I'm pretty sure my introduction to bluegrass was via Flatt & Scruggs' appearances on The Beverly Hillbillies and Petticoat Junction, not to mention their contributions to the Bonnie & Clyde soundtrack. My sister took me to that movie when I was probably way too young to be seeing that sort of violence on the big screen which is a good reason why I've never forgotten it. Around 1975 an album came out called Old and In the Way that featured Jerry Garcia, John Kahn, David Grisman and Vassar Clements which really perked my ears up to bluegrass. Not so long after that (around '77 or so) I caught the Earl Scruggs Revue on Austin City Limits and was blown away. They released an album from that appearance called Live! From Austin City Limits that one of my brothers picked up on 8-track. Needless to say, that tape got just as much airplay in his truck as Zeppelin II, Foghat, Aerosmith and whatever else we were listening to at the time. The fact that Scruggs had split from Lester Flatt and had fully embraced the sounds of Dylan, the Byrds, Loudon Wainwright III, Guy Clark and others didn't exactly endear him to bluegrass purists. Nor did the fact that he and his sons employed drums in the Earl Scruggs Revue as that instrument was completely unheard of in bluegrass music. Somehow, Earl made it work. A few years later the same brother that had turned me onto Live! From Austin City Limits picked up an another album by Earl, this one was called Earl Scruggs: His Family & Friends. It was the soundtrack to a special that had aired only once on PBS back in the late 60s/early 70s. I never thought I'd see that special but several years ago when I was checking out a going out of business sale at Paradise Records in Fayetteville, NC I happened upon a CD/DVD two-fer that featured that program. It was a huge treat to see that special all those years after the fact as it really sums up so much about Earl Scruggs. It also doesn't hurt that some of his "friends" are Dylan, Joan Baez, Doc Watson, and the Byrds. I've included a clip from it below but if you're feeling so inclined, you can watch the entire program here. Believe you me, it's worth every second of it.

If you like Suzanne Vega, I suggest giving Sharon Van Etten a listen (if you haven't done so already). Not that they sound all that much alike but I think they explore some similar themes in their songs. I first got turned onto Sharon during the the first Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh back in 2010. I've since seen her one other time when she took part in the Sounds of the South show in Durham in 2011 which was part of the Duke Performances series. Also on the bill were Megafaun, Fight the Big Bull and Justin Vernon (aka Bon Iver). I liked what I'd heard from Sharon from the start but it wasn't until I picked up her new album Tramp earlier this year that I realized just how big of a fan I was. Here's "Serpents", the first single from Tramp. If you just so happen to recognize the drummer, that's Zeke Hutchins from Tift Merritt's band.

Mike Cooley performing an acoustic set live from Paste magazine "Ghost To Most" "Women Without Whiskey" "Eyes Like Glue" "Birthday Boy" "Behind Closed Doors"

Earl Scruggs, Country Music Hall of Famer Dies at 88 (From The Tennessean)

All Things Music Plus ON THIS DATE (39 YEARS AGO) March 28, 1973 – Led Zeppelin Houses of the Holy is released. # ALL THINGS MUSIC PLUS+ 5/5 # Allmusic 5/5 Houses of the Holy is the fifth studio album by Led Zeppelin, released by Atlantic Records on 28 March 1973. The album title is a dedication by the band to their fans who appeared at venues they dubbed "Houses of the Holy". It was the second Led Zeppelin album to not officially be titled after the band. It was also the first of the band's albums to be composed of completely original material. It represents a musical turning point for Led Zeppelin, as they began to use more layering and production techniques in recording their songs. The record album provided notable additions to the band's catalogue of songs, and it has certified for shipping 11 million copies in the United States. In 2003, Houses of the Holy was ranked number 149 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Much of this album was recorded in Spring 1972 at Stargroves, the country estate in Berkshire, which was owned by Mick Jagger, through the use of the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. Some songs from the album had initially been tried out earlier than this, such as "No Quarter", which was first attempted during a session at Headley Grange. Some songs which were recorded from these various sessions did not eventually make it onto Houses of the Holy, namely "Black Country Woman", "Walter's Walk", "The Rover" and also the title-track, "Houses of the Holy". All of these songs were retained and later released on subsequent Led Zeppelin albums. ALBUM COVER The cover art for Houses of the Holy was inspired by the ending of Arthur C. Clarke's novel Childhood's End. (The ending involves several hundred million naked children, only slightly and physically resembling the human race in basic forms.) It is a collage of several photographs which were taken at the Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland, by Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis. This location was chosen ahead of an alternative one in Peru which was being considered. The two children who modelled for the cover were siblings Stefan and Samanatha Gates. The photoshoot was a frustrating affair over the course of ten days. Shooting was done first thing in the morning and at sunset in order to capture the light at dawn and dusk, but the desired effect was never achieved due to constant rain and clouds. The photos of the two children were taken in black and white and were multi-printed to create the effect of 11 individuals that can be seen on the album cover. The results of the shoot were less than satisfactory, but some accidental tinting effects in post-production created an unexpectedly striking album cover. In February 2010 Stefan Gates presented a half-hour BBC Radio 4 documentary entitled Stefan Gates's Cover Story, about his part in the making of the album cover. Gates claimed in the documentary to have felt there was something sinister about the image, although his sister disagreed. He also admitted never actually having heard the album. The programme ended with Gates returning to Giant's Causeway and listening to the album on a portable player, after which he claimed that a great weight had been lifted from him. In 1974, the album was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of best album package. REVIEW by Stephen Thomas Erlewine, allmusic Houses of the Holy follows the same basic pattern as Led Zeppelin IV, but the approach is looser and more relaxed. Jimmy Page's riffs rely on ringing, folky hooks as much as they do on thundering blues-rock, giving the album a lighter, more open atmosphere. While the pseudo-reggae of "D'Yer Mak'er" and the affectionate James Brown send-up "The Crunge" suggest that the band was searching for material, they actually contribute to the musical diversity of the album. "The Rain Song" is one of Zep's finest moments, featuring a soaring string arrangement and a gentle, aching melody. "The Ocean" is just as good, starting with a heavy, funky guitar groove before slamming into an a cappella section and ending with a swinging, doo wop-flavored rave-up. With the exception of the rampaging opening number, "The Song Remains the Same," the rest of Houses of the Holy is fairly straightforward, ranging from the foreboding "No Quarter" and the strutting hard rock of "Dancing Days" to the epic folk/metal fusion "Over the Hills and Far Away." Throughout the record, the band's playing is excellent, making the eclecticism of Page and Robert Plant's songwriting sound coherent and natural. TRACKS: Side one 1 The Song Remains the Same (Page, Plant) 5:32 2 The Rain Song (Page, Plant) 7:39 3 Over the Hills and Far Away (Page, Plant) 4:50 4 The Crunge (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant) 3:17 Side Two 1 Dancing Days (Page, Plant) 3:43 2 D'yer Mak'er (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant) 4:23 3 No Quarter (Jones, Page, Plant) 7:00 4 The Ocean (Bonham, Jones, Page, Plant) 4:31

Part 1 of 6 of an R.E.M. fan's history of his love for the band from The Onion's A.V. Club

In addition to this project, Luther Dickinson will be releasing three albums on May the 8th: Luther Dickinson to Release Three New Records (from JamBands.com)

Trailer for an upcoming documentary about Shovels & Rope (Michael Trent & Cary Ann Hearst):

Looks like an interesting documentary, thanks for posting.

More info on the Marshall Amp Fridge here.

I've seen them 2-3 over the past several years when they've played Raleigh, NC. The last time I saw them they did two sets, one of originals and another of nothing but Grateful Dead songs. I like them but not enough to feel like I need to own any of their records.

The station is K-91. There's no streaming, at least not yet. So far, all of us have just been uploading podcasts.

Lee Bains is a member of The Dexateens. For fans of Alabama Shakes, Lee and the Glory Fires are presently opening some of their shows.

The most beneficial part for me has been meeting up with some old friends from my college radio days in the early to mid-80s. We already have a group on FB but actually seeing each other in person for the first time in nearly 30 years wouldn't have happened without FB. That's led to us resurrecting our old station as an online version which has been a great deal of fun.

I haven't heard the Faces with Hucknall and really have no desire to but I would be interested in seeing them live with Rod Stewart even without Ronnie Lane. That's not a slight against Lane, it's more like my desire to see a band that I've never seen in any form before. As for them performing without Lane for their induction into the Rock n' Roll of Fame, I really don't have a problem with that at all as it's a very special occasion. However, I'm not too sure about them being inducted along with the Small Faces. From my viewpoint, those are two separate bands. Yes, they have a history together but it's not as though they're interchangeable.

Excerpt from the upcoming documentary about Drivin' n' Cryin' called Scarred But Smarter.

Thanks, I wasn't sure what you meant.

They're already been touring as the Faces with Mick Hucknall of Simply Red as their lead vocalist. If they were to tour with Rod, I'd definitely go see them as I would have little to no interest in seeing him on his own unless he had Jeff Beck in tow.

Rod Stewart, Faces to Reunite on Rock Hall Induction Stage (from Spin)

I believe this is the first time I've ever seen someone spam the board and also reply to the actual topic at hand...