Following the lead of No Depression and countless other record stores in the past few years Miles of Music has thrown in the towel. A visit to their web site this morning displays the following:
We aren’t throwing in the towel so much as calling a time-out. For now, though, we are closed for business.
We’ve come to a pause in an era. The economy, the credit crunch, the changing way people consume music have all lead us to today.
All existing orders have been cancelled. Orders paid by Paypal are being refunded.
Now is it time to clean up, clean out, and consider the future.
There are many terrific places to purchase music on-line. Please continue supporting independent artists.
– Jeff Weiss, Miles of Music
Maybe they’ll come back as the iTunes of Americana music or something but I am guessing they’re toast. It’s too bad to…despite their terribly slow shipping I always felt good about myself for buying stuff from them.
Going to Gwar is a lot like going to Rocky Horror. It’s more spectacle than actual show and you know exactly what you’re getting. You’ll get a little wet and messy and largely it’ll be the same show you remember with a few tweaks. Oddly enough, I had not been to either in maybe a decade and on a whim I’ve have managed to catch both of them in the past month.
Rocky Horror was a little disappointing, to be honest. The crowd was way too overzealous, yelling different things over each other and coming in up to 10 seconds early in an effort to be the first to holler it. Some of the cast was great and some was 4 shades shy of great, while others made no real effort at all. I left largely underwhelmed.
Walking into the Gwar show I was thinking about the whole Rocky disappointment. Was it that Rocky was really disappointing, or was it that those 10 years changed me to a point where even the best crowd/cast would leave me wanting? Had I matured beyond Rocky Horror? If so, had I matured beyond enjoying Gwar? And, if so, is this a good or bad thing?
Things were obviously different. I walked in with the intent of staying out of reach of all fake spooge and fake blood. In retrospect, if I ever go to another Gwar show I’ll go with the intent of getting covered with all the fake blood and fake spooge I can. It’s an integral part of the show and it was a vital mistake not to take part in that portion of the performance. So what do you get from a spooge & blood-free Gwar show? Pretty much what you’d expect. You get a decapitated Obama. You get McCain having his entrails ripped out. You get witty banter like, “We’re gonna play a song here and if I could read English I’d know what it’s called, but I’m pretty sure it’s a Gwar song.” All in all you get exactly what you’d expect, minus the spooge and blood, so I left the show disappointed in myself but not disappointed in the show, and that’s impressive for a band 25 years strong.
I’ve now decided to see what’s up with the Rocky dilemma by going and seeing the local theater company’s annual Halloween production of it. I’ll report back.
I went to the show with a guy who takes pictures for a paycheck so I decided to just link to his photos and leave my camera at home. So, if you wanna see the pictures and the increasingly intoxicated night of me and my friends then just head over here.
Old Bull comes out of the hills of Southern California and consists of Eric Rasmussen (vocals/harmonica), Dylan Wilkerson (guitar/banjo), Scott Grusin (lap steel/guitar/dobro/mandolin), Steve Seifert (bass) and Peter Sheffer (drums). They have labeled their own sound as “Southern California Slamgrass”. To be honest, I have no clue what that even means and if I were to need to describe their sound for something like…say; a website…I’d probably say something like they sound like a younger Drive-By Trucker’s with pot references instead of Alabama folklore references.
Old Bull’s debut cd, Manifesto, is now out on Big Bender Records and if the thought of California-infused Southern Rock sounds like something you would enjoy, check it out. It’s a pretty fun listen.
Man, it has been a bummer of a day. I head out to my car this morning to go to work, go to unlock the door and my key won’t go into the lock. Try again. Same result. Try again. Same result. Try again. Same result….What? It was early in the morning….So, I bend over and look at the mangled mess that was once my lock. Seems someone tried (and failed) to break into my car last night. Good news, they did not get in…Bad news, on top of finding out that I have to replace the coil in my a/c unit for the house this week, now I gotta buy a new lock cylinder for the car. Couple these with the crumbling economy it is been a virtual jihad on my wallet this week. It’s enough to make a man drink I tell ya (donations my be mailed to the address on the About page).
Amidst all this bad news I do have something pretty cool for y’all today though.
Nay…not pretty cool. Really and truly f’ing cool.
Remember the band, Olin & The Moon, I wrote about last month? At the time I said I wasn’t sure when or how you could get their new cd but I was putting it on my Essential Listening list any how. Well, for a limited time you can now get it for free on their myspace site and we were given permission to post it here as well. Don’t slip on this one folks. It’s a good one.
What not to buy: Big & Rich’s Super Galactic Fan Pak, Vol. 2 Why? Nothing says pile of fucking shit quite like, “mixing traditional country sounds with hip hop, rock, and the occasional Native American yell.” Okay, that’s pretty bad but seriously; why? *sigh* Because the fact that you come around here shows you have some decorum of taste?
I mean, I suppose Big & Rich could be your guilty pleasure…we all have those acts we like but don’t know why and try to keep it on the d/l bur seriously…it’s 2008, if it’s a guilty pleasure download it and refrain from rewarding hacks for pumping out lowest common denominator shit.
And if you wanna little band in your ying yang
If you wanna little zing in your zang zang
If you wanna little ting in your tang tang
Come along, come along, come along, come along
Yeah, “country” radio plays that with a straight face.
I first came to know of Bob Frank through his collaboration with John Murry, World Without End, a collection of murder ballads about real-life murders. His story is as mysterious as it is intriguing.
Bob released a self-titled folk album back in the seventies but was dumped by his label shortly after releasing it for bashing the label execs (a man after my own heart). Bob sort of disappears, said album becomes a cult classic, then some 30 years later Bob returns with that same god damn the torpedoes attitude. Bob does things how he wants to do them and that finds its way into his songs.
On World Without End, Bob and John wrote murder ballads about real murders without any of the apologies, reasoning or morality that’s commonly present in such songs. In much that same manner, Red Neck, Blue Collar is billed as an album of folk songs sans all the inserted twang, alt.labeling and americana-leaning commonly present on modern folk albums, and to that point I have to agree.
P.S.: It is my understanding that Bob and John are in the process of recording a new album. I dunno if it’s gonna be another one full of murder ballads or not, but I’d wager a guess that it’s gonna be awesome regardless of the content.
(NOTE FROM AUTOPSY IV: Today’s piece comes from a frequent ninebullets.net reader, Adam Fenwick. He emailed me last week asking if he could submit a Rock Report about a festival he’d recently attended. I sad “Of Course” and here it is for y’all.)
I’ve never been one for camping. I’m far too accustom to a comfortable bed and a warm shower in the morning. But when my parents decided they were going to buy an RV to take to music festivals I had no excuse not to begin attending them.
With that said, I took some well needed vacation days at work and took a trip with my family to Flat Rock, N.C. for the 2008 Flat Rock Music Festival. I’ve been looking forward to this festival for months and came prepared with my digital camera to take as many photos as possible.
We arrived at the festival grounds Friday morning around 11:30. Unfortunately for us it was pouring down rain when we arrived and things didn’t get any better after that.
Rather then pay full price for our tickets my family decided to volunteer, meaning we had to spend 8 hours during the three day weekend helping out at the festival doing various tasks. My job on Friday was checking arm bands on the shuttle bus that took festivalgoers from the field at the bottom of the mountain to the top.
That would have been just fine, had the van not gotten stuck four times. By the time my shift was over I had mud up to my knees. I was in bed by 10:30 p.m. after that mess.
Day two, meanwhile, was a much better day. The sun came out, the good bands arrived and I got the last part of my volunteer work done early in the day so I could enjoy the remainder of the day.
6 p.m. - The SteelDrivers
I discovered The SteelDrivers when researching the bands at the festival this year. I loved their sound and thought they would be a fun band to check out. Boy was I right. They came on stage and went right to work winning over a crowd who seemed apprehensive at best.
The further they got into their set the more the crowd began to respond. Soon the band began interacting, talking with the crowd and giving intros for each song. At one point, the band talked about their songs being “Uneasy Listening” or “dark bluegrass.” I don’t know about anyone else, but that’s my favorite kind of bluegrass.
Songs that got a lot of response were “Midnight Train To Memphis” and “If It Hadn’t Been For Love.” Also of note, the band had for sale a live CD from the Station Inn in 2006. If anyone has the chance to pick it up at a live show, do it, you won’t be disappointed.
Video of “If It Hadn’t Been For Love” from Flat Rock Music Festival:
8 p.m. - Skinny Legs and All
This band was the surprise of my weekend. When I read the profile on the Flat Rock Music Festival website it said these guys were a bunch of kids who played the blues. Well, that would be a very accurate description. The oldest member of the band was 18 (the keyboardist) and the youngest was the bass player (he didn’t look anymore then 13 or 14 at best).
The lead singer, a gorgeous young redhead, had an amazing voice and boy did she show it. The band didn’t have any songs of their own but they did a good job covering songs made famous by others. They jumped everywhere from Led Zepplin to Santana to Susan Tedeschi to Aretha Franklin to The Band. I would have stayed for the entire set but Sonny Landreth was about to hit the main stage and I had to bolt and meet up with my family.
Video of Skinny Legs & All performing “The Weight” at Flat Rock Music Festival:
9 p.m. - Sonny Landreth
Interestingly, Sonny Landreth was the musician I was least interested in seeing out of the entire bunch but he was the one I had the most fun listening to. The atmosphere around Sonny was amazing and the crowd was totally into his set. Popular favorites like “Native Stepson” and “U.S.S. Zydocomobile” keep the crowd into the set from beginning to end.
I ended up seeing a lot of old friends during Sonny’s set, including a family friend named Jason (who I hadn’t seen in at least three years, maybe longer) and some former co-workers from four or five years ago. Who knew Sonny Landreth could act as a reunion of sorts?
Midnight - WSNB
If you like nasty blues, check these guys out. WSNB, which stands for We Sing Nasty Blues, took the stage for the midnight jam session in the gym just down the path from the main stage shortly before midnight.
I spoke briefly with the lead singer before the band started and he seemed pretty excited about the set, even if it was so late in the evening. It certainly didn’t seem to matter to the festivalgoers, they arrived in force ready to jam. And jam they did.
I ended up staying in the gym watching and listening to the band until nearly 1:30 a.m., at which point I realized what time it was. I had two options, either stay and finish out the set or risk missing the shuttle and having to walk the scary path down the mountain back to the field. I decided I wanted to live, so I quickly grabbed a CD and made my way to the shuttle.
All in all the festival was a good one. I got to see a bunch of great bands, meet a bunch of great people and enjoy a rocking good time. I just hope next time I go it doesn’t rain on Friday, cause you know, that just spoils all the fun.
I originally read about Jessica Lea Mayfield’s new album, With Blasphemy So Heartfelt, over on HearYa. Oz’s story about a middle school friend of his that had died sort of stuck with me all day and I tossed the album into my cd player when I got home that afternoon. Here in the last few years I’ve reached this weird station in life where I am young, I feel young but at the same time I’ve had a few friends/acquaintances die of totally natural causes. It kind of makes you acknowledge your own mortality in a more personal way than I really care to. So, with that said, Oz’s story was something I could relate to and in turn the melancholy undertones of Jessica’s album really struck a chord with me.
With Blasphemy So Heartfelt is yet another album on the ever growing (and enjoyable) production tree of Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys). It was recorded over the course of two years at Dan’s home studio after she performed backing vocals on The Black Key’s track, “Things Ain’t Like They Used To Be”. Sonically the album is beautiful and passionate, while Jessica’s vocals really remind me of Mazzy Star. Occasionally her lyrical content gives away her youth (she’s only 19), but it’s not enough to turn anyone away. So, if you’re in the need for an album to be your soundtrack for some late night introspection, I’d suggest you give this one a look-see.
Watch the completely hilarious video for the equally amusing track, “She Left Me For Jesus” off Hayes’ new album, Trouble in Mind. In other She Left Me For Jesus news, the song recently won the Americana Music Association’s “Song of the Year”. Congrats go out to Hayes and Brian Keane.
Perhaps we have a video of the year candidate here:
I love surprises. I had everything all planned out for this week. I had all my posts written up and the mp3’s tagged and uploaded…all I needed to do was press publish each day and then late yesterday afternoon there was a change of plans. An email arrived containing some Chris Knight studio outtakes from the Heart of Stone sessions complete with permission to post. Now, my Chris Knight fanboy status is well documented in the ninebullets archives so you knew I was gonna post tham ASAP. Well, AP is now and still think that if you don’t like Chris Knight you suffer from poor taste.
