Thanks for the clarification on "The Dead" vs. "The Grateful Dead". I saw them as The Dead a few years ago with Branford Marsalis sitting in for the entirety of their Raleigh show and thoroughly enjoyed it but it wasn't even close to The Grateful Dead or even the original incarnation of The Other Ones. Still, they might just be worth checking out. I'm just glad to see them getting along well enough to play together, not so long ago it seemed several of them were at each others' throats over charging for downloading shows (which has always been free). As for "milking", that's up to the concertgoer as no one is forcing anyone to see The Dead (or the Police, Van Halen, or any other of the number of groups that have reunited in recent years). As for it being music for 50 year old men, can't say I agree with that either, if anything the music of the Grateful Dead is timeless. At every show I attended there were people there from a very broad age range, from toddlers to much older folks and everyone inbetween. The other big "reunions" I've heard about in the coming year would be The Kinks and The Faces. Can't say I'd call this one a reunion since they've toured as "The Dead" before.

Other than the Obama events last year this would be the first time they've performed as the Grateful Dead since Garcia died in '95. Since he passed several surviving members have performed as The Other Ones, The Dead and with Phil Lesh & Friends but not as "the Grateful Dead". It will never be the same without Jerry but that won't keep me from seeing them in concert either. I also seriously doubt they're doing it solely for the money since every one of them are set for life. Very few bands are able to carry on without key members but there are exceptions to the rule, such as the Allman Brothers Band. It's not as though Duane and Berry Oakley aren't missed as they most certainly are but if I go to see the Allmans these days I don't get the feeling I'm seeing a nostalgia act. They are just as vital now as they ever were, thanks in no small part to Warren and Derek Trucks. Unfortunately I can't say the same about Lynyrd Skynyrd. Even though they continue to record new music they'll never be the same without Ronnie Van Zant. Little Feat also does a good job without Lowell George but they don't even come close to the band they were when he was alive.

I like it well enough but like Easy Tiger, I get the feeling he's still playing it a bit safe. The vinyl edition comes with a 45 that includes two previously unreleased songs: Heavy Orange and Asteroid.

Some bands can get by without key members and have even been relatively successful but there is no Grateful Dead without Jerry Garcia.

I first heard of Mother's Finest back in the 70s when they were being touted as "the black Led Zeppelin" however I didn't actually see them in concert until the 80s when they must have played Roadies dozens of times (I saw 'em most every time). Part of the Zeppelin thing is the uncanny resemblence their version of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles' Mickey's Monkey bears to Custard Pie. I have no problem saying they are one of the best live bands I've ever seen. They still tour to this day and recently played the Lincoln Theatre in Raleigh. The lead singer, "Baby" Jean Kennedy is Chaka Khan's sister. Their original guitarist was a white fella named Moses Mo so I'm not sure who the guitarist was that you saw. That said, they have had many line up changes over the years. You can read more about them here.

My favorite band is the Beatles. My favorite song by them isn't something that's as easy to choose. Right now I'll go with A Day In the Life. Tomorrow it could be something entirely different.

A phone call from a friend asking about a band (the Gaslight Anthem) that we had been talking about just a few weekends ago. It's funny because just yesterday I had the CD in my hands while visiting the local record store. I've been seeing it on several year end top ten lists (from fans, not critics) but haven't gotten around to checking them out yet so I passed on the CD. Interest has kind of reached fever pitch lately so I decided to just take a chance on it without even hearing it. Turns out it's not a bad CD at all. Maybe not top ten material for me but well worth the $12 investment. I've been having a bit of a rough time of it lately with both health and personal issues so the phone call helped remind me of who I am, a self confessed music geek. Somehow I needed to be reminded of that. In her honor, after I picked up the CD I also purchased High Fidelity (a music geek movie for music geeks if ever there was one) and the newly released book 1,000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die to read on a road trip I'm taking tomorrow.

Apologies in advance if there's already a thread devoted to latest book purchases. A friend of mine has been recommending this book for months now. Today I finally broke down and purchased a copy for myself. The author also has a pretty nifty little website devoted to the recordings mentioned in the book that can be found here.

I've had the good fortune to see the Edgar Winter Group a couple of times through the years. The first was at a bar in Goldsboro, NC called Roadies that hosted the likes of Mother's Finest, the Atlanta Rhythm Section, Gregg Allman, Blackfoot, Cheap Trick, Head East, Nantucket, Foghat, the Johnny Van Zant Band, Nantucket, Emmylou Harris and many, many others. The second time was back in the 90s at a small club called Rootie's in Emerald Isle, NC. That night Edgar had Carmine Appice in tow on drums. I brought a copy of They Only Come Out at Night (which I inherited from my sister) just in case the chance to meet Edgar presented itself. When it did, Carmine put a nice curly cue type mustache on Edgar. Both shows were very good but I can't say I was ever much on the updated rap version of Frankenstein.

Although his parents aren't famous, Derek Trucks does have a famous uncle. Not only does he have a pretty fair career of his own but he's helped to continue to breathe new life into the Allman Brothers Band.

I never miss the annual Southern Music issue, now celebrating it's 10th anniversary with this edition of the Oxford American. Every year the Southern Music issue also comes with a CD, in commemoration of their 10th anniversary this year's is a double. If you're so inclined you can read the tracklisting and liner notes here.

I don't think it should be made illegal, if people want to smoke they should have every right to. Not to mention, even if it were made illegal, those that truly want to smoke will still find a way to. That's all we need, one more way for the government to intervene in our lives. I feel the same way about seat belt laws, it should be up to the individual, not the government. As for my me quitting, I wasn't entirely motivated by a family member being diagnosed with throat cancer, I also have some health issues that would make it very beneficial for me to quit. I'm only two months out so I still have a long way to go. So far, so good though as I've put myself in many situations where I'd normally want to smoke but have had no desire to.

Considering I have a family member that's suffering the ravages of cigarette smoking through throat cancer I can't really work up any reasons on why I love to smoke. I quit a couple of months ago and intend to stay quit.

So was I. Not that Delaney wasn't worthy of mention just for his solo career alone but I found it particularly odd that there was no mention of Bonnie Bramlett in his obituary at all. I'm not sure about everyone else here but Delaney & Bonnie is how I first heard of him.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Delaney Bramlett, the singer-songwriter-producer who penned classic rock songs such as "Let it Rain" and worked with musicians George Harrison and Eric Clapton, died Saturday. He was 69. Bramlett died shortly before 5 a.m. at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center in Los Angeles as a result of complications from gall-bladder surgery, his wife Susan Lanier-Bramlett said. Born in Mississippi, Bramlett enjoyed a career in the music business that spanned 50 years. He is perhaps best known for standards such as "Superstar," co-written with Leon Russell, which was recorded by Usher, Luther Vandross, Bette Midler, The Carpenters and most recently, Sonic Youth, in a version featured on the Grammy-nominated soundtrack of the movie "Juno." He co-wrote "Let it Rain" with British guitarist Clapton, who also recorded it, and "Never Ending Song of Love," which was recorded by more than 100 artists including Ray Charles, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Patty Loveless and Dwight Yoakam.

Stevie wasn't eligible until this year (25 years after the release of Texas Flood) so I'm surprised he wasn't even nominated. That said, it would only be fair that Johnny Winter (obviously a prime influence) is inducted first but like you said, that isn't very likely. Same for another pioneer, Leon Russell. When I was growing up in the 70s folks like Johnny and Leon were all over the radio but have since been lost to time which is a cryin' fuckin' shame. They're barely even remembered by Classic Rock radio but if you tune into something like Deep Tracks on XM/Sirius you hear a wide variety of their cuts. Just a couple of days ago Deep Tracks was playing a shitload of Stones covers and threw in Leon's version of Jumpin' Jack Flash from his legendary live record Leon Live. That deviates too far from the norm so you'll never hear that kind of shit on Classic Rock radio.

That's the one, thanks for finding it.

This sounds way better than it has any right to. I started out a huge Kasey fan with her debut album The Captain but slowly began to lose interest over the years. Believe you me, she is back in fine form with this one. Very solid and quite likely a late addition to my top ten this year.

I was very concerned about the recent reissue of R.E.M.'s debut album Murmur especially since the "remastered" tunes on the recent I.R.S. era compilation And I Feel Fine didn't sound as much remastered as merely cranked up using compression to make them sound louder. Fortunately the remastered version of Murmur did not fall prey to this overused (and abused) industry tactic and actually sounds very fucking good.

Thanks, that's the angle the article took on Johnny. About how bad his manager had been treating him. It also included some updates on his health. If I can find it I'll be sure to post it, it was very well written and a must read for any fan of Johnny Winter. As I've mentioned, I was a big fan back in the 70s then got back into him again in the 80s and 90s with his newer blues records. I kind of lost touch again and then read about his failing health. I do hope I get a chance to see him this time.

I meant to post this when I first read about it but totally forgot. My apologies in advance if this has already been reported. Click on the link below for the complete lowdown from Paste magazine. ROY HARPER: FLAT BAROQUE AND BERSERK, STORMCOCK, JUGULA (WITH JIMMY PAGE) [KOCH/SCIENCE FRICTION]

I've been trying to find an article I read about Johnny around a year ago (in fact, I may have even posted it here) that talks about how he's doing these days. I remember the article did say he was doing better but I believe he still performs all of his shows sitting down due to his poor health.

The vinyl version of Ryan and the Cardinals' new record