Rick Danko "When You Awake"

I'm not sure if you've heard of a band called the Drive-By Truckers but their former guitarist/songwriter/vocalist Jason Isbell penned a very poignant tribute to The Band called Danko / Manuel (lyrics and video below). As a fan of The Band you may also be interested in this thread about a new Levon Helm short film. I've encountered several fans of The Band here over the years but hardly any seem to be aware of Levon's Midnight Rambles concerts or his very excellent Dirt Farmer album from last year. Let the night air cool you off. Tilt your head back and try to cough. Don't say nothing 'bout the things you never saw. Let the night air cool you off. I ain't living like I should. A little rest might do me good. Got to sinking in the place where I once stood. Now I ain't living like I should. Can you hear that singing? Sounds like gold. Maybe I can only hear it in my head. Fifteen years ago we owned that road now it's rolling over us instead. Richard Manuel is dead. God forbid you call their bluff. Like the nightmares ain't enough. Remember when we used to think that we were tough? God forbid you call their bluff. First they make you out to be the only pirate on the sea. Then they say Danko would have sounded just like me. "Is that the man you want to be?" Can you hear that song? It sounds like gold. Maybe I could make it bigger overseas. Fifteen years ago we owned this road now it only gives us somewhere else to leave. Something else you can't believe. Can you hear that singing? Sounds like gold. Maybe I can hear poor Richard from the grave singin' where to reap and when to sow when you've found another home you have to leave. Something else you can't believe. Jason Isbell © House Of Fame Music (BMI) Mellophones and Fender Rhodes - Jason Isbell DANKO / MANUEL "Got to sinking in the place where I once stood." *** Jason Isbell When I started writing this one, I wanted to capture some of Levon Helm's feelings about the deaths (and lives) of Richard Manuel and Rick Danko. The longer I worked on the song, the more impossible that became. I felt like the best I could do was to explain my own attitude toward being a working and traveling musician. The horn parts came to me in a dream.

I understand his set was one of many highlights at MerleFest in North Wilkesboro, NC last weekend. Oddly enough folks around here don't seem to know who Levon Helm is yet The Band gets plenty of love. His Dirt Farmer record was one of the finest albums released last year and his Midnight Ramble concerts are fast becoming the thing of legend.

By DARRYL STERDAN - Sun Media The Sky Blue Sky's hardly the limit for Wilco these days. Unlike bands whose live set begins and ends with their latest album and greatest hits, the veteran alt-roots sextet find themselves in a more flexible and impressive position on their latest tour: They stand ready, willing and able to play virtually any of the 100-plus songs in their catalog. It's the happy result of a multi-night residency the band recently undertook in their home town of Chicago, bassist John Stirratt explains. "Over five nights, we played every song we ever recorded," says Stirratt from his new home in the Windy City. "It really breathed new life into things. We played a lot of songs that we might have only played once or twice before. This lineup of the band got to make every era of Wilco its own in certain ways. And it's helped the live thing continue to grow and be enjoyable." To read the remainder of the article click here.

Pick a point to start digging and see where you come out. Try your luck here: http://map.talleye.com/bighole.php

DVD Looks Back On The Clash's 'Revolution' The Clash Wes Orshoski, N.Y. After a relative flurry of films, DVDs and reissues to arise in the wake of Clash frontman Joe Strummer's death, fans are again being treated to another archival project in the form of the new DVD "Revolution Rock." Among the highlights of the performance footage collection is a rendition of "Know Your Rights" from the fabled 1983 US Festival in San Bernardino, Calif., the site of guitarist/vocalist Mick Jones' final performance with the band. To read the remainder of the article click here.

From Billboard.com: John Hiatt Is The 'Man' On New Album Katie Hasty, N.Y. Veteran songwriter John Hiatt's newest effort, "Same Old Man," will be released May 27 via New West. Coming on the heels of 2005's "Master of Disaster," the album will also be available on limited edition vinyl. Hiatt produced the set himself and tapped drummer Kenneth Blevins, bassist Patrick O'Hearn and guitarist Luther Dickinson to back him. His daughter Lilly can also be heard singing on a pair of tracks, "Love You Again" and "What Love Can Do." The Indiana native has scheduled an 18-date summer tour in support of "Same Old Man," kicking off July 6-8 at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Va. And on Sept. 18, the Americana Music Association is honoring Hiatt with a lifetime achievement in songwriting award, to be handed off at Ryman Auditorium in Nashville during the Association's festival and conference. Here are John Hiatt's tour dates: July 6-8: Alexandria, Va. (the Birchmere) July 11: Atlanta (Botanical Gardens) July 12: Maryville, Tenn. (the Shed) July 17: Madison, Wis. (Barrymore) July 18: Highland Park, Ill. (Ravinia) July 19: Bayfield, Wis. (Big Top Chautauqya) July 20: Pittsburgh (Allegheny County Summer Concert) Aug. 15: Raleigh, N.C. (North Carolina Museum of Art) Aug. 16: Cockeysville, Md. (Hot Aug. Blues Fest) Aug. 17: Oyster Bay, N.Y. (Long Island Summer Festival) Aug. 19: Rochester, N.Y. (Walter Street Music Hall) Aug. 21: Newport, R.I. (Newport Sunset Music Festival) Aug. 22: Lowell, Mass. (Lowell Summer Music Series) Aug. 23: Freeport, Maine (LL Bean Music Series) Aug. 24: Rutland, Vt. (Paramount Theater) Aug. 26: Brownfield, Maine (Stone Mountain Arts Center)

As I've probably mentioned countless times before, this is my favorite Nevilles album even though I'm not so fond of some of the Aaron tunes. I've picked up several of their other record over the years but none of them seem to live up to this album other than the ones that came before such as the real early stuff as well as ones by the Meters and the Wild Tchoupitoulas.

Billboard asked the Neville Brothers and their colleagues to pick their favorite Neville Brothers song and what makes it special. Click here to check out their responses. Kim Ruehl Since their debut in 1977 at New Orleans club Tipitina's, the Neville Brothers have been known as one of the best live bands in the country. For years, they shared a booking agent with the Grateful Dead, the Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, Booker T & the MG's and other legendary live acts. And their stage supremacy isn't slowing down, with dates booked at North American venues and festivals throughout the summer. Tipitina's talent buyer Bill Taylor calls them "one of the greatest live bands of all time. That's not an exaggeration. Those guys grew up jamming. They used to play... these all-night shows that were just big jam sessions." To read the rest of the article click here.

If you click on the banner in the first post of the thread it takes you to an extensive feature from the Austin American-Statesman.

by Jeff Wilson We all know what happened when the rain came down at Woodstock: Rather than run for cover or whine about substandard concert conditions, 300,000 hippies experienced a Dionysian rebirth. Wet, muddy, and occasionally buck-naked, they all had shit-eating smiles as Mother Nature turned Max Yasgur’s farm into sludge. That was 1969, when hippies ruled the earth. About 10 years later I attended a much smaller music festival with a different vibe. The headliner that day was the country artist Waylon Jennings. Also listed were Buddy Holly’s old back-up band, the Crickets, J.J. Cale, Rick Danko, and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Something about the way the concert was advertised suggested that Danko and Butterfield might play together, but that wasn’t completely clear. To read the rest of the article click here.

R.E.M. Will Revisit 'Early Days' On Summer Tour R.E.M. Gary Graff, Detroit After delighting fans with rarities such as "Second Guessing" and "Animal" at its performances thus far this year, R.E.M. is promising to dig further into its vaults for its return to the road on May 23, Billboard.com has learned. "[For] the last Dublin shows [in June and July 2007], we went back and learned a whole bunch of stuff from the early days we hadn't played in a long time, just to see where we came from, and it was pretty inspiring to play those," guitarist Peter Buck tells Billboard.com. Click here to read the rest of the article.

It's also considered dying of "natural causes" for rock stars. I mean, the phrase "sex, drugs and rock n' roll" was coined out of the clear blue.

Click here.

Levon Helm - "Only Halfway Home" 20:57 A short film inspired by and featuring music from Levon Helm's GRAMMY Award winning album Dirt Farmer. Features: "Calvary" (Byron Isaacs); (BMI) "Poor Old Dirt Farmer" (Tracy Schwartz); Traditon Music Co., (ASCAP) "False Hearted Lover Blues" (Trad, arrangement by Levon Helm, Larry Campbell); Dirt Farmer Music, Talkhouse Music (BMI) "Got Me a Woman" (Paul Kennerley); Irving Music (BMI)

Below are links to a three part interview with Peter Jesperson that have been posted on the Teenage Kicks blog: Peter Jesperson: The Teenage Kicks Interview (Part One) Peter Jesperson: The Teenage Kicks Interview (Part Two) Peter Jesperson: The Teenage Kicks Interview (Part Three)

Big write up in today's Austin American-Statesman:

Waters Loses Pig At Coachella Performance Roger Waters Organizers of a major California music festival are offering a $10,000 reward and four festival tickets for life in exchange for ex-Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters' two-story inflatable pig, which was lost on Sunday night. You can read the rest of the article here.

Three new Neil Young titles are being made available on vinyl. Click here for more info.

I think they were referring to the live version of Freebird from One More From the Road.

AC/DC with Brian Johnson and Van Halen with Sammy Hagar were both more successful commercially with those line ups but I'll take AC/DC with Bon Scott and Van Halen with David Lee Roth over those line ups any day of the week.

From Billboard.com: Weiland Recording Solo CD With Steve Albini Stone Temple Pilots Jonathan Cohen, N.Y. Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland is recording his second solo album with famed indie rock producer Steve Albini and plans to release it in November. Ex-Velvet Revolver vocalist Weiland broke the news earlier this week on "The Howard Stern Show," during which No Doubt drummer Adrian Young called in to reveal he is also participating on the project. According to Weiland's publicist, the as-yet-untitled solo set will be released on Weiland's Soft Drive label, with distribution through RED/Sony. It is unknown if Weiland's previously recorded collaboration with producer Pharrell Williams, "Happy," will appear on the album. Weiland's solo debut, "12 Bar Blues," was released in 1998. "My music is a little bit different, obviously, than Velvet Revolver music," Weiland told Billboard in late 2006, when he proclaimed the solo album to be "three-quarters done." "It's a little bit more on the esoteric side." As previously reported, Stone Temple Pilots will embark on an extensive reunion tour May 17 at Columbus, Ohio,'s Rock on the Range festival, and have tentative plans to hit the studio later this year.

They also played Jason Bonham's wedding and the Atlantic Records 40th anniversary concert.

Johnny Van Zant is the lead singer for Lynyrd Skynyrd and has been since they reunited for the Tribute Tour in 1987 ten years after the plane crash. Ronnie Van Zant wasn't the only one to die in the plane crash. Steve Gaines and his sister Cassie Gaines also died (along with their manager Dean Kilpatrick and both pilots). They apparently went through some ideas for other names for the band once they decided to regroup but stuck with Lynyrd Skynyrd. There's also a lot of legal things tied in with their use of the name that is far too much to go into here (that info is readily available online if you wish to know more). In regards to Led Zeppelin carrying on under that name without John Bonham, it goes against the press release they put out after Bonham's death but Lynyrd Skynyrd also said they didn't see the band continuing without Van Zant. Many, many bands have carried on without key members but very few (if any) of them are as good as their original incarnations.

Hmmm, that's news to me. So, a second set of drums was setup prior to Zep's performance with no knowledge whatsoever by anyone that Phil Collins would be playing with them?