There’s a Monday Mix Tape hanging out under this post but since it’s not only Monday it’s the seventh anniversary of the day I stood before God, Family, and Friends and pledged my life to the lovely Michelle. I doubt it’s been easy for her to put up with my craziness over the last seven years but she has and we carved out a fairly stable niche in this world for our clan. I wouldn’t be where I am today without her and her support. Today is seven years and counting and I plan to keep counting for a long damn time.
To Michelle: I have no regrets in marrying you, not even a second thought, not in seven years. You have been there to help me up when I have fallen, you have supported my crazy schemes, and you haven’t stabbed me in my sleep (at least not on purpose). I love you as much today as I did when I married you. Happy seventh baby. Seven is still a small number…I can’t wait for fifty!
As promised here’s a happier mix than last Monday’s mix. It’s a little schizo but it’s happy overall. And after having listened to it all the way through it’s one of the best Monday Mix Tapes I have put up so far. This is not a mix tape for my anniversary…
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Here is your Monday Mixtape folks…
This one is sort of a broken hearts with a youthful outlook rather than the cynical outlook I tend to have. I couldn’t pull off the whole thing with youthful optimism on loss and broken heart thing but it’ll do for now and it’s still better than most of my cynicism. I did get to pull out some of my favorite artists that I have been ignoring lately and that makes me pretty happy. Although I think I see a theme in the compilations that could go away. I promise I am not as depressed as these make me out to be. Next week I’ll shoot for a happy tape…Maybe not…
As an aside: I am running out of ideas for the covers so I have resorted to cool pics of the kids for the moment. Maybe I’ll come up something inspired for next weeks compilation.
Track Archive
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Sep
Some years back I was in Austin with my wife and brother to see Lucero. I had seen them the weekend before in Los Angeles and my ride had sort of bailed on, she had her reasons, but all of my merch was in her car. I had spent a pretty penny on merch that evening and was not happy about the whole situation but the evening wasn’t ruined. I ended up borrowing money from Ben to catch a cab back to my hotel and since neither of us had clue one about where were or where the hell my hotel was he gave me a crisp new hundred. Also not realizing, due to hanging out with Ben all night if you know what I mean, that LA is sort of built in the hills I thought it would be a good idea to just hop over the flower-bed in the hotel parking lot. The four foot drop on the other side was unexpected and I ended up in the street, face down, in front of my cab. I picked myself up, brushed off the gravel, and left my dignity lying in the street. Five whole blocks later I stepped out the cab and went into my hotel. It had been that kind of night. But I digress…
I went to Austin to see Lucero and pay Ben back for the loan and there’s more stories to that night than I can tell here but Bill Krejski (Sorry if I murdered you name Bill) had heard about my merch driving away and went about making sure everything was replaced and on top of that handed me some CDs by bands he really liked. I had never heard of either of them and have to admit that Nashville Pussy rarely sees any time on the playlist but the other band sees more than most. The first time I dropped I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House into the CD player I was hooked!
Now you have to understand a couple of things here. I love music for the sake of music and generally don’t like mixing politics with my tunes so normally that would be strike one against any band, after all Dear Mr. Heston is not exactly apolitical. The second is that Michael Dean Damron and I are polar opposites when it comes to politics. I doubt there is a single thing we could agree on politically and he does, or did with I Can Lick Any SOB, bring politics into his music so there would normally be strike two. I don’t usually even bother trying to find a third strike when it comes to music so most bands wouldn’t have seen a second play from me after listening to Put Here To Bleed but the music was so good that I overlooked the politics completely and now own all of their albums and thanks to our gracious host have recently caught up on Michael Dean Damron’s solo career. I think both with I Can Lick Any SOB and solo that Damron is an amazing songwriter and performer and more than that worth getting to know musically. So without further ado here are two tapes covering Damron from I Can Lick Any SOB to his most recent solo effort. Tape 1 is all I Can Lick Any SOB and covers all of their albums including Live at Dante’s. Admittedly I left out the political tunes for completely selfish reasons but since I am the one making these tapes I get to do that….
- Tracks 1-4: Creepy Little Noises
- Tracks 5-7: Menace
- Tracks 8-10: Put Here To Bleed
- Tracks 11-14: Live at Dante’s
<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="430" height="330" src="http://mixes.romeosidvicious.com/mixwidget/mixwidget.swf" wmode="transparent" flashvars="config=http://mixes.romeosidvicious.com/configs/icanlick-d1.xml&playlist=http://mixes.romeosidvicious.com/playlists/icanlick-d1.xspf&skin=http://mixes.romeosidvicious.com/skins/agfa-yellow.jpg"></embed>Tape two is Michael Dean Damron solo and I think he is still getting better and better. I Can Lick Any SOB was an amazing band but songs like Cape and Blame it on the Whiskey are amazing songs and I will freely admit have helped me deal with my personal demons. You know those demons. They are the ones that show up when you come home from the bar, wife asleep, and all that’s there is you, whiskey, and the thoughts in your head. Those are the nights where you want to drop in some Michael Dean Damron and just let it all go. His cover of Drag The River‘s Beautiful and Damned is one of the most amazing covers I have ever heard and is in heavy rotation on the iPod. Anyway, enough of my jawin’…
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- Tracks 4-7: A Perfect Day for a Funeral
- Tracks 8-11: Father’s Day
Track Archive
All the linkage you might need:
I Can Lick Any SOB – Official Website
I Can Lick Any SOB store on In Music We Trust
The day I Can Lick Any SOB broke up – 9b article
Michael Dean Damron – Official Website\
Michael Dean Damron – Myspace
Michael Dean Damron’s coverage on 9b
Track Archive for Cory Branan’s Ardent Session
Source: Ardent Studios – Memphis, TN
Full videos of the performance at the above link!
Be sure and show Ardent Studios some love while you are there.
(No embed code for this one folks. Sorry. Go see Ardent’s site for anything like that, heck go for the videos alone…)
The Lucero Message Board Summer ’09 Compilation
Track Archive
Feel free to drop this on your blog or anywhere else you can use an embed tag. Just copy the code below:
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Liner Notes from the the board read:
The Fox Hunt – Better Than This (Lucero Cover) “The boys recorded this for the long overdue Lucero tribute album..I heard them play this version when they were here playing Surf Bar on Folly Beach…took some cajoling but I got MK to send me the mp3…here it is.” – JacksonDavis
Lucero – Live 1/4/2002 – American Girl “Sticking with the 4th of July theme. Just for fun.” – Boston Twang
Deer Tick – Born on Flag Day – Houston, TX “The first song that jumped out at me on the new record. Haven’t decided what I think of the new record yet but I like this song.” – Plank10
Cory Branan – Ardent Studios recording – Karen’s Song “I had never heard this prior to hearing it on the streaming file released by Rachel and The City when he was in studio earlier this year…cannot wait for his new album…he and Snodgrass kicked major ass in ATL and Savannah.” – JacksonDavis…thanks to Down South for the editing Wink
Ha Ha Tonka – Novel Sounds of The Nouveau South – Close Every Valve to Your Bleeding Heart “Roaring out of the Ozarks with a bottle in one hand and a bible in the other” – ColoradoAlan
William Elliott Whitmore – Animals In The Dark – Old Devils “My current favourite tune from my favourite album of the year to date.” – JacksonDavis
Hoots & Hellmouth – The Holy Open Secret – What Good Are Plowshares If We Use Them Like Swords “There is something about this band I find deeply interesting. I can’t quite put my finger on it but whatever it is this song has it.” – Autopsy IV
The Only Sons – Steel Hearts – Lay Back Down “This song is eerily relevant for a friends situation right now..” – ColoradoAlan
The Evening Rig – Is Doin’ Stuff – Goddamn, I Could Use A Drink “If you haven’t listened to these guys yet, you probably should.” – algwalcz
Jon Snodgrass w/ Cory Branan – Alone and Distanced “Too bad this isn’t being released on CD or digital download…but…I was able to pry this from someone who had been way late in getting Season 5 of The Wire back to me Cool” – JacksonDavis”
Two Cow Garage – Humble Narrator – Speaking in Cursive “I’ve had this CD for a while but just REALLY started to listen to it, and this song was the first one I kept repeating. ” The sun has a way of making us pay for our revelry filled nights” Amen Brother.” – Hecticeyes
Chad Rex & The Victorstands – Songs to Fix Angels – Build a Rocket “I only recently realized how good Chad Rex is. Besides, it’s the time of year for rockets.” – Boston Twang
Flogging Molly – Swagger – Salty Dog “Irish punk rock is great and good for hanging out in the summer listening to full blast.” – Lennon Medvick
Michael Dean Damron – Father’s Day – Angels Fly Up “It seems like I am always pimping this guy’s music and my work isn’t done until he’s got a platinum award on his wall…or something like that. Father’s Day is a strong contender for the Best of ’09 as far as I’m concerned. I can’t really pinpoint why this song means so much to me, but it affects me somewhere in the guts.” – Bone Machine
Austin Lucas – The Common Cold – Kith and Kin “If you’ve only heard Austin’s new album, definitely check out The Common Cold. Yay for the upcoming tour with Two Cow!” – TheOtherBrit
The Lemonheads – Varshons – Waitin Around to Die “Evan Dando revisits a Townes Van Zandt classic” – ColoradoAlan
Cheap Trick – The Latest – Sick Man Of Europe “Of all the music from my childhood, Cheap Trick are the band that I still enjoy with the intensity of my youth. It’s good to know that they’re still out there plugging away and have a catalog much richer than the classic rock staples (I Want You To Want Me, Surrender, The Flame…). This tune is from their new one, lovingly entitled The Latest, and is further proof that Robin Zander has one of the finer voices in rock some 35 years into his career.” – Bone Machine
The Dexateens – Singlewide – Can You Whoop It “If you like the Dexateens, keep an eye out for Arkadelphia, Lee Bains III’s new band. They’ve even more amazing!” – TheOtherBrit
Trampled by Turtles – Duluth – Empire “These guys are one of my favorite bands that I’ve discovered because they were a Lucero opener. Go see them live if you get the chance.” Boston Twang
Matthew Dean Herman – Blackbird – Blackbird “Fantastic debut album produced by Evan Phillips of The Whipsaws. RIYL: Drive-By Truckers” – Autopsy IV
Lyle Lovette – I Love Everybody – Fat Babies “I’ve been on a Lyle Lovette kick lately. “I don’t like hippies and I don’t like cornbread.” I’m confused that he doesn’t like cornbread.” – Plank10
Ray LaMontagne – Gossip in the Grain – Let it Be Me Submitted by corduroy
Uncle Tupelo – March 16-20 1994 – Moonshiner Submitted by corduroy
Kingston Trio – We’ll Sing in The Sunshine “A fun summertime sing-a-long…” – Nicole
Against Me! – As The Eternal Cowboy – You Look Like I Need Drink “Against Me! has been my sound track all summer, and this is one of my favorites.” – Lennon Medvick
