Freight Train Boogie Podcast #51

Podcast # 51 is a Best of ‘09 show featuring songs from many of my picks from my Top 20 CD releases of the year, (see previous post.)   The full playlist is posted below.  Here’s the iTunes link to subscribe to or download the show and here’s the direct download link to listen right now on your computer.  Check the artist’s websites and order their CD’s or downloads and tell ‘em you heard the songs on the FTB podcast.  Please  email me with any questions, comments or suggestions for the podcasts.

Show #51 (Best of 2009)

DAVE ALVIN & THE GUILTY WOMEN- River Under The Road Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women
PAUL BURCH – Waiting For My Ship Still Your Man
EILEN JEWELL – Rain Roll On Sea Of Tears
RED STICK RAMBLERS – Goodbye To The Blues My Suitcase Is Always Packed
(mic break)
RED ROOSTER – Borrowed Money Walk
SLAID CLEAVES – Black T-Shirt Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away
DADDY - I Want To Be Clean For A Second Time
ROSIE FLORES & THE PINE VALLEY COSMONAUTS - This Cat’s In The Doghouse Girl of the Century
(mic break)

DAVE RAWLINGS MACHINE - Ruby A Friend of a Friend
CAROLYN MARK & NQ ARBUCKLE – The 2nd Time Let’s Just Stay Here
THE BAND OF HEATHENS – L.A. County Blues One Foot in the Ether
THE GOURDS – All the Way to Jericho Haymaker!
(mic break)
SARA WATKINS – Will We Go Sara Watkins

Bill Frater
Freight Train Boogie

Freight Train Boogie Top 2o Americana CD’s of 2009

It’s the end of another year and time for my list of the best CD releases of 2009.  There were many fine CD’s that came out and it’s very difficult keeping it to only 20 but here you go…  The artist’s names link to their websites or MySpace pages and the CD title links go to either Amazon or CD Baby for easy ordering.  You still have till January 5th to vote for your favorite CD releases of the year and your list could get posted here or on the Freight Train Boogie website AND you just might be one of 5 lucky winners of a grab bag of free Americana CD’s!  Vote now to this address with Top Ten of ‘09 in the subject line. Thanks and Happy New Year!

1. DAVE ALVIN & THE GUILTY WOMEN – Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women
Having seen this amazing band live 4 times this year may have something with my picking this CD as my #1.  The unfortunate loss of Amy Farris might have something to do with it too…

2. ROSANNE CASH – The List
These are contemporary interpretations of songs from a list of essential Country songs passed on to her by her father Johnny when she was a teenager.  Tastefully produced by John Leventhal and sung like an angel.

3. DAVE RAWLINGS MACHINE - A Friend of a Friend
Just released, but it sounds like a low-key masterpiece that’s as close to a new Gillian Welch CD as we’re going to get for awhile.

4. THE BAND OF HEATHENS - One Foot in the Ether
This young Austin just seems to be hittin’ it’s stride… and another great act to see live.

5. SARA WATKINS – Sara Watkins
She waited a lot longer than her other Nickel Creek bandmates to put out a solo release and I like it the best by far…. a mature and song-driven gem.

6. RED STICK RAMBLERS – My Suitcase Is Always Packed
They’re from Lafayette, Louisiana and they play Cajun, country, swing and much more.  Great stuff!

7. DADDY - For A Second Time
Daddy, the band, features the double-barred singer-songwriting of  Will Kimbrough and Tommy Womack. Witty and rootsy!

8. WILLIE NELSON & ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL - Willie and The Wheel
This was an idea of Jerry Wexler’s who died on 2009.  An obvious collaboration. It’s take a band like The Wheel to kick Willie’s butt into high classic Western Swing style.

9. EILEN JEWELL - Sea Of Tears
This CD rocks and swings with great songs and vocals from Jewell and her band with the steller guitar of Jerry Miller.

10. PAUL BURCH – Still Your Man
Once again, an artist steeped in tradition, straddling different styles, and good songs… gets me every time!

11. RED ROOSTER – Walk
12. ELVIS COSTELLO – Secret, Profane and Sugarcane
13. JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE – Midnight At The Movies
14. THE GOURDS – Haymaker!
15. ROSIE FLORES & THE PINE VALLEY COSMONAUTS – Girl of the Century
16. BUDDY & JULIE MILLER - Written In Chalk
17. SLAID CLEAVES – Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away
18 . THE DEVIL MAKES THREE- Do Wrong Right
19. SAM BAKER – Cotton
20. CAROLYN MARK & NQ ARBUCKLE – Let’s Just Stay Here

Best of ‘09 podcast coming soon!

Bill Frater
Freight Train Boogie

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival Saturday Highlights

I should’ve known something was up when I saw numerous people locking their bicycles to random trees and signs because the bike rack area was full.  In nine years of going to the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco this was probably the most unusual day.  Two reasons… first is was extremely windy in the afternoon, especially at the largest meadow where the Banjo Stage is.  The gusts were just  crazy, coming in from the coast and just whipping down the long meadow, blowing over big potted bamboo plants backstage and even forcing HSB promoters to remove the large transparent fabric from behind the stage.  The other thing was the crowd was over-the-top gigantic!   Areas that used to be walkways and open areas at the back of the Banjo Stage were full of people sitting down on blankets.  Of course, neither of these issues were controllable or predictable, but combined they caused a lot of people to  leave the Park earlier than they usual.

So many people were walking around trying to find their friends on their iPhones that the AT&T cells went down.  The small and narrow Rooster Stage was packed with blankets clear back to the road which made seeing the stage from there impossible with the Marx Meadow dogleg design.   The open access road for  festival transport and emergency services was hampered by the throngs of people who wouldn’t stop to let the vehicles through.  We’ll have to see what Sunday looks like in the weather department.

The Abalone Dots

So, on to the music, which is really why we were all there… besides the thousand or so homeless people who happen to live in Golden Gate Park all year long.  Early visitors who went to see BUDDY MILLER were rewarded with EMMYLOU HARRIS and ROBERT PLANT joining him for a few songs.   I was not one of them,  starting my day with THE ABALONE DOTS, featuring 4 Swedish women who played cello, fiddle, and  acoustic bass with sweet harmonies.  After their easygoing set, I got to the  home base of the Banjo Stage for the always amusing RON THOMASON telling his stories mixed in with a few bluegrass songs from his band DRY BRANCH FIRE SQUAD.

Rosie Flores & PVC's

Trying to navigate my way to the Arrow Stage to see HAYES CARLL proved to be time consuming, in fact we didn’t make it in time for his set.  Headed up the hill for GUY CLARK and that wasn’t going to be worth it so I hung a left down the road towards two back-to-back stages of Star and Towers of Gold.  Adding the 2nd stage allows them to share backstage facilities and the two stages alternate sets meaning no down time between them, except you have to walk around to get in front of the stages.  Australian ROGER KNOX unfortunately had visa problems so he didn’t make it but JOHN LANGFORD with ROSIE FLORES, SALLY TIMMS and  THE SADIES were awesome.  The same band did a set later that afternoon on the Arrow Stage which was probably a HSB first, two sets in one day.  Rosie’s new CD is produced by Langford and they sounded good together, reviving the YARDBIRDS’ classic  ”I’m Not Talking”.

Dave Alvin & GW

I even enjoyed OKKERVIL RIVER, an Austin Brit-rock inspired band who drew a huge crowd.  DAVE ALVIN came out rockin’ with “Marie, Marie” just like their first performance a year ago… albeit  bittersweet with the recent passing of AMY FARRIS.  Dave got right to the point dedicating “California’s Burning” to her with some candles on the stage.   SUZY THOMPSON filled in on 2nd fiddle and accordion.  I got about 1/3 of the way into the meadow to hear BOZ SCAGGS and blues friends.  They sounded great but it was just too crowded to get into it.  It used to be okay to bring your dog to HSB but the few people I saw with dogs today didn’t seem happy in the long snaking lines of people trying to get somewhere to sit down.  Heading back to the Banjo for STEVE MARTIN  was disappointing… you could barely hear them and I didn’t see a fake arrow through his head.  By now the wind was starting to pick up.. stay positive here, it a beautiful place and it free.

Marty Stuart

Running into some old friends was nice and we hung out in a protected spot for quite awhile, catching a little of the CLAIRE LYNCH BAND but completely blowing off the great BILLY JOE SHAVER because of the human bottleneck at the back of the Banjo Stage.   Part 2 of the PINE VALLEY COSMONAUTS was fun and GILLIAN WELCH sounded good from a distance.  We headed west for MARTY STUART AND HIS FABULOUS SUPERLATIVES who were rockin’ and twangin’ in front of a smallish crowd.  Stuart is a confident and consummate showman and he shared a new song about the plight of the working man today.

Steve Earle & BGD's

The wind and cold was getting unbearable but THE FLATLANDERS were doing their thing bravely and back at Speedway STEVE EARLE AND THE BLUEGRASS DUKES were huddling around a single mike like a campfire to warm up the dwindling crowd.  That stage was catching more wind then anywhere else in the park and it’s a wonder they didn’t blow off.  It was time to head for the car and turn on the heat and head home.  So the question has to be asked, has HSB reached critical mass and will the true music fans stop going in the future because of the crowds. We’ll see what Sunday looks like…  Here’s a short SF Gate story…

Bill Frater
Freight Train Boogie

Freight Train Boogie Podcast #29

Show #29  features the new CD by DAVE ALVIN AND THE GUILTY WOMEN, featuring Christy McWilson, Cindy Cashdollar, Nina Gerber, Laurie Lewis, Amy Farris, Sarah Brown and Lisa Pankratz. Also new songs from WEINLAND, OWEN TEMPLE and LIL’ MO AND THE MONICATS. The full playlist is posted below.  Here’s the iTunes link to subscribe or download the show and here’s the link to the direct download link to listen right now on your computer. Check the artist’s websites and order their CD’s or downloads and tell ‘em you heard the songs on the FTB podcast.Please email me with any questions, comments or suggestions for the podcasts.

Show #29

DAVE ALVIN & THE GUILTY WOMEN – California’s Burning Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women
OWEN TEMPLE – Broken Heart Land Dollars and Dimes
THE DERAILERS - Bad, Bad Girl Guaranteed to Satisfy
LIL’ MO AND THE MONICATS – I Could Get Used To This On The Moon
(mic break)
DAVID LUTES - Love In The Hard Times Big Top: Volumes 1 & 2
THE GREENCARDS - Outskirts of Blue Fascination
DAVID GRISSOM – True Love Don’t Work That Way 10,000 Feet
DAVE ALVIN & THE GUILTY WOMEN - Marie, Maire Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women
(mic break)
DAVE ALVIN & THE GUILTY WOMEN- Potter’s Field Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women
BUDDY & JULIE MILLER – Ellis County Written In Chalk
GRANT LANGSTON – 30 Days Stand Up Man
WEINLAND – Hardly Worth Saving Breaks in the Sun
(mic break)
DAVE ALVIN & THE GUILTY WOMEN - These Times We’re Living In Dave Alvin & the Guilty Women

Bill Frater
Freight Train Boogie