On the strength of seeing Peter Holsapple, Chris Stamey and Mitch Easter perform during the 40th anniversary concert for Arrogance in Durham recently.

Dylan, Mellencamp and Nelson Line Up 2009 Ballpark Tour July 2 - Sauget, IL @ GCS Ballpark July 4 - South Bend, IN @ Coveleski Stadium July 8 - Louisville, KY @ Louisville Slugger Field July 10 - Dayton, OH @ Fifth Third Field July 11 - Eastlake, OH @ Classic Park July 13 - Washington, PA @ Consol Energy Park July 14 - Allentown, PA @ Coca-Cola Park July 15 - New Britain, CT @ New Britain Stadium July 19 - Syracuse, NY @ Alliance Bank Stadium July 21 - Pawtucket, RI @ McCoy Stadium July 23 - Lakewood, NJ @ FirstEnergy Park July 24 - Aberdeen, MD @ Ripken Stadium July 25 - Norfolk, VA @ Harbor Park July 28 - Durham, NC @ Durham Bulls Athletic Park July 29 - Sevierville, TN @ Smokies Park August 4 - Round Rock, TX @ The Dell Diamond August 5 - Corpus Christi, TX @ Whataburger Field August 7 - Grand Prairie, TX @ QuikTrip Park August 11 - Glendale, AZ @ Camelback Ranch August 12 - Las Vegas, NV @ Cashman Field August 14 - Fresno, CA @ Chukchansi Park August 15 - Stockton, CA @ Banner Island Ballpark More info here.

According to this article Robert Kerns (Bottle Rockets, Cry of Love and local NC band Sidewinder) will be filling in for Skynyrd bassist Ean Evans until he's well enough to return to the band. I was looking at some old photos of Sidewinder recently and never realized Kearns and Audley Freed (Cry of Love, Black Crowes, etc.) was also in that band back in the day. I must of seen them dozens of times back in the 80s. It wasn't until years later that I became aware of Audley and Robert Kearns.

The only one I really have any respect for is Walsh who I prefer solo and with the James Gang to anything he ever did with the Eagles.

As part of the Revolve Film and Music Festival Mitch Easter and Don Dixon (who worked on R.E.M.'s first two full length albums and EP) will be conducting a panel discussion on the making of Murmur at the Garage in Winston-Salem next month. More info below. Revolve Music Night Featuring the making of R.E.M.'s Murmur record: A conversation with producers Mitch Easter and Don Dixon followed by Lyrics 101, live performance by Don Dixon with autographed copies of his new lyric book available and a performance by Magnapop (original line-up from Atlanta GA). Friday, May 22nd @ 8 PM / $10 The Garage Winston-Salem, NC The Garage Mitch Easter Don Dixon Magnapop In relation to the publication of his new Lyrics 101 book, Raleigh News & Observer music writer David Menconi has links to more info on that and a new interview with Don Dixon on his On the Beat music blog here.

As can be seen from that recent Floyd documentary VH1 Classic has been airing I think there was far too much there for any of the parties to just let things slide. As one of the commentators noted you could see the body language between the members when they finished up their performance at Live 8. Thankfully they were able to at least get that performance under their collective belts before Rick Wright died. I'd much rather see something like that which was driven by pure emotion (and the persuading of Bob Geldof) than groups like the Eagles who regroup purely for the monetary aspects.

It is the first time ever. I've just noticed a lot of folks complaining about having to buy all of the Beatles CDs again as though there have been other remasters.

10th Anniversary of Slim's in Raleigh this weekend. The first night is the VibeKillers w/ The New Heathens and Spanking Charlene. The second night is the Yayhoos (Dan Baird, Eric "Roscoe" Ambel, Keith Christopher & Terry Anderson), the first band to ever play there.

Isn't this the first time their entire catalog has been remastered (legally)?

The Huffington Post has posted the final installment of the Dylan interview with Bill Flanagan: Bob Dylan Sounds Off On The Origin Of His New Record, Parlor Music, Dr. Dre, And Who His Songs Are About ...and, it looks like some sad news for Theme Time Radio Hour, not only one of the finest things to happen on satellite radio in years but radio in general: Bob Dylan's 'Theme Time Radio Hour': His time might be up

Never even knew this poster existed until just the other day. Apparently it came from someone who purchased the collection of R.E.M.'s guitar tech Mark "Microwave" Mytrowitz who passed away last year:

I feel the same way, it still hasn't quite dawned on me. Yeah, it's though her music was right there under my nose the entire time but I just hadn't picked up on it yet. A friend that recommended her also suggesting catching her shows at Shakori Hills on either Thursday or Friday but that was out of the question. It wasn't after I purchased her CD on Record Store Day that I even noticed she would be doing an in-store there later that afternoon so I did get to see her and the Midnight Shivers live after all.

I haven't actually had a chance to listen to either of them yet but I did enjoy her in-store performance at Schoolkids in Raleigh on Saturday as part of their Record Store Day celebration. After receiving those recommendations from friends I was looking at my issue of No Depression's first bookazine and noticed there was an article in there on her on the very first page. Funny how that sort of stuff happens. If you're interested, you can find her website here and sample some of her tunes via her MySpace site here. There's also some clips of her performing up on YouTube.

Frampton wasn't the only one that used the "talk box", he was just the most visible. It was also prominent in songs by Aerosmith, Joe Walsh, Steely Dan and others.

Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers CD Release of Songs of the Night Saturday, April 18th Record Store Day Schoolkids Records Raleigh, NC 7th Annual Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival Silk Hope, NC SATURDAY, APRIL 18TH The New Familiars Grove Stage The Horse Flies Meadow Stage Donna the Buffalo Meadow Stage SUNDAY, APRIL 19TH Grassroots Songwriters Circle Grove Stage Shannon Whitworth Meadow Stage Preston Frank Dance Tent Ralph Stanley Meadow Stage Glad I finally made it out to Shakori Hills. I've been meaning to go for quite some time now but for various reasons have never made it. It was such wonderful weather here Saturday and now that I'm closer to that location there was no way to turn it down. It happens twice a year (Spring and Fall) and started as an off shoot of the original Grassroots Festival that is put on by Donna the Buffalo in upstate New York. Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival of Music & Dance

The first two CDs in my list below are by Samantha Crain and the Midnight Shivers. A couple of friends had recently recommended their Songs of the Night CD to me so I picked it up just on the strength of those recommendations without hearing a note of it. I saw where they were scheduled to perform at the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival Thursday and Friday but I wasn't able to make it on those days (I did go Saturday and Sunday though). Imagine my surprise when I saw they'ed be doing an in store at Schoolkids in Raleigh for Record Store Day. Record Store Day finds: ...and a few freebies: [No image available] Various Artists Choice Cuts 2009 Record Store Day Sampler (vinyl) [No image available] Various Artists Record Store Day 2009 Edition (vinyl) [No image available] Various Artists Merge Records 2009 Promotional Sampler (CD)

I don't mean from just a audio standpoint but a visual one as well. With Springsteen it was easy to push him as "punk" because of his then ruffled look and his affiliation with Patti Smith.

I believe that was touched on in either the Seven Ages of Rock or Heavy: The Story of Metal that I saw on VH1 Classic recently. It stems from their very primitive and savage approach to rock n' roll at a time when other bands (including Zep) were accused of indulging in excess. Upon a closer listen it's revealed that what they're playing is a very bare bones version of early rock n' roll. Just imagine Chuck Berry jacked up on a lethal combination of steroids and amphetamines and you'll get the idea. I know that when I first saw AC/DC back in the late 70s on a bill with Cheap Trick and Nantucket, I was definitely struck by the punk rock thing. They were loud, brash and full of energy. I also noticed some in the front row were spitting on them, which in some other countries is referred to as "gobbing", a way of showing their appreciation for the band on stage. This occurred most frequently at punk rock shows. Though it may not necessarily apply to AC/DC, some bands such as Van Halen, Springsteen and Tom Petty were marketed as "punk rock" back in the mid to late 70s as it was the in thing then and was merely an effort to help move records.

It's funny, in a fairly recent interview I saw with Johnny Rotten (maybe on the Seven Ages of Rock documentary) he says he was actually a fan of Pink Floyd's, his "I Hate Pink Floyd" t-shirt was just a means of getting a rise out people, especially on their home turf.

It's always been my understanding that the introduction of the digipak (along with the elimination of the CD longbox) was an environmental step in general. Of course it also makes it easier to replicate the original vinyl packaging but I believe it's an environmental thing more than anything.

My excitement for these impending releases just went down a notch as I see where they're getting the digipak treatment. I'm all for saving the environment but don't see where plastic jewel cases are doing all that much harm. It's been my experience that a lot of digipaks just don't stand up to the punishment many of us give our CDs even if we're not being all that hard on them. The cardboard sleeves are also notorious for scratching up CDs so the least they could have done is use trays in the packaging. You can read more info on the remasters and see the packaging here.

I do like and appreciate folk music, even Peter, Paul and Mary and Pete Seeger but some of it, I just can't handle. My taste in folk tends to lean more towards John Prine, Dylan, Nanci Griffith, Indigo Girls, Joni Mitchell, etc.

Maybe I've just never heard the right songs but I've never been a huge fan of Gordon Lightfoot myself. Same for Harry Chapin. I'm sure some of their tunes are ok but some also remind me of this scene from Animal House.

Here's a link to part five of the interview with Bill Flanagan in which Dylan reveals some of his favorite songwriters as Jimmy Buffett, John Prine and Guy Clark (amongst others). It's very cool to see him citing Buffett since so many seem to be unable to see past their view of him as a writer of novelty songs and as the "Mayor of Margaritaville" when there's so much more to him than that. Dylan performed A Pirate Looks at 40 once but the recording that surfaced from that show was of extremely poor quality. I've also read that Dylan once performed a song by John Prine when he was overseas and took credit for it without knowing Prine himself was in attendance that evening. Also nice to read in this interview that Dylan collaborated with Robert Hunter (of Grateful Dead fame) on some of the songs from his upcoming new album. Bob Dylan Exclusive Interview: Reveals His Favorite Songwriters, Thoughts On His Own Cult Figure Status