Kentucky Posts
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...
An Ongoing Journey To the Heart of Southern Culture
A Sunday Service On Southern Culture 7/20/08
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
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...
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...
New Hunter S. Thompson Documentary Bursts In Air On July 4
Gonzo: The Life And Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson Released July 4 6/30/08
Female Soul Opens the Summer
A Cast of Female Artists Bloom In Summer 6/23/08
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...
Southern Literature Series to Premiere on Swampland
“The past isn’t dead. It isn’t even past” (
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...
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...
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...
Kentucky Finally Gets Its NASCAR Fix
If you build it, they will come.... That seems to be the delayed result at the Kentucky Speedway. This track is 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...
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...
Southern Gospel Icon Dottie Rambo Dies in Crash
Southern Gospel singer-songwriter Joyce "Dottie" Rambo died early this morning (May 11, 2008) when the bus she was in ran 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
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
...The Kentucky Derby In Athens, Georgia...
Athens, Georgia…May 3, 2008…The Kentucky Derby…
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...
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...
Outward Bound
“The eye and mind would be functioning as a camera. The writing would be selective and necessarily interpretive—but once read more...
Football Film "Leatherheads" Brings Hollywood to Carolina
There’s been quite a lot of anticipation here in Greenville, SC over the past few months. I mean, everywhere you go you read more...
Snowflakes: Southern Sweet 16
Here a quick primer for our teams in this weekend’s NCAA Tournament. East – This is read more...
Season Summary: Cincinnati Bengals
Quick Summary: The Bengals were SPF's most disappointing team from this past season. They have all the 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...
Snowflakes: Small Conference Hoops Does the Footprint Proud
It’s the most exciting time of the year for many of the smaller schools around our region. Their conferences tournaments have read more...
Snowflakes: Small Conference Hoops
* It will be quite a battle this weekend in the Big South for the coveted automatic berth to the Big Dance. North Carolina-Asheville 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...
Snowflakes: Small Conference Hoops
* We still have a great two-horse race in the Sun Belt Conference as both South Alabama and Western Kentucky try to prove they are read more...
Snowflakes: C-USA/Big East Hoops
* Well, it finally happened. The 47-game home winning streak and the perfect record on the season ended for Memphis last Saturday 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...
Snowflakes: SEC Hoops
* After attending the Vanderbilt-Kentucky game Tuesday night in Nashville, all I can say is ‘Wow’. The Commodores are 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...
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: Smaller Conference Hoops
One mid-major club that higher seeded teams will not want to see in the Big Dance is Davidson from the Southern Conference. The 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...
Adventures In The (Pig) Skin Trade On Super Bowl Sunday
Roving Notes On Super Bowl Sunday 2/3/08
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: Small Conference Hoops
by Patrick Snow The regular season seems to get a little overlooked in many of the smaller or “1-bid” leagues in 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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Loretta Lynn Returns To The Ryman
Loretta Lynn Returns To The Ryman 11/12/07
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...
TF Saturday Preview: Everything's Still To Be Decided
Patrick Snow has it right. This year's
October 27 & 28 Bridge School Benefit
21st Bridge School Benefit Hosts Various Musicians 10/27/07
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...
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...
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
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...
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...
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...
Swampland Sports Thursday Links
Just a few quick hits here on Thursday.... Snowman's Latest Column Patrick Snow's
The Shadow And the Truth
9/19/07 ...THE SHADOW AND THE TRUTH...
Emmylou Harris Retrospective "Songbird" Hits Streets Today
Songbird: Rare Tracks & Forgotten Gems Out Today 9/18/07
Welcome Back!
Greetings to all you football fans around the Swampland footprint! Southern Pro Football is back to cover another NFL read more...
CD and DVD releases for week of August 14, 2007
Darren Kozelsky
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...
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...
CD and DVD releases for week of July 3, 2007
Reissues Asleep At The
CD and DVD releases for week of June 26, 2007
CDs New Releases Charlie Daniels
Fire On The Mountain
6/25/07
Montgomery Gentry Gives Swampland an Exclusive Interview
They are the baddest boys in country music, and I am including Big and Rich, Hank III, and even Kid "Sometimes I Want to Be read more...
Appalachian Culture: Shaped-note Singing
3/20/07 In this Asheville, North Carolina, news article, old vocal traditions are highlighted and how they integrate with read more...
J.D. Crowe & The New South Announce Spring Tour
Bluegrass Hall of Honor inductee J.D. Crowe and his band The New South are hitting the road this spring in support read more...
Toby Keith's Surprise Duet with Crystal Gayle
Montgomery Gentry To Host Bike Rally
Montgomery Gentry will host the Academy of Country Music Celebrity Motorcycle Ride to be held May 13 in Las Vegas. After the ride, a read more...
Loretta Lynn Announces Early 2007 Tour Dates
1/1/07 After shattering her shoulder last year, the 71 year-old Loretta Lynn is ready to hit the road. Scheduled stops on read more...
Kentucky Reviews
Fire Songs
Fire Songs The Watson Twins Vanguard Records By James Calemine Chandra and Leigh read more...
Lie Down In The Light
Indie-hero Will Oldham began his career in "entertainment" as a teenage actor. Most notably, he 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...
Bug
Bug William Friedkin Lionsgate By James Calemine Kentucky girl
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...
The Trailer Tapes
(Drifter's Church 0010) Some albums are just meant to be heard. Chris Knight recorded 'The Trailer read more...
Buy The Ticket: Take The Ride: Hunter S. Thompson
Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride: Hunter S. Thompson on Film Starz Entertainment By James Calemine
Tom T. Hall Sings Miss Dixie & Tom T.
Tom T. Hall Sings Miss Dixie & Tom T. Tom T. Hall Blue Circle Records By James read more...
Desperate Man Blues
Desperate Man Blues: Discovering The Roots of American Music The Story of Joe Bussard
Song of America
Song of America Various Artists 31 Tigers Records By James Calemine This 50-song, 3 CD read more...
GONZO: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson
GONZO: The Life of Hunter S. Thompson Jann S. Wenner & Corey Seymour Little, Brown and Company By read more...
The Bluegrass Sessions
The Bluegrass Sessions Merle Haggard McCoury Music By James Calemine Merle Haggard's new read more...
Come Early Morning
Whitt's Barbecue
Whitt's #1 1397 East Elm Street Athens, Alabama 35611 256-232-7928 My sister had a read more...
Some People Change
With their latest release, Some People Change, Montgomery Gentry goes far beyond their past efforts, bringing a new level of 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...
Hey Rube
Hey Rube by Hunter S. Thompson (Simon and Schuster) When Hunter S. Thompson read more...
Soldier of the Cross - The Concert
Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder (Skaggs Family) Ricky Skaggs brings his award read more...
All Star Bluegrass Celebration
(Sugar Hill) Both the DVD and the CD of this live show, recorded onstage at the revered Ryman Auditorium in read more...
Try A Little Kindness
Bobby Osborne and the Rocky Top X-press Try A Little Kindness (Rounder Records) Well, read more...
29 Dances
Jan Smith 29 Dances (Landslide Records) I am always leery when I get CDs in the mail read more...
Classic Southern Gospel
Various Artists Classic Southern Gospel (Smithsonian Folkways) Sixty minutes of gospel read more...
Flying Under The Radar
Kentucky Headhunters Flying Under The Radar (CBuJ Entertainment) I don’t read more...
Friends Of Old Time Music
Friends Of Old Time Music The Folk Arrival 1961-1965 (Smithsonian Folkways) Between read more...
Kentucky 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.
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...
Night of The Hunter
Night of The Hunter By Diann Blakely Artists, consciously or unconsciously, tend to choose one of two paths after finding, through years of apprenticeship, a signature style: continue pursuing that style, attempting to hone 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
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...
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
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...
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...
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.
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...
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...
Record Stores of the Swampland Footprint
ALABAMA CD Cellar Anniston AL Oz Music Tuscaloosa AL ARKANSAS Sound Warehouse Fayetteville read more...
Th' Legendary Shack Shakers: "Treulogizing the Gothic South"
A review of “The Tentshow Trilogy”, consisting of “Believe”, “Pandelirium” and “Swampblood” (All on Yep Roc Records) by Frank Gutch
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...
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...
The Appalachian Sounds of Fonotone Records
The Appalachian Sounds of Fonotone Records By James Calemine “I went out in the open field/Black snake bit me on the heel, I’ve stood around and done my best/Shoved my head in a hornet’s read more...
Goodbye, Babylon: A Patchwork Quilt of American Music
GOODBYE, BABYLON A Patchwork Quilt of American Music By James Calemine
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...
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...
NFL Label Book: Overrated
By Patrick Snow Just like many a bad segment of talk radio, another ‘label’ book was recently released into America to get football fans arguing with each other. We have Philly-based ESPN field reporter Sal Paolantonio to thank for this latest regurgitation of what former NFL player is either overrated or underrated. I hesitate to jump into the intended 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)
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...
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 2007 International Bluegrass Music Association Awards Report
by Derek Halsey On October 4th, 2007 the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) held their 18th annual bluegrass music awards show. In a break from past years, when a lot of the same people seemed to win the awards year after year, the lineup of 2007 winners was a diverse and interesting mix of older legends and young guns who are 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...
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...
W.C. Handy Music Festival, Florence, Alabama, July 22-29
“If Beale Street could talk Married men would have to take up their beds and walk…” Beale Street Blues W. C. Handy wrote those words when he was living in Memphis in 1916. It had been a long road from Florence, Alabama, to Memphis, Tennessee, read more...
The Bayou Sideshow
The Bayou Sideshow By James Calemine read more...
Montgomery Gentry
by Michael Buffalo Smith March, 2007 I’ve been fortunate enough to see Montgomery Gentry perform several times, including a handful of impromptu gigs during the annual Angelus benefit down in Tampa, Florida. During the four day Angelus event, read more...
John Cowan
JOHN COWAN: NEWGRASS, OLD GRASS, BORROWED GRASS, BLUEGRASS By Barry Barnes (Edited by Derek Halsey) September 2006 John Cowan is a major player in the world of bluegrass music. From his days with New Grass Revival in the 1970’s and 80’s to fronting his own band today, his spirit is alive and well as he 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...
Breakfast With Hunter
Breakfast With Hunter: A Film By Wayne Ewing Starring Dr. Hunter S. Thompson by James Calemine Feb. 2005 “There may be flies on you and me, but there are no flies on Jesus.” -Hunter S. read more...
Sam Bush
SAM BUSH by Derek Halsey June 2004 Gritz Magazine caught up with Sam Bush at Merlefest 2004, back in April. He took a minute to talk about his first studio album in six years that is out now called King Of My World.
Richard Young (Kentucky Headhunters)
RICHARD YOUNG: THE KENTUCKY HEADHUNTERS by Michael Buffalo Smith September 2003 For the second part of our Kentucky Headhunters spotlight, we spoke with guitarist/vocalist Richard Young, another down to earth, fun loving, rocking and rolling feller from the hills read more...
Bluegrass Rules at the 2003 IBMAs
by Derek Halsey August 2003 The International Bluegrass Music Association’s yearly convention is already a couple of days old when I arrive on Wednesday afternoon on the first day of October. Known as IBMA Week, it is an annual event that brings together bluegrass read more...
Greg Martin (Kentucky Headhunters)
by Michael Buffalo Smith July 2003 The Kentucky Headhunters are back and in fine form with their new album Soul, a fun-filled romp through Muscle Shoals influenced soul and Memphis flavored r&b. We caught up with band members Greg Martin and Richard Young for a fun pair of interviews that cover everything read more...
JD Crowe
Bluegrass Legend J.D. Crowe by Derek Halsey December 2002 In 1956, a 15 year old J.D. Crowe came out of Lexington, Kentucky and joined the legendary Jimmy Martin’s band and went on to become one of the top pickers to ever play a banjo. To this day he is read more...
2002 IBMA Bluegrass Awards Roadtrip
IBMA BLUEGRASS AWARDS ROAD TRIP By Derek Halsey December 2002 As I drove into Louisville, Kentucky on this misty October night I reached for the radio dial to see if I could pick up WSM out of Nashville. I was about to take in my first IBMA Awards show and I read more...
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...
Mike Estes (Brave New South)
Welcome to The Brave New South Mike Estes Talks About His Friend Allen Collins, His Days with Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Brave New South by Michael B. Smith Summer 1999 Born in Kentucky, raised in Ohio and currently living in Nashville, Mike Estes has enjoyed quite a varied career so far, taking guitar read more...
Ricky Skaggs Returns to His Roots
by Michael Buffalo Smith June, 1999 Ricky Skaggs has finally found his bliss. After years of performing Top 40 Country music, which netted him twelve number one singles and a wall filled with gold and platinum records, eight CMA awards, including Entertainer of the Year in 1985, and a spot in Billboard Magazine's Top 20 Artists of the decade read more...