Tough Tuesday

Christmas is comin'.  Either you know what that means, or you don't.  If you're in the latter, stay tuned for what that means for this little ole site.

Now, then.  One of our very favorite bands (and we really mean it), Pure Country Gold, are out on the road in support of their spankin'n' face meltin' new rekkid,  "Tough Tuesday" (out now on super keen colored vinyl and download) on the magnificent Cave Punk record label. 

Even better, they're gonna be in Chicago this Thursday (11/11, mofo's) at the legendary Hideout.  Following that, they've got dates in Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Missoula, and Spokane.  Y'all should go if you can.

The new rekkid is an easy contender for our album of the year. 

We posted about them previously, when we premiered an advance song from the new record.  We're gonna reprint that here, below, cuz we don't feel we can better it.  It includes an interview with the band and some super swell tunes, including a track from the new record:

 A Previous Post On Pure Country Gold

We can't even pretend to be objective when it comes to Pure Country Gold. They're one of our favorite bands, a two-man (drums, guitar, vocals) force of raw nature, all desperation and booze-fueled rock'n'fuckin'roll.


We finally got to see 'em play live at last summer's Deep Blues Fest, and they exceeded every expectation, a sweaty barrel-house blast of amped-up sound and wail.



"Pure Country Gold is pure trash. Tasty, nasty and loud. And sleazy. Sleazy like the barroom floor at last call, you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here, and who're you gonna pick up to take home for a quick rut just to say your weekend wasn't a total waste, burning sensation be damned...Yeah, it's that good. ...It's complete (glorious, sonic) junk masquerading with a name designed to confuse. But, they've got that sensibility, if you know what we mean...Imagine some urban cowboy wandering into a local jukejoint only to be faced with this glorious racket, shit-amped guitars through busted speakers, some guy hollerin' wounded goat over the bluescowpunk mess. Feller would probably crap his Lee's...Hyper-amped, garage-fuelled, amphetamine muckity muck."


'Course, that barely covers the band and their sound. But, we figger, why listen to us blather on, when you can hear direct from the band?


Singer and guitar fucker Patrick Foss (aka Petey, aka Pure Cunt) was kind enough to answer a few questions for us.

A Big Rock Candy Mountain Interview With Pure Country Gold
(In which we learn the value of bubbles)


Big Rock Candy Mountain: Who is Pure Country Gold and how did you come to be?

Patrick Foss: Patrick & Jake or Petey & Beefjake or Pure Cunt & Tree Gold. We'll answer to any of those names. One night we were both drinking in a bar called Club 21 and decided to start playing together.

BRCM: Where did the name Pure Country Gold come from, and how pure are you?

PF: The name came out of my desire to pick something happy and hippie sounding. I like to think we play feel-good music and thought the band-name should put warm and happy images into people's heads. Sunflowers & sunshine are the images that popped in my head and I felt that that aesthetic was the antithesis to the Jack Daniel's t-shirt and devil-doll rawk stuff which I find kinda dumb. We never considered that having the word 'country' in our name would confuse people, but sometimes we don't think things through too good. Pure? Uh...probably not so much.

BRCM: Are you a Blues band with Punk roots, a Punk band with Blues roots, none of the above, all of the above, or something else entirely?

PF: I've never thought of us as a "blues" band, but there's definitely a strong blues and R&B influence. Punk and blues music is how we learned to play our instruments so those influences inform how we perform the songs I write. I think we play rock & roll, but that doesn't mean anything anymore so I'll just let the journalist-types like you decide what we play.

BRCM: Who are your influences, if any? What infernal sounds inform the Pure Country Gold aesthetic?

PF: 50's and 60's rock and pop are heavy influences on my songwriting, as is later power-pop and punk rock. I'm a huge nerdy Beatles fan. Discovering Crypt Records sometime in the mid-90's was pretty big for me. I also love early hardcore and Greg Ginn is probably my favorite guitar player. Jake and I are also the world's only 2-piece Bad Brains tribute band if that says anything about us.

BRCM: Whiskey or beer?

PF: Beer. Mostly Vodka for me, but I don't discriminate too much.

BRCM: Yellow Bubbles. Discuss.

PF: We were in a bar on tour and I ordered a Pabst and the bartender said they didn't have Pabst, so I tried Hamm's, Olympia, Rainier, etc and they didn't have none of those either. Finally I asked for anything yellow with bubbles in it. Some drunk at the bar was amused by that and said he was gonna write a song called 'Yellow Bubbles'. I think I yelled back at him, "Not if I write it first! I'll see you on the pop-charts motherfucker!"
I don't remember what beer I ended up being served, but it had yellow bubbles in it. Anyway, I ended up writing a silly pop song about domestic beer and the apocalypse. I'm proudest of the line "have a magic moment sometimes" which is a backronym for Hamm's that I made up. Anyway, Big Legal Mess still has some of the 7 inchers lying around so people need to buy them puppies up! They’re on yellow-gold vinyl!

BRCM: Has there ever been a situation where one of you had to play a solo gig due to, ahem, unforeseen circumstances? If so, how did that work out, and what important lessons about life did you learn?

PF: Just about everybody who was at the Deep Blues Fest 08 knows this story, but we've never told our side. We were at the Holiday Inn lounge with many other DBF performers and I wanted some tequila. When I asked how much the Patron cost the bartender told me $4. That's really fucking cheap and probably a mistake, so I ordered 15 shots! I drank 2 or 3 of em, gave away several and left Jake with the rest when I headed up to my room to go to bed.
At some point Jake went outside and sat down to make a phone call and fell asleep. The hotel security couldn't roust him so they called the cops. The next morning I get a call from our buddy Jay to inform me that Jake's in the drunk-tank. We were slotted to play at noon and I got the call around 10:30. Jay and I drove into St Paul, tracked down the detox center and found out there was no way Jake was making the gig.
There was nothing else we could do so we headed towards Lake Elmo to the festival and I jotted down a list of songs I thought I could pull off solo. All I was thinking was that I needed to pull something off because we needed to get paid! We arrived at the festival at a quarter to noon and I set up on stage. I played 8 or so songs and it went great - I wrote those songs alone on my acoustic so there was no reason they wouldn't work this time. Thankfully Chris was kind enough to make room for us the next day so we were able to get a set in with the whole band.
Life lesson? For me: don't leave your already-drunk drummer in the bar with 4 or 5 shots of tequila in front of him when you have a gig at noon the next day. For Jake: don't drunk-dial your friends outside of hotels in Ramsey County, MN.


BRCM: Louder, Faster or Out of Control?

PF: Out of control.

BRCM: As a duo, how does your dynamic work? Do you find yourselves limited or freed by the drum 'n' guitar format? And how do you get so damned loud? Is there a volume above 11?

PF: I write song ideas on my acoustic at home and then bring Jake and some amplification in to flesh things out. We're definitely limited, but I think the limitation is a good thing - it's a fun challenge to make things work with just the two of us. Maybe someday we'll run out of ideas and we'll add instruments or members to open things up, but I think we'll be ok for a while with the setup we have now. I've always been a pretty "busy" guitar player and combined with Jake's bombastic drumming I think it works out well. Yes, we're loud too, but because Jake's a loud fucking drummer and I turn up to be heard!

BRCM:You're based out of Portland, Oregon, a city known for a great music scene. How does the band fit into the city? Where are the best clubs to play? Is beer at Club 21 still just a buck on Wednesday night?

PF: Everyone says how Portland has this great scene but I don't really see it. There’s no unified Portland scene at all - it's all fractured and cliquey like everywhere else. There are too many venues and bands here and everyone just goes to see their friends' bands play and ignore everything else. That being said, we have many great friends in many great bands and we play lots of great shows with our friends. I love that, but I don't feel that we're part of any greater Portland music scene and I don't think any of our friends do either. I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining - we really love playing in this town and have played with many bands of many genres at many venues - but all this talk of a Portland scene doesn't really make sense to me.
There are some great venues here - the Kenton Club, the East End and Slabtown treat us well and we love playing those places. Club 21 is not really a club - meaning there are no bands or strippers there - but we spend lots of time there drinking even though beer is no longer a buck on Wednesday nights. As much as we love the place, it's a pretty shitty bar and I love to imagine that people may someday go in there just because of that song we wrote about it, but think it sucks and leave and never come back.

BRCM: Your favorite t-shirt?

PF: Probably my shirt that says "I'd rather be over the hill than under it", but I don't wear the shirt for the statement so much as because it's comfy and blue. I like blue.

BRCM: Obligatory Deep Blues Festival question: How did you come to play at the Fest, and what are your best memories of the Fest

PF: Jay Martin (aka DJ Hwy 7) is a close friend of ours and is friends with Chris Johnson and Rick Saunders and many other folks involved with the Deep Blues community. He recommended us and Chris contacted us to play the 2nd fest in 2008. We had a great time, met some great folks and Chris invited us to play again at the DBF09. Chris has a great thing going with this fest and I hope he can continue to build it to what it deserves to be. We’re certainly proud to have been a part of it!
There were many great bands at the fest last year, but I think Chooglin’ was my fave (ed note: Chooglin' did indeed kick much ass). My best memory of DBF09 though is hanging out with Jay on Thursday afternoon before the fest. He was so drunk by 3pm that he passed out and missed the whole Thursday night show. Maybe that's a silly thing to choose as a highlight, but I'd never seen him so drunk before and he made me laugh a lot.

BRCM: God or Satan?

PF: Satan

BRCM: In a perfect world, Pure Country Gold has the number one single in the world. How do you celebrate?

PF: With drugs and girls I'm guessin.

BRCM: What's next for the band? Rumor has it you've completed a new record and are shopping it. Anything you can tell us about the album? Tour in the works?

PF: New record is done and yes, we're talking to labels now. We're real proud of this record - I think it sounds great, has a good variety of tunes and represents our live sound well. We have plans to tour the US and Europe in 2010. We'd love that record out before we hit the road so we're concentrating on that first, but we'll hit the road regardless. We promise.

Thanks, Patrick.  Check 'em out, then...well...check 'em out!

Pure Country Gold: I'm The End (mp3)

Pure Country Gold: Yellow Bubbles (mp3)

Pure Country Gold: Setting Sun (mp3)

Please support yr local, independent booze slingers and guitar wranglers.

Sit And Moan

Well.   Look's like Cheatin' wins, despite a late surge from the Hangover crowd.  Remember kids...Cheater's never win, except when they do.  So we're set...Top 50 Cheatin' songs to be featured down the line once the votes are tabulated and the morning prayers for forgiveness have cleansed our guilty souls.  Reminder:  If you'd like to be a judge, and help us sort this mess out, let us know!  You'll be the proud recipient of many, many tunes to choose from.  And, of course, if you've got a favorite Cheatin' song, from any genre, let us know.  Don't want this list to just be our opinion, cuz then y'all stuck with Country and Blues.  Share your opinion! 

Now, on with the show.

Last year, during our annual round-up of our fave rekkids of the year, we made a case for Mark Sultan as one of our artists of the year, based on his solo work and his collaborations with King Khan and The Black Lips.   This year, we think Bloodshot Bill is our collaborator of the year, with a new solo record, a Tandoori Knights record, and a Ding-Dongs record.  Sweet jesus!

Bloodshot Bill is, of course, a madman.  A rockabilly, trash-sleaze caveman, with wild wild youth at the controls,  steering yr Ford Fairlane straight to hell, pomade-stained blood spattered highway pile-up, and still the illicit dragstrip stays open, the blonde in the bikini waving no flag of surrender, only speed and rotted axles spinning a hypnotic, wasted junk-joint rhythm.

All of Bloodshot Bill's "solo" records are well worth checking out (we've got some samples below).   If you love Hank Williams and Hasil Adkins, this is yr bag, baby!

But today we come to praise his current releases, collaborations with two other Mountain favorites...you guessed it...King Khan and Mark Sultan (aka BBQ).  It's possible we may never see Mr. Khan and Mr. Sultan play together again (a recent blow-up which you can Google).  While the hipster cognoscenti may bemoan this, we think Bloodshot Bill  makes the perfect go-between between these two cats, and more than holds his own as one of our best garbage-men in the current frenzy of lesser, trend-following sycophants.  Bloodshot Bill's the real deal, and he's been doing it for a long time.

On this year's collaboration with Mark Sultan, The Ding-Dongs, Bloodshot Bill  and Sultan rip, rage and tear the motherfuckin' roof down with a swinging, fizzy, deep bottom swagger and guitar frenzy.  Trading brimstone sinner's vocals like a hayride from hell, these cats make yr must-hear party record of the year, if'n yr inclined towards a boom chicka chicka, hog-roasted, sweaty and smeared jamboree.  Which we assume you are, and why wouldn't you be?

As if that weren't enough, Bloodshot Bill also drops "Curry Up", by The Tandoori Knights, his collaboration with King Khan.  An about face from his Ding-Dongs (and solo) work, this is a record full of Bollywood's worst nightmares.  More psychedelic than his previous work, and full of  food and sex references (via King Khan's obsessions), the record finds a slinkier, stinkier groove, like the streets of Delhi transformed into a gaudy (gaudier?)  film directed by Abel Ferrara, seedy and scented, full of sepia-toned technicolor, cracked by shambolic shops selling illicit pleasure in the form of twine-time and brown-drugged epiphany.  Slow-cooked, loose limbed groove, then.  Sweet to the smell and hot to the taste.

Two of the essential records this year.  And Bloodshot Bill's got another new record, "Homicide", that we haven't been able to get our grubby fingers on, yet (we're working on it, folks). 

It's the year of Bloodshot Bill, and the man can't even hit the states 'til next year (long story. look it up).

The Ding-Dongs: Knock Me Down (mp3)

Tandoori Knights: Bucketful (mp3)

And some solo work.

Bloodshot Bill:  Loaded (mp3)

Bloodshot Bill:  Naughty Girls (mp3)

Bloodshot Bill:  Root-Toot-Toot (mp3)

Bloodshot Bill:  Hangin' Me Tonight (mp3)

Bloodshot Bill:  All I Can Do Is Sit And Moan (mp3)

Please support your local, independent distributor of tasty snacks and hot curried treats.

Cheatin' Vs. Hangovers

Still time to vote in poll off to the side!  What do you want our next Top 50 list to be?  Cheatin' songs or Hangover songs?  Speak now, or no complaints down the line.  And if you wanna be a judge, and help keep us honest, let us know!

So here's a quickie sampler of what y'all got to choose from.  Two stone cold classics from each option.

You should everything by Kris Kristofferson, of course. The man's a legend.  And, in "Sunday Morning Coming Down", he might have composed the greatest hangover song of all time.

Dan Penn, often with Spooner Oldham, crafted some of the great  slow-burn Southern Soul songs of the '60's.  He certainly deserves a full post of his own. In lieu of James Carr's version of  "Dark End Of The Street", we're gonna tease you with Penn's take on his own creation.  'Cuz it's really fuckin' great.  All the cheatin' and all the fearful consequences lingering..

Of course...more to come.  So vote in the goddamn poll, already!   It's right there..to your left.  Which deserves it's own Top 50 List??? 


Kris Kristofferson:  Sunday Morning Coming Down (mp3)

Dan Penn: The Dark Side Of The Street (mp3)

Please support your local, independent morning regret.

Six Pack of Love

Gettin' ready for our favorite season, Autumn, and a post of one of our new-found favorites, but figgered we'd offer up a quick little 6 Pack (plus one) for yr weekend record shopping...erm...listening enjoyment.

But first...We want your opinion!  After the world-wide success of our Top 100 Drinking Songs, we think it's about time for another definitive list, one in which there can be no argument!  So, we're thinking of two options...Top 50 Cheating Songs or Top 50 Hangover Songs.  What do you think, faithful readers?  Which list is most appealing?  Of course we'll be looking for a few good women and men to help us judge, and we'll be looking for a ton of suggestions, whichever the pick is,  so keep that in mind.  Here's the deal, we need you vote in the poll to the left to help us decide which list it'll be.  Once the poll closes, we're gonna start begging y'all for judges and song suggestions.  Feel free to start either of those options now, of course.

Alright, alright.  That done let's kick out a little vinyl goodness in the form of our semi-regular Six Pack series, where we select some random killer tunes culled from our vinyl collection.  You know the drill.  So let's go. (oh, and we might have a bonus track...cuz that's how the kids roll these days...). 

Mountain faves Del Reeves and Billie Jo Spears team up for a truckin' and truck stop love song.  You just know we're all over this shit.  And how about Tom T. Hall givin' it up for a little sanctified lust?  Mmmm hmmm.   

Jim Mize has a new 7" out which features maybe the best song of the year, "Drunk Moon Falling".  We're not gonna give that to you.  You should really own that record (it's cheap!).  But the B-Side, "I Won't Come Back Again" is pretty fuckin' fantastic too.  And it's only a teaser to how great the A-Side is.  Seriously, if you buy the 7", which you deserve as a music fan, and can prove that you've got it (shame on you for not owning a record player), we'll send you an mp3 of the title song.  It's well worth yr goddam time.  Oh, and Mountain favorite John Paul Keith plays on the track...so you know it's good.

Jack Oblivian...well, damn.  It's Jack Oblivian.  Can we preach his glory more on this site.  Just listen to the goddam track and go out and grab the catalog.  It's worth it.  This is from a 7" put out by Vice Records.   

We have no idea who the Coal Diggers are.  They're a polka band that we found a random record for in the bins.  If you find one of their records, grab it, dammit.  The song is a brilliant distillation of  a band on the edge of alcoholic indulgence.

And then we've got a psychedelic "God" song from a record commemorating the ultimate "Jesus People" experience, "Jesus Sound Explosion".  Just sit back and revel in the early 70's attempt at "hipster nowness".  The song is pretty fuckin' great, all divine soul groove.  Also, for fans who ever read all the "christian" Archie comics...you know who you are.

Finally, it's our boy Robert Mitchum, waxing road weary and boozy.  We love Mitchum as an actor, he's one of our fave raves, but on his musical recordings, he's transcendent.   A Country tramp, an Exotica beatnik, a man with a past and future uncertain.  Damn, he's a swell hobo in spangled Hollywood lights, aint he?

So, that's seven songs in this Six Pack.  Well, don't tell us we aint generous.  Call it a Baker's Dozen in "take home" lingo. 

Evey song is a classic.  Collect 'em all.  Why be selective?

Del Reeves and Billie Jo Spears: Baby, Ride Easy (mp3)

Tom T. Hall: The Little Lady Preacher (mp3)

Jim Mize: I Won't Come Back Again (mp3)

Jack Oblivian: The Lone Ranger Of Love (mp3)

The Coal Diggers: Don't Throw Beer Bottles At The Band (mp3)

Armageddon Experience: One Way (mp3)

Robert Mitchum: Gotta Travel On (mp3)

Please support yr local, independent One Hour Motels.  Good times.  

American Honey

So. Apparently we're sponsored by LL Bean.  Ugh.  'Spect some of the longtime readers here have been waiting for me to weigh in.  Won't go on a rant...but suffice to say Harry McClintock's version of "Big Rock Candy Mountain", from which we took our name, probably was not written in the spirit of selling trendy outdoors clothing for well-to-do, white weekend warriors.  It's a hobo song, fer chrissakes!  Well, this is our world now, I guess.  I'll be quiet about the issue now.  But, I'm just sayin'...

Now that that's done, we wanna revisit one of our favorite local bands, who have a new EP out that's pretty fuckin' amazing. 

Last year we covered a record by The Black Oil Brothers.  Here's what we said then:

"The Black Oil Brothers create an amalgam of Country and Blues not beholden to contemporary "alt" whatever, forging their sound from a deeper well, stripping away the trappings of contemporary naval-gazing to find a purer sound. Strapped to the concrete acreage of the big, big city, the Black Oil Brothers find the wide open spaces of beyond, and the smallness of life lived in overgrown yards and back porches lit by fireflies.  Regret and bad choices made in the midnight hour, then. The kind of Country Blues record we love so dearly."

We didn't focus enough, of course, on the Delta Blues aspect of their sound, and with their new EP, American Honey, featuring the astonishing vocals of Bethany Saint-Smith (or here), The Black Oil Brothers tromp and stomp further into the muddied bottom, sinking their acoustic strum'n'snake oil holler into a midnight last call desperation, dancing loose-stringed and meditative with sex and whiskey running slow and fast, the final nod, the heavy lean, the sweep-me-off my feet, I'm lighter than air and these planked floorboards can't keep me steady.

While the Black Oil Brothers (Tony, Tony, and Timmy) do that voodoo that they do (and it is a hypnotic voodoo)...this new EP introduces  a new element in one Ms. Bethany Saint-Smith.  I'm gonna let one of the Tony's (Manno) tell you how this came to be:

"We met Bethany when we went to NYC for a string of shows a few years back.  She was running sound at Niagara, a bar in the Lower East Side, that we played the first night out there. She took to us immediately, and literally called a bunch of friends while we were playing and packed the place halfway through our set.  We became fast friends and her and her gang followed us around to our other shows that weekend. We ended up jamming at one of the shows, and realized that she has one HELL of a voice pretty quickly. So we kept chatting and chatting, and finally she flew out here last year and we fired through a bunch of tunes in my apartment over a weekend of doing nothing but smoking and drinking a lot of Jack Daniels and Wild Turkey American Honey (hence the name).  We got around to fixing up the tunes, adding some percussion, and decided to put it out.  Bethany has a band out in NYC called Bethany Saint-Smith &the Gun Show, and she also sings for a Rockabilly band called (shit, I forget the name at the moment-she just joined).   She's a firecracker of a chick, and has become a close friend of mine.  We went out there to play with her last December and did a few of these songs, and that solidified our relationship. "

He's right.  Saint-Smith has got a voice equal parts straight-no-chaser whiskey and  straw-dry huskiness, low-murmured and deep, deep soulful, the voice of yr loss and the consequences of yr bad strayin' self.  She's got you in the wee small hours.  Of the night, and of your slow sun risin' morning regret. 

Together, the Black Oil Brothers and Bethany Saint-Smith create a burning ember of a torched rickety shack, hard stomped, dusty caked, risin' flooded porch Blues. 

This record is easily gonna be in our top records of the year.  Pretty high up, actually.  

You can grab the new EP for free right here.  But there is an option to send them a little cash.  Wouldn't hurt, really, would it? 

From the new EP, American Honey:

Bethany Saint-Smith and The Black Oil Brothers: Hold The Knife (mp3)

From the previous Black Oil Brothers record, Long Way From The Delta: 


Black Oil Brothers: Wednesday Afternoon (mp3)

Black Oil Brothers: Robert From Hibbing (mp3)

As ever, please support yr local, independent...whatever.  True small businesses could use yr support these days. 

Rockabilly Boogie

Hey hey, all y'all. We'd like to introduce a new contributor to this here little corner of the world. "Big J" knows a whole lotta shit that we don't, from Rockabilly to Metal to Punk, and all points in between. We think he's gonna be a big addition to our aesthetic. And we think y'all are gonna dig what he's got to say and share. He's gonna start us off with a little Six Pack of his own, to give you a little teaser. Check it out, and give Big J a warm welcome to The Mountain!


We'll start this six pack off with a wild, wild rocker by Johnny Carroll & His Hot Rocks. I like this version better than the one used in the movie Rock, Baby Rock It. Next up is a little boogie-woogie country number by Pee Wee King. Weep with Glen Glenn as he waits for his gal to show up. Then we've got a tune by Vince Taylor ( later covered by The Clash) and another by the mysterious Phantom ( later covered The Cramps). Finally there's Inspector Tuppence and the Sexy Firemen. Lousy name, great song!

Johnny Carroll and His Hot Rocks: Wild Wild Women (mp3)

Pee Wee King: Catty Town (MP3)

Glen Glenn: One Cup of Coffee (MP3)

Vince Taylor: Brand New Cadillac (MP3)

The Phantom: Love Me (MP3)

Inspector Tuppence and the Sexy Firemen: I Guess It Must Be Love (MP3)

Road Hog

Well.

Perhaps it's inspired by a friend's recent road trip along the entirety of Route 66.  Perhaps it's with the waning of summer and the desire to hit the road.   Perhaps we're trying to make amends for our time away.

Whichever, we've got a nifty little mix for y'all today.  And it's road songs...all road songs.  And, yeah, it's a little heavy on the truckin' songs, but what can we say?  We're all about the truckin' 'round these parts, and we'd be curious to discover if anyone's got a larger collection of the damn things than we do (we're pretty seriously obsessive). 

But it aint all just 18-Wheeler fetishism.  We got some draggin', some locomotin', some shout-outs to The Fuzz, and some odes to movement in general.  Oh, and some of the tunes may contain sexual innuendo.  Do what you will with that.  We missed a couple thousand great tunes, but how long do you really want to spend downloadin' this sucker?  'Sides,  its leaves us open to a part 2, 

We'll be back to posting about, you know, actual bands shortly.  And we've got a special request coming up.  So stay tuned. 

For now, pop this sucker in yr 8-Track, and hit the highways before it's too late!

The Big Rock Candy Road Hog Mix
(Download link follows track listing)


1. Hot Wheels (Stan Farlow)
2. Trucker From Tennessee (Link Davis)
3. (I Want To Be A) Truck Driver's Sweetheart (Marcie Dickerson)
4.  Bennies and Beer (Chinga Chavin)
5. Change Gears On That Thing (Hasil Adkins)
6. Speed Traps, Weigh Stations and Detour Signs (Dave Dudley)
7. Ford And A Shaker (James Gallagher)
8. Hot Rod (Roy Hogsed)
9. Roll On Down The Highway (The Donnas)
10. Harley Davidson (Mick Harvey and Anita Lane)
11.  Hell's Angels (Johnny Bond)
12. Rocket 88 (Jackie Brentson/Ike Turner)
13. Night Train (John R.)
14. The Golden Rocket (Hank Snow) 
15. Hey Truckers (Andre Williams and The Sadies)
16. Truck Drivin' Outlaw (Denis Olson)
17. Lookin' At The World Through A Windshield (Del Reeves)
18. Don't Drag No More (Susan Lynne)
19. Highway Patrol (Junior Brown)
20. Beaver On My Lap and a Bear On My Trail (Ferlin Husky)
21. Highway Man (Howlin' Wolf)
22. Ride On Josephine (Bo Diddley)
23. Windfall (Son Volt)
24. '57 Chevrolet (Billie Jo Spears)
25. I've Got A New Road Under My Wheels (Tommy Duncan/Bob Wills)
26. Grudge Run (Dick Dale)
27. This Train (Elder Samuel Patterson and the Christian Crusaders)
28. Diamonds On My Windshield (Tom Waits)
29. Hitch Hiking Girl (Red Sovine)
30. Hard Hard Traveling Man (Dick Curless)
31. 18 Wheeler Fever (Scott H Biram)
32. Drive That Rig To Glory (Craig Donaldson)
33. White Line Fever (Merle Haggard)
34. Outro-Mad Road Driving

BRCM-Road Hog Mix (mp3)

Please support yr local, independent, diesel mechanic.  

Milwaukee's Best

Whelp.  We just spent a great weekend in Milwaukee, WI with our buddy and long-time reader John (from Milwaukee), and Andy from the radio show Zero Hour Radio.  Some great food/cook-outs, and some great music all weekend long.  We even came back with 50+ records (damn our suitcase was heavy), that's gonna please y'all down the line.

We'd especially like to thank the great staff of WMSE (97.1), who were incredibly supportive and friendly, and put out just about the best free-from radio all y'all gonna hear (and it streams live on the internets, dammit!).  They put on the Radio Summer Camp all weekend long, with great bands (like, oh, I dunno, Jack Oblivian with John Paul Keith and the One Four Fives), culminating with a day long  free fest downtown on Sunday that featured, among others featured down below, The Carolina Chocolate Drops (who we bought a "commemorative kazoo from) and the chicken-hurlin' Southern Culture On The Skids.   

If y'all missed it, and wanna hear our interview, followed by the Jack Oblivian/John Paul Keith interview, go all clicky click here. 

Now, for the music portion of our "show".

We wanna draw yr ADD-addled digital listening selves to a few bands who played the free WMSE-sponsored fest, Backyard BBQ on Sunday.  We think they're fantastic bands that all y'all will dig, and we hope to cover further down the line.

First up is the .357 String Band, who kicked out the punk-bluegrass  (think they call it "Street-Grass") like nobody's business, reminding us, in a very good way, of Bloodshot's early years with The Riptides, The Meat Purveyors, and most especially Split Lip Rayfield.  They don't sound anything like those bands, of course, but they're carrying on the tradition of punk-inspired country that's been sorely lacking these days.

Next we've got Jonathan Burks (and his band), who do a Miller-lite buzzed-out snarl of boozed-up Country trash and LoudonWainright- style observation and snark.  The man loves his drinking song like no other, and we're keen to see where he goes from here.  Oh, and if you visit his site, you'll get a nice surprise,  but be generous, folks, be generous.  Man's gotta have beer money, dontcha know.

And finally, we've got The Ragadors.  Damn.  Saved the best for last.  We don't know what the following two tracks are actually titled, as they provided a sampler of their upcoming LP without a track listing.  Doesn't matter, cuz these cats make a fuckin' hell of a racket, all Blues-trash surge and wail, deep and heavy bottom with a guy up front who's voice comes from the very Devil.  This is a band to keep yr eyes on, and we'll have a longer post on these guys when their full-length comes out this Autumn.  They promised it'd be on vinyl (oh, and cd, too, of course), and we're seriously jazzed.  But for now, revel in this surging racket of rawk! 

Thanks for a great weekend, Milwaukee!

.357 String Band: Milwaukee, Here I Come (mp3)

Jonathan Burks: Drunkard's Remorse (mp3)

Ragadors: Untitled #1 (mp3)

Ragadors: Untitled #2 (mp3)


Check out WMSE.  Independent, Frontier Radio, and well worth it. 

Six Pack In The City

Good Times!

Got another hot rockin' round of our Six Pack special today.  Soon, we'll get back to covering actual individual artists.  How about some Abner Jay next week?  Yr wish is our command.

Before we dive into our semi-regular round of vinyl goodness, we've got a special announcement!

This Friday we're venturing out to Milwaukee for a weekend of booze and music with some good friends.  While there, we're gonna be a guest on the great free-form radio station, WMSE, 91.7 FM ("Anti-Established in 1981").     The show is called  Zero Hour Radio, and it's hosted by "Andy" who has his own site with archives of his fantastic shows, and , coincidentally, was a contributor to our very own Top 100 Drinking Songs (remember that?).  The show streams live on the internets, and will be this Friday from 12-3 in the afternoon (Central Time, kiddies).  So why should you check it out?  Well, besides me, Andy will be doing his usual brilliance, spinning the best in trash, garage, beat-soul, etc.  Our favorite reader (and WMSE DJ), John (from Milwaukee) will be on hand as well.  Oh, and there's a rumour Jack Oblivian and/or John Paul Keith might join us for a short while (enabling an Oblivians set, you betcha).  And finally, well, I'll be there, possibly presenting my best records of the year, so far.  It's gonna be a fun show, and all y'all should tune in!  Again, this Friday, on WMSE (that's the link to the online stream), from Noon-3.  (And if you're feeling particularly snarky, they have a phone number you can call in to for requests and whatnot....just sayin').

Now for another Six Pack o' tunes from our vinyl treasure trove.

First up is a slow funk burner, "Tire Shop Part 1" from the recently passed King Lee of New Orleans, with Quintron on all "instruments".  It's pretty fuckin' great, and perfect for your summer low-ridin' enjoyment.  Get it here, cuz you're gonna need it. 

We move from New Orleans to Tex-ass and John Wesley Coleman III's "Donkey Song", a slab of western-tinted fuzz'n'snot.  From the killer record "Steal My Mind".  More on Coleman later. 

On to Oregon for The Range Rats, and the tune "Thunder Road" (not the one your thinking of). The band is Fred and Toody from Dead Moon/Pierced Arrows.  It's a Country record, made back in the day and finally getting a release.  It's exactly as great as you think it is.  Hunt for it...cuz it's on Mississippi Records.

Moonshiner and tale-teller Hamper McBee's got some crazy ass backwoods folk shit going  on.  From his record "The Good Old Fashioned Way" , recorded back in the late 70's, and finally seeing release on Drag City.  This record is pretty much a must for any fan of "outsider" music (whatever the hell that is), Country, or great storytelling in general.

You probably already know who Tandoori Knights are.  If not, you will soon.  It's a Rolling Stones cover.  It's on Norton.  'nuff said.

And from Chicago, we've got the hollerin' garage-soul blues of Big Whiskey.  "Howl For Me" is pure swamp adrenalin.  Pogo 'til you're sore.

Collect 'em all and enjoy!  It's all vinyl and all good!  See you on the radio!


King Lee (w/Quintron): Tire Shop Part 1 (mp3)

John Wesley Coleman III: Donkey Song (mp3)

The Range Rats: Thunder Road (mp3)

Hamper McBee: Methodist Pie (mp3)

Tandoori Knights: Gomper (mp3)

Big Whiskey: Howl For Me (mp3)


Please support your local, independent, free-form radio station.

Shed His LIfe

7 Inch Alert!

Recently got a rekkid from the amazing Fast Takers, outta Portland, Oregon.  We get a lotta shit round these parts, mostly indie-pop and hip-hop 'n' techno (honestly, does anyone read this site?). A modicum of it's pretty killer, and most of it's...well...not exactly in keeping with whatever style(s) we try to achieve here in our humble internet abode.  The labels we really love are probably too smart to send us anything, cuz we're gonna buy it anyway.

The Fast Takers, on the other hand, know exactly what kind o' noise we like, and we're keen to pick yr ear about how great their new 7" is.

We don't normally do this, but here's a couple of quotes from their "one-sheet" (we think it sums it up better than we could...): "Yes, we were named after a Manowar song."  and "Yes, our lead singer is sexy, blind, and Mexican." (so, take that, Arizona).  We questioned them on that last quote, and here's what drummer Eric clarified: "Long story short is that Hernan (the singer) indeed has a pretty severe vision impairment. All in all it makes for a unique and often fearless stage show   Most folks don't know what to make of him stumbling around. they think its either the long hair or the drink.  In a tight stage setup, I find my drums/cymbals are definitely "in-play". Alas, he's closed the set with at least one unexpected dismount from the end of the stage.  I've suggested putting him on a safety-tether more than once -- no insurance and all..."

Do you need to know more?

Ok, then.

The Fast Takers make the kind of of buzzing, garbage-smeared, sonic-shaved balls-out rock'n'roll that many so-called "punk" bands can only dream about in their wettest sheet-soaked dreams.  Yup.  Fuzzed-out  garage blast-off, with the perfect nihilistic snark and snot-drenched vocals.  Methinks  I detect a touch of glam, but, shhhhhh, don't tell anyone.  It's a dirty alley fuck'n'run, all sleaze and empty kleenex-box release, and yr crawling back to yr crib like the wasted whore you know you are.

This is one of our fave rave 7"'s of the year.   Check out their site to order this waxed-off piece of trash.

One of the songs is off their new 4-song 7".  The other is a demo for an upcoming (fingers crossed) release.  Figure it out.

The Fast Takers: Shed His Life (mp3)

The Fast Takers: Spiritual Bleeder (mp3) 

Please support whatever you want.  Just try to avoid the corporate muckity mucks.