Alabama Dispatch Archives
...Anticipation for Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight...
...Anticipation for Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight... I just re-watched Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained. It's been three years since Tarantino released a movie. I needed a break from revising stories, and decided to delve into his last read more...
Ace Atkins' Latest Book The Redeemers
The Redeemers By Ace Atkins I just finished The Redeemers, a fine book by Mississippi writer Ace Atkins.... Born June 28, 1970, in Troy, Alabama, Ace Atkins played football at Auburn University, and even graced the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1993 read more...
"A Momentary Stay" : Musings on the Poetry of Harry Moore
A Trip Back in Time: A Review of Bob Keefe's "Stories From the Okefenokee"
In 1969 a young Marine returning to civilian life after a tour of duty as a helicopter pilot in Viet Nam found refuge in a remote and primal place in the Deep South, the Okefenokee Swamp. The Marine's name was Bob Keefe, and he spent five wonderful years in the swamp, working as a read more...
The Magic of the Shoals: The Lindsey Film Fest Screening of "Muscle Shoals"
Not since the sold out Drive-By Truckers/ Decoys concert during the 2011
"A Heaping Helping: Songs for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of AL" by Scott Ward
This week I had the pleasure of chatting via Facebook with Alabama musician Scott Ward, producer and director at Lucky Dog Records. Ward has just produced a digital CD designed to raise money for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama. The CD which features 23 tracks by read more...
Swinging With The Duke at the 2012 W. C. Handy Festival
The Righteous Brothers may sing about a "rock and roll heaven," but when I die I want to go to jazz heaven. And if there is such a thing as reincarnation, I want to come back as a jazz vocalist. I was in jazz heaven for two hours Tuesday read more...
Mayberry is Alive and Well in Rogersville, Alabama
Henry David Thoreau went to the woods because he wanted to "live deliberately." I go to Rogersville, Alabama. Rogersville is a progressive little town that has managed to keep the flavor of a time gone by. read more...
View the BBC's Southern Rock Documentary on Swampland
Swampland has added the BBC's new Southern Rock Documentary to it front page. Go here to view it - Swampland Front Page
Life Lessons in The Big Easy by Martha Gragido
There’s something maternal about a train. It carries you where you need to go and rocks you along, sheltering as new horizons flash past your window. Places you’ve never been. Places that have never known the press of your weight. (The bathrooms on the train read more...
Award Winning Author Joshilyn Jackson at Northeast Alabama Community College
Award-winning novelist Joshilyn Jackson will be the featured author for the Arts and Humanities Speaker’s Forum at Northeast Alabama Community College on April 19, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. Jackson’s presentation will be held in the Tom Bevill Lyceum and is free to
Author Judith Ortiz Cofer at Calhoun College Writers' Conference, April 11, 2013
Latina writer and storyteller Judith Ortiz Cofer will be speaking at Calhoun Community College's 12th annual Writers' Conference on Thursday, April 11, at 9:30 a.m. in the Aerospace Training Center. She will speak again at 7 in the evening at the Princess Theatre. Both read more...
"How Do You Like Your Blueeyed Boy, Mr. Death": Harry Crews (1935-2012)
Harry Crews! I guess I thought he would live forever. When all of those years of out of control drinking did not kill him, I decided he had outwitted the devil. That would be just like Crews--to make a wager with the devil and win. When a great read more...
RIP Earl Scruggs & Jerry "Boogie" McCain & Harry Crews
RIP Earl Scruggs, Harry Crews & Jerry "Boogie" McCain Legendary banjo picker Earl Scruggs died yesterday in Nashville at 88. In 1948, Scruggs formed a band with guitarist Lester Flatt called The Foggy Mountain Boys.
The University of North Alabama Presents Renowned Author Ishmael Reed
On Monday, March 19 and Tuesday, March 20, the University of North Alabama (Florence, Alabama) will present its 29th annual Spring Writers' Series. The featured speaker this year is internationally known poet, novelist, essayist, and playwright Ishmael Reed. Reed will read more...
Reflections, Progressions & Horizons
"Will all your money buy you forgiveness? Will it keep you from sickness? Will it keep you from cold? Will all your money Keep you from madness?
Swampland Guest Patsy Glenn Writes about Brandon Sparkman and "Called to Jackson"
My long-time friend Patsy Glenn is a freelance writer residing in Florence, Alabama. Glenn joins Swampland to talk about a local hero, Brandon Sparkman, and his recently published book Called to Jackson, Mississippi: The Last Bastion of Segregation (iuniverse
A Modern Legacy of America's Finest Archivists
A Modern Legacy of America's Finest Archivists A treasure trove of old, obscure American music exists out there. Bits and pieces of lost American culture preserved between the grooves waits for any listener's ear. This
Alabama's Own Wickedly Spicy Wickles Pickles---Made in Dadeville, AL
2011 was the year of Alabama music, and 2012 is the year of Alabama food. Several months ago I wrote about two phenomenal products unique to Alabama:
Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires Release New Song, Album Coming Soon
Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires have been bubbling under the Birmingham scene since Bains cut his teeth playing with Dexateens. With the Dexateens now in a state of read more...
Rebecca Meredith, Author of The Last of the Pascagoula, Has Alabama Roots
I discovered Rebecca Woods Meredith when I received a copy of her spellbinding novel, The Last of the Pascagoula read more...
Alabama Born, Auburn Educated Octavia Spencer Wins Golden Globe
The 2011 fall issue of the Auburn University alumni magazine featured a stunning photo of Octavia Spencer on the cover, not as Minny, the feisty maid in Tate Taylor's movie of Kathryn Stockett's The Help, but as Octavia Spencer, celebrated actress and a possible
A Conversation with Jerry Masters: "Hanging From A Tree By My Knees"
Jerry Masters, musician and sound engineer for nearly every hit record cut in the Shoals from the late 60s through the early 70s, and I met for breakfast at Cafe Savanna in Rogersville, Alabama, this past August. I had heard by way of Facebook that Masters
The 2012 Drive By Truckers Homecoming Shows
The 2012 Drive By Truckers Homecoming Shows On January 12, 13 and 14, the Drive By Truckers will perform homecoming shows at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia. read more...
Satan Is Real: The Ballad of the Louvin Brothers
Charlie Louvin Autobiography: Satan Is Real The late Charlie Louvin's new autobiography--Satan Is Real: The Ballad of the Louvin Brothers--is now available. This
Meet Poet and Poetry Therapist Jerri Chaplin
Jerri Chaplin is a certified poetry therapist and poet. She served as the first poet-in-residence at the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston (1996). Her work has been read more...
Happy Holidays From Swampland 2011
Happy Holidays From Swampland "Never be impatient with the ones who love you, It might be yourself that you're hurting."
Shakin' in Alabama with the Alabama Shakes--Souful Music Near the Shoals
The small town of Athens, Alabama (not Athens, Georgia) has made national music news thanks to the hot new group Alabama Shakes. Three of the four band members hail from East Limestone High School in read more...
Poem in Remembrance: World AIDS Day, December 1, 2011
Twenty years ago a friend of mine died of AIDS. He was the first person I ever knew personally to die of this disease. He was young and talented and beautiful, and the last time I saw him he seemed completely well. Then I heard that he had died. Shortly after read more...
New Orleans in Alabama: Brenda Marie Osbey--and Lagniappe--Poet Jane Hirshfield
This October I traveled to New Orleans to see my good friends David Lummis (author of
Satan Is Real: The Louvin Brothers
Satan Is Real: The Louvin Brothers Night falls early these days. For some reason I dropped the classic Louvin Brothers album Satan Is Real into the player this evening. Originally released in 1959, Satan Is Real contains some of the most read more...
Meet New Orleans Author and Photographer: Kristin Fouquet
Reading the short stories of Kristin Fouquet, writer and photographer par excellence, is like eating bon bons. You just have to have one more. Fouquet writes with a photographer's eye for detail, seeing beneath read more...
Coming Soon from History Press: "Rocket City Rock and Soul" by Jane DeNeefe
The History Press will release Rocket City Rock and Soul: Huntsville Musicians Remember the 1960s by Huntsville read more...
Chuck Leavell's Mother Nature Network
Chuck Leavell's Mother Nature Network Rolling Stone keyboardist and tree farmer Chuck Leavell started the
Documentary About the Life of Rick Bragg "Out of the Dirt" to Premiere In Alabama
The world premiere of Out of the Dirt, a documentary film about the life of Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Rick Bragg, will be held at the IMAX Theare in the McWane Science read more...
This May Be My Last Time Singing: Raw African-American Gospel On 45RPM 1957-1982
This May Be My Last Time Singing Tompkins Square's latest release is an amazing 3-CD set titled This May Be My Last Time Singing: Raw African-American Gospel On 45RPM 1957-1982. Tompkins Square released this official statement regarding this rare read more...
An Interview From The Road: Grayson Capps Talks About A Love Song For Bobby Long
An Excerpt From Interview with Grayson Capps I just got off the phone with Alabama singer/songwriter/guitarist Grayson Capps. He was calling from the road. He's preparing read more...
Tom Waits Records with Hank Williams III
Tom Waits Records with Hank Williams III Tom Waits contributed guest vocals on a new Hank Williams III album titled read more...
What's All This Hullabaloo About "The Help"?
Two years ago, shortly after Kathryn Stockett 's novel The Help was released, I wrote a review of the book for Swampland. I never published the review because I was ambivalent about the novel, and everyone I knew was singing its praises. The Help quickly made read more...
"The Coffee Shop Chronicles" Featured in New Orleans Course at University of Montevallo
David Lummis' novel The Coffee read more...
Jamaican Blues & Southern Breezes: Blue Water, Black Soul & Rock N Roll
Jamaican Blues & Southern Breezes: Blue Water, Black Soul & Rock N Roll "I say when it drops, oh you gonna feel it Know that you were doing wrong. I say a pressure drop, oh pressure Oh yeah, pressure drop a drop read more...
Hank Williams-The Legend Begins: Rare And Unreleased Recordings
Hank Williams Rare And Unreleased Recordings On September 13, Time Life will release Hank Williams: The Legend Begins--Rare And Unreleased Recordings. These newly discovered and restored recordings include sessions Hank recorded at 15 as well as his read more...
Drive By Truckers, Bob Dylan & Leon Russell Share A Stage Tonight
Dylan, The Truckers & Leon In Maryland Tonight Tonight in Columbia, Maryland, at The Merriweather Post Pavilion, The Drive By Truckers share a billing with read more...
Wes Freed's Artwork for Drive By Truckers Georgia Theatre Shows
Wes Freed's Drive By Truckers Artwork On August 12th and 13th, The Drive By Truckers will perform for the
The Secret To a Happy Ending: The Decoys, DBT, and a Sunday Jam at Dick Cooper's
According to The Drive-By Truckers, the secret to a happy ending is knowing when to run the credits. This week in the Shoals the secret to a read more...
Upcoming Interview: Preston Lauterbach's Chitlin' Circuit: And The Road To Rock 'N' Roll
The Chitlin' Circut: And The Road To Rock 'N' Roll Memphis writer Preston Lauterbach's first book--The Chitlin Circut: And The Road To Rock 'N' Roll--arrived in the mail on Monday. An upcoming interview with Lauterbach is on the way, but I wanted to write a quick read more...
Handy Festival 2011: Rocking the Shoals with Ken Watters and Microwave Dave
This week is Handy Fest 2011, and I was in the Shoals on Monday night, sitting in the Zodiac Theatre in downtown Florence, Alabama, with Randy, my sister Peggy, and a friend
Swampland's Daily Duo of Reviews For 7/26/11: Levon Helm and Through The Sparks
For Tuesday, we have the legendary Levon Helm bringing his Midnight Ramble to the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Also, we feature the latest from Birmingham's Through The Sparks. Although the records are stylistically and generationally different, both capture the read more...
A Southern Literary Note on Hemingway's Birthday
A Southern Literary Note on Hemingway's Birthday Today is the birthday of Ernest Hemingway. A southern literary note seems in order to salute one of America's greatest writers...
Athens Photographer Jason Thrasher Discusses Filming The Drive By Truckers Go-Go Boots Episodes
Jason Thrasher Discusses Go-Go Boots Episodes Alabama native Jason Thrasher filmed episodes revolving around
Next Stop: Wes Freed & The Drive By Truckers
Next Stop: Wes Freed & The Drive By Truckers Here's a quick dispatch this morning in between projects...Later this afternoon I'll interview The Drive By read more...
Ben Hall Salutes Charlie Louvin on New EP
A LITTLE MORE BEN HALL Ben Hall's new Tompkins Square released EP--A Little More Ben Hall--salutes country music legend Charlie Louvin. Louvin passed away in January from his read more...
Drive-By Truckers To Headline 2011 W.C. Handy Festival in Florence, AL
A concert by the Drive-By Truckers with special guests The Decoys, along with music icons Donnie Fritts and Spooner Oldham, will read more...
A "Found Poem" on Craig's List--Thorsby, AL, June 22, 2011
Free Donkeys (3) found and arranged by Penne J. Laubenthal (photo from www) My mom won 3 read more...
Billy C Farlow Tours in Europe to Promote "Alabama Swamp Stomp"
Blues harmonica player and songwriter Billy C Farlow left last week for a month tour of France and surrounding countries to promote his new album
Swampland's Gospel, Funk & Soul Collection
Swampland's Gospel, Funk & Soul Collection It's arguable that one of America's finest contributions to history is music. Deep forms of music culminated from various influences that mold a specific style. In this dispatch, read more...
Girl Power: A Compilation of Swampland's Most Talented Female Artists
Swampland Salutes Southern Women: Volume 1 Today we'd like to salute all the great southern female artists we've covered here at Swampland. We've compiled a list of cornerstone interviews/articles/reviews pertaining to these talented read more...
Summer Merle Haggard Southern Tour Dates
Upcoming Merle Haggard 2011 Southern Tour Dates Country music legend Merle Haggard prepares for his upcoming summer tour. At 74, Haggard still records, tours and writes timeless music. His work casts a long and wide shadow on American music. Over the years, read more...
O Brother, Where Art Thou? Celebrates 10th Anniversary
O Brother, Where Art Thou? Celebrates 10th Anniversary GRAMMY® ALBUM OF THE YEAR FOR 2001 O Brother, Where Art Thou? CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY WITH EXPANDED TWO-CD DELUXE EDITION NEW BONUS DISC INCLUDES read more...
Rejoice and Shout: The History of Gospel Music
Don McGlynn's Latest Documentary Rejoice and Shout Directed by Don McGlynn, Rejoice and Shout documents the 200-year history of gospel music in America. The two-hour film traces fusions of multiple musical styles such as plantation work songs, read more...
Drive By Truckers Play Georgia Theatre Grand Opening August 12 & 13
Drive By Truckers Play Georgia Theatre Grand Opening The Drive By Truckers will play two shows for the Grand Opening of the venerable Athens, Georgia, venue--
Billy Reid Shindig in Florence, AL, June 3-4, 2011
Next weekend (June 3-4) will mark the third anniversary of the annual Billy Reid Shindig in Florence, Alabama.
The Civil Wars Play Tornado Benefit at Historic Shoals Theatre in Florence, AL
Once again the marvelously magical duo, The Civil Wars (Joy Williams and John Paul White), took the stage in front of a sold-out house and a wildly enthusiastic audience. This time they were read more...
A Memorial Day Tribute: An Early Salute
A Salute To All The Veterans An early salute for the upcoming weekend... In honor of Memorial Day, and all the read more...
Meet Matthew Nolan, Poet and Resident of New Orleans
Matthew Nolan, who subtitles his books "A New Orleans Poet," is the author of two collections of poetry and prose: Crumpled Paper Dolls (2004) and Exhuming Juliet (2009). read more...
Never A Pal Like Mother
Happy Mother's Day 2011 Happy Mother's Day to Everyone! Since it's Mother's Day weekend, I thought I write a dispatch around the great Atlanta label
Deadly Tornadoes Hit The South
Deadly Tornadoes Rip Through The South "Sirens were blowing, clouds spat rain And as things came through, it sounded like a train..."
CD Reviews of 2011 (So Far...)
CD Reviews of 2011 (So Far...) " I will see you on Good Friday..."
Film Reviews of the Past
Swampland Film Reviews of the Past Today's dispatch includes a list of various films reviewed on Swampland. This follows up recent lists of book and
Book Reviews of the Past
Book Reviews of the Past on Mystery and Manners Today I thought I'd include a list of a few books reviewed on Swampland from the past. Perhaps a title will ignite some inspiration for a reader to seek out a specific book or story. While a read more...
Isabel Wilkerson, Pulitizer Prize Winning Journalist, To Speak at University of North Alabama
Isabel Wilkerson, the first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize in the history of journalism, will be speaking at the University of North Alabama (in Florence, Alabama) at 12:30 PM, Thursday, April 14. read more...
Rock and Roll in the Rocket City Continues with Part 3 by Jane DeNeefe
Swampland is celebrating The Year of Alabama Music with a series of articles by Jane DeNeefe about rock & roll music in read more...
Widespread Panic's Sunny Ortiz Calls On His Day Off
Widespread Panic Percussionist Calls From Home Today Widespread Panic's
Friendship, Love & Betrayal in Modern Times
Friendship, Love & Betrayal In Modern Times “You got a lot of nerve to say you are my friend When I was down you just stood there grinning…”
Delta Born Blues Legend Pinetop Perkins Dies at 97
Grammy award winning blues pianist Pinetop Perkins died yesterday, March 21, of cardiac arrest at the age of 97. Perkins, whose real first name was Willie, read more...
Southern College Football – End of an Era
For generations around our Swampland Footprint, the play-by-play announcer of your favorite university was like a part of the family. Yes, there was a time before ESPN and billion-dollar network deals when not every game was on television. Classic voices like Tennessee’s John read more...
Alabama Blues Musician Debbie Bond Pays Tribute to Eddie Kirkland (1923-2011)
The funeral service for Eddie Kirkland, "Gypsy of the Blues," was held on Monday, March 7, in Macon, Georgia. Friends came from far and wide to pay tribute to the 87-year-old blues legend who was killed in read more...
Happy Birthday, Sweet Baby James
James Taylor, icon of the music world, is celebrating his 63rd birthday today His debut album "James Taylor" (on the British label Apple) was released in the US in February of 1969. A reviewer for Rolling Stone called the album "the coolest breath of fresh read more...
Widespread Panic, Jason Isbell & Lucinda Williams Set To Perform SXSW
Widespread Panic, Jason Isbell & Lucinda Williams Perform SXSW My friend Jim Flammia sent me a release yesterday regarding All Eyes Media artists performing at South By Southwest next week. Here is the release:
"If You're Not Living on the Edge, Then You're Taking Up Space": Flo Kennedy
Most people are familiar with the life and career of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks, but how many people are familiar with her contemporary-- the flamboyant and vociferous
The Second Cooler: Documentary by Alabama Filmmaker Ellin Jimmerson
The Second Cooler or Le Segunda Nevera is a documentary film by Ellin Jimmerson, Alabama filmmaker, that asks the questions: why are there twelve million Latin American migrants in the United States illegally and why do thousands not survive the border read more...
Eddie Kirkland RIP
Eddie Kirkland RIP Blues guitarist Eddie Kirkland died on Sunday in Florida. Kirkland, born in Jamaica and raised in Dothan, Alabama, served as Otis Redding’s read more...
Merle Haggard On A Saturday Night
Merle Haggard On A Saturday Night This afternoon I re-read Paul Hemphill’s story from Too Old To Cry (1981) about Merle Haggard titled “Okie”. read more...
Meet Tasia Malakasis of Belle Chevre--Alabama's Artisanal Goat Cheese Creamery
If you have not yet tasted Belle Chevre, Alabama's fabulous artisanal goat cheese, you are in for a treat. A couple of weeks ago Randy and I drove about twenty minutes north of Athens, Alabama, to the tiny fromagerie of Belle read more...
Southern College Football – Can the Big 12 Survive?
The world of college athletics was almost turned upside down last summer when possible conference realignment(s) seemed to be rumored on a daily basis. Would the Big 12 still exist in 2011? Texas and Oklahoma to the Pac-10? Texas or Missouri to the Big Ten? Texas A&M to the SEC? read more...
Free Bonus Tracks with The Drive By Truckers’ Go-Go Boots To Support Indie Record Stores
Free Bonus Tracks with The Drive By Truckers’ Go-Go Boots To Support Indie Record Stores In light of the Drive By Truckers new release
R. Garth Reflects On a Concert by The Civil Wars
Last night my friend and fellow writer Richard Garth (author of the Tales from Blue Springs series) attended a concert by the duo The Civil Wars. The concert was held at the WorkPlay Theatre near the University of Alabama Birmingham (Alabama). I asked Richard, who read more...
Like Clockwork, SEC Tops Recruiting
There seems to be a rhythm to each winter over the last few years; an SEC team wins the BCS Championship in January and then the league cleans up in recruiting on the first Wednesday in February. Those two annual events are very intertwined, and we have written for years about how read more...
Pre-Review First Listen: The Drive By Truckers' Go-Go Boots
Pre-Review First Listen: Drive By Truckers’ Go-Go Boots On February 15, the Drive By Truckers officially release their latest studio album,
Arhoolie Records Celebrates 50 Years
Arhoolie Records Celebrates 50 Years Chris Strachwitz, 79, owns Arhoolie Records. The label, founded in 1960, has issued 400 albums, and more than 6500 songs of some of America’s most resonating roots music. Most read more...
Widespread Panic's Sunny Ortiz Discusses 25 Year Anniversary Tour
Widespread Panic’s Sunny Ortiz Discusses 25 Year Anniversary Tour Today I interviewed Widespread Panic percussionist Sunny Ortiz. Sunny called me from Panic’s Brown Cat offices located in the group’s hometown of Athens, Georgia. We discussed read more...
An "Ardent Spirit" Departs: Reynolds Price 1933-2011
Award winning author and longtime Duke professor Reynolds Price died Thursday, January 20, from complications following a heart attack just over a week before his 78th birthday. Price had been a paraplegic since 1984 when surgery to remove a malignant tumor from his spine ("the read more...
Southern College Football – SEC Wins Again
LEAD STORY The numbers are staggering: five national titles in row, a 7-0 record in the 13 BCS Championship Games, and five different schools who have won a national crown during those 13 years.
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit's Upcoming Here We Rest
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit’s Here We Rest The official release date is not until April, but yesterday I received my press copy of Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit’s upcoming read more...
20 Interviews From The Archive
20 Interviews From Swampland/Mystery and Manners Archive Amid other pressing projects, today I thought I’d construct a dispatch regarding 20 interviews from the Swampland/Mystery And Manners archive. Each artist read more...
Drive By Truckers Shift Into Overdrive
The Drive By Truckers Shift Into Overdrive This Friday and Saturday the Drive By Truckers will play their annual benefit concert at Athens, Georgia’s, 40-Watt Club for
Celebrating The Year of Alabama Music with a Series of Articles by Jane DeNeefe
This year, 2011, we are celebrating the Year of Alabama Music. The December 2010 issue of the Oxford American features read more...
Southern College Football – Bowl Season
LEAD STORY The BCS Championship Game is almost here, and the fans around our Swampland Footprint are very eager to see if Auburn can earn the SEC’s fifth straight national title. It’s quite the
Swampland 2011: "Crossing the Creek" and The Year of Alabama Music
Happy New Year to all you Swamplanders. I apologize for the long hiatus between this post and my last one, but the holidays caught me off guard, and I was running in place for about six weeks. My resolution for 2011 is to complete tasks in a timely fashion. I am read more...
Merry Christmas From Swampland
Merry Christmas From Swampland Ho, Ho, Ho…I’d like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas from Swampland. Thanks for all the support. A Happy New Year to you all! Don’t let the Devil get you down. I’ve included a couple of read more...
Southern College Football – Coaching Carousel
LEAD STORY With bowl season beginning and holidays upon us, the big news in our Footprint is the gigantic transformation of the coaching hierarchy in the state of Florida. Do you realize that one-season ‘veteran’ Jimbo Fisher of Florida State is now the dean of read more...
The Way We Were: From the Kitchen Sink to Bea's Beauty Shop
My mother desperately wanted little girls with little curls right in the middle of their foreheads. To that end, she spent years torturing my sister and me in the kitchen sink with Tonis! She would wind our hair tightly on pink plastic rollers and then douse the rollers in a foul read more...
Southern College Football – Championship Week
LEAD STORY The amazing story of Auburn and Cam Newton will continue Saturday when they meet South Carolina in the SEC Championship Game.
Buffalo Radio Show Tonight: Doug Jones (Blind Willy), Rick Cash (Silver Travis), and Author A. Lawrence Haskins
Tonight at 7 pm/est, the Buffalo Radio Show welcomes A. Lawrence Haskins, a novelist whose book "The Whisper of Serpents" is an astounding crime drama. Lawrence is also the mastermind behind his own multi-media empire which includes online talk shows and much read more...
Southern College Football - Week 13 Themes
It’s rivalry week in our Swampland Footprint. Some teams are looking towards league titles (Auburn, Oklahoma/Oklahoma State, NC State, etc.) while some usual stalwarts are just trying to become bowl eligible (Texas, Georgia, Tennessee). The last weekend of the season is the read more...
GRITZ Compilation Volume 5 FREE Dowload Ready!
We are proud to present the new Gritz Stone Ground & Southern Compilation Volume Five. A FREE dowload for the readers of GRITZ! This time we have read more...
Southern College Football - Week 12 Themes
LEAD STORY It finally happened. For the first time since joining the SEC in 1992, the South Carolina Gamecocks will represent the East Division in read more...
Alabama Designer Billy Reid Wins Prestigious CFDA Fashion Award
Vogue magazine has announced that Alabama clothing designer Billy Reid has received the 2010 CFDA Fashion Fund award. The award, read more...
Lynyrd Skynyrd Video Collection
What a way to start the week! Here are some great videos from the Ronnie Van Zant era of Lynyrd Skynyrd. -Buffalo
Southern Literary Trail Celebrates W. B. Huie Centennial
Hartselle, Alabama, native and best selling novelist William Bradford Huie would have celebrated his 100th birthday yesterday, November 13, 2010. To commemorate the
Southern College Football - Week 11 Themes
LEAD STORY The Cam Newton saga continues to be the story of the week in college football. It seems very likely that his father was involved in seeking money for his son’s commitment. Does read more...
GRITZ Salutes All Veterans Today, With Thanks
Drive By Truckers’ Go-Go Boots Out Feb 15, 2011
Drive By Truckers’ Go-Go Boots Out Feb 15, 2011 The Drive By Truckers just arrived in London to prepare for a month long tour of Europe. They will be back in time for Warren Haynes’ Christmas Jam in December. The Truckers’ NYE show will feature horns, Kelly read more...
Southern College Football - Week 10 Themes
LEAD STORY What an old-fashioned Southern soap opera we have on our hands. I’m sure by now you’ve read (or at least heard about) the ESPN story regarding the recruitment of Auburn read more...
Music Maker's 'Homebrew Hootenanny' (And A Lookback)
Music Maker’s Saturday Homebrew Hootenanny Music Maker Relief Foundation, a non-profit organization, dedicated to assisting neglected southern musicians with daily expenses, instrument acquisition, recording, and read more...
Southern College Football - Week 9 Themes
LEAD STORY So much of the national attention (ESPN) at this point in the college football season goes to just the handful of teams in the BCS chase. Auburn-- as well read more...
Alabama Born Matt Cain Pitches Shut Out for SF Giants in Game 2
Matt Cain, powerful and versatile pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, showed his stuff last night when he pitched a nearly perfect game shutting out the Texas Rangers 9-0. Cain threw about 102 pitches before he was relieved in the seventh inning. What a way to continue the read more...
Dylan, Petty & Drive By Truckers Participate In ‘Back To Black Friday’
Dylan, Petty & Drive By Truckers Participate In ‘Back To Black Friday’ In support of independent record stores, November 26 stands as ‘Back To Black Friday’. Artists such as Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, The Drive By Truckers, Iron & Wine, U2, read more...
Storytelling in the South--"Life: Legends and Lies" in Athens, Alabama
Mark Twain may be one of the best known storytellers of all time and, by his own admission, one of the biggest liars, but the art of storytelling did not die out with the passing of Mark Twain one hundred years ago read more...
Mark Kemp, Keith Richards, Bloodkin & The Fandango Brothers Last Night at Dog Ear Books
High Grade Fun: Mark Kemp, Keith Richards, Bloodkin & The Fandango Brothers At Dog Ear Books Last Night "Never got a flash out of cocktails When I got some flesh off the bone. Never got a lift out of lear jets
Caught Glove-Handed: Stone Crabbing in the Gulf of Mexico
"Did you catch them or buy them?" I asked my son John Laubenthal when he sent me this photo. " I caught them glove-handed," he replied. John lives on the lagoon in Panama City and catches/eats all things marine. The apple does not fall far from read more...
Southern College Football - Week 8 Themes
LEAD STORY It’s a huge weekend in the Big 12, with conference and national title implications. Top-ranked Oklahoma travels to undefeated Missouri, while read more...
Double Whammy: The Coffee Shop Chronicles of New Orleans and Books-A-Million
This week I am excited to provide the Swampland audience with a double whammy. My friend David Lummis' novel
Southern College Football - Week 7 Themes
LEAD STORY With South Carolina’s huge 35-21 victory over Alabama, the SEC’s current streak of four straight National Championships looks to be in read more...
Nobel Peace Prize Campaign For Willie Nelson
Nobel Peace Prize Campaign for Willie Nelson A Nobel Peace Prize Campaign has been launched for Willie Nelson and his FARM AID efforts. For the last 25 years Nelson has assisted the American farmer through FARM AID as well as raised awareness of healthy foods.
Great Places in America: The BMA Sculpture Garden in Birmingham, Alabama
The American Planning Association (APA) recently named the Charles Ireland Sculpture Garden at the
Southern College Football - Week 6 Themes
LEAD STORY Florida State and Miami meet Saturday night in South Beach for their usual heated clash. This rivalry has lost a little luster read more...
Patterson Hood's Benefit for U.S. Congress Candidate Russell Edwards
Patterson Hood’s Benefit For Russell Edwards Patterson Hood and
It's Never Too Late To Read a Banned Book
I recommend that you start with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or perhaps All The King's Men, or even To Kill A Mockingbird which just celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. The great poet T.S. Eliot once said that his parents forbade him to read more...
Southern College Football - Week 5 Themes
LEAD STORY Alabama and Florida will meet in Tuscaloosa Saturday in a battle of the last two National Champions. It’s been over two years since the Gators lost a regular season SEC game (Ole Miss, September ’08), and it’s been read more...
President Obama Describes Meeting Bob Dylan
President Obama Describes Meeting Bob Dylan On September 17, 2010, President Obama conducted an interview with Jann Wenner for Rolling Stone magazine. It’s an extensive read more...
Billy C. Farlow, Mercy Band, and Alabama Swamp Stomp
Hold on to your habaneros. Blues legend Billy C. Farlow is once again having too much fun with a brand new cd, and he is hotter than ever. In the spring of 2009, Billy C. read more...
A Conversation with Alabama Guitarist & Songwriter Riley Watkins
Riley Watkins To Discuss Grandma's Roadhouse Everyone likes a good story. The Riley Watkins story proves to be one you should hear. This Alabama guitarist and songwriter stands as an obscure American hero that any real music fan would love.
Southern College Football - Week 4 Themes
LEAD STORY Week 4 will be ‘Definition Saturday’ in our Swampland Footprint, especially in the SEC West. We should begin to see the true identity of many of our teams and what they have the potential to achieve in 2010.
Neil Young's Southern Shows & Le Noise...Bob Dylan Southern Tour Dates Released...Island Notes
Neil Young in Clearwater Florida Tonight Before the release of his new record Le Noise on September 28, Neil Young will play a string of southern shows beginning tonight in Clearwater, Florida. On the full moon tomorrow Neil plays Hollywood, Florida, and then read more...
Inside Alabama Politics: Fish Frys, Barbecues, and Chittlin' Suppers
According to my friend Dr. Susan Parker, Alabama politics is not just about politics; it is about food and lots of it. No political rally is complete without a read more...
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers MOJO Tour: The Last Five Days
The Last Few Shows of Mojo Tour Last night Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers played in Raliegh, North Carolina. Only five shows remain on the MOJO tour. For these last shows, ZZ Top serves as the opening band.
Southern College Football - Week 3 Themes
LEAD STORY After last season, we wrote how the ACC would look for improvement in 2010. Last year’s campaign was summed as read more...
Filming "The Help": News and Blues in the Delta-- Greenwood, MS
About seven miles east of Greenwood, MS, the rolling hills suddenly go flat, a sure sign you are entering the Delta. We had driven to Greenwood via the leisurely
Southern College Football - Week 2 Themes
The Complete Hank Williams Mother's Best Recordings
Hank Williams Complete Mother’s Best Recordings A new 15-CD collection of Hank Williams’ radio programs will be released this month. The collection—
2010 SEC Season Outlook
The nation’s toughest conference looks primed for another stellar season on the gridiron. Alabama and Florida, the last two National Champions, will aim for a third straight appearance in the SEC title game.
Download the New Gritz Compilation CD Free
The new GRITZ STONE GROUND & SOUTHERN COMPILATION VOLUME 4 is ready for FREE DOWNLOADING! We are extremely pleased to present the September edition featuring an amazing lineup of songs, new read more...
Jim Jarmusch Conjures Tom Waits, Neil Young & The North Mississippi Allstars In Interview
Jim Jarmusch Conjures Tom Waits, Neil Young & North Mississippi Allstars Jim Jarmusch serves as the guest curator on Sunday for a festival in Monticello, New York, called All Tomorrow’s Parties. Jarmusch’s films always contain vivid musical imagery. Jarmusch read more...
Guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan--Twenty Years After His Tragic Death
Guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, called by many the greatest blues guitarist since Jimi Hendrix, died read more...
Hot Haitian Jazz and a Cool New Album by RIYEL (Watters, Atkins, and Abel)
Jazz trumpeter and Alabama native Ken Watters has joined with several of the country's top musicians to form an eclectic and exciting jazz group called
Ray McKinnon: From The Drive By Truckers To Hal Holbrook To Hank Williams
Ray McKinnon Stars in a Film About The Last Days of Hank Williams Adel, Georgia, born Ray McKinnon now ranks as a formidable actor, director, producer and writer in the industry. McKinnon’s most recent appearance is in the Drive By Truckers' video
Jimmy Dean--"Thirty Years of Sausage, Fifty Years of Ham"
Jimmy Dean, who died on June 13 of this year, would have been 82 years old today, August 10. In honor of his birthday, I prepared his fabulous low fat turkey sausage for breakfast. To tell the truth, I have read more...
Spotlight On Ed King
One of Southern Rock's greatest guitar slingers is Ed King, the former member of Strawbery Alarm Clock who went on to legendary status in Lynyrd Skynyrd. Today, we revisit our read more...
The Dog Days Descend
Dog Day Afternoon In the Peach State A quick note as the Dog Days descend here in Georgia…I briefly visited Stanley Booth and Diann Blakely today to talk shop, so to speak. Look read more...
Ronnie Van Zant Featured in Legends Scrapbook
Check out our latest Legends of Southern Rock Photo Scrapbook page featuring the great Ronnie Van Zant! - read more...
Still More Rare Lynyrd Skynyrd Video
Oldtimers Charades or "You Know Where She Sits in Church"
As I approach yet another birthday, I try even harder to find the humor in aging. Here is my latest attempt. Southerners have never let anything, including a sudden total loss of recall, interfere with good conversation.
Gritzfest II Videos Feature Bonnie Bramlett
We really had a great time at GRITZFEST II back in February, and are happy to present some video from that magical night, shot by Rick Broyles and read more...
Even More Rare Lynyrd Skynyrd Video
SEC Media Days Attract Huge Attention
The SEC tops the nation when it comes to college football so it should be no surprise that the "Media Days" in July draw so much interest. Media members from all over the country marvel at the three day spectacle that has gridiron fans counting the days until the season read more...
Roadtrip to the Shoals: Billy Reid Couture, Trowbridge's Ice Cream, and Sweetwater Plantation
I just bought my first Billy Reid. No, not Armani or Versace. Much better!!! Billy Reid, whose creations read more...
Upcoming Benefits and Shows
A very special benefit concert is being held for guitarist Rick Kurtz (Delbert McClinton, many others) on Sunday, August 8, 2010 from 3-8 PM at Moonlight On The Mountain in Birmingham, AL. There will only be 100 tickets sold for the intimate read more...
SEC Continues Its Run of Excellence
The SEC ended another stellar year with another national championship. South Carolina won the school’s first ever national title when they swept UCLA at the College World read more...
Looking Good at Sixty-Three--Jimmy Buffett Rocks the Gulf Coast
Been there, done that, have the pictures to prove it, but I wish I had been in Gulf Shores last night for the Jimmy Buffett and Friends Benefit Concert. Thanks to CMT, a portion of the concert was read more...
Black Death in Louisiana and The Gulf
Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster. This oil spill is a man made disaster. There’s a big difference. This whole issue has made me pig biting mad. As I watched the evening news last night I was appalled and sickened by the oil damage to the beautiful gulf coast. The read more...
Cowboy Ray Johnson, Father of Swamper Jimmy Johnson, Dead at 89
Ray Johnson, age 89, a native of Iuka, Miss., lived in Sheffield, Alabama for more than 60 years, working until retirement as a crane operator at Reynold's Aluminum, and heading one of the most prominent families in the Muscle Shoals music industry.
The Drive By Truckers Hit the Road Next Week with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Fourth of July Dispatch Happy Independence Day to all your great Americans…Next week The Drive By Truckers and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers hit the road for most of the month. Now, that’s a ticket worth buying.
Reading "The Coffee Shop Chronicles of New Orleans" by David Lummis
Perhaps because I was an English professor for most of my life, friends are always asking me what good book I have read recently. Well, I am happy to report that I have
Music For A Cause: Benefit Concerts from Nashville to Gulf Shores
One week after country music stars rallied to raise over $2 million for Nashville, TN, flood relief,Jimmy Buffet will give a benefit concert live from
Spotlight Videos: Jo Jo Billingsley
Here's a video tribute to our friend Jo Jo Billingsley.
Jo Jo Billingsley Memorial Scheduled
There will be a memorial service for Jo Jo Billingsley White at Spirit Life Church of God in Cullman, Alabama on June 27th at 2 PM. Directions: Follow I-65 TO EXIT 310 Go east on hwy 157 approximately three blocks. There is a Texaco with a Wendys inside. Turn Right on St. read more...
For The Love of JoJo Billingsley; We'll Miss You My Friend
My dear friend JoJo Billingsley White this morning lost her battle with cancer. Like so many oithers, I am deeply saddened, but at the
Alabama Authors To SIgn Books at Keller Festival in Tuscumbia
As a part of the 32th Annual Helen Keller Festival held this week in Tuscumbia, Alabama, several Alabama authors will be signing their read more...
Rare William Faulkner Collection Auctioned by Christie's in NYC
A collection of William Faulkner memorabilia primarily including first editions (some inscribed) of his novels, manuscripts, personal correspondence (a telegram to read more...
Past Interviews & Upcoming Artists of Note
Greetings Folks, I hope all is well, and everyone enjoyed Father’s Day… Change is afoot, and we’ve got a lot on the horizon, but for the past week much of the work has gone on behind the scenes. On the immediate agenda, the work of
Spotlight Video: Bonnie Bramlett and Delbert McClinton 1981
What a way to start the week! My buddy Peter Cross just informed me that someone has posted the two performances of "Givin' it up for Your Love" and "Shotgun Rider" from Saturday Night Live 1981 with
Alabama Bred Artist Paxton Creates Pelican Belt Buckle To Help Save Gulf Coast
My talented nephew, California artist and Elk River native Paxton (Mobley), has been creating fine art for over twenty years and has become a favorite with collectors. Recently, he began desiging original belt read more...
Lynyrd Skynyrd Receives Congressional Record Tribute at U.S. Capitol
Johnny Van Zant, Gary Rossington and Rick read more...
Alabama Author Albert Murray Symposium and Book Launch at Lincoln Center
Two of my good friends, Jeanie Thompson (poet and Executive Director of the Alabama Writers Forum) and
Conference Realignment: Gene Stallings Has A Texas-Sized SEC Vision For A&M
Consider us here at Swampland Sports a bit ahead of our time. In September of 2007, we published an article about realigning southern college conferences so that read more...
More Music, Moviemaking, and the Annual Helen Keller Festival in the Shoals
You know it's summer in Alabama when the annual Helen Keller Festival week is about to commence. This year the 32nd annual festival in Tuscumbia, AL, (one of the four cities in the Shoals) will run read more...
Talented Texans and Bengals Look for Consistency
Two teams in our Swampland Footprint that will look to repeat a winning season in 2010 are the Cincinnati Bengals and the Houston Texans. Both franchises have seemed to be a little snake-bitten over the last few years. Cincinnati looked like an exciting passing team on the rise in read more...
Sweet Home Alabama and Bitter Politics
Mudslinging has reached new heights in the rainsoaked red clay of Alabama. Gone are the usual insinuations and innuendo, and in their place are vicious verbal attacks. Party lines have been crossed, and insults have become downright personal.
More Muscle Shoals Soul: Percussionist Jimmy "BeBop" Evans
Yesterday I was having breakfast at Cafe Savanna in Rogersville, AL, with my dear friends Susan and Paul read more...
Third Time is a Charm for Bo Bice
Hey gang. Former American Idol runner up Bo Bice has a HOT new album out. You gotta check it out. Read my review here, and be sure to vivit the link below for "all things Bo." Keep it Real. Keep it read more...
Titans and Falcons Add Solid Defenders in the Draft
One of the most important aspects of the NFL Draft is knowing your identity and drafting accordingly. Two franchises that have played that strategy well in recent years are the Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons. Both teams made that Playoffs in 2008 and then barely missed a read more...
The Black Keys, Band of Horses, and the Magic of Muscle Shoals
"Soul nirvana" is what one writer calls Muscle Shoals, that area of the Quad Cities in northwest Alabama where such legendary musicians as
Valdosta, Georgia, Native Mark Neill Produces Black Keys' Brothers in Muscle Shoals
Mark Neill Produces Black Keys Brothers In Muscle Shoals Mark Neill--a Valdosta, Georgia, native--stands as a heavy in the music community. He used to play in a great band called The Unknowns. He runs
Sister Schubert: From a Sunporch in Alabama to the Corporate Boardroom
I have been a fan of Sister Schubert rolls since I popped the first delectable morsel in my mouth some 15 years ago. The name Sister Schubert is a household word in my family, my sister's family, my daughter's read more...
Bo Bice Donates All Profits from New Record to Nashville Flood Relief
Bo Bice has announced that he will donate all of his proceeds from his single, “Long Road Back,” to a variety of flood assistance programs that are aiding victims of the recent Nashville-area flooding disaster. Bice made the announcement during an interview on the read more...
Spotlight on Former American Idol Bo Bice
Southern Rocker and former American Idol Bo Bice has a hot new country and Southern Rock album out. Look for a review in GRITZ soon. For now, we want to spotlight our archived inbterview with this good ol' Alabama rock and roller, in which he told us just how he read more...
Holly Hollman Writes about the Dying Art of Shoe Repair
RiverVue's guest writer for this week is journalist Holly Hollman of the Decatur Daily . The following
Promise to Thomas is First of Four Excellent Southern Rock Festivals Coming Soon
Several benefits and outdoor festivals are on tap for the coming months, including a Southern Rock benefit in North Carolina this weekend, Promise To Thomas is a benefit show that will take place tomorrow, May 9th at 487 Blossom Ferry Rd. read more...
Great New Music: Toler Townsend Band and Preacher Stone
I sure hope everyone is having a great weekend. As for me and my puppy dog, we have been rocking out on a few of the great CDs I have wanted to review since back before the temporary blindness. And brothers and sisters, there have been some fine releases, including read more...
NFL Draft Impressions: Rams Get Their Man; Jags Disappoint Their Fans
Did your team improve? Is your fan base excited about the direction of your squad? We will take an in-depth look at the NFL Draft over the next couple of weeks, but wanted to give our read more...
April is the Busiest Month: Alabama and New Orleans
Every week in April has been busy with a literary or cultural event in the state of Alabama including the Alabama Book Festival, an annual event in
The Turntable Blues: Reverend Johnny L. "Hurricane" Jones
The Turntable Blues Born in the backwoods of Alabama, Rev. Johnny L. “Hurricane” Jones—now 73—still preaches at the Mount Olive Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, after 53 years. He continues to preach and sing as well as broadcasts a popular read more...
Excursion to New Orleans
What an amazing adventure I have had in Louisiana this past week. I am starting a series on Swampland about my adventures in the Crescent City (see New Orleans
Atlanta Film Festival Screens Drive By Truckers' The Secret To A Happy Ending April 23
The Secret To A Happy Ending Screening Filmmaker Barr Weissman's documentary on Athens, Georgia's, Drive By Truckers--
Celebrate Record Store Day 2010!
Record Store Day 2010 is read more...
Buffalo Roaming: GRITZFEST II : A Review
by Michael Buffalo Smith Now where were we? On February 25th, 2010 I was staying at the Hotel Preston in Nashville with my new friends Gig Michaels and Mark Carlyle of the band Swampdawamp. We had driven in through the cold rains the night before. By the time read more...
Tom Kimmel at 9th Annual Writers Conference, Calhoun College, Decatur, AL
I just returned from a long weekend in the Crescent City, but I don't plan to miss the annual writers conference on Thursday, April 15, at Calhoun read more...
A Drive By Truckers Secret Weapon: The Jenn Bryant Interview
The Jenn Bryant Interview by James Calemine Behind every successful band or artist there are at least several individuals behind the scenes who read more...
New Orleans and the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival 2010
I don't get down to New Orleans nearly so often as I would like although it is a place close to my heart. New Orleans is one of my top three cities in America, along with
The Robert Osborne Film Festival Begins Today In Athens
The Robert Osborne Film Festival Begins March 25 Several weeks ago, I attended
Pioneering Alabama Civil RIghts Photographer Charles Moore Dies
The year was 1963. I picked up a copy of the May Life Magazine and was appalled to see graphic images of fire hoses and police dogs being turned on helpless protesters in
The Wes Freed Interview
March 2010 Interview with Artist Wes Freed I'd like to personally thank Wes Freed for his contributions and read more...
How Duane Allman and Sam The Sham Gave Clapton His "Key To The Highway"
Athens, GA attorney John Lyndon, brother of the late ABB road manager Twiggs Lyndon, passed on a remembrance right before the Allmans started their run of NYC shows last night. He was generous enough to allow us to share it with everyone: I saw Eric read more...
The Drive By Truckers' The Big To-Do Out Tuesday March 16
The Big To-Do Out March 16 (ATO Records) The
Wes Freed Talks About Artwork For New Drive By Truckers Album The Big To-Do
Wes Freed Talks About Artwork for The Drive By Truckers’ The Big To-Do Last week I interviewed Virginia artist
Tribute to Southern Literary Icon Barry Hannah
Award winning Southern author Barry Hannah died Monday, March 1, at his home in Oxford, MS. read more...
Update From Michael Buffalo
Hello to all of the GRITZ readers. The editorial staff at Swampland wants to pass on a message from Michael Buffalo. He wants to inform everyone that complications from recent eye surgery have left him temporarily unable write dispatches or read emails for the read more...
Sweet Home Alabama: Movie Making and Music in Muscle Shoals
A Pitch Video, like a "Demo Reel" in the music business, about the music of the Muscle Shoals entitled "Sweet Home Alabama--The Music of Muscle read more...
Buffalo Roaming: Gritzfest, Aaron Kelly and Swampdawamp
It's clear but cold here in Nashville today, and I have been having a relaxing day here at the Hotel Preston. Mark and Gig told me it is a great place and now I know. The beds are amazingly comfortable and the staff are all just real nice folks. I took a lunch meeting read more...
The Road to Gritzfest: Buffalo Roaming Again
Well it looks like ol' Buffalo will be roaming once again a little later this evening. As y'all know by now, we have the big Gritzfest II coming to Bama on Friday, and as you also most likely know, I am still not up to par with my vision following last week's laser read more...
Today's Interview with Patterson Hood
Today's Interview with Patterson Hood On the eve of his annual Guitar Pull, I called Patterson Hood. Best known as the leader of the Drive By read more...
Sunday Sounds: Interviews, Songwriters, A Film Festival & The Drive By Truckers
Sunday Sounds: Interviews, Songwriters and The Drive By Truckers It’s been a busy week for interviews. Wednesday I interviewed
Jimmy Hall Added to GRITZFEST LIneup
We are happy to announce the addition of Jimmy Hall to the lineup for GRITZFEST II, to be held at Crossroads Music Hall in Huntsville, Alabama on Friday evening, February 26th beginning at 7:30 PM. The concert will benefit GRITZ Charities, with portions of proceeds going to read more...
Grandma Got Run Over By A Treadmill or Southern Belles at Midlife
First of all let me say that I am not a grandmother, but I am old enough to be one. That being said, I will continue with the story. In an effort to level the playing field in the never-ending battle against bulge, my sister (did I mention she weighs 122 read more...
The Strange Case of Dr. Amy Bishop
As the story behind the fatal shootings at the University of Alabama-Huntsville on Friday, Feb 13, begins to unfold, the actual facts behind the incident become more and more obscure. First of all, those who were victims of the read more...
New Information on William Faulkner's Historical Sources Comes to LIght
According to an article in this week's New York Times (February 11, 2010), a Southern literature scholar from Emory read more...
GRITZ Presents All New Volume II Free Compilation Download
The second "Gritz Stone Ground & Southern" compilation is now available! The FREE album download features another
Bob Dylan & The Blind Boys of Alabama Prepare for White House Performance Wednesday
A Celebration of Music From the Civil Rights Movement
A Timeless American Lineage: The Six Degrees of the Dickinson Family
The Six Degrees of The Dickinson Family Dispatch The late Jim Dickinson--along with his sons read more...
SEC Continues to Rule the Recruiting World
National Signing Day has passed, and once again the teams of the SEC were dominant in the rankings. The conference that has won the last four National Championships (with three different schools) continually pulls in the top classes, and that's what it takes to compete in America's read more...
Frigid February Is Hot Month for Arts in South
Temperatures may be hovering around freezing in the south in February, but the mercury is rising in Mississippi, Georgia, and Alabama when it comes to the fine arts The first weekend in February marks the 7th Annual Oxford read more...
National Signing Day: Christmas Morning for Southern Football Fans
It’s finally here- a virtual holiday in our Swampland Footprint.
Book Reviews of the Past: Adventures in the Literary Realm
Mystery and Manners Book Reviews of the Past On this Tuesday evening, I thought I’d lash together a book review read more...
The Drive By Truckers' Secret To A Happy Ending
The Impending Onslaught of The Drive By Truckers Congratulations to
Alabama Schools Getting It Done in Recruiting
As National Signing Day arrives this Wednesday, fans will hear a ton about Texas and Florida (as well as Georgia) as those states produce so many top Division I players. But another state where recruiting success is being seen in a big way is Alabama. We all know how well Nick Saban read more...
Buffalo's Top Ten List For The Week of January 29, 2010
Howdy guys. Well it's Friday and we are under a winter storm warning so I have assembled a playlist that i feel will warm up anyone's cold day. Check 'em out. 1. Lady
Paul Hornsby Among Inductees to Alabama Music Hall of Fame 2010
Former Capricorn Records producer and musician Paul Hornsby is among those chosen for induction into The Alabama Music Hall read more...
The Long Awaited Lance Ledbetter Interview
The Long-Awaited Lance Ledbetter Interview The story of Dust To Digital is a divine one. In the late 1990s, Lance Ledbetter set out to discover read more...
Michelle Obama To Host Civil Rights Music Night At The White House
First Lady To Host White House Music Series The First Lady will host The 2010 White House Music Series, which includes a
Patterson Hood Scores Soundtrack for That Evening Sun
That Evening Sun Features Patterson Hood Soundtrack
GRITZFEST II Coming To Huntsville, Alabama February 26th
A little less than five years after the first highly successful GRITZFEST, Swampland.com, Gritz.net and Concerts South are proud to announce a very special all-star benefit show to be held at Crossroads Music Hall in Huntsville, Alabama on Friday evening, February 26th beginning at read more...
Prelude To Interview with Dust To Digital's Lance Ledbetter
Prelude To Interview with Dust To Digital President Lance Ledbetter This evening I finished transcribing my interview with the President of read more...
Paul Hemphill's Home Movies For The Folks
Home Movies For the Folks In my friend Paul read more...
Sunday Southern Rock Videos
Here are a few videos for your Sunday spotlighting some of the artists featured on our free Stone Ground & Southern Compilation. Check 'em out and if you haven't yet downloaded your free album,
Crimson Tide Rules: Alabama Celebrates in Life and Art
It was like the closing of the Red Sea in the Rose Bowl Stadium in
Skinny Molly Gets Political
Skinny Molly will be appearing on former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee’s show “Huckabee” on Fox News this Saturday, January 16, 2010 (8:00 p.m. EST and 7:00 p.m. CST). The band will be
SEC Daily Fever: Georgia Still Searching for New Defensive Coordinator
Bud Foster, John Chavis, and Kirby Smart. That looks like a list of top defensive coordinators in our Swampland footprint, but it also the candidates who have turned down the chance to work for Mark Richt this offseason.
Download The New GRITZ Digital Compilation FREE
It's quite a special day in the Swampland. Today we begin our monthly series of digital music compilations. and every month we will be offering you the GRITZ reader a FREE download of new music from many of the artists you read about here in GRITZ. The first read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Bama Win Keeps SEC on Top
The SEC captured a fourth straight National Title Thursday night with Alabama’s 37-21 win over Texas in the BCS Championship Game.
Happy BIrthday Week: Elvis Presley and Sam Phillips (Sun Records)
Today, January 8, Elvis Presley would have celebrated his seventy-fifth birthday. On Tuesday, January 5, Sam Phillips, the man who read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Alabama Playing for National Title and Conference Pride
Alabama has played their way back to the national forefront over the last two years, and they will try to cap that run with a victory over Texas in tonight's BCS Championship Game. If the
Yellow Dogs and Blue Dogs: Alabama's Three? Dog Night
I know what a Yellow Dog is. A Yellow Dog is a Democrat who would vote the Democratic ticket even if he or she had to vote for a yellow (aka "yaller" dog). But what on earth is a
SEC Daily Fever: Meyer Faces Tough Choices Between Florida and Family
Some important decisions are now at hand for Urban Meyer and the Florida athletic department. After the Gators destroyed an overmatched Cincinnati team (dealing with read more...
Looking Back at 2009
On the last day of 2009, I thought it only made sense to recount the ten most imortant events of the year from the GRITZ perspective. 1. The Allman Brothers Band read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Meyer Saga Leaves Doubt Around UF Program
What a roller coaster of a week it’s been for Florida Gator fans. The wishy-washy Urban Meyer drama has left a cloud of uncertainty over the program read more...
Merry Christmas
Mystery And Manners Christmas Dispatch Ho Ho Ho Folks, Merry Christmas! I'd like read more...
2009 Top 20 New Music Releases
Top 20 Mystery And Manners 2009 Music Releases I hate to split hairs, and even begin to rank music but read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Saban Not Worried about Facing Former Assistants in Title Game
The media has raised the question recently whether or not Texas assistants Will Muschamp and Major Applewhite, who served under Nick Saban at LSU and Alabama respectively, give the Longhorns any advantage with their familiarity of the Tide coach as they prepare for the BCS Title read more...
Jo Jo Billingsley Recovering From Emergency Cancer Surgery
Our thoughts and prayers go out to our dear friend JoJo Billingsley White, who was diagnosed this week with abdominal cancer. Jo Jo was admitted to the UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama, read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Gator Fans not feeling the Sugar Bowl after SEC Title Loss
It currently looks like Florida fans are not very fired up for the Sugar Bowl against Cincinnati. As we approach Christmas, the Gators are read more...
Alabama Stocking Stuffers
Still stumped for stocking stuffers this Christmas? What about giving the lasting gift of art, music, film, or literature by Alabama authors, artists, musicians, and filmmakers this holiday season ? Here are just a few of the must-haves that will please any readers on read more...
A Little Help From My Friends: A Big Thank You
I would like to say a public “thank you” to those who helped us out during the past few months. Some donated items for an auction to help with medical bills and equipment, while others made cash and in kind donations to help both GRITZ and the ol’ Buffalo himself. read more...
Guest Writer for this Week Reminds us To Count Our Blessings
As Christmas grows closer and 2009, which has been a difficult year for everyone, draws to a close, some of us may find it a bit more difficult than usual to count our blessings. The South has been extremely hard hit by the recession. Friends have lost their read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Brooks receives accolade for another solid season at Kentucky
The website collegefootballnews.com had a very interesting choice for their conference Coach of the Year- Rich Brooks of Kentucky.
SEC Daily Fever: Vols Sign Simms Youngest Son
Many teams in the conference added a junior college prospect or two yesterday, and one of the more interesting names to sign was quarterback Matt Simms at Tennessee. Besides the fact that he is the son of Phil Simms, this signing is interesting because his older brother (Chris read more...
A Christmas Miracle: White Pelicans Return to Elk River
White Pelicans are a rarity on Elk River. I had never seen one north of Gulf Shores, but on Christmas morning of 2007, a read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Meyer's December Shows the Roller Coaster of Being an SEC Boss
From the outside looking in, things appear pretty sunny for Urban Meyer at the University of Florida. He is 56-10 in five seasons in Gainesville, has won two League and two National Titles, had an undefeated regular season this year, and has another Top 10 recruiting class on the read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Spurrier Extended at South Carolina
it may not seem like a big deal that South Carolina added an extra year to Steve Spurrier's contract this week, but it shows the USC administration is sticking with the program. After some late season fizzles the last few years, it would be easy to jump right back into the coaching read more...
Alabama Actress Kim Dickens in HBO Series "Treme"
Treme, a made for television series set the the historic area of
SEC Daily Fever: Ingram Wins Bama's First Heisman
There aren’t many “firsts” left with the University of Alabama’s football history, especially now that Mark Ingram became the Tide’s only Heisman Trophy read more...
The Best Releases of 2009
Well, it’s time once again to run down the GRITZ Best Albums of 2009. It wasn’t easy. There was a lot of good music this year, but we narrowed it down to our twenty best. Let us know what you think.
SEC Daily Fever: Kiffin denies any wrongdoing
In one year on the job at Tennessee, Lane Kiffin has become a lightning rod for the national and regional media. His brash attitude and recruiting prowess has rubbed some writers and some other coaches the wrong way.
The GRITZ Top Ten for Friday, December 11, 2009
1. “Monday Morning Meltdown” Gov’t Mule From their new (and red hot) release. Just one of Warren Haynes’ amazing new compositions. Got Mule? 2. “Tougher read more...
A Big To-Do About The Drive By Truckers
Drive By Truckers Upcoming New Disc The Big To-Do Athens, Georgia’s own,
SEC Daily Fever: Alabama Proves That It Takes Money To Make Money
Last January, Swampland answered the national media criticism of escalating coach’s salaries by saying “SEC Coaching Dollars Make Sense”. read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Kiffin Must Replace Some Top Recruiters
A constant theme on Tribal Fever has been the importance of recruiting, and how all of the top teams in the conference recruit at the highest level.
SEC Daily Fever: All-League Squad Looks Like NFL Draft Primer
The SEC is considered the big dog conference in college football right now, especially with Alabama aiming to win the league’s fourth straight National Title. With
SEC Daily Fever: Alabama Domintates Florida in SEC Title Rematch
Alabama rode a physical offense and a swarming defense to the SEC crown as they defeated the defending league and national champion Florida Gators 32-13.
SEC Championship: The Long Road to the Rose Bowl Stadium
The day was September 12, 1970. The integrated football team of University of Southern California met the all-white team of the University of Alabama at
SEC Daily Fever: Championship Game Becomes the "Southern" Super Bowl
It’s finally here. #1 vs. #2. Florida vs. Alabama- 24 wins and no losses. Winner goes to the BCS Title Game, while the loser heads reluctantly to the Sugar Bowl.
Potato Hole Nominated For 2 Grammys & 2010 Drive By Truckers Tour Dates
Potato Hole Nominated For 2 Grammys & 2010 Trucker Tour Dates Booker T. Jones’ latest album,
SEC Daily Fever: Richt Fires Martinez, Other Defensive Assistants
About ten days ago, we wrote how Georgia fans wanted some changes in Mark Richt's staff after a frustrating season.
SEC Daily Fever: Florida Dealing with Distraction before Big Game
Florida was dealt a self-imposed blow this week in their quest to repeat as SEC and national Champions. All-American defensive end Carlos Dunlap
SEC Daily Fever: Could Florida and Alabama Play Twice?
It’s time to address the question on the minds of many college football fans- if Texas loses in the Big 12 Championship Game and the SEC Game is a close one, could we see a Florida-Alabama rematch in the BCS Title Game?
SEC Daily Fever: Thrilling Weekend Shows League's Strength
The SEC saved its best for the last week of regular season play. There were a number of exciting games where the conference showed its power and depth.
SEC Daily Fever: Bama Barely Escapes in Thrilling Iron Bowl
Much like Texas on Thursday night, Alabama got a scare from their in-state rival but also remained unbeaten with a 26-21 last-minute win.
The GRITZ Top Ten for Friday, November 27, 2009
Every Friday GRITZ brings you our “Top Ten,” a playlist of songs past and present that we have been listening too here in the office - songs you just can’t live without. Check ‘em out and please leave a comment. 1. Amos Moses
SEC Daily Fever: Georgia and Mark Richt Could be Staring at 6-6
Many around our Footprint (and the country) believe Les Miles is having the toughest week amongst SEC coaches, but you could argue that it's even worse for Georgia's Mark Richt right read more...
Meet Alabama Author Anita Miller Garner
This week Swampland reviews Anita Miller Garner's recently published collection of short stories: Undeniable Truths. read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Wild Sequence Ends with LSU Gaffe, Ole Miss Win
The ending of the LSU-Ole Miss game had fans all over the country glued to their TVs, and scratching their heads as well. The Tigers missed both chances to tie the game on a two-point conversion with 1:17 left, but then recovered an onside kick to keep their hopes read more...
Shades of Thanksgivings Past: Post Thanksgiving Stress Disorder
As we approach another holiday season, I thought I would repost an article I wrote the week after Thanksgiving one year ago. I called it "PTSD: Post Thanksgiving Stress Disorder." . ------- December 7, 2008 Well, here we are again. Thanksgiving has read more...
The Drive By Truckers Contribute To Eddie Hinton Tribute
Very Extremely Dangerous Singles Shake It Records has released a series of limited-edition 45-rpm vinyl singles, and
The GRITZ Top Ten for Friday, November 20, 2009
Every Friday GRITZ brings you our “Top Ten,” a playlist of songs past and present that you just can’t live without. Check ‘em out and please leave a comment. 1. “Ramblin”
SEC Daily Fever: Ole Miss Looks To Continue Late Season Surge Against LSU
The top two teams in the conference have been pretty clear for a while, and the rematch in Atlanta is already set for Florida and Alabama. But who's next? LSU has seeimngly been that third squad all year with their only two losses coming against the Gators and Tide. One team read more...
Spotlight On Duane Allman On His Birthday Friday
Tomorrow is the 63rd birthday of Duane Allman. I can think of no better tribute than the following piece, written by GRITZ reader and Facebook friend Brian Ringo. He really summed up my own feelings on Skydog as well. Thanks Brian. Keep it Real. Keep it read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Chizik's First Year Shows Promise
Auburn suffered a tough loss to Georgia last weekend to fall to 7-4, but even the heavy crtics of Gene Chizik’s hiring would have to admit it's been a good first season. The Tigers will take this Sataurday off as they prepare for the Iron Bowl. And speaking of Alabama,
SEC Daily Fever: Florida's Defense Leading the Way in 2009
While Tim Tebow gets all of the national attention, SEC fans know why the Gators have maanaged to stay undefeated once again this year-- their stellar defense. The Florida read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Brooks Making History At Kentucky
With their win over Vanderbilt last Saturday, Kentucky became bowl eligible for the fourth straight season. The Wildcats went to three straight bowl games in the read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Ole Miss' McCluster Has Record Day Against Distracted Vols
Wonder if Ole Miss would increase the speed limit on campus from 18 (Archie Manning's retired number) to 22 after Saturday? #22 Dexter McCluster had a monster read more...
The GRITZ Top Ten for Friday, November 13, 2009
Every Friday GRITZ brings you our “Top Ten,” a playlist of songs past and present that you just can’t live without. Check ‘em out and please leave a comment. 1. Save The Planet Dixie Tabernacle From the
SEC Football:Don't Spill Bourbon On My Mink--Or My Donna Karan
This Friday's Wall Street Journal published an intriguing
SEC Daily Fever: Kiffin Must Be Decisive In Dealing With Player Arrest Incident
For Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin, this week was supposed to be about continuing the Vols current momentum (on the field as well as recruiting) and winning the "Coach O" game in Oxford. Instead, he's dealing with his first 'crisis management' experience as three UT freshmen read more...
No "Lazybones"--Happy 100th Birthday Johnny Mercer, RIP
According to The Business Insider, fourteen of the twenty-five laziest cities in America are in the south (ie,, in the Swampland footprint). with
SEC Daily Fever: Georgia And Mark Richt Desperate For An Auburn Win
Georgia fans are feeling a little nervous these days. The Bulldogs have already been blown out by two rivals, Tennessee and Florida, and they will face two more in Auburn and Georgia Tech over the next three games.
SEC Daily Fever: Spurrier Says He's Staying At South Carolina For The Long Term
As South Carolina and head coach Steve Spurrier prepare to host #1 Florida on Saturday, this game is a reminder to Gamecock fans of what their coach built at his alma mater and what has not happened in Columbia.
SEC Daily Fever: Officiating Issues Creates Negative Vibes For Top League
It’s the story that won’t go away- another week, another game where bad officiating dominates the league conversation. The SEC read more...
November 9, 2009 Interview with Chuck Leavell
2009 Interview with Rolling Stones Keyboardist Chuck Leavell Greetings folks, I'm pleased to present today's interview with The Rolling read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Alabama Beats LSU, Wins West
Alabama won a physical 24-15 battle against LSU on Saturday, and they now have cemented the highly-anticipated SEC Championship Game rematch with Florida. The Tide read more...
Excerpt Two From Fall 08 Chuck Leavell Interview: The Rolling Stones
Fall 08 Interview with Chuck Leavell Excerpt Two In Part Two from my Fall 08 Interview with
Swampland Search Engine and Links
Dear Y'all, I have had many people asking me about our site search engine, and I want to assure you all that it is being worked on. We are aware of the issues with the searches and the bad links and our webmaster is working to resolve the issues as soon as possible. We are read more...
SEC Daily Fever: LSU-Alabama Is The National Game Of The Week
The eyes of the college football world will be on Tuscaloosa Saturday afternoon when #9 LSU meets #3 Alabama. This game has conference and national read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Meyer looks bad after Spikes debacle
Many fans around the league are asking the question this week: what kind of program is Urban Meyer running in Gainesville? While many have questioned Meyer’s recruiting read more...
Gritz Fan Page On Facebook to Offer Special Surprises
The Gritz Fan Page at Facebook is up and running. I hope you will all take the time to
A Message From Patterson Hood
Latest notes from Patterson Hood on what’s going on in Drive-By Truckers’ world.... Y'ALL: Decompressing from our late October read more...
ACC Daily Fever: Andrews leaves an amazing legacy at FSU
As expected, longtime Florida State defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews announced yesterday that he will retire at the end of this season. And what a read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Georgia's Richt looks to right ship in Athens
While much of the attention following the Florida-Georgia game has been on Brandon Spikes eye-gouging of Washaun Ealey, the reality for the Bulldogs is that they have the feel of a program that has slipped a notch from past seasons.
The Top Ten Instrumentals of The Southern Rock Era
This list might be very different if one were to count the instrumental jams at the end of “Free Bird,” “Green Grass and High Tides” and “Highway Song.” But alas, we are listing only full instrumental tracks. Also note that their are
Patterson Hood Solo Gigs This November In Georgia
Drive By Truckers Front Man Books Solo Shows Close To Home
Meet Alabama Poet Harry Moore
Dr. Harry Moore, professor emeritus of English, is the guest author for this week on Swampland. Harry has been a friend and colleague of mine for over three decades. He
SEC Daily Fever: Seemingly Insufficient Punishment For Spikes Sparks Controversy
Is a half-game suspension at home against Vanderbilt really a punishment? That’s what many are wondering after Urban Meyer read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Freshmen SEC Coaches Seeing Success
One of the consistent themes in the conference this season has been the effect of the three new coaches. That continued on Saturday with Tennessee, Auburn, and Mississippi read more...
Video of the Day: Bettye Lavette and Shoals Allstars at Wexler Memorial
Bettye Lavette performed her own "Drown In My Own Tears" after her tearful tribute to Jerry Wexler at Jerry's memorial on October 30, 2009 in NYC. read more...
SEC Daily Fever: "Cocktail Party" Remains A Great Southern tradition
It's more than just a football game. Whether it's golf tournaments, concerts, or just a long weekend with friends, the Georgia-Florida game has become a can't miss event for both fan bases and for read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Ole Miss Looks To Finish Strong
As Ole Miss prepares to travel to Auburn this Saturday, Houston Nutt's team will look to build the same second half of the season momentum that they did in 2008.
SEC Daily Fever: Tebow Shuns The Media
An interesting scenario happened after the Florida win at Mississippi State; Tim Tebow did not meet with the media.
At The Intersection of Bell, Williams, Parsons & Redding
A Brief Note At An Intersection of Country Soul The second volume of
SEC Daily Fever: Officials Under Heavy Scrutiny
Here we go again-another week, another rash of bad and missed calls that have SEC coaches angry. A week after Arkansas’ Bobby Petrino was reprimanded by the league office, two more read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Bama Hangs On Against Tennessee
We have used the term "survive and advance" several times during league play, and that's just what Alabama (barely) did with their 12-10 victory over read more...
Geezefest 2009: Yankee, Come Home!
On September 25, 2009, forty-four years after students from New Jersey, New York, and environs first appeared on the campus of Athens College (now Athens State University),
SEC Daily Fever: LSU needs Auburn win to stay on league's top shelf
Most in the local and national media are already looking towards December for the highly- anticipated Florida-Alabama matchup in Atlanta, but one team who has the talent to throw a wrench in that scenario is LSU.
SEC Daily Fever: Nutt Back In Spotlight As Ole Miss Prepares For Arkansas
When the 2009 season kicked off, Ole Miss looked to be a contender in the West while the Arkansas was supposed to play the role of spoiler - but roles could be reveresed after this Saturday's game.
SEC Daily Fever: Kiffin And Saban Build Their Programs Using Past NFL Perspective
As Tennessee and Alabama prepare for their annual October clash, the Vols seem to be a couple of recruiting classes behind the Tide in building a roster to compete for a league title.
Chuck Leavell Fall 08 Interview (Part One) Dispatch
A Note of Introduction This lost interview with Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell was conducted last fall. That week Chuck would read more...
Meet John Lee of "When The Buddha Met Bubba"
Writing under the pseudonym of Richard "Dixie" Hartwell, John Lee, the best-selling author of The Flying read more...
SEC Daily Fever: League Refs Under Scrutiny After Missed Calls
It seems to happen every week- fans gripe about the refs. While part of that is just fans being fans, this season has seen an especially high number of questionable calls around the SEC.
SEC Daily Fever: Florida Squeaks By Arkansas, Drops to #2 in AP
We wrote on Friday that Florida could be in for a classic trap game against Arkansas, and that’s what it turned out to be.
Jerry Wexler Memorial Celebration October 30
Tribute To Jerry Wexler In New York City on October 30 a memorial will be held for the great
SEC Daily Fever: Should Florida be on Upset Alert?
Is this the one? Even though the Florida Gators have won two of the last three National Titles, they lost a surprising game in the middle of both of those seasons. Urban read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Can LSU Still Challenge For the West Crown?
We wrote earlier this week that it’s beginning to look more and more like a Florida-Alabama rematch in the SEC Title Game.
Meet Kelly Kazek: Swampland Guest Writer
Journalist and author Kelly Kazek joins us on Swampland to write about an exciting events to take place this weekend in Athens, Alabama: the
SEC Daily Fever: Snead and Ole Miss Are Struggling
Along with Georgia, one of the most frustrated fan bases in the league at the halfway point has to be that of Ole Miss. Their record will not look that bad after read more...
Chuck Leavell on Mother Nature Network (Part One)
Chuck Leavell Talks About Mother Nature Network (Part One) Last fall when I wrote
SEC Daily Fever: Georgia Coaching Staff Under Fire
There is some extra heat radiating from Athens these days, as Mark Richt tries to regroup his Bulldogs after being blown out by Tennessee. AJC columnist Mark Bradley called Georgia’s 45-19 loss in Knoxville “
SEC Daily Fever: Florida and Alabama On Path For Title Rematch
Tim Tebow did start and play against LSU Saturday night, but it was the Gator defense that dominated the game and propelled Florida to a 13-3 road victory in Death Valley.
Pat Conroy "South of Broad" Contest Winners Announced
Congratulations to all of those who participated in the Pat Conroy "Win a Copy of South of Broad Contest" sponsored read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Will LSU's Running Game Beat Florida?
Prime time national television audience, Baton Rouge, #1 vs. #4; this one should be fun. That’s the scenario as Florida travels to LSU amid questions read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Arkansas Has Much To Prove Against Auburn
Arkansas came into the season with the goal of at least being a factor in the SEC West, if not more. Already at 0-2 in league play, the Hogs begin a stretch this Saturday read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Saban and Nutt Share Mutual Admiration
While the Florida-LSU matchup is getting much of the conference attention this week, another key league game will take place when Ole Miss hosts Alabama. The read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Auburn Faces Offensive Shootout At Arkansas
While most of the attention in the league has gone to the three teams in the Top 4 of the polls, maybe the best story of the early season has been the resurgence of Auburn.
SEC Daily Fever: LSU's Tight Win Sets Up SEC Mega-Clash
It may not have been the most well played game, but what a finish we all got to see in Athens Saturday. LSU led Georgia 6-0 after three quarters, read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Georgia Looks To Define 2009 Season Against LSU
Saturday’s huge clash between Georgia and LSU will go a long way in defining the Bulldogs’ season. Mark Richt’s bunch is 3-1, a pretty solid record read more...
Lynyrd Skynyrd On The Tube This Weekend
Lynyrd Skynyrd will appear on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on Friday, October 2nd performing their new single, “Simple Life.”
SEC Daily Fever: LSU Can Prove Their Top 5 Ranking Between the Hedges
LSU will begin a brutal three-game stretch this Saturday that will test their lofty #4 national ranking.
Topic for Final Week of the Pat Conroy Contest: Place in Southern Writing
In William Faulkner's masterpiece Absalom, Absalom!, Canadian Shreve McCannon who is Quentin Compson's roommate at read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Auburn Faces Litmus Test in Tennessee
It has been quite the successful beginning at Auburn for new coach Gene Chizik. His Tigers have started 4-0 while putting up 45.3 points and 526 yards a game, read more...
Buffalo's Top Ten List For The Week of September 29th, 2009
1. Kris Kristofferson Closer to the Bone (CD) I wear this one like a warm winter coat. To me, it is what music is all about - great songs, no frills, read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Hogs Desperate for Win in Big D vs Texas A&M
Can you have a must-win game at the beginning of October against a non-conference opponent? That’s the feeling around an Arkansas squad that sits at read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Is Bama the league's top dog?
Florida still has the #1 spot in the national polls, but many believe Alabama is staking a claim as the best team in the read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Gamecocks Embrace the Spotlight While the Rebels Wither
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. South Carolina played a physical game led by their relentless defense and took down #4 Ole Miss 16-10, Thursday night in Columbia in a classic SEC headknocker.
Poets Jeanie Thompson and Kathleen Driskell at Athens State University
Poets Jeanie Thompson and Kathleen Driskell will be reading from and talking about their latest collections of poetry at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009, at
SEC Daily Fever: Rebels-Gamecocks Ready To Prove It in Primetime
It should be a great Thursday night national television matchup between Ole Miss and South Carolina, two teams that have a lot to prove.
Pat Conroy Contest Week 3: Relationships in Southern Writing
The Pat Conroy Contest enters week three on September 23. There are some great posts on the
SEC Daily Fever: It's Offense vs Defense When Arkansas faces Alabama
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. One of the more interesting storylines this Saturday will be seeing
SEC Daily Fever: Verbal Jabs Between Meyer and Kiffin Escalate
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. New Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin may have gotten the first word in between him and Urban Meyer when he boldly (or stupidly depending on your point of view) announced read more...
Lynyrd Skynyrd On TV Tonight
Just a quick heads up for all the Free Birds. Lynyrd Skynyrd will appear on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien tonight, September 21. They will be performing their new read more...
SEC Daily Fever: New Coaches Show Early Promise
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. The story of the early SEC season continues to be the impact of the new coaches. We already knew the strength of the top teams in the league (Florida, read more...
Buffalo's Top Ten List For The Week of September 19th, 2009
1. Swampdawamp Rock This Country (CD) The singer has one of the most unusual voices since Jim Dandy, and the band just plain rocks, read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Meyer Looks To Make Statement Against Kiffin
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. The national media has had this game circled since Lane Kiffin's hiring press conference earlier this year. Kiffin and Tennessee will travel to the Swamp this read more...
16th Trail of Tears Ride and Commemorative Sculpture in Tennessee
Tne Sixteenth Annual Trail of Tears Remembrance Motorcycle Ride will begin this weekend (Saturday, September 19) in Chattanooga, TN. Held annually on the third Saturday in September, the
SEC Daily Fever: Hogs-Dawgs Could Be The SEC Game of The Weekend
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. One of the more interesting matchups of the weekend has to be Georgia traveling to Arkansas. (Give Mark Richt credit - his tough schedule has kept his team on read more...
Buffalo's Recording History (So Far)
I received a nice e-mail the other day from a lady in Alabama who said some very nice things about Gritz and my writing. She said she had been following my career since 1999, and that she was equally into my music. She asked if I could send her a complete discography and also tell read more...
Pat Conroy Contest Topic #2: The Significance of Family in Southern Writing
"You got to learn to stick to your own blood or you ain't going to have any blood stick to you" says the barn-burning father Ab Snopes to his ten year old son Sarty shortly before Ab burns yet another barn and Sarty turns his back on his father and runs away into the dark read more...
Family In Southern Lit and the Pat Conroy Book Contest
Greetings, I’d like to direct everyone’s attention to a contest Swampland, our Writers of the South Facebook group, and Doubleday Books are running to win a read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Chizik Tries To "Manage" Auburn Fans' Expectations
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. Auburn fans have had more than a little frustration with their offense over the last few seasons.
In Memory of Four Little Girls: Birmingham Church Bombing 1963
On this the 46th anniversary of the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, that killed four little girls, I am reposting an piece I wrote over a year ago. Here are the opening lines of the
SEC Daily Fever: Kiffin Continues Tennessee's Recruiting Gains
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. Saturday was a tough day for Lane Kiffin and the Vols.
SEC Daily Fever: UGA and South Carolina Deliver Early Season Drama
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. What a game between Georgia and South Carolina. With their recent history, we all expected a low scoring, defensive affair.
SEC Weekend Fever: Mullen vs. Chizik
SEC Weekend Fever Previews Top Stories for the Upcoming Weekend Auburn hosts Mississippi State in 2009's first meeting between SEC rookie coaches. Quite a lot has changed in a year for both squads.
SEC Daily Fever: Georgia & South Carolina Ready Defenses For A Tight Game
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. Mark Richt and Steve Spurrier are both offensive-minded coaches, but it looks like they have to rely on their defenses to win early in 2009.
An Affirming Flame: Remembering 9/11
I wrote this essay three days after the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City (September 11, read more...
Week One Essay Topic: Destiny and Fate in the Novels of Pat Conroy
Prince Hamlet declares in the final act of Shakespeare's play "There's a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will." The Irish novelist Frank Harris says "There is a destiny that shapes our ends...." The debate over fate versus free will has raged read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Gut Check time for Georgia
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. After dropping the opener at Oklahoma State, it is a huge week for Georgia as they try to avoid an 0-2 start when they battle South Carolina Saturday.
SEC Daily Fever: Solid Debuts For New Coaches Makes Conference Even Deeper
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. With the exception of the Georgia loss, it was a pretty solid start for the SEC. The biggest story had to be the debut of the three new coaches.
Complete Guide To Lynyrd Skynyrd Launched
We are very happy to present the latest in our Six Degrees of Swampland series, a complete guide to every article related to Lynyrd Skynyrd on the site. In addition, we have tossed in read more...
Pat Conroy Sweepstakes : Win Copy of South of Broad
Beginning on Wednesday, September 9, 2009, Swampland.com in conjunction with our Writers of the South Facebook Group and Nan A. read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Spurrier Lets Defense Rule Over Wolfpack
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. It wasn’t pretty, but South Carolina relied on their defense for a hard fought read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Tide Duo cleared to play in Opener
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. Although the NCAA did find a violation in the Alabama case involving receiver Julio Jones and running back Mark Ingram,
SEC Daily Fever: Auburn Opener Provides Dilemma for Vince Dooley
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. An interesting scenario presents itself for SEC legend Vince Dooley in the Auburn-Louisiana Tech opener.
SEC Daily Fever: Embattled Dawgs D Gets Opening Challenge
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. While much of the talk in Athens has been about replacing Matt Stafford and Knowshon Moreno, the key to the 2009 Georgia season may lie in the improvement of the read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Bama Locks Up Saban For Another 3 Years
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. A contract extension for Nick Saban, whose megadeal already runs through 2014?
Dan Toler To Be Interviewed Tonight, Listen Live Online
This in from our Alabama "man on the street" Sonny Edwards If you love great music, you will want to tune in to "Down Home Cookin" with Larry "T", on Clear Channel Port Charlotte - Kix Country PM Drive/Americana PD - today, Friday, August read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Ole Miss Fans Hoping For a Monumental Season
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. Coming off a Cotton Bowl win and with quarterback Jevan Snead returning, the expectations at Ole Miss are as high as ever. The fan base has responded by
SEC Daily Fever: Vols' Brown cleared by the NCAA
$(document).ready(function() { $('p > a[href*=swampland]').after(''); $('p > read more...
Rare Photos of Skynyrd & Rossington Collins Band Added to Scrapbook
Hi there sports fans. I am very excited about the latest page of photos added to the Legends of Southern Rock Photo Scrapbook, There are some pics of the original
SEC Daily Fever: Latest On Julio Jones and Alabama
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. It's the story that just won't go away in Alabama.
No Holds Barred: Blackjack Mulligan
Of all the wrestlers I have seen step into the squared circle, none was more exciting than the “man in black,” the Texas giant known as Blackjack Mulligan.
SEC Daily Fever: How will Kiffin's offense fare in Year 1?
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. As expected, Tennessee has named senior quarterback Jonathan Crompton the read more...
Art Scene in Athens, Alabama: Local Southern Authors Rule
The literary scene is booming in the small town of Athens, Alabama. In the past year at least four authors have published their work.
SEC Daily Fever: The Gamecock Spotlight Shines on Garcia in South Carolina
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know It’s nothing new for Steve Spurrier to seem upset with the play of his quarterbacks.
Possums Tales and Other Southern Fare
I was inspired to write about possums when I first saw this sign in front of Hickory Barn read more...
SEC Daily Fever: SEC Media Policy Upsets the Press
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know A huge debate is about to happen regarding the direction of the league’s media coverage.
Delbert McClinton is Back and in Fine Form
Delbert McClinton has a new record out called Acquired Taste. The album was produced by Don Was and features the guitar work of the late Stephen Bruton. He also dedicated the album to the memory read more...
SEC Daily Fever: Tough Break for Improving Vandy
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know Vanderbilt’s defense suffered a major blow with
Swampland Makes The New York Times; Jim Dickinson Memories
Swampland was quoted in an article in The New York Times today. Their article on the recent death of Southern music icon
SEC Daily Fever: Tough Injury for the Razorbacks
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. The Arkansas defense has suffered a major loss with the news that
SEC Daily Fever: Auburn Names QB Starter
SEC Daily Fever is the top SEC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. Chris Todd was recently named the starting quarterback at Auburn, and he
Trailblazing Playwright Judi Ann Mason Dies at 54
Judi Ann Mason, who died of a ruptured abdominal aorta Wednesday July 8, 2009, was widely known in the film and television industry. Born in 1955 in
Dick Cooper Recalls Jerry Wexler, One Year After His Passing
It was one year ago this weekend that Southern Music lost one of its dearest friends, the great record man Jerry Wexler. At the time of Wex's death, we called upon one of read more...
Toby Keith's Controversial New Video, See It Here
Toby Keith has never been one to hold back on his feelings. Now he has a new song and video that are already stirring up controversy. Imagine that. I'll leave the commenting up to you, our readers. Let us know what you think! Meanwhile... Keep it Real. Keep it read more...
Art from Alabama to New Orleans and Along the Trail of Tears
This week's feature is about Going Green in New Orleans--how one city is turning trash into treasures. As we become more and more environmentally read more...
More Legends Added to Photo Scrapbook
Howdy y'all. I hope everyone is having a great weekend. It's time once again to add another page to our ongoing Legends of Southern Rock Photo Scrapbook. No theme this time, read more...
Pat Conroy, Cassandra King, and Rick Bragg In Birmingham
I could not wait to pass on this exciting information from Alabama Booksmith . Pat Conroy is coming to
Truth & Salvage Company Fly with The Black Crowes
The Black Crowes Take Truth & Salvage Under Their Wing The Truth read more...
Summer Tour Notes Volume 6: Drive By Truckers Righteous Path Tour
Tour Kicks Off In Nashville August 6 "Ain't bitching bout the things That aren't in my grasp Just trying to hold steady
My Life According to Billy C Farlow--Lost in the Ozone
There is a clever little game making its way around the internet. The game is called "My Life According To ....." To play you simply substitute your choice of artist or band and then answer the questions with song titles recorded by the artist. I found it read more...
In Defense of Steve Spurrier: How The Ole Ball Coach's Honest Humility Might Help Carolina
Is the SEC seeing a new side of Steve Spurrier in the wake of what seemed to be an uncharacteristic performance at this year's SEC Media Days? His current situation hinges around a piece Swampland Sports wrote last February
Remembering Eddie Hinton Fourteen Years Later
It was fourteen years ago today, on July 28, 1995 that the world of Southern Music lost one of its finest talents, Eddie Hinton. Although I never met Hinton, I almost feel like I knew him. Through the writings and conversations with Johnny Wyker, Dick Cooper, read more...
That's What I Like About the South: Whitt's, White Sauce, Dale's Sauce, and Sundrop
In this series of blogs, I would like to talk about victuals (pronounced "vittles") that are uniquely southern. The first stanza of the song "That's What I Like about read more...
Hank Williams, Jr Kicking His Record Company to The Curb
According to an online interview/blog, Hank Williams, Jr. is fed up wih his record company and looking for a new recording home. He says this is his last album for CURB read more...
Guest Writer Diane Lehr and Renowned Ceramicist James Watkins
Swampland is honored to have Diane Lehr as our guest writer for this month. Lehr graciously consented to do a feature on renowned ceramicist James read more...
Levon Helm's Electric Dirt Remains True To American Musical Soil
Levon Helm's Electric Dirt You can't say enough about
Hank William's, Jr's Best Album in Years, New Scrapbook Pics Lynyrd Skynyrd 1971
After eleven years of listening to new CD releases in country and Southern Rock I admit I have become somewhat jaded. It takes something really special to stop me in my tracks. Well campers, that is exactly what happened with the new release from the living legend Hank Williams, Jr read more...
Summer Tour Notes Volume 5: Music Maker Relief Foundation
Mystery And Manners' Summer Tour Notes Number 5: Music Maker My friend
Can the Big 12 or the ACC catch the SEC?
With every football season, the conversation around the nation leads to the inevitable question- who is the best conference? Many fans answer the same every year (their favorite) while others look a little more objectively. I found it interesting a couple of weeks ago when separate read more...
Sandlin Legacy Continues with Cinder-Graham
The latest brilliant star to shine over Alabama hails from Decatur, and at the tender young age of 18 she possesses the soul of a singer many years older. It’s a voice that falls somewhere between that of Susan Tedeschi and Jennifer Nettles. Her name is Ella Cauthen, and she read more...
28th Handy Blues Fest in Florence, Alabama, July 17-26
W. C. Handy's autobiography Father of the read more...
Orrin Hatch's Folly: Senator, College Football Is About Conferences, Not Teams
After concluding Senate hearings about the BCS, Senator Orrin Hatch wrote an op-ed piece that appeared on ESPN.com. Here's a selection of that article: During the June 7 read more...
Hank Williams Snapshots From The Lost Highway
Snapshots From The Lost Highway “In the great book of John You’re warned of the day When you’ll be laid Beneath read more...
Doctor from Alabama Obama's Choice for Surgeon General
Once again Alabama has made the national news. For the last two weeks the web has been buzzing about a speech that financial guru and CEO of Retirement Systems of read more...
A Tribute To Paul Hemphill: On The Road
A Tribute To The Late Paul Hemphill In the wake of the sad passing read more...
Paul Hemphill RIP
Mystery And Manners' Flag Flies At Half Mast Not a good day. My friend
Classic Allman, Skynyrd and More Added To Legends Scrapbook
Greetings from South Carolina! Today I am happy to present yet another page of historic Southern Rock photographs in our ongoing Legends of Southern Rock Photo Scrapbook. Great old pictures of Gregg and Duane Allman, Toy and Tommy Caldwell, Ronnie Van Zant, Bonnie Bramlett read more...
Exploring The Swampland
Hi Guys. Just a note. Don't forget to check out the rest of our Swampland,com site for great stuff like James Calemine's new interview with
Billy C Farlow, Delta Blues, and More News from Elk River
Well, we have survived yet another holiday weekend on Elk RIver. This weekend we did not burn down read more...
The Shocking Loss of Steve McNair
So there I was in Nashville- relaxing by the water with friends on the 4th of July like most of us like to do. Then I heard something that made the festive holiday mood fade quickly; “Steve McNair had been shot”. Could this really be, or maybe it was just bad read more...
Time Flies Like An Arrow
“Time read more...
Guns for God?
"I don't see any contradiction in this. Not every Christian denomination is pacifist." - Ken Pagano, the pastor of the New Bethel Church in read more...
Advice to Mark Sanford: Never Put it in an Email and Never Lie to Your Staff
Unless you have been in the jungles of Borneo for the last four days, you know that
Not Everyone Can Be From Alabama
Continuing with my theme of levity for the rest of this month, I thought I would share with you this delightful guide to Alabama entitled "Understanding Alabamer" that has been making the rounds read more...
Medusa Meets Bride of Frankenstein: A Night at the Sleep Clinic
After my very serious piece about US Highway 72, I thought all of us could use a little levity. Hope you get a laugh out of my recent night at the read more...
New Scrapbook Photos Feature Classic Molly Hatchet, Black Oak
Hi Guys. Well, I am heading out for the Winters Brothers Summer Jam early Friday, so I won't be able to post a blog until late Friday night or Saturday. Meanwhile, check out the latest page in our
Prayers & Light For Paul Hemphill
Prayers & Light For Southern Writer Paul Hemphill I cannot explain the difficulty or pain it causes me to write these next lines... My friend read more...
Tennessee Rules: Places to Experience, Music That Rocks, Vistas That Amaze
This month I want to share with you the incredible diversity and exquisite beauty of my neighboring state, the "volunteer" state of Tennessee. From geography (Tennessee is often referred to as the read more...
Muscle Shoals Swamper Barry Beckett Has Died
The Swampland flag is once again flying at half mast. A member of the Muscle Shoals “Swampers” has died. Producer and Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section keyboardist Barry Beckett, 66, died Wednesday, June 10, at his home in Hendersonville, Tenn., after years of read more...
Highway 72--Not the "Highway To Hell" but the "Highway From Hell"
My eyes are bleary and my hands are shaking as I write this blog. I had planned to post a cheery and humorous little piece about possums, but instead I am writing about senseless death. Tomorrow I will bury my second friend to be killed on Highway 72
The Drive By Truckers' Fine Print
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Drive-By Truckers Polish Up Unreleased Songs For New Album The Fine Print (A read more...
Southern Baseball Leads the Way Again
On the eve of the College World Series and Major League Draft, we thought we should take a look at some of the top baseball prospects in our Swampland read more...
Allman Brothers, Bonnie Bramlett and More Posted On New Legends Scrapbook Page
Hey gang! More new Southern Rock photos have been posted in the Legends Scrapbook. Allmans, Tucker, Bonnie Bramlett and much more. Check it out here! Keep read more...
Alabama Poet Jeanie Thompson to Read from New Collection in NYC
Alabama author Jeanie Thompson will be reading from her most recent collection of poetry The Seasons Bear Us on read more...
A Talk with Patterson Hood about Murdering Oscar
The Drive-By Truckers' Frontman Discusses New Solo CD Yesterday I conducted an interview with
Helen Keller Lives On in the "The Miracle Worker"
On the first day of June,1968, author and activist Helen Keller, born in 1880 in Tuscumbia, read more...
Skynyrd On Stage 1974 Added To Legends Scrapbook
The Scrapbook just keeps getting bigger! Check out page nine, with some never before seen Lynyrd Skynyrd concert shots from 1974. Here's the read more...
Alabama Blues: Freedom Creek Festival and Cigar Box Guitar Extravaganza
Don't miss the chance to travel to the beautiful state of Alabama this weekend for some of the best and as well as some of the most original blues you will ever hear. Looks like Alabama will finally get a break read more...
More Southern Success Stories in Florence, Alabama
When I was a child the only bookstore of any size in North Alabama was Anderson Books which first opened in
Patterson Hood's Murdering Oscar (and other love songs)
Patterson Hood’s Murdering Oscar (and other love songs) On The Way
Jimmy Hall, Artimus Pyle, And Other Southern Rockers Band Together For Dixie Tabernacle
There has been an abundance of “all star” Southern Rock groups over the past few years. Some of them stay the course, while others fall by the wayside, often due to scheduling conflicts. Well, there’s one band that I sincerely hope keeps it together to record an read more...
Alabama and The Civil Rights Movement: Forty-Eight Years Later
On this day, May 20, 1961, a white mob attacked a busload of "Freedom Riders" in Montgomery, Alabama, read more...
Win a Dean Guitar Signed by Legends of Southern Rock
Hi Guys. It's time for the much talked about, long awaited Legends of Southern Rock Contest, brought to you by Swampland and the Facebook Groups
Random Notes, Hoopee Jam, Boxmasters and Such
Greetings, Sports Fans. I was hoping to have our new Boxmasters interview ready for you today, but it turned out to be quite an opus. Still transcribing. But man oh man, is it a good one. I had the opportunity read more...
Parcells Formula Works Again in Miami
Retirement and South Florida mix very well for many of us, but not for Bill Parcells. He left the comforts of retired life to return to football and resuscitate the fading Dolphins, who had been such a successful franchise for many years. Coming off a 1-15 debacle in 2007, the read more...
Smoke on the Water, Fire in the Sky: Mother's Day Weekend on ER
"No matter what we get out of this I know we'll never forget Smoke on the water, fire in the sky "
Texans Need to Break Through the Wall of Mediocrity
The pressure will be coming from the top for the Houston Texans to have their first winning season and first postseason appearance in their eighth year in the NFL. Dom Capers, who read more...
2009 Season Represents a Change in Philosophy for the Cowboys
We must start out by saying that our thoughts and prayers here at Swampland are with the Dallas Cowboys family after the horrific collapse of their read more...
Bengals Have Glimpse of Hope with Stellar Draft
Marvin Lewis is entering his seventh season as the Bengals head coach, and 2009 could very well be his make-or-break season to get the culture of losing changed in Cincinnati.
Panthers Making Every Effort to Win Now
It all seemed to be falling into place for John Fox’s club last season. Coming off a losing 2007 campaign where Jake Delhomme only played three games, Carolina rediscovered their physical running game identity in 2008 and won the NFC South. At 12-4 and the #2 seed in the NFC, read more...
Falcons Future Looks Bright with Dimitroff in Charge
To borrow a line from Robert Randolph, the Atlanta Falcons are now a team that is definitely “going in the right direction". Just two years ago, this organization was in turmoil. Their franchise quarterback, Michael Vick, was arrested on federal charges and consequently read more...
Swampland's NFL Draft Impressions
How did your team do? That’s the question that NFL fans are trying to answer following this weekend’s annual NFL Draft. We will take an in-depth look at each team in our read more...
National Poetry Month and Kentuckian Wendell Berry
April is National Poetry Month, and I have been musing over one of my favorite poems that I keep posted on the door of my refrigerator. It is "The Peace of Wild Things" read more...
NFL Teams Draft Their Identity This Weekend
Well it's finally here-Xmas in April for football fans. The ultimate convergence of pro and college football happens today with the annual NFL Draft. This is a day of hope for every fan base, and it's also the day(s) that NFL executives decide on the identity of their respective read more...
Should NFL Teams Lean Towards Drafting Local College Favorites?
A theme that seems to arise every season in our Swampland footprint is the choice of NFL teams to draft a local college favorite. Most professional organizations will deny that this decision ever enters their thinking, and that they always select the next best player on their Draft read more...
Our Conversation with Cowboy's Pete Kowalke Concludes
Rather than have our Pete Kowalke interview divided in two segments, I today added the second half right onto the first half's page. Check it out here. Pete is a great guy and a read more...
A Few Notes on Widespread Panic Night Two in Orange Beach
Notes On Widespread Panic Show In Orange Beach I just returned from the Gulf Coast where I saw
Clothing Designer Billy Reid Moves Corporate Headquarters to Florence, Alabama
Who would ever dream that an internationally known clothing designer would base his corporate headquarters in Florence, Alabama. For the past four years, Louisiana native
Back To Where it All Began: The Southern Rock Era
I have pretty much decided that the whole "Southern Rock" thing began in 1969. Sure, there were many rock and rollers and rockabillys that lead up to this new genre at the time. Not to mention all the country, blues and gospel players that served as influences on read more...
Matthew Stafford: #1 Pick or Bust? SEC Fans Have Doubts
Few players have a cloud of doubt on them as thick as Matthew Stafford's. Where did these clouds come from? Some have chalked it up to the standard over-analysis during the overly long NFL Draft period that lasts from the end of the college football season to the third read more...
A New (Media) Day Dawning for the SEC
We ran across this video recently, and we thought we'd put it up for everyone to view. It ran at the end of Raycom Sports final SEC game during this past SEC basketball tournament in Tampa. We all know about the SEC's new ESPN deal
Authors Michael Knight and Nanci Kincaid To Speak at Alabama Writers' Conferences
On Thursday, April 16, Calhoun Community College will host its Eighth Annual Writers’ Conference. The featured author for the 2009 conference will be Alabama native
Crosstown Allstars Get New Bassist, and He's a Southern Rock Star
I just got an exciting piece of news from Terry Reeves at Music Matters Entertainment. Tommy Crain & The Crosstown Allstars, who suffered the passing of their bass player and friend
The World's Oldest Living Person and My Nonagenarian Friends
The current adage “Old age is not for sissies” has never been more true. Gertrude Baines, who became the world's oldest living person on read more...
Rocking from Cleveland, Illinois, to Southern France: Spooner Oldham, Wanda Jackson, and Billy C Farlow
April is a huge month for southern musicians. On Saturday, April 4, my neighbor down the river Spooner Oldham and “the sweet lady with the nasty voice” Wanda
A Call From Bruce Burch
A Call From The University of Georgia's Bruce Burch My amigo
Calipari Looks to Return Kentucky to SEC (and National) Prominence
The big decision has finally been made. After nine years of building up Memphis to a perennial power, John Calipari has decided to leave the Bluff City for the money, big conference pedigree, and read more...
2009 Alabama Book Festival Includes Rick Bragg, Frank Stitt, and Nanci Kincaid
This year's Alabama Book Festival will feature a star-studded cast of authors, including author Rick read more...
Duane Trucks Drums On Hot New Highly Kind Release
One of the absolute coolest CDs I have had the pleasure of hearing lately is the debut album from Highly Kind, a band that features Duane Trucks, brother of Derek, nephew of
Historian and Scholar Dr. John Hope Franklin Dies at 94
I first met Dr. John Hope Frankin in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1992 . He was the guest speaker at the
Billy Gillispie's Fate Could Send Big Ripples Throughout the SEC and the Footprint
Mark Wiedmer at the Chattanooga Time Free Press has it right. If Billy Gillispie gets fired, it will create a coaching shakeup around the Swampland read more...
Patterson Hood Shows Announced & Other Athens Music News
Patterson Hood Prepares for a Solo Venture This Summer The Drive read more...
It's Not Just Southern; Everybody Does it: Misheard Song Lyrics, Malapropisms, and Mondegreens
Recently I decided to do a web search on Elton John's "Tiny Dancer," and I ran across this book:
John Wyker's Memories of Duane Allman at FAME
Over the weekend I ran across some discs that house articles from the eleven issues of GRITZ the print magazine. In the coming weeks, we will be adding articles and interviews to the archives that were previously unavailable. Today, I have added a "Cat Taie" read more...
Willie King Lives On in New Blues Song by Blind Albert
Vincent Gabriel (aka Blind Albert) has written a brand new blues song entitled "Ode To Willie King." Gabriel said that he was inspired to compose the song after reading the
Chuck Leavell Interviews Widespread Panic's John Bell
A Stone Interviews John Bell The great
Spooner Oldham Talks About Duane Allman, Delaney and Bonnie, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Much More
Wow. Did The Brothers ever blow the roof off The Beacon last night? And what about Boyer and Talton? Wow. I am very happy to present an interview with one amazing Muscle Shoals talent, Spooner Oldham. Spooner in being inducted ito the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this read more...
Blues Legend Willie King Dies at 65
The music world mourns the passing of blues musician Willie King. Funeral services were held yesterday, March 15, in Aliceville, Alabama, for King read more...
Less Than Six Degrees of Separation: Deryle Perryman, Blind Albert, David Lyman, and Vietnam
For my great-grandparents, the war was the Civil War, for my parents’ generation it was WW II, but for my generation, the war was Vietnam. The Vietnam War shaped a
Horton Foote and William Faulkner: From Page to Screen
The award winning playwright and screenwriter Horton Foote, who died last week at the
Academy Award Winning Playwright Horton Foote Dies at 92
Texas born playwright Horton Foote died peacefully in Hartford, Connecticut, yesterday (March 4th) just ten days short of his 93rd read more...
Where Are They Now? The Gulley Brothers and Jackson Highway
During the mid-seventies, a band formed in Muscle Shoals, Alabama that had a really great Southern Rock sound, but like so many other groups of the era, they never received the national attention they so richly deserved. The band was called Jackson Highway. read more...
Join Our Southern Rock Group On Facebook
I am very happy to announce our new "Legends of Southern Rock" group on Facebook. If you are a Facebook member, just follow the Legends link above and join us. We have one discussion already read more...
Guest Writer Sheila Byrd and the Search for George Washington Harris (1814-1869)
This week’s special guest for RiverVue's Southern Literature: Roots and Branches series is
Mystery And Manners' Special Guest: Poet Diann Blakely
Poet Diann Blakely's Best Books of 2008 With great pleasure and pride, I present Mystery And read more...
Mickey Rourke and The Nature Boy: Pro Wrestling and The Oscars
I am more excited than usual about this year’s Oscars, for several reasons, but the primary reason is the one movie that just blew me out of the water lately. That movie was
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit In Atlanta
Isbell Performs Atlanta Day After New Record Release Last night in celebration of my 41st birthday Robin Lynn took me down to the Earl in East read more...
Sweet Home Alabama Just Gets Sweeter: Literary Events in March
March is definitely coming in like a lion in Alabama this year. March 5-8 marks the occasion of the 12th Annual George Lindsey Film Festival in and around the area of
SEC vs ACC: Clemson and South Carolina Try to Make the Palmetto State Relevant
In continuing our look at the states with both ACC and SEC teams, we move to the Palmetto State, where a ton of changes occurred in the offseason.
SEC vs ACC: Georgia and Georgia Tech Battle for Peach State Supremacy
With recruiting classes signed and spring practices approaching, it’s a good time to look at states in the Swampland Footprint that share SEC and ACC teams. We’re going to start in the Peach State, where a long time
Ready For the Flood
Technical Difficulty & The Path Onward A drizzling rain hit Atlanta last night as I navigated through the shallow waters of technical difficulty…in read more...
The Clock is Ticking for Spurrier at South Carolina
As we continue to take a post-Signing Day look at the coaches and programs in our Swampland Footprint, it’s an interesting time to examine the state of the South Carolina program under Steve Spurrier. An SEC legend as a player and coach at Florida, Spurrier has not yet read more...
For Ole Miss and Arkansas (and Nutt and Petrino), It Looks Like a Win/Win
We've all witnessed the media firestorm surrounding Auburn and Tennessee's respective head coaching hires of Gene Chizik and Lane Kiffin. Like they tend to do, the media took some minor fires of controversy and poured gasoline on them, leaving any remnants of logic and reason read more...
In Defense of Lane Kiffin: The SEC "Family Feud" with Urban Meyer
There is no other conference more proud of itself than the SEC. SEC fans from rival teams hate each other with a passion bordering on the pathological, but when success arrives, it is embraced not just for the winning team but for the conference at large.
Frynds: My Favorite Lynyrd Skynyrd and Friends Videos
Welcome to my Lynyrd Skynyrd video blog. Today, I just wanted to share a few of my favorite YouTube videos of the band jamming with some of their rowdy read more...
SEC Dominance - From the Field to Recruiting (And It Isn't Stopping Soon)
The reaction to Signing Day is always interesting as every coach in America is thrilled with their class while fans have mixed reactions to their school’s ranking and new players. Everyone that followed Wednesday's coverage saw plenty of ESPN's favorite big-market teams read more...
Xmas in February for Southern College Football Fans (SEC, Big 12, ACC, Big East)
It’s finally here! National Signing Day is upon us, and this is the time where quality programs establish themselves for the upcoming years. The welcoming of a new recruiting class energizes fans and provides coaches with the opportunity to show that their school will be-or read more...
Daniel Hutchens Reports On Bloodkin-Drive By Truckers Shows Last Weekend
Bloodkin's Daniel Hutchens Talks About Shows with The Truckers Last night I spoke with my old friend
Mack Brown and the Longhorns Must Judiciously Draw Talent from their Texas Base
Water is wet, the sky is blue, and the University of Texas is working on another top-notch recruiting class. The Longhorns Mine Their State's Natural Talent Base Most BCS schools try to comb their region (if not the read more...
Film in the South: Sixth Annual Oxford Film Festival Begins February 5
This has been an exciting weekend, and so if you have recovered from Superbowl Sunday you might want to make plans to travel to
Sweet Home Alabama: New Tags for Old
Sweet Home Alabama Lord, I'm coming home to you ----"Sweet Home Alabama" Lynyrd Skynyrd Band A brand new license plate featuring a pastel beach scene read more...
To Stewart Mandel, We Say, "SEC Coaching Dollars Make Sense"
Chalk SI.com's Stewart Mandel as the latest member of the national media that just doesn’t understand the culture of the SEC football landscape. Mandel's latest involves
Lane Kiffin is Already Making an Impact on the SEC (and Paul Finebaum)
A few weeks ago, I wrote how I thought Tennessee and Lane Kiffin were going to be a great fit for each other. There was quite a bit of criticism for a major power in the SEC choosing a read more...
In Defense of Auburn & Gene Chizik (With Apologies to Tubs, Turner Gill and Charles Barkley)
Let's just start this TF Dispatch with the moment of controversy courtesy of Auburn's own bombthrower, Charles Barkley:
A Conversation with The Drive By Truckers' Patterson Hood
A Call To Patterson Hood "I don't know God but I fear his wrath I'm trying to keep focused on the righteous path."
Booker T. Jones & The Drive By Truckers
Booker T & The Truckers Along with Neil Young & Bloodkin
A Call To Paul Hemphill
A Call To Paul Hemphill Last week I wrote about writers Flannery read more...
President-elect Barack Obama and The Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
It was a blistering day in August of 1963 when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and read more...
Alabama In the New York Times and on NPR: Southern Sheriffs, Archaic Laws, and Colorful Criminals
From Sut Lovingood: Yarns Spun by a Nat'ral Born Durn'd Fool to Smokey and the Bandit, read more...
In Defense of Bob Stoops, the BCS (again), and the Big 12 (and a Look at the 2009 Season)
Proof, in college football, always comes over at least a two year period. This means that Heisman winners and BCS Championship opponents almost always have to have a strong previous season leading into their big year.
The Drive By Truckers In The Studio
Drive By Truckers Enter Athens Studio 1/8/09 On Monday The
Ole Miss and LSU Cruise; Alabama and South Carolina Snooze
Overall it’s been a pretty good bowl season for the SEC, going 5-2 with Florida left to play in the National Title Game. The highlights include Mississippi and Houston Nutt getting a
Taking a Lesson from The Fat Man for 2009: Fats Domino and the Courage to Go On
Sunday night I watched the public television premiere of the documentary Fats Domino— Wallkin' Back to New Orleans. I found in that film a message of hope and inspiration for all of us for the coming read more...
Lane Kiffin fits the Vols and the SEC
Tribal Fever did a great job of presenting the challenge that is coaching in the 21st century SEC. I wanted to focus on the Tennessee job where Phil read more...
The Drive By Truckers Prep For A Busy 2009
The Drive By Truckers Plan For A Busy 2009 12/27/08 Athens, Georgia’s own
Swampland's Legends of Southern Rock
Hey gang, check out our Swampland Legends of Southern Rock Series. We are always adding new bands and updating the existing pages, which chronicle the histories of these awesome bands and link to various articles and interviews within GRITZ. Phone the neighbors, wake the read more...
Alvin Ailey, Otis Redding--and Fifty Golden Years!
I recently returned from taking a very small bite out of a very big apple. I traveled to New York City this past weekend with my daughter and a longtime friend to experience Christmas in the city and to attend read more...
Will Chizik, Kiffin (or Mullen) Meet The Urban Meyer/Nick Saban SEC Standard?
This season has seen another massive shift in the SEC coaching ranks. Counting last season and this, almost half of the SEC has changed coaches. There's nothing like coaching SEC football. It remains a
The Best Releases of 2008
We are happy to present what we feel are the very best album releases of the past year. Please let us know what you think. Buffalo
A Glimpse Into Mystery & Manners' Chuck Leavell Interview
Leavell Reveals New Website & Christmas Plans 12/10/08 Recently I interviewed Georgia tree farmer and Rolling Stones keyboardist
SEC and Big 12 Championship Game Reax
The college football regular season ended by giving us the matchup that made the most sense--the SEC Champion vs. the Big 12 Champion. The BCS title game should be a high-scoring, exciting affair and one that all of the fans in our Swampland footprint will appreciate. Florida will read more...
PTSD--Post Thanksgiving Stress Disorder
Well, here we are. Thanksgiving has come and gone, the carcass has been picked (in more ways than one), the leftovers frozen, the hangovers have been medicated with the hair of the dog, and families continue to perpetuate the myth that
Saturday's Slate: Conference Championships
Here we are, after a week off due to technical difficulties, to find ourselves on the verge of crowning some conference champions and setting up the BCS Title teams. It has been a long and exciting year. Luckily for us, today's games have the potential to live up to the read more...
Mystery And Manners' Top 25 Releases of 2008
Mystery And Manners’ Top 25 2008 Releases 12/5/08 Here’s a list (in no specific rank or order) of Mystery And Manners’ top 25 releases of 2008. The category includes new releases, DVDs, books, re-issues and relevant CDs that read more...
Swampland Footprint National Title: Big 12 vs. SEC
So it’s Oklahoma that gets the chance to represent the Big 12 South in Kansas City, and they will probably get a shot at the National title with a victory. Of read more...
Delaney Bramlett To Undergo Intense Surgery Thursday
Hi Guys. Delaney Bramlett's wife Susan just posted this on his website. Please keep Delaney in your thoughts and prayers. From: Delaney Bramlett Date: Dec 3, 2008 12:20 AM
Excerpt 2 From Stanley Booth Interview Series Vol 1: Otis Redding
Excerpt 2 From Vol 1 of Mystery And Manners' Stanley Booth Interview Series 11/23/08 In continuation of
Art and the South: Spotlight on Athens, Alabama, and Native Son Paxton
The little north Alabama town of Athens may not be the Sante read more...
Excerpt From Stanley Booth Interview Series Vol. 1: Otis Redding
Excerpt From Mystery And Manners' Stanley Booth Interview Series Volume 1 11/22/08 Tonight I thought I'd include a small excerpt from read more...
Snowman's Six-Pack of Reax from Saturday
1. It has finally happened. For the first time since 1982, the Vanderbilt Commodores will be eligible to go to a bowl. Vandy rode D.J. Moore read more...
Time to Cowboy Up
Yeeee hah! Legacy Recordings celebrates the 50th anniversary of the National Finals Rodeo with an absolutely killer boxed set of cowboy songs, old and new. This one really brought back memories of my old Roy Rogers guitar, playing in the back yard with my little black read more...
The Black Crowes In Birmingham
The Black Crowes Play The Historic Alabama Theatre 11/16/08 A few notes on last night's Black Crowes show... The Alabama read more...
Saturday's Slate: SEC vs. Big 12 South Looking Good!
After a season of many a wild ride, a little clarity emerged from last week's games. The SEC has their championship game set. The Big 12 is now down to three (maybe four) potential BCS participants. The rest of our TF conferences have a ways to go, but none of read more...
Not a Red South or a Blue South, but a New South
"...For the times they are a-changin." Bob Dylan On Monday, November 10, the New York Times ran an article entitled
Going to the Dogs
After all the seriousness of the last few weeks, I decided a little levity was in order. I hope reading this blog does you as much good as writing it did for me. In August of this year, our fourteen year old Labrador, who had been suffering with respiratory problems for read more...
Classic Photos: Mark Emerick and BHLT
Once upon a time there was an absolutely killer Southern Rock band called BHLT, made up of Dickey Betts, Jimmy Hall, Chuck Leavell and Butch Trucks, along with "Rook" Goldflies on bass and Danny Parks on fiddle. I have heard several boots of these guys, as well as read more...
Australia Rocks Classic Bonnie Bramlett Collection
I am such a lucky cat. Seriously. I have been loving Delaney and Bonnie ever since Junior High, and I still find it hard to believe just how nice both of them are. I met
Snowman's Six-Pack of Reax from Saturday
1. After all of the Nick Saban drama last week in Baton Rouge, we finally got a close game from a SEC marquee matchup. Alabama and LSU staged a very hard-fought battle, but as we’ve written about so much this season in the SEC, the quarterback play was the difference. Alabama read more...
Southern Soul Music Dominates "Soul Men" Film
SOUL MEN It is a truly strange feeling going to see a film on opening day knowing that one of its main actors is dead. It was that way with The Dark Knight and Heath Ledger, but even
Notes From A Fall Saturday Afternoon
"May this shovel Loose your trouble, Lay them far away..." read more...
Saturday's Slate: The November Home Stretch Begins!
College football remains the Footprint's most compelling and spectacular sport. The 2008 season has delivered us yet again a roller coaster ride of sporting goodness. The stakes have been high all season. So far, at least two key programs (Tennessee and read more...
A More Perfect Union
Where shall I start? I am overcome with emotion because today is a day I never thought I would live to see. When I was growing up in Alabama, waiting rooms, restrooms, and water fountains were still labeled White Only. You remember. You saw the movie
End of an Era in Knoxville and the SEC
The Dean of SEC football coaches, Phillip Fulmer, announced on Monday that he would agree with the University of Tennessee’s decision for him no to return for the 2009 season. It was one of the
Snowman's Six-Pack of Reax from Saturday
1. Wow – what an instant classic in the Lonestar State. Texas Tech pulled off an amazing upset of #1 Texas with one second to go and sent their raucous fans read more...
Saturday's Slate: Top Games in Each Conference Will Decide Champions
Georgia and Florida in Jacksonville The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party has more at stake than ever – read more...
Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section Inducted into Hall of Fame
Huge congratulations go out to my friends in the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section who were inducted into The Musician's Hall of Fame on Tuesday evening in Nashville. Here is a link to a great read more...
Buffalo's Soap Box: The Economy, The Election and Stealing Music
I'm stepping back up onto my reinforced industrial strength Soap Box. You have been warned. Something has to be done. No matter who becomes the president in a few days, there is a huge task ahead. The economy has never been so bad, at least in my life time. It seems read more...
Snowman's Six-Pack of Reax from Saturday
1) The biggest difference between teams in the SEC this season is simply quarterback play. Alabama, Georgia, and Florida came into the season with experienced/quality signal callers, and they have been the class of the league. Lack of experience or just poor play at quarterback has read more...
GRITZ Movie Reviews: Saw V, Pride & Glory, W., Max Payne
SAW V OUR STORY SO FAR: After four films, the psycho king of torture devices known as Jigsaw is dead, but he has left read more...
KO'ing Kudzu in Carolina
After my October 17th feature on Alabama filmmaker Max Shores, I decided read more...
Saturday's Slate: A Bit of Relative Calm Before the Storm
Although you can't take a week off in college football, this week seems like a palate cleanser before some of the biggest homestretch games are played. November will feature great game after great game and next week's
A Nice Weekend of Hate in the SEC
One of the most hate-filled rivalries in college football will see another chapter written on Saturday when the #2 Alabama Crimson Tide invade Knoxville to take on the Volunteers. The “Third read more...
The Southern Rock Top Ten According to Bo Bice
Bo Bice may be the single coolest cat to come out of the American Idol machine. He's cool, he's talented, and he's got a real Southern Rock heart. We are proud to launch a
Saturday's Slate: BCS Busters vs. Disciplined Talent
Last week was a lesson in symmetry. Many teams met on the field that looked like mirror images. Something had to give, and it did. 3 of the top 5 teams lost giving the nation a new number one, Texas, who beat Oklahoma in what was probably a top 10 of all time Red read more...
Filmmakers in the South: Spotlight on Alabama
This week I would like to celebrate southern filmmakers, particularly those who hail from Alabama or who have made films about Alabama. One of these outstanding
Leanin' Toward Bama with Funky Donnie Fritts
A couple of months ago when I was down in Huntsville, Alabama for Billy Bob Thornton and The Boxmasters, I got to spend a little time with Muscle Shoals songwriting legend Donnie Fritts. We made plans to do a big GRITZ interview, and just as I was about to interview Donnie, I heard read more...
Pro Wrestling in The Seventies: Ox Baker
I am really excited about our brand new, ongoing series No Holds Barred. The series will look at the stars and memories of the hey day of pro wrestling in the south, especially here in the Mid Atlantic area. I will be profiling many of the stars of the sport during the read more...
Saturday's Slate: Symmetry Saturday
We've already been treated to upsets throughout the Tribal Fever landscape, but let's not forget that upsets require a precondition of disparity between teams, etiher real or imagined. This Saturday's games are of a different sort. It seems across the board that all read more...
One Magic Night at The Bowery with Alabama, Summer of 1975
The summer of 1975 was a good one for me. I turned 18 on June 24th. I had just finished eleventh grade, and I was ready for a great summer leading into my senior year. I remember buying a lot of great records that year,
Pro Wrestling in the South Back in the Day
I was on the phone with a friend last week, just catching up on this and that, when my buddy posed a question. “Did you ever get into pro rasslin’?” Now, for the record, I spell it
Saturday's Slate: Picking Up The Pieces
Last week had USC losing on Thursday which appeared to set up big things for Georgia and Florida. Then, both stumbled last week, but both have a chance to redeem their season. This shapes up to be another great season filled with surprises as another team with destiny read more...
Saturday's Slate: Ding Dong, The Witch Is Dead!
Of course, this means that the two perennial pretenders that stand in our way, Ohio State and USC, have both lost and neither appear to have the right kinds of games left to springboard back into the national title hunt. That should mean that the national championship game read more...
There's Nothing Some Skynyrd Can't Cure
Hi Gang. It's been some kind of day. It all began at 345 AM when I got up and drove from Greenville to Charlotte, NC to put my wife on a plane to Hawaii, where she will be spending the next month with our daughter Hannah, whose baby is due at any moment now. (Yes, the first read more...
Auburn Rules!
If not on the gridiron, at least in the classroom. According to an article in the New York Times (September 21 ) entitled The read more...
Touching Base with Johnny Sandlin
I had a nice phone conversation with Johnny Sandlin read more...
Special Edition of Magazine Features Great Southern Rock Articles
Heads up, Southern Rock fans. There’s a magazine out on the stands right now that you are going to want. It’s called Guitar Legends, and the issue is called “The Complete History
Randall Bramblett Performs Before Georgia vs. Alabama Football Game
Randall Bramblett performs Before UGA vs. UA Football Clash 9/23/08 Bruce read more...
The Trail of Tears 2008
Today, Saturday, September 20th, some 150,000 motorcycles will make their way toward Florence, Alabama. This is the 15th Annual Trail of Tears read more...
GRITZ News Items: Americana Rocks, Shaver, Hayes Carll, FAME and Skynyrd
LEVON HELM NAMED AMERICANA ARTIST OF THE YEAR The 7th Annual Americana Music Honors and Awards show took place on Thursday (Sept. 18) in Nashville at the Mother Church of Country Music, The Ryman Auditorium. Wish I could have been there. It’s read more...
Saturday's Slate: Barometer Games (Intra- and Inter-Conference)
This weekend marks the beginning of some classic early season rivalry games inside the SEC. TF has a rundown of all the key games. BEST INTRA-CONFERENCE GAMES
The Only Serious Philosophical Question
The recent death (September 12) of novelist David Foster Wallace (I
Chuck Leavell Praises Widespread Panic
Chuck Leavell Praises Widespread Panic 9/14/08 In my interview with the great
A Conversation with Chuck Leavell
Upcoming Interview with Chuck Leavell 9/9/08 A couple of hours ago, I conducted an interview with the legendary
Bo Bice is Proud to Be Called a Southern Rocker: The GRITZ Interview
Back in 2005, I had developed a somewhat passing interest in the American Idol TV show. It was a guilty pleasure to be sure. I blame it on Kelly Clarkson who had won me over in the first season, so I kind of continued to watch here and there. At the same time the new season read more...
Buffalo Set To Roam to Rome: Random Notes on College Football and Sugarland
Well, tomorrow will find the Buffalo roaming once again. This time Jill and I are heading back tio The High Lonesone Saloon in Rome, Georgia, where I will once again be wearing two hats. Not only will I read more...
The SEC Upgrades To College Football 2.0
The nation at large now sees what the Footprint has long known - SEC Football is dominant and truly in its own league. Despite the hue and cry against it, the BCS has allowed sports fans to see top teams, by and large, go against each other on the field. Since read more...
A Place To Come To
In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal entitled “The End of Placeness,” columnist
Marc Ford and the Neptune Blues Club
Another Transmission From The Great Marc Ford 9/3/08 We've missed each other's messages for the past couple of days, but I finally spoke with read more...
Friends Flee Gustav
Here on Elk River we are opening our homes and hearts to friends who are fleeing the fury of Hurricane Gustav. My neighbor and former read more...
Gamecocks Destruction of Wolfpack Serves Notice to Clemson and the ACC
Last night was the glorious kick off to the 2008 college football season. Teams from almost every conference had games allowing us some very early previews of what might be coming in the weeks ahead. Everyone now knows about the
Another Day In Pursuit of the Story
Another Day In Pursuit of the Story 8/27/08 Yesterday proved interesting.
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 observations to share in the coming weeks. Although I have traveled extensively in the continental US and in Central America and abroad, this was my read more...
Paul Hemphill's Fall Tour
Atlanta Writer Paul Hemphill's New Book Tour 8/26/08
Diggin' The Fiddleworms
Sometimes I just love my job. Especially when I get to hear music that is so fresh it makes me run to the bathroom and splash cold water on my face just to make sure I ain't dreaming. Dick Cooper sent me the newest masterwork by Muscle Shoals band The Fiddleworms, and boy read more...
Dick Cooper Remembers His Friend Jerry Wexler
We at GRITZ are extremely honored to present our second guest blog from Alabama writer/photographer/music mogul Dick Cooper. This time, it is personal, as Cooper writes from the heart about the late Jerry read more...
Video: Jerry Wexler On Bob Dylan
In our continuing salute to legendary record producer
Alabama Rules: From Blue-Eyed Soul to Soulful Blues
My friend Deryle Perryman, native of Florence and resident of Albuquerque, recently returned from the Porretta Soul Festival in
From Athens, Georgia To Jerry Wexler
From Athens, Georgia To Jerry Wexler: A Feast of Friends… 8/16/08 There’s not much time to write this read more...
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 of Southern music of all sorts, and of the key architects in the history of music over the past 50 years. He was instrumental in helping Phil Walden read more...
The Kids are Alright
It has been a summer to remember, to be sure. Lots of good music, movies and fun. But the most important thing that took place this summer in my life involved my two children, Ben and Hannah. Well, technically, they are my step-children, but since I have been a part of their lives 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 football in the South versus our Northern counterparts. (This has been making the rounds via email so many of you might have already seen it - 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 Southern Rock, NASCAR, professional wrestling and cold beer, but when all is said and done, the pork will always rise to the top. Well, some guys from read more...
Buffalo Roaming: Alabama Trip Wrap Up and Linkage
This past week was a real blast for me. Every time i visit Alabama I feel surrounded by friends, and its a great feeling. From the visit to Penne’s river home on Thursday and seeing Billy C. Farlow, to the two days with Billy Bob Thornton and The Boxmasters and the awesome read more...
Widespread Induction & Where The Buffalo Roam
Mystery And Manners’ Newsworthy Stories of The Day 8/6/08 …Widespread Induction & Where The Buffalo Roam…
Dick Cooper's Photos From Cooperpalooza
I am still reeling from the long weekend and the great party at Dick Cooper's on Sunday. I thought we'd share some of Cooper's photos, as he is a true pro with a camera. Check 'em out.
Buffalo Roaming: Day Four, Cooper's Party
What a great weekend. Sunday morning, I woke up and went downstairs for one of those great made to order omelets at the Hilton. The lady there is one helluva cook, and my grits were damn near perfect too. I sucked back four cups of coffee. It wasn’t
Buffalo Roaming: Video of Billy Bob's Interview, Party Post Tomorrow
Hello sports fans. Just in from 12 hours on the road from Cooper's house and boy howdy am I tired. Last night's party was amazing, but there was little sleep to be had. We'll talk tomorrow. Suffice it to say the jam rocked with Jason Isbell, Scott Boyer III, Billy C. read more...
The Dog Star Rages and Leos Roar
It is August and the dog days of summer are upon us. The ancient Romans noticed that the hottest days of the year, late July and early August, coincided with the appearance of
Buffalo Roaming: Day Three with Billy Bob and Me
As a part of my “no sleeping allowed” policy, I got up at 8:30, after sitting up talking to my buddy Sonny Edwards until late - thirty. Let me see, I went to bed at 3:30, so that was my five hours. Not my usual quota.
Buffalo Roaming: Day Two, Billy Bob and The Boys in Huntsville
Penne woke me up at 5 a.m. Apparently, people on the river are early birds. I mumbled and grumbled and she made a pot of Boxmasters coffee, then cooked some good Southern breakfast, eggs and bacon, grain toast and fresh fruit, the blueberries were awesome.
Buffalo Roaming: Day One, Down By The Lazy River in Bamalama
Well, after seven hours of driving, two torrential storms and one near death experience, I find myself in the comfort of a beautiful two story home on the Elk River (which feeds into the Tennessee River down the road a ways as a matter of fact), sitting comfotably read more...
Buffalo Roaming to Alabama
Well, the Buffalomobile is all gassed up (only $49 at Wal-Mart) and I am ready to head out on my big Alabama adventure tomorrow morning. It's going to be a long hot drive, to be sure, but I am sure it will be a large time. Tomorrow I get to meet fellow Swamplander 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. That movie disturbed me more that ten Stephen King flicks, because it was so real. That's why Gregg's role in the movie made our list of
Where Have All the Small Towns Gone?
The centuries old ubi sunt query—where are those who went before us? or where are the snow of yesterday?—has always been a question with no answer. But this particular question is not 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 the GRITZ offices for almost two days. We are happy to come back kicking with the
An Ongoing Journey To the Heart of Southern Culture
A Sunday Service On Southern Culture 7/20/08 “The artist penetrates the concrete world in order to find at read more...
An Afternoon with Old Friends
An Afternoon with Old Friends 7/18/08 Yesterday afternoon I visited the married writers
Listen to The GRITZ Radio Hour Online This Weekend
A couple of weeks ago, we announced the debut of The GRITZ Radio Hour on the Mighty Field of Vision Internet Radio Station. Unfortunately, there were some major problems with the server and the broadcast was not fully aired. The good news is, it is all repaired now, and our read more...
"Free Bird" Factoids
There’s a reason why “Free Bird” was named as GRITZ best loved Southern Rock song in history. Actually, there are a lot of reasons. Every 15 seconds, someone, read more...
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 extended Coach Phillip Fulmer’s contract: What is an read more...
Alabama in July
The Fourth of July is over and along with it Willie Nelson’s annual Fourth of July picnic near San Antonio featuring Merle 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 few days now, assembling a list of The 100 Defining Moments in Southern read more...
Cool Bootleg Video from Friday's Performance by Tommy Talton Band and Jimmy Hall
Hi Guys. It's Monday night, and I just got an e-mail from Tommy Talton, telling me someone shot a personal video of one of the songs he and Jimmy Hall performed for the movie Friday night. Although the video is shakey, you can still hear why these guys are the very best, 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 yours truly, and airing over the Mighty Field of Vision internet radio station, now read more...
Alabama: A Place in the Sun
It is July in Alabama and the corn is literally as high as an elephant’s eye. Jungles of lush green flank the country roads. Where formerly one could see for miles, one can barely see the road directly ahead.
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 Southern Rock, Jacksonville, Florida. Check out our list of the Top Ten read more...
GAC Contest, Vote for The Southern Boys Band
Greetings from South Carolina. I just heard about this contest that our friend
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 original series of specials on the history of country music for television and DVD. The partners will seek worldwide broadcast read more...
Southern Literature Series to Premiere on Swampland
“The past isn’t dead. It isn’t even past” ( Requiem for a Nun) In William read more...
Video Blog: Jakson Spires and Blackfoot
I was speaking with Sherry Spires yesterday, the wife of the late Jakson Spires, my good friend and spiritual brother. We had a great conversation and a few laughs recalling the good ol' days of The 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 up at the top of that list as well. But when you combine music and movies, look out, you have my attention. For my new list, I wanted to read more...
Father's Day and Rick Bragg
If you are looking for a gift for Father’s Day, look no further than Rick Bragg’s latest gem,
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 The Ten Best Songwriters of The Southern Rock Era. Check out the list and let us know what you read more...
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 ratings and revenue would ever be under scrutiny is beyond us, but we believe the heart of that line of criticism lies in its "limited" read more...
Sonny Edwards Reports from BamaJam; Hot Weather, Hotter Music
Bamajam wraps up tonight in Enterprise, Alabama. Our Alabama correspondent Sonny Edwards is smack dab in the middle of all the 95 degree heat and all the action. Sonny has been on the scene all three days, snappig photos and 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 there! Our latest Top Ten list runs down the
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 sports are the glory of The Footprint, and the rest of the nation is taking notice. The significance of yesterday's news that Notre Dame's AD read more...
Tying The Knot: East Meets West in the Deep South
This weekend I attended the wedding of two young friends at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The wedding (or more accurately the weddings) involved both a traditional
A Trip to The Keys: Southern Rock's Greatest Keyboard Players
And the lists just keep on coming... This time we run down the Greatest Keyboard Players of the Southern Rock Era. They're all here, the Hammond B-3, the piano - from Chuck Leavell to Taz read more...
Four Strings and An Attitude: Southern Rock's Best Bass Players
How about another Southern Rock List? This time we run down the Ten Greatest Bass Guitar Players of The Southern Rock read more...
BamaJam is June 5-7, Make Plans to Attend
Excitement is mounting down in Enterprise, Alabama, in anticipation of The First Annual BamaJam Music and Arts Festival. Put together by our friends at Ronnie Gilley Entertainment, the blow out Southern Rock, Country and Bluegrass mega fest will happen June 5-7, 2008. GRITZ read more...
More Six Degrees: From Florence, Alabama, to Florence, Italy
On March 4, 2006, my old friend Deryle Perryman and filmmaker Moises Gonzales showed their documentary film Dangerous read more...
The Top 25 Songs of The Southern Rock Era
And the lists just keep on a comin.' Our latest addition to our Southern Rock Lists is our accounting of the 25 Greatest read more...
Conference USA Must Step Up to Avoid Potential College Football Upheaval
Last year, Tribal Fever presented a modest proposal about conference realignment for teams in the Swampland Footprint. The proposal came from our understanding of the love and passion of college football in 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 footprint are looking very strong. I had the pleasure this past weekend to attend a great 3-game series between Vanderbilt and Georgia. The Bulldogs 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 composer, Robert Rauschenberg 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 tired of listening to Jimmy Hall. Never. Which is why he landed in the top spot in our list of
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 Tribute to Capricorn Records Page, which features links to all of the articles and interviews related to the Southern read more...
Tom Waits Glitter And Doom Tour Dates (Mostly Southern)
Tom Waits Glitter And Doom Tour Dates Mostly Southern 5/6/08 “Well they call me William the pleaser/I sold opium read more...
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 Barnhart. (For those of you just finding out about Ron, please
The Legends of Southern Rock, a Guide
Greetings from Carolina. We are happy to present our new index page for our Legends of Southern Rock series. From here, you can always surf over to your favorite Southern Rock band's Swampland read more...
Too Much Fun
When Deryle Perryman contacted me last week to say that he and fellow filmmaker Moises Gonzales were coming to Alabama and would I like to read more...
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 reaching a new level. It all started when University of Georgia President Michael F. Adams announced a proposal for
New CD Reviews: Jackson Rohm, Beat Daddys and Mighty Handful
Well, it's 50 degrees at 6:15 PM here in Greenville. Tell me again what the date is? Of course, it was almost 80 degrees yesterday, so... I hope you will check out our three new CD reviews just posted today. All three are really good discs. Singer songwriter
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 first one is an interview Scott Greene conducted eight years ago with Jimmie read more...
April in Alabama
Nothing could be more beautiful than April in Alabama and, in my case, nothing could be more exciting. I recently returned from the Alabama Studio Weekend in the
Why I Love Bonnie Bramlett
I remember reading about Delaney and Bonnie a lot back in high school, during those days when I was constantly read more...
Widespread Panic In Orange Beach, Alabama
Widespread Panic On The Beach 4/19/08 Morning Folks, Last night proved a fine night. The weather here in Orange Beach, Alabama, is read more...
...Night Before Widespread Panic On The Beach...
A Prelude To The Spectacle 4/17/08 Before I take off for the three
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 the past." Added today is one of our first interviews from 1999 with
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 times on the ongoing theme of the SEC “arms race” in America’s toughest conference schedule to navigate. With Florida and LSU read more...
Outward Bound
“The eye and mind would be functioning as a camera. The writing would be selective and necessarily interpretive—but once the image was written the words would be final.” --Hunter read more...
Alabama: Places to Be and People to See
The Alabama Book Festival held in Montgomery, Alabama, is only in its third season and already it offers a unique opportunity for participants to meet and listen to over seventy authors, among them read more...
Alabama Beat: Words and Music in the Deep South
The three poems currently appearing in the Poetry section of Swampland are by Mississippi born Pulitzer Prize winner Natasha Trethewey (published by permission of the author). Trethewey won read more...
Alabama's Going Green: "Let's Get Dirty"
Huntsville, Alabama, has chosen “Let’s Get Dirty” by the Huntsville country music band
Thinking About Jakson, Three Years Later
Exactly three years ago today, on March 16, 2005, my world was rocked like it hadn’t been rocked in quite some time. The powerhouse drummer and songwriter behind Blackfoot and The read more...
Alabama's Going Green: A Delicate Balance
Yes, I read the article in the New York Times this past Monday about the biodiesel spill near
Video Clips: Tornado Hits Downtown Atlanta during SEC Tourney Game
Below is a clip of the game broadcast of Alabama vs. Mississippi State during the moment when a tornado hits the Georgia Dome and damages the roof.
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 to be set at five (TN, UK, VU, Ark., MSU). While there’s an outside chance the Rebels could get an at-large berth, the rest of the weekend will 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 become an extension of the NCAA Tourney as winning the automatic bid fulfills their dream of having a shot at the big boys. Many pundits feel it would read more...
Midnight in the Garden of Good Southern Rock: Late Night Tea & TV
I love it when things like this happen. I was sitting up late tonight writing, as I often do. Beside me a nice hot cup of ralaxation tea that tasted as good as it smelled. My wife had brewed it up for me before she headed off to bed. She's good that way. What would I do read more...
Billy Bob Thornton Speaks at George Lindsey Film Festival
The 11th Annual George Lindsey Film Festival was held down in Florence, Alabama last week. I can say from experience, the Festival is more fun than a barrel of Goobers. The year I attended, I met George read more...
Alabama's Going Green
Holden Caulfield wanted to know where all the ducks go in winter. Ann (Andie MacDowell) in Sex, Lies, and Videotape was read more...
Snowflakes: C-USA/Big East Hoops
* West Virginia has won 3 of their last 4 and really seems to be coming together at the right time. One of the main reasons for their solid play of late is that post man Joe Campbell has averaged 25.5 points a game in the last 4 contests, including 32 in the Mountaineers’ huge 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 Big Dance worthy. Many bracket
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 when Tennessee defeated them, 66-62, in the raucous FedEx Forum. Surprisingly, the Tigers were outhustled and outrebounded by the smaller Vols who made read more...
Dylan Organizes Recordings of Unfinished Hank Williams Songs
Bob Dylan Discovers Unfinished Hank Williams Songs 2/28/08 "Odds and ends, odds and ends, Lost time is not found read more...
Black History Month: Look Back, but Move Forward
“Look back but move forward” was the credo of civil rights activist Johnnie Carr who died Friday at the age of 97.
Water, Water, Everywhere, Nor Any Drop To Drink
Today the New York Times ran an article entitled “Georgia Claims a Sliver of the Tennessee River.” The quarrel is not just about boundaries. It is about water, read more...
Obama, Spooner and a Drive By Southern Rock and Roller
Back in 1991 I was Executive Editor and co-founder of an alternative press entertainment publication called EDGE in Greenville, SC. We had a lot of good times during those years, interviewing national and local music heroes and writing reviews and editorial read more...
Another Call To Harry Crews & Beyond
...An Ongoing Pursuit & Recording of the Mystery And Manners Saga...Widespread Panic...Jim Dickinson...Harry Crews and beyond... 2/19/08 “In the time I was with 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 a cross between Tom Waits and Elvis Costello (more in mood than in actual vocal comparison.). The voice was that of
Blackfoot is Our Latest "Legends of Southern Rock" Entry
"Highway Song" and "Train, Train," "Gimmie, Gimmie, Gimmie" and "Wishing Well"- all of these bring to mind the fierce, four man attack of Blackfoot - wildman Rick Medlocke out front, Charlie Hargrett on lead guitar, Greg T. Walker on bass and read more...
New CD's from Delaney, Bonnie and Whitlock
This may be the only time in history that the stars have lined up like this. Literally. If you check out the GRITZ CD reviews, you'll see that our three latest reviews have a common thread. The artists were all members of the legendary Delaney Bonnie read more...
It's Not Easy Being Indie
I always thought that in my next incarnation I wanted to come back as an independent documentary filmmaker. I held on to that dream until I sat in an darkened room in a warehouse in Huntsville, Alabama, on Friday afternoon and listened to independent filmmaker
Video: Jimmy Johnson and Alan Walden from Lynyrd Skynyrd Documentary
I have been aware of the Lynyrd Skynyrd documentary being filmed by Rick Broyles and Tony Beazley for a few years now, and by all accounts it looks like it will be just the documentary we have all 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 have worked really hard for months on the redesign, and I for one am very pleased with the results. I hope you feel the same. We at 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 new coach Billy Gillispie (and his gameday practices), but now the ‘Cats are sitting only one game behind SEC East leader Tennessee. In a recent read more...
Southern Rock and Country Superstars to Headline BamaJam
Enterprise, Alabama will host the first annual BamaJam Music & Arts Festival scheduled to take place, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 5 - 7, 2008 at Boy Scout Road and Highway #167. An all-encompassing community and creative arts experience, the 2-day/3-night extravaganza 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 league this season. Even though John Calipari has tried to talk up C-USA, the conference is just not performing up to the “right below the BCS read more...
The Day The Music Died
The day was February 3, 1959. At approximately 12:55 AM, Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, the “Big Bopper,” and their twenty-one year old pilot boarded a small plane near Clear Lake,
Snowflakes: SEC Hoops
by Patrick Snow * Someone forgot to tell 2-time National Champion Florida that they were supposed to struggle this season. After winning their second NCAA title in a row, the Gators lost the top six players off their depth chart and lost their coach for a day or two. read more...
Lest We Forget: Four Spirits
January 30, 2008, marked the 60th anniversary of the assassination of India’s political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi. It was Gandhi whose name was most invoked
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 our Swampland footprint, but there are some great races happening as these teams position themselves for the postseason run. We’ll try each week 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 last time that happened was at UAB on March 2nd, 2006. On Wednesday night, the undefeated Tigers travel to Houston to battle the 15-3 Cougars. After read more...
The Best of All Possible Worlds or Is There Balm in Gilead?
I live in the boonies, the hinterlands of Northern Alabama. For years, I made do with erratic reception from local television stations, and then one day satellite TV and DSL changed my life. This week, thanks to a relatively new channel called
Dick Cooper Is Our First "Guest Blogger"
I am happy as a clam to present the first in our series of "Guest Blogs." This one concerns the legendary Delbert McClinton and Shoals drummer Bebop Evans. The piece was written by Dick Cooper, a man who has been there, done that in the music industry, From working with 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 reliving the first time we heard this song or that song, and how much particular songs meant to us.
Six Degrees of Separation
In the south we not only claim kin we also claim friends. I have learned that behind every new acquaintance there lies the possibility of finding an old friend—not to mention discovering a new one. Such was the case this week when I was working on a feature about read more...
LIghts, Camera, Action! Film Festivals and Film Debuts in the South
Late winter and spring of 2008 will see the blossoming of a host of film festivals in the South. A number of the festivals showcase original films and present cash awards to the best new films. Others bring classic, hard to find, topical, or thematic films to the 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 the recording of their new Cowboy reunion album. This session includes members of the band that joined after the third album. Previously, Boyer and read more...
Cowboy in Studio Again This Weekend
Cowboy is back in the studio at Duck Tape Studios with Johnny Sandlin this weekend, recording more material for their upcoming new album. In the studio for round two are
White Pelicans on Elk River
White Pelicans are a rarity on Elk River. I have never seen one north of Gulf Shores, but on Christmas morning a friend down the river called to say that a dozen White Pelicans were winging our way in the midst of a flock of cormorants. I had despaired of ever sighting pelicans 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 know if you agree or disagree. read more...
Music and Movie Making in Alabama
Sorry to have been incommunicado since Thanksgiving. This time I was overwhelmed by the holiday madness and computer problems (my three year old monitor died). But now all is well, and I am looking forward to an exciting 2008 on Swampland. Today I am posting a read more...
Montgomery Dedicates New Year's Eve To Hank Williams
On New Year's Eve Hank Williams Fans Gather In Montgomery 12/17/07 "The eeriest thing I ever had to do in my life was at Hank's funeral when 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 Download is available exclusively thru www.SouthernAlliance.org
Jimmy Hall Launches New Web Site, Features Exclusive Video and Audio
Jimmy Hall's website has been given a face lift, this according to Mike read more...
John Sayles Interview
Mystery & Manners John Sayles Interview 12/8/07 On Thursday I interviewed John Sayles. Sayles' new movie Honeydripper was filmed in Alabama. Honeydripper read more...
Rockin' Camel Music Gets Website Makeover
Rockin' Camel Music, based in Gadsden, Alabama, has been creating quite a buzz over the past couple of years. They have been compared to the old Capricorn Records as a Southern specialty label, and read more...
...Into The Deep...
Mystery & Manners Dispatch 12/05/07 Today marks the birthday of southern writer
Picture of the Day: Buffalo and T. Graham Brown
Gritz man Michael Buffalo Smith hangs out with country r&b legend T. Graham Brown at the Angelus event in Tampa, Florida.
Picture of the Day: Boyer & Talton with Johnny Sandlin
Taking a break outside Duck Tape Studios during the recording of the new Cowboy album, Scott Boyer, Johnny Sandlin and Tommy Talton. (Buffalo photo)
John Hammond "Southern Fried;" Old & Heavy Gold
Southern Fried John Hammond This true “lost treasure” is now available on CD at Amazon and for download at iTunes. Recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios back in 1969, blues rocker
TF Rivalry Week Preview
Rivalry games define college football. More than bowl games or even conference championships, a win against your rival means bragging rights for a year. That is why this weekend's game can often be the hardest to call. A team with a losing record can suddenly make read more...
Swampland Salutes Great Southern Writer Paul Hemphill
Mystery & Manners Highlights Writer Paul Hemphill 11/21/07 I'd like to take this opportunity to direct everyone's attention to the 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 years. In part one of our journal, we meet all of the original members of Cowboy, and hear music that is sure to turn the Southern music world on it's read more...
Confessions Redux
This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of Auburn’s 1957 National Championship. Not only did the Tigers go undefeated that season, but they also held Alabama scoreless in the Iron Bowl while running up an astounding forty points. Saturday, November 24, is the golden read more...
Picture of the Day: Cowboy Reunion
The entire original lineup of Cowboy reunite in Decatur, Alabama to record an all-new album. Look for the complete story here in GRITZ on Tuesday. Pictured 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 new Cowboy reunion album is going great. The new songs are top drawer, and it has been very cool meeting the guys who recorded such classic Capricorn 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 experienced. In some ways, it shouldn't be as surprising as it has been. Nick Saban's arrival lit a fire under everyone. The ante was read more...
Jerry Wexler Talks Bob Dylan, Doug Sahm and Muscle Shoals
Jerry Wexler Talks Dylan, Doug Sahm and Muscle Shoals 11/15/07 In these interview clips, the great Jerry Wexler discusses recording
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 early bands in Florida with members of The Allman Brothers Band, to his highly successful Capricorn Records band with Tommy Talton, Cowboy, Scott gives read more...
TF Saturday Preview: Everything's Still To Be Decided
Patrick Snow has it right. This year's season of college football has shown that it is one of the most compelling sports to follow as a fan, especially in the Footprint.
Blind Boys of Alabama 70 Years Young
Blind Boys of Alabama: 70 Years Young The Blind Boys of Alabama read more...
Tribal Fever's Weekend Observations
1. That enormous exhale coming from the Oxford, Mississippi area would be the sigh of relief of Ole Miss Coach Ed Orgeron. His Rebels had to hold on for dear life to beat Northwestern State 38-31 on Saturday. The non-Division 1 Demons went into the game with a 2-3 record in the 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 football, and in Alabama there is only Auburn and
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 for good games in the Footprint. That's why Athlon's college football preview spends most of its time previewing games outside our read more...
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Wednesday night’s opening game of the 2007 World Series at Fenway Park was a heartbreaker for Colorado Rockies fans. I have always read more...
It is Raining on the River!
I guess I rattled my rain stick enough this weekend to wake up the clouds. We In North Alabama are reveling in what the Navajos call a gentle “female” rain, and I pray it continues all week. I especially hope it rains profusely on Atlanta, Georgia, where they are having 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 hold true to some of our Footprint's winning neophytes. When programs are new to winning, they don't know how to handle themselves. That's read more...
Ryan Bingham And The Drive By Truckers Hit the Road
Ryan Bingham and The Drive By Truckers Hit The Road 10/17/07 Ryan Bingham and the
Online Radio Station Tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd October 20th
Next Saturday, October 20th at 4pm EST tune into
Rockin' On The Top of The Mountain
Our primary goal of the trip, besides handing out the videos, was to shoot the camel on top of the mountain. Carl Weaver’s pet camel, Akbar, that is. Carl wanted Dave Peck to shoot video of the camel for a new logo he is working on. Since we read more...
On the Road Again
Sorry I have been incommunicado lately. I am still struggling with allergies that seem to get worse rather than better. Ah, fall in North Alabama. Speaking of fall, this weekend my sister, her husband, and two of our friends made a road trip to the hills of middle Tennessee read more...
Dick, a Duck and a Decoy : Part One
Shootin’ The Camel on the Top of the Mountain Part One The primary goal for the weekend was to shoot the camel on the top of the mountain. Well, that, and to hand deliver finished 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 ESPN.com about the SEC. Which leads us to this week's focus - the historical 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 week. (Read Patrick's new column on the state of baseball in read more...
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 Allman Brothers Band. (1997-1999) The lineup soon changed, but there are some magnificent board tapes out there with read more...
Arrivederci Roma, Ciao Athens (Alabama)
I have just returned from ten days in Italy (Venice, Florence/Tuscany, and Rome) and am way behind on my blog, so please bear with me. I am somewhat jet-lagged, and I am preparing to leave for Jackson, MS, on Wednesday to participate in the
Upset Saturday, or not?
Patrick Snow mentioned in his last column that he was looking ahead to next week's games. Based on yesterday's game result, so were too many top 25 teams in the Footprint. TF Upsets read more...
People Take Warning! Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs 1913-1938
Tompkins Square Releases Murder Ballads & Disaster Songs This Week 9/29/07 This week Tompkins Square released this
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 Fever, Swampland.com's dispatch dedicated to college sports in the South. We have new features up including Patrick Snow's latest read more...
Nuke Fallout Shelter For Alabama
Alabama City Reopening Nuke Fallout Shelter 9/27/07 In Huntsville, Alabama, they are planning to build a state of the art nuclear fallout read more...
Autumnal Traditions and Emotional Rescue in Tuscaloosa
Autumnal Traditions and Emotional Rescue in Tuscaloosa 9/23/07 As Georgia's kicker lined up to miss the kick, sending the Georgia-Alabama game read more...
Ray McKinnon's Randy and the Mob
Ray McKinnon's New Film Randy and the Mob 9/22/07 From Capricorn Pictures...Here's the trailer for Adel, Georgia, native Ray McKinnon's new comedy Randy and the Mob. The Drive By Truckers' Patterson Hood contributed a song to the soundtrack. read more...
"Sweet Home Alabama" To Become Alabama's Tourism Theme
Well, the news is out. Lynyrd Skynyrd's second biggest hit, "Sweet Home Alabama" will become the theme song for the Alabama Department of read more...
Swampland Sports Thursday Links
Just a few quick hits here on Thursday.... Snowman's Latest Column Patrick Snow's new column is up. As a Vol himself, it pains him that he's calling out Phil Fulmer read more...
CD and DVD releases for week of September 18, 2007
New Releases Doyle Bramhall Is It News (Yep Roc) Jim Dickinson
The Shadow And the Truth
9/19/07 ...THE SHADOW AND THE TRUTH... It's important to realize how blurred the fine line between reality and illusion co-exist. At read more...
Emmylou Harris Retrospective "Songbird" Hits Streets Today
Songbird: Rare Tracks & Forgotten Gems Out Today 9/18/07 A new Emmylou Harris, 4 CD-1 DVD, retrospective was released today. read more...
More Alabama Authors: Eric Smith
Eric Smith is assistant professor of English at the University of Alabama-Huntsville where his speciality is Post Colonial Literature. Over ten years ago, Eric was a student in my classes at Athens State University. After completing his B.S. at ASU, Eric attended read more...
Patterson Hood Song In New Ray McKinnon Film
Patterson Hood Song In New Ray McKinnon Film 9/12/07 Patterson Hood read more...
Danny Brooks is Alabamy Bound
I'll never forget the first time I heard the music of Danny Brooks. It was a few years ago, and my friend and staff member Mitch Lopate told me all about this good ol' Southern boy who just happened to be from Canada named Danny Brooks. I spoke with Danny a few times on the phone, read more...
"When I die, the brush dies": Remembering Jimmie Lee Sudduth
Jimmie Lee Sudduth, celebrated Alabama folk artist, died Sunday, September 9, in Fayette, Alabama, at read more...
CD and DVD releases for week of September 11, 2007
New Releases Billy Joe Shaver Storyteller: Live At The Bluebird (Sugar Hill) Kane read more...
Charlie Louvin Continues Touring into Fall with Lucinda
Charlie Louvin of the Louvin Brothers has just read more...
Spotlighting Alabama Authors
During the next few weeks I will be featuring the poetry of several Alabama writers whose poems were published in the recent anthology: Whatever Remembers Us. These poems read more...
CD and DVD releases for week of August 21, 2007
New Releases Galactic From the Corner to the Block (Anti) Joe Nichols read more...
Hot and Wet or Hot and Dry?
The state of Alabama made the national news on two consecutive days this week: first regarding the referendum that could have reversed the legal sale of alcohol in the city of Athens (billed as "Alabama City Mulls Return to Prohibition") and secondly for the 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 Barry Bonds finally hit Home Run 756. It turns out the Orlando Sentinel’s Mike Bianchi, just like Hank Aaron and many others in our region,
Turtle Tracks
In the fall of 2005, my sister Peggy bought a 1985 Toyota Dolphin RV from her son in Seaside, CA, and in late October Peggy, our friend Carol C, and I flew out to California to drive the vintage RV the three thousand miles from the west coast to north Alabama.
CD and DVD releases for week of August 7, 2007
New Releases Bruce Hornsby/Christian McBride/Jack DeJohnette Camp Meeting (Sony read more...
CD and DVD releases for week of July 31, 2007
New Releases 10 Mile Crossing 10 Mile Crossing (Smith Entertainment) Chris Duarte read more...
CD and DVD releases for week of July 24, 2007
New Releases Billy Bob Thornton Beautiful Door (New Door) Billy Ray Cyrus
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 for his home state in the recent issue of Oxford read more...
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" never seems to slow down. Whether it’s upgrading a current facility or building a new practice complex to ‘wow’ recruits, schools in read more...
CD and DVD releases for week of July 17, 2007
New Releases Raul Malo After Hours (New Door) Wille Mack
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 COWBOY reunion album which will begin recording in September. Talton has also been in the studio recording for a new BONNIE BRAMLETT read more...
Look Homeward, Angel: In Memoriam Doug Marlette
On Tuesday, July 10, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Doug Marlette was killed in a car wreck on a rain soaked road in north Mississippi. Marlette and the driver of the truck, the theatre director at Oxford read more...
Swampland Sports Six-Pack for the week ending 7/8/07
1. Ed Hinton nails it again. His piece on the fans of racing and their connection with “real race drivers” speaks to a growing concern we have read more...
07-07-07
Isn't seven the most powerfully magical number? -- Tom Marvolo Riddle to Horace Slughorn Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Whether you are superstitious, mystical, fascinated by numerology, or simply curious, you have to be just read more...
A Quiet Fourth of July
It is a strangely quiet Fourth of July on the river. Due to the devastating drought, the water level is unusually low, discouraging most boaters and skiers at 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 Swampland footprint, the NBA has struggled to find an audience down South. The problem starts with the NBA’s inability to connect with 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 South
CD and DVD releases for week of June 26, 2007
CDs New Releases Charlie Daniels Live From Iraq (Koch) James Burton read more...
Fire On The Mountain
6/25/07 read more...
Dysfunction Junction
There is a interchange in Birmingham, Alabama, that is so infamous it has been dubbed Malfunction Junction. After the last deadly crash, the powers-that-be declared that the interchange should be completely revamped, resulting in a slightly more functional junction. This is read more...
Ninety is the New Forty-five
I hope each of you read the newspaper article by James Lewis of Newhouse News Service published on May 26th. Lewis wrote about four ninety-plus year old women from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, who went out for an evening on the town. The women left the Country Meadows Retirement read more...
Jimmy Hall to Sing Anthem in Rome, Marshall Tucker to Perform
Rome, GA - The Rome Braves announce today that Southern rock legend Jimmy Hall will perform the National Anthem at the 48th South Atlantic League All Star Game Tuesday June 19th. Hall, lead vocalist and harmonica player for Wet Willie, has a long and varied background read more...
Uneasy Rider
Last weekend I traveled to Austin, Texas, for the 90th birthday celebration of Dr. Elva Mclin, my mentor, friend, and longtime colleague. Another former colleague and friend of the honoree accompanied me. Because neither of us had ever been to Austin before, we elected to stay in read more...
Celebrations On The River: Derby Day
Today marks the 28th annual Cotton Row Run , a 10K race through the city of Huntsville, AL, and up Heartbreak Hill. In the early 90s I was still running the race. There were days hotter than this one but not nearly read more...
A Long, Hot Summer?
I don’t think it has rained in the Tennessee Valley since the day Clifton Taulbert spoke at Calhoun College and that day was merely a tiny oasis in what has become a desert of drought. I have never read more...
More On the Untimely Death of Topper Price
Terry O'Neil "Topper" Price, one of the most recognizable figures on Birmingham's music scene, died Wednesday at his Southside apartment.
Southern Musician Topper Price Dead
Topper Price, a well loved and respected singer and harp player from Alabama, was found dead today. No details are available as of yet, but we will report them as soon as possible. Price was recently seen onstage in support of his life long friend Scott Boyer at both Boyer read more...
Friends Come Out For Boyer in Birmingham: Gregg Allman Headlines
The second of two benefit concerts for ailing Southern Rock icon Scott Boyer was held on Wednesday, April 18th in Birmingham, Alabama, and was a rousing success.
Tipping My Hat To Kirk West
What a day. It was a beautiful day for a drive from my home in Greenville, SC to the big city of Birmingham, Alabama. About five and a half hours on the road brought me to the Best Western Hotel in Leeds near Birmingham, where I would later meet with some of the performers in town for 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. "It's a very close-knit community up here and when somebody goes down, the musical community in the Shoals has a history of read more...
On The Road at The Scott Boyer Benefit in Muscle Shoals
After a fun day with the Lopates (see my previous blog) we found ourselves at the Shoals Theatre in downtown Florence, Alabama for what promised to be a stellar all-star benefit concert. I had been looking forward to this one for quite some time, and The Mighty Field of Vision would read more...
Drive-By Truckers split with Jason Isbell
After more than five years, Jason Isbell and the Drive-By Truckers have their separate ways. Isbell is on the road touring behind the upcoming release of his first solo album Sirens In The Ditch read more...
From The Stone Pony To The Rockin’ Camel
(Toto, I Don’t Think We’re in Long Branch Any More) Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007 It was almost a given that we would drop by and visit long time friend Mitch Lopate and his lovely wife Cheryl on our way to the read more...
All-Star Scott Boyer Benefit Coming Wednesday
The first of two benefit shows for former Cowboy member Scott Boyer will take place this coming Wednesday, April 4th, at the Shoals Theatre in downtown Florence, Alabama. All money raised will help to pay Boyer’s medical bills from recent emergency surgery for an arterial read more...
Former Alabama Member Jeff Cook Signs Record Deal
Former Alabama member and Country Music Hall of Famer Jeff Cook and newcomer Mitch Glenn inked with Lofton Creek Records. Cook and Glenn's first single will be "Shining Star" and ship in April. Label head Mike Borchetta was on the promotion team that promoted Alabama's first read more...
Jimmy Hall Records Eddie Hinton Tribute
The South has given birth to some of America's greatest unsung heroes- hardworking , soul baring singers, writers and musicians. Rarely have two such talented heroes been brought together - blues rock singer Jimmy Hall, and the legendary Muscle Shoals musician and songwriter Eddie read more...
The Best Radio On The Internet, The Mighty Field of Vision
Whatever happened to radio anyhow? I mean, radio today just plain sucks. Sure, you can find some interesting programming here and there on public radio, and the satellite radio is good if you are willing to buy an actual satellite radio and then pay a monthly fee. Even then, there is read more...
Two Benefit Concerts Scheduled For Scott Boyer
SHOALS & BIRMINGHAM BENEFIT CONCERTS SET FOR FORMER CAPRICORN ARTIST SCOTT BOYER FLORENCE, Ala. - Dates have been set in April for two benefit concerts for former Capricorn Records artist Scott Boyer who has had surgery for an read more...
Collector May Be Allowed to Keep Hank Williams' Notebook
Collector could keep Hank's notebook Theft case brought by Sony thrown out A notebook containing 17 songs that Hank Williams wrote but never recorded may wind up in the hands of a collector who bought it from a janitor who found it in a read more...
Rodney Davis of Sailcat Dies
Rodney Reeves Davis, age 54, died February 28, 2007. He was born in Opp, Alabama to Willard and Josephine Davis who preceded him in death. He lived in Birmingham for the last 32 years. Rodney loved music and was a great read more...
Folkstreams-The Land Where The Blues Began
2/20/07 Folkstreams.net encapsulates many great films based on blues in the south. Folklorist Alan Lomax traveled to the Mississippi Delta in the 1930s and 1940s to record and preserve the work of great blues read more...
Hank Williams Site Torn Down
12/28/06 Newsreel... A Hank Williams Tribute Site Torn Down...Plans To Resurrect New Monument Afoot in 2007...James Calemine sundaygazettemail.com/section/Today/2006122032