SXSW 2006

The intial (not final final) list is out for who’s playing at this year’s SXSW Music Festival in Austin.

Dig:
http://2007.sxsw.com/music/festival/

New album! And a New York Times profile to back it up! Who’d ever have thought that would happen? I figured the guy was lost in the Swedish countryside (or maybe more recently, the Phoenix suburbs). Now he’s not only surfacing for air but keeping above water level for an extended stay. Dig it. Album’s pretty good, too–it’s no “Love and Other Crimes,” but it’s definitely in the spirit of his classic work. “It’s Nothing to Me” alone is a standout–a reworking of the Harry Johnson song that I first heard on the country comp LP “God Less America.”

A photo from a few years back, at one of the most stunning drive-up (and a short walk) viewpoints in the U.S., Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah, near Moab:

by wolffkurt

Reading a recent edition of Harp, and come across a one pager interviewing Howe Gelb. Never really caught up on the beef between Howe and Joey Burns (apparently Covertino stays mum and has managed to keep friendship with both). My sympathies immediately drew up alongside my loyalty to Howe. Made Joey sound like an overdriven indie yuppie with a lust for indie-rock power. I don’t know, that’s a one-sided view, so I admit, I’m not being fair. I love Calexico’s music — and I play it way more than Giant Sand or any of Howe’s solo recordings, good as that all may be. Joey’s talented, and he deserves attention and the growing indie-fame he’s receiving lately. But, I can’t help it, every time I play them Calexico records, I think of that article. I think of Howe, and the bitter taste left in his mouth. The bitterness of broken friendships.

California, country music, all of it just doesn’t seem the same without you. Nice to see, though, how much attention you’ve gotten in the press this week, leading up to your funeral (in Bakersfield today). People all over, lots of them, are feeling the loss. Can’t blame them. The music had more power than perhaps even most fans knew. The songs were strong, extremely likeable, and they reached far and wide.

That’s the name of the new album by my buddy Tom Heyman, a supremely talented musician who was formerly the guitarist (and songwriter) with Philly’s Go To Blazes and is now busting through the briars on his own pathway as a singer-songwriter. His previous album Boarding House Rules did indeed rule, but Deliver Me takes things several steps further. His voice is sturdier, and that title track…whoa. That’s some serious songwriting.

Check it out here (there’s a free MP3 of the song via that link, too, so don’t despair.)

I keep coming back to ol’ Tompall Glaser, the Nebraska kid with the sweet harmonizing voice who hit the charts with his brothers before turning into a Nashville mogul, thanks to a little sing-song ditty (“Gentle on My Mind”) that they happened to publish and stars just couldn’t stop singing. Waylon’s best pal during the Outlaw heyday until they had a fight and stopped talking. Now…where’d he go? Get back out here and sing us another round.

In the meantime, check out “Gideon Bible,” from his 1973 solo album Charlie.

Caught this on Spread the Good Word: