Re: Updates and SXSW Stuff
On Thu, 22 Apr 1999 20:00:01 -0500 Christopher M Knaus [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: What's on the list of "Cities with good alt.country music scene's that get a large amount of press." Um, Austin, erm, Chicago, maybe Nashville, maybe St. Louis - that's about it isnt it? Chapel Hill usedta be mentioned in the same breath as the above. I reckon it still should be, right? They've got pretty good basketball there too, he said begrudgingly. No quarter must ever be given to that team from Durham, tho. William Cocke Senior Writer HSC Development University of Virginia (804) 924-8432
Re: Updates and SXSW Stuff
CK sez: Dave, who hates all things Chicago... Not true. Just very glad to be back home, that's all. And as far as your specific examples go, you eliminated one from the genre - even tho they are the 'corner stone band' on an insurgent country label, and you dismiss another band (who loads of people like) because they're not your 'bag of chips.' Kinda reduces the number of data points, eh? Read Linda's concert list tomorrow - there's ALOT of stuff going on. Well, in throwing out the Wacos, it's not a matter of reducing the number of data points, it's pointing out the relative weakness of a supposedly great scene when one of the "cornerstones" of the alt.country lot is, in fact, a rock band (and a good one -- I like the Wacos a lot) and three others -- Moonshine Willy, the Blacks, and Handsome Family -- suck. Most others are mediocre at best. And are we separating press coverage from the acts themselves? Is there a fantastic Sioux City music scene with all great original alt.country bands and no sucky ones and there just arent enough music journalists to cover it? Doubt it. Do folks pay attention to what it going on in Chicago just because its a big city? Yup. Erm...how exactly could a scene be overrated w/o some sort of attention being paid to it? I'm not saying there aren't any good alt.country bands in Chicago -- there are a handful, and I listed the ones I like. My point is that the scene isn't deserving of all the accolades and attention throw its way. The majority of the alt.country in Chicago is the kind that deserves the scorn Mark's Deep Throat pal was railing on: bands full of poorly written songs, scenesters climbing on the bandwagon, and loads of bad Yee Haw! hillbilly schtick. I'll wouldn't get so rankled about it if so much attention weren't paid to bad bands. I'm hardly a roots music purist, but watching indie rock hipsters don overalls and write bad songs about moonshine and fucking their cousins and crap like that pisses me off, when there are so many good and deserving bands who don't get the attention. Just speaking of local bands: Big In Iowa are doing just fine here, but if they were based in Chicago, they'd be huge; Prospect Hill has more chops and great original songs than most bands anywhere; and Dallas Moore does the outlaw country thing as well as anyone. Any number of the good bands on P2 are deserving of more attention than shit like Moonshine Willy. CK going to see the over rated chicagoan Sally Timms opening for the over rated Alejandro Escovedo Orchestra Dave, who thinks Sally Timms has a gorgeous voice but sings country music with all the soul of a wet dishrag, and who would never call Alejandro overrated in a million years...I'm seeing him four blocks from my house on Tuesday, in fact... *** Dave Purcell, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Northern Ky Roots Music: http://w3.one.net/~newport Twangfest: http://www.twangfest.com
SXSW stuff
I don't really think the guy had to name names, he certainly said enough to identify who he was talking about. Obviously not a big fan of insurgent/punk attitude. I would have to agree for the most part. ALthough there seems to be a market for this stuff . . . so some fans are diggin' it. There was a comment made in the (SXSW Saturday??) Statesman by the columnest on the inside cover, that named CHicago as a highly over-rated music scene in that he had never heard such bad singing and fake accents,etc. I think he named Freakwater among others . . . just reporting the facts here. -jim
Re: SXSW stuff
On Thu, 22 Apr 1999, James Gerard Roll wrote: I don't really think the guy had to name names, he certainly said enough to identify who he was talking about. Obviously not a big fan of insurgent/punk attitude. Perhaps. But the writer also made clear that combining country and rock isn't necessarily a bad thing, and I can think of plenty of bands who do a good job of it. Then again, I can also think of plenty who don't.g--don
Re: SXSW stuff
Jim Roll wrote: There was a comment made in the (SXSW Saturday??) Statesman by the columnest on the inside cover, that named CHicago as a highly over-rated music scene in that he had never heard such bad singing and fake accents,etc. I think he named Freakwater among others . . Yep, I've said that out here, oh, 30 or 40 times g. When I was there, if you take away Robbie Fulks, you're not left with much (the Wacos are fun, but face it, they're a rock band). Since then, the fabulous Kellys -- Kessler and Hogan -- have emerged, along with Anna Fermin, so perhaps things are getting better. Although Chicago scores extra negative style points for Moonshine Willy and the Handsome Family, two of the worst alt.country bands of all time (though, I did like a couple of HF songs Mark Wyatt played for me, and though I'm told they're quite nice people, they're not my bag of chips live). Bring it on, CK. Dave *** Dave Purcell, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Northern Ky Roots Music: http://w3.one.net/~newport Twangfest: http://www.twangfest.com
Updates and SXSW Stuff
Hey there, Dave, who hates all things Chicago... Yep, I've said that out here, oh, 30 or 40 times g. When I was there, if you take away Robbie Fulks, you're not left with much (the Wacos are fun, but face it, they're a rock band). Since then, the fabulous Kellys -- Kessler and Hogan -- have emerged, along with Anna Fermin, so perhaps things are getting better. Although Chicago scores extra negative style points for Moonshine Willy and the Handsome Family, two of the worst alt.country bands of all time (though, I did like a couple of HF songs Mark Wyatt played for me, and though I'm told they're quite nice people, they're not my bag of chips live). Bring it on, CK. Mark snipped... As for Jerald's note about the Statesman rating Chi-town as an "overrated music scene," be aware that they practice what I like to call "opposition journalism" so take that into account. OK, we've got "Austin's just jealous" covered. And the rest of this is gonna be quick and not that well developed but perhaps I'll write more this weekend. Remember back when Chicago was the 'new Seattle'? Urge Overkill, Liz Phair, and The Jesus Lizard were all over the place. THAT THEN was an over rated music scene. THIS NOW is alot of people playing the same type of music. And due to a bell curve some are gonna suck and some are gonna be great. And some are gonna start out sucky and practice real hard and then get better. And because there are alot of places to play and alot of bands you're gonna hear just about all of that bell curve once or twice. And as far as your specific examples go, you eliminated one from the genre - even tho they are the 'corner stone band' on an insurgent country label, and you dismiss another band (who loads of people like) because they're not your 'bag of chips.' Kinda reduces the number of data points, eh? Read Linda's concert list tomorrow - there's ALOT of stuff going on. And are we separating press coverage from the acts themselves? Is there a fantastic Sioux City music scene with all great original alt.country bands and no sucky ones and there just arent enough music journalists to cover it? Doubt it. Do folks pay attention to what it going on in Chicago just because its a big city? Yup. What's on the list of "Cities with good alt.country music scene's that get a large amount of press." Um, Austin, erm, Chicago, maybe Nashville, maybe St. Louis - that's about it isnt it? And one more thing... Funny...I was at a real country bar out in the county on Saturday, and remarked to a bandmate that someone like Moonshine Willy or SCOTS would get their asses stomped if they got on stage. Does this prove anything other than people in real country bars are mean? Later... CK going to see the over rated chicagoan Sally Timms opening for the over rated Alejandro Escovedo Orchestra ___ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
Re: Updates and SXSW Stuff
Excerpts from internet.listserv.postcard2: 22-Apr-99 Updates and SXSW Stuff by Christopher M Knaus@juno What's on the list of "Cities with good alt.country music scene's that get a large amount of press." Um, Austin, erm, Chicago, maybe Nashville, maybe St. Louis - that's about it isnt it? The San Francisco Bay area doesn't do too badly, though Chicago's given me as much new music to like (Gastr Del Sol, Pinetop Seven, Freakwater, Robbie Fulks, Green, Flying Luttenbachers, Kahil El'Zabar, Handsome Family, Wacos/Mekons/Sally Timms, 8 Bold Souls, Oliver Lake, Dianogah, etc.) as any town has this decade. Carl Z.
Re: SXSW stuff
At 3:04 PM -0400 on 4/22/99, the guy who said, "You have to understand, Bob, Robbie Fulks and the Wacos *are* our music scene" wrote: Although Chicago scores extra negative style points for Moonshine Willy and the Handsome Family, two of the worst alt.country bands of all time (though, I did like a couple of HF songs Mark Wyatt played for me, and though I'm told they're quite nice people, they're not my bag of chips live). The Handsome Family opened for Vic Chesnutt recently. Wow. The sucking sounds are still echoing in Schuba's. The Timbuk 3 of alt country, except with less content. Nice voices, though (we were right up front and got the stage mix, which was pretty good). And to be fair, this wasn't a crowd that wanted to see anyone other than Chesnutt, and the HF knew it and handled it humorously. (Among themselves. We could hear the off-mic stuff pretty well.) Nonetheless, that isn't enough for me. Bob
