A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER (August 8, 2024)

A ROUTES & BRANCHES GUiDE to FEEDiNG YOUR MONSTER

good news about good noise

August 8, 2024

Scott Foley, purveyor of dust

Incidentally, now that we've got this daily posting thing pretty well down, we're going to be off the grid for a handful of days. We'll prioritize our usual Sunday ROUTES-cast, but will likely miss posts for the rest of the week. If you're setting a timer, please expect us to return to our regularly scheduled posting by next Thursday, August 15. 

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On Thursdays, we share with our readers some of the more interesting original content we've found during our daily jogs around the internet. It's going a bit deeper into some of the artists we feature on R&B, hoping to answer the perennial question: So what?! It's by no means encyclopedic, but our intent with our regular posts is to provide a full-service site for fellow fans of americana, alt.country and roots music. We close our Thursday segment by calling out just five (5) of the forthcoming releases we've added to our well-kept calendar, A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster. 

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In addition to touring as a solo artist and with Wilco, and writing a book now and then, Jeff Tweedy makes time to record a substack, Starship Casual. This week, he shared his own cover of a Jason Molina song, in tribute to both Molina and the late Steve Albini who produced the original cut for Magnolia Electric Co.  

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In the wake of the release of Orville Peck's collaboration collection, Stampede, Paste interviews the artist, who has recently abbreviated his trademark mask. You'll also want to check out Tom Powers' typically strong video interview for Q.  

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Australian Americana mainstay Kasey Chambers has announced not just a new record, but a memoir as well. You can find details about Just Don't Be a Dickhead: And Other Profound Things I've Learned at Americana UK. 

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We dedicated Tuesday's Episode to an appreciation of X's new Smoke & Fiction record. After announcing it will be their swansong, the band has been garnering a slew of praise. Magnet posted a short five question interview with John Doe and Exene Cervenka on their site. And LA Times has published a nice appreciation of their hometown heroes as well. 

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Fresh off the release of his record with Dave Alvin, Jimmie Dale Gilmore sits down with Marc Maron for his WTF podcast. 

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Not to be outdone by Kasey Chambers, Steve Wynn is planning both a record and a memoir. Recently touring with the Baseball Project, Wynn talks to The Pitch KC about both I Wouldn't Say It If It Wasn't True (the book) and Make It Right (the album). 

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We praised Scott Ballew's excellent Rio Bravo back in March, mentioning as well his career as a documentary film director. His most recent project, All That Is Sacred, has been made available for streaming. A fascinating story about authors Tom McGuane, Jim Harrison, songwriter Jimmy Buffett, and others in 1960s and 70s Key West, you can read more at Garden & Gun, then stream the short documentary at the Yeti site. 

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We'll wrap up today's Episode with a quick stop by A Routes & Branches Guide To Feeding Your Monster, our moment-to-moment account of what's on the horizon for our kind of music. The astronomically popular Billy Strings has set a date for his next studio offering. Set a timer for September 27, when he'll release Highway Prayers on the Reprise label. As we mentioned above, Kasey Chambers has announced both a book and an LP. The album, Backbone, lands on virtual shelves on October 4 (Essence). Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit will release a companion piece to 2018's Live From the Ryman. Cleverly titled Live From the Ryman, Vol2, the disc will be available on October 4 (Southwestern). The hard-working Teddy & the Rough Riders were touring alongside Orville Peck when he had to leave the road to focus on his health. The band has prepared Down Home for an October 11 street date via Appalachia Record Co. Finally, Grayson Capps will offer some Heartbreak, Misery & Death on his next collection. Featuring his take on long lost traditionals and folk songs the album will appear courtesy Royal Potato Family on October 25.