Rolling Stone Country Presents - Margo & the Pricetages Live at Exit/In

Here's some more good music coming out of Nashville, and if you act quick you can download a four song sampler thanks to Rolling Stone Country and Noisetrade.
www.margoprice.com
Margo & the Pricetags facebook
@missmargoprice

Chris Stapleton - "Amanda" - Live at Grand Ole Opry

Chris Stapleton has an album coming out this spring and I wouldn't mind if he puts this cover on it.

Nick Verzosa

Every now and then I sleep forget about an album that I had every intention of mentioning.  This one came to me from Texas from Nick Verzosa.  The entire album is a country beacon in the stormy rough of crappy music, but the song I keep going back to is "I Wouldn't Answer."  It's one of those career songs.  Check it out below, but don't sleep on the rest of the album.  If country radio had more Texas music like this I'd be listening.








Buy the album She Only Loves Me here.

Nick Verzosa - I Wouldn't Answer

Web: http://www.nickverzosa.com/

Twitter: @nickytheflip

Turnpike Troubadours - Goodbye Normal Street

When the dust settles on this year of music, I think we will find Goodbye Normal Street near the top of the heap.  If you've been wishing for a great country album for a long while, this one will scratch that itch.  Salty lyrics, some downright nasty fiddle licks, and just enough twang.  This album has moved in and taken residence in my CD player since I received it, and it won't be leaving any time soon.

Buy the album here.









Turnpike Troubadours - Empty As a Drum
Turnpike Troubadours - Gin, Smoke, Lies


Web: Turnpike Troubadours
Twitter: @TpTroubadours

Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real - Wasted

Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real is a new band on my radar, but Wasted is their second full-length album. Immediately recognizable on the first play of the disc is the nasally vibrato in the lead vocal. Yes, it's excellent.  Yes it's familiar. No, it isn't Willie. But Lukas is Willie's son.
Lukas lays claim to the songwriter's triple crown on this album: he writes the songs, sings them as well, and also plays all the guitars. As you would expect, there is no good genre with which to characterize Lukas' music. A little country, soul, and a lot of rock.  Maybe a sprinkling of jazz, and a dose of the blues. Check out "Heart of the Matter," my favorite after first listen. This is one of the best songs I've heard this year.  Highly recommended.

Lukas Nelson and POTR - Heart of the Matter

And check out a performance of the title track "Wasted."

The Deep Vibration - Strange Love

My first exposure to Nashville's The Deep Vibration was a couple years ago when they opened for Jason Isbell at the Dame in Lexington.  They came on stage to a small crowd but those of us that showed up early were treated to a great set of original rock/soul/country music.  I picked up their EP Veracruz, (highly recommended by the way) and played it pretty heavily for a few weeks.  I didn't hear anything else about the band until a few days ago when a Facebook post by Andrew Combs clued me in that The Deep Vibration is releasing Strange Love, their first full length album.  After hearing it, it seems Strange Love picks up where Veracruz left off.  Same sort of soul rock songs about love lost which songwriter Matt Campbell's haunting vocals deliver perfectly.  Matt has a unique rhythm to his vocals as well, slightly out of time, yet perfectly in place if that makes sense.  The new album has some pianos and organs on it as well as some horns, but the core instruments (Jeremy Fetzer -Guitar, Jeff Irwin -Bass, Luke Herbert -Drums) carry the weight when it's time for rock and roll (see "Jack the Robber" below).  So check out the tracks below, get their Daytrotter session, and go see them if you get the chance. 

The Deep Vibration - Jack the Robber  (from Strange Love) (Buy)
The Deep Vibration - Tennessee Rose  (from Veracruz) (Buy)
Gillian Welch helped out with vocals on this one.

Free Music: Bobby Bare. Jr. - A Storm, A Tree, An Acoustic EP

 Bobby Bare, Jr. has a five-song acoustic EP that you can download for free in exchange for signing up for his newsletter.  It's a good chance to check out some of Bobby's tunes and consider coming to his show at Zanzabar on Jan. 30th.

Kelsey Waldon - Anchor in the Valley

Anchor in the Valley is the first album from west Kentuckian Kelsey Waldon. On the whole it is definitely a country album, but there is something thankfully unique in the combination of Kelsey's songwriting (she wrote all ten tracks), the beautiful vocals, and the steel guitar driven instrumentation. You can pick up the album for $5 on bandcamp or Amazon and Itunes if you prefer. Kelsey is finishing up a new EP to be released this coming spring and will feature another outstanding backing band.
First, here is one of my favorite songs from Anchor in the Valley.

Kelsey Waldon - The Light (from Anchor in the Valley) (Buy)

Next, here is a really nice video of "Mississippi Ride", another great song on the album.
 

"Ballad for Modern Times Pt 2" another good one from the album.


This last one is an audio Youtube of a Neil Young cover, "Don't Let it Bring You Down." Maybe this is the Neil Young cover that will be on the upcoming EP. No video, but be sure you check it out; it's good.

Ben Gilmer & The Sidearms - Heart That Burns

I'm way behind on this one, and I'm not going to make excuses.  I'm posting my favorite song off of the rather short eight track album.  If you are a fan of classic Rolling Stones style country-rock, chances are you'll enjoy this so do yourself a favor and check it out.  I honestly don't know the best way to purchase the album, so contact Ben through his myspace page and see if he can point you in the right direction.

Ben Gilmer & The Sidearms - Wildcat (from Heart That Burns)

Free Band of Heathens download

The Band of Heathens have a cover of "Sin City" available for download here. All it will cost you is an email address.

Chase Fifty Six - Allatoona Rising

Chase Fifty Six is a Georgia band that plays Georgia rock, a perfect blend of unapologetic country lyrics, dirty rock and roll guitars, and vocal deliveries that leave no doubt that the singer has lived the words he's singing. Their latest album, Allatoona Rising, out on Dirtleg Records, is packed with eleven such examples. Stories about useless women, trailer parks, and love, sometimes all in the same song, are common themes on the album. I'll be catching Chase Fifty Six if they ever make it close enough. Until then, you can buy the album here. Check out the two tracks below to get a feel for the album.
Chase Fifty Six - Worst Thing
Chase Fifty Six - Goodbye Princess

Clark Paterson - Songs for Another America

Clark Paterson, a Nashville based singer-songwriter who was born and raised in Sandusky, MI and spend most of his college years and early 20's in Chicago, just released his first EP, "Songs for Another America". Clark draws on his experiences with love ("Rather Regret It"), rural life ("God's Country"), deciding to play hooky from work ("Good Afternoon") and paints pictures of the strange ("Abandoned Boat in the Woods"). An excellent first EP that was helped by the excellent backing musicians (including members of Lambchop and Chris Scruggs) and the production work of Mark Nevers. The songs are catchy, well-written and if this is a glimpse of work to come, Clark's best work is still yet in front of him. Definitely worth picking up and rocking out to in your truck.

For music previews, pictures and tour dates, check out Clark's website here (with links to social networking).

Andrew Combs: Tennessee Time

Today's album is another one that found me via Reviewshine. I'll preface by saying it is great to see that there is still great original and pure country music being made today. Andrew Combs' debut EP Tennessee Time is on my short list for album of the year. Yeah, I know it's an EP but I'd rather have six excellent songs over one or two with twelve "fillers" any day. Andrew has written 5 of the songs and the choice cover he does, "Dark End of the Street", has become my favorite version of the song. Andrew's voice is just gravelly enough to suit the country-rock crowd, his delivery is just as good as Haggard or Jones, and his songwriting, based only on this EP, is top shelf as well.
You can buy Tennessee Time here, and check out Andrew's website and myspace for show dates. Check out the tracks below in the meantime. Let me know what you think too.

Andrew Combs - Tennessee Time
Andrew Combs - Too Stoned To Cry

Also, check out this video of Andrew doing Tennessee Time and a little bit of an interview.

Derek Hoke - Goodbye Rock N' Roll out 3/16

Derek Hoke is a son of the south working out of Nashville, and his latest record "Goodbye Rock N' Roll" is a real country album. It's a flashback oasis in the middle of a pop-country desert. The songs are instantly familiar and there isn't one single Nickelback crunchy guitar riff on the whole album to ruin it (I'm looking at you, Jason Aldean, Craig Morgan, etc). In fact, the pedal steel takes the instrumental spotlight on most of the tracks. The album has a throwback feel and sound, like Luke the Drifter-meets-Buddy Holly. The songwriting, which I'm assuming is all Hoke's; no info readily available), is excellent, as are the vocals. Very good production on the album. You won't need to use the skip when you put this disc on. You can download the album from Hoke's bandcamp site for $5, or get the disc from Electric Western.
For those of you lucky enough to be going to SXSW, Hoke will be there too.
TOUR DATES
3/17 - SXSW - Electric Western Records Party @ The Hole In The Wall - Austin, TX
3/18 - SXSW - TBA
3/19 - SXSW - Flipnotics Coffeespace Cafe @ 4pm - Austin, TX
3/20 - SXSW - Thunderbird Party @ 5pm - Austin, TX

Check out these two tracks from the album:
"Still Waiting" - Derek Hoke
"Goodbye Rock N' Roll" - Derek Hoke
And here is a righteous video of another album cut: :"Where'd You Sleep Last Night?"

The Only Sons - Steel Hearts

Not exactly a new album, but since I didn't have a blog when it was new I figure it's fair to mention it now. Steel Hearts is the latest release (Spring 2009) by Murfreesboro, TN outfit The Only Sons. I've posted my favorite track off the album below, but you can download the whole album for free from the band's website. If you are the type of listener who needs to label a band as country or rock or this or that you may have a hard time with this album. It has country songs, and it has rock songs. Not country-rock, not alt-country, but pure Rock-n-Roll Songs that stand in the hallway smoking cigarettes and whistling at Country Song's girl as she walks by. That's not to say that the country songs aren't good, but the electric guitar in the rock numbers just do it better for me. The best thing about a free album is usually the price, but that isn't the case with Steel Hearts. It's a very solid album with a handful of very good songs that are growers, and three or four that are becoming favorites. The album was released on Sophomore Lounge, home of Slithering Beast and State Champion. The Only Sons are playing February 13th with Slithering Beast at Third Street Dive in Louisville.

Drew Blood - The Only Sons (Buy Here)

Copper Ridge - "One Shot of Foolish Pride"

I found this song years ago on Garageband.com by chance. It is by far the best song I ever discovered there. It is a great pure country song. The guitar playing is slightly behind the beat giving it a little Willie Nelson feel. I couldn't find a web page for the band, but you can see the profile at garageband.
One Shot of Foolish Pride - Copper Ridge

Country Music Highway: Dwight Yoakam

This post will hopefully be the first in a series featuring artists from the Country Music Highway in eastern Kentucky. The Country Music Highway is the stretch of U.S. Route 23 that runs north-south in eastern Kentucky. An unusually large number of country music stars were born in the counties that the highway lies in. I want to start the series by featuring one of the bigger stars, and one of my absolute favorite artists.
Dwight Yoakam was born in Pike County, KY. He writes and sings a lot of songs that are influenced by lifestyles of the area. Coal mining, preaching, family. The song below is one he wrote about the highway itself and how the mentality in the area is to learn the basics and then take the highway north out of the area to find a decent job. Dwight's solo acoustic album dwightyoakamacoustic.net has a great version of the song on it, and it is probably my favorite Dwight album by far. The version below is recording for a radio broadcast on KPFK in California on August 4th, 1985. This is before Dwight hit it big. The track is over seven minutes, but the second half is some great interview/discussion with Dwight. I got this set from A Truer Sound a while back. Check it out here. Hopefully it is still downloadable.

Dwight Yoakam - "Readin', Writin', and Rt. 23"

Goose Creek Symphony

I discovered Goose Creek Symphony's Welcome to Goose Creek probably ten years ago in a stack of old beat up records. The album is an experience and should be heard beginning to end in one sitting. However, the track featured below convinced me to upgrade to the CD format. And even though the album is almost forty years old now, you can still get it from a number of sites. The music falls into a bastard of a genre, with bluegrass, folk, country, and blues the likely fathers. Charlie Gearhart, band founder and songwriter, comes from Goose Creek in southeast Kentucky. You can read some of his "fishing stories" on the band's website. The band plays in KY area frequently so keep an eye on the site and catch them live if you can.
"Right Track" (from 1971's Welcome to Goose Creek) (Buy here!)

Fifth on the Floor

Fifth on the Floor is a country band out of Lexington, KY with a new album, The Color of Whiskey, out on Sol Records. I am ashamed that I haven't seen them live, but I plan to rectify that in the next couple of months. I can't exactly find a link to buy the album on the website. All the more reason to see them live. I'll post an update if I get a purchase link figured out. Until then, check out the slow-burner below and visit their links to stream the rest of the album and check tour dates.

Fifth on the Floor
"Last Night in Memphis" (mp3)
from "The Color of Whiskey"
(Sol Records)

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