Blog: 30 Days Out

Willie Nelson, one of the great treasures of American music, is 80 years old today. When I was in college we listened to Willie all the time - his classic Red Headed Stranger came out when I was a junior, and we spun that one till the record was virtually unlistenable. At the time I had the impression that Willie Nelson was a favorite only in Texas or the south. It may have been mainly true about that time, but when he put out the standards collection Stardust in 1978 it was quite obvious [...]

George Jones 1931-2013 It's been a bad week for music. George Jones, the greatest of the old-school country singers, has died at the age of 81. He was originally from Saratoga in deep East Texas and even after he became famous he was a familiar sight in places like Beaumont. When we worked for a newspaper in Southeast Texas it was almost a routine assignment for someone to go out and cover a George Jones performance - he pretty much played the same standard set during that period (late 1970s-early 1980s) but it was [...]

Guitarist Audley Chisholm, left, and singer Duane Anglin of The Wailers Band, playing at Austin's Reggae Festival. It was a last-minute development at work that left us free a little early on a Friday afternoon, and that was all the time and motivation needed for a 2-hour drive to Austin for that city's venerable Reggae Festival. (Note: Our home base is Houston, about 165 miles away, but a drive from our house to the Texas capital city is exactly two hours.) That jaunt was solely to see The Wailers, the backing band that performed [...]

Richie Havens at Woodstock, 1969. Richie Havens, the bearded troubadour of Woodstock, has died at the age of 72. Born in Brooklyn, the singer is perhaps best known for his fiery "Freedom," which he improvised onstage at the Woodstock Festival in 1969. Havens toured and recorded for decades until complications from kidney surgery left him unable to tour after 45 years in 2012. In addition to putting out 21 studio albums and touring the world numerous times, Havens also devoted much of his time to charity. In 1991 he won the Peace Abbey Courage [...]

Verbiage taken straight off the site of KUTX-FM , the coolest radio station in Austin, Texas: Singer-songwriter Patty Griffin has become known for her stripped-down folk sound and her heartfelt and emotional lyrics. It’s those factors that brought her the fan following she has now, including some bigger name fans such as Emmylou Harris and the Dixie Chicks, who have taken Griffin’s songs and recorded some fantastic covers. Patty Griffin started writing songs when she was 16. She went out, bought a $50 guitar, and set out to singing and playing [...]

We're still focusing on our day jobs, so our posts will be rather infrequent for the next week or so. Want to quickly remind you about Record Store Day, coming up this Saturday. Make sure you go out to your friendly neighborhood record store, and at the very least, tell them thanks for hanging in there. Here's a message from Record Store Day ambassador Jack White: Record Store Day official web site

Fleetwood Mac has gone back on the road, partly to celebrate the 35th anniversary of their blockbuster album Rumours . On one of the first dates of the tour in Philadelphia April 6, the band introduced a new song called "Sad Angel" that may appear on a new EP that Lindsey Buckingham said is coming out  "in a few days." Thanks to tyrant2525 for loan of the video. Fleetwood Mac official web site

Ana Popovic (Photo by Cheryl Gorski) Ana Popovic is a Serbian blues guitarist and singer, and she's releasing her sixth studio album, Can You Stand The Heat , on April 16. Many blues aficionados consider her one of the better blues guitarists around, and her last album Unconditiona l is still one of the best-selling blues albums ever. Here's "Can't You See What You're Doing To Me," from the new album. Ana Popovic official web site

Annette Funicello, star of 1960s beach movies and a former member of "The Mickey Mouse Club," has died at the age of 70. Funicello was best known for her TV appearances in the late 1950s as a Mouseketeer, and that provided the springboard into movies - first, a series of family films by the Walt Disney Co., then movies like Beach Blanket Bingo , often with Frankie Avalon. Los Angeles Times news story about Annette Funicello YouTube: Annette singing the title song [...]

Another one from SXSW: Blue Sky Riders, a country rock trio led by Gary Burr, Georgia Middleman and Kenny Loggins. Yes, that Kenny Loggins. They played at the 2013 Southwest Invasion on the roof of Whole Foods Market. Thanks to IROCKE for allowing us to use the video. Blue Sky Riders official web site More videos at IROCKE

After plenty of rumors and speculation, The Rolling Stones have finally announced dates for their “50 and Counting” anniversary tour. Early reports said this tour would have only 18 dates, and only nine were announced today. Here they are: May 5 – Oakland, Calif. @ Oracle Arena 8 – San Jose, Calif. @ HP Pavilion 11 – Las Vegas, Nev. @ MGM Grand Garden Arena 15 – Anaheim, Calif. @ Honda Center 25 – Toronto, Ontario @ Air Canada Centre 28 – Chicago, Ill. @ United [...]

We're taking a little time off from the blog so we can get caught up in our day jobs. We will drop by occasionally in the next week or so with some good stuff. Today let's go back to SXSW, with an acoustic performance by rocker Rick Springfield. He played at the 2013 Southwest Invasion at SXSW on the roof of Whole Foods Market, presented by Quantum Collective, Amazon MP3, and IROCKE. Rick Springfield official web site More [...]

When we talked to the nice folks at New West Records a few weeks ago, they were excited about the recent signing of Austin-based singer/songwriter Patty Griffin. Her new American Kid album is coming out May 7. The first single from it, "Ohio," is about the Underground Railroad, and how slaves used the network to escape to freedom. Griffin's husband and "driver," Robert Plant, sings harmony and came up with the tempo and mood for the song. Patty Griffin official web site

• Patty Griffin - Ohio

The Mavericks, partyin' in the parking lot at Waterloo Records. More stuff from SXSW: The Mavericks, a country rock band fronted by Raul Malo, have a new album out - In Time is their first studio work in about a decade. It's heavy on the melodic, danceable stuff for which they are best known. We caught their free set during SXSW at Waterloo Records. They played acoustic, and they quickly turned the record store parking lot into a party zone. Here's "Back In My Arms Again," from the new album.  Thanks to [...]

Well, happy birthday Dark Side of the Moon . The classic Pink Floyd album turned 40 years old this past weekend, and for one, I celebrated by playing it all the way through Sunday on my back porch patio. Very early. Very loud. The neighbors love me. The album came out when I was a senior in high school, and it blew my mind. Since then it has become one the most iconic and best-selling rock albums of all time. You can buy about 10 different versions of the album - a couple [...]

• user5116728 - Brain Damage-Eclipse (alternate mix)

You know this already - "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," from the Concert for Bangladesh in Madison Square Garden, New York City 1971. It doesn't get much better than this.

Mark McCausland, left, and Oisin Leech of The Lost Brothers. Among all the new friends we made at South by Southwest (SXSW) this year, we really like The Lost Brothers. The "Losties" are a duo from Ireland who sing in close harmony, reminiscent of Simon and Garfunkel or the Everly Brothers. Mark McCausland and Oisin Leech met in an dusty old Liverpool library in 2007. Comparing influences, they discovered they both played in various bands and had traveled to Liverpool to take their music to the next level. The pair shared a love of [...]

Fifty years ago today (March 22), EMI/Parlophone released Please Please Me , the debut album release by The Beatles, in the United Kingdom. The New Music Express said on March 8th 1963: "Things are beginning to move for the Beatles, the r-and-b styled British group. The disc Please Please Me follows closely on the heels of their first hit ‘Love Me Do’ written by group members John Lennon and Paul McCartney. It looks like a bright future for the Beatles, but knowing them I don’t think they’ll let it go to their heads." [...]

We learned a lot of things at this recent SXSW music event: you spend more time walking from venue to venue and standing in line, than you do actually hearing music. If there is a huge, famous act playing during SXSW, you probably won't get in to see them - unless you have connections. But actually, we knew both of those years ago. It doesn't deter one's fun at SXSW, at the very least. And the other thing we learned: as soon as Iggy Pop leaves the stage after a show, he gets into a car to go [...]

It's going to take a few days (weeks?) to flush this year's SXSW out of our systems, so please bear with us. On the plus side, much of that involves us sharing new music we heard at the event. One of the official events was a Day Stage where invited acts could perform short sets for conference attendees. One of the acts playing was Vampire Weekend, which hasn't appeared in public for about a year. They performed a five-song set that included a new tune, 'Unbelievers," from the new album Modern Vampires of the City, due May 7. [...]