Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Thursday link roundup
- Bill Buckley and Hugh Hefner
- Town buys strip club to shut it down -
The town of Lavonia shelled out nearly $1 million Tuesday to buy and shut down the strip club along I-85. Then, the city quickly burned the interstate signs advertising the club, which was popular with truckers.
For those curious, that's $1,287 per household. Such a wise use of taxpayer dollars. - Toby Keith opposed the Iraq War
- Quote of the moment (by Ben Franklin) "A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle."
- Check out this Despair.com post, and the government reply - quite funny, and scary too.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
I play with video
Labels: Atlanta, Friends, Music, Rocksploitation, Video
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Tom Waits
And an addendum - I was talking to a long time Waits fan after the show and she said that the security concerns probably were Waits' idea; apparently he's willing to go a long way in his vendetta against scalpers.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
With summer comes five more strings
Or should I get a mandolin?
Labels: Music
Sunday, April 27, 2008
The Freedom House sessions

Labels: Freedom House, Music
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Rocksploitation joins the internet
Labels: Music, Rocksploitation
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
Band Name needed
Any thoughts anyone?
Labels: Music
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Thursday, August 09, 2007
What I'm reading while uploading...
- Hardcore Troubadours - a bio of the Old Crow Medicine Show
- Catalogs of Data Visualization on Coding Horror
- Minorities become the majority in 10 percent of U.S. counties - which has the interesting quote
In northern Virginia, Teresita Jacinto said she feels less welcome today than when she first arrived 30 years ago, when she was one of few Hispanics in the area.
"Not only are we feeling less welcome, we are feeling threatened," said Jacinto, a teacher in Woodbridge, Virginia, about 20 miles southwest of Washington.
...
"I think across the board all of us feel like we're not welcome," said Jacinto, who was born in the U.S. and volunteers for an advocacy group called Mexicans Without Borders.Perhaps it's because she's feeling unwelcome because she's advocating an unpopular cause?
- The Old Crow Medicine Show on AT & T Blueroom
- Green Fakers on Radar. The celebrity excuses are funny.
Labels: Bluegrass, Climate Change, Environmentalism, Music, Tech
Friday, August 03, 2007
Addendum to the Grateful Dead post
Moreover, I really like Deadheads and the whole Dead concert scene: the tailgating, the tie-dye uniforms, the camaraderie – it was like NASCAR for potheadsMost interesting fact
My collection of Dead tapes, by the way, was the reason I heard one of the Linda Tripp tapes before Ken Starr did. Tripp's lawyer obviously needed to hear the tape before turning it over to the prosecutor, but he only had an old 1950's tape player and couldn't get it to work and Ken Starr wanted the tape the next morning. He was terrified he'd hit the wrong button and erase the evidence. In the wee hours of the morning, it occurred him, a Deadhead himself, that he knew one person in D.C. who definitely had a tape machine. So, at around 2 AM, he called me and asked to come over to use my tape deck.
Labels: In Appreciation, Music, Weirdness
Friday in appreciation, volume III
This week's in appreciation is the Grateful Dead. While I'm not a huge fan of the music (I love Old and in the Way, and the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band is quite good) they stand out as true American icons, especially for artists. Not only did they commit to a style of music and a style of life, they created it first. And seemingly with the attitude that it's better to have a small achievement than a great excuse (to paraphrase Hoffer). They spend 30 years doing what they wanted to do without asking favors or permission. Contrast that to the Live 8 and the Live Earth crowd and they become a marvel.
So, Grateful Dead, you get this week's In Appreciation.
Labels: In Appreciation, Music, Weirdness
Monday, July 09, 2007
A good time was had by all
My first ever gig at Limerick Junction was a success. Everyone seemed to have a good time. The songs "I Miss Ronald Reagan" (written by Tommy Womack) and my song "Heroin and Cheetos" seemed to go over particularly well. My would-be guitar showcase of Bonaparte's retreat fell a bit flat. The room sounds noticeably different when full than when half full and that threw me off a bit as the set progressed.On the whole a good night. The A-Sides rocked as usual. The photo was taken by my brother, who also recorded the show.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Last night's open mic
Labels: Music, Open Mic Night
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
A good crowd
Labels: Bluegrass, Music, Open Mic Night
Monday, June 04, 2007
Performance anxiety
It's good to have goals. And deadlines and stress I suppose.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Local music legends mentioned in the mainstream media
Monday, May 14, 2007
Sunday photography
Taken at my brother's house

Taken off of North Highland

Labels: Atlanta, Music, Photography
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
It's hard to sell domestic violence
Why would he think that would be a good way to get money out of anyone? Then again, thinking probably isn't a strong suit.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
My funniest line from last night
Which I won by the way. I could just barely hear myself in the monitors, but evidently is sounded good in the crowd. I got my guitar showpiece, Bonaparte's Retreat (in Drop D tuning) mostly right, which is a rare thing.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
The theme for the best of all country songs
were taken prisoner by the Guard-no one knows why, but the area had been ravaged by scalawags and bushwackers, and the populace had suffered numerous raids of family farms by Union troops hunting provisions. The village of Waynesville had been burned two months earlier, and the citizenry was beleaguered and anxious. Cantrell writes: "The group traveled toward Cataloochee Valley and Henry Grooms, clutching his fiddle and bow, was asked by his captors to play a tune. Realizing he was performing for his own firing squad Grooms struck up Bonaparte's Retreat." When he finished the three men were lined up against an oak tree and shot, the bodies left where they feel. Henry's wife gathered the bodies and buried them in a single grove in Sutton Cemetery No. 1 in the Mount Sterling community, the plain headstone reading only "Murdered."Now I just need to write the song.
Friday, April 06, 2007
Bold new insight
Where's my CNN.com column?
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Tommy Womack at Decatur CD

Yesterday I went to see the immensely talented Tommy Womack at both Decatur CD and later Eddie's Attic. One of the best shows I've seen in years. The photos are from the in-store appearance at Decatur CD.



Labels: Music, Photography
Monday, February 26, 2007
"I get real depressed and tell everybody"
That's my favorite line on Tommy Womack's latest album "There I Said It". I like this album a lot. Womack has been on my top three list of favorite living songwriters for several years now, and this is probably his best work to date. It's a bit more electric than much of his prior work, which usually i don't like but it works quite well on this album.For those of you not familiar with Tommy, he was in the bands Government Cheese and the Bisquits and also worked with Jason Ringenberg on several albums. He's had five (I think) solo releases; all very good. I'd ordered several of his other albums through his website and he was nice enough to send me an advance copy of There I Said It several months before it came out. I think it's his best yet. He's one of the very few non-bluegrass artists I listen to at this point in my musical life.
I think this is the only album review I've done on the blog to date.
Labels: Music
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Friday, January 05, 2007
Three items of interest
- The UltraMarathon Man
- David Lee Roth Doing Bluegrass - sort of disturbing
- Not disturbing is Norman Blake in a rare YouTube appearance
Friday, November 17, 2006
Loving the new camera


Labels: Friends, Music, Photography
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Quick Wednsday rapid fire
- Free Fusion Razors
- Folk Alley seems cool
- Photoshop Tutorials
- Microsoft launches an html editor called Expressions. I'm quite curious.
- Republican uses animals, mariachi band to critique border security
- Google goes solar
- Crunching the Numbers on Hydrogen
Labels: Alt Energy, Links, Microsoft, Music, Solar Power
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Open Mic Night once again

I did the open mic night at Limerick for the first time in quite a while last night. The songs I played were Blackjack County Chain, Red Clay Halo, Will You Miss Me, and
Waitin' Around to Die. I played breaks on Blackjack County Chain and Will You Miss Me. It's hard to tell how it all sounded with the PA the way it is. I'm bringing my pre-amp next time.
The A-Sides are in the photo above.
Labels: Bluegrass, Music, Photography
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Midweek rapid fire
- Real life Pac Man - hysterical
- One must not question the existence of Global Warming - This is in line with a trend I've been noticing in the media and it's associated hacks, which is the annoying "No serious [insert either scientist, economist, expert, industry insider, analyst] disputes the existence of [insert theory that one is pushing]" mantra.
- Proportionate responses - one of the more daft comments on the Israel -Hezbollah conflict was that Israel's response was disproportionate. Intentionally proportionate responses went out with the Greeks, and it's only by accident now when the response is proportionate. The whole notion of strategy is matching strength to weakness. That is most of Sun Tsu's Art of war.
- AcousticFriends.com - MySpace for the bluegrass/acoustic crowd. I'm listed on there as "Pale Rider".
- Townes van Zandt Lyrics - and some tab
- A guide to black and white photography
Labels: Bluegrass, Climate Change, Funny, Music, Photography
Thursday, August 10, 2006
A circle of hell appears at Turner field
A Guinness World Record-Setting Event for Banjo Players!That's a whole lot of banjo. I have all the usual bluegrass prejudices against the banjo I suppose.
...
We plan to bring together the most number of banjo players assembled at one location to play the same song at the same time.
...
All banjo players are welcome to attend. Only those who can demonstrate the ability to play the song Foggy Mountain Breakdown for 5 minutes will be counted toward the Guinness World Record. The tempo will be 120 beats per minute, and we'll play in the key of G.
...
We'll stand together on the field in small teams, according to the type of instrument played and the style of play.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Mike and I go along with the Black Rider
I was quiet impressed by the band, two discreet percussionists and a discreet bass player make for a very smooth sounds where the instance of the sound doesn't vary much from the concept of the sound. It was surprisingly true to the albums. Tom Waits in person sounds exactly as raspy and rough as all of his records.
He did most of the songs with a band, doing only one acoustic (with the band) and about three on the piano. It had much more in common with a play than the average rock show (which it wasn't). The lighting and shadowing was well done and gave me many ideas for photography.
On the whole a good time. The only downsides were the oppressive heat inside the Tabernacle and the long (anti-scalper supposedly) lines. We spent a little over an hour outside in line, and about that inside waiting for him to start, which meant that we spent more time waiting for the show to begin than the show itself.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Friday, June 30, 2006
Johnny Cash
It's being released on July 4th.
Labels: Music
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Cracker Soul
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Sunday rapid fire
- Create Visio diagrams programatically
- An interesting interview with Frank Miller
- Creepy pictures from North Korea
- A new studio album from Ramblin' Jack Elliot!
- I rode past this last week.
Labels: Comics, Links, Music, North Korea, Tech
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
New gallery - HoundogRadio.com party

Not my best work, but some of them turned out well. I only got shots of the A-Sides and the Luxury Kings.
Check it out.
Labels: Atlanta, Music, Photography
Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Last night's open mic
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Monday, May 22, 2006
The power and glory of YouTube
Also, check out these videos of the Velvet Underground (with Nico) doing acoustic versions of Heroin and Femme Fatale in 1972.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Last night's open mic
Labels: Music
Friday, May 12, 2006
Friday rapid fire
- Reno 911 is popular in Iraq of all places. It seems they think it's real.
- A nice collection of flatpicking tablature, all in Tabledit format.
- Hounddog Radio seems cool.
- View System Uptime.
- A nice article on using curves and levels in Photoshop.
Labels: Bluegrass, Flatpicking, Music, Photoshop
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Recording attempts
In any case, one of them did turn out okay; the volume level is very low (just like me!) but it's not terrible.
I played Cooley's Reel, which is an old Irish fiddle tune in E-Minor. I do it a bit faster than it's normally done, but I think it turned out okay. I originally heard this song done by Steve Kaufman, but the actual music I got from BluegrassGuitar.com. I do both lead and rhythm on the song.
You can download it here (right click and choose "Save As" (Command-Click on the Mac)).
Thoughts?
UPDATE: Eric remixed it for me, which helped the volume levels a lot. The file is updated.
Labels: Bluegrass, Flatpicking, Music
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Another open mic night done
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Friday, April 28, 2006
Quick zinger roundup
- "George W. -- We will be forever in his debt." (Bumper sticker quoted on Andrew Sullivan's site)
- "If he was shot in the head by the front, that is good marksmanship, if he was shot in the head by the back, that is good judgement." (from the WikiPedia entry on the outlaw and gunfighter John Wesley Hardin)
- "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months and then taken outside and run over with a car"
and
"like how you'd sound if you drank a quart of bourbon, smoked a pack of cigarettes and swallowed a pack of razor blades... Late at night. After not sleeping for three days"
(people describing the singing voice of Tom Waits)
Labels: Bumper Stickers, Funny, Music, Politics
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
The open mic night went well
Labels: Music, Open Mic Night
Monday, April 24, 2006
Yet another gallery

My black and white phase continues with my visit to the Oakhurst Earth Day celebration. It was dark and I forgot the new monopod, so the photos turned out a bit grainy. I decided to accentuate the grainyness in most of the photos via photoshop.
Check out the new gallery.
Labels: Music, Photography
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
The article I referred to at lunch
These things are a mystery. However, here is the article
Man accused of diverting others' mail to himself
A man was charged with using scores of change-of-address forms to divert mail from all over the nation to his address in Beaver County.
Federal prosecutors this week charged Fred Hill of Aliquippa with wire fraud, accusing him of diverting mail from people both living and dead.
Postal inspectors said in court records that when they entered an Aliquippa home where Mr. Hill had stayed, they found "a significant volume" of abandoned mail along with lists of Social Security numbers and names of people in California, Georgia and Arkansas.
...
Since January, Fred Hill had used the Postal Service's Web site to file 170 change-of-address forms since January, authorities alleged in court records. The same credit card had been used to pay the $1 charge for filing change-of-address forms online, they said.
170!
On another note, Ralph of Luttrell Guitars did a wonderful job installing the new FishMan pickup.
That's been my day so far.
Friday, April 14, 2006
An interesting evening at Mulligans open mic night
Labels: Music, Open Mic Night
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Another fine show by the Boo Hoo Ramblers

Last night I saw the Boo Hoo Ramblers, who now feature Jim Landt on dobro. It was their standard set played to a very deserted Blind Willies. Evidently they played Turner Field last week.
Labels: Atlanta, Music, Photography
Monday, April 03, 2006
New and cool (Bruce version)
Also
'We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions' will be released in DualDisc format, with the full album on one side of the disc and DVD content on the other side. The 30 minute video side of the DualDisc contains extensive behind the scenes footage of the recording of the album. In addition, the DualDisc package will contain two bonus tracks and a special booklet including a note from Springsteen.which is a nice touch. A very good way to get people to actually buy the disc instead of downloading it from somewhere.
And Pete Seeger's only worthwhile quote is "Any darn fool can make something complex; it takes a genius to make something simple."
Labels: Music
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
I plan your life so you don't have to
For you Bon Jovi fans out there, they will be performing on the Tonight Show this evening.
For Nick and me, Neko Case will be performing on the Tonight Show on Thursday.
Labels: Music
Monday, March 06, 2006
An odd choice
Labels: Music
Monday, February 20, 2006
A new blog in our midst
Labels: Music
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Tuesday rapid fire
- The story and original lyrics to Bonaparte's Retreat.
- A very good bio-article on Micky Spillaine.
- A new conspiracy site!
- You've got your pain ray in my sonic blaster!
Labels: Bluegrass, Books, Conspiracy, Music, Tech
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Thursday rapid fire
- The art of bootstrapping in a small business.
- A cool article on facial recognition technology
- The navy still chases pirates!
- The best old-time record collector ever. Adam and Stephanie will be this guy in 40 years.
- A revealing interview with Cindy Sheehan - after reading the interview she just seems like a sad, pathetic creature and not the self-serving caricature she originally seemed to be. How she's paying for her crusade is a question that to my knowledge no on has asked.
- A relatively old article about Roe V Wade, choice quotes
"Abortion rights have been slowly whittled away while we haven't even been looking," said Kitty Striker, 22, who decorated her hair with small coat hanger replicas for the protest. "That's what's so shocking and so scary to me."
Decorated her hair with small coat hanger "replicas"? Isn't that like a holocaust survivor decorating herself with swastikas?
Monday, January 09, 2006
Insights from the Carter Family box set
The current zinger, from the children's song "Chewing Gum"
I'd never marry a lawyer, I'll tell you the reason why
Every time he opens his mouth, he tells a great big lie
I wouldn't have a doctor, I'll tell you the reason why
He goes all over the country and makes the people die
Site of the moment
Are you in awe of the raw, vocal stylings of death metal bands? Do you ever want to sing along? Here's how to emulate the guttural lyrics that make death metal music distinct....
Labels: Music
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Annoyances
[CONTENT/COPY-PROTECTED CD]which annoyed me to no end. Who would buy something with that label? I haven't listened to music directly off a cd in years, everything gets ripped when I first get the CD and then put on a shelf for safekeeping.
This product limits your ability to make multiple digital copies of its content, and you will not be able to play this disc or make copies onto devices not listed as compatible. Content/ copy protected CDs should allow limited burning, as well as ripping into secure Windows Media Audio formats for playback with most compatible media players and portable devices. In rare cases, these CDs may not be compatible with computer CD-ROM players, DVD players, game consoles, or car CD stereos, and often are not transferable to other formats like MP3.
UPDATE : Yes, I have seen theSony rootkit news, quite extensively actually. I did not realize that the warning was actually on the CD, which just goes to show I've been buying nothing topical lately. I thought it was just when you tried to play it in a computer.
Friday, December 30, 2005
Friday roundup
- Do your children determine your politics? The gender of your children that is? VIA MR
- Husband and wife entrepreneurship.
- Sugar in the Gourd - Old time radio.
Monday, November 21, 2005
Monday, November 14, 2005
Synchonicity
I was driving up McClendon, which actually goes for quite a ways. The neighborhoods were very nice, and very pricey, but also very old. It occurred to me that the builders and original dwellers of the neighborhood were long gone; it gave the neighborhood a strange, bruised feel. The houses had character and style, but they seemed lost without their original owners. The separation was somehow palpable (with the soundtrack).
Reading over this I don't think I've captured the thought accurately.
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Band of the moment
Labels: Music
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
The Toadpickers rise again!
Jake's was pretty much the same. The usual crowd was there. We played on the stage which is something we seldom did before. The low ceiling has been removed which makes sound a bit more lost than it was before. Also the entire place is much cleaner and better lit.
Monday, October 17, 2005
Lessons learned from recording
On another note, Mike has pictures from the Millions More March.
Monday, October 10, 2005
Testing the condenser mic
Sunday, October 09, 2005
USB mic review
And, of course, religious podcasts are called "GodCasts".
Monday, September 26, 2005
The Hendrix Show
Gallery Here (or just click on the Photo.) The photos didn't turn out to be that notable, but not bad all things being equal.

Labels: Atlanta, Music, Photography
Monday, September 19, 2005
A pleasant surprise
What struck me most was the difference her guitar made. I've been accustomed to hearing dreadnoughts for so long that the sound of a regular OM (I think) was striking, particularly since she did not belt out the song (she sang at a fairly moderate intensity). Now I really want to get an OM model as a third guitar, but I probably won't.
Labels: Music
Thursday, August 11, 2005
My favorite commies and the Blasters
- 4-11-44 by the Blasters will soon be released ! Their first studio album (with both Dave and Phil Alvin in decades)
- Freedom and Weep by the Waco Brothers (my favorite left wing band who sadly only makes it to Atlanta every 5 years or so) is finally putting forth another new record.
Labels: Music
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
The Appalachians
- Why was it funded by the Department of Veteran's Affairs and NASA?
- The failure to draw the conclusion that successful unionization was the cause of the increased wages for the coal miners, hence the increased mechanization (and safety) of the mines, and also the drop in the people needed to work the mines. The producers treated these as unrelated events.
- No music past the Carter Family, which is quite notable since there is much footage of Clarence Ashley and Doc Watson available.
- No mention of traits that carried over from Scotland and Ireland, namely a desire to be on the far edge of society (and I'm sure many others, such as whiskey making) Instead they concentrated just on the music as the only carryover. While important, it was hardly the whole thing.
- No mention of bluegrass music; they stop at string bands.
- They omit the details of the modification of the banjo over time. Originally it was a four sting instrument made from gourds. It evolved into a 5 string instrument made from cats, and now leather. They present it as coming into existence fully formed as a 5 stringed instrument. It's an interesting progression and on that stuck out by it's absense.
- And most importantly, they omit the importance of the cultural factors and the terrain in explaining the hardness of their lives. They wanted their independence at any cost, and living on land inhospitable to mankind was the price they paid.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Telluride
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
The Boo Hoo Ramblers
On a side note, the singer/guitarist is Clark Ashton, who also has Commuter Art Gallery, A.K.A. the house with all the large iron statues in the front yard on North Druid Hills road.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
An interesting evening with PBS
- He's a very good fingerpicker, I thought he only played fiddle
- He was on Nashville Skyline I thought that Norman Blake did all of the guitar work on that.
- He is a very articulate and charming guy, which is not the impression I had of him before. Although after 30 years as an entertainer I shouldn't be surprised he knows how to work a room.
Labels: Music
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
I'm blown away
Just got back from Blind Willies

Labels: Music, Photography
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
In place of a longer thought
I have quite a few thoughts about this topic, but in general it would seem that the human condition is indeed timeless. I've got a quite a few thoughts on the matter that I'll get into words over the next week or so.
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Dreamcatcher Guitar Workshop
The Lawrence Juber workshop at Dreamcatcher was interesting. There's no denying that he's an incredibly talented and innovative player, as well as a master of different tunings. He seemed to be playing a bit too much for the guitar nerd (which is his market) and it wound up being something of an acoustic Satriani, which is good, but not to my taste.
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Friday, April 29, 2005
Some information wants to be free
- Roger McGuinn's Folk Den - Where Roger McGuinn keeps his favorite folk songs alive, with both lyrics, mp3s and tab.
- The Mudcat Cafe / Digital Tradition - a truly staggering selection of traditional music information and what not.
- Bluegrass Box - Seemingly all user contributed freely and legally available music, all in ftp form.
- The Steam Powered Preservation Society - Mostly the field recordings of Tut Taylor, who seemingly has been recording for 40 years.




