Tag Archive for 'lucero'

sit around to watch the southern kick in

Published
by
smangs
on September 3, 2008
in cory branan, lucero and new stuff
. 1 Comment

If Ben Nichols writes about you, you’re probably pretty OK. In “Tears Don’t Matter Much,” easily one of our favorite Lucero tunes, off “That Much Further West,” Nichols canonizes a few of his songwriting pals — Matt Bradley, Doug Deluca, and Cory Branan. The song poignantly captures the very nature of being a fan — and a man like Nichols, who wields a dangerously pithy pen, can’t help but succumb either. Witness:

Matt Bradley’s got the broken teeth
He wears a jean jacket with a bullet in the sleeve
He’s just another Southern boy who dreams of nights in NYC
And I sing along
I sing along

My tears don’t matter much
They don’t matter much

Doug Deluca’s voice could break a heart
I recorded every song
I used up three whole tapes, and put ‘em in a box
To give away
To break a heart

My tears don’t matter much,
They don’t matter much

When the boys sing their songs
And the kids they sing along
I’m just another Southern boy who dreams of nights in NYC
And I sing along
I sing along

Cory Branan’s got an evil streak
And a way with words that’ll bring you to your knees
Oh he can play the wildest shows and he can sing so sweet

I still sing along

My tears don’t matter much,
They don’t matter much

When the boys sing their songs
And the kids they sing along…
I’m just another Southern boy who dreams of nights in NYC
And I sing along
I still sing along

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We found Cory Branan thanks to a mutual friend, the same one who had turned us onto Lucero. He teeters with a certain sepia-toned nostalgia, doesn’t mind pop hooks and has an uncanny knack for dovetailing sublime couplets about rollerskating in the 7th grade, the one crazy girl who dances at shows, falling in love with the wrong girl and doing way too much cocaine. Err… we digress. Here are a few tracks from Branan’s first record, 2002’s “The Hell You Say,” which features some Lucero members backing on a handful of tracks.

Whiskey Grove

Tame

Skateland South

Crush

Branan — along with Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Justin Townes Earle, The Good Fear and Dan Montgomery — joins Lucero  Saturday 9/13 at Riverside Park in Batesville, Arkansas for the Lucero Family Picnic. A bargain at $15; a hassle at 136 miles from Memphis. For and aft, Branan sets out on 40 days and 40 nights of hopefully not hard-candy snow. That’s from “Tame,” people — get with it.

Sep 4  Cactus Cafe w/ Greg Barkley of Oh No! Oh My! (All Ages) Austin, Texas
Sep 5 Club Next Texarkana, Arkansas
Sep 6 Blackthorn Joplin, Missouri
Sep 10  Parrish Baker Pub Oxford, Mississippi
Sep 11  12th & Porter (CB @ 10:15) / Next Big Nashville Nashville, Tennessee
Sep 12  Hi Tone (18+) Memphis, Tennessee
Sep 13  Lucero Family Picnic (CB @ 5:30)(All Ages) Batesville, Arkansas
Sep 18  Pour House Music Hall w/ Blue Mountain (CB-8:30) Raleigh, North Carolina
Sep 19  Evening Muse (All Ages) Charlotte, North Carolina
Sep 20  Pour House w/ Blue Mountain Charleston, South Carolina
Sep 22  New World Brewery Tampa, Florida
Sep 24  Big Daddy’s (18+) Tallahassee, Florida
Sep 25  Egan’s (Late Show / Post Avett’s) Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Sep 27  Barley’s Tap Room (18+) Knoxville, Tennessee
Oct 1  The Camel w/ Josh Small, The Fox Hunt (All Ages) Richmond, Virginia
Oct 2  Rapture (Free / 18+) Charlottesville, Virginia
Oct 3  Iota (CB to Open @ 9pm) Arlington / D.C., Virginia
Oct 4  Della Rose’s Canton (Free) Baltimore, Maryland
Oct 5  Laurrapin (5pm / Free / 18+) Havre de Grace, Maryland
Oct 8  Flat Street Brew Pub (18+) Brattleboro, Vermont
Oct 9  Jake’s w/ Quiet Life (18+) Providence, Rhode Island
Oct 10  Oasis Pub w/ Quiet Life New London, Connecticut
Oct 12 The Cake Shop w/ Quiet Life New York City, New York
Oct 16 Brothers Lounge w Magpies (18+) Cleveland, Ohio
Oct 17 Uncommon Ground @ Devon Chicago, Illinois
Oct 18 Rudyard Kipling w/ Dangerbird (18+) Louisville, Kentucky
Oct 19 Molly Malone’s (18+) Covington (Cincinnati), Kentucky
Oct 22 Jackpot Saloon (18+) Lawrence, Kansas
Oct 24 The OPO (18+) Fayetteville, Arkansas
Oct 25 Whitewater Tavern Little Rock, Arkansas

Nichols says Cory “can play the wildest shows” but unfortunately we’ve never — het hem — seen him with a full band. These are solo dates, but Cory holds his own there, too.

Cory’s MySpace // Cory’s website

lucero @ the loft, 9.9.05

Published
by
gregor
on June 29, 2008
in shows
. 0 Comments

ok, i can still make it. i think i only have 3 to go to make it to 24 posts within 24 hours.

here is lucero @ the loft in atlanta on 9.9.05.

1. across the river

2. aint so lonely

3. tonight aint gonna be good

4. raisin hell

5. kiss the bottle

6. nights like these

7. sixteen

8. sweet little thing

9. that much further west

10. slow dancing

11. bikeriders

12. chain link fence

13. i’ll just fall

14. blue and gray

15. joinin the army

16. last night in town

17. little silver heart

18. my best girl

19. anjalee

20. tears dont matter much

21. nobodys darlings

22. the last song

23. the war

sounds like my grandfather taking a leak, mikey. thrillsville

Published
by
gregor
on April 15, 2008
in announcement and shows
. 1 Comment

sbarrbennichols.jpg

tashi delek, schmoopy! i was pretty psyched to find out that the sonic slop of mudhoney’s superfuzz bigmuff is being reissued, with all the expected extra goodies, by subpop on 5.20. more info can be found here. not only that but they gots a new record, being released ont the same day, entitled the lucky ones. cant wait for these two. in case you have never found yourself confronted by the music of mudhoney now’s your chance. dig it…

sonic infusion off since we’ve come translucent

the straight life off since we’ve come translucent

blindspots off under a billion suns

mudhoney myspace

as a reminder to my fellow atlantans, cory branan is @ smith’s olde bar this saturday evening and if you ever wanted to ignore me, this is your chance. cory who you ask? here are a couple o’ solo tracks from his excellent record, 12 songs and a show featuring cory and one of my main men, ben nichols of lucero. of all the shows i have posted this is definitely one of my favorites. its an impecable recording and it sounds like they had a blast. much love to the original taper!

tall green grass

prettiest waitress in memphis

this happene on 6.20.07 @ the rudyard kipling in louisville.

1. intro

2. across the river

3. a bad man would do you good

4. last night in town

5. amnesia

6. when you decided to leave

7. sour mash

8. i’ll just fall

9. on and on

10. easy

11. it gets the worst at night

12. tonight aint gonna be good

13. chain link fence

14. joining the army

15. daddy was a skywriter

16. nights like these

17. summertime

18. she wakes when she dreams

19. freefall

20. tears dont matter much

21. the prettiest waitress in memphis

22. my best girl

23. skateland south

24. great balls of fire

25. see that my grave is kept clean

26. all sewn up

27. tall green grass

28. hold me close

29. a girl named go

30. better than this

it’s my money and i need it now

Published
by
gregor
on April 7, 2008
in announcement, new stuff and stupid shit
. 5 Comments

cory.jpg

sup, gaywads? hope everyone had a loverly weeks end. mine was just fine. nothing too exciting, just lots of sierra nevada and rogue dead guy. oddly enough, no hangovers like i reported later last week.

friends of captains dead, the line of best fit have a very cool comp for download made available from the fine folks at something in construction records. the comp features the likes of loney, dear, sambassadeur, sons of noel and adrian, the leisure society, and a bunch more. clicky to visit and download.

admittedly, i get a lot of good music coming to me, but then again i get a lot of shit too. even with all the goodness that fills up my bounty, it’s pretty rare that i actually get excited about something new. this is not to take away anything from anyone else, but it tis a rare feat to touch me in that special/secret spot. i should have saw this one comin, though. when my man ben nichols name checks you in lucero’s “tears dont matter much,” proclaiming that “cory branan’s got an evil streak/and a way with words that’ll bring you to your knees,” you are going to be judged differently. i’m an absolute sucker for whiskey and cigarette ravaged voices spinning tales of love, loss and drunkness, and cory seems like a man that may have a tale or two to spin. fans of lucero, john prine, dbt, westerberg, glossary, etc will definitely love this guy.

cory is playing in atlanta @ smiths olde bar on saturday, april 19th.

tall green grass

survivor blues

cory branan site / myspace

i havent been able to give the honey clouds my full attention as of yet, but i am definitely diggin their sound which is very reminiscent of early pavement, velvet underground, the fall, east river pipe, etc. i love the use of the jangly guitar, it always goes far with me. will definitely be reporting on these guys in the future.

color spills in

spinning from tops

honey clouds site / myspace

i know i am so slow, but i know there are a lot of you out there like myself. you hear about shit, people tell you to watch some youtube video, that its “hilarious” and you just never get around to it. such is the case with the dramatic gopher, which i just saw for the first time about 30 minutes ago. my brother hit it right on the head when he said this about the gopher, “he makes me smile.” so stupid its hilarious.

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The gods too are fond of a joke

Published
by
gregor
on March 11, 2008
in announcement, new stuff and shows
. 6 Comments

deadmeadow.jpg

for daniel lanois fans, daytrotter’s gonna have a live interview from sxsw with the man @ 11.30 am central time. he’s got a new record and movie coming out entitled here is what is. you can order a super special deluxe version or purchase and download it via his site.

where will i be

daniel lanois site

am i the only one not really understanding the appeal of vampire weekend? they are 07/08’s clap your hands and say yeah, or whatever they’re called. what am i missin?

you wanna go to sxsw but dont have tix, dont have cash, dont have a place to stay? if you answer no to at least one of em then your prayers may have been answered. the men of lucero and record store today are running a contest that the grand prize winner will get a two night stay in a hotel, 4 vip tix, $200 and a shitload of other stuff. visit this here page for more info.

caspian’s the four trees came out last year, but i just recently decided to check it out. if you were feeling a little underwhelmed by the last explosions in the sky record, then the four trees will treat you kindly. very cool stuff.

asa

caspian site / myspace

speaking of records i am totally diggin, dead meadow’s old growth is more than filling my insatiable hunger for soundtracks to long, hazy, drunken summer days. old growth is not as bombastic as their previous stuff, but is more apt to create an atmosphere rather than smashing one into pieces. heres a couple off old growth.

im gone

what needs must be

here they are playing in bristol, uk on 8.15.07. slip into some headphones and turn the shit up. its a soundboard, btw. thanks to the original taper!

1. greensky, greenlake

2. babbling flower

3. new song numero uno still working on the title

4. good moanin

5. such hawks such hounds

6. new track numero dos (see above)

7. at her open door

8. aint got nothing

9. what needs must be

10. everythings going on

11. heaven

12. sleepy silver door

what needs must be

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when chuck norris does a pushup, he isn’t lifting himself up, he’s pushing the earth down

Published
by
gregor
on January 20, 2008
in new stuff
. 7 Comments

dirty_truckers-01.jpg

the sky is falling, the sky is falling!!!! omfg!!!!!! thats what the news here in atlanta was like the past two days. panic breeds panic and they had me buying what they were selling. sure its kinda cold, and it snowed like an inch, but come on already.

btw, go packers!

btw part two, i dont know if i need sleep or something but i teared up watching apollo 13. luckily norris’ walker texas ranger is on to feed my need for more testosterone. on the flipside of crying, its been a long time since i laughed as hard as i did after reading these amazing chuck norris facts. i know they are old news, but its been a while since i read em.  

if all you really want is straight up, beer swiggin rock ala the mats, lucero, drive by truckers, etc. then you should totally dig massachusetts, the dirty truckers. call me simple or as i like to think of myself, a purist, but sometimes, actually more often than not, i dont need my music to be any more than just loud and gritty, productions value be damned. washed and ready, their first new one in six years, is kinda like a whisky and cigarette fueled love makin session, it aint pretty. which is why i am absolutely loving it. washed and ready is twangy, punky, hook laden and meant to be played loud.

off the hook

without a sound

the dirty truckers myspace

barton carroll sounds like a dude i can get behind, or well, at least musically speaking. he kinda reminds me of modern day nick lowe, which is cool. he’s toured and played with eric bachmann/crooked fingers, azure ray, dolorean, and micah p. hinson. his new record, the lost one, comes out on tuesday, 1.22.08.

pretty girls gonna ruin my life (again)

brooklyn girl, youre going to be my bride

barton carroll site / myspace / virb

what? edie brickell’s back? well, i’ll be damned. she’s playing with harper simon under the monikor the heavy circles. this song’s pretty cool. kinda gotta some kind of mid-easterny type of vibe to it. their new self titled record comes out on 2.12.08. i still cant believe she’s married to paul simon.

henri

the heavy circles site

lucero’s the coldwater session

Published
by
gregor
on January 3, 2007
in shows and tunes
. 11 Comments

so the family and i are back safe and sound back in the atlanta area. we ended up leaving a day later than expected mostly due to my laziness and dread of sitting in a car for 12 or so hours. all in all it was definitely a better trip than the last time we visited chicago during christmas time. although, within about 12 hours of our arrival i started feeling like shit, which pretty much lasted the whole week. nothing a boat load of booze couldnt remedy.

what i gots here is a collection of lucero songs which is entitled the coldwater sessions which i know nothing about. so, if anyone has any insight on the lineage of this collection please dont hesistate to fill me in.

this can now be found here.

1. heart so true

2. all the same to me

3. dangerous thing

4. dodging bullets

5. drink til we’re gone

6. no title

7. it gets worst at night

8. all sewn up

9. raising hell

10. banks of arkansas

11. it doesnt get any better than this

12. all of these love songs

13. hold fast

14. aint no roses no more

15. instrumental

16. blue and grey

did anyone happen to see any good shows in new years eve i watched the tragically hip performance at chicago’s house of blues, that was the excitement of my new years eve. looked like a great show.  i really, really wanted to see the hold steady but alas it was not meant to be.