Thanks, that's a great site. Still, I haven't been able to find out if there's an opening act (or who it is) for Wednesday night's show in Durham. I'll have to go back and dig a little deeper.

I thought it was available to view online for free at some site like Hulu but I was thinking of Before the Music Dies (another great doc). It's certainly worth the rental though. Better yet, you might even be able to find it used somewhere, Agreed. I don't have a ton of Townes myself but most fans recommend starting with Live At Old Quarter. I do have that one and love it. This is also a good one:

Alice Cooper's Theatre of Death show which hits Durham on Wednesday. The concert I've quite literally been waiting a lifetime for.

The Steve Wynn IV/The Baseball Project/The Minus Five at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro. There was no opening act, just two sets by Steve Wynn, Scott McCaughey, Peter Buck and Linda Pitmon that drew from the catalogs of all of the participants. Peter Holsapple of the dB's was in attendance and joined the band onstage for several songs, including The Ballad of John & Yoko. Hands down the best show I've seen this year. By all means don't miss it if it comes to your town.

If you haven't already seen it, I highly recommend checking out the Townes doc Be Here To Love Me. That and Heartworn Highways (which also features Guy and Steve Earle) are essential viewing for any Townes fan.

Minus Five I Don't Know Who I Am (Let the War Against Music Begin Vol. 2) [No Artwork Available] Minus Five Butcher Covered To the best of my knowledge Butcher Covered is only available at shows on the current Steve Wynn IV/The Baseball Project/Minus Five tour.

I'm not even a fan but I have no problem whatsoever saying that Metallica has most definitely been influential. A few years back I was watching a panel discussion program that ran on VH1 for a short time called Four On the Floor and they were discussing potential inductees for the Hall. Author Amy Linden said she didn't think the Grateful Dead deserved to be nominated, much less inducted. Her reasoning? She didn't like them. If it hadn't dawned on me before, it dawned on me then that she's a fucking idiot. Not because she doesn't like the Grateful Dead but because she thought they shouldn't even be eligible just because she's not a fan. That's just the kind of "thinking" that goes on behind the scenes of the induction committee and why Madonna is in but the Replacements aren't (and most likely never will be).

Can't wait for Wednesday night and my first ever Alice show. Was there an opening act?

Deep Purple were definitely very appreciated here in the U.S. I think it has more to do with the stigma the "Classic Rock" radio format has placed on bands such as Deep Purple. It took forever and a day for Skynyrd and Black Sabbath to ever get inducted but they both should have been in the very moment they were eligible. Of course it probably didn't help that Ozzy told 'em to get fucked and that Skynyrd's image is looked upon as being less than politically correct due to their Southern pride. Meanwhile, the Sex Pistols refuse to even show up for their induction, send the Hall a nasty note and are then cheered on for it by Jann Wenner and the induction committee. I have nothing against the Sex Pistols, they definitely belong in there as well but their behavior (which actually smacked more of a publicity stunt) is applauded, meanwhile groups like Purple are shunned because someone's probably heard Smoke On the Water one too many times on Classic Rock radio.

This is straight from the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame website: Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria include the influence and significance of the artists’ contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll.

The Reports Of Rhino's Demise Were An Exaggeration Thank you to everyone for your heartfelt and passionate words about the recent events at Rhino. As many of you know, we had to reduce our staff yesterday, and it was a very difficult day. We had to say goodbye to some great Rhinos who will be sorely missed. But, a lot of misinformation is making its way through chat rooms and the blogosphere -- including misplaced rumors that we have closed our doors -- and we want to take this opportunity to offer some perspective. Rhino is still a company of more than 100 passionate music lovers. We remain firmly committed to the core principles that made us the company you know and love: creating the best, most informative, innovative, and fun CD, vinyl, and digital music products, and doing everything we can to showcase the amazing artists and catalog with whom we work. In the coming weeks, we will bring an extensive revamp to Rhino.com which we think will help us compensate for the loss of so many retail outlets in the past few years. We will also be releasing several unique Rhino Handmade titles, including titles by Chris Bell, Jan & Dean, MC5, Wilson Pickett, and yes, The Monkees - titles that are very much in the vein of great Rhino releases from the past. And that's just a few of the projects we're working on, so please don't worry that we've gone away! Obviously, as the music industry undergoes rapid change, every company needs to think differently and to shift how they get the artists' music to the fans. This is not the first time we've had to confront this challenge at Rhino. Over the years, our staff has grown and contracted. But then it's also grown again, along with changes and opportunities in the marketplace. With every industry downturn, there are nay-sayers who predict our demise or complain that the "new" Rhino is not like the "old" Rhino. Well, we've got a 31-year track record, numerous awards, and a recent string of some of the most creatively diverse offerings in our history that refutes those pundits. Our unique social and environmental mission programs remain intact. And we remain totally committed to being an artist-centric company devoted to bringing our artists' music to the fans in the most thoughtful and creative way possible. This is who we are and will continue to be. With gratitude, Team Rhino

From Variety: Rhino Records lays off 30-40 WMG unit attempts to change with the times By CHRISTOPHER MORRIS In the latest indication of the shrinking market for compact discs, Warner Music Group's catalog arm Rhino Records laid off between 30 and 40 staffers on Thursday. Job losses came in all departments, including A&R, marketing, promotion and publicity. A statement from Rhino cited a "fundamental transformation of the physical new release and catalog business" as a reason for the cuts. Company said Rhino will evolve into an entity that "handles WMG's global digital catalog initiatives, film, TV, vidgame and commercial licensing, and name and likeness representation for legendary artists." Move comes as sales of physical recorded music continues to decline steeply. Rhino has long been considered the industry standard for boxed set retrospectives, but demand for such high-ticket items has been strangled by the music market slump and shift to digital sales. The Warner unit has been trying to change with the times, placing more emphasis on digital-only offerings, including a recent virtual boxed set devoted to the U.K.'s Factory Records, and name-and-likeness pacts, such as those made with Frank Sinatra's estate and the Grateful Dead.

Please tell me you're joking. As much as I love me some old Grand Funk no one in that band was even 1/32 of the writer Zevon was. Let me guess, you know Werewolves of London and that's it. As for Grand Funk's album sales, hits, concert grosses and the much fabled Zeppelin story, absolutely none of those things go into the criteria required for induction. It's not based on popularity or sales figures, it's based on influence. As I previously mentioned, what artists have cited Grand Funk Railroad as their primary influence?

Valerie's a "librarian"?

I would love to make it to one of Levon's Rambles someday. The way Tennessee Jed sounds like it could fall apart at any moment but the way they hold it together would have fit The Band perfectly. The new Crowes was recorded up at Levon's place in Woodstock, I really need to pick that one up soon.

While I definitely agree some of the artists mentioned should be in such as Rush, the Moody Blues and Deep Purple. I don't see how some of the others (Guess Who, BTO, Grand Funk Railroad) meet the criteria. I say that as a fan of Grand Funk, btw. I just don't think they were that influential. In the power trio category ZZ Top, Cream & Rush were much more influential and had far more impact. How many artists cite Grand Funk Railroad as a primary influence? As for the broad spectrum of artists that have been inducted so far, I see the point but I don't necessarily agree with it. Jimmy Cliff is reggae, not rock n' roll but he had far more influence on rock than Donna Summer, McDonna or LL Cool J. As for someone that should be in but isn't, I have two words: "Warren Zevon".

More politely put, I guess I just don't see the need in being so formal not to mention, repetitive. Maybe work on some different phrases, perhaps come up with some new material? In the player lately:

http://www.thelocal.se/22272/20090924 A German trucker suspected of driving under the influence of drugs crashed his vehicle near Borås in western Sweden on Tuesday. He subsequently admitted to masturbating at the time of the accident. The trucker, apparently unable to reach a satisfactory climax, then proceeded to continue to pleasure himself while in the midst of a police interrogation, according to the local Borås Tidning newspaper. "He was masturbating while the police interrogated him," police prosecutor Åsa Askenbäck told the newspaper. "He has admitted that he was not paying full attention at the time of the accident. He was playing with himself instead of focusing on the road." The truck driver was en route from Gothenburg to Borås at around 4am on Tuesday morning. The truck and trailer flipped over when he rammed his vehicle into the central division on route 40 south of Borås. The upturned vehicle blocked all traffic towards Gothenburg and one lane was closed in the direction of Borås. The man remained in the vehicle with his hands apparently still clasped around his own gear stick and was subsequently arrested for reckless driving and driving while under the influence of drugs. The suspicions against the man have now been extended to sexual molestation. The German trucker, who is in his thirties, has admitted all of the charges directed against him.

I'm not sure how Star Wars entered the conversation as I never even mentioned it but I will reiterate that The Dukes of Hazzard, The A-Team and Starksy and Hutch television series were indeed all crap. Just because they were successful doesn't mean they were good. Just take a look at the singles charts. What's next, are you going to be singing the praises of B.J. and the Bear?

Another great offering from Mr. Clark. Highly recommended to anyone that's a fan of the songwriting style of Townes, Steve Earle, John Prine, etc.

Yes, I have and quite frankly it's annoying as fuck. I appreciate your boundless enthusiasm for the music you love but the constant "how are you doing _____?" and "ROCK ON!" grew tiresome extremely quickly. As for quoting posts, just hit "Add Reply". If a quoted post appears, delete it, unless there's part of it you would like to reply to (and please, not the entire thing). It's really not that complicated to figure out.

What's with you quoting my post each and every time you reply to this thread? I'm not trying to be rude, I just don't think it's necessary. Same for the greetings and salutations you include in every single one of your posts.

Kiss definitely belongs in the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame but Alice Cooper should be inducted first. At this point I don't think he's even been nominated though.