As has been noted in these pages before, my daughter is in the Air Force. I'm not too happy that right now she is on a six-month assignment in Qatar while her two-year-old daughter is in San Antonio. So her active duty certainly colors my opinions regarding the new discs Voices of a Grateful Nation Vol. 1 & 2.
Vol 1, identified as "Texas Rock, Blues & Folk," is easily the better disc, featuring some great pairings we aren't likely to see anywhere else: Malford Milligan (r
Photos by Michael Pittman
After an extended hiatus from gigs with a band, it didn't take veteran Nashville songwriter Mark Germino long to knock the rust off. A larger than usual crowd packed Conroe's open-air Heritage Place THursday night to hear Germino, and he didn't disappoint from the opening strains of pedal-to-the-metal blue-collar rocker "Radartown" to the equally explosive closer, "Odessa Queen," from 2007's brilliant Atomic Candlestick.
With members of The Gougers, South Austin Jug Ban
"SWING LOW AND CARRY ME HOME" By Mechanical Boy from Michael Fodera on Vimeo.
It's about time for Rocks Off to head off to the bunkhouse for some much-needed R&R, but first here's a few final tidbits that have recently come to our attention.
Mechanical Boy just released its first video, "Swing Low and Carry Me Home" (above) and heads off on tour after its June 5 show at Fitzgerald's with Windsor Drive, Lake Charles' Magnolia Sons, the Testyclactics (ew), Better Luck and Spain Coloured Orange
A couple of important Americana shows have slipped under the radar this week. Whisky Priest Dustin Welch rolls into the Continental with Small Sounds. Welch's debut album Whisky Priest has remained in LOM's player much of the year and should find considerable support when the annual top albums lists start pouring out in December.
Lonesome Onry and Mean has to hand it to those people in Conroe: they know how to book a cool festival lineup. In fact, the list of performers for the Go Texan! Wine & Food stage at Saturday's Conroe Cajun Catfish Festival is downright scary from the standpoint of cutting-edge, less-than-highly-visible quality Americana acts.
Longtime LOM left-side-of-Nashville fave Phil Lee fires up at 2:45 p.m. Recently signed to Steady Boy Records, this wildman maverick - who counts Neil Young as one o
Veteran Nashville songwriter Mark Germino will be making a rare Houston appearance tonight at Anderson Fair. The last time Germino played there, no less a fan than Steve Fromholz drove over from Austin to catch the show.
A songwriter's songwriter, Germino is one of the most revered writers in the Nashville underground. Like anyone who pitches songs in Hillbilly Hollywood, Germino's got war stories, like the day he thought he was finally going to get Vern Gosdin to cut one of his songs.
For so
