Red Dirt...

So the Flu has come to the Armory; a strain that causes cough and fever! Not the puke and crap variety. So here is a post with no time/calendar relevance. Its been in "the can" so to speak, enjoy stay healthy...'cause being sick blows.

A couple of years back for like 15.00 bucks an hour and all the overtime you could physically handle, I was doing my bit for The Man of The Man, The IRS! I’d open tax returns and file them according to their code, i.e.; 1040, 1040EZ, etc. etc. A trained monkey could do it but they prefer to dehumanize…er…humans instead, so there I was 10-12 hours a night every Friday, Sat. and Sun. for 3 months!

Most of my ”co-workers” had their IPods to past the time and prevent themselves from going IRS-tal and attacking a permanently sedentary member of the fulltime know it all bunch! But I had no such device at the time so had to resort to my cell phone’s radio…sheer hell until I discovered a two hours show on Sat. night on Kvet. Kvet is the country station in these parts that for the most part blows, hard, Toby Keith, Reba, crap like that, but this show did the red dirt sound, the name was just starting to be used to describe what is now mostly known as Red Dirt.

Singer-songwriters in the mold of Willie, Waylon, Jerry Jeff or David Allan Cole; songs with story lines, some comedic, some tragic, but all stripped down from the Nashville sound. So I was introduced to what to me was a new sound that was happening right here in the I-35 Corridor! Though Oklahoma seems to be the epicenter, we Texans have allot to say about the sound as well.

I am a metal-head but have always had an open mind and ear, as seen and heard on ESG my taste swings wildly. Some of what I was digging was Kevin Fowler, Cross Canadian Ragweed, The Randy Rogers Band, Hayes Carl, Josh Abbott, and Jason Boland. Also re-introduced to stuff I heard when I first got to Austin back in the early 90’s, Steve Earl, Robert Earl Keen and Bruce and Charlie Robinson.

 The two hours show increase to three than four, pretty soon the show was on 6PM to 2AM on Sat. and I was exposed to some really good stuff. It just so happen that the dude,( Greg Combs of Live Oak Decline) I sat next too was/is a guitar player and did session work or sat-in with allot of the bands I was just getting into and he was a wealth of knowledge as well.

So here is a some tunes I dig from this type of sub-genre of Country. If you have access to Pandora try Cross Canadian Ragweed station and they play allot of what I'm talking about.

If you dig it cool, if not cool.

I don’t like Lady Gaga or Katy Perry ( though Russell Brand is a genius)!

Hayes Carll -  "She left me for Jesus" ( I usually go with live tracks, but this video is hilarious!)
Filmed down on S.Congress too...."I don't tell you how to do your job..."




Jason Boland - "Comal County Blues" ( just when you thought people didn't write 'em like they used to!)



Kevin Fowler - "I Ain't Drinking Anymore" (this dude is known for his more comical tunes but he does some ballads and I think has a great voice).





My lovely wife Mrs. Tank  got me an acoustic guitar a couple of months back....now I can really attest to the fact that all these cats make it look allot easier then it is! I can't even image singing at the same time!