I was starting to think I would never post another thing on this site.  It’s not that I was running out of music, just caught up in everyday life.  My music purchases have slowed down in the previous months but I plan on acquiring more audio enlightenment.  For the time being, I have vowed to push out all the posts I have started but never finished, starting with this one:

The Mountain of mojo doesn’t get any higher than this. This blues based-rock project is the masterpiece of Warren Haynes of the Allman Brothers. They have been around for some time now, and have quite the cult following. They pride themselves on their live presence and ever changing playlists from town to town. With an occasional remake of a song you haven’t heard in years, stripped of its sweet fruits and ground to its edgy core. Drowning out all the pop sleaze and shitty bitty rock be bop, dragging you through the night with endless guitar solos and guest appearances.  I don’t care where you live, there is not a place in the world where you couldn’t drive more than 2-3 hours to see them in the next couple of years.  As a matter of fact, they will be in my neck of the woods come September 4.  Don’t miss them.
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Sampler on Amazon —> here

I’m a very nostalgic guy. I find myself floating away thinking about all that time I spent pondering my short term goals rather than reading something in a textbook that claims to get me ahead in the rat race. Hell, I was a rat. I don’t know of any rat with long term goals.

Going to a LARGE university as a freshman is about as mind boggling as a bulimic at a Vegas buffet. The catering involved for achieving academic excellence, not to mention the level of trust that is given to you as well. Hours from mom and dad, 7-day meal plan, weekly allowance.  No car, but who needs one? You’re in the city and your best friend has a car and is also your roommate.  You make friends fast living in a dorm.

I do look back fondly on those years.  All of the late nights and stories, local college bands, and the hole in the wall bars that always have will always have that familiar puke/urine fragrance tattooed into the floor.  Seldom seen without my beernoculars.

***I was given the gift of trust, however… it blew out the window on the way to the bar.

Hell, I know I gave my dad some of his gray hair.  7 years is a long time to poop or get off the pot.  Wars are fought in 7 years and I had one going with myself, my dad, and my future.

Everyone has a limit though and I was getting older the average school bear. After3 colleges and a year sabbatical, I finally achieved academic rehabilitation.

196 credit hours later and man..I was finished.   With a B average.

Those years were fun as hell, but now I have kids.  College is far off but I now see the stress that occurs from the other side of things.  I think my kids should have the same joyful experiences as I did, just not 7 years of it.  Time will tell if Dad (Granddad) gets the last laugh.

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The Hold Steady brings back all of that energy of those years.  Like a social lubricant for the college mojo we all once had when we were free birds.  Cheers!

Sampler on Amazon —> here

If you are a deep diver of 70’s rock, you might have heard of these english boys. I happened to hear about them from a friend who heard them from a friend. He was told of others but Camel was the only band that he could remember at the time. Being old progressive rock, not to mention the band name, intrigued me. I checked them out on Amazon: reviews, comments and a couple sound bytes. My research led me to this particular CD. I snagged a used copy for cheap and that was that.

On to the next aisle…|

When the CD arrived, it was in good shape.  I put it into the same stack of other CDs I had just received.  After checking out a couple other pieces, I was blown away how cool this music was the moment I slid it into my 1996 Ford Exploder CD changer.   It hard to describe… …definitely reminiscent of Pink Floyd and MAYBE some tidbits of old Rush too, dressed with mystical flutes and wicked 70s synthesizers.  A couple of longer tracks even had some hard-jamming Jazz Fusion goin on as well.

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I suddenly felt as if I was riding a unicorn through the enchanted forest with nothing but a loin cloth and my arcane magic ring…

…or maybe aboard spaceship zipping through an astral plane searching for life in the galaxy…

There isn’t a lot of vocals on this piece, just the occasional cosmic gurgling so it doesn’t disturb your fantastic voyage.

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All and all these guys are tripped out and I will buy more of them.

Makes me want to reactivate my World of Warcraft account.

Sampler on Amazon —> here

I’ve seen the writing on the wall for years.  It’s a slow death for most, but is inevitable.  Our little local record store, “Orion’s Music” shut it’s doors this weekend.  Orion’s was the defacto for the local Park City crowd, nestled in a slice of strip mall in the center of town.  It was a great spot for rubbernecking if you weren’t up for dealing with the grocery store or your wife.  There was a little teriyaki joint next door I would always go to for lunch.  Time after time,  I would make a b-line next door while waiting for my food, lurking through the aisles like some crazed fool looking for a fix.  I would tell myself it’s not the time to buy, but more times than none…would always walk out with something and a little less cash in hand.

They always had I was looking for when I didn’t even know…

Maybe it’s the smell of everything.  Frankincense, the finish film-plastic-cardboard toxic aromas emanating in the stale air.   It was also instant gratification.  An artistic master piece in its physical form, not some digitally spawned mp3.  Even comes with   Something you could preserve in your music DNA doomsday vault should things go awry.

\\\It’s the SOUND of sounds.///

I don’t understand how the rest of the population find digital bytes a hard commodity…

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I knew the owner Brian Richards a little bit.  He lucked out and is moving into another profession that still involves music, but for running Park City’s very large free concert program, Mountain Town Stages.

Cool weather gathering, 150 or so people, beer garden, food, etc.   Great liquidation deals on CDs, but it was too chaotic inside and the lines were L O N G.  So I had to bail…

I took my 3-year old daughter Stevie there to check out the Kiss cover band that was playing she was mesmerized by the rock-n-roll.

She might be a bass player one of these days…or something else.

Hippies are very resourceful people. Living and working together, they could probably withstand any earthly tragedy.  Living on meager accommodations, scrounging enough to survive and being happy with it.

Eating fingernails and firing up with a friend.

Blind Melon I think with most people came off as a hippie band, most in part to that single with the bumblebee???  I admit, it’s a good, happy hippie song.

My thoughts go back to when I moved to Boulder, Colorado in 1993.  It was well after Mork and before Jon Benet.  I was waiting tables just enough to make ends meet, to pay rent and to have enough money to go out after work.  My first half, I was sharing a room in a basement with my girlfriend at the time in a house with 6 other people: 1 grad student, 3 undergrad freshman, 1  floater who finished their 4 years and were hanging around town.  The last one was a friend that came out with me from Tennessee who in a way, was in the same boat as me.  Honorable mention goes to the the 2 cockatoos, 2 Aussie shepherds, 2 cats and 1 lizard that were considered inhabitants as well.  It was a zoo.  The landlord was clueless of all the shit that went down there/

It was an period of discovery for me.  I was sick of school and needing a hiatus. Completely on my own. No school, no money, no family, no worries.  I had to figure things out on my own.  It was as close to the hippie mentality as I got.  I would have to say I thrived there, living off my minimum with just enough to have fun.  I made a lot of new friends and of course discovered what real skiing was all about.

I knew after I left I would find my way back into the mountains.  Eventually.

This CD was released after lead singer Shannon Hoon’s death in 1995.  He died of a cocaine overdose I think at the age of 27.  Sad.  Most of the tracks are mostly leftovers from previous releases.

As I listen to this cd, I note its rough edges and hard lyrics.  Some of it utterly depressing and also melancholic, but delivered in a defeating, accepting way.  Bluesy at times, some of it sounds like a eulogy.  Not the best of their discography, but still screams melon.  If you are looking for something more upbeat, get their 3rd album, Soup.

Nico has some covers that include:  Steppenwolf’s  ”The Pusher” | John Lennon’s “John Sinclair”.

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As far the newly resurrected Blind Melon of 2008, don’t go there.  The key to a happy ending is knowing when to roll the credits, and that should have happened just after this CD was put out in 1996.

Sampler on Amazon —> here

In the winter, my focus shifts to my obsession with skiing.  I live across the basin from my local ski resort, The Canyons.  I have been skiing there for the last 11 years and know every square inch of that place as well as all of skiing outside of the resort.  Yes, backcountry skiing.  That’s the reason I get a pass there.  The only resort in Park City that allows it, legally.  Backcountry skiing allows me to get away from it all, minus a couple friends.  I usually get my toes wet at least once, usually Sunday,  for a sizeable ski day.  Since this isn’t enough, my work allows me to take advantage of the good snow conditions sometimes found in the workday morning hours.

I consider that a HUGE perk.

The other weekend morning (Saturday) where I don’t ski, I enjoy home life with the fam.  However, I robotically grab my cup of joe and my binoculars and head for the front window.  Like some science starved student discovering life under a microscope, I stare at the ant sized figures hiking/skinning up the ridge, engulfed in their own micro dramas, “did I eat too much this morning?”… “Damn, I brought the wrong skis…” … “these snowboard punks better move out of the way or I will step all over ‘em”.   Not to mention the weather related drama—>Numb hands, toes, foggy goggles, and biting wind…

For what?

Pow.  Big Country Pow.  That’s what.

I’m the Saturday peeping tom of park city skiing. Call me for ski conditions…

My great big ski cathedral, surrounded by the reverbial Halls of Mentholyptus.  I do consider it a spiritual experience.  Being out there in the middle of it all.  I think a lot about the goods things and appreciate all I have been given.

What do I hear out there?  I hear the sounds of My Morning Jacket echoing off the walls like a singing poltergeist.  It fits the bill.  Their sounds speaks of big open spaces, inside or out.

These guys just flat out ROCK.  Known to get experimental at times,  Z takes a little more of a traditional rock appeal.

They are originally from Louisville, KY.  That would be pronounced “Louie” ville for you westerners.

Sampler on Amazon —> here

Here’s one of their songs from this CD.  It’s one of those “building up” pieces.  It gets more intense throughout the song.  This is an animated clip that was put with the song.  It should keep you glued for a few minutes.

Artist: Josh Rouse

Album: Best Of (Rykodisc Years)

Year: 2008

Genre: Rainy Day Music

Label: Rykodisc

I love the seasons.  All 4 of them.  I don’t think I could live somewhere were the weather is constant year round.  There is something great and unique, changing seasons.  It’s like rounding a mountainside and seeing the next 50 miles of new landscape you will be traveling through.  Most locations in the temperate region around the globe have them.  Park City has them, some of them longer than others but none the less, they are there.  It’s almost fall as most of you know…

Football.  School.  Smells change.  Leaves change.  People change.

We have a mud season. It’s a period of time between Fall and Winter where there’s not enough snow to ski and too muddy to do anything else outdoors.  Life is spent under roof, insulated in your own mental acoustics.  It can last for up to 2-3 weeks.  That’s 2-3 weeks of burning the eyes with TV, magazines, books, and the WWW.  After a week, the walls start to wear on you.  It’s a manic, soul sucking,  great depression.  Yeah… I can be a real grouch.

This guy Josh Rouse seems to have cornered this seasonal market.  I like his stuff, but I take it when I most need it.  It seems suited for days like these.  Insulated, rainy day rock.

Generally mellow stuff, but groovy at times.  He has a distinctive, mousy voice you locate in the stormiest of storms.

I own some of his older CDs up to 2005 or so.  This recommendation is a compiliation of the best of all 5 CDs plus some 7 unreleased, from 1998-2005.  Including the 2 most notable: 1972 and Nashville.

Sampler on Amazon —> here

Here’s a little something of him on the tube:

Artist: Johnny Cash

Album: Unchained

Genre: Alt Country

Year: 1996

Similar Artists: Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, Bob Dylan

Me and Johnny go way back.  I’ve known him for a long time.  We’ll… err…..not really KNOWN him but more OF him.

See… I grew up in HIS town of Hendersonville, TN.  From the ages of 3 until 18, I was there…walking in the same footsteps and crossing paths in our quest for daily diligence.

Before my teen years…, I would spend most of my summers at Bluegrass Y&CC’s swimming pool.  John’s house wasn’t very far from that pool either and I remember he would take his son there, John Carter.  I think it was more of a drop off/pick up situation cause I don’t remember very many times when I saw him.  But I was a kid those days and like any other kid, adults were nature’s surveillance, and you usually stayed out of their view when possible.

My first job when I was 16, I was a bagger for H.G. Hills.  It was the only local area grocery store around then and had it’s share of loyal shoppers.  Being a locally owned store, you could find items you couldn’t at the Kroger store.  Where else could you get pig brains and pickled pig’s feet in a one stop shop?

John and June used to get their their shopping done late at night before mops were out in full force just before 10PM closing time.  Friendly and courteous as any southerner could be.

The Cash family lived on the lake and owned several acres on the shoreline and across the street.  I would often frequent the cliffs just on the edge of his property with my group of friends .  They were called Cash’s Cliffs (no surprise there).  We would go there to jump in the lake, smoke, and to let loose after school.   It was out of sight from the street and no one could give us a hard time, except Johnny himself if he chose to I guess.  There was a cliff for everyone:

___________60 feet

_________ 40 feet   |

_______20 feet         |

……………………….._\|/_…………………..

and the honorable mention went to the tree we jumped out of that bumped the danger level up to an arm blistering 70 feet.

Talk about threading the needle…you did not want to botch that landing.

Good times.

I never was a fan of Johnny Cash until 10 years ago.  I discovered his music during his comeback years in the late 90s.  I read what producer Rick Rubin was doing for his career, immersing his PBS mind into the new MTV world.  I read about all the things that he did for him.  The important thing he did was to let Johnny be who he really was….

He…his songs…and his guitar.

The Nashville labels had written him off, they considered his career fizzled away in the 80s with the state fairs where he was delegated to perform.  Rick adopted him into his American Recordings family. After recording enough material for a first CD release, Rick wanted Johnny to try out some of his new material by performing at The Viper Room in LA.  It was very impromtu, just for fun event, but it turned out to be one of the Viper Room’s most famous nights in history.       Man… what I would give to have been there.

Anyway… This is the second release of his American Recordings sessions. It’s not as simplistic as his first release, it has a full band sound with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers doing most of the supporting work.    It’s what I think is his best of his resurgent years. Highlights such as Soundgarden’s revamped, “Rusty Cage“, and the powerful ballad, “Spiritual“.   They are all amazingly good.

Sampler on Amazon —> here
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I immersed my ears in his classic years too, enough to round out a very healthy Cash collection on my shelves that I visit from time to time.

I’m glad I got to know his music and learn more about the Man.    His zest for the living in the moment, his passion for humanity, and his grandfatherly voice that I feel a kinship with.   I feel a sense of pride knowing where he called home is where I also call home. |||

There’s a good little read about  his American Recording Years and the infamous night at The Viper Room here

Artist: Drive By Truckers

Album:  The Dirty South

Genre: Southern Rock

Year: 2004

Label:  New West Records

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It’s funny….

Of all the places I find new music, I read about these guys on CNN.com a long time ago.

DBT represents all things and good and ungood in the South…  The things that make you wish you lived in a far off land, AND the things that eventually bring you back home.  And the people…ah yes…nothing like them in the world,  those heartfelt “gettin-to-know you conversations” that seems to flow like a pitcher of sweet tea at summertime lunch.

Rarely an uncomfortable moment.

You might be thinking, huh????        I mean the REAL southern folks…  Who were born and will likely RIP south of the Mason-Dixon line.

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The DBTs usually roll into town once a year and I ALWAYS go.  This year was no exception.  The situation was a little different than usual.  They were the backing band for Booker T. and were out supporting his CD, “Potato Hole”.  Great venue at Red Butte Garden, in SLC, butted up against the range and peering over the valley.  The show itself was short…I mean REAL short.  Out on stage at 8:00 and over by 9:30 PM.  Is was a little disappointed, but I knew what I was getting into.  I like Booker T’s stuff, however full on instumental, it just wears on you a bit when you are waiting DBT to crush the cracker and pour the juice.  They did get a few DBT songs out plus a great closer, “Angels and Fuselage” was a nice surprise.

This post is one of their finest to date.  The second to last of the original “Three-guitar attack” trio – Hood, Cooley, and Isbell – who went solo a couple of years ago.  Solid Rock-n-Rebel with a few feather dusters to boot.  If you are seeking them out, this would be my first recommendation.

They will always have at least  one reserved seat in my easy portable CD case.

Sampler on Amazon —> here

Artist: Terry Reid

Album: Seed Of Memory

Year: 1973

Genre: Classic Rock

Label: MSI: BGO

I would have to say that this has to be one of the worst covers E V E R, but in this case, don’t judge a CD by its cover.  There’s a big story behind this guy and most of you probably don’t know it.  First of all, I ran across this guy a year or so ago.  I was helping my friend Mead work on some tagging issues he was having through J River Media Center.  He is one of the only owners of a Home Theater box that I make under a name called Fusebox. I will talk about that some other time.

Anyway, when he has a problem, I usually remote to his box and look around while he is telling me what’s going on.  As an example, he used this CD’s tagging.  The cover striked me as something to mention to him, so I do….

Being Mead, I get the full story.  Turns out he heard this guy watching a movie called “The Devils Rejects”.  It’s a B rated horror flick directed by Rob Zombie.  His tunes are used more than once in the film.  Among other classics as Skynyrd’s “Free Bird”, Elvin Bishop’s “Fooled Around and Fell in Love”, and Three Dog Night’s “Shambala”, hearing those Terry Reid piece’s struck Mead’s interest and he went for it.  His work is also in other independent movies such as, Wonderland and The Criminal.

An interesting fact he also read was that Terry Reid was the first person Jimmy Page asked to be in Page’s the New Yardbirds which eventually became “Led Zeppelin”.  Reid was opening up for the Rolling Stones at the time and wasn’t interested so he recommended Robert Plant for the gig.  And the rest was history…     And eventually, Terry Reid’s limelight days were eventually too…

It’s not that he didn’t have a successful career, he put out several albums since the late 60’s, with his last in the early 80’s, some  with critical acclaim.  I read something Aretha Franklin said, “‘there are only three things happening in London: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Terry Reid.” He’s still performing these days, however, in small halls, and with his guitar and voice tuned a couple of octaves down since he left the big stage.

And when you hear his singing (in his prime that is), man… when he breaks it down, it will RAISE the hairs on your arms.

This is one of his finest CDs, produced by Graham Nash (of CSNY).  The first 4 tracks will knock you down.

Here’s some before and after clips.  Check him out on youtube.  He’s all over it.

Back Then: (think of the black crowes today, influence???)

And Now: (2008 performance in London with one of the songs from Seed of Memory, still an amazing song)