Justin Townes Earle

Our boy Justin walked home with some hardware last night at the Americana Music Festival.  He won New & Emerging Artist of the Year. Check out some photos of Justin (in his Where's Waldo cum 1950's accountant attire) and read about all the other winners here.

The "What Am I Gonna Eat For Lunch?" edition:

• We're just a few days away from the flagship 15th anniversary celebration at the Hideout Block Party -- There's still time to get tickets!

• There's a new Grammy category this year: "Americana." While the nominees for the category won't be announced for another month, USA Today runs down the year's top contenders, and includes our very own Justin Townes Earle as "Grammy-worthy." Read all about it!

• The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir will be having an unofficial, pre-Hideout Block Party record release bash at Reckless Records in Wicker Park (1532 N Milwaukee Ave) on Thursday, September 10 at 6pm. It's all-ages, free, and the band will have the new record on sale, so you can be the very first person on your block with your very own copy. Make your pals jealous!

• Hey foodies! We've got the Red Hook restaurant THE GOOD FORK catering our Brooklyn BBQ on September 26 at The Bell House. There will be FREE munchies to the first 150 people, but the good folks at the Good Fork will be selling small plates throughout the day. The Good Fork has been profiled in just about every NY foodie publication, and was recently featured on "Bobby Flay's Throwdown," where co-owner Sohui totally showed Bobby who's boss with her famous pot stickers.

The "Land of a 1,000 Isthmuses" edition:

We had our first two Midwestern Bloodshot Beer-B-Qs in Madison and Milwaukee this past weekend, and they were a rousing success! Thanks to the fine folks at the High Noon Saloon in Madison and The Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis for hosting us.

Look at all the fun you missed!

• The folks at Yeah Right attended the High Noon show and had this to say: "It was a great late afternoon/early evening of music, and an incredible value -five CDs purchased, four live bands, and three microbrews for a total of $42.  That won't even buy you a hoodie at a Katy Perry show."

• Rock of Arts was on hand in Madison and got some video footage of Justin Townes Earle, Ha Ha Tonka and Deadstring Brothers.

• Wanna pretend it's the weekend again? Just load Justin Townes Earle's entire High Noon set onto your iPod -- download the entire set here.

• Randy from Yard Dog—who's traveling with us to the shows with his miniature gallery of art by Bloodshot artists Exene Cervenka, Jon Langford, Rico Bell and Ben Weaver—also captured these shots from the Minneapolis show.

Now, don't pout if you feel left out -- there's still plenty of time to attend a Bloodshot Beer-B-Q of your own! We've got Boston THIS WEEK (buy tix here), then Philly, Chicago (reserve tix here), New York and Austin! Read all about it!

It's nearly September -- the stylish month where designers descend upon Bryant Park for New York Fashion Week and the September issues of glossy fashion mags are enormous. So, it's no suprise the most sartorial-minded member of the Bloodshot roster, Justin Townes Earle, is a "Style Star" in the September issue of GQ. Congrats, JTE! You can read the article here, where Justin says this about his wardrobe: "As a Southern man, there are two things I'm not afraid of: bow ties and white pants."

The "Air and Water Show" edition:

• The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir have just been added to Martin Atkin's "Tour:Smart PLUS weekend August 21 - 23." Martin played drums on a track from SYGC's upcoming album, ... and the horse you rode in on. If you'd like to sign-up for the weekend event which features many music industry how-to panels, go here. The Choir performs on Sunday, August 23.

• And speaking of SYGC, we recently got word that they'll be opening for the Headlights on Friday -- the band will play on the beautiful University of Wisconsin Memorial Union Terrace. It's totally free! It's outside on the lake! And there's homemade Babcock Hall ice cream to be consumed.

• Justin Townes Earle visited WXPN recently and recorded a live set -- hear it here. JTE is on tour right now with Old Crow Medicine Show, The Felice Brothers, Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch on the Big Surprise Tour. The New York Times recently reviewed the revue, and seemed to enjoy themselves.

• Tune in tomorrow to hear Paul Burch and the WPA Ballclub perform live on WSM radio! The band will be on-air from 6-7pm CST, and you can listen online here.

• Finally, it's new release day for us at BSHQ -- today, we're celebrating the release of the Bottle Rockets latest, Lean Forward. Have you ordered your copy yet?

Greetings from the home of the Bloodshot Birthist Movement!  We here firmly believe that all of our own birth certificates are forgeries, that we were all born in Malta, and thus we are not allowed to ever be President of these United States.  All those pictures of us on the web drinking too much prolly wouldn't have helped anyway...

Here are some tidbits for your weekend:

• Early word from the Justin Townes Earle/Big Surprise Tour is that it is one helluva good time for audiences and performers alike.  Take a gander at THIS clip from the Boston show.  Don't fret if you missed seeing JTE and Cory, they'll be on the road with Dan Auerbach all November

• A few months ago Mark Pickerel stopped into an upstart website's studio in Chicago called Coach House Sounds and hung out and played some songs, tuned their drums and drank their beer.  Here be the results.

• 15th ANNIVERSARY PARTY NEWS! Our lineups in Austin and Brooklyn have been confirmed, and tickets are on sale for Chicago, Boston, Minneapolis and Philly.  More news to come soon, but get the latest skinny here

• BOTTLE ROCKETS RELEASE DATE NIGH! Just a few more days (August 11th) and you can still pre-order the LP/CD and have your name thrown into a drawing for a special Bottle Rockets prize package put together by the boys themselves.  We sincerely hope it will NOT include an old sandwich, which might be odoriferous by the time it reaches you.  I suspect not however.  Check out the poster for Vintage Vinyl's hometown show on release day.

• Were you at the Bloodshot/Taste of Chicago Day Party in Downtown Chicago?  Yeah, well, you weren't alone.  Anyway, the great Kids Dance Party Show Chic-A-Go-Go filmed it.  They're showing it on cable access show Channel 19 Tuesday, August 11th at 8:30 and Wednesday August 12th at 3:30 pm.  See Andre, Dollar Store, Langford, Deadstring Brothers and more!

• In a new segment we're calling "Get To Know Your Bloodshot Staffer", I asked Radio Promotions/Tour Support Master Joe Swank a few questions.  Hopefully, these segments will soothe you as you realize the music on Bloodshot you have come to love is in the hands of genuine lunatics....I mean.... caring, thoughtful hard working mavens of music.
• 1) Your hometown: Marion, Illinois
• 2) Your first concert: Waylon Jennings on a Wednesday, Willie Nelson on a Thursday.
• 3)What was the first album purchased with your own money: A Million Or More in '76 as performed by the Kings Road Players
• 4) What is your favorite album OF ALL TIME: Willie Nelson - Willie And Family Live
• 5) What was your first job in the "Music industry" (how ever you want to define that):  Working overnights at WDDD Radio in Marion, IL
• 6) Fill in the blank: "If I could get in the secret NASA Wayback Machine(you know they have one), and see any band, it would be_________":  Jimi Hendrix
• 7) Fill in the blank: "If I were on a desert island and the jukebox had only Who Let the Dogs Out and Journey's Don't Stop Believing I would___________": Break off the button for "Who Let The Dogs Out" so no one could accidentally play it, then learn the most wicked air guitar solo to "Don't Stop Believing" ever.
• 8) Number of tattoos: 5
• 9)  Wildcard: Let's have a humorous tidbit about yourself: "Roughly 90 percent of all TV I watch is/are cartoons,"

I hope this has helped.  I know i feel better.

Pray for us in Chicago as we endure Lollapalooza in town this weekend.

Announcing the Bloodshot Records iPhone / iPod Touch application! Click here to download, or just log into the App Store and search "Bloodshot" to find it (it's free)! The application will feature a different Bloodshot artist each month, connecting you to new (and sometimes unreleased) music, tour dates and news! Listen and buy with one click!

Since we're rookies to the AppStore, there may be some kinks to work out -- consider this Version 0.1. So, let us know if you have any suggestions on how we can make the it better!

Get the Bloodshot App now!

In what promises to be a hot winter -- Justin Townes Earle has just announced his winter tour, supporting the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach!

JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE / DAN AUERBACH TOUR DATES
Nov 5 - Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
Nov 6 - Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre
Nov 7 - Toronto, ONT @  Phoenix Concert Theatre
Nov 8 - Montreal, QUE @ Le National
Nov 13 - Baltimore, MD @ Sonar
Nov 16 - Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
Nov 17 - Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
Nov 18 - New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
Nov 20 - Memphis, TN @ Minglewood Hall
Dec 3 - Milwaukee, WI @  Turner Hall Ballroom
Dec 4 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
Dec 5 - Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
Dec 6 - Bloomington, IN @ Bluebird Nightclub   
Dec 8 - Newport, KY @ Southgate House
Dec 9 - Cleveland, OH @ House of Blues

But you don't have to wait til November to see Justin!

Catch him on the Big Surprise Tour --  an old fashioned revue featuring Old Crow Medicine Show, Dave Rawlings Machine (f/ Gillian Welch) and the Felice Brothers. Each nite will not be the same, as the musicians on the show will continually collaborate with each other to unexpected results!

THE BIG SURPRISE TOUR
Aug 4 - Hampton Beach, NH @ Casino Ballroom
Aug 05 - Boston, MA @ House Of Blues
Aug 06 - New York, NY @ Beacon Theatre
Aug 07 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
Aug 09 - Charlottesville, VA @ Charlottesville Pavilion
Aug 10 - Cary, NC @ Koka Booth Amphitheatre
Aug 12 - Louisville, KY @ Waterfront Park
Aug 13 - Nashville, TN @ Riverfront Park
Aug 14 - Knoxville, TN @ World's Fair Park

Bloodshot Digest: The "Goodbye, MJ" Edition

• We celebrated the Fourth of July weekend in Pittsburgh, where we threw the FIRST of our 15th Anniversary Beer-B-Qs at The Smiling Moose. Didn't spend your holiday in the Rust Belt? No problem, you can check out pictures from the event here and here, or you can check to see if a Bloodshot Beer-B-Q is coming to a city near you.

• The fabulous indie radio station WOXY hosted Ha Ha Tonka a couple weeks back for one of its Lounge Act sessions. You can now download the session, which features and interview with the boys and live versions of new songs, here.

• Justin Townes Earle's been about to every corner of the US touring the past few months, but if by chance you haven't gotten a chance to see him live yet, this new Paste Magazine video session may tide you over.

• And finally, we've got new items in our Bloodshot Bazaar! It's summertime, and that means packing up the cheese and crackers to sit on a lawn and see The Doobie Brothers play Ravinia Fest! We've got a couple of stylish ways to keep your picnicking needs cool this summer, with our Bloodshot Six Pack Cooler and 15 Year Anniversary Beer Coolies.

Your weekly or semi-weekly peek into the swirling vortex of weirdness that is life in the Bloodshot Lane.  So, stop tweeting about the King of Pop for a few minutes, relax (the boss ain't watching) and catch up.  All items guaranteed to be Sequined Glove Free.

• Wayne Hancock on Sirius/XM. The Train is performing and being interviewd on the fancy satellite radio.  Show will on Tues June 30th @ 9pm eastern and Thursday July 2nd at 11pm eastern time.  Outlaw Country on Sirius 63 and XM channel 12.

• Justin Townes Earle's new, arty and beautiful video of "Midnight at the Movies" is up on Vimeo and YouTube.  Have a gander.  It's keen, as the kids say (or said).

• What music do musicians listen to?  This age-old question was posited to Ha Ha Tonka's Luke Long at SXSW this year and our friends at Rhapsody.  Check out the answer here.  Personally, I do not think his answer could be more wrong.  It's a BAD album.  I'll take it up with him later.

• While the blogosphere has its up sides, one glaring downside is the crappy writing.  "Reviews" of records that are more half-cocked diary entries like "oh dude, i was up all night doing Jager bombs and watching The Wire on Hulu and was, like, no way was I up for listening to this band" that have precious little to do with the music.  Thus, we are pleased when lengthy, well-crafted critiques come across our desks, like this one from Cheeky Chicago regarding Ha Ha Tonka's new one.  Read it, but beware, you may gain some actual insight on the music.

• Rob's Recommendation of the Week:  Nhu Lan Bakery.   Everyone's got that place (or, pity if you don't) in their 'hood that is just so good, so cheap, so GO TO, that you kinda take it for granted and, POOF, one day you are reminded, scolded almost, to NOT take if for granted.  Today, I atone for this and sing its praises.  Proving that not all colonialism was bad (ok, settle down, it's a joke), this Vietnamese sammich shop on Lawrence Ave in Chicago combines the fish sauce of the east with the crusty baguettes of ol' France.  They are cheap, very tasty, very filling.  The owners are super nice, the coffee nerve-endingly strong.  The flat screen TV over the drink cooler (lemon grass soda, anyone?) alternates between CNN and Asian Lingerie shows.  Some swear by the pate and head cheese sammiches, but they're a little rich for me.  I go for the BBQ pork.  Lots of cilantro, daikon radish and hot peppers.  Check it out, but don't neglect your own GO TO spot in your hood in the process.  Never forget those.

Next week, we'll be coming at you from the first of our 15th Anniversary Beer-B-Q's in Pittsburgh.  Got any suggestions for excellent breakfast places?