Battle of the Bands: All My Tears

 I've used a Julie Miller song before. As I recall some (most) didn't like her vocals. We like different things. Apology or warning. Well with that on with the program.

The song: All My Tears

All right the contestants. 

Contestant One: Buddy Miller

I think this is the first time I have featured a songwriter's spouse as a contestant. Buddy is her husband.

Contestant Two: Jamey Johnson

You know the way it works. I pick a song. You tell me which one you like the best in the comments. I count them up and announce the winner in week, before the Winter Solstice, before Christmas, or before the next Battle.

Battle of the Bands: O Death R.I.P Ralph Stanley

Picking songs and ideas for the Battle of the Bands can get tough when you get distracted by other songs you find.

Here are the rules: You pick the one you like best by casting your vote in the comments. I tally them up and I will announce the winner on the 7th. I encourage you to check out the other mighty Battles and if you want to join up details can be found here!

Ralph Stanley a bluegrass legend passed away on June 23. He is the inspiration for this Battle. Bluegrass and Americana make appearances on my Battles once in a while. I'll try to keep the twang to a minimum.

The song I choose is "O Death." A traditional song dating back to the 1920's. Perhaps penned by Lloyd Chandler. Where ever the roots of this song come from Dr. Stanley turned it into a Grammy. I think the song s fitting..

Ralph singing it...

Vote for one of the contenders. Not Ralph Stanley. He already won a Grammy.

Contender One: Lauren O'Connell

Contender Two: Jen Titus

It should be an interesting battle. I look forward to seeing who wins. The winner is decided by your votes in the comments so vote away!

Highway 49 blues!

I  mentioned in  my  last  blog post I  was traveling.  Well with rental car woes  and the packing  going slower tan expected we were slower at leaving then we had expected. The travel  route  was different than I  had anticipated.

A cool benefit of all of this was the fact I was able to drive a large stretch of Highway 49 in the middle of the night. In reality it was just another boring highway on a long roadtrip. However, for my inner blues geek it was exciting to drive down the historic highway and cross those old forgotten crosroads around midnight.

Obviously  I would  love another visit in that area to explore the historic blues trail. While I am in the area I could also explore the civil war history of Vicksburg which I also drove through. I  might not  be  able  to  do that soon but in about a week I will be able to make that drive in the other direction.  Hopefully  with no hell hounds on our trail!

Some might consider Mississippi a poor state. However the state is rich in culture and history. 

Willie Nelson

Seeing Willie Nelson in concert would be cool, seeing the country legend in a club setting would be unreal. Tonight some lucky fans in Washington, D.C. well get to see Willie Nelson perform at the 9:30 Club. I wrote a preview article at Examiner which you can read here. It was featured at Examiner which was nice. Fans may want to check out the slideshow and video about him getting inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame.

Of course my blog will include more music since that is how  I roll. This is one of my daughters favorites the classic "On The Road Again"

Opening on this tour is his Willie's son Lukas Nelson. Here is a video of him performing..

This is one of my favorite Willie Nelson songs ...

What's your favorite Willie Nelson song? Ever seen him concert? Would you want to see him perform in a club?

Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for visiting and I will be back soon!

Logan Brill's Walking Wires

Above Logan Brill performs one of her new songs from the album "Walking Wires." Well, I haven't written as much as I have wanted to lately. The truth is my life is a bit crazy right now. Then on top of that there is the Holidays. Well, I was writing some articles on examiner and I took interest in one of the opening acts. Logan Brill, she is young and beautiful like so many other Country artists on the scene today. However, I found her music more honest less pop and more Americana. Sure the themes are familiar but she found a way to seperate herself musically. You can read what I thought here.

I liked the music I stumbled into something nice to listen too. Check it out and see if you agree. As a writer I was proud to see it was featured in Yahoo! Voices music since it had been a while since I have written on that site. I will be back there in the new year.

R.I.P. Doc Watson

Sorry for the break in posts, I went on an unplanned vacation but I am back now! Unfortunately deaths don't take a vacation. The legendary guitarist Doc Watson passed away at 89. It has been a rough year for makers of Old Time music and Doc is a fine example of one of the best going away.

Don't take my word for it he won eight Grammy Awards including a Lifetime Achievement award. I read somewhere Chet Atkins had a likeness of Doc in his home somewhere. That is some high praise.

Watson is best know as a guitarist, one of the best flat pickers ever and he could finger pick too! He also played Harmonica and Banjo simply put he could play multiple instruments. His music skipped genres from bluegrass, to gospel, country, folk, and blues. Yes I know some of those are easy to cross but their is no doubt  Doc was a versatile musician.


Deep River Blues from Youtube...

A member of the Bluegrass Hall of Honor, several honorary degrees, a National Honor of the Arts, A lifetime achievement Award from the Recording Academy highlight some of his awards and honors along with the fore mentioned Grammy Awards. He certainly achieved a lifetime of musical awards and left us quite a legacy. He will be missed.

Two Greats we lost this year may they play in the concert hall in the sky..