2010: A Year of Returning to Reading?

For much of the noughties, I found myself reading a lot of books. TV has bored me for years. And I find myself falling asleep during movies or dissing most of them because of lame humor and/or improbabilities built into most scripts. So reading has been a great way to fill the gap.

But I've slipped the last couple of years - probably as a result of idle time spent blogging, tweeting, and scrounging around looking for enjoyable new music.

Its not as if I haven't had plenty of reading material to choose from. The staple gift for birthday and Christmas from my mothers (birth and in-law) often include books. I also signed up in 2008 for Paperback Swap resulting in a pretty hefty number of inbound books in 2009 - most of which continue to sit on the shelf until I get back in the saddle.

Current books in the queue include:

• The Age of Speed: Learning to Thrive in a More-Faster-Now World - Vince Poscente
  
• The Burden of Proof - Scott Turow
  
• Daughters Gone Wild - Dads Gone Crazy - Charles and Heather Stone
  
• Fierce Conversations - Susan Scott
  
• The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression - Amity Schlaes
  
• A Man's Guide to the Spiritual Disciplines - Patrick Morley
  
• Rapid Response: My Inside Story as a Motor Racing Life-Saver - Dr. Stephen Olvey
  
• Raising Resilient Children - Brooks and Goldstein
  
• Ray Fox: Sly in the Stock Car Forest - Godwin Kelly
  
• Reading the Bible Again for the First Time - Marcus J. Borg
  
• The Search for Significance - Robert S. McGee
  
• 3 Secular Reasons Why American Should Be Under God - William Federer
  
• Silent Speedways of the Carolinas - Perry Wood
  
• Why Men Hate Going to Church - David Murrow
  
• The World Is Flat - Thomas Friedman
  

While I highly doubt I'll get to all of these in 2010, I do plan to get back in the habit of reading regularly. Too many hours are spent in a typical year of mine hanging out in airports, hotels, and the living room couch to waste them by not reading.

TMC

Book Recommendation: True To The Roots

Did you get an Amazon gift card for Christmas that's already burning a hole in the pocket of your worn out Levi's? If you are a fan of Americana music, I recommend you consider using the gift card to buy Monte Dutton's True To The Roots: Americana Music Revealed.

By day, Dutton's beat is the NASCAR Sprint Cup series. In his spare time, he is a big fan of old school country music artists such as Charlie Pride, Roger Miller, Buck Owens and Faron Young and new school Americana.

The book was published in 2006; however, its still very much relevant as we head into 2010. Dutton spent many nights traveling the honky-tonks of America, watching performances, and interviewing many artists for the book. Included in its chapters are stories about and interviews with such artists as Stoney LaRue, Reckless Kelly, Jack Ingram, Slaid Cleaves (man, I love his song Horseshoe Lounge), Robert Earl Keen, Pat Green, Tom Russell, James McMurtry, Buddy Miller, and guitar-maker Vince Pawless.

Preview the book if you'd like at Google Books.

TMC

Todd Snider in Nashville - February 20

A rare Nashville performance by Todd. Jennifer Knapp will be the lagniappe of this show.

I got mine. Did you get yours?


TMC

Merry Christmas from TMC

Christmas wouldn't be complete without a reprise of Robert Earl Keen's classic. To be honest, this song more closely resembles Thanksgiving gathering with my side of the family than it does Christmas with my wife's kin. But who am I to split hairs?



Merry Christmas y'all.

TMC

Hey bro, are you listening?

About a month ago, I blogged a mini-series of things I'm thankful for. In entry no. 2, I mentioned friends and family. Perhaps a bit too candidly, I noted my relationship with my brother is for the most part non-existent. Well, now I've moving from candid to transparent to perhaps TMI.

He moved to Atlanta about a decade ago and was pretty good about staying in touch with our folks, my sister, and me for the first year or two. Since then, however, contact has been less and less with all of us.

We all would send him birthday and Christmas greetings but received nothing in return. A few years ago, I bought him a DVD player from his Amazon wish list as his Christmas gift and had it direct shipped to his address - but got no acknowledgment from him he received it. The next year, I simply sent him an Amazon gift certificate link - again nothing. The next year I dropped back to just a Christmas photo card of my kids - again nothing. So I dropped him altogether about 3 years ago.

What I'm really pissed about is how he's dropped all contact with our parents. He was the baby of the three of us and lived with them until he was Costanza-age. My mother has bent over backwards trying to reach out to him and also gets nothing in return. No gift, card, e-mail, call, text, smoke-signal, hand gestures, NOTHING - for her birthday, anniversary, Christmas or just to say hello.

He's also demolished his relationship with three kids - my two and our sister's daughter. My daughter is young enough her memories of him are too fuzzy to miss him that much. Its more like she doesn't have him as an uncle vs. having lost him. My son has a few more memories - all positive - but if he's missed having his uncle around he certainly doesn't show it.

My niece on the other hand is deeply hurt. She was about 6 or so when he left, and the two of them were inseparable when he still lived nearby. She idolized him. I've known its bothered her that he's fallen away, but I didn't realize the intensity of it until tonight.

Now as a 16 year old, she wrote an original song about her memories of their good times and the hurt she feels for him having dropped out of her life. She first read the lyrics to us tonight, and none of us knew quite what to say when she was done except "well done". She wanted to figure out a way to record it and get it to him for Christmas. I agreed to video and share it via YouTube for her. She plans to e-mail the link as her Christmas present to him.

I'll tell ya one thing. This song sho' ain't no Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer so be prepared.



I couldn't be prouder of her for writing this. And props to my boy for jumping in on guitar. She told him the basic chords to strum and what she wanted on the chorus and bridge. He took it from there.

TMC

2009 Nashville Unlimited

My view of homeless folks was permanently altered for the better about 12 years ago. I always had a sympathetic view of the homeless. But conflicting feelings would collide if I saw someone in need of help - give 'em some cash? offer them suggestions for where to go? avoid them and head to the other side of the street? label them as bums? pause a moment for a conversation? Other than giving a dollar or two here and there and wondering what I should do, "inaction" was probably the best word to describe my view.

Upon being introduced to Nashville's Room in the Inn program, however, my level of involvement changed from inaction to participation. Each night from November 1 through March 31, approximately 200 folks (primarily men) are sent to local churches for a warm, safe place to sleep, a couple of meals, some basic amenities, and genuine hospitality. About 160 churches participate on varying nights during this time.

During the day, Room in the Inn's campus is bustling with activity - an art room, GED and job training, a place to make a phone call, a post office, showers, etc. The ministry truly is a blessing to the homeless of the Nashville and all of those who participate in its programs. I've spent the night with these guys, driven vans, cooked meals, run mail call, distributed clothing, played checkers (got my arrrse whipped most of the time!), shared dinner and a cup of coffee, and laughed with folks I otherwise would never have met.

For the last 10 years, one of Nashville's most prominent musicians, bassist Dave Pomeroy, has organized and emceed Nashville Unlimited. The show's duality of simplicity and diversity represent its charm. The simplicity is this: recruit from a seemingly unlimited pool of singers/bands to perform, play at a church, sell no tickets, use word of mouth promotion, ask for donations to listen, and building gets full = doors close. That's it (at least outwardly - there is far more controlled chaos behind the scenes than I likely care to know).

The diversity is in the music. Dave books three solid hours of music with the only breaks being minor stage changes from band to band, microphone adjustments, and an update or witness about Room in the Inn itself. Some performers are book-its - they've been there every year. Some are announced in advance. And many are "surprise guests". This year's surprises included Emmylou Harris and John Prine.

This year's show was this past Wednesday, and the performances may be as varied as I've seen before. Here ya go with the set list and of course some commentary along the way.

1. Dave Pomeroy - Stargazing - He said the writing of this song was influenced by the three wise men - bass solo with bass #1
2. Dave again - Not Forgotten - Dave said it was written years ago, but it finally became relevant to him in 2009 because of a year of personal losses - bass #2 used
3. Don Henry - My Favorite Things
4. Lori Ann Patera with Henry and Pomeroy (on bass #3) - Pretty Ribbons
5. Will Smith - medley of Christmas songs on an autoharp
   
6. Joey & Rory - apparently they were on CMT's Can You Duet show and have been featured on Overstock.com commercials - can't say for sure because I haven't seen either - but their Christmas song got a lot of applause so Dave asked them to play a 2nd one
7. So they did...a song about the hardships of the long-gone folks who built their 1870s-era house where they currently
8. Coral Bay Steel Drum Trio - Frosty the Snowman on steel drums... I can honestly say I've never heard Frosty quite that way.
   
9. They continued with a reggae version of Go Tell It on the Mountain
10. They capped off their three-song list with Silent Night
11. 18 South - Santa Claus is Back in Town - a bluesy number
12. 18 South again with a gospel number - it jammed but I have no clue about the title
    
13. Emmylou Harris - Beautiful Star of Bethlehem - holy cow, is it even possible Emmylou is 60?
    
14. Emmylou - Home Sweet Home
    
15. Riders in the Sky - Christmas Time Is Coming
16. RITS - Let It Snow
17. RITS - Give Thanks
    
18. RITS - I'll Be Home for Christmas
19. Music City Baroque - a Handel composition - We got our culture on!
    
20. MCBE - More Handel - Rejoice
21. Steve Wariner - Christmas in Your Arms
22. SW - Let It Snow

Steve then told a great story about the photo shoot for a Christmas album he released in the early 1990s. He had the grand idea to involve his young kids, a sleigh, a horse, some fake snow, and a dog. However, during the shoot his kids wouldn't cooperate much, and the dog hated the horse. As the shutter snapped, the dalmatian constantly growled grrrrr as he kept his eyes trained on the horse.

23. SW - Christmas Morning
24. SW - Our Savior Is Born

As Wariner finished and Pomeroy walked him off the stage, Dave returned chuckling, shaking his head, and said something to the effect of "Well, you never know about these surprise guests. This next singer-songwriter has just surprised me by being here. Here he is - perhaps the best singer-songwriter around." With that, he introduced John Prine.

25. John Prine - Crazy As A Loon. After he finished, Prine quipped "well, the only thing Christmasy about that song was I didn't even say Christmas in it."
26. JP - Hello In There (vid link for those who've never heard this haunting classic)
    
27. Nashville Mandolin Ensemble - Carol of the Bells (MP3) from their out-of-print Gifts CD. Get it used if you can!
    
28. NME - Christmas in County Kerry (vid link)
    
29. NME - Dance of the Mirlitons from the Nutcracker Suite
30. NME with John Cowan singing - Ava Maria
31. Sweethearts of the Rodeo - Get Together (yes, that Get Together)

Two additional humorous moments:

Before the show: Because seating is based on first-come-first-served, a line started forming on the sidewalk out side the church several minutes before the doors opened. As I stood their...outside a church...waiting to hear a multi-hour music show...to support the cause of the homeless. Yet a handful of folks near me wearing nice fur-lined coats started bitching about having to stand on the sidewalk in the cold. Oh the irony...

After the show: I heard one guy explain to another: "No, it was Henry, Don Henry - not Don Henley. (Speaking to others) He thought he was going to hear and see Don Henley from The Eagles."

TMC

2009: The Bird List

The label "Americana" has emerged over the last decade or so as the industry standard to apply to my favorite types of music. Yet, the label itself is pretty inadequate to describe what I like for a number of reasons.

• Other things besides music are considered Americana - kitschy art, covered bridges in Vermont, turkey on Thanksgiving, Tennessee v. Alabama on third Saturday of October, Jimmy Stewart, etc.
  
• Most other music labels are confining. Jazz, pop, hip-hop, country, metal, classical. Mention any of those genres, and one can just about conjure up a "name that tune" of some song within it. Americana doesn't work like that. The tent is huge and can accommodate a wide swath of artists and bands, acoustic and electric, megastar and unsigned, young and old, etc.
• Singer-songwriters often fit within the genre. Some new country acts such as Miranda Lambert are welcome. Some quirky country artists such as Lyle Lovett have a seat at the table. Lots of old country artists kicked to the curb by Nashville are now senior friends in Americana such as Charlie Louvin. Artists on the lower end of the age spectrum (e.g. Avett Brothers) and on the upper end (e.g. Guy Clark) are equally at home.
  
• Even the musical chops of the performers vary widely - yet places many competing styles within Americana. Lots of acoustic Martins - but a healthy dose of electric Strats. Electric bass is welcome right alongside the upright bass (exhibit 1: Kurt Ciesla from Corb Lund and The Hurtin' Albertans)...

• It comes from all over - Texas and Tennessee are logical places to start. But try North Carolina, Oklahoma, California, Florida, New York, and the remaining states I didn't mention. Oh while you are at it, throw Canada into the mix. In this case, you've got a completely separate nation from which "Americana" originates. Even an iconic, British rock star who didn't start out as Americana ended up there by pairing himself with Allison Krauss (e.g. Zep's Robert Plant).
  

So while I'm not sure Americana, alt-country, or any label appropriate fits, I do pretty much know it when I hear it ... as do many others.

Fellow blogger A Truer Sound invited about 30 bloggers to throw our 2 cents in about our top 20 Americana releases of 2009. I was humbled about being asked to participate because I'm a blogging lightweight compared to these champs of music coverage.

We settled on The Bird List as the name of the poll results for a couple of reasons.

• One, because Americana is so hard to define, the singers, bands, artists, and fans generally give the finger to the recording, retail, radio, and marketing establishments. Its not Music Row, formulaic country. Its not LA rock or pop. Its not all Texas honky tonks or the Grand Ol' Opry. Its big arenas and smoky bars. Much of it can and should be stocked in multiple sections in a music store. Most of those involved with performing or listening refuse to be pigeon-holed.
  
• Two, a charter member of what is now known as Americana is The Man in Black - Johnny Cash. While most often considered as a country singer, his embrace of so many other types of music and people was a finger in the face of the establishment. His iconic in-your-face bird shot has adorned many a t-shirt.

My contributions to the top 20 list follow below. Seven of my choices made the overall top 20 - not bad I suppose considering the abundance and diversity of 2009's offerings and the ears of the listeners.

My selections were cobbled together with the other contibutors. A super-secret, fancy-schmancy scoring algorithm was applied, and bada-bing, bada-boom the sho-nuff, consensus, inaugural 2009 The Bird List is available for your viewing and commenting. Please chime in here or at the official home of the list.

TMC's Top 20:

1. Guy Clark - Sometimes The Songs Write You (link is to show review)
   
2. Corb Lund - Losin' Lately Gambler (link is to show review)
3. Tom Russell - Blood And Candle Smoke
4. Scott Miller - For Crying Out Loud
5. Lyle Lovett - Natural Forces
6. (Bob) Walkenhorst & (Jeff) Porter - No Abandon (link to blog entries re: both)
   
7. Eric Brace & Peter Cooper - You Don't Have To Like Them Both (Peter: Tennessean writer by day, active musician by night)
   
8. Daddy - For A Second Time (link is to show review but check them out too at ReverbNation)
   
9. Steve Earle - Townes
10. Charlie Robison - Beautiful Day
11. Robert Earl Keen- The Rose Hotel
12. Gurf Morlix - Last Exit To Happyland
13. Miranda Lambert - Revolution
14. Blue Rodeo - The Things We Left Behind
15. Marshall Crenshaw - Jaggedland
16. Todd Snider - The Excitement Plan
17. The Flatlanders - Hills & Valleys
18. Reverend Horton Heat - Laughin' and Cryin' with Reverend Horton Heat (OK, I admit it. This was a Nashville homer pick. The CD is great. But I went to junior high and high school with...[cough, name drop] Paul Simmons, RHH's drummer. So this release had to make my top 20, right?)
    
19. Jeffrey Foucault - Shoot The Moon Right Between The Eyes (you cover Prine = you are in my top 20)
    
20. Roseanne Cash - The List

I may spend a few entries over the coming weeks elaborating on some of my selections - including directing readers here to other fantastic blogs reviewing the releases.

Until then, sample these releases at Amazon or iTunes if you aren't familiar with them. Bum a bootleg off me or others to intro you to some of the songs before you buy official releases.And keep your eyes peeled for them to hit your town. Who knows - you might get to catch some great live music without breaking the bank.

TMC