DBT Week in Review - 4/13/07

DBT

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IFLTS: 'Feb 14,' Drive-By Truckers

Posted Apr 10th 2007 2:00PM by Bill Crandall
Filed under: I Freakin' Love This Song

'Feb 14,' Drive-By Truckers
From 2006's 'A Blessing and a Curse'

Assuming that Southerners are dumber than the rest of us is the last socially acceptable prejudice among the seemingly socially conscious. The Alabama-born, Georgia-based Drive-By Truckers may not peruse the Decemberists' thesaurus, but they smack you with plenty more horse sense ('If you were supposed to watch your mouth all the time, I doubt your eyes would be above it'), not to mention ol' fashioned grit.

'Feb 14,' like most of the brilliant 'A Blessing and a Curse' record, is a maudlin affair. The desperate 'Be my Val-entine' chorus is the only hopeful words Patterson Hood utters in his heartbreakingly creaky vocals. The verses are dedicated to broken vases, dead flowers and sweet-nothings like, 'You said, 'I'd rather be alone/Take your chocolates and go home!''

If you 'Life's Rich Pageant'-loving R.E.M. fans haven't been paying attention, this should be your favorite band ... among the smartest working today.

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Great comment by a fan on DBT's MySpace:

www.myspace.com/drivebytruckers:

"So Jason's out. Replaced by John Neff. You guys are like the rock'n'roll version of the New York Yankees. See you at the Rock Show!"

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Damn, Athens is a cool town.

via Jayne

http://www.athensmusic.com/node/188

NEWS & VIEWS
Submitted by David Bill on April 5, 2007 - 13:34.

Press release:

VERIZON WIRELESS PRESENTS ATHFEST JUNE 20-24, 2007

PERPETUAL GROOVE , THE WHIGS, & DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS TO HEADLINE FREE OUTDOOR STAGES

CD RELEASE SHOW TO BE HELD MAY 4th AT TASTY WORLD

ATHENS, GA-April 5, 2007—Verizon Wireless presents AthFest 2007 June 20-24, 2007, in historic downtown Athens, GA. This annual family-friendly music and arts festival presents over 150 bands and artists, representing the best in local, regional, and nationally recognized Athens-based talent, on two outdoor stages and in an evening "club crawl." Most outdoor events, including KidsFest, are free of charge. Wristbands for the club crawl are only $15. Since 1997, the mission of AthFest has been to educate citizens and visitors about the music and arts scene of Athens, GA, and to showcase the incredible musicians, artists, businesses and residents of the Athens community.

PERPETUAL GROOVE, one of the most popular experimental jam bands on the Athens scene, will headline the outdoor stages on Friday, June 22nd at 9:00 P.M. Perpetual Groove recently released their third album, LIVELOVEDIE. Power pop trio, THE WHIGS, will headline on Saturday, June 23rd at 9:00 PM. Rolling Stone once called them "the best unsigned band in America" while Relix Magazine named them "the next big thing from Athens." Southern rockers DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS, one of the most highly acclaimed bands to emerge from the Athens music scene, will close the festival on Sunday, June 24th at 7:00 PM. Music and info at: www.myspace.com/pgroove, www.myspace.com/thewhigs and www.drivebytruckers.com.

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Ant, from the Yahoo Group Board, nails it in the post about the need to 'label' music.

dbts : Message: Re: [dbts] Re: No dbt: Kings of Leon.:

"The 'Southern Rock' moniker will only really work for the bands that it was used for in the time that they were being used. Much like 'grunge.' Can anyone today really be called grunge anymore.? And what happened to 'Alternative' music. Isn't everything today alternative? But, now it's called indie. Before alternative it was called New Wave. And there is no way you can label a current style of music a previously coined label.

There are very few torch bearers of rock. Pure rock-n-roll. DBT is a good example of rock. Buckcherry is another example of rock. The Hold Steady is more rock style with alternative lyrics. On the flip side, you have to go underground to find true modern day country music. Mainstream country is what used to be called pop. Go figure.

Ant (who used to be known as 'Bad Mutha Fucka')

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Jason Isbell

Ninebullets is showing much love for Izzy:

Nine Bullets.org: - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit - on the road with Son Volt: "

If you haven't heard by now, Jason Isbell and his new band the 400 Unit are out on the road. They played a full show Easter Sunday in Iowa City, and are now out on tour opening for Son Volt! You can get tour dates for Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit on Jason's MySpace page."

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Jason gives us some good news on his MySpace Blog

blog.myspace.com/jasonisbellmusic: "

Wherever you are, we'll be there.

Thanks to everybody for the friend requests and messages. I haven't had time to respond to everything since we've been on the road for a few days. To answer many of your questions, I WILL BE COMING TO YOUR TOWN. I have no plans to work any less than I ever have, so keep your eyes on the schedule and come see us.

The Son Volt shows are going great, by the way. Thanks to everyone who came out to Minneapolis and Chicago. Hope Toronto shows up tonight. We drove all night to get here from Chicago, and I must say I'm a bit surprised that we all made it in. We're here though, and ready to rock.
-J."

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Setlists, reviews and bears, oh my... of Jason's current tour on Ninebullets:

Nine Bullets:

JASON ISBELL & THE 400 UNIT @THE PICADOR IOWA CITY,IA 04/08/07

Start:11:42 PM

Goddamn Lonely Love
Try
Birmingham Tonight
Never Gonna Change
Psycho Killer#
Assassin
Grown
Walk Right In(?)
Decoration Day
Outfit*
Atlantic City*
Into the Mystic
American Girl
Dress Blues
Chicago Promenade
Orphan(?)
Jailbreak
(no encore) "

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The Drams

The Drams just finished up a mini-tour. Tony's back to his old blogging ways on the tour diary and is making astute observations of the heartland:

the Drams:

"After a second tank of gas for the van, I took over in Salina, Kansas and continued up I-35/81, towards Lincoln. Then here was my weird observation of the day. People in Nebraska must be fucking all the time. Because the stop abortion signs are like almost every half mile. So in summation if you want to get laid, pregnant,or an abortion, go to Nebraska. That should be their state motto.*

Actually Lincoln is one of our favs to play"

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Music News

This song is a great one by Pink. If you haven't heard it go to YouTube and check it out.

Are Pink's anti-Bush views being censored?:

"Are Pink’s anti-Bush views being censored?

The outspoken rocker — who recently went after her singing sex-symbol peers in her song “Stupid Girls” — is now taking aim at the commander-in-chief, in her controversial song, “Dear Mr. President.” But she says that she’s not allowed to discuss her political views on the radio."

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I believe the ghost of Johnny came back and torched his place because Barry Gibbs recently bought the place and was planning on writing music there.

Fire destroys longtime Johnny Cash home :

"HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. - Johnny Cash's longtime lakeside home, a showcase where he wrote much of his famous music and entertained U.S. presidents, music royalty and visiting fans, was destroyed by fire on Tuesday.

Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash, lived in the 13,880-square-foot home from the late 1960s until their deaths in 2003."

Guerrilla art at its finest. I do love some good a capella:

Concert in the Paris Metro - Viral Videos - IFILM

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Drunk as a Bat

My god, those Bushes and their cultist are some egotistical douches. In true Bush fashion, they usurp the will of the people... again.

Florida Legislature Forces University To Idolize Jeb Bush:

Two weeks ago, the University of Florida voted to deny Jeb Bush an honorary degree. By a 38-28 vote, the faculty Senate rejected the former governor’s nomination, citing concerns about some of Bush’s education initiatives, including his dismantling of affirmative action programs in the state:

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Speaking of Gators.... I guess "Don't bite the hand that feeds you" doesn't apply:

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If this happened anywhere near Dallas, Texas, then I know the perp.

Police: ATM thief's fake leg falls off in escape bid:

"POMONA, California (AP) -- A man accused of using a chain and pickup truck to yank a 1,500-pound ATM from a market failed to escape police when his prosthetic leg fell off during the getaway.

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Great, great author.

Kurt Vonnegut RIP:

NEW YORK (AP) - Kurt Vonnegut mixed the bitter and funny with a touch of the profound in books such as 'Slaughterhouse-Five,' 'Cat's Cradle,' and 'Hocus Pocus.'

Vonnegut, regarded by many critics as a key influence in shaping 20th-century American literature, died Wednesday at 84. He suffered brain injuries after a recent fall at his Manhattan home, said his wife, photographer Jill Krementz.

Vonnegut's more than a dozen books, short stories, essays and plays contained elements of social commentary, science fiction and autobiography."

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Waffle House.

Study Reveals How Drunken Bats Sober Up:

"Bats often risk getting drunk off cocktails of alcohol that stew inside ripened fruit. And just as driving is dangerous for intoxicated humans, so is flying for boozy bats."

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What happens when you tell you Catholic mom that you're an atheist? She proves your point for you.

It's funny because it's true.

WARNING: Dirt words used.... by the Catholic mom.

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Turtle Racing

An Important message about cancer:

A Friend's Cancer: Good For Your Health?

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I just think that this is cool as shit. Champiro is my first pick, with Windy and Billie being alternates. Stay tuned for updates.

Endangered turtles swim Pacific in "race":

"SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (Reuters) - Eleven leatherback turtles are swimming across the Pacific Ocean to the Galapagos Islands in a 'race' that will be tracked online to draw attention to the plight of the endangered creatures.

The turtles have been tagged with satellite communication devices that give their positions as they head south from their nesting sites on Costa Rica's Playa Grande beach to feeding grounds near the Galapagos, about 950 miles away.
.....

Environmentalists say 95 percent of leatherbacks in the Pacific Ocean have vanished in the last 20 years due to human activity like fishing, poaching of their eggs and building near their nests, and they could become extinct in the next decade."

Here's the website:

GREATTURTLERACE.COM

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A dash of politics today, albeit humorous... sorta.... Fucking breeders.

Stats say the GOP is dying. But red-staters are breeding like drunken ferrets. Who wins?:

"Here's the good news: The Republican party is dying. Slow, painful, twitching, secreting war and intolerance and desperation like a fetid gas, snarling and gagging like Jabba the Hutt being choked by the hard chain of progress and hope and relaxed social mores and an upcoming Generation Next that seems to sense that screaming about gays and women's rights and Muslims and drugs actually doesn't do much to move the human experiment forward in the slightest.

Is this not delicious? Is this not cause for rejoicing? According to Pew Research, the percentage of young 'uns age 18 to 25 (a.k.a. Generation Next) who identify with Republicans has been in steady decline since the early '90s, and now hovers around a meager 35 percent, down from a high of 55 percent in the Reagan-toxic early-90s, and is still dropping, whereas fully 48 percent of 18-to-25-year-olds now lean Democratic ... and rising."

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I hate these people.

Dreamed up phone number leads man to a bride:

"LONDON (Reuters) - A British man has met and married a 22-year-old woman after, by his own account, dreaming of her phone number and then sending her a text message.

David Brown, 24, says he woke up one morning after a night out with friends with a telephone number constantly running through his head. He decided to contact it, sending a message saying 'Did I meet you last night?.'"

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Porn for Women

Thanks to all that came by the blog yesterday. It was the most web traffic on a single day ever for AAW. Sucks that it had to be about the DBT/Isbell split, but I do appreciate the kind emails and comments regarding the post. Most everybody seems to be looking forward to showing both bands much continued love and that's, really, all that I can ask for. You Guys Rock!

In the meantime, I've got to come up with a new banner. I'm using the old ABAAC release banner for the time being. I have some idea's but it is going to take a while for me to put something together (stupid paying job, getting in the way of my blog). If anybody wants to whip up a DBT banner and send it to me, please do. If I use your banner I'll include a link to your site with the banner. You can reach me at alabamaasswhuppin@att.net

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Since I am pressed for time today, I thought I'd put up a relatively easy post. What kind of news is easy to find? News about Conservative ineptitude, Bush trying to blow up EVERYTHING, Conservative liars, Conservative zealots.... you know, just your average teenage party type of news.

First, Mr. Blows-Shit-Up-A-Lot

Plug it in, fire it up, Mr. President:

"Credit Ford Motor Co. CEO Alan Mulally with saving the leader of the free world from self-immolation.

Mulally told journalists at the New York auto show that he intervened to prevent President Bush from plugging an electrical cord into the hydrogen tank of Ford's hydrogen-electric plug-in hybrid at the White House last week. Ford wanted to give the Commander-in-Chief an actual demonstration of the innovative vehicle, so the automaker arranged for an electrical outlet to be installed on the South Lawn and ran a charging cord to the hybrid. However, as Mulally followed Bush out to the car, he noticed someone had left the cord lying at the rear of the vehicle, near the fuel tank.

'I just thought, 'Oh my goodness!' So, I started walking faster, and the President walked faster and he got to the cord before I did. I violated all the protocols. I touched the President. I grabbed his arm and I moved him up to the front,' Mulally said. 'I wanted the president to make sure he plugged into the electricity, not into the hydrogen This is all off the record, right?'"

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Conservatives are lying? Their mouths must be moving.

Krugman: 'Right-wing noise machine' reverts to its 'little lies' roots

The "right-wing noise machine" has returned to its roots, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman argues in Monday's paper, as "little lies" that were in vogue before the attacks of 9/11 have sprouted up again, aided in large part by media outlets friendly to the Bush Administration.

Krugman believes that there is a "political lesson I don't think has sunk in: the power of the Little Lie -- the small accusation invented out of thin air, followed by another, and another, and another. Little Lies aren't meant to have staying power. Instead, they create a sort of background hum, a sense that the person facing all these accusations must have done something wrong."

"The Clinton years were a parade of fake scandals: Whitewater, Troopergate, Travelgate, Filegate, Christmas-card-gate," Krugman continues. "Each pseudoscandal got headlines, air time and finger-wagging from the talking heads. The eventual discovery in each case, that there was no there there, if reported at all, received far less attention. The effect was to make an administration that was, in fact, pretty honest and well run -- especially compared with its successor -- seem mired in scandal."

"Even in the post-9/11 environment, little lies never went away. In particular, promoting little lies seems to have been one of the main things U.S. attorneys, as loyal Bushies, were expected to do," Krugman writes. "For example, David Iglesias, the U.S. attorney in New Mexico, appears to have been fired because he wouldn't bring unwarranted charges of voter fraud."

However, Krugman adds, even though "the GOP's reversion to the Little Lie technique is a symptom of political weakness, of a party reduced to trivial smears because it has nothing else to offer," it "will remain effective -- and the U.S. political scene will remain ugly -- as long as many people in the news media keep playing along

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Onward, Conservative Soldiers.

Christian law school 'has had no better friend than the Bush administration'

The Pat Robertson-founded Regent University School of Law has come under the media's spotlight in recent days, as one of its graduates, Monica Goodling, has been placed at the center of the debate over the firing of U.S. attorneys, according to the Boston Globe.

Many are finding that Regent's influence and alumni placements in the current administration outsize its academic record and credentials.

"Regent University School of Law, founded by televangelist Pat Robertson to provide 'Christian leadership to change the world,' has worked hard in its two-decade history to upgrade its reputation," writes Globe staff writer Charlie Savage, "fighting past years when a majority of its graduates couldn't pass the bar exam and leading up to recent victories over Ivy League teams in national law student competitions."

Savage continues, "But even in its darker days, Regent has had no better friend than the Bush administration. Graduates of the law school have been among the most influential of the more than 150 Regent University alumni hired to federal government positions since President Bush took office in 2001, according to a university website."

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This should make you feel safer. GDub@gmail.com.... MCRove@yahoo.com...

GOP-issued laptops now a White House headache:

"WASHINGTON — When Karl Rove and his top deputies arrived at the White House in 2001, the Republican National Committee provided them with laptop computers and other communication devices to be used alongside their government-issued equipment.

The back-channel e-mail and paging system, paid for and maintained by the RNC, was designed to avoid charges that had vexed the Clinton White House — that federal resources were being used inappropriately for political campaign purposes.

Now, that dual computer system is creating new embarrassment and legal headaches for the White House, the Republican Party and Rove's once-vaunted White House operation.

Democrats say evidence suggests the RNC e-mail system was used for political and government policy matters in violation of federal record preservation and disclosure rules. "

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Heil, motherfuckers. Heil, indeed. Remember when the U.S.A. was a representative democracy? 'Member? Good times, good times.

Professor who criticized Bush added to terrorist 'no-fly' list:

"A top Constitutional scholar from Princeton who gave a televised speech that slammed President George W. Bush's executive overreach recently learned that he had been added to the Transportation Security Administration's terrorist watch list. He shared his experience this weekend at the law blog Balkinization.

Walter F. Murphy, the McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Emeritus, at Princeton University, attempted to check his luggage at the curbside in Albuquerque before boarding a plane to Newark, New Jersey. Murphy was told he could not use the service.

'I was denied a boarding pass because I was on the Terrorist Watch list,' he said.

When inquiring with a clerk why he was on the list, Murphy was asked if he had participated in any peace marches.

'We ban a lot of people from flying because of that,' a clerk said.

Murphy then explained that he had not marched, but had 'in September, 2006, given a lecture at Princeton, televised and put on the Web, highly critical of George Bush for his many violations of the Constitution.'

The clerk responded, 'That'll do it.'

Murphy was allowed to board the plane, but was warned that his luggage would be 'ransacked.' On his return trip, his luggage was lost."

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Now, something for the ladies. Completely safe for work Women Porn.

Porn for Women

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And the band(s) played on....

I received a call on 'Good Friday'.

"I can't believe the news today...
Oh, I can't close my eyes
And make it go away..."

Whenever you pick up a phone and hear, "Well, I got somethin' to tell you", your lungs expand, your heart quickens a beat, and your butt clenches tight. Then, you take a breath, pause the movie you're watching and focus your full attention on the next words coming from the other end of the line.

If the news isn't a death, then you have a moment of clarity, where you know the news isn't as bad as your over-active brain has ginned it up to be.

After that brief reprieve you then have to deal with the actual news at hand.

DBT and Jason Isbell have parted ways.

"I heard the news on Friday, oh boy...."

It's fucking sad, isn't it....

As a fan, you know? As a fan of something that keeps you entertained through the drudgery. Keeps you sane through the insanity... Keeps you safe when you're too alone.... Makes you thrilled when you're already a pig in shit... Makes you comfortable knowing that it's there for you whenever you need... Makes you think "It's fucking great to be alive!"

You don't want that special something to change. You want it to be that loud, whiskey-scented, joyous rock (literal) that, no matter what else happens, it's always there for you. Perfect in its composition.

But life ain't like that. Things change. For better or for worse... things change.

So what about this change. Is it for the better or for the worse?

That's the question that's been bouncing around the various boards since the news broke on Friday. I have to say, that on the whole, I'm quite proud of the world wide DBT fandom's reaction to the news. I don't see the formation of a 'DBT camp' and a 'Jason Isbell camp' itching to have the pissiest piss contest the world has ever seen. There have been some less than reasonable remarks... speculation as to why, but on the whole, a very adult, supportive, though dreary and sad, reaction to the parting.

"How long...
How long must we sing this song?"

To those who like to speculate that it is drugs, or ego, or a split before the split, I say this:

This band may be a family, but this band is not a marriage and we (the fans) are not the children, deserving of a realistic answer as to 'Why?'.

"We can work it out
Life is very short and there's no time
for fussing and fighting, my friend"

Patterson's note to us tells me everything that I need to know. Jason's current posts on his MySpace page tell me everything I need to know.

I know that regardless of 'any bad shit that went down' that love remains first. That's good enough for me.

To be honest, there's a part of me that wanted the fan explanation to be a HUGE lie in the vain of a DBT song. Crystal meth in the bathtub, Blood splattered in the sink.... Cooley pulling a gun on Jason, then Patterson pulling two guns on them both. Good old Mexican stand-off that ends with a game of reaux-cham-beaux to see who has to leave the band.

But that's the evil, twisted, bastard part of me that I keep locked in the cellar chained to the wall. The real me is very content to know that 'love and support' rule this break-up and it's a damn fine lesson for the rest of us.

"'cause tonight...we can be as one
Tonight..."

So throw in that DBT CD with a glass full. Call that person you been needing to call for a while. Grab somebody near and tell them you love them. Take a moment. Embrace that all things change, for better or for worse. The good times end way too quick the bad times last way too long but both do end. Appreciate the moment, raise a glass to the past, turn your ass around and start looking at what's to come.....

DBT with Neff stage left. Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit. DBT collaborating with some special guests in the future. Same with Jason. This site becoming Alabama Ass Sirens when Jason releases his solo album... then Alabama Ass Oscar (or Murdering... both are funny... haven't decided yet). Tons of great music. More shows to go to. More people to get to know and support and love.

So where will you be when DBT is on the stage and Jason Isbell joins them stage left for a reunion gig or two?

Things change for better or for worse....

And the band(s) played on....

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P.S. Check out the cool new TDU posters!

DBT Week in Review - 4/6/07

Update: Important Announcement:

It's with a wide range of emotions and feelings that I'm announcing that we have parted ways with Jason.

The split, which I consider extremely amicable is the result of a period of personal and artistic growth from all sides which has left us with differing dreams and goals.......

AAW will have a full post reaction to the news come Monday.

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If you haven't checked out Jason Isbell's Official MySpace page.... why not? What the hell is wrong with you. This computer thing new to you? You know he's got the studio version of Dress Blues and two other kick ass songs from his new album, right?

www.myspace.com/jasonisbellmusic

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Southern Comfort... Music mag folks think it a necessity to use some 'southern' or 'Skynyrd' reference in every damn article ever about DBT.

Every article seems to have some variation on this statement too:

don’t call them “Southern rock.”

Okay, we won't call them Southern rock, but you've got to stop telling us in your articles to not call them 'Southern rock'. We get it.

Drive-By Truckers bring a little Southern comfort

"Led by a triumvirate of guitarists/singers/songwriters in Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley and Jason Isbell, the Drive-By Truckers are distinctively Southern—the band originated in Muscle Shoals, Ala., and is currently based in Athens, Ga.—and they definitely rock.

But for the love of Lynyrd Skynyrd, don’t call them “Southern rock.” They much prefer the less descriptive—and restrictive—“rock `n’ roll.”"

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Our friends over at Parasites and Sycophants went to see the recent rocks shows in SC. Here is the report and some pics:

Parasites & Sycophants: Drive By Truckers 30 & 31st March Charleston

Parasites & Sycophants: Drive By Truckers Charleston Photos:

"Well it has been a couple of days since I came back from Charleston where I saw the Drive By Truckers. I'm just now settling into the reality of being back at my modern day factory job where I am just a cog who gets orders from some knob."

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Jenn B.'s DBT 'Nanna Puddin' (no 'b' no 'g') is a published success!

Music - Once More With Feeling - Portland Mercury:

"Have you cooked every recipe in the book? Do you have any favorites? Least favorites?

I've prepared all of them—and there are over 100! I probably won't revisit the ramen recipes, but I'm sure there are some college kids out there who will be excited to enhance their Top Ramen as per suggested by Strung Out and NOFX. I really love the dessert chapter, it's hard to pick between Okkervil River's buttermilk pie and the Drive-By Truckers' banana pudding. Both are really delicious."

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Tequila Brad's got some more video from SXSW of Jason and them

dbts : Message: Two New Vids:

"Jason Isbell was kind enough to give me the go ahead to post a clip from his Club de Ville performance at the New West Showcase at SXSW last month. I also posted Todd Mankin and El Guapo playing Georgia on a Fast Train. This is in HONOR of Billy Joe Shaver. I have had a chance to meet this man, he is a great person, and don't take no shit off
nobody.

I hope you all enjoy.

www.myspace.com/tequilabrad"

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Via Jayne.

SXSW reactions to The Drams and Jason Isbell.

SXSW 2007: The Sounds, Part 1 - Twangville:

"The Drams – SXSW is notorious for tight schedules, so what does it say when a band is asked to play an extra thirty minutes? In the case of the Drams, it means that the band was delivered an unparalleled rock show.

Here is the note that was delivered to the stage during the Drams performance at the New West party. Oh yeah, the note arrived with a round of shots and beers for the band. Gotta love that Southern hospitality…"

Jason Isbell – I saw the Drive-By Truckers guitarist play a parking lot on South Congress Avenue at 11am. The complimentary bloody marys helped temper the hour, but it was Isbell’s acoustic performance of several Drive-By Truckers classics and new songs from his forthcoming solo release that provided a proper kick-off to the day. The poignant “Dress Blues” was a stand-out among the new tracks: “You never planned on the bombs in the sand, or sleeping in your dress blues.”

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Since I've become a MySpace whore and sort through a butload of profile each day, I thought I'd start savina few of the folks who's sound caught my ear.

Give 'em a listen.

www.myspace.com/jackpotcity

Jackpot City combines crunchy chainsaw guitar rock with lush vocal harmonies and diverse instrumentation creating a unique sound. Jackpot City's catchy array of songs was quickly noticed by Widespread Panic bassist, Dave Schools and produced their first demo. Now they are working on their first full length record with Ben Mize of the Ben Mize Band and Acetate (formerly of the Counting Crows), Kyle Spence of Tom Collins, David Barbe (Sugar, Dave Barbe & the Quick Hooks), and Andy Baker. Jackpot City has songs featured in a soon to be released movie, "Say Yes Quickly". The members of Jackpot City came to together will an already impressive musical resume. Mamie Fike with the Chickasaw Mudd Puppies and Asa Nisa Masa (both produced by R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe), Kathy Kirbo of Greenhouse and Purr (produced by R.E.M.'s Mike Mills), Kelly Noonan with Wet and Billy James (also produced by Mike Mills) and Ian Werden who also plays with Dodd Ferrell and High Caliber. "Super-melodic, hard rockin' pop music. Big Star meets the Pretenders meets the Kinks!" -Ballard Lesemann, Flagpole Magazine "

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lindsay holler

http://www.myspace.com/lindsayholler

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Music News

My Girl, Amy. Hands off, the rest of you!

I'm not sure how in the fuck she spent $390 a week on weed.

Singer's 'debauched' image not whole story:

"'A lot of music now is trying to be cool and like, 'Yeah, I don't really care about you' -- a really blase attitude,' she said. 'I think it's much nicer to be in love, and throw yourself into it, and want to lie in the road for that person."

"Frank," a moderate hit in Britain, was followed by a creative slump during which she broke up with her boyfriend and spent $390 a week on marijuana -- a habit she has since cut back, she says.

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Keith, Keith, Keith.

I believe this.....

Rolling Stone 'snorted father's ashes':

"Rolling Stones wildman Keith Richards claims he snorted his own father's ashes during a drugs binge.

Richards made the extraordinary admission in an interview with NME magazine.

'The strangest thing I've tried to snort? My father. I snorted my father,' he said.

'He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow. My dad wouldn't have cared, he didn't give a s***.

'It went down pretty well, and I'm still alive.'

Richards' father, Bert, died in 2002 aged 84."

More than I do this...

Richards Denies Snorting His Dad's Ashes:

"Keith Richards was joking when he claimed to have snorted his father's ashes along with cocaine, a spokesman said Wednesday.

'It was an off-the-cuff remark, a joke, and it is not true. File under April Fool's joke,' said Bernard Doherty of LD Communications, which represents the Rolling Stones."

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"There ain't no need in all y'all treatin' Billy Joe that way".

Warrants issued for Billy Joe Shaver :

"AUSTIN - Police have issued arrest warrants for country singer Billy Joe Shaver after he shot and wounded a man outside a Texas bar, the entertainer's attorney said.

After Shaver left a bar in Lorena on Saturday night, a drunk, aggressive stranger with a knife followed him into the parking lot, said attorney Joseph A. Turner of Austin. Shaver shot him in self-defense, he said.

Police in Lorena — about 80 miles north of Austin — issued arrest warrants late Monday on charges of aggravated assault and possessing a firearm in a prohibited place, Turner said."

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"You gotta fight... For your right.... To name your kid Me---taaaaa-llica"

Couple Fights for Baby 'Metallica' Name:

"Metallica may work as a name for a heavy metal band, but a Swedish couple is struggling to convince authorities it's also suitable for a baby girl.

Sweden's tax agency rejected Michael and Karolina Tomaro's application to name their 6-month-old daughter after the legendary rock band.

'It suits her,' Karolina Tomaro, 27, said Tuesday of the name. 'She's decisive and she knows what she wants.'

Although little Metallica has already been baptized, the Swedish National Tax Board refused to register the name, saying it was associated with both the rock group and the word 'metal.'

In Sweden, parents must get the names of their children approved by the tax authority, which is in charge of the population registry and issues personal identification numbers, similar to Social Security numbers in the United States."

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Until someone in the music industry offers me a job, I stand firm that the music execs are dumb-fucks.

Spinning Into Oblivion:

"The sad thing is that CDs and downloads could have coexisted peacefully and profitably. The current state of affairs is largely the result of shortsightedness and boneheadedness by the major record labels and the Recording Industry Association of America, who managed to achieve the opposite of everything they wanted in trying to keep the music business prospering. The association is like a gardener who tried to rid his lawn of weeds and wound up killing the trees instead.

In the late ’90s, our business, and the music retail business in general, was booming. Enter Napster, the granddaddy of illegal download sites. How did the major record labels react? By continuing their campaign to eliminate the comparatively unprofitable CD single, raising list prices on album-length CDs to $18 or $19 and promoting artists like the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears — whose strength was single songs, not albums. The result was a lot of unhappy customers, who blamed retailers like us for the dearth of singles and the high prices."

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And just because I'm feeling a little mean today, I triple-dog-dare you to watch the entire YouTube parody of Alanis Morissette doing Fergies, My Humps. Seriously, I dare you. Do you have the balls? (figuratively and literally)

YouTube - Alanis Morissette "My Humps" video

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Alabama Thursday

UPDATE BELOW:

What's happening back in the home state....

George Jones gets a DUI riding a lawn mower... Melissa York gets one riding a horse... The cops in Alabama will give you a DUI for a druken piggy back ride.

Cyrstal Meth in the bathtub.....


Ala. Woman on Horseback Charged With DUI

SYLVANIA, Ala. (AP) - A woman who went for a horseback ride through town at midnight and allegedly used the horse to ram a police car was charged with driving under the influence and drug offenses, police said Tuesday.

"Cars were passing by having to avoid it, and almost hitting the horse," said Police Chief Brad Gregg.

He said DUI charges can apply even when the vehicle has four legs instead of wheels.

Police in the northeast Alabama town received a call around midnight Saturday about someone riding a horse on a city street, Gregg said.

Officer John Seals found Melissa Byrum York, 40, of Henagar on horseback on a nearby road and attempted to stop her. Seals asked the woman repeatedly to get off the horse, but she kept trying to kick the animal to make it run, the chief said.

"She wouldn't stop. She kept riding the horse and going on," Gregg said.

After ramming the police car with the horse and riding away, the woman tried to jump off but caught her foot in a stirrup, Gregg said. The officer took the woman into custody and discovered that she had crystal methamphetamine, a small amount of marijuana, pills and a small pipe, the chief said.

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There is nothing... I mean, nothing more important in the state of Alabama than football. Jesus is #2.

Saban joins Tyde in Bama-fan clan: Couple name sons for team, new head coach:

"HARTSELLE — So, how dedicated are you to Alabama football?"
.....

"What if Saban Witt turns into an Auburn fan?

'We'll put him up for adoption,' his father, joked."

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Update:

Example # 2. I've been involved in weddings where we, the fellas in the wedding, rebeled because the wedding was on game day. Dates got changed. I've also been to weddings where we are watching the game in the front of the church on a portable TV seconds before we walk down the isle to take our places:

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Spring time in Alabama. Must mean Tornadoes.... in my sister's back yard.... my neice must be pissed that the trampoline took a direct hit. Trees nor tornadoe hit the house, though. Tornadoes are weird like that:

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The netroots have taken hold in Alabama with the creation of Sack Sessions. Jeff Sessions is Alabama's ineffectual, Bush toadie Senator. He's worthless and a lapdog and must go.

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Yesterday I said:

Amen to this post from DK. These fucking pseudo-pragmatist Conservatives who believe there is no fixed reality and that reality is subject to whatever design is tickling their shriveled nutsacks at the time (a) bastardize a semi-legitimate philosophical concept (b) conveniently create an excuse for Conservatives to never be accountable for a goddamn thing.

Truth exists, Conservatives, and the rest of us live in that truth.

Later yesterday Kos said:

Daily Kos: Creating their own reality:

"Damn, it's amazing how the wingers will just make shit up to keep their own little fake world intact.

In this edition, Sen. Orrin Hatch and Rush Limbaugh claim that fired US Attorney Carol Lam was 1) just a law professor with 2) no prosecutorial assistance, 3) appointed by President Clinton, because 4) she was Bill's former campaign manager in Southern California.

The only problem is that 1) Lam was never a law professor, 2) had 15 years of prosecutorial assistance, 3) was appointed by Bush and 4) never worked as a campaign manager.

But what's a little lying if it helps smear someone (even if she is a Republican) who would dare question Dear Leader."

Either I'm getting smart or Kos has completely rubbed off on me.

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Cell-phones, Flying Shit, and Truth

Amen to this post from DK. These fucking pseudo-pragmatist Conservatives who believe there is no fixed reality and that reality is subject to whatever design is tickling their shriveled nutsacks at the time (a) bastardize a semi-legitimate philosophical concept (b) conveniently create an excuse for Conservatives to never be accountable for a goddamn thing.

Truth exists, Conservatives, and the rest of us live in that truth.

Daily Kos: Truth:

"Truth inspires trust and informs wisdom. Truth brings justice, fraternity, and community.

There is no room for untruths in science, untruths in art are suspect, and untruths in government are pure poison.

There are other schools of thought of course. Nicollo Machiavelli may have been the first proto-neocon to write of deception as a useful tool for imposing one’s will on others.

Another famous advocate of lying was the man who is no doubt Karl Rove’s favorite Nazi, Joseph Goebbels."

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"There's a sayin' in Texas, I'm pretty sure in Tennessee too... Do as I say not do-do... wait.... Do as not as I say.... Ya can't do what I'm doin'"


Political Radar:

"With both the House and Senate in recess, President George W. Bush slammed the Democratic-led body Tuesday, saying Congress should get back to work."
......
Hammill also said it was ironic that Bush criticized the congressional Easter break only days before taking an Easter vacation of his own.

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This type of forward thinking will require progressives in office in order to implement. Remember that come votin' time:


It's time for high-speed rail in America:

"What I'd to know is why there is no high-speed rail service in the United States. This country, with its vast distances between major cities, seems like the perfect place for it.

Is it because we are so addicted to automobiles? Is it because we like taking off our shoes at the airport and having our shampoo bottles confiscated?"

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Speaking of being shoeless and shampooless.... At least we can rest easy now knowing that we will still be cell-phone-less.

Seriously, if they had allowed this, I can promise you that an emergency landing would have occurred on my next flight because I would have choked a bitch, for sure. Choked 'em dead.

Planes and cell-phones do not mix.

FCC Says 'No' to Cell Phones on Planes:

"The Federal Communications Commission has officially grounded the idea of allowing airline passengers to use cellular telephones while in flight.

Existing rules require cellular phones to be turned off once an aircraft leaves the ground in order to avoid interfering with cellular network systems on the ground. The agency began examining the issue in December 2004."

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When people get too literal:


Teacher who threw feces at boy may keep job:

"TORONTO (Reuters) - A Toronto school principal who pleaded guilty to throwing human excrement at a 12-year-old boy may get"

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Kick That Monster's Ass!

Ouch. The robots are developing their own analytical skills. Watch out, Republicans.

I got a feeling there is gonna be much more just like this....

GOP insider: Bush is 'Dan Quayle in cowboy boots':

Victor Gold, a friend of George H.W. Bush and the Cheney family, will release a book slamming the Bush administration entitled, 'Invasion of the Party Snatchers: How the Holy-Rollers and the Neo-Cons Destroyed the GOP.'

'For all the Rove-built facade of his being a 'strong' chief executive, George W. Bush has been, by comparison to even hapless Jimmy Carter, the weakest, most out of touch president in modern times,' Gold writes. 'Think Dan Quayle in cowboy boots.'"

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BREAKING:

Daily Kos: Matt Drudge caught with child pornography:

"Officials say that internet gossip site owner Matt Drudge has been caught with a huge collection of child pornography. Sources say called Drudge's collection 'gigantic' and full of 'revolting, absolutely illegal porn' involving minors. 'I can't believe the foul stuff this man had stashed in a locked room in his basement,' said one official."

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See how safe Baghdad is now.

McCain Strolls Through Baghdad Market, Accompanied By 100 Soldiers, 3 Blackhawks, 2 Apache Gunships

Da-da du dum da-dum.... SURGE!!!!

"Sen. John McCain strolled briefly through an open-air market in Baghdad today in an effort to prove that Americans are “not getting the full picture” of what’s going on in Iraq.

NBC’s Nightly News provided further details about McCain’s one-hour guided tour. He was accompanied by “100 American soldiers, with three Blackhawk helicopters, and two Apache gunships overhead.” Still photographs provided by the military to NBC News seemed to show McCain wearing a bulletproof vest during his visit. Watch it:"

Oh, we're getting the entire picture, McCain. Seems like you're not, though.

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Let's take a look at the goings on in the Attorneygate scandal. And it is a scandal.

Let's deconstruct one of the Conservative double-speaks.

Conservatives say 'voter fraud'. Conservatives mean 'we want to supress poor and minority voters who traditionally vote Democratic'.

The Myth Of Voter Fraud:

"But the notion of widespread voter fraud, as these prosecutors found out, is itself a fraud. Firing a prosecutor for failing to find wide voter fraud is like firing a park ranger for failing to find Sasquatch. Where fraud exists, of course, it should be prosecuted and punished. (And politicians have been stuffing ballot boxes and buying votes since senators wore togas; Lyndon Johnson won a 1948 Senate race after his partisans famously 'found' a box of votes well after the election.) Yet evidence of actual fraud by individual voters is painfully skimpy."

Why were these 8 USAs fired? Why did they all come from important swing states?

Justice firings are keyed to '08 vote:

"WASHINGTON -- Senator Edward M. Kennedy yesterday accused President Bush of using the Department of Justice to further his administration's 'right-wing ideology,' saying that veteran prosecutors were replaced by political operatives in key states to ensure that 'reliable partisans' are in place in time for the 2008 presidential election.
Article Tools

Kennedy noted that the recent rash of firings among US attorneys put new top prosecutors in place in several presidential swing states, including Florida, Iowa, New Mexico, Minnesota, and Arkansas."

And who, praytell, where the attorneys replaced with?

Prosecutor Posts Go To Bush Insiders:

"About one-third of the nearly four dozen U.S. attorney's jobs that have changed hands since President Bush began his second term have been filled by the White House and the Justice Department with trusted administration insiders.

The people chosen as chief federal prosecutors on a temporary or permanent basis since early 2005 include 10 senior aides to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, according to an analysis of government records. Several came from the White House or other government agencies. Some lacked experience as prosecutors or had no connection to the districts in which they were sent to work, the records and biographical information show."
......

No other administration in contemporary times has had such a clear pattern of filling chief prosecutors' jobs with its own staff members, said experts on U.S. attorney's offices. Those experts said the emphasis in appointments traditionally has been on local roots and deference to home-state senators, whose support has been crucial to win confirmation of the nominees.

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Monsters

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Grow Your Own Viagra... Then go to Rehab

On Thursday of last week, I went on a rant about that piece of shit Rove (MC Motherfucker Who Should be in Prison) in which I made the following comment about David Gregory:

That David Gregory, who on occassions looked like he might resemble a newsman of the past, would so whore out his career in this fashion.

Apparently, I ain't the only one tasking Gregory:

David Gregory: Dancing with the Devil :

"David ---

I watched the video of you dancing back-up for Karl Rove at the Correspondents Dinner.

I've been in and out of journalism for 40 years, and I have a hard time understanding how you could do that last night and then hold his feet to the fire today.

Perhaps you could explain.

Cheers.

Jesse Kornbluth
Editor, HeadButler.com"

P.S. News Media, the people you cover should not be your fucking BFFs.

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Most Excellent article from Mark Monford on the need for the U.S. to go into Rehad with a dash of, currently, my favorite singer Amy Winehouse:

Let's All Go To Rehab! / A national detox might be just the thing. Can someone bring coffee? Like, Amy Winehouse?:

"Doesn't that sound about right? Is it not time? Are we not ready for rehab on a national scale? Of course we are.

You gotta admit, we have been, lo these past six or seven years, rather violently drunk. Intoxicated on war and sanctimony and moral hypocrisy, wasting our creative potential like teenagers on meth and trashing our credit limit and partying until we pass out and ruining our livers and poisoning our spleens and shaving our lumpy heads in slightly desperate cries for help, even as we grin maniacally while we do it. Sound familiar?

.......

Which brings me, obviously, to Amy Winehouse. She knows. She could be our moral salvation. Amy Winehouse is a musical goddess. Amy Winehouse likes to drink. Amy should win the Grammy for her astonishing new album Back to Black which was already a big hit in Britain last year and therefore she should be allowed to march right on to the "American Idol" stage and slap each and every singer upside the head with her huge hair and her wicked sexy tattoos and her mountain of raw British talent, just because. All part of our national rehab, really.

See, Amy's first U.S. single is called "Rehab" (Awkward transitions? Me? Bring it on) and the first line of the song is "They tried to make me go to rehab I said 'no, no no,'" and it's apparently a true story about how her managers wanted her to get some help with her wanton hard-drinkin' hard-partyin' ways, and of course she just shrugged and flipped them off and went on her own merry crazysexy way and then made a truly fantastic, funky, soulful, sexy record and is right now the greatest thing since the Alfa Romeo Brera in black. Is that not a wonderful little tale? Does that not add to her mystique? You bet it does.

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"It's a little to little, its a littel too late":

Ex-Aide Says He’s Lost Faith in Bush :

"In speaking out, Mr. Dowd became the first member of Mr. Bush’s inner circle to break so publicly with him.

He said his decision to step forward had not come easily. But, he said, his disappointment in Mr. Bush’s presidency is so great that he feels a sense of duty to go public given his role in helping Mr. Bush gain and keep power.

Mr. Dowd, a crucial part of a team that cast Senator John Kerry as a flip-flopper who could not be trusted with national security during wartime, said he had even written but never submitted an op-ed article titled “Kerry Was Right,” arguing that Mr. Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat and 2004 presidential candidate, was correct in calling last year for a withdrawal from Iraq."

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Some fine folks in Central Alabama have created a Sack Sessions website, preparing to oust Jeff Sessions, the sorry ass Senator from my home state. Good on ya!

Sessions has been getting some national ousting attention from Kos himself with these two recent mentions of a possible netroot candidate to take out Sessions. Ron Sparks is the man. Learn more about him:


Daily Kos: AL-Sen: Introducing Ron Sparks:

Swing State Project's James L takes a look at Alabama Agriculture and Industry Commissioner and veteran Ron Sparks, otherwise known as the guy that can take out Sen. Jeff Sessions in a tough Southern state."

More here:

Daily Kos: AL-Sen: Our people-powered Alabama candidate (if he wants it):

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Isn't it nice when conservatives speak from their black, bigoted, shriveled hearts. I've said this once and I'll keep on saying it; When conservatives truthfully say what they want, then their politics will be roundly rejected by a vast majority of the public.:

Learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghettoo, Gingrich urges:

"'The American people believe English should be the official language of the government. ... We should replace bilingual education with immersion in English so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto,' Gingrich said to cheers from the crowd of more than 100."

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This is what conservatives use to do their dirty work. Religion

God's dupes - Los Angeles Times:

"The truth is, there is not a person on Earth who has a good reason to believe that Jesus rose from the dead or that Muhammad spoke to the angel Gabriel in a cave. And yet billions of people claim to be certain about such things. As a result, Iron Age ideas about everything high and low — sex, cosmology, gender equality, immortal souls, the end of the world, the validity of prophecy, etc. — continue to divide our world and subvert our national discourse. Many of these ideas, by their very nature, hobble science, inflame human conflict and squander scarce resources."
.
......
The problem is that wherever one stands on this continuum, one inadvertently shelters those who are more fanatical than oneself from criticism. Ordinary fundamentalist Christians, by maintaining that the Bible is the perfect word of God, inadvertently support the Dominionists — men and women who, by the millions, are quietly working to turn our country into a totalitarian theocracy reminiscent of John Calvin's Geneva. Christian moderates, by their lingering attachment to the unique divinity of Jesus, protect the faith of fundamentalists from public scorn. Christian liberals — who aren't sure what they believe but just love the experience of going to church occasionally — deny the moderates a proper collision with scientific rationality. And in this way centuries have come and gone without an honest word being spoken about God in our society.

There is no question that many people do good things in the name of their faith — but there are better reasons to help the poor, feed the hungry and defend the weak than the belief that an Imaginary Friend wants you to do it. Compassion is deeper than religion. As is ecstasy. It is time that we acknowledge that human beings can be profoundly ethical — and even spiritual — without pretending to know things they do not know.

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Get your severed arm out of my peanut butter:

Hershey worker loses arm in Oakdale chocolate factory accident:

"A worker at a Hershey Co. chocolate factory lost her arm when a machine she was cleaning accidentally switched on, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Erica Domen, 32, of Modesto, was cleaning a batter-sifting machine when the accident occurred at around 1:20 a.m. Saturday at the company's Oakdale plant, about 15 miles northeast of Modesto, a spokesman for the state division of OSHA said.

'Her arm got caught in some machinery and it actually pulled her arm off,' Oakdale police Sgt. Keri Ford said. 'It wasn't a clean cut-off. They weren't able to replace it.'"

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Spring has Sprung!

Grow-your-own Viagra craze hits Britain's garden centres - Independent Online Edition > Health Medical

A chance discovery by a Berkshire allotment-holder that a plant widely available in garden centres has the same effect on men as Viagra has been confirmed by experts at one of the world's leading botanical institutions.

The plant is winter-flowering heather, and botanists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh, many of them heather experts who have recognised the source of its active ingredient, now expect it to be the next must-have plant in British gardens. Demand is already high. Nurseries and garden centres in some areas are having trouble finding sufficient supplies as word spreads of the plant's unexpected properties.

......

The latest gardening craze was triggered by a discovery by a 55-year-old furniture restorer, Michael Ford, on his allotment. He was always experimenting with drinks made from different plants and one day he tried an infusion from his winter-flowering heather. He said: "The effect was almost immediate. I had to stay in my potting shed for an hour or so before I could decently walk down the street."

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