We Grew Our Hair Down to Our Eyes...

Really looking forward to this show. State Champion has their new album Stale Champagne that was released this week. Slithering Beast is retiring some older songs. Should be a good show at the Zeppelin Cafe.

Upcoming Area Shows

Some shows in the area that are coming up soon. Hopefully I can make it to a few. Let me know if you are going to catch any.

Jan 26th State Champion in store @ Ear X-tacy (Louisville)
Jan 29th Slithering Beast @ The Zeppelin Cafe (Louisville)
Jan 30th Band of Heathens @ Buster's Billiards and Backroom (Lexington)
Jan 30th Yardsale CD release show @ The Vernon Club (Louisville)
Feb 12th Lucero @ Southgate House (Newport)
Feb 13th Lucero and Glossary @ Buster's (Lexington)
Feb 13th Slithering Beast and The Only Sons @ Third Street Dive (Louisville)
Feb 19th Scott Miller @ Jim Porter's (Louisville)
Feb 20th State Champion @ Bluegrass Brewing Company (Louisville)
Feb 27th Yardsale @ Skull Alley (Louisville)

Drive-By Truckers:The Big To-Do (Live)

The Drive-By Truckers' The Big To-Do is less than two months from release. They have been playing the new tracks at the live shows lately, but sadly they don't have any dates in the Louisville area before the release. Thankfully, Sloan Simpson over at Southern Shelter recorded DBT's recent three night stand at the 40 Watt in Athens, Georgia. You can download all three nights concerts, along with a lot of other good music, for free at his site. I pulled out the tracks from the new album and zipped them up so I can listen until the studio album gets here. I'll share them here, but it is no way meant as a replacement for the official release. Also one track from the album wasn't played on any night, so you'll have to wait to hear that. Oh yeah, Stereogum does have an album version of one of the songs you can download. The new album isn't listed in the DBT store yet, but go ahead and check out all their other releases and merch.


New DBT Tracks (13 Tracks, 131 MB)

Slithering Beast/State Champion Upcoming Show

Two great bands are playing next Friday (Jan. 29th) at the Zeppelin Cafe in Louisville. Slithering Beast and State Champion. Both have been featured here. I'll post more details next week or you can take a little bit of initiative and check their sites yourself. I actually have a lot of local concerts on the agenda over the next two months and I'll share those as well. Til then, here is a video I pulled from the Beast's myspace.


driving drunk live @ ear-x-tacy

Slithering Beast | MySpace Music Videos

Lone Mountain Band - Ten Mile Tennessee

This song is a little gem by the Lone Mountain Band I found years ago available as a free download from the download.com music section. It popped up on the Ipod shuffle recently and has since become a favorite. You can now download this song and many more for free from the band's website. This is what good ballad bluegrass sounds like folks. Great lyrics too, but I unfortunately don't know who penned it. Clue me in if you happen to know.
Ten Mile Tennessee - The Lone Mountain Band (Visit the website for more free tracks)

Album Review: Yardsale - Knock Alley West

I've featured Yardsale on the blog before. Check out that post here if you missed it. Go ahead. I'll wait. Okay. Now that you're all caught up, let's continue. Knock Alley West is out! And it was worth the wait. (I've decided to try to start rating albums I "review" with a numerical scale that is totally subjective and based on my own personal taste (see the Cheezeball Manifesto). Each song will get a score out of a possible ten. 10 is pure excellence, e.g. "Dead Flowers", 7-9 pointers are really good to great songs, 4-6 pointer are decent to strong songs, 2-4 pointers are songs that are average, and 0-1 pointers are songs that I would get up to skip even if I'm listening to vinyl and I've been drinking. Heavily.) I've been through the album three times now and here is the score I'm coming up with: 7 of 12 tracks are in the 7-9 point range with two receiving 9's. That's a very solid score. I didn't have to even give out any 1 pointers. The album lets the band show off their wide range of sounds. For example, the opening track "Until I Can't Remember" is guitar-driven rock with obvious Stones influences that would sound at home on a Deadstring Brothers album as well. The last track on the, "May the Lord Grant Me Peace", album is an acoustic country song with gospel and folk traits. Both songs are quite dissimilar, but are perfectly comfortable living under the same roof on this album. Other highlights are some ripping guitar work on "Mississippi's Flooding" and the slow-tempo "Slow Motion." You can buy the album from the band here. If you want to buy the album from the band in person they are having an album release show on Jan 30th at the Vernon Club. They will be performing the album in its entirety and will also be doing an in-store show at Ear X-tacy earlier in the day where you can buy the album also. Check the Yardsale website for more details.

Until I Can't Remember

May the Lord Grant Me Peace

A Train Not Running - Chris Knight & the Del McCoury Band

Today's song I lifted from the Woodsongs archives. Chris Knight is joined by the Del McCoury Band for a great version of one of Chris's best songs. The banjo seems to add even a bit more sorrow to the song than the album version. Del's band is one of the best in bluegrass. I only wish they would have added some harmony vocals. I imagine it would have sounded great. You can download or stream the whole show in audio or video from the Woodsongs Archives.
A Train Not Running

Correction to Grant Gilman Post

It appears that there was a track missing from the album download link yesterday. The new link for the correct album download is here.

The titles were screwed up previously meaning the track I posted yesterday was mislabeled. I have corrected it in that post.

Free Album: Grant Gilman - Homewrecker

Grant Gilman has an album he has made available as a free download. Homewrecker is pure alternative country. Twangy guitars, lots of fiddle and snare drum, solid bass, and obligatory vocals that sound like he's been swallowing sandpaper. The songwriting covers the typical country topics, but with just enough uniqueness to not sound cliche but still feel familiar.

Favorite line so far: (from "Save Me" posted below)
"I know I said I'd never lie. Well I guess I lied."

Download Homewrecker here:
Grant Gilman - Homewrecker
Grant Gilman - Vocals/Guitar
Tim Adcock - Guitar/Vocals
Matt Elkins - Bass/Vocals
Melissa Ogle - Violin
Kenn Furr - Drums

Grant Gilman on Myspace

Grant Gilman - Save Me