Music/Livin': Fixin’ to Boogie
We posted this video again, 'cause the song is just undeniable. Kenny Wayne Sheppard featurin' Neal Pattman and Cootie Stark doin' a blazin' Prison Blues. Please check out our friends over at The Music Maker Foundation. And if ya purchase any Southern Brand Tees, a portion of the proceeds go to their foundation, to help keep the blues alive. We've got tees for Lil' Ones available now and we're launching our Southern Man & Southern Belle lines in a couple weeks, so check back. Kenny Wayne Sheppard is playin' down here in Florida tonight - you bet we'll be there.
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Music: Hank Williams - The Daddy of American Music
The clip above is from Honky Tonk Blues - The Story Of Hank Williams.
From Wiki: Hank Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer-songwriter and musician who has become an icon of country music and one of the most influential musicians and songwriters of the 20th century. A leading pioneer of the honky tonk style, he had numerous hit records, and his charismatic performances and succinct compositions increased his fame. His songbook is one of the backbones of country music, and several of his songs are pop standards as well. He has been covered in a range of pop, gospel, blues and rock styles. His death at the age of twenty-nine helped fuel his legend. More...
And here's a link to an interestin' article from the New York Times last Sunday. Enjoy.
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Music: Mornin’ Ya’ll
I'm amazed - My Morning Jacket
This song makes me happy. Enjoy for yourself.
Get well soon Jim James.
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Livin': Sweet Tee: Southern Brand Launches with “Lil’ Ones” Line
The hillbillies are headin' to the big city. New York, that is.
We're takin' our wares up to the ENK Children's Club show in NYC, October 5-7. We'll be launchin' some sweet southern tees for them lil' boll weevils, followed by Southern Belle and Southern Man lines for grown folks in the next month or so.
We figured there weren't enough people out there makin' the kinda shirts we were always lookin' for. The kinda tees that feel like they been washed a thousand times with love by your mama, then hung to dry on the clothesline out back, just swayin' in the fresh summer breeze. T-shirts that are simple, bold, and uniquely southern. Not all that crazy, over the top printing on every inch including the armpit of the too-tight fashion tee. And not all that rebel flag, south's-gonna-do-it-again-southern that somehow seems to be all ya get when you google "southern t-shirts". We wanted to create a line for the Southern that we know. Small town America. Life through amber-tinted glasses. The sweet, smoky taste of some real pit BBQ. The steely sound of a slide guitar. The rumble of an old pick-up truck down a muddy dirt road. Sittin' on the front porch sippin' sweet tea, spittin' watermelon seeds and pickin' a tune. A brand built on truth, integrity and pride. Built on fillin' a need. By makin' the clothes we want to wear ourselves. Clothes we believe in. Premium quality. Classic American design. An honest product at an honest price.
We hope you enjoy wearing them as much as we do making them.
And if for some reason you don't, send 'em back, we'll wear 'em.
The skinny on Southern Brand Tees:
These T-shirts are made from sweet, soft cotton. From the dirt. Up outta the earth. They got some sun in 'em too. And some soul. We put 'em through an extensive vintage wash process which produces distinctive weathering and classic color resulting in a true vintage look and a super soft feel. They feel like your favorite shirt that you been wearing for years or one that's been passed down through all the kids in the family. 'Cept it's new outta the box. The new and improved hand-me-down, ya'll.
We're launchin' three "collections" (tryin' to bone-up on our fashion speak.) You can check 'em out by clicking the banner ad to your left. There's "Woodtype", that pays tribute to the old letter press show posters that musicians used for promoting their shows throughout the south. There's "Animal Farm", an homage to those noble critters a whole bunch of us grew up with. And there's Highway 61, full-up with sayings and imagery from the Mississippi Delta and on up the "Blues Highway". Just wholesale right now, ask your neighborhood general store to carry 'em. Retail comin' soon.
The Blues and good ol' southern music is what fuels us 'round here at Southern Brand, so we're trying to do our share to keep that great American tradition alive. We've teamed up with the fine folks at the Music Maker Foundation , and we're donating a part of our proceeds to 'em so they can do the great work that they do, gettin' Blues artists food to eat, medical care and help with the daily grind - while spreading the news of the blues and educating people in this special and poetic American art form.
It's more about where your head's at than where your feet are at.
We figure it don't matter if you live south of the Mason-Dixon line, or have never set foot near the muddy banks of the Mississippi, long as you have and appreciation for some of this stuff, you're a friend of ours. Welcome friends.
Posted in Livin'
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Music/Livin': Been Caught Surfin’ - Checkin’ out the websites of the Country Music Legends
Waylon.Dot Com - Say it out loud. Kinda rolls off yer lips don't it? Waylon's website is real good. Seems like they dug out the ol' family album, raiding it for pictures and puttin' 'em on the website, saying: "come on in friends - this way into our lives". The galleries alone are incredible. Album Covers, Showbills, every single album Waylon ever made -- (and that's alotta albums) plus a gallery of his Backstage Passes (just about the best darn backstage passes ever made.)
The site is goooood loooookin'. It feels like it was made by yer techie redneck uncle, the one who storms into Radio Shack and doesn't wanna be bothered by them guys in the knit ties with the cross pens and - he just goes right to the transistors and the radar detectors.
The best thing about it is the 'family' feel to it. You can click over to home-style info on Shooter. You can check out every darn record cover Jessi Colter ever made (Further proof that she is the foxiest woman ever to grace country music). There's a link over to the WaylonPedia, which is like a wiki but with a beard, if you can imagine such a thing. It gets a 'lil confusing there, with links to waylonandwillie.com that actually lead to Waylon's old site-- but no worries, ya'll can figure it out. The 'Outlaw Connection' link takes you to Waylon friendly sites and in the 'Store' section you can buy a Waylon flyin' W guitar pick and bumper sticker (but not a Flyin W T-shirt -- what's goin' on with that?). The Waylon dubya is waayy cooler than the Van Halen logo (obviously Weezer thought it was great as well). But hands down, my favorite thing on the site is the shot of Waylon and Buddy Holly from one of those old photo booths. Waylon was in Buddy's second group of Crickets after the original guys left. He took Waylon under his wing and showed him the ropes. That pic is priceless.
Another outlaw's site worth it's weight in whiskey is Willie's, willienelson.com. Willie is selling live music wristbands. You can carry the whole concert he did in Monroe LA, on 10.25.07 or Huntsvillie Al from 11/01/07 in a wristband that houses a USB memory stick containing a whole Willie show. Say you go to a concert and you liked it so much you wanna take it home with ya? Well straight off the soundboard here comes the show on one of them 'lil cause-y rubber wrist bands, like Lance Armstrong or Bono wear, 'cept this money goes to the charity known as the Redheaded Stranger (a worthy cause). The wristband is full up with the show you just saw (or the show you missed--- there's a bunch of dates available on the site). Very interesting item and very weird too.
Johnnycash.com has got a little more of a commercial vibe to it. But it's nice, very nice. The merchandise is top notch. They've got a onesie with "I Crawl the Line" written on it. C'mon! That's great stuff. For those of ya'll without rugrats, a onesie is one of those tiny wraslin' outfits they make for babies. Like the ones Jerry "The King" Lawler wore, but without them Lane Bryant-style leggings. They also got Johnny Cash radio which pops up the second you get on the site. Bill Miller hosts it and does a fine job of taking you through the career of the Man in Black. It's deep in content, it's got tons of design and thought to it and my favorite part of it is the Bio section. The site keeps opening windows, which is a little inconvenient, but it's worth it for stuff like this. Just click on the 60s or the 70s and you'll dive into the most detailed description of Cash's career imaginable. The site uses real pretty fonts and the "Cash" typefaces are top notch although it's a lil bit difficult to navigate through.
George Jones? That's next week. What's that? Merle Haggard? Ol' Merle's site is under construction. But when it's read, I'm ready too.
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