ROUTES & BRANCHES

October 29, 2011

Scott Foley

Well, R&B listeners, you exceeded your goals for a second Saturday running, wrapping up KRFC's Fall 2011 Membership Drive.  Folks for whom 9 straight days of Drive-time wasn't enough may still visit the station's web home to pledge your support.  Thanks to all who support the good work we do at KRFC!

This coming Saturday, Nov 5, there's a good chance for a Very Special Episode of R&B -- a 4 hour megathon made possible by the fact that Andy will be unable to host his usual Road House Radio stint.  If he proves unable to track down another sub, Routes will run from 4 until 8pm next weekend.  While 4 hours is a long time to do anything let alone host an engaging and enlightening radio program, it might mark the first time in a good long while that I don't bring way too much music for my allotted time.  

I also hope to make my first pass through my stack of 2011 playlists this week in hopes of gradually assembling my year-end favorites lists for albums and songs.  With just two months remaining in our 2011, this gives me more than enough time to pass through the Twelve Steps of Creating a Year-End Favorites List (including procrastination, inspiration, delusion, fatigue, self-doubt, guilt, feelings of insignificance, prayer, renewed inspiration, lost sleep, more self-doubt, resignation and more ...).  While the year has yielded a generosity of good albums, flushing out the great ones typically takes a bit of soul searching.


* Rev Peyton's Big Damn Band, "Walmart Killed the Country Store"  Whole Fam Damily  (Side 1 Dummy, 08)
* Tom Waits, "Raised Right Men"  Bad As Me  (Anti, 11)
* Lera Lynn, "Good Hearted Man"  Have You Met Lera Lynn  (Slow, 11)
* Devil Makes Three, "This Life"  Stomp and Smash  (Milan, 11)
* Slim Cessna's Auto Club, "Port Authority Band"  Buried Behind the Barn  (Alt. Tentacles, 10)
* Honey Honey, "Let's Get Wrecked"  Billy Jack  (Lost Hwy, 11)
* Trampled By Turtles, "Where Is My Mind"  internet single  (Banjodad, 11)
* Guy Forsyth, "Long Long Time"  Love Songs For and Against  (Self, 05)
* Ana Egge, "Motorcycle"  Bad Blood  (Ammal, 11)
* Kentucky Parlor Pickers, "Rosalie"  Barn Burner  (Self, 11)
* Constitution, "Pesos"  Wrestling With the Daylight  (Self, 11)
* Backsliders, "Lonesome Teardrops"  Throwin Rocks At the Moon  (Atlantic, 97)
* Danny Barnes, "Rich Boy Blues"  Rocket  (ATO, 11)
^ Deer Tick, "Main Street"  Divine Providence  (Partisan, 11)
* Black Keys, "Lonely Boy"  El Camino  (Nonesuch, 11)
* Kitty Daisy & Lewis, "I'm So Sorry"  Smoking In Heaven  (Verve, 11)
* Decemberists, "Foregone"  Long Live the King  (Capitol, 11)
* Waco Brothers, "Plenty Tough & Union Made"  To the Last Dead Cowboy  (Bloodshot, 96)
* Mosey West, "Stone By Stone"  Vaca Money  (Self, 11)
* Pine Hill Haints, "Desperation Blues"  Welcome To the Midnight Opry  (K, 11)
* Mike McClure, "Old Crow"  Fifty Billion  (598 Records, 11)
* Tom Russell, "Goodnight Juarez"  Mesabi  (Shout Factory, 11)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

October 22, 2011

Scott Foley

First of two Episodes spent pounding the radio pavement for new and/or renewing KRFC members during our Fall 2011 Pledge Drive.  Thanks to everyone who called in, we were able to exceed our projected goal for R&B.  We'll have one more chance to chat about what it means to be a member of community radio like KRFC next Saturday from 4 until 6.  Please spread the word about our Fall Membership Drive via your social media of choice.  Having just rejiggered the station's programming vision, it's an important time to hear your support!

Fortunately, there's also some great music this week, capped off by a stellar new CD by Greensky Bluegrass.  KRFC will bring the boys to Hodi's this Friday October 28 for what will likely be a fine pre-Halloween function.  These are some very good musicians, pushing the 'grass boundaries way beyond their typical comfort level with horns, drums, extended explorations and songs called "I'd Probably Kill You", "Bring Out Your Dead" and "Blood Sucking F(r)iends", perfect for your roots music themed Halloween fete.  Given my allergy to bluegrass, I respect folk who do this to the genre.

Also this week, we begin to excavate a new Deep Dark Woods disc, their first for a Big and Powerful Label.  Danny Barnes has gone crazy again, plugging in his "bam-jo" for his heaviest record to date.  Plus, strong new offerings from Honey Honey and Deer Tick. 

* Kentucky Parlor Pickers, "Ruby Sue"  Barn Burner  (Self, 11)
* R Mutt, "Spinout"  Leash On Life  (Self, 11)
* Robert Earl Keen, "Ready For Confetti"  Ready For Confetti  (Lost Hwy, 11)
> Greensky Bluegrass, "Handguns"  Handguns  (Big Blue Zoo, 11)
* Deep Dark Woods, "Sugar Mama"  Place I Left Behind  (Sugar Hill, 11)
* Calexico, "Panic Open String"  Garden Ruin  (Cooperative, 06)
* Nikki Lane, "I Can't Be Satisfied"  Walk Of Shame  (I Am Bound, 11)
* Honey Gitters, "Freight Train To Georgia"  Poor Gitters' Almanack  (Self, 11)
* Uncle Tupelo, "Graveyard Shift"  No Depression  (Legacy, 90)
* Scott Biram, "Just Another River"  Bad Ingredients  (Bloodshot, 11)
* Pieta Brown, "Mercury"  Mercury  (Red House, 11)
* Lydia Loveless, "Can't Change Me"  Indestructible Machine  (Bloodshot, 11)
* Danny Barnes, "Wine"  Rocket  (ATO, 11)
* Mosey West, "Lonesome River"  Vaca Money  (Self, 11)
* Blitzen Trapper, "American Goldwing"  American Goldwing  (Sub Pop, 11)
* Honey Honey, "Angel Of Death"  Billy Jack  (Lost Hwy, 11)
* Derailers, "Guaranteed To Satisfy"  Guaranteed To Satisfy  (Palo Duro, 08)
* Deer Tick, "Main Street"  Divine Providence  (Partisan, 11)
* Patty Griffin, "No Bad News"  Children Running Through  (ATO, 07)
* Great American Taxi, "Gonna Make a Record"  Paradise Lost  (GATR, 11)
* Vince Gill & Rodney Crowell, "I Hope You Shed a Million Tears"  Lost Notebooks Of Hank Williams  (Columbia, 11)
* Rank and File, "Rank and File"  Sundown  (Slash, 82)

ROUTES & BRANCHES
October 15, 2011
Scott Foley

First things, next week's Episode I will be requesting your support for Routes & Branches and for KRFC.  Matter of fact, I'll apparently be doing that two weeks in a row.  Wait.  Don't make other plans.  The music will be great as usual, and if you tend to put up with my ramblings on your average Saturday afternoon, you probably won't be too put off by next week's R&B.  What's more, I truly believe in your traditional membership drive as a reasonable way to run a radio station.  It's sometimes just a matter of how annoying the broadcaster is, and how grating their pitch.  Every time I do this, I make a vow to be honest, to speak from a genuine place, rather than to simply read any provided script.  I also do my best to avoid the rambling part ...

This week, enjoy the music of Joe Henry, one of our music's most literate and classy acts.  His Reverie is just that, a dreamlike float, unstuck in time, containing patches of pop, jazz, gospel and folk, but fully belonging to no genre.  It also seems to have been recorded with his windows thrown open, incorporating sounds of birds, snatches of conversation and the general hubbub of the neighborhood. 

Also on this Episode, we pay a visit to Thursday evening's festivities at the 2011 Americana Honors & Awards show.  More than the Grammys (and in a completely different universe than the Peoples Choice Awards ... ), these genre recognitions do demonstrate some integrity, even if my year-end stuff may vary.  Robert Plant does deserve something for last year's terrific Band of Joy, and same goes for JT Earle's "Harlem River Blues".  I was especially pleased to see the AMA make a play for relevancy with votes for the Brothers Avett and the Sons Mumford.  My understanding is that an edited version of these Awards will be broadcast soon on select PBS stations.  Worth your watching. 



*  Mumford & Sons, "White Blank Page"  Sigh No More  (Self, 10)
*  Great American Taxi, "Olden Days"  Paradise Lost  (GATR, 11)
*  Kasey Anderson, "Mercy"  Heart of a Dog  (Red River, 11)
*  Pieta Brown, "Be With You"  Mercury  (Red House, 11)
^  Joe Henry, "Sticks & Stones"  Reverie  (Anti, 11)
*  Neko Case, "Hold On Hold On (live)"  Speaking Clock Revue  (Shout Factory, 11)
*  Buddy Miller, "Why Baby Why"  Majestic Silver Strings  (New West, 11)
*  Kentucky Parlor Pickers, "Rosalie"  Barn Burner  (Self, 11)
*  Red Molly, "By the Mark"  Light In the Sky  (Self, 11)
*  Yarn, "Abilene"  Come On In  (UFO, 10)
*  Megafaun, "Real Slow"  Megafaun  (Self, 11)
*  Wilco, "Rising Red Lung"  Whole Love  (DBPM, 11)
*  Lucinda Williams, "Get Right With God"  Essence  (Lost Hwy, 01)
*  Scott Biram, "Open Road"  Bad Ingredients  (Bloodshot, 11)
*  Patti Fiasco, "Plainsong"  Patti Fiasco  (Self, 11)
*  Robert Plant, "Harm's Swift Way"  Band of Joy  (Rounder, 10)
*  Jason Boland & the Stragglers, "Woody's Road"  Rancho Alto  (Proud Souls, 11)
*  Lera Lynn, "Whiskey"  Have You Met Lera Lynn  (Slow, 11)
*  Reckless Kelly, "Weatherbeaten Soul"  Good Luck & True Love  (No Big Deal, 11)
*  Avett Brothers, "Dancing Daze"  Four Thieves Gone  (Ramseur, 07)
*  Gill Landry, "Between Piety & Desire"  Piety & Desire  (Self, 11)
*  Southern Culture On the Skids, "Undertaker"  Zombified  (Kudzu, 11)
*  HalleyAnna, "Peace Is Lonely Love Is War"  Country  (Cheatham St, 11)
*  Merle Haggard, "What I Hate"  Working In Tennessee  (Vanguard, 11)
*  Justin Townes Earle, "Harlem River Blues"  Harlem River Blues  (Bloodshot, 10)

ROUTES & BRANCHES

October 8, 2011

Scott Foley

I have taught workshops here and there about the "basics of bookselling".  I advise book buyers to meet and exceed customers' expectations.  Of course, a successful store should stock bestsellers and buzz titles.  But a bookstore defines itself by the stuff shelved around those sure things.  Likewise, as a program promising "the best of americana, alt.country and roots music," I'd be silly not to track americana chart-toppers like  Robert Earl Keen, Tom Russell and Ryan Adams, for instance.  But it's what I spin around those listener expectations that defines R&B. 

I always know I'm on the right track when my wife walks into the room and comments in passing, "That doesn't sound like your kind of stuff."  That's where this week's nods to strong new releases by Joe Henry, Megafaun and Wilco come into play.  Let's face it, I'm not the first blogger to recognize the worth of Wilco's new Whole Love album.  If I'm not mistaken, even my father has posted a take on the thing.  Nevertheless, it is a beautiful project, even while it won't necessarily fit on every program airing our kind of music.  For every brain-ripping guitar freakout like the one that closes out the seven-minute "Art of Almost", there is an almost straightforward song like "Open Mind", awash in the echo of steel guitar. Or Tweedy's subtle and spare "Rising Red Sun" or the gorgeous "One Sunday Morning".  

I imagine much of the reason we permit Wilco to remain in our club is in tribute to Tweedy's past work as part of the first wave of alt.country artists twenty years ago.  Joe Henry might qualify for that same exemption, as an artist whose work (even before Uncle Tupelo) hinted at the development of our genre.  Although I would argue that much of his current work at least incorporates elements of roots music. 

I once tripped across the website of a well-respected americana programmer who offered a list of genre basics, artists who belonged on any self-respecting show like mine.  On this list, alongside your Earles and your Lucindas and your McMurtrys was the Beatles.  To each their own, I suppose ...


* Avett Brothers, "When I Drink"  The Gleam  (Ramseur, 06)
* Austin Lucas, "Darkness Out of Me"  New Home In the Old World  (Last Chance, 11)
* Pieta Brown, "Glory To Glory"  Mercury  (Red House, 11)
* Pine Hill Haints, "Desperation Blues"  Welcome To the Midnight Opry  (K, 11)
* Mosey West, "Hell Hounds"  Vaca Money  (Self, 11)
* Joe Henry, "Odetta"  Reverie  (Anti, 11)
* Lucero, "What Else Would You Have Me Be"  Rebels Rogues & Sworn Brothers  (Liberty, 06)
* Ryan Adams, "Invisible Riverside"  Ashes & Fire  (Lost Hwy, 11)
* Lera Lynn, "Good Hearted Man"  Have You Met Lera Lynn  (Slow, 11)
* Great American Taxi, "Gonna Make a Record"  Paradise Lost  (GATR, 11)
* Alejandro Escovedo, "Irene Wilde"  Bourbonitis Blues  (Bloodshot, 99)
* Wood Brothers, "Shoofly Pie"  Smoke Ring Halo  (Self, 11)
* Whitehorse, "Broken"  Whitehorse  (Six Shooter, 11)
* Robert Earl Keen, "I Gotta Go"  Ready For Confetti  (Lost Hwy, 11)
* V-Roys, "No Regrets"  Sooner Or Later  (FAY, 11)
* Star Anna, "Bird Without Wings"  Alone In This Together  (Local 638, 11)
* Kathryn Mostow, "Give Me Something Good"  Rich Girl  (Self, 11)
* South Austin Jug Band, "Jack Ass"  Strange Invitation  (Self, 08)
^ Wilco, "Open Mind"  Whole Love  (DbPM, 11)
* Megafaun, "Resurrection"  Megafaun  (Self, 11)
* Devil Makes Three, "Tow (live)"  Stomp and Smash  (Milan, 11)
* R Mutt, "Beautiful Bad Day"  Leash On Life  (Self, 11)
* Lydia Loveless, "Bad Way To Go"  Indestructible Machine  (Bloodshot, 11)
* M Ward, "Magic Trick"  Post-War  (4AD, 06)
* Southern Culture On the Skids, "Zombified"  Zombified  (Kudzu, 11)
* Blind Pilot, "Keep You Right"  We Are the Tide  (Expunged, 11)
* Jason Boland & the Stragglers, "Down Here In the Middle"  Rancho Alto  (Proud Souls, 11)
* Tom Russell, "Hard Rains a-Gonna Fall"  Mesabi  (Shout Factory, 11)

ROUTES & BRANCHES
September 29, 2011
Scott Foley


Special tx to Greg, who so ably took the mic this week and allowed me to hang with my book friends at this year's gathering of the regional independent bookselling thingy (MPIBA).  Of course, in the wake of my absence there is typically a dangerous backup of unheard music pushing at the levees of next week's Episode.  It's what I'd call an absurdity of new stuff. 

Though I won't be posting a playlist this week, I felt moved to post a quick something about the new retrospective being released by the V-Roys.  This criminally underrated quartet gave us both Scott Miller and Mic Harrison (and sorta John Paul Keith, too), and while their output was limited to two studio and one live album (96, 98 and 00), they deserve to be considered as among our seminal alt.country bands (tho they really didn't care for that moniker).  Out of Knoxville, TN, they sounded like nobody else ... except maybe the Old 97s, who beat them into the studio by a couple years.  Like the 97s, the V-Roys demonstrated a sharp appreciation for perfect pop hooks, paired with just the right amount of twang and bang.  They were also one of the best dressed bands from our kind of music, and were produced and released by Ray Kennedy and Steve Earle.  Sooner Or Later brings together a selection of representative tracks from their released albums, as well as a couple fine apocryphal bits.  The band's site promises a one-off Knoxville reunion show on New Year's Eve of this year, exactly 12 years after the final V-Roys show. 

Next week's Episode will feature a tune from that collection, as well as new trax from Joe Henry, Ryan Adams, CO's own Lizzie Huffman and more.  Oh yes, there's always more ...