I walked into a studio some friends of mine own several months ago to play a little guitar and have a good time. The studio is well equipped with just about every kind of musical gear known to man which often draws my attention as we tinker with every little sound.

On this day the device of choice was a Moog synthesizer--something that looked like the pedals of an organ stuck onto the body of a 1960s horror film robot. Once plugged in the early synthesizer hummed with excitement and upon a few tentative pedals pushes made a strange hypnotic noise. Very psydedelic in nature, the sound was almost intoxicating with its 70s bend and fluid undertones.

The Moog was the brainchild of Cornell PhD student Bob Moog. The intersting and at one time popular instrument gave rise to electronic music. Today BoingBoing reports that Bob Moog and his foray into music are the subject of an upcoming ZU33 documentary:

This feature documentary film – by filmmaker/musician Hans Fjellestad and the producer team behind Frontier Life (2003) – explores Moog's collaborations with musicians over the years, and his ideas about creativity, design, interactivity and spirituality. The film is currently shooting on location in Asheville, N.C., New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tokyo and London, featuring appearances by Walter Sear, Gershon Kinsgley, Jean-Jacques Perrey, DJ Spooky, Keith Emerson, Herb Deutsch, Pamelia Kurstin, Charlie Clouser, Money Mark, Mix Master Mike, Page Hamilton, and an eclectic mix of performers.

Should be intersting so go watch the preview and see for yourself.

My wife and I are children of the 80s. During said period of time neither of us had what you might call good taste in music and I dare any of my contemporaries that claim they did. Our collection from the 80s is somewhat frightening but not everything is horrible.

A good example that we can agree upon is Prince. While I'm not a Prince nut, I appreciate his guitar work and versatility. My wife on the other hand knows the words to every Prince song and I believe has worked out her if-I-ever-meet-Prince speech. But I cannot fault her because on more than one occasion I've turned it up while driving down the highway.

We had a chance to relive a little piece of the past a few nights ago when Prince's Musicology tour rolled into town. Fortunately we had front row seats because my wife really deserved the best show I could help deliver. After all, I drag her to all kinds of bizarre folk, alt-country shows that she endures with a smile. So despite feeling incredibly out of place, I was excited for her and a slice of nostalgia if nothing else.

Prepared for an average show, Prince delivered a stunner that really made for a nice night of entertainment. Particularly nice was his acoustic set where he recalled several classics including, "On The Couch." There's no doubt this guy is one of the most talented rock guitarists out there and more than deserves his spot in the Rock Hall of Fame.

So I'm going to alt-country hell--I liked the Prince show. Go see it yourself and tell me you didn't like it too.

With my upcoming visit to my first real folk festival of the year I realize that I'm just not a folk festival person. I dig folk music and the atmosphere but you're either into the festival thing or you aren't. I am not.

Here's my problem: they're not about the music usually. I'm bound to get hordes of people emailing their arguments after that statement, but I'm firm when I say that most festivals I've visited are more about socializing and less about the music. Sure the music may be the glue that holds it together but it's really about drinking or shopping or camping or smoking or being outside or seeing old friends. Everyone has a different reason for going but chief among them are the things that make the environment enjoyable to them and not just the music. When there are twelve vendors selling hemp necklaces or a bunch of people dancing in a circle where there is no music I simply wander off in search of the music I came to see.

Of course I'm quite the hypocrite here: I go to several of these festivals each year because of the music. I don't camp because I don't dig camping unless it's in a forest and quiet. I don't go to shop because muddy pavilions filled with naturally made products isn't my bag. I don't go to socialize because I have no friends. I don't go to smoke because I'm over drugs. I don't go to donate to a variety of environmental charities I know nothing about. Simply put, I'm there to hear the music.

As I said, I'm just not a festival guy.

Bluegrass music is as rich in heritage as many other celebrated forms of music and few musicians are as celebrated in the genre as Ralph Stanley. He's a member of the Grand Ole Opry, recipient of the Traditional Music Award from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and was named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress. He was the headliner for the wildly successful Down From the Mountain tour. Few have had the impact on bluegrass that Ralph Stanley has had over the years.

This fall that life and influence can be visited at the Ralph Stanley Museum and Traditional Mountain Music Center according to CNN. The museum will be part of Virginia's Crooked Road Heritage that aims to connect historically relevant bluegrass locales.

Some friends have recently been talking in cryptic acronyms that confused me until I garnered the humility to stop pretending I understood and asked what the initials actually meant, "What is OKOM anyway?" Without hesitation I was informed that it means "our kind of music" and in this context meant alt-country, folk, no depression, insurgent kind of stuff.

This genre really doesn't need any futher dilution of definition. Tell someone you like alt-country now and they look at you and say things like, "but it's country right?" Go to five music stores and you'll find your favorite artists in this genre listed under folk, rock, pop, country, and alternative. Additional nomenclature isn't going to help this situation.

There is one man with a definition we can all agree upon: Jack Ingram. Jack recently sat down for a phone interview to discuss, among other things, why he refers to the genre as "REAL" music, his new label and discs, and his upcoming Labor Day festival in San Antonio, Texas.

(Todd Smith) Seems like a pretty busy year for you! Two new live albums, the re-release of some older material, an acoustic and electric tour, a new radio show, and the upcoming Labor Day blowout! Did I miss anything?

(Jack Ingram) I'm going to have a kid in July!

(TS) Congratulations. Let's start with the live albums. The first live album was the Acoustic Motel show in Lubbock. It was your first on your new label "Real American Music." How does being your own boss feel?

(JI) I like it. I've kind of always been my own boss so I guess that's why I started my own label. Even when I was with other labels I felt like it was my situation--my trip, my career, and I treated it that way and do today. So it's not really any different except there's a little more work involved now and I have more control.

(TS) The Acoustic Motel show featured on that album has received a bit of critical acclaim. Has that momentum helped get the label on its feet?

(JI) I'm not real sure. The label right now is just a vehicle to get my music out, like the acoustic album and the Gruene Hall live-band album that's coming out. It's just a way to get my stuff to my fans and the people who know me. It's not like we're getting a publicist and going after radio--we're just releasing them, making them available to people to know about me already.

I'm not sure what the life of the label will look like until we figure out what we're going to do with it--other artists, my own studio album. If I put my own studio album out on the label it would be a different situation than we have today. Every time you release a studio record you have to go after something greater than yourself--something bigger even if you only reach the people that already know about you. When you release a studio record you are striving for something more.

So I don't know what the label is going to be like yet but I know it's something that is going to be very important to me.

(TS) The second live album features the full band at Gruene Hall. Is this as close as it gets to actually seeing the legendary Beat Up Ford Band?

(JI) I think so. It's live. It's raw. It's just like being there.

(TS) Sounds like you're having fun back out with the band.

(JI) I am! It's nice to be back with the band. I've only done the acoustic solo shows for a month out of the year for the last three years. It's always nice to be back with band and blow off some steam.

(TS) How many shows did you record for each live album before finding the right one to release?

(JI) We recorded every Acoustic Motel show for an entire tour. At some point we may figure out how to release all of those shows because they're not drastically different from one another but definitely different. My original plan was to pick the highlights from those shows and release that as an album. I started listening to that show in Lubbock and I just thought it was perfect, what it should sound like. So I released it as a whole show.

The Gruene Hall show and the Billy Bob's show were just one night each. We just set up mics and recorded those nights.

(TS) You have said that you'd like to find a deal for your next studio effort. Is that still the plan or is there a chance it will land on your own label?

(JI) Other people have asked that. The last option for me is to put it out myself and it's not a bad option. For me to put a record out on my own would mean reaching a lot of people. To be honest it would probably be a better business proposition in the short term to release my own record. I would make all the money and reach all my existing fans anyway.

I'm still looking to sell as many records to as many people as I can find. To do that I feel it's beneficial to do the label deal.

(TS) Did the years at Sony and MCA give you any insight to being a label mogul?

(JI) I've always kind of known what to do. This business is tough and takes a lot of work but it isn't rocket science. It's just like anything else--you make something and you try to sell it. That's not the most enjoyable part of the business but it's certainly doable. There's not that many tricks.

(TS) As I recall, Sony didn't feel that Electric would make it on country music radio. What will it take for artists like yourself to supplant the hat acts that dominate today's radio?

(JI) Man, a big bomb. I don't know.

(TS) I'll push the button.

(JI) That's the weird part about it. I can't figure it out because everyone I talk to wants to push the button too including almost everyone I know inside the industry. That's the part that's been continually frustrating. I haven't talked to anyone that works at labels that will argue when you say, "Country music sucks!" Still they continue to support with their money, which is their voice, these records that are mediocre at best. There are a few exceptions--I'm not saying it's all bad. The support however is for the stuff that isn't helping music in general.

To answer your question, it's not really a matter of supplanting that kind of music. I don't think it's going to go away because there's always been that kind of influence in every genre--from Britney Spears to Fabian in the 60s. There's always been boy bands. There's always been corporate music. I don't think that's going to go away.

What I'm looking to do with a major label is to find that one little window where the stars align and someone with purse strings who makes it their mission. Somewhere along the line it happened to Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Bruce Springsteen and other guys. Every now and again that happens and someone breaks through and changes the format.

(TS) You've got a hand in making that happen. You've been playing some little-heard artists on your show on a mainstream radio station (99.5 The Wolf in Dallas). What's the reaction been to your effort?

(JI) It's been great. I set up an email address through the station. People are digging it, getting turned on to new stuff.

I could do my part for all of it--my own business and my own music. I can do my part to expose people to other music I feel is undiscovered by-and-large.

(TS) Those artists you like are pretty varied--it's not all country.

(JI) It goes back to one of the other questions. I need to focus on what I can control. I know I can carve out a pretty decent living--a really good career--without supplanting the hat acts. I can change the world by changing my world and making it a pretty good place for people interested in digging a little below the surface. I can make stuff available to being found without lightning striking--without changing the entire format. There's an old saying that luck is preparation met with opportunity and that's what I feel I'm doing. I'm putting myself in a position that if the opportunity occurs I'll be ready. If that doesn't happen I'm still in a situation where I've created a niche for myself.

That's what the radio show is about too--I know there's a bunch of people listening to 99.5 The Wolf that have never heard of Scott Miller that now know who he is. My bet is that those people that like Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks, and Alan Jackson are going to like Scott Miller a lot more than radio programmers give them credit for. Same with myself--I feel like those fans have a lot more in common with my music than the radio programmer in Tampa or wherever knows.

(TS) What was the first of your music you heard on the radio?

(JI) It was the NPR in station in Dallas called KERA. A woman named Abby Goldstein was running the afternoon shift and she played "Drive On" off my first self-titled album. She has made the rounds by going to commercial radio stations in Dallas and has gone back to KERA a couple years ago. She's still there and was the first person to play my stuff.

(TS) When you hear your stuff today do you turn it up or cringe in self-doubt and turn over?

(JI) I turn it up! (Laughs) There's not a whole lot that beats that. I cringe in self-doubt enough. I'm not going to do it when I'm on the radio. That's one guiltless pleasure I'm going to admit.

(TS) I've noticed your well-worn Pawless guitar. What is it about that guitar that caused you to bond to it so well?

(JI) I don't know how I ever hooked up with this guy, Vince Pawless, but he ended up making that guitar just for me. He had been to a bunch of shows and was friends with my road manager at the time. He was just starting to make guitars--it was like his 12th guitar or something. Anyway, he had seen the way I treated my acoustics, especially with the band, which isn't very well. So he built it like a tank for me to hold up to the abuse. He made me another one about a year and a half ago which was the one I took out on the last acoustic tour. It's a great guitar. He made it with love and care. It's just one of those things. I've been given a lot of stuff over the years but that guitar just did it for me. It just sounds great anytime I plug it in anywhere. The sound guys are always asking what kind of guitar it is because it sounds so good. It's great to have a guitar you can use in any situation. Lord knows that I put it in some pretty odd situations. It's nice to be able to rely on it.

(TS) Your big event this year is the 2nd Annual Real American Music Festival in San Antonio. Who's playing and when can we get tickets?

(JI) Tickets should be available at the beginning of July. I just confirmed Bobby Bare, Jr. is playing. Scott Miller and I think James McMurtry are playing. The list is kind of being formed. We have a wish list and we're going down it.

(TS) It's being held at the Floores Country Store which has a great vibe for this sort of thing.

(JI) It's awesome. It's a great venue, a great place to hang out. It's an old school hill country place. I lived in San Antonio for about a year and a half.

(TS) I'm told there might be an event the night before the festival with some acts.

(JI) There might be if I don't play another festival that Saturday in College Station instead. It might be a similar thing to the event we're thinking of holding. It would feature the Bottle Rockets and Bare, Jr. and few others coming from other states to get them another show in College Station. It will be cool, but if doesn't happen we'll do it at the Floores Country Store.

(TS) Seems like the festival is growing in its second year.

(JI) A lot of it is consistency. Everything has to do with consistency when it comes to growing. You have to do things that are unique and stand on their own. With any luck that's the kind of success we'll have. I won't say it will become a lighthouse for live music outside the mainstream because that's hard enough to find. It's like certain record labels. I know labels where I don't like all the artists but the albums are so consistent and that makes the label a success. For fans of under-the-radar music, they know they can find stuff there they may really connect with. That's the same thing I'm trying to do with the festival. I'm trying to keep the structure of the festival consistent. That doesn't mean the art has to stay the same. It just means that the festival has to happen every year so people who are into this kind of music can know there's something they can grab onto.

(TS) And you have a great area of the country in which to promote it. I know in Texas you can feel a bit stuck but musicians are blessed because the fans are good.

(JI) It is a cool situation and you're right about feeling stuck. There is a part of me that wants to break out of Texas music but that stuff takes care of itself.

(TS) Todd Snider says you owe him $7.50 and he refuses to work with you again until it's repaid. Further, he says he thinks Pat Green would win a fight between Will Kimbrough and yourself. He also says you're a good dancer. Since he got his laugh, do you have any goods on Snider to share?

(JI) (Laughs) I feel he's misinforming the public on this issue. I paid him twenty dollars and a barbecue sandwich the last time I saw him so in fact he owes me almost $13. Will Kimbrough, as we all know, does not know how to fight or dance. I wear very big boots so I easily could stomp on the toes of Pat Green or Todd Snider in any altercation!

(TS) Now that this seems settled is there any chance that you and Todd will do something together?

(JI) I hope so.

(TS) He says Bruce Robison will have to write everything since you two are busy writing your own stuff. Or maybe Charlie Robison.

(JI) (Laughs) Bruce will have to write it huh? I'm not hiring Charlie for anything! Maybe to mow my lawn.

While flipping channels this morning I came across an old friend, a video on MTV. I thought they had switched to producing reality shows and dance shows on the beach with celebrity hosts. But where I usually find a pack of college-aged drama-queens living in a house they couldn't collectively afford I found a real video with something approximating music. They played about twelve commercials before and after said video. Yet, it was a real video.

Concerned about possibly not seeing another video for some time I decided to check the guide to see how long I might be able to watch. Turns out that in 24 hours of programming I can see videos from about 2:30 AM to 8:00 AM. The rest of the day and evening is filled with pimped out rides, over-the-top award show reruns, room makeovers, and yet more reality television.

It seems MTV is more concerned with helping people act like rock stars than actual music.

Tune into your local NPR station this afternoon to catch Adrienne Young and Little Sadie on All Things Considered.

For those of you who are in the know, this is a great chance to hear a little more from the up-and-coming alt-country starlet. For those of you new to the experience, Adrienne Young is a Merlefest winner whose sound is an eclectic blend of Appalachia bluegrass with lush vocals. Her first album, Plow to the End of the Row has been a constant on the Americana Music charts and was a collaborative effort featuring Old Crow Medicine Show, Will Kimbrough, and Todd Snider.

So tune in and have a little fun!

Apple recently released iLife '04 which includes GarageBand, a consumer-grade composition tool. Being both an Apple fan and a musician I've been giving it the once-through.

My first impression is that GarageBand is a nice first attempt to provide entry-level musicians a tool with which to create music. The inclusion of pre-recorded loops is particularly nice even if the standard loops are fairly limited. Another nice feature is the ability to interface MIDI devices as well as real instruments like guitars. It has the ability to mimic several amps and effects that do a reasonable job of substituting for their real-world alter-egos. Further, there is good community support with websites springing up seemingly daily with new loops, user-created songs, and advice.

GarageBand however falls far short of a professional production tool such as Pro Tools. It lacks the polish and ability of it's older counterpart. Further, if you can spend the money on a decent USB audio interface for real instruments you probably will be able to afford Pro Tools.

Performance will also be an issue. GarageBand loves RAM. If you're running an iBook or other G3 with less than 512MB of RAM like I am, you'll quickly find that multiple tracks eat up your resources. I would suggest a G4 minimum with 512MB of RAM--the more the merrier.

Altogether, GarageBand is a great place for beginners with an unbeatable price but serious pros should spend the dough and buy Pro Tools.

Clearly someone is listening to country radio these days or we wouldn't have several stations in every market playing nothing but Buddy Jewell, Keith Urban, and other contemporary country acts. I've heard the stories that country radio is targeting twenty-something women, NASCAR dads, or other demographic groups within the American landscape. Actually, the only important party that is listening is the consumer--today's country radio is designed to sell things with the lowest possible cost of doing so.

In actuality, country radio isn't doing so well so well at that task according to a 2002 statement by Paul Allen of Country Radio Broadcasters. He estimates that country radio listenership is down from a mid-90s peak of 12 to 13% to a rather pallid 7%.

Aside from sinking ratings, country radio is suffering today from vast commercialization. The Wal-Mart effect seems to be taking over the format--DJs have been replaced by central programming with one DJ recording shows for rebroadcast in several different markets. That lack of local influence has lead to a vanilla master playlist of some of the worst music of any kind being foisted upon the American consumer. Further corporate labels have turned country radio into a formulaic mess that will certainly sell more product but entertain few.

Solving the problem will be difficult now that the FCC has deregulated the market. ClearChannel now virtually owns the radio frequencies and spunky local stations like KPIG face heavy licensing fees to broadcast over the Internet, a place the small stations once could compete fairly with corporate interests. Increasing sales of mobile music players offer individuals the ability to carry a virtual radio station in their pocket but the problem then becomes exposure--something corporate labels have covered. Even then, the major labels are mounting pressure to increase the cost of electronically distributed music in an effort to control the listeners' own personal choice of music. The fight looks to be one-sided.

Where this will end is difficult to imagine, but I know there is real music out there faintly heard from the small clubs and independent stations. I only hope I'm not the only one listening.

I just spent the last hour watching "The Nick and Jessica Variety Hour" with my wife. Sure, go ahead and laugh, but I have to admit to a variety show addiction. I loved the Muppet Show, the Mandrell Sisters, and the Smothers Brothers. Actually, I had a crush on Louise Mandrell but that's another therapy session. So I when I saw this on TV my own curiousity made it an easy sell for my wife.

My reaction after the show? Well it had Kenny Rogers so it wasn't that bad but at some point I had to force myself to continue watching. It should have been called "The Nick and Jessica's Boobs Variety Hour" due to the incredible amount of airtime cleavage received. As for the guest stars, they all felt patched in as some sort of self-serving act of living out childhood dreams for Nick and Jessica.

And Nick, for God's sake man--find some self-esteem! You can't keep doing this to yourself.

Darden Smith defies definition. The Texan songwriter has been known for taking artistic risks in the past with a continually evolving sonic identity; his sound has never been stereotypical Texas despite the wide-success many of his home state contemporaries have found. His sound has never been stereotypical anything and his latest effort, Circo, may very well be his most adventurous to date.

Smith has followed early success to a larger following among the rock set and back again to a more 70s AM country/folk radio sensibility as he's matured and faced life's intricacies. Circo features a spiritual undertone that complements the winsome vocals and breezy composition all of which lead to an ambitious yet satisfying, sophisticated folk sound. Hints of his prior work is woven throughout producing a sense of completion, hence the circular reference in the title.

At its best Circo is inventive and easy-going with Smith leading the listener through a texture-rich world that is part folk-sensitivity and salt-of-the-earth simpleness. Most of the tracks hone in on this combination much to success. While the album never really turns uptempo and rocks, it certainly rolls during "One Hundred Ways" and "God Loves a River." All of the cuts retain the same sonic theme, resulting in a wonderfully-paced and cohesive album.

As for me I find Darden Smith's Circo to be best defined as uniquely smooth. It's worth your time and can be found on the shelves on May 18th from our friends at Dualtone.

CNN reports that the City of New Orleans derailed Tuesday night northwest of Jackson, Mississippi killing one passenger.

The train was made famous by Steve Goodman's song of the same title. Goodman wrote the song in Mattoon, Illinois as he and his wife were travelling from Chicago. Later Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker, and others recorded the Goodman classic.

Slate reports that LSD usage took a dive in part due to Jerry Garcia's death and the end of Phish's touring days. According to the article and the DEA LSD usage increased in several cases as a Dead concert appearance neared. Following Garcia's departure and Phish's hiatus LSD usage dropped.

It's an interesting read even if it isn't shocking.

(via BoingBoing)

Jeff Tweedy, frontman of alt-country's Wilco and founder of landscape-altering Uncle Tupelo has entered rehab for an addiction to painkillers according to CNN. Further, the Chicago Tribune reports that Tweedy checked in to an area clinic which has postponed dates in Europe as well as the release of Wilco's fifth album, A Ghost Is Born.

Tweedy has a long history of illness including migraine headaches as well documented in the cult favorite movie I Am Trying To Break Your Heart which follows Wilco's struggles producing their masterpiece Yankee Foxtrot Hotel.

Best wishes to Jeff and his family.

I've told you before that Adrienne Young is going to be a star. I've told you that Will Kimbrough is one of the best talents in music today. Hopefully you've heard their work, but if you still need convincing there's a new video of Adrienne and Will's stellar "Home Remedy" on Adrienne's website to help out. I dare you not to smile when you watch it!

If you like it be sure to pick up Adrienne's breakthrough CD Plow to the End of the Row which Will helped produce, write, and record. It's a great effort from the Merlefest winner and her ensemble cast.

Eric Clapton is God as proclaimed across fences and barnes in the 1960s and 70s but these days he's playing the devil's music. Me and Mr. Johnson continues Clapton's childhood love of Robert Johnson, the godfather of blues who sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads for his blessed ability.

At first glance the album looks like an extension of Clapton's resurgent Unplugged when Clapton showed off his acoustic chops on several blues standards or Riding with the King with B.B. King. After a track or two this is by far the most complete blues album Clapton has ever made. There's plenty of Gloryland piano, roaring electric guitar, and harmonica humming. When the time comes to slow the swing down, Clapton is at his smoky best. When the album needs to roll Clapton revs up the beast and let's it fly. Best of all the album seems to have put the bite back in Clapton's vocals. Of the other Clapton blues albums, Me and Mr. Johnson stands out as the truest expression of both Clapton's abilities as well as the tonal genius of the genre.

I've heard it called "OKOM" or "Our Kind Of Music" and it's a growing genre with more stations picking it up across the country. To help you find the best in Americana, alt-country, insurgent, whatever here are some great internet radio stations that play the music:

• RadioIO
• Radio Margaritaville
• KPIG
• Gruene With Envy
• 99.5 The Wolf in Dallas (catch Jack Ingram's show!)
• TwangCast
• FolkScene
• CountryBear.com

Tune in and enjoy!

Musician, author, and stud Tommy Womack is preparing a follow-up to his book The Cheese Chronicles according to rumor. I'm told it is tenatively titled Jesus Has Left The Building. Given Tommy's penchance for writing anything I would guess this will be equally as entertaining as his prior efforts.

The Tennessean reports that Carlene Carter has been jailed due to a bond violation. That violation may be a result of failing a drug test. Carter is set to stand trial for identity theft after acquiring prescriptions in the name of her dead boyfriend, Francis Reidy.