New from Eleanor Friedberger of Fiery Furnaces. Her new solo record, Last Summer, comes out on July 12th. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1A9Eiv_yBpY

I'm a man out of time when it comes to current boards which my nephew (who's in his early 40s) refers to as "popsicle" boards. Thankfully, there's a market out there for older skaters such as myself or else those would be the only option.

My first skateboard was a no-name brand with Chicago trucks and clay wheels from the local Roses Dept. store. Thanks to friends and the pages of Skateboarder magazine, my first "real" skateboard was a Gordon & Smith Fibreflex. I ended up with two of those, one a slalom board with Tracker trucks and (Chris) Yandell wheels. The other one was a shorter board with a kicktail equipped with Gullwing's Phoenix Trucks and Kryptonic wheels. I also had a wooden Sims taperkick board. Actually, I still have all of those boards. The skateboarding bug bit me again a couple of years ago so I upgraded nearly all of those boards. When I got back into skateboarding I wanted to realize my dream of owning a Gordon and Smith Bowlrider but it didn't take me long to learn that Gordon & Smith were no longer the leaders in skateboard manufacturing (though they still seem to be doing pretty well in the surfboard dept.). The only place I was able to find a Bowlrider was on eBay and it was very expensive. The closest current skateboard I could find was a very similarly made Sector 9 board that even emulated (if not flat out imitated) the original G & S 5-ply maple laminate design. The day I bought that board two years ago, I could not stop riding it and ended up skating into the wee hours of the morning. Since then I've really gotten back into it full bore and have three long boards (one with a kicktail) and a slalom board along with my original quiver. All of them are Sector 9's except for one of the longboards which is made by Arbor (who have since merged with Sector 9). Out of the old boards, the only one I really ride anymore is the Sims. I upgraded it with a new set of Tracker half-track trucks and some spongy Orangutang wheels. At the ripe old age of 48, I'm guessing my renewed interest in skateboarding is my mid-life crisis. The way I look at it, it's a hell of a lot cheaper than buying a Ferrari. Funny thing is, it all started when someone tried to discourage me from getting back into it. All it took was one ride on my old G & S slalom board. After about 20 minutes of gliding around a parking lot without busting my ass I had skating fever, again. It hasn't let up since.

Might wanna try the "Other Bands" forum. This one is for Led Zeppelin, not wannabes.

My primary weapon of choice these days:

Click on the image for more info

Actually, when they played Hopscotch last year it was at a small pub. I wasn't able to make that show so I can't offer up my own experience. And, the show they did with the Decemberists wasn't exactly at a huge venue either, it was at the fairly new (it opened last year) Downtown Raleigh Ampitheatre. I'm not sure of the exact capacity but it's nowhere near as big as the local "shed", Walnut Creek. Back to Best Coast, there's a real nice interview with Bethany in the new issue of The Big Takeover. It also includes an interview with Peter Buck of R.E.M. which is well worth reading.

If nothing else, the Crossroads Festivals stand as an ongoing testament to Clapton's influence, then and now.

Glad you had a good time and thanks for the report. I haven't seen them on this tour but am looking forward to their performance during the Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh in September. From all I've read, they're going to be taking an extended hiatus after this tour wraps up. They definitely deserve it as they've been touring pretty much non-stop since they first formed in 1998.

If you're talking strictly "musicals", then I've never much cared for them but I do love this one:

Due on Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011 from the Truckers' former label, New West Records: Ugly Buildings, Whores & Politicians: Greatest Hits 1998-2009 1. The Living Bubba 2. Bulldozers and Dirt 3. Ronnie and Neil 4. Zip City 5. Let There Be Rock 6. Marry Me 7. Sink Hole 8. Carl Perkins' Cadillac 9. Outfit 10. The Righteous Path 11. Gravity's Gone [Remix] 12. Never Gonna Change 13. 3 Dimes Down 14. Lookout Mountain 15. Uncle Frank [Alternate Version]

It's hard to top an original by the Allman Brothers Band but here, Molly Hatchet give the ABB a run for their money by recasting "Dreams" as a rocker:

The popular historian David McCullough says textbooks have become 'so politically correct as to be comic.' Meanwhile, the likes of Thomas Edison get little attention. By BRIAN BOLDUC 'We're raising young people who are, by and large, historically illiterate," David McCullough tells me on a recent afternoon in a quiet meeting room at the Boston Public Library. Having lectured at more than 100 colleges and universities over the past 25 years, he says, "I know how much these young people—even at the most esteemed institutions of higher learning—don't know." Slowly, he shakes his head in dismay. "It's shocking." He's right. This week, the Department of Education released the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress, which found that only 12% of high-school seniors have a firm grasp of our nation's history. And consider: Just 2% of those students understand the significance of Brown v. Board of Education. Mr. McCullough began worrying about the history gap some 20 years ago, when a college sophomore approached him after an appearance at "a very good university in the Midwest." She thanked him for coming and admitted, "Until I heard your talk this morning, I never realized the original 13 colonies were all on the East Coast." Remembering the incident, Mr. McCullough's snow-white eyebrows curl in pain. "I thought, 'What have we been doing so wrong that this obviously bright young woman could get this far and not know that?'" To read the rest of the article click here.

Happy Birthday to Brian Wilson who turns 69 today: http://youtu.be/L--cqAI3IUI

For those that remember Mitch Easter's band Let's Active from the 80s (and even for those of you that don't), this is "Every Word Means No" circa 2011: By the way, bassist Shawn Lynch is also in the very excellent Charlotte-based band The Temperance League. Think Springsteen mixed with the Ramones, power pop and a generous helping of Graham Parker.

Revised tour dates for this summer: 7/03 | Durham NC @ Eno River Festival 2pm 7/08 | Charlotte NC @ Visulite Theater – Shuffle Magazine Party 7/10 | Carmel IN @ The Palladium, w/ Indigo Girls 7/11 | Chicago IL @ HearYa studios live session 7/11 | Chicago IL @ The Whistler, w/ Judson Claiborne 10pm 7/12 | Fish Creek WI @ Door Community, w/ Indigo Girls 7/13 | Minneapolis MN @ Minnesota Zoo, w/ Indigo Girls 7/15 | Arvada CO @ Arvada Center, w/ Indigo Girls 7/16 | Boulder CO @ Chautauqua Auditorium, w/ Indigo Girls 7/17 | Beaver Creek CO @ Vilar, w/ Indigo Girls 7/18 | Salt Lake City UT @ Kenley Amphitheater, w/ Indigo Girls 7/20 | Seattle WA @ Seattle Zoo, w/ Indigo Girls 7/21 | Seattle WA @ Seattle Zoo, w/ Indigo Girls 7/22 | Portland OR @ Portland Zoo, w/ Indigo Girls 7/23 | Redway CA @ Mateel Hall, w/ Indigo Girls 7/24 | Saratoga CA @ Mountain Winery, w/ Indigo Girls 7/26 | Los Angeles CA @ Troubadour, w/ Indigo Girls SOLD OUT 7/27 | San Diego CA @ Humphrey’s, w/ Indigo Girls 8/13 | Pittsboro NC @ TRKfest – Pittsboro Biofuels 9/09 | Raleigh NC @ Hopscotch Music Festival

If anyone was in doubt that you're a fucking idiot this is even further proof. Only a "couple"? What size rock do you live under? By the way, I'm not a "Clapton is God" person but how one could be so totally unaware of Clapton's influence is beyond me. Ever heard of Duane Allman? George Harrison? Derek Trucks? Robert Cray? ..and that's just naming a few off of the top of my head.

Another one from Hayes Carll, this one from a couple albums ago:

Drivin' n' Cryin' at the Pour House in Raleigh this past April.

Thanks for the update.

http://www.koto.org/home Sunday, June 19, 2011 11:00 - noon — Darrell Scott & Friends' Father's Day Gospel Hour 12:30 - 1:30pm — Edgar Meyer 2:00 - 3:15pm — Abigail Washburn & the Village 3:45 - 5:00pm — Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band 5:30 - 6:45pm — Punch Brothers 7:15 - 8:30pm — Mumford & Sons 9:00 - 10:30pm — Robert Plant & Band of Joy

New Rosebuds: