Citizens Band Radio "Rollin' On Down the Line"

I am a sucker for a country song. That is saying something as I am from New York City, where there was scarcity when it came to the actual country, let alone the music of rural America. But somehow, even growing up, it seeped into my consciousness and found a way into my heart. And I embrace it all, from the gin soaked barroom ballads of lost love, to the two-stepping honky tonk, to the country rock that was born later but keeps the fire burning bright.

We have a song from Citizens Band Radio to bring you today. They call themselves “HonkyTonkin' Rock-A-Rollin' Whiskey Drinkin' Goodtimin' Footstompin' Music." For some reason, my spellcheck alert didn’t even go off on that one. So all must be right! The band is Jay Jannuzzi on vocals and acoustic guitar, Linda King vocals and mando, Andrew Keenan vocals and pedal steel, Troy Black on lead guitar, Dale Eddington on Drums and Kevin Hummel on Bass. This was a whole pile of people on stage together. No wonder they travel on a vintage bus, named Ol' Waylor. They come all the way from the west – Western Jersey, that is. Click here to see where they will be next, riding that Northeast corridor route, as they play “Rollin’ On Down The Line,” from our 2011 Music Fog Marathon this past March at Threadgill’s in Austin.

- Jessie Scott

Malcolm Holcombe "Down In the Woods"

There are some people who you just scratch your head about when you see them. You wonder how they live, and what shaped them, what material they are made of, because it sure isn’t the cookie cutter stuff that most of us are carved from. Not to say that we aren’t all unique entities, but some of us are just stone originals, and so it is with Malcolm Holcombe.

I first met him in 1997 or 1998 in Nashville. It was whispered that he was living in his car or something at the time. He showed up one happy hour on the platform of Nashville’s Union Station Hotel. When I was at Lightning 100 Radio, we had started a weekly series there at the hotel, outdoors overlooking the tracks on Friday evenings. It made for wonderful punctuation when a train rode through. Malcolm came to one of those shows. I have been in awe since. It is like he drinks from a different well, or sees another dimension besides the ones we do. No doubt he has had a tough life, and yes there have been demons. But again, he carries such an elfin spirit about him. I know you will see it in this video we filmed a couple of weeks ago at the Cherokee Creek Music Festival.

Malcolm’s eighth album To Drink The Rain was recorded at Cedar Creek Recording in Austin. Welcome the newest member of the Music Road Records family, Mr. Malcolm Holcombe with “Down In The Woods.”

- Jessie Scott

Jalan Crossland "Hard to Stop the Killin'"

Photo Credit: Tess AndersonGot to turn you onto someone new today. Jalan Crossland (pronounced juh-lon) comes from the country, namely the big open spaces of a small Wyoming town. He has been plying his craft solo and with a band for over ten years, having started with the proverbial banjo on his knee. He emerged in his twenties with a whammy bar, playing an Ibanez Firebird copy in "Iron Maiden wannabe" bands. And then he was delivered from that into the roots world. Four albums have ensued, the latest being Driftwood Souls, which just came out in April. He is playing dates in the Great Northwest if you want to catch up with him. I love the spaghetti western feel of this song from that new CD, recorded at the 2010 WHAT Fest. “Hard to Stop the Killing.”

- Jessie Scott

PS: Today, Chip Taylor’s new CD Rock and Roll Joe is being released, which features Kendel Carson and John Platania along with Chip. It is an homage to the unsung heroes of rock and roll, and there is an accompanying website to pound the drum. Check out the record, but also, make sure you check out the website, as the latest entries are about two of my heroes, Nicky Hopkins and Cornell Dupree. Robert Earl Keen recently contributed a piece on John Vandiver. A very cool thing indeed! We salute Chip Taylor for his mission over the last few years, and his insistence to do things that make a difference.