Rotation #300, February 20, 2012
read: http://www.taprootradio.com
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current rotation play list
road song of the week play list
live: Monday nights at 9pm eastern on WCOM: http://www.wcomfm.org
feedback: director@taprootradio.com
Howdy,
Lucero leads off the news this week with the announcement of a new upcoming CD, Women & Work. Nobody does twang infused blues rock any better than these guys and Women & Work highlights is their best yet, soulful when it needs to be, bad-ass the rest of the time. “Like Lightening” is going in as the road song this week. My other highlight is the title track, which sounds like the Stones, if they could do southern accents honestly.
Speaking of rock, Snatches of Pink front man Michael Rank has a new band called Michael Rank and the Stag. The guest list on this CD includes a who’s who of Chapel Hill rock and country legends including Rick Miller, Dex Romweber, and John Howie Jr. The first release from the new line up is Kin. These guys have more of a late night jam band feel to them, full of angsty energy and wailing instrumental work.
Also, I gotta mention that the new CD from Andre Williams is out. On Hoods and Shades, the New Orleans hell hound himself has transcended his nefarious past and moved into Gil Scott-Heron territory, giving us a slice of street cred and wisdom with almost a beatnik poet delivery.
My interview guest on the live show this week is Jason Alexander. He and his band, the Stedpsiders are at the top of the FAR charts these days with a very fine CD of straight up honky tonk. As always locals can tune into the live show on WCOM in Chapel Hill/Carrboro and everyone else can tune into the webcast.
A couple of logistical announcements. In an attempt to simplify the madness that is my weekly routine, I have decided to drop the Live365.com station. The weekly rotation will continue to be available for full listening on spotify.com. See the header of this newsletter for the relevant links. I’m kinda sad to be leaving Live365.com. They are good folk. Never had a thing to complain about with them. But it’s not free and it takes time and there are commercials in the stream. On the other hand. Spotify is free for me and listeners don’t have to hear commercials. So the decision was pretty simple.
Likewise, I will no longer be publishing the weekly rotation in iTunes Ping? What’s Ping? Exactly my point. If iTunes was paying affiliate commissions on sales generated from my pay lists, I might consider it. But as it stands now, I’m spending time each week for no return.
And lastly, I’m combining the weekly newsletter with the WCOM play list post. Again, to save a little bit of time each week. But also to keep the web site from being quite so cluttered.
On episode 75 of the Taproot Podcast, Laurie MacAllister, Abbie Gardner, and Molly Venter of Red Molly talk about their music backgrounds, the appeal of female trios, the excitement of playing Merlefest, the appeal their music has for the NYC coffeehouse crowd, and the stories behind three of their songs on the CD Light In The Sky.
I tried to think of something to say to commemorate the 300th Taproot Rotation. Taproot Radio has gone through numerous incarnations starting from my show on WXDU, the Duke student station. Moved to WCOM, added the podcast, added the webcast, added the weekly newsletter. But at the end of the day, it’s all about sharing good music with as many people as I can. The thing I can say about getting up to my 300th rotation is that I’m happy to have done it.
Dig Deep,
Calvin
Taproot Road Song
You gotta like a song that starts out with an old-timey acoustic piano riff which leads into power chord driven guitars and blaring trumpets and that’s what you get from Lucero’s “Like Lightening” from their Women & Work CD.
Recent Podcast Episodes
Episode 71 – John Lilly talks about meeting Bill Kirchen and Bill’s help on his most recent CD, Cold Comfort; how he funded the CD by winning a songwriting contest; working at the Country Music Hall of Fame and getting to visit “the cathedral of Country Music”; his yearly Hank Williams Tribute show; and introduces us to three songs on his Cold Comfort CD.
Episode 72, Lee Briante of The Far West talks about the importance of having video and internet media available for today’s audience; how it made him feel to move to Los Angeles; and how recording in an American Legion hall brought their debut self-titled CD to life.
Episode 73 – Lincoln Durham talks about his residency at Gruene Hall, why he can’t write love songs, his long path from playing fiddle to Son House and Fred McDowell, and why he wrote a creepy songs about ne’er-do-well characters playing forty
Episode 74 – Lucy Tight and Wayne Waxing from Hymn For Her, how they met and started making music together; their evolution from folk duo to lo-fi rock band; and recording in their airstream trailer.
Episode 75 – Laurie MacAllister, Abbie Gardner, and Molly Venter of Red Molly talk about their music backgrounds, the appeal of female trios, the excitement of playing Merlefest, the appeal their music has for the NYC coffeehouse crowd, and the stories behind three of their songs on the CD Light In The Sky.
Recent Adds
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tenderhook / Michael Rank and Stag / Kin [Disc 1] / 4:26
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on the bleed / Michael Rank and Stag / Kin [Disc 1] / 4:52
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straw man / Michael Rank and Stag / Kin [Disc 1] / 3:24
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Sea Measures / Michael Rank and Stag / Kin [Disc 2] / 4:25
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Gypsy Django / Humming House / Humming House / 2:51
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Boy Who Doesn’t Exist / Stephanie Fagan / Heart Thief / 4:52
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I Can Tell The World About This / Sankofa / The Uptown Strut / 2:16
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Curveball / Duane Eddy / Road Trip / 3:33
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Back To Santa Rosa / Carolann Ames / Laurel Canyon Road / 3:40
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Dirt / Andre Williams / Hoods and Shades / 3:13
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Jaw Dropper / Andre Williams / Hoods and Shades / 2:06
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Hu-matic Man / Andre Williams / Hoods and Shades / 3:13
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The Train That’s Bound For Glory / Garrison Starr / Amateur / 3:41
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Angel Of Death / New Country Rehab / New Country Rehab / 2:52
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Bird / Chris Castle / Last Bird Home / 1:47
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Trees Fall Every Day / Chris Castle / Last Bird Home / 3:10
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Dirty Water / Chris Castle / Last Bird Home / 4:21
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On My Way Downtown / Lucero / Women & Work / 4:29
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Women & Work / Lucero / Women & Work / 3:07
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Juniper / Lucero / Women & Work / 4:44
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Sometimes / Lucero / Women & Work / 4:53
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Like Lightning / Lucero / Women & Work / 4:15
This Week’s Rotation
This week’s play list on Spotify
- Women & Work / Lucero / Women & Work / 3:07
- Trees Fall Every Day / Chris Castle / Last Bird Home / 3:10
- Dirt / Andre Williams / Hoods and Shades / 3:13
- tenderhook / Michael Rank and Stag / Kin [Disc 1] / 4:26
- Makin’ Time / Westbound / Blackjack Road / 2:54
- After the Game / Maynard and the Musties / Cheap Cigar / 3:17
- Babe I Ain’t Perfect / Mike June & The Wilson Street Refugees / Exile On Wilson Street / 3:19
- Try / Joel Dasilva And The Midnight Howl / Joel Dasilva And The Midnight Howl / 2:35
- Lessons / Drew Nelson / Tilt-A-Whirl / 4:13
- Come On Back To Me / Jackstraw / Sunday Never Comes / 3:08
- Fool’s Gold / The Damn Quails / Down the Hatch / 4:15
- Reckoning Lament / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 3:11
- Home / Thieving Birds / Thieving Birds / 4:43
- Songbrd / Randy Thompson / Collected / 4:08
- Worry B Gone / Hayes Carll / This One’s For Him: A Tribute To Guy Clark [Disc 1] / 3:49
- Bitter, Drunk & Cold. mp3 / The Far West / The Far West / 2:32
- C’mon / Hymn For Her / Lucy & Wayne And The American Stream / 3:13
- Ode To Misery / Paladino / Paladino / 2:27
- You’re Through Fooling Me / Patty Loveless A/ The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams / 2:06
- Marginalized / The Gourds / Old Mad Joy / 5:31
- Gypsy Django / Humming House / Humming House / 2:51
- I Can Tell The World About This / Sankofa / The Uptown Strut / 2:16
- Little Elvis & Fat Cat Eddie / Doug Prescott / The Journey & The Deep Blue Sea / 3:15
- Boy Who Doesn’t Exist / Stephanie Fagan / Heart Thief / 4:52
- Curveball / Duane Eddy / Road Trip / 3:33
- Like Lightning / Lucero / Women & Work / 4:15
- The Slummer The Slum / Steve Cropper & Buddy Miller / Dedicated – A Salute To The 5 Royales / 3:12
- I’ve Been Loving You Too Long / Otis Redding / ARB 6: 1965-1967 / 3:15
- She / Gram Parsons / Sacred Hearts And Fallen Angels: The Gram Parsons Anthology (Disc 2) / 4:59
- Let Me Be A Woman / Brenda Varner / Sweet Sounds Of Muscle Shoals: Vol. 1-Tear Stained Soul / 3:15
- Feel Good Again / Charlie Feathers / Get With It: Essential Recordings (1954-69) [Disc 2] / 8:16
- Wildisde / Mark Lennon / Down The Mountain / 4:35
- Mama Don’t / Jon Doe with Dave Alvin & Veronica Jane / This Is Americana Volume 2 / 2:48
- Walkin On My Dreams / Hacienda Brothers / This Is Americana Volume 2 / 3:39
- Suppose Tonight Would Be Our Last / The Two Dollar Pistols & Tift Merrit / The Two Dollar Pistols With Tift Merritt / 2:43
- Sin City / Clive Gregson & Boo Hewerdine / Conmemorativo | A Tribute To Gram Parsons / 5:09
- Wayward Son / Adam Klein / Wounded Electric Youth / 4:05
- I Don’t Like Half The Folks I Love / Paul Thorn / Pimps & Preachers / 4:21
- Hate It Here / Wilco / Sky Blue Sky / 4:34
- I’m Just A Nobody / Freddy Love / The Soul Side Of The Street – The Hadley Murrell Story: 1964-1972 / 2:38
- My Baby Loves the Secret Agent / The Detroit Cobras / Baby / 2:00
- Sugar Bee / Sir Douglas Quintet / The Prime of Sir Douglas Quintet / 2:19
- Flashback Blues / John Prine / John Prine / 2:32
- She Lives Up The Street / The Silos / Cuba / 3:13
- Poke Salad Annie / Captain Luke and Cool John / Outsider Lounge Music / 4:49
- All The Time / Elizabeth Cook / Americana Music Awards Sampler / 2:54
- Naked Eye / Luscious Jackson / Fever In Fever Out / 4:41
- Watch Yourself / Bucktown Kickback / Speakeasy / 4:08
- The Mercenary Song (3:01) / Cory Morrow / The Cory Morrow Band / 3:01
- I’m Gone / Pieta Brown / Mercury / 2:21
- Stick On You / Otis Taylor / White African / 3:31
This Week’s WCOM Play List
Interview Guest: Jason Alexander and the Stepsiders
- Like Lightning / Lucero / Women & Work / 4:15
- tenderhook / Michael Rank and Stag / Kin [Disc 1] / 4:26
- Ode To Misery / Paladino / Paladino / 2:27
- Bitter, Drunk & Cold. mp3 / The Far West / The Far West / 2:32
- Makin’ Time / Westbound / Blackjack Road / 2:54
- Come On Back To Me / Jackstraw / Sunday Never Comes / 3:08
- Dirt / Andre Williams / Hoods and Shades / 3:13
- Suppose Tonight Would Be Our Last / The Two Dollar Pistols & Tift Merrit / The Two Dollar Pistols With Tift Merritt / 2:43
- I’m Gone / Pieta Brown / Mercury / 2:21
- I’ve Been Loving You Too Long / Otis Redding / ARB 6: 1965-1967 / 3:15
- Babe I Ain’t Perfect / Mike June & The Wilson Street Refugees / Exile On Wilson Street / 3:19
- Reckoning Lament / Lincoln Durham / The Shovel Vs. The Howling Bones / 3:11
- Trees Fall Every Day / Chris Castle / Last Bird Home / 3:10
- You’re Through Fooling Me / Patty Loveless / The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams / 2:06
- I Don’t Like Half The Folks I Love / Paul Thorn / Pimps & Preachers / 4:21
- My Baby Loves the Secret Agent / The Detroit Cobras / Baby / 2:00
- After the Game / Maynard and the Musties / Cheap Cigar / 3:17
