I'm sitting here watching a beautiful Florida day from my office window, which I might add will not open. I'm listening to Todd Snider and the Nervous Wrecks play "Hey Hey" and wishing for a little relaxation in the Georgia hills. This kind of day feels like a good one for strong coffee, a well-tuned guitar, and a front-porch in the crisp mountain air.

It isn't to be however. At least I have music to keep me living. Days like this make me wish I could find a way to make a living with my guitar but there's so much fear in taking such a risk. Somewhere along the line I thought I should find something to fall back on. At this age I realize that if you find something to fall back on you will indeed fall back and give up your dreams. My dreams not only nag me--they absolutely haunt me. Anyway, I found a way to get fat and happy. Living high on the hog they call it back home. So I fell back and now it's too damn hard to take the risk to sing my songs for others for fear that I'll fail and won't be able to afford all my shit. Falling back on something is overrated and the worst thing a high school guidance counselor ever dreamed up.

Back to the Georgia hills thought for a moment--days when it's so gorgeous outside make me want to sit out on the porch and feel the air on my face. Sing to the moutains and hope they sing something back worth writing down I guess. You'd be surprised what the hills can come up with on a day like this.

If Steve Earle had fathered a son with Steve Goodman in Kentucky his name would be Chris Knight. Known for singing gritty songs about criminals and church on a neverending tour, Knight epitomizes midwestern values in songwriting. He's part outlaw with a deep desire to be righteous if only he could find a way.

Knight's latest effort is his best to date and features all the dark brooding imagery we've come to know from his prior work. The Jealous Kind is pure country in the style of Earle with a little wry Goodman thrown in for good measure. It's a sort of a fun barroom romp that will put you right in the thick of the fight.

Knight's vocals are the best they've ever been, his songwriting loose and laid back. His collaborators follow along in the same sort of gallop his growl achieves in what must have been fun sessions to record. Notably, Matreca Berg makes an appearance on "Devil Behind the Wheel."

The album was produced by Dain Baird and Joe Hardy for Drifter's Church Productions and released on Dualtone--one of my favorite labels around. Hardy also plays a bit of guitar on the album, while Baird appears playing everything he could find with strings and pitching in for backing vocals. Considering the authentic sound they've matched with Knight's honest songs they must have been busy guys.

To wrap it all up, The Jealous Kind is one of the better recent releases. It's a bit more rugged than many of the other releases this year. Then again, I would expect no less from Chris Knight.

I didn't make the Wrecks show in Reno but I have the first hour and a half recorded for those in my situation. I'm not sure how long the show ran as I was fast asleep on the other edge of the country by the time the boys wrapped. It was a good feed with good quality. It's the wee hours here in Florida, but they sound damn good. I'll clean the file up to individual files later.

Without ado, here it is. It's zipped and about 30 MB.

OK...so there's new music in the mail and I hope you have your copies too. First up is Chris Knight's The Jealous Kind followed by Robert Earl Keen's Farm Fresh Onions topped off by The Swinging Steaks' Sunday Best. I'll do a proper review of all three next week but before I waste your time please get your own discs...they're all bound to please regardless of what the man in the monkey suit may say.

Knight is wonderful in his brooding Steve Earle way. His Kentucky growl is very easy to listen to and this album is definitely a good pick for the autumn that is upon is. I especially like the tempo of the album.

Keen is never a poor choice as far as I'm concerned and I've been waiting for this album for a bit now. His live shows are supposedly the best in Texas, and while this isn't a live album it attempts to play to that sound and does so very well. It made me a bit sad to have not experienced the Texas Uprising.

On the topic of The Steaks let me say they perform the most haunting version of "He Stopped Loving Her Today" this side of George Jones. I saw them in a little coffee house in college and between the clarity and haze of the night I remember that song hanging in the air like the ghost that it is. Quite a show I must say...

Hope everyone is doing well and ready for a Nervous Wrecks show in Reno this evening. Todd Snider and the Wrecks have not had a show together in many years. While his solo career as well as those of his bandmates have flourished, tonight is an event many fans have anxiously awaited. Word has it that there will be another show in Santa Cruz followed by a Nashville sendoff. If you're like me and unable to get to Reno you can listen to the Comstock Radio Hour broadcasting the show live courtesy of John Ascuaga's Nugget and KTHX 101 FM here.

Further, if you happen to be near me and teetering on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean I'm going to make a brave attempt to record this evening's event for you. Should that be a success, I will find a way to share the night with everyone altough I will warn you that nothing can beat a live evening with this group of guys.

Enjoy the show!

It's turned a bit cooler now and it feels crisp outside. I don't get to feel it much because I'm working quite a bit. Both situations have put me in the mood for Townes Van Zandt. Townes always has a way of making me feel lonely but at ease. You can almost hear the heartache in his voice.

Got me thinking about Townes of course. His influence over music is so overlooked yet he's everywhere. About a week ago I was at a little place that has nice Americana music and before the show a couple of his songs were playing. Some guy turned to ask the soundman (who's a hell of a guitarist by the way) who it was. He looked at me nearly astonished and said, "Townes Van Zandt of course!" as I smiled. The newfound fan smiled too.

It's kind of that way with Townes Van Zandt. You won't find many country songwriters who don't list him as one of their influences. I certainly feel him hanging round on days like we've had recently.