Stone River Boys "Special"

Labor Day is coming up on Monday, and here we are at the beach. Or is that 'on the beach?' Yeah, that too. And with us 'laborers' so under attack, it seems an especially good time to take a peek at the trends that are causing the attrition. America no longer the manufacturing powerhouse she once was; other jobs continue to be shipped overseas. Industries are morphing and shedding skin in the information age revolution. There are so many people out of work with no prospects for full employment. Or for many of us to go back to work, we are faced with a difficult proposition, that we must take low paying jobs that don't even cover our mortgages! When all we want to do is work, do good for ourselves and our families, contribute to society. What if WE started a movement. Anybody up for a march on Washington? Here's hoping with the renewal that September brings, what with the start of a new school year, that we can get back to work after summer's doldrums; that we can all roll up our sleeves and start getting down to business.

There has been no shortage of work for the Stone River Boys, as they marched across America this summer. And their trek continues this fall. We will be seeing them at the Americana Music Festival & Conference next week in Nashville, where they are sure to blow away the room. I love to watch the faces of the audience members as they experience Mike Barfield's facial expressions and dance moves, Dave Gonzalez' ripping guitar riffs, Scott Esbeck's bouncing energy, Gary Newcomb's fluid steel guitar and Mark Patterson on relentless drums. Whoa, Nellie! The last two times we posted videos from these guys, they were totally different in flavor. Just goes to show how broad a swath the Stone River Boys cut into the musical landscape. From the garage band, soul 60's sound of "Love On The Dial," to the country tinged "Bluebonnet Blue," to this video, "Special," which is an old Jerry Foster & Bill Rice tune, delivered proudly with that Bakersfield sound. Each of these songs are featured on their album Love On The Dial. They call themselves the love child of Waylon Jennings and Mable John. We call it fun!

- Jessie Scott

Stonehoney with Jimmy LaFave "I Shall Be Released"

You want to talk iconic songs? The ones that are burned into our brains; where we know every nuance, every lick, every lyric. You know, the songs that are always covered by other artists. At the top of that list is the 1967 Bob Dylan tune, "I Shall Be Released." Golly galoshes, it even has its own WIKI entry! It was on the legendary Music From Big Pink, The Band's first album, issued in 1968. Add to that a long list of other folks who have recorded it including, Joan Baez, Bette Midler, Melissa Etheridge, U2, Big Mama Thornton, even the Beatles, though their version has never seen light of day.

While we are talking Bob Dylan, there are two projects coming out on October 19th, The Bootleg Series Vol. 9 - The Witmark Demos: 1962 - 1964; these are the original recordings for his early music publisher, done before he hit the tender age of 24! This 2-CD set, 47 songs, is the first addition to the aclaimed Bootleg Series since 2008. Also out the same day: The Original Mono Recordings, an 8-CD boxed set of his first eight long-playing albums, reproduced from their first generation mono mixes. Among the tunes on The Witmark Demos are 15 songs that Bob recorded solely for these sessions, some of which are just now being released to the public. These include “Ballad For A Friend,” “Long Ago, Far Away,” “The Death Of Emmett Till,” and “Guess I’m Doing Fine." Many of the other early songs did appear later on Bob Dylan’s own albums, as well as having been recorded by others; including Peter, Paul and Mary and Stevie Wonder (“Blowin’ In The Wind”), Judy Collins (“Tomorrow Is A Long Time”) and The Byrds (“Mr Tambourine Man.”)

It is simply amazing that this crop of songs has been covered by more than a thousand artists in the nearly fifty years since these demos were created. And Dylan continues his amazing legacy, with important new releases of his own, as well as by continuing to have his songs interpreted today. At WoodyFest 2010 in Okemah, OK this past July, we had the occasion to film Stonehoney, with Jimmy LaFave and Red Molly. They stopped time with this version of "I Shall Be Released."

- Jessie Scott

Rosie Flores "You Tear Me Up"

Whoo hoo, the long holiday weekend is coming. Hope you are planning something fun. There are festivals and gigs and opportunities to blow it out everywhere for this rite of passage, the functional end of the summer season! If you are going to be around Austin or in the Hill Country of Texas, you might want to check out Hayes Carll's Labor Day Bash at Luckenbach, happening Sunday, September 5th, with a totally kick ass line-up: Alejandro Escovedo, Jesse Dayton, The Trishas, Corb Lund, John Evans Band, and Rosie Flores. Shilah Morrow, the empress impresario of Sin City Social Club put this fabulous day together with Hayes' camp and Abbey at Luckenbach. An aside, I was just out at Luckenbach this past Saturday to see Robyn Ludwick and her band rock out under the trees. She has a sultry and moody new CD coming early next year produced by Gurf Morlix!

Actually, allow me to digress even more, as we will be catching up with Hayes and band, and Corb Lund, from the above mentioned line-up, for the Music Fog cameras in Nashville at the Americana Music Festival coming up September 8th--11th. Can't wait for that, too! Music Fog will be at the Convention headquarters, the Sheraton Nashville Downtown Hotel, with our cameras rolling. I hesitate to tell you who all we have set to perform at our private video shoots, but suffice to say there are 25 plus and we are still confirming more. But I can tell you there is still availability to stay at the Sheraton every night but Saturday, for $189/night plus tax.

Again from the above mentioned line-up, we have a Rosie Flores video for you today, from our marathon sessions at Threadgill's in Austin, filmed during SXSW 2010. If you will recall, when we posted the last Rosie video, she was healing from her broken arm. Her summer has been busy nonetheless! From her blog, "September has us performing through the Southwest, where I’ll be spending my birthday on the 10th of September in Santa Fe, NM. Then heading to Greenbay, WI playing the Oneida Casino with Big Sandy, and then meeting up with Ruby James, Gail Davies and Chris Scruggs for a nice country festival in the South of France. Check my website at “Tour” for details. Cheers, Rosie." And let us cheer Rosie on, as she delivers "You Tear Me Up!" from Bandera Highway. Rockabilly in the grand style.

- Jessie Scott