It's only July and already the year end accolades come a-flyin' for Firewater's The Golden Hour

DO YOUR DUTY this 4th of July weekend and VOTE FOR FIREWATER in NPR's "Best Album of the Year (So Far..)" poll!

And yes--we are fully aware of the irony in voting for an album that utilizes an international cast of players, made by an American fleeing the Bush administration while overseas as the "Best Album of the Year" on National Public Radio over 4th of July weekend.

Isn't freedom of speech great? Voting ends July 6th, so make your voice be heard now here!

Walter Salas-Humara and Jonathan Lethem met at a Silos gig in New Orleans. Jonathan describes, "I'm a two-decade Silos fan, and have seen Walter play in the various incarnations of his band eight or nine times over the years. When I introduced myself to him it was in the interest of sending him a few of my books, just as a token thank-you for his music. We got talking about writing some songs together. I hardly thought Walter needed help in any sense; he's one of the great American songwriters (see: "The Only Story I Tell", "Susan Across The Ocean", "I'm Over You" and so many others...) but I was flattered at the idea of supplying a Silos lyric or two. Walter, however, surprised me, and delighted me, with the focus of his intent -- he wanted to write a whole album with me, from the ground up, and to get outside his "Silos voice". We began writing and the result was sort of explosive -- giddy pop songs and mournful blues that came from their own strange angle, not quite like what either of us expected."

Walter adds, "I loved Motherless Brooklyn, but after reading The Fortress Of Solitude, a book I consider a stone cold masterpiece, I knew had to work with Jonathan. We carved out a couple days and met at his house in Maine. I hoped we would get a few things down and I was totally unprepared, and completely blown away, by the speed in which Jonathan gets ideas on paper. We would discuss the framework for a tune and he would be writing while we were talking. Then minutes later he would have several verses with internal rhymes, a chorus and a bridge. I was completely on the spot -– I now had to come up with melodies just as fast. We ended up with eleven songs at the end of day two. We decided that the project needed to be more than just an album of songs, and over the next week Jonathan emailed me several spoken word pieces. I recorded these with just voice, and the songs I recorded very bare bones, just voice, a single guitar and a simple drum beat."

Jonathan continues, "The second act in the construction of I'm Not Jim was our expansion from a collective of two into a collective of four (it's worth saying we're not only "Not Jim", we're also "Not A Band", but rather some kind of floating workshop or lab for making music -- Walter is our only public voice and face, and I don't play any instruments). It happened because Walter thought The Elegant Too (Philip Hernandez and Chris Maxwell) would be able to add some distinctive production to the tracks he'd laid down. Of course it became much more -- Chris and Phil warped and enriched the music so completely that halfway through we realized we'd really entered a four-way collaboration. Not quite Mick meeting Keith on a train platform with an armload of blues records, but perhaps almost as fun." Walter concludes, "The Elegant Too took just my vocal tracks and built the thing from the ground up. Sometimes they used the same chords and beats I had played, but more often they subverted the melodies and juxtaposed different chords and beats to create new combinations. It's a remix album without having an original release. It's an original re-mix. Finally, by another small world convergence, Jonathan is good buddies with one of my high school classmates I hadn't seen in years, the painter Kent Matricardi, so it was completely natural to enlist Kent to do the album artwork."

So what exactly do these song sound like? Lethem and Humara’s songwriting takes the ordinary pop, folk, or blues song and makes it the occasion for what you might call ‘serious play’ – every lyric is grounded in emotion, but emotion twisted by language and wit into something recognizeable but new. The melodies that spring from Walter’s voice fitting itself to these unexpected syllables push the strength and warmth of his Silos work to a new range, sometimes featuring a Dylanesque self-consciousness or humor, sometimes a Nick Drake introspection. And when the skewed brilliance of the songs meets the paisley-pop-electronic-remix chops of Maxwell and Hernandez – the Elegant Two – the result always cuts against simple interpretation, pushing all the charm toward menace, and the sorrow toward ecstasy.

" Dex Romweber was and is a huge influence on my music. I owned all of his records as a teenager, and was thrilled at the fact that we were able to play together recently on tour. His attitude towards music is remarkable. His songwriting, along with his love of classic American music from the south, be it rockabilly, country or R&B, is one of the best kept secrets of the rock n roll underground." - Jack White, White Stripes

Bloodshot Records and Dex Romweber announce the signing of a multi-album deal –- a match made in heaven between two arbiters of the edgy side of rock, R&B and country. The first album, as yet untitled, will feature duets between Dex and Cat Power, Neko Case and Exene Cervenka. Recording commences in mid-August at Overdub Lane in Durham, NC; John Plymale (Meat Puppets, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Corrosion Of Conformity) is producing. Said Nan Warshaw, Bloodshot co-owner, “Dexter’s reputation as a musician’s musician is well-established and so deserved, but we here at Bloodshot are also in awe of the unbridled fury and raw soul he has unleashed for decades.”

The Dex Romweber Duo will stretch their legs pre-recording with a tour that is bookended by two festival dates: Festival For The Eno July 6 in Durham, NC and the Deep Blues Festival July 19 in Lake Elmo, MN. All tour dates are listed below.

Dex Romweber is nothing less than an icon of the American music underground. The former frontman for the world famous psycho-surf-rockabilly-garage-punk combo Flat Duo Jets, released his first of nine albums in 1990 to rave reviews worldwide. He starred alongside R.E.M. and The B-52s in the 1987 cult classic film “Athens, GA Inside Out”. His first national tour in 1990 was as opening act for The Cramps. He was showcased on MTV's The Cutting Edge and 120 Minutes, starred in the Flat Duo Jets videos "Wild Wild Lover" and "Radioactive Man", made a stunning performance on Late Night with David Letterman, and has shared the stage with dozens of other rock icons including Iggy Pop and the White Stripes. 

The Dex Romweber Duo also features Dex’s celebrated sibling Sara Romweber (Mitch Easter, Lets Active, Snatches of Pink) on drums. Together the two have been performing electrifying concerts all over the US, including touring with Cat Power, Neko Case, Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers, Southern Culture On The Skids and the Squirrel Nut Zippers.

For More Information on Dex Romweber Duo: http://www.myspace.com/dexterromweberduo

Dex Romweber Duo Summer Tour Dates:

Jul 11 2008 Mansion 462 - Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Jul 13 2008 The Hi-Fi Concert Club - Lakewood, Ohio
Jul 14 2008 Cafe Bourbon Street - Columbus, Ohio
Jul 15 2008 The Latchstring - Ft. Wayne, Indiana
Jul 16 2008 Red Line Tap - Chicago, Illinois
Jul 17 2008 Club 505 - Rockford, Illinois
Jul 18 2008 Davey’s Uptown - Kansas City, Missouri
Jul 19 2008 Deep Blues Festival - Lake Elmo, Minnesota
Jul 21 2008 Off Broadway - St. Louis, Missouri
Jul 22 2008 Sam’s Saloon – Indianapolis, IN
Jul 23 2008 White Water Tavern - Little Rock, Arkansas
Jul 24 2008 Murphy’s - Memphis, Tennessee
Jul 25 2008 The Nick - Birmingham, Alabama
Jul 26 2008 Pilot Light - Knoxville, Tennessee

Bloodshot Records is proud to announce the signing of a worldwide, multi-album deal with singer, artist and author Exene Cervenka. Her first album for the label is in the works, and will be released in 2009. Exene will be recording this fall, fans of her mixed-media collages can look forward to new artwork for the CD packaging as well.

A true renaissance woman, Exene is a singer, artist and poet whose work traverses virtually every aspect of those disciplines. She is known for her work as singer for the legendary punk band X as well as The Knitters and The Original Sinners. Her spoken word performances with Lydia Lunch in the 80's led to the publication of "Adulterers Anonymous" and another four volumes of poetry followed. In 1992, Exene collaborated with photographer Kenneth Jarecke on "Just Another War", a volume of images and verse concerning the 1991 war in Iraq. A lifelong visual artist, Exene's drawings paintings and collages were exhibited at the Santa Monica Museum of Art in 2006 and were the subject of a monograph, Magical Meteorite Songwriting Device, published by Perceval Press.

For more information about Exene Cervenka, visit her website.

You demanded it, and we're only happy enough to accommodate. Ryan Adams' critically-acclaimed solo debut Heartbreaker is finally available the way it was meant to be heard, on lucious vinyl. This gatefold release includes two discs (to maximize sound quality,) the complete lyrics and bonus photos not included in the previous UK vinyl version, and has been remastered by Bernie Grundmann from the original analog tapes. Buy it here.

Some of the deafening critical acclaim for Heartbreaker:

"Adams' sources run deep--from Paul Westerberg to Hank Williams--and he has the raspy, quavering voice and innate tunefulness to be worthy of them." Anthony DeCurtis, Rolling Stone

"Best Solo Artist of 2003." Spin Reader's Poll

“…One of the best records of the year… At 25, he writes the kinds of songs that Nashville no longer has patience for--songs about being young and sad, or young and desperate, about finding whiskey and refuge at a bar because you can find neither at home.” GQ

“…His beautifully funny and blue first solo album, Heartbreaker, while full of twangy guitars and Adams’s smoky southern rasp of a singing voice, is as indelibly a New York City record as anything ever created by George Gershwin or Bob Dylan.” New York Magazine

 

Firewater was in Seattle last week and recorded a session for our friends at KEXP. During the performance of "Borneo", Tod brought the entire staff out to help the band with assorted drunken pirate backup vocals. Check out the footage of Firewater with the KEXP chorus below, and also check out the band performing "Electric City" on Youtube!

Traveling from Chicago to New Orleans on the mainline, R&B cult hero Andre "Mr. Rhythm" Williams has teamed with the Crescent City's hedonistic barroom punks The New Orleans Hellhounds. The ‘hounds share several bandmembers with the notorious Morning 40 Federation, a band of alcoholic miscreants whose shows have more in common with demolition derbies than actual concerts. Like the unique city his backing boys call home, 'Dre has been dirty, down, broke and pushed to the edge of oblivion more than once, but both have managed to keep a glint in their eye and a strut in their step.  The original Black Godfather wants us all to know on "Can You Deal With it?" that he can still get around and get down with a Hellhound Sound that's as thick as an August night in the bayou.   

This is some heavy punk-soul, brothers and sisters.   Andre's in firm voice, from his sly, come-hither leer on "Hear Ya Dance" to his guttural and guttery yowl on "Never Had A Problem", to the downright TUFF throw down on "If You Leave Me." The Hellhounds, with their fat horns, fuzzed out guitars and crack rhythm section, provide backing with all the subtlety of a bike chain beatdown.   Add to the mix the Ninth Ward mad scientist virtuoso oddball genius Quintron on organ and this band lays down a serious base coat of soulful wallop befitting the legacy of Andre.  You have been duly warned, oh seekers of the rock, that this record has more grind in it than a 3 am cup of diner coffee.

For those of you who might not be as hip to Andre Williams as you should, here's a quick primer. "Mr. Rhythm" (a nickname given to him by none other than Redd Foxx) is a R&B legend and you may not even know it. He wrote "Shake A Tail Feather," and  wrote and sang such ur-raunch classics as "Bacon Fat" (covered by the Cramps), "Greasy Chicken," and the epitome of cautionary tales about little girls, "Jail Bait." He worked at Motown and Fortune and with Ike Turner. Yeah, baby. 

After a few hard years in... er...retirement, he stormed back a few years ago with a record of smutty garage punk recorded with members of the Demolition Doll Rods and the Dirt-Bombs.  For Bloodshot, he recorded the LP "Red Dirt" with Canadian guitar geniuses the Sadies, and a 7" single "Jet Black Daddy, Lily White Woman" with Detroit's 2 Star Tabernacle, which featured a very young, very-pre-White Stripes Jack White.  Andre was also the subject of a documentary film "Agile, Mobile and Hostile" that premiered at 2008's SXSW Film Festival.

And now he's back for another round with this fine addition to his canon of carnal coolness.    He's here to tell it like it is.  With a nod, a wink, a chuckle, and a rousing HELL YEAH!   'Dre and New Orleans.  Two fighters.  Yes, we can deal with that.

Firewater recorded a blazing session for NPR's World Cafe with David Dye that will be aired on Wednesday, June 18th. To find out when the show airs in your area, go here or stream the show online through the WXPN Philadelphia website.

Listen to Justin Townes Earle's performance at the Grand Olde Opry online now! Just head over the Grand Olde Opry's online archives and choose choose Friday night from the 5-2 to 5-6 section to listen to Justin perform fine versions of "Hard Living" and "I Don't Know".

Also, Justin recorded a special live session for NPR's Morning Edition that aired on NPR stations nationwide Monday, April 28th. To listen to the full performances and the interview, head over to NPR Music.

Please note: Photos are by Billy Kingsley and are provided courtesy of and copyrighted by the Grand Ole Opry, 2008.

The endlessly-engaging Mark Pickerel has been featured on Amazon.com's exclusive podcast. To check out the never-before-heard interview with Mark go here--and be sure not to miss Mark's spellbinding new Bloodshot release, Cody's Dream.

In 2005, Firewater’s Tod A embarked on what would become a 3-year sabbatical through the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent and South East Asia. As the leader of a loose collective that has included a few dozen of the best players in rock today, he has always loved the act of collaboration, incorporating klezmer, ska, cabaret and gypsy elements into his songs in ways that were far ahead of his time. Bands like Gogol Bordello and Beirut owe a debt to his early adventurousness. In fact, early Firewater members are now part of Gogol Bordello and Balkan Beat Box, and drummer Tamir Muskat of Balkan Beat Box produced and played on the album. As former singer and bassist for New York no wave descendents Cop Shoot Cop, Tod’s background is firmly planted in the punk rock movement, but Firewater explores ideas and genres only hinted at in his former band. “I always thought World Punk summed it up pretty nicely,” he told Gear Wire, “We are inspired by music from all over the globe, but it’s always filtered through a punk rock sensibility.”

The journey he undertook to make The Golden Hour would challenge him creatively in ways he couldn’t have imagined in the planning stages. “I traveled overland starting in Delhi, India, through the Thar desert, then through Rajasthan, onward through the Punjab, then into Pakistan,” Tod recounted. “I had originally planned to continue overland through Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey, ending in Istanbul. Unfortunately I was forced to end my trip at the Khyber Pass on the Afghan border, due to general ill health and the unnerving likelihood of kidnapping.” Recording with a single microphone and a laptop in his pack, he captured performances with a vast array of musicians across India and Pakistan - and eventually Turkey and Israel. Writing songs about the world he left behind in the US ("This Is My Life") and politics ("Borneo", "Hey Clown"), his acerbic wit Shines on The Golden Hour, elucidating both the beauty and the absurdity of his world. Tod tells the story of The Golden Hour in a short video including footage from his travels; watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eyn-OSDQp0. He chronicled his experiences on his fascinating travel blog, "Postcards From The Other Side of the World", which can be found here: http://postcards.blogs.com/.

The Golden Hour is now available in stores, or buy it directly from Bloodshot here. Firewater hits the road later this month for a national U.S. tour, go to Firewater's tour page for information on when they're coming to your town!

1993 -- a grim time for music. C&C Music Factory dominated the charts, parachute pants were the height of fashion and guitars were considered outre. It was into this lions den of music industry pulchritude that Brian Henneman, Mark Ortmann and The Bottle Rockets strode, authoritatively dropping the hammer with rich slabs of incendiary rock 'n' roll that borrowed generously from roots traditions, but was clearly of its own lineage. Fifteen years later, most of the worst indulgences of the early '90s are scoffed at, but the Bottle Rockets are still going strong--revitalized, if anything--with an enviable body of work and their best yet to come.

For all of 2008, to gear up for a forthcoming Bloodshot album (to be released in 2009,) The Bottle Rockets are playing 15 select shows world wide to celebrate the anniversary. This is your chance to join the band in an anniversary celebration of all they've accomplished and the remarkable work to come. In addition, Brian will play all dates with a custom made guitar (worth $1500) courtesy of Creston Electric Instruments that will be given away at the last show of 2008 via a live webcast. In addition to the guitar, the band will be awarding a "Bottle Rockets for Life" prize package to a lucky fan that includes all past and future albums, t-shirts, and free tickets to any show, anytime (contest details at www.bottlerocketsmusic.com.

New dates will be announced year-long--go to the band's tour page for details.

There's a slew of new clothing available at the Bloodshot merch page (modeled by our fetching interns, to the left.) Celebrate the first rays of springtime warmth with new men and women's jersey and sleeveless t's, along with uber-hip hoodies to keep you warm during those late-night bar jaunts. We've also got new Justin Townes Earle and Gore Gore Girls t's, go to the merch page to browse the entire selection!

The songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/artist Ben Weaver has signed af multi-album deal with Bloodshot Records, with his label debut set for release August 12, 2008. The Ax and the Oak is Weaver's 6th album at the ripe old age of 29; it is by far his most adventurous to date. Weaver explains, "The majority of this record was written in Berlin, the summer of 2007. I was staying in a friend's flat in Prenzlauer Berg. I had many pictures in my head at that time. This record is not about Berlin, but about what being in Berlin allowed me to create." Produced by Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine), the album juxtaposes electronic musical sounds with warm acoustic instruments with textural results that defy the usual expectations of the singer/songwriter genre. It's hard to argue with the results - evocative, hushed songs that illuminate Ben's affinity for the natural world of birds, phone booths, empty parking lots, strangers in the checkout line, plastic bags stuck in trees and whatever else typically goes unnoticed in the sidewalk cracks.

A former Casket Company warehouse is Weaver's current world headquarters. Multitudinous organs, synthesizers, guitars, a sampler, a piano, a dog, Polaroid cameras, sketch books, New Yorker back issues, boxes of CDs and a PowerBook mark the territory. There is an air of controlled chaos and the musty smell of old tube amps. Weaver writes continuously, a process perhaps more akin to breathing than composing, "I have always identified with those people who make art because they have to, that sense of necessity and urgency. That is why I make art, to fulfill that need within myself and to connect with the people of the world who also cannot live without it."

Praise for Ben Weaver

"...country-rooted Americana full of weary determination and aphoristic clarity, somewhere between the Band and Tom Waits." Jon Pareles, The New York Times

"...musical postcards that recall a rural Tom Waits, or Greg Brown in his dark, bluesy moments. He's like that spooky old guy who lives in a trailer but tells amazing stories." Keith Goetzman, Utne Reader

"Ben Weaver is the most exciting young songwriter I've come across, an American original whose voice and guitar are matched only by the power of his words. His songs are an incredible, haunting gift of music." Author Larry Brown (1951-2004)

"...strange, skin-prickling tales picked up from the Moebius strip of a lost highway he's been compelled to travel on.... like a hillbilly Leonard Cohen." Sylvie Simmons, Mojo

Jon Langford will be on hand Sunday, April 27 at 7:30 pm at Chicago's Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln Avenue, for a workshop performance of All The Fame of Lofty Deeds, a new music/theater/art project based on Langford's art and his music. Tickets are $15. For tickets and information, call the Victory Gardens box office, 773.871.3000, or purchase tickets online at Victory Gardens' website.

Based on Langford's art and his 2004 Bloodshot release, All the Fame of Lofty Deeds is written by Chicago rock journalist and playwright Mark Guarino, and directed by Victory Gardens Resident Director Andrea J. Dymond. Monday's workshop performance, presented as part of Victory Gardens' new Fresh Squeezed series, will feature projections of Langford's eclectic country folk artwork, as two musicians and a cast of five actors perform on the Victory Gardens Biograph mainstage. While he's not performing in the play itself, Langford will play a short set at a post-show event.

Like Langford's 2004 CD of the same name, All the Fame of Lofty Deeds traces the ascent of a wide-eyed young country singer from rural obscurity to tinsel-town opulence during the middle decades of the last century. His life parallels the optimism, grandeur, betrayals and despair of the country and culture that spawned him (and eventually suck him dry). Lofty wants it all and gets a little more, climbs the showbiz beanstalk, sacks his band and steals a gulp from the poison cup before sinking back into the dirt and darkness from whence he came.

Justin Townes Earle's The Good Life Available Now! Check out these independent retail coalitions and find out where you can get The Good Life on sale with Justin's Limited Edition Yuma EP thrown in for free! CIMS: http://www.cimsmusic.com/ AIMS: http://thealliancerocks.com/ or at these fine Value Music stores: Record & Tape Traders (Maryland) - all locations, Gem City (Dayton, OH), Vinyl Fever (Tallahassee, FL), Bart's Cd Cellar (Boulder, CO), Manifest (Charlotte, NC and Columbia, SC) Back Door Music (Cotati, CA), Spin Street (Memphis, TN)

With Justin Townes Earle’s pedigree come mixed blessings. As the son of legendary singer/songwriter Steve Earle, high expectations are the name of the game, and he’s shown that he is up to the task on The Good Life, crafting stark portraits and narrative tales with elements of blues, classic country and rock n’roll. A modern-day troubadour, Earle blends genres seamlessly, framing his songs in warm musical settings and creating tunes that could easily be mistaken for classics.

The Good Life is produced by RS Field (Billy Joe Shaver, Sonny Landreth) and Steve Poulton. Joining Earle in the studio are a cast of all-star players including longtime cohort Cory Younts (Bobby Bare, Jr) on banjo and mandolin, pedal steel player master Pete Finney (Dixie Chicks, Patty Loveless), bassist Bryn Davies (Patty Griffin, Guy Clark), drummer Bryan Owings (Buddy Miller, Shelby Lynne), keyboardist Skylar Wilson and fiddle player Josh Hedley.

With inspirations as diverse as Townes Van Zandt (he was named in honor of the elder Earle’s hero), Jimmy Reed, Kurt Cobain, The Replacements, Ray Charles and The Pogues, Justin forged his own brand of American roots music. The Good Life melds the qualities of a short story with the lyrical acuity of excellent songs, celebrating grand southern traditions and blowing a fresh breeze across the musical gardens and dive bars of Nashville.

SOME EARLY PRAISE:

“The hard-drivin' "Hard Livin'", from the twenty-five-year-old singer's upcoming solo debut, The Good Life, is a compactly written opener sporting a percussive piano, a fiddle that spirals spryly upwards, and a jazzy rhythm section that keeps the song chugging along at a barreling tempo.” Pitchfork Media

"The Good Life's 10 songs are direct, fat-free and resolutely timeless...the subject matter is eternal: good love, bad love and the way either can lead a man to hit the road." Performing Songwriter

"Justin Townes Earle has the ability to set this industry on its ear--on his own terms. The Good Life already promises to be on the Best of 2008 lists at year end. Don’t be expecting Copperhead Road deja vu moments--Justin’s his own man/artist. A must have." Take Country Back

"Whatever the style, Earle leans tall and heavy into the mike. You can almost smell the Dapper Dan in his hair and the sweat on his brow... it just might restore your faith in the future of Music Row." Casey Phillips Chattanooga Times Free Press

ALSO AVAILABLE:
Some foxy Justin Townes Earle T Shirts.

CD RELEASE TOUR w/Felice Brothers:

Tuesday, March 25th in DENVER @ Larimer Lounge
FREE IN STORE PERFORMANCE @ Twist and Shout; 6:30 pm
Thursday, March 27th in OMAHA @ Waiting Room
Friday, March 28th in MINNEAPOLIS @ 400 Bar
FREE IN STORE PERFORMANCE @ Electric Fetus; 6:30 pm
Saturday, March 29th in MADISOM @ UW Madison
Monday, March 31st in GRINNELL IA @ Grinnell College
Tuesday, April 1st in CHICAGO @ Schuba's
Wednesday, April 2nd in LOUISVILLE @ St Francis of Assisi
FREE IN STORE PERFORMANCE @ Ear X-Tacy; 5:30pm
Thursday, April 3rd in NASHVILLE @ Mercy Lounge
FREE IN STORE PERFORMANCE @ Grimey's; 6pm
Friday, April 4th in BIRMINGHAM @ Bottletree
Saturday, April 5th in KNOXVILLE @ Barley's Taproom
FREE IN STORE PERFORMANCE @ Disc Exchange; 4pm
Sunday, April 6th in DECATUR @ Eddie's Attic
FREE IN STORE PERFORMANCE in Atlanta @ Criminal Records; 4pm

Long-awaited releases by two of Bloodshot's heavy-hitters are finally available! Waco Brothers' Waco Express: Live and Kicking At Schubas Tavern and Mark Pickerel and His Praying Hands' Cody's Dream have hit stores and have the critics all a-twitter.

Full of shout-along manifestos and strident tomfoolery from each of their seven studio albums, Waco Brothers' Waco Express lives up to the mandate given to the mastering engineer to "err on the side of massive, fierce and overwhelming." Critical darlings since their unleashing, featuring a scribe-ready lineup of members from the Mekons, Jesus Jones, Wreck, Gang of Four and others, as well as a genre-bending fearlessness, the Waco Brothers have always saved their best for the stage. The live shows, particularly at SXSW and CMJ, are events of genuine reverence for their leave-it-all-out-there-this-should-be-FUN-dammit convictions. Over the years, this fervor has resulted in an onstage wedding proposal betwixt two fans (SXSW '02), a riot (Edinburgh '03), and a thousand and one lost nights of sweaty, happy reverie. Mike Usinger of No Depression says about Waco Express, "...the band is shit hot [and] they serve up all killer, no filler."

Mark Pickerel’s second album for Bloodshot, Cody’s Dream, is a Steinbeckian odyssey through modern America; a tale of throughways and the characters that occupy them. The result: 13 dusty gems flirting with the static-y ghosts of Motown, Tin Pan Alley, classic pop, and soul; dancing across the radio spectrum like a trail of mileposts in the rearview. Barbara Mitchell of the Portland Mercury writes of Cody's Dream, "Sounding like a cross between Lee Hazelwood and Nick Cave, Pickerel has rustled up a batch of unforgettable country noir that references the past while sounding thoroughly modern."

The Deadstring Brothers hit the streets to busk for the Village Voice's Possibly 4th Street series, and talked to the Voice's Rob Trucks about the band's many inspirations. To watch footage of the band playing on the streets of New York and the full interview, go here!

Drew Glackin, a core member of the renowned Silos, passed away on Saturday in New York after succumbing to a thyroid condition. This statement from the band will be followed soon by more information regarding services, memorial benefits and efforts, stories and pictures. All at Bloodshot are very saddened by the loss of our good friend, and extended our sincerest sympathies to his family and close friends.

This from some of those who knew him best:

He was unaware of an overactive thyroid condition that led to severe heart damage. He was surrounded by family and friends during his final days and hours and we are all still in a state of shock and disbelief.

Drew was adored around the world and his larger than life spirit and contagious jovial energy touched everyone he met, everywhere he went. He was a musician of the highest talent and made his mark in countless bands, record albums, and many thousands of live performances. He will be sorely missed and the memories of his music, his great humor, and his magnanimous generosity of spirit and love will be with us forever.

A fund will be set up to help his family with expenses and we will keep you informed of memorial concerts and events as they develop.

We will all keep Drew in our hearts, - Konrad, Rod and Walter.

From Bloodshot's Rob Miller:

The Bloodshot family and the music community in general is poorer, and less fun, with the Drew's untimely and unexpected death.

Drew liked having a good time and he loved making sure those around him were having a good time, too. I will sorely miss getting caught up in his joyful slipstream whenever and wherever our paths would cross.

Thanks
R

A memorial website has been set up for Drew. Go to www.drewglackin.com to comment or view others' thoughts and stories, and while there, contribute to the fund that has been set up in Drew's name to help with funeral costs. Visit www.drewglackin.com/fund.html to donate.

There will be a memorial show and benefit for Drew in Denton, TX on Wednesday, February 13 at Dan's Silver Leaf featuring Brent Best (The Drams, Slobberbone), Scott Danbom (Centro-matic, South San Gabriel), Matt Pence (Centro-matic, South San Gabriel) Seth Rothschild (Quarry Hill, Gingersol) performing as one band, and separately, in addition to other special guests.

There will be a tribute in Brooklyn at Southpaw on Sunday, February 17th at 3pm. Tickets are $20 suggested donation to benefit the Drew Glackin Memorial Fund.The tribute will feature Brad Roberts (of Crash Test Dummies), The Silos, Jack Grace Band, Chris Mills, Tandy, Quarry Hill, A Don Piper Situation, Feathermerchants, Mary McBride, Vitamin D, Maynard and the Musties, Demolition String Band, Emily Duff, Dave Rappaport, Stephen Clair, Dan Weddle, Chip Robinson, Syd Straw, Lenny Kaye, Mary Lee Kortes, Amy Allison, Oxygen Ponies, Steve Salett, and Pete Galub.

Ha Ha Tonka's live in-studio performance for HearYa is now available to download for FREE through eMusic! Check out live versions of five tracks off Buckle In The Bible Belt and download them for free here!

The boys in Ha Ha Tonka recently recorded a live in-studio performance for Sirius Satellite's Blog Radio courtesy of the fine folks at My Old Kentucky Blog! To take a listen to live in-studio recordings of "Up Nights", "Caney Mountain" and "St. Nick on the Fourth In A Fervor", head on over to My Old Kentucky Blog.

Straight from GP himself:

"Reading three books, The End Of Faith by Sam Harris, The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, and God Is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens, has been a mind expanding experience for me. It has become clearer to me in recent years that religious faith and belief, even in their most liberal settings, as Harris so brilliantly explains, are the two most dangerous and divisive elements at work in the world today, and that the time to erode them with the light of reason and banish them to the mariginal fringes is long overdue. These three books were written by men with vastly superior intellects, not to mention education, than mine, but as a lowly three and a half chord songwriter, they inspired me to throw in my ten cents worth and help to bring criticism of religious faith and belief into everyday conversation despite the excuses of the faithful, who so often insist that their unprovable and extraordinary ideas about the nature of reality are untouchable."

Click on this link to buy "The End of Faith":

Head on over to Spin.com to hear an exclusive stream of The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir's "Everything You Wished For off their upcoming self-titled Bloodshot debut! To listen to the stream and read the article, go here!

Get your regular fix of Ha Ha Tonka news and events at their brand spankin' new website, including the boys' now-infamous tour vlog (that's video blog for the luddites among us) and all other sorts of shenanigans. Go to www.hahatonkamusic.com for all the dirt!

Hear The Detroit Cobras' Tied and True the way it was meant to be heard, with all the warm analog crackle of vinyl, with the limited-edition vinyl edition of the album! Released by Bloodshot in conjunction with the good folks at Cobraside, this limited-edition marble-gray vinyl version of Tied and True boasts audiophile 140-160 gram heavy weight vinyl. Comes with limited-edition Detroit Cobras 1 inch punk-rock pin! Go here to order it!

Please Note: Vinyl is only available for order in North America.

The video for Ha Ha Tonka's lead single off Buckle in the Bible Belt, "St. Nick On The Fourth In A Fervor", has made it to Youtube--check it out here!

Our good friends at fellow Chicago label Thrill Jockey have been hacking away at Fina, their digital download store for music released by independent labels, and have invited Bloodshot to open up their catalog and sell through the service!

If you go to www.fina-music.com/index.html?label=260 you can download many Bloodshot releases, old and new, all in DRM-free mp3 format and encoded at 320kbps. Unlike many other sites that charge a premium for high-bitrate, non-DRM'd audio files, all the Bloodshot releases currently sold through Fina cost only $10 for the entire album!

For our fans who already subscribe to a digital download service, fear not: Bloodshot releases are also available through iTunes, eMusic, Rhapsody and also Amazon Digital at launch.

On Sunday May 13th, Nancy Tannenbaum, aka Nancy Rideout, original guitarist in MOONSHINE WILLY, was killed in a motorcycle accident in New York City. She swerved to avoid a pedestrian who mysteriously ran onto the West Side highway, was thrown from her bike and died at the scene.

Nancy came into my life before Bloodshot Records was even a gleam in my eye. It was a thrilling, wide-open time when music meant EVERYTHING. Chicago was a city bursting with new, inventive music and this band, Moonshine Willy, was percolating with some sort unnamed mutant aggro-hillbilly punk sound. On stage right was this diminutive, bashful, tight-lipped guitarist with a fearless sound.

She had the impossibly cool rock and roll last name of Rideout---I don't even think I knew her real last name for a couple of years--I just assumed she was born to play music with that name (and would, without much fanfare, thrown DOWN with a nimble, messy, totally intuitive sound that mashed bluegrass, country and rockabilly into something I'd rarely seen played with such innate energy. At times, she even seemed surprised at some of things she was pulling off.

Moonshine Willy signed the first Bloodshot contract in 1994 (suckers!) and we packed a good deal of camaraderie into the next few years. It was a time before it all became a business, before true adulthood and responsibilities wrung some of the pure exhilaration out of our creative endeavors. All of us went to the same clubs, ate breakfast at the same places, saw the same shows, hung out in each others backyards or on each others porches, played softball every week (she was quite the second baseman), soaked in our respective sweat on a drive from Dallas to El Paso in 118 degree heat with a busted AC in the van during the first Willy national tour, and developed a closeness that only comes from such time together in the trenches. We were all essentially living together, we just happened to have different landlords and mailing addresses. I cannot imagine all those shows at Lounge Ax or Wednesday nights at Crash Palace/Delilah's without her.

Our time together was emblematic of a simpler, more fun time--full of close friendships that transcend geography. For me, her passing is a heart-breaking reminder of just how special that time was.

Mostly, though, when I think of Nancy, I remember how so very happy she looked when she was playing.

Rob Miller
Bloodshot Records

There will be a Memorial Service this Friday, May 18 at 3:30 at Temple Sholom, 3480 N. Lake Shore Drive., in Chicago

If you've got photos/stories/etc you want to send us, we will get them there. Please send them to: mdinou@grisko.com

If you didn't see it, here is the news story:
http://www.amny.com/news/local/am-motorcycle0514,0,4420818.story

Click on the links below for a just a few examples of her guitar work.

Just a few examples of Nancy's fancy pants guitar work:

Moonshine Willy - "18 Wheels" [MP3] off of Pecadores

Moonshine Willy - "Sky Above Me" [MP3] off of Bold Displays of Imperfection

Moonshine Willy - "Spaghetti" [MP3] off of Bold Displays of Imperfection

AVAILABLE NOW--LIMITED EDITION advance package includes the full-length Just One More, A Musical Tribute to Larry Brown as well as a Bonus CD featuring additional tracks and an additional booklet! Go HERE to order!

In March of 2007, Larry Brown's final book, "A Miracle of Catfish" was published by Algonquin Books. To commemorate the occasion, the University of Mississipp held a symposium the weekend of March 22 in Oxford MS. There were also several concerts, parties, radio shows and free-for-alls that captured the spirit of Larry's writings and his general love of music.

We also put together a special limited edition package of goodies. In addition to the "Just One More " CD, there is a bonus CD with 8 tracks (featuring RB Morris, Kenny Brown, Taylor Grocery Band and some wonderful songs by Larry himself), and a 12 page booklet with photos, remembrances, poems, lyrics to and about Larry and his influence on the musicians involved.

This package is limited to 1000 and more than half disappeared that weekend, so act fast, cuz when they gone, they GONE.

Also available in a few select book stores:
A Cappella Books - Atlanta, GA
Turnrow Books - Greenwood, MS
That Bookstore in Blytheville - Blytheville, AR
Carpe Librum Books - Knoxville, TN
Lemuria Books - Jackson, MS
Windows a bookshop - Monroe, LA
Square Books - Oxford, MS
Regulator Bookshop - Durham, NC
Shaman Drum Bookshop - Ann Arbor, MI

AND ONLINE HERE!

SXSW MMVII (that’s 2007 for you non-Romans)

We survived another one. The exhilaration and disgust; the obsequious glad-handing; the naked pandering; the guileless tomfoolery; the grisly bathrooms; writers with onion breath from the freebie fajitas close-talking me about how great the new blah blah record is; the 2 am cadaver shuffle of 20 somethings on their first expense accounts, hands full of pizza slices and cell phones. Oh, there was some music in there too, somewhere.

We want to thank everyone who came out to the shows and party. How about them new bands we have? Them Gore Gore Girls popped some eyes with their afternoon leather outfits and kicked out the jams, and the Amsterband had all the girls swooning with their amazing harmonies and scruffy-but-still-ok-to- take-home-to-mom demeanor. We also think it was one of the best Waco sets ever. How about them new songs by Deadstring Brothers? JeeZUS, that’s as close to Ike and Tina as white folks can get. Mark Pickerel (get cracking on that new stuff—its sounds great) and Jon Rauhouse and the Silos all nailed their sets. Graham Parker got all the pointy-headed writers whipping out their notepads and Danbert Nobacon made the first appearance on the Yard Dog stage as someone dressed as a priest. And thanks as always to Carolyn Mark for starting the festivities and cracking the fifth of Cuervo with Rob at noon.

One problem, though. In the 12 years we’ve been doing the party this is the first time, I believe, that people consumed LESS beer than the year before. Consider this a warning. Don’t make me turn this car around.

We also want to super-duper thank all the folks who contributed so generously to the Kirk Rundstrom fund at the merch table. Split Lip put on some truly memorable shows in that space and it was gratifying to see how many folks took time to remember.

As for the showcase, we apologize for the more than usual amount of Waco nudity. That’s just not right.

Favorite quotations of the weekend:

Overheard on 6th street: “His voice is just so powerful, like a mix of Jeff Buckley and Pete Yorn.”

From Scott H. Biram’s dad, yelled in my ear during his showcase: “He scared us so bad, we didn’t have another kid.”

Favorite moments that actually had nothing to do with business, just joy of music: Seeing New York’s A-Bones and Sam the Sham (sure, there were no Pharaohs in the room, and the cheese factor was pretty high, but, baby, an extended version of “Wooly Bully” is pure rock and roll heaven).

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

On February 22nd, Kirk Rundstrom, the singer/songwriter/guitarist for Split Lip Rayfield and Scroat Belly, passed away after a lengthy and heroic battle against cancer.

Kirk was, without debate, one of the most dynamic and passionate performers we have ever seen. To see him on stage was to see a man totally focused on, totally POSSESSED with, the music of the moment. He never ever took his audience for granted and delivered the goods with a ferocious energy that flowed through the room. I had personally seen him play some 75 times and it was never boring, it was never phoned in and it was hard to take my eyes off him. If you left a show of theirs without sweating, without losing yourself in the joyous abandon of music, it wasn't from his lack of trying. Standing still at a Split Lip show just wasn't an option. His gift was the ability to let rock and roll well up from its purest emotional state and give it to the room in all its liberating glory.

When Kirk was diagnosed last spring, he was given just a few months. It is a testimony to his incredible spirit that he was performing into this month.The fans that came out during this time filled the venues with palpable love. To have played a part in this accumulation of affection, in this tight knit community of Split Lip lovers, over the years is truly a humbling honor. He loved playing and it showed, and the fans loved him back.

Kirk is responsible for a lot of people having a LOT of fun over the years; if everyone could have that on their resumes, the world would be a much better place.

He is missed already.

Bloodshot Records
February 22, 2007

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Donations for Kirk's family can be made via Paypal at the band's website: splitliprayfield.com

There will be a memorial service for Kirk at 1:00 p.m. Monday, February 26 at the Orpheum Theatre, 200 N. Broadway (at First Street) in Wichita.

5 years after being run out of Ann Arbor's radio community, Bloodshot's co-owner finds himself allowed back on the airwaves. Roots, blues, soul, country--past present and future.

WRHC Three Oaks Michigan - 106.7 fm
Or listen online at radioharborcountry.org

Saturdays 4-6pm EASTERN time, Replayed 1-3 pm EASTERN

In Miller's Cave we'll go Sonic Spelunking in the murky backwaters and crevices of roots music. We'll dip our toes into the healing and heady waters of country, blues, soul, rockabilly, R&B, rock N roll and the weird and wonderful things in between, all guaranteed sequencer, sampler and synthesizer free. Here you'll find the characters, crackpots and forgotten geniuses whose contributions ricochet and reverberate through the past, present and future. Some of the artists you'll know well, some you might have heard just a hit or two from, and others you've only heard whispered rumors of at 3 am in the kitchen of a house party long ago.
Hosted by: Rob Miller