Virginia Posts
Back from the Blue Ridge
Just a quick note to say that I have been "on the road" for the past five days, and I have lots of exciting adventures and 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...
GRITZ Movie Review: X-Files Film Will Thrill Fans
The great thing about the new X-Files movie is the human element. Rather than concentrating on aliens and the TV 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...
Vick Still Casts a Long Shadow Over NFL Hopes in Atlanta
Has it really been a year? Last week marked one year since Michael Vick was indicted on federal charges for his role in a dog read more...
An Ongoing Journey To the Heart of Southern Culture
A Sunday Service On Southern Culture 7/20/08
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 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...
Bingham, Merritt and Emmylou In Today's Camera Eye
Bingham's Nomination & Harris-Merritt Television Appearance 6/12/08
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...
FONO Announces the Capitol Hill Bayou Bash!
This Tuesday, June 17, anyone in or near the DC area should come out to the American Legion as
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...
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...
The Top 25 Songs of The Southern Rock Era
And the lists just keep on a comin.' Our latest addition to our
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...
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
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...
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: UNC vs. Duke defines ACC Hoops
* Is there any better theater in college basketball than North Carolina at Duke? It was another great scene at Cameron Indoor Stadium read more...
Snowflakes: ACC Hoops
* Mike Krzyzewski got his 800th career read more...
Season Summary: Atlanta Falcons
Quick Summary: The Falcons endured a year of endless upheaval. Problems brewed last season when the team 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: 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...
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 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...
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...
Johnny Cash's First Wife's New Book
New Book From the Late Vivian Cash 11/19/07
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...
TF Saturday Preview: Everything's Still To Be Decided
Patrick Snow has it right. This year's
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...
Weirdness Way Down South
Weirdness Down South 10/22/07
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
Philip Morris: Corporate Charities, the Arts, and Virginia's future?
In today's NY Times,
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...
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 Friday Fishwrap-up: the Cowboy/Redskin paradigm
We've just posted a new analysis of the Wayne issue in read more...
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
CD and DVD releases for week of September 4, 2007
New Releases Collective Soul
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...
Swampland Sports Six-Pack for the week ending 8/19/07
Your weekly filter for the top sports stories around the South 1. Although college athletics has become 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...
CD and DVD releases for week of August 14, 2007
Darren Kozelsky
CD and DVD releases for week of August 7, 2007
New Releases Bruce Hornsby/Christian McBride/Jack DeJohnette
CD and DVD releases for week of July 31, 2007
New Releases 10 Mile Crossing
West "by God" Virginia and The Free State of Winston
Is West Virginia really a part of the south? Jason Headley in an article entitled "A State of Confusion" pleads the case read more...
CD and DVD releases for week of July 17, 2007
New Releases Raul Malo
CD and DVD releases for week of July 10, 2007
New Releases Chris & Rich Robinson
CD and DVD releases for week of June 26, 2007
CDs New Releases Charlie Daniels
Fire On The Mountain
6/25/07
June Carter Cash Tribute Album, Biography Coming This Summer
The life of the late country music legend June Carter Cash will be celebrated this June 19, four days before her birthday, with the read more...
Willie Nelson On The Road Again
1/21/07 Willie Nelson takes his show on the road to the British Isles this week. Nelson prepares to tour in the states in the read more...
Leon Russell Rolls On, Lucinda's Latest, and Robinson & Dickinson Collaborate
12/10/06 Leon Russell plays in Athens, Georgia, on December 14 amid a run through the south. The Oklahoma legend's touring read more...
Virginia Reviews
With Roots and Wings
Angel Band With Roots and Wings Appleseed APRCD-1108 For Nancy Josephson, the long arm of the South read more...
All I Intended To Be
All I Intended to Be Emmylou Harris Nonesuch Records By James Calemine All I read more...
Thing Of The Past
Vetiver is simply one of America's best bands, and some of the most vital and timeless music being made. Andy Cabic's read more...
Keep Your Silver Shined
Keep Your Silver Shined Devon Sproule Waterbug Records There are only a handful of musicians good enough 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...
See You In A Hundred Years
See You In A Hundred Years by Logan Ward Benbella Books Has the stess of today's world with read more...
Third And A Mile
Third And A Mile by William C. Rhoden ESPN Books
Revelation
A.J. Roach Revelation Waterbug Records Some guys have roots and some guys have read more...
Desperate Man Blues
Desperate Man Blues: Discovering The Roots of American Music The Story of Joe Bussard
Blues Sweet Blues
Blues Sweet Blues Various Music Maker Artists Music Maker Series #91 & #92 By James Calemine
Song of America
Song of America Various Artists 31 Tigers Records By James Calemine This 50-song, 3 CD read more...
Camp Meeting
(Legacy) Virginia boy Bruce Hornsby can do it all. He has given us Top 40 pop classics like “Mandolin read more...
Fred's Restaurant, Franklin, VA
Fred's Restaurant 107 South Main Street Franklin, Virginia (757)562-2919
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...
Rocking The Mile
Rhythm Pigs Rocking The Mile (Swine) Drummer Timmy Fodrey says that Rocking The Mile is read more...
Friends Of Old Time Music
Friends Of Old Time Music The Folk Arrival 1961-1965 (Smithsonian Folkways) Between read more...
Virginia 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...
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...
See You In A Hundred Years
An excerpt from SEE YOU IN A HUNDRED YEARS: Four Seasons In Forgotten America By Logan Ward Benbella 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 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...
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
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...
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...
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...
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...
Kelly Perdue Memorial
KELLY PERDUE - REST IN PEACE Leader Of The Mando Mafia Band Dead At 45 by Derek Halsey December 2005 On the morning of December 15 the music community lost yet another musician with the passing of Kelly Perdue. Perdue was the leader of the Mando Mafia band based out of read more...
Phyllis Ann Bailey's Strawberry Preserves
Phyllis Ann Bailey's Strawberry Preserves by Ron Williams Spring City, Tenn., May 16, 2004 The Mexican migrant workers were picking strawberries and loading them onto a Chevy flatbed across Highway 27 outside of Dayton, TN. The other flatbed was at the sales stand directly across from the fields where Sandra read more...
Remembering June Carter Cash
REMEMBERING JUNE CARTER CASH By Derek Halsey July 2003 On May 18th, 2003, Johnny Cash sat in the pew of the First Baptist Church in Hendersonville, Tennessee looking as old as he ever has. He was there for the funeral of his wife, June Carter Cash. During the past few years it had been read more...
Dickie Harrell (Gene Vincent)
The Drummer from Gene Vincent & The Blue Caps is Alive and Well in Virginia by Michael Buffalo Smith February 2002 The most exciting rock and roller of the 1950's may have been Elvis, but running a close, close second was Gene Vincent, the original "bad boy" of rock and roll. read more...
Jimmy Nalls
The Bionic Blues Man Jimmy Nalls Battles Disease and Keeps On Rockin’ by Michael Buffalo Smith Fall 2000 Jimmy Nalls is one tough guitar player. For six years, he has battled the menacing effects of Parkinson’s read more...