Playlist for tonight's From Under the Basement -

As usual you will be turned on to and reminded of the tunes many of us have forgotten or just never had the opportunity to hear - tonight I'll be spinning -

Countrycide

Eric Hisaw

The Damngivers

Southern Culture on the Skids

Grateful Dead

Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen

The Far West

Great American Taxi

Tom Waits

Andre Williams

Contino

Buddy Guy

Junior Kimbrough

Lightnin' Hopkins

Tab Benoit & Jimmy Thackery

T- Model Ford

Jimmy Reed

Billy Boy Arnold

Ronnie Hawkins

Justin Townes Earle - spinning a tune from his upcoming album to be released 3/27

The Dirt Daubers

If Madrid

It all gets started in about an hour when "The Real Deal" becomes "The Surreal Deal" on KOOK 93.5 in Junction and KERV 1230 AM in Kerrville, Texas and of course on the WWW!

PAUL THORN’S ‘WHAT THE HELL IS GOIN’ ON?’ DUE MAY 8

On new album, Thorn tries something fun and different —
covering songs he loves by other songwriters 

TUPELO, Miss. — Paul Thorn took an unexpected detour on the road to recording a follow-up to his most successful release, 2010’s Pimps and Preachers. After writing many discs of semi-autobiographical tunes that have drawn comparisons to John Hiatt and John Prine, the critically acclaimed singer/songwriter — hailed as the “Mark Twain of Americana” — decided to do an album of covers. “I wanted to take a break from myself,” he reveals, “do something different, and just have fun.”
 
The collection, entitled What The Hell Is Goin’ On? (due May 8, on Perpetual Obscurity/Thirty Tigers), finds Thorn putting his own gritty rock stamp on some of his favorite songs. There are some names familiar to Americana fans (Buddy Miller, Ray Wylie Hubbard), some lesser-known (Foy Vance, Wild Bill Emerson) and some surprises. The Buckingham and Nicks tune “Don’t Let Me Down Again” originated on that duo’s debut, not during the Fleetwood Mac era, while the Paul Rogers/Free song that Thorn chose to cover is an obscure one, “Walk In My Shadow.”
 
The idea for a covers album grew as Thorn encountered tunes that meant something important to him. “I would hear them in the tour van or I’d be at a festival and see someone perform them live,” Thorn says, “and I'd say ‘That’s a great song, I wish I had written it!’” One thing all the writers of these songs have in common according to Thorn is that they are true artists. “They don’t just write songs in an effort to become popular or follow trends,” he explains. “At the risk of sounding corny, they write with their hearts. None of these songs are cookie-cutter tunes like you hear on the radio today. They all have real depth, which is very appealing to me.”
 
The set covers subjects that are familiar territory to Thorn, from the spiritual pull of Miller’s “Shelter Me Lord” to the spirited fun in Big Al Anderson’s “Jukin.’” Thorn, so skilled with his own character studies, plays storyteller with such lurid tales as Hubbard’s “Snake Farm” and Emerson’s “Bull Mountain Bridge.” Emerson (who has written for George Jones and Tammy Wynette) is someone, according to Thorn, who “can tell a story in a song like nobody else.”
 
What The Hell Is Goin’ On? also delivers songs of love and salvation. Vance’s “Shed A Little Light” and Eli “Paperboy” Reed’s “Take My Love With You” are emotionally powerful tunes. The latter particularly expresses Thorn’s feelings about being on the road and missing his family back home: “Being a touring musician is a blessing and a curse . . . and Eli put into words what I feel like sometimes.”
 
What The Hell’ s centerpiece is the powerful title track, a blistering look at life in modern times that was penned by blues-rock icon Elvin Bishop. “We are living in a new world where people are very connected, but also at the same time are disconnected,” Thorn states. “I believe technology in moderation is good but too many folks are walking around wearing ear phones and some have forgotten the lost art of basic social skills.”
 
The song also is significant because he has developed a friendship with Bishop over the years. “I sometimes visit him at his house when I’m out in California and he always gives me a jar of his homemade jelly that he makes with fresh kiwis from his garden,” Thorn recalls. “He sang this song for me on his front porch one day and it blew me away.” It was also a treat to have Bishop perform a guitar solo on the tune — which Thorn describes as “wonderfully raw and dirty.” Other special guests on the album are Delbert McClinton (another Thorn idol) and the marvelous singing McCrary Sisters.
 
The heavy lifting on the album, however, was done by Thorn and, as usual, his touring band (guitarist Bill Hinds, keyboard player Michael Graham, bassist Ralph Friedrichsen and drummer Jeffrey Perkins). “The guys in this outfit are a tight unit and a well-oiled machine,” he proclaims. “I’ve had the same guys in my band for goin’ on 15 years and they are incredible musicians.” Another long-time collaborator is Billy Maddox, who steered the ship and also served as What The Hell’s producer. The sense of camaraderie among Thorn, his band and Maddox contributes to the disc’s loose, live performances. The lived-in quality is undoubted aided by the fact that Thorn and the band had already played these songs live and honed them into what he calls “crowd-pleasers.”
 
Thorn has been pleasing crowds for years with his muscular brand of roots music — bluesy, rocking and thoroughly Southern, yet also speaking universal truths. The Tupelo, MS native worked in a furniture factory, jumped out of airplanes, and was a professional boxer before sharing his experiences with the world as a singer-songwriter. Pimps and Preachers, which topped the Americana charts for three weeks and broke into the Billboard Top 100, perfectly exemplified the vivid scope of his songwriting — and illuminated his family background. While his father is a Church of God Pentecostal minster, his uncle (his father’s brother) spent time as a pimp — and Thorn was influenced by both of these men. Mining these “saint and sinner” scenarios, Thorn crafted a disc that All Music Guide lauded as “a great rock & roll album,” while The Nation labeled it “an incredible find.”
 
When Thorn and his band hit the road, he’ll be performing both his captivating originals and these favored covers, because, as he says, “there are so many great writers out there whose songs need to be heard.” Thorn also might slip in a new song or two as he already has started writing more songs of his own for the next album.

PAUL THORN ON THE ROAD AND
ON SOUL SALVATION TOUR WITH RUTHIE FOSTER
All shows are with Paul Thorn Band unless otherwise noted

Thurs., Feb. 23  SPRINGFIELD, MO, Nathan P. Murphy’s
Fri., Feb. 24  OKLAHOMA CITY, OK Oklahoma City Limits
Sat., Feb. 25  DALLAS, TX The Kessler Theater; sold out.

Soul Salvation Tour featuring Paul Thorn and Ruthie Foster
Tues., March 6 ANNAPOLIS, MD  Rams Head
Wed., March 7 ALEXANDRIA, VA The Birchmere
Thurs., March 8  PHILADELPHIA, PA World Cafe Live
Fri., March 9  NEW YORK, NY City Winery
Sat., March 10  CHATHAM, NJ The Sanctuary Concerts
Wed., March 28  KANSAS CITY, MO Knuckleheads
Thurs., March 29  ST. LOUIS, MO  Old Rock House
Fri., March 30  BLOOMINGTON, IL  The Castle Theatre
Sat., March 31  SCHAUMBURG, IL  Prairie Center for the Arts
Mon.-Tues., April 2-3  MINNEAPOLIS, MN  Dakota

Paul Thorn tour
Thurs., April 12  GREEN BAY, WI Riverside Ballroom
Fri, April 13  IOWA, IA The Mill
Sat., April 14  GALESBURG, IL Fat Fish
Tues., April 17  THE WOODLANDS, TX Paul Thorn solo radio show taping, Dosey Doe
April 21  CLARKSDALE, MI  Ground Zero Blues Club
April 29  CHARLESTON, WV Paul Thorn solo radio show taping, Mountain Stage

Soul Salvation Tour featuring Paul Thorn and Ruthie Foster
Wed., May 2  LAFAYETTE, LA  Acadiana Center for the Arts
Thurs., May 3  NEW ORLEANS, LA House of Blues
Fri., May 4  BATON ROUGE, LA  Manship Theatre
Sat., May 5  MERIDIAN, MS  MSU Riley Center for the Performing Arts

Paul Thorn tour
Fri., May 11  BIRMINGHAM, AL  WorkPlay Theatre
Sat., May 12  ATLANTA, GA  Variety Playhouse
Sun., May 13  NASHVILLE, TN  3rd and Lindsley
Wed., May 16  AUSTIN, TX One World theatre
Thurs., May 17  CHEROKEE, TX Cherokee Creek Music Festival
Fri., May 18  DALLAS, TX Kessler Theater
Sat., May 19  SAN ANTONIO, TX Sam’s Burger Joint
May 20  THE WOODLANDS, TX Dosey Doe
Fri., May 25  TAMPA, FL Paul solo acoustic at Skipper’s Smokehouse
Sat., May 26  TAMPA, FL Skipper’s Smokehouse
Fri., June 1  TUPELO, MS  Tupelo Elvis Festival
Sat., June 2  MEMPHIS, TN  New Daisy Theatre
Fri., June 29  LOUISVILLE, KY Jim Porter's Good Time Emporium
June 30  MINFORD, OH Private Show
July 13  8 p.m. STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, CO Strings Music Festival
July 15 ALTA, WY Targhee Festival
July 21, MOSCOW, ID Rendezvous in the Park
August 3  SANTA CRUZ, CA Rio Theatre
Sat.-Sun., Aug. 4-5  NICASIO, CA Rancho Nicasio

SCREAMING FEMALES SHARE NEW KITTEN KILLING MUSIC VIDEO VIA PASTE

ANNOUNCE SPRING HEADLINING TOUR & HIT THE ROAD WITH TITUS ANDRONICUS LOOK OUT FOR SCREAMALES SOUND OPINION SESSION

1/2 Fargo + 1/2 Evil Dead - enjoy the new music video from Screaming Females, for their first single "It All Means Nothing".       SCREAMING FEMALES  UGLY (DON GIOVANNI RECORDS) APRIL 3rd, 2012 1. It All Means Nothing  2. Rotten Apple  3. Extinction  4. Red Hand  5. High 6. Expire 7. Crow's Nest 8. Tell Me No 9. Leave It Up To Me 10. Doom 84 11. Help Me 12. Something Ugly 13. Slow Birth 14. It's Nice   TOUR DATES 3/4  Asbury Park, NJ Stone Pony ! 3/5 Baltimore, MD Ottobar ! 3/6 Richmond, VA Strange Matter ! 3/7 Nashville, TN Freakin' Weekend ! 3/9 Athens, GA Caledonia Lounge ! 3/10 Atlanta, GA The Basement ! 3/11 New Orleans, LA House of Blues ! 3/12 Houston, TX Warehouse Live Studio ! 3/14 Austin, TX  SXSW Bar 96 (Brooklynvegan official showcase) 3/15 Austin TX SXSW Beerland (Chaos in Tejas)  4/5  Hoboken, NJ Maxwell's  (record release show) FRI 4/6 Brooklyn, NY Bell House 4/7 Philadelphia, PA Pilam's Human Barbecue 4/8 Washington DC  Black Cat Backstage 4/9 Pittsburgh, PA  Mr Roboto Project 4/10 Cleveland, OH Beachland Tavern 4/11 Bloomington, IN The Bishop 4/12 Chicago, IL Subterranean 4/15 Denver, CO Marquis Theater 4/17 Boise, ID The Crux  4/18 Seattle, WA  The Rendezvous 4/19 Bellingham, WA JINX Art Space 4/23 Oakland, CA 1234 Go! Records 4/24 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill 4/26 Los Angeles, CA  Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock 4/28 San Diego  Che Cafe (early) 4/28 San Diego, CA Bar Pink (late) 4/29 Pomona, CA  VLHS 5/2 Las Cruces, NM The Trainyard $ 5/4 Austin, TX  Red 7 $ ! = w/ Titus Andronicus $ = w/ Tragedy

CHELLE ROSE’S GHOST OF BROWDER HOLLER MEETS AT THE INTERSECTION OF APPALACHIAN ROCK AND COUNTRY

Ray Wylie Hubbard-produced second album due out May 1, 2012

Special guests include Elizabeth Cook, Ian McLagan and the McCrary Sisters.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Hardscrabble Appalachia is known for its bluegrass, moonshine and coal mines. Now, with the May 1 arrival of gut-honest singer-songwriter Chelle Rose’s second album Ghost of Browder Holler (Lil’ Damsel Records, street date May 1, 2012), add visceral rock ’n’ roll to that list.
 
Rose brings her elemental power to the 12-song disc produced by legendary Texas songsmith Ray Wylie Hubbard in Austin. And while those cuts, ripe with mystery and passion, sound like they were plucked from the kudzu-scented air of her native Loudon County in East Tennessee, they’re really written from life.
 
“When I get homesick, I pine for Western North Carolina sometimes even more so than East Tennessee,” says Rose, who moved to Nashville in 1996. “My maternal family lives on both sides of the Smoky Mountains. I grew up there among the people I still know and love. I've always felt connected and consoled by the mountains and my people there, so writing about them comes very natural to me. There are many settings and characters rich for the mining.”
 
The album’s opening track, “Browder Holler Boy,” is a perfect example. It kick-starts the set with a haunting slide guitar invocation and then spins a true tale of Rose’s first love, Timothy Andrew Helton, who died young in a canoeing accident, but returned to visit her as a noisy spirit. The tune also features Hubbard’s gritty supporting vocals and laid back harmonica. The heart of Rose’s close-to-the-bone sound — a driving approach she calls “Appalachian rock n roll” — thumps through the grinding, guitar-fueled “Alimony,” a playful but dead-serious account of the marriage she ended in order to attain her dream of becoming a songwriter and performer. There’s more than a hint of Exile on Main Street to “Rufus Morgan (Preacher Man),” which features legendary Faces keyboardist Ian “Mac” McLagan and Nashville’s leading spiritual singing family the McCrary Sisters. Rose wrote the song as a tribute to a rural holy man from her family tree, and its lyrics are a virtual tour of Western North Carolina’s richly forested land, where her “grannymom” often took her to visit other family members during childhood summers.
 
Like the sweet and gravelly edges of Rose’s expressive voice, other songs echo the beauty and harshness of Appalachian life. “Leona Barnett,” written by her fellow East Tennessean Adam Hill, is the story of a woman driven to work in the mines after her husband is killed in a mining accident. And “Wild Violets Pretty,” which features Grammy-nominated Americana star Elizabeth Cook as guest vocalist, is about losing an unborn child.
 
“Sometimes I can’t perform a song live until I’ve had time to heal from a deep wound, and often the healing begins with the song,” explains Rose. “I write a lot and don’t really look for material, so you know if I'm covering someone else’s song I am feeling it with every ounce of my soul.”
 
Although this Appalachian wildflower didn’t get her first guitar until she was 25, music was always a deep part of her life. “My daddy was a piano player and so was his daddy,” she relates. Sherri King, her biological father’s first cousin, had some minor country hits in the ’70s, but had the distinction of writing, singing and playing on her own recordings — which made her a rare triple threat in Nashville’s good ole boys club. She was also a member of the legendary group Barefoot Jerry, a band of player’s players, and was a featured vocalist with Charlie McCoy’s band. “One of my first musical memories was sitting on my Granny Rose’s floor listening to Sherri’s second album and just running the needle over and over it,” she recalls.
 
“I’d always sung and thought about maybe singing on a stage some day, but getting that guitar really woke something up in me,” Rose recounts. “I started listening to songwriters like Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Townes Van Zandt and my gut told me I was most likely not going to continue working in accounting.”

So Rose relocated to Nashville in 1996 where she began seeing her inspirations in person. “As soon as I arrived I began ‘going to school’ to hear Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Buddy Miller, Malcolm Holcombe, R.B. Morris, David Olney and Marshall Chapman. They were just a few of my favorites and some of them have become friends and mentors.
 
“When I moved from Knoxville to Nashville, Townes Van Zandt was at the top of my dream list of songwriters to hear live. I was devastated to hear of his passing in January 1997. I did however sit on a back church pew at his service, sad with regret that I would never get to hang with him. He played a huge part in my journey to become a songwriter.”
 
Rose’s next step was making her debut recording. “Being at home and writing Nanahally River in the late ’90s with a baby on my hip seemed completely natural and just as important as the deep well of writers I was exposed to on the music scene at that time,” she says.
 
Along with her mentor and musical kindred spirit David Hardman, Rose made her 2000 album Nanahally River in a basement studio. “Recording [it] was really casual with a lot of friends helping me out,” she says. “I paid J.D. Wilkes from the Legendary Shack Shakers to play harmonica on Nanahally River by cooking him chicken n dumplins. I like to think that added to the magic.”
 
Fast-forward 10 years. “More than a decade passed between albums because I was busy raising a family, but always writing when inspiration struck,” Rose continues. “I’ve never just sat down with a goal of writing a song. They just show up and I document them the best I can. Fate interceded in early fall of 2010 when I was snuggling with my daughter and had headphones on listening to Ray Wylie Hubbard do a live interview for Twisted South Radio. They asked him what he’d been listening to lately. He said, ‘Well, I’ve been listening to this songwriter from Nashville named Chelle Rose.’ I bolted up from the bed and heard him say he’d be interested in producing me. And the host, Zeke Loftin, who I had collaborated with on a charity event, said, ‘Chelle, if you’re listening you should call in.’ So I did, and I said, ‘You’re hired, let’s do it.’ A few weeks later I was off to Austin with my guitar and songs.”
            
For Ghost of Browder Holler, Hubbard handpicked the players, who convened at engineer/bassist George Reiff’s Austin studio. “Every morning we'd sit at the kitchen table and pull one of my songs out of the hat,” Rose says. “Then we'd work out an arrangement and either agree or disagree to cut it. It was a beautiful, intense process that resulted in a record I’m so proud of.” That spontaneous approach — and the band playing all the basic tracks together in the studio — helped preserve the disc’s cohesive live vibe.
 
“What’s in the tracks is some hard core blood, sweat and tears from myself and many talented musicians who were generous with their contributions to the arrangements and to the soul of this album,” Rose declares. “I tried to quit music, but it just wouldn’t quit me. I realized I need it like I need food, water, sleep and love. It’s not about chasing fame or any kind of fortune. It’s about a strong connection with who I am. I share my music because it creates a beautiful exchange of energy in my life. It most certainly is medicine for my own soul. If it has the same effect on others, then I’m blessed.”