rhythm going on in the guitars – crisp and clear with seductive poetic lyrical twists. She follows the steady beat without getting lost in the clever lyric: “now candlelight is fading and every sound is grating,” --- “can’t remember where I left my sanity,” --- "I was caught up in a…

Matt Costa

self-titled

(Brushfire Records)

Matt Costa’s been kicking around for a few years now and he keeps getting better and better. It’s almost ironic that his new album is self-titled, because it will hopefully mark a new beginning in terms of awareness and acceptance. Costa has one of those burnished vocals that makes him sound like he’s singing for the ages -- a hint of Nick Drake on songs like “Eyes For You” and “Golden Cathedrals,” some…

We are all shocked and saddened to learn that our friend Terry Doyle passed away, Wednesday, February 6th due to complications from a heart attack he'd had near the end of January. He passed away at his parents home in Middleburgh, NY. He is survived by his parents, his brothers, sisters and nephews.

Terry hosted…

FTB podcast #197 features the new album by KRIS KRISTOFFERSON entitled Feeling Mortal. Also new music from MAX GOMEZ, SARA SYMS, and JOHN DRISKELL HOPKINS & BALSAM RANGE.

Here's the direct link to listen…

Dave Grohl ("rhymes with Rock and Roll!") is great. He and his Sound City Players brought his new documentary Sound City to real life last night with a concert featuring many of the legends depicted in the story of the recording studio in the Valley that was so crucial to creating some of the most epic albums of all time. Fleetwood Mac's Rumors. Nirvana's Nevermind. Rage Against The Machine's Rage Against The Machine. Tom Petty's Wildflowers. Foreigner's…

Confession One: I had never hear of either Tommy Emmanuel or Martin Taylor before being sent this CD for review. This despite the fact that the former, an Australian,  was named as "Best Acoustic Guitarist" in a Guitar Player  readers' poll. Confession Two: I am no a great fan of Django Reinhardt -style jazz guitar. I appreciate it, but a little goes a long way.

Having said that, I have found myself listening rather avidly to this "The Colonel & The Governor"…

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the greatest Dobro player of all?

Faced with that query, most magic mirrors would probably respond by saying that Jerry Douglas has been, and is, the premier Dobro player of our time.

And who could argue?

As the featured soloist for the multi-Platinum, multi-Grammy, multi-(pick an award) Allison Krauss and Union Station, Jerry Douglas has been raising the bar for what passes as virtuosity on that instrument for decades now.…

There are so many recordings released each year and only so many can be procured and listened to by yours truly.  My list of best CDs of the year could have contained so many other deserving disks….but I was limited to ten so ten it will be.

1.    Barnaby Bright: The Longest Day…

Even if the playing on Sterling Koch’s Slide Ruler wasn’t so good, the artist’s oddball selection of some powerful cover tunes is a welcome surprise.  For example, the last time we heard steel guitar duo Santo and Johnny Farina’s mesmerizing instrumental lap slide/Gibson 6-string “Sleepwalk,” was probably around 1959. Good news: On track 5, Koch, on MSA Superslide lap steel guitar, with help from former Doobie Brothers drummer Chet McCracken, renders an even more hypnotic version than…

Rayna Gellert is a North Carolina-based fiddle player who comes from a musical family and has been continuing to grow an extended family of her own over the years, including some really incredible songwriters, musicians, artists, and collaborators. She has a rich history studying and playing rural stringband music, timeless gospel songs, and rich traditional tunes. She was a member of the band Uncle Earl and has worked with such respected musicians as Robyn Hitchcock, Tyler Ramsey,…

Chapter Two: Legacy versus Legend

On a bluff overlooking a bend in the St. Johns River, boys in short-sleeved shirts and ties mingle with attractive girls in summer outfits, pausing from intellectual pursuits to watch planes landing in the distance at the Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida. In this serene setting, spectral strands of Spanish moss dangle in the cooling breezes. For decades, young people on the precipice of adult lives, beginning to shape dreams…