Merchantry Dispatch Archives
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...
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...
"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...
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:
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
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...
The Nerve Balm of Athens, Georgia's Terrapin Brewery
Terrapin Brewery On The Rise The Athens, Georgia, brewery Terrapin Beer Company was founded in 2002. Owners Brian Buckowski and John Cochran decided to name read more...
Widespread Panic's John Bell Sings National Anthem Before Packers Vs. Vikings Game Today
John Bell Sings National Anthem Before Packers-Vikings Game Widespread Panic's
Lynyrd Skynyrd's Gary Rossington Renews Wedding Vows
Gary Rossington Renews Wedding Vows The Florida Times Union reported
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...
Chuck Leavell's Mother Nature Network
Chuck Leavell's Mother Nature Network Rolling Stone keyboardist and tree farmer Chuck Leavell started the
The Georgia Theatre's Grand Opening Tonight
The Georgia Theatre Grand Opening Tonight The new Georgia Theatre officially opens tonight in Athens, Georgia. The historic theatre burned read more...
Expanded James Brown Exhibit On Display At Augusta Museum of History
Expanded James Brown Exhibit Opens To Public Artifacts from the Godfather of Soul James Browns' estate are now on display at the
Bob Dylan: The Drawn Blank Series
Bob Dylan: The Drawn Blank Series "Oh, the streets are Rome are filled with rubble Ancient footprints are everywhere..."
AthFest Music Festival June 22-26
2011 AthFest This Weekend This weekend Athens, Georgia's, annual AthFest Music Festival will take place. AthFest is a non-profit organization dedicated to music and arts education headquartered in Athens. The read more...
Georgia Theatre Grand Opening Update
Athens Music Venue Rebuilt On August 1-14, 2011, the Athens, Georgia, music venue--The Georgia Theatre--will host a Grand Opening. The Theatre burned down two years ago. Here are the first scheduled shows at The Georgia Theatre. Stay tuned...
Widespread Panic's John Bell Looks Forward To Bonnaroo 2011
John Bell On Bonnaroo Ten Years Later The 2011 Bonnaroo Festival begins on June 9. The four-day, multi-stage camping festival held on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, celebrates its 10th year.
Bob Dylan's Upcoming Southern Tour Dates
Dylan Adds Southern Tour Dates Yesterday three new southern dates were scheduled on the summer leg of Bob Dylan's 2011 tour. On July 24, Dylan will perform in New Braunfels, Texas. The Bard travels to New Orleans for a July 26 show, and then onto Memphis for 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...
Georgia Public Broadcasting Films "Georgia Outdoors" on the Altamaha River
GPB Films "Georgia Outdoors" on Altamaha River Earlier this month, Georgia Public Broadcasting filmed for three days on the Altamaha River in southeast Georgia. Swampland read more...
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..."
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Begins Friday
2011 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival The 2011 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival begins on April 29 and continues until May 8. A wide variety of music, food, parades, culture and crafts will be available to supporters.
Wilmot Greene Interview: Update On Rebuilding The Georgia Theatre
Wilmot Greene Interview April 2011: Update On The Georgia Theatre Today I called our friend owner of the Georgia Theatre--Wilmot Greene--regarding the rebuilding of the venerable Athens, Georgia, music venue. Here’s the latest …
Swamptown Getdown Music Festival This Weekend in Waycross
Swamptown Getdown Music Festival This Weekend In Waycross The first annual Swamptown Getdown Music Festival will take place on the vast Okefenokee Fair Grounds, just minutes from the fabled Okefenokee Swamp this weekend on March 11 & 12. The weekend will read more...
Jack White Explores the Art of Auctioneering
Jack White Explores the Art of Auctioneering Jack White now lives in Nashville. Best known as founder of the The White Stripes, White also spearheaded groups and projects like The Raconteurs, Loretta Lynn’s masterpiece Van Lear Rose, read more...
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...
The Sunday Sounds of Dust To Digital
The Sunday Sounds of Dust To Digital It’s been months since I’ve written a ‘Sunday Sounds’ dispatch. Today the temperature is predicted to hit 80 degrees. I may read more...
Avett Brothers Perform To Help Rebuild Georgia Theatre
The Avett Brothers Perform to Help Rebuild The Georgia Theatre In efforts to rebuild the venerable Georgia Theatre, the
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...
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
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...
Ten Thousand Points of Light: A Holiday Gift...
Dust-To-Digital's Latest Release Here's a stocking gift for the holiday season...This latest Dust-To-Digital release serves as the 20th Anniversary of George 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...
The Buzz Around Savannah Bee
The Buzz Around Savannah Bee Two days ago I interviewed my old friend Ted Dennard, proprietor of the Savannah Bee Company. Savannah Bee specializes in the highest quality of honey, lip balm and body care products. Ted 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...
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...
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
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...
CNN Spotlights The Georgia Theatre
CNN Spotlights The Georgia Theatre Today CNN ran a story regarding The Georgia Theatre. Our friend Wilmot Greene talked about the fire last June that burned down his venerable music hall. Wilmot told me a couple of weeks ago they hope to open the Theatre doors by April read more...
An Athens Afternoon: Adventures In the Past & Present (Notes On Bloodkin, Panic, & The Georgia Theatre)
Adventures In the Past & Present: A Report From Athens, Georgia I drove from Atlanta to Athens yesterday. It’s a drive I’ve made hundreds of times over the years, but the strange shaped clouds indicated somehow times have changed. This trip is purely read more...
New Orleans Rising: Pontchartrain Park Focus of CNN Documentary
Pontchartrain Park focus of CNN Documentary This evening a documentary on CNN—In America—focused on the efforts of New Orleans actor Wendell Pierce read more...
Stockholm Syndrome Performs To Assist Georgia Theatre
Stockholm Syndrome Performs To Assist Georgia Theatre Widespread Panic’s Dave Schools’ band Stockholm Syndrome will play the 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia, on September 1, 2010. All proceeds earned from this show will go to re-building the venerable Georgia read more...
David Barbe Named New Director of UGAs Music Business Program
David Barbe Interim UGA Music Business Program Director Congratulations to David Barbe. Athens, Georgia, producer Barbe now serves as the ‘Interim Music read more...
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...
Rebuilding Plan For Georgia Theatre Approved
Georgia Theatre Rebuilding Plan Approved A state agency has approved to rebuild the venerable Georgia Theatre in Athens, Georgia. On June 19, 2009, the music venue burned down. Work to rebuild the 121-year-old building has already begun.
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...
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...
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...
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
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...
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
Terrapin Beer Raises Money for Georgia Theatre
“Terrapin’s Georgia Theatre Sessions” The Athens, Georgia-based brewery—Terrapin Beer Company—is releasing a new series of brew that will only be available in Georgia. Funds generated from “Terrapin’s Georgia Theatre Sessions” read more...
Memphis Native Kirk Whalum Named President of Soulsville/Stax
Memphis Native Kirk Whalum Named President of Soulsville/Stax Memphis native Kirk Whalum—a Grammy-winning jazz saxophonist and music read more...
Celebrate Record Store Day 2010!
Record Store Day 2010 is read more...
The Wiregrass Road To Wanee
The Road To Wanee “Odds and Ends Lost time is not found again…” On the road to the Wanee read more...
The Day Southern Soul Burned Down
The Day Southern Soul Barbeque Burned Down “May this shovel, Release your trouble Lay them far away…” --Chris Whitley “Dirt Floor Not a good day for the residents of St. Simons Island, Georgia. Around 11 AM 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...
The North Carolina Crop Mob
North Carolina Crop Mobs...Georgia Tree Farmer...Mother Nature Network... A quick organic note this morning… I came across an interesting read more...
Crimson Tide Rules: Alabama Celebrates in Life and Art
It was like the closing of the Red Sea in the Rose Bowl Stadium in
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...
Dead Confederate EP Assists The Georgia Theatre
Athens Band Offers Free Download To Help Georgia Theatre The Athens, Georgia, band Dead Confederate are offering a free download of their read more...
Merry Christmas
Mystery And Manners Christmas Dispatch Ho Ho Ho Folks, Merry Christmas! I'd like 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 Conversation with The Georgia Music Hall of Fame's Director Lisa Love
The Latest From The Georgia Music Hall of Fame's Director My latest conversation with The Georgia Music Hall of Fame's Director, Lisa Love, read more...
Southern Soul Barbeque's Griffin Bufkin Offers Brisket Chili Recipe
Southern Soul's Soul by the Bowl Swampland Victuals Editor Griffin Bufkin offers Southern Soul Barbeque's Smoked Beef Brisket Chili Recipe. Read read more...
Announcing Our New Athens, Georgia Pages - on Swampland and on Facebook
Join Swampland Facebook Pages Hillsides of kudzu lead you into the town of Athens, Georgia. Athens, located on the Oconee River, serves as the home to The University of Georgia, read more...
The Michael Gowen Interview: Kayak Fishing On St. Simons & The Georgia Coast
The Michael Gowen Interview Fall 2009 A couple of weeks ago my old friend and I Michael Gowen conducted this interview on the Shifting Banks read more...
Part 4 of Meandering Thoughts from Widespread Panic Archivist Horace Moore
Panic Archivist Horace Moore Digs Through The Relics
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...
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...
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...
FedEx's Fred Smith Could Be The Perfect New Owner for the Rams
In our post-draft update, SPF wrote about the murky future of the St Louis Rams. Since then, they've officially put up the "For Sale" sign leading many 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...
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
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
A Glimpse Into Widespread Panic's Archive
Greetings, I'd like to point out Mystery And Manners' guide to Widespread Panic's new
Record Store Day Remembrances: Orlando's Park Ave CDs
Orlando, Florida seems an unlikely Southern musical hub. In the shadows of the all-encompassing mouse south of town, this ever-emerging city has seemingly yet to define itself culturally outside of Disney and its other famous tourist attractions.
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
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
Southern Cities Make Up 50% of Portfolio's "Top 10 Best Markets for Small Business"
Portfolio Magazine released their list of the Best Markets for Small Business. Here are the cities that made their Top read more...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Vick Still Casts a Long Shadow Over NFL Hopes in Atlanta
Has it really been a year? Last week marked one year since Michael Vick was indicted on federal charges for his role in a dog fighting ring that operated in Virginia. It also marked the beginning of one of the greatest falls from grace that we have ever seen by an athlete in read more...
Rays of Baseball Hope
We’ve reached the midpoint of the baseball season, and there seems to be a high level of optimism for the teams in our Swampland footprint. The story of the year in MLB has to be the surging Tampa Bay Rays. The franchise that has been more of a laughingstock than a contender 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.
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...
Will Jags' Fans Respond?
An interesting question was asked last week in the local Jacksonville paper regarding the Jaguars and their fans: “What has this team not done to legitimately pursue a Super Bowl read more...
Friends of New Orleans and Swampland.com Join Together!
Swampland.com is proud to announce that we have joined Friends of New Orleans (FONO) as an official cultural partner for this worthy charity. Here is the mission statement of FONO direct from the official 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...
Pro Sports Scandal Fatigue
While we at Swampland often write about College Football being the South’s number one passion, there’s no questioning the popularity of the NFL. We all love the ‘sport’ of professional football, but the ‘business’ of the game always seems to cause read more...
Kentucky Finally Gets Its NASCAR Fix
If you build it, they will come.... That seems to be the delayed result at the Kentucky Speedway. This track is perfectly situated between Louisville, Lexington, and Cincinnati and was built and developed by Jerry Carroll. Mark Story of the Lexington 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...
Development in Macon Will Include a Capricorn Records Museum
Wow. Looks like great minds do indeed run along the same track. According to this news story, the new development in downtown Macon will indeed house a Capricorn Records read more...
Swampland Celebrates National Record Store Day
Today, April 19 2008, is Record Store Day. There are so many great independent record stores across the Swampland Footprint. They are owned and staffed by the people that help to keep music alive across read more...
Capricorn Controversy in Downtown Macon
Interesting news story I found regarding the old Capricorn Records Studio building in downtown Macon, Georgia. Be sureto watch the video of the news story with footage of the old studios.
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
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...
Philip Morris: Corporate Charities, the Arts, and Virginia's future?
In today's NY Times, there is a piece about a problem in the local arts scene. It seems 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...
Sunday's slate & Long term troubles for the Jags in Jax
Phew! The 2007 previews are finally up. Now we can get down to some regular daily updates at SPF. Tomorrow's slate of games features these inter-SPF read more...
King Mojo Signs Distribution Deal With Select-O-Hits
ATLANTA, GA – Atlanta-based independent label King Mojo Records has announced the signing of a national distribution deal with Select-O-Hits and the August 7 release of three CDs as part of the new arrangement: “TGZ, “Living read more...
The South's Next Big (Sports) Thing?
There it was - for the whole nation to see. The Major League Baseball Draft made its television debut Thursday. It was nice to see Peter Gammons talking about the players many of us have seen compete over the last few months. I believe ESPN’s choice to air the draft is just read more...
Adventures In the Book Trade
6/6/07 Down on Moreland Avenue at A Cappella’s—located in Atlanta’s Little Five Points neighborhood—this Indie outlet serves as a read more...
A boom for Jacksonville's economy?
A new day may be dawning in Jacksonville. Long a home for north Florida and south Georgia farmers looking for a better economic future, Jax has been a "deep South" stronghold in read more...
Arkansas athletics in turmoil
ESPN is known for its quick soundbite-style of sports journalism, but they have many fine writers on their website, ESPN.com.
The Alltel buyout
Alltel was purchased last week by a private equity group. Most of the news has been spent on what this means to the wireless business. However, we here at Swampland.com read more...
Nashville - the NHL's Waterloo?
News arrived last week that owner Craig Leopold is selling the Nashville Predators to Canadian businessman (and Blackberry tycoon) Jim Balsillie. This development has Nashville hockey fans in a desperate state. The thought is by many in mid-Tennesee, including Tennessean read more...
Lonestar 92 is Something Truly Fresh On The Radio
There is finally something fresh and new on the radio dial, and the real surprise is that it is a part of the mega-million corporate monopoly Clear Channel, the monolith responsible for the dumbing down of commercial radio in the first place. I never thought I'd say this but, read more...