Stonewall Jackson is one of the reasons why honky-tonk country music exists to this day. Alongside Ray Price, Lefty Frizzell and Hank Williams, Mr. Jackson helped define the hard-driving sound that became so popular in the 50s and 60s. I stumbled across Mr. Jackson on some patched together best of country tape, and was blown [...]

As the post below suggests, I spent the better half of the week driving around the middle of Virginia ( Stonewall Jackson Country ) eating fresh biscuits and walking through the BEAUTIFUL Blue Ridge Mountains. I was there for work (not Cold Splinters stuff, but something I'll get at in the weeks to come) and got back late last night with thoughts of Foamhenge still on my mind. On the way back, we drove through the last 1/3 of Skyline Drive in Shenandoah [...]

Five straight days. I haven't been away from a computer that long in, let's see ... hmm ... carry the two ... 1,943 days. After traveling almost as many miles to sunny (and windy) California I have returned, exhausted but unscathed. Packing for such a journey typically consists of five minutes of stuffing clothes into a bag and another 45 spent choosing the music (Old 97's, Wicked Lester , Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Strange Boys, Clap ). And this trip, like many previous, involved one or more of the following: Great friends, Hot Tamales, [...]

Since there's no such thing as too much overkill, today we're shining the spotlight on a ridiculously generous sampling of The Cold Hard Facts Of Life, one of singer and songwriter Bill Anderson's most expertly-crafted tunes. Sure, Anderson wrote a plethora of great songs, but for my money none of them tops The Cold Hard Facts Of Life. Originally recorded by Porter Wagoner in late 1966, the song tells the story of a hapless chump who returns home from a business trip a few days earlier than expected only to find his wife gettin' busy [...]
Well. At long last. Presented here for your amusement, befuddlement, irritation, or resentment: the first installment in The Big Rock Candy Mountain Top 100 Drinking Songs. The list was voted on by myself and a jury of your peers, and they did a damn fine job. Please extend a hearty toast to Kip, Kyle, Sean, Andy, and the Right Reverend Frost. Whenever some magazine or another put out some