Florida Posts
From Athens, Georgia To Jerry Wexler
From Athens, Georgia To Jerry Wexler: A Feast of Friends… 8/16/08
Southern Music's Best Friend, Jerry Wexler Has Died at 91
Jerry Wexler was rock and roll. He was also rhythm and blues. Oh, and Southern rock. Oh, yeah, Wex was a huge fan read more...
Fun Music Videos: Winters Brothers, Danny Joe Brown, Charlie Daniels Band and Drive By Truckers with Kelly Hogan
Just for fun, I thought I'd post some very cool YouTube videos. I hope y'all dig 'em. Keep it Real. Keep it Southern. read more...
A Humorous Comparison of College Football Between the South and the North
As our beloved college football season nears, we at Tribal Fever thought everyone should read this comparison between college read more...
Barbeque is Not a Verb: A Musical Tribute To Southern BBQ
There's nothing us Southerners like more than barbeque. Football comes close, as does read more...
Ten More Defining Moments in Southern Rock History
Did any of you see Gregg Allman in the movie Rush? He played a drug dealing king pin, and a pretty spooky character. read more...
Still More of The Defining Moments in Southern Rock History
Hi guys. My apologies for the two days of down time. We experienced a problem with our DSL internet service that virtually crippled read more...
Jimmie Van Zant Delivers His Best Album Yet
Somebody say Hell Yeah! I have just finished reviewing a straight up redneck rock and roll masterpiece. A Southern Rock read more...
An Ongoing Journey To the Heart of Southern Culture
A Sunday Service On Southern Culture 7/20/08
"Free Bird" Factoids
There’s a reason why “Free Bird” was named as
Is 8 Wins The SEC's New Over/Under For Coaching Success?
An interesting debate was sparked last week when the University of Tennessee announced it had
Jimmy Farrar Hospitalized Following Stroke
I just learned this morning that our friend Jimmy Farrar is in the hospital, following stroke last week. I spoke with Jimmy read more...
Southern Rock's Most Defining Moments
You've all heard of "going the extra mile" for your art, right? Well, fellow babies, The Buffalo has been doing that for a read more...
Rays of Baseball Hope
We’ve reached the midpoint of the baseball season, and there seems to be a high level of optimism for the teams in our read more...
GRITZ Radio Hour Premieres Online
Hey guys. As an experiment of sorts, we are presenting a pilot episode of The GRITZ Radio Hour, a two hour program of music hosted by read more...
NBA Draft Post-Mortem
It was an interesting NBA Draft night with Miami and Memphis from our region making big headlines. Before I take a look at some of read more...
The Cities That Gave Us Southern Rock
I find it interesting just how many of our greatest Southern Rockers come from the same cities. Especially our number one city for read more...
New Documentary Project Will Present the Definitive History of Country Music
I just got the word that Shout! Factory Records and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum are planning to produce a multi-part read more...
Will Jags' Fans Respond?
An interesting question was asked last week in the local Jacksonville paper regarding the Jaguars and their fans:
Video Blog: Jakson Spires and Blackfoot
I was speaking with Sherry Spires yesterday, the wife of the late
Owsley "Bear" Stanley's Sonic Journal: Gram Parsons Liner Notes
Owsley "Bear" Stanley's New 'Sonic Journal' Notes on Gram Parsons Recordings 6/13/08 "This old town's read more...
Watch and Listen: Ten Great DVD's for Southern Rockers
Man oh man do I love movies. I guess movies are my second favorite entertainment besides music. Well, truth be told, books rank right read more...
It's All About The Song: The Greatest Songwriters of The Southern Rock Era
I am probably going to get some other opinions on this one. We're happy to present our list of
With Leadership In Flux, the BCS Proves Its Worth to the Big East
Tribal Fever will never stop its defense of the greatest sport in our Footprint - college football. How a sport that has record read more...
Wash Boards and Chicken Coups: The Ten Best Instrumentalists of Southern Rock
Let me begin by wishing everybody a GREAT weekend. Only one week until the big annual Winters Brothers Band Summer Jam. See you read more...
John Galvin of Molly Hatchet Turns in a GRITZ Guest Blog
John Galvin of Molly Hatchet is one of my favorite read more...
Duke Over Notre Dame: College Sports Are Still The King Down South
Since the SEC just wrapped up its meetings down in Destin, Tribal Fever thought it would be a good time to check in. College read more...
Random Notes: Bo Diddley, MTV Awards, Boxmasters, Winters Jam
Well, summer has made it to South Carolina, and it's hotter than Angelina Jolie in a sweat lodge. But I ain't complainin’ none. read more...
Free Gator Country Live CDs
No, you're not dreaming. We do indeed have a fist full of the hot new live and kickin' CD from
Henry Paul's Marshall Tucker Band Memories: GRITZ Guest Blog
We are very pleased to bring you the latest in our continuing series of Guest Blogs, this one written by The Outlaws own Henry Paul. read more...
A Trip to The Keys: Southern Rock's Greatest Keyboard Players
And the lists just keep on coming... This time we run down the
Four Strings and An Attitude: Southern Rock's Best Bass Players
How about another Southern Rock List? This read more...
New Tommy Talton Album is a Real Treat
I am very excited about the new Tommy Talton read more...
Skynyrd's Billy Powell Has Emergency Surgery
I just got word that our friend Billy Powell of
New Gator Country Album Recalls Hatchet's Glory Days
I have just had my head blown completely off. No foolin.' I am looking up at my headless body from the floor, where my head read more...
The Top 25 Songs of The Southern Rock Era
And the lists just keep on a comin.' Our latest addition to our
Conference USA Must Step Up to Avoid Potential College Football Upheaval
Last year, Tribal Fever presented a modest proposal about read more...
South Dominates College Baseball
by Patrick Snow There is one more week of college baseball before the conference tournaments, and the teams in our Swampland read more...
Farewell to Art Icon Robert Rauschenberg
Texas born painter, photographer, printmaker, sculptor, choreographer, onstage performer, set designer and, in later years, even a read more...
New GRITZ List: Top Vocalists of the Southern Rock Era
"Way down in Alabama/Shoutin' Bamalama..." What a rocking song. What a great singer. I never get read more...
Hank "Sugarfoot" Garland Movie Looks Great
Growing up in Spartanbrg, SC, I was always running into people who were under the misconception that guitar legend Hank Garland was read more...
New Features, Capricorn Records, Southern Rock Lists
We are happy to add a couple of new ongoing features here at GRITZ. The first is our
Tom Waits Glitter And Doom Tour Dates (Mostly Southern)
Tom Waits Glitter And Doom Tour Dates Mostly Southern 5/6/08
SEC Football Update, Memphis Style!
Ron Higgins was on fire over the weekend. He's one of the best writers about SEC football newspaper writers outside of Tony read more...
The Legends of Southern Rock, a Guide
Greetings from Carolina. We are happy to present our new
Why Swampland Sports Loves the BCS
Despite winning back to back national titles in football, the SEC susre seems to hate the BCS. Lately, this hatred has been read more...
Post - NFL Draft Newspaper Wrap Up
We found this article from a week or so back that is about NFL Network being
More Vintage GRITZ Articles Unearthed; Jimmie Van Zant, Jerry Carrigan, Jimmy Johnson Family
Today I'd like to bring back three more classic features from our GRITZ archives, for your enjoyment and information. The read more...
Mudcrutch & Gram Parsons' Florida Roots
Mudcrutch & Gram Parsons’ Florida Roots 4/27/08
SPF's NFL Draft First Round Log (Live All Day!!)
read more...
The Return of Mudcrutch
Tom Petty Resurrects His Old Florida Band Mudcrutch 4/24/05
Snowflakes: Jake Long Goes #1 (and Other 2008 NFL Draft Thoughts)
The NFL Draft is this Saturday, and some of our Southern teams appear to hold the key to the most important non-gameday of the year. read more...
Why I Love Bonnie Bramlett
I remember reading about Delaney and
Vintage GRITZ Articles Unearthed; Hatchet, Skynyrd, Tucker, Ricky Skaggs and More
It's time once again to add a few more Vintage Gritz articles to the archives, and I hope you'll check 'em out for a "blast from read more...
Snowflakes: What Are SEC Football Critics Going To Do Now?
With spring football in full gear, it’s never too early to look ahead to the upcoming season. We at Swampland have focused many read more...
Next Skynyrd Album Will Have Nashville Influence
Gary Rossington says that
Skynyrd Will Cruise Again in 2009 with Frynds
I just got word that Lynyd Skynyrd will again host their southern rock cruise called the
Jimmy Farrar: "This Ain't Molly Hatchet !"
I spoke with our buddy Jimmy Farrar today about his band Gator read more...
Allmans Postpone Beacon Run as Gregg Allman Heals
The Allman Brothers Band have announced that they read more...
Mudcrutch: Tom Petty's Florida Roots
The surprise announcement of Mudcrutch's reunion is welcome news to the Swampland Footprint. Mudcrutch is an essential chapter read more...
Snowflakes: Why SEC Hoops is No Longer Just Kentucky
With Mississippi and Florida both dropping first round games in the conference tournament, the SEC contingent for the Big Dance seems read more...
Season Summary: Miami Dolphins
Quick Summary: The Dolphins are one of the NFL's proudest franchises, but the 2007 season became its read more...
Snowflakes: SEC Hoops
* I’ve written all season about the banner year for basketball in the state of Tennessee. The two best teams in the league read more...
38 Years Ago Tonight: The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band played at Mercer read more...
GRITZ Talks to Grits Grisham of The Ghost Riders
Another Call To Harry Crews & Beyond
...An Ongoing Pursuit & Recording of the Mystery And Manners Saga...Widespread Panic...Jim Dickinson...Harry Crews and read more...
Let The Sunshine In
I was listening to NPR on Saturday morning when I heard the bluesy sound of an acoustic guitar and a voice that reminded me of read more...
Blackfoot is Our Latest "Legends of Southern Rock" Entry
"Highway Song" and "Train, Train," "Gimmie, Gimmie, Gimmie" and "Wishing Well"- all of these read more...
Snowflakes: Big East Hoops
Louisville got a monster win last Saturday night when they knocked off first place Georgetown. The Cardinals are playing much better read more...
Video: Jimmy Johnson and Alan Walden from Lynyrd Skynyrd Documentary
I have been aware of the Lynyrd Skynyrd read more...
Weekend Notes and Tom Dowd On Ronnie Van Zant
I really hope everyone is enjoying the new look of GRITZ, as well as our “Mothership” Swampland.com. The powers that be read more...
Picture of the Day: Allen Collins with Rossington Collins Band
The late great Allen Collins. This photo from Kent Griffith shows Collins during the first ever concert by Rossington Collins read more...
Snowflakes: SEC Hoops
* The Kentucky Wildcats finally look to be playing the kind of winning ball that Big Blue fans expect. It took a while to adjust to read more...
Snowflakes: Big East/C-USA Hoops
* With the league’s RPI being 11th in the nation, it’s a distinct possibility that Conference USA could be a one-bid read more...
Snowflakes: ACC Hoops
* The best rivalry in college hoops takes place Wednesday night when #2 ranked Duke invades Chapel Hill to battle #3 North Carolina. read more...
Petty & Eli: Underdogs Triumphant!
I sat back Sunday ready to enjoy a Super Bowl without a "horse in the race," so to speak. All of our SPF teams had read more...
Adventures In The (Pig) Skin Trade On Super Bowl Sunday
Roving Notes On Super Bowl Sunday 2/3/08
Florida's Latest Southern Rock Super Group
It's been a while since I was this excited over an indie release. Winter Park, Florida's Galloway & Kelliher have released one read more...
Snowflakes: SEC Hoops
by Patrick Snow * Someone forgot to tell 2-time National Champion Florida that they were supposed to struggle this read more...
Snowflakes: C-USA/Big East Hoops
by Patrick Snow * Could this week finally bring the contest where #1 Memphis actually loses a conference game? The read more...
Snowflakes: ACC Hoops
by Patrick Snow * As Duke put the finishing touches on their 93-84 victory at Maryland Sunday night, it became increasingly read more...
Picture of the Day: Gary & Dale On Simple Man Cruise
Gary Rossington and his wife Dale Krantz Rossington take a break during January's Simple Man Cruise that brought fans up close and read more...
Allen Collins Band Singer Jimmy Dougherty Has Died
Skynyrd and Hank Return with Rowdy Frynds Tour 2008
(Nashville, TN)- Fans will have the opportunity to enjoy some of the best music imaginable when Rock & Roll Hall of Fame members, read more...
Picture of the Day: Rossington Jam
Today's photo was taken in 1987 during the Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Tour. The Rossington Band was opening. On this night, Steve read more...
The Outlaws are Our Latest Legends
We are happy to poresent the latest in our Legends of Southern Rock series, The Outlaws. The Outlaws are one of the South's all time read more...
My Favorite Southern Rock Song?
I was talking to one of my pals down Florida way the other day when the conversation shifted to great Southern Rock songs.We started read more...
Dickey Betts Will Tour With Kid Rock in February
According to his website, Dickey Betts will be joining Kid Rock on tour this read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week 19, Part 4): Down By The River
12. Cincinnati Bengals and 13. St. Louis Rams - Our final Poll spots are held by two teams that have a connection read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week 19, Part 3): Teams at the Crossroads (aka the NFC South)
We've now gone through the first 7 teams in the T.I. Poll. So far, the entire AFC South has been covered as well as the read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week 19, Part 2): Teams "On the Verge"
This is SPF's group of teams that are "On The Verge" of reaching elite status. They all have challenges, but they are read more...
SPF's Divisional Playoffs Pre-Pregame Show (or T.I. Poll Week 19)
There are three SPF teams left in the Super Bowl hunt, but the news doesn't stop with them. Of the 4 current coaching read more...
Cowboy in The Studio : A Photo Feature
Scott Boyer and Tommy Talton are back in Duck Tape Studio in Decatur, Alabama this weekend for "phase 2" in read more...
SPF's Take: Yes, Cam Cameron deserved to be fired!
The year of suffering for Dolfans is finally over. Both Randy Mueller and Cam Cameron are out courtesy of Bill read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Wild Card Weekend Edition)
We're mixing it up again going into the playoffs. In an up and down year, six of the 13 SPF teams made the playoffs. Two, read more...
Criteria Studios: 50 Years Later
Legendary Miami Studio 50 Years Later 12/30/07
SPF's Week Seventeen Pre-Pregame Show
Playoffs and draft slots. It's all on the line in a strange season-ending weekend in the Footprint.
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Seventeen)
It's the last week of the NFL season. There isn't much left to be decided. Two SPF teams (Washington and Tennessee) can read more...
GRITZ Best Albums of The Year
Lots of great music rocked my world in 2007. Here are my choices for the 15 best of the best. Feel free to log on and comment. Let me read more...
Outlaws to Tour in 2008; Picture of the Day, Classic Outlaws
The Outlaws, who had just finished recording a new album when founding member Hughie Thomasson passed away, have announced that they read more...
SPF's Take: Parcells to Miami
SPF has been listing franchises all season that needed one of the Bills, Parcells or Cowher. Miami was top on that read more...
SPF's Week Sixteen Pre-Pregame Show
SATURDAY NIGHT Dallas (12-2, 6-0 away) Carolina (6-8, 2-5 read more...
Picture of the Day: Grinderswitch
A classic photo of Capricorn Records recording artists, Grinderswitch, Dedicated to the memories of Dru Lombar, Joe Dan Petty and read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Sixteen)
SPF laid down the gauntlet before last weekend's games. Many teams answered the bell. With two games left in the regular read more...
SPF's Week Fifteen Pre-Pregame Show
It has been a largely disappointing season for SPF, but these final weeks can redeem or further decimate a team's momentum for read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Fifteen)
SPF will say it - this has been a very tough year for pro football in the Swampland Footprint. Of our 13 teams, more than half read more...
Brothers of the Southland Advance CD Download Available Now
The Brothers of the Southland with Bo Bice CD is now available for a limited time as an advance download of the CD. The read more...
SPF's Week Fourteen Pre-Pregame Show
SPF has been beating a few drums this year, but one is about letting players play. Coaches coach systems. read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Fourteen)
SPF has looked at the coach/QB relationship. Now, it's time to look at the owner/coach relationship. When this read more...
Picture of the Day: Jammin' with Charlie Daniels at Angelus
The jam following the banquet at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel last Friday night during the annual Angelus Benefit found our own read more...
Picture of the Day: Guy and Towson at Charliepalooza!
Picture of the day. Cartoonist Guy Gilchrist ("Nancy," "The Muppetts") and drummer Towson Engsberg (Tommy Crain read more...
...Into The Deep...
Mystery & Manners Dispatch 12/05/07
Artimus Pyle Arrested a Second Time On Same Charges
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Former Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Artimus Pyle has read more...
The Angelus Benefit: Day Three, The Big Concert
SATURDAY Well today was the last big hurrah for this year’s Angelus event, the all day outdoor read more...
SPF's Week Thirteen Pre-Pregame Show
While Tribal Fever nation witnessed their conference championships this weekend, SPF has found a few of their own. There are read more...
Angelus Day Two: The Music Continued Into The Night
FRIDAY We started off the day downstairs on the banquet room for breakfast, hanging out with friends read more...
TF Conference Championship Preview
Today is the day we find out whether it will be an all-Swampland matchup in the BCS Championship Game. If all goes according to read more...
Charlie Daniels Rocks The Angelus: Day One
It was a beautiful day for a drive to Florida, and my old buddy Scott Greene and I set sail for the annual Angelus weekend down in read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Thirteen)
Coaching changes. They happen every year even though it seems as though jobs are more than safe. Changes are usually made read more...
Another Side of Tommy Talton
Tommy Talton is no doubt best known for his work read more...
SPF's Week Twelve Pre-Pregame Show
Leadership. Is it there? The leader(s) of each SPF team define that team to their fans. Already, Thanksgiving read more...
Ex-Lynyrd Skynyrd Drummer Artimus Pyle Jailed
Artimus Pyle, a former drummer for Lynyrd Skynyrd, has been jailed in Florida on charges that he failed to properly register read more...
TF Rivalry Week Preview
Rivalry games define college football. More than bowl games or even conference championships, a win against your rival means read more...
The Cowboy Diaries: Part One
by Michael Buffalo Smith GRITZ went into the studio with Cowboy for the recording of their all new album, their first in 36 read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Twelve)
SPF often talks a team's style when it comes to identity. Style, though, is kind of a catch all. Dig a little deeper and read more...
SPF's Week Eleven Pre-Pregame Show
This week, more than any other this NFL season, the fan will find out who their teams are. Are teams going to the read more...
In The Studio for the Cowboy Reunion Album
Well, here I am in Decatur, Alabama, a stone's throw away from Muscle Shoals. I only have a minute to report that recording on the read more...
TF Saturday Preview: The Year of Transition Nears An End
The wild year continues. In many ways this was just a sign of the transition college football around the Footprint has read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Eleven)
Week Ten was a very weird football weekend. Many of the SPF teams lost games. Few had important wins. It just seems read more...
Cowboy Take Me Away: The Scott Boyer Interview
GRITZ is happy to present an exclusive interview with one of the South's finest musicians and human beings, Scott Boyer. From his read more...
Picture of the Day: Jimmie Van Zant at CMA Awards
Jimmie Van Zant and his wfe Zohra at CMAs talking about his new read more...
SPF's Week Ten Pre-Pregame Show
SPF will stick by this point - no team set the NFL back more than the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens. This read more...
TF Saturday Preview: Everything's Still To Be Decided
Patrick Snow has it right. This year's
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Ten)
Everyone knows that football is the dominant sport in the Footprint, but it has always been college dominating the pro variety. read more...
SPF's Week Nine Pre-Pregame Show
It's it the "Clash of the Titans!" The Colts-Pats game deserves the hype that it is getting. Both teams read more...
Tiger Rag
In the spring a young man’s fancy may turn to baseball, but in the fall in the South everyone’s fancy turns to read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Eight)
Things continue to settle out in the SPF Footprint. This week's big question is whether the South's best is the NFL's read more...
SPF's Week Eight Pre-Pregame Show
Much like yesterday's college slate, this week's SPF schedule features teams looking towards the season's end and where they want to read more...
TF Saturday Preview: Pole, er.. Bowl Position
If you aren't a Florida or Georgia fan, this weekend might be a good one to spend with the kids. This is a pretty thin weekend read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Seven)
SPF's season previews are looking pretty good so far. The teams we singled out like the Jags, the Texans, and the Dolphins have read more...
Birthday Cheers To Tom Petty
Mystery & Manners Cheers To Tom Petty 10/20/07
SPF's Week Seven Pre-Pregame Show
Getting on the same page. Coaches and players that have the same sense of urgency signify teams that are winning. The NFL read more...
TF's Saturday Preview: Act Like You've Been There Before!
It's the old saying when a player celebrates a little too much - act like you've been there before. This rules seems to also read more...
It Was 30 Years Ago Today: Last Flight of The Free Bird
I only saw Lynyrd Skynyrd, the original Lynyrd read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Six)
Here we are again for SPF's weekly Team Identity Poll. Things have shaken up a bit. We are much closer to how we saw read more...
Online Radio Station Tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd October 20th
SPF's Week Six Pre-Pregame Show
It's week 6 for the SPF teams. Four teams are basically done, but the rest have critical games that will go a long way to read more...
TF's Saturday Preview: The History Behind SEC Dominance
Tribal Fever would like to start this weekend's festivities by directing everyone to a fantastic series on
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Five)
The rich seem to be getting richer (and the poor, poorer) in the SPF Footprint. There is happiness at the top, confusion in the read more...
SPF's Week Five Pre-Pregame Show
It's week five in the NFL season. Overall, the SPF Footprint is shaping up to be a year of the haves and have-nots. The read more...
Skynyrd Tribute Weekend October 19-20
A "Skynyrd Tribute Weekend" will be held Oct. 19 and 20 at Sharky's Place in the Quality Inn & read more...
Tribal Fever's Weekend Slate (10/6/2007)
Let's start with this week's College Football Preview from Athlon. Swampland's own Patrick Snow hosts each read more...
Check Out a Dickey Betts, Bonnie Bramlett, Charlie Daniels Jam from 1970's
Well, I've said it before and I'll say it again - YouTube rocks. Whoever came up with that idea is a genius, and I feel very lucky to read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Four)
Just like in the college ranks, it was a bit of a crazy week in the SPF Footprint. Right now, there are more bad teams than read more...
The Paintings of Woodie Long
The Paintings of Woodie Long 10/2/07
Picture of the Day: An Allman Brothers Band Flashback
This GRITZ file photo was taken during the time when Jack Pearson was playing in The
Otis Redding Film Premier October 8
Dreams To Remember Premier October 8 10/1/07
Upset Saturday, or not?
Patrick Snow mentioned in his last column read more...
SPF's Week Four Pre-Pregame Show
Welcome SPF fans! Here's today's slate. (SPF teams in BOLD) Early read more...
People Take Warning! Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs 1913-1938
Tompkins Square Releases Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs This Week 9/29/07
Swampland welcomes Tribal Fever!
It was only a matter of time before Swampland Sports starting covering the colleges in earnest. Today marks the start of Tribal read more...
SPF T. I. Poll (Week Three)
Back to our weekly gauge of how each SPF team is resonating with its fans. First, let's take a look back at last week's Team read more...
SPF 's Week Three Pre-Pregame Show
Here we are again. Let Week Three begin! SPF Teams in BOLD Early read more...
Hughie Thomasson, Green Grass and High Tides Forever
Well, it took me a little longer than expected to gather the quotes from a few of Hughie's friends for our Hughie Thomasson
SPF Friday Fishwrap-up: the Cowboy/Redskin paradigm
We've just posted a new analysis of the Wayne issue in read more...
CD and DVD releases for week of September 18, 2007
New Releases Doyle Bramhall
The Shadow And the Truth
9/19/07 ...THE SHADOW AND THE TRUTH...
SPF T. I. Poll (Week Two)
Time for our Week Two "Team Identity" Poll. Things keep getting interesting, and that's how we like read more...
SPF's Week Two Monday: Playmakers making plays
THE "BEATING THE DEAD HORSE" THEME Our theme for this week is similar to last read more...
SPF 's Week Two Pre-Pregame Show
Each week, it will be SPF's pleasure to bring you the best pregame show on the Net. We provide our audience with clips from read more...
SPF Friday Fishwrap-up: LeBatard vs. Galloway
Another great southern tradition is writing. We have a whole section called Discourse that is dedicated to this read more...
Hughie Thomasson Memorial Coming Monday, Watch a Video Now
Hi Gang. We are all still trying to cope with loss of yet another friend and Southern rock icon,
Steve Gaines' Birthday Today: The Late Ace Mooreland Talks About Steve (Video)
Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Steve Gaines has been read more...
SPF's T. I. Poll (Week One)
Team Identity. This is our constant gauge for the success or failure of NFL teams in the South. College football reigns read more...
SPF's Week One Monday: Channeling SEC over Big Ten
12 of our 13 SPF teams have played. Only the Bengals remain with a tough Monday Night battle against the read more...
Runnin' Down A Dream: Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Perform at the New York Film Festival
9/10/07 ...Runnin' Down A Dream: A new Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Film Showing at New York Film read more...
Picture of the Day: Hughie Thomasson and Henry Paul Getting Their GRITZ
Here's a shot of Hughie and Henry just after the Outlaws reunion, holding up their print copies of GRITZ Magazine. The photo was read more...
Hughie Thomasson Has Died
Hughie Thomasson, founding member of The Outlaws, read more...
SPF Week One Game Log
Thursday's game didn't do nearly what yesterday's college slate did to pump us up here at SPF. Our own James Calemine is
Sunday's slate & Long term troubles for the Jags in Jax
Phew! The 2007 previews are finally read more...
Swampland Sports Six-Pack for the week ending 9/2/07
Your weekly filter for the top sports stories around the South 1. Our biggest story of the week was the read more...
Picture of the Day: Dickey Betts
Southern Rock legend Dickey Betts is seen here circa 1995 onstage with The Allman Brothers Band. Be sure to check out our
Picture of the Day: Blackfoot Strikes Again
This is a photo sent in by a GRITZ reader that features Greg T. Walker, Charlie Hargrett and Bobby Barth of Blackfoot rocking the read more...
Swampland Sports Six-Pack for the week ending 8/26/07
Your weekly filter for the top sports stories around the South 1. What an interesting day for the Atlanta read more...
New "Legends" Feature: The Allman Brothers Band
Dear Y'all, Swampland and Gritz are proud to present the latest in our series of Legends of Southern Rock. The one, the only read more...
Welcome Back!
Greetings to all you football fans around the Swampland footprint! Southern Pro Football is back to cover another NFL read more...
Swampland Sports Six-Pack for the week ending 8/12/07
Your weekly filter for the top sports stories around the South 1. Well the inevitable happened last week when read more...
Allman Brothers to Play Farm Aid 2007
It looks as though Willie Nelson is planning to bring some serious Southern music along for Farm Aid's first ever New York event. read more...
Swampland Sports Six-Pack for the week ending 7/30/07
Your weekly filter for the top sports stories around the South 1. One of the biggest connection points for read more...
...A Call To Harry Crews...
7/27/07
CD and DVD releases for week of July 24, 2007
New Releases Billy Bob Thornton
Swampland Sports Six-Pack for the week ending 7/15/07
Your weekly filter for the top sports stories around the South 1. The college sports “arms race" read more...
Tommy Talton is a True Southern Treasure
One of my all time favorite songs during the seventies was "Please Be With Me" by Cowboy, a song I first heard on the read more...
In The Studio: New Southern Rock & Country Releases On The Way
TOMMY TALTON says that he and SCOTT BOYER have been writing new material for a read more...
IBMA Coming in October
The International Bluegrass Music Association's (IBMA) annual World of Bluegrass takes place in Nashville, Tennessee October 1-7 at read more...
New Van Zant CD September 18th
On the heals of their gold CD Get Right With the Man and a Top 10 single, brothers Johnny and Donnie Van Zant are poised to read more...
Swampland Sports Six-Pack for the week ending 7/8/07
1. Ed Hinton read more...
Swampland Sports Six-Pack for the week ending 7/1/07
1. The NBA Draft was this week’s big sports story. The Draft is all about hope for the future. Despite recent expansion in the read more...
Swampland Sports Six-Pack for the week ending 6/24/07
Swampland’s Sports Six-Pack for the week ending 6/24/07 Your weekly filter for the top sports stories around the read more...
CD and DVD releases for week of June 26, 2007
CDs New Releases Charlie Daniels
Fire On The Mountain
6/25/07
Buffalo Returns, Brings Along Some Ol' Honk
In case anyone is wondering, the ol' Buffalo has been down for the count for a while lately, which explains my lack of blogging. read more...
A Benefit for Boyer: Southern Rockers Will Jam to Help Pay Medical Bills
Muscle Shoals musician Scott Boyer has always been one of the first to pitch in when one of his fellow players needed a hand.
We Pay Tribute To The Bad Boys of Southern Rock, Molly Hatchet
There's a gator in the bushes, he's callin' my name! Yep! This week Swampland.com is proud to tip the hat to some of the read more...
All Star Tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd Out This Week
Stars of country, classic rock and southern rock show their respect for one of the greatest bands ever on a new tribute to read more...
Amoeba To Release Vintage Gram Parsons Performance(s)
3/20/07 On March 15, through invitation only, a listening party was conducted at South By Southwest to debut the Flying read more...
Get Front Row Seats For Skynyrd and Hank, Jr.
STUBHUB FORGES NEW PARTNERSHIP TO PROVIDE FANS EXCLUSIVE FRONT ROW ACCESS TO LYNYRD SKYNYRD, HANK WILLIAMS JR. SPRING TOUR
Lynyrd Skynyrd, Marshall Tucker, Sister Hazel Set To Cruise in January 2008
Three Southern groups, Lynyrd read more...
Alan Jackson, George Strait, Jimmy Buffett Together Live
NASHVILLE -Alan Jackson, George Strait and Jimmy Buffett performed together for the first-time ever May 29, 2004, at Texas Stadium in read more...
...5th Annual Music Maker Relief Foundation Fishing Tournament Approaching...
1/14/07 Music Maker Relief Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting musicians rooted in southern read more...
Allman Brothers Announce 2007 Beacon Run
The Allman Brothers Band have announced their traditional New York City run at Beacon Theatre, announcing 13 read more...
News from a different swampland
The "swamp" in Gainesville, that is. UF takes OSU in what read more...
Dr. John's Ongoing Voodoo...Tom Petty's Big Highway Companion Weekend on Radio...
12/14/06 The Tom Petty Highway Companion Big Weekend takes place on December 15-17 at 10AET on XM 200. The station read more...
Florida Reviews
Rocking the Boat: A Musical Conversation & Journey
(JC Communications) Delbert McClinton hosted his first ever Blues Cruise in 1995. Thirteen years later, the event is read more...
My Name is Jimmie
Jimmie Van Zant may have taken a while to get the attention he deserves, but with the release of My Name is Jimmie, read more...
Someone Else's Shoes - In Europe
(Hittin' The Note) I had this dream the other night, and I was walking in the park. It was a beautiful summer afternoon, and read more...
Gator Country Live
Let me just start by stating a cold hard fact. These old Molly Hatchet tunes have never sounded better. With four former read more...
Mudcrutch
Mudcrutch
Me and Pepper
Me and Pepper Mel Tillis Collectors' Choice By James Calemine Born in Tampa, Florida, during the Great read more...
The Bourbon Dynasty
The Bourbon Dynasty The Bourbon Dynasty Night World Records It's good to have Charles Walston back making read more...
The Very Best of Outlaw Country
(Legacy) The thing that sets this compilation apart from the plethora of others that are always being flooded into the read more...
Fortune Teller 2.0
(Mira Vista) www.beyond.fm Florida’s Ghost read more...
Runnin' Down A Dream
Runnin’ Down A Dream Peter Bogdanovich Warner Brothers By James Calemine Born read more...
Street Survivors - Deluxe Edition
Street Survivors - Deluxe Edition 30th Anniversary (Geffen/UMe) Mere days read more...
Brothers of the Southland
Brothers of The Southland is one of the best of the plethora of “all star” bands playing today, and their debut CD is a read more...
Gileah & the Ghost Train
GILEAH & THE GHOST TRAIN Gileah & the Ghost Train The Love Library TLL-100 Gileah is a read more...
Cocaine Angel
Cocaine Angel Damian Lahey Cinema Libre Studio By James Calemine This independent film was shot read more...
Outlaws & Renegades
In my line of work I get to hear some pretty awesome Southern rock and country music. Sometimes I get blown away by the artist and read more...
Darius Goes West
“Something’s gonna happen like…Just spark the whole world,” exclaims Darius, the star of the read more...
Conversations With Tom Petty
Conversations With Tom Petty Paul Zollo Omnibus Press By James Calemine Tom read more...
My Kind of Country
(Sony) I had someone remark the other day that I had not yet reviewed
Archives Volume One
(Amoeba) This double CD documents two live performances by The Flying Burrito Brothers featuring Gram Parsons at read more...
Premonition
(1968/Dream Spirits Music) jimmydormire.com Jimmy read more...
Live At the Avalon Ballroom 1969
Live At The Avalon Ballroom 1969 Gram Parsons with The Flying Burrito Brothers Amoeba Records By James read more...
Song of America
Song of America Various Artists 31 Tigers Records By James Calemine This 50-song, 3 CD read more...
Feast of Snakes
Feast of Snakes Harry Crews Macmillan Publishing By James Calemine November in Mystic, Georgia, read more...
Living Dangerously
(King Mojo) TGZ stands for Toler, Gary and Zinner, namely “Dangerous” Dan Toler, formerly of The Allman read more...
On My Way to You
Florida export Daniel Lee Martin is different. He fits into the mold of the Nashville country formula, but at the same time, read more...
Driving With The Devil
Cigar City Mafia
Atlanta Twelve String
Atlanta Twelve String Blind Willie McTell Atlantic Records By James Calemine Perhaps the most gifted of read more...
An All-Star Tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd
(New West) No other band has been milked for all it’s worth more than Lynyrd Skynyrd. I’m not being cruel, just read more...
Dear Y'all - The Songwriter Sessions Vol. 1
Dear Y'all: The Songwriting Sessions Vol 1 Eddie Hinton Zane Records By James Calemine
Carolina Mountain Time
(www.markemerick.com) Mark Emerick has filled the lead guitar spot read more...
Molly Hatchet, Junefest 2001
Molly Hatchet Junefest June 2, 2001 Silverbowl Las Vegas, Nevada The all read more...
Portraits and Songs From the Roots of America
Enclosed within the new Music Maker book titled Portraits and Songs From the Roots of America rests a CD featuring 22 read more...
Blackfoot / Wet Willie / Southern Rock Allstars
Blackfoot Wet Willie Southern Rock Allstars Iron Angels Bike Rally Angel City, Georgia
The Allman Brothers Band, Niagara Falls, CAN 6/23,
Allman Brothers Band June 23 & 24 , 2006 Niagara Falls Canada June 23 , 2006 Well read more...
Lynyrd Skynyrd / Shooter Jennings, Pittsburgh, PA
Shooter Jennings / 3 Doors Down Lynyrd Skynyrd July 14,2006 Post Gazette, Pittsburgh, Pa read more...
Southern Rock Allstars - Trouble's Comin' Live, Th
Southern Rock Allstars Trouble’s Comin’ Live- The DVD (Tazer) For the read more...
Gram Parsons - Fallen Angel
Gram Parsons Fallen Angel A Film By Gandulf Hennig (Rhino) Gram Parsons was one of a read more...
No Saints, No Saviors
No Saints, No Saviors My Years With The Allman Brothers Band by Willie Perkins
The Unsolved Murder of Lynyrd Skynyrd Bassist Leon
The Unsolved Murder of Lynyrd Skynyrd Bassist Leon Wilkeson by Dale Bowman (Jaguar Publishing)
Skydog: The Duane Allman Story
Skydog The Duane Allman Story by Randy Poe (Backbeat Books) I have been read more...
Jammin' For Danny Joe Brown
(GWP Records) One of the most emotional all-star jams in recent history took place at Orlando, Florida's Club read more...
Lyve: The Vicious Cycle Tour
(Sanctuary) Recorded live in Nashville at the Amsouth Amphitheater in July, 2003, Lyve is an excellent read more...
Live at The Beacon
( Sanctuary) The Allman Brothers Band’s annual spring pilgrimage to New York’s Beacon Theatre has read more...
Tom Dowd & The Language of Music
(Palm Pictures) thelanguageofmusic.com The read more...
Back Where It All Begins
Back Where It All Begins - Live At The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum
Official Bootleg
(www.saturdaynightspecialband) Talk about your “ultimate” Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band. Saturday read more...
Sweetheart of the Rodeo
The Byrds’ classic country record, 1968’s Sweetheart of the Rodeo, has been reissued with unreleased Gram read more...
Trouble's Comin' Live
Southern Rock Allstars Trouble’s Comin’ Live (southernrock.com) The read more...
Lyve - The Vicious Cycle Tour
Lynyrd Skynyrd Lyve - The Vicious Cycle Tour (Sanctuary) Lynyrd Skynyrd is riding the wave of a true read more...
Drive Train
38 Special Drive Train (Sanctuary) This ain’t your father’s 38 read more...
Ghost Train From Georgia
Grinderswitch Ghost Train From Georgia (New South) On their first all-new album in 30 read more...
Under The Influence
Under The Influence A Jam Band Tribute To Lynyrd Skynyrd (Sanctuary) First came read more...
Hard Luck Guy
Eddie Hinton, the Muscle Shoals singer/songwriter, did not live to complete the 1999 Capricorn release Hard Luck Guy. In read more...
Bougainvillea's Call
Dickey Betts Bougainvillea’s Call The Very Best of 1973-1988 (Raven)
It Is What It Is
Rebel Pride It Is What It Is (RP 032005) Every once in awhile, a band comes read more...
Highway Companion
Tom Petty Highway Companion (American) Tom Petty is back kids. One of the read more...
Kingdom of XII
Kingdom of XII Molly Hatchet (Sanctuary) 2000 Kingdom of read more...
Flirtin' With Disaster
Flirtin with Disaster Molly Hatchet (Epic) 1979 There’s no arguing the fact that read more...
Molly Hatchet
Molly Hatchet (Epic) 1978 Hatchet’s first album remains their finest to this day, read more...
The Hard Way
Florida ArticlesThe 100 Defining Moments in Southern Rock: Part Six (Final Installment)
17. Bonnie Bramlett’s Run On Roseanne (1991) Bonnie (Then called Bonnie Sheridan) shows up as a waitress in a diner and a friend of Roseanne in both the third and fourth season of the comedy series. She even sang on a couple of episodes.
What It Is--Is Swamp Music--Is What It Is
What It Is—Swamp Music—Is What It Is
GRITZ Presents: Buffalo Roaming
BUFFALO ROAMING Our own Michael Buffalo read more...
The 100 Defining Moments in Southern Rock: Part Five
by Michael Buffalo Smith And we continue.... 28. “Stompin’ Room Only” Released (2003) The “Holy Grail” for Marshall Tucker Band fans, these live recordings from the mid-1970’s have been sought after for years by
The 100 Defining Moments in Southern Rock: Part Four
by Michael Buffalo Smith 39. Jammin’ for Danny Joe Brown - (July 18, 1999) An all star concert headed up by Riff West to raise money for Molly Hatchet lead singer
The 100 Defining Moments in Southern Rock: Part Three
59. “Freebird” The Movie Premiers (1996) Drawn mostly from Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 1976 show at Knebworth Fair in England. the movie also included footage from a few smaller shows, along with rare photos, interviews and more. The movie was released on DVD in December read more...
The 100 Defining Moments in Southern Rock: Part Two
79. Cameron Crowe Puts The Allmans On the Cover of the Rolling Stone (December 6, 1973) Cameron Crowe went on the road with The Allman Brothers at the age of 15, and gave them their first ever
A Southern Strategy For The NBA
Now that we welcome another NBA team to our Footprint (three cheers for OKC), it's time for the NBA to start making some other changes that will help this league's popularity continue to grow in our read more...
The 100 Defining Moments in Southern Rock: Part One
by Michael Buffalo Smith 100. “Pony Boy” Hand bone (1973) Dickey Betts brought country music sensibility into The Allman Brothers Band, and on Brothers and read more...
NASCAR: Driving in Different Directions?
by Patrick Snow Some recent events in the world of NASCAR have made us here at Swampland ask the question: In what direction is this sport going? I’ve expressed frustration before about how NASCAR seems to want to forget its Southern roots as they try to put cookie-cutter tracks in large (TV markets) urban areas where racing is more of a novelty than a read more...
The Ten Greatest Southern Rock Cities
by Michael Buffalo Smith 1. Jacksonville, Florida The birthplace of Ronnie Van Zant and Lynyrd Skynyrd, 38 read more...
Ten Great DVD's For Southern Rockers
by Michael Buffalo Smith 1. Almost Famous (2000) The semi-autobiographical story of Rolling Stone writer turned movie producer Cameron Crowe features Phillip Seymour Hoffman as my read more...
The Greatest Songwriters of The Southern Rock Era
by Michael Buffalo Smith 1. Dickey Betts Dickey brought something to the Allman Brothers Band table that read more...
The Greatest Instrumentalists of The Southern Rock Era
INSTRUMENTALISTS (OTHER THAN GUITAR/KEYS/DRUM KIT) by Michael Buffalo Smith
Guest Blog by Molly Hatchet's John Galvin: The Taste of Southern Rock
THE TASTE OF SOUTHERN ROCK by John Galvin of Molly Hatchet I was first introduced to Southern rock via the
The SEC At A Crossroads: Don't Make NASCAR's Mistake
The SEC sets the pace in all of college athletics. The question is what will it do for an encore? Last week's meetings in Destin, FL ended up largely becoming a time to reflect on how prosperous (both in wins and revenues) the conference has read more...
Guest Blog: Henry Paul On Marshall Tucker
by Henry Paul My first recollection of The Marshall Tucker Band was hearing them on the radio and seeing their records in the store. This was probably around 1974. I loved their country music influences and read more...
The Greatest Keyboard Players of The Southern Rock Era
by Michael Buffalo Smith 1. Chuck Leavell Take one look at the Georgia boy’s resume. Besides being a former member of The read more...
The Greatest Bass Players of the Southern Rock Era
1. Tommy Caldwell - According to all of the members of The Marshall Tucker Band, Tommy Caldwell was their rock, the band leader, and one of the finest musicians in all of read more...
Great Southern Record Producers
"There are three kinds of record producers. The first kind is the documentarian -- someone like Leonard Chess, who goes into a bar on the South Side of Chicago, sees Muddy Waters with a six-piece combo, then pulls him into the studio the next day and says, "Play what you played last night." The second is the type who serves the artist; I would be read more...
The Greatest Drummers of The Southern Rock Era
by Michael Buffalo Smith 1. Jakson Spires of Blackfoot In my opinion, Jakson was the greatest drummer who ever read more...
Eddie Hinton Does Porretta--Again!
by Penne J. Laubenthal Eighteen years ago in April of 1991 an Italian named Graziano Uliani, founder of the Porretta Soul Festival, came to
Top 25 Songs of The Southern Rock Era
by Michael Buffalo Smith 1. Freebird - Lynyrd Skynyrd As if there was any doubt whatsoever. Not only Southern Rock’s number one, but one of the Top Two in classic rock. read more...
The Greatest Vocalists of The Southern Rock Era
by Michael Buffalo Smith 1.
The Top Ten Guitarists of the Southern Rock Era
The Greatest Guitar Slingers of The Southern Rock Era by Michael Buffalo Smith 1. Duane Allman
GRITZ Southern Rock Lists
SWAMPLAND'S SOUTHERN ROCK LISTS We love lists! This is your one-stop index page for all of our lists. read more...
Driving With The Devil
An excerpt from DRIVING WITH THE DEVIL: Southern Moonshiners, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR By Neal Thompson Crown read more...
Southern Sporting "Events"
by Patrick Snow As I attended a Kentucky Derby function this past Saturday, it was never more evident that Southerners must throw a pretty good party. We are probably more known nationally for our college football crowds and pageantry, but the spring read more...
Gritz Legends of Southern Rock
A handful of bands from the Southern Rock Era have earned the title of "Legend." These are the bands that defined the genre and set the bar for all other bands in their wake. These are the few, the originals, the Legends of Southern Rock.
The BCS: A Friend to the SEC (and the Rest of the Footprint)
We at Tribal Fever find it odd that it would be the SEC who would call for a playoff system. We wonder how the SEC can be so blind to the fact that the BCS has been great for that conference. For those that love the idea of a playoff, we will list the reasons why most every proposal for a college playoff is a horrible idea for college football at large and especially read more...
Snowman's 2008 Draft Wrap Up
The annual NFL Draft is now over, and the critics will have a field day with opinions on who did well and who faltered with their choices. I thought I would take a look at the Draft from the collegiate view and see who from our region will have the biggest impact on their new read more...
SPF's 2008 NFL Draft Awards
Although the NFL Draft still have rounds 3-7 to go, we at SPF think it is time to hand out some awards. Except in very rare cases, team's drafts are defined by their day one picks, and we learned a lot about how the SPF slate of teams are approaching the coming season - for better or worse. Let the cermony begin! THE "DAMN THE TORPEDOES read more...
Record Stores of the Swampland Footprint
ALABAMA CD Cellar Anniston AL Oz Music Tuscaloosa AL ARKANSAS Sound Warehouse Fayetteville read more...
Getting Realistic About College Hoops Coaching Hires
It’s a who’s who of college basketball in San Antonio with all of the #1 seeds making the Final Four. While the games should be great, there may be just as much drama at the Coach’s Convention, which takes place in conjunction with the Final Four. Many tough choices will be made there and by athletic directors in the coming weeks to see who will fill the read more...
The Top Ten Albums of Southern Rock
Southern Rock’s Top Ten Welcome to a new feature at GRITZ called Southern Rock’s Top Ten, where we will be asking the stars an journalists associated with the genre, as well as some of today’s country music stars, to share their Top Ten all time favorite read more...
The Top Ten Albums of Southern Rock According to...
On the heels of my own Top Twenty Five Southern Rock albums, we asked a few of our friends to share their own lists of Favorite Southern Rock albums, and we got a few real surprises, but one fact remains, The Allman Brothers Band Fillmore East album has a heck of a lot of fans read more...
Steve Grisham and Ghost Riders
As One Grits to Another... by Michael Buffalo Smith Steve Grisham is a Southern Rock road dog. A man with the Southern Rock running through his very veins. A Florida singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer and engineer, Grisham, also known as “Grits,” is a former member of
Legends of Southern Rock: Blackfoot
by Michael Buffalo Smith 1969, Jacksonville, Florida: Charlie Hargrett, Rick Medlocke and Greg T. Walker form the band read more...
The Galloway & Kelliher Interview
by Michael Buffalo Smith I met Mike Galloway and Timmy Kelliher, along with drummer Juan Perex, last November at The Jam 4 George in Spartanburg, SC. My friend Mark Emerick (Commander Cody Band guitarist and a Southerner trapped inside a Yankee body) had often told me about these great musicians, but it took read more...
Darius Goes West: Twelve Guys and a Dream
Once in a great while, just when you think there is no reason to get up in the morning and that there is no hope for humanity, and that people will just go on killing one another forever, and that tomorrow will be probably be even worse than today, then something happens to turn your world around. For me, that something was seeing a feature length documentary read more...
Legends of Southern Rock: The Outlaws
by Michael Buffalo Smith Formed in Tampa, Florida in 1972, The Outlaws featured vocalists/guitarists Hughie Thomasson Henry Paul, Billy Jones bassist Frank O'Keefe, and drummer Monte Yoho. After record mogul Clive Davis was in the audience at a show in 1974 where the band was opening read more...
SEC: Conference King Once Again
By Patrick Snow It’s an argument that will never end-whose Conference is better? Fans will debate this topic vociferously every season, and the answer always tends to lie close to your address. I’m not sure that the Bowl games are the best way to evaluate league strength across college football, but it is basically all we have. Here’s my opinion read more...
Bah Humbug
By Patrick Snow Well it’s the end of the year, and soon you will be inundated with “Best of/Worst of” lists for 2007. Those lists will have the normal good (Peyton Manning/Appy State) and bad (Mike Vick/Bobby Petrino) perspective on a national scale. Instead of that, I thought I would look at some problems facing our Region. I hate to not be in the read more...
SEC Coaching - None Better
In the end, it was a surprise. But the surprise came in the school chosen, no the destination - the SEC West. Bobby Petrino finally made it to the coaching promised land when he was named the head coach of Arkansas late last night. Fresh off of a Monday Night Football debacle against New Orleans, Petrino made the move. Today, the SEC stands as the read more...
Reality Check
By Patrick Snow Some schools in our Swampland Region are currently learning a harsh lesson: if you are going to make a major change like firing your football coach, you must have a better alternative ready to go. Arkansas, Southern Miss(and Michigan on a national level) are finding out the hard way that not every coach in the country is beating down the door to fill read more...
Way Down South With John Sayles
Way Down South with John Sayles By James Calemine John Sayles’ films command respect. His latest film, Honeydripper, takes place in Alabama during the 1950s. Honeydripper counts as Sayles’16th film which read more...
Coaching Carousel
By Patrick Snow The end of the college football season always brings with it unfulfilled goals which translates into coaching changes. There has been quite a bit of movement in our region. Some of the firings were inevitable while others showed us just how unrealistic certain fan bases are with their expectations. I thought I would examine each job, and how it matches up read more...
First Goal: Win Your Conference
By Patrick Snow 2007 - What a crazy and dramatic season of college football. It seems like the Number 1 or 2 position in the national polls is the most dangerous place to be this year. As hard as it may be for many teams to adjust to all the parity, I believe it’s been more difficult for the fan bases to change their perspective on this “new read more...
Scott Boyer On Cowboy, The Decoys and a Lifetime of Southern Music
by Michael Buffalo Smith We met up with Scott Boyer at his home in Killen, Alabama, near Muscle Shoals. His puppy dog Rusty was running around playing and having a high old time, while Scott sat behind a keyboard in his home studio to open up about Cowboy, The Decoys and a lifetime of good music. Tell me about where you were born and read more...
Interview with Charles Ghigna
by Penne J. Laubenthal Charles Ghigna (aka Father Goose) is the author of more than 5,000 poems and 30 award-winning books of poetry. His books have been featured on ABC-TV’s "Good Morning America" and NPR, selected by the Book-of-the-Month Club and the Parents' Choice Book Award. He is a poet, read more...
Colts and Patriots: Providing the Blueprint?
By Patrick Snow The NFL has historically been a ‘copycat’ league and here’s to hoping that the success of the Colts and Patriots influences more teams to build up their offense. When clubs had to adjust to the salary cap in the ‘90s, the theory of finding a quarterback to “just not lose the game” seemed to become very popular. read more...
The Great Southern Sportswriters Series
Writing and storytelling have always been deeply ingrained in Southern culture. The people that combined that art with the Swampland Footprint's passion for sports make the whole experience more special and unique. Swampland Sports is proud to offer this series of profiles of the best sportswriters our Footprint has to offer. You've already probably read them read more...
Truck Driving Man (An American Roadsong)
Truck Driving Man (An American Roadsong)
Troy Johnson, (Columbus, GA) Ledger-Enquirer
Writing as a sports columnist for the Columbus read more...
Enjoy the Season
By Patrick Snow Another college football season--another initial release of the BCS standings. This annual ritual seems to send everyone running to call a local talk show to scream about a Playoff system and how the middle letter should be removed from ‘BCS’. Enough already. If all that you’re worried about is how January turns out, you’re read more...
Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel
Floridian Mike Bianchi has seen the exponential growth in his state during his time as a read more...
SEC: Top Level for Coaches?
By Patrick Snow Many of us who grew up in the South have always believed that the SEC was King when it came to sports and our allegiances. We watched and cheered for professional teams, but our passion was always at the collegiate level. For many years, coaches have moved from the Amateurs to the ‘Pros’ mainly for monetary reasons, but you read more...
The State of Baseball in the South
By Patrick Snow (editor's note: Swampland Sports considers the following teams to be part of the Footprint: Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, Florida Marlins, Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, and Washington Nationals) I do want to sound too negative about a game that I absolutely read more...
A Modest Proposal: Southern College Conference Realignment
Now that Swampland Sports has launched Tribal Fever (TF), our dispatch dedicated to college sports in the South, we figured it was time to do weigh in on the current state of college football conferences. The college football conference landscape in the Footprint has become downright confusing. It used to be that there were three main conferences, the read more...
Hughie Thomasson Remembered
The world of Southern Rock lost another champion on September 9, 2007 with the passing of Hughie Thomasson. The founding father of the “Florida guitar army” The Outlaws and a long time member of Lynyrd Skynyrd left us way too soon.
An SPF Tale of Two Waynes
After NFL's week one, Patrick Snow sounded the alarm. The Florida teams in the SPF Footprint were in trouble. It wasn't just about losing games. It was about losing their identity. The Dolphins were losing theirs. The Bucs were losing theirs. Even more read more...
Athletic Directors: Be Ready To Ante Up
Southern college football-we live it and breathe it year-round, and it has become abundantly clear that the stakes of the game have been raised with some of the recent coaching hires. The ‘price of poker’ is increasing steadily, and if your school is not ready to ante up, your team will be left behind. We’re witnessing a changing of the guard when it comes to read more...
SPF 2007 Team Previews
As promised, we have our 2007 Team Previews! Since fans can go to numerous places to read about rosters, statistics, etc, we at Southern Pro Football want to focus our 2007 previews on the teams and their connection to their area of the South. We will examine four categories: Background: Covering the past and recent history of the read more...
Tom Coerver: On Louisiana, China Sky and Hurricane Katrina
BACKWATER TALES FROM A GREAT SOUTHERN MUSICIAN by Michael Buffalo Smith Tom Coerver is a musician's musician. A good ol' Louisiana boy who has an inate ability to play just about any musical instrument he can get his hands on, including a
Sunshine State Swoon
Sunshine State Swoon By Patrick Snow Has professional football hit its lowest point in the state of Florida? I’m not trying to overreact to three Week 1 losses, but one has to wonder what direction the franchises in the Sunshine State are going. None of the three squads ran for over 90 yards as a team in Week 1, and it’s hard to see much read more...
Legends of Southern Rock: The Allman Brothers Band
by Michael Buffalo Smith The Allman Brothers Band is pretty much universally accepted as the premier Southern Rock band, the first, the founding fathers.
Phillip Quinn Morris
Phillip Quinn Morris, author of Mussels and
Tommy Talton and the Cowboy Reunion
by Michael Buffalo Smith One of Capricorn Records' finest bands during the 1970's was Cowboy, an outstanding country-rock band headed up by Tommy Talton and Scott Boyer. During the past few years, both Talton and Boyer have reunited with Johnny Sandlin and the other members of
The Bayou Sideshow
The Bayou Sideshow By James Calemine read more...
Legends of Southern Rock: Lynyrd Skynyrd
by Michael Buffalo Smith Lynyrd Skynyrd may very well be the most popular Southern Rock band of all time. After a skyrocketing climb to the top of the charts during the 1970’s, combined with exhaustive touring, the band who named themselves after their high school gym coach Leonard Skinner became a household name in the mid-seventies.
Ed King's Journal: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
ED KING'S JOURNAL: Skynyrd Guitarist's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Blog Gary Rossington, Billy Powell, Artimus Pyle, Ed King and Bob read more...
Seminole County
AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT by Michael Buffalo Smith November 2006 Among the hundreds of submissons we received read more...
Ken Block of Sister Hazel
A Band With A Mission by Sonny Edwards November 2006 Sister Hazel rocks! They Rock Boats, they Rock Slopes, and they are always keeping an eye out for almost anything else that needs rocking. It is all just a part of their read more...
Artimus Pyle 2006
ARTIMUS SPITS HIS VENOM AND RECOILS AN INTERVIEW WITH SKYNYRD ICON ARTIMUS PYLE by Michael Buffalo Smith September, 2006 Legendary Southern rock drummer and recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Artimus Pyle has a lot to be proud of. He has completed his “dream project,” a read more...
Reflections on Gram Parsons: The Complete Reprise Sessions
GRAM PARSONS - THE COMPLETE REPRISE SESSIONS by James Calemine “In my hour of darkness, in my hour of need Oh Lord grant me vision oh Lord grant me speed.” (from Return of the Grievous Angel) A veritable writer once said, “Death is a great career move.” No finer read more...
Duane Roland
Duane Roland: The Last Interview by Michael Buffalo Smith July 2006 When Duane Roland died at the age of 53 on June 19th, 2006, he was right in the middle of a major comeback as a member of Gator Country, reuniting him with other founding and former members of Molly Hatchet in a band that is truly on the verge of read more...
Derek Trucks
DEREK TRUCKS The Time of His Life by Derek Halsey May 2006 There are times in a lucky musician’s life when good things happen, one right after another. I use the word ‘lucky’ because there are far more musicians who don’t make the big time than who do. When Gritz Magazine interviewed guitar great read more...
Larry Rice Memorial
LARRY RICE Bluegrass Musician and Dickey Betts Band Alumnus Dies of Cancer by Derek Halsey April 2006 Larry Rice- Bluegrass Musician and Dickey Betts’ Band Alumnus- Dies Of Cancer We at Gritz Magazine have sad news to report as bluegrass musician Larry Rice died after a long bout with mesothelioma cancer on March 13, read more...
Road Trip to The Annual Angelus Benefit
by Michael Buffalo Smith & Scott Greene Feb. 2, 2006 Buffalo: I look forward to this every year. The annual pilgrimage from Upstate SC down to Tampa, Florida for Charlie Daniels’ three day golf and country rock concert to benefit The Angelus House, a home for the physically challenged. The read more...
Lynyrd Skynyrd's Well Deserved Hall of Fame Induction
Would You Still Remember Me? LYNYRD SKYNYRD'S WELL DESERVED HALL OF FAME INDUCTION by Michael Buffalo Smith December 2005 Eight years. Eight long years of watching one of the South’s all time greatest bands make the list on nominees to The Rock and Roll read more...
Blackfoot
BLACKFOOT ON THE REUNION By Michael Buffalo Smith December 2005 In one of the best surprises of recent Southern Rock history, the hard rocking, take no prisoners band Blackfoot has reunited and are touring again. We caught up with the band during rehearsals, where we interviewed founding read more...
Hughie Thomasson
HUGHIE THOMASSON REFORMS THE OUTLAWS by William Turley Spring 2005 THIS PAGE DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF "WILD BILL" TURLEY, ENTERED INTO ETERNAL REST, SEPTEMBER 2005. A TRUE OUTLAWS AND SOUTHER ROCK FAN, AND A HELLUVA GUY.... Hughie Thomasson is a musician's musician. He is a top notch guitarist, singer read more...
Road Trip to The Angelus, 2004
Roadtrip - Charlie Palooza 2004 by Michael Buffalo Smith My fourth trip to the Annual Charlie Daniels Country Concert and Golf Classic to benefit The Angelus House was the best ever - A road trip under sunny skies, quite a drive from Upstate South Carolina all the way down to Tampa, Florida with my friend Scott Green in tow.
Floyd Miles
By Michael Buffalo Smith October 2004 The pride of Daytona Beach, Florida, Floyd Miles is a world class blues and r&b singer who grew up friends with Duane and Gregg Allman, recorded with everyone from Dickey Betts to Edgar Winter, and now divides his time between his masterful live solo shows and his work as a member of Gregg Allman and read more...
Rickey Medlocke
RICKEY MEDLOCKE by Michael Buffalo Smith June 2004 These days Rickey Medlocke is touring the world as one of the “three guitar army” of Lynyrd Skynyrd, blowing the minds of Southern rock audiences from Europe to Clemson, S.C. But before he joined the read more...
Bernie Leadon
By Michael Buffalo Smith April 2004 Bernie Leadon is perhaps best known as the multi-instrumentalist/vocalist/singer/songwriter of The Eagles, having appeared on all of their first five albums, as well as for his stints with the Flying Burrito Brothers and The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. That was then, this read more...
Tony Smotherman
Yngwie, Skynyrd and The Queen of England by Levin Sheridan March, 2004 Tony Smotherman is one of the most outstanding of the new breed of guitar slingers. GRITZ caught up with Tony for this exclusive interview somewhere in Florida.
Jo Jo Billingsley (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
JO JO BILLINGSLEY of LYNYRD SKYNYRD by Michael Buffalo Smith July 2003 As one of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Honkettes, Jo Jo Billingsley enjoyed world wide fame, playing stages from Japan to England to all of the best venues in the good ol’ USA. In an exclusive read more...
Larry "L.J." Junstrom
Larry Junstrom Recalls His Days with Lynyrd Skynyrd and Talks About His Band, .38 Special by Scott Greene July 2003 In read more...
Dale Krantz Rossington
Rossington-Collins, The Rossington Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd by Michael Buffalo Smith Summer 2003 She may be in the background as a backup singer for Skynyrd now, but there was a time when Dale Krantz was the full-throttle lead vocalist leading the Skynyrd survivors first major outing following the plane crash read more...
Gary Rossington
GARY ROSSINGTON - THE HEART OF LYNYRD SKYNYRD by Michael Buffalo Smith June, 2003 When I called Glasgow, Scotland bright and early at around 7 a.m., wiping sleep from my eyes, read more...
Ace Moreland: A Remembrance
Ace Moreland: A Remembrance by Paul Doell February 2003 Ace Moreland’s most recent album (Give It To Get It, released on the King Snake-Icehouse label in 2000) includes a 1998 photo of the lean, lanky guitarist with his friend Jesse Stone, who wrote the mischievous "Mama Don’t Allow No Guitar read more...
Tom Dowd
From The Manhattan Project to the Allman Brothers Band An Interview with Tom Dowd by Michael Buffalo Smith Fall 2002 Okay. We know that he has produced some of the greatest records in the history of rock and roll, from The Allman Brothers Band’s Fillmore album to Layla by read more...
Tom Dowd (Part 2)
The last name on my name list is someone that has become kind of a legend in our Southern rock genre. What can you say about Ronnie Van Zant? Ronnie was a gem. Ronnie was a brilliant writer. We spent most of our time together traveling on the road for a day or two at a time, or if I had them for a day or two in the rehearsal hall in Jacksonville and in the read more...
Tom Dowd Memorial
TOM DOWD The Legendary Producer Dies on October 27, 2002 By Derek Halsey Last May I was invited to be backstage at the Grand Ole Opry as the guest of the excellent country and western singer, Joni Harms, whom I had interviewed earlier here at GRITZ. Joni plays country music like it should be, like it used to be, and it was a read more...
Dickey Betts 2002
BLUE SKIES AND TOMBSTONE EYES Dickey Betts and The Great Southern Reunion by Michael Buffalo Smith June, 2002 About two years lafter we first spoke with him, Dickey read more...
Barry Lee Harwood (Rossington Collins Band)
DON'T MISUNDERSTAND ME Barry Lee Harwood On Life After The Rossington Collins Band by Scott Greene May 2002 When the Skynyrd plane went down in the swamps of Mississippi, like so many of you, I thought the music had died along with those we all loved and respected. But when the surviving members read more...
Artimus Pyle 2001
Street Survivor: Artimus Pyle on his friend Allen Woody, the new APB album and life in general by Michael Buffalo Smith December 2001 Hi Artimus. I’d like to begin this second interview by asking you to share with your fans a little about how you knew the late Allen Woody, read more...
Celebration of Life Event, 2001
On the Road in Florida Celebrating Life in St. Augustine by Michael Buffalo Smith November 1, 2001 The Celebration of Life memorial Concert and benefit was held on October 20, 2001 in the beautiful St. Augustine Amphitheater in St. Augustine, Florida. Organized by Artimus Pyle read more...
Jeff Carlisi (.38 Special)
The Guitarist Talks About 38 Special, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Big People by Scott Greene October 2001 Jeff Carlisi, Architect? Were it not for a recession, he could be designing buildings instead of crafting guitar licks in bands such as 38 Special, Big People, and Brian Howe. And what is it about the West Side of read more...
Ed King 2001
Ed King: A Second Helping Waking up to The Strawberry Alarm Clock by Michael Buffalo Smith September 2001 Ed King is a walking rock and roll lesson. From his teenage success with The Strawberry Alarm Clock to his cult status as guitarist for everybody’s favorite Southern Rockers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, read more...
Red Dog Campbell
The Original Road Dog Red Dog Campbell’s Thirty-Three Years with The Allman Brothers Band by Michael Buffalo Smith August 2001 He’s the most famous “roadie” on the planet, no matter how you slice the pie. Joseph “Red Dog” Campbell, the hard working, hard tripping, read more...
Leon Wilkeson Memorial
The Cat in The Hat - Remembering Leon Wilkeson July 27, 2001 "If I leave here tomorrow, would you still remember me? I must be traveling on now, there's just too many places I've got to see." - RVZ We had been planning our August interview for a few weeks, thanks to connections via my new friends Tony Bullard and read more...
The Great Molly Hatchet Give Away, 2001
THE GREAT MOLLY HATCHET GIVEAWAY ROCKS LAS VEGAS by Michael Buffalo Smith, 2001 The First Annual "I Love Molly Hatchet" contest wrapped up in Las Vegas, Nevada June 1-3, 2001, with first place winner Larry Simeur and his fiancee Suzanne Arnold joining the band and GRITZ as special guests at the read more...
Charlie Hargrett
From Blackfoot to Black Molly Charlie Hargrett is Still Rocking Hard by Scott Greene January, 2001 One of the best bands to rise to the top during the heyday of great Southern rock music was Blackfoot. This four- man power band featured killer twin guitar players and a rhythm read more...
Dru Lombar
Dru Lombar Recalls Grinderswitch, Joe Dan and Southern Rock of the Seventies by Michael Buffalo Smith June 2001 (prior to the reformation of Grinderswitch, the death of Joe Dan Petty and ultimately the death of Dru in 2005) Jacksonville, Florida may be best known for some other well-known rock and read more...
Jakson Spires 2001
Jakson Spires: On Blackfoot and The Southern Rock Allstars by Michael Buffalo Smith June, 2001 Most people remember Jakson Spires as the hard-working drummer for the heavy Southern Rock band Blackfoot, but these days he is playing as hard as ever in a hot band called The Southern Rock Allstars featuring Dave read more...
Dave Hlubek
Playin’ in The Allstar Band Dave Hlubek Talks About Molly Hatchet, The Southern Rock Allstars and TV by Michael Buffalo Smith May 2001 Dave Hlubek needs no introduction to fans of Southern Rock. As the co-founder of Molly Hatchet as well as one of its most prolific songwriters, Hlubek read more...
Larry Howard
The Southern Rock of Ages Former Grinderswitch guitarist Larry Howard talks about his old band, his friends like The Allman Brothers and Marshall Tucker Band and his journey toward a higher calling. by Michael Buffalo Smith April 2001
Van Zant
BROTHERS IN ARMS Donnie and Johnny Van Zant Talk About Their Brother, Their Parents, and Their Second Collaborative Album By Michael B. Smith March, 2001 Perhaps no other name in Southern Rock conjures up as many images as that of Van Zant. Like the Pettys in NASCAR, their family name is forever etched into read more...
Sister Hazel
Snapshot of a Band on the Verge Sister Hazel is Ready for Big Time by Julia Mclaughlin & Scott Greene February, 2001 Sister Hazel, from Gainesville, FL, recently released their third CD, "Fortress." Their diverse, multi-talented lineup includes drummer Mark Trojanowski, who took read more...
Bobby Ingram
Gypsy Trail Bobby Ingram Carries The Molly Hatchet Torch Into The 21st Century by Michael Buffalo Smith February, 2001 Molly Hatchet has established quite a legacy for themselves as a hard-driving, read more...
Les Dudek
Les is More Les Dudek on The Allman Brothers, Cher and making movies by Michael Buffalo Smith January 2001 Les Dudek is a much sought after session guitarist due to his talent and versatility. Dudek has performed with and written songs for such artists as Stevie Nicks, Steve Miller, Dave Mason, read more...
Dickey Betts 2000
BACK TO WHERE IT ALL BEGINS An Exclusive with Dickey Betts by Michael Buffalo Smith November, 2000 The words, "no introduction is necessary" come immediately to mind as I sit down to write a foreword for the following personal interview with one of rock and roll's living legends, Dickey Betts. A founding member of read more...
Pete Carr
THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IN LIFE ARE ROCK AND ROLL, AND A HOT CARR... An Interview with Muscle Shoals Guitar Legend, Pete Carr by Michael B. Smith /with Roxanne Crutcher May 2000 Pete Carr, recognized as one of the most versatile studio guitarists of the past three decades, has contributed to hit recordings by Bob read more...
Remembering Eddie Hinton
Remembering Eddie Hinton "A Musician's Musician" by Dick Cooper Winter 2000 Eddie Hinton was a jewel. The many facets of his talent shone independently, and the whole was much greater than its parts. And like any jewel the light shinning on it enhanced its beauty. Eddie was a musician's read more...
Greg T. Walker
Greg T. Walker Recalls Blackfoot and Talks About the Here and Now by Scott Greene July 2000 If you were choosing a rhythm section for a Southern Rock Hall of Fame band, Greg T. Walker would be first off the vine. His place in Southern music is set in stone and he will always be remembered as a member read more...
Jimmie Van Zant
COUSIN TO COUSIN Jimmie Van Zant Carries On Ronnie's Tradition with Love and Respect by Scott Greene, June, 2000 When you think of the name Van Zant, the three brothers from the West Side of Jacksonville, Florida come to mind. Two remaining brothers carry on the family traditio started by theeir older brother read more...
Ace Moreland
KINGSNAKE HAS AN ACE UP THEIR SLEEVE Ace Moreland Remembers Steve Gaines, Talks About The Blues, Recording with Edgar Winter, and His Friend Derek Trucks by Michael Buffalo Smith June 2000 When you're born to be a musician, it shows up early on. Ace Moreland, for example, couldn't put down the read more...
Dennis Winters
Checking in with Dennis Winters of The Winters Brothers Band by Michael Buffalo Smith March 2000 One question we here at Gritz have been asked time and time again over the past year is “whatever happened to The Winters Brothers Band?” The answer? Nothing happened to ‘em! They are read more...
Don Barnes
There’s Still Something Special About .38 The Don Barnes Interview by Michael Buffalo Smith February 2000 One of the hardest working bands of the ‘80s and ‘90s, still going strong into the new millennium, is .38 Special. With a string of Top 40 hits a mile long, the band just read more...
In Memory of Lonesome Dave Peverett
A TRIBUTE TO LONESOME DAVE PEVERETT by Roxane Crutcher Monday afternoon, I received the news of Lonesome Dave from the webmaster of Foghat...it was all I could do to hold back my emotions..."Rox, Just in case you haven't heard...Dave has passed away... due to complications arising from his battle with
Artimus Pyle 1999
His Tonka Toys Were Real An Exclusive Interview with Artimus Pyle by Michael Buffalo Smith November 1999 He was the second drummer for Lynyrd Skynyrd but most fans know him as THE drummer for the South’s most popular band. Artimus Pyle played on the band’s best-loved albums, read more...
Danny Joe Brown
Still Beatin’ the Odds An Exclusive Interview with Danny Joe Brown by Michael Buffalo Smith November 1999 When you talk about Southern Rock legends, one of the names that will always come up will be Danny Joe Brown, the founding lead singer for those bad boys of Southern Rock known read more...
Ed King 1999
THE KING OF SOUTHERN ROCK THE ED KING INTERVIEW by Michael Buffalo Smith June 1999 Ed King was one of the original members of Lynyrd Skynyrd and when the group reunited at the 1987 Volunteer Jam, Ed once again joined forces with the surviving members of one of the read more...
Gregg Allman
Midnight Rider An Audience with Gregg Allman by Michael Buffalo Smith Spring 1999 Warren Haynes and Allen Woody had just left The Allman Brothers Band to pursue Gov’t Mule full time, and Jack Pearson was in as guitarist and O'Teil Burbridge as bassist when we sat down with Gregg Allman in 1999. read more...