No, I haven't. Does he play outside of Texas? I'm in NC.

Found these onsale while I was out Christmas shopping today, both at a very reasonable price (Buffett - $6.99, Zeppelin - $11.34)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGFPPI0bmr8&rel=1

Here's a brand new YouTube clip that was just posted today. You can tell a lot of love went into this as a lot of folks (musicians and otherwise) have been hit very hard this week by the passing of guitarist David Enloe:

Yeah, I don't think they've been to Sweden either. I do hope you get a chance to see them this time.

#1 should definitely belong to the Gourds' Noble Creatures.

http://www.nccoastwaterfront.com/features/...andParadise.asp Channel Surfer Ever Dream of Owning a Private Island? By Commodore “JB” Bagby, Bethesda Yacht Club, Contributor Lat 34.68N Long -077.12W, White Oak River ICW, Green Daymarker “47” - The island here has been in private hands for years, but when a volleyball net, lawn chairs and a flagpole with an American flag went up on its shore a year ago, rumors started. This year, a sign proclaims “Pelican Island” and a 32-foot fishing boat was beached. I have watched the progress of the mysterious owners with curiosity. Soon, the boat was painted its tropical pastel light aqua and coral pink and given the name Corina. I knew there were fun folks behind this with a name from the song “Corina, Corina” by Brooks and Dunn, sung by many 1960s artists. Who are these folks? “Yeah, some guy bought it for $29,000, but I don’t know who,” said the owner of the Icehouse Restaurant on the Swansboro waterfront where my search started. “I didn’t know it had a name,” said a gift shop clerk whom I asked for information about Pelican Island. Woody and Laura Woodrum of the Swansborough Yacht Club said, “JB, you know Justin. That’s his boat over there.” And indeed, local waterman Justin Wysowski sold his old fishing boat for $10 to Donald Suggs. Owner of the Harbour House in the historic district and captain of the 46-foot charter ocean yacht Sea Dancer II, Donald Suggs was found sealing his dock. “About a year ago, two partners and I bought the island from Richard Oliphant, a friend from Greensboro. The Phillips family here owned it before that.” He related a story about family outings to other island beaches where once a warden warned him he couldn’t have a beach fire, and sometimes the language of other parties got out of hand. “We just wanted somewhere to take the family and five grandchildren with nobody telling us what to do.” “It’s just the perfect little family place,” said Debbie Suggs. Partner Russ Davis, like all of us, had dreamed of owning an island “and the dream sort of turned into a nightmare when Donald told me we were partners after he made the purchase.” The third partner, father of four Pete Cockrin, “from everywhere on earth, Miami, and Emerald Isle,” is known as the only property owner there with three horses, the only ones on Bogue Banks. “We all went over and cleaned up the island, got rid of the ‘sticker burrs,’ and now have a grill, horseshoes and a small picnic table. That’s all. Don’t have any plans for anything else,” Donald said. “Everything was taken off the boat before we took it over—engine, fuel tanks, everything. The bottom was in bad shape, so it was removed. The boat now has a floor with holes in it so the boat won’t float away if the water were to rise over its supports. It’s anchored, tied down, so it’s not going anywhere in a storm.” And speaking of storms, that is one great advantage of owning an island in view of your mainland home. “It’s right there. If something blows up, we can just come right on home,” said Debbie. Motorists going across the White Oak River Bridge at the Onslow County and Carteret County line notice the brightly colored boat. Although it is private property, boaters and kayakers do stop by for a look at the three-acre island. “I’m not going to go out and chase anybody off the island. All I ask is for people not to leave any trash.” Want an island yourself? There is another available in the area for around a million dollars….

I was just tuning in to a friend's show on WXDU out of Durham, NC and he ended a set of tributes with a song called "Evel Knievel" from an old local band named Big Joe. Curiosity got the best of me so I Googled it. Who knew there was such a shitload of Knievel tunage: http://www.stevemandich.com/evelincarnate/knievelrock.htm

I imagine there's a way to do some sort of Excel spreadsheet but you're right, that would be a massive undertaking especially considering the amount of vinyl, cassettes and CDs I've accumulated over the years. Still, it would be a nice way of keeping track. Not sure about satellite radio hiring but I understand there's some online only radio stations that allow you to DJ. Only thing is, there's no pay.

In 2004 R.E.M. skipped NC for the first time in their entire touring history so they could take part in the Vote for Change Tour so it meant hitting the road to catch a couple of shows. The first was at the Ryman, the second at Gwinnett Arena outside of Atlanta. The Ryman was the superior of the two mainly because of the intimacy of that venue. I even picked up a rare Hatch print at the show that night.

In recent years I've started keeping a list of everything I've purchased (or been gifted with) over the course of the year whether it be full length albums (CD & vinyl), EPs, box sets, reissues, etc. Last year it came out almost even. I just tallied up this years' lists and it came out like this: 42 new releases 40 released prior to 2007 All that and I still don't have a lot of stuff I'd like to hear such as Neil's new one, Lucinda's West, Steve Earle's Washington Square Serenade, The Song Remains the Same remaster and lots of others. I also keep track of DVDs and books but didn't include them here.

While I enjoy perusing the various year end best of lists I'm not one to get all that worked up about what releases make the cut on them. I listen to what I like with no aversions whatsover to what's hip or not. That approach sucks all the joy out of listening to and enjoying music, at least to me.

I'm imagine some are very worthy but I don't own any of them either.

http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/pop...ums-of-2007.htm 50. PJ Harvey - White Chalk 49. Paramore - Riot! 48. Monkey Swallows the Universe - The Casket Letters 47. 65daysofstatic - The Destruction of Small Ideas 46. The Avett Brothers - Emotionalism 45. Strategy - Future Rock 44. Colleen - Les Ondes Silencieuses 43. Basteroid - Upset Ducks 42. Calle 13 - Residente O Visitante 41. Andy Palacio & The Garfuna Collective - Wátina 40. Pantha Du Prince - This Bliss 39. UGK - Underground Kings 38. Tinariwen - Aman Iman: Water is Life 37. Devin The Dude - Waitin' to Inhale 36. Marnie Stern - In Advance Of The Broken Arm 35. Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position 34. Dungen - Tio Bitar 33. Stars Of The Lid - And The Refinement Of Their Decline 32. Low - Drums and Guns 31. Menomena - Friend and Foe 30. El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead 29. Electrelane - No Shouts No Calls 28. A Sunny Day In Glasgow - Scribble Mural Comic Journal 27. Of Montreal - Oh Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? 26. Kathy Diamond - Miss Diamond to You 25. Battles - Mirrored 24. Studio - West Coast 23. !!! - Myth Takes 22. Deepchord Presents Echospace - The Coldest Season 21. Caribou - Andorra 20. Dalek - Abandoned Language 19. Liars - Liars 18. Justice - Cross 17. Grinderman - Grinderman 16. The Besnard Lakes - Are the Dark Horse 15. The Twilight Sad - Fourteen Autumns and Fifteen Winters 14. Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog 13. Gui Boratto - Chromophobia 12. Phosphorescent - Pride 11. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible 10. Radiohead - In Rainbows 09. The Field - From Here We Go Sublime 08. M.I.A. - Kala 07. Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga 06. Kanye West - Graduation 05. The National - The Boxer 04. Lil Wayne - Da Drought 3 03. Panda Bear - Person Pitch 02. Miranda Lambert - Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 01. LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver

Actually WRDU is still on the air, they just went country just like WQDR before them. It is now known as The Rooster. Blade got an offer to stay on as an announcer there but it didn't take long for playing country music to get to him. He slipped on The Song Is Over by The Who and got the hell out of there. You can read all about it in this very accurate Wiki entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WRDU Yep. I got a call from my brother one day when I was at work in Jacksonhell. He said, "there's a truck upside down on the backporch". I saved photos that ran in the Jacksonville Daily News but am not sure where they are at present. Thankfully no one was home at the time. Believe you me, I miss it and if there was any way we could have hung onto it, we would have. There was just too many factors involved in hanging onto it and it was no longer feasible so we were left no other option than to part with it. As I recall, she was in fine health at the time. If I'm not mistaken she performed Amazing Grace. I have been hearing about Kitty since the 70s. As long as she's been around it's strange how I never saw her perform until just a few years ago. I think anyone here would be completely blown away by reading her history on her MySpace site. She is definitely one of the unsung heroes of rock n' roll and a dyed in the wool hippie, the best kind. She has certainly seen a lot and played with so many of the greats over the years.

It may not be your cup of tea but at least you gave it a shot. It was also my intention to show you that there is much more to Neff's work than what he's done with the Truckers. Same with Japancakes. Like I said, and I'm not exaggerating here, he's probably worked with hundreds of bands out of Athens and not all of them are of the same style at all. That was my point. Thanks for listening though.

I agree. So, someone asks Stephen King what his favorite CDs are each year, what's the big fucking deal? Most every year each of us also contribute our thoughts on our favorites. Other than King being a well known author, I really don't see much difference. It's always interesting to me to read other's thoughts at the end of the year on their favorite releases no matter who they are.

If you ever find yourself with a few extra minutes on your hands be sure to sample some of their tunes at MySpace, they presently have two new albums out, Giving Machines and Loveless: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fusea...iendID=24787615

I believe I read somewhere the other day that Bullitt is about to recieve the deluxe reissue treatment on DVD. Anyway, I hate to derail this thread any further but now that the subject is on Steve McQueen I just had to pass on these lyrics from a Drive-By Truckers song. They used to perform with a tapestry of Steve McQueen behind them, right next to that was a Lynyrd Skynyrd banner. Steve McQueen Steve McQueen When I was a little boy I wanted to grow up to be Steve McQueen Steve McQueen The coolest doggone motherscratcher on the silver screen I’d drive real fast everywhere no one would ever catch me and I’d kick your ass if you pissed me off so be careful what you ask me and I’d never have an empty bottle or an empty bed and as cool as Paul Newman is I bet Steve could whup his head Steve McQueen............................ Bullitt was my favorite movie that I’d ever seen I totaled my go-cart trying to imitate that chase scene That Duster had six hubcaps, know what I mean? and I love the way they all flew off when it landed in that ravine Steve McQueen............................ I really loved The Getaway back when I was eight that pussy Alec Baldwin sucked in the remake and speaking of pussy, I guess Steve got it all He fucked Faye Dunaway and he fucked Ali McGraw! Steve McQueen Steve McQueen When I was a little boy I wanted to grow up to be Steve McQueen Steve McQueen The coolest goddamn motherfucker on the silver screen (yee-haw) (Suddenly the scene turns slow and somber, as a campfire harp plays in the background) I went to see The Hunter on my first date The Hunter was the last movie Steve McQueen lived to make They took my drivers license when I was just sixteen the year Mesothelioma killed Steve McQueen Lyrics by Patterson Hood Music by Drive-by Truckers (Cooley, Hood, Howell, Lane, Neff, Stacy) ©1998 Soul Dump Music Dedicated to my grandfather W. M. Patterson (Mesothelioma is a rare cancer of the lining of the lung caused by exposure to asbestos. It’s mortality rate is known to be extremely high.)

If all you know of his "style" is his work with the Drive-By Truckers over the years then you owe it to yourself to check out the work he's done with some of the literally hundreds of other bands out of Athens. You will immediately be surprised by the man's versatility, not just stylistically but his prowess on a variety of instruments. Some of his work is in the honky tonk vein (Chasers, Star Room Boys) but there is also some of it, such as Japancakes, that is very out there and nothing like you've ever heard him do with the Drive-By Truckers. He's not the Athens go-to musician for no reason. I'm a huge Cooley fan myself and his songs sound the most promising for the new record (although I've only heard one of Shonna's, "I'm Sorry, Huston"). That's also not to discount Patterson, as Goode's Field Road is finally going to make it onto an album, albeit in a radically re-worked version. As for Patterson's updated comments in the discography section of their site, I discovered those totally by chance when going there to check out something else. I mention them only because I thought you might be interested in his musings regarding A Blessing And A Curse (and some of the other Jason albums) now that time has allowed a little water to pass under the bridge since Jason left the band. I also thought the vinyl thing was pretty cool too, although I hope more care is put into these vinyl issues than was put into the newer release of SRO. It was advertised by Lost Highway as being some sort of new version when in reality it appears to be a way of clearing out old stock. Newer versions apparently also don't come with the "libretto" so I'm glad I snatched it up the first time.

No, I'm not but I used to work with him. He got out of radio totally. Like me, he's become increasingly dissatisfied with the direction it's taken. "Bob the Blade" from the now defunct WRDU in Raleigh took his place in afternoon drive time and from what little I've heard, has actually breathed new life into the station. Tell me about it. Our former residence is located on that stretch between the Wildlife ramp and Dudley's Marina. We were in a flood zone, a huge strike against us in the event of a hurricane. We had been hit so many times we had become a special case with FEMA but they never saw fit to fund us the money to put our house on stilts. That was only one of several factors which eventually led us to sell, the encroaching highway was another. We were always close to the road and had several accidents along there over the years to prove it. The most recent being a truck flipping and landing on our back porch just a few years ago. Yes, I do although I've only seen her perform one time (at a friend's wedding). The last I heard she was homeless and in very ill health out west somewhere. Some of her local friends have banded together to try to help her out and get her back home. According to the blog entries on her MySpace site she is back in NC and under treatment for her illness: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fusea...iendID=53286239

I don't see how any of these lists affect anyone's opinion. Now, if I keep seeing a record listed over and over again it's naturally going to raise my curiosity level a bit, quite possibly to the point where I might even check out that record but that doesn't mean I'm automatically gonna like it. So, someone asks Stephen King what his favorites are each year, it's no different than everyone here doing the very same thing.

I honestly have to wonder if you've heard any of his work outside of the DBT and there's loads of it, such as Japancakes for instance. If anything, I'd say he's the most accomplished player in the band. I agree with what you're saying in regards to Jason but Neff's style is just that, he's far too laidback and subtle to take the DBT back in the direction they were headed with Jason. In other words, it just wouldn't fit his personality to step up front and start ripping away at some firey leads. That's just not gonna happen. That's why I say this is just another stage of change in a band that's seen their fair share. The DBT is a different beast yet again. It's going to be interesting to see how many stick with them through this next record, especially those still smarting from Jason's departure. In regards to Jason's contributions to the band, I always thought some of his best work (Outfit, Danko/Manuel) was on a par with that of Patterson and Cooley, just more accessible. Some of his songs on A Blessing And A Curse were definitely taking them in a more pop direction but so were Patterson (Wednesday) and Cooley (Gravity's Gone). Still, that was apparently part of the split, also Jason wanting to finally release and tour in support of his solo album. I'm not sure if you've checked the DBTs site recently but Patterson has added new commentary to their discography, most of which will be released on vinyl in the new year: http://drivebytruckers.com/discography.html I think they're still recuperating but from the show I saw this summer (with them opening for the Allmans) the fire is still there. I'm watching from the sidelines a bit myself but firmly believe they'll recover from this just as they've done before. With Shonna stepping out front on a few songs with the next record and a slew of live shows on the way I think the DBT still have a quite few aces up their collective sleeves. To me, the DBT have always pretty much been Patterson & Cooley, with this new album they're getting back to that, the core of what made them the Drive-By Truckers to start with.

Just curious as to why you think Evel was a bad motorcyclist?