Caught on the In-Between Playlist 10-07-08

Back in action. My reason for the delay is that I was in California for the past week. That's also why I wasn't on the air this week. Hopefully you were able to survive without me, whoever you are. I was out in CA for Tony "Cap'n Caveman" Durbano's holy matrimonial joining of two hearts and also to work out of my company's Irvine office. It was great being back out there with all of my friends and all of the incredible Mexican food. I'm not sure which I miss more. So here's the breakdown of the show on 10/7.

I started it off with a little Los Straitjackets playing their song Isn't Love Grand off of their Supersonic Guitars in 3D album. It's a great album of what you come to expect from this excellent/unique band--instrumental surf rock. This album is a bit more tame than they can be, but very melodic nonetheless.

On Monday 10/6, my neighbor Josh and I rode bikes up to Higher Ground to catch the Charlie Louvin/Old 97's show. It was my first time seeing both and both impressed. Charlie began his career sharing a mic with his brother Ira as the Louvin Brothers, a harmonizing duo in the '40s and 50's. Ira died in a car accident in the mid-60's, so Charlie was forced to go on alone. He released an album in 2007 that included some contemporary artists like Jeff Tweedy, Elvis Costello, and others. He's an old fella--clocking in at 81 years old--so he had a bit of trouble hitting all notes, but his between song banter was hilarious.

Old 97's hit the stage next and were great as expected. Singer Rhett Miller played the first half through an acoustic guitar (backed up by the band) so it wasn't as loud as I wanted it to be, but once he plugged in his tele, that all changed. It was the loud, rocking, surf country Old 97's that I like best.

Their show ended by about 10ish, so as Josh and I were leaving, we noticed that Dr. Dog was just taking the stage in the Showcase Lounge next door. Josh is a huge fan and I've heard good reviews from friends, but never really got into them, so we talked our way into the show. What I saw on stage absolutely floored me. Perhaps it was the Switchback brews, but I don't think so b/c I've never seen anything like that before. They were so good, so passionate, so powerful, so creative, etc, etc, etc. They completely and utterly rocked my socks off.

Since that show, I've found a new respect for their recordings, so I played a set of tunes off of their We All Belong album -- The Girl, Old News, and Ain't It Strange.

Next up I jumped into a set of tunes by a couple of British Invasion bands--The Yardbirds doing I Ain't Got You and The Animals playing their way through their Blue Feeling. Last song of this set was a Levon Helm song off of his latest album, Dirt Farmer, called I Got Me A Woman. This song is about his "good woman" who shaves his beard and keeps his tractor clean and burns his bread and makes him eat collard green. Sounds like a great gal.

The next set featured some Murry Hammond songs off of his recently released solo album I Don't Know Where I'm Going But I'm Leaving. Murry plays bass and sometimes sings for the Old 97's and this is his first solo album. It's a very quiet, soothing, humble album of him singing over an acoustic guitar with a few other string instruments sparsely thrown in. This was the perfect album to listen to as I relaxed on my flight out West last week. Murry is a kind-hearted soul and 100% of the proceeds from sales of this album will be donated to Project Mercy (www.ProjectMercy.net) which is similar in mission to Habitat For Humanity. They build houses in a section of neighborhood east of Tijuana called Colonias for many people who will get running water for the first time. With every 234 albums he sells, a new house is built, so pony up and go buy the album. Songs I played were Lost At Sea, Wreck Of The 97, and Next Time Take The Train.

To show another side of Hammond, I next played a couple by the Old 97's--The One off of their latest album Blame It On Gravity and Doreen off of Wreck Your Life (although I played the better version in my opinion, which came from their greatest hits album Hit By A Train). The One is a song about the band and robbing banks in California and taking their time escaping via Highway One.

Cash on the Barrelhead is an old song by the Louvin Brothers that has been covered many times by other artists (most notably Gram Parsons) and is about a young man being shown the world of no free lunches. It's all about paying up front. The Old 97's did a bit of their own version of the song, but called it Crash On The Barrelhead on their album Fight Songs. Rumor has it, the song is about Ryan Adams in his Whiskeytown days and how his hard partying ways will be the end of him. It speaks of a great artist who could meet his maker much too soon. To show the similarities of the tunes, I first played the Louvin Brothers tune and then the Old 97's. And to give equal airtime to the supposed subject of the tune, I played a Ryan Adams tune off of Cold Roses called If I Am A Stranger. A lot of people give Adams beef, but I'm a huge fan of his and eagerly receive any of his many releases.

I wrapped up the show with a little Dwight Yoakam off of his Dwight's Used Records album with the song I Said (Paradise Reprise). This is a take on the John Prine song called Paradise. Back in my college days, I worked one summer at the Virginia Beach Resort Hotel as a bell hop and had the honor of helping Dwight Yoakam with his bags. He wasn't very friendly, but his manager gave me $20 which is a huge sum when you're in college. That job also provided me with the opportunity to look through Demi Moore's bag and put my arms around Boy George, but those are stories better left for another time.

1. Los Straitjackets -- Isn't Love Grand -- Supersonic Guitars in 3D
2. Dr. Dog -- The Girl -- We All Belong
3. Dr. Dog -- Old News -- We All Belong
4. Dr. Dog -- Ain't It Strange -- We All Belong
5. The Yardbirds -- I Ain't Got You -- Greatest Hits 1964-1966
6. The Animals -- Blue Feeling -- The Story of the Animals
7. Levon Helm -- Got Me A Woman -- Dirt Farmer
8. Murry Hammond -- Lost At Sea -- I Don't Know Where I'm Going But I'm Leaving
9. Murry Hammond -- Wreck Of The 97 -- I Don't Know Where I'm Going But I'm Leaving
10. Murry Hammond -- Next Time Take The Train -- I Don't Know Where I'm Going But I'm Leaving
11. Old 97's -- The One -- Blame It On Gravity
12. Old 97's -- Doreen -- Hit By A Train
13. The Louvin Brothers -- Cash on the Barrelhead -- Close Harmony
14. Old 97's -- Crash on the Barrelhead -- Fight Songs
15. Ryan Adams and The Cardinals -- If I Am A Stranger -- Cold Roses
16. Dwight Yoakam -- I Said (Paradise Reprise) -- Dwight's Used Records