February 29, 2008How would Putin rock?As you surely know, Russian President Vladimir Putin is moving on, so to speak. His heir apparent in the race to replace him is one Dmitry Medvedev. So what of Medvedev? Floyd blues and roots man in "Living Blues" chartsFrom Scott Perry: > "8 MILES" MAKES THE BLUES CHART! >My 2007 release, "8 Miles to Perryville," made the "Living Blues" magazine Top 40 in October (#35 to be exact). While not nearly as exciting as making the Top 10, this is quite a feat for a self-produced and self-released disc. ... Continue reading "Floyd blues and roots man in "Living Blues" charts" » February 28, 2008From youtube: Jimmy Thackery and Reba RussellThanks to our friend in music, Harry Turner (Thacker's manager / booking agent), for sending the link to this one. Thackery and Russell should team up and rule the blues world. Seriously. Here's the stuff, from a blues cruise: Floyd's John Two Ponies has diedFrom Floyd bluesman Scott Perry: >JTP RIP >The Floyd Music Community lost a talented, mercurial figure last weekend. I may be one of the only Floyd musicians to have never played in the John Two Ponies Band, but I was a fan and admirer. Some of the most memorable evenings I ever spent as host of the Pine Tavern Open Mic involved John. He leaves behind a wife and two young children. Donations are being accepted to assist with covering his funeral costs and to assist the widow and children. Megan (cutNscratch note: Megan Ihlefeld is his wife), is also collecting remembrances about John for their young children. Van Halen show rescheduled!Well, the boys have fought through whatever it was that forced them to postpone their Feb. 22 Charlottesville concert. Van Halen will perform at John Paul Jones Arena on Tuesday, March 11. LiveNation says that tickets and parking passes for the Feb. 22 show will be honored. If you need a refund, get it from the place you bought your tickets. February 27, 2008Review: Case Jones, "Love Jones"Case Jones, originally from the "Boogie Down" Bronx, has been in the 'noke for years now, most of them as one-half of the rap duo Mack Jones. Jones and his partner, Poe Mack, have been doing their own things lately, but here they co-executive produce. "Love Jones" is a fun ride through Jones often wacky, sometimes hard and sometimes sensitive lyrical world -- the 13 tracks (14 with the intro) fly by. Samples include the Grateful Dead's "Casey Jones," natch. There are plenty of soul and funk grooves, then he breaks verses over Pat Benatar's "Love Is A Battlefield." Buddy Miles has diedMiles, a great drummer who played with Jimi Hendrix and was a part of the California Raisins project, has died, according to his Web site. Drum geeks, read more about him here: http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Buddy_Miles.html. Quick news obit here: http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/default.asp?ArID=201464. MusicCast top 5 vids for this weekUpdated today, courtesy of new channels editor Dwayne Yancey: For the third week in a row, Red Clay River claims the No. 1 spot on our local music video countdown. But we have a new entry. Roanoke Allstars just added “OxyContin Rock” to the MusicCast, and already it’s in the Top 5. (Want to submit yours? See below for details.) 1. "Rattlesnake Mountain," by Red Clay River Hall of Fame presentersThe Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame will soon be welcoming in a new bunch of musicians. I think it's interesting to see who is inducting them March 10. Courtesy of a news release, here they are ... February 25, 2008The Wading Girl plays benefit tonightI picked up this bulletin from myspace today, for what looks like a worthy show. The music world is unpredictable, and you can be surprised at the people who are around to help you in the middle of nowhere, when you have next to nothing. The Wading Girl, Illbotz and Jesse Ray Carter Trio are playing tonight to help out one of those people. February 22, 2008Emily Brass gig canceledThe Emily Brass show scheduled for Saturday at Awful Arthur's (Towers) has been canceled due to a death in the family. February 21, 2008All Good Festival announces artistsConfirmed Performances Include Widespread Panic, Phil Lesh & Friends, Further proof that Lesh is, indeed, alive! Big music day in Big LickIt's not everyday that we music fans here in Ro-noke, Vuh-jin-ya, can say that the announcement of a Steve Earle concert in the Star City is NOT the biggest music news of the day. February 20, 2008This week's Top 5 local music videosFrom my colleague Dwayne Yancey, who keeps a close eye on these things: Same bands as last week, just a different order -- but Red Clay River continues to dominate the MusicCast charts. And Illbotz just missed the list. 1. "Rattlesnake Mountain," by Red Clay River 2. "Company Men," by Red Clay River 3. "Two Chicken Sandwiches," by Alec Baldwin 4. "Can’t Hate the Hater," by 3feetup 5. "Burned Out Car," by Red Clay River Watch them on the MusicCast. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss coming to RoanokeThey just won a Grammy, and now they're coming to Roanoke. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss are scheduled for June 2 at the Roanoke Civic Center. Tickets go on sale March 3. Tickets are $70, $60 and $49.50, civic center spokeswoman Robyn Schon said in an e-mail. Prices include fees, but not credit card charges, she wrote. The raw feed of the news release is below. I wish I had time to write more about this one. Busy afternoon. Continue reading "Robert Plant and Alison Krauss coming to Roanoke" » Steve Earle and Allison Moorer come to the Jeff CenterThis is the quality. Steve Earle, a multiple Grammy-winner, is one of the great contemporary songwriters. Allison Moorer is an amazing singer, whose sister is Shelby Lynne. Steve Earle w/ Allison Moorer Tickets go on sale Monday, according to show promoter DLP Concerts. Gold $32, Silver $28, Bronze $22 Continue reading "Steve Earle and Allison Moorer come to the Jeff Center" » Paleface at 202Indie music fans who listened to WUVT back in the early 1990s (before there was even the phrase "indie music") might remember Paleface, whose minimalist "antifolk" music was ready-made for college radio. I hadn't thought about Paleface in years, so I was shocked -- shocked, I say! -- to see his name in print recently. I thought, "Could that be the same Paleface who sang 'Burn and Rob'?" Roanoke old-time jam movesOne of the overlooked aspects of Coda coffeeshop's closing is the uprooting of the old-time fiddle jam, which had been held there every Wednesday. The jam came to Coda just a couple of years ago following its long, productive run at Mill Mountain Coffee downtown. The Coda was a great spot -- right there on Grandin Road in the middle of the movie, music and restaurant hub-bub. February 19, 2008Darrell Scott's Nashville portraitWhen I wrote a review of Darrell Scott's Friday night show at 202 Market, I noted that a photo of Scott is part of the Nashville Portraits exhibit at The Art Museum of Western Virginia. Today, Scott sent a message through his publicist, responding to my request to know more about the photo. February 18, 2008High Point Coffee music skedTommy Edwards and Barefoot West are on the bill at High Point. Is Roanoke starting to get a coffeehouse music scene? What is country music?I received an e-mail on Sunday from someone who read my review of the Keith Urban / Carrie Underwood show at Roanoke Civic Center. He wrote: "Carrie IS Country. She might cover some Pop/Rock stuff in her live shows but she always has been and always will be a Country singer/songwriter." Coffee Mill Radford: late-Feb. music scheduleGet your fill of java and check out some tunes. Continue reading "Coffee Mill Radford: late-Feb. music schedule" » The best of the best-sellersInspired by all the coverage of the 25th anniversary of "Thriller" (which actually occurred a couple months ago, but Sony's just now realized it), features staffer Pete Dybdahl looked up the list of the best-selling albums of all-time. Pete's observations: February 16, 2008Concert review: Keith Urban, Carrie UnderwoodA huge crowd at Roanoke Civic Center got a big dose of pop-country on Saturday night. Hitmakers Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood kept the 8,426 people cheering and singing along all night. Here's the review. February 15, 2008Concert review: Darrell ScottFew guitar players combine the taste and technique that Darrell Scott has mastered. And he writes great songs, too. He's probably just too good. Here's the review. February 14, 2008Concert: Grace Potter and the NocturnalsWow. It's hard to see a show like that and try to be an objective reporter, reviewing the show. All I really wanted to do was get up, head to the front of the stage, and rock. Potter and her band probably have that effect everywhere they play. Here's the review | Read more about Potter here. Third Street Coffeehouse schedule, late Feb.-MarchThird Street is always bringing the quality folk. Continue reading "Third Street Coffeehouse schedule, late Feb.-March" » New Riders of the Purple SageSo, after our epic error on the New Riders of the Purple Sage show, I heard from a gentleman named Howard Bullen, who was very nice and promised to send me his thought on the show. He also sent some nice photos. Coffee Pot lineup for last half of February2/15 - The Bluegrass Brothers March schedule for Awful Arthur'sDowntown Roanoke, Towers, Salem and Blacksburg shrimpresent. Acts include ex-"Idol" contestant Kurt Parks and his group, the Season. Also, Atlantic Kingz, Drivn, Groova Scape, Blue Moonshine, Julius C (from NYC), the Pop Rivets, iRon Lion and Stephanie's Id. February 13, 2008The not-dead DeadMan, did I write an error into Wednesday's paper! It's killing me, if you'll pardon the expression. I won't pretend to be a Deadhead. Never have. But I like the band OK, and I particularly like acts that have sprung from the Grateful Dead -- particularly Mickey Hart's the Rhythm Devils, as well as Phil Lesh and Friends. Some of my favorite guitarists, including Robben Ford and Jimmy Herring, have played with Lesh. So I know that Hart and Lesh are alive. But some how, some way, I managed to drop this little nugget on an unsuspecting public, in a blurb about New Riders of the Purple Sage's appearance tonight at Roanoke's 202 Market: > New Riders of the Purple Sage began in 1969, with Jerry Garcia on steel guitar. Other now-deceased members -- Mickey Hart and Phil Lesh -- and the Jefferson Airplane's Spencer Dryden, spent time with the New Riders. The band opened shows for the Dead, and traveled with Trans-Canadian Festival Express, a glorious mess of a tour immortalized in the documentary "Festival Express."< The line about Hart and Lesh couldn't be more incorrect. Read on to see how it happened ... February 12, 2008New Country Hall of Famers have local connectionsEmmylou Harris, Tom T. Hall, The Statler Brothers and the Ernest "Pop" Stoneman will become the newest members of the coveted Country Music Hall of Fame, according to a news release from the Country Music Association. It's probably long past due for Stoneman, who is generally credited with being the guy who talked RCA Victor's Ralph Peer into traveling to Bristol, where Peer recorded the sessions that came to be known as "The Big Bang Of Country Music," whatever that means. Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family used those recordings as a launching pad to immortality. For Southwest Virginia native Stoneman and his family, there were no hits from that session, and many ups and downs followed. Stoneman daughter Roni has played recently at the Floyd Country Store. Continue reading "New Country Hall of Famers have local connections" » Floyd 'Idol'I try to avoid watching "American Idol" after the first few shows. This year, I didn't even watch the early humiliations. That part is so fake by now. But the valleys now have a legitimate rooting interest. Adalee Mitchell, 20, is making her way through the show. Read more on Wendy Maxey's Idol Times blog. Speaking of the early round put-ons, we've got another local connection. Read more about Michael Gregory, who got on the show by acting like a nerd. February 11, 2008Dixie Bee-Liners No. 1 on roots music chartAn Abingdon-based band’s new CD is No. 1 on the Roots Music Report’s bluegrass chart. Continue reading "Dixie Bee-Liners No. 1 on roots music chart" » RAQ at the Mix One6 | March scheduleJust a couple days removed from a sold-out Perpetual Groove show, the Mix One6 has another up-and-coming jam band scheduled. RAQ is coming to the Mix on March 13. Read on for more info, including the Mix's March schedule. March schedule for Martin's DowntownShayar and Krooshal Force, Crobar Cane, Loud Clangin and Bangin, and Illbotz are on the list: March schedule for 202 MarketMarch at 202 Market includes Bebop Hoedown recording for a live CD, and Philly-based artists Dennis Gruenling and Leah Randazzo slinging some good blues. Read on for the full schedule: Schedule: March, Fork in the AlleyHere's a new idea. We get a ton of monthly bar and band schedules sent our way, so it seemed like a good idea to just post them here, in a new category, "Club shows: Raw feed." That means that we're not monkeying with it, so you might not get the showtime or cover charge -- but you'll at least get an advance heads-up. Let us know what you think, and read on for Fork in the Alley's March sked. February 8, 2008Taking a Spin onlineUSA Today reports that Spin magazine has put its February issue online. The entire magazine for free. You can find out more about it at myspace.com/spinmagazine. Each page has links to bands' MySpace profiles, iTunes info and Spin stories. Spin's next 12 issues will be available on MySpace. The February cover story examines "Why Pete Doherty Matters."
February 7, 2008Waddup at FloydFest?The folks at FloydFest are constantly updating the lineup for each year's shindig, it seems. I thought now would be a good time to see what's up as of today. February 6, 2008More ExtraCast = more musicThis week, the 'cast has schtuff from, Cyrus Pace (playing at 202 on Friday), Perpetual Groove (playing at Mix One6 on Saturday), the Wiyos (at Sun Music Hall on Sunday) and New Riders of the Purple Sage (202 next Wednesday). New Roanoke Jug Band is no moreThe New Roanoke Jug Band, which has helped keep alive a tradition of old-time music around here, is on indefinite hiatus. The band's Scott Baldwin says to check out his new project, Rootstone. Sounds good to me. Read on for a funny, fake news release that compares the band breakup to current economic woes. I received it from a friend who shall remain unidentified. February 5, 2008New MusicCast features Red Clay RiverCheck out one of Roanoke's darkest and most interesting bands, right here. February 4, 2008New podcast: This Week in RockTony Hume, the manager of Col. Bruce Hampton and the Quark Alliance, has a great new podcast, This Week in Rock, on radio station 95.1, Young Harris College, Ga. Here's his description: The self-produced show covers major classic rock events from days long gone during that week that the show airs. |