Texas 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...
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
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?
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
Cormac McCarthy Sells First Film Script Titled The Counselor
Cormac McCarthy Sells First Script Writer Cormac McCarthy recently sold his first film script. McCarthy's books such as All The Pretty Horses, No Country 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."
Bloodkin's Exile On Lumpkin Street: Soul Survivors
Bloodkin's Exile On Lumpkin Street: Soul Survivors By James Calemine Bloodkin's Friday night show at the venerable
Robert Johnson: Stones In My Passway
Robert Johnson: The Devil Is In The Details The New York Times published an interesting article yesterday. The read more...
Lera Lynn Headlines Jacksonville's Natural Life Music Festival
Lera Lynn Headlines Natural Life Music Festival November 20 Athens, Georgia, musician Lera Lynn will headline the Natural Life Music Festival in Jacksonville, Florida, on November 20. The festival began as an event to support the Children's Home Society ten read more...
A Birthday Tribute To Sam Shepard
A Birthday Tribute To Sam Shepard Today is the 68th birthday of Sam Shepard. A Swampland Honorary Southern Artist, Shepard has written over 40 read more...
The Rolling Stones: Some Girls Live In Texas
Some Girls Live In Texas A never-before-seen Rolling Stones concert, filmed live in Ft. Worth, titled The Rolling Stones: Live In Texas, will be shown at this week's "Thinking Outside the Box Office" in New Orleans.
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...
The Rum Diary On Silver Screens October 28
The Rum Diary In Theaters Oct 28 Bruce Robinson directed a film based on Hunter S. Thompson's novel--The Rum Diary--starring Johnny Depp read more...
Swampland's Daily Duo of Reviews For 8/1/11: Josh T. Pearson and Damon Fowler
Monday's pair of reviews come from a couple of releases from earlier this year. Texan Josh T. Pearson's initial band, Lift to Experience, made one well regarded record a few years back, and he released Last of the Country Gentlemen, his first official solo album, in 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...
Swampland's Daily Duo of Reviews For 7/22/11: Givers and Johnny Nicholas
For the end of the week, our daily duo bring artists from the neighboring states of Texas and Louisiana. Givers, a young Louisiana band, releases their debut In Light. Texas bluesman Johnny Nicholas provides us with Future Blues. Enjoy read more...
Swampland's Daily Duo of Reviews For 7/21/11: Old 97s and David Adam Byrnes
For Thursday's duo of reviews, we're bringing some honky tonk. Old 97s and David Adam Byrnes hail from neighboring states, Texas and Arkansas, respectively. Old 97s might also be a lot more comfortable in an indie rock club while Byrnes is a fit for Nashville, but both read more...
Swampland's Daily Duo of Reviews For 7/18/11: Jolie Holland and Dawes
This week Swampland debuts its "Daily Duo of Reviews" which gives us a chance to feature a couple of reviews each day and building a connection between them. Our first two reviews in this daily series are
Texas Judge Aims For Willie Nelson
Texas Judge Aims For Willie Nelson This morning Texas judge Becky Dean-Walker said she would not accept Willie Nelson's mailed-in plea read more...
Sam Peckinpah, Bob Dylan & The Only Photo of Billy the Kid
Billy The Kid Photo Sold For $2.3M In the spirit of Sam Peckinpah's film that starred Bob read more...
New Sly Stone Album Due Out August 16
Sly Stone's I'm Back! Family & Friends For the first time since 1982, Sly Stone will release a new album. I'm Back! Family & Friends hits the read more...
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...
Willie Nelson's Nightly Bus Theater
Willie Nelson's Nightly Bus Theater On this early Sunday evening perhaps some humor is needed. Check out Willie Nelson's June 11 episode of read more...
From Townes Van Zandt To Doc Watson
From Townes Van Zandt To Doc Watson Townes Van Zandt's Live at The Old Quarter read more...
Texan Astronaut Michael Fossum Takes New ZZ Top Song "Flyin' High" Into Space
NASA Astronaut Michael Fossum, who grew up in McAllen, TX and got his engineering degree at Texas A&M, just left on a space mission little more than two hours ago. Fossum is traveling in a Russian space vehicle as part of a multinational crew going to the International read more...
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...
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...
The Art of Will Johnson
The Artwork of Will Johnson In preparation for the Texas band Centro-matic's upcoming release--Candidate Waltz--on June 21, I thought I'd shine a light on the artwork of the band's leader 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
Happy Mother's Day (and new reviews on the way!)
Hi all, Just wanted to let everyone know to be on the lookout for some brand new reviews coming over the next week or so. Tab Benoit's Medicine, Whiskey Myers's Firewater, and Bobby Thompson's By The Hand are all in the queue. Each drips with its own brand of read more...
Upcoming Buddy Holly Tribute Album Features My Morning Jacket, Justin Townes Earl & The Black Keys
Buddy Holly Tribute Album Due Out June 28 On June 28 a Buddy Holly tribute album--Rave On--will be released. The 19 Holly songs on Rave On read more...
Roy Orbison's Widow Honors His Life On 75th Birthday
Roy Orbison's Widow Honors Her Husband Yesterday (April 22) would have been Roy Orbison's 75th birthday. His widow, Barbara, dicusses her husband's life and musical legacy in this
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...
Black Crowe Steve Gorman Sits In With Bobby Keys Band
Bobby Keys Band In Nashville Texas native Bobby Keys played saxophone for The Rolling Stones,
MLB Opening Day 2011
MLB Opening Day 2011 “I was fairly typical of my generation of Southerners, I suppose. I got hooked on the game when I heard Mel Allen’s tense description of Enos (‘Country”) Slaughter of the Cardinals winning the ’46 read more...
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...
Pinetop Perkins RIP
Pinetop Perkins RIP The great blues pianist Joseph Willie “Pinetop” Perkins died today of a cardiac arrest at 97 years old in Austin, Texas. Born in Belzoni, Mississippi, Perkins played with many of America’s blues greats such as read more...
Melvin Sparks RIP
RIP Melvin Sparks R & B-jazz guitarist Melvin Sparks died on March 13 at age 64. Born in Houston, Texas, Sparks started playing guitar at age 11. He even performed with B.B. King read more...
Black Joe Louis & The Honeybears Call on 'Relatives' at SXSW
Black Joe Louis & The Honeybears Perform At SXSW The Austin, Texas, soul/blues band Black Joe Louis & The Honeybears formed in 2007. Heavily influenced by
Dr. John, Joe Tex, Tom Waits & Leon Russell 26th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Nominees
26th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony on March 14 On March 14, the 26th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony will take place at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. On March 20, the performance will be broadcast on television.
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:
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...
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...
John Mellencamp's No Better Than This
John Mellencamp’s No Better Than This Recorded by T-Bone Burnett, No Better Than This counts as
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...
Tommy Lee Jones Directs Cormac McCarthy's The Sunset Limited For HBO Films
Tommy Lee Jones Produces Cormac McCarthy’s The Sunset Limited For HBO Tommy Lee Jones directed and produced Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Sunset Limited for
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...
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...
Marc Ford Looks Forward to Texas Shows Later This Month
Marc Ford's Fuzz Machine In Texas Marc Ford will play five shows in Texas this month. I hope to have my recent two interviews with Ford ready by Monday or Tuesday. For 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
Robert Plant Pays Tribute To Townes Van Zandt
Robert Plant’s Homage To Townes Van Zandt Robert Plant recorded Townes Van Zandt’s “Harm Swift Way” on his new Band of Joy disc. I heard the song today, and I read more...
The Black Angels: Phosphene Dream
The Black Angels: Phosphene Dream The Austin, Texas, band The Black Angels are a killer psychedelic rock group. They derived the name from the Velvet Underground song “The Black Angel’s Death Song.” The Black Angels recently released their third read more...
Ben Nichols Plays The Last Pale Light in the West
Ben Nichols Plays ‘The Last Pale Light In the West’ On January 11, Lucero’s Ben Nichols will perform a solo acoustic show at Arkansas CD & Record Exchange in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The same day Nichols’ great 2008 solo effort--
The 'True Grit' of Charles Portis
The True Grit of Charles Portis For the second time, the Charles Portis novel, True Grit, has been adapted to film. The first movie—starring John Wayne—hit the silver screen in 1969. Now, Joel & Ethan Coen have transformed the classic Portis novel 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...
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.
Ryan Bingham Headlines ‘Stand Up For Kids’ Benefit On Dec 5
Ryan Bingham Headlines ‘Stand Up For Kids’ On Dec 5 Oscar-winning musician Ryan Bingham and his band The Dead Horses will headline LA’s first annual benefit concert on Dec. 5. This one-day festival raises funds and promotes awareness concerning youth read more...
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...
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
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...
Daniel Lanois’ Soulful Mining & Black Dub
Daniel Lanois’ Soulful Mining & Black Dub Daniel Lanois’ new band, Black Dub, augments jazz, reggae, blues and soul into one potent sound. 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...
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...
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...
Dickey Betts Leads Rock & Roll Fantasy Camp Tour Beginning Today
In conjunction with the VH1 Classic series, Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp is criss-crossing the nation, bringing a series of “Weekend Warrior” Camps to several towns, including one big Southern city!
Point Blank's Kim Davis is Dead
Another great Southern Rock guitarist has passed on. Kim Davis, from Fort Worth, Texas was instrumental in the great sound of the band Point Blank is dead, reportedly from a self-inflicted gunshot wound earlier this week. Davis partnered with Rusty Burns to create a read more...
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.
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...
From Townes To Peckinpah
From Townes To Peckinpah “The hero and the artist compare notes on the 21st century…
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...
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.
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.
Ryan Bingham & Willie Nelson: Double-Barreled Americana Show On The Road
Willie Nelson & Ryan Bingham: Double-Barreled Americana Ryan Bingham serves as Willie read more...
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...
42 Years Later: Buffalo Springfield Reunites At Bridge School Benefit
Buffalo Springfield Reunites At Young’s Bridge School Benefit Buffalo Springfield will reunite for the first time in 42 years at
Bloodkin Opens First Shows of Widespread Panic's Fall Tour This Weekend
Bloodkin Kicks Off Panic Tour As fall descends, the interesting season of live shows begin…Bloodkin’s Daniel Hutchens,
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...
The Squidbillies' Georgia Connection
Wicked Laughs On The Squidbillies Squidbillies is an animated television series on Cartoon Network. It’s about The Cuylers--a family of squids living a quiet little north Georgia town. This counts as the fifth season of Squidbillies. Born in 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...
Ryan Bingham & Willie Nelson Hit The Road Together
Ryan Bingham & Willie Nelson Tour Together Ryan Bingham’s new CD, Junky Star, hits the streets on Tuesday. A few days later, Bingham and his band The Dead Horses will open shows for Willie Nelson read more...
2010 Big 12 Football Preview
It was quite the offseason for the Big 12, with the focus on school defections to other conferences. While Nebraska and Colorado will leave the league after this season,
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...
Big 12 Media Days Bring a Huge Sense of Relief
What a summer it has been for the Big 12. From the impending departures of Nebraska and Colorado to the league remaining intact, the conference athletic directors and Commissioner Dan Beebe were just glad to get to the annual Big 12 Media Days in Irving, Texas. There will be still read more...
Ryan Bingham's Bootleg Series
Ryan Bingham’s Bootleg Series In anticipation for the August 31 release of Academy Award-winning Ryan Bingham’s new CD, Junky Star, Bingham’s ‘Bootleg Series’ launches acoustic versions of the new material.
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...
Jim Thompson's Killer Inside Me Adapted To Film
Killer Inside Me Adapted To Film Oklahoma-born writer Jim Thompson—known for books such as Killer Inside Me, The Getaway, The Grifters, Savage Night and A Hell of a Woman—wrote over 30 novels. Thompson’s read more...
Big "XII" Stays Regional Instead of Going West
The college expansion debate and possible maneuvering by key universities over the last month had everyone in our Swampland Footprint buzzing with opinion(s), but for now all of those negotiations and rumors did not amount to much movement.
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
Ryan Bingham's Junky Star On The Rise
Ryan Bingham’s Junky Star Set For Fall Release In the swirl of T-Bone Burnett produced projects such as Robert Randolph’s We Walk This Road (released today), Crazy Heart as 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
T-Bone Burnett Produces Robert Randolph's We Walk This Road
T-Bone Burnett Produces Robert Randolph’s We Walk This Road On the heels of a Grammy for Crazy Heart, T-Bone Burnett’s latest production stands as pedal steel wizard Robert Randolph’s latest CD, We Walk This Road. In
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...
Producer Daniel Lanois In Intensive Care
Daniel Lanois In Motorcycle Accident Producer Daniel Lanois seriously injured himself Saturday in a motorcycle accident. Lanois has been forced to cancel his Black Dub read more...
Point Blank's Phillip Petty Dead at 59
We here at GRITZ/Swampland are deeply saddened to hear of the death of Point Blank bassist Phillip Petty, 59. Phil passed away last night, Monday, June 7, 2010. He had been 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...
Big-Name Franchises Make Huge News During Offseason
Three teams in our Swampland Footprint definitely have national fan bases and looked to make a splash during free agency and the draft. The Dallas Cowboys made their news on the first night of the draft, while the Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins dominated the headlines with read more...
New Orleans and Indianapolis Add Defensive Playmakers
Many teams in the NFL Draft feel compelled to fill an immediate need with their first selection, but some elite clubs are able to take the best player available and build quality depth for the future. Those picks do not always excite fans on draft day but tend to work out quite well read more...
Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian & Cities of the Plain Set for the Silver Screen
Two More McCarthy Books Set To Film Todd Field (In The Bedroom, Little Children) will direct his screenplay based on the savage Cormac McCarthy novel, Blood Meridian. The film is slated for release sometime next year. In other McCarthy news, Andrew 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...
The Latest On Merle Haggard & Willie Nelson
Merle Haggard’s New Album & Willie Nelson’s New Tour Dates The great Merle Haggard released a new album this week. Look for the Swampland review soon. The album—I Am What I Am—released on Vanguard retains an old read more...
Celebrate Record Store Day 2010!
Record Store Day 2010 is read more...
Billy Joe Shaver Acquitted
Billy Joe Shaver Acquitted On Friday, April 9, Billy Joe Shaver read more...
Bob Dylan's Renaldo And Clara
Bob Dylan’s Lost Classic: Renaldo And Clara Since the Chinese remain impervious to his charm, I thought I’d send out read more...
Dust Radio: A New Chris Whitley Documentary Out This Summer
Dust Radio: A New Film About Chris Whitley Director Jonathan Mayer recently made a documentary film about the late Texas singer/songwriter read more...
Ryan Bingham & T-Bone Burnett Win An Oscar For Crazy Heart
Texas Songwriter Triumphs With Oscar
Ryan Bingham's Ascent Into The National Spotlight
Texas Songwriter Wrote Theme Song for Jeff Bridges Film Crazy Heart A few years back, Ryan Bingham’s
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...
The Black Dub of Daniel Lanois
Daniel Lanois' New Band Black Dub Daniel Lanois’ new band,
Big 12 Teams See Recruiting Success
We’re used to seeing Texas and Oklahoma at the top of the Big 12, and nothing was different on last week’s National Signing Day. The “Big 2” have won the last six conference title games, and they were both ranked in the nation’s Top 10 with their 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
Crazy Heart Deserves an Oscar
In Crazy Heart, Jeff Bridges stars as a former country star named Bad Blake, a character that is a mix of Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings and Billy Joe Shaver, with a strong physical resemblance to Kris Kristofferson. He had a couple of chart hits once upon a time, but these 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...
Tuesday CD Review: Crazy Heart is Chock Full of Real, Honest Country Music
Our Tuesday review features one fine soundtrack album. An amazing album produced by T-Bone Burnett that finds Hollywood actors singing their best since Walk The Line. Read my review of Crazy Heart 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
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...
Saints vs Colts Present a Dream SPF Super Bowl
Much more to come on this as the Super Bowl approaches, but yesterday's wins by Peyton Manning and the Colts and Drew Brees and the Saints presented our football-hungry region with the best reason yet to watch the Super Bowl.
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...
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,
The Early Recordings of Waylon Jennings
The First Six Waylon Jennings Albums Reissued Last week I received Texas-born Waylon Jennings’ first 6 albums—Folk read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Texas Tech and Tuberville make an Interesting Fit
What a winter it has been for the Texas Tech. From the firing of Mike Leach to the inspired Bowl victory to the coaching search, Red Raider fans have had quite the ride in wondering what’s next for their football program.
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...
No Holds Barred: Dusty Rhodes
We continue with our ongoing look at pro-wrestling in the South during the seventies. Another one of my all-time farorite wrestlers is the one and only “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. During the seventies and into the early eighties I was fortunate enough read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: McCoy Injury Overshadows Title Loss
It wasn't supposed to end like this. Texas fans could probably deal with a loss to Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game if they had their entire arsenal, but it just seems different after
Big 12 Daily Fever: Texas Looks for Another National Title in Pasadena
It's finally here. Over a month after surviving a Big Red scare against Ndamukong Suh and Nebraska, Texas will take on another Big Red (techinally crimson) when they meet Alabama in tonight's BCS National Championship Game.
Big 12 Daily Fever: Texas Tech Loses More Than a Coach with Leach Firing
What a Texas-sized soap opera going on in Lubbock with the Texas Tech football program. Mike Leach has been fired from the program he took to new heights, and Red Raider fans are left with anger, confusion, and frustration. The Leach ouster has so many interesting angles; 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...
Big 12 Fever: Leach Outcome Will Have a Huge Effect on the Conference
A college football coach suspended for a game? That’s definitely something we’re not used to seeing, and there’s no doubt the Mike Leach-Texas Tech administration conflict is very unique. The school’s brass announced their outspoken coach
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...
T-Bone Burnett: O Brother, Where Aren't Thou?
The Latest T-Bone Burnett Ongoings This
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...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Conference Bowl Ties in Texas Work for Fans and Teams
Both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State did not quite reach their football goals this season. The Sooners were riddled with injuries to top players and were never a factor in the league race. The Cowboys looked like the second best team in the conference, but still could not get over the read more...
Janis Joplin Guitarist James Gurley Passes
I was truly saddened when I heard from J.C. Juanis this morning that our old friend James Gurley had passed away.
Big 12 Daily Fever: Oklahoma State out in the cold on Indoor Facility
With temperatures below freezing in Stillwater much of last week, Oklahoma State had to brave the elements in their preparation for the Cotton Bowl against Ole Miss. Meanwhile, the Rebels practiced in their indoor facility when the weather was cold or raining. It turns out that OSU 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...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Can McCoy be the next Brees?
Colt McCoy has done almost everything at the college level. He has won major awards, put up huge statistics, set the NCAA record for wins by a quarterback, and led the 'Horns to the BCS Title Game in '09. But what about the NFL level? In recent years, we've seen many Big 12 read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Missouri Defection Would Shake Up the League
We mentioned yesterday that the Big Ten Conference was looking at possibly adding a 12th team, and that Missouri would be high on the list of choices. These types of decisions and read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Texas Hears In-house Criticism of Brown's Salary
Texas coach Mack Brown has the Longhorns playing for their second National Title in four years, and he has led the program to four BCS Bowls in a six year span. Those accomplishments, combined with the UT tradition and massive fan base, mean that the Texas football team brings in as read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Gill Makes his Priorities Clear at Kansas
Kansas made huge news in the conference this week with the naming of Turner Gill as head coach. The former Nebraska star recived a 5-year deal worth $10 million to continue the momentum on the field of the Mark Mangino regime, but without the off-the-field issues.
Big 12 Daily Fever: Conference Watches the McCoy-Suh Split Hand Heisman to Ingram
While Alabama fans celebrate, Big 12 followers are crying foul over college football’s most controversial award. With Texas quarterback Colt McCoy and Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh finishing third and fourth, many league fans believe 2009 is just the latest chapter 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.
Big 12 Daily Fever: The Heisman is the only Award left for McCoy
Colt McCoy will need a new trophy case after a postseason filled with accolades. He set the NCAA record this season for wins by a starting quarterback and led the Texas read more...
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...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Mack Brown Handsomely Rewarded
They say everything is bigger in Texas, and that now certainly applies to coach’s salaries. Much like the theme in our SEC story today, the University of Texas read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Suh's Dominant Season Being Recognized
Could it happen? A defensive tackle winning the Heisman? That surprising development seems to be growing more and more possible
Big 12 Daily Fever: Texas Adjusts to Underdog Role
Texas rolled through most of the conference season before being challenged mightily by the Nebraska defense in the Title Game. Now the Longhorns face a tougher obstacle in read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Texas Survives Big Red Scare
Texas only got 13 points in their 13th victory, but it was just enough to get by Nebraska for the Big 12 Championship. The ugly defensive battle ended 13-12 on read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Mangino Resignation Could Create Domino Effect
With Texas set as a two-touchdown favorite in the Big 12 Championship, the biggest story in the conference becomes the ouster of Mark Mangino at Kansas.
Cormac McCarthy Auctions His Old Typewriter Friday
Cormac McCarthy Sells His Olivetti Tomorrow writer
Big 12 Daily Fever: League Titles Have Been Scarce for Texas Lately
Texas has become a superpower once again during Mack Brown's tenure, winning more games than any other school in the country since 1998. Ten victories in a season read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: North Division Needs a Power Team
With much of the media attention on Atlanta and the SEC this week. the Big 12 Championship at Cowboys Stadium is receiving much less national fanfare. The fan read more...
Tuesday Review: Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel
Look up "icon" in the dictionary and you are liable as not to find a picture of Willie Nelson. Always a favorite here at GRITZ, Nelson has played virtually every type of music with a plethora of great musicians. Now he makes good on a plan he made over 30 years read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Texas and Nebraska Prepare for Title Clash
Much of the attention this week before the Big 12 Championship Game will be on the matchup between the Texas offense and the Nebraska defense. Longhorn quarterback Colt McCoy has been read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: OU Dominates Bedlam Game
While most of this season has been frustrating for Oklahoma fans, their counterparts in Stillwater have enjoyed a pretty successful year. But as far as Oklahoma State taking read more...
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
Big 12 Daily Fever: McCoy leads Texas with Heisman-like Performance
Although Texas A&M gave them quite the game, Texas took care of business 49-39 over the Aggies and Colt McCoy vaulted himself to the front of read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: A&M Hosts Texas for Thanksgiving
Texas wrapped up the South Division last week, and Texas A&M became bowl eligible with their win over Baylor. So there's not much to play for at Kyle Field on read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Texas Tech Crushes Oklahoma in Lubbock
What a game Mike Leach’s club had against Oklahoma . Texas Tech outgained the Sooners by 239 yards on their way to a convincing 41-13 victory. After getting throttled 65-21 last read more...
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”
Big 12 Daily Fever: Unlikely Candidate Leads OSU Comeback
What a wild win for Mike Gundy's Oklahoma State club on senior night in Stillwater. With starting QB Zac Robinson unable to play and backup Alex Cate struggling, read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Special Game Tonight For OSU Seniors
As Oklahoma State prepares to host Colorado tonight, Mike Gundy will be focused on the game and the injury status of quarterback Zac Robinson. read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: OU's Murray May Return in 2010
Oklahoma received some potentially big news this week when star tailback DeMarco Murray said he was “pretty sure” of returning to Norman read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Kansas State-Nebraska Clash Will Decide The North
Kansas State travels to Lincoln on Saturday, and they will battle Nebraska for the North's berth into the Big 12 Title Game. Bill Snyder has returned to the Wildcats sideline read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: McCoy Ties QB Wins Record As Texas Remains Unbeaten
Many of the stories for the Big 12 Fever during the 2009 season have been negative in nature. Whether it was the injuries to Oklahoma's stars or the struggles of the North 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
Big 12 Daily Fever: OSU-Texas Tech Should Create Fireworks
The league's best game of the week looks to be a potential shootout when Texas Tech travels to Stillwater to meets the Cowboys. The last time Oklahoma State read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: '09 Teams Succeeding With Less Passing, More Running
Last week, Nebraska relied on the running game to beat Oklahoma while the Sooners threw five interceptions. Oklahoma State won at Iowa State by running for 331 yards while only throwing for 142. Kansas State beat rival Kansas by rushing for 266 yards and passing for 66.
Big 12 Daily Fever: Does It Matter Which North Team Plays Texas In The Title Game?
A Nebraska writer has penned an interesting column that suggests the Cornhuskers would be the better opponent for Texas in order to have a competitive Big 12 Title game. We can surmise that fans in read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Texas A&M's Late Collapse Endangers Postseason Hopes
Mike Sherman’s club entered the Colorado game having won two in a row and seemed ready to make it three with an eleven-point lead at the half. However,
Big 12 Daily Fever: Nebraska Shuts Down Oklahoma Offense
Oklahoma’s season went from frustrating to worse Saturday as Nebraska’s defense controlled the battle of the ‘Big Reds’ for a 10-3 win.
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...
Big 12 Daily Fever: The OU-Nebraska Rivalry Should Happen Every Season
Berry Tramel of 'The Oklahoman' writes this week about something that just seems obvious to most college football fans: the Oklahoma-Nebraska game should happen every year.
Big 12 Daily Fever: K-State ascension could hurt league's image
Bill Snyder has returned to the sideline in Manhattan, Kansas, and the Wildcats are sitting in first place in the Big 12’s “little brother” Division. The 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
Big 12 Daily Fever: OU-Nebraska has lost a little luster
It’s still the battle of the “Big Reds”, but this one doesn’t have quite the significance of past Oklahoma-Nebraska read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Sherman Has Aggies Thinking About A Bowl Berth
Texas A&M started the season by winning their first three games against rather weak opponents. That was followed by losing three in a row, including an embarrassing read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Texas Clearly the Conference's Best
Texas versus Oklahoma State was built up as the game of the year in the conference, but the Longhorns separated themselves from the rest of the league with a read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: OSU-Texas Could Decide the Big 12
The biggest game in Oklahoma State history? It's starting to feel that way around Stillwater as the Cowboys prepare to host #3 Texas on Saturday night. OSU enters the game 6-1 overall and unbeaten in the conference, and the ramifications of beating the Longhorns would be read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Sam Bradford Shouldn't Be Second-Guessed
Sam Bradford had successful surgery yesterday, and he now will rehabilitate his shoulder in preparation for the NFL Draft. The read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: OSU-Texas Should Be a Barnburner
Texas and Oklahoma State will meet in Stillwater this Saturday night in what looks to be the Big 12 game of the year. The enthusiasm of the Cowboys fan base was read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Nebraska Must Rebound For Conference Balance To Return
We've been very critical of the North Division and for good reason. As the conference tries to catch the SEC in national perception, the North has become an anchor read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Texas A&M Gives The Big 12 South Even More Depth
While many consider Iowa State winning 9-7 over Nebraska the league's biggest surprise on Saturday, the divisional disparity in the Big 12 becomes cleraer when taken in combination with what occurred in Lubbock when
Big 12 Daily Fever: Could Bradford Return In 2010?
There was much debate last winter on whether Oklahoma's Sam Bradford should enter the NFL Draft. He had won the Heisman Trophy, and many thought he would be the read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Texas Tech's Profile Continues To Rise Under Leach
As Texas Tech prepares to host Texas A&M this week, this game looks like two teams headed in different directions. After two tough losses to Top 20 teams to read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Gundy Has OSU in Big 12 Contention
It’s been quite the rollercoaster for Mike Gundy’s Oklahoma State team. The renovated Pickens Stadium played host to a huge opening week victory over Georgia, read more...
SPF Daily Rating: Team In Turmoil #1 - Washington Redskins
We knew it was going to be a tough year for several SPF teams. We are going to spend some time this week on a few individual teams to give a sense of their respective level of desperation. Our first team is the Washington Redskins. Their fall might be the read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: North Division coming up short
We have written many times that for the Big 12 to catch the SEC in power, the North Division was going to have to pull its weight.
Big 12 Daily Fever: Bradford Knocked Out Again, Texas Squeaks To Win
The nightmare for Oklahoma fans continued Saturday as their Heisman-winning quarterback was laying on the turf for the second time this season. Sam Bradford read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Oklahoma-Texas should be a Classic
This one has it all-Tradition, Star players, Conference and National Title implications, and good old-fashioned hate. The Red River Rivalry will kick off read more...
SPF Daily Rating: Bengals Blackout?
The Bengals have had a dream season so far. They've beaten their arch rival (Steelers). They've beaten their in state rival. They are a last minute tipped pass away from being undefeated, but they are still at 4-1 and lead the AFC North.
Big 12 Daily Fever: Beyond The Red River Rivalry
Most of the attention in Big 12 country this week will be on the Red River Rivalry, but there are two other league games that will go a long way in defining the conference season.
Big 12 Daily Fever: Texas Wants A Red River Win To Lift Their Season
Maybe it’s just gamesmanship before a huge rivalry battle, but the Texas Longhorns say they are glad to see Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford back on the field and ready to go read more...
SPF Daily Rating: Saints Fever Sweeping the Gulf Coast
As we predicted, it has been a pretty dire year for SPF teams. Even one of our playoff locks, the Tennessee Titans, is surprisingly winless and going nowhere fast. The best news amongst our SPF teams comes from the Saints who made an off season commitment to read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Texas Tech Has QB Decision To Make
In ten years at Texas Tech, Mike Leach had never seen one of his starting quarterbacks miss a start because of injury. That changed last Saturday when Steven read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Bradford Back Just In Time For The Sooners
Oklahoma fans received some comforting news the weekend when Sam Bradford was announced as the starter. The Heisman winner threw for 389 yards and a score in read more...
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...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Mizzou Suffers Loss With Brutal 4th Quarter
It looked good for three quarters. Missouri was up 12-0 over Nebraska in a game that saw a torrential downpour throughout the night in Columbia. Unfortunately for read more...
SPF Daily Rating: Blank Talks About A New Stadium In Atlanta For Falcons
Amidst a serious economic downturn, Falcons owner Arthur Blank has again begun engaging in public discussion about a new stadium to replace the Georgia Dome. The fact read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Tonight's Missouri-Nebraska Clash May Decide the North Division
A key game in the Big 12 North will take place Thursday night when the surprising Missouri Tigers host Nebraska. Gary Pinkel’s team has been one of the nice surprises read more...
SPF Daily Rating: Del Rio Keeps Playing Silly Games #3
We guess Jack Del Rio's two game win streak has further emboldened him. After already playing silly media games with players on two different occasions (here and read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Both With QB Issues, OU and Baylor Prepare To Face Off
When Oklahoma travels to meet Baylor, all eyes will be focused on the quarterback position-for both teams. Obviously the whole nation is waiting to see if Sam read more...
SPF Daily Rating: Are the Cowboys and Texans Going In Opposite Directions?
As always, there is panic in Cowboy Nation. Panic like this always ensues when their beloved team isn't undefeated or at least in the top half read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Texas In the Driver's Seat
The early story in the conference has been the decline of injury-riddled Oklahoma and their two non-conference losses. Meanwhile, the
SPF Daily Rating: Saints Look Consistent, Perhaps Elite At 4-0
It's early, but the 2009 New Orleans Saints look like a very, very good team. No one has ever questioned this team's read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Bradford-less Oklahoma loses at Miami
It started well enough. The Oklahoma defense got two early interceptions, but Landry Jones and the offense could only turn them into seven points. Miami eventually got read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Jones, Not Bradford, Will Lead OU At Miami
The mystery is over for Oklahoma: Landry Jones will start at quarterback when the Sooners travel to Miami to meet a hungry Canes squad.
SPF Daily Rating: Del Rio Cancels Garrard's Radio Show
We hate piling on, but Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio has been asking for it. Just recently, we wrote about Del Rio's penchant for playing silly games - most read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Baylor's Once Attainable Bowl Bid Seems in Doubt After Injuries
We’ve written this week about the tough blow Baylor suffered when start quarterback Robert Griffin was lost for the season. Based on his stellar freshman read more...
SPF Daily Rating: Jaguars to Orlando?
Orlando Sentinel sports columnist, Mike Bianchi, made some big sports news today when he reported that the Jacksonville Jaguars might be looking to move
Big 12 Daily Fever: An Undefeated Texas A&M Relies on Youth
Lost in all the Big 12 buzz has been Mike Sherman's quiet rebuilding job in College Station. Most were wondering how A&M had sunk so low before Sherman's hiring. It looks like it's the same old story - not enough recruiting of talent.
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...
SPF Daily Rating: Dolphins Trade for Thigpen
The Miami Dolphins wasted no time replacing injured QB Chad Pennington by trading for former Chiefs and Coastal Carolina QB Tyler Thigpen in the wake of Pennington's decision to have 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...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Bradford Creates A Tough Dilemma for Stoops
The decision of the season is rapidly approaching for Bob Stoops: does Sam Bradford play against Miami read more...
SPF Daily Rating: Chad Pennington to Miss Season
Although they don't want to officially announce it yet because of a possible misdiagnosis, the immediate signs are that Dolphins QB Chad Pennington will miss the 2009 season with a shoulder read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Tech loses late at Houston
It was a fairly solid week for the Big 12 as most of the conference beat up non-BCS opponents. But the one that got away was the read more...
SPF Daily Rating: Texas Stadium RIP
Last night, the Irving (TX) City Council approved the funds to demolish Texas Stadium. Lost in all the hype of the new Cowboys Stadium, it's hard to believe that a place with so read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Rival Abilene QBs Match Up in Houston vs Texas Tech
The talk of Texas this week continues to be the high octane matchup of Texas Tech at Houston. Second year HC Kevin Sumlin has read more...
SPF Daily Rating: What if Redskins Lose To Lowly Lions? Bye, Bye Zorn
It's the unthinkable times two. The first unthinkable is that an NFL team can finish 0-16. That already happened with last year's Detroit Lions. Now that the Lions are 0-2 to start the 2009 season, the question starts - "who will they finally read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Mizzou's 3-0 Start Bolsters Northern Half of Conference
One of the best developments for the Big 12 North this season has been the solid early start of the Missouri Tigers. With the departure of Chase read more...
SPF Daily Rating: Del Rio Playing Silly Games in Jacksonville
In what should be a small story, Jags coach Jack Del Rio has brought back WR Nate Hughes to the practice squad after cutting him on read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Texas Tech and Houston Provide A Weekend Shootout
Big 12 Daily Fever is the top Big 12 story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. In what promises to be a Wild West offensive onslaught, Texas Tech will meet Houston in a game that sees these two teams in unfamiliar roles.
SPF Daily Rating: Lack of Playmakers Leave Florida Teams Winless
"I'm not interested in Pro Bowl players, I'm interested in world champions." "[I'm interested in 'non-talent issues' [namely] the hustle, the effort, the technique, the fundamentals, all of those things." The above quotes read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Bradford Back on the Practice Field
Big 12 Daily Fever is the top Big 12 story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. Bob Stoops and the Oklahoma doctors will have an interesting decision to make in the upcoming weeks.
SPF Daily Rating: The Saints Roll Again Behind Smart Decisions
The New Orleans Saints keep their high powered offense rolling once again as they went into Philadelphia and smoked the Eagles 48-22. What read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Longhorns Looking Like The Class of the Conference
Big 12 Daily Fever is the top Big 12 story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. Texas was able to take care of business against Texas Tech this year, and it looks like
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...
SPF Daily Rating: Houston Texans Don't Like Being Called "Soft"
To say the Houston Texans have been disappointing since entering the NFL as a expansion team in 2002 would be an understatement. In a way, however, everything about the Texans seems understated, including their presence on the field according to those who have been calling read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Mike Leach Tries To Downplay Tech vs Texas
Big 12 Daily Fever is the top Big 12 story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. Texas is ready to tackle a key step towards their goal of a Big 12 (and National) Title when they host Texas Tech Saturday night.
SPF Daily Rating: Jacksonville Mayor Makes Personal Plea For Fans To Buy Jags Tix
The Jaguars lost an astonishing 17,000 season ticket holders between this season and last. Expectations are that most of their games will be blacked out locally. So who have the Jags turned to?
Big 12 Daily Fever: Nebraska Hopes Maturity Will Lead To Win Over Virginia Tech
Big 12 Daily Fever is the top Big 12 story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. The game of the week nationally may be the Nebraska-Virginia Tech matchup.
SPF Daily Rating: Delhomme Under Fire In Carolina
Things are getting ugly in Charlotte and Carolina for Panthers QB Jake Delhomme. Delhomme is getting major flack from fans. read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Texas Says Revenge Not The Goal Against Texas Tech
Big 12 Daily Fever is the top Big 12 story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. It was the signature highlight of the 2008 season- Michael Crabtree’s catch and score as Texas Tech upset undefeated Texas.
Big 12 Daily Fever: Nebraska Battles Big 12 North Credibility, Virginia Tech
Big 12 Daily Fever is the top Big 12 story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. As the North Division strives to catch up with the South, the need for big non-conference wins becomes paramount.
SPF Daily Rating: The Falcons Display Winning Formula in Week One
The Atlanta Falcons have opened 2009 just like they did 2008 - by winning decisively. The main difference is that they beat the ultimately 0-16 read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Oklahoma State Fails To Handle Success
Big 12 Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. After a thrilling 24-10 win over Georgia, the fans in Stillwater were on Cloud 9. With a Top 10 ranking and the cross-state rival Sooners loss, the potential of read more...
Big 12 Weekend Fever: OSU Puts Fans Ahead of Money
Big 12 Weekend Fever Previews Top Stories for the Upcoming Weekend What a tough decision for Oklahoma State athletic director Mike Holder: Dallas vs. Stillwater for the huge opener agianst Georgia.
Big 12 Daily Fever: Aggies Early Schedule Helps To Build Youth and Momentum
Big 12 Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know.
Big 12 Daily Fever: Injuries Quickly Put A Damper On OU's 2009 expectations
Big 12 Daily Fever is the top ACC story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. The young season just keeps getting worse for Oklahoma.
Big 12 Daily Fever: Devastating Opener for the Sooners
Big 12 Daily Fever is the top Big 12 story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. There was the nightmare-with less than ten seconds to go in the first half. It was Oklahoma’s worst fear;
Austin's Charlie Faye Rises to the Top
There are just so many, many singer songwriters in the South. So many really good ones, especially in and around Nashville and Austin. Loads of talent. All of that being said, there are always a few that just rise to the top. Those rare artists who captivate you from the read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Can Mizzou Show That The Big 12 North Isn't Just The Big Ten?
Big 12 Daily Fever is the top Big 12 story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. A very meaningful game for the Big 12 North will happen Saturday when Missouri meets Illinois in the opener.
Big 12 Daily Fever: Oklahoma gets a Scare
Big 12 Daily Fever is the top Big 12 story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. Nervous Sooner fans are still waiting for official confirmation from Oklahoma, but apparently
Big 12 Daily Fever: OSU Battling Distractions Before Georgia Opener
Big 12 Daily Fever is the top Big 12 story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. It’s been an interesting week in Stillwater as Oklahoma State prepares for their huge matchup with Georgia.
Big 12 Daily Fever: Sherman Hopes Personal Example Inspires Aggie Players
Big 12 Daily Fever is the top Big 12 story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. After going 4-8 in his first season in College Station, Mike Sherman knows how hard he must work to turn things around.
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...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Led By Griffin, Baylor Looks Ready to Surprise
Big 12 Daily Fever is the top Big 12 story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. When looking for candidates to challenge the “Big 2” in the South Division, most experts see Oklahoma State playing the role this season that Texas 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
Big 12 Daily Fever: Does Taylor Potts Represent a New Era of Texas Tech QBs?
Big 12 Daily Fever is the top Big 12 story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. The same question always hangs over the Texas Tech program- is it the quarterback or the system?
Big 12 Daily Fever: Longhorn DB Earl Thomas Looks To Help Revive Defense
Big 12 Daily Fever is the top Big 12 story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. In the conference currently known for offense, the team that plays the best defense may be the one that advances to the Title game.
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.
Big 12 Daily Fever: Will Missouri run the ball more in 2009?
Big 12 Daily Fever is the top Big 12 story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. With Chase Daniel at the helm, Mizzou fans got used to seeing the ball tossed all over the field.
Big 12 Daily Fever: A&M leading WR changes positions
Big 12 Daily Fever is the top Big 12 story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman has made an interesting decision
Devon Allman Talks About His Band, His Dad, and Uncle Duane
Devon Allman is bearing his soul at last. After years of self-described "running from his heritage," he is happy and healthy and proud to be the son of Southern Rock legend
Big 12 Daily Fever: The Big 12 Makes Comparisons to the SEC - Should They?
Big 12 Daily Fever is the top Big 12 story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. The Big 12 conference was well represented in the initial AP Top 25 Poll with
Texan Charlie Sexton Back In Dylan's Band
Dylan Offers Sexton His Old Job Back Charlie Sexton accepted his old job back as guitarist in
New Sly Stone Documentary Due Out This Fall
A Gritty Reality For Sly Stone In New Documentary In a
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...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Red Raiders get RB back
Big 12 Daily Fever is the top Big 12 story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. Texas Tech got some welcome news as it appears that
Big 12 Daily Fever: Big Recruiting News for Mizzou
Big 12 Daily Fever is the top Big 12 story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. Missouri got some huge news read more...
Big 12 Daily Fever: Sooners Await Status of Key LB
Big 12 Daily Fever is the top Big 12 story of the day. Disagree? Let us know. Oklahoma is still 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...
Brooks & Dunn Going Out On Top
All good things, they say, must eventually come to an end, even if it’s a mega-star country music act like Brooks & Dunn. Louisiana man Kix Brooks and Texan Ronnie Dunn have announced that they are parting ways as a duo following a farewell 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...
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
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
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...
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...
Candy Coburn Speaks With Swampland
I must apologoze to Candy Coburn and her team for taking so long to get her interview posted. Honestly, my health issues started the weekend I went to Nashville for her showcase, and have just now begun to heal. Thank God. I am so excited about the interview and read more...
Dylan, Nelson & The Dead Rock Rothbury
Mystery And Manners’ Summer Tour Notes Volume 2 This
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...
Summer 09 Tour Notes: Dylan & Willie at Summerfest
Mystery And Manners' Summer 09 Tour Notes
Time Flies Like An Arrow
“Time read more...
Legends of Southern Rock Guitar Contest Winners Announced
Mama always said “All good things must come to an end,” and with that we wrap up our Legends of Southern Rock Guitar Contest. Our Grand Prize Winner is Darlene Stevens of Goldsboro, North Carolina. Darlene wins our brand new Dean Playmate guitar with read more...
Sad To Hear About Michael, But Farrah Fawcett Was My "Thriller"
It has been one hell of a day for the pop culture world. Just moments ago I learned that Michael Jackson has died following a cardiac arrest at age 50. No matter what the “King of Pop” did during his lifetime, his eccentricities and alleged crimes, which read more...
NBA Draft: Swampland's Pro Hoops Teams
Pro sports has a problem in the Swampland Footprint. Considered the top level of competition and interest throughout the rest of the country, the pro game doesn't resonate with 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...
Boxmasters New Video Premiers Tomorrow, But You Can See it Today
Tune In to CMT Pure’s Wide Open Country show this Monday, June 8th for the premier of The Boxmasters new video “Turn It Over." Wide Open Country read more...
The Cormac McCarthy Papers
The Cormac McCarthy Papers on Display at Southwestern Writers Collection Greetings folks, For the Lit fans I wanted to pass along this read more...
Ryan Bingham Talks About Marc Ford
As I transcribed my recent interview with Texas songwriter Ryan Bingham, I came across this bit in the interview where Ryan talks about
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...
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
The Saints And New Orleans Find Re-Birth After Katrina
The 2009 season will be huge for the Saints both on and off the field. While record-setting Drew Brees tries to get the team back to the Playoffs, the bigger story may lie within the city as
Marc Ford Joins Booker T. Jones' Touring Band
In preparation for my upcoming review on Ryan Bingham’s new CD,
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...
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...
Willie Nelson Road Manager Poodie Locke Dies
I just got word from Billy Bob Thornton's manager Lisa that Willie Nelson's road manager, Poodie Locke passed 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...
Bob Dylan & Willie Nelson On the Road Again
Dylan & Nelson Hit The Road Together Luminaries Bob Dylan read more...
Ryan Bingham's Roadhouse Sun Arrives
Ryan Bingham’s Roadhouse Sun Arrives Yesterday I received my advanced copy of Ryan Bingham’s highly anticipated sophomore CD, 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...
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...
Bob Dylan's Together Through Life
Dylan's New Together Through Life On The Way "I'm listening to Billy Joe Shaver I'm reading James Joyce Some read more...
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...
In Defense of Jay Cutler: Why Most SPF Teams Still Don't Get It
I wish it hadn't come to this [trading Cutler]. I'm disappointed. . . . It's a sad day for one of the elite franchises in football and all the Broncos fans, and I'm sad - John Elway The saga of Jay Cutler has mesmerized the NFL landscape just like Brett Favre did read more...
Dave Cantonwine Talks About Eric Quincy Tate, Remembers Bandmates Donnie McCormick and Bear Sauls
Eric Quincy Tate was one of the greatest Southern Rock bands of all time, but they just never got the recognition they so richly deserved. The Texas based band was compared by many to fellow
Quarter Notes: Derek Trucks welcomes Bobby Whitlock; Brothers of The Southland Arrive; Tommy Talton Band Rocks
The Derek Trucks Band welcomed a very special read more...
The Allman Brothers Band at The Beacon, March 10, 2009
I had just gotten off the cell with Tommy Talton. We were talking about the Hittin’ The Note party in New York, where his band will open for Jaimoe and read more...
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...
Big Medicine Come Soon
"Beyond the horizon, in the Springtime or Fall Love waits forever for one and for all." --Bob Dylan Greetings 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...
Swampland Remembers and Salutes Nashville Songwriter Dennis Linde
On February 9 a very special event was held in Nashville to honor the late songwriter and all around creative artist, Dennis Linde, who died on December 22, 2006.
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
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...
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...
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...
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...
SB Sunday Reflections on the SPF Season: Teams Fell Short; Dungy & Gruden Gone
As the Footprint wakes to a Sunday featuring the 43rd Super Bowl hosted by one of our great Swampland cities, it gives us a chance to reflect on the past SPF season. Although five of our 13 SPF teams made the playoffs, none made any noise since they all were "one and 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
Lynyrd Skynyrd Pianist Billy Powell Has Died
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s keyboard player and our friend Billy Powell has died. According to insider sources, he started experiencing chest pains and difficulty breathing and called 911 at 12:55 a.m. this morning. When EMS arrived at his
Eric Quincy Tate, "Drinking Man's Friend," a Look Back to '72
It’s really sad that Eric Quincy Tate never really received the acclaim they so richly deserved. From their stellar albums to their smoking concerts and gigs in Piedmont Park with
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.
There's No Other Like ZZ Top
Sometimes I find myself taking ZZ Top for granted, and that just ain't right. I need to say more good things about that "Little Ol' Band from Texas" that has been a part of my musical landscape since the read more...
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...
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...
The Soul And Songs of Dennis Linde
The Soul And Songs of Dennis Linde 12/19/08 Born in Abilene, Texas in 1943, Dennis Linde ranks as one of the most insightful songwriters read more...
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
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...
The Sunday Slate (Week Fourteen): NFC South Showdowns!
We had to take a couple of weeks off due to technical issues with the site. Check out our Faulkner-inspired T.I. Poll to see how the teams rank. On to this week's read more...
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...
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 Sunday Slate (Week Eleven): Key Swampland Showdowns in Jax, DC, and Indy!
After four SPF teams have byes last week (Dallas, Washington, Tampa Bay, and Cincinnati), we are heading into the home stretch. Intra-division matchups will determine playoffs berths. This week our two SPF NFC East teams and the entire AFC South face off. As 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...
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...
The Sunday Slate (Week Ten): Byes Galore
Four SPF teams have byes this week (Dallas, Washington, Tampa Bay, and Cincinnati). There are only a few good-looking games on the schedule. The rest, outside of a select few, look like virtual byes - either be easy wins or sad losses. As Always, SPF teams in 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...
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...
The Sunday Slate (Week Nine): SPF Inter-league Barometer Time
Carolina and New Orleans have bye weeks. There's one Swampland Showdown. The rest of today's Slate features matchups between SPF teams and the rest of the NFL. There is a chance that SPF teams can go undefeated this week sending a huge message to the rest of the 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...
Tuesday Tastings (Week 8): Midway Point
Thanks to Patrick "Snowman" Snow's item early Monday morning, he helped us cover a lot of ground for our tastings. Without any further waiting... FINGER-LICKIN' read more...
Snowman's Six-Pack of Reax from Sunday
1) The Titans and Colts will go at it on Monday Night Football in the Music City. Tennessee comes into the game undefeated and looks to deliver the ultimate knockout blow to the usual AFC South Champ. The
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...
The Sunday Slate (Week Eight): Big Games in Big D, Music City
Finally, we have a few big games to savor. As Always, SPF teams in CAPS with (Week 7's T.I. Poll Ranking) TAMPA BAY (4) @ DALLAS (1) - This pivotal Swampland 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
Mike Leach: The Architect of Today's Big 12
It’s going to be a big weekend for the best division (three undefeated teams plus Oklahoma) in college football. With six quarterbacks ranked in the Top 15 in the read more...
Rays to Host World Series
The Tampa Bay Rays improbable run to the World Series commences tonight, and their success should be a huge boon for Southern baseball. With the Braves’ NL East dominance over and the Texas teams struggling, Tampa Bay’s club of youngsters provides a blueprint for other read more...
Tuesday Tastings (Week 7): Rams Recognized, while Dallas Declines
It was a tough week of football in SPF land. Two of our teams were off (Jacksonville and Atlanta) and several others played like they were taking the week off. FINGER LICKIN' GOOD St. Louis Rams - It is time to read more...
The Sunday Slate (Week Seven): Find Some Magic
With only four games worthy of interest and two teams off (Atlanta and Jacksonville), we are looking for a little magic in our Sunday Slate. The NFL usually provides a few unexpected surprises. Maybe this is that week. It certainly won't be hard with entertaiment read more...
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...
Tuesday Tastings (Week 6): Burt Reynolds Loves The Falcons!
It was a very weird week in SPF land. Many teams lost games they weren't expected to lose. A few others had surprising wins. (The Titans were off so they don't get included this week.) FINGER LICKIN' 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...
The Sunday Slate (Week Six): The "Must Wins" Begin
The NFL is a game of inches. Each week matters. The stories of each of our SPF teams are told as the season unfolds. There have been enough games to know that this week has more than a few teams in desperation mode. Simply put, more than a few of our teams 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...
Tuesday Tastings (Week 5): Nothing Is Easy
St Louis was off last week, so we are spared another missive on how terrible they are. The good news is that their temporary absence sways our SPF teams well into the positive over all. The best of our teams are living by a simple rule - nothing comes easy in SPF read more...
The Sunday Slate (Week Five): Separation Sunday
This week doesn't have the same drama as a Cowboys/Redskins weekend, but SPF teams pushing towards the playoffs, a solid 8 of 15, can further prove their mettle this week by taking care of business. As Always, SPF teams in CAPS with (Week 4's
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...
Tuesday Tastings (Week 4): Hail To the Redskins!
Since Miami and Indy had byes this past week, we're leaving them off our weekly Tastings dispatch. That still leaves us with 11 samplings of varied quality. Let's start off with the best of the bunch... FINGER LICKIN' read more...
The Sunday Slate (Week Four): Cowboys vs Indians, er Redskins
Week Four features the only classic pro football rivalry in the Footprint. That's reason enough to tune in. Two of our teams have byes (Indy and Miami) and several others have critical games. We will quickly break it down for you. As Always, SPF 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...
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
Tuesday Tastings (Week 3): We're Dolphin-safe now, but the Goat, er Ram, is Smoked
After getting a full-sized Sunday helping of SPF games, some things have improved while others took a turn for the worse. "Finger Lickin' Good" Yum, yum. These teams served it up on Sunday leaving their fans hungry read more...
The Sunday Slate (Week Three): The NFC South Goes North While the AFC South Faces Off
Week 3 doesn't feature as many interesting games as last week, but the AFC South faces off and the NFC South heads up north. As Always, SPF teams in CAPS with (Week 2's T.I. Poll Ranking) Here's a 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
T-Bone Burnett At Work
T-Bone Burnett's Latest Ongoings 9/18/08 This
Our Week Two SPF Tastings: Give Us Some Panther, but Steer Clear of Ram and Bengal
After getting a full-sized Sunday helping of SPF games, not everything we sampled was up to par. Let's do a quick break down in hopes that maybe some of the team cooks can get their wares "Finger Lickin' Good" Although read more...
The SPF Week 2 Slate: Pretender/Contender Separation Begins
It's only Week 2, but many of today's games determine how seasons will unfold for our SPF teams. One game may mean nothing, but two games often represents a trend. Let's start with our inter-SPF matchups. SPF teams in CAPS with (
Ike's Dire Warning
Hurricane Ike Aims For Texas and Louisiana 9/12/08 The good folks of Texas and Louisiana are under a severe Hurricane threat. Hurricane Ike is read more...
Phil White RIP
Phil White RIP 9/10/08 I'd like to take this time to put up an obituary Frank Gutch wrote. Frank contributes periodically to Swampland, and read more...
A Place To Come To
In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal entitled “The End of Placeness,” columnist
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
The Tao of Willie
The Tao of Willie 8/23/08 "He's a carved-in-granite-samurai warrior Gypsy guitar-pickin' wild man with a heart as big as Texas and the 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...
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
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...
Montgomery Gentry (Southern) Rock The Country
When it comes to injecting country with a big ol' dose of Southern Rock, nobody does it better than Montgomery Gentry. Case in point, their newest album, Back When I Knew it All, which may 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...
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...
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...
NBA Draft Post-Mortem
It was an interesting NBA Draft night with Miami and Memphis from our region making big headlines. Before I take a look at some of the specifics, the question has to be asked: Does the NBA have to make the Draft so complicated for the fans? It’s amazing how many picks are made read more...
The Cities That Gave Us Southern Rock
I find it interesting just how many of our greatest Southern Rockers come from the same cities. Especially our number one city for Southern Rock, Jacksonville, Florida. Check out our list of the Top Ten read more...
New Documentary Project Will Present the Definitive History of Country Music
I just got the word that Shout! Factory Records and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum are planning to produce a multi-part original series of specials on the history of country music for television and DVD. The partners will seek worldwide broadcast read more...
Chuck Berry & Sly Stone Headline Long Beach Blues Festival
Chuck Berry, Sly Stone, Booker T. Jones, Charlie Musselwhite and others Perform 29th Annual Long Beach Blues Festival 6/17/08 In Long read more...
Tift Merritt Mystery And Manners Interview
Tift Merritt: A Poetric Songbird Chirps To Mystery And Manners 6/16/08 I'd like to say it was great fun to interview the soulful North read more...
Bingham, Merritt and Emmylou In Today's Camera Eye
Bingham's Nomination & Harris-Merritt Television Appearance 6/12/08 In Nashville today Ryan Bingham received a nomination for the New 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...
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...
Overrated? Let's Start with Sal Paolantonio and other "National" Sports Analysts
Here we go again. I guess ESPN has nothing better to feed NFL fans during the offseason than more of Sal Paolantonio’s “Overrated/Underrated” drivel. 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
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...
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...
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...
Between Texas and Hawaii
It's been a busy week here in the land of GRITZ and SWAMPLAND... We are very happy to share the latest feature in our Legends of Southern Rock series, that "lil' ol' band from Texas," ZZ Top.
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
Post - NFL Draft Newspaper Wrap Up
We found this article from a week or so back that is about NFL Network being the tail the wags the dog for that league. Swampland Sports has long written now about the ways read more...
SPF's NFL Draft First Round Log (Live All Day!!)
read more...
Snowflakes: Jake Long Goes #1 (and Other 2008 NFL Draft Thoughts)
The NFL Draft is this Saturday, and some of our Southern teams appear to hold the key to the most important non-gameday of the year. The Miami Dolphins have the #1 pick, and the Miami Herald reports that OT read more...
Vintage GRITZ Articles Unearthed; Hatchet, Skynyrd, Tucker, Ricky Skaggs and More
It's time once again to add a few more Vintage Gritz articles to the archives, and I hope you'll check 'em out for a "blast from the past." Added today is one of our first interviews from 1999 with
Billy Bob Thornton's Boxmasters Signed to Vanguard
Billy Bob Thornton and The Boxmasters have signed a deal with Vanguard with a 2-CD set due out June 10. The Boxmasters, who we first wrote about after attending their
Season Summary: Houston Texans
Quick Summary: The Houston Texans finished last in their division again. The good news is that they also had a non-losing season for the first time in the team's history finishing 8-8. Coach Gary Kubiak's team looked much better than in his first read more...
Shooter Jennings Rocking On Video
I just spent an hour on YouTube listening to some mighty great music. In keeping with my recent post about the remarkable Shooter read more...
The Lost Shooter Jennings Interview
Shooter Jennings rocks. There's no doubt about it. Shooter represents everything GRITZ is about, blending classic Southern read more...
Snowflakes: Southern Sweet 16
Here a quick primer for our teams in this weekend’s NCAA Tournament. East – This is definitely the Heavyweight bracket for our Swampland region. With #1 overall seed North Carolina playing near home in Charlotte, the Tar Heels have to be read more...
Snowflakes: Tar Heels are the Tourney's Favorite
The best postseason in sports is upon us with the NCAA Tournament beginning. Brackets will soon be ruined as productivity takes a break for a couple of days in offices across the country. College football will seemingly always be king in our Swampland region (with a few exceptions read more...
Snowflakes: Big 12 Tourney as Expected, but Change on the Horizon
The least surprising of all conference tournaments this March has been the Big 12 Tourney in Kansas City. Both Texas and Kansas have been Top 10 teams for most of the season, and they have maneuvered their way to Sunday’s Championship game with a probable #1 seed on the line read more...
Snowflakes: Big 12 Hoops
* The Big 12 is looking quite solid as the postseason approaches. There is a strong possibility that half of the league gets an invitation to the Big Dance, with both Kansas and Texas still having a shot at a #1 seed. If either the Longhorns or Jayhawks win the Big 12 Tournament, 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: Big 12 Hoops
* Texas’ stellar play throughout the season has put them into great position for a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Winners of read more...
Chris Cagle Debuts at Number One on Country Charts
My LIife's Been a Country Song, the fourth album from Capitol Records Nashville artist Chris Cagle, debuted at #1 on Billboard’s “Current Country” chart, with 36,600 in
Buddy Miles Dies at Home in Texas
GRITZ has lost another good friend. The legendary drummer Buddy Miles passed on this past Tuesday, February 26, 2008 at the age of 60 from congestive heart failure at his home in Austin, Texas.
Latest Releases From James McMurtry & Otis Redding
Latest Releases From James McMurtry and Otis Redding 2/27/08
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
Snowflakes: Big 12 Hoops
* What a great game Monday night between Texas and Kansas. In my opinion, it was ‘highest quality’ contest I have seen all year. While some other games had crazier finishes, KU-Texas looked like a Final 4 matchup with two heavyweights slugging it out. Although the 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...
Ryan Bingham Gets Help From Ford
Marc Ford & Son Join Texas Songwriter Ryan Bingham In the South 2/9/08
Snowflakes: Big 12 Hoops (Bobby Knight Retires)
There are many good stories in the conference, but one of those stands out this week and that is the resignation of Bobby Knight from Texas Tech. One of the most polarizing figures in the history of sports, Knight said he was tired and that it seemed like the right time to hand over read more...
Snowflakes: Smaller Conference Hoops
One mid-major club that higher seeded teams will not want to see in the Big Dance is Davidson from the Southern Conference. The Wildcats are perfect 13-0 in league play
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...
Adventures In The (Pig) Skin Trade On Super Bowl Sunday
Roving Notes On Super Bowl Sunday 2/3/08 "There is some kind of back-door connection in my head between Super Bowls and The Allman 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: Big 12 Hoops
by Patrick Snow * The best storyline in the conference this season has easily been the Baylor Bears. At 16-3 overall and 4-1 in league play, Scott Drew’s team has a legitimate chance to be in the Big Dance. His team has five scorers averaging in double figures, and read more...
From The Archives: Our Interview with Lonnie Mack
It's time for another new post from our interviews archives. We are happy to present the interview I conducted back in 2000 with blues rock guitar legend Lonnie Mack. Stevie Ray Vaughan's old buddy opened up for us about his Flying V guitar, his career and future 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...
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.
SPF T.I. Poll (Week 19, Part 4): Down By The River
12. Cincinnati Bengals and 13. St. Louis Rams - Our final Poll spots are held by two teams that have a connection via the river culture from which they arose. Like railroad tracks in towns across the south, rivers often appear to be a cultural divide, but they read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week 19, Part 3): Teams at the Crossroads (aka the NFC South)
We've now gone through the first 7 teams in the T.I. Poll. So far, the entire AFC South has been covered as well as the traditional big market teams in Dallas, DC, and Miami. This leaves us with a group that the NFL has neatly placed in a division they call the NFC read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week 19, Part 2): Teams "On the Verge"
This is SPF's group of teams that are "On The Verge" of reaching elite status. They all have challenges, but they are clearly heading in the right direction. 4. Washington Redskins - A lot can happen in a week. The Redskins' read more...
SPF's Divisional Playoffs Pre-Pregame Show (or T.I. Poll Week 19)
There are three SPF teams left in the Super Bowl hunt, but the news doesn't stop with them. Of the 4 current coaching vacancies, SPF has three of them (Miami, Atlanta, and Washington). Signs point to a year of great transition. The SPF footprint has some of the read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Wild Card Weekend Edition)
We're mixing it up again going into the playoffs. In an up and down year, six of the 13 SPF teams made the playoffs. Two, Washington and Tennessee, made it in the final weekend. SPF is rooting for an all-Footprint Super Bowl, and this isn't out of the realm of read more...
SPF's Week Seventeen Pre-Pregame Show
Playoffs and draft slots. It's all on the line in a strange season-ending weekend in the Footprint. EARLY GAMES Jacksonville (11-4, 5-2 away) Houston (7-8, 5-2 home)
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Seventeen)
It's the last week of the NFL season. There isn't much left to be decided. Two SPF teams (Washington and Tennessee) can get in the postseason fun if they win. We expect them to do so if only because they are playing two other SPF teams (Dallas and Indy) who are 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...
SPF's Week Sixteen Pre-Pregame Show
SATURDAY NIGHT Dallas (12-2, 6-0 away) Carolina (6-8, 2-5 home) NFL Films Video Preview This is a much better read more...
Honeydripper Star Plays Hometown
Gary Clark Jr. Plays Austin 12/21/07 Musician Gary Clark, Jr.
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Sixteen)
SPF laid down the gauntlet before last weekend's games. Many teams answered the bell. With two games left in the regular season, teams out of the playoff picture may have as much to play for as those that are in. Don't sleep SPF fans, there is still much to be read more...
New Willie Nelson Album Out January 29, 2008
New Nelson CD, Moment of Forever, Hits Streets Early 08 12/19/07 Great American read more...
SPF's Week Fifteen Pre-Pregame Show
It has been a largely disappointing season for SPF, but these final weeks can redeem or further decimate a team's momentum for 2008. There are three shoe-in playoff teams in the Footprint - Dallas, Indy, and Tampa. Two others (Jacksonville and Tennessee) have to keep read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Fifteen)
SPF will say it - this has been a very tough year for pro football in the Swampland Footprint. Of our 13 teams, more than half of them have been in serious disarray. At best only 5 or 6 teams will have a clear direction heading into 2008. Most will be going back to 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
SPF's Week Fourteen Pre-Pregame Show
SPF has been beating a few drums this year, but one is about letting players play. Coaches coach systems. GMs find players to fit into these systems (or in the case of special players, systems are designed for their talents). Except for 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...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Fourteen)
SPF has looked at the coach/QB relationship. Now, it's time to look at the owner/coach relationship. When this relationship is good, everything clicks for the fans. The fans want to see the coach as an extension of the owner, an extension that helps build a bridge read more...
No Country For Old Men Voted Best Film
Joel & Ethan Cohen's Film Earns High Praise 12/06/07 Southern writer
Dixie Chicks Want Convictions Overturned
The Dixie Chicks have a new controversy on their hands. Lead singer Natalie Maines is urging people to contribute money to a defense fund for three Arkansas men that she (and many others) believe were wrongly convicted of killing three children in 1993. Maines writes read more...
SPF's Week Thirteen Pre-Pregame Show
While Tribal Fever nation witnessed their conference championships this weekend, SPF has found a few of their own. There are four key head to head matchups in the SPF footprint this week - two of which will probably decide the winner of the AFC and NFC South. Our other read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Thirteen)
Coaching changes. They happen every year even though it seems as though jobs are more than safe. Changes are usually made because the coach no longer has the confidence of the fans. Once that occurs, the owner is left with little choice. As long term, one read more...
SPF's Week Twelve Pre-Pregame Show
Leadership. Is it there? The leader(s) of each SPF team define that team to their fans. Already, Thanksgiving solidified a sense of leadership between coach and QB with both the Colts and their Manning/Dungy duo and the Cowboys with their Wade/Romo combination read more...
Willie Nelson: Dogs Best Friend
Dogs Best Friend: Willie Nelson 11/24/07 Willie read more...
TF Rivalry Week Preview
Rivalry games define college football. More than bowl games or even conference championships, a win against your rival means 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...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Twelve)
SPF often talks a team's style when it comes to identity. Style, though, is kind of a catch all. Dig a little deeper and it comes down to coaching and, of course, a team's QB. This week seems like a good one to put the QB position under the read more...
SPF's Week Eleven Pre-Pregame Show
This week, more than any other this NFL season, the fan will find out who their teams are. Are teams going to the playoffs? Will they be Super Bowl contenders? Are they on the rise even if playoffs aren't likely? We shall see.
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...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Eleven)
Week Ten was a very weird football weekend. Many of the SPF teams lost games. Few had important wins. It just seems like this was a week to stumble. Desperation might be the biggest factor in any NFL game. The teams that are desperate have an edge 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
Coen Brothers Adapt Cormac McCarthy's Book No Country For Old Men Into Film
Coen Brothers Adapt Cormac McCarthy's Book No Country For Old Men Into Film 11/11/07 A new Coen Brothers movie, based read more...
SPF's Week Ten Pre-Pregame Show
SPF will stick by this point - no team set the NFL back more than the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens. This "champion" brought the worst part of hip-hop's "thug" culture to NFL through the real life violence of Ray Lewis, whose murder acquittal and 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.
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Ten)
Everyone knows that football is the dominant sport in the Footprint, but it has always been college dominating the pro variety. The goal of SPF's "Team Identity Poll" is to gauge the connection of each team to their fans. This week, two different studies were read more...
SPF's Week Nine Pre-Pregame Show
It's it the "Clash of the Titans!" The Colts-Pats game deserves the hype that it is getting. Both teams have built long term consistently excellent football teams in the "salary cap era " - something that is supposedly impossible. This read more...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Eight)
Things continue to settle out in the SPF Footprint. This week's big question is whether the South's best is the NFL's best. The Colts were just that last season, but their old New England nemesis seems to have stolen their thunder again. Here's last week's read more...
SPF's Week Eight Pre-Pregame Show
Much like yesterday's college slate, this week's SPF schedule features teams looking towards the season's end and where they want to be at that point. Teams know that the season is half over at this point and they need to be making their final pushes. The best teams read more...
TF Saturday Preview: Pole, er.. Bowl Position
If you aren't a Florida or Georgia fan, this weekend might be a good one to spend with the kids. This is a pretty thin weekend 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...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Seven)
SPF's season previews are looking pretty good so far. The teams we singled out like the Jags, the Texans, and the Dolphins have shown themselves to be in hot water with their fan base. The Jags and the Texans suffered "must win" losses that neither could read more...
SPF's Week Seven Pre-Pregame Show
Getting on the same page. Coaches and players that have the same sense of urgency signify teams that are winning. The NFL is a business, and like all business deals - interests must align. This is the reason that ownership, the front office, and the coaching 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
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Six)
Here we are again for SPF's weekly Team Identity Poll. Things have shaken up a bit. We are much closer to how we saw things at the beginning of the season. Let's start with a look at last week's Poll: 1. Dallas Cowboys 2. Indianapolis read more...
SPF's Week Six Pre-Pregame Show
It's week 6 for the SPF teams. Four teams are basically done, but the rest have critical games that will go a long way to determining how the rest of the season will play out for them. Here's this week's slate (video links courtesy of 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...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Five)
The rich seem to be getting richer (and the poor, poorer) in the SPF Footprint. There is happiness at the top, confusion in the middle, and desperation at the bottom. Let's start with last week's T.I. Poll 1. Dallas Cowboys 2. Indianapolis read more...
SPF's Week Five Pre-Pregame Show
It's week five in the NFL season. Overall, the SPF Footprint is shaping up to be a year of the haves and have-nots. The Footprint contains two of the NFL's winless teams (Dolphins and Rams) and several other struggling squads. However, we also have two of the best 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...
SPF T.I. Poll (Week Four)
Just like in the college ranks, it was a bit of a crazy week in the SPF Footprint. Right now, there are more bad teams than good, but the good teams are pretty darn good so we guess that evens things out a little. Here's last week's "Team Identity" read more...
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...
SPF's Week Four Pre-Pregame Show
Welcome SPF fans! Here's today's slate. (SPF teams in BOLD) Early Games Dolphins v. Raiders preview Rams @ 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...
SPF T. I. Poll (Week Three)
Back to our weekly gauge of how each SPF team is resonating with its fans. First, let's take a look back at last week's Team Identity Poll: 1. Dallas Cowboys 2. Washington Redskins 3. Indianapolis Colts 4. Tampa Bay Bucs
SPF 's Week Three Pre-Pregame Show
Here we are again. Let Week Three begin! SPF Teams in BOLD Early Games Indianapolis Colts @ Houston Texans (
SPF Friday Fishwrap-up: the Cowboy/Redskin paradigm
We've just posted a new analysis of the Wayne issue in Florida, Weaver in Jacksonville and Huizenga in Miami. Team Identity is our focus as always. That's why we start our Friday dispatch with 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...
SPF T. I. Poll (Week Two)
Time for our Week Two "Team Identity" Poll. Things keep getting interesting, and that's how we like it. Let's start off with a recap of last week's T.I. Poll: 1. Dallas 2. Indianapolis (tie) 2. read more...
SPF's Week Two Monday: Playmakers making plays
THE "BEATING THE DEAD HORSE" THEME Our theme for this week is similar to last week's - the importance of playmakers. In the Footprint, we all love great coaches. We all love great schemes. However, it usually comes read more...
SPF 's Week Two Pre-Pregame Show
Each week, it will be SPF's pleasure to bring you the best pregame show on the Net. We provide our audience with clips from NFL.COM mixed in with our commentary and insight. Let's run down today's slate of games: Early games (SPF Teams in read more...
SPF Friday Fishwrap-up: LeBatard vs. Galloway
Another great southern tradition is writing. We have a whole section called Discourse that is dedicated to this pursuit. Newpapers (aka fishwraps) around the Footprint have great sportswriters that deserve to be read, and sometimes needled.
SPF's T. I. Poll (Week One)
Team Identity. This is our constant gauge for the success or failure of NFL teams in the South. College football reigns because people see themselves as part of the team. In the Swampland footprint, allegiances don't change at the college level. Coaches 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...
SPF Week One Game Log
Thursday's game didn't do nearly what yesterday's college slate did to pump us up here at SPF. Our own James Calemine is a little distraught about his Bulldogs going down to the dreaded read more...
Swampland Sports Six-Pack for the week ending 9/2/07
Your weekly filter for the top sports stories around the South 1. Our biggest story of the week was the biggest in the nation as the whole country has now learned about read more...
Swampland Sports Six-Pack for the week ending 8/26/07
Your weekly filter for the top sports stories around the South 1. What an interesting day for the Atlanta Falcons as they play their first home contest under new coach Bobby Petrino while Michael Vick
Swampland Sports Six-Pack for the week ending 8/19/07
Your weekly filter for the top sports stories around the South 1. Although college athletics has become (mega) big business, there are a few reminders every now and then that it’s still a game for ‘kids’ and that the best coaches tend to be read more...
Welcome Back!
Greetings to all you football fans around the Swampland footprint! Southern Pro Football is back to cover another NFL season. Patrick Snow and I will be making sure that SPF covers the NFL from a Southern perspective. For all of you that didn't tune into
CD and DVD releases for week of August 14, 2007
Darren Kozelsky Let Your Mind Fly (Smith Entertainment) Dave Matthews/Tim Reynolds
CD and DVD releases for week of August 7, 2007
New Releases Bruce Hornsby/Christian McBride/Jack DeJohnette Camp Meeting (Sony read more...
Swampland Sports Six-Pack for the week ending 7/30/07
Your weekly filter for the top sports stories around the South 1. One of the biggest connection points for fans of the NFL is having trust in their starting quarterback. This is a key area where the three Florida teams have struggled during the last few 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...
Uncle John Turner Dies:Legendary Drummer Played with Johnny Winter
Uncle John, Johnny Winter and Tommy Shannon
CD and DVD releases for week of July 24, 2007
New Releases Billy Bob Thornton Beautiful Door (New Door) Billy Ray Cyrus
CD and DVD releases for week of July 17, 2007
New Releases Raul Malo After Hours (New Door) Wille Mack
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...
CD and DVD releases for week of July 10, 2007
New Releases Chris & Rich Robinson Brothers Of A Feather [Live] (Eagle)
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...
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...
CD and DVD releases for week of July 3, 2007
Reissues Asleep At The Wheel Western Standard Time/Big Wheel (Evangeline) Buddy 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...
The Rise And Disappearance of Sly Stone
6/20/07 Few groups ever attain the musical power and wide commercial appeal of Sly & The Family Stone. From 1967-1974, the group proved a formidable band whose music crossed all social and musical barriers.
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...
Shaver to Release Spiritual Album
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...
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...
Waterloo Record's 25th Anniversary Concert (in the Waterloo Parking Lot!)
Waterloo Record's 25th Anniversary Concert (in the Waterloo Parking Lot!) On Sunday, April 15th from 11:30am - 7pm legendary Austin record store, Waterloo Records & Video, is read more...
Warrants Issued For Billy Joe Shaver
Police have issued arrest warrants for country singer Billy Joe Shaver after he shot and wounded a man outside a Texas bar, the entertainer's attorney said. After Shaver left a bar in Lorena on read more...
Amoeba To Release Vintage Gram Parsons Performance(s)
3/20/07 On March 15, through invitation only, a listening party was conducted at South By Southwest to debut the Flying Burrito Brothers (with Gram Parsons) performing a classic show at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco in 1969.
Willie Nelson Partners To Launch Label
Willie Nelson has partnered with longtime manager Mark Rothbaum and veteran producer/label exec James Stroud on Pedernales Records. The first act on Austin-based Pedernales will be the band 40 Points, which features Nelson's sons, guitarist and singer Lukas and drummer Micah.
Compadre Records Bought By Beyonce's Father
Compadre Records, the Houston, TX roots music label, was bought by Music World Entertainment, owned by Mathew Knowles, father of Beyoncé. MWE will now control Compadre's catalog and continue to invest in future projects. Compadre's staff will join the Music World organization to read more...
Willie Nelson Records Anti-War Song
Willie Nelson may oppose war in Iraq, but also supports the troops with his recently released single, "Whatever Happened To Peace On Earth"" available as an online download. The song features Ben Harper, Jack Johnson, Michael McDonald, Patrick Simmons of The Doobie read more...
Alan Jackson, George Strait, Jimmy Buffett Together Live
NASHVILLE -Alan Jackson, George Strait and Jimmy Buffett performed together for the first-time ever May 29, 2004, at Texas Stadium in Dallas. That concert is now set for release, and features all three artists. Among the highlights of the CD is "Seven Bridges read more...