Very exciting news! Brent Best, frontman and songwriter for The Drams and Slobberbone, is working on a solo CD. And for those of us who like to give our money directly to the artist, here’s our chance. Mr. Best is going to be his own record company – just needs a little (very little) cash up front to get the operation up and running. You can read about it here.
But let me summarize. The suggestion is that people who are interested send him $10 now and by the end of the summer, he will send a limited edition, personalized record with his solo material on it.
Here’s what he says about the music: “A few of these songs you might have heard me perform live the last few years, some I’ve never played outside my house and some have never left their hard drive. They’ve marinated long enough, methinks. With that in mind, I’ve decided they should be recorded all proper-like, in a real studio.”
That’s just like two grande cappuccinos from you-know-where but the buzz you get will be so much better and last so much longer. Pretty sure he’ll deliver too. He’s never let me down. And I can’t wait.
(or What I Spent My Grocery Money On)
You all know by now my penchant for owning the physical disc. Even when times are hard. I’d love to tell you it’s because my high morals won’t allow me to copy OPD’s (other people’s discs) but, well, I just really like to peel off the wrappers and pop out the pretty inserts and stuff.
And, I do like to cuss the postal system when it’s late, cuss the state of our society because there are no independent music stores – you know, get myself a little worked up. Then, when I finally get my hands on the actual item, I run my fingers over the lyrics booklet, read the dedication and thank yous and all before I listen from track one to the very end.
From the moment I sussed out the info that Steve Earle was releasing "Townes", I knew I’d have to have that one. It’s a forever keeper. And, Guy Clark’s "Sometimes the Song Writes You" was getting multiple rave reviews before I’d ever heard of it, so I internet-ordered that. Kris Kristofferson’s "Closer to the Bone" kept me camped out by the mailbox for a while. Well worth the frostbite, though.
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So I get Ronnie Fauss’s EP, New Songs for the Old Frontier (FTG Records), in the mail today. I play it a couple times and immediately fall in love with it. Then I play my favorite track (favorite so far – these things change) for Bucky.
“How do you like my new favorite song?:” I ask him.
“It’s good!” he says. ‘Is that Jeff Tweedy?”
“Nope,” I reply, smugly. “It’s someone you’ve never heard of.”
“Yeah?” he says. “Sure about that? ‘Cause it sounds like Pre-
Wanker Wilco.” Or Tweedy with Uncle Tupelo.
This is high praise from Bucky. Just saying.
So yeah, neither Bucky nor I had heard of Ronnie Fauss but, one quick listen later, we’re both fans. Listen here and you’ll see why.
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I got this in my inbox this morning…
Message from Jess Barr, guitarist for Slobberbone / The Drams:
Early this morning my car was broken into and all of my equipment was stolen. This includes my red matchless clubman 35 head and cabinet, my black gig bag with cables and pedals, and, most importantly, my Gibson Les Paul Gold Top.
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It really hasn’t been all that long since Slobberbone broke up. Just a few years.
And you could make the argument that they didn’t really break up at all, just went through another personnell change, changed their name to The Drams and tweaked their sound a little.
So why did Tuesdsay night’s show at Dan’s seem like such a return to a time long ago?
They were billed as Whiskey Glass Eye, the world’s premiere Slobberbone tribute band but there wasn’t a person in the jam packed club that night that didn’t know it was a reunion show. Brent Brest, Jess Barr, Tony Harper and the return of Brian Lane (with Scott Danbaum sitting in on about half the set.)
And there I was feeling all nostalgic and shit.
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