Video: Alison Krauss "Paper Airplane" available Tuesday (April 12th)

The Album is amazing. Wait one day, and you will hate yourself!!!
itunes

Brendan Benson Power Pop Genius

Brendan Benson has taken a break from his side project ith Jack White, The Racoteurs. He is back to doing what he does best, making great Power Pop. Hooks and tunes you can listen to0 over and over. My Old, Familiar Freind is certainly familiar territory for this under appreciated Indie star.

Check out his letterman performance from earlier this week:

Radney Foster New Album

REVIVAL will be releasing on September 1st. I am a huge Radney Foster fan and this promises to be a huge release for him. Following on the death of his father, I have no doubt this will be an emotionally charged release:

The Spiritual Power of Music

The Sunday Night Shout is a happening in Nashville that Mike Farris started in order to recover lost Gospel Soul and Funk songs. It turned in to a type of church and spiritual healing for the participants. They decided to record it live at the Station Inn. The album Shout Live released this week. Check out the EPK below:

SBBS New Video

My thanks to the Sarah Borges Fan Club for giving me a shout about the new video from the album. If you haven't figured out by now, I love the new Album.
Fan Club MySpace

Get out the Vote for Fiction Family

The first video from Fiction Family "When She's Near" is nominated to be put on the regular rotation on MTVU. In case you haven't heard the band is comprised of Nickel Creek's Sean Watkins and Switchfoot's John Foreman. It sounded like a strange partnership when I heard of it, but the result is a Pop masterpiece. The vocal harmonies and guitar work of Watkins make for a combination that works. I for one am just excited there is an MTV network that still shows videos.

Vote at MTVU

Mary Kate O'neil Video - Nashville

I ran across this video released in advance of Mary Kate O'Neil's forthcoming Nettwerk release Underground. I am not familiar with any of her previous work but this is a catchy Indie - Pop song. The album was co-produced by Jill Sobule and has a cadre if indie rock veterans as guests. Check it out.

Griffin House New Tour Dates in 2009

Also he released a new video for "The Guy that Says Goodbye"



TOUR DATES:

JANUARY 2009

Thur, Jan 15 Boulder, CO @ B Side Lounge

Sat, Jan 17 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court

Mon, Jan 19 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge

Tues, Jan 20 Seattle, WA @ The Triple Door

Thur, Jan 22 San Francisco, CA @ Swedish American Hall

Sat, Jan 24 Los Angeles, CA @ Hotel Café

Sun, Jan 25 San Diego, CA @ Anthology

Mon, Jan 26 Phoenix, AZ @ The Rhythm Room

Thur, Jan 29 Austin, TX @ Stubb’s

Fri, Jan 30 Dallas, TX @ The Loft

Sat, Jan 31 Houston, TX @ Meridian


FEBRUARY 2009

Mon, Feb 2 St. Louis, MO @ The Duck Room @ Blueberry Hill

Wed, Feb 4 Ann Arbor, MI @ The Ark

Thur, Feb 5 Madison, WI @ Orpheum Stage Door

Fri, Feb 6 Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theatre

Sat, Feb 7 Chicago, IL @ Double Door

Wed, Feb 11 Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection

Thur, Feb 12 La Salle, IL @ Uptown Grill (SOLD OUT)

Fri, Feb 13 Newport, KY @ Southgate House

Sat, Feb 14 Muncie, IN @ The Living Room

Thur, Feb 19 Atlanta, GA @ Smith’s Olde Bar

Fri, Feb 20 Birmingham, AL @ WorkPlay Theatre

Sat, Feb 21 Nashville, TN @ Exit/In

Wed, Feb 25 Philadelphia, PA @ World Café Live

Thur, Feb 26 Vienna, VA @ Jammin’ Java

Fri, Feb 27 New York, NY @ Highline Ballroom

Sat, Feb 28 Boston, MA @ Café 939


MARCH 2009

Thur, Mar 5 Louisville, KY @ Gerstie’s

Yarn Spin a Video

Yarn is an independent band that has seen a groundswell of Grassroots support. Watch this video of them live in WDVX:

Video: DBT & Hold Steady Live in Chicago

November 14th the "Rock & Roll Means Well Tour"

HANK III Release Day

DAMN RIGHT REBEL PROUD

Just in time for Halloween the famous namesake unleashes another group of songs full of personal and inherited demons that mixes Traditional Country with a hint of Metal and Punk. He is the original The Southern Gothic Outlaw. This could be his edgiest album yet.

Here is the EPK:


Here is the first video:
(Check Out the Jesco White Shirt. Anyone who has never seen the "Dancing Outlaw" documentary please do so soon. Also see the creepy cameo of Unknown Hinson)

Alex Woodard New Video

Singer/guitarist Alex Woodard debuted two new music videos for songs off his recently released self-titled album on Adrenaline Music Group last week, "Reno" and "There Is No More Time To Waste." The San Diego Tribune says, "Woodard's well-crafted songs are cut from the same cloth as those of Tom Petty, Rodney Crowell, John Mellencamp, Jim Croce and other American troubadours- - past and present - whose music eloquently captures earthy truths about living, loving and growing older without losing the dreams of youth."

"Reno" features Alex with Sara Watkins of Nickel Creek on vocals and fiddle here it is:

Don Was Gives Polish Without Changing OCMS

Using Don Was to produce an acoustic band could have been risky. An excellent Rock producer but it could have taken the roots out of their music. Was instead expanded their sound without changing what makes them great. To be sure there is more of an emphasis on songs and less on solos on Tennessee Pusher. However, I think thera has also been a tendency to view Old Crow Medicine Show as pickers and less as songwriters. No one will doubt their songwriting now. Don Was deserves the credit for that.

Listen to Caroline:

New Video: Kasey Chambers & Shane Nicholson

The New Buddy and Julie Miller.



Live is even Better

Lucinda Williams New Album and Mood Change

I've written before on AWT that I was no fan of Lucinda's previous release West. The whole girl gets done wrong by a loser then gets dark and dreary act was old on on the album. There were few great songs on the album but what worked on World Without Tears slid into a disturbing creepiness on West. I say all of this because Williams is absolutely one of my favorite artists. I am not one of these people wanting Carwheels II. I like her eclecticism. I just want her to do what she does best by mixing styles and moods.

Based on a review I stmbled upon on, I may get my wish. Her new album, which will be titled Little Honey, is coming out in October. Here is an excerpt from the review and interview done by >MusicRemedy

Lucinda Williams has always been adept at painting landscapes of the soul, illuminating the spirit’s shadowy nooks and shimmering crannies -- but she’s never captured the sun breaking through the clouds as purely as on her new Lost Highway release, Little Honey. “I’m in a different phase of my life, so there are more happy moments on this album,” the singer-songwriter says of her ninth studio set...Williams wastes no time signaling that mood change, leading into Little Honey's opener, “Real Love” with a false start riff that's the six-string equivalent of a friendly wink – then sidling into the tune's hard-rocking vibe with a sensual slink that underscores the passion of finding exactly what that title indicates. The bluesy physicality of that tune is echoed in several of Little Honey's tracks

Bring it on! I can't wait.

Here is live video of her doing the first song off the ne album Real Love (Warning the Audio is poor):

Watson Twins - How Am I to be Video

The Watson Twins Brand of Americana infused Indie-Pop has got me hooked check out their Video:



Then liste on MySpace

RIYL Reckles Kelly - Try John D. Hale and Austin Collins

For those of you who like their new album as much as I do, read the Austin Chronicle article on Reckless Kelly and the The 9513 review of Bulletproof. However, if you like the new Reckless Kelly I think you will also like two other artists starting to make some noise on the Texas scene. One is Austin Collins out of his Namesake city in the Lone Star State and The other is The John D. Hale band.

The John D. Hale Band is from Iowa but they are gaining notoriety on the Texas and Southwest circuit. In fact Ray Randall says they are practically the House Band at Americana Roots which is high praise indeed. Their album Lost will appeal to fans of the more Rocking side of Reckless Kelly. Although they have more country undertones than Reckless Kelly. John D. Hale's musical pedigree was formed early when his older brother gave him a Robert Earl Keen album when he was just 10 years old. He subsequently immersed himself in REK and his kindred spirits and the rest as they say, is history. He especially took after Keens ability to spin an outlaw tale. On "Pistol in Each Hand," a drug deal gone wrong song he sings "He rolled one while he waited for them to gun him down." Two other songs in this mold involve jealous lovers, "Love Pulled the Trigger" and "LA County." "Stake our Claim Again" (See video below.) is a lament song in the vain of Chris Knight that addresses the plight of the rural farmer, "Should we cash the farm on in. Just move on down the line. Tell 'em all to go to hell and buy us a little more time." The album also has a hilarious hidden track called "The Local First Assembly Church of Crystal Methodists." A church that reads from the Book of Jerry Jeff and has commandment like "Don't covet your neighbors weed and pass it to the left."

Austin Collins will appeal to those who like Reckless Kelly's more country singer-songwriter tunes, of which there aren't many on Bulletproof. Collins has always been interested in songwriting but upon graduation from college he tried to be practical an d became a financial analyst for a while. Being in the Corporate Finance and Accounting field myself, I was glad to here that we all aren't complete bean counter nerds. (Collins had the good sense to get out though.) Collins songwriting is powerful and engaging, and primarily addresses the complexities of relationship on Roses are Black. This songwriter certainly has staying power.

Allow Me to Introduce You

Hang Jones (AKA Stephen Grillos) is a bay area singer-songwriter who has recorded an album based around an outlaw tale. I was hooked by the concept, but the results seem even better. The tale centers around the Outlaw William Bishop. The Ballad of Carlsbad County is the title of his self-released album due out in September. Check out his Website to get the complete tale. Also check out the video below. Based on what I see on his site this seems to be a well crafted project. I hope you agree. Register on his website to be e-mailed as to when you can buy the album.

Wild Sweet Orange Exclusive Video on Spinner

I love to see bands from Alabama go national. So it gives me great pleasure to introduce you to Wild Sweet Orange. I first heard them through Reg's Coffeehouse. They are an Indie Rock band with a Rootsy undertone. They recently filmed their EPK for the forthcoming album "We Have Cause to be Uneasy." They will also be starting a national tour to promote the album. The video introduces you to the band and to their town and mine, Birmingham. Check it out on Spinner:

Wild Sweet Orange, 'Have Cause To Be Uneasy' video premiere on Spinner

Meet Ashton Shepherd

For those of you who haven't heard her you need to. Bill Anderson said of Ashton Shepherd when she first played the Opry last year, "She's so country she makes Loretta Lynn sound like she's from Liverpool." She is from a town of less than 500 people in L.A. (That's Lower Alabama for you less traveled readers.) Trust me the county she is from in Alabama has mroe trees than people. She was discovered by accident and is literally an overnight success story. She also wrote 10 of the 11 songs on her album. As I mentioned in an earlier post, she is a sign of light in mainstream Nashville.

See the Video:


Meet Ashton: