Old 97's - The Grand Theatre, Vol. 1

Maybe someone who lives in Austin can help me figure out what my latest biblical plague is. There are these tiny black bugs that bite, and they are hanging out in my living room. I don't think they are bed bugs, because they fly. I hate to use my Deep Woods® bug spray just to be at peace on the couch, but that's what I am doing. You know, before I moved to Austin, I was diligent about checking out the heat to see if I could deal with it, but I didn't think about the bugs. They are something. So is the allergen count. There is simply always something blooming here. And I don't even have allergies! So that's why it's good to go out!

Well, I did make it out last Wednesday night to the Ghost Room on West 4th Street in Austin. Funny thing about that place. Until I went inside, I thought I hadn't been there, but on some late night pub crawls during bygone SXSWs, I recall seeing amazing stuff in that space! This evening was a KGSR Listening Party for two acts on New West Records: Ponderosa, and the Old 97's! A great twin bill. Ponderosa is a brand new band out of Atlanta whose music lives in a similar Southern Rock pocket to Truth & Salvage Co. They recall the Allman Brothers, Skynyrd, Faces, Black Crowes; you know, the stuff that feels good! Their debut album Moonlight Revival is due out this January, but check out a taste of it with "Old Gin Road," which is available as a single right now on iTunes. Ponderosa (shortened to 'Rosa,' if you please) heads up to the CMJ Music Marathon in New York for a gig at Arlene's Grocery on Saturday.

Then there is master Alt. Country outfit, the Old 97's. Their new CD, The Grand Theatre, Volume One came out a week ago, and they celebrated its release in their home state of Texas. This is their eighth studio record, for which they recorded over two dozen brand new songs. So they broke it into two parts, with the second volume coming in 2011. Rhett Miller did the preponderance of writing for the album while on tour abroad in 2009. He and band mates Murry Hammond, Ken Bethea and Philip Peeples, craft this new CD retaining their classic sound while bringing a Garage-Rock-meets-60's-British-Invasion flavor.

Free Download from the Old 97's (right-click to save)

Rhett Miller wrote the title track in the dressing room of Leeds, England's Grand Theatre. Enjoy this free download of that song, and take a look at their video, which previews the album and gets up close with Rhett talking about the project.

- Jessie Scott

Darrell Scott "A Crooked Road"

Darrell Scott is a performer whose talents are of mythic proportions. He writes, he sings, he plays, and it is all effortless, seamless and touched by the divine. He is a revelation. He is one of those rare people that can be totally entertaining all by himself. But now there is a band, too, and what a band it is. When I heard that Darrell was going to join Robert Plant's Band of Joy, I jumped for joy. He takes his place with the other giants in that aggregation, right beside Robert Plant, Buddy Miller, Patty Griffin, Byron House, and Marco Giovino. We got a chance to see the band perform for The Ryman Auditorium audience after the Americana Honors & Awards in Nashville. They did a smoldering set (not for broadcast) after the awards show, ya had to have been there! The tour has gone to Europe, tonight they are in Edinburgh. The question I have is how Plant got wind of Darrell, and how much fun it must be playing with this level of artistry. I wish now I had asked Darrell when he came to see us during Americana Fest.

Kentucky born, East Gary, Indiana bred, with some California thrown in for good measure; Darrell grew up playing with his brothers and father, Wayne, in their family band. He made pit stops in Toronto and Boston, earning a degree in poetry from Tufts University before he made his way to Nashville in 1992. He was initially welcomed for his instrumental prowess. His songwriting was embraced next, with his work being covered by Garth Brooks, Faith Hill, Dixie Chicks, Alan Jackson, Sam Bush, and Guy Clark, who was his mentor. His latest CD is called A Crooked Road, and it is his 6th studio album of the 9 CDs in his discography. His lyrics are simple, and quite perfect on this song, the title track, "A Crooked Road." We were totally honored to have him, and blessed by this tune.

- Jessie Scott

John Doe & Lucy Schwartz "Forever Young"

Television to the rescue! No seriously, just how much music have you gotten into lately because of TV? Whether you saw someone perform on a late night talk show, or SNL. Or you heard a really cool tune on a commercial, and just had to Google it to find out who it was. Maybe you saw a story about an artist on CBS Sunday Morning, and were so moved to go to iTunes and download their latest. Could be there was a cool song playing during the end of show credits. Television, which until recently has been such a vast wasteland for many things, is where the grass is growing through the concrete, giving some new music a chance to break through the white noise of the clutter, the bombardment of stimuli that now makes up our daily pastiche.

It is season two for Parenthood, by Oscar-winning producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. We discovered a real nice video of a song from the Parenthood (Original Television Soundtrack) CD, which, by the way includes music from Bob Dylan, Brett Dennen, Amos Lee, The Avett Brothers, Corrine Bailey Rae, The Eels, Josh Ritter, Lucy Schwartz, The Swell Season, Wilco, Ray LaMontagne and John Doe. That is a damn cool list. The Bob Dylan contribution is the tune "Forever Young," which John Doe and Lucy Schwartz cover here, and both versions are on the CD. It only seems fair that we bring you longtime X member John Doe, after mentioning him on the Exene post from Friday. And may YOU always be, "Forever Young."

- Jessie Scott