DBT Week in Review - 8/28/09

DBT/Patterson Hood

Check out 4 new videos from Patterson Hood and the Screwtopians as they perform songs in-studio from Murdering Oscar (and other love songs):



YouTube - Patterson Hood & the Screwtopians - "Belvedere" from Murdering Oscar (and other love songs)

YouTube - Patterson Hood & the Screwtopians - "Back of a Bible" from Murdering Oscar (and other love songs)

YouTube - Patterson Hood & the Screwtopians - "Pollyanna" from Murdering Oscar (and other love songs)

_______

Lorenzo Wolff: There Ain't Much to Country Livin':

"A few years ago I heard about a band that was doing a kind of updated country-rock thing and went to seem them play Irving Plaza. They played for about an hour and half, dazzling what otherwise would have been a jaded New York crowd with their proud, aggressive songs and the brutal realism of their lyrics. After the last chord was struck and the world started spinning again, I went over to their merch booth to pick up as many of their records as I could fit in my pockets."

_______

Patterson Hood - Murdering Oscar (And Other Love Songs) Review | Scathing Reviews for Bitchy People

_______

The Hold Steady & Drive-By Truckers - videos from last November | Breakfast On Tour

_______

Drivin' N' Cryin' discuss DBT's influence on a song from their upcoming album Great American Bubble Factory:

_______

Byron Wilkes is Dead and I Don't Feel So Good Myself

_______

Wes Freed

Wes has been posting some sweet new work on Willard's Garage. Check it out:

Willard's Garage

_______

Will Johnson

Centro-Matic's Pence, Johnson Share Art at Good Records | NBC Dallas-Fort Worth:

"Baseball through the eyes of Centro-matic singer/guitarist Will Johnson looks like that. On panels of wood, he paints portraits of the men who've served the beloved sport with their life stories, such as Willie Mays and Cool Papa Bell. Johnson frames their faces with words, sometimes words the players famously said and sometimes Johnson's own wide-eyed biographies of the figures.

The night before they set out to record Centro-matic's next record, Johnson and drummer Matt Pence, who's a photographer, will share their work Sunday from 7 t"

_______

Lauderdale

Shameless self promotion - Lauderdale's MySpace Blog |:

A couple of us from the band have started blogs so that we can share our photos, stories and whatnot. We're always taking photos on the road and elsewhere. If you're interested in seeing what's going on inside and outside of the band check them out.

Patrick's:
www.two-bitwonders.blogspot.com

Chris':
www.dailyspamart.blogspot.com

word is bond,
-Patrick"

_______

Muscle Shoals Sound

Former George Jones songwriter left fame behind | TimesDaily.com | The Times Daily | Florence, AL:

"Welcome to Hobbyland, Montgomery's Sheffield store - a pack rat's nirvana.

But there is a history behind the guy selling those aged prom dresses and greeting cards.

He's penned more than 70 songs for country legend George Jones."

_______

Music

Dylan all over the news lately:

Bob Dylan to become the voice of your satnav? - Telegraph:

"Bob Dylan, the singer-songwriter who has taken his fans down Highway 61 by way of Lonely Avenue and Desolation Row, is in negotiations to voice a satellite navigation system.

_______

Bob Dylan’s Holiday LP “Christmas in the Heart” Due October 13th : Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily:

"Bob Dylan has made his latest unpredictable career move: Rolling Stone has learned that Bob Dylan will release a Christmas album October 13th. Entitled Christmas in the Heart, the collection will feature holiday standards including “Must Be Santa,” “Little Drummer Boy,” “Winter Wonderland” and “Here Comes Santa Claus.” All U.S. royalties from the collection will benefit the charity Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity. Other proceeds from the disc will benefit hunger relief organizations around the world. Get a first look at the album art here."

_______

Bob Dylan Stopped By Cops, Asked For ID In New Jersey Shore Town:

"A 24-year-old police officer apparently was unaware of who Dylan is and asked him for identification, Long Branch business administrator Howard Woolley said Friday.

'I don't think she was familiar with his entire body of work,' Woolley said."

_______

Rapper behind 'Roxanne's Revenge' gets Warner Music to pay for Ph.D:

"But Shante, then 19, remembered a clause in her Warner Music recording contract: The company would fund her education for life.

She eventually cashed in, earning a Ph.D. in psychology from Cornell to the tune of $217,000 - all covered by the label. But getting Warner Music to cough up the dough was a battle.

_______
_____
___

DBT Week in Review - 8/7/09

DBT/Patterson Hood

Our own Lurleen (Beth) McQueen produced a great interview with the lovely Shonna Tucker. Excellent interview and some really interesting responses from Shonna.

Great work both!

Jackson Free Press: Jackson, Mississippi - Music - Music Features - ‘Southern Female Attitude’

I've got a huge garden this year.

• What all are you growing?

I'm about to go pick okra right now. It's an everyday thing. I've got okra, onions, garlic, carrots, tomatoes—they are awesome right now—peas, beans, cucumbers, watermelon, six different lettuces. … I've got 11 chickens, so I kind of work and play in the dirt all day outside with my animals."

On music:

"It) makes people feel good sometimes to hear somebody say something that they wanna say and can't."

On valuing the fans:

"• The Drive-By Truckers often stick around after shows and give autographs. How would you describe your relationship with your fans?

Well, I hope it's great. I think that just relating to people is very important. You can't get up on stage and think, 'I'm gonna put on a great show tonight,' and then just walk away from these people who came out here and dropped everything and bought a ticket and drove forever and got a babysitter and whatever to see you play your guitar. You can't forget how lucky you are to be able to play music as your job. It blows my mind, still to this day. It's crazy that I can say that, and it's all because of fans. … I don't think any of us try to do it, or try not to, it's just I like to talk to people and see what's happening with them. I think it's very important."

_______

_______

Patterson Hood and the Screwtopians: Collateral Damage And Then Some recorded Aug 6, 2009

_______

Someone on the Nine Bullets board caught this.

How weird.

Music Listings | Jackson Free Press | Jackson, Mississippi:

"Hal & Mal's Big Room - The Dexateens, Drive-By Truckers 9 p.m. 18 , $20 drivebytruckers.com

Reed Pierce's - Adam's House Cat 9 p.m. free"

_______

Isbell/Truckers

Isbell and Drive-By Truckers get us closer to real country - ESPN:

"Strange, then, that country music is making a resurgence in my life. For that, I blame the Drive-By Truckers."

_______

_______

Music I Like

Check out these boys from the Shoals.

PLANET INK on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads:

"LOUD, CROWD PLEASING, FURIOUS, BLUES INJECTED MUSIC IS WHAT WE'RE ALL ABOUT. Planet Ink, from the legendary music scene in Muscle Shoals Alabama, has developed their own unique sound echoing riffy 60's groove, psychedelic, electric blues, and vintage rock flavor. Energetic, foot stompin’, head jolting live performances are all part of the Ink experience. The trio comprised of brothers Alexander and Micheal Bowling, and cousin James Sherrill has been providing audiences with slamin’ tunes and solid performances since the late summer of 2006. Thanks for checkin out our music, we hope you enjoy it"

_______

Music

Both sides of the argument:

Op-Ed Contributor - Radio Free America - NYTimes.com:

"WHEN I hear great American standards on the radio, I think of all the songwriters, artists and musicians whom my father, brother and I have worked with over the years. It reminds me that every recording has two parts, the composition and the performance. It also reminds me how many wonderful artists and musicians have not been paid fairly for their work."

NoPerformanceTax.org: Oppose the Record Label-Led Performance Fee on Radio.

What is a performance tax?
A performance tax is a fee that record labels want the government to impose on local radio stations simply for airing music free of charge for listeners.

In recent years, the record labels have seen sales of albums decline as more listeners opt for digital downloads. However, radio remains the number one promotional vehicle for music – it’s not responsible for the label’s resistance to the digital age, and it shouldn’t be on the hook to fix it. Radio already provides between $1.5 to $2.4 billion dollars annually in music sales for artists and record labels. By pushing a tax on local radio, record labels are biting the hand that feeds them.

Where does the money go?
In short, the money would flow out of your community and into the pockets of the record labels – the great majority of which are foreign-owned. The record labels would like for you to think this is all about compensating the artists, but in truth the record labels would get at least 50% of the proceeds from a tax on local radio.

_______

Very cool.

Sacramentan buys old vinyl 45s, finds out they were his mom's - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee

_______
_____
___

Patterson Hood and the Screwtopians - San Francisco - 7/8/09

The long version of this tale got 86'd as too much time has passed and much of my notes didn't make sense anymore.

So, short version:

Perfect day in San Francisco:

Lunch with hairy hero guy (who shall henceforth be referred to as 'HH'). And, I can write 'hero' with the knowledge that it will be read, but I'd never, ever state this in person due to an unwritten Northern Alabama code which prevents effusive praise regardless of the success. One must always leave room for ball busting.

I digress. Lunch with HH along with Ken Zankel, owner of The Grove on Fillmore Street, and all around super nice guy. Ken pointed out a DBT sticker that resides on the front of his restaurant. I've passed this place hundreds of times and never noticed it. Ken also is a big supporter of Nuci's Space (as we all should be). Ken kicks ass.

Next, cab ride to the TransAmerica building (or whatever hell company owns the place now) and a stroll through Jackson Square for some San Francisco history, with a stop to read the Hotaling placard.

"If, as they say, God spanked the town for being over-frisky,
Why did he burn the churches down and spare Hotaling's Whiskey?"

Then a nice, lazy wander through City Lights. City Lights in an amazing bookstore. Lots of history.

Another cab ride brings us closer to the venue and a Stella at the Fly Bar where The Hold Steady plays on the bar stereo.

After a short stroll to The Independent all kind of sound was thoroughly checked by Matador and Damon.

This was the first time I really got to tune into a sound check and really watch Matador at work. He's a damn professional and I was awed by his ability to simply get shit done.

Damon is pretty badass too I noticed him fiddling with a guitar strap. I walked over and he was McGyvering a beer cap into a snap to hold the strap on the guitar. Genius.

Sound check led to dinner with HH, Barbe, Neff and EZB. Dinner conversation dominated by Ted Turner/TBS/Braves/CNN... and even Bill Tush was conjured from the ether. I hadn't thought about Bill Tush in decades. Also, I should have gotten a cup of the white bean soup.

The show was incredible. The band was really tight. All was nailed to the wall. Crowd was very good for a Wednesday.

Another perfect San Francisco day. Always great to get to hang with talented friends.

Let's look at some pictures, shall we....

Are you ready to rock!

But first a word from our sponor, Beefcake!

Ever wonder how DBT/The Screwtopians stay in tip top shape during the rigors of touring?

Not only is EZB the rythym keeper he's also the trainer for all band members and crew.

EZB has developed a grueling 5 minute program which combines weight lifting with oxygen restriction. He's perfected this technique over the past many years on the road.

Be on the look out for a video and instructional book coming soon.

Beefcake!

Sound checking

Damon Towers

The opening act, The Stone Foxes, learning some tricks or two.

I only caught the last song of their set, but they were tearing it up. I'd definitely go see these guys again. They sport serious skills.

Met Will J. for the first time. What an incredible talent.

He killed Just to Know What You've Been Dreaming.

I'm an even bigger fan now.

Patterson had the best drunk girl heckle response ever.

Anna McCarthy from SF Weekly sums up the even nicely:

San Francisco - All Shook Down - Last Night: Patterson Hood and the Screwtopians at The Independent:

"Thank you Patterson Hood for finally telling the token drunk and loud girl in the crowd to, 'kiss someone, darlin.' Sweetest shushing ever."

Thanks for a great day, guys. Always a pleasure. See some of y'all in October for the Hardly Strictly Festival.

_______
_____
___