The "Ramblings" are moving!!

Don't worry, the Ramblings will live on, but I'm moving it over to TypePad because you can only milk so much out of this free blogging thing.

You can find all the goods at my new blog:
http://www.houstonramblings.typepad.com/ramblings/

I anticipate some other features (and perhaps a baby blog?) in the very near future. In the meantime, so long Blogger - we hardly knew ye!

The Drams 'Jubilee Dive' out today!!

This year so far has sorta been the Year of Restraint: Allison Moorer released a 30-minute, ten-song album and Drive-By Truckers' new one topped out at 11 songs.

So it's a great pleasure to find that The Drams' new album Jubilee Dive is a 14-song, 68-minute opus, complete with sprawling rockers and epic ballads. I'm completely vexed why this record hasn't received more attention thus far, but hopefully a national tour will build some momentum.

I could spew a few pages about how much I love Jubilee Dive, but I'll spare you the details (for now). Use that extra time to maybe catch The Drams live - maybe even head over to Tower Records in Dallas tonight at 7pm to hear them for yourself. Or truck it up to Denton on Thursday night to see them at Dan's Silverleaf. Or catch them whenever they come to your town (alas, my town ain't on the schedule at the moment).

Buy it here, here or here!

Full album stream available by clicking here.

Drive-By Truckers In Concert (on NPR)

You can hear DBT's show from Washington's 9:30 Club over at NPR. Included in the setlist is a cover of the Stones' "Moonlight Mile" - groovy.

In related news, New West has released a video of Jason Isbell's "Dress Blues," a new song that DBT has been performing lately. The video was shot at Stubb's back in April (download it here).

And one final DBT note: the Truckers will be taking a brief swing through Texas on Labor Day weekend with Cross Canadian Ragweed, culminating in CCR's First Annual Red Dirt Roundup at the Fort Worth Stockyards on September 3.

The Drams - 'Jubilee Dive' (July 25), or...

...you could pre-order from Undertow Music. According to the email I received all orders placed by 4pm CDT Friday will be shipped this week. Otherwise, copies will ship on Monday.

The Drams will also be performing at Tower Records in Dallas on Tuesday (7pm) and over at Dan's Silverleaf in Denton on Thursday, July 27. Then they are off for a U. S. tour before - hopefully - heading back to Texas for some homecoming dates in September or October.

UPDATE!! Hey, bitch, I found ya a full stream of the album. Enjoy by clicking here!

UPDATE II: Ha, I listened to that stream all weekend and just today discovered that the sequencing is all screwed up on the stream. After looking at the actual track list, I'm happy to report that the real track sequence is vastly superior to the one I listened to. With that in mind, it's a freakin' awesome album (more later).

Best Concerts... Emmylou Harris & Linda Ronstadt (San Antonio, TX)

Emmylou Harris & Linda Ronstadt
Municipal Auditorium
San Antonio, TX (1999)

Touring in support of their collaboration Western Wall, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstandt chose an unlikely - and gorgeous (the Municipal Auditorium is surprisingly lovely and intimate) - venue for this unique show. Backed by such talents as Buddy Miller, Bernie Leadon and Greg Leisz, these two performers put on a terrific show (that had the old farts in attendance covering their ears due to the volume - ha!). A rare treat in a beautiful setting.

Best Concerts... Allison Moorer (Nashville, TN)

Allison Moorer
3rd & Lindsley
Nashville, TN (2001)

Any occasion to see Allison Moorer live is cause for celebration, but catching on her then-home turf was really something. With the incomparable Kenny Vaughan ("Cult of Kenny"!) on guitar and Lonesome Bob sitting in for a few duets, this show set the standard for all of her other shows I've seen. Stone sober (following the previous night's rowdiness, also at 3rd & Lindsley), I enjoyed every minute of it. Also, my first trip to Nashville visiting the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Best Concerts... Steve Earle (Houston, TX)

Steve Earle & The Dukes
w/ Buddy and Julie Miller
Verizon Wireless Theater
Houston, TX (1998)

I've seen Steve Earle many times in concert, but this version of the Dukes - Buddy Miller, Kelly Looney and Brady Blade on drums - was one of the best. Though Earle has solidified the Dukes lineup over the last few years, he pretty much stole two-thirds of Emmylou Harris' Spyboy (Miller and Blade) for this tour. A positive consequence of this lineup was the addition of Buddy and Julie Miller as opening act. Overall, just a phenomenal show in support of Earle's equally great El Corazon record.

Best Concerts... Tift Merritt (Austin, TX)

Tift Merritt
Antone's
Austin, TX (2002)

Wandering the streets during the first year of the Austin City Limits Festival, we see Tift Merritt's name on the marquee of Antone's. Already familiar with her first record Bramble Rose, we were primed for a good show after an already long day of music. Man, what a show! In contrast to the laid-back vibe of that first album, Merritt rocked a half-full house for almost two hours, leaning heavily on covers ("Two More Bottles of Wine"!) and new tunes.

I've seen Tift a few times since then - she's already matured into a spectacular entertainer - but nothing beats seeing a new artist in her early prime. Nearly as good was her 2005 show in Nashville at the Mercy Lounge, but I was probably too wasted to remember the best moments.

Best Concerts... Lucinda Williams (New Braunfels, TX)

Lucinda Williams
w/ Patty Griffin & Michael Fracasso
Gruene Hall
New Braunfels, TX (2001)

Supporting her 2001 record Essence on a pre-release tour, Lucinda Williams played Gruene Hall on a gorgeous late-April day. I nabbed a spot right up front, and Gruene Hall is a truly unique and intimate experience. A rare treat, coupled with the added bonus of seeing Patty Griffin before she was a big deal. At that time, she was stuck in record company limbo and seeing her live was the only way to hear her new material. She and Michael Fracasso are natural musical collaborators.

Best Concerts... Dwight Yoakam (Nashville, TN)

Dwight Yoakam
w/ Allison Moorer
The Ryman Auditorium
Nashville, TN (2001)

What else can you say? Dwight Yoakam and opening act Allison Moorer under the hallowed roof of the legendary Ryman Auditorium. The Ryman is every bit the religious experience everyone says it is, and I had a killer seat (second row, center). Dwight was supporting his Tomorrow's Sounds Today album, and it was one of his last tours with guitarist Pete Anderson at his side.

Do yourself a favor and see a show at The Ryman before you die. I've got a really nice Hatch Show Print commemorating this show.

Best Concerts... Neko Case (Houston, TX)

Neko Case
w/ Andrew Bird & Anna Feremin's Trigger Gospel
Rudyard's Pub
Houston, TX (2000)

A club show with more musicians in attendance than audience members, Neko Case kicked off the support of her second album Furnace Room Lullaby in high style with two excellent opening acts. The depressing attendance was offset with stellar performances, but I suspect Neko still holds this show against Houston since she usually bypasses us in favor of Austin, where she's treated like an honest-to-God rock star.

Best Concerts... EVER!

Just to pass the time, I thought I'd recount some of my finest concert experiences over the years. At one time, I kept a comprehensive list of all the concerts I'd attended, but I've long since misplaced it. So these are the ones I remember - some because of the show, some because of the circumstance.

So look for 'em in the coming days.

Gillian Welch, Where Art Thou?

Oh man, I totally had this weird dream last night about a new Gillian Welch album (no shit, I actually dream about stuff like that). Alas, no such album exists today. However, the rumblings are that there will be one in 2006. I should hope so, since it's been three years since Soul Journey. Welch and David Rawlings have trimmed back their touring schedule for the moment, so hopefully that is an indication that the final touches are being put on a new masterpiece.

I'm only human, after all. The world needs a new Gillian Welch album now!

Incidentally, Rawlings did find time to produce Old Crow Medicine Show's sophomore album, due on August 29.

Why is the best damned album of the summer being ignored?

Usually I have to struggle, post, beg, borrow and steal to get a hit or two off Google. Yet here I sit as, like, the fourth or fifth hit for "the drams jubilee dive". I'm not gonna lie to you - I haven't heard the whole thing. But from what I can tell (check out four tracks here), Jubilee Dive is easily poised to be one of the standout records of the summer. And I can hardly find anything about it on the net. New West didn't even add it to their front page until the past week or so.

So head on over to Amazon or wherever and pre-order a copy of The Drams' Jubilee Dive, and just this one time be ahead of the curve instead of the pathetic bandwagon hopper you usually are.

Maybe even catch them on their upcoming tour. C'mon, be cool for once!!

Summer's here and the time is right...

...for list-making. The year's half over so I thought it would be a good time to run down my "Top Albums of 2006 (So Far)." We'll see at the end of the year which ones stick it out.

1. Drive-By Truckers – A Blessing And A Curse
2. Allison Moorer – Getting Somewhere
3. Rhett Miller – The Believer
4. Centro-matic – Fort Recovery
5. Chris Knight – Enough Rope
6. Neko Case – Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
7. Teddy Thompson – Separate Ways
8. Todd Snider - The Devil You Know
9. Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins – Rabbit Fur Coat

Hamden be damned!

So you thought maybe - just MAYBE - the Hamden decision from the Supreme Court would bring the Bush Administration in line with oh, I dunno, the law. Wrong, Sucka!
http://lawculture.blogs.com/lawculture/files/NSA.Hamdan.response.schumer.pdf

The Drams on MySpace

The Drams have recently updated their MySpace site with four full tracks from their upcoming release Jubilee Dive. This is shaping up to be the album of the summer - can't wait to hear the rest of the record! Due July 25 on New West.

DBT - Gravity's Gone Game

Click here for a ridiculous time-waster than is both hilarious and has a pretty decent payoff for winning (hint: it's an unreleased track that you haven't heard before). What will New West Records and DBT think of next?

Southern Lit Windfall

I can’t remember a time in recent years when so many of my favorite Southern authors had new novels coming out. Here’s a quick rundown:

Tom Franklin - Smonk
Author of Hell At The Breech and the short story collection Poachers, Franklin has a new book Smonk due in late August. Sure to be violent and very entertaining.

Daniel Woodrell – Winter’s Bone
Not a Southern novelist per se, Woodrell has penned some wonderful books, two of which were turned into films (Big Fish and Ride With The Devil). I really like the plot description of Winter’s Bone, due in early August.

Cormac McCarthy – The Road
McCarthy officially becomes prolific with his follow-up to last years stunning No Country For Old Men. Due in September.

Charles Frazier – Thirteen Moons
How anticipated is this, Frazier’s long overdue follow-up to Cold Mountain? Early October.

William Gay – Twilight
One of my hands-down favorite novelists, William Gay finally follows up Provinces of Night, one of my favorite books ever. Due in late October.

UPDATE: Two other titles that have come to my attention...
Steve Yarbrough - The End of California (out now)
Lee Smith - On Agate Hill (September)

Also, Silas House has completed his fourth novel, due in either late 2006 or early 2007.

Chris Knight - 'Enough Rope'

I don't have time to get in a big thing about it right now, but I wanted to let you know that Chris Knight's new album Enough Rope will be released on Tuesday and is available from his website right now (I received mine within, like, two days of ordering it). I've been a fan of his for a while - I have all three of his previous CD's - but Enough Rope is hands-down his best yet. A combination of great storytelling, terrific production (courtesy of producer and co-writer Gary Nicholson) and excellent performances, it is a dark horse early contender for Album of the Year (more on that later).

Rich O'Toole - 'Seventeen'

So I’m checking out this new Fender ’62 Custom Tele at Fuller’s this week (ahem - birthday coming up), which another fella was also eyeing. He ended up buying it, but he was kind enough to pass me a copy of his new CD. So I check this guy out on the web, and he’s actually a bit of an up-and-comer on the Texas circuit, opens a lot of shows at the Firehouse Saloon here in Houston. His name is Rich O’Toole, and the CD is called Seventeen, and it's pretty darned good. So the least I can do is give him a shout-out and direct you to his website.

He’s gonna be at the Armadillo Palalce in Houston on July 15. We’re thinking about checking him out.

Covert Twang Operations

This article is kind of a hoot, especially if you've got a friend or two that go running from the room if they hear a pedal steel. Obviously, that's not as big a problem down here in Texas than wherever this poor dude is from - the comments from his compadres are pretty harsh, a veritable caricature of Northern carpetbagger twang bias.

Enjoy!
http://www.popmatters.com/columns/gilstrap/060707.shtml

Rush Limbaugh's Boner

Here is a small - yet important - point about the latest glaring example of hypocrisy in the right-wing universe:
http://debrahaffner.blogspot.com/2006/06/rush-limbaughs-hypocrisy.html

I know Limbaugh went on his stupid show and tried to "diffuse" it with humor (or a lame attempt at it), but where's the outrage from his loyal minions? It reminds me of compulsive gambler Bill Bennett and the free walk he got when his habit was exposed.

Yeah, I know - I thought you liberal/libertarian types were supposed to think this behavior is okay. Well, I think it's important that Rush can bone whomever he pleases and Bill can fritter away millions at the craps table, but I sure as shit shouldn't have to listen to them lecture me or anybody else about how society is going to hell. Frankly, in Bennett's case, I'll bet gambling is responsible for more failed marriages and broken families than, say, pornography. Gambling and porn are both legal for adults, but I've never heard Bennett defend pornography. Nor should he necessarily - just because it's legal doesn't mean it's moral. Unfortunately, the same might be said of gambling.

It'd be one thing if these morons owned up to their hypocrisy (or even acknowledged it), but these are just small incidents that represent the general decline of right-wing thinking in this country. Just remember that next time Limbaugh or Bennett are wagging their finger at some behavior, they're talking about YOUR behavior, not theirs.

(BTW, that is a very interesting blog, well worth checking out.)