Music City Monday Morning Shuffle - Lit Up Like a Halo Mix (Just a Glimmer Remix)

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  *Note: The video playlist at the bottom of the post attempts to closely approximate the shuffle I listened to on my way to work this morning. When a video for a song was not available, I substituted another song by the same artist. When I could not find any videos by an artist, I included a related video or did not include a video for that track. This blog may reference unreleased tracks, however, no unreleased music is ever included.

The E2TG 8th Anniversary is underway - Next Show 10/16/2019!

September 25 - Week 1: Ben Arthur + Conrad y Skordalia (SUCCESS!)

October 2 - Week 2: Ryan Sobb + Don Gallardo (Album Release Show)  
(SUCCESS!)
October 9 - Week 3: The Truehearts + Jason Erie (SUCCESS!)

October 16 - Week 4:  Josh Gray  + Meghan Hayes (Two Days Away!)
October 23 - Week 5: Microwave Mountain + The Big Dumb

Week 4 of the E2TG Residency is happening Wednesday night October 16 - with Josh Gray and Meghan Hayes providing the musical entertainment.  Gray and Hayes each released wonderful new albums in 2019.  Josh Gray's Songs of the Highway covers his move to Nashville in the context of these complex times in which we live.  Meghan Hayes' Seen Enough Leavers deals with heartbreak and loss in wonderfully artistic and healing way.   They will both be backed by full bands with come hot local players.   Don't miss it!

Now, it is time for another Music City Monday shuffle!

Music City Monday Morning Shuffle - Since You've Been Gone Mix

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Well, the 2019 Edition of the Magnolia Roads American Roots Hoedown IV is in the books. Over two nights, 13 acts featuring at least 54 artists performed. There was also a silent auctions which raised money for the Ben Eyestone Fund of Music Health Alliance, a COMMUnity Canvas - collaborative painting, and just a ton of fun.

Thank you to Emily Hansen of Magnolia Roads for letting me be a part of this.  I got to see old friends like The Truehearts, Chris Wilson, Don Gallardo, Mike Younger, Rich Mahan, and Lady Couch; people that I saw at previous Magnolia Roads events - like Jenny Lee West, Arkansas Dave, Bonnie Blue, and Jason Daniels; and some new folks like Bryan Haraway, FunkyJenn, and Jeff Mix.

Until next time!


Now, we jump right into another fantastic Music City Monday shuffle!  Let's do it!

Music City Monday Morning Shuffle - Crashing Down Mix

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Another week!  It's our first Music City Monday in a few weeks.

These are all music made by people with some connection to Nashville (live here now, lived here before) - the music itself may or may not have been made in Nashville.

Let's get right to it. 

Music City Monday Morning Shuffle - Bible Tells Me So Mix

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All of this happened a long time ago when the world was a very different place. Of course, none of us knew that at the time.
(From The Drift - A Novel by Joe Wolfe-Mazeres) Available at Amazon.com (Kindle edition also available)

If you have read The Drift, please consider writing a review on Amazon. If you haven't read it, you can get your own copy through Amazon or if you are in Nashville, you can get them from me.

I am continuing to work on my Spotify playlists for E2TG.  So far, I have completed seven - January - July2018.  These are meant to be a cross-section of music I featured during those months - not necessarily music released in those months.   If you are interested, you can check out the playlists (links below)  and follow my personal profile to find out when new playlists are created.

E2TG January 2018
E2TG February 2018
E2TG March 2018
E2TG April 2018 
E2TG May 2018
E2TG June 2018
E2TG July 2018
E2TG August 2018 (coming soon!)
E2TG September 2018  (coming soon!)


I will say once again, different beliefs are NOT the problem.  We are a country, which by our nature, has historically been a beacon to people with differing ideas and beliefs.

In my life, I have experienced several Presidents whose policies and agendas have clashed with what I believe is best or right. What all of those Presidents have done is at least give lip service to the idea they are representing all of us. They have spoken to all of us and presented this case and announced their decisions. Sometimes, I have liked or accepted their explanation and something I have hated it. Sometimes both with the same President.  My own political beliefs have developed and changed over time.

What I have witnessed these last two years is something different. Something horrifying. A president who speaks only to his base and considers other citizens to be the enemy. A president who speaks and tweets like a cheap radio talk show host. Who share conspiracy theories and who lies constantly and seemingly with immunity.  A president, in short, who acts like an asshole. And the result is that it has emboldened assholes to behave like assholes even more so than typical. I experienced this - again - this weekend. I knew the man was trouble when he talked in with his confederate flag hat. Sure enough, he acted like an asshole. Throwing insults and taunts, and when he was called on his behavior, he pouted like a little child. Like his president.


I am dismayed and discouraged, but for now, I still believe that light will overcome the darkness, and I still believe that there is more good than evil in this world.  I just hope good will get up off it's ass and do something - and do something soon.


Music is still my balm. And, it's Monday, so we have our usual Music City Monday shuffle to get the week off on the right foot.

Wild Wednesday Morning Shuffle - Worry, Worry, Super Scurry Mix

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My novel, The Drift is out now!  Paperback or Kindle (Buy the paperback and get a Kindle version for just $.99)

E2TG 7th Anniversary Residency is coming in June to The 5 Spot!

Week 1 June 7:  Clark Paterson, The Big Dumb, Rayvon Pettis

Week 2 June 14: The End Men, Ted Drozdowski's Psychedelic Circus, Ben de la Cour

Week 3 June 21:  Brian Milligram, Microwave Mountain, The Coal Men

Week 4 June 28: Joanna Barbera, Bee Taylor, Eli Cook

As you may be aware, for the past two years, I have been fortunate enough to co-host a radio show (Double Shot with Joe and Sue) along with my good friend Sue Havlish on WXNA-LP Nashville. This experience has been one of the most wonderful of my life. 

WXNA went on the air just under two years ago. It is a low-power, all-volunteer community, non-profit radio station, and it has taken this city by storm. I am so proud to be a part of it. It is time for the Spring Pledge Drive.  WXNA is People Powered Radio and relies on the generous support of the community to keep things going.  You investment (small or large) pays off everyday - by helping the station to keep on providing a home for independently programmed shows covering a variety of musical genres and topics of interest and benefit to the community.  The drive runs through Saturday at midnight. You can donate at wxnafm.org or by calling 615-933-WXNA (9962). 

Well it is Wednesday - time for some Wildness E2TG Style.  Wednesday is the day we shuffle up all the songs which are current saved into my phone's memory.  As usual it is a mix bagged of past and current music spanning the globe and the decades.

Let's shuffle!

Music City Monday Morning Shuffle - Look Out Mix

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And suddenly it is Monday!  (Very) light snow has given way to sunshine here in Nashville.

Saturday, Mark Robinson and his band rocked The 5 Spot.  I took my daughter, and we both had a blast.  We are both huge Mark Robinson fans. 

Monday, we check in with our Music City Monday shuffle.  All songs by artists who do or have called Nashville home. Spanning decades and genres - as we tend to do.  This is the only shuffle we do from a Spotify playlist.  If you want to browse that playlist which has over 800 songs (and counting), you do so HERE .

Let's shuffle!

Music City Monday Morning Shuffle - One Helluva Hangover Mix

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Okay - well, two weeks ago, I started a new thing for Music City Monday - the shuffle is based upon a ever expanding Spotify playlist of Nashville artists past and present - trying to cover as much of the diversity of Music City's music  as I can.  Last week, I was off work - so today marks the 2nd edition of Music City Monday 2.0.  In case you want to peruse the playlist at your leisure, it is currently at 740 songs (over 44 hours of music), and it is still growing.  Anyway, here is the LINK.

I need to add an editorial comment:  I honestly wish that Spotify paid creators more for their work, and I hope that happens some time. In the meantime, I do think it is a good vehicle for hearing a ton of music and for creating playlist like this one.  However, my wish is that if you hear music you love, and you are able, go buy it.  Saving or even "downloading" an album on Spotify does not in any way equal buying the album. I think when you look at the profits that Spotify is making off the blood sweat and tears of the artists and songwriters and others who make the music, it is clearly an untenable situation.

As always, E2TG is about the music, so this shuffle like any other I post is about the music.

In any event, I think today's shuffle is a pretty nice cross-section of Nashville's music, and I look forward to bring you more in the weeks and months to come. 

Wild Wednesday Morning Shuffle - Off the Beat 'n' Path Mix

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You know, I am generally a pretty optimistic guy. I mean, I don't think I'm Pollyanna about it, but I do tend to look for the bright spot in things or at least the light at the end of the tunnel (that is hopefully not an on-coming train.)

Lately though, it is not easy to maintain optimism. It's not just the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue... I actually think he is more of a symptom (although a potentially fatal symptom) of a large problem.  I often hear the suggestion that we are part of an empire in decline. And maybe we are... maybe we have been for some time. There were certainly warning signs at various points of my life.

As someone who is deeply passionate about music (and art and creativity of all kinds), it is very hard to see incredibly talented people - who pour their souls into their art and who make vital and beautiful things - struggle to find an adequate platform for their work.  And then to read about a junk culture flash-in-the-pan figure getting signed to a record label... I just don't know.  It's easy to lay blame on the record companies... or on Spotify or whatever... but I think this all goes to a deeper problem in our society - where as a whole, we don't value truth or beauty or substance...

For the most part, I try to focus upon the communities of which I am a part that do value those things... and I do my part to put truth and beauty and substance into the world...


To that end... it is Wednesday... I call it Wild Wednesday... but really it's like classic E2TG day... from the beginning, I hoped to place new and under-heard music alongside some of my all-time favorites and recent discoveries (of older music) and oddball choices that stretch and challenge genre boundaries...   Eventually, things got so big that I needed to create specialized playlists for new music or Nashville music or whatever... but I am glad that I can have one day a week to shuffle all of the music I have on my phone and see what madness ensues....

Topical Thursday Morning Shuffle - Tell Me Lies Mix

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So.... the chief lawyer for the country is not only a racist, ableist, transphobe, and homophobe, but he is also apparently a liar/perjurer and possibly a traitor.  Nope, nothing to see here...

and then there is this... (with a straight face)

1. The failure of the Yemen raid is Obama's fault.
2. The failure of the Yemen raid is the military's fault.
3  The success of the Yemen raid is Trump's accomplishment.

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I had a rare opportunity to see six different Earie award winners perform last night - beginning at The 5 Spot with D.L. Duncan - beginning his month-long residency.  He was joined by the incredible blues keyboard player, Al Hill.

Next, I headed to The Country for the inaugural Writer Crush Wednesday which featured rounds from Tom Schreck and Connor Rand, Andrew Adkins and Joe Nolan, and Lindsay Ellyn (who created the event) and Taylor Alexander.  Really fun night.

Tonight, I am hyped to see John Doe at The Basement with Jon Latham opening.


I am changing my title of Thursday's posts to Topical Thursday.  Just because.  My topic (or theme if you will) continues into this new month, and I added a bunch of songs to the mix.

Disclaimers:  The topic is not revealed. The connection of the songs is tenuous and times and not explained.  It may not be the actual content of the song that fits it into the theme - it may just be a possible interpretation of the title.  And as always, the views expressed or implied do not necessarily reflect those of any of the artists.

Let's Go!

Monday Morning Music Shuffle - Working Up a Sweat Mix

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I need to give some credit where it is due....  About a year and a half ago, based upon a suggestion from the enigmatic and amazing The Danbury Lie, I began compiling a daily Video playlist based upon my daily shuffle.  Before that I just posted videos with the song, but my hope was to create an easier listening experience. 

Now, due to the newishness and/or obscurity of some of the music I feature - as well as the vagrancies of what is available on You Tube, sometimes I can find the exact song, sometimes I can find a different song from the same artist or a different version of the same song, and sometimes I just have to punt.

Anyway, I mention this today because many of videos in the playlist today are not the exact song I listened to during my morning commute.  It's still a fine video playlist, and I hope you like it. 

I should also say that we don't really do theme shuffles here at #E2TG - we used to, but whatever... still by the laws of randomness and selective playlist creation, we do have some Halloween themed songs...

Shall we...

Wide Open Wednesday Shuffle - Summertime Thing Mix

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Trying a new thing here at Ear to the Ground.... every Wednesday (or at least this Wednesday... or maybe some Wednesday's) I am going to Shuffle up all the songs in my phone's memory and see what happens...  Usually, the Morning Shuffles come from a playlist called "Current Stuff" which includes... well current stuff and basically all the recent adds plus some random stuff to keep things interesting.  Songs are moved off of the playlist as they are featured and new music is added all the time (as memory allows).  Beyond that playlist, I have approximately 4,000+ songs stored in my phone at any given time. As you might expect, it's a weird collection of some really interesting music that I've collected in various ways over the years.  I have to say, the fact that Mary Gauthier and Chuck Prophet were the first two songs that came up... I am feeling optimistic.

Friday Morning Music Shuffle - The Myth is This Mix

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thanks to Pam Slavin for the image

Hey ho!  The weather here is near ideal - at least for late July in Tennessee, and so I am going to make it outside to enjoy... 

So I'll make today's post brief.  First off, several songs were not on YouTube and in at least one case, I couldn't find any videos by the artist, so please check out (google and Facebook search work well) all of these artists/songs.

BEGIN NOW - AFTER JUMP

Wednesday Morning Music Shuffle - Power of Equality Mix

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 Time is short, and we have some nifty tunes to bring you...




Pre-Shuffle: 

We started with an early morning wake up call from our new friend The Gabriel Construct. Yesterday, we featured the first track on his brand new Interior City album.  Today, we heard "Curing Somatization" the last track on the album.  A blistering, challenging 10 plus minute powerhouse filled with some glorious and amazing noise.  

Next, "I Wanna Live" by the Ramones

"Leave it All Behind" by Nikki Sue and the Bad News

"Don't Wanna Die Anymore" by Ivan and Alyosha

"Are You Hung Up?" by Wheelchair Sports Camp

and "Little Mascara" by The Replacements


SHUFFLE NEXT:

Monday Morning Music Shuffle - Boy They Can't Ignore Mix

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 Warner E. Hodges from this past Saturday's Royal Court of China Reunion at Foobar. Nashville.

Had a blast this past Saturday witnessing a reunion show by Nashville Rock legends Royal Court of China with special guest Warner E. Hodges on guitar.  As an added bonus, the band was introduced by the cover model from their self-titled debut album (she was actually Japanese).

Onward and upward, we have another great collection of music this morning, and as usual, the accompanying Playlist includes the songs from the Mix or if the actual song was not available (or locatable) in video form, another song by the same artist.

Pre-Shuffle (songs from my morning drive):

"The Moon Dead in the River" by Wendy James
"Bad Feeling" by The Beat Up (formerly known as The Beatings) 
"Who Are You" by Ivan and Alyosha
" This Time Around" by Royal Court of China
"Vanity" by Monks of Mellonwah (from their excellent new EP Ghost Story)
"Blood of the Saints" by Dave Hogan (who I got to see at the Nashville Songwriter Festival a few weeks ago with a h/t to Jason from Grimm Generation)
"Trip" by Canopy Climbers (from their awesom album Miles)

 Shuffle commences right after the JUMP

Friday Morning Music Shuffle - It's Been So Long... Mix

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 A very special Shuffle just 'cause I am so stoked about the Royal Court of China reunion show tomorrow night at FooBar.  The show is a benefit for RCC bassist Robert Logue's Black Raven Emporium and their efforts to add a patio space. The legendary Nashville band will be assisted by Warner E. Hodges (Jason and the Scorchers, The Bluefields, and Dan Baird's Homemade Sin).

For today's shuffle, I stirred up my Royal Court of China digital library and the results are after the JUMP

Monday Morning Music Shuffle - Armistice Mix

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Greetings from home.... it's a rainy day in Nashville.  No morning walk, so I fired up the iTunes and created a "Smart-Playlist" of five songs for today's shuffle:


1980s era Nashville rockers, Royal Court of China took their hard rock tendencies up a notch on their second record with A and M Geared and Primed.  Dragon Park is a fitting tribute to a legendary Nashville hangout.  Fannie Mae Dees Park is the official name, but most people know it as Dragon Park for the amazing mosaic tile covered dragon.

Here's a video of the park

Here's the Sam Raimi Directed/Bruce Campbell Produced Video for another RCC song

The Renaldo The Ensemble are a New York-based vaudeville, avant garde, absurbist group.  We have Up which is from the band's 2009 album Why Are You?

Here's a different song from The Renaldo The Ensemble

Leeds-based band The Damnwells are currently taking America by storm.  Today we have She Goes Around from the album No One Listens to the Band Anymore.

Bob Mould is back making angry music which is a good thing.  Today we have a track from his second solo album - 1991's excellent Black Sheets of Rain - Disappointed.

Here's a video for the title track to the album.

We close out today's selections with the title track from our good friend Don Ryan's album, Tangle Town.  If you haven't checked out this album - do yourself a favor and pick it up.

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Monday Morning Music Shuffle - Paisley Dragon Mix

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Good morning!  It's a beautiful day here in Music City USA. Working on an amazing mix of songs to add to the playlist tonight - hopefully.  We still have lots to talk about - still two nights of Americana Fest to write about - hopefully I'll finish before next year's fest.  We have a generous offer for an interview that we need to get our stuff together and do.

Tomorrow night we are taking part in the World Premier of the new video from Cosmonauts. We brought you the premier of the song, Cold Harbor along with an interview with the band.  Now, the video is ready - we got a sneak peek and it's amazing, but does contain some graphic and disturbing images... but if you're up for that, tune in tomorrow.

Our friend's The Dead Exs have a new album out called, Relovolution. We already brought you the title track. The album is a nice complement to the band's debut Resurrection - offering a filthy and beautiful blend of rocking blues.  Visit the band's website for more info.  Right now, the band is tearing up the Lonestar State and playing some dates with the great Ray Wylie Hubbard.

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We shuffles up our Revolving Random playlist and came up with this mix today:

First up, we have a song from the 1984 self-titled debut by Red Hot Chili Peppers.  True Men Don't Kill Coyotes is a funky, bit of post-punk L.A. rock music. Did you know that Guitarist Hillel Slovak did not appear on this record due to contractual obligations to the band What is This?  

So... Who's Next? Exactly.  Okay  I'll stop.  Next, we have Baba O'Riley, the classic song from the classic 1971 Who's Next album by The Who.

Next we have a 1990s cover of an early 80s song.  The Muffs' version of Kim Wilde's first single, Kids in America, was originally released on the soundtrack to the 1995 film Clueless, and was later released on the band's album Hamburger. 

 

Finally, we close out with a classic Nashville rock track.  This one comes from the self-titled major label debut by a band called Royal Court of China. The band included members of popular Nashville thrash band The Enemy.  The record included hard rocking songs and more Southern Gothic folk stuff.  The band split after this record with members taking the RCC name further into a Hard Rock direction on the follow up album Geared and Primed, and other members forming The Shakers who followed that Southern Gothic strain to it's conclusion with a album called Songs from Beneath the Lake. Today, we have the instrumental track, Townsend, TN, which shows off that gothic folk side of the band.

 

Couldn't find a video for Townsend, TN so here's a different RCC song.

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Tuesday Morning Music Shuffle - You Say You Want Mix

As of this morning, I had 119 songs in my July 2012 Playlist which I have not yet had the chance to present to you.  Today, I will knock that down to 115.  I was reflecting on the added music for this month - an eclectic mix of old and new music - spanning a geographic and musical landscape that can only be called spectra-normous. I just made that word up - by the way.  Interestingly enough, today's random shuffle of those 119 songs yielded three songs from the same band. More on that later.

First up, we have our good friends and sure bet for a wildcard spot in our Band of the Year poll, The Dead Exs.  They have a new album set to drop soon.  A couple of weeks ago, we introduced a new song they released around the 4th for July. The song recently, reached number 3 on the Hype Machine's Twitter chart.  It's called Relovolution and it shows off this hard working band's dirty blues-rock style in fine fashion.  It was an excellent way to jump start my day.  You can get a free download below:


And while you are waiting for the new record - go buy their last record Resurrection by clicking the image below (Amazon.com). Also, The Dead Exs really want to come to Nashville and play Grimey's - so if you're in Nashville - spread the word!

 

And here's the band's classic from Resurrection - "More Stuff"

Now, settle down and let me tell you about the band that shows up three times in a row on today's shuffle.  The Ratz were, are and ever shall be trailblazers in the Nashville Rock world.  The band formed in 1979, played some legendary gigs and Nashville Rock landmarks Phranks n' Steins  and Cantrells, recorded a single, played with R.E.M. and The Brains among others and then disbanded in 1981 with it's members going on to play in such bands as Factual, Raging Fire, The Enemy, Go Jimmy Dub and Royal Court of China. The band, older and wiser but still Ratz, reunited in 2009 and have since recorded some new and old songs. They have a gig coming up on August 11 at The End (which was once the legendary Elliston Square).


So here are the songs by The Ratz in today's shuffle:


Drop to the Ground (New Song and Recording from 2010)

My Baby Don’t Love Me Cuz I Won’t Cut My Face For Her (Vintage Song, New Recording)
and
She Shaved Her Head and She's Crazy 

Go grab some music and check out Nashville80srock.net.

You can also check out The Ratz and other great Nashville Rock from back in the day on this must-have compilation:

 

 Couldn't find a You Tube clip of The Ratz (so go check them out live on the 11th) so here's a vintage clip from Raging Fire.

   


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Listen To Punk Rock With Daddy Body Suit

Thursday Morning Music Shuffle - Colloid Suspension Mix

Hey ho! It's the final day of May.  Remember tomorrow we will introduce a new feature on Ear to the Ground which will take the place of the ever popular Band of the Week, and hopefully move us forward in our mission to introduce you to the many talented artists putting out music around the world.  In the meantime, stay tuned today, I'm going to be posting our Band of the Month poll for May, and I also have a free MP3 of a brand new song.

Back to a real live music shuffle - the air felt good this morning, but there was definitely quite a bit of humidity in the air.  Storms are forecast for this afternoon, and as per usual, I am sans umbrella (did I ever mention that I hate umbrellas?) so I'm looking forward to the possibility of walking through a downpour this afternoon!

On to our shuffle:

First up:

I presented this song a couple of weeks ago in my post about The Bluefields.  Bluefield, Joe Blanton, before he was in Royal Court of China, was part of a local Nashville Thrash band called, The Enemy.  Today's song is by The Enemy and according to the tag information on the download I got from Nashville 80s Rock - dot - net  , it is from a Cassette release called Tijuana Go! which was also the title of a song on Royal Court of China's second album, Geared and Primed. Anyway, the song is Jesus Rides a UFO and I must say hearing this song always brings me back to the mid-80s.

Get the MP3 for Jesus Rides a UFO 

Bonus: Here's the video for Take Me Down from Royal Court of China

Next you we offer you another track from the fabulous Jo Wymer, a bluesy, rockin' lady from New Jersey.  That Kiss is on Jo's 2011 album Living with Scars.

 

Bonus Video: Here is Jo Wymer doing Dirty Secrets another track from the album

Finally, we present the title track to the latest album by an amazing singer/songwriter who happens to share a first name with one of my daughters.  Young Man in America- the song - is sprawling, captivating and memorable.  Young Man in America  - the album - is a remarkable achievement.

 

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The Bluefields - In-Store @ Grimey's - 5/17/2012

First of all apologies for the crappy cell phone pictures, there were people there with better camera equipment who took better pictures, so hunt them down.




The Bluefields have this released their first album, and they were booked to do an in-store performance at Grimey's New & Preloved Music (one of the best record stores in the world - btw).  

Warner E. Hodges, Joe Blanton & Dan Baird

Dan Baird played bass and sang

So I posted a brief commentary on Facebook on this show as soon as I got home. 

Words can not express how awesome it was seeing The Bluefields this evening at Grimey's New & Preloved Music.Warner E. Hodges Dan Baird and Joe Blanton brought the house down. - oh and I will try to find words to express how awesome it was tomorrow.

After I posted it, actually just before (as you will see from the last line), I thought, well I'm a writer and a music blogger so I best find some words to express how awesome it was.  Well it took me a couple of extra days, but here goes nothing.


When I approached Grimey's, I saw the band standing out front. I got there early, and I had some time to think about this event. 


First of all, if you don't know, I need to tell you about the Band:


The Bluefields are Warner E. Hodges (Jason & the Scorchers, Homemade Sin), Joe Blanton (The Enemy, Royal Court of China) and Dan Baird (Georgia Satellites, Homemade Sin)




Warner E. Hodges :


Memories: Seeing the Scorchers play Labor Day 1985 at Cat's Records.  Such an amazing experience. The Movement (Richie Owens band who played one of my favorite song's Lost Horizon) and the later Tim Kreckel and the Sluggers  opened the show and were both amazing, but the night belonged to the Scorchers.  From the first explosive note, you could see where that the name was appropriate.  The stage burned, and every moment was a joyous and infectious blur of twirling microphone and slinging guitar.

In the later part of the 80s, I got really into the local music scene in Nashville.  Bands like The Questionnaires and Walk the West and others.  I was still going to school in Cookeville, but whenever we could we would drive up to Nashville and catch a show (it was usually weekends at the Cannery) and at almost every show I attended, Warner Hodges joined the band for the encore and it was always the Rolling Stone's Honky Tonk Women.

Flashforward:  2012 - I got to stand next to Warner's mother, Blanche (a musician herself) and watch as Warner and the Bluefields tore it up. I got to tell her how much her son's music had meant to me over the years, and she told me that he originally had not shown an interest in the guitar and that he had not begun playing guitar until he was ten.    Warner plays with such intensity and yet such ease, and he flashes this genuine and warm smile periodically throughout the show.


Joe Blanton:


Memories:  Around the same time that I saw the Scorchers for the first time, I remember hearing this local band on WRVU (sadly off the dial now) - The Enemy had this one song, Jesus Rides a U.F.O. that I loved. I remember going to see R.E.M. at Vanderbilt in November of 1985, and a friend pointing out the members of The Enemy in attendance.

MP3: The Enemy - Jesus Rides a U.F.O.

A few years later (very few) The Enemy broke up and out of the ashes came Royal Court of China. To me Royal Court of China always had a larger than life feel.  They played blistering hard rock suffused with a Southern Gothic spirit.  Joe Blanton's voice I remember most and the perfect blend of the two styles of music.  RCC got signed to a major label and made an amazing debut record.  After that, the band split with a couple of members forming The Shakers who took the Southern Gothic mysticism to new heights while Joe and some others carried on as Royal Court of China and made a stunning hard rock album.  I loved The Shakers and the hard rock RCC album, but I always missed that perfect fusion of the original lineup.  Still Joe Blanton's guitar and vocals were always amazing.

Flashforward 2012 - Joe Blanton still has an amazing rock and roll voice, and he can play guitar pretty well, too.  Before the show, it was clear that he was the detail man of the band - setting up video cameras.


Dan Baird:


Memories:  I don't remember the year exactly - maybe 86? But, this "new" band started getting tons of airplay on WRVU.  The Georgia Satellites.  They reminded me of the Scorchers in a way, but it was different, too. Then, I heard The Song, and damn if it wasn't stuck in my head all the damn time.  RVU played it to death, but I never got sick of it.  This had happened before with songs I heard on WRVU - Peter Case's Walk in the Woods comes immediately to mind.  But, then this funny thing happened.  Suddenly, this song began to get airplay on commercial stations and on MTV (and yes kids, MTV used to play music videos).  And wouldn't you know it, this song made it to number one and Keep Your Hands to Yourself became and remains a iconic Rock n Roll song. The band ended up on Dick Clark's New Years Rockin' Eve.

Dan Baird has been making music, great music ever since.  As a solo artist and with his band Homemade Sin (of which Warner is a member).

Flashforward 2012 - When these three guitarists formed a band, Dan Baird got volunteered to play bass. Dan Baird, who I think has one of the most distinctive voices in rock, joked repeated about his voice and his ability to play the bass.  As I've before and I say again, I am a non-musician music lover, and so my take on music is always much more emotional than technical. So, I don't know how Dan Baird's bass playing would be considered by a bass player, but I can say that the whole band sounded great to me.

Overall, my overall impression was of these three world-weary musicians who have seen the highs and lows of a life in music and press on because it is who they are. What I heard in the songs of the Bluefields from their debut, Pure, was maybe not the pure youthful, reckless country soul of that early Scorchers show, but truthful, direct songs that told stories that we all know so well.  What I saw, was these veteran musicians having fun doing what they love.  And what I felt was truly blessed and fortunate to have the opportunity to witness it and to shake the hands of these men whose music made up such large part of my life.