Lone Wolf

The day the music died on XM Radio, and Americana to be specific.

With the merging of the the two major Satellite Radio  services (Sirius Radio and XM Radio) came the obvious reorganization of the music channels.  Since both companies carried similar formats, there was bound to be some changes, for better or worse.

XM listeners of the awesome Americana channel called X-Country were the big losers.  Pronounced  "Cross Country" and affectionately known to it's fans as "The X", was given the axe and replaced by the Sirius channel called "Outlaw Country"

Gone is the fantastic programing of Americana enthusiast Jessie Scott, and the total and complete professionalism of Marty Fitzpatrick and the rest of the staff there, that made X-Country the shining beacon of Americana broadcasting.

Given the boot to make room for this so called Outlaw Country channel which is nothing more then a mish-mash of mindless programming, that bring us such Outlaw Country artists as Bruce Springsteen, Golden Earring, Ted Nugent and Jimi Hendrix!!  Oh and don't let me fail to mention that all time Legendary Outlaw Country star, Snoop Dogg!!  And, no, that was not a joke!!

If that isn't bad enough, the station feels the need to entertain us with foul mouthed, crude DJ's who seem to think that dropping the F-Bomb a dozen times a show, and just being generally vulgar and disgusting somehow makes them.......ummm Outlaws?  If I wanted to experience wall to wall profanity and rude behavior, I would break  out the old Deadwood Series DvD's, where the do it up professionally!

X-Country fans deserve so much better then this and are used to "professional" DJ's who speak enough to just help push the music through with some continuity, not these brash in your face dudes who talk down to us like we are ALL trailer park trash or something.

I guess the fans over at Sirius Radio were easily entertained. That crap don't work with me, and many other X-Country people.

For what it's worth, yes, I have canceled my XMRadio monthly subscription.  I'm not paying 12.00 a month to have some sleazy DJ insult my intelligence.

If Jessie or Marty and the rest of the X-Country staff show up somewhere else....I'm there !! In a heartbeat!

I have patterned Southern Sounds Radio after X-Country, and sure will continue to keep the spirit of the greatest Americana Channel that ever lived alive !

Long live X-Country!! (That's Cross Country to you Shooter Jennings! Get it right!)

Wolf

That's right, Vampires and Americana.I like that.

Been watching a great new TV show on HBO this season called True Blood. The show is based on The Southern Vampire  Mysteries by Charlene Harris and has turned into a wildly popular runaway hit for HBO.

Basically it's set in the southern state of Louisiana where Vampires have come out of the coffin so to speak (well, most of them) in an effort to gain rights and be integrated into society. So far it's not working so well.Ya think?

A strange little bar,  in a strange little town, populated with a variety of strange people (and creatures)  make this show the most entertaining show to hit TV in a long time. The show takes place in a fantastic setting and stars Anna Paquin (X-men Fame) as sassy Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress with a rather interesting ability. Lots of great moments in this show already. Honestly, if you haven't seen this show, you seriously need to pick up on it.  Soon!

Being set in the south land is a good thing too.  I have noticed a steady dose of Southern Music at the closing credit roll. Charlie Robison and Gillian Welch to just to mention a couple.

And the opening them song to True Blood is easily the best one since The Sopranos (Woke Up This Morning). It's a kind of Rockabilly like song called Bad Things by Jace Everett. I placed the short version of it used in the opening of the show here in video!  it's catchy, you'll love it!  If you want to here the full version it's at Southern Sounds  Radio.

Jace Everett   Bad Things

David Letterman finally said something I agree with!!

Lucinda Williams has followed up her 2007 hit CD, West, with a new critically acclaimed record called Little Honey.

I haven't been to many concerts lately, but Lucinda Williams was the last one I went too.  And that was in Chicago at some crazy, old, dumpy little night club called The Riviera.  But I know I enjoyed it!  Every second of it.Beer was good too.

See, Lucinda is blessed with what is easily the best backup band in Country Music. And I do mean Country Music of any kind.  Led by the incomparable lead guitar player Doug Pettibone.  Well, nearly incomparable.  I still like Richard Thompson a tad better, but that's neither here nor there as they say.

Now, I don't normally watch David Letterman. His far left liberal political views just make me sick, but he does have Lucinda on his show a lot.  I'll hold my nose and stomach him for that.

Anyway, I was fortunate enough to find this clip of Lu on Letterman promoting her new CD, performing a song from it called Real Love.  She's just too cool.

And check out Doug (Black Guitar) rockin' it!

LW

Americana band Donna The Buffalo has been around a long time. (Some 20 years or so)

Their musical sound, a sweet mix of Zydeco, Bluegrass, and Folk, has often been referred to as Dance Music, Americana Style! And it truly is!

Their latest CD, Silverlined, released earlier this year is, in my opinion, their very best work to date! 

Here's the first video off the record called Locket and Key.  My wife don't agree with me, but I think Tara Nevins sounds a whole lot like Natale Merchant in this song.Well, maybe a little bit anyway. What ya think?

Did I mention, I looooooove Tara Nevins !!  She's so cool!!

Donna The Buffalo   -Locket And Key

Once again we temporarily interrupt this music blog for some off topic news!!  And good news it is!  There's a  new wolf in town!

Finally, after six weeks of talking about it, we made the two hour trip to Champaign, Illinois to pick up our latest little bundle of joy. And I'm happy to announce today that there is a feisty new member to the "Wolf" family.

Meet Kyli, our new 14 week old Silky Terrier.  She's an adorable little puppy weighing less then three pounds, with an insatiable curiosity of everything in the house, and possessor of an energy that don't seem to ever quit.  Because she speeds recklessly all over the house (and outside), she has earned the nickname The Silver Rocket.

Her registered AKC name is?  "Such A Cutie Kyli"  What else!!

There's more images of Kyli to the right under the album entitled The New Kid In Town.

LW

Southern Rock music is alive and well in North Carolina!

Gig Michaels and Swampdawamp are set to release their second CD (SwampDaWamp 2.0) just about any day now.  Earlier this year I heard a summer release date...well it's summer already!!  Let's Go!

Anyway, here is the initial video put out off the record. Bikers, hot chicks swinging on poles, and the unique singing style of Gig Michaels!  You just can't beat that!

This band does absolutely nothing but kick ass!!  They don't even bother to take names later.  Dance!

LW

The family has lost a faithful, treasured friend named Ginger.

After bringing almost fifteen years of joy and happiness into this household, our adorable little Silky Terrier, Gingersnap has passed on.

She had not been doing well for the past six weeks and was not eating, growing progressively weaker by the day.

Although we pretty much knew it was over, our Vet suggested it could be an enlarged spleen, which could be taken out, (dogs can live without a spleen) and perhaps extend her life by as much as a year.

We thought about it hard, neither Margeau or myself wanting to let her go, and decided to go ahead with the exploratory surgery.  On Friday, July 11 we took her in for the procedure. The Doctor found that she had a liver filled with cancerous tumors, and quite honestly could not believe she had been functioning as long as she had been to that point.

There was no choice but to have our little Snappy euthanized.

It's amazing what these little creatures can do to us.  They can turn your whole world upside down in times like these.  Anyone who has owned a dog for a long time knows exactly what I am talking about. They bring you such joy for years.  Then they bring you sadness.

She was the life of this house, and we both miss her terribly and so does Samantha, our Maltese. I'll get over this and move on some day, but right now there is huge hole in this heavy heart that needs to heal. I'm a slow healer when it comes to dogs, but I'm trying. I'll be back in better spirits one day.

I am sorry for the non-musical post, but I needed to get this out of me somewhere.  Thanks for listening.

                         Rest Easy Baby Boo. 

Yeah, well... almost!

At the end of the year, Southern Sounds Radio/Lone Wolf will be handing our their own personal accolades to artists in a few major musical categories within the Americana genre.  I know, I know....who cares!!

But we're doing it anyway!  So... ready to see who gets our first WOLFIE's? Oh hell!!  It's only July!!  I knew that!!  I'm just here to let you know who the front runners are so far, to receive one of these, now highly coveted WOLFIE's in 2008.

Here we go!  Let's see if you agree.

BEST MALE ARTIST CD:

• Just Us Kids    (James McMurtry)
• Trouble In Mind   (Hayes Carll)
• Long Way From Tupelo   (Paul Thorn)
• Rube   (Matt King)

BEST FEMALE ARTIST CD:

• Stronger   (Carlene Carter)
• Asking For Flowers   (Kathleen Edwards)
• Another Country   (Tift Merritt)

BEST BAND CD:

• VIII      (Stone Coyotes)
• Holier Then Thou   (Pear Ratz)
• Band Of Heathens   (Band Of Heathens)

BEST SONG -2008:

• Just Us Kids  (James McMurtry)
• Trouble Down In Texas   (The Stone Coyotes)
• I'm Not Crazy    (Shurman)

There you go.  That's the early front runners according to Lone Wolf and Southern Sounds Radio!

Love to hear your opinions.

LW

I've been waiting to apply that tag to someone ever since I heard female MMA fighter Gina Carano give one of her fallen opponents her props with that phrase, after a recent match.

I found someone. Kasey Chambers!

As you can see, Gina Carano is a cool ass chick too!!  But that's another blog post for another day.

This one is for sweet little Australian singer Kasey Chambers.

I've been a huge fan of Kasey ever since I first heard her unique voice coming out of my television set,  as the credits were rolling at the end of an episode of The Sopranos.  She was singing here signature song, The Captain.  To this day it is still my favorite Kasey Chambers song.

I totally love everything Kasey Chambers is about! 

Yeah, she likes to do weird things with her hair, dresses kind of strange at times, and has a stud sticking out of her chin. But as far as I'm concerned, she gets a pass on all that!  This is MY cool ass chick we're talking about here ! Besides, that only adds to her coolness!

She has a new CD out with her husband, Shane Nicholson called Rattlin' Bones.  It's really great to see Kasey back doing the type of music she does best! Here's the video of the title song from the CD.

My new favorite song!!!  Loving it much!

I'm often asked,  just exactly what is Americana Music.  My own personal explanation is that it's a genre that seems to rather conveniently include all the types of music I have preferred over the span of my lifetime!

But for lack of a serious explanation, I usually just point to an artist and say "Yeah, like what he does!"

One of those artists I point to is Buddy Miller.  If anyone's work can define truly what Americana music is, it is the music of this amazing musician.

A soulful singer/songwriter who plays the sweetest guitar you're likely to ever hear, Buddy has a voice and delivery that bring a song to life like no other.

I first came across this video late last year and must have played it 500 times at least, since there was no released version of the song out anywhere yet. (Hopefully a new CD is  in order, like real soon!)

I just love it when we get a glimpse of the artist in their actual working environment. For some reason it seems a little more up close and personal to you. 

What's interesting about this session is that Buddy's wife, Julie Miller (A talented musician in her own right), wrote this song just the night before!  But Buddy Miller armed basically with just a lyric sheet, totally knocks it out of the park. As the song is ending, you find yourself sitting there kind of spellbound.

Why? Because it's a killer song, and he's just that good!!!

Quite honestly, this is one of the most satisfying music videos I have ever seen. Let me know what you think.

Texas singer/songwriter James McMurtry is out with an impressive new CD, an April release called Just Us Kids.

One of the first things you will notice about the record is that McMurtry is still mad at George Bush, Big Oil, and Corporate America.  The next, and most important thing you will notice, is that despite the scathing criticisms, this record is loaded with awesome lyrics and fantastic music!

In fact, I know we're only five months in, but I am quite prepared  to go out on the limb here and declare Just Us Kids my 2008 CD of The Year. Yeah, it's that good! So good that it's hard to imagine anything coming out in the immediate future topping it.

The writing is beyond superb. Just listen to the words to Fireline Road, a story of family abuse, incest, and drugs as told through the eyes of a women named Alice Walker, and you'll surely get my point. The music is top notch, and perfectly tuned to the voice and singing style of James McMurtry.

For me, it proved to be a rather daunting task just choosing a best track, there were so many good ones. But I finally settled on the title song, Just Us Kids, a song about living the carefree days of your youth, then suddenly finding yourself growing up, and growing old, all too fast!  The lyric goes...

"It's a damn short movie, how'd we ever get here"

The chorus parts of this song really get into your head, and stay right there. It's the final chorus verse that says it all.

"Just us kids, hanging 'round today
Watching our long hair turning gray
Not so skinny, maybe not so free
Not so many as we used to be"

I say... Amen brother!

Now it's true I have problems with people who constantly bash President Bush and his administration. And McMurtry and I will forever differ on political views. But I refuse to let politics get in the way of any good music, so James and I will just have to agree to disagree and cancel each other out at the polls.

Because this IS good music.  Damn good music!!

James McMurtry has become a true musical force these days.

If that wasn't clear to everyone before this latest release, then it should be perfectly clear now!! 

LW

Back in the early 90's my wife and I went to a Folk Music Festival which had made it's way into our area.  Top billing was given to John Hiatt, but others such as Joan Baez, Loudon Wainwright III, and Nanci Griffith, (whom my wife and I were there to see) were on the lineup also. 

I remember sitting there that fair summer evening, sipping on my warm beer, waiting for the festivities to begin and wondering how long I'd have to wait for Nanci's set to come up.  I wasn't really interested in the other acts.  I was there for my girl !!

There was a couple sitting next to us, and after a time the man asked me if this was my first time seeing John Hiatt.  I informed him we actually were there to see Nanci Griffith, thank you!  He said, Nanci who?

After a few seconds in thought, I decided not to pour my warm beer over his head. It didn't really surprise me that someone didn't know who Nanci Griffith was.  Nearly all my friends and family didn't either. I was always a little different from most of them when it came to music.

But even today, she still hasn't received the recognition she truly deserves.  Sure, she's well known in inner music circles. (She's recorded several duets with some well known artists, such as James Taylor and Johnny Prine) And she's fairly well known over in England and Ireland. But not nearly enough!!!

We're talking a seriously talented singer/songwriter here people. A couple of her songs have made movie soundtracks and many more have been covered by other artists.  I have seen her several times in concert, and her live show is totally tuned to perfection.  She's a fantastic entertainer !

She's sweet.  She has a cute accent.  She's honest and real.  She has a big heart.  Yes, she is a bleeding heart liberal democrat, but I forgive her for that, because her other qualities are so overwhelmingly fabulous, I can't help myself.  Just hear her speak once and you'll understand.

She has always been one of the most amazing talents I ever experienced.  I will forever be baffled by her lack of fame.

Honestly, you really do have to wonder what kind of world we live in where people idolize the likes of 50 Cent and Amy Winehouse, and a true National Treasure like Nanci Griffith goes virtually unnoticed!

LW

I have seen the future of Alt. Country Bands, and it is called The Band Of Heathens! Austin Music Awards have named them Band Of The Year in 2007.

And my God, just what is it with Texas and GREAT bands anyway? This is getting ridiculous. I swear I am going to have to move there, and soon !!

After two Live records, these Heathens are about to unleash their very first studio record in May, and are poised to take the Roots Music world by storm!  These dudes are "can't miss" !! 

Three guys that can ALL sing, great acoustic guitar playing by Gordy Quist, and some absolutely mesmerizing slide guitar by Colin Brooks.  Did I mention I love slide guitar and dobro? I can't begin to tell you how impressed I am with this quintet, so I won't even try.

Check out this video off their DVD/CD Live At Atones.  This is the encore song off the DVD,  Jackson Station, and currently my favorite song!  I can't get it out of my head.  I think you'll agree with me. This song is just Kick-ass!

Oh, and is that guy wearing bare feet?? 

The other day I went to Borders Bookstore (they also carry music, among other things) to pick up a book for my Ipod.  As usual, I came for a book and left with a handful of CD's.

One of the CD's that I picked up was "The Essential Kris Kristofferson" , a 2004 release.  Now, I cut my musical teeth on the words and music of Kris Kristofferson, and he has always been a major hero of mine.

He definitely influenced my musical preferences over the years and I do have nearly every piece of  music he has ever put out on either vinyl or CD (and in most cases both), so I really didn't  need this.

However, the thought of 37 of the greatest songs, by the most prolific songwriter God ever placed on this Earth, all produced into one neat little package was entirely too much for this Kristofferson fan to bear!

So yeah, I happily plucked down the $23.00 right there, and had it in my truck CD player for the ride home.

As I played through the tracks for the first time, a flood of youthful memories washed over me.  And since I love being washed in youthful memories, I took the long way home, and played it some more!

Seriously though, growing up with Kristofferson was an experience that I never want to forget.

I have bought many of these "Essential" Cd's over the years, but never has one proven more essential then this one.  Kris, you are my hero!!

LW

Man, Texas can really crank out the bands these days!!

This group is Miles From Nowhere,  but I got a good feeling they are definitely going somewhere!  My little crystal ball is showing quite a future for these four ornery hombres from Texas. Talk about music with attitude?  This is attitude straight from the Lynyrd Skynyrd play book. And that my friend, is NOT a bad thing!

This is the band that has been occupying the space in my Dodge Dakota's CD player, back and forth to work for a month now.  The end is not in sight.

Check out the video below.  That is the title song off their fabulous new CD "Bloodline"