Americana Gazette April/May Issue 2010

MERICANA GAZETT E A 2010 / April / May

Feature Story: Rosanne Cash Sean Michael Dargan Scott Lindsey Elizabeth Cook Kevin Gordon Briana Hardyman Sugar River Studios Delihah Why Doug Wilson Edgar Hodges

AMERICANA GAZETTE Greetings: Spring is here!!! Yeah!!! I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am glad that Winter is behind us. It seems like I spent a lot more time physically on the ground this past Winter than ever before. For awhile I was falling once a week on the ice. I almost asked my Mom if I could borrow her lifeline! I wonder what that was all about? Now that the snow and ice is gone, I’m looking forward to spending a little more time in the upright position.

With Spring’s arrival, festivals and outdoor gatherings will be starting. Brat Season will be upon us., (with Fudge Season behind us, thank God!) I can hardly wait. I am excited to check out some great music this season. I suggest you do the same.

Andy and I are off to Nashville the last week in March. We have lots of plans and will tell you all about our adventures in the following issue. One thing for sure though, I’m going to have some of my favorite pecan pancakes at the Pancake Pantry in Nashville. They have the best pancakes!!

You have to get there early otherwise you have to stand in line for awhile as they are that busy. OK, they are that good, I’d wait in line for some of these delicious pecan ones!!!!

Happy Easter! And let’s not forget Happy Mother’s Day to all those Moms out there. Anyone have any great festivals or fairs coming up with some exceptional music, please drop us a line or an email and we can get it in to let our readers know! Remember, the more the merrier!!!!

Til next time, Get out and enjoy some music!!!!!!

Joyce Ziehli Publisher

PUBLISHER Joyce Ziehli jziehli@advisorymgt.com

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STAFF WRITERS/PHOTOS Rob Kosmeder Litt Dubay Robert Hoffman Jim Smith Aaron Williams Rosemary Ziehli Joe Lowery CREATIVE DIRECTOR Ric Genthe rgenthe@charter.net The Americana Gazette is printed by: The Print Center Brodhead, Wi. 53520 AMERICANA GAZETTE % ANDY & JOYCE ZIEHLI P.O. BOX 208 BELLEVILLE, WI. 53508 OFFICE: 608-424-6300 Andy Cell: 608-558-8131 Joyce Cell: 608-558-8132

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Welcome to

Americana Gazette TABLE OF CONTENTS FEATURE STORY 8 Rosanne Cash

WHERE TO LOOK: 3

1/2 Notes

4

Litt DuBay’s Slant

5

Women In The Round Elizabeth Cook

6

Bob Dylan

7

Scott Lindsey

8

Rosanne Cash

10 Sugar River Studios 10 Briana Hardyman 11 Delihah Way 11 Jim Lauderdale 12 A Pet Note 13 Aaron’s Anecdotes 13 Sean Michael Dargan 14 Priceless Gems 15 CD Review 16 3 for 1 17 “Number Please!”

18 Heaven’s Call Doug Wilson Edgar Hodges 20 Kevin Gordon 21 Robert’s Ramblings 22 Spring 23 The Drugstore 24 Enjoy Music 25 Michael Martin Murphey

Blue Olives and Natty Nation,each with six nominations.

Those with five nominations include the Gomers,Whitney Mann, Beth Kille and Primitive Culture. Madison County had four nominations and Art Paul Schlosser, Hannah Jon Taylor, Lords of Discipline, Null Device, Soul Shaker,Sunspot,Cemetery Improvement Society,L.O.S.T. S.O.U.L.S. and the Rowdy Prairie Dogs each had three.

The number of nominations includes group nominations as well as individual nominations in instrumental and vocal categories.

1/2 Notes Thanks to everyone who attended the Songwriting groups held at the Fat Cat this past winter. We are taking the spring and summer off, but will resume in October of 2010 and go through March 2011. This once a month sessions are open to songwriters and the general public. We at the Americana Gazette would like to thank Beth Kille for all her help and support and our special guest hosts Mark Croft, Sean Michael Dargan, Robert J., and Roy Elkins. Without their help and support theses sessions would not have been possible.

We would also like to take the opportunity to thank John and Ann Miller of the Fat Cat for allowing us a wonderful place to hold theses events. John and Ann are huge supporters of the local music scene in Green County, and continue to step up to the plate to allow local musicians the opportunity to fine tune their crafts by hosting the Party on the Patio concert series during July and August, the songwriters nights during the winter months, and by allowing musicians and artists to hangout at the Fat Cat. Without the Miller’s help, support, and generosity none of this would be possible.

Thank you John and Ann!!!!

Speaking of the Party on the Patio Concert series it will start on Sunday July 11th and end on Sunday August 29th, 2010. The Party on the Patio Concert series are 2 hour events held on Sunday’s from 11:00 a.m until 1:00 p.m. on the patio at the Fat Cat Coffee Works in New Glarus WI. Singer Songwriters, duos, or bands can play for one or two hour shows. The PA system is provided.

These shows are acoustic music/unplugged events. If you or your group is interested in playing on these shows get a hold of Andy at aziehli@advisorymgt.com or at 608-558-8131 to set up a date.

Saturday May 8th, 2010 the 7th Annual Madison Area Music Awards will take place at the Capitol Theater in the Overture Center with doors at 6 PM.Tickets are on sale April 1st at the Overture Center Box Office and are $13. The final round of voting begins March 28th and runs until April 28th. Mark Croft and Mike Droho and the Compass Rose lead the way with seven nominations.

Following closely are Aaron Williams & the Hoodoo,The

There will be a musician’s garage sale Saturday May, 1st, 2010 at 313 East Church Street in Belleville, WI. There will be many musical instruments, effects, drums, guitars,etc.for sale. Any musician that would like to consign equipment to be sold should email aziehli@advisorymgt.com. Ten percent of every item sold will be donated to the Green County Food Pantry. Sale starts at 9:00 a.m and goes until 1:00 p.m.

Sugar River Studios is back up and operating after a major renovation. Phase II is set to be finished by May 15th. Sugar River Studios is a fully functional recording studio that specializes in Americana/Country music.

That does not mean that Rock & Rollers are not welcome, to the contrary everyone is welcome to record there. We specialize in demos, singles, and EP recordings. We are a 24 track digital and analog studio. Singer Songwriters are encouraged to check us out. We can supply additional musicians to complete your projects.

Call 608-558-8131 for more info or see the ad in this issue.

April 16, 7:30pm Concert by The April Verch Band, with April at the helm on the fiddle, delivers richly textured phrasing on traditional roots tunes, bluegrass and new grass melodies, jazz-influenced compositions, and country music.When April trades her fiddling for the rhythmic art of step dancing, the band takes on the sound of the old lumber camp halls where those without instruments created rhythms with their feet.The metal taps on April’s shoes generate exhilarating cadences that enhance her traditional Ottawa Valley arrangements. It’s even more impressive when April continues playing intricate rifts on her fiddle while dancing the rhythmic pulse that drives the tune.The overall effect on her audiences is electrifying.Tickets: $15 general, $13 members.

Folklore Village, 3210 Cty. Road BB, Dodgeville FMI: 608-924-4000; www.folklorevillage.org April 22–25,Thurs-Sat 7:30pm, Sun 2:30pm River Valley Players Presents “ENCHANTED APRIL” Set in the 1920’s, this romantic comedy centers around four English women who rent a castle on a remote Italian island to try to come to grips with their lives and relationships.During their enchanted month in Italy, the ladies fall under the spell of their idyllic, sundrenched surroundings.They rediscover laughter, learn new truths about themselves and find the romance they continued on page 4

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Date:______________________________________ 3

Litt DuBay’s

Rant!

by Litt DuBay

Well hi folks out in Americana Land! This is Ole Litt Dubay talking at you in the April/May issue of the Americana Gazette. Things have been pretty quiet for Litt lately. No one has pissed me off or stepped in on my dance card for a long time. Scoopie the Culver’s dude got his custard measuring back in Ole Litt’s favor so he’s okay in my book!

One thing though that’s been sitten rotting away in my craw is the fact that American productivity and quality in our jobs is racing away. Ole Litt bought some glasses and when they finally arrived 5 weeks later (they had been promised in 1 week) they sent the wrong thing. Then I had to argue with the sales clerk that this was not what I ordered. She said that it was. I showed her the receipt and she still argued that I had ordered two exact pairs of glasses instead of one regular and one pair of sun glasses.

What the hell ever happened to the customer is always right? Well after arguing for 10 minutes she apparently had an epiphany and saw the tinting order on my receipt and exclaimed “you’re right! You did order sun glasses.”

That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you for the last 20 minutes! She then went on to explain to me that there was nothing she could do about it because it was Saturday and the lab was closed, which did not help me at all.

The quality of her work was very sub-prime!

What happened to the American way of life? Now I’m no darn republican. Hell I’m so far left that I should be driving on the other side of the road! If I were anymore left winged I’d be flying around in a circle! We just don’t seem to care about quality or pride in what we do anymore. If you don’t like your job, quit it! Go back to school and get an education. Don’t be happy being Jethro Bodine and graduating from the 6th grade. Take the plunge and make something of yourself! Take up a trade. Learn new skills. There are more than enough idiots out there now screwing stuff up! Be different.

As long as I’m ranting again,what about that little chicky winning the Entertainer of the Year at the CMA awards!

Now Taylor Swift is a lot more talented than most of the “New Country” acts out there but not good enough to be Entertainer of the Year! She’s still wet behind the ears! Come on Nashville get your heads out of your asses and clean the crap out of your ears and our airwaves. We want real country music back! Take all those pretty boys in tight jeans, bands named after women, pro-tools fronted singers, singers with IQ’s lower than their ages, fake boobed, tie dyed haired, perfected toothed wanna be country singers and give them the boot. You’re going to do it anyway within 2 years of signing them. Save the money now and invest it in folks that sing and play real country music. I’m sure Hank didn’t do it this way and you shouldn’t either! Remember Disco? That’s what is going to happen to your New Country, big today, gone tomorrow!

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Spring has arrived and I have my own list of 12 things I love about spring.

1. The sun is warm.

2. The snow is gone.

3. I can find all the dog poop I lost over the winter in the back yard.

4. The old lady wears less to bed.

5. Women joggers.

6. When I pass gas I am less offensive in the spring than winter because the windows are open.

7. Love is in the air and I got my parachute packed and I’m ready to jump.

8. It’s easier to buckle my seat belt because I have fewer cloths on.

9. Shorts.

10.John is nicer.

11.Fudge season is only 8 months away!

12.Brat season is just around the corner!

BlackWaterGin Texas Rock with Bite ((( BWG ))) BWG Entertainment 608-574-2916 www.myspace.com/blackwatergin

Lastly this issue I want to talk to you about being fat.

Now Ole Litt has been on this horse before but a couple of new twits have come up and said things to Litt and I that need addressed here.

First I’m fat not deaf. I can hear you snickering about my size and the way I fill out my bathing suit at the local pool as you and your skinny ass friends try to tan your match stick bodies. Watch out or I’ll jump in the pool and start a tsunami! Yes I can bend over and tie my own shoes, clip my toe nails, and put on my socks. Can you, or is that more motor skills than an idiot like you can handle? Yes fat people can have sex like normal people.

There just more of us to love! And finally no I don’t want to go on the Biggest Loser I think your family holds the monopoly on being the Biggest Losers!

Written by: Litt Dubay

1/2 notes... continued from page 3

long for. Tickets will be available at The Spring Green Cafe and General Store, The Flower Shop and Village Gifts in Spring Green,and Spring Into Motion Dance and Fitness in Spring Green after April 1.“Priority Seating” will be available to all current RVP members. Membership information can be acquired at all RVP ticket locations and on the website.

The Gard Theater, 111 E. Jefferson Street, Spring Green FMI and tickets can also be reserved by calling 608-5885640 or by visiting RVP’s website at www.rivervalleyplayers.org June 11-13, 10am-5pm daily Spring Art Tour 2010 4th annual Mount Horeb Area open studios event. Discover the magic! Explore the beauty of the springtime countryside in the unique glacially driftless area of South Central Wisconsin as you tour the rarely seen Open Art Studios of Mount Horeb,Verona,Mazomanie,Black Earth, Cross Plains, Blue Mounds and towns in between.

Fifteen mile radius around the Mount Horeb area FMI: www.mhaaa.org

We are a regional advocacy, technical assistance and networking program for all types of creative entrepreneurs – including visual artists, composers, musicians, writers, actors, dancers, and choreographers. We connect artists and arts leaders throughout southwest Wisconsin. :H DGYRFDWH IRU WKH DUWV :H GHOLYHU ZRUNVKRSV DQG HGXFDWLRQDO offerings on entrepreneurial skill topics :H IRVWHU FRPPXQLFDWLRQ DPRQJ artists and arts groups via email updates containing information about grants, workshops, and opportunities.

2XU RQ OLQH GLUHFWRU\ RI DUWLVWV KHOSV creative entrepreneurs increase their visibility. $UWV%XLOG LV FRPSOHWHO\ IUHH WR MRLQ

Carol Spelic 608.342.1314 spelicc@uwplatt.edu

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across America – as well as in South Korea, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Poland and France – and well over 200 performances at The Grand Ole Opry.

ELIZABETH COOK WILL RELEASE WELDER ON MAY 11TH I have not had the honor yet of meeting Elizabeth Cook in person. However I have met her husband Tim Carroll when he played in Belleville,Wi last year. When I was in Nashville last September we were at her house to seeTim and I had the pleasure of being entertained by her cats. I’m hoping to meet her in the near future and to do an interview with her about her new CD coming out May 11th. In the meant time I wanted you to read a little bit about her and check out her new CD,“Welder”.

I have taken some info from her website bio and her publicist, Traci Thomas from thirty Tigers was kind enough to send me the press release on her new CD so I could share with you. Hopefully next time I will have some more info on Elizabeth, meanwhile familiarize yourself with Elizabeth Cook!!!

In contemporary country music, it's a rare performer who will dare to take on the industry on her own hogsand-kisses terms. But for the artist whom Nanci Griffith has called "this generation's Loretta Lynn," it takes a certain tenacity to meld smart attitude with classic tradition, the credibility of a life lived with genuine hillbilly passion, and the integrity to write an acclaimed cache of uncommonly cool songs.In other words,for Elizabeth Cook, it takes balls.

Balls is the bold declaration of an uncompromising artist unafraid to be exactly who she is. Produced by Rodney Crowell, 9 of the album's 11 tracks are written or co-written by Elizabeth – including the brash anthem "Sometimes It Takes Balls To Be A Woman" – and the album stands defiant in its devotion to smiles, tears and sexy, sassy swagger. It's a fiercely independent ride where shuffles, ballads and even the occasional juice harp can soar alongside an exquisite cover of The Velvet Underground's "Sunday Morning." Balls is, quite simply, Elizabeth Cook's unabashed breakthrough. "I still can't believe I got away with going into the studio and cutting these songs," she says with a laugh, "I feel like I've just robbed a convenience store."

"In an era of fabricated fame, Elizabeth is the real deal," says Rodney Crowell, the legendary singer/songwriter whose work as producer has also included acclaimed records with Guy Clark, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Jim Lauderdale and five landmark albums with Roseanne Cash. "Elizabeth has a quirky Loretta sensibility that is positively poetic. She's got that Emmylou quality that inspires those around her.Then factor in her amazing family history - You simply cannot make that stuff up."

To say that Elizabeth Cook's background is like something out of a country song would be wildly underestimating the entire genre.The youngest of 11 half-brothers and sisters, she grew up in rural Florida where her muw w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

sician parents met while playing in local country bars. Her father learned to play upright bass in a Georgia prison band while serving 11 years for running moonshine. Her mother, a singer and mandolin player from the hills of West Virginia, wrote her daughter's first songs, including "Does My Daddy Love The Bottle More Than He Loves Me," and had Elizabeth singing on stage at 4 years old. Elizabeth had her own band at 9 – as well as the regional hit "Homework Blues" – and performed prolifically throughout her school years."The way I sound and my musical references came from what I heard and learned as a child," Elizabeth explains in her rich twang, "I had this accent when I was 2 years old.It's not an apology or even an explanation;it's just what I am. My way of talking, singing and writing is just how I use language, my cultural vernacular.The only difference between me and most of my family is knowing that there's actually a word such as 'vernacular'."

Elizabeth graduated from Georgia Southern University in 1996 with dual degrees in Accounting and Computer Information Systems, and accepted a job offer from Price Waterhouse's Nashville office. But her gift for music proved inescapable and the young accountant signed a publishing deal within a year. She released the independent album Elizabeth Cook/The Blue Album in 2000, and made her major label debut in 2002 with Hey Y'All. But following a corporate re-structuring that left the album virtually abandoned, Elizabeth fought back with her 2004 independent release This Side Of The Moon, drawing raves ranging from The New York Times (which named her One Of The Top Ten Unheard Artists Of The Year) to No Depression (who called her "an artist to whom attention must be paid, reminiscent of Dolly Parton or a more burnished J u l i e Miller).

Through it all, Elizabeth remained a relentless performer, playing s h o w s

All of this leads directly to Elizabeth's Balls. "This is a very 'indie' album," Crowell says. "In order to get it made, we all had to pull together and pitch in. But, Elizabeth brings out the best in people.

Most of the record was performed live.

There's very little overdubbing and no layering. What I wanted was a snapshot of Elizabeth's sensibilities. In the end, it was almost as if we filmed these songs. " The album bounces from the box with the hardcore hillbilly abandon of "Times Are Tough In Rock N' Roll," which boasts such plucky couplets as "All my feelings,all my fears/Were confirmed with Britney Spears."

"Don't Go Borrowing Trouble" and "What Do I Do" are torchy roadhouse shuffles, while "He Got No Heart" sears like the second coming of Wanda Jackson, and "Gonna Be" is a fiery honky-tonk affirmation. "Mama's Prayers" is a loving testament to simple spirituality; the delicate "Down Girl" is a tender ode to survival, and "Always Tomorrow" – written by Elizabeth's husband, the iconoclastic songwriter Tim Carroll – is both plaintive and powerful. "Rest Your Weary Mind" is a stirringly cinematic mountain ballad performed with Bobby Bare Jr., and Elizabeth transforms Lou Reed & John Cale's elegiac "Sunday Morning" into a stunningly beautiful declaration of love and hope. "I think that country music and country people can sometimes be associated with ignorance," Elizabeth says, "But being poor does not equal being stupid. Country music and country people can be funny and smart and quirky and unique, and that's exactly what I love about it."

But it's the album's centerpiece that has already taken on a life of its own as a runaway anthem for strong women everywhere. "I started writing 'Sometimes It Takes Balls…' as a joke," Elizabeth says, "and never thought I'd ever perform it live. But when I started playing it at shows, the song would get this crazy response whether I was opening for Nanci Griffith in the Northeast or playing the NASCAR Festival in downtown Nashville."

"If you mention Emmylou or Lucinda or Patty Griffin or other artists who have longevity, it's because their work is based on recognition of their artistry," says Rodney Crowell. "My hope for this album is that Elizabeth is recognized as the same kind of artist that deserves to be heard. She has something to add to it all." And for the artist who dares to describe herself as "a girl with an affinity for vintage cocktail dresses but believes in baiting her own hook," her new album is the twanged clarion of a bold new stage in an already fearless career. "I write what I love," says Elizabeth, "And I continued on page 29

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The Evolution of a Songwriter Bob Dylan F

or a songwriter to survive in the wilderness of the music business said songwriter must evolve. They must grow legs from their simple chords, form lungs from their same-strum gills, and continue onward and upward. It’s the Darwin theory put to music, survival of the fittest.The evolution isn’t always looked upon with favor. Fans usually let there opinions be known if they don’t like the way an artist has chosen to go.

The artist may see it as the road less traveled, while the listener may see it as a road in no need of traveling. An unfamiliar road from the last, the one they connected with, but evolution happens. There is no better person to show evolution than Bob Dylan. A man who is constantly evolving, Dylan has gone through handfuls of changes and most in the eye of the ever-judging public.

In the early 60’s, out of the primordial ooze that was the Greenwich Village folk scene crawled Bob Dylan. After Dylan moved to New York he began playing the folk circuit,and in a short time he was signed to a major record label Columbia. Dylan’s first album titled, Bob Dylan was a handful of folk standards and thrown in the mix were a couple of his originals. Talkin’ New York was a standard talkin’ blues type song with his experiences serving as the lyrics. His Song to Woody seemed to show early signs of his writing talents. Serving as a gesture of gratitude to his then-idol Woody Guthrie, Song to Woody seemed to be straight from the heart and wrapped in admiration.

It was Dylan’s second album though that really showed his growth as a song writer.

The Freewheeling’ Bob Dylan was the album that shot the artist to fame. A record packed with good folkie music. Once again there is something in certain songs that catches the ear.Throughout the album are sprinkled songs of possible “political” content, something that wasn’t in the first album. This trend was soon to be a much more familiar content. I put political in quotations for the reason that Dylan has made the impression that he disliked the label and any other label it seemed.

The next album to come out was the “politically” charged. The Times they are aChangin was revolutionary in its content. Some fans were turned off by the new album.

Some feared he had lost his humor and song diversity, but evolution was happening.

Dylan was reacting to his environment, and that only makes sense for an organism to behave that way. If the water keeps getting higher, the only thing to do is to grow gills and fins. Dylan reacted in a way he felt was necessary. He had not lost his soft side.

The ballad Boots of Spanish Leather is a beautiful song about separated lovers, but

6

sadly this will probably always be known as the“political” album. Not to fear though, the ever-changing Dylan is ready with another curve ball for those who got too settled with the new Bob Dylan.

In 1964 the artist came out with Another Side of Bob Dylan, which was exactly what the album was. It didn’t contain the finger-pointing songs of the former, but was filled with playful tunes and love songs. Dylan’s poetry also began to take a more creative and descriptive nature. He continues to change;maybe his personal life was what triggered this evolution. No one but the artist knows. Once again fans attacked him for changing. Irwin Silber of the folk magazine Sing Out! said that Dylan had “somehow lost touch with people,” and all because Dylan began writing about his feelings.

Dylan only continued to evolve after this record was released. His next move was a little more edgy, a little more electrifying! Up to this point all of Dylan’s records had been acoustic, but his next was to be both acoustic and electric.That’s when the real storm began.

Dylan continued to change and evolve throughout his career. From the New York folkie, to the Civil Rights soundtrack, and then to the lover’s poet Dylan was rapidly evolving over the course of three albums. Imagine the changes in his almost fifty years in the music business.Although Dylan’s changes were fairly rapid, it seems like that’s the way it goes. Songwriters just like to evolve! So the next time your favorite band’s new album comes out just step back,count to ten,and think about what maybe caused them to change in that way. Do this before everyone starts with their finger-pointing.

Written by: Rob Kosmeder w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

A lot of blue grassers are around here also.

And I got a cousin named Paul Mosely who is a member of the thumb-pickers Hall of Fame from here. They would all come over when Dad’s band was rehearsing. They would all just jam over Eagle’s songs and things like that.

You had a thumb picking solo in an Eagle’s song!

All that going, they were all and still are great players. Dad used to write songs with a guy named Tommy Collins, who is in the Hall of Fame. He wrote New Patches (Mel Tillis) and The Roots of My Raising (Merle Haggard).

Tommy would come up and write songs with Dad. In my house, I didn’t know what I was surrounded with at the time, but now looking back, people would pay for that kind of education. And I got it a couple times a week right there at home.

Joyce: Do you have any siblings in the music business?

Scott: I’ve got one sister and no, she’s not in the music business. She’s a lot smarter than me.

Joyce: Scott, what other instruments do you play besides guitar?

Have You Ever Heard of Beaver Dam, Kentucky? If You Have, Then You Have Probably Heard of Singer/Songwriter –

SCOTT LINDSEY

M

y good buddy, Don Murry Grubbs from Absolute Publicity out of Nashville sent me this wonderful honky tonk CD by a feller named, Scott Lindsey. My husband,Andy took a listen first and wrote a fabulous CD review on it. (Check it out in this issue.) Then I had my turn and absolutely fell in love with a couple of his songs on this CD. But I’ll get into that later.

Scott Lindsey was born in Beaver Dam,Kentucky.Also the home of Bill Monroe and not too far from the hometown of Merle Travis. Scott’s musical talent is derived from his mother’s love of classic rock and from his father, who himself was a honky tonk performer who co-wrote with Hall of Famer,Tommy Collins. How would you like the two of them listening to your songs?

Some of Scott’s musical influences are Randy Travis, Steve Wariner and Rodney Crowell. After finishing high school, Scott headed for Nashville and attended Belmont University to study music and finished his degree at MTSU. Lindsey states,“I probably got as much education from the clubs as I did in the classroom.”

Scott is an experienced performer and has played some great venues, including Billy Bob’s and Antoine’s in Texas,The Barn in Rosine, Kentucky and Nashville’s Wildhorse Saloon and famous Bluebird Café, opening for performers such as Ronnie McDowell, Exile, Chris Young and Jason Aldean.

Lindsey has written with hit makers Harley Allen, 2005 BMI Songwriter of the Year; Kyle Cook of Matchbox Twenty; Kim Williams and Will Nance.

Lindsey has just released his new album and video of his debut single,“You Only Call Me When You’re Drunk”. Scott and I talked about this new CD amongst other things. He is indeed an interesting fellow to talk with and has the greatest sense of humor. Anyway I’d like to share with you a little bit of our conversation, at least the part that is printable.

Joyce: Hi Scott. Let’s get started by having you tell me a little bit about your childhood, what was life like growing up in Beaver Dam, Kentucky?

Scott: I was raised on a farm. My Dad is a musician also, a singer/songwriter. Dad would have his band over to rehearse a couple times a week. There was a lot of musical talent in this area. Bill Monroe is from 5 miles up the road in Rosine, Kentucky.

Scott: I play some banjo, some mandolin and some piano. I taught myself how to play each one, actually how to play each one of them fairly well at times over the years. I don’t get enough time to keep up my chops up on them. I kind of let them go. I guess I’m mediocre on all 3 of them.

Joyce: Scott, is this your first CD? Scott: Yes, it is. It’s my first full length CD. I’ve done several demos in Nashville over the years.

Joyce: Let’s talk a little about the CD? You wrote all the songs, or cowrote exceptTeardrops. Any stories to go along with any of these songs?

What about “You Only Call Me When You’re Drunk”?

Scott: Yea, there’s a story, but it’s probably not what your thinking.

That’s what’s so interesting about that song. My Dad actually wrote“Teardrops”.

Joyce: Is it printable?

Scott: Parts of it are, yea. I’ll give you a modified version.

Joyce: O.K., that will be good.

Scott: And the filtered version. I was at home and it was about 2:30 in the morning I guess.

My cousin David (I won’t say the last name to protect the guilty.) called. I still had a home phone then, believe it or not. He called and woke me up and he was so inebriated, so drunk I could hardly make out a word he was saying. So after about 10 minutes I gave up. I said,“David, I love you. I hope you get home safe. I’ll see you in the morning.” It wasn’t 5 minutes later and Jody called me. Jody Lineberry, one of my co-writers on the song.

Jody called me and said,“Man, did David call you?” Yea, David called me and it seems like he only calls me when he’s drunk anymore.

Ding!!! A light came on and I scrambled for continued on page 30

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7

WHERE DID I PUT THAT “LIST”?

Oh yea, ROSANNE CASH has “THE LIST” A one on one with ROSANNE CASH about her latest CD – “THE LIST”

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veryone has a list of some kind or another. I make lots of lists and one of my lists included meeting Rosanne Cash and doing an interview with her for this magazine. Well, I can cross that off the list. I met Rosanne at the Americana Music Conference in Nashville and she was kind enough to call me the other day and grant me this interview. Rosanne has always been a common household name in our home. We have all of her CD’s, some of them we are on our second one as we wore the first ones out! Her music consists of many different types of genres, including folk, pop, rock and blues.

But before we get into the meat of the interview, I want to share a little background about Rosanne and bring you up to speed on what she has been doing.

Rosanne is the beautiful, multi-talented singer/songwriter daughter of the legendary Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Cash Distin. Rosanne was born in Memphis, Tennessee in May, 1955. After she graduated from high school, she joined her father’s road show as a wardrobe assistant, then as a

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background vocalist and occasional soloist.

Rosanne attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville where she studied English and drama.

Rosanne’s self-entitled debut album was recorded in 1978, recorded in Nashville and produced by Rodney Crowell, but was never released in the United States. However it did attract the attention of Columbia records who offered her a recording contract and she began playing in Rodney Crowell’s band, “The Cherry Bombs”. Rosanne married Rodney Crowell in 1979 and started working on her first record for Columbia.

“Seven Year Ache” released in 1981, her second album was incredible. The title track was a #1 hit on the billboard Country Chart, and #22 on the crossover Billboard Pop Chart. The album produced two additional #1 country hits, “My Baby Thinks He’s a Train” and “Blue Moon With Heartache”.

Cash’s third album, “Somewhere in the Stars”, released in 1982 was not quite as popular as her second album, however the album still reached the top 100 of the US Pop Album Charts. In 1985 Rosanne sprang back with her album, “Rhythm & Romance” which brought her two #1 hits, “I Don’t Know Why You Don’t Want Me” (which one a Grammy award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 1985) and “Never Be You”.

In the ‘80’s Rosanne was also busy raising her family, Caitlin, Chelsea and Carrie along with Rodney’s daughter, Hannah from his first marriage. She continued recording and in 1987 she released, “King’s Record Shop” which produced 4 #1 hits, including a cover version of her father’s “Tennessee Flat Top Box”, John Hiatt’s “The Way We Make a Broken Heart”, “If You Change Your Mind, and “Runaway Train.” In 1988 Rosanne recorded a duet with husband, Crowell, ‘It’s Such a Small World” which also went to #1 on the country charts and put Rosanne at Billboard’s Top Singles Artist of the Year.

In 1990, Cash released “Interiors”, which was the first album she produced herself. This album received a Grammy award nomination for Best Contemporary Folk Album. During this time, Rosanne divorced Rodney Crowell and relocated herself to New York City. In 1993, “The Wheel” was released under Columbia Records.

Cash, all settled in lower Manhattan, married producer/songwriter/guitarist John Leventhal in 1995, and in 1996 she released “10 Song Demo”, (which is my husband’s favorite Rosanne Cash CD. ) Rosanne also dabbed into a career as a writer and in 1996 published her first short story collection Bodies of Water.

Inspired by the addition of a new son, Jakob, Rosanne wrote a children’s book, Penelope Jane: A Fairy’s Tale in 2000. Cash was also taking a hiatus from singing as she was recovering from a polyp on her vocal chord. In 2003 Rosanne resumed recording and released, “Rules of Travel”, her first studio album with Capitol Records. Sheryl Crow and Steve Earle made guest appearances. This album too was nominated for a 2003 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

2006 brought “Black Cadillac” which is a reflection of her loss of her stepmother, June Carter Cash and her Father, Johnny Cash who both passed away in 2003, nominated also for a w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

Grammy Award.

timelessness.”

In 2007 Rosanne underwent brain surgery of which she has made a successful recovery. She was able to resume writing, recording and performing in the late summer of 2008.

Through her stylish interpretations, Cash manages to transcend genre on The List, proving that these songs deserve a permanent place in the American Songbook. Produced and arranged by Grammy-Award winner John Leventhal (Cash’s husband, who also contributes striking guitar work throughout), The List includes Cash’s covers of songs by The Carter Family (“Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow”), Hank Williams (“Take These Chains From My Heart”), Jimmie Rodgers (“Miss The Mississippi and You”), Hank Cochran/Patsy Cline (“She’s Got You”), Merle Haggard (“Silver Wings”), and Bob Dylan (“Girl From the North Country,” famously done by Dylan and Johnny Cash in 1969). The album also features a host of special guests whom Cash admires, including Bruce Springsteen (on “Sea of Heartbreak”), Elvis Costello (on “Heartaches by the Number”), Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy (on “Long Black Veil”), and Rufus Wainwright (on “Silver Wings”).

Now I think I have brought you up to speed. I had the pleasure of sitting in on a listening room featuring Rosanne Cash last September in Nashville where she talked about her new CD, “The List” and performed a couple of songs from the CD. This was an intimate setting, with Rosanne performing on her acoustic guitar and even Rosanne sitting quietly listening to a track on her own CD along with the rest of us.

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash released her 12th studio album, entitled The List, on Manhattan Records on October 6th, 2009.

This CD is composed of 12 classic songs culled from a list of essential country tunes that her legendary father Johnny gave her in 1973.

The idea for The List came about while Cash was on tour promoting her 2006 studio album, “Black Cadillac”. In concert, Cash told audiences how, when she was 18, her father became alarmed that his daughter appeared to lack a deep understanding of country music (having been obsessed with The Beatles and steeped in Southern California rock and pop music). Johnny gave her a list of the “100 Essential Country Songs” and told her that it was her education and she should learn them all.

“The list was far-ranging and thorough,” Cash says. “It was assembled from my father’s intuitive understanding of each critical juncture in the evolution of country music. There were old Appalachian folk ballads, and the songs of Jimmie Rodgers and Woody Guthrie. The influence of gospel and Southern blues were crucial. Then he segued into rockabilly and the birth of modern country music by way of Hank Williams, and up to the present, which was then 1973. He also included a couple of his own songs. I endeavored to learn them all and it was an education,” she says. “I looked to that list as a standard of excellence, and to remind myself of the tradition from which I come. This album enables me to validate the connection to my heritage rather than run away from it, and to tie all the threads together: past and future, legacy and youth, tradition the

The track-listing for The List is as follows: 1. “Miss the Mississippi and You” 2. “Motherless Children” 3. “Sea of Heartbreak” (w/Bruce Springsteen) 4. “Take These Chains From My Heart” 5. “I’m Movin' On” 6. “Heartaches by the Number” (w/Elvis Costello)

7. “500 Miles” 8. “Long Black Veil” (w/Jeff Tweedy) 9. “She’s Got You” 10. “Girl From the North Country” 11. “Silver Wings” (w/Rufus Wainwright) 12. “Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow”

Some of the selections were straightforward. ("I’ve loved 'Silver Wings' and 'Long Black Veil' since I was a kid," she says.) Others proved more difficult for the singer to find her own point of entry. Patsy Cline's recording of "She's Got You" is so iconic that Cash was intimidated to take it on, before ultimately creating her own glorious take.

"Heartaches by the Number" felt structured and fixed, but bringing in Elvis Costello helped her find a way to loosen it up.

"Girl from the North Country" had its own meanings, and its own challenges, for Cash. "That song was so much about my dad," she says. "I have those images of him singing it with Bob seared into my mind, and I was afraid of it. I had to go back to Bob’s original version, which I actually don't know continued on page 30

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Sugar River Studios

The small town studio with the big sound!

Briana Hardyman,

the next chapter

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ugar River Studios in Belleville,WI just underwent a major renovation. The small town studio took a major step to compete with the larger studios in Southern Wisconsin with this remodeling and equipment upgrade. Studio owners Andy and Joyce Ziehli spent the last 6 months of 2009 visiting other small studios in person and on-line to see what options were available to them. Andy along with Head Engineer Andrew Pulver and Studio Manager Rob Kosmeder visited Jack Clements recording studio in Nashville to talk to Clement about designing a new studio, and a business plan for expansion of Sugar River Studios.

“Jack was great” said Ziehli. “He spent the morning with us touring his studio and gave us full access to everything. He gave us ideas on what to and what not to do. His experience and knowledge was indispensable to us” said Ziehli. Armed with this and other information they had gathered Ziehli and Pulver sat down to draw up plans for the remodeling and equipment upgrades. “Andrew designed the studio” said Ziehli. “He really was the brains behind the big changes. I gave him a budget to work with and he came up with the plans and operational outline.” Pulver is a graduate of Madison Media Institute in Madison WI. The second phase of the remodeling is beginning in April 2010 with an additional room and lounge area being added. New equipment upgrades included new and used tube pre-amps and compressors, new microphones including ribbon mics, new tube guitar amps to go with Sugar River's vintage amp collection.

Construction was handled by John Fahey, a carpenter with over 30 years experience in the field. Funding for the project was provided by Sugar River Banks of New Glarus,WI. The total project is planned to be completed by May 10, 2010. Sugar River Studios is booking sessions and operating while the final phase is completed.

The Studio is a 24 track digital and analog equipped recording studio that specializes in demo, single, and EP recording. Our hearts and ears are in Americana/Country music recording. That’s not to say that we can’t rock when we need to, so rock & rollers are always welcome too!

Sugar River Studios are located in Belleville,WI a short 16 miles from South Madison.

We work with Singer/songwriters, duos, and bands to bring a customized product to completion. Our services include: • • • • • • • •

Tracking Mixing Demo’s Transfer and conversion from analog recordings to CD’s Singles EP’s Full production CD’s Video

We have state of the art digital equipment, analog tube effects, top of the line microphones, vintage recording and outboard gear.

If you are interested in setting up a recording session please call 608-558-8131. Rates are very competitive. Session time can be booked by the hour or project.

If you want a recording that will spring from the speakers and grab your audience Sugar River Studios is the studio for you! Give us a call before you record your next project. Our staff will make your recording project an enjoyable and memorable experience.

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B

riana Hardyman is no stranger to the readers of the Americana Gazette. She is a talented songwriter and performer who up to December was living, performing, and recording in Nashville. She moved back to Darlington to attend Grad School in the fall of 2010. That does not mean that she has given up performing, quite the opposite she has just moved her base of operations. She and accompanist Doug Sies commute back to Tennessee to play jobs along with playing in England and closer to home here in Wisconsin. When she finishes Grad school Hardyman plans to move back to Nashville.

We at the Americana Gazette were lucky enough to have Briana and Doug in our Sugar River Studios for our first filmed interview.

Both of these fantastic performers were kind enough to spend some time with us to talk about their trip to England in November, playing music, and their return to England in July to play the Cambridge Folk Festival along with a few other prestigious engagements. You can check out her schedule by going to her myspace page at www.myspace.com/brianalynnhardyman, where you can also listen to her music.

If you go to the Americana Gazette website at www.americanagazette.net and click on the video tab at the top of the page you can watch and listen to their interview. Head Engineer Andrew Pulver and Studio Manager Rob Kosmeder along with myself conducted,recorded,and edited this video. We want to thank Briana and Doug for taking part in this new edition to the Americana Gazette. We hope you enjoy it too. Please pass on the link to all your friends so they can check it out too.

Written by:Andy Ziehli w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

musician to musician... a chat with

DELIHAH WHY

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elihah Why is one of the most powerful trio’s I’ve seen live in many years; it consists of lead singer/guitar player Dave Norman belting out great Southern rock vocals and an exciting rhythm section of (Pete Pulkrabek-on Drums and Cullen Tierney on Bass). As you can see below they pride themselves in being just that- an amazing live show.

Playing good old fashion rock and roll isn’t the most popular thing in Nashville,TN where this band hails from but what better place then to start the movement back to the roots of it all. I spoke with Pete and got a little insight in to how this hard working band approaches the town of Nashville and music in general.You can check out more information on this hard hitting Southern Rock band at: www.myspace.com/delilahwhy Aaron Williams: Being a rock band from Nashville,TN in all its reputation and glory.

Does that make it easier or harder on a band?

Delihah Why: It’s crazy how many great rock bands are in Nashville.There are a lot of people around that still think country music is the only kind of music that comes out of Nashville. Some people that have never heard Delilah Why assume us to be a country band at first. We get a kick out of it. Nashville is such a big pond of talent, and there is such a huge overabundance of musician resources. If you need someone to lie down a quick keyboard track on your recording, all you need to do is knock on your neighbor's door or call the pizza guy.

AW:What do you want people to know about Delihah Why that isn't already known?

More specifically, when you're dead and gone- what is the legacy you want left behind of your years with Delilah Why? DW: People seem to dig our live shows. We work really hard to be a great live band, and that will remain a priority forever.To be remembered as a great live band would be a good legacy. We would like to let the law know that we don't do any hard drugs, because they always seem to think that we do.

Jim Lauderdale to release “PATCHWORK RIVER” May 11

NEW ALBUM WRITTEN WITH GRATEFUL DEAD LYRICIST ROBERT HUNTER

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wo-time Grammy Award winner, singer, songwriter and Americana music icon JIM LAUDERDALE will release his new album “PATCHWORK RIVER” (Thirty Tigers) May 11. He co-wrote the album filled with such highlights as “Alligator Alley,” “Louisville Roll” and “Patchwork River” with longtime Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter whom Lauderdale has praised as “one of the greatest writers that has ever lived in my book. He says things in songs that have never been said before. He paints pictures that have never been seen. I can’t believe that I ever got to meet him, much less work with him. He’s a world-class genius.”

“PATCHWORK RIVER”written at Hunter’s California home--was produced by longtime production partner Tim Coates and Doug Lancio, who also played guitar. James Burton, Al Perkins, Ron Tutt, Garry Tallent, Kenny Vaughan, and Patty Griffin round out an all-star cast by contributing their prodigious musical talents to the record.

On “Patchwork River’s” title track, Hunter extols a simpler, loving life, while “Alligator Alley”spins a raucous tale of escape from a Floridian environmental apocalypse peppered with Hunter’s wit. In “El Dorado,” Hunter tells the story of an ancient mariner that has yet to find his spiritual city of gold and is aware that his powers are declining. Robert Hunter, one of rock music’s most important poets, has remained a vital force, weaving threads of love, profundity, sly humor, and rhythm into his compositions from “Dark Star,” his opening salvo as a member of the Grateful Dead, through contributing lyrics to ten of the eleven songs on Bob Dylan’s 2009 Together Through Life album. His iconic words (i.e.“What a long, strange trip it’s been” from “Truckin’”) are perhaps the strongest lyrical threads in the tapestry that is rock music’s greatest communal experience.

DW: Is this a trick question?! Beer is always nice, and it’s something you can print. We also tear down our gear.

Lauderdale was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2009 in the “Best Bluegrass Album” category for his album Could We Get Any Closer along with nominations for “Best Country Album” for George Strait’s Twang for which he cowrote two songs (including the title track). He was also included in “Best Contemporary Folk Album” for Secret, Profane, & Sugarcane

by The Sugarcanes, Elvis Costello’s band of which he’s a member. Lauderdale has previously won two “Best Bluegrass Album” Grammy’s: in 2002 for his Lost In the Lonesome Pines collaboration with Dr. Stanley and in 2008 for his album The Bluegrass Diaries . He has written songs for artists including the Dixie Chicks, Solomon Burke, and George Jones and has numerous hits with Patty Loveless, George Strait, Vince Gill, Lee Ann Womack, and others. As a musician, he has also recorded and toured with Lucinda Williams in addition to The Sugarcanes and last year hosted the 2009 Americana Music Awards in Nashville for the seventh consecutive year.

AW: For us Yankee's, is the Waffle House really that bad?

Look for Lauderdale on the road this year.

DW:Waffle House is our favorite place to eat. It’s fast, affordable and tasty. Plus, you never know what or who you might see at a Waffle House. You might even see Kid Rock trying to fight somebody! If you travel in the south and don't eat at a Waffle House, you are seriously missing out one of America's greatest gems!

For more information on JIM LAUDERDALE: http://jimlauderdale.com/ http://www.myspace.com/jimlauderdale http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jim-Lauderdale/32284955330

Written by: Aaron Williams

Info supplied from: TODD BRODGINSKI/MITCH SCHNEIDER/BARI LIEBERMAN

AW:Anyone in the band that you need to remind more then once that a shower is in desperate need?!

DW:We're so used to each other's best and worst smells by now from living in a van that it never really becomes an issue. Chances are if one person needs a shower, then we all do!

AW: There are a lot of great "indie" bands out right now. It's what the press is talking about, a more subdued, melon-collie sound. However you guy's in all senses of the word like to rock. I've noticed a very slow shift in what the kids are seeing and buying and I think the next "it" music is going to be good old fashion rock and roll. Have you noticed that as well and is there a purposeful direction in your music that sees that and sees rock and roll coming back?

DW: That's what we all hope for, right? I like to think the chances of rock n' roll making a huge comeback are pretty good. The kids seem to dig our music quite a bit. At some point, people will get sick of all the synths and beats and revert back to the raw rock sound. It happened in the 70's with disco and then in the 80's with whatever that stuff was.

AW: Do you have an after gig ritual? Do you need to wind down in any particular way?

I always find a bowl of Coco Pebbles helps me!

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11

A PET NOTE

my petite little neighbor kitty...

...meet

“PEPPER”

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ow for you folks that know us, you know that Andy and I have always had pets in our house, namely cats and dogs, and lots of them at that. Whenever we got a new kitty or puppy, we would always introduce them to our next door neighbors, Bart and Angie Morrick. As Bart and Angie’s family grew with the addition of three boys,Abraham, Noah and Isaac, we hinted that they needed a family pet. Trying to inspire them, we would ask them to come over and let our dogs out if we had to be gone for a length of time. I thought maybe this would be the inspiration they needed. On the other hand, our pets are not always the best behaved and it just may have scared them all together on that thought! Who knows?

Anyway last Fall when I was out at the clothesline, (this equates to the gathering at the water fountain at work. Many a great conversation has been held at this clothesline.) Angie asked me if I would like to meet the new addition to the family? Of course I would!!! Angie went into their house and came out with the tiniest, cutest little black fur ball I had ever seen. Once she got this black fur ball thing all straightened out I could see that it was a kitten. Thus I met my new neighbor,“Ms Pepper Morrick”. I was welcomed with a little purr and a little nudge of her head. I knew right then that we would be good friends.

I gave Ms Pepper’s mom, Angie a call the other night to get the scoop on how life was going for my new little friend and here is what she had to say: My name is Pepper, I am 8 months old and pretty darn cute, if I don’t say so myself. I think they called me that because I am all black with a few scattered speckles here and there. The name seems appropriate and it fits me just fine. So I guess I will keep it.

It all started out with me being a lonely little farm kitty who so wanted to be an indoor pet. Angie and Bart would come over to see her folks, (my first home in the country) and I would beg to go home with her and the kids. I tried everything I could imagine to get their attention so that they would want to take me home with them.

Well, one day it actually worked. They took me into town to their beautiful home in Belleville. I was so very excited. Kitty School began right away with me having to learn all the basics, use of the kitty box, no scratching furniture, no biting, you know, all that kind of basic training.

The Morricks have a huge house with lots of rooms for me to run and play and hide in. Those kids have the best toys too. One of my favorite toys is their Lego’s. I don’t really have a favorite color, but I am kind of partial to the heads and helmets. I can bat these all over the house and my favorite hiding spot is under the stove or refrigerator

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in the kitchen. About once a week Angie has to pull these appliances out to gather up my “mother lode” as the kids say they are running short of their “Lego’s”.

My other most favorite game in the world is to run upstairs ahead of everyone else and get the best hiding spot under the bed. Then when the time is right, I jump out and bite at their toes. I love to hear them squeal!!!!!

I am a good kitty though. I heard my mommy tell the lady interviewing me that I was good and I left the Christmas Tree decorations alone. When I’m good, I get lots of treats. Speaking of food, I have acquired one bad habit, only one though so far. I like the taste of “people food”. I can’t get on the kitchen counters but even though I’m petite, I can reach the dining room table and sometimes like to help myself to a little tidbit.

Mom and Dad have caught on, now when they are eating they shut all the doors to the dining room – I’ve been banned!!!!

Oh well, I find other things to do while they are eating. I love to chase marbles and I’m kind of fond of this bowling game the kids have. I’m actually getting pretty good. I bowled a 220 the other day! After all this playing,I like to lay down and take a little snooze. I especially like to lay in front of the windows where I can watch those Ziehli neighbor dogs running around in their yard. I’m pretty tough behind the glass.

I keep one eye open on those two Springers, Duncan and Wylie to make sure they stay put in their yard! I know they have their own Cat, Mulder, who kind of looks like me only in a ginormous size. I see them chase him around the yard sometimes, and I certainly wouldn’t want them to mistaken me for Mulder!!

I am getting real excited for my 1st birthday. I may even throw a neighborhood party and invite all my kitty friends to come over for a game of Lego’s,marbles and“cat bowling”. I’ll be sure to let the Ziehli’s know so that those Springer Spaniels won’t scare my guests!!!! I have to go now, it is way past my “cat nap” time.

Written by: Joyce Ziehli

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Aaron’s Amusing Anecdotes

Sean Michael Dargan, Pop Poet Laureate

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here is a lot that is expected of musicians these day’s.As the music world changes,almost over night we are expected to keep up with all the latest changes.

A musician’s work never ends, as a leader of a band much of this falls on your shoulders. From booking gigs, tour management, promotion of shows, newsletters, writing songs, rehearsing with the band, it all falls under your direction. It’s a lot of responsibility for anyone to undertake. But perhaps the most daunting expectation in this day in age is that of a musician becoming a performer or entertainer as well. It might seem like just a change in words to be called a musician, performer or entertainer. But it’s so much more then that, the real difference in those words can mean millions of dollars to the artist you’re referencing.

A musician is some one that can pick up a guitar, bass or play the drums with some kind of level of mastery. From town to town, from bar to bar, we see musicians playing across the world. Most of the time these musicians are dressed in blue jeans and t shirt, once off the stage you couldn’t tell a musician from a bar patron.There is no distinction when a musician isn’t on stage playing music.

As a performer or entertainer you are so much more then“just a musician”you’ve been given the highest honor bestowed on a musician by the recording industry$$$.You have a talent worth more than musicianship;you can command a crowd by more than playing your music or singing a song. It’s not what all musicians strive to be,but it’s what all record labels or industry big wigs want in their artists.

It’s that something that few have in this world,the ability to move a crowd by performing music.

A lot of talk has been given to Taylor Swift’s Grammy performance with Stevie Nicks. Say what you will, the bottom line is Taylor Swift doesn’t have the best vocals and didn’t sing all that well at the Grammy’s. She isn’t the best musician but she has something much more valuable then being a musician. She has it and it today places much less value on being a great musician but more on the audience’s willingness to buy into what the artist is selling and we all know how well Swift’s albums are doing today.The value is in the performance, not ones technical ability.

This is nothing new in the recording industry,all through time the greatest artists have always been great performers, look at Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and Prince. It’s the music and performance that moves people to want to buy and see these great artists year after year.

f Madison had a Poet Laureate for Pop music it would be Sean Michael Dargan. His ability to create memorable lines of prose that out shine other songwriters is unsurpassed. Dargan’s skill at creating hooks, both lyrically and musically, that stay with you only adds to his outstanding talent as a songwriter and guitarist. He has spent the last 20 plus years traveling the world, writing and playing music his way. To have sustained a career for that amount of time in the very fickle environment in which music resides is a statement to his talent and character. Dargan who now lives in Madison is a very exciting stage performer and one hell of a songwriter.

He may even be the best Pop song writer Madison has, and you can quote me on that!

Dargan was born in the Panama Canal Zone where his father was a government worker. He started playing the bagpipes at age seven. By the time he was 14 he was also playing the electric guitar. He went to college in Fredericksburg,Virginia in the D.C. area and stayed to make music there.

He played in the same circle of musicians as Bill Kirchen, Eric Brace, Jim Gray, Kelly Willis, and Scott McKnight. Dargan and his band ventured north as far as NewYork, Boston and Maine,as far South as the Carolinas. He stayed in the D.C.area for about 10 years and then moved to New York for a year.The West beckoned: Dallas and Austin were his next stops,followed finally by Los Angeles At this time Dargan took a part-time job as a bike ride coordinator and traveled the country coordinating AIDS Rides, including one in Wisconsin, where he met his wife.

Dargan was kind enough to help facilitate one of the Songwriter nights we put together with Beth Kille at the Fat Cat in New Glarus this year. He is a very funny guy with a great sense of humor and timing. An expert in pop music, his knowledge of song structure and lyrics is unsurpassed. Dargan joined me for a cup of coffee and some conversation on a rainy Thursday at the Fire Fly Coffee House in Oregon. His stories and recollections were entertaining and educational.

AG: So what started you playing?

Dargan: I have been playing bagpipes pretty much my whole life. I started them when I was about four years old, just goofing around on them. At age seven I took real lessons from a pro. I had been the mascot for my dad’s pipe band, and I started out by mimicking the pipe major. I really picked it up quickly because I was so immersed in that culture.

My sister is 11 years older than I, and she had this kick ass record collection which I was able to steal shamelessly from. After hearing the Beatles I knew I had to have a guitar, and now own over 20 of them. I started out playing rock covers by Rush and the Scorpions in High School; we were really loud and really bad! I didn’t start writing songs until college and they were predictably bad, as well, but I kept at it until I started getting better.

AG: Was the acoustic guitar your first guitar?

With today’s technology within the recording industry, artists no longer need to rely on their raw musical talent.Any lack in ability can be changed in the studio or corrected with auto tune and a slew of other insider recording techniques.The value is no longer on the artist’s ability to be a musician but rather the performance, is that good or bad…..it depends on where you sit in the musical merry go around.

Dargan: No it was the electric. I had to make noise! There was a period of time where I was playing the acoustic guitar a lot because I was playing 6 - 8 times a week and there were solo shows where it was just me and the guitar. I did this for about 10 years playing the entire East coast.

Today listeners could care less either way.They simply want to be entertained and be moved, whether it by a great musician or a great performer.The way music is brought to us keeps on changing at the speed of sound. No matter how music is delivered to us, it will always do the same thing- it makes us feel something.

Whether you’reTaylor Swift or Danny Gatton,music is there for us to enjoy.Music is our medicine for life.

Dargan: Funny you should ask me that. If you’ll listen to my CD “The Big Picture” it tells the story of how I got here in song and verse! I was coordinating AIDS Rides when I met my wife on the ride from theTwin Cities to Chicago. We only semi-connected at first, but there was enough of something to try to reach out. I was in Maine for an AIDS Vaccine Ride the weekend of September 8 th & 9th ; when on the eleventh all hell broke loose, I could not get a plane back to LA. So along with a bunch of friends from Chicago I drove a 15 passenger van all night to get them home. Once in Chicago I thought about Jennifer and drove to Madison to see her.

Written by: Aaron Williams w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

AG: How did you end up in Madison?

continued on page 29

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Priceless Gems... ...the story behind the song This is a new feature to the Americana Gazette. We have decided to choose a song and give you the history behind it. The songs we will cover here are true “hit” records that have stood the test of time.

Some you may have forgotten about, while others are on your favorite songs list. You can go to our website at americanagazette.net and here these songs for yourself.

T

he first song we are telling you about is a Del Reeves classic written by the great Jerry Chestnut, Dime at time. This is one of my all time favorite songs. It’s short and to the point, only two minutes and three seconds long. A fantastic up-temp Country drinken song it still rocks! Country songwriters today could learn a lot from guys like Jerry Chesnut about how to write a hit song in under 3 minutes!

Dime at a Time was recorded in 1967 and was first featured on the United Artist LP Bobby Goldsboro – Del Reeves Our Way of Life. This Album was released in stereo and high fidelity (terms our younger readers probably are not familiar with). The song is about a lonely guy who puts all his money in a jukebox to hear one song over and over again. Chesnut said the inspiration was “just trying to write a hit song, and make some money!”

I talked to Jerry Chestnut about this song and the recording session, and here is what he had to say: Dime at a Time was the first big hit I ever had. I had been working with Del Reeves and he decided to cut this song for a new album he was recording. He cut another one of my songs for this record too Take a Little Goodwill Home. I wrote the song at three in the morning in my writing room out at my farm. I did most of my writing there and at that time a day. The song stayed on the charts for five and half months.

The session was produced by Bob Montgomery and was recorded in RCA Studio B, which was the king of studios in Nashville. Hundreds of #1 and top 10 hits were recorded there. (It is now owned by the Mike Curb School of Music and used as a teaching studio.You can take a tour of the studio when you visit the Country Music Hall of Fame.) After the session was complete all of us involved in the session stayed there for hours listening to the play back because it sounded so good. We were so proud of this record.

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Dime at a time

by Jerry Chesnut Passkey Music (Used by permission) My whole life's saving's a two dollar bill That's why I'm here tonight I've got the time to kill And I can tell my story about twenty times With two dollars in the jukebox one dime at a time Two dollars in the jukebox a dime at a time Play the same old song about a love gone wrong till closing time Two dollars oughta do me if you'll buy the wine And I'll put in the jukebox one dime at a time [ guitar ] Pardon me mister mind if I sit down A misery loves company and I believe I've found Somebody just as lonely but don't believe I'm wrong If you had a place to go to youd've done been gone Two dollars in the jukebox a dime at a time...

And I'll put in the jukebox one dime at a time

I asked Chesnut who played on the session and he told me that: • Fred Carter Jr.played lead guitar. Carter played with Ronnie Hawkins,taught Robbie Robinson a few licks, and is the father of Deana Carter.

• Lloyd Green played steel guitar. Green is no stranger to the readers of the Americana Gazette. He has played with everyone and currently does some recording and plays a few shows with Peter Cooper.

• Willie Acherman played drums. Acherman was part of the famous A-team of Nashville studio musicians. He played with just about everyone. He was also the house drummer on Hee Haw during its entire run on TV. Sadly he passed away a couple of years ago.

• Bass was Roy Husky known as Jr. Jr. was the first called Bassman in Nashville in the 1960’s.

He played on countless recordings and with country and bluegrass greats. Husky passed away at an early age.

• Rhythm guitar was Kelso Herston. Herston is a will known record producer and guitar picker. He produced Bobby Gentry’s Ode to Billy Jo, was the music director for Hee Haw, and also produced George Jones, Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, and Sonny James.

• Piano was played by Larry Butler. Butler was a young session musician who would later become a top record producer, most notably with Alabama.

Dime at a time has gotten a second life as it was recut two years ago by Bluegrass greats the Steep Canyon Rangers. Ernest Tub and Norma Jean also recorded the song in the late 60’s.

Chesnut went on to write countless other hits including A good year for the roses (George Jones),TROUBLE (Elvis and Travis Tritt),Another Place ,Another Time (Jerry Lee Lewis) Four in the Morning (Faron young), Oney ( Johnny Cash), and Goodtime Charley’s (Del Reeves, George Strait). Chesnut has been inducted into the Nashville Songwriters and the International Hall of Fames. He still continues to write and he told me he has“a bunch of great songs to be recorded.” You can check out Chesnut’s work and life at Jerry Chesnut Music at jerrychesnut.net. You can find Dime at a Time on Del Reeves His Greatest Hits, and Del Reeves – His Greatest Hits and More. I’ll be honest with you, these CD’s are very pricey if you can find them. On-line stores sell them for over $100.00. Check out some of the on-line like itunes. If you can’t find it there call your local Country Station and request it on Sunday mornings. It’s a great song and you better check it out!

By:Andy Ziehli w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

CD Review

Scott Lindsey ♪♪♪♪ Set’ em up, Shoot’ em down Records Style: Country

Scott Lindsey is a new Country singer, not a New Country singer but an honest to God Country singer like George Strait,Alan Jackson, Merle Haggard - you get the picture. Not a pretty boy model made up to look or sound like some of the trash on modern Country radio today! He’s got a great baritone voice like Waylon Jennings only with a little twang! The kind of voice that is truly perfect for honky-tonk cry in your beer and pedal to the metal party songs, this CD is full of. Some are a little more modern than the above mentioned real Country singers, but Lindsey puts his own stamp on them and that’s okay. Even an old die hard Country guy like me needs to come into this century.

Lindsey starts of the CD with a fantastic rousing tune You only call me (when you’re drunk). Great writing, picking, and production!!! Lindsey wrote or co-wrote all the songs on this CD except Teardrops which was written by Terry Lindsey. Most of the songs have heavy guitar like ala Jason Laden which is okay. I like it a little twanger but that’s just me. The title track is a driving country song which will make you want to get up and stomp your feet. Backwoods and Tattoos are really geared to the younger Country fans of today. A bonfire, half barrel and a half gallon of Mr. Beam and you’re ready to go!!!

Lindsey can sing a ballad just as well as the next guy and this CD has some great ones. Miss Lead me on, Man for the Job, and In my dreams are my favorite ballads on the CD and are well written, beautiful and very touching songs. You can shut your eyes and see the words turn into a movie.

This is an excellent CD filled with songs that everyone young or old can appreciate. A CD like this belongs in every pickup truck owned by everyone under thirty and half the trucks of us “old” guys. The music will draw you in and make you think you’re still sowing your wild oats. Heck I even got out my Les Paul and fired up my tube screamer just to play along! This CD rocks in a good ole Country Way!!!

Reviewed by: Andy Ziehli

Vampire Weekend ♪♪♪♪ Contra Style: Indie Rock Ivy League Afro-poppers live up to the hype on sophomore effort.

Vampire Weekend has been one of the most exciting and inevitably, polarizing bands to emerge in recent memory.Their exuberant worldly rhythms and eccentric songwriting give them a strikingly original yet impossibly catchy sound.The four Columbia graduates were generating buzz in the indie music world a full six months before they released their self-titled debut, which garnered critical acclaim and many comparisons to Paul Simon’s “Graceland”.They also drew plenty of criticism, although most of it had little to do with the music.

Despite all the speculation and anticipation Contra manages to surprise at times, while still cranking out enough peppy indie-pop to satisfy the casual listener.There are plenty of new influences, yet most of the songs are recognizable as Vampire Weekend’s even before you hear the uniquely magnetic voice of lead singer Ezra Koenig.The first track“Horchata”, is reminiscent of their first album with thumping drums, a prominently featured xylophone, and Koenig rhyming“horchata”with“balaclava”and“aranciata”.Although this is a somewhat pedestrian track by this album’s standards, it does serve as a kind of bridge between the more formulaic first album and the eccentricities of Contra.The album then charges jauntily on until “Taxi Cab”. Featuring a breezy piano it sounds relatively subdued despite the orchestral backing. One of the prevalent themes on this album is social status and despite their Ivy League background,Vampire Weekend frequently uses their position to poke fun at the upper-class from within, and this song is no different.We see Koenig coming to terms with the superficiality of that world when he sings “In the shadow of your first attack, I was questioning and looking back, you said baby we don’t speak of that, like a real aristocrat”.The pace then picks right back up with “Run”, an upbeat song with brief moments of pure bliss.This is followed by the two most singleworthy songs, the fast-paced, orchestral-punk nugget “Cousins”, and “Giving Up The Gun”, which finds Koenig struggling with the loss of innocence.The album’s penultimate track “Diplomat’s Son” is the perfect song to sum up Contra. Its tempo and influences are all over the place, but in a good way. It’s just as incessantly catchy as the rest of the album.

Joe Lowery

Steve Schad ♪♪♪♪ Acoustic Style: Singer songwriter/Americana/Blues Steve Schad has been around for a few years playing local clubs and bars bringing his musical creations to the masses. His latest CD was recorded at Rocket 88 studios in Middleton WI. It is a CD filled with well written songs, great guitar playing, and decent vocals.

Schad knows his strengths and weaknesses and uses the strengths (his guitar playing and songwriting) to bring forward a wonderful listening experience for his fans. His voice, though not bad has a sameness to it that tires your ears.A key change or two would have been cool and different. This CD is a well written put together CD. The instrumental songs shine especially Royal Iris, Matador,Wrestling Granny in the Straw, and Freight Yard in the Bayou.

If there is a fault to this CD it is in the recording of it. The guitars are a little too boomy, and there seems to be a lack of EQ used. Don’t blame Schad for this. I like this CD and if you are looking for something to listen to on the back porch with a cold one in your hand this is a fantastic CD for that. Schad should be proud of his work here; it’s just too bad the engineer had ear muffs on instead of headphones.

Reviewed by:Andy Ziehli continued on page 19

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Gerry Grothues

Wild Heart

3 for 1 Celia Wild Heart is a five piece top 40 country band from Madison ,Wisconsin .The band has been together for 15 years playing club dates and festivals all over Wisconsin.

Though the lineup has changed many time over this period, two things have remained constant; Preacher and quality country music. They have astounding lead vocals, and intricate 3 and 4 part harmonies like those prevalent in today’s hottest country hits.That’s what you can expect to hear at a Wild Heart show.

Growing up in Madison,Wisconsin Gerry Grothues did not take a direct path to country music. He wrote rock songs. As he got older and his musical status changed he had become a huge fan of country music and artists like Garth Brooks,Vince Gill,RandyTravis,and Alan Jackson. It did not take long before he was writing country songs.

Celia is a singer, songwriter, actress, and storyteller.

She is an amazing multi-faceted artist. From powerful, heart-felt vocals to wacky comedic improvisations, you honestly never know what will happen when you go to see her perform.

Born in Hartland,WI and raised in Big Bend she knew from an early age that she wanted to be on the stage.

She got bit by the performance bug when she starred in the Kindergarten Christmas show as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. From then on Celia was in every show she could find from the Girl Scout Play, to The Grade School, to Community Theatre. She chose a BFA in Theatre Performance from the University of Michigan and then headed to NYC to try her luck on the big stage. She didn’t begin her singer/songwriter career until after she left New York.

Celia has opened for notable authors: Neale Donald Walsch, Marianne Williamson, Dr. Masaru Emoto, and Sonia Choquette, provided live music for the Off-Broadway production of “Rum and Vodka”, received a “Best Storytelling CD” nomination for “Irish Tales” by the International Just Plain Folks Awards (The Grassroots of Grammies). Her “Symbol” song as been named the “Anthem for the Veteran Pentacle Quest” in support of Religious tolerance and acceptance.

Celia is currently on tour with her 5th album; “Red, Alabaster and Blue”. Other releases include “Fire in the Head”,“Irish Tales”,“Breathe”, and “Live at the Rock N Soul Café”. No matter how many times you think you’ve seen Celia, you can never predict what she will do and how deeply she can reach into the soul of an audience.

Grothues recorded his first album in 2000. He then put a band together that received a lot of attention. Before long he was opening for major country artists such as Kenny Rogers, Gary Allan, and Andy Griggs. He released a single in 2002 that charted for four weeks in the U.S and several other countries.In 2005,he and his band "Whiskey Station" won the Wisconsin Colgate Country Showdown championship. Grothues also released a second album shortly after this. He began to feel that he was much more passionate about writing songs than performing them. That’s when he decided to focus on songwriting. Grothues started the process of looking for artists to record his songs. He quickly found out that writing for other artists is much different than writing for yourself. He realized he had a lot to learn the skill and trade of songwriting.

Grothues was referred to the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) by another songwriter.

After meeting with some of its members Grothues joined the NSAI and could tell immediately that he had become part of something special. He began making monthly trips to Nashville to absorb everything he could about writing for the commercial country market.Wanting to give other songwriters in and around his community a chance to experience what he had, Grothues started the Madison NSAI Chapter in 2007.

As far as longevity of local bands go Country Music powerhouse Wild Heart is becoming a legend. They have won three Q-106 Country Pick offs 1994, 1998, 2004, taken second and fourth at the Hodag Festival and opened for a number of who’s who in Country Music today including Hal Ketchum, Sawyer Brown, Nickel Creek,Sammy Kershaw,Chely Wright,Molly and the Haymakers, Belamy Brothers,Aaron Tippen, Daryl Singeltary, David Lee Murphy, and I can’t remember the others.

First let’s introduce the band to our readers.

• Tom “Preacher Man”: guitar, mandolin, vocals and the only original member • TC: lead vocals mandolin • Tracy Jane Comer: fiddle, keys, and vocals • Jeffrey Root: 6 string bass • Mark “Siggy” Sigwald: drums The newest member is Tracy Jane Comer.Tracy has received many international song writing awards as well as instrumentalist of the year in the 2008 Madison Area Music Awards,plus nominations for best Folk/Americana artist of the year 2007, best acoustic artist 2004 and 2005, best acoustic album 2004 and 2005 and a notable spot in Guitar Player magazine June 2009.

Written by: Andy Ziehli

He continues to be a chapter coordinator along with Beth Kille. He has found it very rewarding to bring a piece of Nashville to his hometown.His co-written song, "Too Close To Sunday Mornings" has been selected as a finalist in the 2010 NSAI Song Contest, presented by CMT. Grothues and Kille have performed at the Blue Bird Café in Nashville this year.

Written by: Andy Ziehli

If you are a fan of Paul Brady,The Coors, or Van Morrison you’ll love Celia.

Written by: Andy Ziehli

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My Life with Ma Bell or, “Number Please!”

L

ittle did Alexander Graham Bell know when he invented the telephone in 1876 what a phenomenon it would turn out to be.The telephone, as we know it, has undergone many variations and improvements since that time. Look at all the things the cell phone can do.

It was not so many years ago that it took a real person to connect you with the person you wanted to converse with.These people were known as “telephone operators” and I was once one of them. I came by the career quite by accident. I was a junior in high school and really wanted a job to earn some spending money.This was hard to do living in a small town,population around 625 people.There was an opening at the local telephone company and a friend mentioned my name to the supervisor.There was a very short interview and I got the job.

Being a telephone operator in a small town was not an easy thing.There was a lot to learn.It involved more than having a pleasant voice and saying“Number Please”.You had to learn to operate the switchboard where all the calls originated and ended.You had to know how to record a long distance call on a charging sheet so that the right party would be charged for the call. One of the hardest things was learning how to collect the coins when someone called from one of the local pay phones.You had to make sure they deposited the correct coin before you connected them to the party they were calling. You had control over all this by holding two cords and plugging them into the right holes on the switchboard.

Long before 9-1-1 was the norm for emergency calls the telephone operator was the one who relayed these messages.To illustrate this in our town when there was a fire, the first person reporting this to the fire department was the telephone operator.

Since we had a volunteer fire department the only way to alert the fire department was by pushing the button (at the telephone office) that sounded the siren.Three long blasts and the whole town knew.Firemen sped to the fire house and immediately called the telephone operator who relayed the message.At the same time everyone else who had heard the alarm called the telephone operator too to discover where the fire was.

It made for a chaotic time. w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

One year at Christmas time when I was working someone placed a call. As I answered“number please”a youthful voice spoke to me and said.“I want to talk to Santa Claus.” I had to think fast so I asked him what his name was and how old he was. He said his name was Jimmy and that he was seven years old and he wanted to talk to Santa at the North Pole. I told him Santa was busy now and disconnected his number.

It wasn’t long after this that he again called and said he wanted to talk to Santa.At this time of day the telephone repair man for the area was in the office checking his calls and orders. I told him I had someone on the line who wanted to talk to Santa Claus.

He took the call and said he was the man the little boy wanted to talk to. He said he was at the North Pole.When the little boy heard this he gave the repair man his Christmas list, wished Santa a merry Christmas and said goodbye.

I stayed at that job as a telephone operator until I graduated.The pay was minimal.

Thirty five cents an hour while I was learning, fifty cents when I could take the phone lines on my own. I worked four days a week after school,Saturday mornings, and every other Sunday, three hours at a time. Not big money but, it was a part time job.

In 1958 our town went dial and that was the end of the telephone operator as we knew it .It was the end of an era that had been part of our village since 1901. Soon no one will remember the days when you actually heard a human voice on the telephone line as you asked for information or help. The days of“number please”are a part of history.

Written by: Rosemary Ziehli

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Heaven Must Have Needed a Couple More Musicians…

DOUG WILSON: Goodbye Doug: In the early morning hours of February 8, 2010 we lost a brother and friend in our musical family. Doug Wilson or ‘Dougie” as he was known was the leader and lead/steel guitar player of the Open Sights Band. Doug and I started Open Sights in 1981. It was a rockin country outfit from the beginning. Many a club and tavern over the last 29 years was filled to capacity to hear Open Sights.

Doug looked like Charles Bronson, except he always had a smile. I first met Doug in 1978 through John Rury. Rury (Ru) worked with Doug at the Belleville Body Shop.

I had just made a Bass Guitar and needed it painted. Doug took on the task. We became fast friends and started playing together in Sundance with John Fahey. Doug and John soon became best friends and had many “adventures” over the last 30 plus years.

Even through personal changes Doug kept Open Sights going. A true testament to his personality and character.

Doug could be very bull headed. Many a time we butted heads over music and the direction of the band. I was just as bull headed. After some fierce discussions we usually went out for a “beer or two” and got everything settled up with no hard feelings on either side. Doug could also be the most generous person in the world. He was always there to help his friends, from fixing and painting motorcycles, building houses and additions for them, giving them a ride, doing mechanical work on their vehicles, to just being a good listener when his friends needed one.

What I will miss the most with Doug being gone is that little chuckle he had. That sly “cat got the bird” smile and chuckle would always brighten the day. I never heard him laugh loudly but he could chuckle for hours. Doug was a good friend and I will miss him. We were not as close as we once were, because time and life moves us all along, but I knew that every time I would run into him I would see that smile, hear that chuckle, and get the Doug Wilson pat on the back.

EDGAR HODGES: Warner E.Hodges,incredibly awesome lead guitar player in“Jason and the Scorchers” and“Dan Baird and Homemade Sin”,and my dear friend,lost his father,Edgar W.Hodges on February 23rd in Nashville,Tennessee. I never had the opportunity to meet his father in person, but Warner and Deb spoke of him often when we got together. Even through our emails, I would always ask Warner or Deb how his folks were doing.

Edgar and his wife, Blanche were a part of musical history. It is truly a blessing that this talent was passed onto their son,Warner. I met Warner a couple of years ago at the Station Inn in Nashville. Warner is the best guitar player I have ever seen. If any of you saw him perform last summer in our own little town of Orfordville with“Dan Baird and Homemade Sin”, you would know what I am talking about. Anyway I know Edgar will be deeply missed by his family and friends. Just think though, he is probably jamming out up there in heaven with his musical buddies.

In honor of my friend Warner, and in memory of his Dad Edgar W. Hodges I have included some information from his obituary: Hodges, Edgar Wadsworth— 80, Born February 23, 1930, in LaGrange, NC, to Eva Mae and Enoch Hodges. Edgar passed peacefully at home February 16, 2010, attended by his devoted wife of 53 years Sarah Blanche Hodges. He is survived by his son Warner E. Hodges (Deborah and their children Brock, Chauncey and Emelia) and granddaughter Molly Sara Price, his siblings Sally (Rudolph) Cashwell, John Hodges and Lora Ware, sister-in-law Rachel Johnson and brother-in-law Jerry(Elizabeth) Sweatt, numerous nieces and nephews, and many, many adored friends. He was preceded in passing by sons Gerald Dwayne Price and Glen Alan Hodges.

God must have needed him more than he thought we did. I’m sure heaven is a livelier place with Doug there. Johnny Cash and Doug are probably sharing the stage and singing Doug’s signature song ‘Ghost Riders in the Sky”.

During his military career he and wife Blanche formed a band“Swingin Strings”winning a contract to tour military bases for Special Services entertaining the troops as opening act for such well known's as Johnny Cash, Archy Campbell, Lefty Frizzell, Bobby Bare, Faron Young, and Porter Wagoner. After retiring from the Army as Chief Warrant Officer 2 in October 1973, Ed and his family settled in Nashville to carry on their love of playing country music and began teaching at NADC. Ed retired from NADC, Education Coordinator, in 2000 to indulge in his love of gardening and music.

Adios my brother. I will miss you. It was a pleasure to share the stage with you all those years. All of us musicians are better for knowing and jamming with you. Keep the beer cold and the stage lights hot until we all play together again.

Ed was whole heartedly devoted to his family, home, work and music. Ed was exceedingly supportive and influential of his son Warner’s music career, notably “Jason and the Scorchers”.

Story by: Joyce Ziehli

Written by:Andy Ziehli

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cd review... continued from page 15

608-558-8131 Bobby Messano ♪♪♪♪♪ Live in Madison Style: Blues/Rock Bobby Messano is a journeyman musician. He has been around the block and lived to talk about it. Messano has played guitar with and for Steve Winwood, Lou Gramm, Clarence Clemmons, Peter Kriss, Benny Mardones, Joe Lynn Turner, and Fiona. He grew up listening to Clapton and Duane Allman. He has studied the masters well. What sets Messano apart from the other Strat wielding Blues rock guys are his passion, technique, and singing voice. The man can really sing!

This CD was recorded in Madison, WI at last years Bam Fest. Engineer and producer Jack Le Tourneau and Geoff Wilborn have done a fantastic job capturing Messano in his true element, live on stage. This is not a contrived live album with canned applause, this is the real deal. Edgy, gritty, sweaty, and loud! LeTourneau’s ability to capture this event as both a live concert and documentary of Bam Fest should be applauded. Wilborn's keen ear and laid back production style is evident in this fine recording.

Stellar cuts include the opening Ramblin on my mind, Sea of hope, In the depths of love, Crossroads,The way things used to be, an unbelievable rendition of Little Wing, and the show ender Get up and Dance to the Blues. My personal favorite is Messano's version of Can’t find my way home by Blind Faith. It is tender yet aweinspiring.

Messano deserves much more attention form the legion of blues fans that live and go to clubs in the Midwest. He is a true talent that needs to be a headliner.

This CD should help to break him out! LeTourneau and Wilborn deserve as much credit for capturing and producing one of the best live albums I have heard since REO Live and Get your Ya Ya’s Out from the 1970’s.

Recording quality live albums is a lost art. Hopefully Live in Madison will awaken engineers and record companies to the fact that this art form needs to be revived.

Reviewed by:Andy Ziehli

Jason & The Scorchers ♪♪♪♪♪ Halcyon Courageous Chicken & Nash Vegas Flash Music Style: Rock/Americana They’re back!!! Back with a bang!!! This CD rocks and rolls till the cows come home!!! I loved Jason &The Scorchers back in the day. They had the rawest sound this side of New York. They were the biggest and the best of the Punk Country bands back in the 80’s, and they have not lost a thing. This is not a rehashing of old style and material. This is a new ground with a solid foundation beneath it! A little older a little more seasoned Jason Ringenberg and Warner Hodges tear up this record with quality written songs that sound fresh in any era.

This time around two new Scorchers take the stage with Pontus Snibb on drums and Al Collins on bass. Dan Baird helps out playing guitar a couple of tracks and alumnus Perry Baggs helps out on background vocals.

This time around Ringenberg wrote songs with Tommy Womack which gives the Scorchers a different feel than their earlier work. Hodges co-wrote a lot of the material on this CD with Ringenberg and Womack along with a few songs with Baird.

The CD kicks off with Moonshine Guy/Releasing Celtic Prisoners a rollicking set of tunes with a Celtic flavor played ala Drop Kick Murphy’s with harmony guitars. There are 14 songs on this CD,all of which are truly fantastic. The biggest change that I see are the acoustic based songs which were absent on earlier CD’s. This is where the new Scorchers really shine. Beat the Mountain is a wonderful song about a modern day Coal Miner.

It is well written and takes you into this miner’s daily existence with vivid mental pictures of his hard life.

Mother of Greed is another finely written song that tells a fantastic story. We’ve got it goin on is a good-time party song that will surely be picked up by the youngsters of today. Fear not me is a cool tune with classic Scorchers sound and style.

If you think age has slowed down these boys all you have to do is take a listen to Getting Nowhere Fast and you’ll hear that that is an impossibility. Warner Hodges is one of the top five guitar players in Nashville. A true wizard of the six strings. He still spins and fires off the fastest licks you’ll ever hear! Ringenberg has not lost anything in his voice, in fact it is stronger and clearer than it ever was.

There is not a bad song on this CD!!! It is well recorded and Hodges and Brad Jones’s production is as perfect as you can get. The writing more mature and balanced than previous Scorchers work is a treat to listen to. It is a perfect CD. Songs Like Deep Holy Water and Days of Wine and Roses will surely end up on rocking bar bands song lists.

Do not hesitate to go out and find, buy, and love this CD. For those of us who grew up driving around drinking and smoking to Jason & the Scorchers, the wait has been worth it with Halcyon Times. For the next generation of Jason & the Scorchers fans this is a great start!

Reviewed by:Andy Ziehli

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Musicians Garage Sale!

Hey all of us musicians have way too much equipment, most we never even use. So on Saturday May 1, 2010 at 313 East Church Street in Belleville, WI there will be the opportunity to clean out your practice room and sell that gear you are not using. From 9:00 a.m until 1:00 p.m. a Musicians Garage Sale will take place.

Bring that gear you are trying to get rid of and sell or swap it for something different. You pick the price you need to receive for your gear and we’ll try to sell it for you. The cost to you is 10% of the sale price if the item is sold, which will be donated to the Green county Food Pantry.

• Guitars • Basses • Portable keyboards • PA Equipment • Amps • Mics • Horns • Drums • Banjo’s • Mandolins • Fiddles • Etc. This is a great opportunity to pickup some cash, clean up your room, and help the Green County Food Pantry with a donation. Please call 608558-8131 or email me at aziehli@advisorymgt.com to receive a sign in form with what you are trying to sell, and the price you want for it. We will post a list of all the items for sale on our website starting April 14, 2010. Please have all your information to us by April 26, 2010.

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Gordon: Oh yea!

AG: So how is this album going to compare to your other albums? Is there a big departure from your previous writing and playing style?

Gordon: Well it’s different in a number of ways. The songs are more complex. The bridge to my song“Black Dog”has more chords in it that any of my other songs. Which doesn’t necessarily make it a better song than the others it’s just a different song. Just follow where your ear takes you. Every record is a journey and discovery.

Kevin Gordon, East Nashville Troubadour

Recording wise we did it differently. We didn’t record it with everybody playing all at once like in the past. Just to see how things would go. For the songs we recorded it just made since to do it this way. The songs are more complex musically. It is a more layered record. It’s not aToto record though! There are two drummers on every track. Sometimes we just used one of the two tracks, but those guys were playing simultaneously when we recorded. Paul Griffith and Scott Martin were the drummers. They are completely different players. But the combination of the two made since. Paul’s style is more laid back and Scott’s is more progressive. The combination was killer. I’m very excited about it. It’s completely different than anything I have done in the past.

AG: Where did you record the record?

Gordon: Well we recorded at Joe McMahan’s studio and at House of David. We are mixing it back at Joe’s place. So we’re almost there!

AG: Did you play all the guitars on it?

Gordon: I played guitar on every track. Joe played a lot of the guitar parts. He is sitting there like a painter adding color to the tracks. He was working on it while I was on the road the last couple of months. He’s been sculpting the tracks into shape. It’s pretty great! He’s a fine player, engineer, and producer, and I trust him implicitly. It’s been really cool to hear a track then go on the road and come back and re-listen to it with all that’s been added and changed on it.

K

evin Gordon is music’s William Faulkner. A true son of the south,he recounts the stories of its resident characters. He paints its images in words so we can look into the world of Southern Roots America. His deep rooted love of the lyrical landscape that only growing up in the South could provide explodes onto his lead sheets just like Faulkner’s words flowed onto the pages he created telling his vision of the old South.

Kevin Gordon was born in Shreveport,Louisiana,and grew up in Monroe,a town of 53,000 along the I-20 corridor.He still has family around there, in Jackson and Crowville. He went to Grad School in Iowa and then ended up in Nashville in the early 90’s. His songs have been recorded by Levon Helms,Keith Richards,Scott Moore,Billy BobThornton,Ronnie Hawkins, Peter Cooper, Eric Brace, and countless others. Lucinda Williams sang backup on his song “Down to the Well” for him. His music has been described as bluesy,indie rock,and Americana. I just call it good!

There are many musicians who wish they could“make it”in the big time. They dream of limo’s huge concert halls,and wealth. Then there is what we like to call in the music business Journeyman musicians. Those that work extremely hard at their craft,have loyal followings,and play because they were born to. Those Journeyman musicians are the bread and butter of what keeps the music industry going. Their chops are fine tuned,they bring home the bacon for club owners, and they make music because they want to. Kevin Gordon is one of those Journeyman musicians;in fact I would say that he is the consummate Journeyman musician. It doesn’t matter if he’s playing one of his fantastic songs or acting as a sideman to help his friends out,Kevin Gordon gives 110 percent!

Kevin Gordon is a great performer who pulls every note from his guitar when he plays. His soulful playing style is reminiscent of guitar greats like Robbie Robertson,Duane Allman,andTony Jo White. Each note is well spent. His vocals are just as soulful. I have had the opportunity to see Kevin perform and it is awe inspiring. We got together and talked about his music career and records on a warm spring day.

AG:I can’t wait to hear it!

Gordon: Yea it’s pretty cool. I’m really proud of it! Joe and I have been so far inside of it for 18 months we can’t wait to get others opinions on it.

AG: You’re getting almost egoistic with taking so long to record this record.

Gordon: Oh yea! It has not been 18 months of steady recording. The 18 months has more to do with our respective schedules than an insanely anal work ethic!

AG: So how do you write? Do you co-write a lot? Is it lyrics first then music?

Gordon: Well for this record I found myself wanting to work by myself more. In the past I have worked with Gwil Owen and Colin Linden who are both great friends and writing partners. I have never done the Nashville writing thing where you actively seek out writing partners that will improve your career quickly. The folks down at the bank would probably say that I need to be doing more of that though!

AG: Bankers don’t get musicians.

AG: Kevin how are you doing?

Gordon: Very well. It’s getting warmer and sunnier here in Nashville. I’ve been busy trying to get my record finished and we are just about there. Everything is mixed except one song,and all that’s left is to sing the final vocals. Yesterday I completely tore the song down and recreated it with my pal Gwil Owens and we rewrote the lyrics. We’ll recut it today and then send it off to be mastered.

AG: So that proves that a song is not finished until the final tape is run.

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Gordon: That’s right! (we both laugh loudly) There are some co-writes on this record with Gwil. I think there are going to be three, which is down from around six on the past records. I just needed to get at some things this time.

I have the tendency to write very slowly. I have been known to take five years to finish a song (laughs). I usually start with a melody. It is usually tied to a lyric idea. I sit down with a guitar and start playing along with an idea that w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

Sometimes I get ideas from what I’m reading. Most times it’s about people I knew. I write about characters I have known.

Lately I’ve been writing about more personal stuff. I guess I’d like to write faster! Since it apparently takes me five years to make a record!

AG: Well you can’t rush fine wine, and music’s kind of the same.

Gordon: I think it kind of hurts my career wise not getting more records out to the public. A lot of people are more visible because they are releasing a record every 12 – 18 months which certainly does not hurt. It’s my goal to try to get more music out there quicker without compromising quality.

AG: So when you started playing back in Louisiana did you think you would be a professional musician?

Gordon: I knew ever since I was a little kid that I had a deep connection to Southern Roots Music. The further in I got the deeper that connection seem to get. It’s that thing that very artistic people talk about. I did not choose music.

Music chose me. I would create music regardless if I had a reason to or not. It just seems to be part of who I am and what I do. It has always felt like the most meaningful thing for me except of course family and kids.

AG: Were your parents supportive of your choice to be a musician?

Gordon: They were supportive. They were great in the way that they did not say much. They were not negative about this choice. My folks split when I was about 14. My Mom was always more vocally supportive in this choice. Everyone always said do what ever you want to,but get your education first. That was very last thing my Great Grandfather said to me before he died. I didn’t get it at first but I sure did later. I think at this point everyone’s supportive. I guess they have given up. They have figured out that I’m not going to be a professional hockey player,attorney,or plumber!

AG: Isn’t it funny how parents always hope that you will get a real job instead of being in the music business?

Gordon: It’s been hard for me to explain certain parts of the music business to family. They wonder why I’m not on David Letterman. Well I’m all for it and I’m working towards it but it just has not happened yet.

AG: I like the term Southern Roots music to explain your songs. I see them as 3-4 Faulkner stories. I’ve always thought that about your work.

Gordon: Wow thanks!

AG: One of my favorite songs of yours is Deuce and a Quarter. How did that come along?

Gordon:Well I started that song in January of 96. It was back when we had curb side recycling in Nashville. I had taken out my recyclables and left them on the curve. A homeless fellow was walking down the street and saw that there was a little wine left in the bottom of one of the bottles and he proceeded to drain it away. I was sitting at the table writing and the idea came to me to write a song about making do with what you got. It’s not a direct or obvious connection, but it was more about what East Nashville was like back then before it became trendy to live here.

A lot of guys don’t have a lot of money but they take pride in tricking out their cars to make a statement about themselves. I never thought anyone would ever record it but me.

Levon Helms and Keith Richards both cut the song. I guess they saw the connection to themselves somehow. That was a song that was less about art and more about the groove. I

Robert’s Ramblings

I have. Sometimes it can be like a crossword puzzle. I can hear the exact number of syllables I need for a line and end up driving myself crazy trying to come up with the perfect line.

O

scar time has come and gone. How do you handle the Oscar hype?

I grumble about it each year---how political it has become---how long the show runs---the long acceptance speeches---the awards no one cares about except the person that wins---the overlooked performances---how often it seems what you found to be best acting job or best movie is simply overlooked, etc. But then comes Oscar night and I set the show to be recorded, and then for the next few nights I fast forward through the show and watch the parts that seem to reach my tastes. I used to sit up for the whole show, and then I would grumble to myself for a whole week on what a stupid thing that was. This was the year it was decided to nominate ten best pictures instead of the traditional five. I had a difficult time considering five of them worthy the nomination.

I have some impressions from this year’s show: I liked the two hosts Martin and Baldwin. I thought they worked well together, and they fed off each other like a good comedy team. I was glad UP won, for it was a fun movie to watch. I saw a few of the nominated movies and performances, but I can think of some people left out in the nominations. For example the man and woman playing the parents of the Elliot Tiber in TAKING WOODSTOCK were as good as anyone in the supporting acting category. I even looked up their names, for I want some recognition for them: Imelda Stauton and Eugene Levy. The TV ratings were up this year in comparison to other years. I think we can thank AVATAR for that. More people went to see that movie than any other movie perhaps more than any in history even. I think a lot of people tuned in because they had so enjoyed AVATAR. ThreeD is going to be the new trend in movies. It may even save the business for a time at least.

I will leave the fashion comments to others. Whenever I see a spread out of the best and worst dressed women attending such events as the Oscars, I find myself thinking the worst dressed looked better to me than the best dressed. So obviously I can not comment on what was worn to the Oscar’s bash this year.

And the Olympics have come and gone again. If you can hang on through all the commercials the Winter Olympics are fun to watch and even exciting some times. This is another event with far too much hype. But we Americans had a lot to cheer for and support in this past Olympics, but no Winter Olympics will ever be as much fun for me as the year of Eric Heiden and his five wins all on outdoor rinks, and that same year (1980) was US Hockey team’s unexpected Gold Medal. That is still my favorite Olympics.

Since the last issue of the AMERICANA GAZETTE we were in Florida for ten days. Like so many others the weather was the big disappointment this time around. I have gone for three straight years, and the first two we had day after day of wonderful summer weather. We could spend the entire day on the beach in shorts and tee shirts. This year it was sweat pants and long sleeves and jackets whenever the sun was gone. It was quite windy and often cloudy. We had three great days with 70 degrees, but the other days were cool, cloudy, and windy. But we still had a good time.

Our friends that invited us along for these three years have been going there longer, and they fell in love with the South Beach area of Miami. You don’t need a car, for you can easily walk to your destinations. You take a taxi to and from the airport. Each morning it is a special treat to walk to breakfast. Each restaurant has people out front offering you specials and waving menus in your face and literally arm twisting you to have breakfast with them. This year we found several in a row that had $5.99 specials including coffee. In the evening we walk to one of three nearby areas where there are blocks and blocks of restaurants of every type. Again staff persons are out on the sidewalk offering you a deal, showing you menus, and begging for your business. At most places you eat outside. This year gas heaters on top of high posts warmed the eating areas. One other interesting thing is that we learned the hotel next to ours did not have heat. They had no way to heat their rooms.

This year they could have used that ability. But don’t feel sorry for us about the weather. We had fun, and we would go again. The city governments of Miami and Miami Beach and South Beach have built a wide paved walkway between the hotels and the beach. You can run on this path, bike on it, jog, walk, skate, or stroll as long as you want up and down the area. The path is constantly cleaned and there are places to sit and rest along the way, and they have planted native shrubs on both sides of the path. Some were blooming this February.

One of the first things I did when I got home was to go to my root cellar and carry up my big pots of amaryllis bulbs. I have several in each pot. As soon as I started watering them, they began to grow. I have the potential of eight blossoms—three in the smaller pot and five in the larger pot. In each pot there is a potential of a couple more deciding to bloom later. They will be open before Easter, but what a burst of spring they become in the house. After the danger of frost I move the pots to the deck for the entire summer. I give them water and plant food and they get lots of sunshine until they are moved back to the root cellar in late September. I also potted some tulip and daffodil bulbs that I bought last fall and kept in the refrigerator. They are beginning to bloom, too.

And I have one more rambling to do: cast iron frying pans. In the 1970’s people were told to toss their cast iron frying pans and buy the new created light weight specially coated pans. The trend is again back to using cast iron frying pans. I saw a cooking show on television that promoted the use of cast iron pans. So I bought one. We are enjoying browning or searing our steaks or chicken or chops in a bit of oil and then taking the pan to the oven where the cooking is completed. The meat is perfectly done, moist, and tender. You can judge the time you want the pan in the oven to meet your tastes in your steaks or chicken or chops. I even found a couple recipes to add interesting things to the pan, and when you are done you have a one pan meal, and that is all the cleaning up you have after the meal is over.

Me thinks this is enough rambling for this issue.

Written by: Robert Hoffman

continued on page 28

w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

21

Spring I

hear you, where are you? You know what I mean if you live in Wisconsin and it’s March. Bob always sees one first, but we always hear them before we see them. Even from inside the house the ear is perked as the throaty call enlists the wind to carry its song to all who can hear.

As we drive down the road toward the triangular patch of dirt that anchors the east end of our yard we notice the little mounds in the dirt that were not there a week ago. With this winters snow finally gone, the cover is itching to be rolled back to reveal once again the beautiful things that lies beneath it.

Like a child the eye anticipates the form, the lines, the curves and the amazing color. How many times have I seen it and still my heart beats a little faster when I am in its company.

It’s fun to strike up conversations with others about these pleasures of March. Store magazine covers are full of what’s new this year and some of the classics that over the dark days of winter have been augmented in new hybrid forms to reveal strange new ways to enjoy these timeless treasures. Mailboxes are full to the brim with daily arrivals of catalog after catalog offering opportunities to purchase or providing travel options to be the first to see the new creations in all their glory. Some of these wonders have traveled miles and miles from places much further south bringing with them the promise of the warmer weather that we know is on the way.

As the cloudy days of February give way to big white f luffy cloud filled blue skies of March, you can just feel the energy in the air. The tools of the trade are being lovingly removed from storage in closets. Favorite gear is being washed and lenses are being cleaned all waiting for the 3 days of rain that will finally get rid of that last huge pile of snow that is the green light to the start of the season.

Spring in Wisconsin is finally here. What, you think I am talking about the red breasted arrival of our state bird or the yellow tops of daffodils peeking out? Screw that! I am talking about motorcycle season, baby!

That throaty call you hear from inside the house is not the first chirp of the first wave of robins that are in the yard, heavens no. That throaty call is the glorious sound of air as it combines with the liquid of the earth to create energy that moves through the amazing curved then straight then curved then very straight silver tube that contains just the right amount of baff le to create a note so perfect all must stop and turn their heads in amazed delight.

The sound that comes through the glass of our yet closed windows is as true in pitch as the sound that f lows from the pointed beaks of the brightly colored songbirds that no longer need the feeders provided during the winter.

That throaty call is V-twin power all the way. The sound of the exhaust leaving the machine makes French horns jealous. Oh, if only they could produce a sound so engaging that it makes one forget all their troubles and think of one thing and one thing only, turning that key and hitting the road.

I arrived at his home on a Wednesday afternoon about 2:30. He had instructed me to wear long pants and a long sleeved shirt. When I arrived, he handed me a helmet and with a gleam in his eye began to give me the instructions for my first experiences on a motorcycle. He told me a little bit about what he needed to do and what I should and should not do as his passenger. I was buzzing inside.

He pressed the start button and this mass of metal and leather just came to life. It shook and lit up and had a smell that was better than any cologne.

He instructed me to climb on behind him and reminded me to relax and enjoy the ride.

The first two corners we took had my stomach doing a little dance inside my belly. Cornering on a motorcycle, unlike a car, involves leaning. I knew that but was not prepared for the feeling. By the time we were on the 2 lane highway with the 3rd corner under my belt I was hooked. It was not 5 minutes into the experience when I knew; I KNEW I would be buying a bike the following spring.

We pulled back in the driveway and I got off the bike. I was a different man. I have been very sure of only a few things in my life and there was no doubt in my mind that I had found something that would provide me with endless amounts of pleasure and excitement.

The following spring I purchased a beautiful used bike and signed up for riding classes at the Technical School in Madison. I purchased the gear that allowed me to feel safe and comfortable as I began riding the back roads of Green County getting the feel for how to do what and when.

As my confidence grew and I relaxed, I began to experience something unexpected but so very welcome. All my life I have lived in my head. I admit that I often think too much about too many things at one time. This way of being often left me feeling exhausted. As my skills grew and I realized that the shifting of the gears and all the mechanical things that needed to be done to ride were being executed with more ease I found myself focusing on my “riding” skills.

Being on two wheels is a very different way of traveling because you can tip over! I realized when I drive my car I am often on auto pilot because of years of familiarity and the simple fact that 4 wheels were pretty steady under me. Now I needed to be in a brand new dance with this machine I was sitting on. Every nuance of my body movement created an outcome that the motorcycle responded to. I needed to focus all my attention on what I was doing and that alone.

I discovered something amazing as I would pull in the driveway after a ride.

I was refreshed in a way that no other activity allowed. Because of my focus on the riding skills needed there was no other room in my head for random thoughts. When I returned from an outing it was as if I had been meditating.

My single focus was a Zen like experience and allowed all the other chatter to disappear. The clarity of thought and relaxed feeling in my body was amazing. Each ride is a transformational experience for me.

So please be patient with me and with your loved ones who are thinking of nothing other than getting the bike out. Now you may realize that it may be more than just doing something adventurous or dangerous. They, like me, may find that the experience of being on the road on a motorcycle enhances their life in a way that very few activities can.

My 2007, 1600 Kawasaki Vulcan Nomad has been like the daffodil, lovingly covered since last fall in a blanket to sleep through the winter. Just like the arrival of the robin my amazing machine starts to grab my attention early, and I always hear someone more anxious than I out on the road with the sound of the roar in perfect harmony with the chirping from our friends in the yard.

So dear readers, please take note. Please put down your cell phone when you are driving your cars. Please look closely as you pull out from your driveways and parking spaces. Please look left, then right, then left again to be sure we are not coming your way. Remember too that we are smaller than your car so your judgment of the distance between you and me is different.

We are closer than you think.

If you are a rider and live in Wisconsin, you know what I am feeling as I sit here right now. Oh, the temperature is going to be 40 today and its not raining? A perfect day for a ride! Last fall when the temperature dipped into the 40’s I was thinking it was crazy to head out for a spin, just too darn cold.

Funny what 3-4 months of snow will do to my perception! Now 40 sounds down right balmy! I know it’s cold. I don’t care. I will ride today.

When we pass you it’s not because we want to show off. Often it is because the wind draft behind your larger vehicle is intense and bats us around behind you. If it is safe to do so, I will often go ahead of you so I can not only see where I am going but enjoy a safer ride.

This will be my 5th year on two wheels. My journey began when I finally had the courage to ask a good customer, now a good friend, for a ride on the Harley that he would ride to the coffee shop where I worked. We talked about it all summer long never really putting a date on the calendar. On a warm August day he mentioned if I was still interested in that ride we may want to get it in as his school year was about to begin and his free time was rapidly coming to a close.

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Please forgive me for sometimes enjoying my rumble as I go underneath an overpass. You would too if you could.

As you see your first riders of this season take a moment to consider the adventure they are on. If you are brave enough ask a friend for a ride. You may just find a part of yourself that is waiting to say hello!

Written by: Jim Smith w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

THE DRUGSTORE, A PLACE OF MYSTERY

T

hings have changed so much throughout these years. It seems each ten year period brings more and more changes into our lives. The growth of technology alone is mind staggering, but whenever I take time to ref lect, certain memories pop into mind, and one of those for me was that mysterious place of my youth---the drug store. We did not call them anything but drugstore. Every town big or small had one. If you were in Oregon or Brooklyn or Evansville or Belleville or New Glarus or Monticello, you could be certain that somewhere on Main Street a drug store could be found.

I discovered this mysterious place when I was in about fourth grade. While my folks shopped and then my dad went to play cards at the Pool Hall and my mother went to visit the people running the hardware store, I was free to roam about the town. I soon found myself heading for the Brooklyn Drug Store. A couple named Dietz ran that mysterious place. I even knew they lived about a block away in one of the two houses at the end of Main Street. You entered the store and immediately to your right were racks and racks of comic books and magazines. The owners did not seem to mind if you stood there for a long period of time paging through the items displayed for sale. I liked to glance through the sports magazines to see if a favorite team or player was featured. If so, I might buy that issue. I also looked through the movie magazines like MODERN SCREEN. I was curious about the real lives of those screen stars. I noticed that some magazines were sealed, and you could not open them unless you bought them and took them home. I had no idea at that time what might be in those magazines. That was another mysterious aspect of the drug store. I spent most of my time paging through the comic books. I had my favorites, and I would spend most of my time looking at them. My budget was limited, and I would be lucky to be able to buy one a week; therefore, I had to make a wise decision on which one I would buy. The time spent looking through them in the front of the drug store meant I would make the best choice.

If you turned around and faced the length of the store, you would discover even more mysteries lurking there. To the left were shelves of items with glass counters running in front of them the entire length of the store. You could slowly stroll down that aisle looking at those magic and sometimes mysterious items there for sale. If you wanted to buy anything, you had to call the clerk over to wait on you. She would retrieve the item of interest for your close study. Then you made your decision to buy or to not buy. Now on the top shelves behind those counters were mysterious boxes wrapped in brown paper.

The boxes seemed to be square in shape, but somehow I instinctively knew I was not to stare at those items. Observation of customers soon taught me that only women made those purchases, and when the clerk was summoned over to wait on the woman, they bent their head close and seemed to whisper.

The box was taken down from the shelf, money was exchanged, and the customer dropped that box into her cloth shopping bag and scurried out the store not looking at anyone as she passed and left the store.

Behind that aisle of counters and high shelves were more glass cases full of items on display for purchase. They served to divide the store into another section which I will talk about soon. There seemed to be an endless variety of things for sale in those counters including marvelous things for birthday or Christmas giving. A pocket full of change meant you could make such purchases for a birthday or Christmas gift.

Somehow I knew the real magic or mystery of the drug store was located in the back. Mr. Dietz worked back there dressed in a white lab coat. People came to him with slips of paper, and he went into the bowels of that backroom to bring back bottles and containers of medicines or things to cure whatever ailed you. Some times the customer did not hand him a piece of paper, but they would talk in low tones, the man that I soon learned ran the thing called pharmacy would nod his head and make a comment, and then reach somewhere on his shelves to hand the customer whatever this magician would recommend to help. In those days Brooklyn was a dry community, but bottles of alcohol could apparently be bought there if it was for medicinal purposes. That only made the place more mysterious to me. Alcohol as a medicine?

If you turned to your right after facing that pharmacy area, was the area that I loved and dreamed about all week long: three dark brown booths lined the wall that led to my favorite spot the SODA FOUNw w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

TAIN. If I had saved enough loose change during the week, I could order one of those wonderful magical drinks: a cherry soda, a chocolate malted milk, a root beer f loat, or a cherry coke.

Each one was my favorite.

If dreams could have come true, I would want one of each on each of my visits to that drug store. It was another mystery to me how the person working behind that counter knew how to make each one of those exotic treats. Mr. Dietz often came out to make the malted milk. He would grab one of the metal containers for making malts, go to the ice cream freezer, lift the lid and take a f lashlight to send light into that dark cold storage place, he would slowly scoop out the exact amount of ice cream, set the container down, shut off the f lashlight and put it away, close the lid to the freezer (remember those doors folded up and back), and then he would turn to add the other ingredients adding last the malt from a wall container full of the magic malt. Then he would place the metal container onto the mixing device. He would turn it as the mixer made all sorts of wonderful sounds. Again by magic he knew exactly when to stop and your malt was ready. He would fill a tall glass of that wonderful malted milk, set it on the counter along with the metal container still almost half full of more malted milk for you, and he would put a napkin next to that, and he would place two or three Ritz crackers to nibble on as you drank your perfectly made chocolate malted milk. He would then push his glasses to the top of his nose, smile, and return to that mysterious spot at the back of the store.

And, of course, you always stuck a straw into the drink and then would drink too much too fast and that headache caused by the cold drink would force you to stop for a time before you could continue drinking. All that was left of my visit to that drug store was the horrible sound as you reached the bottom of the glass. It was all gone. It was then time for me to skip out of the store and join my mother to wait for my dad so we could head home after a “night on the town�.

Written by: Robert Hoffman

23

Enjoy Music

A Variety In Your

TOMMY JAMES & THE SHONDELLS AND TOMMY JAMES SOLO CDS • REISSUED BY COLLECTORS’ CHOICE MUSIC On April 20, 2010, Collectors’ Choice Music, which released the 40 Years retrospective, will begin to reissue the individual Roulette Records albums by Tommy James & the Shondells and Tommy James solo.The first batch contains I Think We’re Alone Now, Gettin’ Together and Travelin’ by the band, and James’ own My Head, My Bed and My Red Guitar from 1972, recorded in Nashville with many of the city’s notable players.

• Tommy James & the Shondells — I Think We’re Alone Now:This 1967 album marked the group’s move from a singles band to a more album-oriented outfit, with new producers (Ritchie Cordell and Bo Gentry), a new arranger (Jimmy “Wiz”Wisner, who’s worked with artists ranging from Barbra Streisand to Iggy Pop) and a new studio (New York’s Allegro Sound). Unlike its predecessors — Hanky Panky and It’s Only Love, which consisted of the smash hits plus songs culled from Morris Levy’s publishing catalogs — this album benefitted from better song selection and the better technology of Allegro Sound.

• Tommy James & the Shondells — Gettin’Together:This album, released in later 1967, cemented the creative process that began on I Think We’re Alone Now.The title track had been earmarked for Gene Pitney to record,but James heard it,knew it was a hit,and“pitched a fit”to Morris Levy,who eventually granted permission for James to record it.Cordell and Gentry sped up the vocal track and the song raced up the charts.Although utilizing the same producers and studio, the album was a progression over its predecessor.“I Want to Be Around You,”“So Deep with You,”“Real Girl” and “World Down on Your Knees” are examples of late '60s “sunshine pop,” comparable to the Mamas & Papas, the 5th Dimension or the Association.

• Tommy James & the Shondells — Travelin’:Travelin’ followed the Shondells’ 1969 releases Crimson & Clover and Cellophane Symphony. It was created entirely by the band,

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w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

Michael Martin Murphey releases new cd

Buckaroo Blue Grass II: Riding Song

7 TH ANNUAL MADISON AREA MUSIC AWARDS

APPEARANCES BY

MADISON COUNTY / AARON WILLIAMS & THE HOODOO WHITNEY MANN & BAND / SUNSPOT / THE LUCAS CATES BAND / DUMATE / VO5 / MAMAS ALL-STAR FUSION BAND FEATURING CLYDE STUBBLEFIELD / HANAH JON TAYLOR BIFF BLUMFUMGAGNGE / GARY CHIN / LOUKA PATENAUDE YOUTH PERFORMERS GREG RISS / CRUSHIN’ ALL FORCE ALICE HUONG / GOOD NEWS FIRST / TOS HOPKINS STEREOCOLOR HOSTED BY JOHN URBAN

PUTTING INSTRUMENTS IN KIDS’ HANDS

+ MADISON, WISCONSIN +

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T

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he album features Michael's acoustic versions of his songs that have been recorded by Bluegrass bands over the years. Michael's son, Ryan Murphey, produced the album by assembling a team of master acoustic musicians: Michael Martin Murphey-Vocals & Acoustic Guitar; Pat Flynn-Lead Acoustic Guitar; Ryan Murphey-Rhythm Acoustic Guitar; Craig Nelson-Acoustic Bass; Andy Leftwich-Fiddle & Mandolin;Andy Hall-Dobro; Charlie Cushman-Banjo; Ronny McCoury-Mandolin; Sam BushMandolin; Rob Ickes-Dobro;Audie Blaylock-Lead Acoustic Guitar; Matt Pierson-Bass;Troy Engle-Mandolin & Fiddle.

Michael Martin Murphey’s 1975 single “Wildfire” was only the most public aspect of a long and rich career. He appeared on the country charts throughout the 1980s and subsequently developed a deep affinity for cowboy songs. Over the years he’s revisited key parts of his catalog, and in 2009 produced a volume of tunes reinterpreted in a bluegrass style.A year later he’s back with a second volume that sounds even more confident. His latest concentrates on songs from the early-to-mid 70s albums Geronimo’s Cadillac, Michael Murphey, Cosmic Cowboy Souvenir, Blue Sky-Night Thunder and Swans Against the Sun. He picks up “Tonight We Ride” and “Running Blood” from continued on page 28

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from songwriting to playing to producing and arranging.The final album under theTommy James & the Shondells name, this 1970 release is also considered by many fans to be their best. It’s their edgiest effort, recorded with very few technical effects (“gritty and grainy, just like dust in your mouth and sand in your boots,” says James).

• Tommy James — My Head, My Bed & My Red Guitar: James’ second solo album was a total departure from his earlier work.Recorded in Nashville,it featured the Music City’s“A team.”By this time,the Byrds and Bob Dylan had embraced country music. But for someone with a pop track record, recording the Nashville way was an uncommonly bold move. Produced by James with Bob King and Pete Drake, musicians included Scotty Moore (also the engineer) and D.J. Fontana from Elvis Presley’s band, Drake on pedal steel, King on bass, Hargus “Pig” Robbins on keyboards, Buddy Spicher on fiddle and Charlie McCoy on harmonica.

SNL’S CHRISTINE OHLMAN TO RELEASE THE DEEP END ALBUM FEATURING DUETS WITH MARSHALL CRENSHAW, DION AND IAN HUNTER Christine Ohlman, a.k.a.“The Beehive Queen,” whose “day job” is that of the flashy, gritty long-time featured vocalist with the Saturday Night Live Band, has completed her first new album in five years,The Deep End, to be released by the Horizon Music Group through Selct-O-Hits on April 6, 2010.

The covers on The Deep End were lovingly chosen from her fabled record collection. She duets with Dion on the obscure Southern soul gem “Cry Baby Cry” and with Crenshaw on a Motown classic, Marvin Gaye and Mary Wells’“What’s the Matter With You Baby.”A third duet with Ian Hunter on Ohlman’s own“There Ain’t No Cure” celebrates her love of the music and language of the Delta behind a punked-out, soul-searing groove. It’s one of a group of eleven new originals that includes “The Gone of You” (a song of loss and longing so central to The Deep End’s theme that it appears twice: in a fullband version and in York’s evocative, loop-driven demo, dubbed“After Hours”both for Ohlman’s late-night vocal and its darkest-before-the-dawn sensibility); the Muscle Shoals-tinged ballad “Like Honey”; flat-out barnburners “Bring It With You When You Come” and “Born To Be Together”; and Ohlman’s post-Katrina lament “The Cradle Did Rock,” which will appear later this year alongside tracks by Irma Thomas, Dr. John and Allen Toussaint as a bonus cut to the reissue of Get You A Healin’, a CD benefitting the New Orleans Musicians’ Clinic. The late Eric Fletcher is memorialized in the album’s third cover, a pristine reading of Link Wray’s“Walkin’ Down the Street Called Love.”

In addition to her years on Saturday Night Live, Ohlman has an impressive resume. She sings on the theme song for 30 Rock; performed at Bob Dylan’s 30th Anniversary bash at Madison Square Garden with George Harrison and Chrissie Hynde; performed at President Obama’s Inaugural Gala in Washington, D.C.; led Big Brother & the Holding Company in a Central Park tribute to Janis Joplin;worked on a musical with Cy Coleman,who compared her sense of timing to that of Peggy Lee; and frequently duets with blues legends Hubert Sumlin and Eddie Kirkland. She also edited Rolling Stones producer Andrew Loog Oldham’s autobiography 2Stoned (Oldham described Ohlman’s WickedTime as“a deep swamp theme to a movie Burt Reynolds wished he’d made’) and worked with Bonnie Raitt and Ry Cooder at the Rhythm & Blues Foundation Awards — all while continuing to torch clubs up and down the Eastern Seaboard with Rebel Montez. She counts among her friends Willie Nile, Syd Straw, Charlie Musselwhite, Hal Willner, David Johansen, Paul Thorn and Marshall Chess.

COLLECTORS’ CHOICE MUSIC LIVE LABEL TO MINE THE BEST RARE AND UNISSUED 26

LIVE PERFORMANCES CD series launches with Johnny Winter, Hot Tuna, Poco and John Denver Collectors’ Choice Music, the label that’s come to be known for compelling and often unexpected CD reissues, has announced the launch of Collectors’ Choice Music Live, a new label devoted to releasing great live performances, most of which have never previously been commercially available.

The series will launch April 20 with the release of four CDs: Johnny Winter And’s Live at the Fillmore East 10/3/70; Poco’s Live at Columbia Studios, Hollywood 9/30/71; Hot Tuna’s Live at the New Orleans House, Berkeley, CA September 1969; and John Denver’s Live at Cedar Rapids, 12/10/87.

• Johnny Winter And — Live at the Fillmore East 10/3/70:To commemorate the release of his Johnny Winter And album,Texas blues guitarist/singer Johnny Winter played some shows at New York’s Fillmore East, some of which were compiled on 1971’s Live Johnny Winter And, a classic live album of the era to which this release makes a nice bookend. He had just formed a new band consisting of former member of the McCoys (“Hang on Sloopy”) including Rick Derringer on guitar, bassist Randy Jo Hobbs, and drummer Randy Zehringer. Although the McCoys were none too familiar with Winter’s work, they proved quick studies and entered the studio to make the album Johnny Winter And within three weeks. The live album contains the Winter hit “Rock and Roll Hoochie Coo” and his take on Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61” alongside blues classics “Rollin’ and Tumblin’,”“It’s My Own Fault” and “Good Morning Little Schoolgirl.”

•Poco —Live at Columbia Studios, Hollywood, 9/30/71: In the fall of ’71, Poco was arguably the most popular of the first generation country-rock bands. By then, their album Deliverin’ had cracked the Top 30 and Poco thanked its label, Epic Records, with a private showcase at the CBS Records’Hollywood studio. “We just set up as we would have for a small club,”recalls frontman Richie Furay, whose bandmates included guitarist/singer Paul Cotton (from the Illinois Speed Press), bassist Tim Schmidt (later of the Eagles), pedal steel player Rusty Young and drummer/vocalist George Grantham. By this time, Poco was evolving from country-rock towards an edgier rock sound. Says Furay,“Though we were innovators of the L.A.‘country-rock’ sound, we weren’t going top be pigeonholed into being a one-sound band.”The 14 songs they performed for label employees that day were a solid cross-section of tunes that had appeared on its first four albums including the medley “Hard Luck Child/Child’s Claim to Fame/Pickin’ Up the Pieces,”plus “I Guess You Made It,”“A Man Like Me,”“Ol’ Forgiver,” “Heart That Music,”“Hurry Up,”“You Are the One” and more — an hour of music in all.

• Hot Tuna: Live at the New Orleans House, Berkeley, CA September 1969: Hot Tuna was, of course, the blues band-within-a-band side project of Jefferson Airplane’s Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady that outlasted the parent band and continues to this day. Interestingly, the duo’s first commercial album, which made it to #30 on the Billboard pop album chart, was recorded live at Berkeley’s New Orleans House, but a lot more material was taped than was released. Much of it is issued for the first time on this 68-minute CD, which consists entirely of previously unreleased recordings. Of the 13 songs on this CD, six —“Death Don’t Have No Mercy,”“Winin’ Boy Blues,”“Uncle Sam Blues,”“I Know You Rider,”“Don’t You Leave Me Here”and“How Long Blues”— were included on the first Hot Tuna album, though the versions here are selected from different performances than the ones used on that LP. Other songs include Blind Boy Fuller’s “Keep On Truckin’,” Rev. Gary Davis’“Keep Our Lamps Trimmed and Burning” and “Candy Man,” and Blind Blake’s “That’ll Never Happen No More.”

• John Denver:Live at Cedar Rapids,December 10,1987: What is the sound of an audience eating out of the palm of a performer’s hand? Utter silence.And that’s what was heard during the two-hour-plus Iowa concert that comprises this two-CD set. By 1987, Denver’s days as a Top 40 hitmaker were a decade in the past, but he remained a solid concert draw as a beloved, thoroughly American artist with a permanent place in the history of pop. It says much about Denver’s songwriting that, with the exception of half a dozen songs on which he’s accompanied by string quartet, he delivers two hours of solo music just his voice and 12-string guitar.The hits are here but so are new songs, some early-repertoire nuggets and a well-chosen cover or two. Included are “Farewell Andromeda (Welcome to My Morning,” ”Take Me Home Country Roads,”“Rocky Mountain High,”“Annie’s Song,” “Love Is the Master,”“Mother Nature’s Son,”“Blow Up Your TV (Spanish Pipe Dream),” “Shanghai Breezes,” “Ohio” and more.

PAUL REVERE & THE RAIDERS FEATURING MARK LINDSAY’S COMPLETE ORIGINAL COLUMBIA SINGLES Three-disc set contains 66 songs including all commercially released Columbia A and B sides plus“special product” tracks and a Pontiac GTO commercial Paul Revere & the Raiders put the Pacific Northwest on the rock ’n’roll map with such smash hits as“Steppin' Out,”“Kicks,”“Hungry,”“Just Like Me,”“Good Thing,”“Him Or Me — What’s It Going to Be?,”“Ups And Downs,”“Let Me,”“I Had a Dream,”“Too Much Talk,”“Indian Reservation” and many more — 62 A and B sides of singles in all.

They were the rare ’60s American singles band with true street cred. And on March 23, 2010, Collectors’ Choice Music will release Paul Revere & the Raiders Featuring Mark Lindsay:The Complete Original Columbia Singles.

In addition to the 62 commercially released sides, this collection makes available a rare single Paul Revere & the Raiders recorded for Chevrolet (distributed at its dealerships),“SS396”b/w“Corvair Baby,”plus two bonus tracks: a commercial for the Pontiac Judge GTO Breakaway street rod and a special record included with Mattel’s “Swingy Doll.” Many of the songs on the CD have never appeared on CD. In the tradition of its critically hailed “complete singles” collections for Jan & Dean, Gary Lewis & the Playboys, and Jay & the Americans, all singles appear in their original mono or stereo mixes with ace engineer Bob Irwin working his renowned remastering magic on the original tapes for best-ever, kick-butt sound.

FRANK SINATRA’S STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT REISSUED IN DELUXE EDITION BY CONCORD MUSIC GROUP WITH THREE BONUS TRACKS With his biggest single as its centerpiece,the album won four Grammy Awards pairing the Chairman with arranger Nelson Riddle and producers Jimmy Bowen and Sonny Burke.

“Strangers in the Night” was Frank Sinatra’s best-selling single and — between the single and its namesake album — the recipient of four Grammy Awards including Record of the Year in 1966. But it almost didn’t get to market in time, with Bobby Darin and Jack Jones cutting the song at the same time. Sinatra’s version was the hit, displacing the Beatles’“Paperback Writer” to the #2 position in 1966 and proving the biggest hit of his career.

The album shot to the top of the charts as well. Even in the rock ’n’ roll era, nine-time Grammy recipient Frank Sinatra was still the Chairman and one of the most important musical figures of the 20th Century,selling more than 27 million CDs in the SoundScan era alone.

On January 26, 2010, Concord Records, released w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

Strangers in the Night: Deluxe Edition, a digitally remastered reissue of Sinatra’s classic album featuring three bonus tracks and liner notes by Ken Barnes.The deluxe edition contains all ten of the original Reprise Records album’s songs as well as three previously unreleased additions: “Strangers in the Night” and “All or Nothing at All,” both recorded live at Budokan Hall in Tokyo in the ’80s, and an alternate take of “Yes Sir,That’s My Baby” from the original 1966 album sessions.

ANNE McCUE’S NEW ALBUM, BROKEN PROMISE LAND, RETURNS TO THE RAW SOUND OF CRITICALLY APPLAUDED ROLL AND KOALA MOTEL The May 18 release, recorded in Nashville, features rhythm section of Ken Coomer (Uncle Tupelo/Wilco) and Bones Hillman (Midnight Oil) Anne McCue describes her new album, Broken Promise Land, due out on May 18, 2010 on Flying Machine Records Records, as “a bit dirty, a bit rockin’, a bit swampy and a bit bluesy,with a touch of mysteriousness to it.”

What isn’t mysterious is McCue’s musical talent and range. She was voted the Roots Music Association’s Folk Artist of the Year in 2008, performed in a Jimi Hendrix tribute at the 2007 International Guitar Festival and was included in the Four Decades of Folk Rock box set alongside the likes of Bob Dylan and Wilco. Heart’s Nancy Wilson has described her as “my Aussie clone,” while Americana icon Lucinda Williams had this to say: “Initially, her stunning voice hooked me in.Then I got inside the songs.The first chance I got, I went to see her perform . . . I was floored! The combination of her tomboyish beauty mixed with the precision and assertiveness with which she approached the guitar, her surrounding languid and earthy vocals created an intoxicating blend.”

The new disc lets McCue showcase her rockin’ways and six-string virtuosity.The title track cuts loose with a blistering Hendrix-like bluesy guitar solo.The first single, “Don’t Go To Texas (Without Me),” boasts the dirty guitar sound of late ’60s English bands like the Yardbirds and the Rolling Stones, while “The Old Man Talkin’” exudes a slinky J.J. Cale vibe.

On Broken Promise Land, McCue utilized the veteran rhythm section of Bones Hillman (Midnight Oil) and drummer Ken Coomer (Uncle Tupelo/Wilco). “Bones and Ken are very developed as musicians,” she says.“It’s great to have that type of depth to the musicianship.”

This powerful trio demonstrates their musical breadth throughout this disc, whether it’s building “The Lonely One” into a surging rock ballad, conjuring a spooky atmosphere in Amelia White’s“Motorcycle Dream”or roaring through a cover of Rose Tattoo’s “Rock ’n’ Roll Outlaw.”

RAY CHARLES’ GENIUS + SOUL = JAZZ IS CENTERPIECE OF 2-CD DELUXE EDITION RETROSPECTIVE OF THE ARTIST’S JAZZ RECORDINGS OF THE ’60s AND ’70s Landmark 1961 recording, which made it to #4 on the pop charts, is bundled with three other Ray Charles jazz albums: My Kind of Jazz, Jazz Number II and My Kind of Jazz Part 3.

Ray Charles was best known for his work in the idioms of R&B, rock ’n’ roll and even successful forays into country. But he also recorded influential jazz albums, including the groundbreaking Genius + Soul = Jazz originally released in 1961, and continuing into the ’70s with My Kind of Jazz, Jazz Number II and My Kind of Jazz Part 3. On April 6, 2010, Concord Records will release a deluxe edition two-CD set featuring digitally remastered w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

versions of all four albums including encyclopedic liner notes by Will Friedwald, jazz writer for The Wall Street Journal and author of several books on music and popular culture, along with original liner notes by Dick Katz and Quincy Jones.

Genius + Soul = Jazz was recorded at the Van Gelder Studios in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, in late 1960.The producer was Creed Taylor; arrangers, Quincy Jones and Ralph Burns. Ray Charles played the organ with three vocals (“I’ve Got News for You,”“I’m Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town” and “One Mint Julep”) and band members included members of the Count Basie Orchestra: Thad Jones,Joe Newman,Billy Mitchell,Frank Wess,Freddie Green, and Sonny Payne among others. Issued originally on ABC Records’ legendary Impulse jazz label, the record ascended to the #4 spot on Billboard’s pop album chart, and spawned the very first singles on Impulse, heretofore an album label.“I’ve Got News for You,” rose to #8 R&B and #66 on the Hot 100. In addition, Charles’ version of“One Mint Julep”charted #1 R&B and #8 pop, and his rendition of the blues standard“I’m Gonna Move to the Outskirts ofTown”reached #25 R&B and #84 pop.

SUSAN COWSILL’S NEW ALBUM LIGHTHOUSE FINDS LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL Special guests include Jackson Browne, The Cowsills (Bob, Paul and John),Vicki Peterson (Bangles/Continental Drifters) and session ace Waddy Wachtel Lighthouse, Susan Cowsill’s second solo album, once again embodies the timeless qualities of heart, soul and craft that are already known to anyone familiar with Cowsill’s solo debut Just Believe It.The new album is slated for May 18, 2010 release on Threadhead Records.

Susan first entered the pop-culture spotlight at the age of eight, as the youngest member of the ’60s musical family the Cowsills. In adulthood, as a member of the beloved alt-pop supergroup the Continental Drifters,she reemerged as a vocalist and songwriter of remarkable depth and insight. In 2005, Susan made an inspired solo debut with Just Believe It. But the album’s creative triumph was overshadowed by the intrusion of real-life events — namely the deaths of Susan’s brothers Billy and Barry, and the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, which temporarily displaced Susan and her family from her adopted hometown of New Orleans.

“Lighthouse was written over the last four years during our recovery from Hurricane Katrina,” she says.“As you might guess, the songs on this record are pulled from the very deep well of this most life changing experience.

Having lost 99.9% of our material and emotional belongings, and one whole human being,my brother Barry Cowsill, there was much to say and feel and express. It has taken all this time to pull ourselves back together to even be able to form comprehensible sentences never mind full on songs.”

The tribulations of the past few years resonate throughout Lighthouse. Cowsill’s new songs reflect the hardwon lessons of her recent experiences, while maintaining the unmistakable sense of optimism and spirituality that’s always been at the heart of her work.

That indomitable spirit is reflected in the infectious grit of such emotionally vivid originals as “ONOLA,”“Sweet Bitter End,”“The Way That It Goes”and“Avenue of the Indians,” which features guest vocals by longtime friend and admirer Jackson Browne.

In addition to Susan’s own compositions, Lighthouse includes an impassioned reading of the late Barry Cowsill’s “River of Love,” which features soaring harmonies by Susan’s brothers Bob, Paul and John Cowsill, as well as sister-in-law (and Bangles/Continental Drifters member) Vicki Peterson,and renowned session guitarist Waddy Wachtel, who began his career playing with the

Cowsills in the 1960s.Another highlight is a distinctive, stripped-down reworking of the Glen Campbell/Jimmy Webb classic “Galveston,” which demonstrates Susan’s status as a peerless interpretive singer.

OTIS TAYLOR WRITES HIS OWN HISTORY ON NEW TELARC RECORDING New album, Clovis People, set for release on May 11, 2010 Otis Taylor digs the past. Whether it’s the songs he wrote a decade ago, or ancient civilizations that lived more than 10,000 years ago, he’s drawn to stories from another time,and he’s compelled to retell them in a way that’s relevant in the modern day. On Clovis People, set for release May 11, 2010, on Telarc International, a division of Concord Music Group,Taylor writes his own history.

It’s the ideal project for the architect of a sparse and hypnotic style that has come to be known as “trance blues.”Taylor has spent his career crafting songs that are wide open to interpretation — thematically as well as structurally.“I give people a starting point,and then they can take it where they want to take it,” he explains.

“That’s true for the people playing my music as well as the people listening to it.That’s how art should be. A person looking at a painting should be able to interpret it in whatever way he wants.The more words you put into a song, the less freedom the listener has to decide what it means.”

The album title is inspired by a recent scientific discovery very close to Taylor’s home in Boulder, Colorado.

Barely 100 yards from the edge of his property, archeologists dug up a cache of tools and other implements belonging to a civilization known as the Clovis people, who walked the earth briefly about 13,000 years ago and then mysteriously disappeared.

Information supplied by: Conqueroo: Cary Baker • cary@conqueroo.com

Legendary Musician John Jorgenson Releases Two New Albums Today – One Stolen Night and Istiqbal Gathering One Stolen Night, Jorgenson’s first 2010 release, is the second album credited to the John Jorgenson Quintet, following up on the Billboard Jazz chart success of Ultraspontane. This collection contains a mix of standards and new compositions, with plenty of clarinet and swing, plus a vocal and the addition of the Greek bouzouki into the Quintet's instrumentation.The Quintet recorded all of the tracks in two days using minimal production, resulting in a "live in the studio" sound that is warm, rich and so crisp that it transports the listeners to an intimate private concert.

The album features a driving rhythm section throughout as Jorgenson creates a classic gypsy jazz feel while pushing the boundaries with his arrangements and melodic content. "Red on Red" opens the album with fanfare and Django-inspired minor key swing, while "Mediterranean Blues" highlights a fiery jam session between violin and guitar. The title track, “One Stolen Night,”presents a captivating melody and showcases the enchanting sound of the bouzouki. Throughout the album the John Jorgenson Quintet creates a unique musical experience that equally enthralls the most discerning and the casual music fan with a sound that is all at once dynamic, romantic, driving, melodic and accessible.

Jorgenson’s second album release in 2010,Istiqbal Gathering, is the culmination of a long relationship between Jorgenson and Paul Gambill, conductor of Orchestra Nashville, and was recorded live at Ocean Way Nashville and the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.Jorgenson and

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Gambill combined with a world-class team of musicians and collaborators to create the first collection of music specifically composed and recorded for gypsy jazz guitar and orchestra.

Jimmy Dickens who affirmed,“Jeremy Parsons IS traditional country music.”The ads are currently airing nationally on cable channel RFD-TV (Rural Free Delivery Television). The most appropriate outlet to introduce Parsons; RFD-TV’s demographic has proven to be a "bulls-eye" target resulting in album sales and opening the door to a new, broader audience for Parsons.

For more information contact: Kissy Black Elaine Erteschik Lotos Nile Media P.O. Box 90245 Nashville,TN 37209 kissyblack@lotosnile.com elaine@lotosnile.com

"Jeremy Parsons is a natural-born stylist and a credit to the art-form; his knowledge of country music facts and history alone is unrivaled. Jeremy knows the heritage of American music,” said producer, Bernard Porter. “I really think his sound is exactly what country music needs right now. Pop country is flourishing and outlaw country is resurrected; Jeremy performs, writes and records his calling – he bleeds traditional country!”

WWE® DIVA MICKIE JAMES SIGNS RECORDING CONTRACT WITH ACCLAIMED NASHVILLE PRODUCER KENT WELLS

A storyteller and story keeper, Jeremy Parsons cultivated his love of the legends by collecting vinyl and writing tunes steeped in American roots and traditional sound.

By the time he was in is early 20’s the San Antonio-born Parsons had accomplished feats most newcomers only dream of. Jeremy has more that 750 songs in his catalog, he’s opened for George Jones, is a frequent backstage guest at the Grand Ole Opry, befriended Little Jimmy Dickens and Jean Shepard and The Grascals, champions in bluegrass, cut the Parsons-penned “Out Comes The Sun.”

WWE® Diva Mickie James announced the signing of an exclusive personal recording contract with famed Nashville music producer Kent Wells.

Wells has produced projects for country artists Dolly Parton, Michael Peterson, and Neal McCoy among others.

He also played guitar on and co-produced Dolly Parton’s GRAMMY-nominated album,“Halos And Horns” and the GRAMMY and Oscar-nominated song“Travelin’Through.”

He also produced Parton’s most recent album, “Backwoods Barbie,”which was the highest debuting Billboard Chart album release of her historic career.

James and Wells are currently in the studio working on her first recording project. A spring 2010 debut release is anticipated.

Information supplied by”

Information provided by: Music City News Media & marketing Kat Atwood 615-770-2994

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Absolute Publicity, Inc. Don Murry Grubbs, Publicist / President 1009 16th Ave S Nashville,TN 37212

JEREMY PARSONS BREATHES NEW LIFE INTO TRADITIONAL TEXAS COUNTRY MUSIC VIA NEW-FASHIONED ALBUM AND RFD-TV PROMOTIONAL CAMPAIGN DOGGONDEST FEELIN’ A Tribute To Country Music Heroes

Gordon: Thank you. It’s always flattering when someone cuts one of your songs. I don’t care if it sells 10 records or 100,000 though I’d like to know what that feels like! It is just so great when someone likes one of your songs well enough to cut it.

It’s a true story about a friend of mine. It took a long time to write. I had the first tow line for at least five years before I finished it. It was just before I was getting ready to cut the Down to the well record that I finished it with Colin Linden. I had gotten to the point with it I needed someone else to take a look at it and help me finish it.

AG: So what’s up for you the rest of this year?

The album’s eleven tracks showcase Parsons’ affection for country trailblazers, his infectious sense of humor, and extraordinary talents as a song craftsman. Described as an upbeat Hank Sr.,Parsons infuses his songs with wit and levity.A young man with an old soul,22-year old“boy next door” has a direct-connect with ghosts of country past and the natural knack to echo the sounds of some of the “Who’s Who” in country music, greats like Hank Williams,Faron Young,Johnny Horton and George Strait.

By way of introduction, and far and away from the realm of a traditional CD release campaign, Parsons is relying first and foremost on the buying public rather than music critics.Teaming with PCG Nashville Records, Parsons launched an innovative television advertising campaign to promote his new album.The ad campaign is a unique marketing strategy for the singer-songwriter who will appeal to his self-styled Hank Williams demographic.

Decked out in his bedazzled blazer (a one-of-a-kind design by Manuel), Jeremy shares the spot with Little

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more recent albums and covers the Glaser Brothers’ “Running Gun.” The latter was originally recorded by Marty Robbins in 1959 for his legendary Gunfighter Ballads andTrail Songs,closing the circle on Murphey’s love of western song.

Opening the disk with a hot-picked arrangement of 1975’s country-rock shuffle“Blue Sky Riding Song,”Murphey and his assembled musician friends serve notice that there are plenty of instrumental fireworks ahead.

Pat Flynn on guitar, Ronny McCoury on mandolin, Charli Cushman on banjo and Andy Leftwich on fiddle warm up to a canter in 15 seconds flat, with Craig Nelson’s bass pushing Murphey’s exuberant vocals along the open trail.The instrumental break gives each player a chance to flash as the others provide progressive, ensemble backing.The group also turns it up for 1976’s “Renegade.”Though it’s lightened from its original country-rock sound, the acoustic instruments provide plenty of intensity as the players,including Rob Ickes on dobro, Sam Bush on mandolin, Charlie Cushman on banjo and Andy Leftwich on fiddle, stretch out for a length instrumental coda.

Murphey’s bluegrass reinterpretations provide a matured consideration of earlier performances, but also bring his songwriting into focus.Laying a bluegrass motif across twenty years of varied compositions highlights the consistent quality of his work.In some instances,like the Hot Club styling of 1985’s “Tonight We Ride,” the retooling is minimal, in others, such as the treatment of “Swans Against the Sun” and banjo lead of “Running Blood”the new arrangements bring out something new.

Even the well-trod “Wildfire,” with its echoes of ‘70s soft rock, gets a fresh garland of twang and a powerful duet vocal from Carrie Hassler.

still love playing that song.

AG: It’s interesting that you can write a song like Deuce and quarter and then write a song like Down to the well which is so visual and almost wide screened in its story telling?

The first time I head that song I thought it was one of the best written songs I had ever heard. It’s been cut quite a few times too.

Jeremy Parsons (PCG Nashville Records) who is the true essence and mirror image of traditional Americana country music, will realize his ambition and solidify his reputation as a torchbearer for the golden age of the Grand Ole Opry with the unveiling of his record, DOGGONDEST FEELIN’.

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Gordon: Just concentrating on getting the record done. We are releasing it on my own label. I feel less and less of a need to find a brick and mortar distributor so digital distribution is a big part of how I’ll get it out to the public. I’ll try to service the Independent record stores in the markets I’ll be touring in too. The grass roots approach seems to be the best plan for now.

Murphey’s voice has gained an appealing edge over the years, and this set shows off both his adaptability as a performer and depth as a songwriter. His song notes show as much love for his material as does his singing; this is also evident in the feeling performances of songs he’s no doubt sung thousands of times.This is a great album for longtime fans, bluegrass listeners and all those top-40 ears that lost track of Murphey after “Carolina Pines” and “Renegade” slipped out of the Top 40 in the mid-70s.

Track List: • Blue Sky Riding Song (M.M. Murphey) • Running Gun (Glaser / Glaser) • Backslider's Wine (M.M. Murphey) • Rollin' Nowhere (M.M. Murphey) • Southwestern Pilgrimage (M.M. Murphey) • Medicine Man (Murphey / Murphey) • Cosmic Cowboy (M.M. Murphey) • Desert Rat (M.M. Murphey) • Running Blood (Murphey / Hoffner) • Wildfire (Murphey / Cansler) • Renegade (M.M. Murphey) • Swans Against the Sun (M.M. Murphey) Information provided from Michael Martin Murphey Websites.

I’m trying to raise some promotional funds and getting ready to tour in support of it.

The record will be released this summer. I’m hoping to get the mastering done within the month and between 90-120 days after that it will be released.

AG: Thanks Kevin and good luck.

Gordon: Thank you.

Written by: Andy Ziehli w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

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love to communicate what I write. Most of all, I write to help heal myself. Music has traditionally helped people feel better and gotten them through hard times.With this album, I want people to feel like they got a laugh and got a cry. I want people to feel understood, if only for a few minutes." Because for Elizabeth Cook,having Balls is just the beginning.

After a week in Madison I decided to move here, and the rest is history.

Elizabeth Cook will release Welder on May 11th on 31 Tigers. Welder was produced by Don Was (Rolling Stones, Kris Kristofferson) and features guest appearances by Dwight Yoakam, Rodney Crowell and Buddy Miller.

Welder is the follow up to Cook’s 2007’s critically acclaimed Balls. Cook chose an eclectic cast of pickers to record Welder. She started with her road band, which consists of her husband Tim Carroll on guitar, Marco Giovino (Patty Griffin,Robert Plant) on drums and Bones Hillman from Midnight Oil on bass. She then turned to some familiar faces and voices from the Grand Ole Opry and added Tim Atwood on keys and The Carol Lee Singers on background vocals.

Cook wrote the majority of the material. She cut“I’m BeginningTo Forget”by her Mother,Joyce Cook and“Follow You Like Smoke and“Til Then”by Tim Carroll. Don Was also brought her “Not California” by Hem. In addition to her full touring schedule this summer you can hear Cook on Sirius’ Outlaw Country station Monday through Friday 6-10 am eastern. On “Apron Strings” Cook offers household tips as well as recipes and fashion tips.

Track listing: 1. All The Time 2. El Camino 3. Not California 4. Heroin Addict Sister 5. Yes To Booty 6. Blackland Farmer 7. Girlfriend Tonite 8. Rock N Roll Man 9. Mama’s Funeral 10.I’m Beginning To Forget 11.Snake In The Bed 12.Follow You Like Smoke 13.I’ll Never Know 14.Til Then Tour dates: Apr 2 All Good Cafe Dallas,Texas Apr 3 Ray Wylie Hubbard’s Grits N Groove Fest Fredericksburg, Texas Apr 16 Dosey Doe Spring,Texas Apr 17 Old Settlers Music Fest Driftwood,Texas May 6 The Station Inn Nashville,Tennessee May 7 Blue Plate Special Knoxville,Tennessee (afternoon) May 7 Down Home – Johnson City,Tennessee May 11 Joe’s Pub New York, New York May 12 Sellersville Theater Sellersville, Pennsylvania May 13 Birchmere Alexandria,Virginia May 14 Night Cat Easton, Maryland May 15 Five Oaks Clubhouse Durham, North Carolina May 16 Charlotte, NC, Double Door Inn May 18 Kirk Avenue Music Hall Roanoke,Virginia May 19 Ashland Coffee and Tea Ashland,Virginia May 22 Spring Gulch Folk Festival New Holland, Pennsylvania May 26 Atlanta, GA – Eddie’s Attic May 27 Birmingham,AL - Workplay Theater Information provided to Joyce Ziehli from Elizabeth’s website and Traci Thomas of Thirty Tigers.

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AG: So after playing and living in so many other cities, what’s your impression of Madison, and how do you compare its music scene to them?

Dargan: Well Andy I don’t do impressions, my training is in music! Madison is great. It is small compared to most of those cities and scenes, but Madison has a lot going for it. It is between two major markets in Minneapolis and Chicago, so we get a lot of big acts passing through and playing.

AG: How has living in Madison changed you as a musician?

Dargan: Well, politically speaking, in college I was a rather-mindless Republican. Then I started to swing to the middle, but missed it entirely! Living in Madison as a socialis is is perfect for me. It’s terrific! You could not ask for a better liberal bubble.

As far as a music scene here I moved to town a year after Club de Wash and Okays burned down. Everyone was telling me how great those clubs were. I had heard of Madison before and the music community here. I have had over 500 people in my band in the last 20 years.

One of the guitar players I had in DC had gone to school here and told me how great it was living and playing in Madison. So I kind of filed it away. It has turned into a groovy place to live and work out of. New York was not my kind of place to be in. D.C. was great and I will always love the fact that I got to work and live there. Now L.A. was perfect for me! You’ll never get the kind of music scenes those places have here, but what is here is really special and very cool. Those big cites are just really enormous neighborhoods and Madison is like that only on a smaller scale. We just don’t get the volume or marquees size of names here but that’s okay. The filters that are here are pretty strong, so we are very fortunate to be able to play here because we draw a better selection of artists here.

One thing I noticed when I first moved here was how great the radio stations were and how they were into supporting local music. Triple M was and is fantastic about that. WORT is the top community station in the U.S. Wisconsin Public Radio is also the best. These stations are fantastic about supporting local music. You just don’t have theses outlets in other cities.

AG: Let’s talk about your new CD. I am just blown away by it. It is so good. I said in the review last month that it was your Pet Sounds. I saw another local review and they compared it to Rubber Soul. How does it make you feel when people say that about your work?

Dargan. First thank you so much for the great compliment. Pet Sounds is one of my favorite albums and to be compared to something that good is fantastic! The same with the Rubber Soul comparison.

I recorded the last album in my small-but-mighty home studio. I decided that I wanted to get back into a bigger, commercial studio to record this one. I have been recording long enough to remember spooling up twoinch tape, and the wonderful drum sounds you get from capturing music in a warm room with huge ceilings.We are so lucky here in Madison to have several world class studios. I called my buddy Perry Blanchard and we recorded it at eLabs (now Blast House). That room is so warm and big that you almost can’t help but sound good.

I used my regular drummer, the inordinately-talented Michael Brenneis, and my main man Dan Kennedy on bass, and cut everything live. Dan also helped me produce it, and the process was predictably big fun! On a couple songs my friends Ken and Joe -- with whom I play in the Kissers -- were the rhythm section. I brought in a big, world-class horn section for a couple of the

songs; Geoff Brady from the Gomers played xylophone on a tune; Jay Moran from the O’Bros lent his sizable guitar and vocal skills; Kyle Henderson (founder member of early MTV darlings The Producers) sings all over it, too.

I’m very lucky to have all these great friends who were able and willing to help me out.

I have a vision for all of my recordings, and this was no exception. It was not as structured as a concept album, but it still tells a story. I’m certainly a product of the Beach Boys and Beatles albums you mentioned earlier, as well as Who’s Next, Blood on the Tracks, Hotel California, Shoot Out the Lights,The Queen is Dead -- albums that have an actual beginning, middle, and end. Those records really moved me when I started writing and continue to do so today. The first R.E.M. and Elvis Costello records really got to me too.

AG: How has the music business changed for you from when you started?

Dargan: Well 40 years ago it was more singles-driven, and now, with iTunes, that seems to have returned. This might be my last full length CD. Singles, EP’s seem to be the way of the future, especially delivered digitally. If you can have a great single that lives on, that‘s great. It’s just as strong as an album in today’s market. I have my own record label and it does okay. Being a musician is different now because you have to be so much more intelligent technology wise and business wise than when I started. Record companies are dropping like flies, and mostly they seem to look for beautiful models that can sing and dance,not actual artists who can write and play.

Piling into a van and touring the country was great when I was in my 20’s and 30’s, but in my 40’s it starts to lose its appeal. It seems trite to say that I’m maturing, but I suppose I am. Having a family really changes my “me” attitudes, and I’m thinking on longevity instead of the spur of the moment stuff. Trying to be a great dad has become my number one goal. I want to tour again but now is not the time. It’s like hitting the giant pause button on a tape recorder. Age certainly has something to do with it too. I’m not the same man at 40 that I was at 25, so a string of one-nighters works less well today. So I’ve had to say to myself “suck it up Sean. This is what happens when we mature.” I think the key is to look for new ways to do things; it’s not something to lament, it’s just a puzzle to solve!

AG:What advice would you give someone who wanted to get started in the music business today?

Dargan: Go to Law school! Kidding. Or not. I would simply tell them to try to get as good at their craft as early as possible. Play all the time,and take lessons to get better. Write as many songs as possible, and get critiques often. Take voice lessons to learn how to sing properly, lest you blow out your vocal cords. Learn as much as you can from as many sources as you can, so that you can be the best at what you do,as young as possible. It’s a young person’s game!

AG: So what’s in the future for Sean Michael Dargan?

Dargan: Law School! Kidding.We are working on adding an addition to our family so our daughter has a playmate.

That might change a lot of things. I’m going to still keep writing and playing. I’ve been doing some tribute shows such as Elvis Costello, the Eagles and the Pretenders which have been a blast. I’ll keep gigging around Madison and maybe do a couple of short runs to other cities instead of long tours. I’d go crazy if I did not write and play music. My daughter loves the instruments around the house. She’s really into music so that’s a whole new look at music for me. We play drums and piano everyday, and she loves guitar. It’s a terrific time for me!

Written by:Andy Ziehli

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scott... continued from page 7

a pen and paper. It’s still only 2:30 in the morning you realize. I wrote it down and me and Jody right there on the phone got half the chorus done.

Joyce: You’re right, that’s not what I was thinking.

Joyce: Where are you living now? How often do you play out?

rosanne... continued from page 9

Scott: I’m in Beaver Dam, Kentucky. Right now we are having some down time after the holidays. In March the festival season starts up and we will start getting busy again.

The closing song on The List, the Carter Family's "Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow," may be the most personal choice of all for Rosanne Cash. "Helen Carter was incredibly important to my growth as a songwriter," she says. "In fact, she and Maybelle taught me to play the guitar.

So that song had a lot of emotional resonance for me because of them—and June, too. I learned so much from them and I had a real love for all of them, so that song is really kind of a tribute to them."

Scott: (Laughing) Then we just took it and twisted it into an off kilter love song.

Joyce: Ever played in Europe?

Joyce: It’s a great song, and even better now since I know how it came about.

Scott: Haven’t played in Europe yet, but they are discussing it now as we speak. It’s funny you mention that.

I’m hoping it comes to be this year. I’ve never seen Europe.

Scott: It’s not at all what you had in mind is it?

Joyce: It certainly was not. (laughs) What about “Miss Lead Me On”?

Scott: My buddy, Jody, who I just spoke about, had the idea and I was doing some shows in South Carolina at the time. We got together. I was only there for a night doing some shows and we were hold up in a motel room and I think we wrote about 5 or 6 songs while I was there.

This one, Jody had the idea, he had most of the chorus done and we were talking about some of the girls in the club. Jody said,“I got to play you this.” He played it for me and we finished that song in a half hour after he played it for me. Honestly mam, I have to give credit where credit is due, and that’s Jody’s song. He was kind enough to let me in on it and help finish it.

Joyce: Another story? How about the song “Tatoos”?

Scott: “Tatoos” I wrote with a friend of mine, Stephen Stiles from out in California. I wrote “Set’em Up, Shoot ‘em Down” with him also. He’s a real rocker. “Tatoos” is kind of funny. We were hanging out in Nashville and we’d been writing for a couple of days. We’d punched out about 7 or 8 songs. We were going out to celebrate so we hit a couple of clubs. We thought we were capped out for a few days on songs. A co-writer friend appeared, that happened to be in town from LA, and she went out with us. She was a you know,“real high class gal,(laughs) she dresses up real pretty and she was a real glossy thing, that’s what I called her.” She was always glossy! This bartender boy came up and he had tattoos all over him, an earring in his nose, spiked hair and I swear she let out a huge sigh. Only thing that she didn’t say was OH MY GOD! We looked at her and her eyes were as big as silver dollars. That’s where that idea came from.

Joyce: I was going to ask where you get your song ideas from, but I think I know.

Scott: I keep crazy people around me. That’s what it is.

Joyce: It makes you write really good songs, so keep it up.

Scott: I appreciate that.

Joyce: When I listen to your CD again, these are the visions that are going to pop in my head.

Scott: I’ve stained the songs forever in your mind.

Joyce: Do you usually co-write?

Joyce: Me neither.

Scott: I’ll call you when we go.

Joyce: I’ll go along and I will tape you…..(laughs) Has being a songwriter/performer what you always dreamed of? Have you done other jobs?

Scott: I was a school teacher. I had to do something. I have this horrible habit, I like to eat. I had to do something to support that habit. Well.I’ve always done music.

Always my main goal was music.

Joyce: Besides eating, what do you do to relax, any hobbies?

Scott: I love to fish. I didn’t have much chance this past summer, and it drove me nuts. I got the wife now and we got a baby girl, 9 months old. This keeps me really busy. When I’m home now,I’m usually hanging out with them.

Joyce: If you could perform with anyone, who would that person or band be?

Scott: Elvis, I mean , come on.

Joyce: Scott,do you perform solo or do you have a band?

Scott: I have a band. Usually 5 in the band. Sometimes 4, it depends on the show, venue and money.

Joyce: What are some of your future career goals?

Scott: I’ve got 200 songs written, honestly probably about 50 of them are worth listening to. I got some songs on the back burner I’m working on.

Joyce: Some of them were probably inspired by David?

Scott: Yea. (laughing).

Joyce: Ever been to Wisconsin,plan on performing here?

We have some wonderful lakes for fishing.

Scott: Yea, I have an Aunt that lives in Milwaukee.

Joyce: Well, I will encourage people to check out your website,www.scottlindseymusic.com ,buy your CD and come out and hear you play when you are in their area.

Scott, thank you for your time and I look forward to meeting you some day in person. I really enjoyed this interview and your terrific sense of humor. Anything you want to add before we close?

Scott: Yea, I usually co-write. My co-writers are my buddies. So we get together, tell stories, cut up and we kill a day and we’ll write 2 or 3 songs while were at it. That’s the way I see it.

Scott: Thanks. Yea, please do all of the above. Buy my CD, come see me play, check out my website and invite me to go fishing!

Joyce: Any chance you tape these sessions?

Photos and some info supplied by: Scott’s Website and Don Murry Grubbs,Absolute Publicity, Nashville

Scott: Wow, there would be lots of incriminating things on that tape. If those got out, I don’t know what would happen.

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Story by: Joyce Ziehli

as well, and then approach it as a folk song."

Leventhal crafted a sound for The List that is surprising without being self-conscious, familiar but not obvious. "This was the record John has been waiting his whole life to make," says Cash.

"He has such extensive knowledge about roots music, and a deep, deep love of Southern music.

So writing these arrangements was a dream job for him."

Now, here is my interview with Rosanne: Joyce: How was recording “The List” different for you than recording your previous CD’s?

Rosanne: Well, it was a different mind set. A different approach because they weren’t my own songs. So, there was some liberation in that and also there was a little vulnerability. These songs, a lot of them had really iconic versions.

Patsy Cline’s version of “She’s Got You”, Ray Charles and Hank Williams versions of “Take These Chains From My Hear , just for starters. I had to do some work just to get those versions out of my head. I had to find my own way into those songs. I kept reminding myself that a great song deserves a lot of interpretations.

Joyce: I personally love “Sea of Heartbreak”.

How did you decide who you would ask to sing along with you on these songs? “Long Black Veil” and “Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow” are also a couple of my top choices.

Rosanne: You know Bruce was really the first and only person we thought to ask for that song and if he had said “no”, I would have made my B list. He was our dream date and he said “yes”. I think he kind of relished this opportunity to sing this kind of music. It’s not part of his normal lexicon. It was fun. The eye opener is what a truly great harmony singer he is. That’s a whole different skill set. Who knew that he was that good at it? The other gentlemen, Rufus, Elvis and Jeff Tweedy, really they were the first ones we thought of for those 3 songs as well. So, I was very fortunate that they were all available and interested.

Joyce: So nobody turned you down?

Rosanne: Nobody turned me down. I got dances with all the dancers at this party!

“Long Black Veil” and “Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow”, these songs are both really special to me because “Long Black Veil” is the one I most closely associated with my Dad. There was a moment in the studio when I was doing that song, when I was just kind of dumb struck. I just thought, I just stopped and thought if Dad could see me singing “Long Black Veil” he just wouldn’t believe it. He would be so delighted. It was very emotional too. The Carter family song, I realized fully what a great debt I owed to Helen Carter who taught me all of these songs. w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

Joyce: My husband, Andy really loves your two CD’s “Kings Record Shop” and “10 Song Demo”.

These are his favorites and he says you will probably find this odd?

Rosanne: Wow, thanks. People who like “10 Song Demo” always interest me because it’s not the most successful record in the world. So he must be a songwriter? I don’t think it’s odd, it’s intriguing.

Joyce: You have had this “list” for many, many years. Was it a matter of being the right time in your life to do this CD now?

Rosanne: It dawned on me slowly. It would never have or didn’t occur to me when my Dad was still alive. In that odd way, that paradox that you don’t appreciate what your parents leave you til their gone. Whatever it may be, a recipe, a set of dishes, or a list of songs. It just never occurred to me. I thought, I got this great thing Dad gave me. After he died and I did “Black Cadillac”, and I was doing the “Black Cadillac” Show I would mention it during the show. I wrote a narrative about it; “When I was 18 years old my Dad gave me this list……..and so on”. People starting bringing it up to me – “what about the list?” I knew I wanted to do a covers record and finally my husband, John said to me, “If you are going to do a covers records the only one to do is the list.” I realized he was right.

Joyce: And a great choice that was. When we are young, we think we know everything. If you had one more opportunity to ask your Dad for a piece of advice, what would you ask him?

Rosanne: That’s a heart breaking question.

Joyce: If you don’t want to answer, we will move on. No problem.

Rosanne: No, the answer is there are so many answers. Musically I would ask him if he would extend the list from 1973 to the present with another 100 songs. Personally there are so many things. The little regrets that stay in your heart after your parents are gone. Things you wished you’d asked, things you’d wished you’d said. I think everyone experiences that, and I’m no exception.

Joyce: How has your songwriting changed on a personal level from when you first started?

Rosanne: I’ve looked up from my navel more often than I used to. (laughing) It used to be all about me – me – me, romance – romance – romance. Now, I look out to the world a bit more. I think that’s the chief difference. The self absorption had mitigated a little.

Joyce: You followed in your Dad’s steps in the music career. We just reviewed your daughter Chelsea’s CD, do you foresee your other children getting into this business?

Rosanne: Yea, that was a wonderful review. I don’t foresee the daughters doing that because they are grown and kind of on their path.

Chelsea will continue. My son, it’s possible, he’s 11 so it remains to be seen, but he’s very musical.

Joyce: What kind of gift, legacy would you like to leave for your children?

Rosanne: Well, a couple of them. On the surface level, a good work ethic. My Dad had an excellent work ethic. He was professional, he showed up, he didn’t complain, he did his job. He had w w w. a m e r i c a n a g a z e t t e . n e t

great stamina. I have those 2 things as well. I have a good work ethic and I have good stamina. On a different level, the legacy of believing in art and music, being comfortable with seeing the world in a different way. Even in a perverse way if that’s the way you see it. Letting that be alright, being on the planet. I think God is art and music and that it’s that powerful and that deep and that profound and that mysterious.

And if that’s the legacy I pass to my children, that will be a good one.

Joyce: How do you choose songs today to record, how has that changed?

Rosanne: Sure, some songs I think you have to have a full life to bring to a lot of these songs on the list. A song that you can just approach in a surface way, if you have technically a great voice, that’s one thing, but if you can bring a full life to them, that’s a whole other thing. I think choosing songs that I didn’t write, now I want to reflect that I’m someone who’s had a full life.

Joyce: How is the music business different today from back when you first started in the late ‘70’s early ‘80’s? As seen from a woman’s prospective?

Rosanne: Oh My God!!! (laughing) Joyce: How long do we have?

Rosanne: Exactly. The music business is completely different – period!!!! When I first started making records we were making vinyl, and we went to mastering labs, cut grooves in them, mother vinyl and you pressed records that way. It was almost like a sculptured art, as well as a sonic art. That was fantastic. As far as women’s perspective, that seems kind of unspoken and subtle the way they use sex to sell records, that was so completely over the top and somewhat vulgar. Really it’s just beyond what I ever thought. Also there is a lot more performance art in the music business today, it used to be just music, not to say that’s a bad thing, just different.

Joyce: What advice do you have to offer for young females trying to break into the music business now?

Rosanne: Learn an instrument! That’s the only advice I give – Learn an instrument so that you become an actual musician.

Joyce: Rosanne, you play guitar, any other instruments?

Rosanne: I play guitar and a little piano, very badly.

Joyce: You are one of my favorite female singers, and you have so many songs that are my favorites, but one stands out, “Seven Year Ache”? Can you tell me anything about this song? How did the lyrics derive?

Rosanne: Well, yes I can. I wrote it not long after Ricky Lee Jones’s first record came out. I was really taken by the songs on that record and the street life that was so cinematically portrayed on that record. I thought there’s not really a country song about being on the streets like that. Street life, I thought that’s what I am going to try to write about. I wrote 4 pages of pros and meandering lyrics about street life with the intent of making it a country song. I paired those 4 pages down to the lyrics to

“Seven Year Ache”. That’s where the inspiration came from.

Joyce: Anything else?

Rosanne: The Ricky Lee Jones thing and I got in a fight with my then husband, Rodney which provided the final motivation to write the song.

Joyce: I could be a really good song writer if I wrote about all my fights with Andy.

Rosanne: (laughing) I think Rodney left me outside a French Restaurant on Ventura Boulevard in LA. That’s the image I was holding onto when I wrote it.

Joyce: What did you think about the movie, Walk the Line? Was the portrayal accurate?

Rosanne: I don’t see how a two hour movie about a complex life could be an accurate portrayal. It’s for other people, I don’t know how anyone could enjoy seeing the Hollywood version of their own childhood. I enjoyed the movie, “Ray” but I bet if you talked to Ray’s kids they would say, “well it wasn’t exactly like that for me.”

Joyce: Is there any question you have never been asked in an interview, that you wished someone would ask you?

Rosanne: No, I never wish anybody would ask me anything. (laughing) That’s the absolute truth!

Joyce: What would you like to share with our readers?

Rosanne: I have a memoir coming out August 10th. I just finished it. Viking is publishing it.

I’ve been working on it a decade and I’m very happy to finish it and to have it coming out.

With this ambitious project behind her, Cash says that, while she has started writing songs of her own again, she hopes to do a second volume of songs from her father's List at some point, and then make sure that the full 100 songs are archived properly. She also points out, though, that while she hadn't fully explored this priceless gift from a father to a daughter, the songs on the List had always been important to her own work. Rather than a break from her own career, she looks at The List as something she needed to grow into over time.

"It’s not like I didn’t know these songs before," she says, "so their standard of excellence has been in the back of my mind all along. That standard is something I’m always trying to reach."

Rosanne Cash is a very talented lady. Please check out more information on her and her latest CD, “The List” at www.rosannecash.com.

This CD is a must for anyone’s CD collection!!!!

Photos (Deborah Feingold) and some information supplied from: JR Rich Vice-President EMI Music North America 150 5th Avenue 2nd Floor New York, NY 10011

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