Category Archives: Artists

Seeing a Savior Onstage at The Mother Church: Kris Kristofferson at The Ryman

The stage was empty, save two acoustic guitars and a black music stand. No lights, no backdrop; nothing. He walked out in black jeans and a black button-down shirt, almost blending into the wall. Kris Kristofferson has every right to walk out onstage in a crown of jewels, trailing a red velvet cape behind him,… Continue Reading

Playing The Numbers

Playing The Numbers

  35 Years of Hearing New Orleans Through The Horns Of The Dirty Dozen Brass Band New Orleans. The name itself evokes a feeling of mystery and euphoria, wrapped up in endless revelry and strings of colored lights. Known as “The Big Easy”, it is the birthplace of some of America’s most fertile culture, from… Continue Reading

Bob Wills: The King of Country Swing

Bob Wills: The King of Country Swing

A lot of today’s contemporary country music touches on themes of drifting, cotton picking, dancing, and other marks of the Old South. And while Blake Shelton or Toby Keith might be jotting down these stories in a Nashville loft, country swing legend Bob Wills actually lived out these grand tales of riding rails and picking… Continue Reading

Bringing the Sideman Front and Center: Slick Joe Fick

The differences between a sideman and a frontman are obvious. The front man is the focal point, while the side man is there to back him up. If the front man wants to leap into the air doing vocal karate chops, the band has to be there to catch him if he falls. In the… Continue Reading

An Affair To Remember: Lady Day and The Prez

History has a way of creating pairs. Lovers and enemies, comrades and counterparts. God and the Devil, Romeo and Juliet, ketchup and mustard. We pair our socks, our parents and the salt and pepper shakers. Without detracting from the greatness of the above examples, I would also ask you to consider a lesser known pairing:… Continue Reading

Between The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea: Ira and Charlie Louvin

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma2Y2hiOaEw&feature=related] There are two things in this life no one can escape: God and family. Whether you believe in a higher power or the power of the blood in your veins, all three are inextricably tied together. No one understood this, and all its undertones, more than Ira and Charlie Louvin. Together, the Louvin Brothers… Continue Reading

The Fathers of Bach-Rock…The Lefte Banke

*Dedicated to John Ammons and his moderate affection for the Left Banke* There is nothing new under the sun, but at some point, everything is rearranged to make something different. It happens across the art field from painting to literature, advertising to music. Every new face on the scene builds on what is there and… Continue Reading

From Here To Everywhere with Peter Case

You can go as far as you want without a passport. Whereas a piece of government-endorsed paper can only put you across country lines, the expanse of a creative soul can transport itself and others over time and space parameters. A string of rhyme and strummed chords can take you from coast to coast, bouncing… Continue Reading

Dealing With The Devil: The Curious Life of Robert Johnson

Robert Johnson’s life began at a crossroads. In true Faustian form, he crossed paths with the devil, taking him away in his fingertips. The legend of Johnson is more well-known than the actual footsteps he took, and what information we have been left with has more holes than a piece of Swiss cheese. Thus, the… Continue Reading

Broken Freedom’s Song, As Sung By Kris Kristofferson

Buy cheap Viagra online Outlaws have been romanticized in stories since the first story told. Every culture has their own breed, wearing tall leather boots, a gun on the hip and a knife in the boot, and wide-brimmed hat to cover their brooding eyes. The American cowboy has captured the imagination of the world through… Continue Reading

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