Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Still, The Song Remains the Same


We heard there was some big concert in London tonight...a bunch of no names played. Some up and comers called, Lead, no Led Zephyr, no, no- Led Zeppelin, yeah I think that's right, Led Zeppelin. Yeah. They are a new band. Ever heard of them? You better get on the bandwagon now, cause they are gonna be BIG!! You can say you listened to them way back before they were big...


Early reports are that it was phenomenal. I bet. Check out the 2-hour setlist:

Good Times Bad Times
Ramble On
Black Dog
In My Time Of Dying
For Your Life
Trampled Under Foot
Nobody's Fault But Mine
No Quarter
Since I've Been Loving You
Dazed And Confused
Stairway To Heaven
The Song Remains The Same
Misty Mountain Hop
Kashmir
---encore---
Whole Lotta Love
Rock And Roll


Look who all was there:

The one and only Mick Jagger

Bill Wyman and Dave Grohl

Michael Mother-effing J. Fox


Check out these reports:

I'm sure there are plenty more sites with Zep details...send'em to us and we'll post them. If you come across any video or audio from the show, please send it in and we'll dance at your wedding. Promise.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Riot Quiet(ed), part two

Coroners have officially listed the death of Kevin DuBrow, the lead singer of 80s metal band Quiet Riot, as an accidental cocaine overdose. As previously reported here at SDB, Dubrow was found dead in his Vegas home last month at the age of 52. More here.

Hough Stuff

I can't help it. I watched Dancing with the Stars...well, most of the episodes at least. How could I not? It had Julianne Hough on it. She is (an) AMAZING (dancer)!!!! And apparently she got a record deal now with Universal's Nashville Country branch of Mercury Records. She will have an album out in 2008, with a single out in early '08. Apparently she had a single back in May, too, but I wasn't in love with her, err, I didn't know who she was and appreciate her many talents then. I can't believe she is only 19!!

Oh My.

See more about Julianne here:
Myspace
Fan Site
Wiki
IMDB
You Tube

See her here below with two of my arch nemeses, Apolo Ohno and Helio Castroneves:


(fast forward to 2:00...trust me)





Good Gracious!!

Why?-land

Scott Weiland is due in court on Thursday for yet another another brush with the law. The STP and Velvet Revolver frontman was arrested for DUI on the night before Thanksgiving after his Benzo hit a Chrysler Sebring. Scott wasn't able to pass field sobriety tests and was taken in for driving under the influence of an unspecified drug. He was booked, declined to give blood or urine samples and posted bail of $40K at noon on Thanksgiving Day.


(It must be nice to have that kind of money to piss away.)

It hasn't been said yet what Weiland's drug o' choice was that night...Let's just hope he wasn't riding the Horse again...

I guess we'll find out on Thursday...Details to come...check back. I know you will.

Are you cool, man? Like how?




NME has a trite cool list online where you can vote for who's the coolest rock star. I don't know, it's kinda like asking a bunch of people what's the best kind of ice cream.

One thing is for sure though, without a doubt or dispute: Debbie Harry was the hottest rock star.


See for yourself.






Grrrr...

School of Rock


Little Steven Van Zandt has developed the curriculum to teach the history of rock and roll to a new generation. Little Steven cleverly named it "Little Steven's Rock and Roll High School". Van Zandt, the founder of Rock and Roll Forever Foundation, said that he hasn't repaid what music has done for him and this would be a good way to start.

According to Rock and Roll Forever:

"Aiming to bring rock and roll history into every high school and middle school in the United States, Little Steven’s Rock and Roll High School will provide free materials, including teacher guidelines, lesson plans, DVDs and CDs, that will allow music teachers, social studies teachers, language arts teachers, and others to bring rock and roll history to life in their classrooms. With a website that will function as a virtual meeting place for educators, students, scholars, and fans alike, the Rock and Roll High School project seeks to forge an alliance with the classroom leaders themselves, in hopes that rock and roll is finally recognized not only as a legitimate object of study but as a crucial object of study. With leading partners Scholastic and MENC (The National Association for Music Education), the Rock and Roll Forever Foundation will be mailing its first curriculum in 2008."

We didn't have classes like this when we were in school...

For more info, see

Little Steven's Underground Garage

Renegade Nation

here too

Saturday, December 8, 2007

My work's Christmas Party

How cool is this? We've got SCOTS playing at our annual par-tay at the newly opened Valarium ...Should be a barn burner!



And the Valarium is a great new venue- looks, feels and sounds like a California venue, or at least one in a big city. Check it out when you have the opportunity to.

Dinosaur Jr. played there last week at the grand opening. It was killer...I'll post on that tomorrow probably...

A Ghost to Most

The Truckers posted the first song off of their upcoming album, Brighter Than Creation's Dark, on their Myspace page on Friday. It's another gem from Cooley (third from left in the picture above), harking back on his long, detailed story-songs, backed by a vintage quasi-ballad Trucker-jam song with John Neff's trademark steel work in the background that moves the tune along as it cries and whines, and wonders why. As is the case with many of Cooley's songs, "A Ghost to Most" has an eery feeling, with a dark overtone that casts a shadow on the mood of the entire track, whether or not the content is on the darkside.


Fortunately it is, and Cooley delivers...as he always does. Because he's Mike Cooley.

This is too good not to post...

Saw this today...



I've been wondering what the real words are since middle school for this song. I don't know if anyone really knows for sure, even Eddie, but here is someone's guess on them.

By the way- I got the Into the Wild soundtrack, so I will post a review of it soon. Haven't seen the movie, or read the book, but I've heard the single on the radio,"Hard Sun"...I kinda like it, but don't tell anyone please.

Thursday, December 6, 2007

The Southern Thing

SDB is growing week by week already. We have fellow non-Saints around the country looking in from time to time making sure that we haven't turned from our ways (just so everyone knows- we haven't!).

But also, these fellow non-Saints send in info from their corners of the globe from time to time, such as:

Lucero in their hometown (more or less) of Memphis for their annual New Year's Eve show at the famed Young Avenue Deli! With them is another one of my favorite bands, and on the forthcoming Best of 2007 list, Glossary!


Glossary will also be here in the big town on Saturday night at the Corner Lounge with Ghostfinger and local legend Carl Snow's Summer of Love. Both shows will prove to be absolutely crazy, with the Lucero NYE show to be positively R-O-W-D-Y!


Also to our attention, is the listing of the Drive-By Truckers upcoming album "Brighter Than Creation's Dark" on Amazon. In addition to pre-sale info, there are snippets of each song...Check'em out. The album is due out on January 22 on New West Records.



While on the Truckers, our friends at Southern Shelter posted this from Patterson's recent AIDS Benefit in Athens, Georgia. And to top that off, SS provided at link to a September DBT show which showcased a bunch of the new songs. Listen here.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

So Drink Your Gin and Tonic-ah

Today is the first full day of Hanukkah, as it began last night at sundown, so we figured what better way to begin the Festival of Lights than with another holiday video from Adam Sandler...We all know and love this song dearly.

Enjoy...and Shalom!!


Monday, December 3, 2007

Last week - November 25th - December 1st

What a(nother) week:

First of all, finally a bootlegged video has surfaced of the new Social Distortion song "You Can't Take It With You" that Ness and Company have been trying out the last few weeks. Here it is below:




The Cure announced their make-up date for Atlanta that they canceled in the fall.

My newest Irish hero in Dublin stole 450 kegs (!!!!) from the Guinness Brewery! What did he do with all of that beer? I hope he had one hell of a weekend kegger, that I'm sure he doesn't remember!

The Brothers of the Feathers, also known as the Black Crowes, have announced the completion of their first album since 2001. Warpaint will be out on March 4th on Silver Arrow Records. The album will have 11 tracks with help from a new bird in the nest, the North Mississippi All-Stars frontman Luther Dickinson. Similarly, the All-Stars have a new album coming out too in January.

Moz tells NME to "Shut Your Mouth" as he is suing them for defamation. Moz feels that NME twisted his words to make him sound like a racist after printing comments on the "immigration explosion" in England.

This is not news that I like to share. Speaking of Skynyrd from an earlier post, Artimus Pyle, not the O.G. drummer, but the drummer of prominence and of their hey-day, was arrested in Florida for the second time after failing to register as a sex offender. More here.

And finally, daredevil Evel Knievel died on Friday at the age of 69 in Clearwater, Florida. Knievel, known for his death-defying stunts and long distance jumps, complained of breathing problems while at his condo on Friday night. He died before an ambulance could get him to the hospital. After all these years, who would have thought that not breathing would be enough to silence Evel. Not me. Rest in Peace, Good Sir.




Congrats!

Congrats to the Essence of Rock N Roll (aka Byron) and to his bride to be Kelly Marie. Both are good friends of us here at SDB and they were engaged in Nashville this weekend! Congrats to them. They are getting married next fall, on a home football Saturday of course. Why? I don't know- they tried to explain, but I can't remember...too many gameday drinks. We have almost a year to get them to move the wedding to the next off week. That's the goal.


Congrats Guys! If you know'em, holler at them. If not, you should. They are good people...well, she is. He's one of us.

"Blue Sunday" will be a Super Sunday

From Tom Petty's myspace:

Broadcast to nearly 1 billion people in over 230 countries and territories worldwide, the Super Bowl is the marquee event of American sport and television.Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will rock this year's Super Bowl Halftime Show as legendary talent such as Prince, Paul McCartney, and The Rolling Stones have in recent years.Superbowl XLII will be broadcast on FOX on February 3, 2008.

Read the NFL Press Release

Watch the trailer below...(I can't believe there is a trailer. Wait, yes I can.)



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Six words for you:

"Oh My, My!! Oh Hell Yes!!"

In the Days of My Youth


It was rumored today that mother-effing Led Zeppelin will headline Bonnaroo 2008. Reports have been circulating that Zep will announce this after their make-up Atlantic Records Tribute show this weekend in London. Ian Astbury of The Cult announced (prematurely) blurted out last month in Cincinnati that The newly reunited Cult will be opening for Zep in '08. I guess we will see for both bits of speculation.

As for more speculation, also rumored to be on the Bonnaroo bill will be Metallica, in support of their upcoming 2008 release.

I don't know yet how I feel about either of these possible announcements (not counting the Cult opening slot...does that really matter). One of these is huge! One of these is not. Can you can which one is which?

Now, I am not a big fan of all of the recent (in the last ten years, Thanks KISS) reunion tours, which seem to be about, no, Money?? This reunion rash has included every big group from the past forty years that has at least one original member left...Guns 'N Roses, Skynyrd. Others with more than just one member: Fleetwood Mac, the aforementioned KISS, the Dead, The Who. And those with most or all of the original/main members: the Police, Eagles, the E Street Band, Black Sabbath.

Lorne Michaels can keep trying for the Beatles if he wants...If Nirvana reunite, I effing quit. And Elvis and Johnny Cash too. I swear I will.

Countless others. There are more everyday. As quickly as they break up, they reunite. As one band breaks up, two more reunite. Like cockroaches coming back from the dead, except they never really were dead, they just went on an indefinite hiatus due to musical differences, drug problems, groupies/girlfriends/wives/ex-wives and royalty checks.

"We need that money, uhh, I meant that we miss the music, and we have so much still to say."


But this IS Zeppelin we are talking about. The greatest rock band of all time, and it's not like they are reuniting with some jobbers filling in. It will be 3/4 of them, and Bonzo's boy on the see-through skins (I hope they are at least), so it's not like it's Axl and some guys off the street that were hanging out in front of the liquor store. This is Jimmy, John Paul and Robert, with Jason filling in for his daddy, the original God of Thunder. So I guess I can kinda look past this as just a reunion show/tour type of deal, and look at it as a learning experience, a cultural, historical and cataclysmic event in the life of and for the generation of those of us that had the (mis)fortune of being born too late to see the real thing in real life. In the days of my youth I still was not around for even latter day Zep: just eleven days too late.

Now IF we get the reunion version of Zep (and that's still a pretty big IF), I reckon that it's alright with me. Zeppelin just happen to be the soundtrack and background music for Monday Night Football tonight too, promoting Mothership. Ironic? Coincidence? I like to think not. Not that the 'Roo and MNF have anything in common...except that they are both hopefully featuring the Gods' hammers. ...And they are on the cover of the new Rolling Stone, that came in the mail today too.

Now, Metallica, hmm, not so much anymore...maybe if they play a bunch of old stuff...and don't threaten to sue me again (God, I wish I still had my Napster letter from the attorneys!). But they will be playing lots of new stuff, trying to hawk their new album and new material to all of us. But not me, and not the older kids that remember when Metallica meant something other than MP3s and haircuts.

There's always the youngsters with Daddy's dollar and no sense of history...suckers!

Friday, November 30, 2007

A Red Hot...Appetite for Destruction

The second wildfire of the season hit Malibu this weekend, forcing a bunch of celebrities out of their homes and destroying several of their homes.

Celebrities that either lost their homes, had damage to their homes or had to evacuate include: Flea, Axl Rose, Matthew McConaughey, Minnie Driver, Gabrielle Reese, Donna D'Errico and Jennifer Anniston. Read more here.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Numba One Stunna, err, Numba One Dumb-a

Tennessee's on fire this week (sorry for the bad joke, California...)! Sticking with Tennessee news, we have more to report. Not only did we have the first inductions to the Musicians Hall of Fame, but we had a big time (well, not that big time, at least to me any my circle of friends) celebrity drug bust just up the road from the SDB HQ here in the big town.

Rapper Birdman (aka Baby, and sixteen members of his crew were arrested yesterday in Kingsport, Tennessee for a large amount of weed (a pound to be exact!) and weapon possession. His RV was pulled over after making an improper lane change after almost running a tractor trailer off the road. Officers came on board after smelling some of the magic herb...Birdman was released on $1,500 bond on Wednesday.




Check out the full story here.

Birdman to MTV

Birdman Myspace

Tennessee Representin' (What What!!)

Stars turn out to honor first inductees to Musicians Hall of Fame

(borrowed from)
JOHN GEROME, Associated Press
Originally published 09:49 a.m.
November 27, 2007


NASHVILLE - They helped make some of the best-loved songs in popular music with the likes of Stevie Wonder, Patsy Cline and Elvis Presley, but they were content to let the stars take the spotlight.

But on Monday, artists including Garth Brooks, Vince Gill, Peter Frampton, Amy Grant and Roger McGuinn paid tribute to some of the musicians who played behind the big names, as the Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum honored its first class of inductees.

"These are the players who've been making music for America for many years," said Harold Bradley, a guitarist for The Nashville A-Team, an inductee that has played for Cline and Brenda Lee. "If you take us away, you won't have anything but the voice in the song, and as great as they are, we are the setting for the diamond."

The Hall of Fame opened last year just south of the city's honky-tonk district. Founder Joe Chambers wanted to honor the musicians who help create some of the most memorable recordings in popular music but who often get overlooked.

Inductees included The Nashville A-Team; The Funk Brothers; The Wrecking Crew; The Memphis Boys; The Tennessee Two; and The Blue Moon Boys.

The musicians played on hits for artists including The Beach Boys, Johnny Cash, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, George Jones, The Supremes, Frank Sinatra and others.

"For just about every recording artist, they couldn't have made it without the musicians sitting behind us," Lee, who co-hosted the event at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center with actor Creed Bratton of "The Office," told the crowd.

Vince Gill paid tribute to Presley's Blue Moon Boys with his version of "That's All Right," while Frampton honored the Funk Brothers with his performance of "Signed, Sealed and Delivered."
"The music the funk brothers made was a real education and it's one I'm not done with yet," Frampton said.

Funk Brothers drummer Uriel Jones was moved. "I've been choked up all day. All the great musicians up here; I'm just excited to be among them," he said.

The Nashville A-Team consists of Bradley, Ray Edenton, Charlie McCoy, Bob Moore, Hargus "Pig" Robbins and Jerry Kennedy; The Funk Brothers is Jones, Joe Messina, Eddie Willis and Bob Babbitt; The Wrecking Crew is Billy Strange, Don Randi, Larry Knechtel, Joe Osborn, Hal Blaine, Lyle Ritz, James Burton, Jim Horn and Mike Deasy; The Memphis Boys is Bobby Emmons, Bobby Wood, Gene Chrisman, Mike Leech and Reggie Young; The Tennessee Two is Marshall Grant and Bob Wooten, who replaced the late Luther Perkins; and The Blue Moon Boys is Scotty Moore and D.J. Fontana.

The nominees are chosen by other musicians rather than industry executives, with a new class of inductees expected each year.


© 2007, The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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Other Links:



Monday, November 26, 2007

Riot, Quiet(ed)

Borrowed from the AP and http://www6.comcast.net/news/articles/entertainment/2007/11/26/Obit.Dubrow/:


LAS VEGAS —
Kevin Dubrow, lead singer for the 1980s heavy metal band Quiet Riot that scored a hit with "Cum on Feel the Noize," was found dead in a Las Vegas home. He was 52. The cause was not immediately known.

A neighbor summoned police and paramedics Sunday to the house where he was pronounced dead, police and coroner's officials said. There was no forced entry, and no suspicious circumstances were reported, police Officer Jose Montoya said Monday.

Quiet Riot was perhaps best known for its 1983 cover of "Cum on Feel the Noize." The song, featuring Dubrow's powerful, gravelly voice, appeared on the band's album "Metal Health", which was the first by a metal band to reach No. 1 on the Billboard chart.

DuBrow recorded his first solo album in 2004, "In for the Kill," and the band's last studio CD, "Rehab," came out in October 2006.

"I can't even find words to say," Quiet Riot drummer Frank Banali wrote on his Web site. "Please respect my privacy as I mourn the passing and honor the memory of my dearest friend Kevin DuBrow."

Determination of the cause of death was pending an autopsy and toxicology results, Clark County coroner's spokeswoman Samantha Charles said.

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On an unrelated side note, Quiet Riot is also the band where a young man named Randy Rhoads first made his mark as a guitar slinger before being picked up by some guy named Ozzy...

See also:

Saturday, November 24, 2007

What a Short Strange Week It's Been

What in the world is going on with music and society this week?

First, The Mother-Effing Diamond comes out and says that he wrote "Sweet Caroline" about Caroline Kennedy when she was just a wee little girl at the age of eleven. Thinking about the lyrics, the song turns out to be on the creepy, pervy side...

Neil Diamond = Pervert?

Also in non-related, other kiddie music news, Lil' Romeo, the famed young rap star protege of his famed old rap star, semi-actor, music mogul, NBA wannabe and straight-up No Limit Soldier daddy Master P (Uhhhh!!!), is headed to college (who would've thought it? He's trying to better himself by gettin' up out da hood, G!) at the University of Southern California on a basketball scholarship. I guess it pays to have all of those basketball shoes and jerseys now. Read more about the Lil' Balla here.

Willie Nelson is supporting an anti-dogfighting bill in Georgia. Ironically, he called his latest tour "The Last of the Breed Tour" with Merle Haggard and Ray Price. Nelson just announced the first string of his 2008 tour schedule this week, too. Willie's back On the Road Again, you old dog you.

And in less exciting and almost apathetic news, U2 played a surprise 20-minute acoustic set in London to 200 people in support of the Mencap's charity, Little Noise Sessions. Does anyone even care about U2 anymore?

No? Didn't think so. I guess that it is apathetic news. Nevermind.

Go Vote...or Don't Bitch


2007 is almost over and with '08 being an election year, it's our duty to go vote... Hmmm, so many great choices...and some that are, eh, mediocre, maybe even marginal at best...and some that are just plain awful. But that's every election, right? You have your favorites. I have mine. Sometimes they will coincide, sometimes they will differ.

Luckily for all of us, 2007 is an election year, too. Every year is an election year here at SDB, and everywhere else on the internet and for those that have access to a computer. Check out the Plug Awards for some of this year's best albums and artists, as well as venues, mags, websites, stores, etc...

Do your part and vote. This is your chance for your faves of '07 to shine, so help them out.

I have begun putting together my Best of '07 lists. These will start matriculating in the coming weeks, as well as a list of things to look forward to in the Year of the Rat. 2007 has been a great year, so it will be hard to pick the best, but there is plenty o' good tunes to choose from, so it won't be too difficult to pick the best ones and my faves.



PS: 2007 is the Year of the Pig or Boar, in case you were wondering...


Mean Gene


I found this article on the local newspaper website (What's a newspaper? Who reads the actual physical paper anymore? Do they even print it any longer?) Anyways, I have been an above average KISS fan since I saw them in the summer of 1996 in Pittsburgh on their first reunion tour. Not that I was a big fan then, at the tender age of 15, but seeing KISS was more of a Plan B, especially since we were planning to see the Smashing Pumpkins in three days when this happened. Turns out that this was my first concert too- now that's they way to start out my downward spiral to my own personal private pit of hell of eternal rock n roll damnation...Now after seeing KISS a few times, I am a full fledge fan. Not necessarily a card-carrying member of the KISS Army, but a staong fan nonetheless. How can you not be, only if you've seen them in concert.


So, anytime KISS is in the news, I try to listen. If nothing else, Gene Simmons (the most vocal of the group; also the most entrepreneurial of them; also the most arrogant of all {humans} by far; and the best self-promoter in the game. He should write a book about, oh wait...) is always entertaining to some extent. I always try to watch, listen and learn when Gene speaks. (His show on A&E is something else. If you haven't seen it, give it a shot if nothing else is on.)


The article below is classic Gene. Is he serious? Is he kidding? Does he really think that? Probably so, because he LOVES money...and power...and attention. Or is he being sarcastic- what's he going to do: repo some college kids' dorm room, a third-hand car, a cheap computer, a $347.63 savings account and a bong?


Who knows. He's Gene though- he does what he wants. Read on...

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Gene Simmons, Charmer

Some people feel that the recording industry's strategy of suing their fans to keep them from illegally sharing copyrighted music online is a little backward. Not KISS founder Gene Simmons. According to Simmons, the industry's problem is they haven't sued enough college kids:

The record industry doesn't have a (expletive) clue how to make money. It's only their fault for letting foxes get into the henhouse and then wondering why there's no eggs or chickens. Every little college kid, every freshly-scrubbed little kid's face should have been sued off the face of the earth. They should have taken their houses and cars and nipped it right there in the beginning. Those kids are putting 100,000 to a million people out of work. How can you pick on them? They've got freckles. That's a crook. He may as well be wearing a bandit's mask.

In case you were wondering what Simmons is up to these days, he's hard at work writing "Ladies of the Night," a "personal and historical overview" on the profession of prostitution. You stay classy, Gene Simmons.
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Yes, you stay classy, Gene Simmons. Oh wait- you've always been.

Well, at least to me since 1996, and that's all that really matters.


Happy Thanksgiving Weekend

I hope you are enjoying the Thanksgiving Weekend, and trust that you had a great Thanksgiving Thursday, filled with all the turkey, football, friends, family and (hopefully) music that you could stomach.

With that being said, here's some Thanksgiving leftovers for you to enjoy!


"Turkey lurkey doo and turkey lurkey dap.
I eat that turkey then I take a nap."






Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Pope Dylan and the Excommunication of Vegas

As I thought a little bit about this site and the contributions I have made thus far, it comes to my attention that even though I'm not a big fan of the "singer songwriter" title and genre, I have written my first two posts about quite possibly my two favorite songwriters, Bruce Springsteen and Steve Earle. In both cases I mentioned that each artist had the "Next Dylan" label placed on him at some point in time. I also mentioned that while I appreciate Dylan and the contributions he made to pop music, I do not go crazy about him like a lot of people do. He's not my favorite songwriter in the world nor is he probably in my personal top ten. That's not to say that I don't think he's one of the greatest, he's just not anywhere near one of my favorites. (For the record, my top 5 favorite songwriters probably look something like this in no particular order: Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle, Neil Young, Johnny Cash, John Prine, Stevie Wonder, Jay Farrar. Yes I know that was a list of 7 people for my top 5 songwriters. This is hard to do. Deal with it.)

It's not that I don't like Dylan. I really do. In fact I went through a small Dylan stage several years back where I got into him and really started digging a lot of his stuff. Blonde on Blonde is great. So is Highway 61 revisited and Blood on the Tracks. But the truth of the matter is that Dylan just really doesn't do much for me. In fact, 9 times out of 10 I'd rather here someone else sing and play his songs because at least then the songs begin to come alive and breathe a little. I feel like in another life Dylan could have been William Shakespeare or even Tennessee Williams. Both were brilliant writers, but when you start thinking about their plays they don't really come alive until the right players take on the right roles and make them their own. Hendrix did this with All Along the Watchtower much like Marlon Brando did with Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire. The words and characters that each artist wrote were brilliant in their own right, but it took someone else to truly give the words life. (For the record I have a Marlon Brando post in me somewhere just dying to get out. We'll tackle that at a later date.) Dylan had the incredible ability to put words together that created unbelievable art. The only problem with him, in my assessment, is that he lacked fire, soul, hurt, emotion, feeling and balls.

For my money I would always rather hear Hendrix play Watchtower, or Mike Ness' testicular tour de force rendition of Don't Think Twice It's Alright. They Band's version of When I Paint My Masterpiece has been a favorite as of late, and hell even Rage Against the Machine's (another band to whom I am pretty indifferent) at least give a sense of aggression to Maggie's Farm that is just lost to me in the Dylan version. Again, this doesn't make Dylan less great, but it does make you think a little about this greatest ever title. Can you be the greatest ever if other people performed your songs better than you did, especially with a guy like Neil Young on deck? Neil's voice isn't much either but the way he sings speaks to me. Cortez the Killer, Down By the River, Southern Man? Could anyone perform these songs better than Neil Young? Not in my mind.

Let me, however, be perfectly clear in saying that I do not fault Dylan for the fact that other people covered his songs better than he ever played them. I think this is something to be admired, to have created such sensational music that so many others wanted to be a part of it is one of the highest compliments any artist can be paid. His versions just don't do anything for me, and for that reason I just can't get into him as much as the rest of the known universe seems to think I should.

I will, however, make one exception to this whole post. I truly love to hear Bob Dylan sing It Ain't Me Babe. For some reason either the song, the words or the way he sings it (probably a combination of all three) just seems to work. He seems to embody the spirit of that song like no one else does, including Johnny and June (Hollywood please don't hate me for saying that). The combination of desperation and heartache and a little hint of a middle finger in the air just works with him in that song. That's probably why it's my favorite Dylan song ever.

Even though the movie was juvenile and crude, there is a line in Road Trip where the old Grandpa character tells the nerd pothead that he's "all brains and not enough cock and balls." This is how I feel about Dylan and a lot of other cerebral musicians like Radiohead, Joy Division, The Cure and others. Yeah they have some good songs, but they don't speak to me at all. They don't get into my guts and make me feel anything. They don't make me stop everything that I'm doing and listen to a song again. I could never put a Dylan song or album on repeat and let it almost burrow its way into my head or heart. I just can't seem to soak him in. For that matter, I don't get Dylan songs stuck in my head. He's brilliant, talented, and will be considered by most to be the greatest pop songwriter to ever live, but for me, it's simply too much brains and not enough cock and balls.

It's interesting to think about why Bob Dylan is the savior of pop music songwriting. Was he really that much better than everyone else? Did he come along at the perfect time? Are there others who would have been just as successful had they had the same timing and fortune as Dylan? I don't really know. I do think that Dylan was great, but I don't think he's any better of a songwriter than Neil Young, Springsteen or Johnny Cash. And I do think that timing played a major part in it. But then again I think that's true of any truly great artist. The same can be said of Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, Elvis, Springsteen, The Ramones, Nirvana, and Public Enemy. Sometimes timing has as much to do with greatness as anything else, not only with music. Would JFK have been the icon that he was if he had been President during the 50's? Not likely. Does that diminish his greatness? Not at all. I think the same can be said of Dylan.

I know that I might lost the 3 readers that Hollywood and I have in posting this, but then again this is my time to write what I think and feel, and the bottom line is that with Dylan I think plenty but I rarely feel anything at all. I don't deny his greatness, but just like you can have The Beatles, I'll take The Rolling Stones. You can have Dave Matthews, I'll take Steve Earle. You can have Ryan Adams, I'll take Jay Farrar. You can have Bob Dylan, I'll take Neil Young.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

A Blessing and a Curse

Keeping with the Truckers theme to non-related news, it came to my attention today that The Boss will be in Atlanta on April 25 in support of his and the E Street Band's new release, Magic. Yes, this is a blessing- the Boss doesn't come down South too much.

The curse is that that Friday I will be at Talladega for my annual boys' weekend o' filth at the race...

Now it has already been discussed about driving over from Talladega to Atlanta on Friday night to the show and then back to the 'Dega afterwards to resume our annual festivities. It's only two hours each way...What to do, oh, what to do...?

We are hoping for a Nashville or Lexington show in case everything doesn't quite come to fruition. We shall see.


Oh well, I'm off to see The Bravery with Straylight Run and De Novo Dahl.

It's Great to be Alive!



"It's Great to be Alive" is one of the DBTs hallmark one liners, and today is no different, for it certainly rings true. The DBTs recently released the track listing for their upcoming album Brighter Than Creation's Dark, set for release on January 22 on New West Records. Head over to their website for a track by track write-up from Patterson himself. Some of the descriptions aren't exactly about the songs, but hey, it's close enough, and the blurbs will surely match the songs, as Patterson usually hits the nail on the head. In this case, the DBTs hit all 19 songs (!!!) on the head! Patterson wrote nine of the songs, Cooley wrote seven, and Shonna Tucker contributed her first songs to the DBT catalog with three.

While there, check out their new bio too. Patterson dishes on what was a very exciting and tumultuous year for the Truckers, with the departure of Jason Isbell for his solo jaunt and debut album (which is well worth the time and money), the collaboration with legendary soulstress Bettye LaVette on her new album, Scene of the Crime, which I just picked up today (I'll let you know what I think), and an extensive acoustic cross country tour that kept going and going and going. Subsequently, it led to the new album as they auditioned and worked on new songs nightly right there on the stage. So they went right into the studio mid-tour and recorded this new album that will be out in just over two short months...

It is definitely "Great to be Alive"!

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Steve Moves to New York, and Leaves Us Far Behind

I had always heard about Steve Earle and how wonderful his songs were; how he was a part of the group of "chosen ones" from which the next Bob Dylan would emerge. He was the last of a dying breed, a true country outlaw who would not be defined by the Nashville norms of so many other lost souls. While Nashville and its scene painted itself red and cloaked itself in the warm, comfortable and very successful blanket of redneck cliches, half-assed drinking songs, pop-country pseudo crossovers and painful testicle-less love ballads, Steve Earle maintained a country music that both we, our grandfathers, our weird hipster cousin, and our old dirty uncle could all enjoy at the same time. No easy feat in today's inconsistent and impatient world of popular music. Because of his refusal to sell out, and because of several years of intense struggles with drugs, Steve Earle will never be mentioned in the same breath as so many of his popular country music peers from his time, like Garth Brooks, George Strait, Randy Travis or Brooks and Dunn. Steve didn't sell out stadiums and arenas. He didn't have 40 number one hits, nor do most people even know one of his songs outside of maybe Guitar Town and Copperhead Road (perhaps some know that now infamous, yet beautifully written John Walker's Blues, but only because of the stir and uproar it caused).

But friends I will tell you that when I finally decided to check out this Steve Earle guy, about whom I admittedly only new two songs (the ones mentioned earlier of course), I was amazed. He wasn't the next Dylan, he was some combination of Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen all wrapped into one. (As a quick side note I realize that I am beginning a trend in my posts that involve a sort of backhanded jab or poke at our Lord and Savior Robert Zimmerman. I like Dylan as much as the next guy, but find much of his music inaccessible and pretentious. I would write more but I'm already long-winded enough and this deserves its own post). His songs were very simple, yet so very powerful and moving. He drifted in and out of bluegrass, country, rock and roll, and sometimes even Irish folk music and meshed it all together beautifully. He had the grit and texture of Merle, the social conscience of Neil Young, the voice that was just a little left of center like Willie, and the ability to somehow make the whole so much greater than the sum of its parts like The Boss. How had I missed out for so long on something so extraordinary?

I began my journey with 2000's unbelievable Transcendental Blues. His blending of Irish folk themes and instruments with his rugged voice and alt-country lyrics is beyond incredible. This is one of only a few albums by anyone that I can put on any time and listen from start to finish. Some of the high points for me are the eerie Boy Who Never Cried, playful Steve's Last Ramble, agonizing Lonelier Than This, the bluegrass romp Until the Day I Die, and the absolutely devastating Over Yonder (Jonathan's Song) is one of the most powerful yet understated songs I have ever heard. The entire album takes you through the entire spectrum of his style and ability and shows you his uncanny ability to blend so many different themes and ideas together. Other albums from this time that I would absolutely lend my seal of approval to are 1996's I Feel Alright, 1997's El Corazon (probably my second favorite behind TB), and 2002's Jerusalem. There are others like 1995's Train A Comin' and 1999's The Mountain that are also good, but I have not given them the time they deserve for a true endorsement.

Then came 2004's The Revolution Starts Now. It's not a bad record. In fact I think that some of the songs are pretty good, and I appreciate Steve's insistence on creating a record that carried some political and social weight. But something never quite fit. There was something missing, or rather something added that caused some of that Steve Earle simplistic magic and heart to vanish. It seemed like it was done by a man who knew he had something important to say and made sure that he added enough firepower to ensure that it could not fly under the radar. The only problem was that this was against everything that we knew and loved about Steve Earle. He was ours. We knew him. So what if he wasn't on the cover of magazines. So what if he didn't get mentioned at the CMA's or the Grammy's. He was above all that. Just big enough that those who knew him could have others to gush to about his brilliance, but just far enough under the radar that it seemed like we had something special.

Of course there is a flip side to every coin. Artists must be allowed to grow or they begin to sound the same, or at least the ones who are mediocre songwriters at best do. This was always my argument against Dave Matthews. Yeah his first two albums were good, but what then? Everything sounded the same. He was finally exposed for the C-minus songwriter that he is. The band couldn't carry him anymore. This didn't seem to apply to Steve Earle. He had already had his metamorphosis after prison and rehab, and we were all just lucky enough that he still had something to say. Why abandon what was so extraordinary to create something so overdone and self-indulgent? Doesn't he know that he is supposed to make music for me and not for anyone else?

This leads us to his latest record, Washington Square Serenade. It essentially picks up where Revolution (and some might even say Jerusalem, but I am not one of them) ends. It has some very well written songs, many of them socially or politically charged, but the delivery just seems out of place to me. I cannot imagine listening to The Galway Girl from Transcendental Blues or Tanneytown from El Corazon with those awful synthetic drum beats that happen throughout Washington Square Serenade. It just doesn't seem right. There is beauty in simplicity and that beauty is just lost in this album. It's uneven, it's borderline pretentious, and it completely alienates those of us who have supported and loved all of the amazing work that Steve Earle has done during the course of his career.

I have heard some people say that the reason this album is so distracting and uneven is because Steve has finally found his true home in New York City and wanted this album to represent the fast-paced, never sleeping rattle and hum of his new home. That may very well be the case, and he may very well love New York. But I've been to New York too and I loved it as much as the next guy. My question is where were all of these New York music snobs when Steve was putting out any of the album gems that I mentioned earlier? They were at their personal pretentious New York coffee shop waxing poetic about the brilliance of Radiohead or Coldplay or even Dave Matthews. How many of them even know who Townes Van Zandt was (for those of you wondering he was the personal hero/friend/mentor/bandmate of our friend Mr. Earle, and the namesake of his son, Justin Townes Earle)? But I guarantee you now that he is "one of them" there will be a Steve Earle renaissance in our near future. That's just how it works in New York.

As for Steve Earle, no I don't like this album. Yes I am disappointed. No I don't like him any less. He is a great artist. He's one of the greatest country songwriters of all time and granddaddy of alt-country music. Folks like Whiskeytown, Son Volt, Old Crow Medicine Show and others need to look upon him in reverence, for he was the one that paved the way for their success. While he will never be mentioned in the same breath as Garth, George Strait and others, he just might come up in discussions about Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, Billy Joe Shaver, Don Williams and Townes Van Zandt for the under appreciated and underrated country artists and songwriters of all time. Yeah, I think I can live with that. I hope Steve can as well.

The Strike Is Over!!

Breaking News:

Yes, rejoice! Sing praises! Hallelujah! Breathe a sigh of relief...for we are back online! I know that you were ALL holding your breath and waiting on SDB to get back to business, all while teetering on the edge of your seat, gasping, hoping, praying that we would be back to our regular antics and anecdotes, and of course updating the world of all that is relevant to The (non)Saints.

With that being said, the Hollywood SDB writer strike is now over, now that our Vegas liaison is finally on board! Check out The Boss review below...

(If only the rest of the non-faux Hollywood and Broadway would work as quickly as we do around here...)



Upcoming topics of interest:

Kings of Leon (finally)
Nada Surf (finally, too)


Glossary
Steve Earle
John Fogerty
The Black Angels
Neil Young
Nirvana
Thurston Moore

American Gangster
Dan in Real Life


Stay tuned, as we're back up and running now here at SDB!!

Monday, November 12, 2007

When That Which Is Old Becomes New Again

When my partner in crime, the one and only Hollywood himself, first told me about starting this blog, I thought what a great way to exorcise some of our thoughts and mad ramblings that, at least to us, sound not only insightful and honest, but borderline brilliant assuming you have ingested the perfect amount of barley, hops, and cheese Krystals. The world would finally be exposed to the genius of two of the finest music, movie and pop culture critics our mothers have ever known.

What happened? Hollywood got on the ball and I bricked. I bricked hard, and I bricked over and over again. He even gave me a slam dunk for my first assignment--review the new Springsteen and Steve Earle records and tell the world what you think. Are you kidding me? Two of my all-time top 20 favorite artists (and on some days top 10, but we'll get to that later), and all I have to do is help expose the 2 people who read this (myself and one Hollywood) to their extraordinary talents and artistry.

For the purposes of time and attention, I'm only going to tackle The Boss today. His album is much more enjoyable to write about and much less painful to endure. In fact, the entire thing is an absolute joy from start to finish.

I had been less than impressed with The Boss's last two original records (the absolutely wonderful We Shall Overcome Seeger Sessions not included), The Rising and Devils and Dust, both of which had some decent points, but never seemed to capture the true essence of the 10th Avenue Freeze Out E-Street Shuffle Rosalita Won't You Come Out Tonight Atlantic City Badlands music that can absolutely save your soul if you let it that has truly been lost since The Boss and the E-Street band parted ways. The did manage to reunite for The Rising, but it never had that E-Street feel to it. What came about was a Springsteen solo record that just happened to employ Clarence, Stevie, Max and the gang as its sessions players.

And the Bruce brought back the Magic.

What an absolutely lovely, enjoyable, at times down right beautiful record this is. Even down to the nah-nah-nah's this entire album feels like home. It seems to take me back to a time and place that I never even experienced. It feels as if there is something here that is special, that resonates and that we've all been waiting for in some way or another.

I suppose that in every generation there is a time where the people living during that time feel a certain sense of desperation that all of the good times, good music, good films, good art and good women (good being a relative term in that last example) are behind them. Rather than attempting to appreciate what is happening now or what might be ahead, there are a certain group of people out there who will always pine away for the times that they just missed. In fact, my friends and I have tortured ourselves with the "if you could go back in time and see any band/performer in any time and place who would it be?" game to the point that it isn't so much fun as it is sad. And it seems like no matter how many opportunities I might have had, they never seem quite as good as what came before. "Yeah I've seen the Stones, but could you imagine seeing them in the 60's? And oh my God I would cut off one of my testicles to have gotten to see Zeppelin." Is this normal? Does this have anything to do with the new Springsteen album? Maybe not, but I'm on a roll and I swear there is a point eventually.

It's not like there haven't been some amazing things that have happened in music in the last quarter century. We are the generation of Nirvana, one of the great rock and roll bands of all time. Yes, I said it. Of all time. We saw Hip Hop music grow up and in some weird way become this generations combination of R&B, rock and roll and punk all fused into one. And then just like Elvis, a Johnny-come-lately white boy came in and stole it too. There have been some legitimate Hall of Famers here: Tupac, Biggie, Pearl Jam, REM, Radiohead (of whom I am not really a fan, but do appreciate their importance), Guns 'N' Roses, Metallica, Garth Brooks (perhaps the Stevie Wonder of country music), U2, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Prince, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and tons of others, and at least one (Nirvana) that belongs in the Pantheon. So why does it still feel like we missed out, or should we be grateful we weren't born into the land of 'N' Sync and slut pop?

The answer is I don't know. I think we all feel like we missed out on something. I think that other than the folks who truly experienced the 1960's, the rest of feel like there is something more that we just cannot seem to grab cause we just cannot seem to figure out what it is and where to find it.

That is how Magic by Bruce Springsteen makes me feel, only in a good way. I think that one of the reasons that Led Zeppelin, The Velvet Underground, The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Springsteen and others became so important was because what they represented was something outside of the mainstream for the time. Led Zeppelin was harder and darker than any "mainstream" music was at that time (and yes when you are selling out stadiums you are mainstream). The VU, Ramones and Sex Pistols were 700% anti-establishment and wrote the book on being cool by being uncool.

And then there was Bruce Springsteen. He was in many ways the anti-Dylan. He was, by all rational accounts, a novice songwriter. There was little poetry, nothing very subtle at all in his writing, it was easily accessible to most anyone (meaning you didn't need 4 hours and a Princeton degree to "get it") and all of his early songs were essentially about the same thing: I've got this girl that I think I love and I think she loves me and she wants to settle down but I don't think her family likes me but I don't think I'm gonna stick around anyway because I want to be a rock star and get the hell out of this town. In writing, especially creative writing, students are always taught that if you have a choice between using 3 words to make a point and 4 words to make the same point, you always go with the smaller number. Bruce Springsteen never chose the smaller number. He told his stories his way, and even though it takes some creative and sometimes down right hurried singing to fit them into a strain, his songs are always better for it. He did things his way. He wrote songs about real people and real problems during two decades of decadence, and was never stingy with his words or his art in a time where the true artists were the ones who knew that less is more. In a time where nothing was sacred anymore, Bruce Springsteen made naive innocence cool.

In a way that's exactly what he's doing now. We are living in a much different age now. The music snobs of today (of which I am surely one of many) have very little interest in hearing about any artist that the mainstream public has even heard of, much less listened to. At your local music store, you will most certainly find 99% of the employees modeled straight after Dick and Barry from Nick Hornby's brilliant novel High Fidelity. They know more than you, don't like you, and it will absolutely ruin their day if you have ever heard of even one of their top 5 favorite bands/artists. Perhaps things have always been this way, but in the time of itunes, Napster (and all of its descendants), and Myspace, these "underground" artists are much more accessible to the general public, which gives any pompous asshole with too much time on his hands the ability to become an even bigger music prick than the guy at the record store. The whole music scene has essentially become a race to find the most obscure, weirdest, non-mainstream artist you can find and then to convince yourself that he/she/they are a genius. Problem is that whether we like to admit it or not, for many of these artists there is a reason that they are not signed and are destined for underground "greatness." It's because most of them suck and suck hard.

This is where the music snobs are in trouble with this whole access thing. Now that they can find virtually anything and everything at the click of a mouse, they actually have to rely on taste and quality rather than obscurity. What is really bizarre about this whole scenario is that what actually happens is the entire music snob world has now become the cliche. They have become the one thing that they despise, and it's actually quite enjoyable.

Bruce Springsteen is still one of the biggest artists in the world, and once again he is doing everything on his terms and making music that is completely different from what is considered mainstream while still somehow remaining accessible to everyone. For my money, he's the best around today and my favorite songwriter of all time no matter how many rules of good writing he breaks. He's over the top, he's big, loud, naive, innocent, and still makes me feel like if I want to I can still grab my guitar, go over to Mary's house and she and I can leave Jersey far behind. Does it matter that I've never even been to Jersey? Not at all. All that matters is that I can leave.

Friday, November 2, 2007

Foo Fighters - The Tabernacle - Atlanta - 10.4.07


The non-musical highlight of this spectacled show, as is with the two Foo shows I've been to, is where Dave jumps off the stage and runs through the crowd, all the while playing and not missing a beat (for the most part). This time, Diamond Dave stepped it up not only one notch, but two: he climbed up on the bar that runs the length of the left wall of the Tabernacle. He then runs the length of the bar, while playing a solo, then dueling back and forth with Chris during the breakdown of "Stacked Actors". Grohl and Shifflet went back and forth, shredding their guitars and trading licks back and forth as if they were playing "Thump". The solo duel winner was not clear cut, although Dave did prove to be the crowd's winner, as he took a huge shot of Jagermeister to top off his solo. He ran back down the narrow bar, jumped off and climbed back on stage and rejoined the rest of the Foos. While Dave was on the end of the bar playing, he was about ten feet away from us. Now usually we would be closer to the bar (...and to the stage too), but this show was sold out and we did good just to be inside and able to see the stage from where we were at. Luckily though, Dave brought the show to us and I was able to capture a few Pulitzer Prize Winning Shots with my very obvious hi-tech piece of photographic equipment...I call it my phone. I have never seen more phone cameras being pulled out to take a picture at the same time...you would have thought it was Mardi Gras and Girls Gone Wild was there.



But thinking back on this moment as the "non-musical" highlight of the show is kinda foolish. It's like the people saying that the non-football highlight of most Super Bowls is the Half Time Show....it's all apart of the show now, and it has become a staple, a must, a given; it's gonna happen. But it's always just as good if not better than you could have ever imagined. So in hindsight, that was the musical highlight of the show. That, and them playing "Everlong", which can never be beaten. Nope. I'm sorry it can't be. Many have tried, and all have failed.
Ahh, I do know the non-musical highlight of the show now. When the FF came on stage, I noticed a dark shadow on the side of the stage playing guitar and assumed that it was a tech helping fill out the sound and play rhythm. Nupe. After about three songs, the light shone on this mysterious dark stranger. I'll be damned if it wasn't Pat Smear. Yes, THE Pat Smear. The Pat Smear that played in the first full incarnation of the FF. The one that played on the second FF album (the best one, btw) and then quit the band. The same one that played in legendary LA punk outfit The Germs (and the current lineup). Oh, and the same one that played on the last leg of a little known band called Nirvana, and was introduced to the masses for the most part on their scarcely heard "Unplugged" show and album (and soon to be released dvd). Well, on second thought, this was a musical highlight too, not a non-musical highlight. Damn. Maybe there wasn't a non-musical highlight. And that's just fine with me.
Below is the set list. It's pretty strong. The Foos have more material than most bands do these days, as they have been around for 12+ years, have 6 albums, a live acoustic album, some dvds, and a slew of unreleased and bootleg materials.

The Tabernacle - 10/4/07
Let it Die
The Pretender
Times Like These
Cheer Up Boys (Your Makeup is Running)
I'll Stick Around
Long Road to Ruin
Breakout
Learn to Fly
The One
Stacked Actors (w/ extended dueling solos)
Skin and Bones
Marigold
My Hero
See You
Everlong
Monkey Wrench
All My Life
----encore----

Aurora
But Honestly
Best of You
Oh. I do know the non-musical highlight: we saw about 5 different fights, all of which were awesome in their own right. The best one was where they guy couldn't stand up and the bouncer had to carry him out. But he didn't want to go peacefully into that good night (and why should he?). So the bouncer dragged him out, only to be held up by the guy grabbing ahold of any and all railing that he could hold on to. That led the bounced to dragging him and pulling him even harder. Well, this eventually gave way to essentially throwing the guy down about 20 steps, with him landing on his head. The bouncer then picked the guy up, took him to the door and I guess nicely escorted him out...Yea, that was pretty cool.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Rocktober Is Over...A November (to Try) to Remember is Here

Sadly, Rocktober is over...I must say it went by too fast, in a blink of my half-opened, firewater hindered eyes...and a hazy memory of 8 shows, 3 football games, another birthday that puts me closer and closer to the big 3-0 and the welcoming of my newest favorite beer to Tennessee (finally)! And I can't quit drinking this Lager- it's like water..."It's so good...once it hits your lips, it so good!" (What's up with all of the Ferrell references lately?!)

I ended up missing 5 of the 13 shows that I wanted to attend: High on Fire, The Melvins, Superdrag and two unlisted shows: ZOSO and the Old Crow Medicine Show. But I did trade out the Superdrag reunion shows (they played two consecutive nights) for an additional last second, no-planning necessary random college football weekend getaway to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to see my Vols take on the Crimson Tide...

I chose...poorly. Not that the trip wasn't awesome- it was. We got blown out of the water though by The Tide and it was hotter than Cooter Brown, which always puts a damper on what usually becomes a rowdy weekend.

As for the shows, I had a blast at all of them other than the Type O Negative show. I still owe reviews and pics for the Foo Fighters, Kings of Leon and Nada Surf shows...and they are coming, I promise! For some reason, I didn't even think about reviewing Hank III, so I wasn't really thinking about it while watching the third generation hellbilly doing his thing. I didn't even take a single picture, one because I was so far away (it was packed), and two, because I have seen and met him several times. It never really occurred to me that I needed to take some pics. In hindsight, again, I chose...poorly.

I'll get caught up, sooner or later...But now, A November (to Try) to Remember is here...and the rock just will not stop!

Coming up this month:

Leon Russell @ The World Grotto - Saturday, November 3rd (I will not be in attendance to this as tickets are a mere $100 each...it's a very small club. I just wanted to mention this unusual show.)

Reverend Horton Heat, Hank III & Nashville Pussy @ The Orange Peel - Friday, November 9th

Helmet @ Blue Cats on Tuesday, November 13th

The Bravery @ Blue Cats on Wednesday, November 14th

GWAR @ Blue Cats on Wednesday, November 28th

Dinosaur Jr @ Blue Cats on Thursday, November 29th


Also, there are several UT games this month - three consecutive games at home and the last one in Lexington, Kentucky, which is just a short 2.5 hour drive away...hint hint...

As you can see, so far, November isn't too shabby either...it's no Rocktober, but it'll do.

IT HAS TO!