Sunday Drive
traipsing thru the internets
If you wished to wipe out the entire americana industry in one fell swoop, you could do worse than targeting next month's Americana Music Association to-do. Their list of workshops, gatherings, hootenannies and showcases is unreal. 'Course, I won't be there, so you'll have to deal with some vestiges of the industry ...
In other news of Places I Won't Be Able to Be, San Francisco's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival will certainly miss me. Gracing Golden Gate Park in October, the Fest's lineup lives up to its name with some great non-grass, some fine blue-grass, and ... MC Hammer.
Aquarium Drunkard this week offered a chat with mad Giant Sand mastermind Howe Gelb. The collective's proVISIONS album will land in stores on Tuesdays, from YepRoc.
Speaking of YepRoc, the North Carolina label has amassed itself a wonderful stable of talent in '08. Issuing LPs by Rodney Crowell, Reckless Kelly, Ron Sexsmith, Marah and more. I recieved another lackluster promo this week from A Label That Will Remain Nameless, one that I have long admired but that has released only one or two real keepers this year. Led me to ponder, which other labels have had the best 2008 thus far?
The world loves Chris Knight's new Heart of Stone album. The typically opinionated NineBullets says, " ... you're pretty much an idiot" if you're not liking him by this point. While I have yet to fall completely under the spell of Knight's Steve Earle/John Mellencamp-esque americana, I'm nowhere near an idiot, as his past releases have all earned a place on my playlists. Last year's bare bones Trailer Tapes collection increased my admiration for Knight's writing, which has sometimes been plowed under by careless production.
This week's rather limited line-up of new releases features Knight's Heart of Stone, Bruce Robison's The New World, Giant Sand's proVISIONS, and Rodney Crowell's Sex & Gasoline.
alright then,
scott
